> Love on Land and Sea
>  by MiraculousDragonMaster
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Love on Land and Sea



Prologue


The waters of the southern seas glittered and rippled as the sun shone down on it. A large cruise ship bearing a flag and sails of Equestria slowly floated down from the clouds in the sky and landed gently into the crystal blue waters and drifted further and further away from the shores of their borders as the sun shone down, from its highest point in the sky.

In one of the rooms below deck, a unicorn filly was reading one of the books she brought with her on the cruise. The book was enveloped in raspberry pink magic from her small horn. The filly had amethyst violet eyes, an indigo sapphire blue mane with a purple and pink streak, and a mulberry coat. On her flank was a cutie mark of a pink six-pointed star with five much smaller ones around it.

The filly would only tear her eyes away from her book to look outside her window and see how wonderful the crystal blue water would look outside. Though Princess Celestia, her teacher, said that it was okay for her and the other foals that were on board can play in the water when they reached their destination, she still wasn't too keen on meeting new ponies. But still, she couldn't resist the urge to get ready for a swim.

She then remembered when Celestia had told her and her family about the cruise she had set up for the southern seas a few weeks earlier, specifically to the base of Mount Aris. It was only meant for a diplomatic meeting at first, but then she told them that she invited them and had given out prize tickets for five other families to join her, they were definitely excited for such an opportunity.





In a separate room, a pegasus filly was stirring from her afternoon nap. She stretched out her tiny yet powerful wings and felt the noon sun warm her up, from her coat to her feathers. This filly had magenta eyes, a prismatic, short and wild wind-swept mane, and a cerulean coat; along with her small wings since she was still young. On her own flank was a primary-colored lightning bolt shooting out from a single cloud.

The filly finished stretching her limbs and looked out her window and relished in the ocean breeze, thinking about how awesome it will be to swim in the ocean soon, since she had lived most of her life up in the sky in Cloudsdale.

When her dad had the bright idea to try his luck to win tickets for the family to go on this cruise a few weeks before, she never really thought that she would end up on it, heading for Mount Aris, south of Equestria. This couldn't get any more awesome!





From in the kitchen, an earth pony filly was finishing a plate of food she got as a small snack. She carefully put her plate into the kitchen sink, despite the waiter's gentle protests that she didn't have to do that. Still, the filly trotted into the kitchen, placed her plate into the sink, and then galloped out to the playroom.

This filly had emerald green eyes, a golden straw-blonde mane tied into a ponytail, and an orange coat with tiny white freckles across her cheeks and the bridge of her muzzle. On her flank was three red apples in a triangular pattern.

It was definitely a surprise when her grandmother won a ticket to go on the cruise. But, since they all couldn't go because somepony needed to watch over the farm, her parents called on relatives to help her granny take care of their farm while they go on the cruise. She'll admit, she was a little nervous about leaving her home in Ponyville, but, she still does have a sense of adventure as all young ponies, and that was enough to get her excited to get into the ocean.





Outside the onboard spa, another unicorn filly had finished a nice hooficure and was waiting near the playroom. Now, this is absolute luxury; sailing on a royal cruise ship with her family, surrounded by pristine waters, and having the best accommodations a pony could ask for. She must've thanked her parents a hundred times for winning tickets to go.

She then saw the earth pony filly enter into the playroom and began rocking on a nearby rocking horse, shouting "Yee-haw!" She smiled at her enthusiasm as she entered the room.

The unicorn filly had azure blue eyes, a deep purple mane styled into beautiful curls, and a snow white coat. On her flank was three sky blue diamonds in a triangular pattern.

The unicorn filly ignited her horn and light blue magic enveloped it. A red ball was then engulfed in the same blue sparkles. She then levitated the ball over to the orange filly and gently nudged her with it. The filly looked over at her curiously, but then she smiled, got off the rocking horse, and took the ball in her small hooves, ready to toss it back to the unicorn filly.





From under the deck, where the windows revealed the watery world below the surface, another pegasus filly was entranced by all of the amazing creatures that would swim past the glass.

She remembered that she also was nervous to be leaving Equestria when, by sheer luck, her father had received tickets from a colleague to go on the cruise. It was only by her brother's persistence that the family got the courage to go. But now, she was just loving the underwater world; it had creatures she had never seen before, since she only visited the ground a few times before to see the animals down there instead of participating in flight camp.

This filly had teal eyes, a rosy pink mane with a long bang going over her right eye, and a pale yellow buttercream coat. On her flank was three pink butterflies in a triangular pattern. She gazed out into the undersea, loving all the sights she was seeing.





And bouncing along the halls of the ship, looking for the playroom, was another earth pony filly, humming happily with a grin on her face. This filly had light cerulean blue eyes, a fuchsia pink mane that had been frizzed up, and a light raspberry pink coat. On her flank were three balloons in a triangular pattern; two blue and one yellow.

This had to be the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her, other than seeing that amazing rainbow that made her realize her destiny. She had never been in the ocean before, or in any body of water that wasn't a little mucky. So, she was almost bursting at the seams to get to the appointed destination to go swimming. It was thanks to her and her begging that the rest of her family agreed to go on the trip.

Finally, the pink filly found the playroom, and saw the orange filly playing with the white unicorn. She came up to them, making them stop in their game.

"Hiya!" She greeted cheerfully. "Can I play too?"

"Yes, you may." The unicorn filly answered, using her magic to toss the ball over to the pink filly. She caught it, and then threw it to the orange filly.

After a few more minutes of playing catch, a voice called out from the hallway. "Rarity!" After that, two more voices followed.

"Applejack!"

"Pinkamena!"

"That's my mother!" The three fillies exclaimed as they quickly stopped their little game of catch and ran out of the playroom. They all waved goodbye to each other, then headed off in separate directions.

The unicorn filly, now known as Rarity, ran right and soon found her mother. She was a unicorn, like her daughter, with the same azure blue eyes and purple mane up in a bun, but having a pink coat.

Betty Bouffant, or Cookie Crumbles as she was known, saw her daughter coming to her, and took her in her arms. Then, she began leading her to a nearby window to stare out to the ocean.





The orange earth pony, now known as Applejack, went left and then spotted her mother. She was an earth pony as well, having light aqua eyes, an orange mane over her shoulder in a bushy ponytail, and a pale beige coat, sharing her daughter's freckles.

Pear Butter, or Buttercup as she was mostly known as, saw her little girl coming to her and enveloped her in a hug. She then showed her to a window to look out over the sea.





The pink earth pony filly, now known as Pinkamena, went straight and bounced up and down the hall until she saw her mother. Like her daughter, she was an earth pony, but strangely, that was the only resemblance between mother and daughter, other than also sharing the same arctic blue eyes. The mare had a dull appearance, with a gray opal mane tied into a tight bun, and her coat having a shade five times lighter. Her eyes were framed with small golden glasses on the bridge of her muzzle.

Cloudy Quartz saw her energetic daughter skipping happily towards her, and a rare but faint smile came across her face as she caught her in her arms. She then led her to a window to admire the blue ocean.





Down below the deck, still admiring the world below, the buttercream filly heard a sweet and quiet voice call out. "Fluttershy."

The young filly, now known as Fluttershy, turned to the direction of the voice. Coming down the stairs to the under deck was her mother. It was obvious that she did look very much like her daughter, being a pegasus and sharing a pale yellow coat with a tint of gray. Her mane was a moderate raspberry and tied tightly in a short mane style. And her eyes were a magenta color framed with black glasses. Her ears had daisy earrings in them, and around her neck was a pale yellow pearl necklace.

Mrs. Shy soon found her daughter and came over to her, wrapping a foreleg around her. She then began leading her up the stairs.





In her room, the cyan pegasus filly was still leaning out her window, loving the sea breeze and the droplets of the ocean that were tickling her muzzle, making her laugh in delight.

A door then opened up, and the filly turned to see her mother in the doorway. Both mother and daughter were almost exactly alike, sharing the same cerulean coat, wings, and magenta eyes. But the mother had a pale orange and red streaked mane and tiny freckles on her cheeks.

"Had a good nap, Rainbow Dash?" Windy Whistles asked her daughter. The filly, now known as Rainbow Dash, nodded with an "uh-huh". Her mother then came beside her with an arm around her, joining her in staring out the window, admiring the view.





Meanwhile, the purple unicorn filly had finished her book and turned over to the window. A small smile crept on her face as she looked out to the sea.

The sound of hoofsteps diverted her attention to the other part of the room. "Twilight Sparkle." A voice said. The filly, now known as Twilight Sparkle, then saw her mother coming to her. The unicorn mare had a pale gray coat, a gray and purple striped mane, and arctic blue eyes.

"Are you done with your book, sweetie?" Twilight Velvet asked her daughter. Twilight nodded. Velvet then came beside her. "Good." She looked out the window. Feeling wonderful that they could spend this time, she began to sing. Unbeknownst to them, the other mothers on board also were beginning to sing as they held their daughters close.

Mothers: You are my world, my darling.
What a wonderful world I see.
You are the song I'm singing.
You're my beautiful melody.

A small wave hit the side of the ship, making the fillies look out with excitement.

With Twilight and Velvet, two unicorn stallions came up to them; respectively Twilight's father and older brother. Her father, Night Light, had an azure blue coat, a darker blue mane, and golden amber eyes. Her brother, Shining Armor, had a snow white coat, a dark and light blue streaked mane, and blue eyes.

With Applejack and Pear Butter, two earth pony stallions came over to them, one of them carrying a small foal in one of his arms. They're AJ's father, older brother, and baby sister. Her father, Bright Macintosh, had a pale yellow coat, a long apple-red mane with a beige Stetson hat on top, and he shared his daughter's green eyes, along with freckles on the bridge of his muzzle.

Her brother, Big Macintosh; named after his father, had a red coat, an orange mane that he inherited from his mother, and green eyes like his sister, along with the same freckles. And the baby filly in Bright's arm, Applejack's baby sister, Apple Bloom, looked so much like her father; having the same apple red mane and pale yellow coat. But she instead had orange hazel eyes.

With Rainbow Dash and Windy Whistles, a pegasus stallion came into their room; respectively Dash's father. Bow Hothoof had a pale purple coat, a wild spectrum mane which his daughter inherited from him, and amber eyes. He beamed brightly at the sight of his little girl.

Over with Fluttershy and her mother, two pegasus stallions came over; Fluttershy's father and younger brother, Zephyr Breeze. Mr. Shy had a pale turquoise coat, a cloud-like mane and a mustache, and teal eyes that he passed onto his daughter. Zephyr looked very much like his father, sharing the same coat and having a pale blond mane from Mr, Shy's younger years, but he had his mother's magenta eyes.

With Pinkamena and Cloudy Quartz, a earth pony stallion, two older fillies, and a younger one slowly came over to them. They were Pinkamena's father and sisters. Her father, Igneous Rock Pie, had an amber coat, a mane with two shades of gray, and eyes a lighter shade of amber. He had a cross look on his face, but when he saw his second youngest daughter, a crack of a smile came on.

Limestone Pie, the eldest of the four, had a bluish gray coat, apple green eyes, and her mane was an opal gray. Maud Pie, the next eldest, and the closest one to Pinkamena, had a lighter shade of gray for her coat, light turquoise eyes, and her mane was a grayish purple. And the youngest, Marble Pie, had a light gray coat, violet eyes, and a dark gray mane with a bang covering her right eye. The sight of their overly optimistic sister gave all of them a small faint smile.

With Rarity and Betty, a unicorn stallion had come up to them carrying a baby filly in his arm. It was Rarity's father and baby sister. Magnum, or Hondo Flanks as he preferred to be called, had a white coat, which his elder daughter had inherited from him, along with the same blue eyes, and he had a dark brown mane.

Her baby sister, Sweetie Belle, also had her father's coat, had pale green eyes, and a mane with light purple and pink streaks. She cooed at the sight of her big sister.

At the same time, all of the parents had started singing, with the other siblings watching the fillies in particular getting flustered at their words.

Fathers: Darling, we better be going.

Mothers: Look at her, isn't she glowing?

Fathers: She looks divine, and you look exquisite.
But look at the time.

Mothers: Couldn't be, is it?

The families began heading out on deck as the crew began singing and preparing for Princess Celestia's appearance.

Guard: The crew is awaiting her orders.

Crew: We've sailed away from the borders.
Steady, boy, steady.
Ahoy there, she's coming.
Trumpeters ready, drummers start drumming.

The trumpets began playing as the Princess of the Sun began heading out of her suite. Everyone bowed down to the tall white alicorn as she gracefully trotted onto the deck. She then saw her personal pupil bowing to her. She lifted the filly's chin gently with a hoof and silently beckoned her to come with her. Twilight was a little hesitant to follow her teacher, but then complied.

Celestia then saw five other particular fillies down on their hooves. When she glanced over at Twilight, she saw a curious spark in her eyes as she looked over at them. A faint smile came across her face. She then went over to each of the five other fillies and lifted up their chins, beckoning them to join her. Just like Twilight, they all hesitantly did so, following behind the princess as she began to sing. Then, their parents joined along.

Celestia: Down to the sea we go.
Down to a world unknown.
There's never been, not seen before,
Fillies like you coming from the shore.

Ponies: Down to the sea we go.
Down to the world below.
A journey to bless, adventure to be
Under the sun, and under the sea.

From under the waves, a seapony heard the song and quickly swam deeper through an underwater cave until the world of Seaquestria came into view. The underwater city was glowing and was built like a hive. The seapony then started singing.

Seapony: Celestia's coming.

The musical message was then passed along throughout the city and soon, everyone was bursting with excitement as they began heading up to the surface. One sea pony in particular was very much anxious. She had a pale beige scaly body, blue eyes, and a light aqua fluked tail, matching her flippers that served as hands, and her hair that had a long bang that hung above her face glowing like a beacon. She also had freckles across her snout, a pale crimson fin crossing down across her chest with a pearl in the center, and a matching sea flower in her hair with purple hints at the tips. Two light see-through crimson fins were also on her back.

When Princess Skystar heard from her mother, Queen Novo, that land dwellers are coming, she had been counting down the days to when they will arrive. This is all very new and exciting, since it had been so long since she had last been on the surface. With anxiousness bubbling inside, she began to sing as many of the sea ponies started upwards.

Skystar: What's all the big commotion,
That's spreading through the ocean,
From sea to shining sea?

There is no hesitating,
Today we're celebrating,
Land-dwelling melodies.

Today when real land dwellers
Comes here into the waters,
We're gonna have a spree.

The boat is nearer now.
I think I hear them now:
Land-dwelling melodies.

Seaponies: Lad-da-di-da.
Lad-da-di-da.
Lad-da-di-da. 

Lad-da-di-da.
Lad-da-di-da.
Lad-da-di-da.

Soon, all of the seaponies burst out from under the surface. The land ponies came over to the edge and stared in awe of the ponies that were different, yet so similar to them.

Up from the sea we rise.
Up to the world of skies.
There's never been, not seen before,
Fillies like them from the shore.

