//------------------------------//
// Chapter 13: Lost Lagoon 
// Story: Secrets of the Everfree 
// by PaisleyPerson 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 13
Lost Lagoon


“Are you still thinking about last night?” I asked, joining my husband at the table. We were at a small café on the boardwalk for lunch. Neither of us had much of an appetite. Last night’s events weighed heavily on both of us.
“I can’t think about anything else,” he admitted. “Did you sleep at all?”
“Not really. You look like you didn’t catch a wink, either.”
“I just don’t understand,” he grumbled. “We gave them the chance to come back to Equestria. To rejoin the rest of their kind! How can they just be content to stay under the water? Hidden forever?”
“Maybe we didn’t talk to the right ponies.”
“What do you mean?”
“The mare High Tide said that it wasn’t their decision to make. Maybe they have a monarchy of their own. Maybe we have to talk to whoever’s in charge down there.”
“They’ll never let us in. Those two were shy enough as it was. If we hadn’t caught Kelpie in the tide pool, we might have never found them at all.”
“So, let’s go find them.”
“Find them?”
“You know you want to. I see it in your eyes.” He smiled a real smile for the first time since our encounter. “Besides, I think we’re on High Tide’s good side. Kelpie will definitely welcome us. Maybe the rest will be okay with us, too.” Torch’s smile turned into a frown. 
“I don’t know. You remember how thestrals reacted if even a stray colt or filly wandered too close to our borders.” I shuddered. Any unwelcome visitors were usually chased off by monsters before they ever came close, but if they still didn’t leave, a forest fire gave them a little extra motivation. It was harmless thestral fire, of course, but the terrified faces of those that fled jerked at your heart. It was likely that the hippocampi would take similar measures. 
“Well, it’s your call. But I don’t think they’re going to have many fire dancers on hoof to keep us away.” Torch chuckled. 
“Let’s do it.”





“I still don’t see anything,” I called. We’d just reached the string of islands past the beach where we found Kelpie, but we were flying at such an altitude that we were disguised amongst the clouds, lest anypony be watching.
“Of course we don’t. Not from up here, anyway. We need to get down there.”
“Down there?”
“They’re sea ponies, Acrylic! They’ll be under the water, or close to shore if we’re lucky. We won’t spot them from all the way up here.” I was uneasy at the thought of flying so close to the choppy waves. I could weave my way through a forest, but if I hit one of these waves, my huge leathery wings would drag me right down. I wasn’t the most talented swimmer to begin with. He nonchalantly nudged me with his wingtip before furling his own appendages and falling into a dive. I tucked in my wings to follow, taking great care to mind my altitude. I was surprised that he wasn’t more concerned. Even he was helpless out here; water would put out even magical fire.
We glided over the salty waves, which seemed to be rising higher. I, in turn, flew higher. I couldn’t see anything but the occasional strand of kelp floating around in the water. Whenever I looked over at Torch, there was a set look of determination on his face. He wanted to find the hippocampi. So, I’d help him.





A head poked out from the waves, a sly grin plastered on her face. 
“Jet? Hey, Jet Stream, check this out.”
“Wha?”
“These jokers actually think they can find us.”
“Land ponies?” Jet’s eyes widened. “Land ponies! Land ponies! We’ve gotta tell somepony!”
“Relax,” her companion huffed. “We can take care of this ourselves.”
“We can?”
“Come on, Jet. Let’s have a bit of fun.”
“O-okay,” the uneasy mare stuttered. Jet was all about having fun, but she knew that land ponies were no fun at all. Still, she ducked under the next wave after Whirl Pool. Whirl Pool was a professional. She knew what she was doing. Right?





