Chapter 3
Applejack’s strength, developed from a life of daily farm work, served her well. The child, still wary of her, had reluctantly agreed to ride Applejack’s back while she carried Rarity as usual. To say it wasn’t easy would be an understatement. They had to stop twice because the child’s arms weren’t strong enough to carry her own body weight for long, and Applejack was sweating profusely most of the way. But, at last, they reached the pond roughly a quarter mile into the island’s interior.
Not for the first time, Applejack marveled at how much piping Fluttershy’s late father had laid down to get fresh water to that shed. She wondered what had made him so willing to do it, though she imagined Fluttershy’s wide, imploring eyes had done the trick. As innocent as she seemed, Fluttershy was by no means ignorant of how her pouting lip and sparkly gaze affected people.
The girl in question now stood by Rarity, who lay sideways in the sand by the pond’s edge. Sweetie had stubbornly insisted on being the first into the pond, presumably to check that it was safe. Applejack had to wonder if her behavior was typical or if she was trying to be the ‘big sister’ now that Rarity was largely incapacitated. Still carried on Applejack’s back, the girl held on tight as she was marched into the shallows. Applejack paused when the water came up to her waist. “Alright, missy. This is your stop.”
The child reached down with one hand to get a small bit of water in her cupped palm. She sniffed it, then licked it. She made a sound that might have been surprise before calling back to Rarity and Fluttershy. Some kind of report? Then, in a smooth but slow motion, she slipped off Applejack’s back and under the water. The pond was so clear that it was easy to see her swim slow circles. The clear water made the gills on her back distinct as they opened to take in water while she moved, and Applejack had a hard time not staring at them. After a few rotations around her, the child darted off, disappearing as she rapidly made distance.
“What’s she doing?” Fluttershy asked from shore.
“I don’t know. Testing the water, maybe?” Applejack took the opportunity to examine their surroundings.
The pond was, in all honesty, too large for the moniker, but also too small to be a lake. It formed a rough crescent shape, with said shape opening to the north. A cliff, about twenty feet high, stood imposing itself on the landscape, and it was around this that the crescent of water had formed. Most of the rest of the pond’s shores were made up of sandy beaches, although there were a number of spots where the trees grew right up to the water, creating a thick overcast. The only truly open space would be atop the cliff, though Applejack knew from experience that getting there demanded a circuitous route guarded by rough boulders and rocks. Given that most of the people living here were of a senior generation, not many bothered to face the challenge. At the far east tip of the crescent the pond emptied into a creek that ran all the way to the southeast tip of the island. A small, ancient-looking wooden bridge spanned the creek, still sturdy despite its apparent age.
A pinkish blur shot past Applejack, and not a second later the child emerged from the water near Rarity and Fluttershy. She spoke animatedly to the elder mermaid, arms moving about in wild gestures. Then she disappeared beneath the surface once more, hardly making a splash.
Whatever she’d said, it was enough to help Rarity get over her apparent anxiety. Mostly. A certain wariness remained, though of what Applejack couldn’t be sure. Of them? Of the situation? Of the location?
She wasn’t the only one to notice. Fluttershy knelt by Rarity’s reclining form. “Rarity? Is everything okay?” A hint of frustration ran through Applejack that she’d been beaten to that particular punch. She didn’t know why it bothered her though, and quickly chose not to think on it further.
Of course, Rarity had no idea what Fluttershy was asking. After returning an uncertain look, she dipped her hand in the water and… let it rest there. She sighed, the sound slow and long. After muttering a few words, she looked to Applejack and pointed at the water. Her intention was clear, but before Applejack could make a move the child mermaid popped out of the water and took Rarity’s hand. She effectively dragged her elder into the water, speaking words that sounded encouraging.
The next thirty minutes were spent with Rarity trying to swim, the child ushering her on with increasing worry, and Fluttershy fretting like a mother hen over her chicks. That last one Applejack was accustomed to. Alas, it seemed Rarity couldn’t swim at all without enduring some serious pain. Yet she was light enough in the water that she could tread the bottom with her hands with little effort. More curious was an apparent ability to adjust how deep she floated without any visible action on her part. Fluttershy theorized that the mermaids had some kind of ‘buoyancy bladder’ in the largest portion of the tail that could naturally let them change depth, a common adaptation in fish.
Once the two had settled into their new environment and the child had explored a bit, Applejack tried calling her over using the phrase she’d heard repeatedly and thought was the child’s name. “Sweetie Belle?”
The child, hovering over the deep portion of the pond – very deep, as Fluttershy could attest, with a steep drop-off – spun around to glare at her. “Shvee-tzee-braille!”
