//------------------------------// // The Hippocampi: Part 4 // Story: The Overworked Alicorn // by BreakDown //------------------------------// The Hippocampi Part 4: Queen Aquaria The trip to the city of the sea-ponies was progressing in relative peace. Twilight and her friends watched the passing undersea landscape with awe. They were, after all, some of the first ponies to actually see such things. The advent of Airships had all but killed sea based travel long ago. While some ships were still around, for the most part airships were just more reliable. It didn't hurt that they were faster too. Regardless, as they continued to speed across the landscape, the ponies noticed that the sea-ponies pushing them were making noises. Rainbow tilted her head and swiveled her ears in their direction. A moment later she blinked and then frowned when she heard what was being said. Most of it was nonsense to her, and the rest was just silly. "Its official," Rainbow started flatly, "Hippocampi are weird," the prismatic pegasus decided with a nod of her head. The six elements of harmony, plus Faust, were riding within a large bubble. Three sea-ponies were pushing the bubble in the direction of their city by creating a strong current. Unfortunately, the majority of the ponies within had already made up their minds on the sea-ponies. "I think they're great!" Pinkie declared with a grin. "Of course y'all like 'em Pinkie, but to the rest of us they're a might strange," Applejack stated while looking around nervously. She wasn't able to swim after all, the idea of so much water held at bay by a flimsy bubble didn't help matters. It's not like she expected the sea-ponies to kill them, but they did have two unicorns and an alicorn present, all of whom had horns. "Um, I kind of think they're nice," Fluttershy admitted timidly. She was barely heard by the others, Faust merely smiling in her direction. The ancient alicorn was glad at least some pony could appreciate the free-spirited sea-ponies. Rarity was still fussing over her mane, trying desperately to straighten it out for their impending meeting with a Queen. "Yeah, although I really wish they'd have sung their song," Pinkie suddenly stated with a pout. She'd heard of the song from her uncle Mort. The grim galloper apparently couldn't stand the song, or sea-ponies in general. Pinkie on the other hoof had always been rather interested in hearing the song. If for no other reason then because it would be fun to see them dance as well. "Pinkie, they've sung like five times now," Rainbow reminded her bubbly friend. The pink party pony merely rolled her eyes and gave the prismatic pegasus a look. She liked Dashy, she really did, but she had to wonder why the pony could be so silly sometimes. The brief bit of song the sea-ponies had been letting out thus far hardly qualified as a full song. "No silly filly, I mean the full song!" Pinkie replied happily. Applejack suddenly shuddered and looked to Pinkie with a visible cringe. "Ugh, there's more?" Applejack demanded. Pinkie merely nodded her head to the apple-mare. Meanwhile Twilight hummed and looked at the bubbles produced by the sea-ponies as they continued to swirl around them. She was also watching the magic they produced now, thanks in no small part to the trick Faust had shown her. It seemed that their magic was unique in that it formed wave-lengths not unlike vibrations. "Personally, I'm trying to figure out why they keep singing," Twilight stated with a frown across her features. She knew most ponies couldn't resist singing in times of heightened emotions. Lots of unicorns had done research into the phenomena for years now. However the sea-ponies, or Hippocampi, seemed to sing even more than a normal pony. The fact that their magic formed vibrations could've been a part of that, but she'd rather hear from an expert. Faust was the only expert at the moment. Said ancient alicorn giggled quietly at the question and cleared her throat. "When I was young it was a part of their magic," Faust explained. The little lavender mare turned to the ancient alicorn with interest on her face. The idea of song or even music based magic more than a little intriguing to her. "So then sea-pony magic really is music based then?" the little lavender mare questioned curiously. "I had figured that was just a part of the Little Hippocampi," the lavender unicorn admitted. Faust nodded her head, fluffed her wings, and hummed in thought. She closed her eyes and tried to remember how the sea-ponies magic had worked back when she was young. Admittedly it had been in a decidedly young state back then. Hopefully the sea-ponies had managed to perfect the music and song magic since becoming isolated. "If things haven't changed much in Ten-Thousand years then yes, sea-ponies can create tides with their speed, but they also have a shocking affinity for singing," Faust admitted then tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Is that why they sing every five minutes?" Rainbow questioned. Faust silently nodded her head and then looked to the sea-ponies spinning around them. She idly wondered if the sea-ponies had changed beyond their physical appearance. Admittedly, she hadn't expected such changes from them, but then again she'd been rather preoccupied over the passed few thousand years. "What Ah'd like tah know is why there city is hidden so far under the gosh darned ocean," Applejack grumbled irritably. An instant later the three sea-ponies stopped spinning and swam around them. "Cause our ancestors built it there," the magenta pony stated. "It's not like we can just get out and push it someplace else after all," her blue teammate continued. "Yeah, that 'd just be really silly!" the Sea-Pinkie finished with a nod of her head. Applejack chuckled and nodded her head sheepishly. She didn't want to come off as rude or mean, but all this water and being this far under really wasn't helping her feel exactly safe. "Okay, I guess that makes sense," Twilight admitted, then frowned, "but why did your ancestors build the city out here?" "So we wouldn't be attacked silly," the magenta Sea-Pony stated. "There are all kinds of things that like eating sea-ponies after all," the blue Sea-Pony mare added. "Yep, so we had to put our home someplace that none of 'em would come for us," the Sea-Pinkie finished with a smile. Twilight nodded her head, she could see the wisdom in building their home away from dangers. She also had to admit that the terrain they were in wasn't exactly built for larger predators to follow them through. "I see, then what about the depth, is that for protection as well?" Twilight questioned of them curiously. The three sea-ponies nodded their head and would've explained how, but Pinkie interrupted them. "C'mon Twilight! We can't keep the sea-ponies distracted or we'll never get to their city!" the pink party pony exclaimed. The little lavender mare blushed and nodded her head in agreement. To the side of the bubble Faust sighed and shot the pink pony a flat look. "We know that Pinkie, and while I'm honestly glad the sea-ponies have a working government now, I cant help but feel a little annoyed," Faust admitted with a tired sigh. That got the attention of all six mares, none of whom had expected her to say anything like that. "Why's that?" Twilight asked the mare. As far as Twilight could tell, Faust was happy to see sea-ponies again. In fact, the only thing that had seemed to irk Faust was Mort. Although given what Mort had done to her kingdom, the little lavender mare couldn't blame the ancient alicorn. Being angry with him was perfectly reasonable in her own opinion. "Because of all the information I have to update in the archives now!" Faust exclaimed loudly. "I'll have to