The Perfect Partner

by HAKDurbin

Chapter 4

By the time Tempest and Tenderhoof made it back down, it was almost noon. The festivities were still going strong at the docks except for the high striker game, which the hippogriff was trying to fix. The two ponies made it to the beach, where hippogriffs/seaponies were bringing creatures in or out of the water. It wasn't long before a teenage hippogriff found them standing on the beach and flying over to them.

"Hello. Do you want to go to Seaquestria?" He asked.

"Yes, we do," Trenderhoof said.

"I can take you there," the hippogriff said. "My name is Terramar."

"I'm Trenderhoof," Trenderhoof replied.

"Pleased to meet you," Terramar said before turning to Tempest. "And I know who you are, Tempest."

Tempest winced and asked, "That's not a problem, is it?"

"Of course not. I know you're good now, " Terramar assured. "Anyway, if you will follow me, I can transform you so that you can go underwater."

Tempest and Tenderhoof nodded and got into the water with Terramar. The three of them swam until they were several feet away from the shore. Terramar took Tempest's hoof, and she took Trenderhoof's hoof, making the two of them blush before Terramar closed his eyes and grabbed his necklace. The shard in his necklace glowed yellow, and with a loud pop, the three of them were underwater as seaponies. Trenderhoof gasped in awe at the sight of his fins and started swimming in circles, but Tempest was flailing as though she were a trapeze artist struggling to stay balanced on a rope. Trenderhoof quickly noticed the mare's struggle and swam over to her.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Stay still," he said calmly.

It took a moment before Tempest stopped flailing and blushed as she said, "Sorry. This is really strange to me."

"That's okay. It is difficult for some creatures," Terramar chortled.

Trenderhoof smiled and swam up behind Tempest, putting his hooves on her waist, saying, "Here, I'll help you. Move your fins back and forth slowly."

Tempest felt her cheeks turning pink again from Trenderhoof being so close to her. She took a deep breath and started moving her fins back and forth. Slowly, the two of them began to move forward, which made Tempest nervous for a moment before she began to ease up. After a few seconds, Trenderhoof let go of Tempest as she started to swim faster and faster until she was zigzagging around the area laughing.

"This is incredible!" She shouted, making Terramar and Trenderhoof chuckle.

"I know. This must be what flying feels like for a pegasus," Trenderhoof said.

"Heh. I've heard that before," Terramar said. "Anyway, let's go. Seaquestria is not far from here."

After calming Tempest down, the three of them swam over to Seaquestria, where countless creatures were gleefully exploring the area with the natives. Some of them were singing and dancing while, wearing necklaces, hats, hairpins, and rings out of shells. Others were eating at a seafood buffet while watching a puppet show made of shells. Tempest watched everyone enjoying the festivities with a heartfelt smile.

"I had no idea this place would be so beautiful," she said before turning to Terramar. "To think I tried to find and conquer Seaquestria, not caring about how the hippogriffs were living peacefully down here. Now you share your home with other creatures in joy instead of being secluded from the world. I'm happy for you."

Terramar was taken aback for a moment before he smiled appreciatively at Tempest. Trenderhoof smiled at Tempest, happy that his date was having a meaningful moment with one of the hippogriffs who hid from her. Then he cleared his throat and said, "Well, it's about lunchtime. Why don't we grab a bite at the buffet?"

Tempest turned to her date and said, "Sure. I'm curious what they have over there."

"Sounds great," Terramar said. "I better head back to the surface and see if any other creature wants to come here. If you guys need any help, all of us seaponies are here to help."

"Great. Thanks, Terramar," Tempest said.

Terramar turned around and swam back to the surface, waving at the pair as he left. Once he was out of sight, Tempest and Tenderhoof swam over to the buffet where a group of squids were serving seaweed salads, wraps, chips, and pasta. After browsing through the buffet, Tempest and Tenderhoof decide to get a couple of plates of seaweed wraps and find a spot to watch the puppet show. Above the puppet stage was a sign that said, "The Battle of Canterlot." Puppets of Capper, Spike, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were facing puppets of the storm creatures. The Capper puppet held up the Spike puppet like a flamethrower, and bubbles came out of the Spike puppet's mouth. The storm creature puppets started flailing and running around the stage in panic, and the audience roared with laughter. Trenderhoof was holding on to his gut while Tempest covered her mouth to hide a chuckle.

"Did that really happen?" Tenderhoof asked in mid laughter.

"Well, I did see this from up the castle balcony, but it wasn't as funny for me as it is now," Tempest confessed.

Eventually, the laughter died down, and the play continued with a puppet Storm King creating a storm with his staff with puppets of Tempest and Twilight standing behind him. The Tempest puppet was about to fly off the balcony, but the Twilight puppet saved her from the vortex. Tempest frowned and looked down, which Trenderhoof quickly noticed.

"What is it?" He asked.

Tempest stayed silent for a moment before she said, "The puppeteers don't know about this, but before Twilight saved me, the Storm King revealed that he lied about restoring my horn to get me to do his bidding."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Trenderhoof said. "That must have been hard for you."

"It was," Tempest said. "I wanted to show the world how powerful I can be if I got it back, and I felt lost when he went back on our bargain. I don't know what I would have done if Twilight wasn't there to encourage me that I was already powerful just the way I am."

Trenderhoof smiled and said, "I think I can testify after seeing how strong you are without your horn."

Tempest smirked and said, "Oh yeah? Just wait until tonight."

"What happens tonight?" Trenderhoof asked.

"Let's just say I have an opportunity to show more of what I can do," Tempest said.

"Oh, I can't wait to find out," Trenderhoof said.

The two of them looked at each other, smiling again until their moment was interrupted by the audience cheering. They turned back to the puppet show where puppet Tempest just saved Twilight and her friends. The Storm King froze in place like it was turned to stone and fell off the balcony. The crowd watched it fall in anticipation until it broke into pieces upon landing on the stage, and they cheered like sports fans watching their team score a goal. Tempest and Tenderhoof chuckled at the twisted way the crowd enjoyed that particular moment in the show. Eventually, the cheers died down, and they silently watched the play end with the puppets of Capper, Tempest, Princess Skystar, Twilight, and her friends watching a puppet of Songbird Serenade singing on a stage before the curtain fell. The crowd cheered again, and the puppeteers took a bow before everyone dispersed.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Trenderhoof asked.

Tempest thought about it before she looked at her fins and asked, "You know what? Is it alright if we just explore the ocean?"

Trenderhoof smirked and gave his date a nod. With an excited grin, Tempest took Trenderhoof's hoof and led him out of Seaquestria and into the open ocean. Before long, she was happily swimming all over the area with Trenderhoof trying to catch up. The dark orchid seapony giggled as she looked around to look at the colorful reef and the various fish swimming by. Trenderhoof was amused with the way Tempest was acting like a school filly, but at the same time, he was glad that she was having fun. But as he watched, he thought about everything she told him about her old life. His smile faded as it became clear to him that Tempest has never let herself enjoy life the way she was at that moment. Trenderhoof frowned and looked at Tempest sympathetically, suddenly wishing there was something more that he could do than give her this one day of happiness.