Chapter 48 - Honeymoon Hijinks
Best train trip ever! No, I’m not going to elaborate – you can use your own imagination.
When we got to the Crystal Empire, there was a large carriage waiting at the station to pick up Cadance, Shining Armor, and their newborn foal. Of course, they couldn’t just abandon their royal guests, so Trixie and I rode with them to the castle, as well as Spike. The young dragon had been sent as Twilight’s proxy to guide Starlight Glimmer on her designated task because the alicorn had to remain in Canterlot to take care of royal business. While both of the diarchs could be out of the country for special occasions like when the Equestria Games were held here, an unscheduled visit just to be with her niece was not a sufficient reason. She also had a new daughter to care for and Thorax’s pod to watch over.
Twilight Sparkle’s parents, Velvet and Night Light promised to come to the Crystal Empire to help the first-time parents with Flurry Heart, but while they had made arrangements to take time off from their jobs, their grandfoal’s premature arrival had thrown off their plans. Neither could drop what they were doing without notice, so they would be following the next day after tying up some loose ends at work. The final member of our party, aside from the guards, was Moon Dancer. While Princess Twilight could not be there, she could send her right-hoof mare to document the Crystalling ceremony. The mare initially hadn’t wanted to go, but she had been quickly persuaded when told about the Empire’s vast library of books – many of which were older than any in Twilight’s library.
Cadance and Shining needed the carriage. While Trixie and I had lost a little sleep to various activities, the new parents had had their hooves full with Flurry Heart. Feeding the foal might have been solely Cadance’s responsibility but both were woken by the infant’s cries. Shining tried a little too hard to relieve his wife of further burdens and ended up massively sleep deprived. Rather than relying on the competent help that Twilight had offered in Canterlot, the stallion tried to be a “good father” and do it all himself. Little wonder he looked like a sleepwalker when we had gotten off the train.
The Crystal Castle staff soon had their rulers in hoof, the majordomo brooking no guff from her obviously exhausted prince and princess. Proper Place also made sure that Trixie and I were settled into our suite. We had enjoyed a large breakfast on the train and we weren’t interested in having a meal as yet, so we elected to begin our honeymoon activities. First on our list was the Empire’s famous mineral hot springs. Located a short distance outside of the city, a spa had been built around them which catered to the booming tourist trade. Private facilities were also available and had been booked for us. With only our personal bodyguards in tow, Trixie and I were transported to the Crystal Springs Spa and left all our cares and responsibilities behind. The only distraction was the water park expansion that had just opened next to the spa. From the happy yells filtering over the privacy wall, it sounded like every foal and teenager in the Crystal Kingdom had turned out. I asked the attendants if that was the case and they sheepishly apologized for the noise. It turned out the Crystalling was an adults-only celebration and many families had taken advantage of the grand opening to hand over their kids for the day.
I didn’t think any place could beat Ponyville Spa’s services but I was soon disabused of that notion. For starters, that town lacked the hot springs. The geothermal waters proved not to be overhyped either. My wife and I started with a long relaxing mud bath. Yeah, I was skeptical too. What’s so great about getting mud in every crevice, let alone in one’s coat? But Trixie insisted and I complied. I had expected the thirty-minute treatment to be claustrophobic. Instead, having cement-like mud covering everything but my face was incredibly relaxing. The warmth soaked into me and I fell into a meditative state without even trying. When I emerged, I felt relaxed, rejuvenated and soothed. It was awesome. Try it sometime!
The staff directed us to showers to divest ourselves of the mud before we moved on to a soak in a small, private hot springs pool. Unlike the individual mud baths, Trixie and I were able to kiss and cuddle. That was followed by deep-tissue massages with exotic oils, with my wife turning down a wing preening with the explanation that she was saving that job for me to attend to later tonight. Even after the relaxing treatments so far, the masseur discovered knots that he skillfully kneaded out. I felt like a new stallion after that. Next, wrapped in bathrobes, we were treated to a full hooficure while dining on various delicacies brought to us by the attentive staff. I was pleased to see that less than half featured crystal berries in one shape or form. Cadance’s effort to diversify her empire’s cuisine was finally, ahem, taking fruit. Trixie giggled as she used her magic to feed me some tidbits. I used a wingtip to tickle her, causing her to squirm and making the attendant scold me for making her job difficult. That only made Trixie giggle more. I think that being freed of all the responsibilities of ruling during the honeymoon was a welcome relief to the mare. I must admit that I was glad to not have to deal with self-interested nobles and various crises. In fact, I couldn’t find it in me to care about anything beyond enjoying all the pampering. I didn’t even pay much attention to the darkening skies outside. After all, it wasn’t any business of mine what weather had been scheduled today.
