Hippo

Silverstream's joy traveled from her mouth to her eyes as she looked at Gallus. When he asked her about shell-stringing, she was elated that Gallus appeared to be just as excited as she was. And he probably didn't even know why shell-stringing was so amazing! Anycreature who knew Silverstream for longer than two seconds knew that she took great joy in the little things about reality. Seeing a new creature she's never seen? Awesome. Spotting a small set of stairs outside a palace? Awesome. Being tested by a magical tree in order to prove herself as a creature who could exhibit friendship qualities? Especially awesome, although most others would agree that that is indeed awesome. And since this pink seapony's seagriffon friend became authentically interested in whatever the shell-stringing was about, Silverstream would not let this moment pass with the full breakdown. "Yes! Come on, I'll show you!" As the two approached the shell-stringing area, music started playing in the trench. Some seaponies were dancing, some were socializing, and some were playing games. Nearby a large clam sat a collection of small shells and underwater trinkets. "These shells are collected by the communities of Seaquestria. Some creatures from land consider this junk but we use them as a symbol of all sea creatures' ability to live together in harmony." Silverstream started digging in the pile of shells looking for interesting colors and shapes. "We find shells and string them together to make a necklace, and then you give the necklace you made to a friend. We've had this tradition ever since the Storm King's defeat." Silverstream swam slightly to the left to another large collection of shells. "And you know what the best part is? Professor Pinkie Pie invented it! My cousin Skystar was the first one to get a shell necklace when Pinkie Pie made one for her. And so now every year seaponies will have shell-stringing supplies available so that everypony can make a necklace for their best friend." Silverstream was noticing several pieces in the pile that looked very appealing and had a luster that was eye-catching. But she looked at Gallus with short regret. "Uh, this process does require that the necklace is made before the friend can see it." She used her body to block Gallus' vision while she searched for more shells. From the other side of Gallus, spoke another seapony. This seapony was dark blue and was well-aged. He chuckled. "I suppose you want to make her the best, most beautiful necklace she has ever seen now, huh?" The seapony spoke with intimidating tones, but his body language was playful. "Listen. You don't wanna use these shells. Most of the good shells have already been taken. And you don't want just any shells to represent your 'friendship' do ya? I know a place where you can find the brightest, most sparkling shells you would ever see, the kind that only a special somepony deserves."

His mother got out of the tub to fetch a towel and left him to find his stick that he lost in the process of cleaning himself. The trance of the song she sung caused him to lose all focus of his twenty-second sculpture. He was dejected, not necessarily because he was so attached to the bubble stick, but because by looking at the dying bubble hills in the tub, it was obvious to even him that any resurrection of a weightless formation of bubbles was about as futile as trying to turn a snowpony made outside in the winter into a new roommate. The Apple family bought four new mops from the mop store that snowy day. Zap threw his hooves into the water as a gesture of forfeit and began being reminded of the inspiration of the whole bubble-shaping session he had. That's right there was a real stick downstairs somewhere. And all Zap had to do was find it. He looked across the washroom where his mother was still patting herself dry with a towel. He had to act fast. She wasn't looking directly at him, but there would be only a small sliver of time where she would eventually turn back to him. Quickly, Zap started climbing out of the tub. It was a bit of an obstacle, but after a few short seconds he squeakily slid down the outside of the tub and set hoof on the bathroom floor. Once down, he made a run for it. Knowing full well she would attempt to grab him to stop him, he scurried past her towards the door as fast as his wet hooves could clop. And maybe the bathwater suds still lubricating his pelt would make him extra slippery to grab if anyone could get a hoof on him. Just then, Auntie called for supper and mother suggested sharing the stick with the family. But he just tried to make as many hoofsteps as possible before she knew where he was.

Zap Apple was slightly dejected that his item was only so important. He knew bath time had at least five percent responsibility, so he went along with his cleaning duties in hopes that he might get to the ninety-five percent that sold the deal in the first place. His mother started singing, and with every verse, Zappy would follow the hypnotizing instructions after a few seconds of delay. They washed together all four limbs, and then everything involving the face. "Yeehaw!" Zap responded when his mother asked him. However, despite being a rowdy colt who not to long ago was willing to run around the farmhouse to escape a bath, he was starting to feel a little tired, with all the singing about cleaning and yeehawing. When they finished, Zap looked around and realized he had misplaced his valuable bubble sculpture he fell in love with. "Where is it? Where is the stick I made?"

