Epilogue 1/2: Kaelynn
Kaelynn didn't have to go.
Equestria had found her guilty of no crimes, and imposed no obligation on her. Where most of her friends had already lost their humanity or were pushing the edge of how much magic they could get away with, Kaelynn was still securely human enough to return.
There was enough work for her in the new "Worldgate Friendship Colocation Research Facility." The name rolled off her tongue like a truck off a bridge, but it would still take her if she was willing.
Equestria was dangerous. Her friends had enemies now, who might try to do to them what they had already done once.
But none of that mattered. She couldn't leave them to go deliver Tellin without her. Not for their sake—they were grown-ass adults, they could figure things out without her. But Tellin didn't deserve to be abandoned like that. He was as much a victim as she was, even if he still wouldn't admit it.
So she found herself back aboard the Bright Hawk, sailing from Canterlot again. Not south across the border, presumably back into the waiting hooves of evil pirates. They had a different destination in mind.
"I am sorry that I could not read your mind among the many in Canterlot," Princess Luna said, the day of their departure. She had come to speak with Vesper, but stopped into the chartroom where Kaelynn, Blake, and the UN representatives had been reviewing their travel plans. "I would have relayed your location directly to Twilight Sparkle and the authorities for your swift rescue, if I could."
There were only a handful of UN reps on this trip, the first and bravest of the explorers. All wore military uniforms, which they never removed despite the transition to Equestria. Come sweat or staring locals, they kept wearing those strange European camouflage patterns.
"I don't blame you," Kaelynn answered. She didn't insist on human amounts of clothing on this trip any more than before, despite bringing several humans along. But she had added one thing: a belt with a holster hanging from the side. A handgun was tucked inside, worn under her belly most of the time. "My friends had my back. And here we are, safe. I'm sure you did whatever you could."
Even now, when she walked among the land-ponies, with scales instead of fur. Perhaps especially now. Kaelynn had been kidnapped while on four legs last time. If anypony tried again, she would give them at least four bullets.
I won't be anyone's victim again.
"Yes," Luna said. The princess might not be officially ruling Equestria anymore, but she was still quite a bit larger than any other pony. She towered over even the griffon naval captain. Where was he from again, Austria?
"But I have endeavored to do more, to correct and atone where I had failed. While I could not travel back in time and free you sooner, there is still some service I can offer to the young Tellin. I'm sure he would be happy enough at Mount Aris... but it would be better to take him back to his own kind. My magic has shown me where."
"Through their dreams," Vesper guessed. "Because it isn't just one person you're looking for, but thousands."
The princess nodded. "Many are easier to find than one. I am not certain they are aware that Equestria knows of their continued survival. They have no official contact with us. Yet I believe you could go there, and deliver the child to them."
The kirin had a real captain's hat, not one that would vanish whenever Vesper stopped dreaming. He had his own gun too, something bigger than hers worn openly on the side of his jacket.
They had been planning to sail through territory that contained at least one hostile ship, after all. Even with a few upgrades, several members of the expedition had opted to bring some defenses with them.
They'd all come, though. Kaelynn wasn't even sure if Equestria would try to enforce their sentence from the rescue raid. But they'd come regardless.
Princess Luna strode over to the chart-table at the center, where Equestrian maps covered most of the open space. She circled past where they had been making most of their plans, then pointed at a specific lake. "The largest population is there, about a hundred meters below the surface. Travel there, and you will find a new home for Tellin Shell."
There was silence on the deck—not because the kid was here, of course. He was still in the captain's quarters, floating in that little tank. To think Kaelynn had wanted so badly to have someone to share her tank with. Now she had another full-time fish, and it couldn’t be more awkward.
"Will they be violent?" Kaelynn asked. "If they think they're hidden away, they probably won't be happy if we just show up."
The princess nodded. "They were always a peaceful tribe, even before the Storm King destroyed their saltwater civilization. But if you wish to be certain, take only seaponies. They have done no harm to the local villages, but they would be even less likely to attack their own. You will be safe."
"I'll go with you." Ryan spoke from just behind her. He wore no disguise while on their own ship, looking like any of the Canterlot changelings. Even the local ponies showed no fear around him now that he'd gained so many colors.
There was something significant about that transformation, something she would probably care to investigate if she wasn't so eager to get back to Earth. But just now, she didn't care. Just let the mission end, so she could get back to having a body she understood. "I can... we can do that," she finally said. "I'll take Tellin down. But I'm not going there to stay. I would just be dropping him off."