I couldn’t help but notice the snow flurries when Trixie declared she wanted to take a dip in the large outdoor hot springs pool which was deep enough to swim in. Memories from my college days of a snowboard vacation, red wine, coeds, a hot tub, and icicles forming on my scrawny beard made me more than willing to acquiesce to her wish. After all, we had the entire pool to ourselves, the staff was giving us privacy, and our guards were discreetly looking the other way. It was Penumbra that brought me back to reality just as we were settling into the water.
“Sir. I don’t believe this snow storm is scheduled. Also, I’m concerned the Crystalling ceremony won’t be able to go forward if it gets any colder.”
“Nonsense!” said my wife. “This is the Crystal Empire. I have it on good authority from Princess Cadance that they deal with snow flurries just as earth pony villages do the same with rain showers. They do not have the advantage of pegasi so they just deal with the weather.”
Penumbra shifted on her hooves uncomfortably and I began to share a bit of her unease. “Tell you what, Penny. Fly back to the castle and come back if there is anything happening that we can help with. In the meantime, the springs here are warm enough to hold off any level of chill. This is the safest place for us.”
She regarded the two of us, nodded, and took off. No snarky come-back at my nickname for her. She was definitely concerned.
Trixie and I were mucking around in the pool like we were both teenagers again when the spa manager came up to us with one of Trixie’s guards. The mare’s lips pulled into a nervous smile. “We are so dreadfully sorry to interrupt your stay, Your Highnesses. If it would not be too much of an inconvenience, would you mind if the young ponies joined you at the main pool?”
My ears perked up. “Did something happen?”
“A thousand pardons, my lord, but the pumps supplying the water park have failed. Yesterday, we ran our first test at their full capacity but only for an hour. My chief mechanic is not confident he can have them working again quickly.”
Trixie said, “By all means! We shall not stand for foals to shiver in the cold while we luxuriate in the comfort of these magnificent spring waters. Let them come!” She turned to the guard. “Sharp Lance, please fetch Trixie her emergency bag – the green one.”
The unicorn stallion bowed and teleported away. The spa pony likewise bowed but did so more than once. “Thank you so much, Your Grace. Umm… please remind the foals not to get mud in the pool. It clogs the filters terribly.”
Even as a bachelor with little personal experience handling young kids, I figured that the manager was indulging in wishful thinking. By the time the last of the fifty or so fillies and colts had entered the walled-off area, some enterprising foal had figured out that a roughly spherical glob of mud dropped in the snow quickly became an excellent projectile, even if the mud balls didn’t last more than a minute or so in the hot springs. Ah, well. I’d just have to take that as a lesson not to have over four dozen kids of my own.
My spouse rebranded herself as “Beatrix the Magician” and was having the time of her life putting on an impromptu magic show. Once again wearing her trademark purple cape and hat, our visitors were none-the-wiser what tribe she came from. With none of the foals having a clue who she was, Trixie was free to perform without expectations or anypony telling her that delighting a bunch of foals was now beneath her station. I initially hadn’t wanted my wife to indulge in any work during our honeymoon, but she came alive in a way I had never seen before. Her eyes sparkled and every movement of her hooves and body projected her joy at returning to her long-abandoned passion. I braved the deepening snowfall because seeing my bride so happy was more than enough to keep me warm inside.
Eventually, her supplies of stage props and token gifts ran out and she reluctantly gave her final bows to her appreciative audience. Every one of the young ponies gave her a hoof-stomping standing ovation. Yep. She still had it.
After she shared some of her excess energy with me via a few passionate kisses, Trixie and I left the children to play in the pool and headed inside to shower off the mineral water. Conditioner was applied to our coats which were then brushed to a brilliant luster. We were both feeling very satisfied and ready to leave the spa. Just as we were approaching the front door, a wave of light passed through the room. I blinked in surprise when I saw that Trixie now looked crystalline. In fact, everypony in the spa had acquired translucent crystal bodies. My wife’s shocked expression caused me to examine myself and I discovered that I had acquired the same condition.
“What happened?” I asked.
