> Samudra's Journal
>  by vren55
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> Entry 1: My Beginning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

First Entry
The Empress suggested I start this journal. I’m unsure as to why. Writing can be quite tiring as we have to use magic to do it. The ink that surface worlders use doesn’t work in the depths. 

She’s also told me that written words can be dangerous. That they can fall into the wrong flippers and they will never really tell the whole truth. Even to the person who wrote them. 

But she must have a reason, so I suppose I should introduce who am I. I am Samudra a deep pony. One of the two Aquestrian races. What’s a deep pony? Well, I’d have to explain what Aquestria is.

Aquestria is the underwater kingdom of Sea Ponies on Domus, this planet. It spans the entire length of what the primitive landdwellers call the Eastern Sea. We call it the Aquestrian Sea, as it rightfully is. 

Our seat of power is the coral-ringed city Aquamaris, where my mentor Empress Panthalassa of Aquestria, rules. Immortal, she’s the most powerful of our species, combining the attributes of both deep ponies and sea ponies.

Sea ponies are the more common of the Aquestrian races. In the front, they are like a pony, in the back, they have a horizontal tail. Aside from these, the Great Creator gifted the Sea Ponies with hydromancy. The ability to control the currents through the movement of their hooves and tail. Master hydromancers can even change the state of the sea itself, freezing it or turning it into steam. 

But there is a more powerful race in Aquestria, though a bit fewer. Four out of ten Aquestrians are Deep ponies, like I. We can channel the mystical energies of the world and to cast a milieu of spells. We can move earth, crack stone, lift things by our will, and fire bolts of energy. We can also live at depths greater than that of sea ponies, though we cannot go into the trenches and abysses that lead to the bottom of the sea.

In many respects, we are more powerful than our seapony brethren, though they are more numerous. As such, Aquestrian jobs tend to be divided based on our separate abilities. Deep ponies serve in the military and as mages, whilst Seaponies tend to tend the seaweed fields and clamfish harvests. The entirety of our Empress’s elite Myrmidon Guard is composed of deep ponies. 

Huh, this is proving to be easier than expected. I think I should thank Empress Panthalussa. She’s my mentor and the wisest Aquestrian I know. That being said, she is thousands of years old.

Ah yes diary, my teacher Empress Panthalussa is immortal. Or so far as I know. I’m aware she can be hurt, but frankly that’s a very rare occurrence. Aquestria has always maintained a very strong military, though we have rarely seen any threats to our dominance at sea for years. Furthermore, Empress Panthalussa wields magical power and hydromancy that far surpasses even our strongest Deep pony magi, and thanks to her long years and the experience she has gained, she knows how to use it well.

I must admit that there are many times when I question my mentor though… I am proud of being her student, but sometimes I wonder why.

I mean… My father Cardiidae and my mother, Actiniaria were sea ponies who ran a farm just outside of the capital, Aquamaris. Like every deep pony born to a seaweed farm, I originally wanted to be a Myrmidon. So I enrolled into the Myrmidon Training Academy at ten years old and left my family to go the capital. 

Myrmidon training was intense. Constant exercising, sorcery lessons and this may surprise many, but we also take lots and lots of classes on tactics, strategy and administration. 

I do have a guess as to why the Empress finally chose me for her student, but not the full reason. I think she realized I was an excellent commander. She was watching me during a command exercise. I was commanding the cadets on my team against the senior class. We were outnumbered, we didn’t have as much experience, but we beat the senior class in the mock battle. 

Oh you should have seen the looks on their faces. I used my own cadets as bait for the senior class. Neither the bait or even the senior class realized until the last moment when I swept my reserve forces into their rear.

A few days later, The Empress had approached me to ask me if I could be her student. I think I mumbled yes, because the next thing I knew it, she had swept me into her chambers and we were having lunch.

Even now, I sometimes can’t believe that I’m her student. Yet, I only have to come to our daily lessons, watch her manage Aquestria, and remember… that the Empress knew exactly what she was doing when she chose me.

I suppose that’s good enough for me. And good enough for this entry.

Maybe she has a point about this journal… it felt good to write this.

> Entry 2: Aquestria and the Surface World
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	During these past few weeks diary, I learnt why surface worlders should not be underestimated.

Before then, I thought the ponies, the griffons, and all their ilk weak. 

I mean, they can barely keep one of their puny settlements from being overwhelmed by monsters on the land. Who cares if they have four legs, four legs and wings, four legs and a horn or if they have beaks and two claws instead? 

We, deep ponies and sea ponies have farms that stretch along their coast for leagues, right underneath their noses, farming seaweed and shellfish of all kinds. Mussells, clams, you name it. They feed an empire so large we have no boundaries but for what is not under the ocean. We surrounded the surface worlder’s homes to their east and west, and still they did not know about this. 

The surface worlders squabble among themselves too. Spill each other’s blood, fighting over every scrap of land, completely oblivious to the fact that they court the attention of the Windigoes in the north. 

Aquamaris alone is so large it takes hours to swim from one end to the other. We have so much territory, the clans of deep ponies and sea ponies that roam the open oceans can spend a month before seeing each other. And when they do, they share food and talk, like reasonable seafolk.

At least, this was what I thought about the ponies, pegasi, unicorns and griffons, until Empress Panthalusa showed me Vale Auras. She was showing me the surface world along with her retinue and for the most part, all we saw were those desperate souls. Then… I saw it.

I could not believe it. It wasn’t that large. Aquamaris dwarfed it, but as we came closer to the sea shore, I could see this amplifier, a massive white ball of magic, constantly emanating light. I soon learned that with it, the unicorns in the city could move the sun and the moon.

The bloody sun, and if that wasn’t enough, the moon! The ponies living there seemed to want for nothing, unlike the scavenging desperate folk I saw before.

If that wasn’t enough, Empress Panthalussa managed to show me a very dangerous surface species. The changelings.

She wasn’t sure if we’d get to see them. The changelings are particularly dangerous. They also can shapeshift. But… there appears to be some kind of war that’s going on and we witnessed an engagement on the shore. 

Nearly three hundred changelings fought in the engagement we witnessed. They were organized, tested each other’s formations. They used magic to try to shape the terrain throwing up temporary sand castles to cover against arrows. The two queens leading the two groups gave commands clearly, and manipulated their troops with ease. 

And just when we thought it was over, when one side had outwitted and outflanked the other force and were pushing them into the ocean, a thousand more changelings led by another queen swarmed in.

It had been a trap all along. Perhaps their numbers were lacking when compared to the legions Aquestria could field, but their tactical acumen was impressive nonetheless.

I’m very glad the Empress showed me this. I… I tend to rush things and form opinions very easily.  She has taught me so much since I have become her student.

Lately though, she’s been rather wistful, and more… worried than usual. Which is strange. I’ve been helping her a lot with the administration of Aquestria. She should be feeling less stressed and from the reports I’ve been reading and signing in her name, there isn’t really anything to worry about.

That does make me wonder though, what could possibly worry the Empress? I… I don’t think there is such a thing. I probably am misreading her.
> Entry 3: Going Up the Ranks
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	I’ve since graduated from being Empress Panthalussa’s student and while I’m not Myrmidon guard, I am something better.

I’m acting as her Seneschel! 

Okay, it’s a kind of sub-viceroy position, but through this, I’ve been directly assisting the running of Aquestria. 

I will admit, I am worried about Aquestria’s military being a bit complacent given the years of peace we’ve had, but peace is better than war. 

Still, I’ve never been happier to serve my mentor and thank her for all that she has taught me. 

For my first task, one of the distant deep pony clans in the Western Ocean has rebelled against Panthalussa’s rule. I’ve been sent to dispatch them with haste with the rest of the Myrmidon Guard.

Nomadic clans have very little say in the running of our government due to their lower numbers. Plus, they don't contribute as much to Aquestria as a whole due to their nomadic practices.

This one wanted more autonomy and power, and seafloor to settle on. Panthalussa sent negotiators to try to appease them, but they refused to be satisfied. It seems the clan's leader and his followers have gained... delusions of power and given Aquestria's power isn't as evident in the open ocean, I would understand that.

But killing our diplomats despite our offer... I couldn't believe it when I received the news. As much as I dislike having to fight my own species, there’s nothing for it. They’ve rejected the Empress’s benevolent rule, and so they must suffer the consequences.
> Entry 4: The Abyss
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	I saw something… strange today… well not saw, sensed.

Aquestria has areas that are more dangerous. We may rule the seas, but even deep ponies such as I do not dare descend into the trenches that scar the ocean floor or go into the shelfs that just drop into nothingness. 

Despite this, there are quite a few seaponies and deep ponies who continue to try to hunt or mine these areas. Others are even crazy enough to settle on the edge of these continental shelfs. 

After the Myrmidons and I defeated the rebels, the Empress dispatched me with a century of Aquestrian legionaries to order one of these illegal settlements, which had settled rather near to a trench, to move. The negotiations themselves weren’t too difficult. The settlement's leader had been aware of the ban on anypony settling near the Abyss. They just had been misinformed about how far away they should be. Furthermore, the settlement was very new and the legionaries that accompanied me had came for the sole purpose of assisting in the move.

Still, I needed a brief break from the planning and negotiations, and so swum to the edge of the cliff.

I… I heard something then. It was very faint, but as if I could hear thoughts in my head that were of my voice, but not of my own. I’m not sure how to describe it, but the moment I heard them I backed away from the cliff as fast as I could. The Empress has always been very adamant about being aware of one’s thoughts. So I swam away… and the thoughts faded.

Needless to say, I was more frantic about the negotiations and those that settled agreed to move away. Upon my return, I then immediately approached the Empress.

She seemed surprised and looked at me with eyes that were hard, and searching. She was definitely using her magic on me, her horn was glowing. I didn’t know why but I froze, and… I was afraid. What was she seeing?

She then stopped, and apologized, told me that I was fine and that she will explain in time.

Explain what though? I didn’t get it. I said that whatever that thing was, we needed to go and investigate, destroy if it possible.

Panthalussa shook her head then, and pointed out the flaws in my logic. Sending ponies to investigate would only expose them to whatever this influence is.  There was also the matter that there was nothing I could actually see to destroy.

It was rather embarrassing, but she was right of course.

The thing was, after that she dismissed me and told me not to tell anyone of this, I realized something.

She hadn’t disagreed with me that whatever it was needed to be destroyed. So, she had an idea what it was, but wouldn’t tell me. But why?
 
> Entry 5: Ascension
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 Diary, I don’t know how to start this.
 
Empress Panthalussa is dead.
 
And I am the new Empress.
 
All this time, she wasn’t simply taking me on as her student. She was preparing me to be her successor. It explains everything. I know why now. The weird voice, the need for an Aquestrian Empress. 
 
I, she called me yesterday morning to the council chambers where the rest of her advisors and the various provincial governors of Aquestria had already been summoned. She then told me, told us, that she’s ruled for uncountable years and that it’s time for a change. She said she needs to step down.
 
I… I hate to admit this, but the Empress gave some rather good reasons for this. Panthalussa argued that Aquestria was in dire need of innovation and she had, over long years of rulership, lost the will to try new ideas and challenge the status quo she represented and upheld.
 
Moreover, the Empress pointed out that she could sense that her sheer age meant her body was becoming far less able to control her powerful magic. Wait too long and she might not be able to transfer her powers to a suitable successor.
 
I protested, along with everybody else, but Panthalussa said her decision was final and that she has ruled long enough. She would pass her powers to her successor, and die in the process. 
 
And that successor, was me.
 
I… I didn’t want to accept it, but there was no changing her mind. Now that I think about it... who else could she have possibly wanted to succeed her? She had trained me from adolescence. Raised me like a second mother. Drilled me in Aquestrian history, society, politics, culture and military tactics. I thought all of this was to train me to become an archmage, her Prime Minister. Some important role... not to be the next Empress.
 
I refused, I tried to flee. I didn’t want her to die, diary. But she was adamant and told me to see her in her chambers in an hour.
 
When I finally got there she had set up this array with a multitude of symbols. I tried to convince her as she checked them over, but she refused.
 
It was then she told me diary of what I needed to know. I… I’ll write more of it later, but she told me of the role of the Empress and I write this down now so I won’t ever forget.
 
The Empress of Aquestria was adorned by the Creator, whose face Panthalussa has seen, to safeguard the oceans from the threat of the Old Gods. This is the most important duty of the Empress of Aquestria, above that of even the maintenance of Aquestria’s safety and citizens. 
 
This and more she told me and made me commit to memory before she ascended me.
 
The ritual… it was excruciating. I had finally agreed to it, but I had never expected the pain. I felt I was about to burst. All of Panthalussa’s might, her power funnelled right into me. I screamed until my throat was sore.
 
And when it was over, Panthalussa… she was gone. Vanished into a cloud of fine bubbles that disappeared.
 
I, I was a changed deep pony. I had a much larger horn. I had a much longer tail, a wider and more muscular barrel. My fluke was larger as well. I… I now was about three times the size of a normal deep pony.
 
I feel no strain when writing any longer. Another sign of the magic I have gained.
 
And yet… I feel tired. I mean it isn’t surprising right. My mentor is dead. My Empress... my friend, and my second mother...  
 
Oh by the creator. Why? Why did it have to be her? Why did she chose me?
> Entry 6: Secrets
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I haven’t wanted to write in the diary for a while. A year in fact, but… I need to record some of the things Panthalussa told me before she passed her responsibilities to me.
 
About the Old Gods.
 
Long ago, before most of the surface worlder species, the Old Gods roamed Domus, our world. Seaponies and deep ponies existed, but they were primitive, not very smart. Creations of the Old Gods.
 
Well, slaves really. We lived at the whim of the Old Gods and in their thrall. Their mind control dominated our species as they fought and consumed one another
 
That was until the Great Creator. She uplifted the sea ponies and deep ponies, and then crafted the surface worlder species. The ponies, pegasi, earth pony and unicorn, the griffons, dragons, the zebras, donkeys, horses, all living things in the world. She raised the land, and seeded the sea with plant life and sealed the Old Gods deep into the ocean.
 
It helped that by the time the Great Creator arrived, there were only two old gods left. Shi-Nihalar and Yoth-Atal. They had consumed all the other smaller Old Gods and absorbed their strength.
 
Unfortunately, that meant the creator wasn’t strong enough to destroy them though. So the Creator, with the help of the species she had created sealed Shi-Nihalar in the Western Ocean and Yoth-Atal, in the depths of a trench in the Eastern ocean.
 
She then charged the first Empress, Panthalussa, to watch these Old Gods. To take whatever measures necessary if they awoke. 
 
And then she vanished. 
 
Empress Panthalussa heard that the Creator also left the surface worlders certain tools that would help them fight off chaos, but it was to the Empress and Aquestria that she charged with ensuring the Old Ones stayed sealed.
 
The Old Gods… I wholeheartedly agree with the Empress and the great Creator. They have to be destroyed, or if they can’t, they need to be sealed forever.
 
From what the Empress told me, the very sight of an Old One can drive ponies mad. They enslave ponies with their mind simply through their very presence, turning them into the most fanatical cultists.
 
That and there’s their sheer size and magical power. The Old Gods can mutate creatures, summon beasts from other dimensions. Perhaps even control the very currents, and weather themselves.
 
Moreover, Panthalussa told me one important thing. You cannot compromise with an Old God. Their corrupting influence is far too dangerous.
 
Shi-Nihalar wants to unite land and sea, controlling the entire world in his mental dominion.
 
As for Yoth-Atal… she’s more mysterious. She opposed the Great Creator and fought her. However, we’re not entirely sure of her motives even today. Panthalussa believed that Yoth-Atal had some kind of interest in the oceans of Domus, but what kind of interest, she’s not certain.
 
I… still don’t know what to think of these revelations, but by my mentor’s life, I will not fail in my duty.
> Entry 7: The Ice Seal
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Dear Diary,
It’s been a while, a year in fact, but well, nothing of real note needed to be added and I’ve been busy. My reign has been unchallenged, despite the rapid transition from Panthalussa to me. She had a very different ruling style from what I’ve decided to adopt.

Panthalussa tended to rely on symbols. She had been alive for so long that all people had to see were the vestiges of her authority. The Myrmidon Guard, the Aquestrian Army, her Royal Seals on guard posts and in other facilities, such as the Aquestrian Courier Service and the Seawatch, the institution that maintains the health of the oceans.

Since I’m the new ruler, I’ve had to travel a lot more, from settlement to settlement, trying to introduce myself to thousands of communities and travelling clans. Going to big cities and trying to ensure the loyalty of my governors.

This… well this was when I faced my first crisis.

Shi-Nihalar’s cultists… they attacked our cities of Echinoi and Platonicus in the Western Ocean.

Oh it was horrible diary.

It’s true that seaponies and deep ponies have always preferred the warmer waters of the Eastern Ocean. Moreover, the West has always been rather wild and temperamental, but we did have two major cities there. Echinoi and Platonicus being among them, hosting half a million tails.

Shi-Nihalar… he wasn’t even awake. But his influence had corrupted hundreds of ponies over the years.

Today, they launched their assault, the first attacks overrun Echinoi, capturing outposts and more importantly, sea ponies and deep ponies for him to influence. The cultists wanted to grow his army large enough so they could finally free their god.

I acted the moment the outposts fell, leading the Aquestrian Army to the Western Sea.

I was too late though, Echinoi was overrun. I could guess that the cultists would be after Platonicus next so I had the city evacuated at once. Ponies were already fleeing through the Northwest Passage into the Eastern sea so they needed little encouragement.

The cultists tried to stop this, they flung themselves on our legions, forcing us to boil, eviscerate and crush them with our magic, and our mastery of the currents.

But hundreds of my army were killed by these fanatics, and we had to slaughter the cultists to the last. I personally wiped out scores of the fanatics.

Only then, I finally was able to go to the place where he was sealed.

He had been buried in a trench, kilometers deep, and that… that was when I found out he was still asleep.

He wasn’t even awake! Nothing that he did had been done while he was conscious, but the damage his followers did… I…

*scribbles, furious, anguished… indecipherable*

More protection was needed. I- We couldn’t afford something like this ever again.

With my magic, I managed to deepen the Old God’s imprisonment, building a massive, barren island on top of his existing prison. I and the rest of Aquestria then agreed to leave the Western Oceans for good, to seal off the Northwest Passage with a wall of ice.

It still amazes me that I can so easily freeze such a long channel. The power that the Empress left me…it amazes me to this day.

I don’t care how long it takes, or how long I must keep my watch. The Old Ones will never hurt my ponies or Aquestria, ever again.
> Entry 8
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Dear Diary,
Settling the seaponies and deep ponies from the Western Sea has taken the majority of my time since we had to seal the Western Sea, but after thirty years, it is finally complete.

Aquestria is… well not as strong as it used to be, but in light of what happened, a military fervour has arisen in my ponies and there are more recruits than ever for the Aquestrian army and the Myrmidons.

I’ve also finally been able to have some time to myself. To listen to my ponies in the petitioners courts, and to relax. To sit with friends, visit my parents. They are… well, but old and I’ve since asked them to move into the Royal Palace with me so I could better take care of them.

Panthalussa was right. It’s necessary for the Empress to know when to take a break. I always thought that this long life was a gift for me to be of greater service to Aquestria, but it’s because of this long life that I must know when to relax. I’ve been so busy of late, trying so hard to live up to her… that I think I might have forgotten that I have um… needs as well. There are… many charming seaponies and deep ponies in my court.

The loss of the Western Sea still stings, but I suppose in many ways, it was unavoidable. Shi-Nihalar’s prison was always the less stable of the two trapped Old Ones.

Surprisingly, Yoth’s prison remains fairly strong. I visited it, the deep foreboding chasm where she is kept. There’s no chance of her breaking out. I do not doubt she has attempted to spread her influence, but for the moment, she’s sealed.
> Entry 9: Disappearances
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Diary, I’m… confused.

For the past three years there have been some seaponies and deep ponies going missing.  At first, it was only some wayward younglings, runaways from home. Nothing to worry about.

However, then I received reports that an entire seapony clan, albeit, a very small one of less than twenty, has gone missing. The local authorities believed they had simply migrated, but several months later, there was no sign of them and thus they alerted me.

I ordered an investigation. My Myrmidons scoured the ocean, but they found no trace. This was when my Mages and ministers realized that the disappearances had been stretching back for about two years.

Now, there are a multitude of threats in the Eastern Ocean that may have caused this. Dragon turtles running rampant. Leviathans can crush settlements. Underwater earthquakes can bury or plunge entire fields into the abyss. Volcanoes can sprout from the sea.

That’s not even counting the more common threats. Sharks like to prey on seaponies and deep ponies alike. There are multitudes of poisonous fish and eels. Jellyfish, not the larger ones, but the miniscule ones that can’t be seen easily, can render a seapony or deep pony dead in hours.

However, we’re used to these threats and have for the most part, adapted to them. It’s unlikely that any clan or settlement will go missing in its entirety. This is especially since every seapony and deep pony has some rudimentary skills in hydromancy. Since these skills are drilled into us from a very early age, it’s unlikely that a disaster could completely wipe out an entire clan. It would have to be cataclysmic in nature.

Of course, I may be entirely misplaced in my suspicions. After all, the ocean is massive. Much of Aquestria’s domains are unsettled and the numerous trenches and abysses that mar the ocean floor could conceal a myriad of natural traps.

But still, it doesn’t explain why seaponies and deep ponies from across Aquestria have been going missing. My investigators weren’t that suspicious at first either, but as they dug deeper, and compared the statistics, they realized that the disappearances had risen in the past three years. It was a subtle rise, but it was there.

Again, it’s possible that this worrying is all for naught, but all the same, I’m going to send more of my army to patrol some of the more distant settlements. There’s no need to take any risks, and since Aquestria’s treasury remains full, why not?
> Entry 10: Voices
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Diary…  I something…

This seems crazy, but I’ve been hearing things.

I was looking over documents, alone, nobody in my room and then I hear this whisper.

I swim out of my chambers, look at my guards, but they tell me they hear nothing. When I ask them if they have been talking, they say no.

But then it happens again, and when I check with my guards, they don’t hear it.

Later, I’m exercising, having a sparring match with my guards. Suddenly I hear a whisper over the clashing weapons. I try to ignore it, but it continues to whisper, so much so that it nearly distracts me to the point I almost lose the spar!

The whisper… I tried to sleep it off, thinking it’s just me being tired, but no. It just keeps coming back! This voice in my head. So soft I can’t recognize it, but loud enough I can hear it.

Just what the hell is going on?

Should I see my physicians? I mean, I haven’t gone crazy have I?
> Entry 11: End of Voices
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Strange. All of a sudden, after about a week, the voices just stopped. What caused them though? And why did I suddenly hear them?

I… I suppose I must thank the Creator for small mercies. My parents passed away today.

Panthalussa warned me about this. It’s a duty that is heavy and…

…

I miss them so much. I… I hope they’re proud of me and that they watch over me.
> Entry 12: Or not...
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Okay, this is strange. It’s been an entire decade. Ruling Aquestria has occupied my entire mind and while everything has been peaceful, well…

I’ve been hearing things again. I am hearing things right now. I’m not even in Aquamaris right now. I’ve been visiting the shores and the lovely coral reefs there, when I heard voices in the shallows. I tried to follow them, and led my guard on this merry whale’s chase all over the reef, only to realise that nobody could hear them.

Either my hearing’s just that much better than there’s, or it’s those voices that have returned.
> Entry 13
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No… I’m pretty sure I’m hearing things again. I had my guards clear the seas for nearly ten kilometers in every direction and I kept hearing voices. Indecipherable voices, but voices nonetheless.

I’ve also cast spells on myself to try to purge any magic cast on me, but it hasn’t worked.

I suppose I’m going to have to wait it out… this is… aggravating though.
> Entry 14
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Alright, after a few weeks the voices stopped again. I still don’t know why I’m hearing them in the first place. Not to mention… I can’t seem to recall when they stopped.

Come to think of it, I didn’t remember when they stopped the first time. I just realized they did.
> Entry 15
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I didn’t want to diary, at least not at first, but I’ve had to talk to my doctors.

The voices… I’ve been hearing them intermittently. Louder too. Usually it is more than a decade between every period, but it’s getting far too regular.

When it does happen, I hear these whispers nearly all the time.  I can barely look around a corner without hearing someone call my name and turn to find nobody there.

I… I can hear the voices a bit better now too, but all I can recognize is my name. They seem to vary in tone too, but I can’t tell what they’re saying.

Anytime this happens… It’s… been hard trying to sleep. I do get sleep, but I… I’ve asked for company for a number of nights. Trusted guards, ministers, friends… I… I don’t feel completely right using them, but I can’t help it. I need a distraction.

Luckily, I’ve noted down when I hear the voices. So the doctors don’t think I’m completely crazy, but they have no idea what’s going on. After running a bunch of tests, they conclude that my ears work fine.

I’ve had to swear them to secrecy though. If Aquestria heard of this… well, it won’t go over well.

Seriously though, just what the hell is going on?
> Entry 16
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Oddly enough, the voices… well it’s been nearly a hundred years and I haven’t heard a single voice. They’ve faded. Inexplicably. I don’t know why, but they just stopped one day. My doctors have no idea why either, even though their grandfathers and grandmother have been studying my case for years.

It’s… nice for things to be quiet though. I’ve been spending all my company with my trusted Myrmidon Guards. They’re the only ones I can trust completely aside from the doctors and most of them don’t think I’ve gone insane.

Captain Orcus… he’s listened and served me faithfully. I think I should give him a slight reward for his services.

While I’m glad the voices have been gone for so long, I’ve continued to have my mages start researching the cause of them. They’ve been looking at my castle and where I’ve been every inch of equipment and spells that they have. So far, they’ve turned up nothing and not for lack of trying. They studied me first after all.

The problem is… if I’m not crazy, then something else… someone… or some group, tried to make me feel like I’m crazy.

Well… whoever it is, I will find them, and find out why.
> Entry 17
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Stop. Just. Whatever you are. STOP!

Are they just messing with me? Making a point? Well I heard you, just for the love of…

Or am I crazy? I… But I...

I can feel something there. Right behind me! Not always, no… that would be too convenient. Its random!

Whenever I least expect it I can feel… hear? I don’t know. I just feel something is there.

And when I turn around, I don’t see anybody. Sometimes I do find a guard, minister or servant, but it’s… it’s not them. I’m not feeling them… am I?

Maybe… okay. Let me describe it.

The presence I feel… I don’t know what or how I’m sensing it. It’s like this weight in my mind… but that’s not in my mind. I simply feel as if something is there. It usually is behind me but sometimes it isn’t.

The real question is… why? It may be related to the voices I’ve been hearing. If that is the case then, what… or who, is behind all of this? And what is their goal?

Indeed, it may be some twisted bastard trying to mess with my mind, and make me overthink.

Or perhaps it is deliberately trying to alienate me from my staff.

Maybe it wants to make me crazy?

… Or have I gone crazy?

I have no answers now. All I can really do is brace myself for… Damnit, I just felt it again and there was nothing there.

Where was I… Right. I have to brace myself and Aquestria for whatever is behind this.

I’m going to be checking my food as well. There’s no poison I know that can cause these effects, but I need to be sure.
> Entry 18
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

And just like that, I don’t get those feelings anymore. It’s been about a decade since the last one and I feel that I really do need to note this down because… well it’s beginning to really anger me.

Hearing things was worrying and weird, but feeling things that aren’t there? That really did drive me crazy.

It’s possible this could be a precognition of things to come, but the Empress never had those powers and I doubt she would have made me take on her powers if they were going to cause these feelings.

Just what in the Creator’s name is happening to me?
> Entry 19: Madness?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

… Have I lost it?

I’m… seeing things.

And hearing them.

And feeling they are there, but they aren’t, or at least I don’t think they are.

It started out of nowhere. I was suddenly seeing guards and ministers when nobody is there.

I will be talking to one pony and then another will come and ask me why I’m talking to a wall.

I might hear something, see someone approach, but the moment I reach out to touch it, the pony isn’t there, but it keeps talking.

I… I’m trying. I’m really trying to stay calm. Well, I tried, but I can’t help it. I’m panicking. It’s all I can do not to lock the room and let my doctors… at least I think they’re my doctors… help me through this.

