• Published 16th Jul 2012
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Secret of Andalantis - Fizzy Orange



Lunaverse, On a trip to the beach Ditzy dissapears underwater, adventure ensue. COMPLETE!

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Chapter 12

Amethyst Star felt really nervous but did all she could not to let it show in front of her little sister. When they had first gotten back to the ship Bon Bon and Wind Sailor had been with them and that had helped Amethyst Star stay calm. Now she was left with the stoic captain Sunset Beard and did not know how to feel. Things had gone worse when the weird pink light started to shine from the ocean floor near Seagull Island. Also the unicorn could swear she saw Ditzy Doo breach the water and rise in the air before diving down in the ocean.

Then after a bright flash of pink light from under the water, a loud rumbling sound was heard. All the seagulls suddenly taking flight and fleeing their island soon followed the sound. The sheer mass of them was casting a sinister shadow on the boat and its occupants.

“What in the briny depths was that?!” Asked the captain, emerging from the piloting cabin, Dinky in tow.

“I don’t know… I think it came from over there?” replied Sparkler, pointing at the island.

Sunset Beard and Sparkler’s eyes grew as wide as dinner plates when a large chunk of rock spontaneously shattered from the island and was ejected into the water! The piece of rock, about the size of a large chariot landed with a giant splash that caused a shockwave to travel along the water.

“Hang on to something!” ordered the captain.

Soon after the wave rolled under the Autumn Delight, rocking her fiercely but not enough to threaten to flip it over.

“Lass, you and the wee one still have that fancy water breathing spell on right?” asked the Captain once the boat was stable again.

Amethyst Star was confused by the question. “Yeah, I know enough magic to know how to do a basic detect spell…Why?”

“Because you might need it if I don’t get us away from that island quickly enough,” replied the Captain, rushing to raise his sail.

“What?! We can’t abandon the others!” complained the Unicorn.

“Yeah, what about mommy?” asked Dinky.

The Captain wordlessly pointed out to the island and Sparkler turned, just in time to see another chunk of rock, this time thankfully smaller, fall off the sharp structure. The fallen rock had revealed a strange gleaming white surface that shimmered in the sunlight with all the colors of a rainbow. It was like a mountain coated entirely in mother-of-pearl! It was fascinating to behold, but the beautiful sight was marred by massive cracks forming all over the island’s surface.

“Lasses, the others are probably safer down there than we are… if a bigger rock splashes down, we might get washed away by a tidal wave!” explained the Captain, already finished with his sail, “If anything goes wrong just dive to the bottom and try to avoid the debris. I can make it out if I don’t have to worry about you two. Now stop asking questions and secure your belongings in the cabinets over there so they don’t shuffle around and trip us up!”

Before Sparkler could protest a loud cracking sound resounded and an even bigger pane of stone slid off the incredibly shimmering surface underneath and fell into the water.

The Captain looked grim as he took the wheel. “This is going to get tricky!”

Sparkler and Dinky rushed to quickly secure their luggage and silently hoped that the Captain was right about everypony else underwater. They had just barely enough time to finish when the first minor waves began rocking the boat. The two unicorns gasped at the sight of the oncoming wave, as it was big enough to obscure their view of the increasingly shimmering Seagull Island.

Soon all of Amethyst’s field of view was filled with water and she grabbed hold of Dinky with all her might.

The small ship was picked up by the wave and raised in the air and crested the wave. Sparkler felt like she was in a roller coaster for a second as the front of the boat hung in mid air for a second before crashing down with a splash. She was relieved to find the boat still floating upright, even if a little shaken.

“Whee! That was fun!” said Dinky, none the worse for wear.

“This bring me back to my days crossing the ocean to Zebrica!” declared Sunset Beard.

“Good for you Captain, but let’s put more distance between us and that island okay?” asked Amethyst Star.

What was going on with that island?


Trixie wasn’t quite sure who first started the mad scramble that could be generously called a retreat, but she didn’t really care. She had grabbed the Jellyfish Lantern in her telekinesis, not trusting anypony to physically hold the thing, and booked it like everypony else!

“What’s happening?” asked Ditzy to her side.

“Maybe Amethyst Star was wrong and Seagull Island really IS a volcano!” suggested Trixie.

“All the pounding on the ground woke it up?” asked Lyra.

Ditzy looked back toward the island, worried, “Is that even possible?!”