The temptation to smirk was overcome, but not without effort. “Yeah, that’s what I said: Sweetie Belle.”
Fluttershy, sitting by the water and watching Rarity’s attempts to move along the pond's bottom, shot her a lecturing glance. “You’re doing that on purpose.”
“Darn right, I am.” The grin escaped as she turned her attention to Sweetie. “So, is this okay? Safe?”
Swimming a little closer, Sweetie made a sweeping gesture with her hands and smiled. “Safe.” Then the smile washed away and she pointed at Applejack. “Not safe.” Her finger then went to Rarity, still making her way along the bottom and not seeming to pay them any attention. “Mine.”
Fluttershy giggled, earning her questioning looks from both mermaid and human alike. “It almost sounds like she’s protecting her sister from a naughty boy.”
The counter died on Applejack’s lips. She ran her fingers along her palms, remembering the smoothness of Rarity’s skin and the feeling of holding her.
“Not safe.”
Fluttershy sat up straight upon realizing Sweetie’s accusing finger was now pointed straight at her. “W-what? Why me?”
Jumping on the metaphorical life raft, Applejack responded, “I think she don’t trust humans in general.”
Sweetie looked between them, suspicion lacing her glower. “Safe? Safe. Safe?”
Rubbing the back of her head at the child’s repetition, Applejack said, “I think she’s confused.”
“She doesn’t know if she can trust us yet, I suppose.” Fluttershy fiddled with her hair, but didn’t look away from Sweetie’s gaze. “If they don’t trust humans much, then they must think they’re taking a big risk by relying on us. Maybe that’s why Rarity seems so worried.”
“She doesn’t know if she’s made the right decision,” Applejack realized, once more watching the elder mermaid practice moving along the bottom of the lake. At this point she was far enough away to be little more than a pale blob, partially obscured by the sunlight glimmering atop the water. “It may be a while before they’re willing to trust us.”
Fluttershy leaned forward. “Su-vee-tee?”
Sweetie swam a little closer. Unlike her snap at Applejack, she kept a softer tone for Fluttershy. “Shvee-tzee.”
Pursing her lips in concentration, Fluttershy tried again. “S… Shvee-tee?”
“Tzee.” Losing her suspecting manner, Sweetie brought her fingers to her lips and repeated the sound a few times, slowly enunciating and moving her lips in demonstration.
“Shvee… tzee?”
The child shot her arms up high with a delighted cry. “Yes! Shvee-tzee! Shvee-tzee!”
Beaming proudly at her success, Fluttershy sat up once more and nodded. “Shvee-tzee.” She then pressed a hand to her chest. “Fluttershy. Fluh-ter-shy.”
Sweetie nodded in return. “Fluttershy.” She turned to Applejack. “Applejack.” When she received a nod, Sweetie proceeded to point to each of them in turn. “Applejack. Fluttershy.” Then to herself. “Shvee-tzee.” Then to the distant Rarity. “Reh-reh-tzee.”
Settling in a sitting position near Fluttershy, Applejack spoke. “Sweetie?” Ignoring the glower, she brought her hand to her throat, then moved it out in a waving motion. “Can you teach us?” Her reward was a look of blatant confusion. She performed the motion again. “Sweetie.” Then she performed the motion in reverse. “Shvee-tzee.”
Watching Applejack repeat the act a few times was enough to get the message through. At least, Applejack thought it had gone through. Sweetie’s manner turned suspicious once more, but she seemed to be giving it some serious thought. Abruptly, she swam to the shore and started drawing in the sand with her finger.
“Oh? What are you—?” Fluttershy’s question was waved off, Sweetie not even looking up from her work. It took a good minute for her to finish. When she did, there was a depiction of… a boat? Yes, Applejack was sure it was a boat, with stick figures on the deck and two mermaids beneath it. The smaller mermaid was up right beneath the keel, while the bigger one was watching from farther away. This was only the first picture. Another showed the same two mermaids, the smaller one watching from what might have been a coral reef and eyeing large fish-like blobs while the larger seemed to be gathering something in a different, more open area. There were another two images of a similar nature.
“I think I get it,” Fluttershy said after examining the images. “Sweetie is the scout, keeping an eye on threats while Rarity gets them what they need to survive.” She pointed to one image that looked like Rarity luring a shark away from a Sweetie hiding in what might have been a shipwreck. “Rarity also keeps the threats away from Sweetie. She’s bigger, so maybe she’s faster too, and Sweetie’s small so she can hide. They’re a team.”