I don’t even know if I’m writing in this diary anymore. I might be hallucinating this entire entry.

It’s all that I can do to just not lash out against all of this. I know there are ponies around trying to help me and that my subjects are very concerned.

I just need to keep it together. Somehow, I’ll survive this. I’m not crazy. Something twisted, or someone, is doing this to me. I just need to hold together long enough to figure who has the power to do this.
> Entry 20
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Turns out I wasn’t hallucinating that last entry, but again, they have just stopped.

The doctors… useless... Alright not useless, but they’ve been just as helpful as their grandfathers and grandmothers, which is not much at all.

My mages have been just as helpful as well. They can’t seem to determine the cause or source, or block it out. They and their forebearers have tried hundreds of shield types and still nothing.

I’ll try moving my residence. It hasn’t really worked before, but maybe it’ll do this time.
> Entry 21
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was fifty years later. I almost thought the sensations and hallucinations were gone, but they’re not. I’m not seeing things, but I’m hearing the damn voices again and feeling that presence.

Despite the gap, it’s starting to become rather familiar. I’m not able to differentiate between real and fake. However, the situation keeps giving me this deja-vu sensation.

It’s frustrating. The mages doctors who know of this have their predecessors notes, but they aren’t any closer than they were.
> Entry 22
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It has finally occurred to me that the hallucinations and sensations I’ve been experiencing might be linked to location. As such, I’ve left Aquamaris with my staff in an attempt to try to identify the source, if not the cause of what I’m experiencing.

At this point, I believe I’m quite sane. The diary has helped me to confirm thie. The issue at hoof is that these… Oh for the love of…

Nope, not real. I can’t touch it.

Well the issue at hoof is that these hauntings… I suppose that’s the best word to describe it. They’re… debilitating. I can’t work as well as I did, hearing things that aren’t there, seeing things that aren’t there.

We’ll continue to move from place to place and hopefully. Maybe, we’ll identify the place where this is coming from.
> Chapter 23: Step by Step Part 1: Health
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s been years, but still no effect. At this point I’ve criss-crossed Aquamaris. My mages have taken a series of readings, but none of which seem to indicate a cause.

Just… damnit. Why? Just why won’t these stop?

That’s it. I’m going to ensure that this is going to be a concerted, directed effort in stopping these sensations or whatever they are. I’ve been approaching this piecemeal.  The records the doctors have left me are… disorganized to say the least. I swear they’ve been prescribing the same medicine to me as their great grandfathers.

First, I am going to see if this is related to my personal health. It’s possible the transfer of power that Panthalussa gave me so long ago might have been flawed. After all, it hurt and she had never done this before I. I’ll have both doctors and mages go over me, methodically, to eliminate every conceivable eventuality. Only then will I move on.
> Chapter 24: Step by Step Part 2: Mental State
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well… it’s a century later and I, and the latest line of doctors and mages, are pretty sure it isn’t something wrong with my health.

I wanted to test if geography had something to do with it, but they’ve brought up a… fairly relevant point.

They want to test if I am actually crazy.

I’m to attend a series of counselling sessions for about a decade, starting the time I get a hallucination, or sensation and ending when the next one after that occurs. The goal is to see how they affect my psychological state, and see if I am actually sane or not.

The reason they say is because ruling is stressful, which I have to admit, it can be, even for someone who is basically an immortal like myself, and so it’s possible that I developed these hallucinations or sensations due to my job.

I couldn’t really argue against that logic so we will have to see.
> Chapter 25: Not Crazy?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There were times I really wanted to fire the psychologists, asking their bloody questions, some of which had been asked to me by their fathers and mothers years ago, but … well I didn’t.

I think I saw the appointments as a challenge to drive my psychologists up the wall for poking at my psyche.

At the same time, I can’t really begrudge them. They’ve confirmed that I’m not crazy, that my mental state is stable. But at the same time… I’ve learned some things about myself I don’t particularly like.

My psychologists have warned me I tend to hold grudges for too long, that I really should put in more leisure time into my schedule, and make more friends. That’s… well I don’t disagree with them, but it’s difficult to make friends when they keep dying due to age.

They’ve also told me that I should… … take it easy. I obsess over things too much and if I don’t figure out how to well, take a step back from investigating this, I might make the wrong call.

The issue is that I’m the only one who can investigate this because of how irregular this occurs. There are years, sometimes decades between incidents, so I can’t exactly step back if I’m the only one who gets to experience them.

Which brings this whole business to the next point… if these hallucinations aren’t due to my health, or my mental state, then... somebody is trying to either drug, or influence me.

Oh Creator damn it all.
> Chapter 26: Suspicions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I… I really need to be careful. I’ve definitely found a much better place to keep this diary. After all… if they really wanted to hurt me, all they would have to do is read this.

But while I am nervous and have asked my Myrmidons to investigate, something doesn’t make sense.

First off, these incidents have been going on for so long, the poisoners or magicians should have died off.

Two, what would have been their gain to keep doing this so regularly that I’d notice and investigate?

Three, how? I’m not immune to all poisons or spells, but I should be more resistant. Something that can overcome my resistance should actually kill me rather than just giving me these sensations.

Damnit. I’ll just have to investigate slowly, with great care. And I can’t make a mistake. It’s not just my life at stake here, but the potential innocence of another pony.
> Chapter 27: Regicide?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over the years that I investigated the would be poisoners or mages, I did find ponies that wanted me dead, surprisingly enough.

I thought that my seaponies and deep ponies generally liked me, and well… they do, but quite a few wanted the power I possessed.

And more disturbingly, many of them had very long-term plans on my life.

There was one family who was planning on feeding me poison in very small amounts to get my system reliant on it before taking it away, and killing me.

Turns out that the poison literally had no effect at all on me and so they had to rethink their plan. Unfortunately for them, I found them out and had them tried and punished.

The annoying thing is, the reason I know the poison had no effect at all was because I have the same damn sensations right now, years after I discovered the plot. So I doubt that the poison caused it if I’ve been off of it for so long.

Thus, it might be a magical thing.
> Chapter 28: More Mysteries...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, it’s unlikely to be a magical thing.

A group of deep pony mages, who wanted to take my place as Empress, were using a series of hidden arrays and magic spells in an attempt to kill me from a distance, out of my palace and out of sight.

Their attempt failed, but it was a bit worrying for a moment. The power that they employed demolished my bedchambers, as it caused the water in my rooms to turn to steam and rapidly expand, but I was unharmed.

Alright, I was bruised and a little burnt, but I healed that without too much difficulty. My Myrmidon did eventually find the assassins, and executed them when they refused to surrender. In their homes, we managed to recover a conspiracy stretching back decades.

Unfortunately, not long enough to explain the hallucinations and sensations. And if to rub salt in the wound, I shortly afterward, was hit with a series of false hearings. I’ve gotten used to the strangeness of them, but they’re terribly disorientating.

Damnit, if it isn’t something we can measure… then perhaps it is something we cannot. Location must be a factor then.
> Entry 29: There HAS to be SOMETHING!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Creator damnit. Just, Creator damn this whatever it is to Tartarus or the deepest blackest abyss! I don’t care. Just make these things stop!

I’ve literally lived all over Aquestria for the last one thousand years, moving from place to place as I get a hallucination or so. I mean alright, I haven’t lived every piece of ocean, but I’ve stayed in so many locations, some of them incredibly uncomfortable, and yet, there has been no effect on these occurrences!

There must be a reason, a pattern, or some clue! I’ll continue moving, but if it isn’t geographic, then there must be another reason. Maybe those sirens with their hypnotic song? They have not bothered us in centuries since Panthalussa drove them to the surface and shallower waters, but I can’t exclude any possibility.
> Entry 30: Enter the Bearded
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My scouts and seaponies have reported to me tales of a very powerful surface worlder magician. He has helped stop Tirek the centaur, fought windigoes, and invented a thousand different spells. Some rather useless, but others incredibly complicated, that can mess with time itself.

This pony bodes watching, or as much watching as can be done. He probably isn’t a threat to Aquestria proper, but our outlying communities may be affected by whatever magical fallout he may leave.

And if you think I’m wrong for assuming he will leave a magical fallout, diary, he’s a super-powerful magician. He’s going to leave some kind of fallout in his wake.
> Entry 31: Insanely Bearded
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’ve finally met Starswirl and he’s… the most insane, and yet… intelligent surface worlder I ever met.

How did I end up meeting him? Well, seaponies in western Aquestria had sent for my aid. Normally, I would send a mage or some deep ponies, but this problem required my personal attention.

The earth ponies in a community on our western boundaries had recently begun to work with pegasi to regulate their weather, which meant far heavier downpours in certain seasons.

This has resulted in significant runoff polluting the waters of a nearby seapony community. Runoff that frankly, they cannot stop, only alleviate, because they have little means of contacting the settlement, which is more inland.

So I personally went to see to this issue and negotiate with the surface worlders, only to find that somepony had fixed the problem and negotiated on our behalf.

That was Starswirl. He had been trying to help the pegasi and earth ponies figure out their weather schedule, while also doing some magical measurements of the water in that bay. Apparently he wanted to see how seawater worked as a conductor for lightning…

The point is, he had been doing experiments on the shore, when saw a seapony, poisoned by the runoff swimming weakly in the shallows. He healed the seapony, cast a translation spell to figure out what he was saying and figured out what was going wrong.

In this way, he had begun intervening on the village’s behalf and had worked out an agreement, which was just being finalized as I arrived.

Of course, I demanded to meet him and arrived, towering over him by a full pony’s head in all of my glory. He… was annoyingly enough, unfazed. Then again, he had beaten Tirek.

He wore a strange outfit. A blue cloak and hat with stars and bells on the ends. He explained they were to ward off evil spirits and monsters.

Honestly, the bells might actually do that because I sensed they were enchanted to produce some kind of… really aggravating sound that Starswirl couldn’t hear, but my all too sensitive ears could pick up.

Starswirl was young for a surface pony, but perhaps there was a genetic disorder because he had a really large white beard. Maybe it was an illusion? I’m not sure, his appearance did not really concern me.

What did concern me was that even then I could see the power he wielded, see the enchanted scrolls and books that he carried to amplify his power. He was definitely one of those surface worlders that Empress Panthalassa warned me not to underestimate.

At the same time, he had helped Aquestria… Yes. He will definitely be watched.
> Entry 32: Working with the Bearded
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starswirl rendered another service to Aquestria. It helped him too, but I think he is somepony who at least bears us no harm.

The dragons, one of the more dangerous surface worlder species, have usually been ignored by Aquestria. They can’t swim underwater after all. But they recently have gained a  ruler more intelligent than usual.

This Dragon King, called Gormorath didn’t have magic, but he did enslave several mages through capturing their families and proceeded to go on a number of wars of expansion. For the moment, he had been content on conquering surface races, but then he went too far.

He blocked off a bay that held a seapony settlement of nearly three thousand ponies, and then proceeded to have the dragons try to drain the water off to other smaller lakes, and steam the water with dragonfire. By doing this, they forced the seaponies into shallow enough water that his mages could bind them with special enchanted ropes that could strangle the captive if the captor wanted it. He intended to force my subjects to mine for underwater gems and gold.

Normally, I could simply just kill the dragon king and his entourage. Summon a tsunami to deal with his mages and personally just slaughter the rest of his followers. The issue, was that the dragon king was… smarter than I expected.

He took the threats and protestations from my subjects very seriously, as well as the stories of my power. So, Gormorath had the seaponies he captured moved into a lake more inland that he dammed off and posted a heavy guard on to prevent me from bringing too many of my Myrmidon guard. The thing is, my Myrmidons could get to the dam itself, but with so many dragons on it and the river confining my forces, it would be akin to walking into a trap.

I could levitate myself over land.. However, a magical shield he forced his mages to set up would again impede my progress, forcing me to break the barrier while be beset by dragons. That itself was not too much of an issue.

However, Gormorath left a survivor nearby the the message that if I tried to approach, he would kill all of my captured subjects.

Needless to say, that was unacceptable, but so was him keeping my subjects.

This was when I noticed Starswirl also sneaking near the shore. I approached him then and we decided to cooperated, united by our common interests, to kill the dragon king and save the innocents involved. It turns out he was seeking to put an end to the dragon king’s slaughtering and burning.

We hatched a plan, Starswirl would infiltrate the camp and get me inside, where we would free the seaponies and the families of the mages. He had the spell knowledge and the arcane skill to cut through the barrier. I had the might. We didn’t know he was using enchanted ropes at the time, but we could guess that the dragons were keeping the seaponies controlled through some kind of magical means if they were going to try to use them to mine for gold.

The plan went well when Starswirl and made our way to the landward side of the barrier. There he crafted an arcane circle (well, more like a semi-circle) that would open part of the barrier up without alerting anybody. I used my power to activate the array and we were in.

Sneaking past the dragons and rescuing the mages was more difficult. Luckily, Starswirl knew about a really powerful sleeping spell that would even put dragons to sleep. He had taught me before we infiltrated and I performed it then, putting the guards to sleep. We reunited the mages with their families and got them to take down the shield.

Thus, we could safely proceed to the lake, where Starswirl undid the spells on the ropes so that we could safely hydromance the seaponies out of the lake and back into the river where my Myrmidons were.

Of course, I wasn’t going to simply let the dragons get away with it. They had imprisoned Aquestrian subjects and tried to subjugate them.

Thus, I unleashed my wrath

You see diary, Starswirl and I had laid a series of traps and arcane explosives around the camp, just in case they shook off the sleeping spell. All of his design, powered by my magic, were mostly restraining, or stunning.

I used my magic to activate all of the traps. At the same time, I used the water in the lake and in the air to summon a blizzard so powerful, it ripped the scales from their dragons, froze their eyes, and if they survived that, the winds it produced whipped and contorted them until they were nothing but sacks of bone.

Starswirl wasn’t expecting it and surprisingly enough, he asked me to stop. I pointed out to him that the dragons were surely going to come after us and I had to finish them here.

He didn’t like it, but he grudgingly allowed me to continue and after casting a water-breathing spell quickly hunkered down in the river with my Myrmidons as I continued to unleash the storm.

The few surviving dragons there were fled. Their king put up a greater fight, nearly reaching the lake where Starswirl and I were. He was behind me and I honestly didn’t notice, so focused I was with maintaining the storm.

That was when Starswirl stepped in to paralyze him with a spell, allowing me to refocus my attention and kill it with spears of hardened ice through his eyes.

Needless to say, the seaponies and rescued mages were eternally grateful. Starswirl was too, but he seemed a bit shaken, if very grateful for my assistance. I suppose he’ll come to accept that there was no way to leave the dragons alive without them becoming a greater threat. Gormorath had plans for world conquest that did not limit itself to the surface.

I have been surprised though of how intelligent Starswirl was. I could have succeeded without his help, but the seaponies would have died for sure. With his help, what could have been a very tragic loss for Aquestria instead turned into one of our most one-sided battles.

He’s not just somepony to be watched any longer… he actually might be an asset...
> Entry 33: Exchanging Books
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have to say that Starswirl has truly proven himself to be a valued ally of Aquestria.

He’s certainly one of the weirdest allies we’ve had, but I’m glad he’s on our side.

There was a cliff about to collapse into the water near a seapony settlement due to mining by a pony settlement. Starswirl identified the situation after they asked him how to stabilize the area. He obviously told them to halt mining operations and checked the area for seaponies, which he found and so had them alert me.

Turned out… that he didn’t know exactly how to stop the cliff from collapsing and needed my strength. He was incredibly reluctant to admit it, but he was just shy of the magical power to deal with this situation. I admit, I was feeling rather smug about the situation.

Still, I’m incredibly glad he decided not to be too prideful and allow me to help. We ended up having to collapse the entire cliff, halt the falling rocks with our magic, and levitate them to the shore. As a bonus to the ponies, they actually could excavate the rocks. If they had plunged into the water though, the iron ore in the rock would have really rendered much of the water uninhabitable for seaponies.

As a reward for his aid, I’ve given him a magic book connected to another book (obviously waterproofed) that I own. He can use it to contact me and… chat. Part of this is because I’ve learned quite a bit about arcane spells from him, though his “magic of friendship, or harmony magic” theory still escapes me, and I want to stay in contact with him. The other? Well, Starswirl is a friend. One I will have to say goodbye to eventually, but one who will be perhaps more memorable than the others.
> Entry 34: The Bearded gets Suspicious
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starswirl’s been… worried of late.

There was another false hearing while I was writing him a message. He noticed… probably by the deteriorated quality of my writing, that I was distracted.

I tried to alleviate his concerns, but he’s being rather persistent. Then again, I did scorch the page that I was writing on when I heard that false scream and wrote “Got to go.” I suppose that would make any pony feel concerned.

But I can’t tell him. After all. He’s not a seapony or deep pony with experience of the ocean’s mysteries. He isn’t going to have any answers that I don’t know. Furthermore, he is a surfaceworlder, and I can’t have the surface knowing that I am being plagued by these… incidents. It would make me look weak.

On the other hoof… He is trustworthy. He’s now helped Aquestria on several occasions out of his own free will.

And I must admit, I am getting desperate for some kind of answer. I need someone willing to look outside the box, to see the data I’ve been collecting for years and years. Someone who doesn’t think like a sea pony or deep pony, who can perhaps grasp clues and connect patterns my subjects has failed to connect for hundreds of years.

Starswirl is also a really powerful and intelligent mage. He might just be able to figure out why these incidents are occurring. Who knows…. Maybe he can use one of his fancy time spells to go back and study the original occurrence. I still don’t know how he’s able to manipulate time to such a degree.
> Entry 35: The Bearded Goes to Work
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After much debate with my doctors and mages, and making him swear a magical vow to not tell anybody of this, I finally told Starswirl I was suffering from these hallucinations and sensations for some time.

Luckily, Starswirl agreed to all of my terms and even the vow. So I took Starswirl to Aquamaris, and I showed him the notes my mages had written with their magic. Nothing else lasts underwater.

Annnd he hasn’t spoken to me since. Damn it to Tartarus. He still pouring over the reports, muttering to himself, having some seaweed that we bring to him, as well as fresh water. Occasionally he exits to pass waste. But he’s ignored all attempts to communicate with him.

Crazy land pony.
> Entry 36: The Bearded's Initial Forays
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starswirl has finally said something and well… it’s been absolutely useless. Why the hell did I…

Wait… hmm…

Okay what he said actually makes some sense now and could be useful to my investigation.

Starswirl reviewed the reports and suggested that it was impossible for any seaponies or deep ponies, or of the more common denizens of this world to manipulate, poison or kill me. He pointed out that if they were going to kill or wound me, they’d have to have thousands of members, and that that is impossible because these occurrences have occurred for so long. He also discarded magical creatures such as the sirens, who, in spite of their powers of mind control, wouldn’t be able to actually affect my mental state or senses to this extent. He pointed out that we instead need to look for something far more powerful, something, probably singular, that could live forever.

I thought I knew this… but I’ve just realized the implications of his conclusion. It can’t be the sirens or some of the more common magical beings. I’m looking… well, we’re looking for something of immense power and life.

That… narrows down the pool significantly. I should apologize to Starswirl.
> Entry 37: More Brief Findings from The Bearded
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starswirl has also made another realization from the reports. There seems to be some kind of pattern to the occurrences, but he has yet to decipher it.  He says he needs more time as well as some of our best mathematicians to assist him.

I gave him that immediately, anything to bring whoever did this to justice.
> Entry 38: Frequency?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starswirl has finally figured it out. There is a slight difference in duration depending on where I am at in the kingdom. The frequency is the same, but he just needs a bit more time to narrow down the duration.

What does this mean though? I mean, yes it’s a pattern, but what does this show? Damnit, I really want him to finish now!
> Entry 39: Lead?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well… we found something, but I’m not sure what it means still, and neither is Starswirl, though he’d never admit it.

Starswirl roughly plotted it out and found that the points where I suffer the longest hallucinations, false hearings, and sensations centre roughly around an area in Aquestria.

Thing is, there’s nothing significant there. No settlements. It’s mainly open ocean, with a large abyssal trench that cuts through it.

Starswirl still insists that we search it though. I’m inclined to agree with him, but… I have a sense of trepidation and… familiarity about this area, but I’m not sure why.
> Entry 40: Regretting the Bearded
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

We are searching the area, scouring the floor with thousands of seaponies… and so far we’ve found found absolutely nothing on the ocean floor, especially in the areas where I had those… hallucinations.

This wasn’t the problem though. After all, we couldn’t search every inch of floor and frankly, after nearly a year, we’ve only searched a fraction of the ocean. It’s far too large and much of the floor has pressures that would have been too intense even for the deep ponies and myself included. However, we were able to use our latest magical scanning spells to examine the portion of the bottom where I had those hallucinations. As best we could anyway. 	There are also places we couldn’t search. The abyss. That was where Yoth is imprisoned.

The problem was when I forbid any seapony, even Starswirl from going near it. He kept persisting me for the answer, but I refused to tell him.

… unfortunately, he did guess that something was down there and will not stop badgering me about it. Creator damnit. I’m starting to regret inviting him to help me. He’s being a severe pain in the flank.
> Entry 41: A No-Win Scenario
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starswirl has given me an… ultimatum, a no win scenario and I… damnit.

He’s refusing to help me with my hallucinations unless I tell him what the hell is in that Abyss. That’s not the only problem though. He’s tried to go down the damn Abyss himself! If only to satisfy his curiosity! That suicidal pony has already tried twice! I’m not sure if it was just to force my flipper, but whatever it is… I… I don’t want him to endanger himself because of my secrets.

So I sent him away and told him that I couldn’t tell him, at least, not right now. That really infuriated him, and I don’t like that I had to protect him in this way.

Still, what he and I have found… or did not find, could suggest that Yoth might be behind my hallucinations, my false hearings and the sensations that I feel.

But why? These hallucinations and sensations don’t debilitate me. Alright they do sometimes, but they hardly incapacitate me. They haven’t driven me insane. I’ve grown to expect them and they came so often that if we are right, then Yoth’s allowed us to pinpoint that she is the cause.

I suppose… one reason is that we can’t really do much. Yoth is sealed and cannot escape. Despite my power, I do not dare go into the Abyss lest I myself be corrupted. And besides, what can I do to further that seal? The Creator herself bound Yoth and according to what Panthalussa told me, bound her even more thoroughly than Shi-Nihalar. I can’t further increase that seal with my magic. She’s stuck there.

Damnit. I don’t know if Yoth-Atal even is the cause. The area that Starswirl plotted is a rough one, done by estimation. It might be that someone decided to throw us off by framing Yoth. She is the most likely culprit, but we can’t even do anything to her even if she is the culprit.

The mystery is as deep as ever before and I have no way to put it to rest.
> Entry 42-43: Nightmares
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry # 42
Diary! If I can read this message now, then whatever has happened was just a dream. If I can read this message again, then this is not a dream. This is real. This… this has to be real, right?

Entry #43
Diary, I don’t know how to describe this, but… I have been having nightmares. Horrifying nightmares.

I didn’t remember the first one. I just woke up, gasping, my gills aching from my own labored breathing.

A month later, I got a second one, but I only recalled… the fear, the horror, but not the why. I don’t know if I just wanted to forget it or not, but I couldn’t write it out.

Perhaps it’s the stress, or just my worry about Yoth-Atal being behind the hallucinations. Who knows? I will try to take things easier.

I don’t know why I’m having these nightmares all of a sudden. But the nature of them is becoming increasingly disturbing.

This time, I had a nightmare where I woke up as a seapony. A normal, run of the mill deep pony. Everything… everything that I knew, I suffered, I fought for… was gone. It had never existed.

I was living in an Aquestria when Empress Panthalussa was alive, but nobody knew who I was. She had no student. I had… I apparently dreamt my entire life was a dream.

This life wasn’t bad. I still served the Royal Court as Captain of the Myrmidons, but I knew… I knew this wasn’t a reality. I knew I was in a dream.

For that moment though, I decided to take advantage of the rather lucid state of my dream and have fun playing around with it. Having a normal life, getting married, growing old and then dying surrounded by my family. I don’t recall most of it, as dreams go, but it was fun.

There was just one problem… when I “woke up” I wasn’t Empress Samudra anymore. I was a random male sea pony.

This was getting strange, so I decided to try to break out of my dream. Instead of just living it, I tested the limits of the dream, imagining strange things popping up, things that didn’t make sense. I cast spells that well seaponies couldn’t cast. I Made it abundantly clear to myself, my mind, that this was a dream and that I really should wake up now because I was breaking all laws of logic.

It worked. I finally woke up… or at least I thought I did.

Only, I didn’t. I woke up in my palanquin, directly over the Abyss. No guards with me, just me, in this heavy palanquin, falling into the trench, where I was engulfed in darkness.

That was when I awoke with a gasp and immediately went to see my physicians. The appearance of the Abyss doesn’t make any sense. It really shouldn’t appear to me in a dream, so why now?

Unfortunately, the doctors and psychologists don’t know why. They still think it’s stress. I’m… not so sure any longer.
> Entry 44: Why the dreams?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think it’s Yoth-Atal… the dreams… I’m not sure, but I can’t do any more study. These nightmares… they are far, far more deadly than the hallucinations and false sensations.

In this one, I woke up and it seemed like a normal day. I wrote in my diary, I chatted to Starswirl, everything seemed fine.

Nothing seemed to go wrong. There was absolutely nothing that seemed off or that seemed like a dream.

At least, until I took a trip to the abyss where we did suspect Yoth-Atal was. I can’t remember why, I think I had to examine it because there was volcanic activity nearby that only I with my powers could seal. Thus I had to go and examine it.

I had decided to be lazy, I was being carried in my palanquin by several of my Myrmidon guards for the journey as we skirted the Abyss. For once, it actually seemed less forbidding than usual.

At least, until they lost their grip.

I tumbled into the Abyss, deep into the dark, where I began to succumb to the extreme pressures of the deep. I called upon my magic, my powers, to try to reinforce my body and summoned currents in a desperate attempt to whisk me from the Abyss.

But nothing worked, I tumbled into the dark. I couldn’t see my hooves, and all I could here was a great… indescribable muttering… or was it chanting? I’m not sure, I don’t quite remember.

Then I woke up and well… I knew it had been a dream.

Except I hadn’t actually woken up. The moment I turned and looked, I was over the Abyss.

And there, I fell, darkness swallowing me, the light just gone. My flippers disappearing in front of me.

Only after that, did I finally wake up, with my servants yelling at me.

By this point, I was getting desperate. I had written in my diary, but couldn’t find the entry. So I… well I wrote a nonsensical message to Starswirl. Just a bunch of words scorched into a page and weird symbols.

It didn’t work. I just “woke up” again and again, and every time I wrote more and more to Starswirl, desperate, disillusioned.

So this time, when I woke up, I saw his confused response and realized that well, I had actually woken up.

Unfortunately, Starswirl had been very concerned. I… I barely remember my state of mind, and the writing I did was quite ilegible, but I mentioned Yoth-Atal, who back then, in my delusional state, I had been sure was responsible for this.

I still suspect she is… but I have no proof and I have to explain things to one really confused pony.
> Entry 45: The Bearded gets Incessant
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starswirl did not take my confused ranting and my mentioning of Yoth-Atal in stride. He’s been sending concerned messages to me. I tried to brush it off as a prank someone had played on me, but in hindsight, perhaps that was not the best excuse.

The most infuriating thing about Starswirl is that no matter how I try to change the subject, or just tell him it’s none of his business, he keeps insisting that I tell him more.

I’m getting really tired of this. Can’t he just leave it alone? I don’t mind his help, but this is too personal! I can deal with these nightmares. They probably don’t have anything to do with the Old Gods anyway. Or don’t they?
> Entry 46: Reconsidering the Bearded
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starswirl has not ceased with his questions and… honestly he’s provided some good reasons as to why I should let me help him and explain why.

For one, it’s been a year since he tried to help me with my hallucinations, so if he was untrustworthy, he would have told the entire world. If that happened, then the seaponies that frequent the rivers and trade with the few shore communities we have contact with would have heard it.