The mare in charge of the spa sounded very apologetic as she replied, “They must have had the Crystalling already. I don’t know why they held it early, but I’m sorry to say you’ve missed it.”
“I had no idea it was so literal,” I said as I examined my new look more closely.
“And with crowd participation,” added Trixie. “It’s quite a show-stopper. I approve.”
I nodded. “I suppose we’ll learn more when we get back to the castle.”
As we exited the spa, I noted the same dark clouds were now rolling away in the distance and figured that Shining and Cadance had somehow dealt with the meteorological unpleasantness. I figured that I could ask our hosts about it later. We piled into our carriage and headed back into town, somewhat slowed by the need to dodge larger snowdrifts and pushing through smaller ones. It didn’t take long before we became aware of a shocking sight – the Crystal Castle had several holes in the walls! What the heck had been going on in our absence?!
There were quite a large number of citizens leaving the vicinity and I hailed a stallion with a rather impressive moustache. “Pardon me, sir, but can you tell me what just happened here?”
He gave me a broad smile. “The new princess was presented to us for the Crystalling ceremony and it was beautiful!”
“That’s nice, but I meant why is the castle damaged?”
“Sorry, friend, but I don’t know.”
Trixie poked me and said, “Leave the stallion alone, Dark Windbells. We’ll find out soon enough.”
I rolled my eyes. So the nicknames were back. Some things never changed. She had a point though and we continued on to the castle.
As we entered, we encountered Starlight Glimmer in the company of a bearded orange-coated unicorn stallion wearing a cape. Despite her magic suppression rings still being in place, I eyed her suspiciously and asked, “What have you been getting up to?”
She held up her forehooves defensively. “Not guilty!”
Shining came along at that moment and said, “Calm down, Mark. Starlight has been of immense help today. In fact, if she hadn’t convinced her friend Sunburst to come to the castle, the day could have turned catastrophic.”
Starlight said, “Actually, it was Penumbra who… talked him into overcoming his fears.”
I glanced at my bodyguard and she grinned hugely. I noticed the bespectacled stallion shudder and look anywhere but at her gleaming fangs.
“Who made those holes in the walls then?”
“Why don’t you all come to our largest sunroom and make yourselves comfortable. I’ll tell you all about the excitement that you missed.”
That’s how I learned about baby unicorns and magic surges. And it seems that alicorn foals are exponentially worse. In one exuberant spree, Flurry Heart had successfully ventilated much of the castle and blasted holes in many other objects too. But while that was bad enough, when her parents finally managed to catch her and stop her wild shenanigans, the foal was so upset that she shrieked with her mighty lungs and shattered the Crystal Heart. That is all that stood between the eternal wintry storms that ringed the nation and the city, which accounted for the snow that had fallen while we were at the spa. I gave thanks to any higher being who might be listening that Trixie and I would not be having an alicorn foal when we decided to have children. In fact, a pegasus baby sounded like a much better idea right now.
I asked Penny why she hadn’t come back to tell us what was going on. She replied that there was nothing that we could have done that others weren’t already doing and we were safe in the hot springs which was her primary concern. I couldn’t really argue with that, so I turned to the other subject of my interest – Starlight Glimmer’s role in fixing the problem. Actually, it was Sunburst who had come up with the solution which just so happened to include the Crystalling that we had missed. In addition, Starlight asked Penumbra to encourage Sunburst to ‘move past his attack of fear and self-doubt’ by having him face something he feared more. If Starlight hadn’t been involved, the Crystal Empire might have been lost. That would certainly look good at her trial. As Spike seemed to have his charge well in hand, I left him to it and returned my attention to my wife before she started to get any more impatient.
Trixie and I indulged in a chaise carriage tour of the city. It was an open type that let the husband and wife duo that pulled the carriage give us a running commentary on the sights and their history. Although we had visited the Crystal Empire for the Equestria Games, admittedly we had seen very little of this ancient city and it was a fascinating tour. After that, we had dinner at an upscale restaurant before going out to the theater to watch a play about a love triangle in the ancient days of the Crystal Empire. The story of the king, queen and greatest knight of the realm reminded me of Le Morte d'Arthur and the plays and films that derived from it. However, the militaristic temperament of the old Crystal Empire was strongly reflected by an emphasis on honor, dazzling swordsmanship, and pretty much every major character ending up dead by the end of the play, much to the delight of the mostly crystal pony audience.