Knowing his awareness of potential fun would put an end to his resistance, he held his eyes closed tight from the moment the bathroom door was opened. Convinced he had more important things to do like finding the stick, finding out what other vegetables are being cooked for supper, and that other thing he hadn't thought of yet but would be inevitably distracted with a few minutes into investigating the smells in the kitchen, he was determined to fight as long as he possibly could so that he would not be lured into taking a frustrating wet bath with or without the bubbles. No, he had to struggle. He continued to try to wiggle his way out of the clutches of his strong mother. He almost considered biting her, but he wasn't sure how far to take it, yet. It was pretty serious, though. If there was any way he was going into the tub its because it was his idea. When the warm friendly water was poured over his head, he decided it was his idea. Zap quit crying, and like one of Twilight Sparkle's advanced magic-powered laboratory computers, his mind hit a reset button and it slowly but surely was reprogrammed for a different execution in a young colt's mind. His heavy breathing and elevated pulse had not even subsided yet by the time his first giggle was let out. What was before a struggle to escape was now a struggle to explore the bathtub and climb the many uncharted mountains of bubbles that peaked over his head around him. His mother let him go though, and he quickly dove into a large pile of bubbles, making a violent splash in the process. Seconds later, when he reappeared out from underneath the bubbly abyss, he held in his hooves bubbles in a long unrecognizable shape. "Look what I made!"

Zap thought he was invisible. He knew his mother could find him easily enough, but the thrill of hiding from Mom was one of the four most euphoric experiences he had so far experienced in his young colthood. As soon as he heard the signature hoofsteps of her presence, he tried to remain perfectly still and held his breath. She jumped on him, and it scared him playfully. He squealed. His mother's lips smooching his belly gave him the irresistible sensation of joy and laughter. But after a few giggles, he would remember his motive and try to maintain his stubbornness. "Hehe Hahe, hu, no! I don't wanna!" He screamed as his mother picked him up and tucked him onto her chest firmly. "I don't wanna growl! I don't want a tibberwolf bath!" He continued to scream and as they trotted up the steps, he began to grow very impatient with being restricted of his freedom and started to change a darker orange. Tears of emotional resistence streaked his cheeks. "Nooooo!" He shrieked.

Seaquestria was a big place, but within the underwater metropolis were several divisions, similar to that of the suburbs of Manehatten, that served as different districts of interest. And the trench near the city was home to most festivals as it had ample space for temporary stages and a dark enough atmosphere to create any kind of mood. And today's mood was arguably the most celebrated of all the seaponies in the ocean. It was the first day of the Three Days of Freedom Celebration™ and all the festivities were to be had underwater for those that chose to attend. Not all hippogriffs that chose to live on Mount Aris would attend the first day in Seaquestria, but many would. And not all of the seaponies would transform on the second day where the party would continue on the restored streets of Hippogriffia atop Mount Aris, but many would. But on day three, all of the seaponies and hippogriffs celebrate along the shore of the island, allowing for community to blossom among all seaponies and hippogriffs alike. Not all creatures from this place would say that celebrating their freedom from the wrath of the evil Storm King was their favorite thing to do all year, but many would. As Silverstream pulled Gallus into the trench, what seemed like a dark endless abyss turned into a well-lit bustling gathering that featured a sound stage, several tables full of food, a social area where shell-stringing supplies were held, and lots of extra space for dancing and mingling. As soon as Silverstream came into the light of most of the attendees, several took notice of her and waved. No one was immediately startled at Gallus this time, it seemed. Although a young seapony swam up close to them and his eyes grew wide with astonishment. "He's so big!" The water around Silverstream and Gallus seemed to displace. When Silverstream looked behind her, she saw one of the friendly baleen whales swim towards and over them. There were lots of colorful alien-like creatures one could see on different ends of the activity areas, but needless to say, this guy was easily the largest. As he swam by, he greet everyone in the trench with a high pitched hum, singing his entrance to all that could hear and feel it. In mass response, all of the seaponies, including Silverstream held a matching pitched tone in her voice, attempting to sing back to the whale. After a four second note, she smiled and looked at Gallus. "Isn't this amazing!" She gently shook in place, again.

He was set down in the living room and was given a small apple to tie his appetite down for the next while before supper was ready. After she went to prepare a bath, Uncle Big Mac walked into the room. He never talked much, but he was always a good listener. "Uncle Big, me and mommy went to the forest and we smelled, we smell like, tibber wolves." A slight confusion entered his mind before returning to his expressive storytelling. "We got mushrooms, and there was water, and we saw trees and plants, and we swam in the water. Oh!" Zap jumped up from his sitting position, getting excited about an important detail. "Mommy swam in the water, I held my breath under water for like, nine minutes. Ten minutes." Big Mac was giving him all the attention he typically would, and along with it, a typical reply with a nod and an occasional yes or no answer to any questions he would have. "And I got a new toy. It's a green stick." Zap's smile fell down into a partial frown as he could not see where the saddlebag was placed. "Where is it? It was so awesome and cool." Zap started walking around a little looking for the bag while using adjectives his rainbow mother had taught him to describe is new favorite thing. "It is a rad stick. You gotta see it. It's about this long and it gl-." Before Zap could go on explaining his fascination with something he found in the forest, he heard his mother calling to him to come to the bathroom for a bath. It was at this moment that Zap realized something about his current interest. He wanted to find his stick, and he wanted to eat supper, but he did not necessarily want a bath. Knowing he would get some resistance, he scurried behind a couch and said, "No, I don't wanna."