Up from the sea we rise.
Up to the world of skies.
Forever to be, together as one,
Under the sea, and under the sun.

Celestia led the six fillies over to the edge of the ship, gesturing to all of the ponies. The fillies looked over at the seaponies. While some of them waved to them with big smiles, the others just stared at them curiously, not sure what to do.

Celestia: This is the world, little ones.
One world, the land and sea.
My hope for you for always,
Is that your hearts will always love the sea.

Just then, a large splash was then heard as a chariot made out of coral slightly surfaced, pulled by two dolphins. A regal seapony was riding in it, with Skystar following. She had a creamy pink body, with violet eyes and bright purple hair, matching her beautiful fluked tail. She also had aqua flippers for hands, aqua fins across her chest with a small pink pearl in the center, and majestic transparent violet ones on her back. She had bold purple eyeshadow on her eyelids, and a glowing peacock blue headdress on her head.

The seaponies bowed in respect to Queen Novo as she approached the boat. The land ponies, excluding the young ones, also put their heads down in respect. The fillies beside Celestia stared in awe of the majestic seapony queen coming up to them as everyone started singing again.

All: Down to the sea we go. (Up from the sea.)
Down to the world we know. (Up from the sea.)
Together we come, forever to be,
Under one sun:
The land and the sea!

Novo looked over to the fillies who were staring at her, then they bowed to her. She smiled at them, and gestured to her dolphins to go over to them. The dolphins obeyed, and they clicked at the fillies, making them look up. Novo gestured over to the water, and they all excitedly jumped into the crystal blue waters with a six-time splash. Every pony laughed at that, when they all came back up.

Celestia smiled at the sight of them, especially at Twilight, who finally seemed to be enjoying herself. She then turned to Novo. "It has been a long time."

"It has, indeed." Novo agreed. "You said you have some things to discuss?"

"Yes." Celestia confirmed. "Come." The two headed over to the far end of the ship to talk and leave everypony else to themselves.





Twilight eventually swam back to the pier of the ship and just hung onto the edge, watching everypony else have fun. She looked over to the deck and saw that her mom was socializing with the other mares, while her dad was playing some games with the other stallions that came on the cruise.

She then turned back to the sea and kept her eyes on the fillies that had joined her and Princess Celestia to greet the queen. They all seemed like a lively bunch, and friendly enough. They also all seemed to kink together very well. For some reason, she had the urge to join them multiple times, but dismissed it every time.

Soon, the rainbow-maned filly swam over to the other end of the pier to take a little break. A young turquoise pegasus colt with a blond mane tied up high on his head then trotted to her end of the pier and flashed her a charming smile. However, it seemed that the filly wasn't interested in his advance as she turned away from him with an annoyed and disgusted look. The colt, though, wasn't giving up as he leaned in closer to her. Twilight didn't have enough knowledge when it comes to crushes, but she did know that the colt obviously has a thing for the filly, but it was clear that she doesn't want anything to do with him. Maybe it couldn't hurt to help just this once, if this bad idea of hers would work accordingly.

Twilight quietly swam a little closer to the two until she was in range. She then ignited her horn with raspberry magic, and a wave of sparkles having the same color pushed the colt into the ocean. He immediately jumped out and started fretting.

"My mane!" He said, feeling the damp locks with a hoof. "My beautiful mane!" The colt then ran off and back inside the ship.

The rainbow-haired filly was laughing hysterically, clinging onto the pier to keep herself from floating back out to sea. Her laughing got the attention of the other four fillies and of Princess Skystar. The filly then saw who did that when she saw Twilight not far away, slightly smirking to herself.

That was actually pretty funny. She thought to herself. Twilight then saw the filly swim over to her.

"Was that you who did that?" She asked. Twilight only nodded feebly. The filly then smirked. "Well, thanks for the save. That guy just doesn't get the meaning of the word, 'no'."

Twilight smiled genuinely, and it actually felt nice. "I take it, this happened before?" She asked.

"You have no idea." The filly answered. "I'm Rainbow Dash, by the way. And you are...?"

"I'm Twilight Sparkle." The lavender unicorn introduced. By now, the other four fillies, along with Skystar, had come over.

"Thanks for that, Twilight." Rainbow said.

"What did she do?" The orange filly asked. Rainbow and Twilight finally then saw the others. Twilight then started to feel a little constricted from the number of ponies that had gathered around.

Dash snickered as she remembered what had happened. "It was hilarious!" She said. "You see, Twilight here pushed Zephyr into the water with her magic. Ha! The chicken immediately jumped out and started worrying about his mane! Ha-ha!" She stopped laughing when she saw the pale yellow filly. "Um, no offense, Fluttershy."

But luckily for her, Fluttershy shook her head with a smile. "None taken, Dashie." She said. "He just annoys me as much as he does to you."

Twilight cocked her head curiously. "You two know each other?"

"Heck, yeah!" Rainbow said as she glided to Fluttershy and put an arm around her. "Fluttershy and I have been friends since flight camp!" Fluttershy turned away in shyness, but smiled nonetheless.

Twilight was confused. These two fillies were almost complete opposites. How are they friends?

"Nice to meet ya, Twilight." The orange filly said. "I'm Applejack." She then turned to the white unicorn filly and the pink filly. "And this here's Rarity and Pinkie Pie."

Pinkamena zoomed through the water over to Twilight, getting right to her face. "My real name's Pinkamena, but I'd like it if you prefer to call me Pinkie Pie."

"Uh, sure." Twilight said, nervous about how every pony seemed to not mind personal space.

Pinkie turned over to the sea pony. "And this is Skystar." She introduced. "She's Queen Novo's daughter."

"It's really nice to meet you." Skystar said with a smile.

Twilight grinned nervously. Applejack noticed that and swam on over to the lavender unicorn. Strangely though, Twilight felt her nervousness slowly disappear.

"You okay, Twilight?" She asked.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Anti-social much?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight nodded again. "I mostly prefer my studies than hanging out with others."

"How come, darling?" Rarity questioned.

"Well, my teacher is Princess Celestia." The lavender filly pointed out.

"Princess Celestia is yer teacher?" Applejack asked. Twilight nodded again. "Well, that's a real honor, sugarcube; being a personal student to a ruler of Equestria."

"Yeah, it is." Twilight agreed. "What about you guys?"

"Me and Rarity are from Ponyville." Applejack said. "I live and work at Sweet Apple Acres, my family's apple farm. One day, I'll have my family supported enough to improve things around there."

"And I wish to one day open my own boutiques, as I am a young fashion designer." Rarity added. "Right now, my mother is helping me run our own boutique in Ponyville."

Twilight felt herself smile more, hearing these dreams. "And what about you three?" She asked, gesturing to Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie.

The cyan filly had a smug smile on her muzzle. "Well, one day, I'm gonna be a Wonderbolt!" She proclaimed, raising a hoof in the air.

Fluttershy shyly smiled. "That's been your dream ever since I can remember, right?" She asked.

Rainbow nodded. "Ever since I first saw an air show of them performing in Cloudsdale."

Applejack whistled lowly. "I've heard that only the very best fliers in Equestria get onto the team. Ya think ya have what it takes?"

Dash grinned proudly. "I do more flying than walking. It's in my blood as an awesome flyer." She then turned to the pale yellow filly beside her. "Fluttershy, though, she prefers the ground than the sky."

"Well, I remember accidentally heading down there and it was amazing." Fluttershy explained. "So, if I had a dream, it will have something to do for those creatures that made me feel like I belong."

"Oh, right." Rainbow realized. "Those guys at Flight Camp gave you a hard time." Fluttershy nodded. "They do that to me, too. But, they're not gonna bring me down." She put her hoof around her friend's shoulder. "And, I've got your back."

Fluttershy smiled at her oldest friend.

"And now, about me!" Pinkie piped up. "First off, my family owns a rock farm somewhere west." Everypony else blinked. "Yeah, I know. Not really the most fun job. But one day, I'll work in a bakery and maybe open a joke shop, since I want to make everypony smile." She then gasped loudly. "I just had the greatest idea ever! Maybe I'm older, I can move to Ponyville so that I can see you five every single day!"

That got Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy thinking about something. "Well, since I always wanted to live on the ground, maybe I can move down to Ponyville too."

"And I would need a job before I become a Wonderbolt." Rainbow added. "And since Cloudsdale probably has enough ponies working in the weather factory, maybe I can move to Ponyville too, and help manage the weather there."

Twilight smiled, but it then quickly faded. "Well, I'm not sure you guys would see me. After all, since I am Princess Celestia's student, I live in Canterlot."

Rarity gasped excitedly. "Canterlot?!" She squealed, making every pony cover their ears. "Oh, sorry darlings. But, oh! I've always dreamed of living in Canterlot!"

"It's not really that glamorous." Twilight said. "Even most of the time, I have my books to read, but I can still notice a lot of stuck-up ponies walking down the streets." 

"Oh, but I do have an appeal of a proper lady, worthy of Canterlot." Rarity said while flipping her wet mane.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash snickered. "Sorry, but, that definitely seems like a long shot." The young country filly said.

Rarity "hmphed", while crossing her hooves, making everypony else giggle.

Pinkie turned over to Skystar. "And what about you, Skystar?" She asked.

Twilight wasn't too sure if she should just disregard Pinkie's casual act towards a princess or something else. Skystar seemed to read her mind. "It's all right." She said. "I'm really not that much of a princess."

The lavender unicorn filly looked over at the sea pony. "I'm sorry if I am being mean, but what exactly are you?" She asked.

Skystar giggled. "Technically, I'm a hippogriff." She explained. "Half pony, half eagle."

"Why are you a seapony now?" Twilight asked.

Skystar wasn't sure how to explain what had happened to her kind not very long ago. They were just fillies, and a bit younger than her. They can't expect to know something as serious as this. "That's a bit of a long story." She decided to say. "But, I can say that we can transform into anything, especially in times of need."

"That is awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"That is amazing!" Twilight agreed, fascinated.

"I would like to see that!" Applejack added as well.

"I've never heard of a hippogriff before." Fluttershy piped in, curiosity in her eyes.

"I know, right?" Pinkie said excitedly. "This is just so cool!"

Skystar looked over at the land dwellers circled around her, eagerly asking her questions about herself, their voices overlapping. She never thought that she would feel this happy as she giggled and began to answer, one at a time. This was definitely a day she would never forget. 



Later that night, when the seaponies all said their goodbyes, and the ship was smoothly sailing on the water, all of the mothers were tucking their little fillies into their beds in their assigned rooms. They smiled softly as they listened to them tell the events of that afternoon. Velvet was delighted to know that her studious daughter seemed to come out of her shell and got to interact with fillies her age. But, knowing her, today might have never happened when they get back to Canterlot.

Luckily, the other fillies' mothers seem very nice as she had mingled with them earlier. Maybe they could stay in touch so that their daughters would still be connected.

"Mommy." Twilight said, getting her mother's attention. "Can you sing me something? Today was like a dream, and I read that a lullaby is the perfect way to end a perfect day."

Velvet smiled. "Of course, sweetie." She complied, stroking her daughter's indigo mane with her hoof. She knew that one day, she would become a beautiful mare. Her voice was sweet and calm as she began to sing.

Twilight Velvet: Constant as the stars above,
Always know that you are loved.
And my love shining in you
Will help you make your dreams come true.
Will help your dreams come true.

Unbeknownst to them, the other mothers were singing the same song to their own daughters.

Pear Butter looked down lovingly at Applejack. She would become a lovely and hard-working young mare; she just knew it. And she won't be full of herself because of it. She would only think of her family and friends.

Pear Butter: The lamb lies down and rests its head
On its mother's downy bed.

Cloudy Quartz never sang much, but because of Pinkie's persistent insisting of a lullaby, she complied. She knew that her second youngest daughter was different, and that she deserved a life better than the rock farm. And one day, she will attract some pony who can truly make her happy.

Betty watched Rarity start to drift off to sleep. She was always a pretty little filly, and one day, she will attract many young stallions when she becomes a young mare. But, she knew that her elder daughter would never choose somepony just because of a strikingly handsome face. It would also be because of how he would treat her.

Cloudy Quartz: Dolphin plays in the moonlight's glow,

Betty Bouffant: And butterfly dreams of a violet rose.
Dreams of a violet rose.

Mrs. Shy always sang to Fluttershy, and it was a good thing that her brother was already sleeping, or else he might start to complain about it. She knew her daughter was lovely, and that her pure heart only made her inner beauty shine even brighter. No pony would be able to resist her presence.

Mrs. Shy: I'll cradle you in my arms tonight,
As sun embraces the moonlight.

Though Rainbow Dash blatantly refused, Windy began to softly sing to her, and her eyes were beginning to droop. She knew her little filly would definitely be the best she could be, and that she would be quite alluring as a young mare. But, she won't be with just any pony; he would have to be able to keep up with her, just like Windy and Bow can.

Windy Whistles: The clouds will carry us off tonight,
Our dreams will run deep like the sea.

The mothers were then all singing together as they finished the song, and their fillies fell asleep.

All: Our dreams will run deep like the sea. 

Constant as the stars above,
Always know that you are loved.
And my love shining in you
Will help you make your dreams come true.
Will help your dreams come true.

They all gently kissed their daughters' foreheads, and went to their own beds to sleep. By now, the ship had gained enough speed and power to start heading up into the night sky. 



They had only been up in the sky for about ten minutes when the six fillies woke up from failing to stay asleep. They all quietly left their accommodations and headed to the deck for some fresh nighttime air.

"Hey, y'all." Applejack greeted. The other five greeted back as they all looked out to the horizon.

Suddenly, some pony began shouting. "Storm off the port side!"

That shout and with the rest of the crew trying to gain more speed caused every pony else to wake up. The fillies looked around frantically, and sure enough, there was a mass of dark gray clouds heading their way coming from the left. White lightning blasted and danced within the gigantic funnel.

Wind was now blasting and whipping into the sails as the fillies grabbed hold of the ship's safety bars and of each other, holding their hooves tight.

"Hang on!" Rainbow Dash shouted over the loud wind.

"Obviously!" Rarity yelled back, holding on for dear life.

The fillies heard their parents calling their names, their siblings joining in the search calling for them, and two babies crying because of the booming thunder overhead. Rain was now pouring over the ship and pelting every pony wet to the bone. The deck and safety bars suddenly became super slippery, and the fillies lost their grip on the bars, but not on each other.

The next minute was a whole blur for them. One second, they were sliding across the deck while a lightning bolt lit up the sky. The next, they were falling through the air, screaming. And then, when they hit the water, everything went black.
> A New Home Under the Sea
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Love on Land and Sea

Chapter 1

A New Home Under the Sea


Twilight felt like she couldn't breathe, and her head had a splitting pain in it. The icy dark water of the ocean was all around her, and it had a tight grip on her body, like it was intending to bring her to the very bottom. 

Her lungs finally gave one final beg for air, but Twilight still didn't give in, and her vision started to get black and fuzzy. Before her eyes closed, she saw a quick flash of light.