“I’d rather not risk it if you don’t mind,” replied Trixie.

The rumbling and cracking continued as they made their way to the edge of what was Ek’idna’s secret work camp. They were trying to move as fast as possible but they had a number of wounded and weakened ponies with them, slowing them down considerably. Soon enough, emerging from the kelp, everypony saw two groups coming towards them. It was Dusky Jack and Sea Racer with the rest of the aquatic ponies, with a few missing on the seapony side due to recent wounded. Both groups were clearly eyeing each other with a mix of curiosity, fear and suspicion, but the two males at the front only showed worry and concern. A lot of faces in that group lit up at the sight of friends and family long thought lost. Trixie wished she could take a moment to appreciate the reunion, but they didn’t know how safe they were at this distance.

“Charybdis!” began Sea Racer.

“Scylla!” said Dusky Jack.

“What happened?” they asked at once.

“No time to explain! We need to evacuate!” replied Scylla, clearly addressing both groups.

“Everypony in good shape help with the wounded!” ordered Charybdis, in a tone that brooked no objection.

There was a louder rumbling and everypony turned to see an even larger chunk of rock sink into the ocean. From their perspective they could see the water being pushed away by the massive debris, creating a great wave above them. It was quite a spectacle. Trixie saw realization and fear dawn on Ditzy’s face.

“Dinky!” she gasped.

“Hey, don’t worry, Dinky and Sparkler still have the same spell on them that we do,” said Trixie, putting a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.

“Plus Sunset Beard actually has lots of experience crossing the ocean. He used to captain merchant ships,” added Bon Bon, who had spent most of the morning listening to the old sea dog’s stories.

“But just in case, feel free to go check up on them, we’ll be along with everypony else,” said Trixie.

Ditzy nodded and took off, emerging from the water and taking to the sky beyond. A new sound echoed through the depths of the ocean mere seconds later. It was like a steam train exploding out of a wall. A collective gasp rang through the assembled crowd. Trixie could see a large cloud of silt had exploded from the underwater cliff at the base of Seagull Island… and something was coming out of it! Everybody’s jaws dropped at the sight.

“No…way,” she heard Bon Bon say.

“What is this?!” asked Charybdis, confused.

“No! No, no, and, also, no! Tell me that we are NOT doing something crazy like that last fight again!” said Scylla, angry and panicked all at once.

Trixie had a surprisingly calm tone when she spoke up, addressing her unicorn friend without looking at her. “Lyra…you ever heard of something like this?”

“Well…hmm… I’m not sure?” replied the minty mare, sheepishly.

Trixie turned to face her friend with an expression that spoke for itself, yet Trixie felt the need to add some words.

“What do you mean you’re not sure? You’re our bard, our lore master! For stars sake, that island just sprouted a fin! Please tell me you know of a creature that can look like an island and if it’s dangerous or not!” said Trixie, pointing to the giant cream-colored paddle shaped fin emerging from the mass of Lucky Seagull Island.

“Well it’s just…” began Lyra, before she was interrupted by the sound of another fin emerging from the surface.

This one was further down the length of island and much stubbier. This was clearly a hind leg. Soon two more deflagration sound could be heard, but muffled and more distant. Trixie didn’t need to see it to guess that the island now had symmetrical load out of fins.

“Islands that turn out to be alive are usually types of whales! And they don’t turn to stone or sleep for longer than a pony’s lifetime! This isn’t a whale!” explained Lyra, over the ever-increasing sound of stones falling into the water.

“It looks more like…” began Scylla.

“A sea turtle,” added Charybdis, looking toward her fellow leader.

“You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’ Chary?” asked the merpony.

“If what you think I’m thinking is what I am thinking then yeah. We won’t need to fight, Scy-scy.”

Trixie leaned in close to Lyra to whisper in her ear. “Since when have those two been using nicknames like that?”

The other unicorn shrugged.

At this point the massive fins began to move. The rumbling sound that had been heard since these new strange turns of events occurred began to steadily increase in volume. It took roughly thirty seconds before the first massive undertow caused by the movement of the towering fin reached the group and caused most ponies to tumble backward heads over tails, including Trixie herself.

“Are you certain we won’t have another stupid fight on our hooves?” she asked Charybdis while she righted herself.

“No, you see I think…” the seapony leader began before she was interrupted.