Two, Starswirl is smart. Perhaps without a good as memory as me, and without the long-life, but he was the one who figured out that the Abyss might have a connection to my hallucinations. In fact, given my nightmares, the possibility is even greater, though of course, I cannot confirm it.

Three, if my darkest suspicions are true and it is the Primal God Yoth-Atal, then I need to take all precautions, even if the nightmares and hallucinations aren’t caused by Yoth-Atal. And in this case, the precaution I need to use in this case is to strengthen the seal somehow.

Which raises a really big problem that Starswirl might be able to help me come up with a solution to. Yoth-Atal is sealed in an Abyss. Even I cannot go into the Abyss. The pressures toward the bottom are so intense that I’d get crushed. I know this because Panthalussa tried with a similar ocean trench, and she nearly died. That’s just the actual Abyss itself and not including the fact that there is a Primal God in there that might be able to mentally dominate me.

Thus, I have a problem. I need to try to reinforce the seal on Yoth-Atal, who… might be responsible for everything I’ve endured, though I have no proof. But even if there is a chance that she is coming loose, I need to respond immediately and strengthen the seal. Starswirl can help me with that response.

I need to think about this more, but writing it down has made me feel… better about it.
> Entry 47: Bearded is On
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I told Starswirl, after much debate, after making him swear a magically binding oath not to mention or tell, or write down anything I told him.

It… it was nice telling somepony I could trust and yes, Starswirl, despite all his eccentricities, has shown that he is somepony I can trust. He is not the easiest friend to have, but he is good, and has put countless hours into assisting me, without expecting any wealth or great knowledge.

And so he listened with some trepidation and just… sat there, shock still.

By the Creator, he actually sat there staring at me, silent, rare for him.

But Starswirl did believe me, he explained that he was just trying to put the pieces together in his head and he offered me a few suggestions. Though, really they were more off-topic tangents as we discussed the solutions.

Starswirl believes in a strange power called “Harmony,” some kind of higher magical power that frankly, seems rather dubious, since he has no proof that it exists. He thinks that various virtues can concentrate into various elements that can combine together to emit a powerful purifying force that can protect the world against darkness.

Obviously, I wasn’t convinced and he had to admit he only had theories at the moment.

Another option we considered was whether we could help someone ascend to become higher beings. He theorized that surface ponies could actually ascend to become alicorns. Legendary beings that the Great Creator herself forged. He wondered if I could similarly uplift the seaponies and deep ponies to assist me.

Now, that wasn’t a bad idea, but it wouldn’t have helped solve the problem, which was that we couldn’t actually strengthen Yoth-Atal’s seal because of the depth of it. Since even I couldn’t enter that depth. Granted, if I did and could uplift sea ponies and deep ponies, they could provide a magical boost, but I didn’t know how to uplift a sea pony or deep pony.

So we sat there, discussing and brainstorming various ideas. Until we hit upon one so ludicrous that… I’m honestly not sure why I have agreed to this.

He wants to drop the city of Vale Auras onto the Primal God.

Then, he wants to channel a sealing spell directly into the amplifier at the top of the city to reinforce the existing seal on Yoth-Atal.

Diary… here’s some context. Vale Auras was one of the first surface world cities that Empress Panthalussa showed me. It was the largest city of it’s kind hundreds of years ago and it is still pretty big.

What is astounding about the city is that it can move. It’s atop a gigantic disk a few kilometers in diameter. The entire city floats and can be floated from place to place.

Why can Vale Auras move? Well most of the city is essentially a gigantic magic capacitor/amplifier. It draw upon magic from its surroundings and concentrates it in a massive ball of balefire. This is concentrated through the spire in the centre of the city. Unicorns casting spells through the balefire can find the effects of their spells amplified by thousands in magnitude.

Of course, this amplifier can be a bit unwieldy. It’s difficult to direct so much power into small spells or through complicated ones. So the primary purpose of the ball of balefire has always been to help the unicorns move the sun. From what I’ve heard from Empress Panthalussa, years ago, some catastrophic battle between the Creator and the Primal Gods caused the Sun and the Moon to stand still. Since then, unicorns have always needed to keep the sun moving.

Vale Auras was built, years ago, with earth pony, unicorn, pegasi, seapony and deep ponies to  keep the sun moving. It allowed a few unicorns to move the sun when once you needed a hundred. It has existed since.

Starswirl has indicated to me though that two new alicorns have ascended, one who can raise the sun, the other who can move the moon. As such, Vale Auras and the unicorns, the Order of the Celestial Hoof, who steward the balefire, have ceased their sun and moon moving. Instead they serve to protect Vale Auras from others. Dark mages who would abuse the amplifier, or monsters who would harness it as a weapon.

The issue is that the Order of the Celestial Hoof is a monastic order. Their members are dying out faster they can replace them. But they aren’t sure what to do with the structure. Destroying it isn’t an option because it would probably release the energies concentrated in the balefire, killing every living thing, not just every sapient thing, every living thing within a kilometers.

Starswirl believes that because of this reason, he can convince the order to help us drop the amplifier into the abyss. There we will fire a powerful sealing spell that will ensure Yoth-Atal never escapes from her prison, while also cutting the amount of influence she can project.

Honestly, now that I write it all out, it isn’t a bad plan.  It’s already floating. We have no guarantee of success, but I can’t see any other option.

There is going to be a lot of planning though. The sealing spell has to be very thorough. One misstep and Yoth-Atal may escape.

That’s not to mention guiding Vale Auras into the Abyss in a way that doesn’t smash itself to bits.

Oh by the Creator… this is going to be such a headache.
> Entry 48: On Target
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

We did it. We dropped Value Auras on Yoth-Atal!

The Order of the Celestial Hoof was not too happy about what Starswirl wanted to do with Vale Auras, but they had little choice. Windigoes had attacked Vale Auras not too long ago and the Order had barely managed to fend them off.

The more difficult part was trying to figure out a way to program Vale Auras through magic to plunge through the water, but without hitting anything too solid whilst going down. Starswirl and I combined our expertise, his with magic, mine in hydromancy to figure out a solution.

With the spell in mind, we executed the plan.

I cleared the ocean ahead, ensuring that the weather was calm, that the ocean wasn’t too turbulent. Yes, Vale Auras was floating far above the water, but the states of the weather and the sea are interconnected. Additionally, we needed to protect the boats that the Order of the Celestial Hoof would need to use to evacuate Vale Auras.

Ah yes, I must mention that The Order of the Celestial Hoof accompanied us. They were the ones who were in charge of moving the city. No small feat, due to the precise nature of the spellcasting involved, even if they did have the amplifier to take the load off.

After two weeks of travel, we finally reached the approximate location of the Abyss. That was when things started to get tricky.

First off, we had to reinforce Vale Auras. Water pressure and current can have some devastating effects on unprotected structures and objects. So the Order of the Celestia Hoof, Starswirl and I employed our repertoire of spells to reinforce and harden the city, particularly the spire in the centre, against water damage and force.

Starswirl (with a flotation and water-movement spell cast on him) and I then lowered Vale Auras slowly into the water, as the Order of the Celestial Hoof evacuated. I had also cast a flotation spell on Vale Auras so I could better control where it went.

It was a good thing Starswirl had reinforced his own body and placed a sticky-hoof spell onto himself because the suction of the water pouring into the city nearly tore him off of the amplifier, despite how slowly we lowered the city.

Once underwater, it was mostly up to me to keep the city slowly moving downwards and making sure it didn’t disintegrate.  Starswirl was pretty impressed, which is saying a lot of that vain pony.

When we reached Yoth-Atal’s trench, well, we began the next phase of the operation.


The city plunged through the water, Starswirl and I sucked along in its wake, which was good for us, because we needed to keep pace with it and ensure it was going to the target.

I made most of the adjustments, and kept the telekinetic hold onto the city. Starswirl did know a few tricks to keep the city level. It won’t spiral out of control due to it being created from magically infused stone, but we needed to make sure. Shield spells, and the like, which helped make my job easier.

We had to halt before we plunged into the Abyss and Yoth’s influence would overwhelm us.

That unfortunately meant, guiding the damn city into the Abyss. Blind.

Of course, Starswirl and I realized that we wouldn’t be able to come too close to the Abyss. So using our magic, we attempted to sound out, create detailed mental, magical maps of the Abyss.

It didn’t work. Whatever the reason, possibly because of the Primal God’s magic, we couldn’t actually create a workable image. It instead seemed distorted, contradictory in fact. Multiple readings produced different maps.

Instead, we had to go in blind and to do that, we had to reinforce the city as much as we could and I had to slow down my descent right to a crawl.

Starswirl came up with the shield matrixes that we used to protect Vale Auras, and tell us whether if the city had hit something and where it was hit. Meanwhile, I had to guide it in. It was… like weaving a maze, blind, not actually being there, and relying only on this very distant touch. The power requirement wasn’t an issue due to Vale Auras’s unique properties, but the task was one of the most difficult I had ever attempted.

Somehow, through inching the city down, little by little, adjusting, trying again, and straining the shields with every hit, we managed to set the city down on the Abyss’s floor. It was a herculanean task, taking nearly twenty four hours just to navigate the city down. Starswirl needed to take breaks in between monitoring the shields, though there was no respite for me.

And we then had to cast the spell. Thankfully, our preparation paid off because we didn’t need to aim our casting. Linked to the city, we were able to cast the sealing spell that we had designed and while it didn’t seem to decrease the influence that came from the Abyss… the strength of it had… well… at least we hope, a good chance of stopping Yoth-Atal from ever escaping.

With that, Starswirl and I shook fins… well he shook my fin and I shook his hoof. Apparently it’s a quaint surface world custom and congratulated ourselves. Of course, we would need to monitor Yoth-Atal, but at least we had finished this mission.
> Entry 49: New Worries
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The nightmares… have not bothered me for some time. However, I’ve gotten some strange reports.

There have been a number of stillbirths in Aquestria. At first they were not common enough to be reported to the palace, but this… surge of sorts have some strange things in common.

For one, these stillbirths occur in deep ponies and sea ponies, which is strange in itself. If it was a local geographical area or even in just sea ponies, then we could trace the source, but it’s seaponies and deep ponies from a variety of locations.

Furthermore, these births… the born all have some kind of armor. They look like typical seaponies, but instead of skin, there is a hard carapace.

What seems more worrying is that I smell something… wrong, well not wrong, different. That was my first instinct, but that is often deceptive. It was certainly odd, though. It’s not something any of the healers can smell, so I suspect it’s just me who can sense this. I’ll continue to observe them.
> Entry 50: Connections?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Diary,
While looking into the stillbirths, I found something even more worrying. I mentioned a long time ago that Aquestria noticed seaponies disappearing… well it appears that while the unexplained disappearances have become less frequent, they never truly stopped. Of course, there are a myriad of reasons why seaponies and deep ponies would disappear. After all, Aquestria is still quite dangerous.

But the thing is... the locations of the stillbirths correspond to the disappeared ponies… which is too coincidental. I don’t know what to make of it though, and so I will keep my suspicions to myself.
> Entry 51: Armored Seaponies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Diary, there has been another series of strange births, these… not stillbirths, but strange.

Seaponies were born today with armor, alive, which seem merely strange at first. Some of my professors suggest it’s a mutation of kinds. A beneficial one that may herald change. Or just one that will go no further.

Of course I am wondering why this mutation has occurred and as such, I’ve asked my best doctors to observe a number of these ponies. We need to see that if whatever mutation they have that they will not be harmed by it. After all, the first births were stillborn, and this mutation may still have the possibility of endangering my subjects.
> Entry 52: Tragedy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

For a while, nothing seemed to be wrong with the armored seaponies that were born. I was actually about to pull surveillance and simply have them report to the doctors in the capital for further examination upon reaching adolescence.

Then, I started to hear about the deaths.

The armored seaponies just died. Agonizing… horrible, deaths. The age wasn’t always consistent, but they were just about to reach adolescence.

And the strangest part was that it was as if the armored seapony children were hungry. But they wouldn’t eat anything. Nothing they ate, urchins, fish, seaweed, we even brought some surfaceworlder foods into the depths for them to try. Meat, hay and bread, but nothing really sated them.

They’re still dying now, their parents mourning over their deaths. I’ve done my best to comfort them for what they have lost, but my words are only a small condolence for those who have lost their children, and in such agonising a fashion.
> Entry 53: More Births?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There have been more strange births of armored seaponies… about a decade since the first ones. Strange indeed, and worrying to some extent given what happened to the last wave of births. I’ve thus ordered my doctors to take a few samples of their manes and scales for study and magical analysis. Whatever these ponies are suffering from, I need to ease their pain.
> Entry 54: A Hard Decision
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s… it’s been fifteen years since the armored seaponies were born and. Oh Creator.

I’ve been forced to secretly order the killing of all armored seaponies, every adolescent or child. And that any child that is born is to be immediately euthanised.

The armored seaponies grew up normally, they acted normally, they seemed like any other children… different, but like any other children.

That is… until they reach adulthood. Then they…

The thing is...the armored seaponies desire to eat sapient flesh. We eat meat from time to time, including fish, sea urchins and other shellfish, but we’ve never needed to eat sapients.

However, when the armored seaponies grow up, they gain a yearning for sapient flesh. They do their best to resist it, but their urges of hunger drive them to try to gnaw on and bite the nearest sapient.

Several parents have already died.

Just… damn it all. At this point, it would be kinder to have every single one of the armored seaponies killed at birth and never let them grow to have to deal with this monstrosity. The decision… it was not easy making it, but the alternative was so much worse that well… I’ve… made arrangements for towns to bring forth their children for euthanization.

Why? Why are these babies being born like this? This… this is crazy! I mean… is it even possible that they are so different? I mean, I’ve seen some strange adaptations ocean creatures have done throughout my centuries.

But then again… we do live in a world where things can shift, and change incredibly rapidly.
> Entry 55: A Terrible Necessity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was surprisingly not too difficult to convince the guards and a select few in my government and my army to do what needed to be done… I mean, it was incredibly difficult getting them to agree to that measure, but once they saw the results of the defects, they undertook this duty… with great anguish, but resolve.

Oh who am I trying to fool, they cried the first time they fed the poison and then as time went on, cried less and less. It might have helped that this wave of armored… mutant ponies, were looking less like seaponies. These ones had extra rear flippers along with flukes.

With that, I hoped that I managed to ensure that these… babies…, were cleansed to prevent Aquestria’s destruction.

But … some idiot parents were too sympathetic. They kept their children! Hid them, against all of my instruction and… oh creator…

An entire village. The parents tried to restrain their mutant son as they searched for a cure to his condition. Of course, they didn’t know that they were born this way and had no way of changing their nature. Yet, they tried regardless, and… well the son got loose. He went crazy and ripped the entire village apart. The old and young, the male and female, the mutant devoured them all before dying. We’re not sure why he simply died, but one thing is clear.

I was right to kill the children when they were young. I had no choice and this method, as cruel it was… the consequences of not doing so are far too dangerous.
> Entry 56: Resistance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Damn. Just… damn it all. We’ve continued the euthanizations with the basis that the children have been struck by a disease and it could not be spread..

However, that has not stopped some parents from isolated or nomadic communities from hiding their young, and releasing them before adulthood.

And we only know of this now, three years after the third wave of births, because we’ve spotted a small pod of these armored seaponies fleeing from place to place.

I… I… I’m so sorry, but we need these creatures dead. They are a threat to Aquestria.

However, I cannot deny that their resistance stems from a wish to live.

Still, I have had to send my Myrmidon guard out to search and kill these armored seaponies. Against them, they should stand no chance.
> Entry 57: Mutations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

For years, we have continued to kill subsequent births of armored sea ponies, but they… they’re spreading. It’s not that their number is increasing significantly… well, as far as we can tell, but what used to be relegated to less populated communities is now spreading to cities.

Which means more questions. I’ve been able to suppress the knowledge of the births and keep the fact that seaponies and deep ponies from across Aquestria have been giving birth to these mutants, but this is growing increasingly difficult.

I… I wish I could ask Starswirl for help, but knowing him, and knowing what I’ve done, he would be appalled at what I’ve been forced to do. Moreover, it’s been years since I’ve had word of him. Apparently, according to the more recent responses he gave me, he’s been working with a group of pony heroes known as “The Pillars of Equestria”. He’s also been doing some experimentations with time. Going back and forth across years, entering into limbo and out. If that is so, then he may not have the journal with him at all times.

He never replied to my last message to him, though. Rather, he seems to have disappeared. The few spies and informants I have in the surface waters have indicated that Star Swirl hasn’t been seen in a long time. And neither have they heard of the Pillars of Equestria of late.

Unfortunately, I haven’t the time to worry about this because there have been sightings of a very different mutant. A larger one.

Just how in Tartarus is this possible? The mutations and the speed at which they are happening has been… odd enough, but now a larger version of them? I’m wildly speculating at this point. It’s more likely the sightings are simply bad rumors gotten out of hand. I must treat this cautiously though.
> Entry 58: Kelpie Queen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The beings… we finally have a name for them.

I confronted their “Queen” whether a Royal title or simply a title given to their leaders, my mages and scouts tracked her scent and I fought her.

The kelpies, which was what the queen called their species, have actually grown full rear flippers next to their flukes. They also seem to have some degree of hydromancy and their armor… well it’s quite strong.

She spoke little. Then again I gave her little time to speak. I told her to surrender and let herself have a peaceful death, but she refused. The battle was quite short. She tried to charge me, use her hydromancy to boil me alive. But I brought my hydromancy to bear, crushed her under thousands of pounds of water pressure, broke her body and then cast her into the Abyss.

She’s very dead and hopefully this will all be over soon.
> Entry 59: The Changeling Queens
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s been twenty years since I fought the kelpie queen and since then, the kelpie birth rate has continued to rise.

That’s not the main issue though. The parents… well most of them accept that euthanasia is necessary. I’ve given the public some more information about why the kelpies need to be killed, just enough to stoke some rumors that lead the parents to give their children up.

Moreover, my army has been able to keep the few kelpies that have been born under control. They continue to ambush and raid the outermost settlements in Aquestria, but I am pretty sure they are slowly being killed off.

Something has arisen on the edges of the empire, though, and it worries me.

I was carrying out an inspection of our coastal settlements when I felt a very powerful spell being performed. Normal seaponies wouldn’t have noticed this, and deep ponies do not frequent the shallows often.

I investigated it and noticed several changeling queens fuelling the spell. I wasn’t sure of what it was at the time, but as I observed, I realized it was some kind of search spell.

What made this incident even stranger was how so many queens were gathered at the spot. Normally I have only seen changeling queens operating alone. Any more than one and usually there is some kind of battle going on.

The queens continued casting the spell in shifts. One moving in and out to replace the tired ones as time went on. I could not let this continue going on. The spell would affect the local seaponies if I let this continue.

So I showed myself. I wove an illusion around myself to appear as a massive sea pony empress, several floors high. I demanded to know why they were casting spells in my ocean.

The three leaders of the changeling queens stepped forward and from their sheer size, and the amount of wounds that marked their carapace, I could tell they were the eldest and thus, probably the most powerful queens I had ever seen.

They introduced themselves Queen Zagara of the Evergreen Hive, Queen Theraphosia of the Doomhorn, and Queen Borte of The Horde. They informed me they were tracking a sea monster and its kin, which had killed their sister, Queen Araneae on this very shore.

Of course, this piqued my curiosity. After all, it’s not particularly easy for a sea monster to kill a land creature, even one on the shore.

So they described the attackers. I was confused, because they seemed like a cross between seaponies and land ponies. With rudimentary hooves, but that had extended webbing off the side, but they also had tails.

My greater concern was the fact that they seem to have a natural armor, much like the kelpies. But that was impossible, or so I had thought.

Anyway, their tale of a monster that came from the sea, but could walk on land put me on alert and I agreed to work with them. We established an outpost in a secret bay so the changelings could meet us and trade information. The changelings would hunt whomever these monsters were on land, whilst I would hunt the monsters in the sea.

Hopefully this arrangement works out.
> Entry 60: The Changelings and Chamelia
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

So far, we haven’t had any contact with the monsters, but I’ve learnt a lot more about the changeling race.

There’s a good reason why Zagara, Borte and Theraphosia are the leaders of the changelings. They’re the first seven queens and as I guessed, they’ve incredibly powerful and skilled. They’re nowhere near as old as me, but they’ve lived for centuries.

That being said, I’ve been working the most with Chamelia, the youngest daughter of Zagara and her friend, Thera. Thera’s a timid little thing, and not particularly strong, despite being a queen. She is however, highly intelligent and observant. Chamelia on the other hand, is someone to be feared. She like Thera, is intelligent, and oddly merciful. Yet, her mercy isn’t out of naivety, she’s very skilled at cultivating allies and turning enemies into acquaintances.

Most days are quite simple. Since I could walk on land, I would accompany Chamelia and Thera, who acted as her adjutant, in the search for the sea monsters for several days, before going back to the sea to check the progress in the ocean. So far… nothing though.

There are clues though. Araneae, the queen that died, was quite powerful in her own right, but there was little left. The sea monsters seemed to have devoured her, and in doing so, left bite marks. They have very sharp teeth, but an almost pony-like jaw shape… more commonly associated with herbivores.

And oddly enough, there was little left of whatever attacked Araneae. They know it was a sea monster that was armored because of the witnesses, but some must have died to the changeling queen. So either these monsters are intelligent enough to take their corpses back… or the corpses disappeared, which would be preposterous.

The point is, it’s been a long few boring days, but I’m learning something about the changelings, how they are organized, their Council, and their history, which I must say… is pretty bloody, but filled with good lessons.
> Entry 61: It was the kelpies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s the kelpies.

I… I can’t believe it. It’s the kelpies. They’ve somehow taken to walking on land. We fought a group today and overpowered them. From what I could tell of the bodies, they were kelpies, armored seaponies, except with added legs.

Oh the legs were a bit clumsy. They weren’t quite large enough to carry the armored body of a kelpie as they were based off of ponies. Still, the fact that kelpies could now walk on land is… astounding to say the least.

To explain everything diary, I need to tell you how we managed to find the kelpies.

We’ve had no leads for some time, so Chamelia came up with a plan to lure and ambush the attackers, whomever they were. The original plan was to use Chamelia as bait, but Thera volunteered. She had a lot of spells put on her to protect, but also to enable her to escape should the need arise. Teleportation, armored hide, everything I and Chamelia could think of, which was a lot.

For a while, nothing happened. As all hunts do, patience is everything. Thera and her escort went along doing normal changeling things, going by areas where the attacks had happened, most of which were near the sea. Whilst I and Chamelia, who taught me a few transformation spells that even I hadn’t heard of, monitored Thera, watching over her.

Sure enough, the kelpies attacked at night, bursting out the shore, they slaughtered Thera’s guards. It helped that half of them were asleep, but I couldn’t believe how dangerous they’d gotten. Alright, on land, they weren’t so powerful, but their armored hides and deep pony water magic meant that close to the sea, the kelpies could subdue the changelings easily.

We counter attacked then. Chamelia literally tossed me into the ocean so I could use my hydromancy, while she plunged into the thick of the fray. I used the ocean to prevent the kelpies from leaving, whilst Chamelia… she did this strange charge, plunging down from the sky like some meteor, she slammed into the ground and scattered several kelpies. She then proceeded to wield her pair of axes to defend Thera, whilst striking out with her magic.

Between the three of us, we routed the kelpies easily and left many dead on the beach. I couldn’t believe my eyes though, and more worriedly, I hadn’t seen their queen.

Now though, at least we know our enemy. It’s been agreed that Aquestria will drive the kelpies from the ocean to the land, where the Queens Council and I will then destroy them. After all, I fully intend to participate in purging these creatures. I need to know how they keep adapting to my attempts to wipe them out.

Entry:?

After months of hounding the kelpies and their queen, the changelings and I finally cornered them on a beach by the Eastern Sea. The queen this time was far more powerful.

Unlike the previous kelpie queen, which simply had hydromancy and while larger than the average kelpie, didn’t dwarf them, this queen was twice as large as the other kelpies and had far more developed hooves. It’s mane also seemed to be… kelp-like for the lack of a better word. I’m unsure as to its purpose, but along with these changes with appearance came a greater strength in hydromancy.

It was also a bit more vocal. It cursed my name, cursed the changeling queens that were slaughtering the kelpies she led, but it was to no avail. We crushed them.

That was when I and the changelings noticed that the kelpies basically disintegrated after mortal deathblows. I have no idea why this is the case, but it’s certainly something that I have to investigate. That being said, it’s making it far more difficult to understand why the kelpies are… what they are.

The exception was the kelpie queen. We took the body in and the changelings and I studied it. However… it was just so… alien. Some of the bone structure was familiar to that of deep ponies, but the flesh? The muscles? The organs? My experts couldn’t make head or tail of it. Everything seemed… alien, for the lack of a better word. It was durable, but just impossible to comprehend.

In the end, we just discarded the body. There was nothing much that we could gain from it and whatever it was made of… well made it so that the body refused to be preserved, no matter how we tried.

For now, I will celebrate with my new changeling allies. While nowhere near as sophisticated or well-organized as Aquestria, the queens are intelligent, and while insular, protective of those they recognize as their friends. Marking our new alliance, we have established a secret trading base so that seaponies and changelings can exchange goods. Who knows, our new allies may provide us with a way to expand our influence into the surface world.
> Entry 62: 20 years later...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s been near twenty years since the last queen made an incursion onto land and … well the good news, we’ve seen other kelpie queens and the changeling alliance hasn’t seen any kelpie activity on land.

The issue is that there have been a greater number of skirmishes between the kelpies and companies of the Aquestrian Army. Now, normally I would welcome this, but these kelpies… these more recent ones are far stronger than the average seaponies and deep ponies. Their armor is now thick enough so that it can fend off glancing blows from the spears we use. They also seem to be able to set up ambushes for our troops.

It’s gotten to the point that some of my highest level commanders, who are privy to the secret that seaponies and deep ponies give birth to kelpies, are musing whether to let some of the kelpie young we normally cull to grow, to get a better idea of what their abilities are.

I find this idea repulsive. Killing babies who… who don’t know any better is one thing, but raising them and then slaughtering them?

However, I… I may have little choice. If I am to learn more about my enemy, I have to figure out what my enemy is capable of, before fighting. I… I will contemplate this further.
> Entry 63: More Queens
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Curse it. Just… curse it all.

Ten years into our alliance with the changelings and two kelpie queens emerged in after five year periods. Not together thankfully, but the emergence of any kelpie queen is something to be concerned.

Well the queens do not really pose a threat to my power. I crushed the damn upstart not too far from Aquamaris. She wanted to attack my capital, endanger my seaponies, try to make a statement to the rest of Aquestria. I didn’t even let her come close to the city boundaries.

What really worried me was the number of kelpies she led. Before today, I hadn’t encountered very large groups in Aquestria. Say… ten to fifteen kelpies at a time? The queen that led the group on the surface had about fifty kelpies. The first of the queens that I encountered during this period led one an entire company, one hundred kelpies.

The sheer numbers meant they killed over fifty of my escort and wounded sixty more. By the Creator, these monsters are ferocious. Aside from their natural armor, they seem just...faster, more maneuverable than the usual deep pony or sea pony. Granted, I have very little to compare against. I cannot recall of the kelpies of decades ago were as fast or as nimble. It’s what my soldiers were saying, but they were not the soldiers of fifty years ago. Which is another problem I’m running into when fighting these kelpies. By the time we encounter them, the veterans that had fought the last kelpies are either too old to fight, or have been shifted to other units and duties.

I am most intrigued by the second queen, though. She tried to ambush me on a tour of Aquestria by setting a trap that would have worked, but not on someone not of my calibre. She had an informant within my court that told her of the route I was about to take for my annual tour and it’s possible diversions.

She then gathered twenty kelpies and laid an ambush along my route. We were skirting one of the mid-ocean ranges in the middle of the Eastern ocean on the way to the Aquestrian city of Urchinspike which offered the kelpies quite a lot of hiding spots. I hadn’t expected they would be so audacious, and neither did my captain of the guard… well, former, captain of the guard, he resigned later that day.