Suddenly, she felt fresh air surround her, and she quickly gasped deeply, gratefully taking in as much air as she could. Twilight soon realized that a magic air bubble was around her head, allowing her to breathe, like a scuba helmet.

Five more similar gasps were then heard. Twilight looked around her and saw Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all having air bubbles around their heads.

"Way to save us at the last minute, Twilight!" Rainbow exclaimed sarcastically, but sounding relieved.

"This… wasn't me." Twilight admitted, gently touching her air bubble with her hoof, careful not to pop it.

"Then, who did this?" Applejack asked.

A pale golden orb of light then appeared in front of them, lighting up their part of the deep dark ocean. As it came closer to the fillies, they saw a figure taking form. Soon, a familiar face appeared.

"Skystar?" They all asked.

"Are you girls okay?" Skystar asked worriedly, swimming around them, checking for injuries.

"We're okay." Pinkie assured her. "Thanks for the save."

"No problem." Skystar said. "When I saw a huge splash in the water, I was scared to see that it was you six drowning."

Twilight looked up at the dark gray surface above them. "How long until the storm passes?" She asked. "We need to get back up and find our families."

"I don't know." Skystar admitted, also looking up at the surface. "It could be a while. Come on. I'll take you girls to my place, until the storm clears." She took Pinkie and Twilight by the hoof with her flippers and started to dive deeper, leading the six land fillies towards the ocean floor. 

 

Eventually, at the bottom, they saw a cave that had a faint pink light emitting from inside. Skystar led the way inside, her fin dangling over her head glowing like a beacon.

"I'm the only one who knows about this entrance." The sea pony told them. "Don't tell my mom about it." They only nodded, promising her that they won't spill her secret.

Soon, the six fillies saw the most amazing sight they had ever seen. At the end of the cave, there was the largest underwater cave they could ever think of. A glowing underwater city was what lit up the large cavity. It was constructed like a beehive and built from coral, with many openings going into all directions. The girls saw that there were more sea ponies around, but they maintained a good distance away from them, even though they were curious. It seemed that they are now suddenly so wary of them, like what had happened on the surface earlier that day didn't happen.

Skystar led them towards the largest part of the coral city and led them through a giant opening. Inside was a large throne room, perfectly made for under the sea. There, in the center of the room, was an enormous coral throne, and Queen Novo was perched right on top, looking majestic and regal. Above her was an equally enormous aqua blue jellyfish.

"Mom!" Skystar called her mother's attention. "Mom!"

Novo sighed. "Yes, Skystar?" She asked. She then saw the six land fillies, recognizing them from earlier. "What happened, and why are they here?"

"Mom, there's a huge storm up on the surface, and they fell off their ship." Skystar explained. "I saved them, and brought them down here until the storm passed."

Novo got off her throne and swam to the six fillies. "Well, I'm glad that you six are all right."

Twilight looked around. "What is every pony doing down here?" She asked. "I thought you lived on Mount Aris."

Novo paused. These fillies are too young to fully understand the situation the hippogriffs are facing compared to what had just happened to them. "Well, it's hard to explain, dear ones." She slowly explained. "Things haven't been very good for us these days. Think of it as a game of hide-and-seek."

"Ooh! I love that game!" Pinkie exclaimed, while AJ and Rainbow just rolled their eyes instead of slapping their foreheads, because of the air bubbles around them.

Novo smiled, and then continued grimly. "Yes, but it is one game where you really wish they won't find you."

The girls tried to let the words sink in. That actually sounded scary. "Let me get this straight." Applejack said. "So, y'all just fled and are now hidin' down here?"

"We didn't flee, we swam." Skystar corrected. "You know, in order to flee."

"But then, how did you manage to hide everypony down here?" Twilight asked.

Skystar's eyes lit up. "Oh, Mom!" She squealed excitedly. "Can we show them? It was been like forever since we've had guests!"

Novo shrugged. "Well, I suppose I should check to see if it still works." She said, complying to her daughter's request. Novo swam up to the large jellyfish and gently touched it with her fin.

The large tentacled creature squeezed out a large glowing pink pearl that had an ethereal golden light inside into the queen's waiting fins. Skystar was bursting at the seams with excitement as Novo rubbed her fin around the surface of the pearl. Magic streams of gold light and pink sparkles then started towards the six land fillies. They all braced themselves, thinking that it might hurt.

But instead, they felt a tickling sensation throughout their bodies, and they started to laugh. They watched as their air bubbles popped, but didn't feel like they were choking. They can breathe now! They all continued to watch in fascination and awe as their back hooves molded together into one appendage while the gold light and pink sparkles washed over them.

Soon, the transformation ended, and the light and sparkles faded. The six land fillies were staring with wonder at their new... tails.

Their tails and fins were like their original back hooves; the same color, at least. But now, they have a scaly yet shiny tail, with their land tails became their new fins. Also, they each had an extra fin on their tails that served as a spot for their cutie marks, which were now glowing. And as another extra, for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, their wings became thin fins.

But, there were a few differences. For Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack, their fins were dorsal; with AJ's fin having a small hole in it for some more resemblance to her old tail, and the other girls had fluked tails.

"These fins are divine!" Rarity squealed in delight, seeing that her new tail had two blue glowing diamonds to match her cutie mark.

Rainbow was eager to test her new speed underwater. "Hey, Applejack. I'll race you to that coral!" She challenged, pointing to a specific coral.

Applejack grinned. "You're on!" She accepted, and the two started their race.

Pinkie was doing flips underwater. "Wahoo!" She exclaimed, loving what she can do. She then saw that Fluttershy had barely moved and was just floating around. "Try it, Fluttershy!" She encouraged.

Fluttershy gave a nervous chuckle and barely moved her tail. "Yay." She said quietly. It might take a little bit more time for her to get used to it.

"This is amazing!" Twilight said in amazement, and swam closer to Queen Novo, wanting to get a closer look at the pearl. "I've never read about anything like this!"

Novo chuckled at Twilight's enthusiasm, while putting the pearl back into the jellyfish's protection. She then looked at her with sad eyes. "Honey, I'm sorry about what happened to you and your friends. I truly am."

By now, the other newly transformed fillies gathered around with Twilight, looking downcast. "Do you think the storm has passed by now?" Rarity asked the queen.

"I think so." Novo said. She then turned to a couple of sea pony guards. "See if the storm has passed and find the ship, or if not, any remains of it." She ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The guards replied in sync, and they both swam down through the opening.

Novo turned back to the fillies. "You six can stay down here until the guards come back." She said. "Make yourselves comfortable."

"So, about today." Rainbow Dash said, changing the subject. "How was it like being back at the surface? You were probably missing so much."

"Though it was fine, we all have been okay with just staying down here." Novo replied. The fillies glanced at each other. She didn't seem to understand what it was like to have enjoyment.

Just then, a tiny pale red squid came up to the queen and chittered something to her.

"Yes, Jamal?" Novo asked, understanding the squid. He then chittered some more. "Ooh, time for my seaweed wrap." With that, she swam off. "Just relax and wait, girls!" She called out to them before disappearing down a hallway.

The girls all looked at each other with deeply worried expressions. "I don't think I can just wait around and do nothing while waiting for news about our families." Applejack said.

"Me, neither." Rainbow agreed. "We should be out there, looking for them."

"But, we don't know how to get around." Twilight pointed out. "And who knows what's out there."

Skystar then came up to them. "Oh, my gosh." She exclaimed. "I have some ideas to occupy your time while you wait. You know, to ease your minds." She started swimming around, showing them various objects. "We can make friendship bracelets out of shells, picture frames out of shells, decorative waste baskets out of shells."

All the while, the fillies were looking at her with forced smiles, except Pinkie, who seemed to enjoy the many ideas.

"Oh, I just have so many projects that involve shells." Skystar giggled. "And now, I have someone new to share them with. I mean, aside from my friends, Shelly and Sheldon." Skystar held up two clams; one pink and one blue, and both with fake googly eyes. "Right, Shelly? Sheldon?" She asked the two clams.

Pinkie was excited to have some more time with Skystar and do some of her projects, but the other girls weren't so sure about it.

Rarity decided to speak up first. "Um, well, that sounds lovely, darling," she said, "but you must realize that we may not be down here for long."

Applejack then swam up to the seapony princess. "We gotta get back to our families." She added.

Skystar looked a little disappointed, but tried to erase it from her face. "Oh, no. Of course, of course. Of course you have your own friends back home. It's fine, it's fine." She then whispered to them, holding the clams away. "Shelly and Sheldon get jealous, anyway." Skystar started to leave. "Let me know when the guards get back, so I get my mom to change you back, and then, you can go home."

Pinkie wanted to follow the saddened Skystar, but decided against it, seeing how disappointed she was. She really wanted to cheer her up, but what will the others think?

"I know that we might have to leave soon, but you saw how disappointed Skystar was." She said. "Couldn't we make the most of our time down here? Waiting will just take forever."

"Pinkie, we just can't mess around right now." Twilight said.

Fluttershy thought about it for a few seconds. "Actually, I think Pinkie's right."

The other girls gave her confused looks. "Say what now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We are all very nervous and worried right now." Fluttershy pointed out. "Maybe if we can find something that will take our minds off the ship, the waiting won't take as long and as stressful."

"I think Fluttershy does have a point there." Applejack agreed.

Pinkie then popped up in between the two. "And, leave it to me to cram in a whole lot of fun into just a few minutes." She said with a wide grin.

By now, Rainbow and Rarity were agreeing. "Yes, I can believe that." Rarity piped in.

"All right, then. Let's show Skystar the best time ever!" Rainbow cheered. She then stuck her hoof out, and one by one, Pinkie, AJ, Fluttershy, and Rarity placed their own hooves on top. They all turned to Twilight. "You in, Twilight?" Dash asked her.

Twilight looked over at the five fillies that are waiting for her answer. They all did make pretty valid points, and it was not every day when one gets to see what was life like under the sea. So, until their time down here was done, it's probably the best that one makes the most of it.

"Okay." She finally complied, placing her hoof down.

After raising them up, Pinkie then took command. "All right, girls, stay huddled. Here's what we'll do." 



In a separate hallway, Skystar was sniffling, trying to keep herself from crying. "It's probably for the best." She told herself with a heavy sigh.

Her urge to cry started getting stronger, and she whimpered sadly to still keep her tears inside. But then, one by one, Shelly and Sheldon popped up beside her on both sides.

Pinkie Pie: Hey, now, don't be sad.
I know we cannot stay,
But we've got a couple minutes
And a little time to play.

Then, Pinkie popped up, revealing her holding Shelly and Sheldon as the other girls appeared on all sides of her, smiling brightly. Twilight, though, was trying to make her smile genuine as it was because she still wasn't so sure about this idea.

Skystar faintly smiled, but it quickly faded.

Skystar: I know you have important things,
So it's okay, just go.

Pinkie wasn't giving up, though, as she appeared upside down and right in front of the depressed seapony princess.

Pinkie Pie: But we can still pick one small, little thing
To do with you, y'know!

She then took Skystar by her fin and began leading her out, while the other girls trailing behind them. First, they stopped by a large wall that showed their reflections, and they made funny faces.

One small thing doesn't seem like a lot.
One small thing, work with the time you've got.
Soon, one small thing becomes two.
After two, perhaps another few.

Next, Pinkie was collecting sea shells and tied them into a necklace for Skystar. Rarity then tied it around her neck with her magic. The girls then had their own sea shell necklaces; Twilight had pale pink and yellow shells, Rarity had blue and lavender, Fluttershy had light green and silver, Applejack had white and light red, Rainbow had gold and purple, and Pinkie had orange and dark blue.

Then one small thing is not so small.
One small thing can be the biggest thing of all!

Now, Skystar was having a great time as she swam along with the girls and a pod of dolphins and other fish. As they all sang, their voices were getting the attention of other seaponies.

Skystar: All right now, since you're here,
Let's see what we can do.
Swim with the flow until you go.
Together, me and you.

Pinkie: I've got necklaces for every fish,
So what else do ya got?

Skystar: Well, we could play the bubble fish.
You'll like this one a lot!

Skystar was showing the girls some of the things that she liked to do, and they were all having the best time ever. Seeing that some seaponies were getting curious as to what was going on, Fluttershy and Applejack encouraged them to join in. While some of them showed some hesitation, little by little, the seaponies were getting into the fun. Even Queen Novo, who had finished her seaweed wrap, peeked out to see what was going on.

Both: One small thing, it's a good place to start.

Other fillies: (Just one small thing.)

Both: One small thing, and we don't seem so far apart.

Other fillies: (Don't seem apart.)

All: Soon, one small thing leads to more.
It's so much more than there was before.
Just one small thing, and you will see,
The start of something big for you and me.

As she was having fun, Twilight felt something that she hadn't felt when other ponies other than her family. It was the same feeling that she was having back up at the surface earlier that day. A huge smile was on her muzzle, and she felt like she couldn't stop smiling. It was the happiest she ever felt. As she looked around at every pony having a great time, she saw the five fillies who she came down with. It was right then, at that moment, that she realized how happy they make her feel, and how much she cared about them.

Pinkie: One small thing.

Sea ponies: Just one small thing.

Twilight: Or a tall thing.

Sea ponies: Just one tall thing.

Fluttershy: Or a sing thing.

Sea ponies: Just one sing-y thing.

Rarity: Or a bling thing.

Sea ponies: Just one bling-y thing.

Applejack: A conga thing.

Sea ponies: Yeah, a conga thing.

Rainbow Dash: Or a longah thing.

Sea ponies: Just one longah thing.

Pinkie: A blue thing, true thing, you thing.

Sea ponies: (Oooh-oooh)

Skystar: A whee thing, sea thing, me thing.

Sea ponies: (Oooh-oooh-oooh!)

Pinkie and Skystar: So many things and everything,
Until our time is done.
There's one small thing
For each and everyone!

Novo had swam up to where the fun was being held, and the seaponies around her bowed to her, giving her some room. A small smile crept on her snout, seeing her daughter have a good time with the little land fillies.

Skystar: One small thing, so much we can create.
You and me, we started something great.
It's so amazing, look around
At all the happy sights and sounds.

Skystar hugged the girls before she turned around and saw her mother. She then beamed when she grinned and swam up to her, taking her fins.

One small thing is big, it's true
You did this all for us.
I just wish there was one small thing,
An extra special kind of thing

Skystar then started to swing her mother around in a circle, and Novo was actually enjoying it. The six girls grinned at each other, and then they all began spinning around the queen and princess. They then ended in a final pose as the song ended.

Skystar and sea ponies: That we could do for you...
One small thing!

Novo began laughing as the sea ponies began cheering. The girls then also started to laugh with glee and ecstasy as they shared a group hug.

When they broke the hug, Twilight then spoke up. "Thank you." She said.

"For what, sugarcube?" Applejack asked her.

"For showing me what it is like to have friends." Twilight explained. "I told you all before that I am not the most social butterfly back home. It was because I was focusing too much on my studies, and I didn't realize that I needed friends to show me that there is so much more out there waiting to be found. Rather than just learning about things, there are things that I can only experience and understand if I had friends."

