Under the water, Fluttershy blinked and flailed her legs, moving forward in doggy-paddle style strokes, the flippers aiding her all the while. She moved aside just in time before two more figures hit the water right where she’d been just a minute ago. Turning around, she saw Rainbow Dash and Rarity in the water, holding their breath.
Not the best method, Fluttershy thought, shaking her head. She swam towards them and pushed them up to the surface. Rarity gasped and spat out a mouthful of salty water. “Eee-yew!” she mouthed. “I don’t think I like swimming after all.”
“Oh, I think you will, Rarity,” Fluttershy replied in a bright voice, pulling out her mouthpiece so she could talk. “Just relax and keep those legs moving. One leg forward and push back with the rear. Then with the other front leg. Repeat it.”
Rarity did as she was told, and was soon moving through the sea with ease, though she decided to stay on the surface and practice different strokes, so she could get the hang of moving through water in general.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy reattached her mouthpiece, adjusted her mask, and dove back under the surface. Rainbow Dash took a few breaths, expanding her lungs, and then dove down after her friend. Nearby, Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, Spike, and Applejack were having some splashing fun, in addition to making silly moves.
“We should’ve brought a beach ball and some rubber rings,” Pinkie Pie said, and swam back to the dock to try another jackknife dive.
“What’s happened to Rainbow and Fluttershy?” Applejack asked suddenly, to which Starlight shrugged with uncertainty.
Just then, Rainbow Dash’s colorful mane bobbed up on the surface, and she pushed off all the water with a rough headshake. “Here I am! Fluttershy’s okay; she just wants to have some fun with the sea animals below.”
But Fluttershy wasn’t just “below”. In her excitement, she’d ventured further out to sea, and started exploring the rocky edge which formed a border between the shallow water and the very deep, open water that stretched all the way down to the abyssal plain. Peeking around a truck-sized rock that loomed out from the main, she noticed a flash of color in the distance, about 200 m out and a half mile to the south. Little specks danced about here and there – fish! This was what she’d been looking for – a coral reef.
Kicking her legs once more, Fluttershy took an excited breath and swam straight for it, forgetting to inform her friends about her absence.
Slowing her kicks and treading water, Fluttershy closed in on the coral reef, moving slowly and trying not to breathe rapidly, so as not to scare any of the inhabitants. There was slightly less light here than near the surface, but she could still see quite well. Fish of more than twenty different kinds moved about, picking at substances embedded into the rocks, or snapping up large plankton in the water. Down below inside crevices in the rock, crabs scurried about, preparing for a hunting trip. Eels slipped in and out of holes, their gaping mouths scaring anyone who came near. It was a complete beauty of relaxing color and harmony amongst various creatures of all kinds.
Fluttershy was about to talk with a large parrotfish when a loud sound split the silence. She looked up. Near the surface, a shark swiftly swam by overhead.
While Twilight and Starlight dried off, Rarity was now having fun in the water, splashing about and annoying the apples outta Applejack. She could even dive, but only briefly. Being a dignified pony she still worried about the damages salt water and plankton could do to her hair.
“So, how did you like the water?” Rainbow Dash teased Rarity, who was still shaking on the edge of the dock.
“I…it…it w-w-was f-fine,” Rarity stuttered, shaking all the water off her like a dog. Then she wrapped herself in a towel, trying desperately not to mess up her hair or fluff her delicate coat.
“Hang on, where’s Fluttershy?” Spike asked.
“Good question,” Stalight replied. “Where did you last see her, Spike?”
The little dragon shrugged. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Pinkie Pie said with a giggle, going off the side of the dock for a final splash, knocking one of the saddlebags to the edge and spilling its contents into the water.
“Nooooooooooooooooooooo!” Twilight yelled as three towels and the house keys spilled into the water, instantly becoming saturated and sinking down into the depths.
“Um, oops?” Pinkie said, blushing.
“Can’t you see when fun needs to stop?” Rainbow Dash shouted, looking like she was about to explode. “Now, thanks to you, we’ve not only lost our friend Fluttershy, but we’ve lost access to home, too!”
Pinkie winced, sighed, and flopped back onto the dock.
Well, this day just got a lot harder, Starlight thought, as she observed the sun nearing the horizon, ready to set and remove all light. Two of the most important things in our life here on Earth have been taken.