Their attack began with an blast of ocean current that ripped my litter from my litter-bearers and drove it into the sea floor. The blast also had the effect of disorientating my guards. The kelpies then sprang upon my escort, who were hampered in their efforts to fend them off because the earlier blast of water had scattered their formations, while also disorientating them. The queen herself charged at my litter, and tried to use her hydromancy to crush the litter around me, whilst boiling the water inside the litter.

I’d be dead, if I wasn’t the Aquestrian Empress. I brought my own hydromancy to bear and basically overpowered hers, so that I could escape from my litter and engage her myself. I asked her to surrender, told her it was a good try, but she would die.

For some ridiculous reason, she said: “That will not work on me.” And attacked. I let her try to kill me with her hydromancy, before turning the water around her into steam and watched as she screamed in agony.

Good riddance. She tried to kill me and her attack killed half of my escort before I put them all down.

That being said, this “Tethys, Queen of the Kelpies” was at least more inventive than the rest of the queens.
> Chapter 64: Meeting Celestia
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s been a couple of decades since the last kelpie queen and some interesting things have occurred.

One of the most significant changes was that the ponies have united and formed the nation of Equestria. Chamelia told me she had a bit of a hoof in that. She disguised herself as Starswirl and told Clover the Clever about Windigoes… though not explicitly saying that they were the cause of the winter.

It complicated matters when Starswirl did reappear, but before I could contact him and ask him for advice, he disappeared again.

This time, I’m not so sure that it’s temporary. Chamelia has informed me that he and a band of Equestrian heroes fought against an entity known as “The Pony of Shadows” and apparently disappeared after that battle. She isn’t sure of the details but what is certain is that Starswirl and the rest of these Equestrian heroes, known as “The Old Pillars of Equestria” have not been seen in several years.

I… I don’t know what to feel diary. Guilty that I didn’t see Starswirl again? That we drifted apart? I don’t know, but I can’t change anything.

Sometime after that… Chamelia… introduced me to Celestia.

Celestia and her sister, Luna, came to power some years after the ponies who unified Equestria died. They were able to raise the sun and moon, to replace the unicorns that did so after Vale Auras was sunk into the water. They are alicorns.

Honestly, I thought alicorns were beings of myth and legend and Celestia and Luna… I’m not sure how old they are, but they are far wiser and have seen… things that I have only seen through Panthalussa’s eyes. They do appear young, though, I am not sure why. Reincarnation? A second life?

No matter, the thing is, Celestia is a very interesting pony… and I like her. Though, I must admit, the way we met was… unexpected.

You see diary, Chamelia… introduced me to Celestia...well… she didn’t quite do that. Chamelia didn’t actually talk to Celestia. She talked to me first, asked me if I wanted to meet her.

Most of our communication about the state of the surface world comes through the changelings these days. Chamelia made a very strong case. Admittedly, all she really had to say was “she raises the sun and her sister the moon” and I would be hooked… yes diary I know how that sounds considering what I am… anyway, but she also made mention of Celestia’s mercy, great political skill and belief in friendship.

So I agreed, and Chamelia giggled behind her hoof before telling me that she’ll work on it, but that she wouldn’t be there. For obvious reasons, the changelings needed to be secret. I was… confused of course, but Chamelia assured me that Celestia would meet me if I traveled upriver to the Everfree Forest.

I… well I have come to trust Chamelia at this point, as much of a prankster as I now her to be. So I followed her directions and sure enough, I met Celestia.

What Chamelia neglected to tell me was that she was going to lure Celestia to the river by making up a legend that there was a sea dragon in the Everfree Forest’s river that was friendly and very wise. Celestia was there fully thinking she was about to negotiate with a dragon in the water. When I showed up and introduced myself, she told me about it and I agreed to wait it out with her. Both because I was curious about the dragon and because I thought it would be interesting to talk to one of the world’s only remaining alicorns.

That’s… how I ended up talking and learning about Celestia. It was very… well clearly we were both hedging how much we were going to reveal. Celestia was much more open, but I admit, it was easy to talk about the stress about ruling Aquestria with Celestia, and give her advice about how to rule Equestria. We never did find the sea dragon, though, Chamelia informed me that there was definitely a couple. I and Celestia might have missed them.
> Entry 65: The Benefit of Allies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The kelpie incursions have continued, and show no signs of stopping, but in these past few decades… they still remain few enough that most of Aquestria is unaware. I have also yet to see a queen resurface.

Celestia and I have continued to meet over the decades. … she reminds me of myself when I was younger, more innocent. I… I like being reminded of that, though, part of me… wonders… wonders how would she… I… feel like if I saw myself now.

I know I am justified in my actions. I have no other choice to safeguard the rest of Aquestria. But still… to kill all the kelpies… is there another option perhaps?

I have wondered if I should broach this with Chamelia at times. She’s the most powerful member of the Changeling Council now and far more mature and wiser than Celestia. Granted, this is because Celestia is… well I’m not exactly sure because the alicorn hasn’t told me everything, but she’s young according to the standards of alicorns and has only started ruling Equestria for less than a century.

Speaking of the changelings, Chamelia and her councilmembers have rarely seen kelpies though. Most of the veterans of that conflict, such as Thera, have died of old age (as they were already veterans of some massive inter-changeling civil war). Chamelia is one of the few left and often when there is a kelpie incursions, she has to deal with it herself, as her hive is the strongest.

There are some things that I can’t discuss with Chamelia though. She’s far too canny at drawing other species secrets from them. It’s… insidious, and one doesn’t even notice it at first or for maybe even a year later. She just makes them feel comfortable, feel welcome, feel like they’re free to say anything without any reservations. It’s part of how she presents herself, how she treats you to a snack or a drink, sets the environment up for you to be as comfortable as possible and to feel in control, when you are not.

As such, I tend to be more reserved around Chamelia. With Celestia… I feel a little safer. We genuinely just like to learn from one another and to discuss simple little day to day events. She is… an open book, while also being blunt and honest in her questions and opinions. Not necessarily a good thing, but she’s not stupid. She’s just that kind of pony.

And although I cannot tell them about the kelpies, it is good to find some good allies and friends to talk about other things. Better things.
> Entry 66: Claiming to be Tethys?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several decades ago now, as I have written in this diary, I killed a kelpie queen, just one of many. Albeit, she was an unusually smart queen, smart enough that I recorded her name, Tethys.

Today… she, or something claiming to be her led a number of attacks on our more remote outposts. I finally brought her into battle by setting a bait, gathering a large number of kelpie fry about to be culled. She took the bait, and very nearly succeeded in escaping with them, but some complicated tracking spells on the fry themselves allowed my forces to follow the kelpies and destroy them. It was a good thing I employed this tactic, because the tracking spells that we employed are quite short-lived

During the battle, I duelled the kelpie queen claiming to be Tethys. I cannot recall exactly how she looked like. But she… she had the gall to laugh at me as I fought her and declare there would be no way I could win, even if I killed her.

I doubt this queen was telling the truth. What is intriguing is that she knew about how I killed Tethys. Perhaps the survivors of Tethys’s escort managed to pass the tale on? Anyhow, she did her best to avoid being boiled alive, and tried to close in to use her fangs to bite my neck off.

I had to instead, use my hydromancy to prevent her from closing in and instead, use blasts of magic to batter her natural armor and concuss her. After that, I moved in for the kill and chopped her head off, just to make sure she was dead.

What is… slightly more worrying is the question of why. Why did this queen want to masquerade as Tethys? She has nothing to gain from it. To unsettle me? What a fool. Death is death, there is no coming back from it.
> Entry 67: She can't come back
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

What in Tartarus. I… I saw something impossible today.

Decades ago… the last journal entry… I killed a kelpie queen called Tethys. She claimed to be one of the kelpie queens I had killed more than a century ago.

Today… I killed another kelpie queen, who called herself Tethys. Following a series of raids on some of the more remote deep pony villages, I mustered part of my army and went after them, laying tracking spells at various villages.

This time, though, the tracking spells didn’t work. They didn’t attack the villages that had the spells laid. I was forced to hide with my army in one of the villages and ambushed her forces when they attacked.

Now, I initially rolled my eyes and laughed at her. I mean… resurrection is impossible… it has to be.

But… this queen, even while being attacked, fought back. She claimed to be Tethys and pointed out, quite bluntly, that I’ve tried boiling her alive, and blasting her with magic, but it wasn’t going to work. She was coming back.

I crushed her head with my magic. She wounded me with her fangs and hydromancy, much more heavily than the last time I fought the… thing that claimed to be her. The kelpie queens seem to have gotten… more powerful… she has--

No. It can’t be right. There’s no way this kelpie was Tethys. She’s dead. I killed her. And this time, I crushed her skull in, and for good measure, separated her head from her body, tossing both into the nearby trench. She can’t come back from that.
> Entry 68: She did.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

… Alright, I… by the Creator, I can’t believe I’m writing this.

I have good reason to believe Tethys was resurrected for a third time. Something is breathing life into her again and again.

Let me explain diary. Tethys has been trying to free some of the kelpie fry we had detained and were experimenting on.

It… I have never written this down because…. Well, it’s… horrible, but absolutely necessary. In light of the fact that the kelpies didn’t seem to be dying out, I recruited a secret group of scientists and guards to conduct… very thorough experiments on the kelpie fry that we are taking to cull. This is so to find a cure for their condition, and if necessary, ways to kill them more effectively.

… I… I honestly take no pleasure from this, but we have to know why. I and my scientists do our best to make sure the experiments are not-fatal, or if they are, they kill the fry quickly, and as painlessly as possible.

Anyway, she somehow found out about the fry we kept. I suspect she found out because one of the scientists is one of her agents. So, she launched several outposts where we kept some of the fry.

She succeeded in freeing the fry, and would have gotten clean away with it if I hadn’t been making an unannounced visit. I couldn’t prevent her from rescuing the kelpies, but I could pursue. The fry couldn’t swim fast enough. They also had tracking spells, but for some reason… perhaps she recalled the spells from her previous resurrection… they didn’t work.

That welp… she taunted me as we fought. She named how I had killed her and she… when we fought, she could predict some of my moves. My favorite spells, my favorite hydromancy techniques. I couldn’t simply crush her, or boil her alive. I had to match her wits and… damn it, she wounded me. Badly.

Something has given her these… tentacles. They sprout from her side, and can not only assist her in her hydromancy, but they’re terrible weapons in a melee. She ripped out one of my eyes when I let her get close. She saw me move and read what I was about to do before I myself knew about it.

Damn that one hurt, it’s going to take at least twenty years before it regrows.

I cannot believe it, but with this evidence, with how… how she fought, and the knowledge she taunted me with, I can only conclude she’s being resurrected. But how? HOW? If you die, you’re dead. You’d have to have the power of the Creator the power of a god! The power of an old god!

…

No. That’s impossible. She can’t. We dropped a city on her to prevent her escaping. She hasn’t bothered me in years! Why…how… It can’t be Yoth-Atal! It can’t be her!
> Entry 69: Initial Theories
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’ve… been rethinking my suspicion about Yoth-Atal being behind the kelpies.

As much as I hate to even consider it… as much as I fear of it, she might be the true enemy behind this. There is nothing I can conceive of that would bring back something from the dead. Only she has the power, and frankly the motivation.

I have no clear evidence for this, but … let me write this out for you diary.

Yoth has every reason to try to destroy the seapony and deep pony races with a third species that is designed to devour them all. After all, while both species… were if I recall correctly from Panthalussa’s memories…created by Yoth. It was the Creator then altered us from Yoth’s original vision.

Furthermore, Yoth definitely has the power. Can she access all of her power? No, due to the seal… she can’t escape and with Vale Auras dropped into the abyss to renew the seal, there’s no way she could possibly get out.

But… now that I think about it… she could conceivably circumvent part of the seal to create a new species. Why? Well… probably to help her get out, or at least, help her return to power in the seas through proxy, if not directly. It would take a lot of time… but the kelpies have been around for centuries now.

Still, I have no evidence. No direct link aside from the fact that Tethys came back to life, and the only possible power that can do so would be an Old One...or the Creator herself. That being said, I doubt the Creator would actually do such a thing because that would mean the kelpies were her creation.

Damnit. Just… damnit.
> Entry 70: Closing Communication
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the Creator, that was too close. Way too close. How do I deal with this, diary?

I mean… I… better to write this out.

For two centuries now, we’ve been trading with the changelings. Information and goods have flowed back and forth between Aquestria and the hives freely, with many benefits. The changelings are particularly good about telling us news of the surface world. Furthermore, they pay for Aquestrian gold and artisanal goods (seashell and pearls) with their most valuable product, changeling goo. It’s a highly durable construction material, lightweight and yet able to be molded quite easily through the application of moderate heat.

However, these links have drawn the attention of Tethys and she tried something I did not expect today. Only the work of my spymaster Secret Shell prevented a disaster.

She tried to make contact with them and tell them what I’ve been doing with the kelpies. She used a seapony who sympathized with the kelpie cause (it appeared she was the mother of a kelpie and wanted revenge for her child’s death) and tried to get her to tell the changelings at the trading area. My spymaster and her agents, who had been watching the seapony for some time, prevented her from doing so though.

On the surface, the idea seems insane. After all, the changelings have just as much cause to hate the kelpies as I do.

However, I never considered until today that they would disapprove of culling the kelpie young.

Despite the wars they have fought with one another, or maybe because of them, the changelings are split about whether to go with the young of their enemies. I say split… but that would be the Queens Council itself. Chamelia I know would disapprove. She is dangerous, but when it comes to killing the young, she would be horrified. Others such as a friend of hers, a young queen named Sarar, would not be so hesitant.

Still, the fact that I have been culling kelpie young would enrage Chamelia for whatever reason. She hasn’t seen what the kelpies can do, or realized their threat to Aquestria.

Furthermore, if my suspicions are true about Yoth-Atal having created the kelpies… then… she might be able to make contact with the surface world through them.

I… damnit. I need to close our trade with the changelings. Nothing’s worth allowing Yoth-Atal any method to spread her influence. No matter the cost. No matter… how I might miss my conversations with Chamelia and Celestia, if they found out… there’s no telling what the alicorn who raises the sun and the de facto leader of the changelings could do if Yoth spreads her influence to the surface.
> Entry 71: Chamelia and Celestia
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite distancing myself from Chamelia, I continue to meet with Celestia every so often, but… now… I… I can’t even believe what has happened, but Celestia is gone!

It started two weeks ago when the moon suddenly rose over the western part of the Eastern Sea. It was supposed to be the sun, but darkness and a rising tide was what occurred instead. I was shocked, because I know Celestia and Luna by extension, would never mess with the sun’s path.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t immediately go to Celestia and Luna. There were rumors of kelpie movement near Equestria that I had to attend to first. My forces found nothing, but I had to ensure they were on alert before I went to the surface

By that point, it was two weeks later, and to my surprise, the day after I arrived at the coast of Equestria, the sun and moon’s paths were restored. This comforted me, but I was still worried because Celestia had not replied to the sealed letter I sent to her via magic.

When I showed up… the Everfree Castle was in ruins. I… I couldn’t believe it. The roof was caved in and craters had broken the once proud walls. I quietly entered Celestia’s chambers.

What… What I saw… it wasn’t her. I could barely hide my shock. She … recognized me, but she didn’t act like her. She welcomed me, sincerely, and acted very friendly, but I could tell it wasn’t Celestia.

I wasn’t sure why this had occurred. We had a pleasant, but… shallow conversation about what had occurred. Here I learned that Luna. Celestia’s own sister! She had tried to seize control of the sun and plunge the world into eternal night. Apparently, Celestia had to banish Luna to the moon to stop this.

I initially wasn’t convinced. I thought Celestia and Luna were dead, killed by something who was now taking their form. Then I recalled the moon and the silhouette of the pony on it.

But still, that didn’t explain why the hell there was an imposter taking the place of Celestia. So I didn’t leave the Everfree Castle, I stayed, transformed, waiting. I watched the imposter meet with the architects who planned to design a new capital… I watched her pretend to be Celestia as best she could. I watched her collapse into her bed after the day was done.

The imposter turned out to be a changeling. A badly wounded changeling. She must have been nearly unable to hold her disguise. She was catching a breath, trembling from the effort of holding her disguise.

But before I could seize her and demand where Celestia was, I recognized her… it… it was Alternia… Chamelia’s daughter. Chamelia… well she’d shown me illusions of her daughters. The oldest being Chrysalis, and her favorite being her second eldest, Alternia. She also had two others… which I cannot for the life of me remember at the moment.

Back then, I didn’t understand of course. How was Alternia here, pretending to be Celestia? Why?

Well, luckily, I didn’t have to wait long. Alternia crumbled into tears. She was cursing Celestia, Chrysalis and crying for Chamelia. I wasn’t sure why… but… as I listened, the story came together and… oh Creator.

Chamelia’s dead… and Celestia is as good as dead. I can’t believe it. HOW Chamelia! HOW were you killed by your own daughter!? And Celestia… I… if I lay my eyes on Luna, I am going to kill her, damn your love for her!

There was nothing for it. I finally knew what had occurred to my two friends… so… I left. I… I wanted to find Chrysalis and kill her, but there was no way I could do this myself. I had already stayed on the surface for too long.

No… I… I had to move on.

Damn the Creator. I hate this. I hate having to just… move on! I hate that even Celestia and Chamelia, my most long-lived friends, are gone. If… if only I was there… if only I wasn’t the Empress.
> Entry 72: A Pledge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tethys, I am going to murder you, and perhaps Nightmare Moon as well.

It… it was impossible to simply move on so fast. I should have realized this when I wrote my entry earlier, but… well…

The point is. I wanted to know how was it possible for Luna to actually hurt Celestia to such a degree. Celestia didn’t brag and didn’t let me know much about how strong she actually was, but I was able to conclude that she could beat Luna in a straight fight. This does not explain why it took two weeks for Celestia to bring Luna down, especially since according to what I am hearing from the ponies, the vast majority of the ponies sided with Celestia.

I thus investigated and sure enough, I found out that Celestia had initially fled the castle to get help. However, her efforts to gather support were for naught. On her return with the the Royal Guard and loyalists in the Night Guard, they were blocked by enemies in the river.

Aquatic enemies.

Aquatic enemies using hydromancy. Who according to the witnesses and rumors, seem to indicate they had black bodies, black eyes, and kelp manes. And that when they were burned by Celestia from high, left no corpses.

Tethys - that foul monster - must have sent a large group of kelpies to assist Nightmare Moon. I don’t care whether Tethys was approached by Nightmare Moon or Tethys offered her services, she had a hoof in the torture my friend underwent! Those damn subjects of her can go to hell.

And if… if it is true that Tethys is helped by the Old One, then she deserves the most excruciating death possible.

But how can I find out for sure?
> Entry 73 A Long Hunt
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Diary,
This is going to be a long hunt.

After discussion with a select few of my staff, I’ve come up with a strategy.

Going after the kelpies is too difficult, and capturing them for information is not practical as they’d starve. However, I plan to go after the followers of Yoth-Atal.

All of the Primal Gods have followers. Though, I prefer the term fanatics. Granted, the term best applies to the followers of Shi’Nihalar, whom I destroyed years ago. Yoth-Atal’s followers are more like typical worshippers, except of course, they follow a monstrous being and dedicated to an extreme.

The strategy I’ve been taking is to try to find and destroy the temples, churches, and the associated followers of Yoth-Atal, and capturing them when I can. If Tethys is being resurrected by Yoth-Atal, it is possible for her to be part of the Old God’s existing following.
If not, then I am still able to limit Yoth-Atal’s influence, and perhaps learn something about her motives. Additionally, I may be able to ascertain whether the kelpies and Yoth-Atal are truly connected, or not by interrogating the followers, and examining the artifacts and religious iconography Yoth-Atal’s followers make of their god.
> Entry 74: Searching for Followers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trying to find Yoth-Atal’s followers has been what seems like a fruitless exercise.

It’s been about fifty years since Celestia disappeared and all I have to show for it? Whispers, rumors, and old, abandoned temples. The cultists, whomever they are, keep getting word of my raids despite my best efforts.

It doesn’t help that Tethys sometimes tries to make a move on occasion. Her incursions are rare, but the kelpies are trying their best to become more active. Over the past fifty years, the kelpies have been concentrating their efforts on rescuing those kelpie fry that my forces try to collect, and then cull.

For the moment, we’re around equal on the number of escaped kelpie and the number of kelpie culled per year, but it’s forced me to remain vigilant. It’s a low number, only about ten or twenty a year escaping, and the kelpies always take casualties when they attempt to save their kind. Still, occasionally, Tethys sallies out and forces me to hunt her. It’s forced me to try to predict where she might strike, which is difficult considering the size of Aquestria.

But back to the Old Ones… the Primal Gods. The only evidence of their followers are the temples that they’ve left behind. Many are to primal gods that don’t exist anymore. A few though, are that of Yoth-Atal.

Her temples themselves are interesting in that what’s being worshipped is the sea itself. Water pays an intrinsic part of her rituals, as do various sea fauna, animals, dance, and singing. We know the latter due to the lyrics and dance poses carved into the stones of the temples, which we often find in shallow-trenches and caves.

There are also other icons of sea animals… okay reliefs are more accurate. They are highly detailed, raised carvings, with every cut and chip of the reliefs meticulously placed. Often, these reliefs are of sea ponies and other fauna and features in these temples, but it’s impossible to figure out what they are. My forces will have to continue to find and hopefully capture some of Yoth’s cultists.
> Entry 75: Thought Process (100 years after disappearance of Celestia)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Diary, it’s… been some time.

I don’t know what to write in you honestly. The life of an Empress is hours of boredom, waiting, and repetitive examination of documents, with perhaps eight hours of life and death situations that can happen at any time.

That’s what it’s like fighting these kelpies. Days, weeks, months, sometimes years of waiting, monitoring the culling of their young, before they suddenly make a move.

And in that moment, it’s all fins at the ready. Hunting them down, driving them out of the area until they make no movements. Sometimes we will never see them, but if we stay there long enough, they look for different targets.

With all this waiting I have to do, I often have way too much time to wonder about some of the kelpies features. Such as the fact they have kelp manes, which seem to exist purely for cosmetic reasons.

Oddly enough, said kelp manes are edible. If… if it is Yoth-Atal pulling these changes, then I wonder what her thought process is for this…
> Entry 76 (120 Years after Disappearance of Celestia, 120 Alternia Regency)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s been difficult to bring Tethys into battle as she seems to be switching to a strategy of saving kelpies, and losing as few as possible. As such, she’s struck at targets and then retreated as quickly as possible once her objectives are completed. Hit and run tactics so to speak.

In this way, she’s increased her success rate of taking kelpie young, but at the cost of only being able to rescue very few kelpies. I tried to surprise her by splitting myself and my elite Myrmidons in escorting the groups collecting kelpie young. In one of the areas we attempted this tactic, we nearly brought her to battle as she chose to attack my Myrmidons and they managed to hold long enough for me to get there.

However, once I arrived, she pulled back and fled. I at least managed to prevent the kelpies from taking the fry.

What would make Tethys take the bait I wonder…
> Entry 77 (140 years after Disappearance of Celestia, 140 Alternia Regency)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

We have had a breakthrough in the investigations on Yoth-Atal’s cultists, but there are also some new questions raised.

Namely, we captured a few cultists from one of the temples. Several spies, posing as wanting to believe in the Old One, attempted to approach them. While they were unsuccessful in infiltrating them, they did manage to pin a cultist down enough for the interrogators to extract the necessary information.

Still, we nearly lost the opportunity and only captured three cultists. One deep pony and two sea ponies. They are also strangely resistant to our interrogation techniques, particularly the psychological ones. I have been forced to resort to more extreme physical techniques in order to assess what they know. I know torture doesn’t necessarily work all the time. Far too often, they simply tell the torturer what they want to here. However,  when paired with psychological baits, incentives and pressures, well, we managed to get one of the cultists, the more recently inducted one, to talk.

Unfortunately, there seems to be no connection from Tethys to the cultists. It appears there is a new priestess of Yoth-Atal called Ist’ytal that has been showing up. She’s larger than a regular seapony or deep pony and has tentacled appendages

Now, this would seem to match Tethys’s description. Tethys has both tentacleed appendages and does resemble a deep pony. But there’s a problem. The relief of Ist’ytal has a very different appearance to Tethys. For one, it seems to depict Ist’ytal as four times as big as a deep pony. A little under orca size in fact. She also has a longer snout and ear fins. Not sure what purpose those are for, but her ears are not like anything I’ve ever seen. Well, perhaps like a lion fish’s wings, but I’ve never seen them on something’s ears.

I will obviously have to look into this and eliminate this priestess. It appears she is urgh… “enlightening” my subjects and turning them against me.

I will have to remind this upstart that I am the ruler of Aquestria and their loyalty is to me.
> Entry 78 Baiting the Kelpies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ist’ytal has been very very damn difficult to locate, or get any more information on. Aside from that one big break where we captured a few cultists, she hasn’t shown her face and we have yet to attain any more new information on her.

Similarly, Tethys has been a no show, forcing me to adopt a very… well it’s not that risky, but it’s a strategy that has certain risks.

I’ve been deliberately leaking the location of one of the places where we collect and cull kelpie fry. It’s heavily guarded, but I intend to try to use Tethys’s wish to rescue as many kelpies as possible as her downfall.

She’s just been really stubborn about taking the bait and I am quite sure at this point that she has some idea of where the facility is. I might need to deliberately reduce the guards, at least outwardly, while putting an ambush force in place.

The other option… is even riskier, but… ah what am I thinking, that’s just a recipe for disaster.
> Entry 79: A Risky Operation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have decided to attempt the risky option, simply because it’s been ten years and still Tethys hasn’t taken the bait. My tactic isn’t working.

Furthermore, I also came to a realization as to why that strategy didn’t work. Tethys isn’t attacking because she’s watching me.

She knows that I am the most expedient and dangerous threat to her. If I am near an area, there’s no way she can attack because she knows that I will just hunt her down. It’s why the bait hasn’t worked. She knows that attacking the collection area is too risky.

I have to move away from the collection area, or make it look like I’ve moved away.

Now making an Empress look like she is somewhere else is one annoying task. For one, I have to keep a very low profile, which meant that I don’t get any of the luxuries I usually live with. I may be sounding petty diary, but when you’re the ruler of an entire nation and can’t find the deep pony who cleans the scales on your fluke because you need to read another budget report first, you’ll probably understand why I want my luxuries and servants.

The other problem I came up against, was the fact that I had to find a body double.

Finding a deep pony or sea pony willing to actually be a body double isn’t the difficult part. However, finding one who can mimic me completely and disguise her or him in a way that would be unnoticeable? Very difficult.

It took an entire year, but I found the perfect deep pony. Her name is Kara and she was one of my servants. Her family were actors and she’s inherited a lot of their talent. Additionally, she’s intelligent, possess a calm disposition and more importantly, is furiously loyal to the cause of eradicating the kelpie threat. After all, her parents were killed in one of the earlier kelpie raids.

Thus, I am currently training her in preparation for the part she needs to play. She’s a keen student and very hardworking. It has been more of an exercise of making sure she doesn’t overextend herself.
> Entry 80: Kara
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today, I began to teach Kara how to mimic me. Previously, I had simply had her observing my actions and studying the papers I needed to look over. The non-classified stuff of course. This is so that she’s able to make decisions in my name while I am waiting to ambush Tethys.

But back to trying to mimic me, I helped Kara achieved this with some magic, shape and size changing potions. It’s a bit eery to see my reflection have different reactions to me and different expressions. Then, I had her essentially mirror me, use the notes she had taken watching me, and guide her through situations I might encounter everyday.

We have started small at the moment, with her interacting with some of my most trusted servants, and having them point out if she has slipped up. From then, we will move up to her interacting with larger groups, alone, in disguise, and then to her actually holding court.

I find that Kara in this aspect… tries to force the issue to severely. She often forces herself to act like me in ways that aren’t exactly natural. I suppose this is only natural give her determination to serve Aquestria, but as I mentioned in an earlier entry, reeling her back is a constant task.

Part of it is clearly driven by vengeance, which… worries me to some extent and… well… eradicating the kelpies and Yoth-Atal, who might have created them, is my duty. I take no pleasure in the struggle. It is long, hard, boring, and while I must admit that I enjoy victory, it is not a war I want.

