Boreas stared at the setting sun, seeing the orange sky transmute into an ethereal purple color. The stars flashed among the fading brightness in the sky. A smile that radiated with the mystery of the coalescent star constellations in the sky found its way on her face.
“I see you like my night sky, Boreas.” Luna stated, flying down onto Boreas’s location.
Boreas craned her neck towards her back. Her eyes displayed an eager attitude towards Luna’s direction.
“I understand that you cannot speak. It is very unfortunate that had to happen to someone as sweet as you. At least that is the impression I get.” Luna stated.
Boreas tapped her right pectoral fin on the ground with a series of taps and dashes along the ground.
“Oh? Is that Morse code you are using? It is a rarity to see nowadays, and I am one of the few ponies that can understand it. Let me translate what you are saying; C-A-N Y-O-U S-E-N-D M-E O-N N-O-C-T-U-R-N-A-L P-A-T-R-O-L T-O-N-I-G-H-T. Can you send me on nocturnal patrol tonight is what you are saying?” Luna said with a cheery tone in her voice.
Boreas shook her head with a series of gleeful nods.
“I am not too sure that you would be best for patrol here. I already have night patrol set up after all.” Luna stated with a tone wavering with uncertainty.
Boreas unleashed another series of taps and dashes with her right pectoral fin once more.
“Oh! More Morse code! Let me see; ‘The pink one gets to go out on nightly patrols and so does my partner. Should it be fair that I go as well? Send me out to explore the sea if you must.’ That does not sound like a bad idea. I could send two of my patrolling thestrals and your partner to join you.” Luna suggested.
Boreas nodded with a smile on her face and tapped the ground with a series of taps.
“I am glad that we can work something out, Boreas. Unfortunately, you would not be able to communicate too well with the guards of the night. They are not too good with understanding Morse code… just like almost every other Equusian for that fact.” Luna said.
Boreas flipped her pectoral fins with a carefree shutting of her eyes.
The full moon flashed with the brilliance of a pearl in the sky. Boreas, Rundas and two bat ponies, one with a jet black-coated stallion and the other with a periwinkle-coated mare, stood on the chilly sand darkened by the night. The four of them gazed at the dark ocean. The mare looked upon Rundas with her yellow eyes flashed in suspicion.
“Errr, Rundas, are you sure that Council Lady Luna made the wisest decision to bring us to the sea to do night navigations? It seems a bit suspicious.” She asked.
“Relax, Crescent Radiance. You’re brave, aren’t you? I mean, we haven’t really explored the sea at night.” Rundas assured.
“I apologize, but I’m with Rundas on this one. The night is meant to be explored, after all. If we aren’t exploring in the night, then our purpose is lost to us.” The stallion said.
“Not you too, Subterra Shock.” Crescent Radiance said in disbelief. “Should’ve known this was a guy thing.”
Boreas slammed her right pectoral fin onto the ground with a large grin.
“Boreas said that she was the one that agreed for all of us to come together. She is a girl like you after all.” Rundas teased.
“Well, three against one. I say we see what the seas have in store for us.” Subterra Shock stated with a bold tone, pointing towards the sea with an endless horizon.
Rundas, Crescent Radiance and Subterra Shock hoisted themselves onto Boreas’s shell. Boreas pushed herself forwards into the sea. A sound of water splashing underneath her reached the ears of everyone. Subterra Shock leaped upwards and shrieked at the movement under him.
“What’s the matter? Is somepony by the name of Subterra Shock afraid of a bit of movement?” Crescent Radiance asked with a dark chuckle.
“No! I just, err… need some time to equip my sea legs.” Subterra Shock stammered out.
“We all know how shaky your legs are, Subterra Shock. Now shut up and enjoy the ride, because my partner’s surfing can be very gentle to the passengers.” Rundas assured. “You would have to tick her off if you want her to knock you overboard.”
“I’ll behave.”
Crescent Radiance looked towards the sky. Her breath was stolen by the sea of stars above the gray clouds and the sounds of the waves crashing against Boreas’s shell.
