> And the Sea Waved Back
>  by mr_slops
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Wakey, Wakey
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ruined castle’s stones found themselves warmed by presences not felt since the great battle of the two sisters. One was smaller and cooler, hunched over as if trying to disappear. The other was warm and bright as it approached the former.

“We were meant to rule together, little sister.”

Luna cringed back from Celestia, wincing and ducking her head. She didn’t think the Elements or Tia would hurt her, of course, but still…

A quick glance around her showed the remains of her armor as the Nightmare. Guilt ate away at her, and the urge to teleport away, no matter how weakened she was at the moment, tempted the blue mare.

She hesitated, an unknown yet familiar voice encouraging her. She didn’t remember who it was, only that they mattered to her a great amount and vice versa.

“One day, you’ll see her again, and she will welcome you. Will you welcome her back?”

Luna- no, the Nightmare had always replied no, a bitter and hissing word accompanied by a stomp or a subsequent tantrum.

But Luna…

She glanced back at her sister, the mare staring at her with a sea of emotions rushing around her.

Luna had sobbed yes, Luna had pleaded with a sister who couldn’t hear her to take her back, that she had changed.

And here she was, asking for Luna to accept her friendship.

With the Nightmare gone, there was nothing stopping Luna from bursting towards her sister, the two of them crying noisily, uncaring of the small audience they had.

Luna felt as though a weight had been lifted, and she closed her eyes, relishing the warmth of her sister, the warmth of the sun seeping through her fur and making her feel whole once more.



And in the deepest caverns of the Mareiana Trench, a pair of bright blue eyes opened.





The Sea was alive, of course it was, it covered the majority of Equus and hosted all sorts of creatures, big and small.

Tonight, it hosted one more for the first time since control of the moon had been given to one not meant for it.

Four large hooves met the floor of the ocean, a single figure standing in the loneliest trench, walking easily forward with no real purpose.

He was tall, bordering on freakish with how long his figure seemed to be. The horn protruding from the tall pony’s head began to glow, the warp and color alike to tropical waters.

Bidding the tiny fish and crabs and other creatures that had gathered close to him farewell with a promise to come back and talk to them again, the pony disappeared in a quick blue splash of magic.




And here are my more talkative friends, the Sea thought as he swam (he wasn’t quite swimming, of course, more hovering as water propelled him forward) leisurely towards a kelp forest, laughing in delight when a few mammals came to sniff and prod at him, nuzzling him quick before bounding away and playing, content knowing their king had come to visit at last. 

Granted, none of them had quite lived long enough to have known him before those thousand years where he had become water and the essence of the sea in order to keep it in good health, however they found that their souls sang in his presence, exuberance flooding their veins like strong waves.

The Sea nudged a dolphin back when it spiraled happily around him.

“You’re back! Where have you been, Sovereign?” The high, giggling voice brought a grin to his face as he thought of his reply.

The Sea tilted his head. “I had to become the sea, the moon and I’s dance was… cut short unexpectedly.”

The dolphin wiggled away excitedly, coming back with two more. The Sea grinned and patted their smooth sides affectionately. He hadn’t had the chance to actually touch any of his subjects since before he had-

He wilted momentarily, recalling the panic flooding his veins when the moon suddenly ceased aiding his tides, nearly throwing his kingdom to havoc before he had intervened, losing most of his sense of self.

“You’re quite dashing, Sovereign Seas,” an otter told him bashfully, hiding its face in its paws shyly and bringing him back to reality.

“Sovereign Seas?” The pony repeated, tasting the name on his tongue. 

“That’s you, is it not?” Replied the otter before trilling and calling over its brothers and swimming away excitedly.

“I suppose so,” he said, shrugging. Most ponies had names like these, with two parts. If he was going back to his pony body, he might as well have one of his own.

Besides, he liked how it sounded.

The thoughts of other ponies gave him pause. Should he visit them as well? They didn’t fall under his reign, but they tended to meddle with his kingdom with their boats and their explorers. In fact, he recalled that when he had become water and the protections around his castle weakened, those explorers had taken a great curiosity with his treasures, pirates and scientists alike.

As if summoned by the thought, the otters returned, heaving a massive gold and barnacle covered chest to Sovereign and chattering excitedly for him to open it.

“And what’s this?” Laughed the pony as he seized the chest in his magic, the glow enveloping it like water and pulling it closer.

The otters chattered before a distinctive albino one approached, grinning up at the Sea with sharp white teeth. “Pirates! Pirates in the Buckmuda Triangle in your palace taking all of your things! My family stopped them!”

The Sea chuckled, though annoyed with how the ponies tended to meddle. He sighed, remembering that he had never actually met with whoever ruled the Equestrian lands unlike the Griffins and the Zebras, so maybe it was partially his fault that they had interfered. All they saw was a palace, glittering and shining in the heart of the sea. Curiosity was a trait shared by almost all of their kind.

He turned back to the otter with a benevolent smile. The otter beamed back at the attention, fur bristling to the brim with pride at being directly addressed by the king. His friends would be so jealous.

“So how did you stop them?” Sovereign asked kindly, amused at the antics.

“We killed them!”

The Sea sputtered in surprise, suddenly taken aback. “What? You killed a pony?”

“We killed two!” The Sea hid his displeasure. Most of his higher-water subjects were… not as advanced in thinking and morals. To them, it was eat or be eaten most of the time. Deeper, where the serpents and more ancient forms resided, there was a more advanced society, glittering with bioluminescent lights where the cities prospered. He was quite proud of them all, especially since they had managed without his direct influence for so long.

“My elder saw it,” A new voice bubbled up from somewhere nearby. Sovereign turned and grinned. He tried not to play favorites, but squids and octopuses tended to worm themselves into his heart with their wit and sarcasm.

He allowed the elderly octopus with faded splotches on his body to clamber on, raising his hoof and looking the diminutive creature in the eye.

“The ones killed were brothers, Pegasi in fact.” Sovereign couldn’t help but make a face. 

“What were they doing in my- why would they be in the water when they could be flying?”

The octopus shrugged, tentacles flicking lazily back and forth, idly toying with the flowing mane of her king. “Grandfather said they had the smallest wings he had ever seen, only good for propelling, not flying.”

Sovereign paused. “I see…” He said, guilt weighing on him. His subject had killed another’s, however reasonable the kill was. He would have to make it up for their descendants, surely.

A clear plan in mind, Sovereign turned back to the chest, opening it and blinking before laughing.

Inside lay the crystal and gold forms of his ancient regalia, looking like seaweed that had transformed into sea glass and gold. He levitated his crown on, latching his necklace and boots as well, guiding his tail into the gold ring that sat at the base.

“How do I look?” He asked a dolphin jokingly, smiling when it tittered and spiralled around him in admiration. 

He looked back to the chest, spying a rusted pocket watch, sealed shut by age. However, it had a barely indecipherable scrawl along its edge, presumed to be a name ending in “loo.”

“This belonged to the pegasi, no?” He asked the octopus that had vacated in order for Sovereign to get dressed. She nodded before slinking off as sunlight broke through the waters, the surface above them streaking with pink and gold.

The Sea shook his mane and nodded at his subjects as his horn began to glow, the pocket watch glowing along with it.

Using the water and feeling the faint impressions of the souls of the pegasi brothers long gone, Sovereign felt the tug towards what felt like a city- no, a little town where the last descendant resided. 

He would think of another way to pay them- no, her, the impression was distinctly feminine- back once he met her. Hopefully she would allow it.

With that thought in mind, Sovereign Seas disappeared in a surge of magic, reappearing just outside a forest in what looked almost like a splash of glowing water.
> Swooning for the Sea
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sovereign breathed out, adjusting to the lack of pressure as his body adapted in seconds to the dryness, losing its streamlined fur, along with the extra bulk his figure gained whenever he found himself in colder or deeper waters.

He was left as a very tall and slender unicorn, mane and tail waving lazily. He never quite liked being on land, it wasn’t as comforting as when water would cradle him all around, soft pressure reassuring on his fur.

The locket levitated in front of him, and he tilted his head at it, using the water’s memories to link it to the descendant. He watched as a stream of water only visible to him slowly trickled through a throng of trees, guiding him out of the forest he appeared in.

It led him into a town, and he frowned. Hopefully his Equish was in order, he hadn’t spoken it in around 1,000 years.

Deciding to present himself proudly, he rose his head high, entering the quaint village with his horn towards the skies.

As soon as he stepped hoof into the town, the happy morning chatter of its residents faded, gobsmacked expressions on their faces. He looked around curiously, ignoring their silence.

Ponies seemed to become more… colorful, as well as more diminutive than the last time he had ventured out and seen the land-dwellers. The majority of them seemed to be mares, which was the same as when he had last interacted with them.

“Excuse me…” A pony approached him, awe in her eyes. She was a white unicorn with a curled mane, and Sovereign likened her gaze to that of an otter when it found something particularly pretty.

“Greetings,” he replied unsurely, noticing that the unicorn was coming more and more into his personal space. She craned her neck to look up at him, a grin slowly making its way on her face.



Rarity beamed. This had to be a blessing from Celestia herself in order to pay for the troubles she had endured the night before.

“Greetings,” said the stallion- and what a stallion he was- and Rarity nearly squealed in response.

His voice was hypnotizing, fitting his handsome and exotic form perfectly. His coat was unique, and Rarity was already forming outfits and color combinations that would look dazzling on him when she noticed something on his chest.

She mentally kicked herself for not noticing it, since it was quite literally level with her horn. Wow, he was taller than Celestia.