That evening when we retired for the night, Trixie put on a show of her own. Inspired and excited by her return to her roots as a stage performer for the foals, she gave me a far more adult-oriented version. I think I can safely say that this was one form of magic that Twilight Sparkle would never master like my beloved, and I made sure to show Trixie how much I appreciated it when she finished her act.
The Crystal Empire heavily relied on tourism for its income. As such, it had many attractions to bring in visitors, not the least of which was an amusement park that was growing in popularity. Trixie and I enjoyed our relative anonymity there, both of us wearing clothing to hide our cutie marks and distract from our features. Likewise, our guards removed their armor and kept a discreet distance from us. Trixie and I got the chance to be ourselves for most of the day, riding the coasters, indulging in the games, and stuffing ourselves with overpriced park food. I think that this was the most carefree day that I’d had since arriving in Equestria, and I got to share it with my wife. Thankfully, no disasters happened that day, and when we wearily made our way back to the Castle, we were pleased to find that Shining’s parents had arrived earlier to help out with Flurry Heart. It turned out that there’s a mane clip designed to prevent unicorn foal magic surges which they gave to the royal couple, freeing them from renewing Sunburst’s magic dampening spell every couple of hours. Seemed to me that they should have thought of that back in Canterlot!
We had dinner with our hosts and spent the evening enjoying conversation only occasionally interrupted by the baby’s needs. I learned a lot about Twilight from Velvet and Night Light that I hadn’t known before. It gave me ideas about a present for Sparkles for looking after Equestria while Trixie and I were on our honeymoon. It also gave my mischievous spouse some ideas on pranking her co-ruler. Better make that two presents, I think.
When your country is surrounded by eternal snow, what do you do about it? Open a ski resort, of course! As appealing as their other attractions were, the ability to have year-round snow activities was something no other place could boast. In the nearby ranges, a village had grown to service the booming winter sports trade. The shops there catered for first-timers as well as pros, and that’s where Trixie and I were to be found the next day. Neither of us had any experience with skiing although we both admitted to tobogganing when we were young. Today though, we were going to strap on a pair of skis and find out what it was like to glide down the slopes on fresh powder snow.
After falling on my face for the twenty-seventh time, I decided that I had entertained my wife sufficiently with my total lack of ability and managed to persuade her to try something that might be more in my skill set. Cross-country skiing was a lot more sedate and involved wine and cheese to consume at hewn-log tables considerately placed at rest stops along the looping trail through the valley. I don’t know what they put in that crystal berry wine, but we were both pleasantly pickled by the time we got back to the resort. We rounded off the day with a meal at a mountain-top restaurant (only accessible by sleigh ride!) before retiring to our suite. Naturally, we had a private balcony with magnificent views of the snow-capped mountains and the picturesque village below. We put our warm coats back on and sat outside to watch the sunset while sharing another bottle of our new favorite wine as we cuddled together. What a fantastic day!
The next morning, I indulged Trixie’s desire to walk around the village shops. There was the usual tourist-oriented stuff for sale – cheap trinkets and expensive souvenirs, as well as Crystal Empire-themed clothing. Considering how recently the city had returned, it was amazing how much had been achieved, especially taking into consideration they were revitalizing old pre-Sombra industries. A lot of credit had to go to Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor whose efforts to rebuild the nation had been unstinting. This resort looked like it had something for everyone, including dog-sledding. Trixie was quite excited when she discovered the billboard advertising the activity. So, we joined a group of ponies led by an experienced guide. Each of us had a small team of huskies pulling a single-pony sled. We were given instructions on how to control our team of dogs and then lined up to follow our guide. A second dog-handler would take up the rear to ensure that nopony got left behind. That was not what proved to be our problem though.
Apparently, the dog team that my wife got was particularly excitable and eager to run. I put it down to the breed as this was what they were born and bred to do. The moment that they got the command to go, they took off like a shot with Trixie hanging on for dear life. The guide cursed and tried to head her off but her panicked commands to stop only seemed to add incentive to the dogs’ efforts and they pulled away from the would-be rescuer. As it was, Trixie had a death grip on her sled. Our pegasi and nocturne guardsponies were hampered by a sudden snow flurry and couldn’t keep up with the sleds on the ground. If I hadn’t abandoned my sled and taken wing to catch up to Trixie, she might be halfway to Yakyakistan by now. It was a good thing the snowfall hid me from the rest of the group because I was forced to switch to my pegacorn form to not only catch up but to also lift the sled, dogs and all, off the ground to bring them to a halt. I switched back moments before the guide and dog handler caught up and Trixie decided that she wasn’t that interested in dog-sledding after all. That was fine by me. I finally had something to tease my spouse about after the merciless ribbing she’d given me for my total failure at alpine skiing.