The entire underwater portion of Lucky Seagull Island disappeared from view when silt and debris appear to explode out of the massive rock, a deafening cracking noise accompanying the event. The group quickly found themselves engulfed by a moving wall of kicked up sand. It was like being hit by a miniature sandstorm. Almost everypony began to cough and spit out sand. Small shards of rock began to rain from the sky, as if the island’s section above the surface had just exploded to pieces!

Another strong undertow cleared away the silt and Trixie regained her vision. She could clearly see the island again… except it was no longer an island. Lyra had been right that this thing wasn’t a whale.

It was a giant sea turtle.

And it was moving.


Ditzy emerged from the water and only quickly glanced toward Seagull Island before heading back toward the Autumn Delight and her daughter. The island looked like it was shedding, with pieces of rock falling off and revealing a shimmering white structure underneath. She didn’t give it much further thought as she scanned the horizon for their little ship. She quickly spotted it, its sail raised, not far from where they had left it. Thankfully everything looked fine despite the sea being choppier than it had been last time she had visited it.

Her attention was brought back to the island though when she heard a strange crackling sound. It was like someone rolling a cart over broken dishes. Turning to take a glance Ditzy could see what remained of the island’s rocky ‘shell’ was being overrun with tiny cracks. The whole surface was being divided into tinier and tinier pieces, to a point where Ditzy couldn’t make them out anymore. What she could make out was the way the whole thing was vibrating.

Ditzy only had a second to bring up her fore hooves to protect her face as the whole thing simply exploded! The tiny shards of rock flew off and began to rain into the ocean. Ditzy was surprised that the debris felt more like having uncooked pasta thrown at her than being pelted by gravel like she expected. It wasn’t pleasant but at least it didn’t hurt.

When it finally stopped she chanced a look at what was left of Lucky Seagull Island and she gasped at the sight. She was now staring at what looked like a cluster of conical structures, each with many holes going up and down their height, protruding from what looked like a giant turtle’s shell! They were all made of a white stone material that glimmered in the sunlight with all the colors of the rainbow. Some of the bigger cones had sub-spired sprouting up near their top, each decorated with spiraling pattern in various coral colors. The central and biggest cone featured a triangle made of gold embedded into its side, brightly reflecting the glare of the Sun.

Ditzy hung in mid-air, staring at the incredible display, until the whole thing began to move. She could see, beneath the surface that the giant turtle was swimming off towards the deeper parts of the ocean.

The pegasus’ maternal instinct then kicked in and she recalled why she had flown up into the sky in the first place. With one last glance towards the incredible giant turtle she took off towards her daughter.


Trixie was just flabbergasted at the sight before her, and so was everypony else because no one dared make a sound.

A giant sea turtle! Bigger than any living creature Trixie had ever witnessed. Bigger than Raindrops under the effect of the poison joke, bigger than any dragon, bigger than the Ursa Minor, it was just too enormous to contemplate. Its head was now plainly visible and she could see it had a massive blue gem in a diamond cut embedded into its forehead, with a much smaller round one at the front of its nose. A pink material that expended outward into swirls surrounded both and linked them together. The giant softly, almost gently, moved its fin and began to swim away from what had been its resting place, leaving behind only a pile of debris where an island once stood. The fact it could move at all was ludicrous. It was like if Canterlot Castle had decided to get up and go for a walk!

They all watched in silence as it swam towards the deeper parts of the ocean and slowly began to sink into the water. As it did so it revealed a cluster of conical structures on its back, white and iridescent like mother-of-pearl.

Rock Beauty chose that moment to break the silence that had overcome the group.

“Andalantis!”

Gasps and murmurs descended upon the group at this comment.

Lyra gasped. “Of course! It all makes sense! When the legend said Andalantis disappeared ‘beyond the waves’ it meant it from the point of view of the aquatic tribes! It never sank, it rose above the water surface!”

“You’re telling me the mythical Andalantis was on the back of a giant turtle all this time?! And it was right there, near Cayo El Bayo all along?!” asked Trixie.

“It’s hard to believe, but some of our legends do mention the city being capable of moving,” explained Charybdis.

“Did…did we wake it up with our song?” asked Sea Shanty, confused.

“Maybe, how about we go check in person?” said Scylla, pointing a hoof toward the giant as it continued its slow sink into the ocean.

Bon Bon stared at her like she was crazy. “You can’t be serious… you want to go near the giant creature?!”