“You know, I never realized how peaceful the night can be. Usually, we are out patrolling the streets and being on high alert at all times for any potential trouble makers. It’s nice to admire the scenery once in a while.” She said.
“I know how you feel. The night is full of monsters that hide in its darkness, but we all fail to appreciate how wondrous it actually is.” Rundas stated.
“I’ve heard stories hearkening back a thousand years ago that the then-Princess Luna almost succumbed to the darkness of her heart because the ponies couldn’t appreciate the night. But, the then-Princess Celestia had a very pleasant surprise for her sister by inviting a host of the population for a surprise royal slumber party under the stars.” Subterra Shock told.
“I heard about that. I heard that after that day, more of the ponies looked up to Luna, the moon and the stars, seeing it as a sign of protection in the fear of the night. It’s really heartwarming how her sister went out of her way to show how she is appreciated.” Crescent Radiance said.
“And if she failed?” Rundas asked.
“I’m not sure what would have happened, but I don’t think it would have been pretty. At best, I would suspect that Celestia would have imprisoned her sister on the moon for a thousand years and perpetuated that stereotypical fear of the night. I would not be happy with that outcome at all.” Subterra Shock admitted.
Boreas travelled far from the coastline of the Terraformed Wilderness to the point where it vanished underneath the horizon of the night. She glanced forward and eyed a whirlpool out in the distance. She smirked and dashed forwards. Subterra Shock and Crescent Radiance gripped the nubs on the shell with their front legs while their bodies hung within the air. Rundas gripped Boreas’s neck with a calm expression on his face.
“What is this crazy plesiosaur for a partner of yours doing, Rundas?!” Crescent Radiance shouted.
“She found a whirlpool out in the distance! She’s going to go get her ride in it.” Rundas answered.
“Is she crazy?! Why?!” Subterra Shock screamed with anxiety flowing out of his voice.
“Because it’s fun? Heck, it’s pretty fun for me as well. Just hold on tight and try not to fall into the water.”
Boreas crashed through the current of the whirlpool and rode along the powerful swirl. Her mouth was agape in joy. Crescent Radiance and Subterra Shock screamed in fear and Rundas shouted with adrenaline rushing through him. Boreas launched herself into the air and plopped onto the ocean, making a huge splash.
“How was that?! Fun, isn’t it?” Rundas called out, looking behind him. Crescent Radiance stood up on the shell and Subterra Shock lied upon his side.
“Sick… so very sea sick.” He burped out.
“That was… kind of fun.” Crescent Radiance said through heavy breathing.
Rundas strutted his way towards Subterra Shock and pat his shoulder.
“Man up! The lady here enjoyed the ride, so the least you can do is just stand up and say you had fun.”
“I freaking hate you, Rundas. Beating me up with your words while I’m down… where’s your honor?” Subterra Shock asked.
“I’m a Dark-type and we’re like bros now. Did you expect me to not say that?” Rundas questioned with a snigger.
Subterra Shock stood up from the shell and shook his body of his seasickness. Crescent Radiance stood upon the base of Boreas’s neck and stroked the top of her head.
“I know I said that you were crazy for doing that, but a thrill like that was just what was needed to break my boredom. How did you know I wanted that?” She asked.
“She’s pretty good at reading people. She’s an avid listener and is capable of picking up even the smallest of motion cues. Though I’m pretty sure that it was a coincidence that you just happened to enjoy Boreas’s thrill-seeking.” Rundas explained.
“Regardless, I’m happy.”
A patch of water, blacker than the moonless sky, shown itself among the open ocean. Boreas increased her speed to a quicker but stable level. Rundas’s spine shot upwards.
“What did Boreas find this time?” Subterra Shock asked.
“This is a deep part of the ocean. Areas like this are passageways into ruins and even more things. Luckily for us, Boreas knows how to use a move known as Dive and she can bring us all down.” Rundas explained.
“Are you insane?! We’re mammalian! We can’t breathe underwater!” Crescent Radiance shouted.
“Wait for it.”
A blue aura surrounded Boreas and her passengers. She smashed her head into the water and dashed underneath. Subterra Shock held his breath with the tenacity of a wolf. His black coat turned a dark shade of blue. He moved around his right front hoof in an erratic pattern. Rundas shook his head.