But Kara? She seems almost to relish my praise with some… vehemence? I need to temper that part of her, or else she will be of no use to Aquestria.

Moreover, I have also realized that… if I just ambush and kill Tethys, she’ll probably just come back from it, especially if it is really Yoth-Atal helping her.

After all, she’s come back from worse. What would be the point of killing her again? More importantly, how do I stop her from resurrecting?

The only answer I have is that I must capture Tethy and figure out why she keeps coming back after I restrain her.

Which is why I have ordered the construction of a facility equipped with traps, devices and magical seals that should be able to seal Tethys. The goal this time would be instead to knock her unconscious or cripple her to the point she cannot resist, and then move her to this facility.

Still, it will take a while before this facility is complete. But I am in no rush. After all, Kara requires a lot more practice before she can impersonate me for any length of time.
> Entry 81: Nostalgia
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kara’s progressing in her training and education very quickly and honestly, I… if… Well, if I was older, and if the times were more peaceful, I might have considered her a candidate for ascension to be Empress.

Why do I say that? Well, today, after months of interacting with only small groups of servants, with a disguised me on the side, just in case, I decided Kara should hold court.

Perhaps she didn’t do so well in directly impersonating me. I had seen so many courts in my lifetime that I must admit, there was a certain monotony that has set in. A boredom.

But with Kara leading court, she brought… I am not quite sure how to write this. A degree of freshness? It may have been her own nervousness, but she joked with the guards, tried to make the petitioners comfortable with some gentle questions and anecdotes, before hearing them out.

And she answered all the requests just like I would have. She was firm with those who would try to take advantage of the Empire’s generosity. She was kind with those who had no choice but to ask for our aid. She was also willing to ask her advisors when she herself could not recall the exact details of a situation, instead of making a mistake.

There was also a particularly difficult case that she dealt with very well.

There was a water dispute between two deep pony clans: The Nori and the Algae.  A natural disaster - the eruption of an underwater volcano - had forced the Nori into the waters of the Algae. Issue being the food sources (fish, etc) of the Algae were also affected and they didn’t want to share.

Kara stepped in, and through promising some of the empire’s resources in food, but not too much, managed to negotiate a compromise, allowing for the Nori to stay in the Algae’s lands without any conflict breaking out.

And throughout the negotiations she conducted herself with a professionalism and calm that people half her age lack. Kind of like I did when I was her age.

… perhaps it would not do well for me to be nostalgic, but young talent is precious and something I wish I had more time to nurture.
> Entry 82: Arming the Trap
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kara is as trained as she will ever be and I think it’s time to load and arm the trap.

She is going to first go into cover quite close to one of the major collection facilities, just when we lower the readiness of the facility by rotating veteran guards out for fresh troops. The plan is to go there on a tour, but when she leaves, I stay.

This is to coincide with a influx from the next wave of kelpie births. About two hundred fry are going to be sent and then culled here. They’re guarded usually by about a hundred and fifty guards and fifty support personnel who are in charge of the culling.

I will be nearby, camped out with a battalion of seapones and deep ponies, able to get there in fifteen minutes. We will be hidden by cloaking spells.

Kara will then head to a nearby provincial capital to run Aquestria, pretending to be me laying an ambush for Tethys.

Obviously, this wouldn’t work, so after a few months, Kara will then back to the capital and run Aquestria with a cadre of my closest advisors, the only ones who know about this deception and the plan.

It will be after this time that Tethys is going to probably hit the prison. The guards will call for reinforcements through the standard magic spell, but instead of taking the usual amount of time, my forces will be in place. We will surround the complex, butcher her kelpies and I will then take her prisoner, where I will find out how she is able to come back from death.
> Entry 83 and 84: Lying in Wait
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry 83

Kara’s been ruling Aquestria quite well in my… absence so to speak. I find it very invigorating to talk to her about how to handle what normally is a fairly boring, but very important subject. Such as budget allocation. This is boring, and detailed, and very repetitive, but even the slightest misallocation of the nation’s budget can have negative effects that may ripple out throughout the years. Thus, it’s often a job for two as one will fall asleep if he or she attempts to do it themselves.

Obviously, there has been no movement from Tethys, but I’m still publically near the facility. She won’t try anything. Not yet.

Entry 84

I, well, Kara, has left for the capital of Aquamaris, while I stay behind in secret. The deception seems to be going well as I teleported to my waiting forces. We’ll have to live off of pretty old rations for some time, but at least Tethys has no idea of what is to come. As long as she does not have any idea, I am fine eating more of this damned deep-bottom seaweed.
> Chapter 85: The Bait Not Taken
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something’s gone wrong.

I don’t know what, or why or how, but Tethys hasn’t taken the bait.

Everything is well in the capital according to Kara and my other counsellors who are in on this deception, but it’s been six months, and Tethys still hasn’t taken the bait. Six months! Tethys must have “confirmed” by now that I am not near here, and am in the capital. She MIGHT be tracking my supply train, but I made sure that supply drops are randomized and for the most part, my waiting forces hunt their own food.

Is she preparing for a larger assault? Or is she playing a game of bluff? Maybe she knows that Kara isn’t me and is waiting for me to make a move? But how could she know Kara isn’t me? Or is she just suspicious? Paranoid maybe?

The more I think about this, the more I become worried, but… I have also realized something.

I don’t know Tethys… not nearly as well as I would like. Why she is fighting me seems to be because she knows I want to cull the kelpies, but I don’t know her personal reasons. Does she hate me, or is she doing this on a matter of principle? What motivates her? Is she cautious, or aggressive? My skirmishes with her provide some insight into that she is intelligent and opportunistic, but that’s nearly every commander.

With any luck, those questions will be answered once I capture her, but for the moment, I will have to continue to wait.
> Chapter 86: Mole?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

What the hell. Someone… somebody must have informed on the plan, but how? I…

Diary, it’s been a year, a year where the defenses of the collection facility have been lowered. A year where Tethys should have had all the plan to organize and execute an assault. The only way she should have realized that any kind of planning wouldn’t have worked is if she had sure, concrete intelligence that I am waiting nearby and there is no way any assault she would plan can go off.

And now I have a strategic dilemma.

I can leave, but the leak in my Empire would just tell Tethys that I left and then she would launch the assault. I could raise the guard at the facility again, but the smart thing would be to change the location of the facility because there’s now the possibility it might be compromised.

I will need some time to consider this diary. But… at the moment, I am considering overseeing the facility transfer, and then going back to the capital where I will try to ascertain who leaked the information.
> Chapter 87: How to Find a Spy?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, I know I have a kelpie informant amongst my supporters now. The facility wasn’t attacked even though I raised the guard back to readiness discreetly. I considered the possibility that there was a leak, but that’s just not possible.

The problem is who?

I am going to look to see if there was any way for the mole to communicate with Tethys first, and then I’m going to check the backgrounds of all the ponies who… I thought were trustworthy.

Then finally, I will consider what can I possibly sacrifice to draw him or her out? Because if the mole is this smart to have infiltrated my inner circle, I might have to lay a trap.
> Chapter 88: A New Trap
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Laying a trap might be… more difficult than I thought it might have been. To put it simply, there are too many ponies involved.

I’ve kept it down to a minimum, but I did have to inform my Myrmidon guard and quite a few of my councillors of the plan. Problem is, I can’t simply arrest any of them and neither do I want to arrest the wrong pony.

I need help, some loyal help. I need to somehow get ponies to inform on me exactly what they have been doing. It’s not that I don’t trust these myrmidons and councillors, but I know one of them is a mole.
> Chapter 89: Cold Waters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I… I have thought of something. I’ve been keeping the fact that there is a mole secret. But what if… I made it so ponies get benefits for telling me where the mole is and tell them, there is a mole among us?

That way, I can use the self-interest of my councillors, at least the ones who are loyal, for me, and force the mole to work closer with me.

The only issue I see is that… well no, it’s a big issue. This pits my loyal subjects against each other. It would be like making a cut on a number of sharks and confining them to an area. They’d rip and tear each other apart until the strongest emerges. The strongest, who might not be loyal to me.

But there might not be any way to figure out who the spy is...
> Entries 90-92: Cutting it Down
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry 90
I’ve decided to do a test operation instead of the idea I had a few weeks ago. This time, I will inform only a select group of the ponies I thought who were loyal.

This will be simple. I’m sending a select group of Myrmidons to take in some kelpie fry. If they’re attacked, then there was a leak. If they aren’t, then well, I’ve at least divided who may have been loyal or not. It’s a win win, even if I lose some fry.

Entry 91
Well, the bad news is that the test operation led to some fry being lost and the deaths of a few of my Myrmidons. I have to send letters to their families, to thank them for their sacrifice.

The good news is I’ve cut the suspects by half… that’s… not great because they include ponies I’ve trusted for years, and Kara, the doppleganger I’ve personally trained. However, it may not be her, it may be somepony else. Time to repeat the same trick.

Entry 92
I… don’t know if the trick worked this time.

Again I let some of the ponies I thought I trusted get to know some confidential information about where a convoy of kelpie fry were being transported. Again, this was half of the ponies eliminated by the last “bait” operation.

This time, there was no attack. However… I… I don’t know if I trust the results.

This is because Kara was one of the ponies I decided not to inform. It was just at random, not because I didn’t trust her. However, after the results of this, there are but ten ponies including her that are possibly traitors.

Of course, this is by chance. Nothing could come by her being in the group. But if she is… then… Well I really don’t want to think about that possibility.
> Entry 93: Kara???
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kara… might be the traitor. I didn’t want to admit it, but I found something that might indicate that she has been working for Tethys all along. Motive.

I’ve always taken her story about her family being killed by seaponies at face value. Of course, my own staff investigated her thoroughly to ensure she was telling the truth, but they did confirm that her family was killed by kelpies.

What they didn’t tell me, and through no fault of theirs, was that Kara had an older kelpie brother that had been culled.

Normally, I wouldn’t find this suspicious. The kelpies seem the type to take revenge on those that give up their kind. However, I find it very suspicious that a pony that reached such a high position in my own government didn’t tell me about this fact of theirs. And while not incriminating by itself, the fact that Kara did have a brother that was culled, along with the fact I know she is among the list of possible suspects is very worrying.
> Entry 94: Traitors and Traps
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It… I am almost certain its Kara. I told her and five of the councillors I suspected different pieces of information regarding kelpie fry convoy routes.

And somehow, Tethys’s forces managed to ambush the one that I had told Kara about, but not the others.

I really do not want to face this reality. That the pony that I trusted, that I taught, is a traitor, has always been a traitor, but I have no choice. I must lay a final trap to ensnare her and make sure she cannot escape.
> Entry 95: Confirming
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The plan is simple. I’m going to invite Kara to a top level meeting with my counsellors who I have vetted. We will pretend to discuss a location where my Myrmidons are storing some magic relics and weapons, and in the discussion, we will assign Kara to guard the cache and catalogue them because only she can be trusted for the moment.

However, those weapons would actually be fake, or have failsafe spells that will disable them upon use (hidden of course), though, the security around it will be quite real. Kara will show up, she will guard and catalogue the weapons.

She will also probably lead kelpie and pony helpers through to get the weapons out.

But we will be watching her all the time and on the day of the break out, we will take her and her traitors out.

And I will kill her myself, if that is what it takes.
> Entry 96: Confronting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have captured Kara.

But that is small comfort to me, because Tethys has grown, both in boldness, and physically.

The plan went quite well for the most part, except there were some complications.

Let me start at the beginning, as expected, Kara started to catalogue but also probe the security. I hadn’t taught her everything I knew, so she didn’t figure out that the relics and weapons I stored were fake or disabled.

The Myrmidons I had assigned to monitor and survey her also stayed undetected, and so confirmed her meeting with kelpies.

This was where we noticed the first complication. The kelpies have somehow developed the ability to change colors. Not unlike that of some octopuses or cuttlefish. This doesn't disguise the natural armor they have, or the fact they are larger and their black eyes remain the same. However, by simply wearing clothing, or the more common light armor that deep pony scavengers and hunters wear to explore the open ocean they can at least pass as seaponies.

Hence, the kelpies were able to use this ability to infiltrate into the city. Albeit, they had to do this stealthily and without raising much attention or else they would be found out. Many of them stuck out like sore thumbs and had to leave without even my Myrmidons intervening.

Enough of them reached Kara though, and they began to load up on as many relics as they could carry.

That was when we closed on Kara and had her and her kelpies surrounded. Oh they all resisted. Kara tried to escape in fact, throwing spells that I had taught her into my face, desperately trying to wound me in some way.

They didn’t work though. I had taught her after all and I knew how to counter her attacks. I managed to capture her.

But I had overlooked the possibility that the kelpies would have an extraction team, and when they had heard that they were compromised, the extraction team actually attacked the other districts of the capital of Aquamaris.

And Tethys was the one leading them. Well, leading them would probably not be the most accurate description.

She was their battering ram would be more accurate. Tethys has somehow grown in size, to that of an orca. She also had some strange ear fins, almost like that of lionfish fins. As such, she was at the vanguard of the kelpie assault, ripping through formations of my city guards as if they were nothing but sea foam. The one hundred kelpies following her then ripped them to shreds.

It didn’t help that Tethys, while preoccupied from leading from the front, had delegated another commander to coordinate her squads. Her fighting me meant she was slowly getting separated from her main force, but her backup commander ensured that her kelpies was able to fight in a fairly coordinated fashion.

I lured her into fighting me one on one, allowing her to think she was winning, giving her the opportunity to inflict some superficial wounds. This… was far more difficult than I expected, but I managed to hold on to allow the rest of my Myrmidons to concentrate on her kelpies and ensure they could not coordinate. I then did my best to try to capture her.

Regrettably, I had no choice, but to kill her. She refused to be caught by physical or magical means and the collateral damage from my battle with Tethys was rising. I decided that before more of my seaponies found out about the existence of Tethys and the kelpies, I had to kill her. So I did, this time, I fixed her in place with a miniature whirlpool and then collapsed a building onto her. The shrapnel, the rocks shredded her armor, and also blinded her.

I must admit her cries of agony were quite sweet to hear.

Ultimately, we’ve caught the traitors. I will have to think about making use of another decoy in the future, albeit, one who is more trustworthy.

Furthermore, we also found out that Tethys’s appearance, like that of her kelpies, has changed. I wonder what caused the change in her physical appearance. Oddly enough, it seems… familiar.

Perhaps a visit into my later diary entries may reveal something.
> Entry 97: Who Ist'ytal Is
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

That bitch. Tethys was Ist’ytal after all. Her new appearance matches the reliefs we found years ago nearly perfectly, albeit, without the artistic flourishes! The kelpies must be creations of the Old God Yoth’Atal, who must also be resurrecting Tethys as well. This time, I wasn’t so foolish to throw her into an abyss, but like previous battles, Tethys’s body… turned into sea foam after several days. Which was immensely frustrating.

But now that I know it is Yoth’Atal that I am fighting against, there are a few things I can do. For one, I know now that I must take any measure to destroy the kelpies and Tethys, permanently. If they are able to wrest control of the seas from me… the consequences do not bear thinking of, for as Panthalussa warned me time and time again, an Old God cannot be trusted. I don’t care if the kelpies just want to be able to survive, their diet, and the fact they are creations of Yoth’Atal means they must be extinguished.
> Entry 98: Betrayal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today, I finally confronted Kara in her cell, before I then ordered her to be taken to my interrogators. She said nothing about the kelpie motives or aims, but she was quite vocal about her own.

There is a sobering lesson to be learned from her betrayal. I cannot trust anybody. I don’t mean I can’t delegate tasks to anybody, but that I need to always have checks and balances in this long war against Yoth-Atal, especially if there are going to have to involve my ponies.

It turns out her parents had tried to hide her kelpie brother when they found out about his strangeness, having heard rumors of kelpies being culled. I don’t know why or how, but Kara had loved her brother and did her best to raise him, but he was found out and taken away. She hadn’t known what had happened to him, embarking on her own investigation, leading her to eventually find out about the cullings.

I have some inkling as to why would she be saddened by his death, but I don’t understand how that turned into rage. Her brother had to die or he would devour her, devour her parents, devour her own kind! But for some damn reason, she vowed revenge and with her parents help, she contacted the kelpie resistance.
She had proven herself to the kelpies by enlisting into my service and sending them information on my troop dispositions. When I decided to designate her as my double, she had then met Tethys personally, where she and her hand formulated a plan to make her an indispensable source of information in my court.

It damn would have nearly worked, had I not figured it out and tested the loyalty of my subjects. While an isolated incident, I believe I need to create some kind of organization to help me monitor my subjects and insulate me against betrayal. It would have to be able to govern itself, and yet, be clandestine enough to ensure that my subjects are not alarmed. I will have to discuss this with my councillors.

… I have not seen Kara since I questioned her. My interrogators keep me up to date on the information they are extracting from her, though, I have made sure they keep the details of what they do to her away from me. I don’t want… I… I don’t want to think about her. It hurts to think about what she did. What I’ve ordered done to her.
> Entry 99: The Ministry
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After some days of discussion and brainstorming, as well as investigating what resources we already have to monitor our own subjects, my councillors and I have decided upon the creation of a new organization.

We call it “The Ministry” and its concept is simple, but frighteningly effective.

The “Ministry”’s job is to monitor dissent and traitors, through deliberately spreading rumors that would encourage traitors to act rashly, but while also encouraging others to be attentive to their fellows. The strategy is two-pronged, in the sense that it has an active component/operation in drawing traitors to show themselves, with the passive component being to encourage everyday normal ponies to be alert, attentive, and report suspicious behaviour.

It’ll be under my direct command and to ensure the organization stays loyal to me, the organization’s higher-ups would be employing the same tactic of spreading rumors, but also encouraging attentiveness to anything that traitors might be doing. 	That way, we can prevent what happened with Kara from happening ever again.
> Entry 100: The War Continues (150 Alternia Regency)
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The damn kelpies actually attempted an assault on one of our towns and… I can’t believe I’m writing this, but they succeeded and seized a cache of weapons and food, probably for their fry. It’s not sure how many kelpies there were but eyewitness accounts indicate that it was a… fairly substantial force.

The only positive about this is that it seems the kelpies have not killed any of the civilians, only massacred the garrison and retrieved some kelpie fry about to be culled. Furthermore, kelpie spottings and activity dropped in the area before the raid. This means they had to concentrate all their warriors in the area in preparation for the attack, if we can spot them doing this again, then we can counter their attack.
> Entry 101: Kepies and Tactics
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This time, the kelpies tried a raid on a series of small sea pony villages by the coast, but because of the Ministry, which collected information for our military and for me, we managed to concentrate our forces and counter their attack. The kelpies were pretty surprised, especially when they saw me take to the field and rout their forces.

But while we managed to defeat the kelpie force and killed many of them, I have noticed that the kelpies are getting far better at reforming their formations. They’ve always been decent at small unit tactics, but their formations are getting increasingly complicated in order to exploit their natural armor and tentacles.

The discipline of Tethys’s forces is increasing as is their skill. Slowly, but surely. Despite their losses, they’re switching from a determined and well-trained resistance to create a professional army, maybe capable of fighting on the scale of hundreds, albeit, one that is guerilla focused at the moment.

I’m slowly beginning to wonder, if all the kelpies that I’m killing are helping at all? The kelpies are getting smarter, perhaps even stronger. I haven’t confirmed it yet - it’s a bit difficult with the kelpies having bodies that dissolve into water on death - but they seem to be getting bigger, more streamlined, with their flukes fin shape being adjusted. I will have to ask my scientists to save a few fry for us to contain and then observe.

Point is, I might have to employ even more extreme measures to counter the kelpies, and stop them before they overtake Aquestria.
> Entry 102: Chasing Cultists
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I’ve for the moment, ceased hunting the cultists of the Old One and am turning my attention to the kelpie threat. This isn’t because the cultists are… let’s say, eliminated, but they’ve been subdued.

With the lead that Tethys is Ist’ytal, I’ve been searching locations that kelpies might frequent, and places that kelpies, sea ponies, deep ponies, and surface worlders may use to worship the Old God.

Ritual locations for worshipping Yoth-Atal need to involve water of course, making it difficult for one to locate the places undersea cultists use to worship Yoth-Atal. However, to worship Yoth-Atal with surface worlders, there needs to be air. Furthermore, seaponies can’t descend to deep depths.

And so I’ve focused my efforts on locating these coastal temples, or those in shallow waters, which has narrowed my search as there is far more deep ocean than shallow ocean. This has proved more easy, and so far, the temples we have found and the cultists we have exterminated have served to achieve my objective, which is to severe Yoth’s ability to use her followers to spread her word, or at least restrict her ability.

However, I’ve driven her cultists into the depths, or away from the water, which means that I must focus on the greatest threat she has created to overthrow me, the kelpies, who are undoubtedly sheltering her followers. 

And when we finally wipe them out, we will win this war.
> Entry 103: Stalemate
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The damn kelpies have been managing to take and hold Aquestrian outposts. They have done this to villages in the past, but this targeting of military outposts is new. We keep driving them back into the deep ocean, but this… this is worrying. 

The kelpies aren’t winning. That still remains the same and I’m glad they aren’t. However, we aren’t winning. We can never seem to get a decisive victory, and even minor victories seem to be getting harder, and harder to achieve.
> Entry 104: Deadlocked (250 Alternia Regency)
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It’s been what… fifty years since my last diary entry? I… honestly I sometimes can’t really see me writing the stuff I did all those years ago. Back then I was so, naive, not stupid… well, not idiotic, but I knew so little… and perhaps was better off for not knowing.

I don’t regret this job at all, and I know my task is vital, but all the same I miss those peaceful days.

Diary, thing is, although most of Aquestria remains uninformed about the kelpies, I must admit that it has become a war, a slow slog. It’s not a full scale conflict, but the kelpies remain at the edges of the Empire, the places nopony goes, particularly the sea trenches. 

The good news is that the Ministry so far seems to be fulfilling its functions. Several traitors over the last few years were identified, interrogated and then executed. There were very few ponies who have betrayed Aquestria, but better safe than sorry.

The bad news… the victories and defeats are… balancing. We can’t seem to beat them, to eliminate them, and we’re starting to lose more...
> Entry 105: No End to the Killing
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I murdered Tethys again today for the… I’ve forgotten how many times it has been at this point. But she’s… she’s so much harder to fight! Her armor, her tentacles, her damn hydromancy. She’s stronger too. And… able to alter her actual goddamn size! Not quickly, but it was quick enough to dodge some of my strikes and even disengage at times. I… I am very regularly having to take months off to recover from my wounds, as well as wear heavier armor.

The problem is that there is no end to her. Tethys keeps getting resurrected by Yoth’Atal. I continue to kill her again and again, and she just doesn’t stay dead.

These days, I keep her corpses, the rare times that I kill her.  However, they just… decompose in three or seven days. Moreover, her biology is so alien that my doctors are never able to figure out just what she is made of, much less how she keeps being resurrected. I don’t know if it’s some spell Yoth cast, or just a fact that she’s a creation of the Old Gods, but that avenue’s become very pointless.

Do you know what the oddest thing about Tethys is though? She keeps asking me to surrender Aquestria to Yoth’Atal, claiming that she will ensure the safety of all her creations, including the seaponies and deep ponies.

Of course, these offers have gotten rather stale as time went on and I killed her more times. Still, every once in a while, she’d still ask if I have reconsidered. What kind of moron is she? If I did, the kelpies would devour the seaponies and deep ponies, then nobody would live in the sea.

It would be peaceful, but it’d be a futile peace.
> Entry 106: Considering Tethys’s Offer
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Hello Diary. 

The peripheries continue to be under attack by the kelpies and I have to always been on the move. I haven’t been back to the capital in some time, given how often I have to go out and counter Tethys’s moves.

We are still winning more battles, but not by much now. We especially lose battles when I’m not there. I don’t think my own forces can deflect or even hold off Tethys’s forces unless they are in significantly higher numbers now. Whenever Tethys is there, my Aquestrians have to run.

But now, even when we outnumber the kelpies 4:1, my forces have to retreat if I’m not there. We can’t beat them, unless in massive, sheer numbers. They’ve developed enough of a tactical coordination to be able to counter us.

Lately, I’ve been considering Tethys’s offer more seriously.

I’ve not gone crazy, I’ve had more than enough time to think on it. Frankly though, I think there are more things going against agreeing with Tethys than fighting her.

Which is frankly, something I didn’t expect. I was always taught that the Old Ones cared nothing about life in the sea, but that isn’t the case.

I would still never agree to Tethys’s agreement. To submit to the Old One who threatens to kill so many of my seaponies and deep ponies? That’s a terrible idea. 

However, I must admit, I do not think Yoth-Atal will instantly kill all of my deep ponies and sea ponies. They are her creations and she… she feels an attachment to them, I’m not sure how so, perhaps as a mother to her distant grandchildren? Maybe as a master to pets? The point is, she thinks they are hers and she will protect some of them. If I agree to her, it isn’t inconceivable she will actually try to improve the sea ponies lives in some way. 

Of course, that raises the question as to why did she design creatures that need to feed off of others to survive. Are the kelpies her weapon to reclaim the seas?

To put my rambling to a stop, Yoth-Atal’s creation of the kelpies and her intent in reclaiming the seas through unleashing these dangerous creations, are the key reason why I would never side with her. Furthermore, her ability to dominate the minds and wills of others is alarming and she is known to use that when necessary. After all, she inflicted me with nightmares and hallucinations for years on end.

However, I must admit, there are too many unanswered questions and only Tethys and Yoth-Atal have the answers.  I… I am going to have to try to ask Tethys about Yoth’s aims, the next time we fight.
> Entry 107: A Conversation
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Today, I mortally wounded Tethys, but before that, we had a… conversation.

The battle was fierce, and frankly, the conversation was more like the pair of us screaming at each other, venting about this damn war, whilst trying to kill each other and end it. 

That being said… I think this is the first time… ever that I was responding to her offer of peace, because I did get something out of that talk though.

According to Tethys, and she was frustratingly brief on this, Yoth-Atal didn’t intend to create the kelpies to eat sapients. That was an unintended consequence. She wanted to make them self-sufficient, and should I cease fighting her and lend her my magic, she could make it so that they eventually would not need to eat sapients.

I find this explanation… “problematic” to paraphrase Chamelia.

Yoth-Atal is powerful enough to cause hallucinations and visions in me, bypassing any spells I put up, apart from that massive one that Starswirl and I came up with. The fact she can’t design the kelpies to be self-sufficient sounds incredibly suspicious.

That being said, I must admit that since the kelpies came after I placed that spell on Yoth, it may be that her power has been limited, but still there’s no way to prove that Tethys is right.

Okay there is a way, but that’d be to give Yoth-Aatal my power and I am NOT willing to do that.
> Entry 108: An Underhoofed Strategy (300 Alternia Regency)
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Diary, there may be a way to gain an advantage over Yoth-Atal and the kelpies under Tethys.

Assuming that Tethys wouldn’t immediately attack, I could potentially offer to help the kelpies and Yoth-Atal, and then take advantage of their complacency to deal a mighty blow against the kelpie population. 

… It’s an incredibly underhoofed strategy though. I don’t think the kelpies are being sincere in their offer, but to take advantage of that in this way? That would go against… many of the concepts of honor and justice that my parents… and the Empress would have taught me.

The problem is that the kelpies are getting so much better at fighting, I… I am beginning to think… we might lose this war.

Today they destroyed a battalion of my seaponies and deep ponies. They used complicated, advanced tactics, most of them copied from us. These tactics aren’t the small-unit tactics they’ve used previously. The kelpies always employed a lot of small-unit undersea tactics, employed against our squads, but because they have had such low numbers, they hadn’t quite mastered large-scale undersea warfare unlike us.

But now...these are… larger unit tactics, employing far better timing, advanced planning, and strategy on a scale we haven’t seen. For while every single kelpie can work in small squads, army-level formational combat is critical in undersea environments, when we have to fight in three dimensions and with hundreds of kelpies and sea and deep ponies in the ocean.

This is not to say we use squad  formations to break other formations, but the larger the units, the harder it is to position our units, to move faster, to employ them in a method that allows us to exploit the weaknesses in other factions formations, and to maximize firepower and shock at the moment of contact with the enemy.