Luna shrugged. "We understand. I have spoken with Twilight about this matter. She is somewhat surprised you chose to return so soon. She hopes, as I hope that you can find peace after what you suffered."
"What do you say, Captain Pedersen," Blake asked. "Does your team mind the redirection?"
He laughed. "If we were back in Copenhagen, we would have to wait three more weeks to approve such a change. But here—they just want measurements. They do not yet understand this world well enough to know we have given them somewhere different. Does it change the danger of... obstacles along the way, Mr. Hodges?"
He shook his head once. "Yes, for the better. This map shows us never leaving Equestrian territory. Any danger of... interruptions... should be greatly reduced."
"Gone completely," Princess Luna said. "We have considered the matter of the pirate vessel Eagle’s Talon. It has harassed others, not just your expedition. While we have not yet located its port of call, know that we are watching for it. It will not cross into Equestrian airspace without being destroyed and its vile crew subjected to the justice their actions deserve."
"We've got some ideas for finding it," Vesper said. "But that's not what this is about. I want something safe and relaxing for once."
Safe the journey was. A few days by air, sailing north into what would've been the Great Lakes on Earth. But relaxing—not so much. Kaelynn and Tellin were together more than once, but they barely spoke to each other, and remained on opposite sides of the tank. Even when she tried to explain their destination, he answered only with single-word replies, and didn't seem to understand.
She didn't press him—this journey was for his benefit more than anyone else here. She wasn't going to try to impose her version of safety on the poor kid. Kaelynn still didn't have her songbook back, but she didn't need it anymore when it came to changing back and forth. She had learned to be a creature of both worlds now.
I'll come back, one day. Go out to tropical waters and dive without a tank. Spend days down there instead of hours. Go deeper than compressed air would ever let me.
If they ever figured out how to get a Worldgate that didn't transform, industrial divers all over the world would have some serious competition. Assuming the DFI ever told the truth about Equestria.
At least Kaelynn had her friends to keep her company. Ryan kept his distance from the tank, but he was with her whenever she was on the deck. Vesper was around on the sleepless nights when she didn't want to go back into the water, to tell her about her strange adventures in the sleeping world.
"You gave up humanity, just like that?" Kaelynn asked, on the last night of their trip. "I don't get it. You had a life."
"I have a life here too," she answered, sipping at her hot cocoa. Even belowdecks, the chill of northern winter seeped in. They didn't light the fireplace at night, when everyone else was asleep. "But I'm not giving them up. I've written my family, some of my other friends. My dad and I were never close, and my mom... it's just my brother I worry about. If he ever finds out all the juicy details, he won't understand."
"I'm not sure I do. You aren’t Blake... I just hope we get to share all the video one day. The views we're gonna get from this drama." The words felt hollow and empty on her tongue—Kaelynn no longer cared about their exploring channel, not right now. But she should. She remembered what it was like to care. Maybe she would again, with time.
Vesper giggled, high and squeaky even for a bat. "I guess so. Lots of the rules about relationships get rewritten when you turn into someone else." She opened both wings, glancing over her shoulder at them. "Part of me is still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Makes me wonder if I'm going to start hating myself in this body, or maybe... the Worldgate rewrote my brain when I went across the first time."
Her ears pressed flat with discomfort. "I don't know which is worse to imagine. But I like being a bat. Giving up fingers is a worthy sacrifice. Blake will agree with me, you'll see. He just needs more time to appreciate what Equestria has to offer. Now that we're not running down the clock, or running from pirates, he'll fall in love."
Kaelynn's eyebrows went up. Or maybe they were fins? She didn't have hair in Equestria. "With you, or Equestria?"
"Mix of both. I think he's already there on one. Just need to give a little encouragement on the other."
Sipping hot chocolate with Vesper on the deck, Kaelynn could almost imagine going with them on their next adventure. Equestria might still terrify her, but that fear was irrational. Once they were out of Canterlot, they would be fine. Janet had even better reasons to be bitter and resentful, did Kaelynn want to end up like her?
They arrived along the shore of Lake Spur in early afternoon, to a perfect cloudless sky over a lake whipped by chill wind. There were only wisps of jack frost on the grass, and no ice on the water. It was early winter, though she still shivered to even glance at the lake.
Tellin didn't want legs even for the brief walk to the water's edge. They carried him instead, with his head resting in Kaelynn's old air lung. He kept his head down the whole way, and said nothing to the crew. At least he let Kaelynn and Ryan push him down the ramp, all the way to the water's edge.