“Don’t you think we’re cutting it a little close?” I called ahead. The waves were brushing my hooftips, now. We were both already soaked from sea mist, which made flying all the harder. Our wings seemed to be carrying twice as much weight with all the additional water.
“We won’t find them if we don’t take a few risks,” he replied, turning his attention back to the sea. The waves had definitely become more violent since we’d set out, but Torch kept refusing to heed my warnings. I trusted him- he’d never do this if he thought we were in any kind of danger. I narrowly avoided a particularly large wave, swooping over it in just the nick of time. 
“Maybe we should take a break,” I pressed.
“Just five more minutes,” he begged. “We’re getting close. I can feel it!”
“You feel the salt water getting to your brain,” I mumbled to myself. The crashing of waves masked my voice, and he remained completely oblivious to my remark. I sighed, and continued on. I loved him, but he wasn’t without his faults. Just a few more minutes, and we could rest on dry land. Sweet, sweet dry land. An extra wing beat brought me side by side with Torch again. He scanned the ocean, and I scanned him. He seemed different. Overly determined, perhaps? I’d never seen him so set to do anything, other than marrying me, perhaps. I tried to ignore it, but I sensed a slight obsession taking hold. His eyes widened, and I followed his gaze. 
“FLY!” He screamed, shooting upwards. I tried to follow, but there wasn’t time. The biggest wave I’d ever seen rose up out of nowhere, right in front of us. 
I was swallowed up, and about a gallon of sea water was forced down my throat. I kicked and thrashed, trying to surface. Everything was blurry with the water in my eyes. I finally broke through the water, but only long enough to replenish my air supply. I briefly heard Torch calling for me. I opened my mouth to reply just as another wave pounded down, forcing me back under. As I predicted, my wings were hindering my progress. I tried to flap them, and use them to force the water below me like I could with the air. The water pounding down proved too great, however, and it did little for my progress. Next, I tried retracting them so I didn’t have to worry about it at all, but unfortunately, that required flame. As soon as they sparked, the ocean put it out. I tried tucking them in, but I was still getting nowhere.
My head and heart were both pounding, begging for oxygen. I sputtered for air, but the surface was still five feet away. My world was beginning to go dark. I still saw a little light filtering through the water, but it didn’t take long for that to go out. I thought I’d lost consciousness when strong arms lifted me back out. As it turned out, the dark form blotting out the light had only been Torch, swooping in to save his damsel in distress.
“Are you alright?” he shouted over the thunderous waves. I couldn’t answer, as I was still coughing up all the water I swallowed. I was too heavy at the moment for him to lift completely clear of the water, but I desperately clung onto his hovering frame. He flapped even harder, trying to drag me out. My hind legs still dangled in the salty liquid. I was too out of it to remember that I should probably pitch into the effort and flap myself. I suddenly felt a change in the direction of the water. It wasn’t beating against my ankles anymore. It seemed to be hitting from the side, swirling, even. I half-consciously looked back in time to spot the beginning of a whirlpool. 
“Torch,” I croaked, trying to warn him. His eyes were shut tight as he fought with all his strength to drag the both of us out of the water. He didn’t hear me. Even worse was the fact that I felt myself slipping. My slippery, wet coat was the cause of this problem. His was just as soaked, and neither of us could keep our grip. There was a moment of hanging in the open air before I splashed back down into the whirling vortex. He tried again to dive after me, but this time, he, too, was dragged down. I fought my way back to the surface, but Torch was on the other side of the swirling water. I couldn’t reach him. My voice was going hoarse from screaming for him over the roaring water, and I was sure that his was, too. 
I couldn’t fight the water any longer. I finally let myself go, and it dragged me down. The world turned blue and bleary. I wasn’t sure which way was up. The last thing I saw were two silhouettes paddling towards me.