“Just breathe!” He screamed out.
Subterra Shock opened his mouth. His eyes lit up with surprise with the ease of air reaching his lungs.
“What means of sorcery is this?!” He shouted.
“This is what Dive does; it brings us underwater and allows the passengers of the Pokémon to breathe. We are also unaffected by the pressure around us.” Rundas explained.
“I wish you’d tell us sooner, Rundas. I almost had a panic attack when we dove downwards.” Crescent Radiance said.
Any light that remained within the sea disappeared into the dark abyss of the ocean. The plants became sparse and pressure squeezed any stray rocks. Amidst the darkness of the tunnel, an azure light shined itself towards the end. Boreas’s eyes lit up with glee.
“A light? Down here? Why is that here?” Rundas asked.
Boreas popped above the surface of the water. The group’s eyes were greeted with the sight of a deep blue chamber with three hallways around them.
“What is this place?” Crescent Radiance asked with a voice peaked an awe.
Subterra Shock glanced onto the murals of the wall, which depicted murals of seahorse-like creatures drawn out in curves. Over the top of the central hallway, a depiction of an even larger seahorse-like creature that sat upon an ornate throne met with his eyes. A smile crept its way onto his face.
“Do not quote me on this, but we may have found one of the many temples built by the seaponies!”
“The seaponies? Weren’t they one of the races killed off during the invasions?” Crescent Radiance asked.
“Yes. The Van’Goth poisoned the seas around their kingdom, killing over eighty percent of the overall population. We don’t exactly know what happened to the other twenty percent, but they never showed up again.”
“It is things like that which bring my cool blood to a hot boil. It’s a violation of justice if a sentient being wishes to bring extinction just for the sake of hurting others.” Rundas said. “But, considering we are here, we should probably check this place out.”
He leaped off of Boreas’s shell. Subterra Shock and Crescent Radiance flew towards the opposite sides of the room.
“It’s best that we split up to cover more ground. I’ll take the left corridor, Crescent Radiance takes the right corridor and you two take the central corridor. Oh man, this is gonna be so cool!” Subterra Shock declared with a grin and a voice within the crux of exploding in joy.
“You’re such a kid at times, you know?” Crescent Radiance teased.
“Heh, I know.”
Subterra Shock and Crescent Radiance flew into the halls, leaving Rundas and Boreas alone. Boreas moved her way across the slippery floor into the hallway with Rundas close behind her. Within the hallway, the duo’s eyes detected two pipelines of water surging through the grated floor. Hitting their ears is the dull noise of water crashing at the bottom.
“Pretty fancy stuff here. Nice to know that this is intact.”
Boreas blocked Rundas with a hurried movement. She fired an Ice Beam towards the grated floor. The floor fell apart, creating a valley that led directly into the abyss below. The grated floor landed on the surface of the water. Spikes emerged from the water, skewering the floor.
“Good call. I could’ve saved myself, but it still would’ve been a nasty trap for us.” Rundas noted. “So, how will you get across this?”
Boreas smiled and imputed a series of dashes and taps along the ground.
“‘Who do you think taught you that trick with the Ice Beam?’ That’s kind of cold of you to say.” Rundas commented.
Using her Ice Beam, Boreas froze her edge of the valley. She slid forward and linked the path ahead with her Ice Beam. Rundas leaped onto her shell and rode her with a surfer’s stance. Sliding towards the other side, the door opened. Within the room, a stream of brilliant water poured out of a statue depicting a pony-shaped aquatic creature’s mouth that ran down a grand set of icy blue pyramid steps. Within the forehead of the statue lied a white stone in the shape of an opal.
“Hey, that’s a cool-looking stone.” Rundas stated.
He sprinted up towards the steps and approached the statue. He dug his claws into the forehead of the statue and yanked it out. The head of the statue crumbled, following the rest of its body. The entire chamber shook underneath pressure. Boreas and Rundas’s eyes widened with surprise. Boreas unleashed a hurried series of taps and dashes along the floor.