And of course, enacting and employing these formations is a work of art. A kind of trade. They require good officers, well-trained ponies, and most of all, a good commander who can judge the angles of attack and fire, the morale and discipline of his or her ponies, and most importantly, get the timing right.

All tactics and strategy is about timing and positioning, because those dictate the strengths of your and your enemy’s units, and because of the 3-D nature of undersea combat, you have to predict the enemy’s movements in a myriad of ways before contact. Throw in hydromancy and that gets even more complicated as you have to read the currents whilst organizing your units.

It was using these larger formational tactics that allowed the kelpies to rescue the kelpie fry, despite the protection they were under. None of the battalion of seaponies and deep ponies remained. No, the kelpies…haven’t quite figured out the larger unit tactics completely. They haven’t started coordinating armies in the thousands yet, but they’re starting on the steps to do this, and this… this is scary. 

All of this reminds me something Panthalussa has told me… when it comes to the Old Ones, nothing isn’t unnecessary.
> Entry 109: Toying with the Idea of Peace (350 AR)
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I… I’ve further toyed with the idea of peace. It’s not that I’ve gone mad from the Old God or anything. Yoth-Atal has been silent for years after all. Neither have I started actually taking Tethys’s continued… now, very bored questions on whether I’d accept the Old God’s rule seriously. But the fact is, in all of the brief wars, the conflicts I’ve fought in before I started fighting the kelpies in earnest, there could always be a settlement, some kind of way to force the other party to come to terms.

This is impossible with the kelpies. They will not give up. We can only kill and kill them. If the war continues like this, well, it will have no end. And the problem is that we can’t attack where the kelpies live, the deep ocean, in depths so deep that I wouldn’t be able to descend into them without some difficulty.

I need to launch a decisive blow at Tethys and her Primal God creator. A master stroke to end all master strokes. Something she cannot recover from and will hurt her, badly.
> Entry 110: In Theory...
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What if, in theory, we propose peace, to get the kelpies to lower their guard? I have considered this idea years before, but frankly, there poses some merit.

After all, they have to be just as tired of fighting this war as we are. It doesn’t matter how hardened they are. Our interrogators have found out that although kelpies tend to be quite stoic, they just need the right… motivation in order to speak to them… crack like melting ice so to speak.

And Tethys can’t really pass up this opportunity. Obviously she wouldn’t trust us at first. Tethys is far too smart for that, but we really can’t pass up this opportunity either. We need to learn how kelpies live now, how their society is structured, basic things like this, in order to understand their mentality.

Admittedly, only I and some of my most skilled hydromancers can visit their homes, which I suspect are buried in caves on the deep sea floor, but we need the opportunity to do so.

So a ceasefire… could go well, if say the kelpies are amenable to actually submitting under my rule and … okay, starving until I can find a solution for their condition, then all the better. If not, then… we can retaliate when they are off guard and wipe them off the face of the earth.
> Entry 111: Approving the Plan
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I decided that I need to approve this plan. I need to explore this option, and see if it works. After all, who knows, maybe we can resolve this conflict without any more righting. I don’t know, I need to try.

The issue was finding where to send the envoy and what envoy. Sending a sea pony would probably mean they would become kelpie food.

Luckily, I know kelpies live in abysses and… while there are an uncountable number of abyssal trenches, there are only a few that have had some kelpie activity of late. I’m just going to have messengers drop large boulders with messages written and cushioning spells cast into select abysses, whilst also having that messenger loosing sound bomb on top of the trench to attract attention.

Hopefully, Tethys is in a talking mood.
> Entry 112: Ceasing the Attacks
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So far, every entreaty has been rejected. Which is to say, I've gotten no response, no matter how many messages we send. It seems that… well I can’t exactly blame them… the kelpies don’t trust us.

I MIGHT regret this, but I’m going to cease my attacks.

I know, this is crazy and I’ve checked with dedicated and trustworthy sea and deep ponies working at my Ministry, but I’m not. They actually said this would be a good idea. It would extend the kelpies an undeniable olive branch.
> Entry 113: Tethys’s Envoy
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Tethys is… well she’s reciprocating. She’s sent an envoy, under extremely heavy escort, at a town near an abyssal trench, and annoying enough, she’s used this opportunity to enlighten that town to the existence of the kelpies.

I’ve handed the problem of another damn town knowing about the kelpies to the Ministry as I sent an envoy of my own to meet the kelpie’s envoy. I’m not risking my own neck at the moment as Tethys could just as easily use my presence to launch an ambush. Additionally, I did sent a fairly high-ranking envoy, my Minister of Deep Sea affairs, Haliburton.

Of course, the flipside is that I’m risking Tethys not taking me seriously.
> Entry 114: First Meeting
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Haliburton met the kelpie diplomat, a captain called Aghulas. They met, they interrogated each other on our intentions for this meeting, they argued about whether we were being sincere or not, and then they left, after setting another meeting date.

Honestly, this was a surprise, I was expecting the meeting to end violently, with both envoys probably being killed. Haliburton by Aghulas, and Aghulas by the numerous seaponies and deep ponies I had on standby. The fact we have a second meeting date is going to be quite useful.

The trick is going to be this next meeting. I don’t want to give the kelpies too many concessions in the next meeting though. If I do, they’re going to get suspicious, and I’m going to look weak. However, if I don’t give them anything, it will turn Tethys away.
> Entry 115: The Kelpie Demand
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The kelpies want us to stop the cullings before we begin any negotiations.

My initial reaction, and frankly, I still want to say no to this. Stop culling? Allow the kelpies to gain in strength when I honestly don’t know if they won’t just betray us? How do we know that they’ll keep their word or that Tethys won’t just ambush me?

But saying no to this does have risks. If I say now, they might call this whole thing off. They might just think we’re not worth their time and… and if they’re telling the truth, a… brief… pause in the culling will buy us the possibility of peace.

At the same time, saying yes to this has its own risks, besides the fact that they may be doing this just to keep as many of their fellows alive. If I say yes too easily, well… they might think I am trying to deceive them. I… might have to do that, but I’d rather not warn them off so quickly.
> Entry 116: Continued Negotiations
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I’ve asked the diplomat to argue against stopping the culling, using some rather good reasons. I’ve… had to caution him against arguing that the kelpies are a risk to the entirety of Aquestria, rather, getting him to point out that stopping the culling permanently will mean that the kelpie population will slowly grow to beyond the sustainable point.

Okay, that’s not quite true. We know that eventually the kelpies will grow beyond the point of sustainability, but at the moment, it’s very difficult to imagine they’ll devour all life in the ocean anytime soon. 

The plan though, is to get the kelpie diplomat to point this out, and at that point, we will concede the point and then lift the culling, in return for the not attacking any more Aquestrian assets.

We won’t release any kelpie fry in our possession, that would be too great of a concession and they would think us weak, or suspect us. But we will stop collecting them.
> Entry 117: Ceasefire
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They’ve agreed. We’re at peace for the first time in millenia. However, now comes the difficult part. I… can go the Abyss, but I need to have Tethys give me permission, and guarantees that she won’t just try to assassinate me. I need to learn more about the kelpies or else this ceasefire will be for naught. 

The trick would be offering something to the kelpies innocuous for us, but seemingly valuable to them.
> Entry 118: Ideal Concessions
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So, the ceasefire never quite completely labeled which parts of the ocean were the kelpies and which parts of the ocean were ours. The ocean is simply too big for that. However, I realized something, I could grant the kelpies territorial and hunting rights in their trenches, and some of the areas of open ocean around their trenches, where we don’t use.

This is quite the ideal solution. We don’t really lose anything, even if we return to war again, but they gain some official territory that one, they will defend, making it easier for us to target them, and two, we have an idea where they are, even if I believe they might move. All I have to do is sell this deal as if I am conceding territory to them.
> Entry 119 A Visit to Aquamaris?
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They took it, and they have agreed that there will be a visit where I will go into their trenches. But they want something in return that may be a little more problematic.

They want to be able to visit Aquamaris as a foreign delegation.

Now, I want to avoid giving the kelpies that kind of hard legitimacy, but this is a difficult request to not grant them. If I didn’t grant them this visit, they’ll be unlikely to show me where they live. Now, I doubt they will show me where their headquarters actually is. They’ve likely gone so deep that even I can’t even reach them. It’s far more likely they will show me one of the settlements they have in their trenches that is in more of the middle layer rather than the bottom.

Is it worth allowing the public to know of the kelpies existence? Not really. But I won’t get anything if I refuse. How can I play this to my advantage?
> Entry 120: A Devious Public Opinion Scheme
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One of my ponies in the Ministry gave me an idea. It’s positively devious. 

The plan would be this, we would allow the kelpies to show themselves and act as a delegation. However, we don’t allow them any opportunity to appear as… ponies. We just usher them into the palace and have a… discussion about some trivial topics, which I think they would expect. That being said, the lack of ponification would allow us to do two things.

If the negotiations go well, we can then portray the kelpies in a more sympathetic light and I can tailor a speech that emphasizes their willingness to live with us peacefully.

If the negotiations eventually fail though, I can capitalize on how little ponies know about the kelpies and paint them as monsters who deceived us into thinking they actually wanted peace. They look alien enough for that role anyway.

So I’ve agreed to the kelpies request for a meeting. I’m going to have to plan it carefully, but it can work to my advantage either way.
> Entry 121: The Visit to Aquamaris
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The kelpies arrived in Aquamaris today to a lot of confused and mystified reactions from my public, just as planned. I ensured that the kelpies saw the rest of Aquamaris, but they had limited contact with the seapony public.

It helped that the alien appearance of the kelpies meant that many seaponies that did see them were… scared of them. It didn’t help that many of the kelpies were incredibly wary about being in a seapony city.

In short, I won a pretty good propaganda victory. The public is very confused about the kelpies and the kelpies have the potential to look really bad to Aquestria, or look really good. It’s all in my control.
> Entry 122: To the Trench
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I’m getting ready to journey into the kelpie abyssal trench. This one’s called the Reignatian Trench, and it’s on the periphery of the Eastern Sea, not far from the continent where Griffonia is. 

Obviously, I have quite a few safeguards in mind. I have a very powerful auto-teleport spell placed on me, meant to zap me back to Aquestria if I am incapacitated in any way. I’ve also equipped myself with a number of “stored” spells in small enchanted gemstones, meant to help me get out of bad situations if I cannot immediately use my magic (let’s say if I’m disorientated or stunned). I’m also wearing my best armor, which is also enchanted with protective shields.

Finally, to ensure that my gills don’t get damaged by a sudden return to higher depth, I will be placing shields on myself to try to reduce the possibility of the gases in my body suddenly expanding. I will have all these shields on as I descend.

Worst comes to worst… I’ve placed spells that would teleport a small group of my Myrmidon guard, who will have pressure-resistant spells on them.

They are all going to die though, as the pressure at that depth will basically crush them, draining their shields. They also won’t have the time to return to a higher depth, but it is a risk they have agreed to take for my safety. I just hope it doesn’t come to that.
> Entry 123: The Kelpie Home?
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The kelpies didn’t actually take me into the abyss today. They actually took me with one of their nomadic hunting parties.

It turns out that the kelpies are just as wary about taking me into the Abyss as I am going into it. I am unsure as to why. They have all the advantages if I go into the Abyss… perhaps they suspect I want to learn more about their society and culture, and then use it against them?

I am going off topic. Suffice it to say, the kelpies hunt in nomadic groups mainly to feed the fry safely. I have to say this is a pretty good strategy and one that I cannot easily counter even if I knew about it. The ocean is huge, so having one or two adult kelpies with fry together allows them to protect the fry from any problematic threats and stay mobile. If they are attacked, the adults can intercept the attackers and allow the fry to run. 

However, the fry apparently need no help in hunting. They are small, quick, and have very… very sharp teeth. 

It’s also surprising for me to know, but I found out that kelpie fry don’t eat that much fish.  We never… bothered to feed the fry during transport. After all, we were going to cull them. From what I observed that day, we could feasibly feed the kelpie fry, at least, according to how much we think their are.

There’s also the matter that I’m beginning to understand how the kelpies are training such good soldiers. They’re learning hunting tactics from the moment they are fry.

What I mean is… the only reason the adults are there are to protect the larger group of kelpie fry. The kelpie fry themselves are only given a rudimentary lesson on what foods there are in that area, and the dangers of them, before being released to hunt. The adults to provide some basic instruction and leadership, but it’s the fry themselves that discuss with each other and plan strategy. It’s not very complicated strategy. They are all fairly young after all, but the swarm tactics they use have basis in underwater movement and attack formations.

The tactics they use are also viciously effective. On small targets, herds of herring, they would surround them and just start munching on them. If it was a single large target…. Say a small porpoise or a large fish, they will charge the fish, charging them and seizing them in their jaws.

Still, this does explain why the kelpies have been learning and gradually improving on their tactical prowess, despite their heavy losses. They essentially have a junior officer school starting practically from birth.
> Entry 124: More Homes
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I wonder if the kelpie strategy is to make them look… more seapony, less like monsters. As if they are appealing to me. I’ve had myself checked for mind control spells and checked myself. Of course, that does not mean they are not above using conventional methods of manipulation.

Today, I saw some of the shallower abyssal homes the kelpies lived in. I have a sneaking suspicion that these are temporary as they are very shoddily erected, with very sparse materials. They are little more than current-breakers. 

However, the kelpies I admit, have a sense of style. They have decorated their homes with the skulls and skeletons of the animals they have hunted. I spotted dragon turtle young and even the odd Leviathan fry amongst the skeletons. Of course, they are so few that it seems that a single young leviathan’s rib-bones would be divided up amongst the hunting party to function as trophies, with the head to the leader of the party.

The families that live here are … well, I call them traitors, but the kelpies call them family. Those that have fled with their kelpie sons or daughters to live with them. I’m surprised the kelpies haven’t just eaten them, but I suppose even monsters must differentiate between family and food.

Still, I cannot understand how these seaponies can try to live with their kelpie kin as if they are… normal seaponies. I don’t know how is it possible. There are kelpies that call their seapony parents “mom” or “dad” and their parents just… hug these monsters. I mean, the offspring do not even look like the parents! Their offspring EAT their kind!
> Entry 125: Meeting Tethys
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I have finally met Tethys… and well… we talked.

It… was a circular conversation of sorts. We both were holding too many secrets to our chest. We both agreed that we wanted an end to this war, but we clearly didn’t agree on what that end was. I publicly agreed that the kelpies should not be persecuted by Aquestria, though, Tethys didn’t believe me. Tethys publicly agreed that we needed to find a solution for the kelpies need to eat sapient life, but… I sense that she wants to be the one dictating the research and more importantly, she wants the kelpies to not be a part of Aquestria.

It didn’t help that Tethys was… very unforthcoming on who made her and the kelpies, and why,  even though, we both knew whom and I have a pretty good idea as to why.

As such, we’d end up… agreeing on the few things we do, whilst very evidently avoiding the things we don’t. 

That being said I did press her on a rather important issue, how will we feed the kelpies before we can find a solution.

Tethys suggested that if I didn’t want to provide seaponies that I’d allow her kelpies to hunt the surfaceworlders.

I… I don’t know. Part of me says that this would be a necessary sacrifice, but… but my duty is to restrain the creations of the Old Ones and to eradicate them. To allow them to live?

How can I do that? How can I let them live after they’ve killed so many of my seaponies and deep ponies? Let those monsters populate the world and submit to the will of Yoth’Atal???

I can’t… I mean… but… I need a moment to think.
> Entry 126: Dilemma #1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I need more knowledge of Yoth-Atal, that goes without saying. If I am to make the best decision for my seaponies, knowledge about her true motives and her aims for Aquestria is absolutely necessary.

The issue is that I cannot know anything more about Yoth-Atal without her possibly corrupting me, or without opening up Aquestria to the kelpies. That is definitely going to be one of the Old God’s conditions. There is also the possibility that Tethys will make this one of her conditions, even if Yoth does not. Simply put, I would probably need to allow the kelpies into Aquestrian society to get the critical knowledge that I need.

And the issue is, I can guess to some extent what Yoth-Atal wants, which is dominion over Aquestria, or at the best case scenario, my submission to her will. Panthalussa has made it abundantly clear that even talking to a Primal God face to face can lead to you falling under their influence. Admittedly, only weak minds will fall and it’s impossible for them to be subtle against a strong mind, but the risk is great.

None of this helps me to resolve my dilemma, which remains whether to launch a surprise attack against the kelpies, and betray Tethys, or actually continue with the detente. I cannot afford to think on this too long. Without any cullings, the kelpies that are born are being separated from their parents and sent to places where Tethys’s kelpies are picking them up. But without the war, Tethys’s kelpies are… well they have nothing to feed on.
> Entry 127: Dilemma #2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tethys and I… we met, with all of our guards, and she proposed a solution to our mutual problem. 

She explained kelpies are not going to be cured immediately, and they are looking into it. However, Tethys also recognized that they need to eat and eating seaponies would not only be terrible for Aquestrian relations, but make the seaponies and deep ponies who had joined Tethys uncomfortable.

She thus proposed that the kelpies be allowed to hunt surface-worlders.

I… I balked at this idea at first. Step aside from my duty? Allow creatures of the Old God to feast on the Great Creator’s surface-worlders? 

But as terrible an idea as this is, it helps solve both our problems. The kelpies - at least according to our current estimates - don’t number enough to kill all the surface worlders. Why, if they hide in the rivers and lakes and ambush small groups or individuals, they can easily feed themselves and have little to no impact on the population. Tethys has also said that due to the fact they have no idea how long they will need to develop a cure, they would limit their population growth as best as they could. 

And if everything turns out as Tethys says it does, there will be an Aquestria with kelpies in it, but where kelpies don’t eat my sea ponies and deep ponies. Besides, they can live anywhere and some of the kelpies I have met actually prefer the dark depths of the abysses and trenches. As this is the least valuable territory in Aquestria, we can let them live there with little change to our territorial boundaries.

But… what if Tethys isn’t telling the truth? She hasn’t outright lied to me, but I know she isn’t telling me everything. She hasn’t admitted to working for the Old Ones, which I know she is. There also has to be some kind of downside to this plan, aside from well, the obvious in which the kelpies are going to need to feed on the surface worlders for an indefinite amount of time.

Then… there’s the surface worlders. It’s… it’s my duty to guard the depths so that those in the seas and on land won’t be threatened by Primal Gods like Yoth’Atal. If I let the kelpies attack them, that would be an ultimate dereliction of my duties. How can I knowingly subject the surface world to attacks by these monsters and sleep well?
Is this… this dilemma… some nefarious plot by the Old Ones to turn me against my duty? Or … or is this just a very real proposal with pros and cons that is being put forth to me?

I don’t know which possibility is worse.
> Entry 128: Waiting to See
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’ve decided that… I need to continue the ceasefire… and accede to the kelpies feeding on the surface-worlders. At least for the moment.

I need to know exactly how the kelpies plan to actually solve their feeding situation. It’s a problem that we have been trying to think of for years, but if we can get the research material they have accumulated, then we might be able to solve this problem.

It’s true that our experiments on the kelpies have been… extensive, but the subjects are usually fry and they are usually unwilling. If I am going to go to war with the kelpies… it would be a good idea to compare our research before we do so. After all, the kelpies aren’t going to share that research if we go to war with them.
> Entry 129: Sharing Research
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The kelpie research has been… well a bit disappointing, though, they do have certain insights. I have the feeling they aren’t telling me everything which… is annoying, but pragmatic for their interests. 

Their research has overlapped with ours a lot more than I would have liked. Like us, they’ve been experimenting with different foods to see if anything other than sapients will actually feed them. They’ve also been trying to magically examine their own bodies, but we… well we have no qualms taking certain extreme measures to examine kelpie bodies. They however, do, for understandable reasons.

However, they have had certain insights into why they might need to eat sapients. They, like us have narrowed it down to some kind of… magical means.

But their scientists, well… their few theorists and researchers really - none of them are professionally trained - their researchers have suggested that the kelpies may be missing something from their evolution.

I… scoffed at this theory at first. Why would Yoth make an incomplete monster? Then… I recalled the existing wards and the sealing spell we placed on the Primal God. It’s entirely possible that whatever the kelpies are made of, however they may have designed, Yoth could not completely execute such a design given how restricted she is.

I am surprised that the kelpie researchers and theorists don’t worship Yoth-Atal or think she created them. This is despite the fact that Tethys is a priestess of Yoth-Atal. I’m not sure why Tethys hasn’t spread her damned religion amongst her subjects. Maybe she doesn’t trust Yoth-Atal? Maybe she doesn’t think the kelpies will believe like she does? 

If Tethys doesn’t fully trust the Old Gods, then that would be of an advantage to me. The issue is that well… she herself is a creation of them.

I suppose… that itself is not alone to discount a possible alliance. After all, the sea ponies and deep ponies were - from the very very beginning - created by Yoth-Atal. The Great Creator though was responsible for how we were designed, as she seized us from Yoth-Atal and wiped her influence from us.

However, Tethys is most definitely hiding vital information not only from us, but from her own subjects. Of course, I’ve done that, but… I still wonder how much I can trust her and the kelpies.
> Chapter 130: Deaths
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There’s been a series of deaths that look… suspiciously like they were caused by kelpies. 

I have yet to go to Tethys about this, but the fact of the matter is that these killings involved unheard of savagery. Bite marks on the victims seem to match that of the kelpies, though, these seem… far more savage than I would ever expect. 

Moreover, they have occurred quite far away from any known kelpie hotspots, so I can’t really go forward to Tethys about these.

Still, I’m intensifying patrols and increasing the concentration of ponies in those areas.
> Entry 131: Continued Killings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The killings are continuing. In fact, they’re increasing at an alarming rate. That’s nearly a hundred dead seaponies and deep ponies that we know of. Luckily,  I’ve received some sighting reports. There has been a single, traumatized survivor who said that it was some monster. They didn’t name the kelpies per se, but from the description, it seems that it might be a kelpie that is… well it seems to resemble the berserk rages that kelpies have gone on when starved.

Of course, this raises the question, why was there a kelpie that was starving to the point of going into that rage? Tethys specifically informed me that they were satisfying their hunger by feeding on surface-worlders. Why would there be a starving kelpie? 

I… I doubt this is purely Tethys’s problem. She has nothing to gain from this. But on the other hoof, how has she let one of her subjects loose in Aquestria? This needs answers and only then can we finally catch this rogue kelpie. 

My plan is to narrow down and triangulate the attacks based on when so I can find the first attack. That way, we can collect more clues that might hopefully shed light on this mystery.
> Entry 132: Answers are Needed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The attacks are… well not ceasing, but they’re decreasing in frequency, and going away from what appears to be the origin. I’ve sent troops to lock down the Western Shallows where the monster seems to be heading. Meanwhile, the Ministry is continuing to follow the trail and discretely investigate the deaths, heading eastward… toward the Cavalikerion Abyss, which we have long suspected to be a kelpie hideout.

This does not bode well for Tethys and I think it might be time I confronted her about this. Even if she’s not responsible, I want to see her reaction especially to the swathe of deaths this one rogue kelpie is causing. The bodycount has risen to two hundred now.
> Entry 133: An Unsatisfying Answer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tethys said she was aware of the rogue kelpie and denies responsibility. I pressed the issue, demanding for what she knew about it, pointing out it that it shouldn’t be possible for any kelpie to actually starve, especially considering we’ve allowed her subjects to feed on surface worlders. 

She was… clearly annoyed by my demand for more information and retorted that the kelpies words are law, unlike mine. She accused me of trying to pin the blame on the kelpies.

I of course wasn’t. I am quite certain the kelpies are involved and culpable in this in some way. I will find out what Tethys was hiding and what she knows in one way or another.
> Entry 134: What Was Found
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I… I have no idea what we just found. It seems to be the epicentre of the attacks and everything seems to line up with a kelpie going rogue there. Yet, at the same time, there are questions that I have trouble answering.

After backtracking the attacks, we found a small deep pony village not too far off from a kelpie-inhabited abyss. The deep pony village’s entire population was killed, most of the villagers eaten. That… was expected. We had been seeing an increase in the viciousness of the attacks as we got closer to the origin point, as that was when the rogue kelpie had the most time to operate. 

What was unexpected was evidence of something breaking out of… well…

To put it in brief, the villagers were trapping something vicious in a metal and stone prison (constructed with their magic), which… they failed to contain. The damage to the cage and matching damage to the… remains (little more than bones) of the deep ponies is consistent with the beast ripping out of the cage and started to slaughter the inhabitants.

Somehow though, the deep ponies had contained this creature for some time. We found uneaten food scraps still on the prison’s floor.

I suspect the rogue kelpie broke out of this prison… but how did the deep ponies capture a rogue kelpie in the first place? Those things are unstoppable. Yet, they were able to capture one? Just… what happened here?
> Entry 135: An Imaginative Answer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tethys finally asked for a meeting to explain what occurred. She said that it was indeed a rogue kelpie, and that they’ve killed him. This kelpie was one that had been out of contact with his fellows for some time and so there was no way for her to control his actions. She also presented what has to be the most preposterous excuse I’ve ever heard that blames my subjects of all things!

She said that this kelpie-who I deign not to name-had frequently expressed a wish to see his deep pony birth parents again. She theorizes that the kelpie went to the village to meet his parents, but they were disgusted by his monstrosity and imprisoned him. She suggests that they were trying to heal him themselves, and ignored his protests to let him leave, until he went rogue and broke through his prison.

I suppose I’ve learnt one thing Tethys apparently does have an imagination!
> Entry 136: The Truth and its Implications
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I… I… dam it all. Even writing this down is infuriating me.

My investigators have reported to me and… I didn’t believe it at first, but it seems Tethys is telling the truth.

One of the villagers had kept a log of what they were trying to do to “treat” the kelpie, which had been greatly damaged in the rogue kelpie’s rampage. However, after piecing it together, what is written in the log is only confirming Tethys’s story.

Up to three hundred seaponies dead all from a single crazed kelpie, and it was the fault of my subjects idiocy.

On one hoof, this answers the question on whether Tethys is trustworthy… she was… being honest. Blunt and uncompromising, but honest. 

Still, the issue is… as evidenced by the tragedy that happened with the rogue kelpie, there is a clear and immediate danger to the mere existence of the kelpies. I am… finding it a little more difficult to hate them because of what they are. They didn’t choose this existence after all.

The problem is that they are still a threat to not just Aquestria, but the entire world. After months of research and sharing, we are no closer to discovering a cure for the kelpies. How long can the kelpies feed on the surface-worlders before we are noticed? We are safe in the ocean, but the surface-worlders can enact measures that will cut them off from the ocean, leading to the kelpies starving. And then… well that would be a massacre waiting to happen.

The issue is no longer whether Tethys and the kelpies want a war with Aquestria, not any longer. The issue is that simply allowing such predators to exist is… is too dangerous.

And that is not even adding in the fact that the kelpies are related to Yoth-Atal and that Tethys is her head priestess! As my predecessor has insisted to me, the Primal Gods all want to dominate the world and enslave all beings underneath it’s tyranny. As such, any servants or beings created by the Primal Gods cannot be allowed to exist.

But… what if we could find a cure?
> Entry 137: Samudra's Fateful Decision
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I… I’ve made my decision.

I cannot allow the possibility that any being even related to Yoth-Atal might exist. Tethys and all her kelpies must die, or if I fail, I and the seaponies and deep ponies must do all that I can to inflict as much damage to the kelpie race as possible. 

This… this is a… this has been an impossible decision, but I can still recall the damage Shi-Nihalar did to the old… long-lost Western Aquestrian seas. I can remember the flight of so many of my subjects because we could not afford for Shi-Nihalar to get free. 

And I cannot forget how dangerous the kelpies have shown themselves to be. I need to kill them all while I still have a position of strength. Already that advantage has been slipping. Now though, when they suspect, but don’t know if we will attack, I can deal a decisive blow against them.

The plan will be simple, we will mobilize as many forces as possible at all the abysses and along the routes the kelpies are taking to the surface. On my signal to my deep pony mages, we will launch a multi-pronged assault across all fronts. To prevent and ensure all the forces don’t compromise one another, every commander will be compartmentalized, the kelpies might suspect, but they’ll have no idea how large the assault will be. I will personally lead an attack to occupy Tethys, in order to try to capture her and prevent her from reviving.

