• Published 25th Nov 2014
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BPT: A Midnight Stroll through Time - Wolven5



Through happenstance, or perhaps fate, Midnight Blaze's little experiment whirls him into a jounrey through the very history of Equestria!

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34. Fish Taled Miracles - Part 2

A splash in his face brought him sputtering back to the waking world and he realized he was wet. Muttering a spell, he found himself almost instantly dry but it did nothing to stop the nasty taste of saltwater in his mouth.

Midnight looked around and found that he was alone. For a moment he wondered if it had been a dream, that perhaps the seapony he’d comforted and with whom he’d watched the sunset had not been real. Those doubts were dashed when he noticed something nearby on a smooth rock. A necklace of pearls with a coral pendant.

She was real!

Midnight levitated the pearl necklace and wondered what to do with it, why she left it for him. Deciding it would be a nice keepsake, he shrugged and packed it safely into his saddlebag before carrying on his way.

He walked along the beach for but another hour when he saw among the waves a sailboat. It was a small vessel with merely a mainsail and headsail, the look of it was retro compared to seafaring vessels of the modern Equestria he knew of.

It wasn’t big but he wouldn’t call it a dinghy and he could see that there was somepony aboard, and that somepony was reeling in a netful of fish! Midnight was surprised – He’d seen his brother, Macintosh, go fishing but he always threw them back, he just did it for a little leisure. But the amount of fish this stallion was hauling onto his boat, there was no way he caught them all just to throw them back into the water.

Then he heard, “Ahoy there, stranger!”

The pony waved a wing, showing he was a pegasus, and Midnight waved back with his hoof. Then the pegasus flapped up and flew over to join Midnight on the beach.

He was tall and strong and looked a lot like Big Mac if he were a pegasus and had a little more fire in his eyes. His coat was bay red while his mane was light blue like the sky. His eyes were sea green while his cutie-mark was a fishing rod and colorful fly-hook. He had a strong pair of wings and a rather pudgy belly that had nothing on his brawny forelegs, and had a welcoming look.
“Ne’er seen ya `round these waters, mate! From where do ya hale?”

His accent was vaguely pirate-y, and it made Midnight smile a bit, “Hello, I’m Midnight Blaze, a traveler. I take it you’re a fisher-pony?”

“Aye, an’ one a th’ best you’ll ever meet or me name’s not Riptide though me mates call me Rip,” he spat into his hoof and held it out.
“Nice t’ meet ya, matey!”

Midnight smiled and spat into his own hoof and met Rip’s in a strong hoofshake.

Using a water-walking spell, Midnight joined Rip on his boat, the Jaggy Codger, and helped him secure his catch of the day.

“So… why’re ya fishing to begin with?” Midnight asked as Rip directed his boat. “Ponies don’t normally eat meat.”

“Aye, but `round here ain’t prime real estate fer farmin’,” Rip replied. “Th’ land provides tropical fruits a’course but we coastal ponies learned t’ adopt fish as a part o’ our palettes. An’ on occasion, earth pony farmers visit to buy our fish as fertilizer for their crops, ripens the fertile soil from what some o’ them tell me. And I tell ya, mate, you ain’t live till ya tried Mama Tsunama’s Salted Salmon! Mmm! Jus’ thinkin’ about it makes me belly grumbly!”

Rip wasn’t kidding, as a loud hungry gurgle came from his belly, making Midnight laugh.
“Well, if your stomach is vouching for it, I definitely gotta try it!”

“Then yer first dish o’ fish be on me, mate! Full speed ahead to Horseshoe Shores!” Rip angled the sail just right, the wind speeding them faster to their destination.


In no time at all, the fishing village, Horseshoe Shores came into view. Most of it was built upon the shoreline while a few piers extended It over the sea.
“Welcome t’ me home, Midnight Blaze, finest village o’ fishing you’ll find anywhere in Equestria, an’ some mighty strong stallions t’ boot!”

