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// Chapter 13: Spell of the Seapony  
// Story: My Little Pony: The Element of Distortion 
// by Thunderwing250 
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	Twilight began to think back on her adventures with her friends.  Only once has she gone underwater for a short period of time.  Vorago’s Deep, however is a depth she had never heard of nor does she have enough power to reach the bottom.  The Archivist stepped forward with an idea.
“I’ll teach her the Seapony Transformation Spell.  It will take up a lot of magic, but she can’t, I’ll use my magic and have her maintain her own magic.  We need to take at least a day to work on it so in the meantime, I suggest we get some reinforcements along with two ships.”
“Two ships…” 
“…For what, if I may ask?” 
“We gonna need a lot of firepower if he plans to attack us.” The Archivist concluded walking out of the room with Twilight.  
Outside, stood StoneColt, Daring Do, and Twilight’s friends along the hallway as the two walked down the stairs.
“I’ll deal with the reinforcements, Archivist.” StoneColt said, flying out the window and returning to Cloudsdale.
Cabaleron called in Daring Do to discuss their mission in the meantime.  While Discord remained in the room along with Alteros children, Rainbow Dash and the others decided to follow Twilight instead, when they suddenly saw them in a poor.  
“What!  In a pool?” Rainbow Dash screamed out.
“Glad you are all here.  Jump in.” the Archivist said.
As the five jumped in, Twilight looked up to the Archivist.
“Madame Archivist, I actually know the Seapony Spell, but…” Twilight was interrupted.  
“The reason why I’m teaching this part of the spell is because the spell you want to use won’t hold your form for long, especially at Titannus’ depth.  The spell I will teach you is the official one that will grant you the seapony form without a time limit.” The Archivist replied.  
“Seapony, Yay!” Pinkie Pie shouted in excitement.  
Using her magic, the Archivist summoned the seapony spell, as a dust of magic circled each of them.  After a few seconds, the six ponies had taken the form, each one playing around with their new forms, Twilight turned as the Archivist collapsed on her knees.
“Archivist!  Are you okay?” she called out.
“I’m fine.  Took a lot of magic out of me to summon that.  In the meantime, practice swimming in these forms because you’ll be diving tomorrow morning.” The Archivist replied as she limped away out of the room.
Twilight surprisingly sensed the Archivist’s magic drainage just by her lack of strength.  She knew that this particular transformation was twice as powerful as hers and that she would’ve been in worse condition than the Archivist.  Pinkie Pie continued to play around with her form, leaping out of the water like a happy dolphin.  Applejack called Twilight over to the group.
“Hey, Twi.  Let’s practice.” Applejack said.
“Sure.” Twilight replied, swimming over.
As each one dove under, they practiced how to maintain their forms as well as breathing continuously.  Doing so, they each mastered it in a very short period of time, resurfacing and inhaling oxygen.  Outside the room, the Archivist observed the six as they continued training but felt worried.  Cabaleron walking passed her with Daring Do, stopped.
“You seem troubled?” Cabaleron asked.
“I don’t have enough power to go with them to retrieve the element…” the Archivist sadly replied.
“Whoever said you’re not going with them?” Cabaleron said.
“What do you mean?” the Archivist curiously asked.
“I have scuba diving gear that I used when I journeyed through underwater caverns.  Luckily we have three of them.” Daring Do said.
“Then that makes better sense.” The Archivist grinned.
“Good.  And of course, we’re leaving early tomorrow morning, before the dawn.” Cabaleron said. 
“What about Discord, Amplitude, Bronze, and Spectra?” the Archivist said.
Cabaleron turned.
“The four of them will remain on a ship, scanning for frequencies so that it’s easier for us to locate Titannus.” he said.
“Understood.” The Archivist said.
Curious on where they are going, Cabaleron explained the current mission and that they would arrive at nightfall.  Once Cabaleron and Daring Do left, Twilight and her friends came out of the water and laid on the edge of the pool.  The Archivist walked back in an informed Twilight to use her magic to return to their normal forms.  In an instant, Twilight used her magic and they were all restored.  Feeling a little light-headed, they all decided to take rest in their rooms.  While her friends fell in their beds, Twilight turned to the Archivist, who had her head down.
“What’s wrong, Archivist?” she asked.
“Oh nothing.  Just feel exhausted from early this morning.” The Archivist nervously replied.
Twilight smiled as she went into her room and closed the door.  The Archivist sadly walked away from the rooms and went to the roof.  Watching her pass by, Discord followed her curious about her.  Once they reached the roof, the Archivist sat and watched the sunset over the sea.  
“You seemed very troubled by something, Madame Archivist.” Discord calmly spoke.
The Archivist turned, who was tearing a bit.
“Yeah.  It’s just…”she paused.
“You truly care for her, don’t you?” Discord smiled.
“Yes.  To be given the responsibility of watching over Twilight is like watching over my own daughter.  Every time I see her, she just puts a smile on my face.  The ambition, dedication, and not willing to give up on anything especially her friends.  That’s what makes her special or what I should say is, it’s what makes her sparkle.” The Archivist smiled.
“The Mentor and Pupil.” Discord chuckled.
“Yeah.” The Archivist said.		
“But why the tears?” Discord asked.
The Archivist tried to catch her breath.
“I am afraid.  Afraid of losing her to Titannus.  She’s still young and if she were to…” she paused.
“…I don’t know what I’ll do…” the Archivist choked.
Discord put his head over her shoulder in comfort.	
“You know, the first time they defeated me I wanted revenge on all of them.  Then I came across Fluttershy who was so kind that I had an immediate change of heart.  The sense of friendship I have with Fluttershy is somewhat like you and Twilight.  You would do anything to protect her as I will do anything to protect Fluttershy.  Not to mention, she’s my only true friend, but after Tirek’s defeat, they’ve all become my friend and I am glad that I’ve changed.” Discord happily replied.
“I guess you’re right.” The Archivist replied, wiping away her tears.
“Let’s go back inside and rest so that we’re ready in the morning.” Discord said.
The Archivist nodded and the two returned to the lab, below.  On the top of another building, Alteros watched them silently, like a hawk seeking its prey.