The Quiet Kid: Sicut Vult

by aegishailstorm

In Which: One is Brought to Forego a Proper Vacation

Author's Note:

Attention readers!

I intend to modify and rewrite this chapter at a later date-I feel as though I could better it given my improved knowledge on the subject at hand.

"I came here for a vacation, not political drama. God help me if I recommend they try a practice of Federated Democratic Republicanism."

"A practice of what?" Crimson Starwatcher asked him, drooping her head off to one side as she took to her glass of lemonade in a befitting... Wolfish manner. William kicked back on his reclining beach chair and laughed. "Don't worry about it Crimson, I'll tell you later." Joey elbowed Nightshine.

"William gets political when he drinks root beer. That's everything there is to it." The Quiet Kid set an empty can down in the sand besides his chair. "Target practice for later."

"Oh, of course it is." The trio of equines laughed, leaving William to rub his temples and turn back towards the ocean. "I... Wasn't trying to be funny, but... If you took it as such, then delightful!"

"Delightful? We're laughing at your expense bud, and you're calling it delightful?" William rolled his eyes, and sat up in his chair. "Lemme reiterate, we are on vacation, on a tropical island, intentionally avoiding my most hated season of the year-"

Crimson's ears perked up. "You hate the fall? Why?" William reached down into his cooler and pulled out another can of root beer.

"Ah, the muted colors. The dimmed lighting, it's not quite Winter, and it isn't summer or spring either. I can't stand it. Especially back where I'm from, California. The Winters there are pleasant... Thunderstorms, pouring rain, everything's green all the time. Fall, was just summer skies with winter cold. I, for lack of a better word, despised it."

"Hm... I like it." Nightshine responded, sweeping her tail about in the sand as she rolled her neck from side to side. "All the oranges and reds and yellows on the trees, the cool air, and Nightmare Night! The one night that a bat pony can just be a batpony without other ponies loosing their minds." William pied a glance over at the bat pony and smiled.

"Loosing their minds? Heck Nightshine, if it's any consolation, your kinds more reclusive nature makes you all the more adorable." She furrowed her eyebrows.

"Adorable?" She resounded. "Yes, that you are." William repeated, standing up and cracking his knuckles. He removed his sunglasses and stuffed them into a shirt pocket. "To date, I haven't met a single bat pony that hasn't put a big, goofy smile on my face." Nightshine's eyes grew wide, and Joey laughed.

"William's like that. What can we hope to do about it but laugh with him?"

"It's got nothing to do with me bud. It's you all!" The group resounded in laughter, and William walked over to the white and blue alicorn sunning himself, and promptly ruffled his mane in as much of an affectionate manner as he could.

"Look, we- Or rather I, would like to see this shark pony dispute resolved with as much prudence as I can muster."

"And just how do you intend to do that?" Luna's voice spoke, an alicorn shaped silhouette of almost blinding blue light appeared and molted away on the beach beside Nightshine, who immediately bowed out of habit. " Please Lieutenant, there isn't any need for that. You are on vacation after all, and I am no longer a Princess."

"You'll always be a Princess to us, ma'am." Nightshine responded. William smiled, and set his hands in his pockets. "They really adore you, don't they- Novo!"

"What? The-!?" Crimson nearly tumbled out of her chair.

The Queen of the Hypogriffs raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Hello... William? Was it? You look... Good." Her voice bordered on a haughty sneer. Almost fitting, given William's last interaction with her. If anything, it was William that should have had anger on the edge of his voice. His thick skin made him disregard it either way.

"Novo." William smiled," It's certainly been a while. I couldn't help but interject myself into your quarrel with the Sharkponies. They wouldn't even speak with me, so I'm encouraging that you speak to them, while in my presence." Novo rolled her eyes.

"And why would I ever want to help you?"

"Because I'm trying to help you." He responded, dusting the sand off his cargo pants. "Not intentionally... One of them- Greytail, he's around here somewhere- Jumped Joey underwater. It was a complete misunderstanding of course, but the council of sharkponies, I... Didn't really gain much about them- They refused to speak with me. They laughed for a bit, and swam off." Novo sighed and shrugged. "That sounds very much like them. Even once you gain their trust, they are usually nothing if not lazy and apathetic."

"I'd beg to differ," William countered." They've got quite the little civilization down there. And you couldn't make a work of art like that through depression and apathy."

Crimson laughed as she pulled herself up out of the sand and shook her mane. "Remember the changelings and old Chrysalis? Or have you forgotten already?"

"I just visited their hive a little while ago. That's not funny." He turned back to Novo. "Look, here is exactly what is going to happen. You and I are going to go down there and peacefully settle your differences. And I insist that you do it peacefully. Otherwise, I'll leave, and you can go right back to your paltry slapping fights- Or whatever passes for war in this part of Equestria." This statement drew the attention of Novo and Luna altogether.

"That may seem like a brash statement." Luna told Novo, " Until you've seen him 'in action', it is really quite astounding how violent a creature can become if they, so to speak, 'press the wrong buttons'. It is nothing short of a blessing that he seems to love ponykind the way he does." William laughed, and rested his hands in his pockets.

"Love is a strong word. My hat just likes resting itself on the same nail as long as it can. Come on, you can use transformation magic, right? Well go on and turn me into a shark-pony hybrid... And we'll head down and see what we can accomplish." William kicked the sand under his boots as he realized how odd the words sounded. Joey laughed uncomfortably.

"You used to worry about turning into other creatures and now you just ask it whenever you feel like it." William smiled. "Yes... It's fun. And there isn't any real danger to it that I've seen so far. Besides, I trust you bud. I don't really know 'magic' per say but that doesn't sound that hard to me." The alicorn itched his right leg with his left.