Docking the Codger, Midnight took in the village. There were lots of hearty strong ponies, a lot of them with cutie marks associated with fishing, the ocean, boating, or even just the beach. He saw stalls and stands selling fresh catches, fishing or boating equipment, as well as some selling seaside souvenirs.

Among the docks, he saw all kinds of sailboats, coming and going to fish, to explore, to travel, or just to sail for a good time, and a good time appeared to be what everypony here was having. Everywhere he looked, he saw stallion, mare, and foal smiling, laughing, and enjoying themselves under the tropical sun.

“This is place is… very nice,” Midnight felt oddly positive at the moment. Rip threw a leg around Midnight and hugged him to his barrel, laughing hearty.

“Nice, ya say?! Just wait till ya sample th’ local flavor, mate! Wer’ off t’ the Cruel Mistress!”

Rip led Midnight through the docks, saying hello and throwing some good-natured insults to a lot of his friends. Along the way, he introduced Midnight to many of his friends, neighbors, and even some of his competition. Everypony was loud, laughing, but welcoming all the same to Midnight, making him smile all day long.

Rip led him to what appeared to be a pub, the sign above reading ‘The Cruel Mistress’ and the picture of a mare bearing a tankard but with a devious look on her face that made Midnight pause in hesitation.

“Get ready for a rough n’ tumblin’ good time, Midnight!” Rip spun `round and bucked the door open, sending it crashing into the building, and from the sound of it the damage was considerable.

“WHA’ ARSE-PICKIN’ JACKANAPES WENT AN’ BUCKED DOWN ME DOOR?!?!”

Midnight felt the instinctive chill up his spine tell him to run for his life as Rip guffawed, “Ahoy, Mama Tsunama! A dish o’ yer finest Salted Salmon for me new mate here!”

*CLONK*

Midnight gasped to see cast-iron pot somehow sticking to Rip’s face and heard him groaning in pain as it slid off, revealing his pulsing red agony.

“RIPTIDE YE BRAINLESS BLOWFISH!”

Midnight flinched to see a very large earth pony mare, hefty in build but strong all the same. Her coat was a gentle orange but her mane, like the look on her pale blue eyes, was angry red. She wore a cooking apron and her mane was tied back.

“I OUGHTA GELD YE FOR BREAKIN’ ME DOOR DOWN… FOR TH’ UMPTEENTH TIME, NO LESS!”

“Ah, Mama Tsunama,” Rip smiled sheepishly as he crossed his rear legs, suddenly afraid for his family jewels.
“Y’know ya won’ do that!”

“And why not…?” asked Mama Tsunama with a raised brow.

“Cuz’ ya love me too much, and I always bring ya plentiful salmon with which t’ make yer finest dish?” Rip tried with a hopeful smile.

Midnight pressed his lips together nervously as he looked to the pony called Mama Tsunama. For a few tense seconds, she glared harpoons through Rip before snapping, “Then haul yer carcass inside and we’ll discuss business.”

She then regarded Midnight for the first time and almost instantly her demeanor changed.
“Oh, hello there, laddie! Didn’t notice ye for a moment, this blasted boy riled me up. Come in, dear, help ya’self to some o’ our local fare!”

What the buck is up with these ponies?! Midnight wondered as he followed Mama Tsunama and Rip inside.
One minute, she’s threatening castration and the next she’s all warm and inviting?!

The Cruel Mistress was a boisterous pub, rich with laughter and drink. Many fisher-ponies held tankards dripping with the creature, and Midnight’s lunar pony sense of smell easily picked up the oddly appealing smell of cooked fish intermingling with the bitter reek of booze.

In one corner, he saw a few ponies apparently watching two engaging each other in a drinking contest, in another some stallions playing a game with cups of dice and apparently trying to fool the other players of the numbers facing up underneath their cups.

“Pull up a seat, Midnight!” Rip invited him over to the bar, Mama Tsunama and a couple of her employees preparing food and drink, and Midnight sat himself next to his new friend.
“So tell us, mate! Y’say you be a traveler. I’d wager me left wing ya’ve tales aplenty to share.”