The girls all smiled at her and at her speech. "So, can we start over?" Twilight asked. "So that I can feel better about it. Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle."

"Howdy-doo, Twilight." Applejack said, playfully greeting her as if they were meeting for the first time. "I'm Applejack."

"I am Rarity, darling."

"I'm Fluttershy."

"Name's Rainbow Dash."

"And I'm Pinkie Pie!"

The girls all began laughing again.

Novo finally stopped laughing to catch her breath. Skystar then came up beside her, fins behind her back smiling excitedly. "Well, I guess that one small thing can make a really big difference." She said, and the six fillies beamed brightly.

"Your Majesty." The guards were back. All at once, the fear and nervousness returned as the fillies watched with anxious eyes. The lead guard went up to Novo, while the other three trailing behind him were each carrying two bags.

"Yes, Fluke?" She asked. She then noticed the looks of failure on the guards' faces.

"We have searched all throughout our borders." He then paused, looking down. "We couldn't find any trace of the Equestrian ship. No sign of it leaving, or of it sinking. It's just... gone."

The fillies felt like they couldn't breathe. The ship was gone? Their families, too? Tears began to spring into their eyes.

"We sadly have only found these things." The lead guard gestured to his soldiers, and one by one, they reached into their bags. The first guard held out a large beige Stetson hat.

"My pa's hat." Applejack whispered. She slowly swam up to the guard and took the hat, hugging it close.

The guard then reached into his other bag and pulled out about five books that were all tied together with a kelp rope.

Twilight swam up to the guard and recognized the title of the cover of the first book."My magic books." She realized as she took her books. She was relieved that she had asked Princess Celestia to magically waterproof them.

The second opened his first bag. He pulled out a light blue sketchpad with silver flowers and swirls on it.

"My sketchpad." Rarity recognized. She swam up and took it, seeing that it also had a waterproof spell like Twilight's books, and that some of its pages had designs for costumes and dresses,

The second guard opened his other bag and pulled out a cyan blue butterfly barrette. Fluttershy quietly gasped.

"The barrette that I got for my birthday." She whispered to herself as she gently took it. "My mom gave it to me."

The third guard opened his first bag and pulled out a rolled up poster tied together with a blue ribbon and a Wonderbolts medallion.

"The poster." Rainbow recognized it. She took it, relieved that it was also protected by a waterproofing spell. "My parents said that they were gonna let me unroll and see what it looked like when we were heading back home." 

She untied the ribbon, unknowingly placed the medallion in her mane and behind her ear like a pin, and unrolled the poster. It showed the Wonderbolts flying freely and in sync, with smoke trailing behind them.

Finally, the third guard reached into his other bag and pulled out a cookbook, newly bought and protected by a waterproofing spell.

Pinkie curiously swam to the guard, took the book, and opened the cover. Inside was writing.

To our Pinkamena.

Love, Father, Mother, and your sisters.

Pinkie closed the book and hugged it to her chest, quietly weeping, but threatening to start bawling loudly. The other girls all huddled together in a comforting group hug.

Skystar was feeling so sorry for her friends. In not even an hour, they had become lost at sea and orphans. She looked over at her mother, and saw that she was thinking.

"Mom?" She asked, curious.

Novo couldn't bear to see these land fillies so distraught, not when they were bringing so much fun and joy to her and her people a couple of minutes ago, reminding them of the fun they had up at the surface earlier in the day. She needed to do something.

"I did say that there is one small thing we can do for you." She said. The six fillies looked up at her with tearful yet curious eyes.

"It's not much, but you six can stay down here with us." Novo proclaimed. The six young ones gasped, along with Skystar.

"You really mean it, Mom?" Her daughter asked excitedly. Novo nodded, and Skystar squealed happily, hugging her tightly.

The girls all gasped, overjoyed. Skystar swam down and brought all of them in another group hug.

Novo smiled at the scene, and then turned to Jamal the squid, who was just swam up beside her. "Jamal, prepare the largest guest room we have. It will now serve as their room."

The tiny red squid chittered, and then swam back towards the underwater palace. Novo turned back to Skystar and the girls, who were all hugging and laughing joyously. Life under here would definitely get much brighter with these fillies around. She promised herself that she will protect them and care for them as if they were her own daughters. No matter what it takes, she will keep them safe. Especially from the creature that forced her and her people into hiding.
> Up on Land
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Love on Land and Sea

Chapter 2

Up on Land


Ten years later...

In the training Arena of Canterlot Castle, Spike the Dragon placed the last weight on the stand. He wiped some of the sweat off his brow. He knew he would need a bath when he got back home. His purple scales were sticky with sweat, and his green spines were gleaming in the sun. His green draconic eyes scanned the Arena, seeing that it was finally spotless.

How does Shining Armor deal with all of these things? He wondered. The unicorn stallion who he thought as a big brother seemed to only think about training these days. Well, technically for all his life, but still, that was all he really did. The only time he would ever see Shining Armor crack even a tiny smile was once a month, when he would receive a letter from his marefriend, Princess Cadence. Spike slightly smirked at the thought that one day, Shining Armor would finally be happy if he has the guts to ask her to marry him. Maybe then, he could loosen up.

Spike remembered back when he once asked Shining Armor why he wouldn't take a break from training and drilling all the new soldiers. But he didn't say anything; just kept quiet. Later, Spike asked Night Light and Twilight Velvet. They said that the main reason why their son trains and coaches so hard was because he doesn't want history to repeat itself. Spike then knew right that they were implying what had happened to their lost daughter.

Spike didn't remember much of her, since he was just a recently hatched baby dragon. Velvet had told him that she was the reason that he hatched, because of her magic. He was part of her entrance exam for Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He slightly chuckled, remembering that they told him that she had a hard time trying to calm him down sometimes.

However, she had disappeared with five other fillies about ten years ago, lost forever to the sea. Spike wished that he could remember at least something about her. Princess Celestia had once told her that she had a rare and special talent for magic, and that she had only been her personal student for about three months. But ever since that incident, Celestia has not considered taking another student under her guidance.

Spike shook his head and glanced over at the large mirror leaning against the wall. He still remembered back when he was just a shrimpy little guy, about the size of a young filly or colt. Now, thanks to a recent growth spurt he had and the work out he was getting from cleaning the Arena, he was the size of a teenage pony, but still kind of on the lanky side. It was strange, though. Really, he should still be stuck in his younger state as a ten-year-old. But instead, he had the mind and the body of a teenage dragon. He had been contemplating on asking Princess Celestia about his strange rapid growth that wasn't because of greed, thankfully. However, ponies knew very little about dragon culture, even to Celestia's knowledge. So, it would seem futile.

Spike then left the Arena, and began walking to the castle courtyards to start heading for home, slightly panting from all of the heavy lifting he did. But as he did, he saw that one of the new trainees was massaging his right wing. It was an orange pegasus stallion, with a blue mane peeking out from the opening of his helmet, and matching blue eyes. His cutie mark was a blue shield with a yellow lightning bolt across it.

"You okay there, Flash?" Spike asked him. Flash Sentry was one of the newest trainees under Shining Armor. Even though he was a pegasus and not a unicorn like most of the other soldiers, he quickly proved to be one of the best ones of all the cadets there. Sometimes, after training was done, he would help Spike clean up the arena, and the two became good friends over time.

Flash rubbed his wing with his hoof. "Yeah. I think I pulled a muscle, though."

Spike winced. "Best take it easy, then." He said.

"Hey, are we still going to meet the others later tonight?" Flash asked him. "It will be the last time we'll see Cheese for a while. He just can't stay in one place too long."

Spike shrugged. "I'm not sure." He answered. "I hope so. It's just up to Shining Armor."

"I hope I'll see you there." Flash said with a smile, and Spike returned it as he waved to his friend while passing then turning the corner of the hallway. 



Walking around the busy streets, Spike stopped by the local racing derby. Crowds of ponies were cheering loudly as the famous Wonderbolts zoomed across the track and towards the finish line.

Spike watched from the sidelines as the Wonderbolts screeched to a halt on the runway. However, his eyes were focused on one particular flier on the team. He was a light blue pegasus stallion with a wild and windswept navy blue mane. When he lifted his goggles, he showed that he had green eyes.

The stallion looked around the stadium, and pinpointed his dragon friend waving to him from outside. He quickly went out of the stadium, ignoring all of the press that were trying to ask him questions or for an interview.

"Hey there, Spike!" He greeted, quickly wiping some sweat off his brow before he stuck out his other hoof for a hoof bump. Spike returned it.

"Great race, Soarin." Spike said. "You're not going to be wiped out after that?"

"And miss out on a hang out with you and the rest of the guys?" Soarin asked with a raised eyebrow. "Not a chance."

Spike rolled his eyes. "You probably won't miss out on it anyway because you would miss out on the hot chocolate there."

"Hey, next to pie, hot chocolate is the best." Soarin said while Spike rolled his eyes again. "Well, I gotta get back before Spitfire realizes I'm gone."

"Well, we wouldn't want that." Spike said, remembering the strict and fiery leader of the team that Soarin had mentioned a couple of times before.

"Yeah." Soarin agreed. "Well, I'll see you and the guys soon." With that, he quickly went back inside the stadium.

Spike continued his walk back to the place where he lived. But then, he saw a unicorn stallion that was a bit older than Flash and Soarin, almost in his prime of his time. He had a white coat and horn, a short cerulean blue mane that was combed neatly, and blue eyes with a monocle over one of them. He wore a nice black suit over his body, and his cutie mark were three crowns.

The stallion then saw Spike. "Oh, why, hello there, Spike!" He greeted in a British accent.

Spike went over to him. "Hello, Fancy Pants." He returned the greeting. 

Usually, ponies with the same upbringing as Fancy Pants wouldn't give creatures like Spike a second thought, and would stick to their first impression, which was most of the time negative. But not Fancy. He was the only one that would give a little more kindness to him, and to his other friends. When they included Fancy into their group, he was delighted to have friends that treat him like a normal pony, which was actually quite refreshing for him.

"How was training faring today?" The sophisticated stallion asked.

"It was fine." Spike answered while rubbing his shoulder with his claw. "Though I wish the captain would take it easy for once."

Fancy nodded in agreement. "Yes, it seems that Captain Shining Armor does take training his cadets a little too seriously."

"It's like he's preparing for the end of the world." Spike added.

"Well, if you had lost a loved one, wouldn't you have probably ended up as he is now?" Fancy asked.

Spike was quiet for a few seconds. He never knew his biological parents, so he guessed that if he wasn't taken in by his pony family, he probably would've ended up the same way, surrounded by ones of his own kind, but never happy.

"I guess you're right." He said. "So, are you able to hang out with me and the other guys tonight?" He asked.

The white unicorn stallion nodded. "I had managed to switch around some things around in my schedule today." He said. "So, I will be available today."

Spike beamed. It wasn't very often when the aristocratic stallion managed to squeeze in some free time to hang out with them. "Great!" He said. "I'll see you there, then!" He waved to Fancy as he began running again.

"Indeed." Fancy called after the young dragon before he faded from view. Then, he went his own way to get ready for their evening. 



A few hours later, after a nice bubble bath to relieve himself of his soreness and sweaty scales, Spike had arrived at Donut Joe's, his favorite donut shop. He and his friends would usually use this place as their own personal hangout whenever they had the chance.

The dragon entered the cafe, and soon saw that the others were already there. Flash waved to him to come over. Spike gladly complied.

Flash was out of his armor, Soarin was free of his Wonderbolt uniform, which was good for him because he had enough of swarming fans and paparazzi today. And he was showing his cutie mark of a storm cloud being pierced through by a lightning bolt. Fancy was dressed into a more casual attire rather than his usual suit.

Sitting next to Soarin, trying to stuff as many donuts in his mouth as he can, was a mustard yellow earth stallion with a curly brown mane and green eyes. He had a cutie mark of a cheese sandwich, and he wore a bright yellow shirt.

"Hey, guys!" Spike greeted.

"Hey ya, Spike!" The curly brown- haired stallion returned the greeting after swallowing the eight donuts in his mouth.

Spike rolled his eyes. "You and your weird antics, Cheese." He said.

"No kidding." Soarin said, taking Cheese's mug of hot chocolate. "Who gets so much marshmallows for just one cup?"

Cheese Sandwich took his cup away from his Wonderbolt friend. "In my book, there's no such thing as too much marshmallows." He said, and then took a sip, taking some of the marshmallows with it.

The other guys rolled their eyes with a smile. "So, how have things been today?" Flash asked, trying to use an ice breaker. "Other than your clean-up, Spike." He said to the purple dragon next to him.

"I saw that you won another race today, Soarin." Spike said to the light blue pegasus stallion.

The Wonderbolt nodded. "Yep." He confirmed.

"How many winnings does that make?" Cheese asked him.

"That was number 256." Soarin said proudly. "Only 44 victories in a row until I finally break the record for most race winnings done by a single Wonderbolt in a row."

"Geez, Soar." Flash said. "That's quite the goal."

"Indeed." Fancy agreed. "Are you sure that you won't be driving your wings to exhaustion after flying so much?"

"Chill, guys." Soarin said. "I do take breaks once in a while. But, I still have to keep on the top of my game. I didn't become second-in-command to Spitfire just because I look good and can put on an awesome show."

"Good point." Spike commented.

"What about you, Fancy Pants?" Cheese asked the aristocratic unicorn stallion.

"Nothing exciting to indulge you gentlecolts with." Fancy said.

"Really?" Flash asked with a raised eyebrow. "Not even anything with Fleur-de-lis? The first few months that you two have dated brought you some excitement."

Fancy rolled his eyes. "No, not even with Fleur." He answered. Don't get him wrong, he loved his marefriend, but still, he felt like there was something missing. He won't admit that to his friends just yet; not until he knew with more certainty.

"Well, while we are on the subject, what about you fellows?" Fancy asked the other stallions, and dragon. "No mare caught any of your eye yet?"

The other males rolled their eyes with smiles while shaking their heads. Well, except for Cheese, who had a nervous grin on his face. Fancy Pants recognized that look.

"Cheese, do you have a special mare in mind?" He asked, grinning mischievously. The other males leaned in closer to the yellow earth pony stallion, who now had a red blush on his muzzle.

"Uh, well..." Cheese trailed off, looking at the playful looks on his friends' faces. "Yes?"

Soarin playfully nudged his friend. "Come on, what's her name?"

The blush and nervousness disappeared, and a sad look came on his face. "It doesn't matter anyway." He replied glumly. "She's gone." Upon seeing the confused looks on the others, he clarified. "She was one of the Lost Fillies."

The other males looked down in understanding. When Princess Celestia's ship returned from Mount Aris, word quickly spread throughout Equestria about the losses.

Fancy placed a hoof on Cheese's shoulder. "I'm sorry, chap." He said.

Cheese had a sad and dreamy smile on his face. "She didn't know that I existed when I first saw her. But, she was my inspiration for spreading joy around Equestria in the way she did."