After having a leisurely lunch, Trixie was in the mood to do something different. Unfortunately, she thought ice skating would be a fun activity. My inability to stay upright on skis told me that was a no-no, so of course, my darling wife insisted. The things that I do for her! I wobbled out onto the ice rink with Trixie by my side, supporting me. Amazingly, I stayed on my hooves for an entire lap, but then I realized that Trixie’s horn was glowing and her magic was steadying me. She gave me a fond smile and said, “It seems we’re both a failure at something, so let’s at least do one thing properly together.”
I nodded and kissed her, and we continued making laps around the rink, a couple joined as one. Each of us knew we could utterly rely on the other when circumstances demanded it. Forget everything else that we did at the resort – that was my perfect moment.
Trixie and I headed back to the city later that afternoon and dined with Cadance and Shining. Both looked a lot better having managed to get adequate sleep with Twilight Velvet and Night Light’s experienced help with Flurry Heart. We chatted about our adventures at the resort for a while, but we retired early because we had to rise in time to break our fast before catching the morning train. After thanking the royal couple for their hospitality, Trixie and I headed to the station along with our personal guards to begin the next leg of our honeymoon vacation.
Moon Dancer and Starlight Glimmer accompanied us to the Mount Canterhorn Junction train station. While they returned to Canterlot with a couple of the Royal Guards, our goal was farther south. Appleloosa was holding a major rodeo and county fair, and we had been invited as special guests. We didn't have any responsibilities other than smiling and waving to the crowd, so we got to enjoy all the events from Royal Box seats. I’m not much of a fan of this kind of thing, but our hosts helped make the day enjoyable. I got a kick out of the rodeo clowns, especially Trouble Shoes, a Clydesdale-type pony whom the CMC had helped a little while back. He was just as hilarious as they had told me. The fair went well into the evening and we indulged ourselves in all the typical games of skill and rides just like we were foals again. Okay, technically I was never a foal, but you know what I mean.
We only stayed one night and continued travelling south the next day. There used to be only an occasional caravan service going to the remote town of Dartmoor Beach on the south-west coast of Equestria, but my efforts to get the nation better prepared for defending itself had included expansion of the rail network. The rapid movement of troops to various locations was critical in times of war, and the south coast had been only accessible by sea, airship, or trekking over a hostile desert. Now, a brand new line took us through that wasteland, past Kluge Town, and terminating at Mount Aris. Or almost. Only so much can be achieved in the time since those plans were put into action, and in spite of the speed with which ponies worked, the rail didn’t quite reach that final destination yet. The biggest problem was that Mount Aris was located on an island and a series of bridges needed to be constructed to bring the train to the new station being built on the home of the hippogriffs. These were well underway but for the moment, we had to disembark the train at a temporary platform near a wharf where a boat waited to complete our journey. A squad of hippogriff soldiers was waiting to escort us to Queen Novo’s palace and our personal guards began setting up their tents as they would wait for us to return. The exception was Penumbra who stuck with me like glue. That mare took her job super seriously even when in the realm of a close ally. We were led into the throne room where a stately mare with a pale pink coat and feathers plus a mauve mane and tail warmly greeted us.
“Princess Trixie, Prince Mark – welcome to Mount Aris. I have been looking forward to your arrival. My ambassador has told me so much about you and I regret that I have been unable to come to Canterlot since Princess Celestia disappeared. I hope that we can make up for lost opportunities while you are here, but meanwhile, I will see to it that you enjoy your honeymoon vacation.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” I replied.
“Trixie has been looking forward to this visit,” my wife added.
Novo smiled and said, “I have asked my daughter Skystar to see that you are made comfortable. She’s a little excitable though, and I’m hoping that she might benefit from spending some time with an Equestrian royal couple. I hope that you won’t mind.”
I glanced at Trixie who gave me a noncommittal look. “We look forward to meeting her,” I replied.
“Excellent! Stratus Skyranger will be in charge of your security while you’re here. He will take you to Princess Skystar. I will join you for dinner later.”