“A team that’s now down a member.” Applejack pointed to the boat with the two stick figures on the deck. “And that’s probably how she learned a few words of English; listening in on sailors while keeping an eye on them. Pretty clever.”
Sweetie pressed her finger to the boat, her expression solemn. “Not safe.” She met their eyes one at a time. “Not safe.”
Fluttershy, looking worried, set her hand to her chest. “Safe.” Sweetie merely shook her head before swimming off. “Oh, I don’t know how to convince her.”
“I don’t think we can, sugarcube. Not in a single day.” Settling back in the water, Applejack looked out over the pond. “It’ll take time. I’m sure they’ll come around. Right now, we got much bigger things to worry about.”
“Bigger things?”
“Yeah.” She sighed heavily. “Like Rainbow coming by tomorrow.”
“Hey, AJ!” Rainbow Dash, donning knee-length shorts and a tank top, had no difficulty standing on the small motorboat and tossing the thick landline to her friend. “How’s it hanging here in paradise?”
A little envy seeped into Applejack at how easily Rainbow could walk around the constantly shifting boat. Just the ride between the mainland and the island could knock her off her feet for a couple hours. She tied the motorboat to the dock and stepped back, giving her friend room to hop off the vessel with a backpack and a large, grey case under one arm. “It’s been interesting, to put it mildly.” They exchanged fist-bumps and started down the dock side-by-side. “You win yesterday?”
Rainbow’s smile became a scowl. “We tied. Not because of any issues with my team, though. Those Appleoosa guys are good. I’m sorry I didn’t take your warning about that cousin seriously.”
“Braeburn’s good, no question.” Their shoes crunched on gravel for a dozen steps before they reached the dirt road leading to the beach houses. Rainbow paused when Applejack, instead of heading straight for Fluttershy’s, moved for the beach. “So you take the loss with class?”
After hurrying to catch up, Rainbow let out a huff. “I’m fine.” The sulkiness in her tone made Applejack smirk. “We’re still among the top three in the regionals. We just gotta make sure to not do it again and we’ll be number one.”
“Don’t ya gotta beat Appleoosa at least once to do that?”
“We’ve got a rematch scheduled in five weeks. We’ll be ready by then.” Hefting the grey case up to her shoulder, she asked, “So this animal is at the aquarium? I figure that’s the only reason we’re headed this way instead of to the beach house.”
Applejack stopped, turning to scan their surroundings. There were a few people on the beach, but nobody close enough to hear what they were saying. She met Rainbow’s nonplussed look with a firm frown. “Alright, Rainbow, here’s the deal. What Fluttershy and I found out here is special. Real special. Now, I ain’t gonna try and stop you from coming and seeing this, because I know if I do you’ll find a way to do it anyway behind my back.”
Fire flashed in Rainbow’s cerise eyes. “Excuse me?”
“Y’all heard me.” Applejack stood her ground against the glare. “Think about it and tell me it ain’t true.”
Rainbow studied her, then looked to her shoes. After a few seconds of silent glowering, her face softened and she sighed. “You know, sometimes the truth hurts.” She offered the case.
Applejack took it with a smile. “Like ripping off a band-aid. Sorry to be so blunt, but you know me.”
“It’s fine.” Rainbow stretched her arms up high and grinned. “Full secrecy, right? Nobody knows outside our little trio?”
“That’s the whole apple in a bite.” Hefting the case under her arm, Applejack resumed walking, Rainbow moving along at her side. “It’s real important. I’ll hold you to a Pinkie Promise if I have to.”
“Whoa, whoa, no way.” Rainbow waved her hands in ardent refusal. “I’ll keep the secret, promise. Er, not a Pinkie Promise, but a regular one. Last thing I want is for Pinkie to be on my case for breaking one of those. You know, best way to lose a friend and all that.”
It was impossible for Applejack to tell if the ominous hiss of “Forever!” was in her head or coming from the high dunes where someone could conceivably be hiding. As always, she elected not to dwell on the topic. “I think that’s enough tempting fate for one day.”
“Agreed.”
Despite constant efforts to get something out of her, Applejack managed to resist giving away what was coming. This was easy, as she knew she wouldn’t have been believed regardless. It took them most of an hour to get to the marina and aquarium, and then another half-hour from there to the pond. Luckily, Fluttershy and Applejack had devoted a good bit of time yesterday to explaining to their guests that a third party would be arriving. They didn’t like that idea at all, but finally relented. Perhaps only because they didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. Had they insisted, Applejack would have at least tried to keep Rainbow from finding out the truth, but as she’d said before, succeeding in that goal was practically impossible without hurting the girl’s feelings in far worse ways than some sharply applied truth.