find out all about their government, their magic, their history, their culture and their art and update it! I'll have to research genealogical trees and figure out how they evolved! I mean for bucks sake I didn't even know they had forelimbs now!" the ancient alicorn declared. The Sea-Pinkie took that opportunity to wave a hoof at the mare with a smile, which caused Faust to twitch and turn to the elements with a wild look in her eyes. "I mean look at that!" Faust shouted while she pointed at the Sea-Pinkie. Instantly the magenta and blue sea-ponies grabbed their friend and grinned nervously as they lowered her forelimb. The three then got back to spinning around the bubble and went back to getting them to the undersea city. "They have forelimbs and are only slightly smaller than a normal pony now! When did that happen and why! I'm supposed to be the 'Grand Archivist' and yet here I've gone and missed out on thousands of years of new developments in the sea-ponies alone!" Faust continued to rant. "Uh Faustie," Pinkie started, but was interrupted by the high-strung alicorn. "And if that's just their biology, then by the sun and the moon can you imagine their art or history? They might even have undersea museums or orchestras by now!" Faust shouted and then widened her eyes. "Oh buck me they didn't have to deal with Discord!" she shouted and began to hyper ventilate. "For several thousand years they didn't have to deal with Discord's antics which means they didn't stop developing! They could even be centuries more advanced than Equestria by now!" the alicorn exclaimed as her hair started to curl. "Faust you need to calm down," Twilight tried but the mare didn't listen. At this point the other elements and the sea-ponies, were watching the mare with wide eyes. Twilight especially looked scared as she realized this all seemed really familiar. As the mare stopped and thought about it, she realized she did something similar. In fact, she seemed to remember that she did something like this quite a lot. "Do I get worked up like this?" Twilight asked her friends. The other five ponies looked to each other and then chuckled nervously. "What, oh of course not..." Rarity stated with a wave. "Yeah, you're not quite this bad," Rainbow stated and scratched her head. "W-well maybe a little..." Fluttershy admitted timidly. "Yeah, whenever you start to worry," Pinkie stated with a nod of her head. "Which is actually most of the time," Applejack finished honestly. The little lavender unicorn's gaze grew more and more flat at each of her friends responses. Finally she blew a breath into her bangs and frowned. "Gee, thanks," the little lavender unicorn muttered. She then looked to Faust and found that the mare was still going on a tangent about all the work she'd have to do. For what felt like the first time, Twilight understood why the ancient alicorn had wanted a vacation. "Boy, it's too bad Faustie's vacation got interrupted," Pinkie murmured aloud, "she really needed it," The rest of the elements could only agree with the pink party ponies assessment. It seemed that the ivory alicorn really needed to relax. However before anything else could be said, Pinkie gasped and shot to the front of the bubble. "Oh wow!" she declared with wide eyes. The other elements, and Faust quickly followed her gaze and were shocked to see the city of the sea-ponies. As they approached the mares looked in wonder at the city. Faust however frowned as she noticed that the city was made primarily out of corral. It also looked as if they had been using other elements of the underwater terrain around them to build the city. Several sea-shells and other such objects had been used in it's construction, which gave it a strangely artistic appearance. What's more, it looked like they used sunken ships in the construction of the city as they could see wood and metal here and there. Besides the odd materials, the seven ponies couldn't help but notice a great many things like fountains and parks. Why they had fountains was any ponies guess, though it looked like they had a great many coins in them. Their parks were also a bit 'odd' since they were made up of under-water terrain. Regardless, it was clear what was what as it all vaguely resembled buildings and places up above. "I must say darlings, it really is such a beautiful city," Rarity declared as she looked around. "It all seems a bit overdone ta me," Applejack grumbled. "You just don't appreciate the aesthetic beauty of this place," the marshmallow unicorn retorted. "Ah never said nothin' like 'at Rares, it's real pretty an' all, but it just seems like a bit much if'n ya' ask me," the orange apple-mare replied with a frown. Fluttershy chose not to comment as she looked out and found several sea-ponies. They were swimming beside their bubble and whispering to one another while pointing to Faust. "Um, well they certainly seem really curious," the butter yellow pegasus mumbled. She then eeped and jumped behind Faust, then shuffled down to hide in her mane. The ancient alicorn blinked and giggled as she looked to the meek mare, then grunted as Pinkie hopped on her back. "Ooh ooh ooh! Hi sea-ponies!" she cried with a wave of her hoof. Several of the sea-ponies smiled and waved back to the pink party pony. Said pink pony turned on Faust's back and waved to several more on the other side of the bubble. "Hi other sea-ponies!" she cried happily. The other sea-ponies merely giggled and then waved to the pink party pony as well. This started a chain reaction of Pinkie spinning on Faust to say hi to every sea-pony she could, which had the ever playful sea-ponies giggling and waving right back to her. The ancient alicorn merely allowed the mare to do as she wanted, though hoped she tired of it soon. "Yeah yeah, it's all pretty, and they're really friendly," Rainbow grumbled with a roll of her eyes. "But what I'd like to see is how fast they can go and the stunts they can pull down here," the prismatic pegasus declared with a grin. Her friends rolled their eyes at her declaration. They hadn't been surprised by the pegasus desire to see the sea-ponies race or perform stunts. Truth be told Faust kind of wanted to see that as well, it'd been a very long time since she'd seen one off their stunt shows. "Personally I'm finding the architecture of this city quite familiar. In fact I think I might've seen it somewhere before," Twilight noted as she lightly rubbed her chin. "It actually bears a resemblance to Canterlot," the little lavender unicorn added thoughtfully. Faust merely shrugged and watched the city pass them by. She mentally thought back to how the city had looked when she visited several thousand years ago. In all honesty besides a few new buildings, it seemed to her that they hadn't changed it too much. There was a new building here or there, a couple of new landmarks, what looked like some kind of park. But it seemed that the sea-ponies had had no reason to change their designs for the city. The palace however, that was new and quite expansive compared to the other buildings. Faust only hoped that Queen Aquaria was a reasonable mare... Celestia pouted as she trotted next to Luna, Daring ahead of them. The three had decided to stick together. However both Luna and Celestia had agreed that Daring should lead them around. It was two fold really. Daring's special talent was exploration, which had been proven when she had discovered Dream Castle. Secondly, both of the sisters were more than a little irked with the mare for finding Dream Castle. Before they did at least. The khaki mare was aware of this, so groaned and turned to the sisters, "I said I was sorry already!" Celestia frowned and turned her head up. Luna giggled, her sister hadn't acted so