“Acrylic? ACRYLIC!” My eyes fluttered open into the face of frantic Torchwood. “Are you alright? Say something!”
“Torch?”
“Yes? Acrylic, what is it?”
“This is not how I thought we’d be spending our honeymoon.” I smiled up at his blackened form, nearly silhouetted by the sun. He searched my face for a moment before finally breaking down into a fit of hearty laughter. I chuckled with him, which triggered the excretion of the last of the sea water.
“Honeymoon?” a beautiful sing song voice exclaimed. I recovered from my coughing fit, finally standing and taking in our surroundings. I found the voice to belong to who I at first thought to be Rarity. The hippocampi tail instantly eliminated our unicorn friend as a possibility, however. If I thought that Kelpie was beautiful, then this mare was exquisite. Her coat wasn’t actually white, but the blue tint of sea foam. Her eyes were the rich purple of a sea urchin, outlined in thick black eyelashes that could rival Rarity’s, and her head fins curled into three majestic tips. She waved them around slowly and dramatically as Rarity might bat her eyelashes. She had a cutie mark that looked like a three-tier waterfall, but I later noticed that it was actually formed into the shape of a music note. What was really eye catching, though, was her mane. It was the same deep, rich purple of her eyes, and it was composed of one enormous, flowing fin. It draped over one side of her neck like a curtain, glinting with iridescent colors in the sunlight like a raven’s feather. Her fluke was similarly formed, partially translucent but mostly iridescent purple.
“Oh, how romantic!” she went on. I assumed this was her normal voice, but she seemed to be singing. “I must offer you my congratulations! It’s such a beautiful thing when two ponies come together in marriage. I’m not sure what your land ceremonies are like, but I imagine it was lovely.”
“Um... thank you,” Torch sputtered, standing beside me. His wing was curled protectively around my shivering frame.
“You didn’t tell me that you were married! Congratulations!” Finally, a familiar form bounded up, sea lion fashion. Her little pet bounded up ahead of her, barking in greeting.
“Kelpie!”
“I’m so sorry this happened!” High Tide joined us, and batted Monty down.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Torch assured. “It was mine. I never should have gotten so close. Acrylic could have drowned because of my recklessness. We both could have.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” I crooned. “It wasn’t your fault, either.”
“Indeed, it wasn’t,” the pale blue mare snorted. “But if I get my fins on that Whirlpool...”
“Cascade, please,” Kelpie interrupted. 
“Is that some sort of hippocampus expression?” I inquired. “I mean, whirlpools aren’t actually living...”
“Oh, you are hilarious, dear!” Cascade burst, almost toppling off her rock when she doubled over in laughter. 
“No, no. She’s talking about the mare Whirlpool, who started the whirlpool,” Kelpie explained. 
“My ears are burning!” We were joined by two more forms dragging themselves out of the water. One was a cocky, pale lavender mare, with a long but ragged and torn algae-green fin-mane, streaked with light purple wisps. Her eyes were a shocking bright green, and unlike all the mares we’d seen so far, she had large head fins with four tips instead of three. Her fluke was the same color as the rest of her lavender coat, opaque and thick, until it reached the tips which were the algae-green of her mane. This edge, too, was ragged. After a lot of straining, I made out a swirling vortex as her cutie mark. A whirlpool. 
“Whirlpool, what were you thinking?” High Tide shrieked. 
“Oh, we were just having a bit of fun.”
“Fun? FUN?! You almost drowned my wife and I, and you think it’s just a joke?”
“But that doesn’t make sense,” I shook my head, still fuzzy from our experience. “You two saved us. Thank you.” I vaguely remembered the light form of Whirlpool, but it was the bright pink pony accompanying her that really gave them away. She was a dull magenta in color, but despite the drab coloring, she looked spunky. Her mane was made up of several individual spiky fins, longer at the front than they were at the back. The first one was baby blue, and the second was purple. It continued in a repeating pattern, blue, purple, blue, purple for every other fin. Her eyes were golden-orange, and her very small head fins actually ended in five points. Her cutie mark consisted of a string of bubbles, one of which formed a hoop. Her fluke followed a similar theme to her mane, consisting of eight spiky fins, all curled to almost form a circle. They, too, started out blue, then purple. With only four on each side, the two in the middle ended up both being purple. She was incredibly slender and lithe. Despite her wild hairdo, she was currently shamefacedly staring at the sand, drawing circles in the ground with her hoof.
“You guys didn’t actually think I was going to drown them, did you?” Whirlpool indignantly snorted. “I just made ‘em a little dizzy, that’s all.”
“Honestly, Whirlpool, I am mortified by you and your antics!” Cascade went on. 
“You aren’t much better, Cascade, with you and your siren spell.”
“There is nothing magical about my siren song,” she defended. “It isn’t my fault if sailors throw themselves overboard to hear more. Besides, I always return them to shore, alive and well, as I’m ordered.”
“Don’t they look alive and well?”
“Alright! That’s enough!” High Tide ordered, silencing them all with a single glare. Kelpie cowered under her authority for a moment, but remembering us, bounced right back up. 
“Oh! How rude of me! I haven’t properly introduced you to anypony! You already know High Tide, my sister-”
“Your sister?” Now that it had been pointed out, the matching spots made sense.
“Yes. And this is Cascade, our siren. That’s Jet Stream, and this is Whirl Pool. Everypony, this is Acrylic and Torchwood, from Ponyville. There, now you know everypony!”
“They haven’t met Current, yet,” Jet pointed out. Everypony froze, and gave her the most horrified look I’d seen yet. “What?”
“Have you lost your bubbles, Minnow Brain?!” Whirlpool seethed. “Current will throw a fit if she finds out!”