At last, the two of them emerged from the forest and on the pond’s shore. Fluttershy, sporting a wetsuit, was relaxing on a nearby boulder, perking up the moment they called her. “Hello, Rainbow. It’s been a while since you visited Splendora Island.”
“Hey, Shy.” Rainbow’s face lit up at the sight of her. “Wow, I haven’t seen you wear one of those in ages. Now I kinda wish I’d brought mine so we could go snorkeling like old times.” Fluttershy was the only person Applejack had ever seen receive a hug from Rainbow Dash, and seeing it again now was a reminder of just how close the two really were. “Where’s this animal you’re helping out? AJ says it’s a big secret and got me all curious.”
Exchanging uncertain glances, Applejack and Fluttershy turned to the pond in unison. It only took a few seconds to spot the white and pink shape hovering just beneath the surface nearby. Of the larger, purple one there was no sign.
“Whoa, is that it?” Rainbow started to approach the pond.
Fluttershy’s hand on her shoulder stopped that. “Please, not too fast or loud. They don’t trust us yet, and aren’t happy we told a third person about them.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “You make it sound like we’re dealing with people rather than animals. Also, ‘them’?”
“Just wait here.” Applejack stepped into the pond until the water was up to her knees, then knelt down. Gesturing with her hands below the surface, she encouraged Sweetie over. She came, but slowly.
When her pink and purple hair emerged, Rainbow let out a quiet, “What the…?” Then Sweetie’s face appeared. She studied Rainbow with all her usual, characteristic suspicion, prompting Rainbow to add, “Wait, was she hiding under the water this whole time? Is she, like, some world class diver or something?”
Moving aside, Applejack gestured first to Sweetie. “Sweetie Belle?” She then pointed to her friend, who had a look of utter confusion. “Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow gave a faint wave. “Hey, kid.” She leaned towards Fluttershy, not taking her eyes off the mermaid. “So we’re actually helping a child? Shouldn’t we be, like, bringing her to a hospital or something?”
“Hush,” Fluttershy chided gently. “Just watch.”
“Sweetie?” Applejack extended her hand palm-up to the child. “Tail?” They’d rehearsed this a few times yesterday, looking for a simple way to break the truth to Rainbow. Sweetie, with some hesitation, obliged by flicking her shimmering tail out of the water and letting it slide, slowly, atop Applejack’s palm.
The flabbergasted look on Rainbow’s face brought a grin to Applejack’s. Rainbow gaped at Sweetie for so long that Fluttershy felt the need to give her shoulder a light shake and call her name. Rainbow raised her hand in a gradual, deliberate motion to point at Sweetie. “That… might just be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”
As if a switch had been flicked, she went from staring to literally jumping in place, hands shooting in the air. “That’s a mermaid! A realer-than-real mermaid! Holy hairballs, it’s like we’re in Daring Do and the Siren’s Stones, only real and oh my gosh if you tell me Daring Do’s hiding in the trees right now I will believe you and maybe die of happiness.”
Luckily, her exuberance did not scare off Sweetie, though the little mermaid was clearly unsure how to take the reaction. She looked to Applejack as though seeking guidance.
“I’m going swimming right the heck now.” Rainbow started to remove her tank top. “Someone’s gotta test how fast she can go!”
“Rainbow.” Fluttershy caught her arm. “If you jump in now she’ll probably run away, and we’re having a hard enough time as it is getting her to trust us. We need her to trust us.”
Rainbow, shirt half-off, looked to her, then to Sweetie Belle. She repeated the motion several times. “But… But… Please?”
“When she trusts you, you can swim with her all you want,” Applejack said reassuringly. “But until then, keep your shirt on.”
“That wasn’t a funny play on words, and you know it.” With a groan, Rainbow shoved her shirt back down. “Fine. So why don’t you trust us, kid?”
“First of all,” Fluttershy said, “her name is Shvee-tzee-braille.”
“Or Sweetie Belle, if you don’t want to tie your tongue in knots,” Apple supplied helpfully, ignoring Sweetie’s brief scowl.
“And second, she can’t speak much English yet. She understands a word here or there, but has no real idea what we’re saying to one another.”
“Oh. That kinda stinks.” Rainbow unceremoniously kicked off her flip-flops and, before Fluttershy could stop her, walked into the water. She also threw off her shirt so she was down to her sports bra, tossing it in Applejack’s face with a smirk. “You can’t stop this awesomeness, so don’t even try.”
Applejack tore the shirt from her face and glared at her, but Rainbow was already standing up to her waist in water just a few feet before a visibly alarmed Sweetie. “RD, don’t intimidate her!”