"Well, at least you are honoring her by doing what you do." Flash said softly.

The party pony gave the orange pegasus a soft smile. "Thanks, pal." He said to him. Now wanting to lighten up the mood, Cheese turned to the only dragon in the group. "What about you, Spike? No pretty mare catching your attention?" He asked.

"Nope." Spike answered. "But, who in their right mind would fall in love with a dragon? It's pretty much impossible."

"I don't think that would be that far-fetched." Flash said. "I mean, besides the different species thing, you're a really great guy."

Spike rubbed the back of his head with a nervous flush on his face. "Thanks, Flash." He said. "And you're pretty awesome too, you know. Any girl that gets a shot with you would be lucky."

Flash rolled his eyes with a tinge of crimson on his muzzle. "Well, I think I would be too busy to really pursue a relationship." He said. "If I did, I would give her everything I had to make her happy."

"Me, too." Spike agreed.

"Me, three." Cheese added in.

"Not me!" Soarin proclaimed. "This Wonderbolt is going to spend the rest of his days up in the skies! No settling down for me!"

"Are you sure about that, Soarin?" Flash asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk etched on his muzzle.

"Being a celebrity myself, I do know that they are fans wanting to have a chance with you." Fancy said, with a teasing smile on his face.

Soarin groaned. "I know! And that's the problem!" He exclaimed. "Most mares who like me only like me just because I'm famous." He then took a breath to calm himself. "If I ever find a girl out there that will like me for me despite my celebrity status, I could give her a chance. But so far, that girl doesn't exist."

Spike smiled. "I think one day, you will find her." He said.

The light blue pegasus stallion returned the smile, but he was still doubtful. 



That evening, the guys bade their goodbyes to Cheese. He was heading over to Rio de Neighro for a party he had to host. He planned to sail over there, renting a boat from Manehattan.

But, the conversation they shared in the donut shop brought a lot of thoughts to their minds as they tried to get some sleep. Spike, for example. He knew that if love could come to him, it would most likely be a one-in-a-million shot, because he was not a pony. He and a special somepony would probably be too different to even try.

Flash knew that he would be most likely be too busy to pursue a relationship, with his training and his dream of becoming a member of the Royal Guard within his grasp. At least it wasn’t forbidden to have a relationship, since Captain Shining Armor has been courting Princess Cadence for a while now. But still, he hoped that she wouldn't be too possessive for his attention because he still had to focus.

Soarin knew that he had a lot of admirers because of being on the Wonderbolts. But it was like he said. Even if he wanted to have a special girl, she would have to like him for him, not just because of his status, flaws and all. He knew he wasn't perfect, but his public image has to say that he is. Once, he even considered going out with one of the female members on the team, if he was actually attracted to one of them. Spitfire was his leader, and his best friend. Fleetfoot was the same as well. So, it seems that that special somepony of his secret dreams is worlds away.

Fancy knew he loved Fleur, but still, he felt like she was too clingy, not that he had noticed before. He had to keep his image up, no matter how infuriating it may seem. And it wasn't easy, that much was certain. When he had started noticing mares, he wanted love, but with his position, it was either that you find somepony who can boost up your rank, or don't get married at all. Though he personally hated it, he really had no choice.

As Cheese began navigating through the ocean, he kept his eyes glued up to the stars in the sky. Over the years, he had seen many mares, but none of them captured his heart the way she did. That one special filly. Though he had kept telling himself that it was probably time to move on, he just couldn't.

The earth pony stallion just sighed heavily, softly banging his head on the wheel. It really was hopeless.
> Life Under the Sea
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Love on Land and Sea

Chapter 3

Life Under the Sea


Two weeks later...

Under the sea, in the world of Seaquestria, it looked very much the same during the past ten years. But, that can't be said for everything.

In one room of the palace pod, the biggest undersea pod in the kingdom of course, there was piano music being played. There, sitting on a coral bench, playing a piano made out of sea sponges and coral, there sat Twilight Sparkle.

She was now more open and outgoing than when she was younger, but she was still pretty studious. She had grown into a lovely mare, with her violet eyes shining with happiness, and her mane longer and flowing in the water. Around her neck was her necklace of bright pink and yellow sea shells. Her hooves were gently playing notes as she had begun to sing in a lovely voice.

Twilight: Nothing stays the same for long.
But when it changes doesn't mean it's gone.

Twilight then left the piano and swam outside through the window, while still singing.

Time will always get away
As it leaves behind another day.

Soon, Twilight had arrived at the bottom of the cavern, where a lot of critters hang out. There, playing with some bioluminescent fish, was Fluttershy. She, too, was also now a very pretty mare,and a little more confident than when she was a filly. Her rosy pink mane was longer, and her bang was now hanging over the side of her face instead of over her eye. Around her neck was her own necklace of green and silver shells. Since that day when they were welcomed by the sea ponies, the group of friends established their sea shell necklaces as a symbol of their friendship.

The pale yellow seapony saw her lilac colored friend swim over to her, singing the song. She then joined in, singing in a most enchanting and sweet voice.

Fluttershy: Things may come and things may go.
Some go fast and some go slow.
Few things last, that's all I know,
But friendship carries on through the ages.

Relaxing inside a giant clam like it was a chaise, Rarity was looking into the clear reflection, applying some makeup. She also become a most lovely mare, having her eyes coated with eye shadow made from light blue powder crushed from some shells, and black squid ink served as mascara for her lashes. Around her neck was her friendship necklace of light blue and lavender shells.

Rarity saw her friends swimming by from above, and she put her makeup aside to join them in their singing in a nice and beautiful opera-style voice.

Rarity and Fluttershy: Things may come and things may go.
Some go fast and some go slow.
Few things last, that's all I know,
But friendship carries on through the ages.

Just then, a cyan blue blur zoomed by them, causing a swarm of bubbles to appear. But the girls only smiled with amusement. She was always one for appearances. Then, the blur began spinning, making the bubbles around it form into a funnel. Then, the figure pushed the bubbles away, revealing it to be an older Rainbow Dash.

Despite her tomboyish attitude, she had grown into quite an attractive young mare, with her mane a bit longer than her boyish cut as a filly. And her bangs were still dangling in front of her face. But pinned behind her left ear was the Wonderbolts medallion that she got with the poster all those years ago. Around her neck was her own friendship necklace of gold and dark purple shells. She then swam next to Fluttershy, joining her friends in song with a gusto and strong voice.

Rainbow Dash: Been around for a long time,
Rocking out hard 'cause I'm in my prime.
Maybe it'll change further down the line,
But my friendship carries on through the ages.

There was then a loud of a "Yee-haw!". Riding on one of the dolphins that lived in the underwater cavern was Applejack, who had grown into a beautiful mare as well. She once had her mane in twin pigtails, but reverted back to her usual ponytail, and on her head was her father's Stetson hat. Though it would constantly float off her head because of its light density, Applejack didn't mind, just as long as she didn't lose it. Around her neck was her own friendship necklace of white and pale red shells.

Applejack put her floating hat back on her head and swam off her dolphin and towards her friends while singing along in a smooth country voice. The dolphin squealed and squeaked in its language as it swam around his rider. Fluttershy knew that he was saying goodbye before he swam back to his pod.

Applejack: Every single style has something,
Different it can say.
There's nothing wrong with being unique
And special in your own way.

Suddenly, in a burst of confetti, Pinkie Pie appeared. During the years, the other five mares knew better than to question Pinkie's strange logic. So, they all just smiled as the pink seapony started to sing along as well in her cute high-pitched voice.

Like her friends, Pinkie had become a very pretty mare, and even though her mane had grown longer and was no longer in a frizzy boyish cut when she was a filly, but it still floated higher up in the water than the other girls'. Around her neck was her own friendship necklace of orange and bold blue shells.

Pinkie Pie: Maybe you wanna be a pop star;
Get your fifteen minutes of fame, wha, ah! Ah, oh!
That won't last forever,
But friendship remains the same, ah-oh, oh!

The Mane 6 then all started singing together as they swam around in loops and circles throughout their underwater home in sync. Their singing got the attention of most of the other inhabitants, including Queen Novo and Princess Skystar.

All: Things may come and things may go.
Some go fast and some go slow.
Few things last, that's all I know,
But friendship carries on through the ages.

The two seapony royals smiled with pride. Throughout the years, it was becoming obvious that the six seaponies have the most beautiful voices in the kingdom, along with Skystar, and they always have this effect on the ponies that they can't help but listen to them.

Things may come and things may go.
Some go fast and some go slow.
Few things last, that's all I know,
But friendship carries on through the ages

Ohhh-oh, carries on...

After they finished their song, the girls all shared a group hug, laughing and smiling. Then they saw Skystar and Novo waving to them.

"Good morning, girls!" Skystar greeted them cheerfully.

"Morning, Skystar!" Pinkie returned the greeting for all of them, and shared a secret flipper shake with Skystar.

"How was your rest last night, girls?" Novo asked.

"Great as usual." Rainbow Dash said.

"Am I excused now, Mom?" Skystar asked her mother. "I promised the girls that I'd show them something really amazing."

Novo chuckled. "Of course." She complied. "Just remember the one rule that I have for the seven of you."

"Don't go up to the surface." All seven of the younger seapony mares recited, sounding a little bored about it." However, Novo didn't seem to notice it.

"Good." Novo said. "Now, you are excused." Then, the seapony queen swam away.

The girls all stifled mischievous giggles. "Are you girls ready?" Skystar asked the Mane 6.

She was the only one of them who had snuck up to the surface multiple times, up to Mount Aris, her original home before the hippogriffs were forced into hiding. The Mane 6 had learned about that when they were old enough to understand why everypony would get nervous about any questions about the surface world.

But, the seapony princess had recently discovered another way to the surface where the other girls can swim up if they don't want to go up to Mount Aris. And they had been planning for this for the past few days.

"Are we ever?" Pinkie said. "We've haven't been up to the surface since we first came down here."

"Has it really been ten years?" Twilight asked. "So much time has passed since we came. I have forgotten what it was like up there."

"Me, too." Fluttershy added.

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Rainbow asked. "Let's go!"

"Wait!" Rarity quickly shouted. "Are you sure you don't want to stop by the grotto first?" She asked. "If we have any collections, once we go out, we can know what we can look before heading up to the surface."

"Oh, what the hay?" Applejack gave in. "Why not?"

The girls all swam down towards the darkened ocean bottom of Seaquestria. There, hidden in between two huge boulders meeting up at a point, was a small crack. Each sea pony squeezed through the crack and entered a huge grotto where many trinkets of the surface world was stacked.

Each of the Mane 6 had their own section of the large grotto. Twilight had learned the waterproofing spell from one of her original spell books that was saved all of those years ago and used it on any other spell books that Skystar would secretly bring from the surface, improving her magic skills and learning other spells. Also, she used it on any other books for the other girls.

Fluttershy had tons of scrapbooks that have pictures of all sorts of animals from all over the world.

Rarity had remains of Equestrian magazines that had been left in the ocean by tourists that would dare come this far out.

Rainbow Dash had more posters of the Wonderbolts, along with some Daring Do books. Twilight had introduced her to the series a couple of years back, and both of them had been hooked ever since.

Applejack had tied together pieces of kelp to make lassos, and she had jars of some of her own culinary concoctions.

And Pinkie Pie had all kinds of weird little trinkets, from different kinds of forks to screwy nails, but she also had some cooking books that she and AJ would share to make some treats.

After checking over their inventory, they all left their secret grotto. They had to keep the grotto a secret because if Novo found out that Skystar had been sneaking out, and soon the Mane 6, she would not be pleased. 



"Come on." Skystar whispered quietly. She led the Mane 6 to another crack on the other side of Seaquestria. They all squeezed through it and felt like the crevice was leading upwards. Soon, everypony had popped out.

The Mane 6 were in amazement. There was nothing but open water for miles and miles. And the water was clear and a soft bright blue, with hints of sea green. There was lots of underwater plants underneath them, and once in a while, a school of fish would swim by.

"Look over there!" Skystar pointed over to a sunken ship. "That's where I get most of our surface things." Rarity and Twilight got a little nervous about that.

"Let's check it out." Rainbow Dash exclaimed, eager for an adventure.

"Um, are you sure that there's no sharks around?" Fluttershy whimpered. "They're not my very favorite sea creature."

"Don't worry." Skystar assured her. "There had never been any sharks around the many times I snuck out."

"If you say so." Rarity said, still a little nervous.

"Come on!" Rainbow called out, getting a little impatient. Eventually, every pony began following her and Skystar into the sunken ship through one of the windows.

It was dark inside, and it was falling apart. Fluttershy was shaking visibly as she swam after the other girls. Rainbow came beside her.

"Easy there, Flutters." She assured her. "I've got your back."

The shy mare smiled timidly. "Thanks, Rainbow Dash." She said quietly. The other pegasus seapony smiled, and then swam ahead.

"Oh my gosh!" A chipper voice rang out, surprising everypony. Fluttershy even screamed a little and took cover inside an abandoned chest.

Pinkie held up a large serving spoon. "This is the last spoon I needed for my collection." She said.

Everypony rolled their eyes, and Fluttershy came out of her hiding spot. It might still be the shock from earlier, or she was getting the feeling that something was nearby.

"Um, girls?" Fluttershy tried to get her friends' attention. But, she was too quiet for them to hear her.

Twilight then saw an old smoke pipe. "Hey, I think I recognize this." She said, picking it up. "But, I don't remember what it's called."

"How do you recognize that?" Rarity asked.

"I can't quite place it." Twilight answered, eyes narrowing in concentration at the pipe.

"Girls?" Fluttershy tried again. "Maybe we should leave now." But she was still too quiet to be heard.

"It's something from the mainland, that much I know." Twilight said. By now, everypony else except for Fluttershy, who still couldn't shake the feeling that there is something lurking nearby. "Like from where we used to come from."

Suddenly, a large shadow loomed over the many broken windows of the ship. The pale yellow seapony mare slowly turned to where the source of the shadow was, and her blood froze.

It was a large dark gray shark, with rows of teeth visible from its open jaws, waiting to eat the much smaller seapony in one bite. But with an ear-piercing scream, Fluttershy zoomed away from the window, leaving the shark to smash the glass instead.

"SHARK!" Fluttershy screamed, finally getting the others' attention. "Let's get out of here!" The large carnivorous fish had now entered the ship remains and now saw that there was a whole feast inside for it.

Everypony began to scatter. "I thought you said that there were no sharks in this area!" Rainbow Dash yelled over at Skystar.

"There weren't!" Skystar shouted back.

Applejack pushed a large wooden crate with her tail at the shark to keep it from eating her. "Maybe with all of the racket from earlier, we lured one right here!" She guessed as she swam away from the shark, who was spitting out the wood from the crate.

"Pinkie!" Most of the girls chided, glaring at the hyperactive mare.

The pink seapony giggled sheepishly. "Uh, oopsie?" She shrugged nervously.