“Perfect,” She whispered, reaching with a hoof towards the beautifully crafted necklace, aching to feel the gold and crystal wrapped around-

Her hoof was gently guided away by a blue glow that almost resembled water.

She pouted, whipping her head up before her jaw went slack, realizing something she had noticed about Celestia.

His mane… moved by itself.

It moved soothingly, like waves on a beach, or, or-

Rarity, quickly overwhelmed by ideas on how to adorn such a lovely glittering mane, promptly swooned, waking up just as the tall unicorn caught her gently, levitating her before she could hit the dirt.

Seeing the opportunity for what it was, Rarity kept her eyes barely closed, fighting the blush when he observed her closely, bending to press an ear against her chest.

He pulled back and looked at her oddly, unsure of how to proceed. She wasn’t dead… so what was the issue?



Sovereign mentally cursed. What a great first impression for the Equestrians! He looked around, spotting another mare who seemed to be doing her very best to ignore him, even going so far as to turn around, leaving coins on the counter of a stall without taking the merchandise she had picked.

“Pardon me, madame!” He said softly, not wanting to startle her like the unicorn.

He didn’t notice the mare in his grasp open her eyes and wince when she spotted the mare he was speaking to.



Fluttershy let out a quiet ‘eep’ sound before slowly, slowly, turning to face the tall, taller than a bear, stallion who was holding Rarity in his magic.

For a moment, she panicked before noticing Rarity’s eyes open to adoringly gaze at the unicorn who held her.

He was definitely… unique. His coat’s pattern reminded Fluttershy of a marine animal, and as her gaze traveled up, she hid behind her mane.

His mane moved! And he was almost freakishly tall, taller than the Princess! Was he royalty? Oh, she knew she should’ve stayed at home.

“The maiden hath taken ill,” the stallion said slowly, as though he didn’t quite know how to speak. Fluttershy swallowed, likening his speech to that of Nightmare Moon, only making her more scared.

“N-no.. she hasn’t…” she whispered, voice shaky with fright as she continued to refuse eye contact.

The stallion paused, and observed Rarity before letting out a string of curses in one of the last non-pony languages he used, Molluskian.

Fluttershy’s head jerked up, face reddening at the profanity, ready to ask him to refrain from those words when she realized the odd accent he had. He sounded like he was underwater, almost-

She gaped. “You speak squid?”

The stallion paused again before beaming at her, frightening her into hiding behind her mane once more.

“I speaketh indeed, and if she hath no qualms, I shall let go.” Rarity suddenly squawked, startling Fluttershy into falling back on her rump.

“Don’t drop me! I can get down myself!” She screeched at the prospect of dirtying her white pelt, tossing her mane back once she was on all fours once more. She turned back to the tall stranger, smiling sheepishly at him.

“Fluttershy is right, I wasn’t, ah, ill, per se, but-”

“I would greatly appreciate a lack of deceit in the future,” he interjected gently, voice washing over them like low tides.

Rarity blushed and giggled. “Well- I apologize for that, but if I may, who exactly are you?”

The unicorn startled, as if he remembered his goal suddenly. “Ah, I am called Sovereign Seas. It would be preferred to refer to me as Sovereign,” he said slowly, ears flicking this way and that as he listened to the speech of the surrounding ponies who had gathered while Rarity was playing unconscious. Speech structure seemed to have shortened in some places while lengthening in others. This would take a while.

Rarity sighed, delighted. “What a beautiful name, and it fits you so well, you sound like a prince,” as she began to mutter to herself, Fluttershy slowly backed up, taking her merchandise as intended before turning to leave.

“If you don’t, um, need anything, I’ll just, um, be going, if that’s okay with you guys.”

The unicorn smiled benevolently down at her, reminding her of just how tall he was. “T’was not my intention to interrupt thee, go about your matters, I apologize for the intrusion.” 

Fluttershy, unused to the formality, merely ‘eep’ed once more before speeding off at a pace that would make even Rainbow Dash proud.

Once the mellow pegasus was out of sight, Rarity turned to Sovereign. “So, Sovereign…” She began, giving the surrounding ponies a look that promised needles poking everywhere if they didn’t back off.

Sovereign hummed, bending a little to listen to her closer. Sound traveled differently on land as well, he would have to adapt more.

Rarity almost pawed at the ground with how flustered she suddenly became at the direct attention. Those blue eyes had to be a crime!

“... What brings you to Ponyville?” Rarity nearly cursed (though she refrained, refusing to be uncouth in front of such a distinguished gentlecolt.)

Sovereign blinked and brought forth a-

“Oh… it’s lovely,” Rarity lied, eyeing the rusty locket he produced. Sovereign barked out a laugh, the noise great and loud like a wave crashing against a cliff.

“‘Tis not meant to be pretty. One of my subjects… relinquished this from somebody, and I aim to return it to the first descendant of the owner I spy.”

Rarity mouthed the word “somebody” before looking up at him. “That’s quite a noble- wait, did you say subject!?” Rarity became redder and redder.

Sovereign blinked before a look of understanding came across his features. Perhaps certain ponies were supposed to be introduced by title nowadays? Last time, there was someone to do it for him, but Sovereign had assumed the tradition had faded, as many others had.

He took a deep breath, stepping back and dipping his head in a bow, oceanic mane flowing around him as he introduced himself, decorative regalia glittering. If the ponies had left him alone before, they did the complete opposite now, 'ooh'ing and 'ah'ing at the display.

“I present myself to thee, as Emperor of the Seas, Sovereign of all waters, ruler and guardian of the Tides.” He said proudly, stomping his hoof, and for a second, ghostlike yet shining fish of all sorts seemed to flutter around him before dissipating.

Rarity fainted.



Not sure if she was faking it this time, Sovereign let the mare hit the ground, wincing as she did.

He stepped closer, about to check her for issues when two blurs, orange and blue, stopped him.

“What did you do to Rarity!?” The blue one yelled angrily at him, raspy voice heavy with rage.

The orange one checked on the unicorn before stepping towards him, glare in her leaf-green eyes.

“Now mister, I’m sure you ain’t want no trouble, but that’s my friend right there, and if you’ve harmed a hair on her head-!” Sovereign promptly rolled his eyes, cutting her off.

He was largely unimpressed, but sighed. “The maiden- the mare fainted. She hath- she hasn’t a scratch on her.”

The orange mare, an earth pony with a wide brimmed hat, glared at him but could see that he was telling the truth, backing down.

“Yeah, right!” The blue pegasi was not as willing. She launched forward attempting to land a hard-hoofed punch directly to his jaw.

Just in time, Sovereign’s body shimmered, and the pegasi’s hoof passed right through, almost like water. Sovereign’s body shimmered once more and he was solid again.

She didn’t seem prepared for the lack of an object for her force, barreling forward and skidding into the ground. She turned back, suddenly extremely pale.

“Gh-Gh-Ghost!” She screamed, rocketing back into the clouds, leaving a trail of rainbow behind.

The remaining mare looked at him, a bit shaken as well.

“Now what in tarnation was that!?” She said, hovering defensively over the still-unconscious form of her friend, Rarity.

Sovereign found himself impressed by her determination.

“‘Tis an ability of mine. Now, wouldst- would thou-” Sovereign muttered a curse in Atlantean before continuing, “would you like aid in bringing the mare indoors?”



Applejack narrowed her eyes. This tall fella had an odd mouth on him, that was for sure, why, he spoke like-

Her eyes snapped open, wide with caution. “You talk like Nightmare Moon!” The name alone caused a panic (again), ponies scattering left and right and leaving Applejack, Rarity, and the stranger alone.

The name seemed to have frozen the stranger in his spot, even his mane going limp, shining surface turning light like ice, with frost spreading to match.



“I beg your pardon?” Sovereign whispered, the name striking up deep feelings of something in him that he associated with his entire reign as water, the fuzzy, cold corner of his mind that he didn’t feel like delving into just yet.

“You talk- you talk all fancylike, like you were born in the Dark Ages with the Princesses!” Applejack hastily amended, immediately feeling bad for inadvertently causing the stranger pain. Odd speech or not, that was not Good Apple Behavior.

The stranger seemed to calm, mane returning to its state prior to freezing. “Nay, I was conceived years before those two.”

Applejack paused. Just about nopony aside from the Elements and a few Ponyville residents knew that there were two princesses. “Hey, how’dya know th- now wait a minute, did ya say you were older than them? You’re no alicorn,” she said, unsure for there was a distinct lack of deceit in the stranger’s voice.

At this, the unicorn shuddered. “Wings! I have no need for wings or a- a hollow skeleton! Wings have no place in the sea!” His voice was sure and convincing, and Applejack found herself nodding.

She decided not to press on the matter, turning back to Rarity. “Well, Mr. No-wings, I’ll still take ya up on that offer of yours if ya don’t mind,” she changed the subject, smiling up at the unicorn.

Now that she had her neck craned back to see him, she realized that he was tall, taller than Celestia and Big Mac and just about every tall pony she knew. Deciding not to comment, she led both unicorns to the closest establishment, which happened to be Sugarcube Corner.



Sovereign blinked at the building in front of him. This amount of decor on a shop was- well it was odd, at the very least. Either this family was prosperous, or things had changed a lot for earth ponies.

He was hesitant to walk in, but obliged as per Applejack’s (as he had learned her name was) instructions. Dipping his head, he bent to fit without scratching the doorway, stepping in carefully and setting Rarity down where Applejack was sitting in a small booth.

“Thanks for the help, lifting Rarity would’ve been no easy task by my lonesome!” Applejack remarked.

Both (conscious) ponies jolted when Rarity bolted upright. “Did you just call me heavy!?”