“Oh, nothing much, really!” Midnight didn’t want to get into any recent memoires, particularly because he didn’t want to have to reveal his time-travelling status.
“I’ve just wandered here and there, met a few interesting characters, just looking for my place in the world.”

“Ah, the search we all endeavor to end,” Rip nodded sagely. “Truth be told, me family were originally earth pony farmers but I was born to soar the skies, as you can see. Now, don’t mistake me words, mate, I loved me family and they loved me so, but… I just never felt happy tendin’ th’ fields an’ such. So when I was old enough, with my mum an’ da’s blessing, I left home to find me own place in th’ world.”

“And what brought you here?” Midnight asked.

“When I was just a little colt, me dear mum would tell me tales o’ the sea,” Rip answered. “She told me her father was a seapony who’d saved her own mum from drownin’. Her da couldn’ stick around an’ so she knew `im for only a short while. Her mother told her tales of seaponies, so she passed `em onto me.”

“And… seaponies were what drew you here?” Midnight gathered.

“Aye and I came here, apprenticin’ under a real fisher-pony who taught me well in the trade,” Rip nodded.
“Only he told me seaponies were an old pony’s tale an’ that I was daft t’ think otherwise.”

Midnight was about to tell Rip he should think otherwise when the fisher-pony continued.

“Alas, o’er the years o’ reaping the bounties of the sea with nary a single sight or clue, me mentor’s claims seemed t’ be stretchin’ towards truth. But…!”

He let the word hang for dramatic effect, Midnight waving him on with a raised brow, prompting him to chuckle.
“One fine morning, when the waves were rhythmic, the sun shinin’, I happened upon a sobbing thing, hopelessly entangled in a stray fishing net. Disgraceful it is, to leave yer net astray lest it bring misfortune, as it did upon this glorious creature whom I’d long dreamt of beholdin’ with me own eyes, a seapony mare! I calmed her fearful heart and gently brought aboard the Codger. With knife in hoof, I set her free and from then on a friendship bloomed between us. Kelphine, her name was, and how she brightened me spirit whenever it were low. She showed me the wonders of the sea I’d never known existed and I shared with her the world of we land-walkers.”

The way Rip sighed made Midnight think of his love for Twilight, and the talk of sea ponies made him think of the pearl necklace with the coral pendant.
Maybe I could give it to her when I finally make it back…

“Alas,” Rip said with a sad tone, “the paths we tread would branch and lead us apart. Before she left however, dearest Kelphine gave me something worth more than all the wonders of the sea to remember her by.”

“What was it?” Midnight asked, enthralled.

Rip chuckled and said, “Well, mate, you could say we had a little… fun in th’ sun!”

Midnight tilted his head, not quite getting it.

Oh, y’know, mate!” Rip guffawed at the look on his new friend’s face. “The hanky-panky?”

Oh…” Midnight blushed a little and have-hooved for not getting it sooner. When he got over it, he asked, “I guess it was… memorable?”

“Heh-heh, what resulted of it makes it memorable,” Rip said in a sly way when his belly growled with such ferocity everypony in the pub looked at Rip, who started rubbing his belly in a surprised manner.
“Ooh! Somepony’s hungry! Hey Mama Tsunama, where’s that grub?!”

“Hold yer horses, lads! Perfection can’t be rushed, don’cha know?” Mama Tsunama came bearing food and drink, placing a couple tankards before Midnight and Rip, as well as a plate of freshly-cooked, “Salted Smoked Salmon, finest you’ll find anywhere along th’ Equestrian coast, and me own secret mix o’ tea t’ wash it all down!”

“Aw, Mama Tsunama!” Rip complained, “Tea as th’ first drink t’ share with me new mate?! Bring us some mead!”

“You’ll drink yer tea and like it…” Mama Tsunama threatened, Rip gulping. “Besides, ye shouldn’ be drinkin’ in your condition, and I’d prefer we talk business without ye as high as th’ lands of me fathers.”

“Your fathers?” asked Midnight as he politely took a sip of the tea and found it quite a pleasant flavor.

