JAWS & FINS

by Octavia_Melody

Signs

The next morning, at the first light of dawn, Twilight could be found at the shoreline, using her magic to hammer a large signpost into the ground. The sign read “BEACH CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE BY ORDER OF SUNSET SHORES POLICE – FINE FOR SWIMMING UP TO 100 BITS”

“Oh no you don’t!” shouted a familiar voice, “I’m the mayor in this town, not you, Mrs. Sparkle!”

Mayor Mare galloped down the shoreline where she had expected to find Twilight.

“Take this sign down immediately!” she ordered, “Or you’ll find yourself finding new employment!”

“Did you see that Tiara girl?!” Twilight shouted, “Did you?! I went diving last night and was eyeball to eyeball with her! And it’s my fault she’s dead! And yours!”

Twilight pointed an accusing hoof at Mayor Mare who angrily brushed it away.

“And that’s another thing, you had no authorization to be patrolling the waters!” the mayor continued, “You and MORON of an oceanographer are ruining this town!”

“I’m ruining it! I’m ruining it?!” Twilight screamed, snapping the signpost in two with her magic, “Fine! Have it your way! Serve everypony up on a smorgasboard! See if I care!”

The mayor scoffed as Twilight galloped away and hid behind the nearest building. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she sobbed into her hoofs, hoping nopony would see her cry.

The tourists poured in on one of the busiest days of the summer, just as Twilight had expected. Despite all her better instincts, she even had her own family back on the beach, because she still needed her job.

“No going into the water today.” she instructed her children, “I mean it. If I catch either of you swimming, then both of your flanks are going to meet my hoof.”

“That’s a little harsh, Twilight, don’t you think?” Spike advised, “What if they just played in the pond?”

“The pond’s for babies!” Rose argued.

“Bubble-blowin’ babies!” Thorn added.

“If only you saw what I saw, Spike.” Twilight murmured, “Fine, whatever. You two can go play in the pond, but not the beach.”

“C’mon...let’s go...” Thorn said in disappointment.

“Whatever happened to that stupid pink filly?” Rose wondered, having not fully borne witness to Diamond Tiara’s demise.

“She’s dead!!” Twilight blurted, forgetting that she wasn’t going to tell her children exactly what had happened.

“Whadda ya mean, she’s dead?!” Thorn wondered.

“She’s dead?!” Rose added.

“I was joking...” Twilight lied, “I’m sure she’s around here somewhere. Besides, it’s not like you get along anyways.”

“I wanted to hold her under the water!” Rose admitted.

“And I wanted to help!” Thorn said.

“Both of you get your stupid little flanks off to the pond right now before I slap the scales off your back!” Twilight threatened.

The two half-dragons scurried away as Twilight lay back down onto the sand. She soon fell asleep but tossed and turned as she fell into a horrible nightmare. She was swimming in an endless black abyss and found that she couldn’t breathe. Twilight struggled as her lungs filled with water and she frantically swam up toward a non-existent surface. She panicked even more as she found something was holding her back. The massive skeletal hoof of Diamond Tiara was pulling her down under, deeper and deeper. She managed to buck away from the creature, until an enormous filly skull, eyeball still dangling down, staring at its prey, opened its rotted jaws and swallowed Twilight whole.

“NOOOOOO!!!!” Twilight screamed as she sprang back into the waking world.

Spike embraced his wife as she shook with fear, breaking out into a cold sweat.

“A dream...only a dream....and yet if only it were just a dream...” Twilight whispered.

“Shark!!” a random tourist shouted, “There’s a shark in the water!!”

“Sweet Celestia no...” Twilight begged, “Not today...”

To everypony’s horror, a decently sized shark fin skimmed across the surface of the water and the crowds galloped to and fro, screaming in horror.

“Everypony out of the water now!!” Twilight shouted, not helping the situation.

Twilight galloped down to the water, frantically blowing the whistle on her lanyard.

“There’s a kid in the water!” somepony else shouted.

Twilight dove into the water with a splash as she saw a young brown-furred colt swimming away from the shark’s fin. Twilight took the colt by the nape of the neck with her teeth and dragged him back on the shore.

“You’re safe now...” she panted, “You’re safe now...”

“Hey! It’s a fake!” another colt noticed, “A fake fin!”

Twilight took another look at the colt and saw he was wearing a helmet with a large cardboard fin that had been painted over. Twilight gritted her teeth in rage and became so angry that she leapt off the ground and her mane burst into flames as her eyes glowed red and her fur turned white hot with fury.

“Button Mash! Just what do you think you’re doing, young colt?!” said a mare with cream-colored fur and a brunette mane, “Get back here this instant!”

“Aw, but mom!” Button Mash complained, “I was only kiddin’!”

“That wasn’t a joke!” his mother scolded, “You’re grounded! No video games for a month!”

“No video games?!” Button panicked as if his mother had said no food for a month.

“I mean it, Button!” his mother continued, “Wait until your father finds out about this!”

“No mom, no please!” Button begged as his mother dragged him by the tail with her teeth, “Please you can’t do this! It was only a joke! Please!”

Twilight collapsed to the ground in a heap of singed fur as Spike ran over to her.

“Are you alright, Twilight?” he asked, “I could’ve sworn I saw you evolve into a Rapidash.”

“I prefer Moltres.” Twilight muttered.

“Pirate ship!” somepony called out, “Pirate ship in the estuary!”

“Pirate ship?!” Spike and Twilight shouted in unison.

The both of them rushed over to the pond where their children were playing and couldn’t believe their eyes as an old pirate ship passed through the strait from the beach to the pond. Even more surprising was that the ship didn’t seem to have a crew, or even sails.

“It’s just an old abandoned ship.” Spike commented.

“Out of the water! Out of the water now!” Twilight shouted at her children.

“Aw, mom! Just five more minutes!” Rose argued.

“Ten more minutes!” Thorn added.

“NOW!!” Twilight demanded as her two dracorn kids scurried back over to her.

“Sea serpent!!” the same somepony shouted, “Sea serpent in the estuary!!”

“Who keeps doing all that shouting?” Spike wondered, looking around.

“Another sea serpent?” Twilight asked, looking around.

Sure enough, the purple tail of a sea serpent was flipping in and out of the water.

“This just keeps getting better and better.” Twilight commented.

Both the ship and the serpent’s tail came to a halt and then the ship turned around with the tail following after it. Soon both of them sunk back beneath the water.

“I don’t know what I just saw, but you can close the beaches now.” said Mayor Mare, who had snuck up beside Twilight.

Once all the tourists had cleared out, Twilight once again set up the BEACH CLOSED sign as the mayor paced around nervously, leaving a circle of hoofprints in the sand.

“I was acting in the town’s best interests.” she told herself, “We had to keep the beaches open. We can’t afford to lose money during tourist season. It’s half of our economy.”

“That’s right, Mayor Mare.” Twilight announced, “And thank Celestia that nopony got killed out there today, while the news crews were around.”

“The news crews!” the mayor panicked, “What do I tell the reporters?!”

“Tell them whatever you want.” Twilight said, “I don’t care anymore.”

“What are you going to do, Chief Sparkle?” Mayor Mare asked.

“With your approval, of course, we’re going to hire Rarity and Applejack to help us kill this shark.” Twilight explained.

“Fine. Take the patrol boat. Take whatever you need.” Mayor Mare said, “But do come back alive.”