"This is it?" he asked, staring down at the bleak, cold water. "Freedom? A life of freezing cold water, scavenging for bugs in the mud?" Even through the rebreather speakers, his voice sounded bleak and hopeless.
"No," she argued, frustrated. "There are other fish down there, Tellin. We're not dropping you down here to scavenge. We're going to find you a home."
"There aren't any!" he screamed, so loud that bubbles rose in the tank. Loud enough that the speakers distorted with his voice. "They're all dead, Kaelynn! And now you have a changeling to distract you and there won't be any fish ever again! We'll go extinct!"
How many times had she tried to explain this to him? Dozens? Maybe a hundred? He refused to acknowledge what she said every time. He was refusing even now.
"How about we find that out?" she asked, resting one hoof on his shoulder. He tried to shove her away, but he was trapped in the harness, so he could only swing and struggle. She backed away anyway, letting go of him.
"I'll make you a promise, Tellin. If we don't find fish down there, I'll stay with you. We'll keep searching until we find them. Okay?"
He turned to look at her. She guessed it was tearful, but maybe that was just projection. "Promise?"
She nodded. "Now let us come with you. The princess says they're down there."
"You," he whispered, pointing. "Not him. He sings copies and lies. His music isn't true."
Kaelynn stepped between them. Her fins perked up, like the hackles on a dog.
Ryan beat her to it. "No Kaelynn, it's okay. You went through something together, I didn't. I get why he wouldn't want me there. Unless... you do."
She did. But this isn't about me. She looked at her seapony companion, face desperate with pain and worry. His whole life had been upended thanks to her—adopted mother dead. The grand mission Morningtide had promised him was now taken away, the meaning of his life a lie.
He suffered far more than I did. We should do this his way. "Okay," she said, exasperated. "Fine, we'll go together."
She helped him out of the harness, landing in the water with a heavy splash. There was no dock here—no sign of civilization anywhere other than the Bright Hawk floating behind them, and the team of UN scientists gathering soil and water samples.
She stopped to watch them for a few seconds, grinning at the heavy protection gear they wore. They had inflatable Tyvek suits with plastic hoods, and walked around like they were on the surface of mars or something.
Ryan turned, and grinned. "Guess it could be worse. They could tell us to wear that shit."
She nodded. "If I'm not back by nightfall, come looking for me."
"Alright." He kissed her lightly on the forehead, then settled onto his haunches. "I'll wait right here until you get back, promise."
She splashed down into the water, feeling its freezing touch against her scales.
The song to change back came a little slower to her in the icy chill, with her body curling up and shivering. But she managed—after a few seconds, she took her first mouthful of water.
The cold didn't bite quite so deep once the transition was complete. She still shivered once or twice, her eyes adjusting to the murky gloom. This wasn't the clear visibility of the ocean around Mount Aris—this was like so many other freshwater dives she'd done, with maybe thirty feet of water before everything dissolved into outlines.
Tellin appeared from the gloom around her, circling her once. They had freshwater aboard the Bright Hawk, so at least they didn't have to go through that painful transition again.
"You think fish would want to live here?" he asked, indignant. "What would they sing about, mud?"
She rolled her eyes, drifting past him and down into deeper water. Sometimes visibility got better once you left the shore behind, and there wasn't as much agitation with the soil. She could only hope that would be the case here.
It was, though she still felt like she was taking in bits of dirt and debris in her mouth as she swam her way down, making her cough and splutter in the cold water. She was also faster than Tellin, which surprised her right up until she remembered he had spent his entire life in a tank.
He trailed close behind, fins fighting more desperately against the current just to stay close to her. He accelerated, and was soon breathing heavily just to keep pace. "So... big," he sang. "So much nothing. What's the point of all this space if they didn't put anything in it?"
There was the occasional dark outline of a fish moving past at the corner of their vision, but none got too close. These were fish well used to predators about their size and shape. "There doesn't have to be a point," she said. "It's the wild. The lake is here because it's here. No one built it."
He was silent then. Even without singing, she could see his despondent expression. Did he really think she would just drop him out here?
Without any other landmarks to guide her, Kaelynn just tried to swim deeper. Depth was all they knew from the princess. Depth, so these creatures could keep themselves away from discovery by surface ponies.
She heard the distant songs before she saw anything, not surprising given the poor visibility. Beside her, Tellin's whole body tensed, pointing directly off into the gloom.
"Can't be," he whispered. "There's not—"
But there were—loud enough that Kaelynn could hear them clearly. They sang of moving something heavy, working together to coordinate a large group and the joy of teamwork used to accomplish an impressive goal.