Scylla shrugged “Stay here if you want, I think Chary and I both want to go, right?”

The seapony leader nodded.

“I want to see it too!” said Sea Shanty.

“You’re not going down there without me,” added Rock Beauty.

“Or me!” said Lyra, much to the surprise of absolutely no one.

Trixie sighed, “I guess I’ll go too. If it’s really Andalantis then as the sole representative of the Night Court available it is my duty to officially restore diplomatic ties with the legendary Aquatic Pony Nation,” she said, puffing her chest.

Bon Bon and Lyra rolled their eyes.


In the end Bon Bon had decided to stay behind to keep Ditzy updated should the pegasus return from the ship. She was also left to guard the Jellyfish Lantern, after Trixie made her promise not to smash it again. Lyra had kissed her goodbye before once again parting with her.

Everypony else amongst the seapony and merpony had been left to tend to the wounded and exhausted. There was still quite some distance left before each of the two clans’ homes and these homes weren’t actually equipped to handle a sudden influx of population. There had been talk of returning to previous, bigger, hideouts now that there was no longer the looming threat of the kaosharks and their mysterious mistress, but with Andalantis possibly within their grasp Scylla and Charybdis had decided to see for themselves first before settling on what to do.

The giant turtle with the city on its back had sunk low enough for the tallest spire to be completely submerged and had stopped swimming, making it much easier for the six ponies to approach.

“Over a thousand years, and it was just right there in plain sight,” said Sea Shanty.

“I’m still confused that no one noticed an island popping out of nowhere on the surface,” added Trixie.

“Cayo El Bayo is a fairly recent settlement, the whole area was pretty much an empty stretch of cliff a thousand years ago,” explained Lyra, ”Equestria’s just not much of a naval nation.”

“The turtle spotted us!” said Rock Beauty.

Indeed, the eye of the giant was clearly following their movement. Yet the creature didn’t move a muscle, or even twitch or blink. It just observed them in silence. That made the whole thing even creepier to Lyra. She could feel a deep intelligence behind those house-sized eyes and it was like the creature was judging her. Would she be deemed worthy to enter these hallowed waters?

Scylla shrugged “As long as it doesn’t do anything crazy I think it’s safe to continue,” said the dark blue merpony.

They continue to approach and got an even better feel for the sheer ridiculous scale of this beast and its cargo. The smaller spires on the edge of the massive turtle’s shell were thicker and twice as tall as Ponyville’s city hall! The central tower, looming over the entire city looked more like a mountain than a building.

The six ponies swam between the first two towers an entered the city proper. Each of the spires was covered with finely carved stylized images of sea life of all kind, and many of the intricate carvings featured coral inlay that hadn’t been visible to the naked eye at a distance. Even now Lyra had a hard time telling what material these towers were made of. It shimmered like mother-of-pearl, looked thick and solid like marble, and yet the whole towers looked smooth and seemless. All over the spires were large circular doors allowing entrance into the various sub sections. A lot of old tattered curtains remained to give those apartments a semblance of privacy. It was rather remarkable how preserved the city was. Everywhere satchels and circular clay pots were laying about, as if dropped in a hurry. Some larger bundles were gathered around the corners of the various ‘streets’ between the buildings, and even a few metallic objects of dry pony making were lying about in the layer of silt and rock fragments making up the floor of the city. There was even a few stone structures that looked like market stalls, their merchandise either long gone or having been washed away when the city sank earlier.

“It’s beautiful,” said Charybdis, in a respectful whisper.

“But it’s also sad… it’s so empty,” added Sea Shanty.

Finally they reached a large ring shaped plaza surrounding the central spire. This part of the city had slabs of grey stone paving the floor and brightly colored algae, surprisingly still alive after a thousand year, were planted at regular intervals in large seashells all around the exterior perimeter. The central tower was unique in that, unlike all the other ones in the city, it had a large pair of circular double doors. The doors appeared to be made of wood, and each one had a large inverted triangle made of gold bolted to its center, the stylized image. At each point of the triangle was a piece of the white stone that made up the spires, each featuring a carving like those Lyra had seen in her prison. It was the symbols for each of the aquatic tribes, looking toward each other.

Before anypony could speak up the double doors began to open, the loud creaking of millennia old hinges straining to move after centuries of immobility broke the silence and momentarily stunned the six ponies. Even more stunning was the figure that emerged from those doors.

