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// 2. Fish Underwater 
// Story: Fish and Lilypad 
// by teamidris 
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The next morning woke bright and sunny with Glyn at work early. As he laboured his ear twitched at a new sound from the yard. Could he hear hammering? Ten minutes ago he thought he heard the unmistakeable sound of a barrel being rolled across the cobble stones. He hadn't been expecting either, so he decided to stop cutting down nettles in the paddock and investigate. Stepping carefully around the wash house he found Sam watching something in the yard. 

"I have no idea what she is up to now," whispered Sam. "There was a moment when I thought I would give myself away with my giggling. She climbed inside that barrel, moved around a bit and then with perfect comedy timing, poked a little nose through the filler hole. It snorted and disappeared like some wooden whale," said Sam with a chuckle.

Glyn tucked in close to see what would happen next. The box of jam jars certainly seemed an odd thing to combine with the large wooden barrel? All was revealed as Fish began to try various different sized jars in the hole. 

Glyn winced as he realised the enormity of his daughter's current project. "That's a submarine that is. The jam jar is a porthole, the hose into the tap hole is the breathing tube."

"What!" screamed Sam, "Not on my watch." The commotion caused a dull thud inside the barrel to be heard, before Fish appeared rubbing her head with a hoof. Sam was about to launch into a rage about attending her own daughters funeral when Glyn stepped in. 

"I can fix this," he said. "I'll take her to go see a pony about a thing. I know just the mare to help and we'll be back before tea time." 

Glyn whisked up a surprised and confused Fish, popped her on his back and made for the gate before Sam could challenge them. They were past the village green before Fish gained her senses.

"Are we going far, I didn't  say goodbye to mummy," came a small voice. 

Glyn turned his head and smiled. "I might have fibbed about being back at tea time and she'll figure that out any minute now. I want to be out of ear shot when she does. We are off to see the only mare I know of with a fish for a cutie mark. A mark which could very well be yours one day maybe?"

They walked for a couple of hours with Fish running this way and that as she attempted to investigate everything. Eventually they came to a thatched house with a front garden full of weeds and brass pipe fittings. Glyn knocked on the open door and waited for hoofsteps on the quarry tile floor. 

A sea green mare appeared with a huge smile. "Glyn, is it really you, have you left Sam?"

Glyn coughed. "No of course not! What a thing to say, I....."

She laughed and put a hoof over his mouth. "Your face is a picture right now. Nearly as embarrassed as hers is surprised," Fish looked up open mouthed at this new pony and her strange ways. 

"I'm Jacky," she continued. "From what I've heard you'll be wanting to see this," she added, turning to show the turquoise fish mark on her flank. "And if you like that you'll be needing one of these."

She reached up to a shelf and pulled out a box with a flexible tube attached. The tube finished in a thing like a sink plunger and the box had two straps. Before Fish could ask any questions Jacky thrust the device over her muzzle. A confused Fish looked cross eyed down her nose at it. 

"It's like a fish's gills. You swim through the water and the magic inside takes air from the water so you can breath. The water goes in through these louvered slots on the side. It cost a fair few bits back in the day. If you try to go too deep a bladder pops out and floats you to the surface. It's some of the finest unicorn technology I've ever seen and now it's yours." 

Fish mumbled something incoherent so Jacky removed the mask. The little filly studied the device with eyes glazed over. "I can swim with Lilypad?" Her expression changed from surprised to utter glee. "I can see her house, I can..... WOW, Lets test it!"

At the back of Jacky's house was a small lake ideally suited for practice. Glyn sat on the bank and watched through the reeds as Fish listened intently to her diving instructor. It was nice to see her so wrapped up in something. Her school grades were not going to get her a job in the Town Hall and she was no farmer. 

She did however seem to have a knack for working in water. Jacky clapped her hooves together with delight as a stream of bubbles weaved this way and that across the surface. Every so often a little grey head would appear before diving back down and heading in a new direction.  

Too soon it was time to leave. Jacky said she would post the instructions when she found them and they said their goodbyes. 

Jacky shouted after them, "Remember Fish, don't go too deep and come up if you get cold."

Glyn continued the thought of his little filly's future on the way home. As foals they had all grown up together and out of all of them Jacky had been one of the most successful. Maybe that ball of cloud grey hair half asleep on his back would do okay in the world. Maybe the breathing box still tied to her could be the start of something big?

Back at the farm all was now in darkness. They had grabbed a snack at Jacky's so he popped Fish straight into bed and put the shiny yellow metal box on the side board. Tucking her in he kissed her on the forelock and went into the kitchen. Lighting the lamp he heard Sam enter the room.

"How was Jacky?" she asked.

"Same as usual," replied Glyn. "Same colour, same cutie mark, same insane energy. We should have taken you I guess. You would have loved to have seen Fish actually 'enjoying' education," He said with a wink. 