"You should go to them," she said, just as quietly. "They're not all gone!"
He turned on her, taking her foreleg in both of his and forcing her to meet his eyes. "Not you? Can't you hear them? Those are real fish!"
She shook her head gently. "This isn't my world, Tellin. I tried to tell Morningtide that when she took me. I'm going to swim back home now, and I don't know when I'll be back. Maybe never."
The distant singing stopped. Kaelynn turned, worried that they might be about to lose sign of the fish—but her worry was in vain.
A group of four fish appeared in the water. All wore glowing jewelry on their fins, lighting the water behind them in a trail whenever they swam.
"It's not fair," he said, voice cracking. "You were there, Kaelynn. You were the first fish I ever met."
"You'll meet some more." She hugged him, the way she might've one of her little cousins at a family reunion. It didn't matter that he was almost the same age—he didn't act much more mature than they were. Hopefully he would have a chance to grow, now that he was out in the real world. "Right now, actually."
He clung to her for a few more seconds, before letting go abruptly. "Will I see you again?"
"Maybe." The fish closed in around them—three females, one male. They wore toolbelts, but little else other than the light. "One day. When I'm ready. If I can find you again."
"You are strangers," sang one. "You do not sing like one of the rivers. Did you come very far to reach us?"
"Yes," Kaelynn answered. "Very, very far." She shoved Tellin towards them, hard enough that he drifted a short distance through the gloomy water before coming to a stop. "Can you take in a refugee? Where he comes from, there are no seaponies left."
"A refugee?" inquired another. "There are two of you."
She flicked her tail, drifting backward through the water. "Just one."
"Of course," said the first. "Our song can always use more voices. You should come too."
"No." She swam backward, a little faster now. "Maybe one day, but not now. My journey isn't over yet."
Stats
Page generated in 0.069 seconds
Total duration
738 users online
728,048 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Ah, closure and exposure. Tellin's in for an odd time as he adjusts, but it will be worth it. Now to see how the rest draws to a close.
Gonna be quite an adjustment for Tellin there. I wish him the best of luck. Same for all the human explorers.
And so we've come close to the end.
I like these Seapones.
No Questions, No Judgements, just a Welcome, come sing with us.
Just one thought how was the Stormking able to kill all those seaponies but didn't find Seaquestria?
11098503
Earlier in the story it said he made a giant hurricane or something, although I don't know how that would affect an underwater civilization. Presumably it also had an underwater hurricane thing going.
He didn't know to even look for seaquestria (plus they had a big mountain to hide in if he'd tried the same thing).
What about seethenhagen?
11098499
Just a "Welcome, come sing with us," huh? I like the sound of that. We could use it in this world.
Oh man, so the story is finally coming to a close? It was quite a surprise for me, stumbling upon this story over half a year ago... Its surprisingly good despite the number of likes, and deffinately has great world-building. I really like what you've done with the Seaponies, as they are rarely ever written in stories. Makes for a great reference when writing them in the future.
It's been quite a journey, and while there is the loose end of the pirate ship, I feel like this isn't a bad spot for the story to come to a close.... Great job!
Huh. Did they forget about the Broken Worldgate that the Buffalo brought them to? The one that they said was damaged and kept them as ponies even after walking through?
that was hard for Kaelynn to just walk away from Tellin like that.
i am 99% sure she wont be back.
this is a sad chapter but yet it had to happen.
11098623
It kept them as Ponies going back, but that isn't to say that it would stop Humans from becoming Ponies going in.
We're approaching the end. Tellin is going to have an interesting time having to adapt to a new life but he is on the right path. Kaelynn may or may not wish to retain her humanity but whatever the case, it's certain Equestria remains firmly in her future.
11098765
I'm around 75% thinking she will. Just not soon, not to stay, and not for him specifically.
11098623
My headcanon is that it requires magic to go through that one so it's inaccessible from earth side for ordinary humans.
wait didn't they find one portal from the buffalo that didn't change them? Or did it only not revert them back to human? I vaguely remember it lead to Russia or something along a freeway
11098503
Depth charges?
Will there be a seqal or sister story to this one like this one is to fine print?
11099198
Probably not, unless someone commissions Starscribe to write one. (Or somebody else writes one.)
That's reasonably accessible. Nice of Luna to finally be helpful.
Delivered to where he belongs and out of Kaelynn's hair at last.
Tellinn needs this adn he needs therapy which hopefully the seaponies can give him. Kaelynn has absolutely no reason to stay and needs to sort many things out before she might return.