The first word that came to Lyra’s mind was ‘alicorn’, for it was what the figure looked like at first. About the size of Princess Luna, she was a very light blue and had four long slender hooved legs, a long neck, a wavering coral pink mane and a horn, but that was where the similarity ended. She didn’t have wings but rather large segmented fins like those of a lionfish, stripped in the same color as her mane, and her tail was like that of a betta fish. Little fins adorned each of her hocks and her ears were shaped like fins as well, but each had a little earring adorned with a pearl. Around her neck hung a golden peytral adorned with a blue diamond cut gem and two pearls. She gracefully swam out of the door and let her hooves rest on the sea floor. Her eyes, which had been closed until now, opened, revealing pools of perfect blue that gave Lyra the feeling of staring into the depths of the ocean itself.

“Greetings,” she said with a soothing voice despite not opening her mouth, “I am Thetis, Guardian of Andalantis and its Tribes.”

After the initial shock Charybdis was the first to speak up.

“Guardian Thetis, it’s an honor to…”

“Hold it!” interrupted Trixie, her eyes aglow, “This is just an illusion!”

Scylla stared dagger at the alicorn, “What? Who’s trying to trick us now?”

The image that claimed to be Thetis simply chuckled. “Forgive me, I did not wish to mislead you. Can I assume that you are Princess Luna’s student?”

“Yes…but how?”

The image smiled. “Only someone who apprenticed under the Mistress of Tides should be able to see through this form. However I think ‘illusion’ is somewhat of a misnomer. I much prefer the term projection, for, you see, it is simply impossible for me to interact with you in my true form.”

And with that the image of the pseudo-alicorn wavered and was replaced by the image of the giant turtle’s head before returning. Lyra’s eyes grew as wide as dinner plates and she could hear her friends gasp.

“Thetis is a giant turtle? I mean you’re… I mean we’re standing…”

“On my back, yes. The last act of my father Nereus before fading away was to place Andalantis on my back and telling me to watch over it.”

“She’s telling the truth… the magic is coming from beneath us, I can see it now,” added Trixie.

Charybdis, Sea Shanty and Rock Beauty swam closer to the figure and bowed slightly as a formal salute.

“Guardian, it is an honor, my name is Rock Beauty.”

“I am called Sea Shanty. I can’t believe I’m in your presence at last!”

“I am Charybdis, leader of the seaponies. Guardian, I have so many questions for you,” said Charybdis.

“Like why in the Abyss did you disappear for so long?!” suddenly asked Scylla, anger in her voice.

She swam closer to the projection and pointed an accusatory hoof at it. “You left us to waste away! Stripped of our magic, stripped of our home, we kept feuding for a thousand year and nearly got destroyed by some…some half boar thing who used the Jellyfish Lantern to turn our own against us! Where were you during all this time?”

“Scylla! Please, it’s not like she intended for this to happen!” pleaded Rock Beauty, grabbing hold of her leader.

Scylla pushed her off, “Well she didn’t do much to stop it!”

There was a tense second of silence and Thetis seemed to visibly sigh as she closed her eyes and inclined her head.

“Your friend speak the truth, I wasn’t there for you in your time of need. I failed in my role and I apologize,” she said, before looking up at the sky above. “Over a thousand years. I slept far longer than I had anticipated. I had no choice at the time but to go, but I had hoped my little ponies would be able to awake me much sooner…”

“What happened?” asked Lyra, her and Trixie joining the others near the projection.

The guardian glanced at the pair of unicorns.

“Oh, my name is Lyra, Lyra Heartstring and this is my friend Trixie.”

“How much do you know of the events before my disappearance? And then what happened since?” asked Thetis.

Lyra recounted as best she could the story that she knew, adding the new element that the aquatic ponies had fought over the Jellyfish Lantern rather than the jellyfish themselves. The seapony and merpony let her finish without even piping in to blame each other for the war. Afterwards Charybdis mentioned how the Jellyfish Lantern had disappeared, only to be found roughly a hundred years ago by her ancestor, only for it to be stolen by a being she now assumed was Ek’idna. Scylla also had a similar story, and the two realized their ancestor probably worked together on the search for the Lantern. They told Thetis of what had happened with Ek’idna and the Kaosharks, and the destruction and following restoration of the Jellyfish Lantern.

“And I guess we woke you up?” said Sea Shanty, finishing the tale.