childish and carefree in a long time. She hated to admit it, but the lunar alicorn was happy that her sister was relaxing. She also made a note that they should vacation to Faust's tower more often. That way they could relax and possibly relive their days as children. Which would include searching for Dream Castle themselves. Although Daring had found the place, they still hadn't. While she hated to think about how they had lost the chance to be the first to find it, they could still be the first real ponies to find it. "Forgive our sister, tis not often she is denied that which she desires," Luna finally told the khaki mare. She resisted another chuckle at her sister's annoyed glare. She was teasing her, not inviting her to try and send her to the moon without the elements of harmony. "How did I deny her something?" Daring questioned while scratching her head. Majesty's horseshoes were still upon her hooves. Celestia had tried all manner of spell to remove them yet they had held firm. Apparently, Majesty's spells still held power beyond even the solar diarchs skill. Had she not been so annoyed, Celestia would have been happy. Majesty was her idol, whom she had spent most of her life trying to emulate. It was with a mix of emotions that Celestia admitted she was still nowhere near Majesty's skill. Not out loud of course, but it was hanging over her head. "Thou hath taken from us, the satisfaction of being first in finding Dream Castle," Luna replied to Daring. Celestia huffed and muttered to herself. The khaki mare visibly winced and chuckled lightly. "Uh well, it's not like I knew you two had been looking for it," the mare replied. Luna nodded her head in agreement with the khaki mare. She admitted that Daring had not been at fault for finding the castle. And she had, in fact, proven that it did in fact exist somewhere. The problem was that Celestia had always wanted to be the first to find the place. So now the fact that some pony else had already done so irked her to no end. "Ye have no reason to apologize explorer, tis only our sisters pride thee hath truly injured," Luna replied. She had been speaking in the old tongue for a while now, she knew it, but she also knew it irked her sister. She wasn't sure why it irked her sister either, she just knew that it did and used it to irk her. Though she often tried to hide it, teasing the solar alicorn was always entertaining. Discord always agreed with her on that much. "Luna, shut up," Celestia growled darkly. The lunar diarch arched a brow, then rolled her eyes. Her sister was in a foul mood, that was certain. Luna knew that she didn't want to make her anymore cross than she already was, thus wisely shut her muzzle. She was not exactly afraid of Celestia, but she had never been one to kick a bee-hive for no good reason either... barring that one time when she was still just a filly. "Look Princess, I'm sorry if I stole your thunder," Daring told the solar mare, then narrowed her eyes, "but that's no reason to take it out on your sister like that!" Celestia frowned deeply. She was really not in the mood for this. Her annoyance with the mare was really more childish than she liked. Regardless, she still got nose to nose with the significantly smaller mare and glared at her angrily. That is, before Luna suddenly broke the tension. "What's this?" the question came and both Celestia and Daring turned to her. She was no in front of a large door, one that had odd symbols etched into it's outer frame and runes over it's surface. Daring frowned and glanced around it for a moment, then rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Not sure, I've never seen it before so if it's legendary it's not well known," the explorer responded. Celestia nodded her head and trotted forward as well. All three mares looked over the door and examined the runes and symbols etched into it for several long moments. "The symbols are pre-equestrian, and look almost like the dialect of Dream-Valley," Celestia noted aloud. Luna nodded her head in agreement with the older alicorn. Her eyes silently looked over the runes and frowned deeply. "Tia, these runes are old, far too old to be any modern form," the lunar diarch noted. Celestia concurred with her sister. The runes appeared to be of the same make as those used by Majesty. Runes in the modern era were typically used by Deer, Caribou or the more common 'Reindeer' to be more specific. They had actually developed a type of rune they could carve into their hooves, which would let them 'walk on air'. She'd seen it once or twice in her life, it was really quite fascinating to be perfectly honest. "So, think it's more of Majesty's work?" Daring questioned of the princesses. Both glanced to one another and then turned back to the khaki mare. They nodded their heads and looked at the door with a great deal of scrutiny. Finding the door had been sheer chance, or the tower just trying to cheer up Celestia. Regardless, this was an opportunity for them to see a potentially forgotten relic of Majesty. "Alright, but we're being careful this time," Celestia stated. Luna scoffed and shot her older sister a flat look. "You were the one who opened the Golden Door Tia, not me," the younger alicorn reminded. Celestia had the decency to blush and look properly cowed. But quickly schooled her features and focused her magic on the massive door. The door slowly opened up, revealing beyond it to be another hall. Unlike the other halls, the new one was lit by magical lines of energy that passed along the floor of the hall. It also had no true doors, merely doorways that remained open. Within each of the doorways was a brilliant glow that seeped outwards and flooded the hall. "Okay," Daring whispered as she trotted into the hall. "I have no idea what any of this is," she admitted with a frown. Luna and Celestia silently followed the mare into the hall and looked around alongside her. The three ponies slowly trotted into the hall and glanced here and there. The empty doorways only seemed to glow and held nothing within their depths. A frown crossed Celestia's features as she wondered what any of this was. Daring merely wondered why it was created since it appeared to be little better than a light show. As for Luna, she wandered where that soft singing was coming from. "Do you hear that?" the lunar mare questioned. Both Celestia and Daring listened and frowned when they heard a soft gentle and most of all familiar voice echo down the hall. You've come, such a long long way and I've watched you from that very first day to see how you might grow, to see what you might do to see what you've been through, and all the ways you've made me proud of you "Tia, isn't that you?" Luna questioned with wide eyes. The solar alicorn silently nodded her head as she listened to the song. A soft smile crossed her lips as the song continued, a happy feeling welling within her chest. The annoyance she had been feeling before, it just melted away as the song passed over her. She had never sung this song. She had never heard it before either. But she did know what the song likely meant, and why she would sing it. Ponies tended to sing when their emotions were too great to be expressed in other ways. It's time now, for a new change to come you've grown up, and your new life has begun to go where you will go, to see what you will see to find what you will be, for it's time for you, to fulfill your destiny "Okay I'm feeling lost here, what's going on?" Daring questioned once the song had ended. Celestia smiled faintly and wiped a tear of pride from her eyes. She merely smiled at the khaki mare and walked down the hall. Luna raised a brow and then smirked as she realized what the song was for. The lunar mare quickly trotted