Silverstream gave in to looking for the kit. One of her many cousins probably borrowed it, maybe even took it earlier today to get a jump on the festivities. She re-approached her mother and Gallus to witness the horror of what was outstandingly predictable. Silverstream swooped in between Gallus and her mother and took the photo album away from observing eyes. She had only hoped that Gallus hadn't seen page 14 of her section yet. "Nope! No more of that, we don't have time! Mom, we gotta get down to the trench to join the party. It's probably half over by now!" Silverstream sounded very genuine of the urgency to cut with the pleasantries and get down to serious party business. But Ocean Flow was not a foolish parent, she knew Silverstream was embarrassed and that her honest desire to go to the celebration was being coupled with the common goal of escaping this situation. But she would not have it, not yet. Instead of catering her words to her daughter, someone she has addressed for many years, she decided to instill attention to Gallus. "Silverstream, don't be rude to our guest, Gallus and I were having a lovely conversation. But about the copies of the photos of Silverstream's life as a fingerling, I don't think that'll be necessary." Silverstream let out a sigh of relief. "I've already sent a full album copy to Princess Twilight Sparkle." "What!?" Silverstream could not believe it. To be fair, if Silverstream's baby photos had been revealed back at school, she would be embarrassed but would also enjoy the moment of being such a silly hippogriff with an interesting lifestyle not too many others could tout. But because her own mother decided to donate her embarrassment herself made it seem a lot less appropriate. All of this emotion riding alongside the anxiousness of trying to leave so they could go to the party. "I- I can't deal with this now." Silverstream tried to save face and smiled menacingly. "This is all very amusing, but if we don't get down to the party in time for the shell stringing I'm going to lose a pebble!" Ocean Flow looked at her daughter with a bit of disappointment. Silverstream was never a hot head, so this was definitely a desperate moment for her and Ocean Flow could only guess, probably very accurately, as to why. So instead of giving her the scolding she probably deserved, she refrained from making a scene. "Okay, Silver, but you better keep that attitude in check. It's not very becoming of you." Silverstream grabbed Gallus by his claw and pulled him out of the condo, swimming both of them towards a crevice in the bottom of Seaquestria proper. As they left, Ocean Flow winked back at both of them. "I'm sorry about my mother, she can sometimes be very, friendly."

A bubble bath was always a much better version of a regular bath. It was a very exciting upgrade. Zap wouldn't even consider how this was even possible, considering last bubble bath he had the bright idea of seeing what would happen should he submerge the entire opened bottle of bubble solution into the tub without Mother noticing. Well, noticing at first anyway. And the locomotive implication aroused his imagination, reminding Zap of a small but growing interest in the large engines that ran on tracks. Ever since he was taken to the train depot to see his mother return from a royal meeting in Canterlot, he has been fascinated with the over-sized pony mover. Maybe one day he would get to ride it. Mother's recognition of Apple Bloom's poisonous venture was all too filled with lessons of what not to do. But Zap saw it many other ways. Like for instance, finding ways to get mommy to pay more attention to you, and why there is food that is dangerous to eat in the first place, and of course the classic mystery of the existence of the thought process where one desires to do things they are told not to do. Zap would have to investigate more research into these subjects for several years to come. To start off, Zap had been reminded of the stick he had spotted in the woods by his mother's warning of not eating certain things you find. He bent to the saddle bag next to him and pulled out the enigmatic piece of branch. It softly glowed that green color it did before. So obscure, but normal possibly. What does Zap know? So he did what any self-respecting pony toddler his age would do in this moment of perplexing questioning. He put the radiating stick in his mouth. Not biting too hard, he tried to see if there was any tangible way of consuming such a rigid yet somehow organic cane. But it didn't taste good, and Zap pulled it out of his mouth the moment his taste buds overwhelmed his lack of comfort. And as he pulled it out, saliva dripping from one end of the stick, it started to pulse green more rapidly, as if it was trying to defend itself. Mother was right about most things, and Zap realized that the strange glowing green stick thing was not to be eaten, and so he put it back into the saddlebag. Maybe he would use it as a toy later. Applejack was so proud of her son, vocalizing it to esteem him. Words of affirmation always made the little pegasus happy. But as she talked about not being scared, the foalish honesty he could not avoid kicked him to respond. "I was a little scared," He said confessingly. "Those growls were very loud." As they approached the center of the orchard, Zap could smell the food coming from the ovens. It smelled like sweet potatoes and cabbage. He wonder if there was any room for carrots. He liked carrots. And apples. He loved apples.