“‘Let’s get out of here as quickly as possible?’ You sure do know how to say the most obvious things at the wrong times!” Rundas shouted.
Rundas hopped onto Boreas’s back. The duo slid away from the falling debris of the chamber and beyond the door. They crossed the bridge of ice, which collapsed upon being struck by a large fragment from the ceiling. They ventured towards the beginning of the ruins. Rundas looked towards the left and right hallways and the pressure of the anxiety exploded out of him.
“Where’s Subterra Shock and Crescent Radiance?!” He shouted.
Subterra Shock and Crescent Radiance flew out of their halls with their eyes wide in panic and their teeth gritted with fear. In their mouths were two white stones shaped in ovals.
“What the heck is wrong with this place?! All I did was take out this stone! I didn’t think it’d trigger… this!” Subterra Shock shouted.
“That’s because these stones are important to the ruins! But let’s not bother with that. We have to get out of here!” Crescent Radiance suggested.
Boreas nodded and leaped into the water. Subterra Shock and Crescent Radiance hopped aboard Boreas. Boreas dove into the water at a sonic speed. Everyone felt the rumbling of the ruins collapsing from within the water. Swimming upwards, the darkness faded away and a dim light surfaced.
Luna sprinted into a cream-colored room with a queen-sized bed in it. Celestia lied on her left side upon the bed, dozing the night away. Luna rushed towards the bedside and shook Celestia with her right front hoof.
“‘Tia!”
Celestia’s eyes jolted open and she jumped upwards. Landing on the bed on her hindquarters, she stared at Luna with an agitated stare and red cracks within the whites of her eyes.
“What is it now, Lulu? This better be good.” Celestia stated in a tone groggy with exhaustion.
“We have to round up the council, now! A squad I sent out has made a most important discovery!” Luna stated.
“Couldn’t this wait until morning, Lulu? You don’t see me trying to wake you up in the morning.”
“No, it cannot wait.”
Luna wrapped her mouth around Celestia’s hind left ankle and dragged her out of bed. An annoyed groan escaped from Celestia’s mouth.
“Fine.”
Boreas, Rundas, Crescent Radiance and Subterra Shock stood within a grand chamber, where the five members of the council sat on their seats. All of them with the exception of Luna slumped their necks forward in exhaustion.
“Rundas, to what did you summon all five of us in here for?” Victoria asked with a strong, but exhausted tone.
“With the grace of Council Lady Luna, my squad and I were doing some nightly exploration of the western ocean. We managed to find these stones.” Rundas stated, holding out the three stones in the palm of his claws.
Victoria flew down towards the group and gazed at the stones. Her tired eyes ignited with life and fascination.
“This is a treasure of the ancient seaponies! Before the invasion, the Ruler of Marelantis did say something about having these stones hidden in a temple somewhere. Where did you find these?”
“We found them in some ruins under the ocean. Thankfully, our eyes are able to detect darker parts of the ocean even in the black of night.” Rundas explained.
“For the first time in my life, I felt like Daring Do. It was awesome.” Subterra Shock bragged.
Boreas unleashed a series of taps upon the floor and grinned. The council sans Luna looked upon her with confused expressions.
“Allow me to translate to you. She says that it was possible to even enter inside of the ruins because she has a special skill that negates the woes of water to those that cannot withstand them.” Luna said.
“So what you are saying is that you can investigate more ruins like this?” Serva asked.
“I believe that is what she is saying.” Crescent Radiance said. “So what is it about these stones that are so special that the entire place was booby trapped with collapsing death?”
“These stones have the ability to alter the laws of reality to the whim of the user.” Victoria explained. “With enough of these stones, one can attain god-like power and shall be able to control the whims of the universe. Unfortunately, the numbers of stones are very limited and we only have five in our possession. Even with the combination of these eight stones, it is confirmed to be around a quarter of what remain.”
“That’s a lot of stones! And… exactly how do they alter the laws of reality?” Rundas questioned.
Five stones illuminated from the foreheads of the council leaders in the colors of their bodies.