A blue-coated hippogriff stallion in guard barding stepped forward. “If Your Highnesses would care to follow me?”
Trixie and I walked behind the guard who led us further into the palace. Before long, we encountered a pale yellow young hippogriff mare with a blue mane. She practically danced on her hooves and talons when she saw us approaching.”
“Omigosh! Real Equestrian royalty! Hi! I’m Princess Skystar and I’m so happy to meet you!”
I grinned. I already liked the girl and I held out a hoof to shake her claws. “A pleasure to meet you, Skystar. I’m Prince Mark Wells and this is my wife, Princess Trixie Lulamoon.”
“I’ve arranged to have your luggage brought to your suite. We can go there now or I can show you around a bit?”
“Trixie would like to see more of this impressive palace,” she said with a smile.
Skystar blinked with confusion. “I thought you were Trixie?”
“Of course.”
“But you said that Trixie would like to see the palace…”
“My wife likes to talk in third person, Skystar,” I said.
The hippogriff stared and shrugged. “Equestrian customs are strange.” She brightened again. “Come on – follow me!”
Skystar showed us around the castle with its eccentric mix of undersea and aerial motifs. Polished coral flooring and mother-of-pearl inlaid furniture complimented flowing walls of magically suspended seawater and ceilings sculpted from clouds. She then took us on a tour of the gardens that led up the side of the mountain that gave the city its name. We made it back in time to freshen up before dinner with Queen Novo. Table conversation tended to center upon the disappearance of the Royal Sisters and Trixie and Twilight’s reign. The hippogriff monarch was equally puzzled about the reason for her friend, Celestia, to suddenly rush off with her sister, eliminating yet another possible source of information.
Our suite overlooked the bay, and because the palace was built up the slope of the mountain, it provided us with a magnificent view of the city, beach, and the sparkling sea. The salty air gave a novel scent to everything too, and the susurration of the surf lulled us to sleep after we made love once more.
Princess Skystar gave us a tour of the arts and culture of their nation the next morning, but she spent almost as much time asking us about ours and making comparisons. She seemed to be a bundle of boundless energy and curiosity. I reckon that Queen Novo must have tasked her with entertaining us just to tire her out a little! By lunchtime, the day had warmed considerably and, after light refreshments, we headed for the beach. Culture and conversation were fine, but Trixie and I were here to have some fun too.
It seemed that the idea was popular among the foals as well. The beach wasn’t too crowded, but there were plenty of curious children and adults around us most of the afternoon. That was perfectly fine with us because we indulged in various games with them such as volleyball. Trixie got to show off her athletic talents, and I got to watch my sexy wife. Good times.
I’m just not going to discuss how my overall lack of coordination carried over to yet another sport I thought I would be good at.
To our surprise, Queen Novo joined us later in the afternoon.
“My honored guests, I would like to show you one of our realm’s hidden secrets. Before today, it had only been shared with Celestia and Luna. As trusted allies, I believe that you will keep this knowledge to yourselves.”
“You’ve certainly aroused my curiosity,” I replied.
“Trixie’s too. You have our word that we will keep any secret you choose to reveal to us.”
“Very well. Please follow me.”
We were both a little startled when Novo started marching into the sea but we followed her anyway. When the water was nearly up to our withers, she dived down and disappeared for a moment. Trixie and I looked at each other, wondering if we were supposed to follow suit. Just then, Novo resurfaced, leaping out of the water and diving back again. My jaw dropped and I imagine Trixie’s did too because the hippogriff queen had transformed into something resembling a leafy seahorse.
“A seapony! Trixie thought you were their land-based monarch, not that you transformed into one!”
Even I wasn’t positive that the seaponies were transformed hippogriffs, and to see it for myself was still startling. Abruptly, several of the adults and foals flew out to join us in the water, transforming into seaponies as well. Apparently, having been given the sign that it was okay to reveal their ability to change, they were eager to indulge in swimming in the form most conducive to that purpose.
Novo rose partially out of the water in front of us. “So you somehow already associated me with the myth of seaponies? You will have to tell me how you learned this. In any case, our seapony forms not only allow us to master the sea but also serve as a defense against hostile forces. The magic that allows us to transform can be bestowed upon you too if you wish?”
I looked at Trixie and grinned. She returned the expression and nodded.
“We’re in!” I exclaimed.