Gallus had fallen into a serious trap. It would probably be bad enough had it just been a normal meeting of someone's parents. Everycreature deals with that eventually. But Gallus had run into Ocean Flow, sister of the Queen of Seaquestria. If royalty alone wasn't intimidating enough, it was the forwardness of the royal family in Seaquestria that would do him in. Ocean Flow was much more modest and matured than her daughter for sure, but she was much more eccentric in other ways. She ignored his smooth talk and got right down to motherly business. "Oh yes, she likes you very much. Last time she visited home she wouldn't stop talking about how cute it is to ruffle your feathers." She swam close to him and touched him by the large fin. "Most of the feathers are transformed out, but I can see what she means." Ocean Flow smirked playfully. "Would you like a kelp fritter? They're fresh out of the hydrothermal vents." Silverstream came back to see Gallus talking to her mother. "Oh. Mom, you're here!" She darted at her and hugged her. Her mom embracing whispered loudly, "He's a lot cuter than the last one." Silverstream pushed away slightly. "Mom!?" She rolled her eyes and laughed nervously. "What are you talking about? Haha. I was just stopping by to say that I'm here. But we need to get going to the celebration before we miss it all." Silverstream looked away and starting going through some of the drawers in a nearby dresser. "I need to see if I still have that shells stringing kit somewhere." While Silverstream was frantically looking for a party supply, Ocean Flow pulled out a photo album and quickly opened it up to show Gallus pictures, not even asking if he was interested in seeing them. "Oh, look at Silverstream, here. She was only a few months old. And this one is where she and her cousin first experienced transformation into a hippogriff. And this was Silverstream's drawing on her first day of school. Isn't her little fluke so cute?"

As his mother scooped up his tired legs back onto her back, he mumbled back unenthusiastic answers to her attempts to uplift. "I don't wanna bath." Such was the routine of Zap Apple not liking the idea of baths nearly as much as the reality of taking them and him sculpting the bubbles in the tub in the shape of a train. He was very ignorant of his own filth which is typical of any foal, but especially now all he could smell was the faint reek of timberwolf breath permeating his mane. "Muh." He grunted, knowing full well how this implication of hygienic duty would end. While he vocally shared his displeasure of doing anything that didn't involve playing, he had no left his state of alarm of the situation. He had found a second gear that up until this point in his life had never once been activated. He was able to be scared of some wooden creature possibly pursuing them, while at the same time latching onto the lack of motivation he had for the near future should they ever get home. It made it quite the dilemma. Go home and do what a very young foal considered work, or stay in the woods and suffer imminent death from magical tree monsters. A foal's life was always filled with difficult choices. Applejack asked him how yesterday went with his auntie Apple Bloom. Zap's aunt had gotten sick today on account of her eating mysterious berries she had found just outside the orchard's property line yesterday evening. All afternoon, Apple Bloom had brought her little cousin outside in an attempt to teach him the basics of cutie mark acquisition. Fortunately for him, he did not eat anything outside. But Apple Bloom, for all her good intentions, made sure to keep Zap Apple safe by taking the blunt force of any dangerous objects or hazards no matter how big or small. The story still was unclear why she had to eat strange berries in order to protect Zap, but he was too ignorant and egocentric to care. All he knew was that Auntie Apple Bloom was fun because she would encourage him to do things his mother might not approve of. "She got sick," he said, as if to educate his mother.

Flashback: Applejack was giving Zap Apple a bath. The dirty little brat had decided it was time for a casual stroll through the pig pen and his mother had chased him to give him his soapy punishment. As his mother tried to pin him down to scrub him, he would constantly try to shift and slip out of her hooves. Since he had done this a few times already, he got used to being in a tub full of water and was comfortable submerging himself in a playful attempt to squirm away from his maternal overlord. He would take a deep breath and hold himself underwater for as long as he could, imagining his mother could not see him. This time in particular, he decided to see how long he could hold his breath. Could he stay down here indefinitely? And what about Mom? The many seconds of his ability to restrain from air was enough for him to start missing his mother that he was blithely trying to escape from less than a minute ago. But it was getting harder and harder, and his reflexes were challenging his will. Zap held himself in place, trying to stay under as much as he could. And then suddenly, he accidentally breathed in water, and the survival instinct that took control of him threw his neck back and attempted to urgently meet the air needed to remain vital. Zap gasped for breath as soon as the water breach echoed through his ear. The water rushing off his neck assured him that he was now out of the water. During the swim which to him felt like several minutes, he accidentally inhaled a spoonful of water. Now that he was out of it, he began violently coughing the foreign liquid from his lungs out. Having never let go of his mother, Applejack gently pulled his hooves off of her to let him gain his own footing. Zap continued to cough several times before slowing catching his breath to a more relaxed state of adrenaline. The look on Zap's face told the story of massive discomfort. He loved thinking about all the adventures he was told about his mother and her friends and all the heroic tasks they completed. But is this what it felt like to be in the thick of it? He thought it was awful. He wanted to say that he was scared and that he wanted to go home. But for some reason he felt he had to save face, so he instead tried to suggest a solution that would result in his wishes. "Isn't Gran-gran cooking dinner? We need to go home, or we're be late." Zap looked around him and did not recognize a single feature. It felt like outside but it was dark. Was it nighttime already, or were the trees' shadows that dense and haunting?