“Sweet Celestia, Rares, I meant balancing you!” The two mares promptly began arguing and Sovereign took the opportunity to look around.

When he turned back, he met a pair of very, very close blue eyes, along with a grin full of white teeth on a pink mare.

“Hi, Mister Sovereign! Welcome to Ponyville, or maybe I should say Welcome to Land? But you have land, but Ponyville is its own thing, right? Ooo, ooo, do you have parties in Atlantis? Do you have cupcakes in Atlantis!? Please tell me you do, can cupcakes even be made underwater!? They gotta dissolve, right? The structural integrity of a cupcake is greatly affected by water and...”

The pony seemed to say it in one breath, and Sovereign blinked slowly at her, comprehending absolutely none of what she said, his grasp on modern-Equish shaky already.

He blinked once more before sitting on his haunches, dignity be damned, tilting his head at the pony before realization lit his face up in a soft grin.

“Dolphin.” He muttered, cutting off her rant.

Pinkie paused before grinning back. “Do dolphins like to party!?”

Sovereign’s grin promptly vanished, looking queasy and muttering something about pufferfish. “I suppose they do… party.”

At that moment, two pegasi entered, one talking animatedly to the other.

“And I swear it was like my hoof met water, absolutely no hit, no pain, no force, no nothing! It was a ghost, I swear!”

Fluttershy looked up from Rainbow’s rant and saw the tall unicorn from earlier. Deciding he wasn’t an enemy, seeing as he had not lashed out at Rarity for the personal-space invading, she waved shyly at him.

Rainbow followed her gaze, seeing the unicorn sat on his haunches waving back.

And for the third time that day, Sovereign made a mare faint on the spot.




Celestia winced as Luna stumbled over her words yet again, the subsequent tantrum sending her speech tutor into a fright.

“Lulu, it’s okay-”

“‘Tis NOT ‘OKAY’!” Luna snarled, stomping her hoof on the ground, leading the tutor to flee out of the study. Why had they changed speaking? Luna had spoken the same language for 1,000 years and had had absolutely zero issues, yet these ponies-

But who did we speak to? Luna paused, suddenly freezing and leading Celestia to tilt her head in caution.

More frustration built when she couldn’t find an answer despite knowing in her very bones that there had been a voice not belonging to her or the Nightmare. 

“We- I am sorry, Tia… it’s just… so different.” She finally ground out through clenched teeth.

Celestia smiled sadly at her. “I know, dear sister, but you’re a smart mare. If anypony can learn it quickly, it’s you!”

Luna gave her sister a sour look before turning to face the window, thinking.

Without thinking, she muttered out, “If anypony could adapt quicker, it would be him…”

Celestia looked out the window that Luna was facing, and upon not seeing anypony, turned back. “And who would that be?”

Luna blinked, realizing what she had said. “It’s- He… we do not know.” She finished morosely, sitting on her haunches and closing her eyes, searching her mind for any hints to the mysterious stranger.

So all she knew is that he had spoken to her and the Nightmare at some point, and that he was adaptable. Great.

Celestia decided to change the subject. “You’ll learn in time, just as I learned to do your job,” she teased playfully, nudging her sister’s side.

Luna finally smiled softly, squinting at the horizon where the sun was crawling to hide.

“And what a mess you have left us!” She announced, standing up and whirling around. “Certainly, the ocean would have been in disarray if not for…” Her mind blanked again, and she batted down the frustration that threatened to return.

Celestia sighed inwardly. Ever since her return, Luna had had random bouts of forgetting things, from the littlest thing like how to pour a cup of tea without spilling to large gaps in memory regarding her time on the moon.

Not that Celestia wanted to push her. If she had her way, she would want Luna to forget it all for her own sake. 

There was one other thing. Sometimes, Luna was say things that implied she hadn’t been completely alone when she had been on the moon. Or had she become the moon? Celestia had always wondered if those craters really resembled a pony or not…

But Luna was convinced that it wasn’t the Nightmare, and the stranger had been distinctly male.

“Lulu… if not for who?”

Luna had sat down once more, eyes welling up with tears. Celestia’s heart broke a little more and she joined her, draping a wing over her sister’s back. Luna was small, too, and hadn’t grown quite as tall as Celestia had in her absence. These details only served to stab Celestia more with guilt.

“We do not know!” Luna cried, turning and burying her face in Celestia’s side.

“We do not know and we feel- we feel useless! Like a cup with a crack or a fire with no wood, there is an abundance of things we must learn but an even larger heap of things we must remember!”

Celestia cradled her little sister, gently patting her on the back and allowing her to sob. 

“Lulu,” she said quietly, holding her close. “My dear sister, I know it’s hard, but we have time. You might not have patience, or practice, or motivation, but you have time, all the time in the world to get it sorted. Okay?”

Luna would deny it to the skies and beyond, but she sniffled loudly, nodding slowly. “Yes, Tia. We do.”



“We- I should apologize to mine- my tutor.” Luna said once they had both settled, pouring a cup of tea in front of her.

Celestia shook her head. “All in time, Lulu… and it’s okay if you can’t answer, but what did you mean about the ocean?”

Luna paused, answering her sister’s question with another question. “When thee- when you had control of my moon, didst thee ever feel… a dance? Or a rhythm of sorts?”

Celestia paused. “I might’ve, but I didn’t know what to do about it.”

Luna hummed thoughtfully. “I had assumed as such. The ocean and the moon are connected, w- I think. There is a- a balance of sorts, and when my control was seized the sea was forced to dance alone.”

Celestia frowned. “The sea? You say it as though it’s alive. I know there are fish and such, but-”

Luna had gotten out of her seat excitedly. “Nay! There is life, albeit hidden, and they have great, glittering cities with serpents and pony-like fish and whales and- and…” She sunk back into her seat, unsure of just how she knew that.

“... and they depended on me. What if in our absence, they....” She said, horrified suddenly. Her mind, emotionally battered as it was, couldn’t handle the new stress. 

Luna sunk to the floor in a heap of emotional exhaustion, leaving Celestia to panic and rush over.
> Of Abominations and Manifestations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Twilight and Spike walked into Sugarcube Corner, the last thing she expected to see was Rainbow Dash trying to fight the tallest unicorn she had ever seen.

The blue pegasus was getting all up in the stranger’s face, and to his credit, he seemed unaffected. Curiously enough, his mane moved by its own, seeming to fall like water without touching the ground. Twilight's analytical mind immediately searched for an explanation. It could be a illusion, since at this point, the only ponies she had ever seen with independently moving manes had been Celestia or...

She narrowed her eyes. Nightmare Moon had had one as well. But the stallion seemed to be staying silent and didn't look to be terrorizing anypony, except for perhaps her speedy friend.

“How’d you die, ghost? Huh? Why’re you terrorizing us? Where’s your grave, ‘cuz if you don’t stay in it, I’ll make you a new one!”

The stranger, who looked very much not like a ghost, was unimpressed. “Are you quite finished?”

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Leave the feller alone, he helped get Rares back on her hooves, he seems like a swell guy." She said, attempting to grab Rainbow by the tail to haul her down.

Rainbow Dash shook her mane, flying higher to look down her muzzle at him. “Fine, I'll spare you. But I’ve got my eye on you, just ‘cuz my friends like you doesn’t mean I do!”

Sovereign nodded, "Such is fair," he replied dryly.

Spike, after waving at Rarity, whistled in awe at the unicorn. “Wow, he’s tall.”

The stallion turned to them, then, and Twilight noticed the interesting pattern of his coat, and smiled welcomingly at him, just in case he actually was a noble or something of the like. “Hi! I’m Twilight Sparkle and this is Spike.”



Sovereign tilted his head at the two newcomers. The baby dragon was- well, he was a baby, and he would grow if he wished. He hadn't expected to see one here.

The unicorn felt distinctly powerful, and he turned to her, unsure of how to introduce himself this time. He decided to take her lead. “I am called Sovereign Seas.”

Twilight beamed, and the little dragon continued to stare at him curiously.

“You feel weird.” He said bluntly, drawing amusement from Sovereign while Twilight scolded him.

Spike turned to her innocently. “What, you can’t feel it? He feels- he feels squished.”

This time, Sovereign barked out a laugh, and bent to the little dragon, grinning wide.

“Hello, hatchling, do you know why I feel ‘squished’?” He asked in old Draconic.

Spike looked at him blankly before a sheepish grin appeared. “Sorry, I don’t actually speak…”

Sovereign hummed. “I see. I feel ‘squished’ to your senses because you are more attuned to my true spirit. I was more alike to your kin than that of ponies for most of my being.” 

Twilight frowned. “What? That doesn’t make sense. You’re a pony- a unique one, but a pony nonetheless.”

Spike looked at him oddly before realization hit. “You’re not a pony at all!” 

Twilight looked increasingly confused, along with frustrated due to said confusion. “Spike, what are you talking about?”

Spike’s tongue flickered out as if to scent Sovereign, nodding. “Whenever I send a letter to somepony, I feel their- I don’t know, they all feel a certain way, but Sovereign feels like… I don’t know, like he's supposed to be wayyy bigger, mixed with something like the Princess. Are you a prince?”

Twilight glanced at Sovereign’s sides. No wings. “I doubt he is, Spike. He's already a bit large, no offense.”

“I am no prince.” Sovereign began, to which Twilight nodded, content with guessing correctly, “I am the Emperor of all Seas.”

Twilight’s jaw hit the floor, along with everypony else’s except for Pinkie and Rarity.