“Finds out about what?” We were finally joined by a sixth hippocampi, and even though she was small, I felt about an inch high. She had an incredibly imposing figure. She was very dark gray, but still not quite dark enough to be called black. She had graceful, perfectly formed four-pointed head fins, and light eye shadow that was evidently waterproof. Her dark teal eyes were as cold as ice, and seemed to pierce everything she looked at. Her cutie mark depicted three ice blue wavy lines, which reminded me of the generally accepted symbol for water. Her tail was completely gray, opaque and beautifully formed, curled into a shape that reminded me of a dolphin. Her mane, however, was stunning. It was almost completely transparent, but what was visible had been stained a stunning neon blue. It was currently partially flopped onto its side, but if she was in the water, it would flow like the Princesses’. Though she was clearly much older than the rest of them, probably in her mid-thirties, her face was wrinkle-free, like it hadn’t seen a smile in years. 
Her gaze swept over her fellow hippocampi, and I noticed that they all seemed to shudder. When her eyes fell on us, however, I thought I’d melt from their burning rage.
“No,” was all she managed to gasp.
“Current, it’s not what you think,” Kelpie tried.
“How could you bring land ponies here?!” she roared.
“They’re not like that-”
“No, of course they aren’t. Kelpie, this is the final straw. Your land-watching days are over. When King Trident catches wind of this...”
“Please, no, Current!” Kelpie cried. She looked like she would break down into tears at any moment. 
“Save your pleas,” the cold-hearted hippocampus snarled. “This has gone too far. And you two? Get out of here. Never come back, and never breathe a word of this to anypony, or I shall deal with you personally.” She had ducked back under the water before anypony could say anything.
“Whirlpool, get after her,” High Tide ordered.
“I don’t have a death wish!”
“Now.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re the fastest, and this is all your fault. If you hadn’t created those waves or the whirlpool, they wouldn’t even be here right now. None of this would have happened. Now go!”
“Alright, alright. I’m going,” she grumbled, racing back to the water’s edge. High Tide was left to comfortingly cradle her weeping sister. 
“Maybe we should go,” I timidly suggested. “We seem to have caused enough trouble already.”
“No! Please stay,” Kelpie begged. 
“It isn’t every day that we get to meet land-dwellers,” Cascade agreed. “I must admit, I am intrigued by your culture. You must at least leave us with a story or two. Come, now. Have a seat.” She gestured to the rocks, making herself comfortable on the one she already occupied. Jet Stream had remained silent all this time, but joined Cascade to satisfy her curiosity.
“Yes, please?” Kelpie voiced, wiping the last of her tears away. She eagerly bounded over to the rocks herself, and was soon joined by her sister. In hopes that a story would lift her spirits, I trod over myself, shadowed by Torch. 
“Well? What would you like to know?” Torch prompted. 
“Tell us how land ponies get their cutie marks!” Kelpie suggested. “Does it work the same way as hippocampi? How’d you get yours? Tell us everything!”
“Please, do tell all,” Cascade agreed.
“Well, we get our cutie marks when we discover our true calling in life,” Torch explained.
“Ooh! Us, too!”
“I got mine when I was just a little colt. I’d been experimenting with my powers for a while, but I finally realized that it was my special talent when I was out with a couple of friends. We were just stupid boys back then, we didn’t know any better. We thought it would be a good laugh to go out and pretend we were on patrol, protecting our borders from Everfree monsters. We didn’t think we’d actually find any, but sure enough, we ran right into a pack of timber wolves. We narrowly managed to get away, but we got ourselves lost. None of us could fly yet, and most of us hadn’t developed night vision, including me. 
“Well, it was getting dark, and the Everfree is extremely dangerous at night, even for thestrals. We were trying to find some shelter for the night, but with only two of us really able to see anything, progress was slow. Finally, somepony had the ‘bright’ idea- forgive the pun- to see if we could start a small fire, if just to provide a bit of light to see where we were. I was the only one who could even manage a spark. Somehow, I coaxed it into a roaring fire, which provided us with heat, light and security. I soon found that I could manipulate the flame, even carry it with us and use it like a search light. It was that light that got us back home.”
“How heroic!” Cascade applauded.
“Our parents weren’t happy, of course,” he chuckled, “but had I not gone out that day, I may not have become a fire dancer.”
“What about you, Acrylic? How did you find your calling in life?”
“Well, my talent came around a little later,” I recalled. “I was getting frustrated that I was one of the last ponies my age to earn my cutie mark. I was almost in my teenage years by then, and the ridicule was becoming unbearable. I talked to my parents about it, but they just didn’t seem to understand. They kept assuring me that it just needed time, but I didn’t want to wait. I needed it then and there. My mother was an artist, a sculptor, actually. I thought that maybe a picture to describe what I felt could get through to her. So, I took all my pain and frustration out on a canvas. One half depicted what they thought me to be, a proud, arrogant filly, and the other half showed what I was feeling: a terrified, scared foal. I poured my whole soul into that painting. But when it came time for me to show off my masterpiece, my cutie mark had already appeared.”
“Aww!” Jet cooed. 
“My turn!” Cascade declared. She cleared her throat and poised herself that suggested she was about to dive into a real, genuine song. Just like I’d experienced with my friends during one of their impromptu verses, peppy, upbeat music began playing out of nowhere in perfect time to Cascade’s solo. 