to her sisters side and gave her a look. "T'would seem that this hall is not a mere hall," she noted aloud. Celestia nodded her head in agreement, yet stopped as voices echoed around them. Luna and Daring stopped as well. The voices came not only in songs, but also in whispers and echoes. "I suppose this would be a 'Hall of Echoes' then," Celestia murmured quietly. Luna nodded her head in agreement with the older mare, then glanced back at Daring. The explorer pony had her eyes closed and frowned deeply. "Some of these echoes are talking about the tower," the mare stated. A frown crossed Celestia's features at the unwelcome news, before she closed her eyes and tried to listen as well. However the sheer number of voices were too many, and they passed too quickly for her to recognize them. "What I wish to know is why Majesty made this?" Luna questioned as she looked all around the hall with a frown. She couldn't quite understand the point of a hall of echoes, nor how it could capture sounds of the future. She also wished to know just how Majesty had created such a place. She had known that their mother's teacher was powerful, but it seemed like she had actually underestimated her. "She probably made it to keep an ear out for plots to hurt her ponies," Celestia replied. That was what she would have used it for anyways. The hall could have other potential uses, certainly, but for her she'd simply use it to learn of any pony who wanted to hurt her subjects. The solar alicorn hoped that Majesty had been of the same mind in that. "Yeah yeah, can we get out of here already? This place is starting to creep me out," Daring complained. Celestia and Luna both nodded their heads, all three ponies trotting down through the hall of echoes. Yet as they did, a familiar black alicorn followed behind them... Faust and the elements' bubble landed on a 'landing platform' of the palace. The three sea-ponies then reformed out of the swirl of bubbles around them as they were quickly pushed inside. Once inside, a large pair of double doors closed behind them, Faust idly noting they were in an entrance hall. She then turned her eyes to the sea-ponies who spun around the room several times then suddenly calmed down. One of them shot off into the palace while the others lowered down with the seven land-ponies. A moment later the magenta mare returned with seven strange looking collars. "Put these on!" the magenta pony ordered while pushing the collars into the bubble. Rarity eyed the necklaces for a moment and smiled as she took one. Each of them seemed to be made of silver, with an odd series of glowing blue lines through them that pulsed. As Rarity brought one closer she turned it around and raised a brow at the latch, as it resembled a shark biting it's tail. The shark had a single pearl for it's eye, while a series of odd colored gemstones lined the inside of the odd necklace and would be invisible when worn. "Ooh, gifts, you really shouldn't have darling," the fashion pony stated with a bow of her head. She then unlatched the necklace and put it on. She opened the little sharks mouth and pulled it apart, the metal strangely flexible, and then wrapped it around her throat. The marshmallow unicorn then blinked as it gave a brief glow before resizing to her exact size, the sea-shell glowing faintly with azure magic. "Oh my, enchanted necklaces?" Rarity questioned and the magenta Sea-Pony nodded. Faust took the next of them, and placed the necklace on without complaint. Much like with Rarity's own, Faust's necklace changed it's size to suit her. The rest of the elements quietly accepted the necklaces as well, but halted as they examined them. "Do we really have tah put 'ese on?" Applejack questioned warily and the sea-ponies nodded. Resigned to her fate, Applejack looked to Twilight for aide. The little lavender unicorn unclasped the necklace and put it on her friend, while Rarity and Faust helped the others with their own. "Alright we're wearing them, but I still don't see why," Twilight began to say only for the sea-ponies to pop their bubble. The elements practically shrieked as they did, then stopped when they didn't drown. Applejack however was a quivering mass of flesh, shaking and shivering as Fluttershy went to comfort her friend. Twilight mere looked around with wide eyes, Rarity not fairing much better as they breathed freely. Rainbow however glared at the now laughing sea-ponies, a fire in her eyes as she let out a snort of air. "W-what the hay? Are you trying to kill us?" the prismatic pegasus demanded. The three sea-ponies giggled and laughed and spun around the elements cheerfully. The magenta one soon landing on Rainbow's back and hugging her from behind with a smile. "You silly, we couldn't just push your big ol' bubble in to see Queen Aquaria," the magenta mare stated. Rainbow struggled to extricate herself from her hold, yet the Sea-Pony held firm. Faust merely rolled her eyes and frowned as she looked at the other mares. "The Necklaces create a magical field around the body, it's all but invisible to the naked eye. It not only relieves the pressure of being at this depth but also allows for a full range of movement," Faust began, flapping her wings and jumping to show what she meant, "and also converts oxygen from the water for us to breath as if we had gills," the ancient alicorn explained. The sea-ponies grinned and nodded their heads, soon shooting down. "Yep, Queen Aquaria made the chokers so land ponies could visit us down here," the blue mare explained. While to the side the Sea-Pinkie gigged and watched Rainbow try to buck the magenta mare from her back. Meanwhile Twilight looked at the chokers with wide eyes. "Why would your queen have necklaces for letting land ponies live down here?" the little lavender mare questioned. The blue mare gave Twilight a look and then rolled her eyes as she swam upside down. "Because we knew that someday we'd meet with land ponies again, duh," she stated and then shot over to her magenta friend. She quickly pried the other Sea-Pony from the bucking Pegasus and began to speak with her. They spoke for several moments before the magenta mare nodded and shot off into the palace. Once she was no longer bucking, Rainbow snorted and glared at where the magenta mare had gone. Looking to Faust the prismatic pegasus frowned deeply with a question on her mind. "Are these ponies ever not happy?" the prismatic pegasus questioned with a frown. The ancient alicorn merely chuckled and ignored the cyan-mare's question. She then noticed that Applejack didn't look too well. She was shaking and shivering and looking around wildly. Fluttershy had managed to calm her down so she was no longer babbling incoherently, but it was clear she was not okay. Since she wasn't able to swim, the ancient alicorn assumed that she was terrified of drowning. Even with the necklaces, she was not liking being at this depth. "Uh not that ah ain't glad to have mah hooves back on solid ground," Applejack began and then looked around nervously. If being in that giant bubble hadn't been bad enough, now she was underwater with only a bit of magic to keep her from death! "But can we please hurry this along!" the apple-mare pleaded desperately. "We have to wait for Sea-Breeze to get back with the guards first," the Sea-Pinkie responded. "They'll be the ones who'll take you to Queen Aquaria, we just brought you down here," the pink Sea-Pony continued and then began to swim around in a series of loops and spins. Rainbow began to watch her as she did, idly noticing that being underwater allowed for a much freer range of tricks. "Well as long as we're waiting, what are your names girls?" Faust questioned of the two. She also made a mental note that the magenta