Thetis had a far off look in her eyes as she contemplated what she had learned. She seemed to be glaring at something in the distance, beyond the ponies around her.

“If you don’t mind me asking…what IS the Jellyfish Lantern anyway?” asked Trixie.

“It is, in a way, a tomb,” began Thetis. “My father Nereus was a powerful spirit of the sea, he saved sinking ponies by turning them into merponies, seaponies and plesioponies.”

She raised her hoof and conjured a stylized image of a large turtle and figures of a pegasus, unicorn and earth pony being turned into the three aquatic tribes. Then the image shifted to the seapony growing algae on the seafloor, the merponies guiding a school of fish and finally the plesioponies, at the surface, creating waves.

“He gave them a home and taught them how to tame the seas… He fancied himself the ruler of all the oceans, but he wasn’t the only one claiming that title. The demon Phorcys also claimed it, and while my father was a benevolent ruler fostering harmony amongst all the creatures of the ocean, Phorcys wanted nothing more than to dominate the sea and conquer the surface world.”

The image of Phorcys appeared, made of blood red lines. It was a large fish with the head of a boar and to its side were dark murky figures lined up like an army.

“The two engaged in a fierce battle and while father destroyed Phorcys’ body, his foul magic was still capable of harm. Father could not stop it for he had been weakened in the fight and so he sacrificed himself to bind the foul power to a piece of his own. Father and Phorcys both had formidable transmutation powers. In fact their magic was so alike I often wondered if they were not brothers. Then, using the Song of Harmony, he sealed their combined magic into what would become the Jellyfish Lantern. I received what was left untainted of my father’s magic, and the city, before his consciousness left us.”

The form of Phorcys and Nereus were seen clashing before then being reduced to a single bright point. Two jellyfish floated into the image and grasped the point, turning into the symbol of the Jellyfish Lantern. Another turtle was seen, the shape of the city seemingly being lifted from the seafloor and landing on its back. The images then disappeared.

“But even sealed up in the Lantern their power could still be used then?” asked Scylla.

Thetis nodded. “Yes, and for a time the Aquatic Tribes kept watch over it, and every year they would gather and sing the Song of Harmony together to renew the seal. There was no need to do it yearly but I still encouraged the ritual as it help create a sense of community and also rejuvenated me.”

“Rejuvenate you?” asked Lyra.

“With my father’s power coursing through me I am quite powerful, but I am not an immortal being of his, or Princess Luna’s, caliber. Time will one day claim me and I will no longer be able to perform my duty. However, time stands still for me whenever I sleep, as such I spend most of my time in a slumber. I usually slept for months at a time, and one of the only ways to forcibly awake me is the Song of Harmony. It’s magic gives me the energy I need to wake up. “

Scylla crossed her hooves, still fuming a bit. “That’s all well and good, but you didn’t regularly turn into an island for months at a time right? What happened?”

“No I did not, I simply laid on the sea floor. At some point while I was asleep Ceto, mate to Phorcys, sought to seek revenge for her departed husband. After spending centuries perfecting her magic, somehow, she reached out to Aquarius, leader of the plesioponies. I am not sure what she whispered in her ear, or what weakness in Aquarius’ heart allowed the seeds of deception to take root, but soon Aquarius desired to be the sole ruler of Andalantis. She seized the Jellyfish Lantern and like Ek’idna used it to make monstrous soldiers. Only she used her own people as canvas to her grotesque work.”

Everypony gasped in shock.

“She used it to turn her own people into kaosharks?!” Asked Scylla.

“I’m afraid so. The merpony and seapony fought valiantly, despite Ceto continuously undermining their alliance with her strife magic, they held on. After months of war, both sides were on the verge of collapse when Ceto at last made her move. She swept in and took the lantern for herself and then tried to use its power to wrestle from me what was left of my father’s power. This action however, broke her hold on Aquarius, who realized the monster she had become. Pleading with the merponies and seaponies she found two charitable ponies to join her in song and they awoke me at last.”

“What happened then?” asked Lyra.

“I was already under attack by Ceto. I battled with her in the astral plane for five days and five nights, all the while the creatures that used to be the Plesioponies kept attacking my little ponies. In the end I defeated Ceto and casted her into Tartarus. The spell over the plesioponies was broken, but their body did not handle the stress…”

Charybdis brought fin to her mouth, “Then you mean?”