“What? I’ve never heard of somepony like that!” Twilight denied it, shaking her head and approaching him to inspect him closer, now suspicious. Was the stranger trying to gain power here in Ponyville? Now that it was her home, she couldn't let him succeed.

“Are you well-learned in everything?” Sovereign asked dryly.

It was Twilight’s turn to look sheepish, hiding indignance under a fake laugh. “Well, not everything, but I’m sure I would have heard of you, a pony Emperor is too important to miss.”

Sovereign smiled mischievously. “Ah, but I’m not always a pony. Besides, you’re only learned in your own culture, no?”

At the prospect of not knowing something, Twilight pouted, ready to deny it when she realized to some degree, he was right. She knew tons more than almost anypony about Equestria, but she had barely dabbled in other cultures. Her eyes began to shine as she realized how much knowledge she could gain.

Rainbow Dash suddenly froze. “Wait. Emperor of the…” Her pupils shrunk and she began to laugh sheepishly, making her friends eye her with suspicion.

“Heheh… You know I was just joking, right? About the- about the uh, ghost thing? We’re cool, right? You’re not gonna send a flood to our town?”

Her friends whipped their heads towards Sovereign with sudden wariness.

Sovereign turned to her. “I am still deciding,” he attempted to joke, wincing when she quickly swept into a clumsy bow.

Applejack, who was able to sense when anypony was lying, tilted her head when she noticed that her fast friend was entirely truthful. “Rainbow, what in tarnation are ya on about now? You know this fella?”

Rainbow scratched the back of her head. “Well, I had a griffin friend back in flight camp. She told me about how wicked you were.”

Sovereign frowned, but didn’t deny how “wicked” he was, even if he didn’t act like that anymore.

Rainbow suddenly looked frightened again, coughing into her hoof. “By the way, I meant wicked as in cool. She thought you were cool, but…” She tilted her head, scrutinizing him. 

“I thought you were bigger?”

Sovereign shrugged. “Ordinarily, I am. However, someone changed my mind about ponies a long while ago, so I decided to visit like one.” his mind recalled a voice and old Equish, but couldn’t come up with a name or face for said voice, only that she was the only one he could communicate with when he had become the sea.

Twilight was confused, and shook her head. No time to learn like the present!

“Hey Sovereign, I know we just met but I have a lot of questions.” Sovereign nodded. “Most ponies do.”

Twilight hesitated but pressed on, the prospect of knowledge too tempting to let it pass.

“If you don’t mind, could we head to the library so I can ask you them? I don’t want to loiter in Pinkie’s shop.” Twilight asked kindly, mind going to the elements that lay in her home, ready to be used if this "Sovereign" decided to get violent.

Sovereign paused, thinking of the pocket watch he still had to return, deciding that this wouldn’t take too long. “I accept.”

Twilight beamed. “Great! Mind if we head off now?”

Sovereign had no qualms, following the unicorn back to the library, followed by the rest of the ponies that had been lounging in the bakery.



“So Sovereign, how is it that griffins know of you and we don’t?” Twilight said once everyone was settled. She tried to hide her suspicion, since from what little she knew of griffin culture, violence and brutishness was considered the norm. What did that imply about Sovereign Seas?

Sovereign sighed. “It’s something of a long story.”

Twilight didn't budge. “I have time.” Something in her tone showed that she didn’t truly believe him just yet, so Sovereign sat back and began to explain how the world worked when he had been brought into existence.



The world was wild, and civilization crawled into new ages at slow paces due to the setbacks the world threw at them.

Ponies were scared of the sea, griffins were scared of the sea, everyone who dwelled outside of the sea was scared of it.

But why?

While the rest of the world advanced, taming the wild with magic and power, the sea stayed as it always had.

Dangerous.

At this point, the Sea had no sovereign, no rule, only chaos and strong tides, sharp teeth and even sharper rocks to be bashed against.

But the Sea was fine with that. He had been brought into existence by the wish of none, but the need of plenty. The ocean and all other bodies of water required order, and so they splashed together in ice and steam and water and a touch of magma to create a heart that beat with the tides, cultivating a being that would surely bring peace to the primal seas.

Unfortunately for them, the Sea didn’t care.

He didn’t care, spending his youth testing his powers, joining surrounding residents for a bit of fun, seamlessly transforming his image into mirrors of them all to fit in. 

He snoozed with serpents, hunted with carnivorous kelpies, and delighted in wreaking havoc on boats with the massive squids.

He was no thing of order, in fact, he was considered a shapeshifting god of luck, of danger and power and fun.

Overall, the manifestation of the Sea did not care. He only liked to make merriment, forming no real bonds as he wandered here and there in whatever form he felt like.  

He cared not how this affected others, he cared not for how many died whenever he felt malicious, waters rushing angrily and forcefully.

So the sea frolicked, happy and content in his surroundings of chaos, cocky and high on his own powers. He was completely fine with everything, until he came across quite an unusual sight.

At this point, he didn’t speak Equish, why would he? He hardly wished to sully his tongue on such odd words. He liked the rasp of serpents and the hiss of kelpies or the bubbling wit of a kraken. He had no reason to learn a bumbling, flowery language like what the ponies had.

And it was for that reason that he couldn’t point out that a child (what were they called, fools perhaps?) was going to drown while their parents struggled with a fire.

The child somehow survived, landing on a rock. The sea wrinkled his serpentine snout at the sight, for that was the body he was wearing at the moment. Sensitive ears picked up the wheezing and shivering, and he was tempted to eat the thing just to hear it stop.

“Stop. You’re going to smash against the rocks and die.” He commanded in the sea-serpent’s tongue, annoyed at its inability to breathe.

The child froze, bending and turning its over-large head at the serpent.

“Ssssshaaammaaa.” The child repeated the serpent-speak (awfully, might the Sea add), reaching a tiny hoof towards him.

The Sea’s body coiled back, eyes turning to slits. No wonder his people despised ponies, they were tactless and stupid, not to mention bad parents. Even the most selfish of mothers in the sea would shield their babies against the dangers that swam about, and here there was a baby, approaching a dangerous carnivore while its parents did nothing to stop it.

He turned his head to the parents, who had given up with the fire, and were now joking together, enjoying the sea-breeze.

“Sssshhaaaa!” The child said again, reaching its hoof out to him, slipping down the rocks, sure to die. The Sea watched as its eyes went wide as it was swallowed by the water, head bobbing above the water every few seconds to take in a tiny and pathetic breath.

The sound of its lungs filling with water scratched against the Sea’s ears to the point where he picked the thing up with sharp claws, tossing it carelessly onto the beach, watching it land in a sand dune, an odd feeling of something warm encompassing him when its head popped up from the sand.

“So it survives,” the Sea mused, slithering forward and draping himself against the rocks, blue slit-eyes darting towards its parents, who had fallen asleep.

Foolish, he thought, resting his head on his paws and watching the child struggle to get up, snorting in derision when it got up on shaky legs, stubby horn standing tall as it turned back to the Sea.

“What.” He demanded, baring sharp teeth towards the child, who took its time in looking towards where its parents were, back to the (objectively, of course) intimidating and terrifying serpent.

It took a few stumbling steps towards him, before sitting down and grinning (it was even missing teeth, how foul) widely at him. 

“Sha.” It said confidently, round face screwed up in effort.

“Abomination,” he murmured, eyes lidded and perfectly aware of how he could easily outsmart the little thing-

Pop!

It disappeared! The Sea reared up in surprise, leaning forward and squinting at the dunes to see where it had gone.

“Sha!” The serpent cursed in alarm, whipping his long neck to the side and finding that the little pony had appeared by his side, sitting comfortably on the same rock his body was wound around.

He stared at the little beast in alarm and confusion, and just when he was about to chuck it back to shore, it began to squint, cheeks puffing out in effort, face screwing up like the moment prior.

The serpent tilted his head, lip curled in lingering disgust at the sheer incredulity of the situation, when suddenly, a tiny pop noise sounded, like a bubble bursting.

It was followed by another, then another, then another.

The Sea’s jaw fell open when he realized where the pops came from.

It was growing scales. Three slits on either side of its neck appeared, opening and closing in the way gills were supposed to.

Tiny hoofs grew even smaller claws, and when it opened its eyes and grinned up at him once more, he gawked at the appearance of sharp teeth where gaps had been, extra eyelids, and slit pupils.

“You’re an abomination.” He said to it before launching up and back into the air, landing in the water with a loud splash.

Splash. He turned, annoyed because he knew what the cause of said splash was, and glared at the tiny little freak of nature, the cross between pony and sea serpent.

“Go back!” he hissed, pointing a scaly finger towards the shore.

The pony- the serpent- the thing happily swam forward to try and gnaw at his claw. The Sea scowled, retracting the digit and turning away.

Fine. If the little abomination wanted to roam his seas, then who was he to stop him when he was eaten? Or bashed into a rock? Or hunted… or stolen… and dissected…

The Sea let out a strangled groan, unfamiliar with the odd twisting feeling in his gut. It felt like he had eaten an octopus that continued to writhe in an attempt to escape.

Sure enough, he turned back around and the little abomination was staring at him, waving its clawed hooves at him.

“You will stay with me until you know how to swim correctly, until you know how to hunt. Understand?” He snarled, words coming out in fits of boiling water that washed over the child harmlessly.

The little beast most definitely did not understand, but burbled happily and sidled up to him anyways.

The Sea scowled deeper, a fearsome expression for such a sharp-toothed beast.

“Abomination.” He rumbled out, sneering at the thing when it blew a bubble and tried to pop it with its inconveniently small jaw. Why grow carnivore teeth when you had hardly any fish to eat? 