Sea-Pony was named 'Sea-Breeze'. The two sea-ponies grinned and nodded their heads, the blue pony swimming forward. "My name is Current Chaser, but most ponies just call me CC," the blue Sea-Pony explained, then moved to the side as the Sea-Pinkie shot forward and offered a hoof. "And my names Bubbles!" the pink Sea-Pony cried loudly. A second later Pinkie hopped over to the pony and gave her a hoof-bump. "Ooh! Good name! I'm Pinkie Pie!" the pink party pony declared. "Hey, do you wanna be my friend?" she questioned and Bubbles grinned widely. "Well duh, that sounds like it'd be awesome!" the pink sea-pony exclaimed happily. Bubbles and Pinkie then quickly went into a series of hoof-bumps. Once finished with that they spun around one another and finished with a bump of their flanks and a quick friendly hug. Twilight merely watched the two ponies while a look of absolute horror formed on her face. "Oh sweet Celestia, there are two of her!" the purple pony exclaimed while rearing back in distress. Faust rolled her eyes and shook her head, then glanced over to CC. Said pony was outright laughing as Pinkie and Bubbles started talking rather animatedly about parties. The ancient alicorn shook her head, idly wondering how Pinkie and Bubbles would react to Surprise. "Huh what do you know, land, sea, and air, they'd dominate parties everywhere," the ancient alicorn noted to herself. She then shuddered at the idea and trotted over to CC. "Anyways, now that we have some time I'm a bit curious about how your size and forelimbs," Faust admitted. The blue Sea-Pony rolled her eyes and began to swim around, the 'nervous energy' common among their tribe kicking in. "Well to be honest, I think it's cause we've bred with the other tribes for so long that some of their traits have started showing up in ours," CC admitted with her forelimbs crossed over her chest. Faust raised a brow and then mentally groaned as she realized what was going on. "How?" Twilight questioned as she trotted over to the two. She ignored Pinkie and Bubbles as they continued to talk animatedly. One Pinkie was bad enough, she did not want to have to deal with two of them. Besides that she was also quite curious about the sea-ponies and their apparent change. "Oh, well you know how sailors will sometimes disappear at sea?" CC questioned with a cheeky grin. Twilight blinked then nodded her head. Faust however blushed profusely and felt her eye start to twitch. "They weren't lost were they? They all just had a batch of sea-pony Foals," Faust noted flatly. CC giggled and blushed, but nodded her head all the same. Twilight raised a brow, then frowned in thought. A blush quickly broke out across the little lavender mare's face as she realized what Faust had meant. Thankfully Sea-Breeze finally returned, three guards following behind her. Unlike the guards they were used too, all of the sea-guards seemed to be mares. One of the guards bowed and motioned them to follow. "Welcome, her majesty Queen Aquaria is eager to meet with you, please follow us," the sea-guard bade. She then glanced at Sea-Breeze, the magenta pony smiled and swam over to her friends. The three sea-ponies then swam around one another and shot out of the palace. "So longer every pony!" Bubbles cried as they swam out of the palace. The seven land ponies glanced to one another and then trotted to the sea-guards. They followed behind the three guards through a large hallway that broke off into three directions. The guards merely continued down the main corridor and Faust and the others followed. None of them were exactly willing to test out how long their necklaces apparent power would last for. Least of all Applejack who wanted to find the queen as soon as possible. Although if the necklace could never run out of magic, the farm-pony was keeping the thing so she'd never have to worry about drowning ever again. As they passed through the palace, the ponies couldn't help but notice that strange white crystals were being used as torches. Each one giving off a soft azure glow that lit the halls without being too bright. They also noted that, much as Rarity predicted, the sea-ponies had no cloth for tapestries or banners. Instead they had numerous arches with symbols, the arches vaguely resembling the ribs of a whale. The palace also lacked windows and even a few walls, allowing fish and other such creatures to pass through the palace without harm. Fluttershy giggled as a school of fish passed her, some of them circling around and swimming through her mane. The butter yellow mare made a mental note to come back to this city someday, so she could learn more about undersea animals. The seven were lead to a pair of large double doors, which two of the guards opened. Beyond it was a magnificent throne-room, much like the one in Canterlot, which was lit much brighter than the other rooms. Unlike canterlot however, there seemed to be a great deal of silver and azure stone used in the throne room, as well as a bit of quartz. However, across from them and resting on a dais was the mare they came to meet. Whatever they had expected, Queen Aquaria certainly seemed to go beyond it. For one thing she was almost Luna's size and she had, unlike the rest of her ponies, a horn that curved off of her head. Her mane was long and resembled a living wave, her tail was longer than the others and ended with a fin, the membrane of which was a translucent blue. The scales of her 'coat' were sea-green, though were a bit pale around her eyes, while her back fins were significantly longer and almost resembled wings. The queen wore regalia as well, though her's was a tad bit more intricate than Celestia or Luna's, all of it seemed to be made of silver, pear, and tear-shaped gemstones. The regalia included a circlet of some kind, an armlet, a pair of earrings, a necklace, and a few bands around her tail. The elements merely looked in shock at the queen, Twilight wondering if she was the equivalent to an undersea Celestia and Luna. Faust however was more surprised than she'd have liked to admit. She wasn't sure if Aquaria was really an alicorn, however her appearance did seem similar to one. The said mare smiled and inclined her head as the seven walked in. "Welcome, my little and not so little ponies," the queen stated with a friendly smile. "I am happy to see you are well, I do hope you didn't have to wait long." "N-no of course not, we're s-sorry if we somehow managed t-to take time out of your schedule," Twilight replied nervously. Her friends made much the same impression, nervous and unsure of how to act before the queen. Faust idly noted that it was the same way they acted around Celestia and Luna. Thankfully, they seemed more at ease around her, but she doubted that would last much longer. Regardless, the ancient alicorn looked up at Aquaria and trotted forward. "I assure you, the pleasure of meeting you is all ours, Queen Aquaria" Faust replied, then frowned. "Wait, you look familiar," the ancient suddenly alicorn noted. "Have we met before?" the ancient mare inquired. Queen Aquaria giggled behind a hoof and smiled brightly, a certain twinkle in her eyes. "I should hope so auntie," she stated, then stopped and tapped her lip, "though I admit, it has been quite some time since we last saw each other." Faust raised a brow and then narrowed her eyes. She approached the mare and then tilted her head as she scrutinized her appearance. Aquaria's smile never faded one bit, nor did the amused twinkle in her eyes as Faust got nearly nose to nose with her. A moment later Faust's eyes widened and she grinned widely. "Riptide?" the ivory mare questioned as her smiled widened, "Riptide, is that really you?" She questioned excitedly. Rather than answer Queen Aquaria