Rainbow waved back dismissively. “Relax. You tried it your way, now we try it mine.” She looked Sweetie Belle in the eye with a charming smile. “Sweetie Belle, right?” Sweetie, looking unsure as to whether or not she should be running away, rolled her eyes at the mispronunciation but nodded anyway.
Rainbow pointed to herself with a thumb. “I’m Rainbow Dash, most awesome person you’ll ever meet. Can you say it? Rain-bow Dash.”
Sweetie scrunched her face up, which Applejack had come to realize was a habit of hers whenever she was concentrating. “Rha… Rhain… Rainvoh… No.” She shook her head firmly.
“Rain-bow Dash,” Rainbow offered again, slower than before.
“R-Rainv… v… bow. Rainbow. Dj… Dj… Dash?”
Rainbow pointed with both hands at her with a grin and a wink. “There you go, kid. Rainbow Dash. Learn it well, because you’ll be remembering me for a long time.”
“Rainv… Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Djash!” Sweetie looked proud of herself.
“Exactly. Now then. You.” She pointed at Sweetie again. “Me.” Pointed to herself. “There.” Her finger went to the far side of the pond. Sweetie followed the motions with her eyes, blinking in perplexity.
“Rainbow…” Applejack put as much warning into her tone as she could offer.
Abruptly, Rainbow put her thumbs in her ears, waggled her fingers playfully, and blew a raspberry at Sweetie. An instant later she’d dove underwater and begun to swim. The little mermaid appeared startled at first, then annoyed before diving in after her. Both were gone in an instant, little more than high speed blurs as Rainbow proved herself every bit as fast in the water as on land.
Applejack sighed and went back to shore, where Fluttershy was just beginning to open the case she’d left in the sand. “I hope she knows what she’s doing.”
“Rainbow will be Rainbow, I suppose,” Fluttershy replied, casting an anxious look at the still water. With a hopeful tone, she added, “Maybe she’s right. Maybe this will get Sweetie to open up a bit more.”
There came a splash, prompting them both to look. Rainbow was on the other side of the pond already, laughing and wiping her multihued hair from her face. “Wow, can she swim!” Without another word, she submerged again.
“Well, at least she’s having fun.” Applejack turned back to her other friend, who was carefully examining what appeared to be a futuristic black-and-grey camera. The device, all smooth curves and shiny plastic, fit snugly in Fluttershy’s small hands but had clear heft. “So is that it?”
“This is it. It’s only got a quarter of a charge, but that should be more than enough for our purposes.” Setting the strap around her neck, she stood. “Now we just need to get Rarity out here. I can’t exactly use it in the water.”
Just then, Sweetie breached the water, sending droplets flying in a rainbow cascade as she flew in an arc, laughing all the while. She slipped back under the waves with barely a splash just as Rainbow emerged nearby. After sucking in a deep breath, Rainbow waved to them. “You guys, tell me you’ve tried this! This girl can move like nobody’s business. It is awesome!”
The sound of Sweetie’s laugh had finally untangled the nerves in Applejack’s back and allowed her to relax. “I’ll be danged, Rainbow’s ‘Rainbow-ness’ actually worked in our favor for a change.”
As soon as Sweetie’s head popped up again, Fluttershy called for her. As if remembering herself, Sweetie promptly grew serious and feigned disinterest despite clearly paying attention. Fluttershy raised her X-ray ‘camera’ in demonstration. “Rarity?”
Sweetie approached until she practically on the beach, and Applejack assisted her the rest of the way. Rainbow followed suit, but devoted herself to examining Sweetie’s glimmering tail and excitedly commenting on just how ‘cool’ the entire scenario was. Her inspection was largely ignored by Sweetie, who insisted on studying the camera. Fluttershy drew the line at letting her touch it, not wanting to risk her taking it underwater and ruining it. To demonstrate its purpose, Fluttershy used it to make an image of Applejack’s arm – it even made a snapping sound to accentuate the effect, though Fluttershy had to hold it steady over the intended spot for a few seconds to get a clear picture.
Expectations that Sweetie might be horrified by the sight of Applejack’s bones were cast aside when, instead, the child showed an intense fascination with the image. She eagerly had Fluttershy use the device on Rainbow, who offered up her leg to the cause. The result was so clear that an old, healed fracture from a couple years ago was distinctly visible. Rainbow probably would have gone into full detail of how the break had happened if Applejack hadn’t reminded her that Sweetie wouldn’t have understood the story anyway.