The beast turned to him with wide, slit-pupiled eyes. “Bominshun!” It attempted.

The Sea surprised himself once more at the odd, light feeling in his stomach.”A-bah-mih-nay-shun.” He said, slower this time, unconsciously spiraling around the thing, creating something of a border.

“Mihn shun.” The beast repeated, confident and proud. 

The serpent blinked both eyelids at it. “That is… very incorrect.”

“Orek!” 

The serpent let out another boiling string of curses, annoyed beyond belief. Why did the mothers of most of the species he met protect their young so fervently?

He tilted his head at the abomination, a deep rumble coming from his throat. He supposed he should give the thing a name, then. 

“Orek. That’s your name now, abomination.”

Orek, as it was now named, chimed happily at the sounds, repeating the word over and over, each repetition spreading warmth along the Sea’s body, like a crack in the earth’s plates that allowed the magma heat to seep into inhabitable waters, encouraging life, albeit tiny and insignificant.



“That’s… so… CUTE!” Pinkie Pie suddenly burst out, stars in her eyes.

Sovereign blinked, brought back to the present and pulling out of his reverie.

“Pinkie! You distracted him!” Twilight scolded from where she was sitting, enraptured by Sovereign’s recounting. His story held up with the oldest accounts of history, since ponies had, in fact, been wary of the sea while domesticating the lands.

“Aw, you thought so, too!” Pinkie said before smiling at Sovereign. “I’m super-duper-sorry, Mr. Seas! You can keep going!”

“Yes, please do, I need to know how you went unnoticed by Equestrians for years!” Twilight all-but-begged, leaning forward hopefully.

Sovereign’s soft, nostalgic grin suddenly dropped. “I… the next part isn’t pretty, perhaps I should leave it there-”

“Are you kidding me!?” Unexpectedly, Rainbow Dash was the one to interject. “You can’t leave it there, where’s the action! The fighting? The epic montage where Eric overcomes its underdog start, where it…” realizing the whole room was looking at her in shock, she backed down sheepishly.

Sovereign paused. “I… well, I can give you a simplified version. Long story short, Orek, not Eric, grew up under my fin, and at one point tried to go back. The ponies treated him… unkindly, so I decided never to talk to them. That is all.” He said quickly, standing up and turning to leave the library.

The occupants watched him go before turning to each other to discuss the story excitedly.

“Oh, but that’s adorable, he just wanted a good parent and he found it in Sovereign,” Fluttershy murmured, soft smile on her muzzle, endeared by the act of kindness the unicorn had made.

“Are you kidding!? More like super-duper-cute! Imagine how happy he must’ve been when Sovereign let him stay!” Pinkie gushed, bouncing in place as though she were the one under Sovereign’s care.

“Well, I’ll be honest, that was very heartwarmin’, seein’ the old grump Sovereign used to be turn into a caring lug.” Applejack admitted, getting over her initial wariness over Sovereign’s admittance about eating fish.

“You’re all not focusing. That little dorky unicorn turned itself into a DRAGON! Do you know how cool that… well, I mean… the story wasn’t all that bad,” Rainbow Dash coughed into her hoof, turning the other way.

Spike rolled his eyes. “Not a dragon, sea serpent,” he grumbled despite his enjoyment of the story.

“Sea serpent indeed! Imagine how elegant they all must move under the water, scales glittering… And Sovereign was very generous to keep the foal with him, who knows what would’ve happened?” Rarity swooned, stars in her eyes.

None of them noticed a lavender unicorn slip outside to join the stallion of the hour.



“That wasn’t really what happened, was it?”

Sovereign turned his eyes to her before looking up at the moon. “No.”

Twilight bit her lip before nervously asking the question on her mind. “What happened?”

Sovereign looked towards her again, this time turning his head away from the sky. “You are soft-hearted,” he held up a hoof to stop her indignant retort, “though brave you may be. My story is old, and holds up to the cruelty of before Harmony came to be.”

“I can handle it.” Twilight said confidently, a small smile playing at her lips. “If I can face Nightmare Moon, there’s no way I-”

“Do you forgive her?” Sovereign cut her off, looking up at the moon again.

“What?”

“Do you forgive the princess?”

Twilight stuttered, searching for an answer and falling silent. The silence persisted for a moment before she looked up, joining him in staring at the moon.

“Her actions weren’t excusable, but I know she’s a better pony now.”

A small, bitter smile spread across Sovereign’s muzzle. “There it is. Think of her actions. What part troubles you the most?”

Twilight hesitated before carefully answering. “She… she tried to completely turn life on its head, she could’ve-”

“Exactly, she could’ve. Miss Sparkle, the difference between me and her is that I succeeded.” With that, Sovereign stood, bowed his head to Twilight, and looked off in the distance. “I will be back tomorrow.”

The tall unicorn disappeared in a splash of water, leaving Twilight to ponder his words, itching to pen a letter to Princess Celestia but deciding against it until she could get the story out of Sovereign. Her previous doubts were still present, but there was a softness to Sovereign that held her back, despite his belief that he was somehow worse than the mare who tried to bring about eternal night. Maybe he had flooded a village or two like Rainbow had said? That was certainly unfair, but Twilight believed in goodness.

She looked at the spot where he had disappeared, a determined smile making its way onto her muzzle. If anyone could do it, she could. 



Sovereign reappeared in a half-drenched series of jagged rocks, tide lapping rhythmically at the sides of the stones.

He sighed, sitting back on his haunches and letting his head droop. 

This is where Orek had been found.

Both times.



“You are a fool and a child,” the Sea growled to his charge who had somehow wormed his way into the entity’s heart like an eel to solid rock.

“They’ll accept me, accept us! The magic all ponies hold, no matter what race, is friendship!” Orek pleaded, tugging the Sea’s claw inefficiently towards the settlement along the coast, a little ways away from where he had met the serpent.

“Abomination, I have not spent years guiding you around the water for you to go and frolic among ponies,” he seethed, hiding fierce protectiveness under a guise of intense disgust.

Orek groaned, harmlessly scratching at the Sea’s scales, a minor side-effect to growing up under the god of the sea. He truly believed he wouldn’t get hurt after staying unharmed while under the Sea’s fin.

“Father!” Orek cried, turning wide, slit-pupiled eyes towards the serpent that was over thirty times his length.

The Sea didn’t budge.

Orek, like many children when denied their wishes, suddenly fumed, simmering water billowing from behind clenched teeth. If the Sea hadn’t been so annoyed, he would have found it endearing.

“I won’t let potential friendships go to waste just because- because you’re too selfish to let me have friends!”

Orek had hit the nail on the head. The Sea responded to rage with rage, roaring and circling Orek several times to cage him in, keeping his treasure secret from the world as he had for years.

“You don’t need friends! You don’t need ponies, you don’t need anything but ME!” The Sea snarled, snapping his teeth.

The issue was that Orek was the first ever being that the Sea had found itself to care for. He was small, and pathetic, and stupid, but he belonged to the Sea, and the Sea knew that to some extent, he belonged to Orek as well. The Sea had belonged to none but himself, and the chance to be more than a passing god to someone had hammered protectiveness into his heart, boosted by his inherent selfishness.

“You’re selfish!” Orek yelled, his horn that hadn’t been used since the initial transformation suddenly glowing blue, the color of tropical waters on a sunny day. The Sea would have found it enchanting if not for the burning anger he felt.

Suddenly, Orek was gone in a splash of magic, and the Sea was frozen for a moment before roaring loud, louder than anything he had ever heard before. The tides roared, too, harsh walls crashing quickly against the shore like snakes lashing out for a bite.


“FINE! GO TO YOUR PONIES AND SEE HOW THEY LIKE YOU, ABOMINATION! SEE HOW YOU COME BACK WHEN THEY HATE YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE! YOU ARE A FREAK AND A BEAST! YOU ARE THE SON OF THE SEA!”



A day went by.

Then two, then three, and the Sea began to panic. What had they done with him, what had they done to his abomination?

He was whip-like, speeding through the waters towards the port-side city. Upon reaching the outskirts, he hesitated. If he appeared in his current form, they would hide, hide his son if they were keeping him hostage.

Carefully, he crawled out of the water a little ways away from where the entrance was, focusing on what Orek had looked like from when before he was the Sea’s son. Unused to turning into a primarily land-dwelling mammal, he was a little… different.

He was freakishly tall, just like his serpent form which he had stayed with for the entirety of while he raised Orek. A single, wickedly sharp horn protruded from his head, and splotches that resembled his serpent’s colors painted his coat. Unsure of what to do for mane, seeing as a kelpie’s mane was, well, kelp, and everyone else had no need for them, the Sea turned water into one, shaping it into place and keeping it there as he stepped towards the town.

His quick gait was purposeful, muscles from being fed often and well hidden underneath his coat. He walked like a predator, and his prey was anyone and everyone who got in his way.

Sensitive ears flicked towards a group of stallions. 

“I promise thee, scales! The beastie had scales and a mouth of teeth sharper than any blade!”

His Equish was bad, despite numerous attempts by Orek to teach him more than basic sentences.

He advanced on the group, towering over them and growling low in his throat. “Where.” Was all he said.

The stallions blinked at him nervously. “Sir?” One said carefully, eyeing the unicorn. It was unheard of to see a unicorn that tall. Perhaps he was some sort of royalty?

The Sea’s patience wore thin. “WHERE!?” He demanded, stomping a hoof and sending deep cracks through the cobblestone.

The stallions paled, each pointing towards the beach, where the Sea had found his son for the first time.