merely leaped forward and wrapped her forelimbs around the ancient alicorn. Faust quickly returned the hug, a smile across her face. Soon the two pushed away from each-other, both smiling brightly. "Sweet sun and stars Riptide! Oh, just look at you! You were no bigger than a guppy the last time I saw you!" the ancient mare exclaimed. Aquaria merely grinned at the ivory alicorn and flipped back onto her dais. "Kids grow up auntie, it happens all the time," Aquaria stated with a nod of her head. Faust rolled her eyes and smirked at the 'sea-alicorn'. She remembered when this particular little pony had been young. She'd been a handful of a most rare and extraordinary caliber. "Well yeah, but since when do Tom-Colts who like racing against pony eating sharks turn into beautiful queens?" Faust asked the sea-mare with an amused smirk. Aquaria blinked and then grinned, the ancient alicorn feeling a shudder run down her spine at that look. "Oh I still race against pony eating sharks auntie, I also still do stunts," the queen stated with a nod of her head. She then stopped and considered for a few moments, "oh speaking of, I really should show you my 'Riptide Ravage', its probably one of my better stunts," the sea-mare decided. Faust blinked and then groaned inwardly. "Please tell me it doesn't involve you and a dozen sharks," the ancient alicorn pleaded. Aquaria shot the other mare a look as if she were appalled by the idea. "Oh of course not auntie," she replied with a wave of her hoof, "it's three dozen sharks, a killer whale, and a coral reef," the queen stated with a nod of her head. Faust face-hoofed and groaned at her 'nieces' inability to do anything even remotely safe. She had actually hoped that the sea-mare would outgrow her dangerous stunts. Unfortunately, immortality hadn't calmed the mare down even a bit. "Whoa, that sounds bucking awesome!" Rainbow-Dash crowed with a grin. Aquaria smiled and grinned back at the prismatic pegasus. "I think I like her auntie," Aquaria noted with a nod, then looked to Faust, "care to introduce me to your friends?" Faust let out a sigh and nodded her head, then waved a hoof to the six elements. "Riptide, I'd like you to meet the six elements of harmony, Rarity," the ancient alicorn stated motioning to the marshmallow unicorn. Rarity gave a grand bow in response. "Fluttershy," the ancient alicorn continued. The butter yellow mare 'eeped' and quickly shot behind Rarity. "Applejack," Faust continued. The apple-mare chuckled nervously and tipped her hat to the queen. "Pinkie Pie," the ivory alicorn added with a smirk. The Pink Party Pony whooped then literally jumped for joy and waved at the sea-queen. "Next is Rainbow Dash, resident speedster and stunt-flyer," Faust introduced. Aquaria's eyes gleamed as the prismatic pegasus shot into the air and did a triple back flip. "And last but certainly not least, Princess Celestia's personal student in all things magical, Twilight Sparkle," the ancient alicorn finished. The lavender unicorn bowed slightly and looked around nervously. "Girls, this is Queen Aquaria, or Riptide as she used to go by, the rowdiest sea-pony to ever swim the seas," Faust introduced with a smile. The sea-queen merely hummed and turned to Faust with a frown. "Well I was right, I like 'Rainbow Dash', she seems like my kind of mare," Aquaria decided with a grin. Said prismatic pegasus couldn't help but agree with the strangely rowdy sea-queen. "But, uh, who is Princess Celestia?" the sea-mare questioned with a scratch of her head. Faust merely rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder to Twilight. The little lavender pony cleared her throat and began. "Princess Celestia is the co-ruler of Equestria as well as the pony who raises and sets the sun," Twilight began then took a breath. "Her sister and fellow co-ruler Princess Luna raises and sets the moon and watches over dreams," the little lavender mare finished with a smile. Queen Aquaria blinked for a moment and then hummed with a frown. "I see, then can some pony please tell this 'Luna' to stop bringing the moon so close, it's wreaking havoc with the tides," the sea-queen pleaded with an exasperated tone. Twilight blinked for a moment, while Rainbow tilted her head. "Wait, how can the moon affect the tides? Isn't the ocean your thing?" the prismatic questioned of the sea-mare. Aquaria nodded her head with a soft sigh, then looked to Faust for help. "The Moon actually possesses its own gravitational pull that affects the tides, when the moon is close the tides rise, when it's far they lower," the ivory alicorn explained. Rainbow made an oh with her mouth before scratching at her head. "Beggin' ye'r pardon ma'am, but if'n the moon does 'at, what do y'all do down here?" Applejack questioned while pointing to Aquaria. The sea-queen merely chuckled lightly and stretched out for a moment. "I actually control quite a bit, such as keeping the icy north icy, keeping the currents of the sea in check and what not. Basically if it has to do with the ocean, I'm the mare who gets it done," Aquaria explained proudly. Faust sighed, nodded her head and then glanced back at the elements for a moment. The ivory alicorn then leaned forward and whispered to the queen questioningly. "Yeah, but when did you grow forelimbs?" the ancient alicorn questioned in a whisper. Aquaria blinked and then glanced down at her forelimbs and leaned forward to whisper back at Faust. "It happened when I got my horn, my tail changed and I got these," she responded with a shrug of her forelimbs for emphasis. "I swear it took me months to get back to how I used to swim," the sea-queen added with a frown. Faust idly nodded her head and made a note to write that down. That however reminded her of all the other research she'd have to do on sea-ponies. The ancient alicorn shuddered and then looked to Aquaria with a hopeful look. "Uh, you wouldn't happen to have some records I could borrow?" Faust questioned nervously. The sea-queen giggled into a hoof for a moment, a decidedly playful look in her eyes. She then schooled her features and shot the ancient alicorn a stern look. Although every pony could see she was trying hard not to outright laugh. "Now auntie, shouldn't you be able keep up with your own work load?" the sea-mare inquired. In her defense it'd been several thousand years since she'd last seen her auntie. It was also highly likely that she wouldn't be able to poke fun at her for quite a while. Faust however, clearly didn't find it funny and shot the younger mare a flat look. "Why don't you try keeping up with Equestria and it's crazy antics and see how long you last doing my job missy," the ancient alicorn snapped. Aquaria chuckled and looked away from the ancient mare with a grimace. Much as she loved her auntie, she was never going to trade jobs with her. She loved her ponies for one thing, and she also liked having her free-time so she could do stunts. "Uh, no thanks," Aquaria assured and then smiled. "I'll just have a few of my record keepers get everything you'll need together," the sea-mare assured. Faust sighed and smiled to the sea-queen gratefully, then glanced back to the elements and schooled her features. "Thanks Riptide, but we're actually here to ask if you'd open the tunnel to my tower," Faust admitted. Aquaria arched a brow for a moment and then hummed lightly. The tunnel had been closed since the last time that Faust had visited the undersea city. While they had maintained it over the years, the sea-queen admitted that it was quite a journey. She could easily take them through it of course, but unfortunately she was needed for a meeting with a sea-serpent. She was trying to negotiate a peace treaty with them, and that took priority. No offense meant to