Sweetie insisted an image be taken of her own arm, though she grit her teeth and fidgeted the whole time. Applejack had to hold her arm down in the sand to keep it from trembling, though she did everything she could to reassure Sweetie that she could bow out if it became too uncomfortable. The resulting image fascinated both the mermaid and Fluttershy, the former presumably because she was seeing her own bone structure for the first time and Fluttershy for confirming that it was indeed human, at least in form. Now convinced that it was a safe and painless procedure, Sweetie returned to the pond.
Rainbow watched her disappear with a nonplussed look. “Hey, where’s she going?”
“To fetch our patient,” Fluttershy replied, clearly enjoying the chance to be cryptic.
“Patient?” Rainbow looked to the camera, awareness dawning on her. “Oh, right, you wanted me to bring that for some animal, right? Wouldn’t make sense to bring it all the way out here just to play around and show it off. I get your family’s loaded, Shy, but I doubt your mom would be happy if we told her we broke it or something.”
“My family’s hardly ‘loaded’, Rainbow.”
To this Applejack added a deadpan, “Says the girl spending her summers at an owned, as in not rented, beach house while her real house is three-stories and eight-thousand-square-feet?”
“That car your mom drives costs more than most people’s homes,” Rainbow added helpfully.
“Do you even know what the upkeep costs are for a beach house? ‘Cause let me tell you, it’s staggering.”
Hunched a little and tapping her fingers together meekly, Fluttershy replied with a quiet, “W-well, Dad was good with money?”
“I’ll say.” The topic ended there as Rainbow turned back to the pond. “So I guess Sweetie’s got a pet you need to examine?”
Sweetie could be seen approaching beneath the surface, now accompanied by a familiar white-and-purple shape. Exactly where Rarity had been hiding, Applejack couldn’t be sure. “Yeah, definitely not a pet.” She waded into the water, gesturing for Rainbow to stay back, and met them as said water reached her hips. Sweetie helped Rarity surface and position herself so that Applejack could lift her up in her usual method, Rarity’s slender arms wrapping about her shoulders.
“Whoa, there’s two of them! This day just keeps getting awesomer.”
“I don’t think that’s a word, Rainbow.”
Ignoring their banter, Applejack focused on making sure Rarity was comfortable in her arms. The mermaid, like Sweetie before her, didn’t appear at all comfortable with what was happening. Sweetie encouraged her as Applejack brought her to shore, talking excitedly and occasionally splashing her tail in the water with big, loud slaps.
Once they were close enough for Rainbow to get a good look, she let out a long whistle. “Now that brings up ideas. When’s the honeymoon, you two?”
Applejack sputtered. “R-Rainbow! That ain’t appropriate!”
“O-ho, wow, look at you blush!” Rainbow cackled, paying no mind to Applejack’s scowl. “Nailed it!”
“I swear, RD, sometimes you make me wanna—”
“Enough.” Fluttershy, all business, pointed Applejack to a low, long slab of rock jutting out over the pond. “Place her over there, please. We need to get a look at the damage.”
With one final warning glare at the still snickering Rainbow, Applejack did as she was told. Fluttershy chose well; the rock was low enough to be easily accessible. Sweetie could linger by the rock if she wanted to, close enough to hold hands with Rarity or even climb on with her. Which was exactly what she did as the elder mermaid tensed up, watching Fluttershy and her camera as if afraid it might fire flaming death.
With Rainbow’s and Applejack’s help to keep still, Rarity lay flat on her back with her arms at her sides and tail straight. Sweetie hovered nearby, whispering to her. Fluttershy didn’t reserve her work just for Rarity’s tail, instead opting to take several pictures until she had covered Rarity’s entire body. The process took nearly thirty minutes. Rarity steadily relaxed as it went on, eventually realizing that she wasn’t about to undergo serious pain for this.
Rainbow frowned at the still very visible irregularity in Rarity’s upper tail. “Why do her whole body? The injury is right there.”
“Have you ever seen a mermaid?” Fluttershy asked pointedly.
“Well, not before today.” Rainbow was clearly unsure where Fluttershy was going with her answer.
“Exactly. Her physiology, her bone structure, everything about her is brand new. Just because she has human parts and fish parts doesn’t mean we can assume they are designed the same. We have to make sure we get this right or we could hurt her more than help her.” That was enough to silence Rainbow’s queries.
After nearly a half-hour of images taken that saw both Rarity and Rainbow getting impatient, Fluttershy finally signaled she was done. As Rarity sat up properly and tucked her tail under herself, all eyes went to the camera. Flipping through the images she’d gathered on its digital screen, Fluttershy pursed her lips. Her finger flicked over and over again, presumably scanning for the right image. At last, she stopped to focus on one in particular.