After the embrace and informative whisper, Silverstream turned to face Gallus, but unhooked herself from the griffon's new aquatic limbs. She sounded playfully dejected. "What-no! You don't look like a monster. That much." Silverstream nervously touched her pink hoofins together. She was embarrassed for mistaking the Seaquestrians' reaction for real danger, but was more afraid of admitting that Gallus' appearance might not be the most welcoming. "Here let's just quickly get to my mom's place, if she found out I went to the festivities without seeing her, this vacation will be cut short." With the area of the city they had entered in, no seapony was around to greet them anymore. So while everyone seemed afraid, Silverstream decided to continue on before a bigger scene was made. She motioned to Gallus to follow her. She trusted that he would be able to keep up. His large fins should make even an inexperienced sea monster a fast swimmer. She swam towards the center of the underwater city, where the lights were brightest and the structures were older and larger. Just before she swam to what looked like a palace, she darted towards a nearby structure hanging from the Seaquestria cavernous ceiling. "This is my house!" Silverstream said excitedly. It just dawned on her that Gallus was about to meet her mother. Her eagerness trumped her anxiety of the situation, which was typical for her on most things. There was no door to open, just an arch. Free entry and windows that basically served the same purpose. The home was well decorated and was engineered to accommodate beings who swim and sometimes float to the top of the structure. "Mom! I'm home from school for the holiday! Mom?" Silverstream swam into another room to look for someone present. "Yes, Silverstream, I'm over here!" From the opposite side of the foyer, a yellow seapony with pink fins approached the foyer and was immediately surprised to see her guest. "Um, hello. Wait. Don't tell me. You're Silverstream's classmate aren't you?" She rubs her chin. "Your name is Gallus isn't it? Almost didn't recognize you with all the. Well, you know. I'm Ocean Flow. Silverstream has told me so much about you."

Silverstream could tell the answer the question Gallus asked was not fully satisfactory, but she was used to that. She wondered if there was more detail that he could use, or what else he would be curious about. She never knew Gallus for a griffon interested in creature history or politics, except when it came to griffontarian studies. Eventually, their slow-sinking swim would lead them to the luminous glow of Seaequestria. Gallus seemed immediately bewildered, and Silverstream mostly noticed a couple of the new structures that have appeared since she left for school. She was happy to be home. "Oh gosh, is that a new kelp store? And the shell factory looks like they expanded!" She shook with excitement while still hooking limbs with Gallus, although the shaking of her body was much slower than it would be on dry land. The two were close enough to approach, some seaponies swam up to greet them; They recognized Silverstream's signature pink and light blue appearance. Silverstream immediately let go of Gallus, an instinctive reaction to not knowing how others would see that. But then the greeters immediately darted and swam away in fear. Silverstream obeyed their reactions. "A sea monster!?" Silverstream grabbed Gallus again and pulled him down behind a large rock to hide. "I can't believe there's a monster down here. This is like the Coral Catastrophe from a couple years ago all over again!" She shook quietly with fear next to Gallus, not knowing where the announced monster was.

The chattering of Zap's teeth and lips made his soft murmurings indistinguishable, his young mind wondering left and right between being a little afraid to being really cold. As he though about the dangers that might come ahead in the water, he would slowly forget about how cold the water felt. The large splash behind them didn't alarm him right away, but the look of his mother's eyes told a tale of concern. Zap was about to look behind him but before he did, his mother gained all of his attention. "Under?" Zap looked down in the cave pool, the water that was once still was now torrenting with haste like that of a drain during bath-time, only on a much larger scale. Zap was not feeling too encouraged about his situation and how uncomfortable it felt. He had no idea that adventures like this were so taxing to the pony body. Wet. Cold. Hungry. Yeah, he was getting hungry. What would normally be snack time for him had turned into a major derail into the wilderness, with the only fortunate detail being that he was with the one mare that would keep him safe, and fed he secretly hoped. The pep talk from his mother was just enough for him to muster the courage to go along with what she asked. "Okay," he whimpered. Applejack started counting down, and in between the counts he could hear the turbulent water behind them. Just before she got to zero, Zap took a huge inhale of breath and closed his eyes. He could not see anything, but he could feel the cold water rushing around him, he could hear the scary growl of what seemed like a not-so-distant timberwolf, and he could smell the caustic fumes of death and rotten wood. And then, he felt nothing.