“Yes… Aquarius saw her people perish from her own action.”

A heavy silence hung over the conversation. This was quite a tragic tale that Thetis was sharing now. Lyra could hardly imagine what kind of sorrow Aquarius was feeling.

“What happened then?” asked Sea Shanty, her voice barely a whisper.

“I needed to slumber, deeper than I had ever done before. I needed to hide away for at least ten years so as not to offer too easy a target. Ceto and Phorcys had a progeny, and I was sure the thirst for vengeance from that bloodline would not be slaked easily. In fact I am positive the monster you fought, Ek’idna, is of that bloodline.”

Scylla groaned. “Oh great, there could be more of them?”

Charybdis oferred her a small smile. “We’ll handle them when they come, Scy-scy.”

“I had no choice but to turn myself into an island… I gave the Lantern to the survivors of the war for safekeeping, and told them to hide it. I asked them to get together after ten years to sing the Song of Harmony, even if they had to chose someone else to be the third voice.”

“Something they obviously didn’t do,” commented Trixie. “My guess is that…none of them wanted the other group to be seen as better by having two singers instead of one.”

“I will not judge those who are not here to defend themselves. It is a possibility but what is done, is done.”

“And what happened to Aquarius?” asked Rock Beauty.

“Aquarius… why, she came with me.”

And with that Thetis stepped aside and swept a hoof toward the interior of the spire. Large crystalline structures within the cavernous interior began to light up, powered by the magic of the guardian herself, bathing the room in a soothing blue glow. There at the center of the room, in a ray of light coming from above, stood a giant crystal shaped like an urn, and a bright red shape could be seen suspended within. The six ponies swam toward the urn and were shocked to discover the shape was a plesiopony. She was upright in the crystal, her long neck holding her head high and her stubby tail and hind fins dangling. Her eyes were close in a mask of serenity, but scars all over her body betrayed a harsh and violent past. Her mane was a lighter shade of red and spread around her like a flower.

What was more stunning was what her curled fore fins were cradling. About a dozen clear orange spheres the size of a grapefruit, each holding a tiny shape the size of a kitten that looked vaguely like a plesiopony but lacking a mane. Lyra had no doubt what those were, but she had to ask to be certain.

“Are…are those Plesiopony eggs?!”

“They are the last of their kind. Aquarius wanted to forfeit her life as punishment for her crime, but I needed her alive for the next generation of plesioponies… so she came with me. Not today, but in due time, once the city is settled again, I will take her out of stasis and we will hatch the eggs. With hard work, and a little help from new friends, we should be able to maybe… just a little, make up for our past mistakes.”

Charybdis brought a fin to the surface of the crystal and stared at the eggs with the kind of look in her eyes that Lyra had often seen in Ditzy’s own eyes. Silently Scylla joined with her and placed a hoof on the crystal as well.

“Let’s try to do better, and not lose our Harmony,” said the merpony.

“We’ll work together to give those little ones, as well as our own, a bright future,” added Charybdis.

Rock Beauty swam up next to her and also placed a hoof on the crystal. “You better!” she said with a wink.

“We’ll be there to make you keep your word!” added Sea Shanty, swimming next to her leader and also placing her fin on the crystal.

Lyra, followed by Trixie, decided to join in, each on one side of the line up.

“Don’t be afraid to call us if you need some help! I’m sure we can set some communication channel up,” said Trixie.

Lyra nodded. “Yeah, we’re friends after all! And friends can count on friends when there's trouble.”

The six ponies smiled at each other. This was a brand new beginning for Andalantis, one the seapony and merpony clearly wanted to be for the better.

Rock Beauty was the first to move as she went to grab hold of Sea Shanty and pull her along toward the exit “Let’s go get our friends!” she said.

Author's Note:

Whew... that was a LOT of exposition, wasn't it? I hope it wasn't too confusing and it helped straighten out the whole story! I tried my best to make it interesting but I had a LOT of ground to cover.

This is pretty much the end, all that's left is a few loose end to tie up in a short epilogue! It shouldn't take too long to come out either. I can't believe how many words this story has and that it took me FOUR friggin' years to finish it. Never again, I swear!

Finishing this feels SO great that I couldn't hold it back so it's probably still littered with silly mistakes as usual, so feel free to point them out. In the meantime I need to sleep because I got work tomorrow morning.

Hope you enjoy!