In one swift blow, we’ll wipe them from the depths of the ocean and disable their leader. All we’ll have to do then is to keep killing the young.
> Entry 138: Operation Betrayal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The operation to kill all the kelpies went into motion today with so far… excellent results.

The kelpies were caught off guard. They were suspicious of my troop movements, but they hadn’t expected an assault on so many fronts. The multi-pronged operation did mean that there was some confusion among my Aquestrian forces. Some were not able to capture or kill kelpies and their fry, others weren’t able to prevent the kelpies from running into their abysses, but the number of kelpies they did manage to ambush were significant. At least by their reports.

Furthermore, for safe measure, I and my deep ponies did our best to bombard the parts of the abyss that we had visited with the kelpies with rocks. 

All in all, the kelpies are in full retreat, not even able to launch a counterattack, they’re running and we will find and kill them all.
> Entry 139: Victories?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today we won perhaps the most significant victory in nearly four hundred years of fighting. Today, I killed Tethys and eviscerated her body.

I’m not so naive to think that she will be permanently killed, but given that I’ve yet to catch and defeat her in years, I’m quite happy to take this success. I am… utterly exhausted by the effort, but I killed her. I still can overpower her.

It helped that I had backed her into a corner. We had located a school of kelpie fry that had been hunting surface-worlders, and had been tracking them as they fled toward a major abyss. I intercepted them personally, knowing that Tehtys would want to protect the critical kelpie young.

She did, and she fell into my trap. I had no compulsion to hold back the hydromancy and magic that I unleashed at the surrounding area, but that monster was pinned down by the need to guard the young. She perished, and allowed some of the fry to escape, but my soldiers helped to hunt them down and ensure only a few managed to swim away.

All in all, a crushing victory over the kelpies. 
> Entry 140: Driven Away
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The kelpies aren’t gone, but they’ve vanished from the oceans. There are no reports of attacks, no reports of kelpie sightings, nothing. 

Tethys is still out there, but wherever she is and whatever she is doing, she’s not launching any counterattacks.  She’s in retreat and clearly attempting to rally her forces. We need to push harder than we have ever before. Admittedly, we cannot fill in all the abysses the kelpies hide in, but we need to confine them to them, and use this opportunity to train more seaponies and deep ponies for war. 
> Entry 141: Quiet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s been almost a year since we’ve launched our surprise attack and there hasn’t been a single kelpie sighting.

Normally, I would be overjoyed, but the quiet has gone on for too long. I don't know if I've permanently killed Tethys yet and neither have my forces reported her resurrection. Yet, knowing her, she would have counterattacked with utter ruthlessness. Being so quiet is completely unlike her.

I must admit, I quite enjoy the quiet and this… lack of stress. There are no kelpie attacks to interrupt my sleep, no strategy meetings that drag on for hours, no having to face mourning sea and deep ponies… it’s something I have forgotten. This was more frequent back in the earliest years of my rule, when I still held dominion over the Western ocean.

I feel that we should hold a parade, something to celebrate, and liven the spirits. I should… I should go out amongst my subjects in disguise, to see how they feel, and to help them, like I used to do when I was younger.
> Entry 142: Parade
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The parade we held had the exact effect I had wanted. It did much to relax the ponies of Aquamaris and I could hear celebrating into the end of the night.

Yet, as I walked amongst my subjects in disguise… I heard some worrying words.

Most were happy to see the kelpie threat being defeated, but there were quite a few who believed Tethys would return and that her vengeance would be terrible.

I can’t say that they’re entirely wrong. Tethys is going to want to strike back at me, but with the beating that she’s taken and how many kelpies we’ve killed, anything she attempts now is going to be thwarted easily.

Others are even more fearful. They think that we’ve actually suffered a major defeat and that we just covered it up with the parade. An outlandish suggestion! If we failed, I cannot imagine that we can hide such things from my subjects. 

There were also some that were… lamenting that we attacked the kelpies. These seaponies and deep ponies believed that we could have made peace with Tethys and her kind and eventually even integrate together as a united kingdom.

I wish we could… How preposterous.
> Entry 143: Peace Brings Opportunities
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peace has its… issues, or more like… it’s… 

Alright, I have been touring Aquestria, and firing almost half of of my ministers and replacing them. Governors, mayors and judges… most of them had to be fired or replaced.

It appears that since I was managing the war, the civilian leaders have been trying and failing to actually run Aquestria. I know my high ministers have been doing their best, but the lack of oversight from me has meant… 

Well, too many economic issues to count. Lack of trade, disruptions to the collection of vital resources and food, disputes left and right, in shallow and deep water. It’s been insane. This alone has made me glad that I actually stabbed Tethys in the back, if to give me a chance to look over civilian matters.

Of course, if I had made peace, that would have given me that opportunity, but… well Tethys would have just destroyed it all.
> Entry 144: The Odd Quiet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, this has been too quiet. It’s been three years since the last kelpie attack, since our great campaign to wipe them out and there hasn’t been even a sighting of the kelpies. I know we didn’t kill all of them, and yet, we don’t notice any disappearances or any missing ponies that can be attributed to the kelpies. Sure, the sea is dangerous and ponies do go missing once in a while, but not attacks on my forces, and no raids to gain extra food. 

The kelpies have to feed, that’s a fact, and if we haven’t killed them all, then they should be feeding. However, they aren’t. From what I have reviewed about their creation by the limited research they shared with us, and by what we have been trying to figure out, they… they need to feed on sapients because they seem to lack something at the magical level. Some kind of element, or essence that allows all species to survive, but they lack.

It’s not something that can so easily be solved, and frankly, the theory that they are missing something is just the latest that my top-secret scientists have come up with, and frankly, that’s all they can do as we haven’t been able to get any live captures of late. 

Just, where did Tethys and her kelpies go? To the surface world maybe? Hmm…
> Entry 145: A Question of Conceiving
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’ve decided, while I have the chance with Tethys in hiding, I’m going to try to get pregnant. I may only have one shot at this, and I will make it count.

There are a few issues though. First, I’m not entirely sure why I am less fertile. The Empress never quite specified. It could be that my eggs aren’t developed, that my womb has issues, the fact of the matter is, I don’t know, and I can’t exactly perform surgery on myself.

The second issue is sea pony and deep pony society. Whatever I do to try to have a child, it might, no-, will have effects on sea pony society. And to increase my chances of getting pregnant, I need to have a harem of virile sea and deep ponies to lay with.

The problem is, I’m the Empress. Whatever I do is not just socially acceptable, it’s the social goal. Right now, most of Aquestria follows either monogamy or polygamy. I think we have more monogamous couples than polygamous, but nopony’s really bothered to count. If I start a harem… there could be consequences.

But if you look at the other side of the flipper, if I treat those in my harem, and my suitors well, then seapony and deep ponies would be encouraged to do so. Yes. I think I will start a harem. There have been some… very fine specimens of deep ponies in my Myrmidons that I think should accompany me to my chambers.

Where was I? Right, the final issue is that there is no record of what happens with an Empress gives birth. The low fertility rates of past Empresses means that none of them gave birth, at least to my knowledge. This means that… well if there are any complications, I’m on my own.

I … I won’t die, but it’s going to hurt. Is… would all of this be worth it though? I mean, if I give birth, my child might be born in a world where Tethys still swims.

… 

What kind of world would he or she swim through?
> Entry 146: Considerations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’ve decided, while I have the chance with Tethys in hiding, I’m going to try to get pregnant. I may only have one shot at this, and I will make it count.

There are a few issues though. First, I’m not entirely sure why I am less fertile. The Empress never quite specified. It could be that my eggs aren’t developed, that my womb has issues, the fact of the matter is, I don’t know, and I can’t exactly perform surgery on myself.

The second issue is sea pony and deep pony society. Whatever I do to try to have a child, it might, no-, will have effects on sea pony society. And to increase my chances of getting pregnant, I need to have a harem of virile sea and deep ponies to lay with.

The problem is, I’m the Empress. Whatever I do is not just socially acceptable, it’s the social goal. Right now, most of Aquestria follows either monogamy or polygamy. I think we have more monogamous couples than polygamous, but nopony’s really bothered to count. If I start a harem… there could be consequences.

But if you look at the other side of the flipper, if I treat those in my harem, and my suitors well, then seapony and deep ponies would be encouraged to do so. Yes. I think I will start a harem. There have been some… very fine specimens of deep ponies in my Myrmidons that I think should accompany me to my chambers.

Where was I? Right, the final issue is that there is no record of what happens with an Empress gives birth. The low fertility rates of past Empresses means that none of them gave birth, at least to my knowledge. This means that… well if there are any complications, I’m on my own.

I … I won’t die, but it’s going to hurt. Is… would all of this be worth it though? I mean, if I give birth, my child might be born in a world where Tethys still swims.

… 

What kind of world would he or she swim through?
> Entry 147: Too Many Fish
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It turns out that having a harem can be a lot more trouble than one would expect.

Oh wow I really just wrote that.

I was aware that finding the most virile seaponies and deep ponies in Aquestria might take some logistics, but the sheer lengths of deception and effort that various families, merchants, and other interest groups would undertake to convince me to ask one of their members to join my harem is astounding!

The Ministry has informed me that the demand for... size enhancement and stamina-boosting drugs has suddenly skyrocketed with my proclamation, as well as makeup, and fine clothes. It’s doing wonders for the Aquestrian economy.

And giving me far too many choices. I am presented with about twenty seaponies and deep ponies a day. A day.

Each of them are… perfectly dressed, heavily muscled, the epitome of a stallion. So much so it’s becoming a bit boring honestly. 

Oh don’t get me wrong diary. The consorts I have chosen are… very… very good. They all seem to do very similar things in the bedchamber though, and while it’s… greatly enjoyable, they are having a bit of difficulty distinguishing themselves from one another. 

It’s in the early days though, give them some time, perhaps we shall find some alternate consorts.
> Entry 148: ... Spoils the Sea
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The irony of this whole harem exercise is that I’ve gathered the most eligible seapony and deep pony stallions in Aquestria into my palace at Aquamaris… and yet they’re killing one another over me.

Because of my apparent disinterest in most of the stallions, even amongst my own harem, they have taken extreme measures in an attempt to attract my attention, which include eliminating the perceived competition.

 I am screaming quite loudly in the room right now, diary. The sheer gall of these idiots! I just… I just want to be a damn mother and these fools!

Do they not know how hard it is to be barren like the ocean floor? To have tried so hard to have a child that the bloody act of it is now boring! I’m… URGH… 

I might just scrap this harem system and just go out by myself in disguise!
> Entry 149: Sorrow and...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Going out in disguise… I … found a small establishment where I know my guards congregate.

I did find someone to have company with last night, but I also learnt some disturbing things.

My seaponies much welcome the peace that I’ve brought to them and they like the increased focus on improving Aquestria, but … a good deal of them are lamenting that we rebuffed the kelpies.

Betrayed… we betrayed them, and although it’s only a few, they’re part of a larger symptom.

It seems that my ponies respect me, but they don’t love me. They are afraid of my Ministry, which… okay yes, I can see why, but they also find that I’m out of touch, outdated, unable to see things from their perspective.

I… It was hard to hear. I… I must admit, I cried a bit… it’s why one kind deep pony swam over to talk to me. We… we didn’t sleep together, and I didn’t tell him anything, but he chattered about… well his family, his home. He distracted me, but that was all I needed…
> Entry 150: Monsoon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I went out again, and I found that same deep pony at the bar. 

His name is Monsoon, and is actually a member of my Myrmidon Guard. I recall him now. He is a fairly new recruit, but my officers like him and expect good things from him.

He’s… oddly shy and… very kind. We had a long talk about Aquestrian hydromancy, which lasted until the late hours of the night. I… I really like him, and I think he likes me. 

But I’m lying to him. I’m in disguise and he’s… he thinks I’m Rheic, a nice deep pony who works as a secretary in the palace. If I keep visiting him, he’s going to figure out that I don’t actually work at the palace, and…

I need to tell him the truth the next time we meet. I don’t want a relationship built on more lies. I… I’ve lied enough.
> Entry 151: Entering into a Relationship?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monsoon was… shocked to say the least when I summoned him to the palace, took him aside to my personal chambers, and showed him my disguised form.

He put it together mercifully quickly, but I… 

He’s asked if he could have some time to think about having a relationship for me. 

I agreed. I was… I was angry then. I mean, I am the Empress! I am the fairest, most gorgeous seapony he could ever hope to court. I expected an immediate, enthusiastic kiss! 

But his hesitation is understandable, even admirable. He’s not simply accepting because of my looks or position. He’s actually wondering if this relationship can work, and I respect that for him. This is especially since I’ve made it clear to him that I will still be trying to get pregnant from the other members of my harem.

Even on that basis, I can understand why he won’t want to enter into a relationship with me. I just … I can hope. That’s all I can do really.
> Entry 152: The Beginning of Something
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monsoon said yes! Oh by the Creator he said yes! I mean… he hasn’t said yes to marriage, but we are now, officially courting. 

This does pose a conundrum regarding the harem. Monsoon is not… part of the harem. He doesn’t want to be part of that, which I understand, but it makes it a little difficult to understand his position.

Right now, he’s just my personal Myrmidon Guard. This allows us to spend time together without involving him into the politics of the harem. I will have to make more concrete arrangements in the future, but… that’s the future.
> Entry 154: Pregnant!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’m pregnant!

[page is filled with wild scribbling and words crossed out]

I can’t believe it! I’m pregnant. And since I’ve only been with Monsoon… I’m pregnant with his child! I can’t believe it! This… this shouldn’t be possible!

Okay, that was quite a depressing thought. I mean, I deserve this happiness. It’s just  been...so long since I’ve felt such joy. I don’t want it to go away. 

What should we call him? Monsoon is thinking Typhon if a boy and Sirena if a girl. I was thinking Pharia if a girl, or Iapetus if a boy. We’ll have to discuss it later.

Wait, hold on. If I’m going to have a child, that means I’ll have to give birth…
> Entry 155: Marriage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Getting pregnant… was possibly not my best idea.

It might be because of my unique physiology, but every symptom that sea or deep ponies might have, I seem to get… ten times more intensely.

I’m eating like a blue whale, and yet still feeling hungry. I am having issues controlling my temper, and sometimes I feel like I want to cry! I’d rather not detail the rest of these trials diary, but suffice to say, I really really hate being pregnant.

Being with Monsoon, though, and havng him accompany me through these? That’s been lovely. I’ve… I’ve proposed to him and he has agreed. We are getting married in a month, once a Royal Wedding can be arranged.

Once he’s married to me, I will elevate him to Emperor-Consort to keep him above the harem politics. I will keep him as safe as I can… I would like to insulate him from all danger, but he is a Myrmidon Guard and wants to keep serving me. It’s why I love him, and worry for him.

It’s times like these, though, that I can’t help but think about the kelpies… where have they gone? Just what is their plan, and where is that elusive Tethys?
> Entry 156 and 157: Spotted Kelpies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry 156

After pressing on the Ministry to work overtime to look for any evidence of kelpie activity, they found something…

Kelpies have been spotted, but not attacking sea ponies. It was just a school of fry that had taken down a whale.

So they are around, and reproducing. However, exactly where the adults are getting their food is a complete mystery. If they aren’t attacking seapony or deep pony tribes or settlements then. Oh.

Entry 157
They must be attacking the surface. We’ve been so focused on defending ourselves from the kelpies that they must have exploited our lack of attention on the seas to kidnap creatures from the surface. I need to get to the surface immediately and figure out how bad the situation with. With such neglect, I can only imagine the worst…
> Entry 158: Equestria
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I… diary, I… I don’t exactly know how to describe this.

For years, I always considered Aquestria the greatest nation in the history of this world, with the greatest population, the greatest industry and the most sophisticated culture. After all, they are my people.

Yet, well, the last time I visited Equestria, I was focused on just meeting Celestia’s impersonator, Alternia, to see if the kelpies were attacking Equestria. Now, I was attempting to ascertain the fact without having to meet her.

Equestria… has changed. It’s incredibly urban. Towns and cities have sprung up along the coast and rivers. Flattened sections of earth… roads, act like the currents, hastening  travel between parts of the kingdom. 

And from what I can tell, from the activities I have observed this Alternia overseeing, all of this, because of this... Changeling imposter.

But this alarms me, not because of the changeling… no, Celestia will have enjoyed looking on this.

I am alarmed because Equestria’s population has grown so much that even if the kelpies snatched one or two ponies, nobody would notice. Or… few enough would notice. Aquestria has learnt to be wary, but not Equestria.

So, I arranged a meeting with Alternia, and warned her about the kelpie threat in vague terms. I cannot reveal their full nature, but I can put her on guard. 

She accepted my claims at face value, but it seems she is a bit distracted, apparently there are stirrings of troubles with the griffons from across the ocean. These matters are inconsequential to me, but I can understand why she’d be concerned.

Still, I now have a good idea as to how the kelpies might subsist without drawing our attention. It does mean, though, that they’d have groups operating near the coastlines. We will have to redouble our efforts to search there.
> Entry 159: Pregnancy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Redoubling our efforts to search near the coasts have yielded some results, but it wasn’t nearly as successful as I thought it would be.

We did find kelpies, but we found heavily armed and armored kelpies in escort groups. I expected at least a few schools of fry so that the kelpies could feed their young with the fish that tends to grow in the shallower waters, but no, all my forces found were combat ready kelpies. 

Suffice to say… there were a lot of damn casualties and nothing else. I’ve had to mobilise several local garrisons, but I can’t do much. 

Pregnancy is terrible. I… I love that I can feel the life in me kick, but it’s difficult enough for me to move through the palace. To go out now would be stupid and suicidal.

Poor Monsoon. I’ve been feeling terribly out of sorts and he’s been facing the brunt of it. Thank the Creator he’s so calm and tolerant of my mood swings. To be sure I personally reward him for his efforts, but I myself don’t envy his position.

We’ve talked about names…. If it is a mare, we shall call her Panthalussa, after my old mentor. If it’s a stallion, we will call him Typhon, an old name, but it’s one that Monsoon suggested and I like it.

Oh child, I cannot wait until you are born.
> Entry 160: My Child
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The irony of this is… ridiculous.

I hate kelpies. I hate what they represent. I hate the threat they pose.

I wanted a child. I so wanted a child. I did all I could to have a child that I could love.

I have a child that’s a kelpie.

Is this some cosmic joke that the Creator decided to play on me? After all my years of service guarding the sea from the Primal Gods, she rewards all my effort with a kelpie?

Fuck you Creator! *intelligible scribblings* 

And you know what’s worse you fucking bitch? You know what’s worse?

I fucking love this child of mine. He’s MINE. My blood, my … whatever the hell his carapace is. He’s a kelpie. I hate that.

But I love him. 
> Entry 161: Monsoon's Thoughts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monsoon is… He doesn’t know what to think. He can’t believe that I’ve given birth to a kelpie. He’s torn. He’s revolted, which… much as it breaks my heart, I can understand. Yet, he believes it is my son. He still loves me, but our child… he can’t bear to look at him.

I’ve… I’ve named him Typhon. It is the name Monsoon and I agreed to. He’s… already so inquisitive, and I need to keep him safe. My Ministry, some of them dare suggest that we should examine him. I won’t let them. He’s my son, he’s their prince. But… 

If Typhon is to survive, there needs to be a lot of planning done, or else he will die, or be made to side with Tethys. 
> Entry 162: A Dilemma on Sustenance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tethys is on the move. After years, she’s finally been spotted in the northern part of the Eastern Ocean. I have mobilised Aquestria for war.

The years of peace have been kind to us. We’ve reorganized our army and recruited new units. We’re not nearly as strong as we were five hundred years ago, but we are in a much better position.

Typhon… is another matter entirely. Right now, he’s content to eat fish. But he’s a very rambunctious child. He… as we learned from our… observations about kelpie fry, he’s matured into childhood very quickly, but will stay in that stage for some time.

But what happens when he starts to eat sentients?

I… How can I let him eat sentients? How do I provide him with… his food? How can I provide him with his food.
> Entry 163: The War Starts Again
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I forgot how annoying fighting a guerilla war can be.  The kelpies hit, they run, they leave casualties, and they avoid our forces when we try to chase them down or track them.

As usual, the core problem we have with fighting the kelpies is we lack information. I know the best way to win a guerilla war with an army more used to fighting conventionally is to turn the war into a conventional one. That’s what we did to drive the kelpies down so long ago. The issue is, we have yet to find a place where the kelpies are willing to defend us in open ocean.

… Or attack us. I wonder…
> Entry 164: The War Continues
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

We started to employ the bait and ambush tactics that we developed from our previous experiences in the war, which have reduced the number of attacks, even if they haven’t resulted in many kelpies killed. Of course, the kelpies learnt from the war as well and know that we can employ these tactics, so they avoid us.

They still sometimes attempt attacks regardless, which leads to skirmishes. So far, they’re restricted on the deepest parts of the Eastern Sea, but I suspect Tethys will want to make a move at the more resource-rich shallows in time…
> Entry 165: An Adorable Typhon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Typhon is adorable.

He’s so adorable that even Monsoon, wary as he is about his son, can’t help but laugh as Typhon swims around, exploring the limited areas of the palace that he’s allowed to go. I can’t risk more than a select group of people knowing about Typhon after all. That will have to change in the future but for now, I need to keep his identity secret as I plan for his future.

It’s hard to find time to spend with my son, though. Tethys’s forces have made a number of probing attacks that target our frontier outposts. She’s trying to test the reaction times of our forces like she did in the last war.

As such, my forces are deliberately going to patrol certain areas with alternating routes. This will make it harder for Tethys to predict our reaction times.
> Entry 166: Stasis
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’ve come to a realization about how to help Typhon, but it’s not going to be easy.

As Typhon grows up, he’s going to turn into a kelpie. And he’s going to need sentient food. I cannot or at least… I do not want provide that. Thus, I need to stop him from becoming a kelpie… or at least an adult kelpie.

Of course, we don’t have a cure for being a kelpie, but time-space magic is something that has been widely studied and established. I will thus attempt to find a way to freeze Typhon’s age for long periods of time so that he will age slowly. I’m immortal, and so I can always care for him regardless. Hopefully I can find a way to cure Typhon of his condition before he turns into an adult kelpie.

Monsoon agrees, but he does not like the solution. He can’t think of another one however, and so we have decided this is the best case forward. So I have started to research the various time-space spells available, including the notes I have from previous discussions with Starswirl.  

The solution is not going to be permanent, but at least it buys me more time.
> Entry 167: Kelpie Attack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

We’re getting reports that I never could have imagined years ago… the kelpies have an army. It’s not large, barely three hundred, but there has never been so many kelpies concentrated in a single force. 

And Tethys is leading them. 

They’re swimming toward Aquamaris, which honestly might be the best strategy for such a small force. Although I don’t quite understand why Tethys is choosing now to deviate from her prosecution of a guerilla war, a strike at my capital has the chance of taking me out and a substantial part of my army.

It’s a pity they’re going to fail.
> Entry 168: Do I have to do Everything Myself?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do I have to do everything myself! General fucking Boreal! That stupid imbecile thought that just because the kelpies were spotted heading one way, that they would continue to swim in that direction! It doesn’t matter that they were spotted swimming away from Aquamaris! All that matters is that they were close by because they could just oh… I don’t know, TURN AROUND!

And because of that moron’s blunder, the guard wasn’t put on alert and I wasn’t informed about Tethys’s proximity to Aquamaris! She’s advancing on us and will be here in five days! By the Creator I can’t believe Aquestria is nearly being done in by a moronic general of all things!
> Entry 169: The Maelstrom
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I nearly lost.

Tethys’s power… I haven’t had to. This is impossible. I can’t be…

In the northern part of the Eastern Ocean, we fought with our armies behind us. I had brought the Myrmidon Guard, the Royal Army, I… I brought as many seaponies and deep ponies as I could in the short time I had. They held the kelpies back as I fought Tethys.

I went all out on her. I threw boiling water, ripping currents, bolts of magic, cast huge area spells that churned the water, created icebergs that shot up toward the surface. But her hydromancy, her magic, it matched me blow for blow, smashing against my shields.

There was so much magic in the water that from what I heard from my troops, the oceans roiled with a turbulence that broke any ability for either side to fight in formation. Some seaponies were even flung into the shallows of the ocean, where they witnessed a massive hurricane with hundreds of waterspouts and cracks of magic-infused lightning cutting across the sky.

Coincidentally, a number of unlucky pony and griffon ships had been caught in the storm… and apparently they continued to battle one another. I’m not sure why... and frankly I don’t care. 

The battles fought by the surface worlders are irrelevant when you consider the existential threat we face. Tethys and her kelpies are monsters created by Yoth’Atal, and we have to kill them, with the exception of Typhon, who by my will, will not be a kelpie for much longer. If I had not won… by the narrowest of margins, they would have been subjugated under Tethys.
> Entries 170-175: Conscription and a Shift in the War
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry 170
Oddly enough, Monsoon is for conscription, even being once a common deep pony himself. Perhaps not so odd, though, after all, he’s been putting his life on the line for the common Aquestrian, so why should they not contribute?

The rest of my advisors are split on the matter. Many of the generals are obviously for conscription, and those of the civilian administrators are against. There are a few dissenting voices in both parties however. One general, Grand Stream, argues that while limited conscription is a good idea, prolonged extensive conscription could lead to a dangerous demographic shift in our population, depending on how the war works out. Another administrator, Enigmatic Flow, counters with the fact that unless the Empire goes to full war footing, something which she has been pushing for a while, we will not be able to beat the kelpies, especially considering that they keep evolving.

The result of these discussion has made me realize that whether conscription or not will be introduced is irrelevant. Either decision has great weight and there is… no obvious right answer.

Entry 171

I’ve decided for conscription. The necessity is too great. Yes, conscription may cause irreversible change to our way of life and society, but we haven’t gotten any permanent progress done against Tethys and the kelpies without conscription.

That and volunteers for our forces have reached an all time low. After the recent battles, the long period of peace before the new outbreak of conflict, deep ponies and sea ponies just don’t want to join the army. The cowards. I mean… alright, I can’t blame them for not wanting to face literal monsters, but who would protect their families if not themselves?

We’ll start with 2 year enlistments for every seapony and deep pony at the age of 16. That will provide enough garrison troops that we can put the regular volunteers through more advanced training so that they can become a more cohesive kelpie-fighting force. 

Who knows… perhaps having every seapony and deep pony contributing to this common cause will bind the empire together… Monsoon suggests it’s a possibility and he might be right.

Entry 172

The conscription program is being implemented and while we won’t see the effect in some time, the ponypower we have has increased drastically. We definitely can at least now send some of the regular soldiers to search for the kelpies and leave the garrisons to the enlistees. 

On the front of trying to suspend Typhon’s age… I’ve had far less progress. Luckily, he is very young and so I don’t require as much magic to stop his aging, but the problem is that time-stopping magic is incredibly taxing and sometimes dangerous to the target.

Right now my mages and I are trying different combinations of spells mostly on ocean creatures. I am fully aware that we might have to try these on some of the kelpie fry we have captured on the odd raid, but that will be for a later time.

Combat reports of kelpies have increased in the last year. They are employing their transformational and hydromancy in much closer conjunction than before. This has necessitated in larger squads of better trained troops, which thankfully our conscription law will assist in.

All in all… we haven't gained any ground, but we are countering the kelpies movies.

Entry 173
There’s been a breakthrough in trying to suspend Typhon’s age, and it came with… honestly an adjustment of thinking.

It isn’t actually possible to stop Typhon from aging. That would mean literally keeping him in stasis and the amount of magic required to do such a thing is far too intensive.

However, once I realized all I needed to do is slow his aging, I could come up with a solution. It’s possible to put Typhon in a time bubble of sorts so that he slowly ages. This is sustainable if I use magic, and the heat from some of the natural geothermal vents on the sea floor. Aquamaris actually has a few that I can use. The power constraints are still very prohibitive, but at least we can put Typhon in the spell for a while.