Zap was firmly saddled onto Applejack's back. His front hooves bracing over her shoulders, his back legs anchored against the saddlebag, and his head reclining her neck. Zap could sense the uneasiness in his mother's attitude. But he also saw her resilience to stay firm and focused. Zap never saw his mother be actively afraid of anything, but it was always Applejack's reaction that he paid the most attention to. Seeing her relaxed stance and hearing her calming voice seeded in him courage to continue staying serene himself. Approaching the water, he knew to hold on a little tighter as it would be easier to slip out off of his mother's haunches. When she stepped in, the water level rose to Zap's underside, wetting all four of his hooves and giving him a chilling sensation at his core. He did his best not to speak out, but could not avoid a small whimper as a reaction to the cold water. "Hm. It's cold," he whispered loudly. He started to involuntarily shiver but was also dramatizing the temperature he was experiencing. "Burruruuruuururur."

The deeper they went, the colder the water felt. However, the radiating glow of warmth from the two creatures kept them both comfortable, presumably coming from their biological avian parts. It was increasingly dark, but as Silverstream knew but failed to mention is that adaptive sight was part of the program for deep sea diving as a seapony or whatever Gallus was. It was about this time Silverstream was able to take notice on the significance of her closeness with Gallus once again. He was not at all the touchy-feely type like she was, but with how distracted Gallus got with his immediate environment and the spontaneous aquatic affinity, the proximity of Silverstream's embrace had no concerning affect on him at this time. Maybe it was because no one else was around to see them? Or maybe he actually likes it and was afraid to confess it. But with a soft glance into Gallus' eyes, it was obvious that his brain was still firing on all cylinders with small evidence of cognitive comfort. So for the time being, Silverstream would continue to hold him close. "My Aunt?" She shockingly questioned. "Well she can sometimes be a bit of a tuna, if you know what I mean. Some of my family members think she's funny but I'm not on that side of the school. Why do you want to know about my Aunt Cascade Gust?" Silverstream looked into Gallus' eyes, which by the end of her query were flat-lining, which was unfortunate for Silverstream's answer but at least the griffon fish wasn't hyperventilating anymore. "Oh! You mean Queen Novo!? That makes more sense. Yeah, she's very prestigious and very reasonable, but she often puts on a tough front. You know how rulers are." Silverstream paused and recollected her lack of knowledge of other places. "That is how rulers are usually, right? Is that what the griffon king is like? Or was like?"

"Ok." Zap said somewhat sadly. He was not sure what was going to happen next, but he had a strange feeling things were going to get hairy soon. This had become a very treacherous moment for the young colt. A lack of stressful moments in his life to this point had left him pretty complacent, or as complacent as a pony his age could possibly be. It started to feel like a trial by fire, which as uncomfortable as it felt was favorable if his mother was close by to protect him and watch him and help him learn. He didn't realize it at the moment, but Applejack's intuition and ability to ride the edge and keep herself calm was a pillar for Zap to stand on. She was a rock. Zap had seen other mares his mother's age. None of them had the strength or confidence she carried. At one point, Zap had assumed all mothers were like this. But it was clear once he started mingling with other young ponies and their older siblings and parents that nothing came close to his mother's embrace. Dash was also pretty special to Zap, her influence being a little more motivational and flashy. It was moments like this mushroom hunt in a dark wet cave when Zap knew the only thing he needed to really feel safe was with him the entire time. His only worry was what would happen if his mother's sturdy foundation was taken from him in some unfair way. It didn't feel like playtime anymore. Zap could remain to his mother's side, able to constantly make contact with her forelegs as a way to make sure she was there. But he would concede to her advice of riding on her for safe-keeping. And so he climbed on top of his mother's back, grabbed hold around her neck gently, and took a ceremonial whiff of her blonde mane. It smelled like home.