“Aye, lad, I hale from the Green Hilly Pastures of Shireland,” Mama Tsunama sighed nostalgically.
“Though I left to see the world, I never lost me Shirish accent. Now go on, laddie, enjoy the nibbles!”

Midnight had to admit, the salmon looked good and Rip quickly snatched a few pieces and popped them into his mouth with a very pleasant ‘mmmm’.
“Ah, may yer skills ne’er dull and your recipe continue down yer lineage, Mama Tsuanama!”

Midnight levitated a piece into his mouth and chewed. The taste of meat did not repel his taste buds, as he had half-expected, but rather the succulence invigorated them! The smoky flavor was balanced by the salt, and the more he chewed the juicier it became! Almost at once, he ate with a ravenous zeal, pausing to wash it down with his tea when he noticed Rip and Mama Tsunama looking at him.

Midnight felt embarrassed as he lowered his tankard and said, “Sorry, I… didn’t mean to be rude.”

“Rude?! Oh laddie, it warms me heart t’ see one so taken with me cooking,” Mama Tsunama assured.

“It’s just… I thought ye not to have ever tasted meat before,” Rip brought up. “Newcomers to our village who deign to try our fish, for them it’s usually an acquired taste.”

“I guess… I have a wider palate?” Midnight had a feeling as to why he was so quickly taken to fish.

His becoming a lunar pony.

“Ah enough o’ this gobble!” snapped Rip, “Let us eat till our bellies rebel with a trumpeting out our tail-gates!”

A loud and reverberating fart cut through the peaceful afternoon silence, loud enough for heads to turn at the sound of it.

“Whoa, good one, Midnight!” Rip laughed as he and Midnight sat on the veranda of Rip’s seaside cottage. They were on old deck chairs, watching the sea and releasing tension. That is to say, they were farting out the after-effects of the smoked salmon.

“Thanks! Man, I’m stuffed!” Midnight sighed contently, his stomach rumbling in mild discomfort as it felt like a simmering pot.

“But I got ya beat!” Rip lived up to his nickname as his backside sounded like a foghorn and Midnight was certain he felt the verandah quake.

“Whoa-ho-ho! I guess they don’t call you ‘Rip’ for nothing!” Midnight laughed. “Although I hope this is almost over. Kinda wanna go inside.”

“Not till our bellies are done blowing over,” Rip cracked, making them both laugh even more.

They rubbed their stomachs, calming down their churning insides and just enjoyed the scenery.

“I needed this.”

Rip gave Midnight a look, the unicorn’s gaze lost as he stared forever across the sea.
“Bad things have happened to me lately, and… I guess you could say, I came here to get away.”

“An’ what sort o’ troubles had ya so deeply low?” Rip inquired.

“…I made a friend and…” Midnight explained the particulars but left out being a slave, who he had fought against, only saying how he and a friend planned to topple a monster and hos this friend gave his life to save him.
“Funny, you’re the second pony I’ve told this.”

“An’ who was the first?” Rip asked.

“A seapony.”

Rip gave Midnight a look as the unicorn brought up his bags and levitated something out, the pearl necklace with a coral pendant.
“She had her own problems, having been arranged to marry somepony she doesn’t love. We talked, I guess I made a good impression on her because…”

Rip noticed the blush on Midnight’s face and chuckled, “Oh-ho-ho! You lucky dog, you!”

“No, no, no!” Midnight waved his hooves to the contrary. “I turned her down, explaining I already have a special somepony waiting for me at home. So, she asked me to just watch the sunset with her, and as we did she sang, I… felt sleepy. When I woke up, she was gone and had left her necklace. I wonder why…”

Rip rubbed his stomach as he remembered Kelphine, who had also left him a piece of seapony jewelry when last they saw each other. Except that wasn’t the true gift she’d given him, as he knew a certain something about seapony culture. He smiled to himself and said, “Maybe you’ll find the answer to that yerself.”

Author's Note:

Shireland is meant to be the Equestrian equivalent of Ireland

Rip's boat the Jaggy Codger is a ref to the pirate term Jolly Rodger

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