her auntie, but the safety of her little ponies always came first. "Well of course you can use the tunnel auntie," Aquaria replied and then got up and swam forward. "Just let me get a few guards together and you can be on your way," the sea-mare assured before she swam off into her palace. As she disappeared, Faust hoped the rest of their mission was this pleasant. Though she inwardly admitted that it was very unlikely that it would. Especially if the girls had managed to find 'the Smooze' or any of the other evils locked in the tower and released them... In the land that was once Dream-Valley, Light-Bringer trotted towards an ancient castle. "Midnight Castle stills stands," he noted and narrowed his eyes, "if only just barely." The ancient warrior pony merely continued on, silently approaching the ancient structure. Much like the rest of Dream-Valley and it's surrounding lands, Midnight Castle was long ruined. It had once been a fortress to the being known as Tirek, a terrifying monster who had been mere legend even in his time. Later on, Mortis the Black took the castle as the place from which he staged his assault on Dream-Valley. It had taken them months to simply take this castle. It was nestled on a high cliff and surrounded by water. The sea-ponies and their songs had lured many of the Zomponies to the water where they were quickly disposed of. Mortis had been in a hurry at the time, and so the four generals marched forward. They had silenced any and all resistance within, then raised them and forced them to fight, and then they presented the castle to their master. Mortis would commit many experiments within that place, until finally abandoning it. Now the castle stood as a ruin, it's halls empty save for one creature. Revenants. Most ponies knew them as 'Skeletons' a 'simple' or even 'basic' undead. That was the furthest thing from the truth. The truth was, that they were spirits who had possessed their own bodies and kept walking. A Revenant typically never left it's corpse, which would continue to rot until only bones were left. Even then, a Revenant would not stop, would not rest, would not die. It was a horrible Undead with only one method of truly killing them. Break and destroy any and all remains of their body. Mortis had never used such creatures in his attack on Dream Valley for one reason. A Revenant retained it's mind and free-will when created. They had been few, but swarmed after Mortis with a determination that would frighten even the bravest soul. Midnight castle became the grounds of an undead revolution in which the forsaken dead waged a war on their murderers. Cunning and creative, the Revenants had gathered what remained of their weapons and armor. They had worn them once more and charged into battle to destroy their foe. The Four Generals had tried to control them, but nothing could curb the rage within the minds of those creatures. Nothing save for the satisfaction of impaling them that is. In the end the generals had been forced to fight them. It had not been a fight that they could win, it had been a struggle for survival against enraged spirits. They cut them in half, the Revenants would sew their flesh back together. They burned the flesh from their bones, a skeleton would march forward. They would break their bones, they would piece themselves back together. No matter what they did, they just kept coming. Mortis had been forced to abandon Midnight Castle soon after and march further into the valley. Midnight Castle was retaken by the Revenants, and a pact made with Faust soon after. They would continue to guard their home and leave her ponies alone, so long as the mare left them alone. It was a simple bargain, and Midnight Castle held no value to Faust save for nostalgia. Even then, the memories of that place were not so pleasant for her. So she had agreed. That pact had remained into effect long after the living ponies had left. They still guarded the castle, their home even now. Unfortunately, it was in his way, he would have to approach Midnight Castle. He would have to remain undetected and cross the forsaken bogs in order to reach the Black Forest if he was to make it to Faust's tower. He really didn't like his odds. Still he trotted forward, his single eye passed over to Midnight Castle. The walls had crumbled long ago leaving holes in it. It's draw-bridge was long rotted away with ancient rusted chains merely hanging from it. Light-Bringer felt a shiver as he saw a Revenant shuffle along one of the towers. It was a skeleton, obviously, dressed in ancient armor he had not seen since his time under Mortis control. The fact he had seen no armor since that time was beside the point. He lowered himself and crawled forward quietly. Unlike the chattering bones of the Revenants, Light-Bringer still had meat on his bones. Dead though it may be, it was more than enough to keep his bones from rattling. The Necrotic Energy surging through every fiber of his being saw to it that he would not rot completely. It was a much better bargain than what the Revenants had had to endure. He was certain they would personally skin him should they notice his passing. Which is why he made absolutely certain they did not. His armor creaked and clanked, he stopped and glanced up. Revenants had the ability of 'Soul-Sight' naturally. They could see for great distance, and never forgot their killers. They would be relentless if they saw him, and they would make certain he died this time. But he could not die yet, not before he reached Faust's Tower. Not before he reclaimed what he had lost so long ago. So once he was sure the Revenants had yet to spot him, the undead soldier crawled forward once more. His eyes darted to the castle every now and again to ensure a safe passage. His journey was without error, he made it passed the castle and approached the forsaken bogs. Much like Midnight Castle, the bogs had been different once upon a time. Once a large lake, the undead had started to poison it with their blood, which had begun to effect the sea-ponies. Faust had managed to close off all links to the lake, trapping the water which was slowly corrupted over centuries. Now it was a murky bog, horrible things trapped within it such as Sirens and other such beings of despair and misery. Again, he had had a hoof in their make. Regardless he rose up and trotted through the bog. As he was undead himself those lost within the bogs waters ignored him. They were only interested in the flesh of the living now, and he doubted any living soul would come to this place. No. None would ever walk this place, and if they did, Faust would see them protected from the creatures hidden beneath the surface of the water. She would not stand another of her ponies taken by the undead, she'd seen far too much of that thanks to Mortis. The bogs were easier to traverse than Midnight Castle. A spell to form an icy bridge across it's surface and he practically skated across. He could have trotted the length of the bog, but that would have taken too long. He needed to make up for time spent carefully avoiding Midnight Castle's guardians. Which meant he had to make the fastest way across the bog as possible. Nothing bothered him, so he did not see a problem with making the trip shorter, and hopped from the bogs and looked to his next destination. The ruined fields of Flutter Valley, a place that held things that would not ignore him... Undead ignore undead, that was the very basic law of living in this place. If you were undead you could trot around screaming like a foal and nothing would care. Unless you wandered into the ruined plains of Flutter Valley, somehow found yourself inside of Midnight Castle, or even worse, The Black Forest. Midnight Castle was filled