"Come on, y'all!" Applejack said, grabbing her hat to put back on her head. "We gotta git outta here!"

Twilight looked around and saw that there was an opening leading out to the deck. "Follow me!" She ordered. No one complained as they all zipped out of the ship, the shark on their tails.

Rainbow saw an anchor nearby and got an idea. She swam to it, getting in front to block the view of it from the shark. "Hey, you big ugly!" She taunted. "Over here!"

The shark saw the cyan blue seapony waving her hooves, making fun of it. It angrily charged at her, but then Rainbow zoomed away, making it get its head stuck in the anchor head.

"Yeah!" Dash cheered, pumping a hoof. "That's what you get when you mess with us!"

The other girls swam over to get a better look at the shark, who was struggling to get its head out. Fluttershy felt a twang of pity for the big brute in front of her. Even though she wasn't a big fan of sharks, she had to help it. Slowly, she made her way towards it beside Rainbow.

"Fluttershy!" Rarity called after her.

But her cry was ignored. "Um, calm down, please." Fluttershy timidly told the shark, who was still thrashing around. "Please stay still!" The pale yellow seapony said a little louder, and the shark finally stopped moving to look at her.

"We're sorry that you're stuck, but you did give us such a fright." Fluttershy explained to the shark. "Now, if you hold still and promise that you won't do that again to us, we'll help you get out of there."

The other seaponies were a little confused, but decided not to argue. This was all part of Fluttershy's personality, to show any beast a little kindness, even to the most terrifying ones.

"Can you give us a hoof, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked the purple sea pony. She swam on over. "Can you make the anchor a little bigger for Mr. Shark to get out?"

Twilight nodded, and ignited her horn, enveloping it in bright raspberry magenta sparkles. The anchor soon had the same sparkly magic surrounding it. Then, it grew a little larger, just enough for the shark to remove its head before it shrank back to its normal size.

"There we go." Twilight said, turning off her magic.

"You're free to go now." Fluttershy said to the shark. The large fish nuzzled her before it swam away into the deeper depths of the ocean.

"Please tell me that there will be no more drama today." Applejack asked.

"I don't think so." Pinkie assured her. "Now, show us the surface, Skystar!" She said to the seapony princess, giving her pleading eyes.

Skystar giggled. "Okay!" She said. "Follow me!"

The girls all followed her upwards towards the surface. The further up they swam, the brighter the water seemed to get.

Finally, with a splash, everypony popped their heads out of the ocean water. The Mane 6 felt their breaths hitch with amazement as they looked around. They had forgotten what it was like to feel the wind. The sun beaming down on them, warming their faces and slowly drying their manes. The sea was sparkling in the sunlight, and not that far off in the distance, there was the island where Mount Aris stood, tall and proud against the surrounding sea.

Skystar sighed, sniffing the salty air. "It feels great, doesn't it, girls?" There was no answer from anypony. The seapony princess looked over at her friends, who were still looking around in wonder and slight recognition. "Are you okay?" She asked.

They still didn't answer her. Finally, Twilight gave a response in song. One by one, the other girls piped in.

Twilight: This is where I belong,
Beneath the clear wide blue here.
I feel completely new here in the world above.

Pinkie Pie: It's like my life was wrong,
And somehow, now at last I'm in
My own skin,
Up here in the world above.

Rainbow Dash: There's so much light here,
Light and space.

Applejack: The sun's so bright here
Upon my face.

Fluttershy: It feels so right here,
Warm as love.

Rarity: Life seems to be
Almost calling to me,

All: From this strange new world above.

The Mane 6 felt like they never wanted to leave the surface ever again after being reunited with it in ten years. Skystar smiled fondly. Of course they might react this way. After all, this is where they really came from.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash felt a weird sensation building up in her nose. At first, she thought she was about to sneeze, but then realized that a strangely familiar scent was hitting her nostrils. She sniffed the air, and could tell the sea air from the air higher up in the sky.

As she took one more sniff, her blood started to run cold and her head began pounding. She recognized that smell, and she hadn't smelled that scent in ten years, and on that very day.

Fluttershy saw that her friend had turned pale. "You okay, Dashie?" She asked.

"Guys, I think we should leave now." Rainbow said.

"Why?" Rarity asked. "It's such a gorgeous day out."

"I think it won't last for long." Rainbow said.

Just then, a loud rumble was heard. Everypony looked up and towards the north. Dark clouds were billowing, with lightning flashing once in a while. The water over there seemed dark and dreary. The Mane 6 froze as memories long buried began to resurface as well.

It was a storm. And a big one, too.
> An Unexpected Rescue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Love on Land and Sea



Chapter 4



An Unexpected Rescue


Skystar turned over to the girls as the storm began heading their way. "We gotta head back, now." She said frantically. But just as the seapony princess was about to head back underwater, she stopped when she saw that the other girls were frozen in place, their eyes widened in fear. "Girls?" She asked.

The Mane 6 looked up at the rough storm ahead of them that was closing in. Memories that were once buried deep within their minds began to resurface after ten long years.

Flashback

The six fillies on deck looked around frantically, and sure enough, there was a mass of dark gray clouds heading their way coming from the left. White lightning blasted and danced around within the gigantic funnel. Wind was blasting and whipping into the sails as the fillies grabbed hold of the ship's safety bars and of each other, holding their hooves tight.

"Hang on!" Rainbow Dash shouted over the loud wind.

"Obviously!" Rarity yelled back, holding on for dear life.

The fillies heard their parents calling their names, their siblings joining in the search, calling for them, and two foals crying loudly because of the booming thunder overhead. Rain was now pouring over the ship and pelting everypony wet to the bone. The deck and safety bars suddenly became super slippery, and the fillies lost their grip on the bars, but somewhat luckily for them, not on each other.

The next minute was a whole blur for them. One second, they were sliding across the deck while a lightning bolt lit up the sky. The next second, they were falling through the air, screaming all the way.

End of Flashback

A large piece of wood flying towards them got the Mane 6 out of their trip down memory lane. They ducked it by heading underwater and then coming right back up. Skystar came over to them.

"Come on, girls!" She said. "We gotta get back home! The storm is getting worse."

The girls nodded and followed Skystar underwater. All except for Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy and Rarity swam back up to her.

"Pinkie!" Fluttershy called out to her. "Let's go!"

But the pink seapony was staring at something far off in the dark gray distance. She thought she had seen something when the lightning had struck across the sky.

"Pinkie! Is something wrong?" Rarity asked.

Then, a bright white flash of lightning lit up the sky momentarily again, and Pinkie saw it. She gasped in horror and then quickly dove down towards the other girls with Fluttershy and Rarity following behind her.

"Girls!" She said, stopping them. "I saw something in the storm! It looked like a boat."

The girls gasped in horror. "Do you think there is somepony in that boat?" Fluttershy asked. "If there is, then they might be in danger!"

"We gotta go see!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"But if we do, Mom will find that I snuck you girls out!" Skystar said. "And she's not going to be happy."

Applejack looked up at the dreary surface. "If there is somepony up there, we have to help 'em." She said.

"I agree." Twilight added. She then turned to Skystar. "Just wait for us down here. Once the surface clears up, come and find us. We'll be near the shore."

Skystar wanted to argue more with them, but it seemed that the Mane 6 had made their decision. "Okay." She complied. "But please be careful."

The Mane 6 nodded and then swam back up towards the surface where the storm was pouring over. Wind was blasting all around, creating roaring waves.

"See anything yet?" Twilight asked, shouting over the loud wind.

"Not yet!" Rainbow shouted back.

Pinkie was looking all around the wreckage frantically. There were pieces of debris floating everywhere. Rarity and Fluttershy were busy trying to pick up all of it so that the ocean doesn't get polluted.

"I think now ain't the time to be eco-friendly!" Applejack shouted to them over the roar of the wind. The white and pale yellow seaponies begrudgingly released their collections of debris and continued on with the search.

Just then, Pinkie saw something floating on top of the dark waves. At first, it looked like a piece of plywood that must've been part of the boat that got caught. But when lightning struck the sky again, she saw that it was much too bulky to be a piece of plywood. She gasped when she saw that it was a board, but that somepony was hanging onto it.

"I think I found something!" Pinkie called back to her friends. All six seaponies swam under the storm a little closer to the wreckage. When they surfaced, they saw that the pony was gone.

"Where he'd go?" Rainbow asked, looking around.

Everypony else also searched around the wreckage, where more pieces of wood and very few luggage have survived so far.

Pinkie whirled around behind her and saw a pony unconscious and barely hanging onto the piece of driftwood he was on. He then slipped off the driftwood and began to sink into the depths of the ocean. Pinkie quickly dove in after him, wrapped her hooves around him and pulled him back up to air.

"I got him!" She called out to her friends. The other members of the Mane 6 turned to see her holding the unconscious stallion in her forelegs.

"Come on, girls!" Twilight ordered. "Over to the sea cave!"

The many sea caves near Mount Aris were the closest area the Mane 6 ever got to the surface in the past ten years. True, inside the caves were large air pockets with pools, but as tempted as they were to swim further upward through the cave system, they knew that Queen Novo would find out since there were a couple of guards positioned at the cave entrance, and they could check in at anytime.

The other members of the Mane 6 nodded, and they began swimming towards safer water, with Pinkie holding the stallion close to her so that she doesn't lose her grip on him.





Soon, they had arrived at a large cave that was inside Mount Aris and reached out towards the coast through an underwater tunnel. Pinkie dragged the stallion inside the cave and laid him gently on the cave floor that was out of the water.

Now she could get a good look at the land stallion. He had a curly mane and tail similar to hers, but it was brown, almost like chocolate. His mustard yellow coat provided a strange yet perfect contrast, though the brighter yellow shirt he was wearing on his chest was sopping wet. Pinkie didn't know why, but her eyes began to trail down his body, her cheeks starting to turn hot and red as she did so. Finally, she caught a glimpse of the stallion's cutie mark before finally tearing her eyes away from him before she would get caught and before her cheeks would turn any redder. His cutie mark was a cheese sandwich being cut in half.

"How's it looking out there?" Twilight asked Rainbow. The blue seapony dove down to get a good look, and then came back up.

"Thankfully, it's ending." Dash said. "The wind's starting to recede, and the sea is definitely calmer now."

Pinkie then noticed that there was a large cut on the stallion's forehead. It must've been how he was unconscious when they found him. If it wasn't bleeding already thanks to the constant spray of saltwater, it was starting to now.

"Girls, he's hurt." She informed. The other members of the Mane 6 got a look at the cut.

"That doesn't look good." Rainbow said.

"Fluttershy, get some seaweed." Twilight said. "There should be some at the bottom of the pool."

Fluttershy nodded, and then headed down to the pool floor. Just as Twilight had said, there were large kelp at the bottom. She tore out an exceptionally long piece of kelp and swam back up to the cave surface.

The pale yellow seapony handed the seaweed to Pinkie, who began to gently wrap it around the cut on the stallion's forehead. Once she was done, she tied it off and carefully laid his head back on the sand.

"Maybe now, we should head back to Seaquestria." Rarity said. "The ocean is much less dangerous now."

"But what about him?" Fluttershy asked, pointing to the unconscious land stallion that was lying the sandy ground of the cave. Pinkie had pulled herself closer to him so that she herself was on dry land.

"We can't leave here right now." Pinkie said.

"What about to not being seen by land critters?" Applejack asked. "I don't wanna leave him either, but we gotta git back."

"I hate to say it, but I agree." Twilight said. "Skystar is gonna get worried, and Novo is going to get suspicious and find out that we snuck up here."

Suddenly, the Mane 6 heard a quiet groaning sound echoing throughout the cave. The sound made their blood run cold. They turned around and saw that the land stallion was starting to stir out of his unconsciousness.

"He's waking up!" Rainbow whispered.

"What do we do?" Fluttershy asked.

"Hide!" Twilight quietly ordered. The Mane 6 dove down into the cave pool, Pinkie jumping in to get herself off of land and landing in the water with a splash.

The stallion slowly sat up, rubbing his forehead. "Uh…." He groaned. "What just happened?"

From underwater, the Mane 6 were watching him, especially Pinkie. The stallion then opened his eyes, revealing him to be a stunning green. Pinkie felt like she couldn't tear her eyes away from them, like she was entranced by them.

The stallion then looked at his surroundings. He was confused as to why he was in a sea cave and not on board his boat. He then felt something wrapped around his forehead. He reached up with one hoof and gingerly felt the seaweed bandage.

"Where am I?" He asked himself. "How did I get here?"

"We brought you here." A chipper yet muffled voice piped up, making the stallion perk up in surprise.

From underwater, Pinkie had her hooves over her mouth, regretting her sudden outburst. Rainbow even gave her a slap upside the head, glaring at her as if to say, "Nice going!"

"Who said that?" The stallion asked. "Who are you?"

Pinkie wanted to respond, but seeing as how she already made things worse, she didn't. Rarity gave her a nudge on the shoulder, silently gesturing that she should say something. Pinkie understood why. They were in hot water already as they were. It probably would figure that things couldn't get worse.

"Don't be scared." She decided to say. "We won't hurt you."

The stallion then saw that the voice was coming from the water. "Show yourself." He said.

Slowly, from out of the seawater, a pony head came out. The stallion's eyes widened in amazement as the mare pulled herself further out of the water until half of her body was out of the pool.

She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. The mare had crystal blue eyes that reflected the sky's blue shade, a rosy pink coat that looked like cotton candy, and her boyish poofy mane was a darker shade, like raspberries. The two shared eye contact for a few long seconds. The stallion felt like he has seen her somewhere before. But it couldn't be her, could it? Yet, this mare looked like a grown-up version of the filly of his dreams when he was a colt.

The mare smiled at him. "Hi, there." She said shyly, but she had a bright white smile on her muzzle.

"Hi." The stallion returned the greeting, just as entranced as she was. When he looked further down, his eyes widened again, but this time in shock.

Instead of back legs with a cutie mark, the mare had a long scaly tail that matched the rosy pink tone of her coat, a large raspberry pink fin on the end, and an extra fin on her back had her cutie mark there, which was three balloons; two blue and one yellow.

The stallion couldn't believe his eyes. He was looking at a real-life seapony.




> Meetings, Memories and Rebuilding
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Love on Land and Sea



Chapter 5



Meetings, Memories and Rebuilding


Pinkie and the land stallion didn't tear their eyes away from each other's own. From underwater in the pool, the other seaponies, particularly Rainbow Dash, were getting a bit impatient.

"Why doesn't she draw a picture of him?" She quietly complained. "It will last longer."

"Oh, hush." Rarity chided her, finding the little moment they were sharing rather adorable.

"You-you're a….mermare?" Cheese asked her, his voice cracking with nervousness and awe.

Pinkie shook her head with a bright smile. "Nope. I'm a seapony. Enormous difference. Observe." She hoisted her tail up. "No pointy fins on this tail."

Cheese only nodded mutely, his jaw still dropped by the beautiful creature in front of him.

"There's more of us, you know." Pinkie added.