As she circled him in the water, Gallus improved his muscle memory. It was very easily written on his face, which seemed to carry a pink hue, though as an adaptable griffin Silverstream knew him for, he was relatively quick to learn. He would make several small mistakes, turning his body the wrong way at times, a fin giving him a false sense of momentum, holding his breath inadvertently and unnecessarily. But he never really made the same mistake twice. And as his short failures stopped, his ability to control himself became more apparent, even if it was sometimes due to Silverstream's hoofins negating movement of a fin that needed to be straightened. "Good job, Gallus!" She squeed softly to his face. It sounded patronizing, but that wasn't the intention. "You're ready for deeper ocean now, let's get out to the shore's edge." Silverstream hooked her hoof-like extremity around one of his underwater talons and started to aide swimming him slowly towards deeper waters. His body was squirmy and sometimes trembled and the newly-formed scales felt colder than she would expect. Silverstream kept her body close in an attempt to lower his level of stress. Currently, they were only a dozen or so meters from the surface. The direction Silverstream began to drift to with Gallus was much less inviting and much darker, the sun not able to penetrate the depth of the water. There was no telling how deep it might be to a visitor. And Silverstream being removed from home for six months might not be able to know for sure the actual distance either but she knew Seaquestria was down there somewhere. It was at this moment she was reminded of Gallus' fear of small spaces. She wondered how that equated to now. Maybe he saw the water as walls. Maybe a darker depth would make it even harder. She would glance at his face every few seconds to see if his feathery head was calm or full of fret.

Gallus thrashed into the water semi-violently, although it was not clear he was fully cognitive of his new physique for a few seconds. He sank the closure depth of the nearshore and softly hit the sandy seabed, picking up sand as he slowly became aware of his ability to move. Silverstream was wide-eyed. Even for her, this was a fascinating event to observe, and event most ponies and griffins alike didn't know they would be interested in. She wanted to pounce on his and swim him around to help him out, but she knew he would need to learn the basics by his own intuition. Fortunately, it did not take long. Gallus was in shock, and asked what he was. Well Silverstream didn't know what the term was either. She swam to him with speed and gave him a mighty underwater hug. "You're Gallus! Underwater Gallus!" She then took a moment to inspect his body over, noticing features that translated his griffin to fish, and possibly a couple other details that could not be explained. He was a curious specimen indeed. "Oh, Gallus." She said emphatically. "I care about the way you look as a fish cat thing, about as much as you care about me being a hippogriff." In her mind, she didn't think it mattered how others viewed her in her physical forms, she just assumed the question was more about how one might actually judge someone's character based on their appearance, which after only one semester of friendship lessons was taboo. Of course, it helps that she was a fairly pretty hippogriff and seapony. "So is everything alright? This transition is usually painless and self-explanitory. But I can tell you're a little apprehensive." She covered her mouth to prevent an uncontrollable giggle. "You seem to be picking it up good, just breathe the water easy, no need to strain. I've heard the hardest thing for first-time transitioners is realizing that every little movement of the tail and hoofins, er claws in your case, changes the orientation of your body and influences how you move. For someone who knows how to make your body aerodynamic in the air during flying, this should be simple for you." Silverstream started slowly circling Gallus to observe his ability to follow her movements. It was almost like teaching baby hippogriffs how to swim.

The lack of awareness was really catching up with Zap. What did she mean, 'light with it?' He assumed that he was misunderstanding how night lights were made. "How many night lights?" Zap's question was not aimed well, but he just asked what was on his heart at the moment. Even for a two year old, a light with a light seemed ridiculously redundant. After they went inside a cave, Applejack displayed a lighting geode that filled the interior of the dark cave with a crystalline reflecting projection. Along the walls were several patches of fungi. with some shaving tools, she started collecting samples of the strange organism. The moisture in the cave was so thick you could almost see it. And it smelled strange, too. Zap took notice of the geode and found it captivating. When he noticed his body casting a shadow on the wall, he entertained himself by doing short jumps and dances. He giggled as he played, waiting for his mother to finish the chore of gathering cave mushrooms. From where they came, several lengthy howls could be heard. They seemed loud and large. Zap gasped and looked in the direction it bellowed from, the entrance of the cave. "Winona?" Zap squeaked. What could the border collie be doing way out here? But his mother was not so curious, her tone now more serious than ever. Timberwolves. Zap had heard stories about the timberwolves before, but he had never actually seen them. He knew his mothers and their friends had run-ins with the monsters before, but that they rarely came out of the forest. He also knows that zap apples, the phenomenon he is named after, have a prerequisite of howling timberwolves. Great Gran-Gran liked to tell him about the story of spontaneously growing apple trees, something that he couldn't even imagine seeing with his own eyes. But timberwolves. They were the dark part of the fairy tale. They were the monster that hid underneath the bed. They were the creatures that have only existed in howls, scaring little ponies who have never laid eyes upon them. He slowly trotted close to his mother's side, his mane being matted against her shoulder. He took a few deep breathes and sighed, the worry beginning to rise in his young mind. He sniffed a few times, a look of bewilderment falling on his face. "It smells bad in here."