I waved to get Penumbra’s attention on the beach, which was difficult considering she was gaping at all the transformed beings now splashing happily in the water. “Penumbra! Penumbra! We’ll be back in a bit!” I turned back to the seapony queen just as my guard started to voice her displeasure. There would be consequences later, but only myself and Trixie had been invited and I chose not to make a diplomatic incident about the exclusion of our guard.
Novo smiled and the pearl around her neck glowed. Abruptly, I felt my form change and, without legs to stand on, I slid under the water. Caught by surprise, I accidentally breathed in water, but rather than cough and splutter, I found it natural and comfortable. I could now breathe underwater! I tried to move and instinctively flicked my tail, making me surge into deeper water where I found my equally transformed wife checking herself out. Her artificial wings had slid off her thinner barrel and now bobbed behind her—the invisible cinch probably looped around her tail. Then Trixie looked at me and laughed as she flicked the artificial appendages away..
“What’s so funny?” I asked, wondering how it was possible to talk in water.
“Have you looked at yourself yet, ‘Your Highness’?” she asked with a smirk.
I turned to check out my new form and my eyes opened wide in surprise. I was in my Celestial form! Or at least a seapony version of it. “What the heck? I didn’t try to change into this.”
“Perhaps your own transformation magic got tangled with Novo’s spell,” Trixie speculated.
“I guess so. This is going to be awkward to explain to—”
“Celestia! Have you been hiding under another identity all this time?” exclaimed Novo as she swam up to us.
“Of course she has!” said my wife unhelpfully. I opened my mouth to contradict her but she barreled on. “Do not believe anything she says to the contrary! You have doubtless heard of the amnesia that was made widely known when my Grand Vizier was announced to the Equestrian Court. This was the best way to explain poor, poor Celestia’s tragic and long-lasting delusions of stallionhood.” My wife’s smirk was, if anything, even wider in this new seapony form.
“Oh, I am so very, very pleased that you are with us once again, dear Celestia!” proclaimed Queen Novo. “However, if you insist on carrying on the lie despite all evidence to the contrary…” She waved a hoof at my form. “… far be it for me to contradict you.” Turning, I saw the same grin on the seapony queen’s face, which only grew wider when she looked past me to my wife.
My stallion’s feelings of shock and offense were finally being overridden by my mare’s intuition at realizing I was being played. I swam backward so I could give both of them a glare as Novo glided to Trixie’s side. “Have you two been planning this for weeks or does it just come naturally?”
Both of them burst out laughing and hugged each other.
When they had settled down, I said, “I’m definitely not Celestia. I’m still Mark Wells. Look at my cutie mark – it hasn’t changed.” Thankfully, although it had shifted to a dorsal fin, I still retained my normal cutie mark.
“This is very strange,” Novo said stifling a chuckle. “But why would a pegasus stallion change into an alicorn mare?”
“It’s a long story, Your Majesty, and one that few know as yet. I can tell you about it later over dinner if you wish. We can exchange secrets then. Meanwhile, I’d like to explore a little while in this form.”
Novo smiled knowingly. “Our ability to change into seaponies is only half the secret. Follow me.”
She shot away at great speed and my wife and I followed as best we could. Fortunately, the proper use of our marine forms seemed to be instinctive, so we managed to keep up. Novo led us deeper into the ocean and through a series of reefs until we emerged into a vast cavern lit by phosphorescent corals, kelp, and other plant life. I stopped and gaped at the scene before me. A three-dimensional city lay before us with dwellings and other structures located on the walls and roof, all with a unique style of architecture only suited to a marine environment. It was enthrallingly beautiful.
Novo swam up to our side and proudly said, “Welcome to Seaquestria.”
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More please
Well look at you with the fancy artwork! Well done indeed!
I will be laughing my flanks off if there's any little mermaid references in the next chapter! ;3
Nice chapter Goldy. The loveponies were able to have a nice honeymoon without too much drama to deal with so far. (Jinx!) Hope to read more soon.
*Applauds warmly* Great Chapter! We get to see Mark and Trixie be Mark and Trixie, not Prince and Princess. Life is not one continual crisis, after all.
It does make me wonder, though, just how calm Twilight and Thorax's honeymoon will (or will not) be...
This was very much worth the wait
Fun fact, and Mark probably doesn’t know this, but sound generally travels better under water, only human ears and vocal cords are not designed for liquid environments.