He needed no more from the group, turning on his hooves and dashing, quick as rain, towards the shore, leaping great distances without trouble, leaving a gaping city in his dust.



“Look at the thing twitch! I think it may be frightened,” a jeering voice was heard first, joined by the cruel laughter of others.

“Such an abomination is unsightly, surely the Sea is not as dangerous as t’was heeded so? It refuses to retaliate!”

“I believe it dies!” This time, there was a raucous cheer.

The Sea froze, before snapping forward, galloping towards the group, who gasped and began to explain that they found it so they got to keep it. He heard none of it.

“Orek,” he said quietly, falling to his knees.

His son was beaten badly, scales missing in patches where it was ripped out. His horn had been snapped, explaining why he hadn’t reappeared by the Sea’s side. Sickly skin showed from where he was missing protection.

Wide, slit-pupiled eyes observed him before recognition flickered weakly. “Father.” He responded in Equish, leading the surrounding ponies to pale, freezing in place.

Not a sound was heard except for a few gasps as the freak on the shore slowly morphed, scales disappearing and teeth dulling until he resembled the giant unicorn that knelt before him trembling with rage.

“Abomination, what have they done to you?” The mares and stallions surrounding them felt their blood freeze at the hissing, growling words that came from behind clenched teeth.

“You were right. I’m sorry.” Orek said before laying his bleeding head down on the sand, feeling the waves lap at his sides. His eyes closed, and suddenly, the Sea was taken back, back when Orek was just a little beast with a stubby horn and stubbier legs, drowning in the very waters that surrounded them now.

Wheezing lungs with water inside. The little thing was going to die.

“Orek.” He said, panicking, leaning forward and attempting to pry open Orek’s eyes. His pupils did not shrink.

“Abomination!” He shouted, nudging his side, freezing when the sound of bones moving were louder than air whistling from punctured lungs.

His son had stopped breathing.

All was silent. The ponies backed up slowly, realizing how the shore had pulled back by several meters, low rumbling beginning to sound in the distance. What was happening?

The Sea had felt joy, had felt anger, had felt malice.

Nothing could compare to the world-consuming rage he felt now.

Encompassing his son’s body in ice that spread from his hooves, the Sea kept the water still around the colt, a complete contrast to everything else.

He turned to the ponies, body shimmering, boiling water sending steam into the air.

The steam dissipated with the wind, leaving-

“What in the name of-”

A freakishly large sea serpent, magma oozing underneath its scales, opened a jaw full of razor sharp teeth and roared, spiraling into the air faster than what should have been possible, leaving trails of steam and smoke behind, boiling hot water shifting and keeping him there in a whirlpool.

At this point, ponies thought the sea was dangerous because of what dwelled within it. 

The ponies hadn’t met the Sea until that moment.
 
Tremendous waves rose higher and higher, touching the clouds with their walls before rocketing down towards the earth, smashing all that met it, be it ponies, flora, or fauna.

The Sea didn’t want to see anything left.

Crashing waves tore up everything in their paths like the claws of a vengeful serpent, water rising high enough to block out the sun before careening down, eviscerating civilization and killing hundreds, even thousands as it swept through their cities, long fingers of water prying settlements where they stood and destroying ponies upon impact.

He wasn’t satisfied.

“Hate my waters, do you?” The Sea sensed a huge body of water inland, tongue flickering out as though to taste it before letting out another earth-shaking roar, swiping claws through the air as if to pull something.

A rumble was heard, and slowly, the entire body of water took the shape of one of the Sea’s more destructive forces, a kraken. Brackish tentacles smashed its surroundings as it climbed out of its basin, tearing deep gauges in the ground and smacking ponies hard enough to rupture them.

“To me,” the Sea muttered, serpentine eyes pure black, dark as the waters in the deepest trench. A constant hiss was heard with each seawater drop that landed on his magma-crackling skin.

The words tore the kraken out of the ground as it gripped and tore the earth beneath it in its efforts to join the Sea, leaving nothing but corpses, ruins, and bad land behind, barely a drop of water remaining.

It crashed into the walls of his tsunami, bringing them down and crushing the remains of the buildings.

None of it felt good, even with his waters cascading back to the ocean, even as he had separated the pegasi from the ponies and the ponies from the unicorns, launching the pegasi into the clouds and the unicorns into magically reinforced shelters, the earth ponies putting together rock shelters just in time while their weaker brethren was swept away, dying on impact.

He had left only the strong of each race, inadvertently kick-starting a game of survival of the fittest while his waters towered high.

After three days, he stopped, finished with the undoing of the ones who had killed his son. His wrath was over, leaving only loss.

With that, he retreated into the deepest, most secret spot in the whole ocean, setting his son down atop a beating heart of magma, stone, and ice, melting the ice that had encased him and coiling around the body.

“My abomination, why did you have to be so trusting?” He whispered, the emptiness in him completely foreign. He had never had anything to lose, he was able to gain anything.

But even the Sea could not undo time.

A broken snarl left his lips, magma oozing from his scales cooling and hardening into inky black stone. From there, he would stay for years, his own emotions manifesting in the form of spiking crystals, encompassing his son in a dome, preserving the abomination he loved forever.

From there, he would manifest shelter through the crystals, a grand and pretty thing that his son would have loved, and Orek’s words would finally move his father.

I am selfish. Thought the Sea, moving for the first time in years, shedding magma-hardened scales and turning into water to reform outside of his shed skin.

The end result was a crystal tomb, guarded by his own form circled round and round the body.

I will be better for you, abomination. The Sea decided, turning a weary head towards where a colony of serpents resided. I will make the sea a place where you would’ve stayed.

It was time to earn his place as Emperor.



Sovereign spent the night with his long-dead son, dipping his pony head to rest atop the crystal. He wondered if his son would have found it amusing that he took the form of a pony.

His eyes turned skyward, unable to see the moon from how deep he was.

He thought back to the voice, the company he had kept that somehow led him to forgiving the ponies. He wondered where she was now.



Luna shot upright in bed, jerked awake from her own dreams, ironically enough.

"Emperor?" she whispered, unsure of why the title meant so much to her before exhaustion caught up with her and she collapsed back to sleep.
> Water, Wings, and Wheels
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sovereign returned to Ponyville the next day feeling significantly more subdued. The wound was closed, but it was never pleasant recalling loss.

Age-old weariness rivaled only by the likes of perhaps Celestia’s weighed him down, each step feeling heavier than the last.

He was almost too wrapped up in his thoughts to stop when a little filly ran into his path, only stopping in time to prevent squashing the tiny pony.

She bore a large bow on a larger head, and didn’t even notice she had been at the risk of his hooves as she ran excitedly ahead.

A familiar face followed, wearing a sheepish grin and a wide-brimmed hat. Applejack trotted up to him, glancing at where the filly had gone.

“Sorry about that, Sovereign, that’s my sister for ya, ain’t a thought behind those eyes other than getting her cutie mark.”

Sovereign gave her a look. “Her… I apologize, but I have not caught up on modern Equish, surely I misheard-”

Applejack cut him off. “A cutie mark? But they’ve been around since ponies themselves, I don’t think they had any other name on ‘em.”

Sovereign blinked, and blinked again. “And what, if you have no issue explaining… is a cutie mark?”

Applejack paused and then proudly turned around to show her behind. Sovereign balked and looked pointedly up, pretending to observe the sky. Were ponies really this forward? Even Rarity hadn’t attempted such a thing.

“Get yer mind out the gutter, Sovereign, I’m showin’ you my flank, not my rump, that’s just foul.”

Sovereign hesitantly looked back down to see Applejack gesturing to the mark that adorned her flank. “See, this is a cutie mark, I’ve got one, you’ve got one, most ponies get em at some point.”

Sovereign looked to his own flank, blinking in surprise at it. He had never looked at it before, but looking now, he realized that he did in fact have a mark of his own. Golden kelp and sea grass surrounded an ever moving orb of water that sloshed in time with his heartbeat, just as his real heart of magma and ice pumped with the tides.

He was brought out of his observation when the little filly from before galloped back to them. “Applejack, you’re slower than a mule, how am I s’posed to get my- oh, hello, wow yer tall,” 

Sovereign blinked down at the filly who was staring up at him in amazement. Applejack groaned and put her face in her hoof. “Apple Bloom, be a bit more respectful, this is Sovereign Seas, he’s ah, king of the oceans, and you nearly tripped him a minute ago.”

Apple Bloom’s look of awe promptly vanished with a sheepish expression that her sister had worn a moment earlier.

“Sorry about that, mister king sir, I didn’t mean ta- hey, your cutie mark moves!” Apple Bloom immediately abandoned her attempt at politeness in favor of trying to look close to Sovereign’s flank.

Even though Applejack had assured him otherwise, Sovereign very much did not like ponies staring at his rump, and levitated Apple Bloom gently away, turning to face her completely so his flank was out of sight.

“It does, and it’s a preference that you do not… do that again.” He said slowly. 

“But I wanted to see your cutie mark-” Applejack suddenly swooped in, placing her hat atop the filly’s face to silence her. 

“Apple Bloom, respect his boundaries, we raised ya better than that, imagine if Granny Smith were to see ya like this!” 

Sovereign momentarily wondered who ‘Granny Smith’ was before bending to talk to the young pony once Applejack took her hat back. “No worries little one, though I would think it would be common sense to not get close to a stranger’s rump without permission-” he allowed himself to grimace, “-even if you want to see their cutie mark.”

Apple Bloom looked properly chastised. “Sorry, sir, I’ve just never seen a-” she gasped, horror on her face. “Sweet Celestia, my cutie mark, I’m gonna be late!”