“In case if you have not noticed, we five are capable of controlling the forces of the world with just one of these gems. It strengthens our magic to the point where we can control the cosmos, the essences of the natural world and our dominion amongst the populace. Only those of noble blood can wield them without succumbing to its ill effects.” Celestia revealed.
Crescent Radiance stared at the glimmering stones lodged within the leaders’ foreheads and stared at them with awe. She looked down upon the stone in her hoof and frowned.
“So it seems like we are unable to use these stones then?” She said with a disappointed tone.
“I’m afraid not. If more people were of noble blood and had the wisdom and courage to control such power, we would have won against the Van’Goth a long time ago.” Carapace said. “But for now, we will keep these stones safe.”
“It seems like my sister did not jump the gun when she called for this emergency meeting. We cannot let these stones fall under anyone’s possession. Just imagining that gives me dread beyond anything possible.” Celestia said.
“Drat. And here I was thinking that I could use them to accentuate the mark on my forehead.” Rundas said with a lighthearted chuckle.
“Please do not say that again, Rundas. I like you too much for me to end your life if you actually do fulfill what you say.” Luna stated.
Rundas, Subterra Shock and Crescent Radiance sat upon stools around a round table made from stainless steel. Boreas stood out in the open space of the pub nearby the group. A wizened and aqua-coated pegasus stallion with a scraggly beard, mane and tail with the color of pure snow flew over towards the group with mugs of orange beer with generous foam pouring out of the top. His cutie mark was an image of two mugs of beer with foam on the top.
“Here you go fellas! For Rundas, I got the Spicy Pamella, for Subterra Shock I got the Young Hops Surprise, and for Crescent Radiance I have the Bitter Pod Rind. They’re all on the house!” He said.
“Thanks again, Fizzy Scotch. I also have to thank you for allowing my partner to enter your pub.” Rundas said.
“Oh her? She’s a sweetheart. Couldn’t understand all her facial expressions and those fancy taps, but she seems very good. Plus, I increased the size of the front door to fit citizens of a larger size so it’s no problem at all.” Fizzy Scotch stated.
“I honestly find it kind of weird how you did that.” Crescent Radiance noted. “What is the point of doing that anyways?”
“You may not know it, but I had a really good customer as of late who would come once every two days here to drink some of my fine brews. He’s a big ol’ fellow with a bold look to him. He says that even if he is happy being around his children and some new children, he needs a drink every now and then to take off the edge.”
“Yep, that sounds like Professor Pasque to me. He does have a tendency to drink from time to time.” Rundas said.
“Nice to see that he’s acquainted with ya. He’s a good alien that even stopped trouble makers in here cold in their tracks. That pun was both intended and non-intened!” Fizzy Scotch commented with a burst of hillbilly laughter.
Boreas tapped her right pectoral fin on the floor. Rundas pointed towards her direction.
“You really shouldn’t keep a lady waiting with her beverage, Fizzy Scotch.”
“I’ll get right to her.”
Fizzy Scotch went behind his counter and filled a mug three sizes larger than the other cups that the group had. Subterra Shock shifted his gaze towards Rundas and sipped a hearty amount of the beverage. A satisfied sigh with a hearty grin emerged from him.
“That felt good! Tonight was a great night. Even if I got a bit of seasickness and we almost died, it was still pretty cool. Then, topping it off with drinks at the end makes this a perfect night for me. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.”
“I feel you, Shock.” Crescent Radiance said, ingesting half of her beverage in a single sip. “I thought I would hate this night when we were getting shifted out of our patrolling roles. Best night on duty I ever had.”
Fizzy Scotch placed Boreas’s cup in front of her. She licked her lips and grabbed the cup with her pectoral fins. She lifted it to her mouth and drunk it all within one sitting. Rundas, Crescent Radiance and Subterra Shock all gazed at her with silence and wide eyes. Boreas shrugged her fins.
“Whoo-wee! She’s got a big appetite for beer!” Fizzy Scotch shouted with a swing of his right front leg.
Boreas tapped her right pectoral fin on the ground three times with rapid increments. A smug smirk made its way on her face. Rundas looked towards Subterra Shock and Crescent Radiance with a cheeky grin.
“So… who’s going to pay her bill?”