...
I was just a little girl
When I found this island of mine.
Like an ocean pearl,
I decided it was my time to shine.
...


She jumped of the rock, slithering her way through the underbrush of the tropical forest as quickly as Heckley. Her friends moved to follow, and we soon found ourselves struggling to keep up. It wasn’t long before we broke through to a small clearing. It was a little lagoon, lined with rocks all around, butted up against the cliff face. A gorgeous waterfall flowed in the background, depositing even more water into the pool. A single rock protruded from the water in the center of the pool, which Cascade instantly claimed. Music had been playing all this time, but now she joined back in with the lyrics.


	...

So I dove into this little lagoon
Under the bright full moon,
And sang my sorrows away
Into the sea spray.

...

I sang to the sky and the stars and the sea,
Even the fish would agree
That it was a marvelous little ditty
Sung by me.

...

And finally, in a flash so bright
It would scare off the bravest shark.
Under the starlight, 
I earned my cutie mark!

...


“Wow, Cascade, that was beautiful,” I complimented. Monty barked agreement upon having caught up to us, and rubbed against my leg for attention. He was so adorable I was more than willing to provide it.
“You’re officially one of us,” Kelpie timidly smiled. “This is our special place. We’re the only ponies that know about it.”
“We’re honored, Kelpie,” I beamed.
“What about you?” Torch inquired. “What’s your special talent, Kelpie?”
“I earned mine watching you land-dwellers,” she confessed. “I’m good at spying on ponies from the kelp beds,” she gestured to the plant on her flank, “but I guess the wave symbolizes the surface, since you all are up there.”
“And me? I’m pretty good at creating some pretty sweet waves,” High Tide boasted. “I’m not too bad at surfing them, either.”
“They all say I have a bubbly personality,” Jet piped up. “But I’m also one of the only ponies who can maneauver through the underwater geysers. The streams are so powerful that it can be dangerous to get through if you don’t know your way. But I did it when I was really little. I still can!”
“And you experienced Whirl Pool’s talent firsthoof.”
“See? Now you know everypony!”
“Not quite everypony. What up with that Current figure?” They all exchanged glances. High Tide finally heaved a heavy, heartfelt sigh. 
“That’s a long story.”