With that, she sped off once more. Applejack frowned. “See? Not a thought behind those eyes of hers.”

Sovereign hummed. “What is it that she’s doing to achieve her mark?”

Applejack shrugged. “There’s this fake scuba competition, the foals are s’posed to dive and look for the treasure ponies put in the pond. She thinks she’ll get her cutie mark in diving, I bet.”

The subject interested Sovereign. “Do you mind if I come and watch? I haven’t seen such a competition before.” Among ponies, anyway.

Applejack beamed. “Sure, plus it’ll be nice to have another pair of eyes watching just in case. You know how to swim, right?”

Sovereign stopped walking and glared at her, stopping when she burst into laughter before taking off, telling him she would… turn him into a rotten egg if he was the last one there? Perhaps the earth ponies had learned more magic over the years of his absence.

Not wanting to find out (though he doubted she could), Sovereign galloped, long legs catching up to her quickly. Unused as he was to running like a pony, the apple farmer beat him by a few seconds.

Applejack laughed heartily. “Now I can say I beat a king in a hoof-race, look at that!”

Sovereign rolled his eyes but smiled dryly, deciding he liked this pony more than the others he had met. She wasn’t complicated, and was honest and hardworking. He respected that.

The two looked over to the pond, where a pony with a red something was monitoring the pond as they prepared for the competition.

Apple Bloom was on the docks, along with a hoard of other colts and fillies. She was talking to a pink and purple-maned unicorn and one other who they couldn’t see.

“Well, I guess we just gotta wait for it to begin now.”



Apple Bloom beamed at her friends. “Sorry I’m late, y’all, I got caught up talkin’ ta the new guy. Have you seen him? He’s-”

“He’s so tall, and handsome, and has the prettiest mane, I know,” Sweetie Belle groaned, recalling her sister’s rants about that Sovereign Seas. 

Apple Bloom wilted for a moment. “He is…” she grumbled, kicking the dirt. As one, they turned to their third member.

“Scoots, have ya met him yet?” Scootaloo hadn’t even heard of the guy, and helplessly shrugged.

“I don’t think so.” She said, happy for the distraction. The competition had both the prize of a cutie mark and fifteen bits, but the idea of staying underwater for any prolonged amount of time gave Scootaloo the chills.

For as long as she could remember, she had felt the safest on dry land. She couldn’t go up into the clouds like Rainbow Dash, and the last thing she wanted to do was become some sort of diver. 

Obviously, she didn’t voice her concerns to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, as she didn’t want to be seen as some sort of baby who couldn’t take a dive.

“I can do this.” she said to herself, whispering low under her breath and staring fearfully in the water. If anything happened, the lifeguard would be sure to save her. She was going to be fine.

“What if we find treasure?” Sweetie Belle asked excitedly from beside her. Apple Bloom ‘ooh’ed at the idea and started talking about how cool it would be to have a treasure finding cutie mark.

Scootaloo surprised herself at the enthusiasm that flooded her at the idea. Something about finding treasure, finding something special that nopony else could, made her feel more sure of herself than before. Like it was what she was meant to do.

When the whistle blew, she took a deep breath through the snorkels they had given her and took a big dive into the water. 

The pond’s surface enveloped her and everypony else, and she blinked behind her goggles, squinting through the water to find treasure. Bright objects were very obviously placed in different spots, and after bringing one to the surface, Scootaloo found that she wasn’t satisfied.

She wanted something pretty, something that would get everyone’s attention from how cool it was. 

Yeah, her mind whispered, determined and centered, forgetting all about how scared she was less than an hour ago, I’ll get something cool!

Taking a big breath once she broke the surface, Scootaloo dove down with renewed vigor and single-minded focus. Her wings subconsciously began to flap, propelling her deeper.

Bird-like eyes scanned the depths, ignoring that she was now deeper than everypony else. 
There was just sand and rocks and-

There!

Something glinted just barely, submerged half-way in the dirt. She couldn’t tell what it was, but there was a part sticking out that she could definitely grab if need be. 

Her short limbs wrapped around the part that stuck out, and Scootaloo began to pull, bubbles of air escaping her lips with the effort. It barely budged, but what mattered is that it did. 

She yanked it harder, wings flapping in earnest to pull back with more force. She was running out of air, but she could feel it loosening, surely it would be wrenched free in time for her to pull it up and return victorious to the surface.

Her chest felt tight, and she felt her grasp slipping.

No! She thought angrily, heaving with all her might (which, unfortunately, was not that much) and yanking the heavy thing out of the ground. Finally! She grinned, accidentally letting air out from behind her lips and taking in water instead.

Panicking, she took a breath, coughing and taking in more water as a result. Mission abandoned, she flailed, wings propelling her in the wrong direction. Which way was up? Was it night already? It was getting dark…



Sovereign and Applejack were discussing Apple Bloom’s finds (simple toys and objects that were easily produced) when Sovereign suddenly cut himself off, ears flicking towards the water before he sped to it at a gallop.

Applejack frowned. “Hey, what’s the-”

Sovereign dove into the water, speeding through it with practiced propulsions as his body shimmered and turned streamlined once more. That sound, he hated that sound more than any sound he had heard in his life, he didn’t want to hear it again and he refused to let that sound go on for any longer.

That sound was the sound of water sloshing around tiny lungs in a body not meant for the water.

Finding the source immediately, a tiny little pegasus, he took the sinking foal in his hooves, rocketing to the surface in a geyser of water to the shock of those who had seen him dive in.

The water carrying him gently deposited him on the banks, retracting and going back to normal once its use was no longer needed.

Sovereign placed the filly on the sand, kneeling and bending his head to place his ear over her chest, horn beginning to glow.

There was something so tragically ironic in the fact that he learned how to do this after Orek had died. Still, the water in her lungs disappeared, joining the body of water it hailed from as the filly coughed and sputtered awake.

Violet eyes opened, and Sovereign felt himself closing his eyes with relief as well as the need to get the image of another foal with a stubby horn instead of tiny wings out of his head.

“Sovereign!” “Scootaloo!”

Applejack and Apple Bloom rushed over, followed by a host of other ponies that had come to watch the competition.

Scootaloo stared in shock into nothing, barely comprehending that she wouldn’t be alive if not for- wait, who saved her?

She turned, not listening to the various ‘is she okay’s and ‘how did you know?’s as she finally looked at whoever saved her.

Huh, she thought as the exhaustion caught up with her, staggering back to the sand after trying to stand, he’s tall.

Miss Cheerilee, who had been monitoring the event as well, immediately swooped down on her.

“What were you thinking!? You were told not to go deeper than the lifeguard could see you, do you have any idea how badly that could’ve-”

“That would be enough.” Sovereign cut in, standing in front of the pony. “I’m quite sure she understands. There is nothing to do about it now. It is over.”

And it was. It was over and Scootaloo had only gotten one thing, a measly and cheap toy that would do her no good. Plus, she had nearly drowned, so not cool.

“My treasure…” she whispered, forlorn at the loss and useless effort.

Sovereign looked back at her after scolding Cheerilee, who he knew was only concerned, tilting his head and kneeling next to her, allowing his body to somewhat shield hers from the lingering ponies’ stares.

“The skillet?” He said carefully, not letting any pity show. Children either loved or hated pity, and he sensed that this one would be something of the latter.

“The what!?” Scootaloo yelled before catching herself and ducking her head. “Sorry.”

Sovereign hummed, looking back to the pond. “The object you were attempting to retrieve was very heavy, wasn’t it?” Scootaloo’s face heated at the implication that she was weak but gave a jerky nod, unconsciously shifting closer when she saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon nearby.

Sovereign continued. “That skillet was pure iron, and decades old. It probably weighed much more than a skillet made now. I find it surprising you even managed to budge it.”

Scootaloo felt herself relax, appeased by the admittance. “But I didn’t get anything, what am I supposed to do?”

The pony, Sovereign Seas if she remembered Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom’s stories right, tilted his head as though seeing her for the first time. She realized with shame that he was glancing down at her wings.

“Gonna call me a freak?” She spat, ducking her head to hide how her face flushed red.

“No. Scootaloo, was it? I have something for you.” She glared up at him, lessening when she produced something round and metal, holding it in front of her face. She felt inexplicably connected to the object and blinked at it, unsure what to make of it but knowing somehow that it was meant for her.

“What is it?” She asked quietly, enraptured as violet eyes ran over its surface, stopping at an L and two O’s that adorned the side. Loo, like her name…

“I came to Ponyville with the goal of returning this pocket watch to the pony who was a descendant of its owners, and now I’ve found them. You may leave it or have it polished if you’d like.”

He allowed her to grab it, hooves running reverently over its surface. His words suddenly caught up with her.

“I don’t… I don’t have the money to get it cleaned…” she said sadly, looking up at him with shame. “I don’t mind leaving it though, did it really belong to someone in my family?”

Sovereign looked up, a far-off look in his eyes. “Yes. They had wings like yours and were very brave.”

“Did you know them?” Scootaloo asked excitedly, clutching the watch closer to herself.

Sovereign shook his head. “I don’t, but I do know how it came to be in my cl- my hooves.”

Scootaloo nodded up at him expectantly and happily. “Where?”

Sovereign grinned down at her. “The palace of Atlantis.”

Scootaloo frowned. “What? That’s not a real place,” anger colored her tone, indignant at being lied to after discovering the tiniest fact about a family she knew nothing about.

Sovereign blinked. “It is, and your ancestors wished to prove it. They wanted to find something of value from my palace to bring back, and they… they left their watch.”