Applejack watched warily. Her eye drifted to Rarity, who was gripping Sweetie’s hand tightly even as she stared intensely at Fluttershy. Applejack’s gaze lingered on her hand in Sweetie’s, then to the one still free. Her own tingled with a desire to grasp it. Then she caught Rainbow smirking at her and decided she’d rather focus on Fluttershy.
At that moment, Fluttershy lowered the camera and faced her audience. “There’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news: there are no broken bones.”
“That’s a relief.” Eyeing the visible lump Rarity’s tail, Rainbow asked, “What’s the bad news?”
“The spinous—” Fluttershy caught herself, perhaps realizing who she was talking to. “The… You know how fish skeletons have a lot of thin spike bones sticking out the top and bottom?” She waited on Rainbow’s nod. “Rarity has those too, at least in her tail. But while a fish’s spines are part of the vertebrae, each of Rarity’s is separated from the vertebrae by a joint. That may be part of what gives their tails so much flexibility.”
“Huh. Weird.” Rainbow grinned. “Kinda awesome, too.”
“Two of Rarity’s spines have been pulled out of their sockets.”
Gone went the grin. “Oh. Less awesome.”
Fluttershy climbed up on the rock so she could get beside Rarity and show her the image in question. Applejack was at a good angle to see as well. Sure enough, the image depicted two of the spine-like bones on Rarity’s tail pulled away from the backbone. For whatever reason, they’d been forced close together and up against her skin. Or hide. Scales? Applejack decided not to bother with the names, that was Fluttershy’s business. The point was, it looked very uncomfortable. “You’d think something like that would cause internal bleeding.”
“It probably did,” Fluttershy replied quietly, pointing to the image and then Rarity’s tail. “She might be very lucky to be alive, for all we know.”
Upon seeing the image and making the connection, a change came over Rarity. Her pale face gained an extra shade of white and the light went out in her eyes. Her upper body broke into trembles, one hand tracing the injury on her tail as she stared listlessly at the evidence before her. Sweetie fared no better, clutching her elder’s arm as though afraid she were already dead.
Rainbow watched the two of them, head cocked slightly. “Why are they taking it so badly? It’s not like it’s the end of the world.”
Applejack realized the answer quickly as she thought on what humans did in this situation. “Because it is bad. When we dislocate an arm, we can just pop it back in. Painful, but it works. This?” Applejack frowned as she examined Rarity’s injury. “How do you pop something like this back in? There’s no way.”
“And Rarity can’t swim like this,” Fluttershy added, still deathly serious even as Rarity pulled Sweetie into a tight hug. The two were whispering to each other, their dialogue lost on the human audience. “An injury like this? She can’t defend herself against predators. She can’t swim against the currents. She can’t do anything. Any movement would be slowed to a crawl, and Sweetie would have to protect her at all times.”
The little mermaid let out a harsh sound, a lone word that she repeated fiercely. Rarity, speaking almost as if in a daze, muttered something back and pointed for the creek leaving the pond. Sweetie shook her head fiercely and reaffirmed her hug.
“What the heck are they going on about now?” Rainbow asked.
Heart heavy, Applejack replied, “I think Rarity’s trying to convince Sweetie to abandon her.”
“She’s what?”
“Everyone, calm down.” Fluttershy’s unusually fierce manner stopped everyone, even the mermaids. Climbing off the rock, Fluttershy knelt on the sandy shore. “Applejack, help Rarity to a position so she can see what I’m drawing.” She began to work, finger moving swiftly through the yellow sand.
Applejack offered her arms to Rarity. The mermaid stared at them listlessly before murmuring something to Sweetie. The child wouldn’t let go. Rubbing Sweetie’s back, Rarity gave Applejack a helpless look.
So, with Rainbow’s help, they moved both of them at once. Sweetie didn’t so much as squeak in protest, her face buried in Rarity’s side. By the time they got to the edge, Fluttershy was working on a second image. They watched in silence, trying to puzzle over what was being shown. The first was clearly supposed to be Rarity’s tail, drawn large and with the bone structure approximated within. The second was a close-up of the injury and a V-shaped…
Applejack’s breath left her, but came back quickly enough. “Are you suggesting you could perform surgery on her?”
Rainbow whistled. “I didn’t know you did that, Shy.”
“I don’t.” Fluttershy cringed and averted her gaze. “W-well, I did. Once. Right after Dad died.” There was a certain hollowness in how she said that which made Applejack wonder how it went. “But I think I could. It’s risky beyond belief… but I could.”