He continued, "I can't tell you it's all sorted, but it's a lot safer than a jam jar wedged in a barrel. The device we came back with lets her breath underwater and has a safety float built in. If anything goes wrong she pops to the surface. Lilypad and her family will keep an eye out as well. I'll go with her first time out."   


Chapter 3 - Lilypad's House

The next weekend they were set. For Glyn's sake they traveled by road to the river. He pointed out that even if he fitted through the narrow bits, his size would churn up a lot of mud in the farm ponds along the way. Fish accepted that as reasonable and let him carry her aqualung box. Glyn asked a few questions on the way to be sure of the situation. 

Once they had arrived Fish reached into the river and banged two likely looking stones together three times. Sitting back she wondered how quickly Lilypad's 'door knocker' worked? Her question was answered as an otter's head bobbed up near the other bank. Glyn and Fish watched as it disappeared up stream. Ten minutes later Lilypad's head appeared from the water with a squeal of delight.

"You made it back," she sang! "Mummy said you might not be able to come back. She said ponies are scared of the deep water, because it might carry them far away to a sad place."  

Glyn held up the aqualung and placed it on Fish's back. "She was quite right," He said. "But now our little 'Fish' can swim underwater." He helped her do up the straps so that it stayed firmly in place and gave it a good test wiggle. Lilypad watched in fascination as he fitted the muzzle cap. 

Fish stepped into the deeper water just as she had practised with Jacky. The river bottom was different to the lake though and she scrabbled to find her feet on the stones. She soon had the hang of it and stood fully submerged face to face with an excited Lilypad. The seapony beckoned her to follow and took off with great speed.

Glyn watched as the stream of bubbles steadily worked their way up the river. He was pleased that should the emergency bladder inflate she would come floating past him where he stood. The water did indeed look inviting and it was a shame to be left out, so he waded into the middle to cool down. It was quite deep for a foal, but to a fully grown Glyn the river seemed to have shrunk compared to so many years ago. 

Lilypad explained things as they went, but murmese wasn't something Fish could understand. She made a note to find a book on it next week at school. Soon enough they were floating outside Lilypad's house, which was built into the roots of a large tree. It didn't have a door as such, but it did have a window. Between the roots the gaps had been filled with carefully stacked river stones to make walls. Some were very large to stand up to any flood water. 

Swimming into the underwater house Fish was surprised to see how different it was. Bright white shells covered the entire ceiling giving it a strange glow. Up high and off to one side was a roof light which sat just above the water line. There was a light 'tap' on its surface as a large fly confused it for an opening. 

The inner walls comprised of the same stones and roots as outside. In an alcove between them some kelp grew under a glass dome as a reminder of the sea. Lilypad pointed to a corner before flicking her tail and pretending to be asleep. Then she opened a big brass door to show Fish a collection of fresh water oysters. Lilypad offered her one to try, but Fish pointed a hoof toward her mask and Lilypad nodded.

"This sure is different," thought Fish looking around the underwater home. A shelf had brightly coloured stones on it, just like her collection at home, but there were no chairs or a fire place. After a while her mind turned to the cold beginning to seep through her skin as she floated there. Waving a hoof she pointed it upward and set off back to the gravel flat. Breaking the surface she removed the breathing mask. 

"Wow! Daddy, that was amazing!" she said to Glyn. Then turning to Lilypad she asked; "Do you eat oysters?"
"Yes, of course," replied Lilypad. "Don't you eat worms?" 

Glyn laughed at Fish's expression, which told the whole story in one scrunched up nose. 

"Land ponies mostly eat plants and seeds," he explained. "We grow them in the summer and store them for the winter."

The conversation was broken by a loud splash as a much larger seapony worked her way up river. Upon seeing them she made for the shallows and began to lift herself from the water. A vibrant blue mane clung to her neck as her horn glowed bright gold. With perfect timing her fish like rear became a pair of rear legs that confidently stepped ashore. 

"Mummy," called Lilypad. "This is Fish and her Dad. Fish has this magic box and she can swim underwater with me!" 

With a swish of her newly formed tail the elegant white Seapony smiled. "I've heard so much about you. I'm Whitecap. I work at the docks downstream. A passing otter said we had visitors so I thought I would finish early and say hello. I hope Lilypad has behaved herself?"

"She's been Lovely," replied Glyn. He eyed the height of the sun adding, "But I think it's time we made our way home. It will soon be tea time and I still have jobs to do. It's a shame Lilypad can't come to the farm. We have a pond, but it's really quite a distance to walk."

The white mare became deep in thought for a moment. "I suppose she can. She is quite young, but I can try to teach her the land spell. If Fish comes to visit us tomorrow I will see what I can do."

Making their goodbyes Glyn and Fish made their way back across the water meadow to the road. Opening the gate through the hedgerow Fish asked, "Can I come back tomorrow?"

"Of course," he said. "I don't know anything about magic, but I imagine that leg spell will be really hard to do. Lilypad will be glad of a good friend to help her try it out."