Scootaloo still looked doubtful but held the locket tightly. “I wish I had enough money to have it polished,” she mused sadly.

Sovereign frowned, feeling a bit of guilt. He knew it was his subjects’ faults that the watch had become so tarnished, and felt responsible.

“I can have it cleaned for you, if you’d like,” he offered. Surely he could grab some gold from the serpents’ offerings to him and have the watch returned to its former glory.

“Can I come with? I mean- if you don’t mind, I promise I’m not gonna bother you, I just don’t want-”

Sovereign patted the filly on the head to sooth her awkwardly. “No need to worry, but I do not have your parents’ permission to take you.”

Scootaloo’s face fell, and Sovereign winced at his mistake. “You can keep it for the time being. Is there anyone in Ponyville who polishes metal?” 

Scootaloo looked unsure. “I don’t know.” 

Sovereign stood, offering a hoof to Scootaloo. “The day is still young, I’m sure I can find one soon.”

Scootaloo took it hesitantly, shakily standing and walking with Sovereign, who had slowed his pace to match her own. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon suddenly approached them, leading her to wince and unconsciously press into Sovereign’s side. Unfortunately, he was very tall and his legs were taller than her whole body and then some, so she only managed to make Sovereign stop in order not to knock her over.

“Hey, Scoota-loser, heard you almost drowned in a little pond during the contest!” Sovereign frowned, looking down at Scootaloo, who had hung the pocket watch around her neck. She was fuming, and her wings twitched with anger.

“Shut up, Silver Spoon, at least I was brave enough to swim, you both couldn’t even get your fur wet!” 

Sovereign felt an odd sense of relief and pride when Scootaloo shot back, glad that she could hold her own.

Orek was always too polite for his own good, even in the grizzly depths of the sea where the inhabitants had no qualms of baring teeth at strangers.

Sovereign blinked. Orek? Where had that come from?

Scootaloo stomped her hoof, bringing him to his answer. She reminded him of his son. That brought him to more realizations as well, and he blinked as he recalled both saving her life and returning the watch. Those two alone should have been enough for him to leave and return to the sea, but he was still here.

He had one more realization, accidentally speaking aloud. “Your parents chose to name you Silver Spoon?”

The grey filly paused. “Yeah, what’s it… to you..?” Somehow having ignored him throughout the entire encounter, the two fillies looked up at him, backing up in order to take in his height.

“Nothing. You shouldn’t be ashamed of your name, even if other ponies are mean about it,” he attempted to salvage the situation, as being mean to children wasn’t one of his favored skills.

“Other- what are other ponies saying about my name!?” The grey filly burst out, glaring up at him contemptuously. 

“Pay no mind to what other ponies think, there will always be those who are mean-spirited who like to make fun of things,” he tried again, not noticing the gleeful look on Scootaloo’s face as she began to giggle.

Silver Spoon began to fume, turning red beneath her grey fur. The other filly turned to her nervously.

“It’s okay, Spoons, he’s right. Just because ponies make fun of it doesn’t mean you should feel-” she was cut off by Silver Spoon turning tail and galloping away, yelling angrily as she went.

Diamond Tiara abandoned the prospect of bullying the Cutie Mark Crusader in favor of chasing her only friend, shrieking out unhelpful reassurances.

Once she was out of sight, Scootaloo collapsed with laughter, pounding at the ground with her hooves. “That. Was. Awesome!” She said, howling with glee.

“I don’t understand.” Sovereign said dryly.

Scootaloo calmed down and grinned up at him. “Those girls have been bullying me since I started school, and I’ve always tried saying something about Silver Spoon’s stupid name.” Sovereign didn’t feel the need to tell her that that was mean. From the look on her face, she knew.

Sovereign looked around, heading towards the center of the village. “I suppose I will find you again tomorrow, if you’re sure about getting the watch polished.”

Scootaloo nodded, a hoof resting against the watch that dangled in front of her chest. “Fine by me.”

She looked back at Sovereign with a grin, eyes straying to his- Sovereign needed to find another some for it- cutie mark, eyes widening.

“Hey, your cutie mark moves.” Scootaloo said bluntly, peering at it closely. Sovereign levitated her away.

“I discovered that same fact this morning, actually.” He remarked, walking into town. A few ponies turned and stared at him, something Scootaloo seemed to find uncomfortable.

“So what’s it like where you’re from? Is everypony as tall as you?” She peered up at him, and even though she would rather die than admit it, his mane was pretty. It was what she imagined the ocean would look like, not that she would ever go in.  

Sovereign looked down at her momentarily before looking around. “No. As a pony, I am actually smaller than a lot of the residents of my home.”

Scootaloo gaped, barely catching herself in time when a rock caused her to stumble. “You- huh? You’re small? How big are the ponies there then?” Sovereign replied with a mysterious grin.

The two stopped at a blacksmith, Scootaloo frowning when she read the sign. “It says ‘out for the week’, bummer.”

Sovereign sighed. “That is unfortunate. I suppose I’ll have to look elsewhere. No worries, there are a lot of metal workers around big cities, if I remember correctly.” Scootaloo didn’t comment, not knowing that Sovereign’s knowledge was a few hundred years out of date.

“Can you tell me more about where you’re from?” She asked, not wanting to leave for the foster home just yet. Sovereign was a cool adult, almost as cool as Rainbow Dash. In the back of her head, she pictured what they looked like together, walking along the paths like everypony else and their parents. He would definitely keep her safe, considering-

Scootaloo shook her head and pawed at the ground. “I mean, you don’t have to.” She reminded herself to stop being so sappy.

Sovereign looked down at her before humming. “I suppose we have time. I’ll start with the shallows.”



Luna scrambled out of bed, this time feeling deeply invigorated. Her horn lit up and her rapidly filling diary appeared, along with a quill and a pot of ink.

She had remembered something about who she had talked to during her banishment. Dipping the quill in the inkwell, she began to write.

For some reason, Luna hadn’t really thought her sister would do it.

She hadn’t believed for a second that Tia would do something like banish her to her own moon despite knowing to her core that the alabaster alicorn was far more powerful than her.

But it had been a full two months. She had been observing the world from the sky for weeks as the outrage in her bones simmered into lonely acceptance. Was this her fate? Was she doomed to stay, orbiting Equus with nopony but the stars to keep her company? She knew that the only pony with the power to even communicate with her had placed her on the moon in the first place.

“Why are you up there?”

And with that, Luna met the Sea, tides reaching up to her through magic and gravity. The Nightmare hated him and tried to convince her that he was useless, spitting insults and trying to get Luna back to her original plan of revenge.

Not that the Sea always tried to talk to her anyway, especially not talk her out of it. In fact, the first time she mentioned she was a pony, the violent voice had ignored her for a month before gravitating back to her.

Had Luna been anypony else, she might’ve acquiesced, agreeing and pretending that she believed ponies were pathetic and useless and cruel and wasteful.

Unfortunately for that hissing, crashing, rumbling voice, she was Luna, and Luna was proud, making sure to emphasize how good the ponies were, telling the stories from an outsider’s view without revealing her identity. 

She taught him Equish as well, seeing as his speaking was like that of a foal’s. In return, he tried to scare her at first, telling tales of brutal traditions involving teeth and meat and blood before relenting, rambling about how things glowed without the sun in order to make up for it, glittering fish and coral and plankton that didn’t need the sun.

Those were her favorites, and she asked him again and again to tell her about the forming civilizations of squids who had never seen the sun and didn’t need to, along with the way the sea depended on the moon to pull the tides and stimulate the environment.

He asked her things, too. He asked how she knew about the moon princess, and she hedged, lying and saying that she was the moon itself, and that the alicorn shared its plans with her. The voice had fumed at that, claiming that ponies were still as cruel as they were with his… abomination?

Luna paused, ink starting to flood the spot where her quill rested. She made a note to correct that later and continued writing, hesitating when she realized the Sea was violent enough to lack any qualms with her plan of revenge, not realizing ponies worked far differently than his own subjects.

She recalled his retellings of how he earned respect through showing his strength and using it for good, establishing order in a chaotic world and upholding it with his endless power. The difference between his world and hers was the distinct lack of violence ponies held. How was she going to explain that her plan was to cause discord in an ordered world? Surely he’d disagree, so she didn’t tell him that.

Luna stopped writing when she heard steps outside of her door, a polite knock sounding out before her sister’s voice greeted her behind the door.

She welcomed the pony in after stowing away her diary. Celestia smiled warmly at her, beckoning for her to join her for breakfast, or in Celestia’s case, lunch.

Celestia pretended to ignore the ink stains on Luna’s hooves while they ate, explaining to her what the Grand Galloping Gala was and that she could attend if she liked. Luna had mixed feelings about it, and pushed around the food on her plate.

“Tia, after the Gala transpires, we plan to visit the oceans.”

Celestia paused before smiling at her sister. “We can have a beach trip if you’d like, surely we both deserve a bit of a break. We can visit one of the coastal towns near the Jagged Rocks!”

Luna hesitated before nodding, something in the description of the town feeling familiar and unwelcome. She figured she could try and talk to the Sea at the coast anyway.

“After the Gala.” She confirmed, smiling when Tia grinned back at her, happy that the introverted princess finally decided to get out of the castle.

“I don’t suppose I can have you attend?” She teased. Luna laughed softly.

“Perhaps we will, sister, perhaps we will,” she acquiesced, privately knowing she would only be there for a bit before retiring if only to appease her sister.

Surely, an hour or so would not cause her trouble? It wasn’t as though their subjects aimed to talk to her.

With that, Luna continued eating, listening with half an ear as Celestia told her about her star student and her plan to invite her.