Fluttershy finished her third sketch, which showed the open wound of the second one closed with the bones in their proper place. She looked up to Rarity, who stared wide-eyed at the sketches in stunned silence. Her hand reached down to rub at the wound; she winced. The same hand, trembling the whole way, pointed to the sketches in the sand, then to the injury. She gazed at Fluttershy with such incredible hope.
In answer, Fluttershy moved to the spot and mimed the act itself, first of cutting open the tail, then of putting the bones back in place, then sealing the wound up. She met Rarity’s gaze, every bit as firm as she’d been a few minutes ago.
Sweetie had pulled away from Rarity to study the sketches, her own eyes every bit as wide as Rarity’s. She looked to Fluttershy and asked in a quaking voice, “S-safe?”
This brought the hesitation back to Fluttershy’s countenance. She considered the question, looking between the two mermaids. At last, biting her lip, she shook her head. “Not safe.”
The mermaids exchanged worried looks. Rarity stammered a few meek words. Sweetie shook her head firmly and grabbed her arm yet again. It was unclear to Applejack just what she was denying. What was clear was that they had a hard decision to make with precious little information. Fluttershy no doubt had a lot more to say about the risks, but how were they to understand them? There was, she realized, only one option.
“Talk.” Catching their attention, Applejack ran her hand up her throat and outward, then repeated the process in reverse. “Talk.”
Rarity and Sweetie considered her before sharing another long look. It was like they were having an entire conversation with just their eyes. Sweetie sighed and turned to Applejack, nodding despondently.
“Talk.”
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Nice chapter! Rainbow Dash was great in the chapter. Let’s hope the surgery works. I thought of an idea for a solution should the surgery not work but that might not happen due to Fluttershy explaining Rarity’s bones being different from fishes.
This is really more of a drama than a romance, at least at the moment. But I'm still liking it a lot. Will Rarity be okay? What will she and Sweetie do afterwards?
Well this seems to be going, heh, swimmingly. Nice to see Rainbow here, she's fantastic as ever.
9999356
The best romances are dramas in my opinion, nicely slow-burning ones.
So far liking (and getting all tingly as I’m getting influenced on how mine is supposed to stack up to this ^^’)
Although one thing, if I had been a pre-reader, I believe you said the story is done, is that it dosn’t feel like a rarijack story yet.
Which I get with the direction your going (both as I see and think it’s going) but with what little interactions rarity and applejack have had together so far, it almost wouldn’t make a difference if the romance tag was removed
Well, Rainbow is Rainbow, and she's going to do as she wants. Even if that's challenging a little mermaid to a race. At least Shvee-tzee has one human she's opening up to.
Here's hoping that shy can fix the dislocations for Rares. And lets hope that her blood doesn't have some… other properties, that could be problematic.
Please let AJ's mermaid girlfriend live!
Something is bugging me...
I've had my own issues in the past trying to figure out just how a centaur's biology would work, whether there'd be redundant or supplemental organs like hearts and lungs. (Kinda how Klingons are supposed to work in the fluff, but don't on screen.) But at least a human and horse are both landwalking mammals.
So right now I can't help but wonder how Rarity didn't suffocate when Applejack kept laying her down on her back, where her gills are.
Also...Guppy Love? Please don't tell me this is going to be AppleBelle.
Surgery on a fish sounds super risky, hopefully SuperVet Fluttershy can pull it off!
10000042
Gills are, by default, designed to only work underwater, yet Rarity has never shown any difficulty breathing when dry. I meant this alone to imply that she could breath through the gills or her mouth depending upon ongoing need. I figure it they've got human and fish parts on the outside, why not on the inside too?
10000085
Murmaids, at least to D&D cannon have both gills and lungs and are considered to be amphibious and are fully capable of living on land or in water, though considering they can have issues if they dry out they prefer living in water or at least next to a water source like a lake River or ocean
10000042
Centaur tend to have two hearts and an extra stomach otherwise they don't have any extra organs. Least that's how I've always played their anatomy as a DM
9998421
Mermaids, at least the less militant tribes, often learn at least some of the predominant terrestrial language of the area for trade purposes so her knowing at least some English wouldnt be all that weird
9997448
That's how D&D plays it so that's as good an assumption as any. So they don't "drown" unless they are badly hurt (damaged lungs/gills) but they can dry out if they spend too long out of water in a hot dry environment
9997448
The Theory of Yes or No?
I love this so far! RD apparently ships them just as much as I do.
Yep, so far really enjoying this. You manage to share screen time between the characters beautifully, and rarity and sweetie's interactions are great and heartbreaking when appropriate.
Dash immediately competing with Sweetie is cute and makes a nice contrast to how Sweetie is still a child, though a child in a very scary environment to grow up in I imagine.