The other seaponies down below her slapped their foreheads in unison.

"Did she have to say that?" Applejack muttered.

"Really?" Cheese asked.

Pinkie nodded. "Yup!" She then lowered her tail back into the water and turned back to the pool. "It's all right, girls. He won't bite."

Eventually, one by one, the other seaponies emerged from the water beside the pink one. Cheese stared at them with awe, all of them beautiful in their own way, but the pink seapony still was the most beautiful of them all, at least in his eyes.

The first one that showed herself was a purple seapony with a matching unicorn horn on her forehead, amethyst purple eyes, and a long wet indigo blue mane with violet and pink highlights. Her fin matched her coat, but it was a fluked tail instead of dorsal. Her cutie mark of a magenta star with five white smaller ones was on an extra indigo fin.

The second one was a cyan blue seapony with magenta eyes and a long, wet rainbow colored mane. Her fluked tail matched her coat and mane, and she had an extra purple fin that showed her cutie mark of a rainbow lightning bolt. She even had two see-through blue fins that looked like delicate wings. Pinned behind her right ear was a gold medallion of the Wonderbolts emblem.

The third one was an orange seapony with emerald green eyes, tiny white freckles on her cheeks, and a long wet blonde mane that was tied in a ponytail. Her dorsal tail matched her coat and mane, even down to being tied so that there was a hole in the middle, and she had an extra blonde fin on her tail that showed her cutie mark of three red apples. On her head was a beige Stetson hat, soaked with seawater.

The fourth one was a pale yellow seapony with teal green eyes and a long, wet, soft pink mane. Her fluked tail matched her coat and mane, and she had an extra rosy pink fin on her tail that showed her cutie mark of three pink butterflies. Also, like the seapony with the rainbow colored mane, she had two delicate fins that resembled wings.

Finally, the last one was a white seapony with a matching unicorn horn on her forehead, sapphire blue eyes, and a long wet but curled purple mane. Her fluked tail matched her coat and mane, and it even had four blue diamond studs which matched her cutie mark of three blue diamonds, which was on an extra fin on her tail.

"These are my friends." Pinkie began to introduce them. "This is Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity." She pointed to each one respectively before pointing to herself. "Oh, and I'm Pinkie Pie."

Cheese felt his jaw drop again for the third time in the day. The gorgeous seapony in front of him was the same filly who had captured his interest when he was a colt, and the same one who had vanished ten years ago? And the other seaponies were the other fillies that went missing at the same time?

"Hello?" Rainbow asked, waving a hoof in front of the stunned stallion. "Anypony home?" Still not receiving a response, she splashed him with some of the pool water, snapping him out of his stupor.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He said, shaking his head to get the water off.

"So, what's your name?" Pinkie asked him.

"Uh, Cheese Sandwich." He answered.

Pinkie smiled brightly at him. "Nice to meet you." She said. "And just so you know, we were the ones who saved you from that storm."

"Huh." Cheese said, faintly remembering the storm that he tried to avoid, but ended up getting caught in it. Then, he must've gotten knocked out.

Twilight studied him carefully. "Are you from Equestria?" She asked.

Cheese nodded. "Of course I am." He said. "Why would you ask?"

"It's been ten years since we had seen it." Twilight replied sadly. The other seaponies looked down at the water, looking downtrodden.

"I miss being able to fly." Rainbow said, remembering how much she loved flying and racing through the sky.

"I miss working on the land." Applejack added, memories of her and her family working on their land.

"And I miss all the designs and fashions ideas I had when I had four hooves." Rarity piped in, recalling all of the dreams she had when she was a filly.

"Wait a minute." Cheese said. "Are you telling me that you six have been underwater this whole time, and just today, you have come up to the surface?"

The Mane 6 nodded. "The queen doesn't like anyone coming up to the surface." Fluttershy explained.

"She's like an overprotective mother for all the seaponies." Rainbow added.

"Though it was very kind of her to take us in when we were lost at sea, she still doesn't allow anyone to leave Seaquestria." Rarity added.

"So the place you girls live is called Seaquestria?" Cheese asked.

"Yup." Pinkie confirmed.

"So, do you know anything about our families?" Fluttershy asked him. "It's been so long, we hardly remember them." Tears started to well up in her large teal eyes. The other girls started to softly shed tears.

Cheese shook his head. "I don't know much about your families personally." He said. "However, Twilight, do you remember a baby dragon that you started to raise before you left?"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah." She answered.

"Well, he just happens to be one of my closest friends." Cheese added.

"Really?" Twilight asked with a wide smile. "Spike is one of your friends?"

"Yup." Cheese confirmed. "He helps your brother, Captain Shining Armor, at the Royal Palace in Canterlot."

"Canterlot?" The girls all asked with wide eyes. "Really?"

Cheese nodded. "Well, since I'm late, I need to get back to Equestria. But my boat's at the bottom of the ocean."

Applejack started to think. "Well, maybe we can help you rebuild it." She suggested. "We can collect the timbers from the wreck and bring them back up. Then, we can help you rebuild it until it's as good as new."

"Great idea, Applejack!" Twilight exclaimed.

"But what's Queen Novo going to say?" Fluttershy asked. "She already doesn't know that Skystar snuck us up here. She might suspect that something's going on if we're continually disappearing to head up here. And who knows how long it will take to rebuild the boat?"

"I think that's a chance we're gonna have to take." Rainbow said firmly.

"Just because we can't return to Equestria doesn't mean that somepony else should suffer the same consequences!" Rarity proclaimed.

"Then it's settled." Twilight said, and then turned back to Cheese. "You'll stay here tonight. The storm should be over already. If not, then tomorrow. In the morning, we'll come for you so that we can bring you to the beach."

"That's good." Cheese said.

"But, what about Skystar?" Pinkie asked. "She would want to know about us helping Cheese."

For some reason, Cheese felt his face turn bright red, loving the way his name sounded from her mouth.

"I think we need to keep this from Skystar, too." Twilight said sadly.

"Why?" Pinkie questioned again. Out of all of them, she was the one closest to Skystar. She felt terrible about having to lie to her.

"She's already risking a punishment from her mom by sneaking us up here." Twilight began to explain. "I don't think we would want her to get into more trouble if she knew about us helping to rebuild a land dweller's boat."

"Good point." Pinkie said.

"Girls, we gotta get going now." Applejack said, looking down at the entrance to the ocean from the pool. "It'll be gettin' dark soon."

"See you in the morning, Cheese." Twilight said. One by one, the Mane 6 softly dove back into the water, swimming back out to the sea. Pinkie was the last one, pausing to look back at Cheese and give him a little wave goodbye. He returned it as she dove down, her tail rising up and then disappearing into the deep blue water.

Cheese finally felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders as he leaned back. He had just encountered the Lost Fillies, including the one who had captured his heart, and learned why they had never returned. He definitely needed to rest after this revelation.





The Mane 6 dove down back towards the cave to where Skystar is waiting for them. If she had nails instead of fins, she would have been biting them in nervousness. When she saw them, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, girls!" She exclaimed, swimming over to meet them. "I was worried that you might have been swept away!"

"Nope, we're okay." Pinkie said. A bright and cheesy smile was on her muzzle.

Skystar grinned back. But it was quickly erased. "Come on." She whispered. "My mom would be wondering where we are."

The girls all nodded to her and they swam over to the royal pod, avoiding the guards that were circling around. Once they got inside, Skystar bade them good night and swam over to her chambers.

The Mane 6 quickly swam to the large room that they shared since they were fillies. Six beds carved out of giant clam shells all laid in rows against the walls, having a vanity and nightstand made out of coral and sea glass next to each one. The colorful blankets were all woven with sea grass and the pillows were made from colorful seaweed wrapped around cushions that the hippogriffs had brought down from Mount Aris long ago.

Rarity swam over to her vanity and began removing her makeup and necklace. Applejack took her hat and necklace off and put them on her nightstand. Rainbow removed the Wonderbolt pin from behind her ear and her own necklace and placed them on her own stand. Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy just removed their necklaces and just laid down in their beds.

Soon, the entrances kelp drapes of their room were pushed aside, and Queen Novo entered the room. "Good evening, ladies." She greeted.

The Mane 6 stopped what they were doing and faced the queen. "Good evening." They replied cordially.

"I hope you've had an enjoyable day." Novo said.

"It definitely was….interesting." Twilight decided to say.

Novo looked at her curiously. The other girls gave her a worried glance out of the corner of their eyes. Luckily, the queen only smiled.

"Well, it only makes you wonder what tomorrow will bring." She said simply. "Good night, girls."

"Good night, Your Majesty." The girls all said, bowing their heads in respect.

Novo chuckled. "After ten years of living with us, you have no need for such formalities." She said. "You're like my own daughters."

The girls smiled back at her. "Thank you, Queen Novo." They all said. With that, and a small smile, the queen left the room. As the girls started to get comfy in their beds, Twilight stared at the carving in the wall that served as a window.

Meeting Cheese brought back some thoughts that she pushed back in her mind for much too long. Faint memories started to appear. Herself as a young filly reading wonderful books on land, having four legs. Herself with her family, whose faces were blurry but were still there.

The other girls were having similar thoughts as they laid in their beds. Rainbow Dash remembered what it was like to have real wings and fly in the sky, feeling the wind in her mane. Applejack recalled all of the beautiful memories of herself playing with her siblings in her family's apple orchards. Fluttershy faintly saw land creatures leap all around in her mind's eye. Pinkie Pie saw all of the parties and fun that she had on the surface. And Rarity remembered all of the sketches that she had for dresses and outfits that were meant for ponies with back legs.

But then, they all started to recall a faint melody that had rang in their minds. The thing was, they only remember certain parts of the song. Twilight would always sing the first part, then it was AJ, then Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and then they would all sing the ending.

Twilight was humming the melody under her breath, and then the other mares' heads shot straight up.

"You know that song?" Applejack asked her.

Twilight nodded. "That was a song that my mom sang to me before that storm." She explained. "You know it, too?"

They all nodded. "But I only remember one part of it." AJ piped up.

"Me, too." Fluttershy added in. The others voiced their own confirmations.

The gears inside Twilight's head began slowly turning. "If we all know the same song, but only remember certain parts of it, then I think that it's a sign."

"A sign of what?" Rainbow asked.

"That we need to find our families, back in Equestria." Twilight said.

"But that means that we'll have to-" Fluttershy paused to gulp in nervousness, then whisper quietly. "Leave Seaquestria."

"Are you sure that we must leave?" Rarity asked.

"Yes." Twilight confirmed, nodding her head firmly. "And absolutely nopony must know of our plan."

"Not even Skystar?" Pinkie asked.

The purple seapony mare shook her head. "Not even Skystar." She said. "It's for her own good. If she knows, and if the Queen catches us, she'll not only put us in trouble, but also herself, for she was the one who brought us to the surface when we were not supposed to."

Pinkie still looked a little uneasy about having to continue to lie to Skystar, but eventually nodded her head in understanding.

Twilight smiled at her softly, before bringing all of her friends together. "Okay, then. Here's the plan."





Early the next morning, the Mane 6 were all wide awake and ready. They quietly and carefully swam out of the palace and went over to the secret entrance. After a few minutes of swimming upward, they were back up at the surface, the early breaches of dawn reaching the sky.

The girls all quietly watched in amazement as the sun slowly appeared from behind the horizon, coloring the velvet black sky and the thick gray clouds hues of blue, purple, orange and pink. It was definitely a sight worth seeing.

Soon, after the sun in its entirety climbed up and past the ocean line, the Mane 6 dove back down and headed over to the cove where Cheese was resting. When they reached the pool, they popped their heads out with loud splashes. Apparently, their sudden actions startled Cheese, for he yelped and jumped up when he saw them.

"Sorry." Pinkie apologized, smiling bashfully and feeling an embarrassed rush of heat build up inside her cheeks.

Cheese got over his surprise and rubbed the back of his head with his hoof, his own face flushing a slight red. "No need to apologize." He said.

The other girls looked at the nervous interaction, and then shared glances with each other. Rarity had a knowing grin on her face, and then one by one, the others caught on. Rainbow had to bite back a chuckle.

Pinkie caught their strange interaction. "What's so funny?" She asked.

"Nothing." Applejack teased, having a sly smirk on her face.

"So, what are you ladies doing back here so soon?" Cheese asked.

"Well, we said we were going to help you get back to Equestria." Rainbow Dash said. "And that's what we're going to do."

"Thanks, girls." Cheese said gratefully.

"On one other condition." Twilight came in, swimming closer to the land stallion.

"What's that?" Cheese asked. He heard stories of sailors making deals with mermares, and none of them went well. Well, these mares were technically seaponies, but who's to say?

"You take us back with you to Equestria." Twilight placed the proposition.

Cheese's eyes widened. "Really?" He asked. "What about your lives here?"

Twilight sadly shook her head. "We've been happy, but we want to know what happened to our families." She explained. "It's been far too long not getting any answers. We're not going to wait any longer."

Cheese thought about it for a few moments, glancing at each seapony mare. When his eyes landed on Pinkie, her eyes were pleading, making his heart beat faster and also breaking at the same time.

"Okay." He finally said. "I'll take all of you back to Equestria."

The Mane 6 all cheered happily, Rainbow even diving down and then jumping high out of the water, almost as if she were flying.

"Well now, let's get to work." Applejack said, steadying her wet Stetson on her head.

Cheese nodded. "I'll try to get some supplies here, along with some extra timber. You girls can try and salvage as much of the wreckage as you can."

"That might take weeks!" Rainbow said, thinking ahead and not too excited of the idea.

"Well, I guess we better get started." Twilight replied.

"It's all about your perspective." Cheese advised. "If you have a sour look at it, then it will take forever. If you face it with a smile, then you'll be through with it lickety-split!" After he said that, he then started to sing.

Cheese Sandwich: You stumble through your days.
Got your head hung low,
Your sky's a shade of grey. 

Like a zombie in a maze,
You're asleep inside,
But you can shake awake. 

He then started to do some fancy steps, and Pinkie was quickly mesmerized by the movements, wishing that she could dance like that. So that she and him can dance together.

'Cause you're just a dead colt walking,
Thinking that's your only option.
But you can flip the switch and brighten up your darkest day. 

Sun is up and the color's blinding.
Take the world and redefine it.
Leave behind your narrow mind,
You'll never be the same. 

Come alive, come alive.
Go and light your light.
Let it burn so bright. 

Reaching up
To the sky,
And it's open wide.
You're electrified.

The rhythm of the song was pretty contagious, and the Mane 6 were moving their bodies to the beat as Cheese sang and danced.

When the world becomes a fantasy,
And you're more than you could ever be,
'Cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open.

And you know you can't go back again
To the world that you were living in,
'Cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open.
So, come alive!

With his encouragement, the Mane 6 all dove down to collect as much of the ship's wreckage as they could, while Cheese looked for some fresh supplies on land.

I see it in your eyes.
You believe that lie
That you need to keep on hiding. 

Afraid to step outside,
So you lock the door.
But don't you stay that way! 