The only issue is that I can’t put Typhon in the bubble indefinitely, as is anyway. Monsoon, the mages and I tested it with some small sea creatures and the magic has… problematic effects. It makes the sapient in the bubble feel sick to the point that they start vomiting. Our guess is that ponies can actually sense how long time is supposed to pass.

Possible tweaking with the spell might help, we shall see.

Entry 174

Adjustments to the spell has managed to make it so Typhon can stay in the bubble longer, but we do not have much time for testing. I and Monsoon have decided to start putting him in the bubble. It will be confusing for him, but we need to slow his aging.

In the meantime, we have to focus on capturing kelpie fry so that we can gain more insight into why kelpies are the way they are, and if they can be turned back into seaponies or deep ponies. This is because as shown by the village incident, capturing live kelpies is far too dangerous as they will go berserk unless we feed them.

Entry 175
The war is intensifying. The kelpies are starting to launch attacks targeting our mayoral governors and garrisons in towns. 

The problem is that I’m not exactly sure of their intentions. Our main garrisons are based at bases near towns, but not in the towns themselves, which seems to be what the kelpies are targeting. We can only guess at their intentions, but it seems a rather foolish decision to switch their targets from military to civilian.
> Entry 176-180: A Temporary Ceasefire?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Entry 176


The war continues to go well for us. The kelpie focus on attacking non-military targets is allowing us to recover extremely quickly after every operation and counterattack harder. 

That being said, I believe I understand why the kelpies are going after my subjects. They want to turn them against us… which is… honestly quite laughable.

The kelpies are monsters and are aliens. Them attacking our seaponies towns are actually increasing our recruitment numbers as many seaponies and deep ponies are now encouraged to join the military. They want to get back against the kelpies.

A rather rare strategic misstep by Tethys, but it’s reaped rewards in an increased killcount in our search and destroy missions. Furthermore, them attacking non-military targets has allowed us to actually set up ambushes to counter them.

Monsoon… does think we need to be cautious, but he can’t say why and in his old age… he’s been somewhat inconsistent in his thought process. 



Entry 177



Monsoon and I got into quite an argument today about the course of the war. He has… suddenly come to the radical conclusion that we should treat with Tethys.

To call me flabbergasted would be an understatement. He does realize that I essentially betrayed Tethys and launched a surprise attack on her and her kelpies? Any chance of peace was buried after that. 

Yet, I can’t deny that his argument was intriguing.

Monsoon’s argument was that we needed to make peace while we still had an advantage. His reasoning was that there is a significant chance we might lose this war because it was dragging on.

The intriguing part of his argument was that he dug up records of the Empire from up to five hundred years ago. He argued that the war was damaging the seaponies population, economy, and product output. Furthermore, he argued that peace, like he saw in his younger years, would be preferable to the long term outcome of the Aquestrian Empire and he brought up the data to argue it.

The facts are actually quite clear, but… I think Monsoon is underestimating how difficult it will be to incorporate the kelpies into our Empire. They not only have their own leader, they have a need to eat sentients! How will normal deep ponies and seaponies accept them? 

He pointed out that we might not have a choice, that right now we are in a position of strength, but if the war went on, like it has for more than five hundred years, it would sap our strength away.

We agreed to disagree in the end, but while I don’t think it can be done, Monsoon isn’t wrong in that the war’s effects have been detrimental on Aquestria.



Entry 178



I compromised with Monsoon today… I didn’t seek peace with Tethys, but well… we sent a message to her and decided on a limited ceasefire. She doesn’t attack my civilians, I refrain from targeting her freed fry. She’s free to try to free her fry, and I pursue them, but my forces won’t hunt her fry down.

I don’t think this ceasefire is going to do anything but limit the war and I doubt she’ll agree, but we shall see her response.



Entry 179


Much to my surprise, and to Monsoon’s smug affirmation, she agreed, but she’s warned me that if I break the ceasefire without warning, she’ll visit on me terrible punishment. Whatever, she knows that if she tries I’ll simply destroy her.

If this ceasefire works, it’ll confine the war to a limited one. There will still be conflict but at least… there will be rules.

But… I… I don’t want rules to protect such monsters. They need to eat sentient life. I know they aren’t responsible for it. They were created that way, but there’s no solution right now. 

But neither can we kill them all off easily. I mean…. Typhon... Is a kelpie. My son is a kelpie. I can’t deny that, and we need to heal him. 



Entry 180



It’s been about two years and the ceasefire is actually holding. There have been intermittent skirmishes between the kelpies and my forces, but otherwise… they have ceased attacks on my settlements.

It’s brought a degree of comfort and safety to my ponies, at least, from what I’ve noticed and what my advisors tell me, but tax yields… they’re going down.

What were once productive places of ocean are… they’re no longer as productive as they once were. I suspect Yoth-Atal’s involvement of course. Only she could be responsible. Either that or the war has depleted our ponypower to such an extent that our agricultural production has been severely affected.

But a deadlock is not what we can afford, Aquestria has to change the situation, change the paradigm. The ceasefire can stay in place… but we need a better weapon, a better way to kill the kelpies.
> Entry 181-186 Mourning and Sea Creatures
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Entry 181



Moonsoon is dead.



Entry 182



Monsoon died in his sleep a year ago.

He was the love of my life. He… he gave me a son. He was my best friend and my most trusted confidante.

I… is it cliche to say that he was the love of my life? Because it was true! He supported me, but he wasn’t a sycophant. He rebuked me, but always respected me. I could tell him anything and he wouldn’t share my secrets, and he would confide in me!

I sometimes wake up, thinking he’s in bed with me, but then I realize he’s not there.

Typhon reminds me of him so much. He’s a kelpie, I see that, but his smile, his curiosity… those are all Monsoon’s. And yet he’s doomed to eat sentient beings. 

I will turn my son into a seapony, no matter what it takes.



Entry 183



Some of my deep pony advisors have suggested an idea to me in order to break the deadlock between the kelpies and Aquestria.

In certain areas of the ocean, sometimes close to the shallows, sometimes in the depths, there are massive creatures.

The Dragon Turtles, six hundred meter creatures with turtle shells and armored heads like a dragon.

Leviathans, massive monsters that can grow up to a kilometer long. They are extremely fast, with ram-like heads and thick hides. 

These are but two of the creatures that come to mind, and they come to mind because they… while powerful, have been domesticated before, as prize animals of course, not as war beasts.

But they can be trained.



Entry 184



My newly appointed Beast Master has some excellent news. He’s managed to capture some baby dragon turtles and leviathans. The training will take a few years, but once they are ready… we can supplement the war effort with these beasts.

It’s just as well, the Kelpies have launched a raid on one of our forts and managed to capture it. They looted it for weaponry and equipment, then fled, leaving nothing, not even corpses.

With the tactical field so stacked against us, we need to regain the strategic momentum. We need these beasts in the war.



Entry 185



The first dragon turtles and leviathans have been trained and deployed against the kelpies.

Kelpies are’t particularly emotional, but needless to say, I quite revelled at how the beasts ripped through the kelpie ranks and disrupted their formations. They did attempt to swarm the beasts from different sides in surprisingly effective tactics, but the accompanying seapony and deep pony battalions ensured that their attempts wouldn’t be successful.

I do wonder how they were able to adapt to such large animals. Mayhap the kelpies hunt dragon turtles and leviathans in their spare time? No matter. Hunting a dragon turtle, or leviathan is one thing, but monsters such as kelpies shouldn’t be able to train such beasts. It was difficult enough for my beastmasters to figure out how to train the leviathans and dragon turtles.



Entry 186



The kelpies have responded to our dragon turtles with a combination of guerrilla tactics and force. They’re employing a large mobile strike force, led personally by Empress Tethys that will hit us at our weakpoints. Once we deploy our leviathans there, they retreat their strike force, whilst smaller bands of kelpie warriors raid continue to raid and apply pressure where the leviathans are not.

It’s a very crafty response. It wouldn’t have worked a hundred years ago, we had legions of sea pony and deep pony soldiers then, but for an inexplicable reason, even as I press my generals to train more troops, they say that they have difficulty conscripting sea and deep ponies of the requisite age.

That’s not possible, we are no longer in the heyday of our Empire, but if I know my seaponies and deep ponies, they want to reproduce and continue their bloodlines. The war has been long, and destructive, but many communities still remain intact. I will investigate my generals and see what they must be hiding from me.
> 187-191: Drowning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry 187

Before I set out to visit the frontiers, I had a day with Typhon today as he rested between sessions in the stasis bubble. He is now fully capable of speech and is intelligent, if lonely. He cannot make many friends as they grow old while he must remain young.

In some sense, this is a mercy for him. We have continued to learn from vivisecting captured kelpie fry, and noticed changes in kelpie physiology that… Typhon seems to have picked up, despite him being born decades ago. My doctors and I can’t figure this out, but we’re running out of time. It seems Typhon is growing out of the “fry” stage of kelpies. Right now, we can feed him fish.

However, once he’s stopped becoming a fry, he’ll need sapient food.

Entry 188

I visited several communities and cities in the shallows and what I saw doesn’t seem possible.

The populations of our communities, particularly those near the resource-rich shallows, are dwindling. Or they are a pale shadow of what they were centuries ago. Cities I recall that were teaming with life are now towns. 

Oh the local governors tried to hide these facts by messing with the taxes, and enough bureaucratic red tape to make it look like they were fulfilling the conscription and their tax quota, but all they’ve done is tank our economy.

I had them imprisoned of course and while they blame the war, it’s their own bloody mismanagement that led us to this. 

Entry 189

This is bad. Our financial situation is… 

Well to start, I did my best to rectify the taxes, but our reduced population, and thus reduced revenue from taxes is proving impossible to surmount. The war’s also cut down on trade and taxing that income any more higher is going to break seaponies backs.

To make matters worse, the war’s eating into our treasury. We long ran out of hard currency ages ago, but now the government is about to collapse under the weight of the loans we’ve taken.

The common seapony is suffering thanks to the kelpies and their stubborn refusal to just die. They’re continuing their guerilla tactics against our leviathans and sea turtles, and while they have yet to launch any frontal assaults against our outposts, their raids are forcing us to disperse our forces ever thinner. Forces we can ill afford to equip and train given our desperate financial straits.

But I will not end this war. I cannot. If I do… then what it have all meant? What would all this expended blood and treasure have all meant? I cannot give up. We cannot give up.


Entry 190
Traitors! The kelpies have somehow convinced several villages of seaponies to join them! We have received missives from several villages saying that they no longer believe in Aquestria’s war against “their own kind.” What rubbish. The kelpies are the enemy! That they are birthed from sea pony and deep ponies is Yoth-Atal’s curse. How could they consider them their friends?

A message has to be sent. A retributive force has been sent to destroy this village and remind my dear ponies that those who side with the enemy are traitors and will be treated as such.


Entry 191
Typhon is growing too fast. The stasis fields… they’re only doing so much. As he grows he is becoming hungrier and hungrier. As we know thanks to the many vivisections we’ve done of kelpie young, soon he will progress past the fry stage and need to devour sapient life.

Vivisections of kelpie fry are becoming rarer and rarer. I need—we need more research material. Yet, although I know the rate of kelpie births among sea ponies and deep ponies has not slowed, it’s becoming harder and harder to find kelpie fry. It’s as if that cursed Abyssal Empress has developed a way to funnel the fry to her forces. I must investigate further. There must be traitors involved.
> 192-196: Dismay
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry 192

Traitors! Imbeciles! Morons! There were traitors! Seaponies who’d look the other eye as kelpie fry ran. Commanders who didn’t punish their soldiers when they made half-hearted attempts. Lab workers who’d let one or two fry slip away. Don’t they see that we are in a battle for the survival of our species? That if we fail, the ocean will be devoured by a carnivorous species? 

I’ve had the tortured bodies of these traitors displayed across the Empire as an example, to show the consequences of what it means to betray the Empire, and its ponies. There should not be a problem after that.

Entry 193

Damn Tethys! She’s stolen the bodies of the traitors, had her kelpies dress these traitors in funerary clothing and then given them the last rites! How dare she claim my ponies for her cause! She never even contacted these ponies, much less convinced them to betray me! Yet she dares to write a story where I’m the tyrant empress? 

And yet ponies dare to believe her. My ponies whom I’ve served for millennia, and held back the tides to their destruction… there are too many who seem to believe Tethys’s lies. A number of villages have rebelled and I’ve had to send the troops to pacify them. I need to act ruthlessly, and swiftly, less this rebellion spread. 

Entry 194

The kelpies have Dragon Turtles, and Leviathans.

How in Panthalusa’s name do the kelpies have Dragon Turtles and Leviathans? Not only that, the beasts that they have tamed, are even larger than ours!

My forces managed to hold them off at the last battle, but at the cost of several of our own Dragon Turtles and Leviathans and I had to rush to the battle to finally drive the kelpies off. Meanwhile, Tethys was destroying a major lab where we were holding the kelpie fry we captured. Months of research and precious, and increasingly rare fry, all gone! 

I need that fry. Typhon is nearing maturity. By then he’ll only be able to eat sapient life and not fish. I can’t… I can’t let that happen to him. He’s my son.

In the meantime I’ve ordered my beastmasters to train larger Dragon Turtles and Leviathans. We need to even the battlefield.

Entry 195

No this, no that. Can’t this, can’t that. Can my subjects not do ANYTHING without my supervision? My beastmasters can’t train larger dragon turtles and Leviathans because apparently “they’re not strong enough to handle these monsters.” The kelpies did! Those savage monsters could and yet we can’t? 

We can’t collect enough tax money based on the quotas. We can’t do a survey to figure out the right tax levels. We can’t find the ponies we’re supposed to tax. That town doesn’t exist anymore. Creator damn them all we’re at war and they can’t figure out solutions to the problems?

And then there are all these whispers and kelpie propaganda. We’ve caught sea and deep ponies spreading these lies. They say I’m the cruel, tyrannical empress prolonging the war. That I’ve rebuffed all peace overtures and want to wipe them out. Of course I want to wipe the kelpies out! They’re going to eat Aquestrians! 

Why does nobody see that we will never be safe until the kelpies are all eliminated? Why? WHY?!

Entry 196
Typhon can’t eat fish anymore.

He can’t. The heir to Aquestria can’t eat fish, he has to eat his fellow ponies. What’s another cruel twist of fate that Yoth-Atal has added to my reign.

It… it isn’t so bad. We give Typhon the deserters, the criminals, the traitors that have attempted to kill him and those that have rebelled against the kingdom he will inherit. We aren’t monsters about it. We drug them first, and then Typhon can feed on them in peace.

He doesn’t like it. No, he hates it. But his hunger forced him to and I made sure to spend time with him, to comfort him after he had to.

At least we have plenty of traitors. Tethys has redoubled her recruiting of seaponies and deep ponies. She sends these agents of hers into our settlements, where they tell a highly fabricated version of the war that we’ve been fighting. We’ve driven and caught many of them, but who knows how many still reside. 

It… it is a pity, though. Many of our brightest cities centuries past look more like fortresses. That’s what the war has done to us, what the kelpies have done to us.
> 197-200 Denial
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry 197
Today we had the largest execution of kelpie collaborators to date. Nearly a hundred seaponies and deep ponies were publicly executed in Aquamaris for collaborating with kelpies. And that was after the last execution of fifty only two months ago.

I don’t like executing my own subjects, but while in the past, many traitors have renounced their sudden sympathies for kelpies, the traitors now are a different breed. They’re thoroughly insane, supporting kelpies because they think I’m a tyrant. 

Maybe I am, but they want to end the war so badly they believe that the kelpies actually can find a cure for their condition. They cannot. I’ve tried as had the brightest minds of Aquestria and we’ve attempted far more drastic and wicked experiments than the kelpies could ever attempt. The problem with the kelpies is not physical, it’s a purely magical one and tied to their very creation. Don’t they think that I want my son Typhon to live among them?

I fed him some of the traitors that wanted his mother dead. They were drugged so as not to struggle and that made me feel better. Let them believe what they will when they’re eaten by the beings they want to protect.

Entry 198
The executions aren’t working. The crowds for them have continued to dwindle and despite the rationale, the fear, the enforcement measures I’ve introduced, dissent is greater than ever. I’ve lost contact with many of the settlements on the periphery of Aquestria. Many of these were hardest hit by the pollution from the surface world.

I understand their frustration, but the surface world is… not safe. If the prophecies are true, Nightmare Moon is returning soon. Aquestria cannot reveal itself to the surface world lest risk her mad attention. That and the peace that has so long gripped the surface world seems to be ending. There are… whispers from the few scouts I have on the surface. Of ponies and changelings in discord, of pony and griffon tensions. We best remain out of that mess.

Entry 199
Typhon wants to know more about what’s going on outside the palace walls. He says he’s been hearing things about how bad it is.

I… I do need to start to teach him how to rule. He is a kelpie, but they can disguise themselves. I’ll have to let him go out with a few trusted advisors. He does need to know what we are facing, and how dangerous everything has become.

I’ve lost contact with many of the towns and cities on the outer edges of Aquamaris. Some battalions of seaponies and deep ponies are even deserting to the kelpies. Maybe they just don’t want to be eaten first. 

It’s a good thing that the surface world in general hasn’t heard of the conflict below the waves. I’ve heard some seaponies that the kelpies have recruited trying to make for Venecia to draw that fake Celestia’s attention. Thank the Creator that we managed to intercept them and kill them before they’ve done so.


Entry 200

Typhon and I… we’re arguing, Let’s go with that.

Over the past year, as he’s been learning how to rule, how things are he keeps questioning why things have to be this way. 

“Mother, why do we have to fight the kelpies?”

“Mom, why do we have to conscript so many seaponies and deep ponies?”

“Mother, why do we need to kill these collaborators so… brutally?”

“Mother, why do we have to be so cruel?”

Because if we don’t we’ll lose. We are already losing the war and if we let up Aquestria will crumble. Does my son think that just because he’s a kelpie, Tethys won’t force him to submit to her? He might still be alive but he’d be forced to submit to someone made by the Old Gods.
It always comes back to these questions, and always to why we are fighting this war. We are fighting this war for no other reason than to preserve our species and the seas. 

The thing is, though, I can’t figure out how to answer him when he tells me that this war is killing our species.
> 201-203 Samudra's Last Stand
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry 201

When did we start losing this war?

I have… I have to face facts because we are losing horribly. Maybe we never actually were winning at any point. I look back at my past journal entries and all I see is an old mare trying to convince herself that one more push, one more scheme, one more betrayal and we could wipe them out.

And yet the kelpies kept coming back, stronger, faster, with more abilities. 

The thing is, though, it’s not like we didn’t have a chance. We held out for this long, didn’t we? So… when did we start losing?

I think I started losing the war when I had to conscript seaponies. Monsoon… Typhon, they were absolutely right. It damaged our economy and morale in a way I never quite anticipated, or understood. After all, I’ve been fighting the war for so long, it’s… it’s hard to understand that normal seaponies and deep ponies don’t want to give up their lives for a cause they don’t necessarily understand. The thing was… that step was necessary for us to hold out. So… we started losing before then.

Was it when we decided to betray the kelpies?

No, that’s impossible. That bought us a reprieve. That allowed for several years of peace.

But did it also mean that it squandered our last chance?  What… what if I had worked together with them? 

But we weren’t anywhere near a solution for their hunger. Maybe they might be willing to try to solve it but it was a problem that had no solution.

Or did it? We only worked for a few years. We know a lot more about kelpies now than before. If that’s the case, then… then maybe we could have found a solution? It would have cost the lives of many of my sea ponies but… less than centuries of warfare.

But the Old Ones. I need to fight them, I was charged with protecting the seas against them. 
But Tethys hasn’t been invoking Yoth-Atal for decades, maybe even centuries. It… it couldn’t be. Has she started to distance herself? Does she no longer worship them?

I don’t know. I can’t just ask her. And my fate… Aquestria’s fate is sealed. We’ve lost the war. I can no longer face her one on one, and even with Myrmidon support, I can’t even stop her.

What remains is to decide how my life ends.

Entry 202

I remember when Aquamaris was full of life, a centre of commerce, culture and just… filled with happy sea and deep ponies.

It’s still busy now, but as I walked in disguise through my city, it’s… it’s sad. Nobody laughs anymore.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve laughed. I think it was when Monsoon was still around, but that… that was centuries ago.

I feel like giving up, like just surrendering to Tethys. Aquestria, at least as I’ve known it, is collapsing. I’ve lost contact with the other garrisons. What’s the point of more bloodshed? What’s the point of fighting any longer?


There isn’t a point, but after a thousand years of war, I refuse to lie down and let that monster kill me. Because she’s going to kill me. Thank the Creator Typhon is a kelpie… yes, I said that. I wrote that. If only because that means my poor son would be spared by Tethys. 

I’m sorry, Typhon. I wish I could have been a better mother to you. I wish I could have healed you. I wish… I wish I could have accepted you completely. 

My myrmidons refuse to surrender. Although some have defected or have just left, others refuse to let me go face Tethys for one last time. I’m preparing for one last sally, maybe I can take Tethys down, maybe I’ll fail.

Entry 203

Tomorrow’s the night. I’ve spent the past few weeks just trying my best to preserve sea pony and deep pony lives, pulling everybody back, and as subtly as I can, trying to convince the remainders of my loyalists that if I lose, it would be in Aquestria’s best interest to serve Tethys.

I’ve forced them to confront the horrible truth that I myself have had to face. The fact of the matter is, in the worst case scenario that Tethys cannot find a cure to the kelpies condition, while the kelpies would need to eat seaponie and deep ponies, Aquestria will live. The kelpies wouldn’t kill all the sea ponies and deep ponies, they can’t, they’d starve. Simple facts would make sure they’ll keep the majority of the sea pony and deep pony population alive, and probably in good condition and even happy. It would not be an existence I could tolerate, but it would be an existence without the century-spanning conflict that has destroyed my country.

I hated myself with every fiber of my being as I swore my remaining advisors to this, or dismissed them. But there is no other way. I’ve lost, what’s left is my ponies, or what’s remained of them.

Today, though, I spent it entirely with my son. We played chess. We explored Aquamaris, we discussed books and old histories that I’ve lived and forgotten, and now re-lived thanks to Typhon’s questioning. We ate together, for the first time in years, we ate all three meals in a day together. 

We even went to see a play. It wasn’t very good, but it was nice.

Of course he knew. I think. I didn’t want him to know, but I think he knew what I was going to do next. He asked me not to go. He’s so much like his father in this way, but I know Tethys isn’t going to let me live, and I refuse to die so easily.

Ah my dear journal, how long have you accompanied me through this all? Tonight… I let you go. For those who read you, draw whatever conclusions you wish. I am done and I am tired. I must go to my final rest.
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two years after the events of Equestria’s Changeling Queen and the Abyssal Empress...

Typhon stared at the empty white stone mausoleum, for Empress Samudra’s body hadn’t survived her last battle with Tethys. Her body had exploded, releasing the energy of the Sea Pony Empress, triggering a tsunami and yet, also seeding the Eastern Ocean with new life.

Oddly enough, it was his mother’s death that had helped to start repairing the damage done to the Eastern Ocean. Damage done by the war his mother had continued for centuries.

He placed a hoof on the cold stone. Her tomb was, in a way, hidden in a corner of the palace complex of Aquamaris, but those who knew the way could swim and visit. There were a number of smooth stones and beautiful seashells on the altar, placed there by visitors to honor the late empress.

His mother had died a few years ago, but back then, Tethys wouldn’t have been able to erect a monument to his mother. Aquestria had been recovering, was still recovering and the kelpies would probably have rioted.

No, he’d just had nothing but himself and the cold comfort of the other kelpies, who could understand that he mourned for his mother, but who hated the former empress with a fierce vehemence.

And Typhon couldn’t even blame them. She’d killed thousands of kelpies, and their sea and deep pony families. His mother, as well-intentioned as her diary had shown her to be, had committed grave and horrible acts of vengeance and betrayal.

But Typhon could only remember the times his mother had smiled at him, had chided him, had tried to raise him and make sure he was educated. He could only remember the times his mother had made sure he was treated as Aquestria’s prince, and how much she loved him.

He couldn’t forget that, and neither could he forget her final, sad smile as she’d swam away to her final battle.

“She fought well.”

Typhon looked up to the massive form of the current Empress of Aquestria, Tethys. She towered over the mausoleum, which was the size of a small building. 

“Yeah, but she lost,” said Typhon bitterly

The empress didn’t react. Then again, she rarely did show any emotion to anything he said or did. But her subsequent response was… telling.

“It was futile, but she faced her death with dignity. She did not run away from it.”

Typhon blinked. In his few short years, this was the closest he’d even heard Tethys speak of Samudra in a somewhat positive light.

“Don’t you hate my mother?”

One of the Empress’s great tentacles rippled. “In the past, I’d have said yes without hesitation. The countless defeats, the painful deaths, what she did to the kelpies. Now, while I still despise her actions, I must admit I….miss her in some odd way. She was the one constant throughout my lives, an eternal enemy that I learned from constantly. Tactics, magic, even leadership. I learned from her constantly, finding new ways to improve.”

Typhon sighed. “If only she didn’t betray the truces. If only she didn’t continue the experimentations, and the killings.”

“She feared Yoth-Atal and could not separate the creation from the creator. That was her greatest flaw and mistake, and it cost her everything. Unlike others who we have communicated with recently, she did not even inquire as to whether we worship Yoth-Atal any longer.” Massive black eyes glanced at Typhon. “I know she was not without her own unique strengths, but Aquestria cannot repeat her mistakes. Prepare a copy of your mother’s diary and an introduction to be sent to the High Princess of Equestria. You know which one.”

Typhon narrowed his eyes, and blinked, “Princess Alternia? Um, okay. But… why?”

The Empress didn’t say anything more. She turned and left, her bulk leaving turbulent water that he had to fight against. Typhon stared after her for a moment before sighing, and turning back to the mausoleum.

What would his mother think now? Peace had settled over the ocean. A cure to the kelpies’ condition was for once in reach, and they had established boundaries with the surface world. What if she’d known this was in the future of Aquestria? Would she have done the same? Would this have happened if his mother hadn’t done what she’d done?

He had no idea, and as he bowed to the mausoleum one last time, Typhon could only wonder why the diary was being sent to Aquestria’s perhaps closest acquaintance on the surface world. 

A warning? Perhaps. As a lesson about the dangers of closed-minded thinking? Or about how one’s fear and dedication to duty could blind one to possibilities? He didn’t know. There were many lessons that could be brought from his mother’s tragic tale. She’d realized too late the mistakes that she’d made.

Maybe that was what Tethys wanted to impress upon Alternia. The fact that Aquestria was rebuilding, and was learning from its mistakes. No longer would the underwater kingdom be a bastion of isolation. It was going to be part of a community. Samudra’s Journal would tell its foremost member, Equestria, of the prolonged devastation that war brought, and of how while Aquestria could fight such a war, they were aware that it was folly to repeat such a thing when favorable agreements could be made.

At the same time, the Journal would serve a dire warning. The ocean had secrets and protectors anew. Woe be to who would enrage them.
> Author's Note
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, it's been quite the journey. As always, thanks to you all for your support, and thanks to Zervziel my longtime pre-reader.

So I'm going to use this opportunity to answer some questions voiced by the audience.

Is this the last of my pony related stories? I can't say, honestly. I wouldn't say I've completely lost interest in pony, but I'm not so hyped for G5. Still haven't seen the full movie yet. Maybe when more content comes out I'll see if I can latch onto something and do a short.

But I do think it'll be the last of my long pony-related stories, aside from maybe a few side chapters in the Princess Celestia: The Changeling Queen Behind the Mask Anthology. I just have... way too many original stories I want to tell like my current original fiction project, A Fractured Song, which is an isekai (portal fantasy) about an abused girl transported to a fantasy realm and the first book of which I'll be self-publishing in January, more details later.



I can say for sure, though, that I am attempting to transport some of my pony characters, such as Alternia, into original fiction projects. Still have to wrap up A Fractured Song first, but... well... I'm not too far off from hammering an original concept for Alternia. 

That's all for now everybody. Have a good one and stay safe out there! It's been a pleasure.