//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: Sea Wagons 
// Story: There's a Changeling On My Couch, and Other "Tails" From the Far North 
// by Super Trampoline 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 1: Sea Wagons


It was a dark and stormy night, and the moon was full.

This was really rather unsurprising, to be honest. Nights tend to be dark, and if the Equestrian moon wasn’t full, there was a serious problem. And as for the storm, well, what do you expect when you are sailing over the Greater Marigold Leyline?


-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-




Large Version


Magic subduction Zone (M.S.Z.) was the technical term for the phenomenon all the little colts and fillies learned about in geography class. To mainlanders, that’s about all it was: a far off novelty of little importance. But to those who dared to travel to and from the colonies, it instead ranked somewhere between highly disconcerting and slightly terrifying.
Imagine if you will, having just eaten an exceptionally satisfying meal. Now imagine the sensation of having all that yummy food sitting in your stomach over the course of a few minutes steadily just… disappear. It wouldn’t be painful per se, just well, weird.
Now, imagine this happening to your magic. Only, instead of happening in a few short moments, you could feel it coming and then occurring over several laborious hours. Earthens feel their strength being sapped. Pegasi cease to fly. And unicorns get the worst of it, being rendered rather useless. They also are the ones who tend to need the barf bags.

Autumn Leaves and Sea Swirl were bored. Two unicorns, married three years ago, now immigrating to Sparkler from the mainland. They came in search of adventure and with the promise of a nice cushy government-bank rolled job in the mines divining for gems. But right now the only thing they were finding was boredom. Despite all the hype, magic subduction zones weren’t exactly dangerous. Sure, the storms kicked up by the magic turbulence could be quite fierce. But these long haul trade ships such as the one they were currently on, the HMS Mahogany Dawn, were pretty large and sturdy, and the ponies who operated them were nothing if not experts. There was always wind, so with careful and frequent sail changes, they actually traveled faster there than with coal alone. But once one got over the novelty of being magicless, it was mostly just tedious.
As the two unicorns hunkered down in their cabin, their talk turned towards the future.
“So, hon, what are you most and least excited for once we get there?” Autumn asked her husband, trying desperately to escape the mildly nauseating sloshing of the seas.
“Well,” said Sea as he cuddled up next to her in bed, “I’m not looking forward to the cold, that’s for sure… BUT! I am very much looking forward to exploring a new land with my Leafy Weafy.”
“Mmmm, good answer,” she replied, nipping playfully at his neck. “You know, since we've nothing much to do right now, I think,” her voice lowering a little, “we could do some ‘exploring’ of our own.”
A suddenly very aroused Sea Swirl whispered in her ear “I like your style Autumn.”

So they danced the dance of life.


-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-




That evening, a foal was conceived. They didn’t know it then, but as the eddies and rapids of magic flow swirled around their entangled bodies, what should have been a unicorn became instead an earth pony, and Flashpan Leaves came to be. In time, he would do great things.