The girls then started to sing along, one by one. Their excitement of seeing Equestria and possibly their families again was enough to get them so pumped up that they weren't even tired, even if they were working for hours. Some collected wreckage and brought it back up to the surface, while the others repaired with kelp ropes and some makeshift nails.

Fluttershy: No more living in those shadows.
You and me, we know how that goes. 

Pinkie Pie: 'Cause once you see it, oh you'll never, never be the same. 

Both: We will be the light that's turning.
Bottle up but keep on shining.
You can prove there's more to you. 

Cheese: You cannot be afraid! 

Then, all of them started to sing along.

All: Come alive, come alive.
Go and light your light.
Let it burn so bright. 

Reaching up
To the sky,
And it's open wide
You're electrified. 

When the world becomes a fantasy,
And you're more than you could ever be,
'Cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open. 

And we know we can't go back again
To the world that we were living in,
'Cause we're dreaming with our eyes wide open.
So, come alive!

As the days quickly turned to weeks, the repair of the ship soon became a routine. The Mane 6 would sneak away from Seaquestria as soon as they could, and then come up to the surface to help Cheese rebuild his boat. Then, at the end of the day, they would head back underwater, happy, excited and tired. Queen Novo and Princess Skystar were a little curious as to where they were disappearing to every day, but they both didn't pay much mind to it, noticing that the Mane 6 were always very tired when they came back to the palace for dinner.

Come one!
Come all!
Come in!
Come on!

Rainbow Dash: To anyone who's bursting with a dream. 

Come one!
Come all!
You hear
The call! 

Cheese: To anyone who's searching for a way to break free! 

Mane 6: Break free!
Break free!

All: When the world becomes a fantasy,
And you're more than you could ever be,
'Cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open. 

And we know we can't go back again
To the world that we were living in,
'Cause we're dreaming with our eyes wide open. 

Mane 6: Hey! 

All: When the world becomes a fantasy,
And you're more than you could ever be,
'Cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open. 

And we know we can't go back again
To the world that we were living in,
'Cause we're dreaming with our eyes wide open. 

'Cause we're dreaming with our eyes wide open.
So come alive! (Come alive!) 

Finally, after about two weeks later, the boat was finished, new and improved for some more passengers.

Cheese wiped away some sweat from his brow. "Whew!" He exclaimed. "That wasn't too much of a chore."

"Even if it took two weeks?" Rainbow asked him.

"Nope!" He said cheerfully, making the cyan seapony mare roll her eyes, but there was a faint smile on her face.

"I think we can even set sail tomorrow at the earliest." Cheese proclaimed.

"Tomorrow?" Fluttershy asked, surprised of why so soon that they must leave.

"I've been away from home too long as it is." Cheese replied. "The sooner I get home, the sooner I can let my friends know that I'm okay, and the sooner you girls can come to Equestria."

"Sounds good enough for me." Rainbow said confidently.

"Uh, only one problem that we forgot to think about." Applejack cut in. She then lifted up her tail. "How the hay are we supposed to get to Equestria if we only have fins?"

The other girls slightly lifted up their own tails. "Didn't think that far." Twilight answered, realizing the little flaw in their plan.

"So that's it?" Pinkie asked, her voice almost wavering.

"All of our work for nothing?" Rarity added.

Fluttershy whimpered in sadness at the thought of the futility of the plan. The others all looked down with defeat.

But then, Twilight raised her head, her eyes gleaming with determination. "No." She said firmly. "We've come too far to give up now. We'll find a way."

The other girls looked at each other, feeling Twilight's determination pass to them, and then reciprocating it for each other. "We'll start packing some things, and try to find a way to get ourselves on land." Twilight ordered, and then turned to Cheese. "Keep an eye on the boat, and make sure that it is fully stable to set sail."

Cheese saluted her. "Aye-aye, ma'am." He said.

Twilight nodded at him confidently, and then dove into the sea with a splash, the other seaponies following her. Cheese watched their blurred colorful forms disappear back into the depths of the ocean. Hopefully, they can figure out a way to come with him back to Equestria.
> The Forbidden Spell
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Love on Land and Sea



Chapter 6



The Forbidden Spell


The Mane 6 had snuck back into Seaquestria, quietly swimming around the kingdom as it grew sleepier and sleepier. Twilight led them into the castle.

"What is the plan exactly?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"If we want to get our land hooves, then we go to what changed us first." Twilight said.

The girls all gasped. "Ya don't mean…." Applejack trailed off before she fearfully continued. "Steal the pearl?"

Twilight shook her head. "That's a bad plan, I know." She said. "I meant to say, find the magic."

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked. "Find some other spell?"

The lilac unicorn seapony nodded. "Exactly." She said. "And I know that the seaponies had brought down some books and put them in the library before they were forced underwater."

"Well, it's worth a shot." Rainbow Dash said.

They all quietly swam to the royal library, which was actually a little small for such a place. But then again, they couldn't bring all their books down at such a fast pace to avoid the danger that they had to hide from.

"Spread out." Twilight quietly ordered. "Check every book. There has to be something that can help us."

The Mane 6 started to scour the few piles of books, hoping to find anything. But after a few minutes, it was starting to seem like their efforts were fruitless.

"Anything?" Twilight whispered to the other girls.

Rarity shook her head. "Nothing, darling."

Applejack snapped hers shut and tossed it away over her shoulder. "Ain't nothing in that one, either."

Rainbow swam to put her book away. "Zilch."

"Sorry, Twilight." Fluttershy said as she put the book she had on the coral desk. "Nothing in this one, either."

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie came over, with a book in hoof. "I found something!" She exclaimed, and Twilight immediately slapped her hoof over Pinkie's mouth. All of them held their breaths, praying that no one heard that.

After a few seconds of nothing happening, Twilight removed her hoof. Rainbow zipped over and punched Pinkie's shoulder. "This is supposed to be a stealth mission." She hissed.

"Sorry." Pinkie whispered.

"Now, what did you find, Pinkie?" Twilight asked.

The pink seapony showed her friend the book she found. It had a black cover, with the title "Forbidden Spells" on it. Twilight gaped at her. "Really?" She asked her.

"You said to check everything." Pinkie said. "And I checked everything, even the queen's personal study desk."

Rarity gasped. "Pinkie Pie!" She quietly admonished. "You know that no one is allowed to search through the queen's personal items."

Twilight magically took the book. "Well, maybe Pinkie does have a point here." She said.

"Thank you." Pinkie said, and then pointed to the book. "Page 39."

Twilight magically flipped through the forbidden book to that page. There, on the paper, was a spell. "Here it is." She said. "A spell that can interfere with the pearl's transformation powers."

"Does that mean it can grant us our land hooves back?" Fluttershy asked.

"It sounds like it can." Twilight said. "But the kicker is that it must be done on land."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Rainbow asked, swimming in a loop. "Let's grab that spell and get out of here!"

Twilight took a deep breath. "I hate to have to do this." She whispered to herself. Then, with her magic, she tore the page with the spell out of the book and folded it.

Her friends were surprised that Twilight, the bookworm, actually tore a page out of a book. "Never thought I'd live to see you do that, Twi." Rainbow said.

The lilac seapony gulped. "Desperate times call for desperate measures." She said, lifting Applejack's hat and placed the spell under it. "Now, let's go."

But before they could swim out of the library, a pale blue light suddenly came on, making them freeze. They all turned to the entrance and saw that Queen Novo was there, holding the pearl in her fins, which was emitting that blue light, with a stern glare on her face.

"May I ask what you girls are doing here this late?" She asked.

Everyone gulped nervously. "Uh, we were, uh," Rarity stammered.

"Helping Twilight with some late-night studying!" Rainbow cut in.

The other girls quickly agreed to the lie. But the queen still didn't look satisfied.

"Then I'm pretty sure that none of you want to say where you've been sneaking off to for the past couple of weeks?" She asked.

The Mane 6 all froze again and bit their lips. They couldn't let Novo know about their plans to leave Seaquestria with Cheese Sandwich. When she saw that none of them were answering her, she waved to them with her fin. "Come."

Even though this was slightly better than they had thought, the Mane 6 still had the sneaking suspicion that this was not over.





In a matter of minutes, everyone was in the grotto where all of the stuff the girls had collected over the years from the surface were kept. Novo turned back to them.

"Now, where have you girls been for the past two weeks?" She asked. There was still no answer from any of them. The queen sighed. "Well then, I guess I'll have to request an audience with that land colt."

All of them gasped. "H-How did you know that?" Applejack asked her nervously.

Novo narrowed her eyes sternly at them. "You girls think that I don't have sentries around the borders of the city to keep an eye out for danger?" She asked them.

The girls were all silent. "You all had disobeyed me." Novo said. "You know that no one is allowed at the surface."

"Did you forget that we're originally from the surface?" Twilight asked.

"I didn't forget." Novo said to her. "But you still aren't allowed up here. It's dangerous."

"We just got caught in a storm trying to save that land colt's life. Nothing really bad happened when we're up there." Pinkie said.

"PINKIE!" The other five exclaimed, making the pink seapony clap her hooves over her mouth at what she had unintentionally confessed.

"Caught in a storm?" Novo asked, her eyes wide. "You don't know where that storm came from, and you all could've been killed!"

"It was just a plain storm." Rainbow said. "What's really so frightening about it?"

"I can think of a few reasons." Fluttershy mumbled, but then Applejack gave her a dry look.

"Not helping, sugarcube." She whispered. The pale yellow seapony held her hooves tight to her body in embarrassment.

"If there was something off about that storm or not, you still disobeyed me." Novo said. "Now, I think I have to talk drastic measures." She swam around the grotto, eyeing every piece there. She then turned back to the girls.

Queen Novo: This is where you belong.

"You don't understand." Rarity said, trying to reason with her. But Novo cut her off, making all of the girls flinch.

For once, just listen, will you?
Those savage brutes will kill you in the world above.

"But that land colt's not dangerous." Pinkie said, her thoughts drifting to Cheese. Novo's glare turned more cold.

Don't try that same old song.
I'll have you grounded 'til next year.
Am I clear?
Don't go near that world above!

"We're not fillies anymore!" Rainbow retorted to her. "And you're not really our mother, so you can't exactly ground us!"

"No?! Have you all lost your senses? He came from up there! You're seaponies, therefore, you must stay down here!" Novo shouted, her temper flaring up.

"You can't keep us from the world forever!" Twilight shouted back, violet eyes turned up into defiant flames. "We just want to go home!"

But Novo gave all six of them an icy cold glare as the pearl in her fins began glowing a sickly yellow.

I'm still the queen here!
My world is law!
This stuff you bring here
Is the final straw!

The Mane 6 had their eyes widened in horror when a sharp chill came down their spines. Thoughts of what Novo might do next terrified them.

When push, my girls, has come to shove,
I'll make you obey
'Til you do as I say.

I don't care, come what may,
But I'll keep you away
From that cruel, harsh, cold, vile world above!

Wicked, jagged streams of the sickly yellow light began emitting from the pearl brightly, blinding the girls, so they had to shield their eyes from it. There were sounds of objects breaking and ripping apart for many long agonizing seconds that made them all flinch and wince from the noises. Finally, the light had faded.

When the girls removed their hooves from their eyes, they were horrified. Everything that they had about the surface, their books, their accessories, their trinkets; everything was destroyed. Tears began welling up in their eyes. But Twilight was the only one who had enough gall at the moment to glare at the queen.

"How could you?" She asked. With that question lingering in the water they breathe, the girls immediately swam out of the grotto, tears streaming down their faces, mixing with the seawater around them.

Novo took a deep breath as a sorrowful and pained look came onto her face. She knew that this was extreme, but she must do everything she can to protect them. Even after all these years they spent in Seaquestria, they still don't know the reason why the hippogriffs had left their home on Mount Aris. And as long as they have those fins, the ocean will remain a part of them, no matter where they go. The ocean protects them, and so they must stay.





The Mane 6 were all lying on their clam beds, softly sobbing into their kelp pillows. All of their treasures from the surface were gone.

"How could she do this?" Fluttershy asked.

"I don't know, darling." Rarity answered tearfully.

"We just wanted to go see our home." Pinkie piped in sadly.

Applejack felt her hat floating off her head again, so she habitually pressed it down to keep it from drifting away. But then, she felt something else resting on her mane. She lifted her hat up slightly, and the page with the spell came floating down from its hiding spot underneath her hat and it softly landed on her bed. Emerald eyes widened in surprise, she picked it up and unfolded it, staring at the words and diagrams printed there in slightly fading ink.

"We still have a chance." She said, flipping onto her side, getting the others' attention as she held the spell up for everypony to see it.

"The spell." Twilight said quietly in realization, hope starting to rise in her again as she came over to AJ's bed. The feeling was most likely contagious as the other girls came to the same conclusion as they gathered around.

"As long as we have that spell, who's going to stop us from seeing Equestria?" Rainbow Dash asked rhetorically.

The other girls all looked at each other, confidence and determination once more beginning to swell inside of them.

"We have this opportunity upon us, girls." Rarity said. "We might not get this chance again."

They all nodded in agreement, knowing grins on their faces.

However, Fluttershy's grin quickly vanished from her muzzle. "But, if we do leave, we may never see Seaquestria again." She pointed out.

The Mane 6 all became quiet at the point that the shy seapony made. There was a high chance that they could never come back to Seaquestria.

But then, Applejack quietly spoke up. "If we leave now, there's no doubt that the queen will be mighty mad at us." She said. "But at the same time, we can give her some time to cool down and understand why we left in the first place."

The others pondered AJ's words. "I'm with AJ." Rainbow said. "What about you girls?" She then held out her hoof, with Applejack's on top of hers.

One by one, the other girls placed their hooves on top of theirs. "Then we know what we must do." Twilight said.

"Right." The others nodded their heads.

Everypony went to their own vanities and each got out a different colored kelp saddle bag and put them around their backs. Twilight's bag was a dark blue with her signature magenta star, Rainbow's was a slightly lighter blue with her rainbow-colored bolt, AJ's bag was a dark green with her three red apples, Fluttershy's was a light turquoise with her three pink butterflies, Pinkie's was a bright green with her three balloons, and Rarity's was a deep green with her three blue diamonds.

They all each quietly placed some of their own necessities from their vanities and a few of their personal objects in them. When they were done, Twilight then took the forbidden spell from Applejack, folded it again and placed it in her own bag. Once they were finished, they all swam to the opening that served as a window. Everypony took one last look towards the entrance of their room, and then one by one, left it by swimming out the window.

They all swam quietly through the sleeping underwater city of Seaquestria, feeling a big weight in their hearts. When they arrived at the secret entrance, the Mane 6 took one last glance at the place they had called their home for the past 10 years. The friendship they had with Skystar and many of the other seaponies there.

This was a hard choice to make, but they desperately wanted to see their families again. To see how much had changed. To remember what it was like to fly in the air and dance and trot and run with four hooves again. With that thought in their minds, they all squeezed through the entrance, one at a time, not looking back a third time.