"Yeah... That's the thing, I-Don't know how to do that. I know a few transformation spells... But sharkponies aren't one of them. Why though?"

"So that I can stay down longer, and... They'll probably take better to a fellow sharkpony than a strange bipedal creature whom they've never before seen." William turned to Queen Novo.

"Can you do it in his place? Not out in the open of course. The cottage I'm staying in should suit my purpose well. Joey, come along." The alicorn flattened his ears. "I probably don't know half what she knows. Don't ask me."

"Either way, I still want you there. Please?"

"Oh alright!" The alicorn huffed. "Are you sure?" William laughed. "Of course I'm sure! What could go wrong?" William beckoned Queen Novo and Joey to follow him back off down the path towards the cottages.

"William? William! Wake up!" The Quiet Kid opened his eyes, and was greeted by the dog-like face of Crimson Starwatcher, who pulled him up to all fours and gave him a witty paw slap on the shoulder just for good measure. William almost lost his balance, but his brain quickly snapped back into the right frame of mind, and he locked his legs in place.

"Joey! Pass me that mirror-" He pointed at a nearby dresser mirror with a grey hoof and gestured towards himself. "Don't pass me it, just push it over here!" The alicorn snagged the mirror with his magic, and pulled it over to William.

"Wow."

William looked himself over, examining everything from his strange rough, almost rubbery skin, to his new tail and his wings. Something which seemed to have been brought over from his last transformation into a pony. He took a step back, and then a step forward to the point where his breath dispelled across the reflective surface. He studied his face and grinned confidently. "I look fantastic-" He shifted his neck off to the side and experimentally poked a series of rills running along it.

"Gills! I've got gills!" He ruffled his wings, neatly folding them with only minimal effort.

Crimson almost stumbled over Joey as she rushed to check it out. " Oh? How does it feel?" The alicorn and the wolfpony asked, neglecting a slightly amused Queen Novo, who had taken up the most regal seat possible in the whole cottage. A humble brown couch on the far side of the room, overlooking the ocean.

"A flying sharkpony?" The stately hypogriff questioned. "Yes!" William responded, turning away from the mirror. "I both look, and feel great! And-" A small bit of green magic flickered through his mane. "I don't believe it." She responded.

"A sharkpony-pegasus-kirin hybrid!" William touted, spinning around, "Though, the tail might take a bit of-"

"Ow!" Crimson cradled her left ear and let out a little snarl of disapproval. "Sorry!" He rushed his apology. "Novo! The sooner this thing gets resolved." His gaze fell on Joey.

"Bud! I wouldn't suppose you'd like to become a shark as well? I'm certain it'd be fun! And besides, Novo just showed you the spell. So you should be able to replicate it whenever you want. It's your choice." The alicorn beamed with moderate uncertainty. The whole sight was a bit odd. And he still didn't want to get back in the water after Greytail.

"Hold on, hold on." William shuffled off into an adjoining room, and came back a moment later, clad in an altered version of his black and red armored wetsuit from before.

"Alright, that's everything. Let's go resolve a localized conflict." He trotted over to the couch and tapped on it with a forehoof, motioning back and forth from the couch to the doorway.

"Last chance." William gestured towards the water, swirling it with a hoof. Joey swiftly shook his head. "No, no, no. You go do your thing... And I'll sit on the beach and wait for you." William's gaze now shifted to Luna, Nightshine, and Crimson. Who were all somewhat confused by what was unfolding. "Everyone just-Wait here! I'll be back!" Novo, in a flash of brilliant light, transformed into a seapony and dove headlong into the ocean shallows, swimming off towards the reef and open sea. William burped, and dove in afterwards, scrambling across the sand until his head was below the water. By habit, his eyes snapped shut. Though after a few seconds, he opened them up, and realized he could see just as clearly as he previously could with goggles. He kicked his back legs, and shot forwards a little ways.

"Wait, I can breath just fine." He opened his mouth, and the sudden presence of salt water didn't feel off at all. Everything felt, for lack of a better word, normal. Even if it was all waterlogged. The feeling of water passing through gills felt strangely pleasant.

"Well?" He heard Queen Novo's voice echo across the sand.

"I'm coming! I implore you to be patient!" He tapped the sand, "Alright... And the tail-" William batted it around, and even managed to successfully discern how to change directions. Once that was all figured out, he swam off in the direction that Queen Novo had disappeared in.

"It's been what- Four hours?" Nightshine asked Luna, "The sun's starting to set. How long do these things normally take?"

"Patience, I'm sure that William and Queen Novo were able to figure it all out-" At that exact moment, a soaking wet sharkpony William emerged from the ocean, dragging what seemed like a barely coherent Queen Novo Behind him with a mixture of magic and tail straps.

"Well... We fixed it, it was some just some stupid nonsense over ancestral fishing grounds. Greytail congratulated us. And... Novo here really doesn't take well to certain types of seaweed. Oh yeah! I still hate seaweed. Now... If you all don't mind-" He dumped the unconscious seapony on the sand. "I'm going for a nice, warm, night time swim. I'll see you all again in about... Oh, an hour or two. And get a little fire going. I bid all farewell until a later time!" The brown maned sharkpony/pirin hybrid fell back into the ocean, darting off about a hundred yards out into the water, before suddenly bounding up like a dolphin using his tail fin and wings, and subsequently stumbling in mid air and falling back into the water with a massive splash.

"Hey," William thought to himself. "I've foregone a proper vacation for long enough, I'll have it here and now either way. I'll be back in Ponyville... Eh, I'll just say later!"