to the brim with Revenants who were highly territorial, and hated him with a passion. The ruins of Flutter Valley were filled with nightmarish creatures that weren't exactly dead, but nor were they alive. The Black Forest, well, nothing wanted to wander into that forsaken place save for Faust. Unfortunately, Light-Bringer had little choice in the matter. He knew for a fact he could get through Flutter Valley. It'd be an annoying trip to be sure, but he could do it. The Black Forest would be much more difficult. Not because it was larger, but because of the thing guarding it. A thing that didn't like trespassers, a thing that only Faust could trot away from without harm, a thing that wandered among the trees. It was a thing he did not wish to encounter. Worse still, he'd have to cross the remains of Flutter-Valley just to reach the forest. The problem with that was what had happened to the valley millenia ago. The valley was completely covered by ancient storm clouds that never seemed to abate. Lightning struck daily in multiple places and was drawn to anything that moved. The only living creatures there were not so much alive, more... ruined. They were not dead, but neither were they alive, or even undead, there were a sorry and ruined form of existence. Light-Bringer shook his head of such thoughts and marched forward. His ancient armor creaked and scraped as he trotted into the valley. The sharp curved blade that formed from his helmet and along his horn shined with ancient runes. Their glow was what allowed the ancient general to see. As he walked forward he would glance up for signs of a lightning strike. The signs were simple, a flash in the sky, a few electric arcs, and then utter devastation. Right now all Light-Bringer was assured was that the sky was rumbling. His eyes strayed from the sky and he passed a glance at his surroundings. The rocky barren surface of what was once a beautiful valley. Life had grown here once, but now nothing could grow thanks to the turbulent storms that constantly destroyed it. Holes had been burrowed from the only inhabitants of this ancient valley. Light-Bringer turned his eyes back to the sky and frowned. This was starting to seem far too easy, he could understand making it through the marsh and even passed the castle. But the valley should have been much more dangerous. True his journey was not complete. True he had managed to avoid detection at the castle by way of stealth. True he had basically skated across the forsaken marshes rather than trot through them. And true, he was being cautious of anything in this place. But he still expected something to go wrong. His thoughts were interrupted by a chattering sound. His muscles tensed and he spun around in time to impale a creature on his horn-blade. The creature was only vaguely pony shaped now with holes throughout the majority of it's emaciated black body, green necrotic energy appearing from cracks in the shell of it's body, and sickly green chasms for eyes. He quickly tossed it to the side and backed away. More of the creatures were rising from the holes around the field. They smelled him, and while he would not be especially appetizing, these things only knew to attack. Light-Bringer readied himself, his nerves were steeled and he lunged forward into the fray. These beings had once been numerous in these lands. Still were actually. However over the countless centuries their minds had been lost. A few had escaped in ages long since passed, less ruined and capable of coherent thought, they had managed to leave the ruined lands. They made it to the badlands to the north, what had happened to them there Light-Bringer could not be certain. He only hoped that they had fared better than the rest of these sorry creatures. He ducked as another of the creatures lunged at him. His horn was then rammed into it's underside and he through it away with a twist of his head. He was getting far too side-tracked from the battle. Light-Bringer decided that he would think later, when he wasn't being attacked by wild monsters. The ancient general reared and stomped on the ground, a burst of necrotic energy flowing from him. It knocked the creatures back and he raised his hind legs and bucked the next who came from behind in the face. The creature flew back into a wall of the valley, yet two more came after him. Much like a hydra, for every one of them felled two more would take its place. The undead stallion grunted and twirled his horn once. A moment later a ring of ethereal swords formed around his body. A second later Light-Bringer lunged forward, the swords spinning around his body to slice through the creatures with deadly precision. The stallion then twisted his head and the blades shot out at the creatures. They impaled them almost instantly. The beings were not intelligent and did not feel pain, they knew no fear or hunger or exhaustion, only the urge to attack. They were stopped if only briefly, but severally ripped themselves from the blades. They bled profusely upon doing so, slowed down from injury, but still trotted forward to attack him. If that weren't bad enough, a sound like static alerted Light-Bringer to a greater danger. The stallion spared a glance to the sky and saw electric arcs forming over him. The number of things moving had invited the lightning. Wonderful. "And here I was worried things were too simple," he muttered under his breath. He made a note to buck himself in the face if he ever thought things were going too easy again. The stallion decided he'd fought enough for today and lunged to the side. A nearby cave caught his eye and the stallion slid inside. He twisted around and with a twirl of his horn the collapsed the mouth of the cave. One of the creatures was caught beneath the rubble and crushed. The rest had a far more horrible fate as the lightning came down in waves outside. They were electrocuted and burned at the same time. They would not survive and Light-Bringer could not bring himself to feel sorry for them. He actually felt gladdened that they no longer lived as monsters and could maybe find some manner of peace in death. Regardless of such thoughts, Light-Bringer brushed himself off. He turned and trotted further into the cave with a mental frown. The creatures had obviously dug the caves, how was due to their serrated little hooves. They way they dug left a very recognizable pattern in the dirt and stone. However given the numbers that had been attacking him, Light-Bringer hoped most of this colony had been destroyed. If not, well, he'd never tried fighting a swarm of those things before. It mattered little in the end, as he came to the end of the cave soon enough. There was no sign of the creatures, but there was an ancient wall with light coming from behind it via several cracks. Light-Bringer frowned for only a moment and then turned around. He lifted his hind legs and broke the wall with a powerful buck. It crumbled and revealed a great chasm had been hidden beyond it. Within the chasm was a mass of water, as well as numerous holes and tunnels in the wall. In the distance he could see a brilliant glow and narrowed his eyes. The ancient undead trotted forward into the water and sighed in content for a moment. He closed his eyes and stilled, the feeling of pure water was a luxury he had not experienced in millennia. But the ancient undead stallion quickly shook his head. While nice he had more important things to do. Namely, he still had to make his way out of these tunnels and to make it to Faust's Tower. With that in mind, Light-Bringer trotted forward, his sole eye glancing here or there in search of more of the creatures. For the moment he was alone, but he had a feeling that wouldn't be the case for very long... TBC...