Cute chapter. I wonder if they'll indulge in more honeymoon activities while in seapony form for the novelty of it.
Fanfic art by Andy Price? Nice!
Am I the only one who scans for the pictures before I get around to "reading?" (Audio, because who has time to stop a and read?)
9596554
I wonder if seaponies are like sea horses and the females lay eggs in the males' pouch... or maybe she lays eggs and the male jizzes them after like many fish.
Good chapter, great art. Never got a chance to go to Andy's table since it was always so crowded.
Yeah was surprised leaving them out of the Crystalibg. And it is funny that going seapony triggered Marklestia.
Yeah, I myself pretty much got my sktes in left pairs, if you know what I mean. I couldn't even stay upright with the support bar.
Yes. The answer is definitely yes.
Spotted a typo:
should be "discreet" distance.
"I has a spelling chequer, it cam with my PC,
It plane lee Marx four my revue miss steaks eye can knot sea..."
It wouldn't happen to be the same place a certain Knight got a certain Whish?
Heh, missing the Crystalling is no big deal if they got spared from the stress that came before it.
It's awesome that they're strengthening their relationship with Seaquestria and the hippogryphs. Keeping the timeline stable is also a pleasant plus.
Totally missed ya at BABSCon. Maybe next year!
Keep going! ;)
I'm betting that by the time Celestia and Luna get back, the place will be unrecognizable....
Celestia: "Damn! Another wrong time line! How many more do we have to search?"
Luna: "Well, we've done 5000 already. We've hardly put a dent in the estimated 2.659119772 * 1036305 possible alternate timelines1."
1---the real "Number of the Beast", as described by Robert Heinlein. The book he wrote contains an error in calculating the number 6^6^6. It wrongly computes it as (6^6)^6, when it should have been 6^(6^6).
Ooooooh. Famous Last Words trope activated. What would you like your tombstone to say?
They're clearly going to be having twins. Four wings and a horn between them.
Parcheesi. They played lots and lots of parcheesi.
9599314
Nahhhh. It was ‘Go Fish.’
...
Actually, that sounds a lot raunchier than I had first imagined.
What's so complicated about "being exposed to staggering amounts of magic while under poison joke can make the effects sort-of-permanent"?
9608635
It's boring, you left out all the fun details. ;)
I mean, would you really say just that when you can and likely want tell a whole story about it? But yes, that's pretty much what happened.
Trixie adult show : Pretty sure Trixie make his stallionhood dissaper with a swing of her hips
This two lovebirds deserv a good honeymoon
9596763
Ok... Now i like to know that to... Lets ask Twilight... FOR SCIENCE
This chapter has me really wishing I wasn't single and a virgin.
oh, that part in the spa reminded me of a decidedly X-rated fan-comic..."the usual" by Pyruvate.
Nice chapter and great art! But I've got a question.
I've been away from this story for a while, when did the hippogriffs come out of hiding? I don't remember. Was it shortly after the princesses disappeared? Or when mark was fortifying the country?
9733672
Different sequence of events meant that the hippogriffs hadn't gone into hiding yet.
Trixie would make Trollestia proud... Love her and Penumbras humor
9733672
Mark's militerising of equestria probably caused the storm kings advance to be delayed a bit while he reconsidered his options he may be a goofball but he's not stupid
Damn, I wish I could see some of the 18+ scenes in this, they sound so interesting!
Huh. I always assumed that the Hippogryphs becoming Hippocampi was in response to the Storm King, that they had the pearl’s transformative abilities before but used it to hide in response, not having a city undersea before. In hindsight, however, this makes more sense.
oh, i just remembered a silly fan-comic where Trixie met another pony who does that:
https://www.deviantart.com/t-brony/art/FIT-The-G-and-P-M-283634441
Unless she somehow used a spell to shrink it down, that pearl should be the size of a bowling ball and certainly too big to wear as a necklace. On top of that, the fragmentation of the pearl only occurs after the Storm King’s defeat.
10864984
As should be obvious by now, this is an alternate universe and the sequence of events differ. And I suppose I could have written pearl piece or ornament.
Will Mark ever carry a Foal in him/her make this chapter wonder me.
Sure a interessting experiences to make once.
You know, Trixie and Novos never did answer if they planned this in advance or if it just came naturally...
11308121
Would you want a side of Subnautica to go with that
Oh wait this isn't the maretian