He wrapped his hooves around the stick carefully, taking it gently from his mother's grasp. His eyes grew to saucers and his mouth puckered with astonishment. The green tint glowing hesitantly from the stick was fascinating, but there was no need to mention how peculiar it was or how it compared to sticks that fell from apple trees on the farm. If his mother said it was an ordinary stick, then that was good enough for him. "I want to make a night light!" Zap said out loud, his mind wandering from the luminosity of the branch to the fact that the jar of fireflies he would get in his bedroom would stop glowing after a couple days. How long do sticks stay glow-y? The two were approaching something to the cue of Applejack's readiness. Though Zap had no expectations, he assumed it would involve some kind of satisfaction to his curiosity. How much of a letdown for an exploring colt would it be if the Everfree was dull and boring? "How long will we be here?" Zap asked. "Will- will we sleep out here?" His questioning came from a pure misunderstanding of the whole point of the expedition, but at least it wasn't in the spirit of fear at the moment.

Taken aback to Gallus' feelings on a veggie vacation, Silverstream nearly chuckled at the probably-joking insinuation that Applejack would run short in her next cow census because of the carnivorous nature the part-feline possessed. Surely, he could go a few days without and return to normality without extreme measures, right? Her friend loved to occasionally exaggerate. He told a cheap off-color joke. Probably. Silverstream was confident a lot of this wouldn't matter within the hour assuming Gallus took to the underwater well and happened upon a lovely forest of kelp that he would no doubt devour. To the hallowed bone truth of Silverstream's wings, nerves were starting to set in. The sudden realization of sharing this moment with a true friend in Gallus was actually kind of a big deal. It occurred to her that she had never shared her pearl magic with her new classmate friends to this point and she couldn't spontaneously understand why. The chick-mare's sensibilities with who she decides to share these types of moments with was always contained within the already established company of her family and the hippogriffs that surrounded her. The adventure she had going to Ponyville to learn about friendship and make friends in the process was her first real interaction with others not of her kind. Of course Silverstream was very happy about all of this, but this was one of the times in which it really made her think about how much her life has changed in only a semester at the academy. And possibly more importantly, only a couple seasons-worth of bonding with her favorite griffon. When Gallus was fully anxious and ready, he grabbed her claw, closed his eyes, and awaited his fishy fate. Several seconds may have passed because for Silverstream, time had suddenly lost its meaning. Gallus was never afraid to bump wings or shoulders with anyone, his loyalty to his friends was often physically shown, a peaceful bird not afraid to show his claws. But in this instance, the locking of talons from Gallus to Silverstream seemed somewhat occasional. Gallus was trusting Silverstream he would be safe. He was out of his comfort zone, miles away from home, a true cat out of water. Or perhaps in the water in this case. He could handle himself if he needed to, but Silverstream was in charge. Now she was never the type of girl to let this run through her mind persistently, but in these long seconds, she felt the warmth of Gallus' heart through his talon and gave her a sense of purpose in his life. And where that purpose would ultimately lay was still a mystery. Silverstream smiled, and then closed her own eyes. The two floated on the rocky waves of the sea for a few moments before the hippogriff reached her other claw to her pearl shard and touched it with intent. A magical glow from the shard flared light around both of them and quickly transformed them into creatures with the capabilities of effective underwater swimming. Silverstream morphed into her features of her seapony nature. First her head and ears, her wings fell transparent and angel-like, her hooves grew fins and her hind quarters completely transformed into a tail fin. Once her change was complete, she fell underwater and sunk as a fish does, using her fluke to make a last splash goodbye to the airy environment she was leaving above. With a confident smile on her face she turned to Gallus and attempted to assess his situation.

Silverstream was only within an earshot of Gallus' hurried speech. She could sense the immense hesitation in his voice, but it was trumped by her own level of excitement for the expected agenda the next fifty or so hours would bring. Not too long of a quick glide and the hippogriff landed on the sand next to the water on the beach. She turned towards Gallus as he approached. "Oh, it's simple, I just touch the shard and presto!" She jumped and extended her legs. "Seapony magic!" She landed again and spoke more softly. "Although I've never seen a griffon take on the transformation so I don't know exactly what you will look like, but you should be able to swim, and that's what matters! We hold claws while I meditate on the pearl shard and we'll be all fins." What was a griffon version of a seapony anyway? It could just be like the other seaponies, but it was just as likely Gallus would feature different kinds of appendages of other aquatic animals. Too bad Headmare Twilight Sparkle wasn't here. She would be very interested in the results. Silverstream started walking in the water and stopped once her legs could no longer touch the floor and she began treading water. Before Gallus could follow suit, she said to him with slight concern. "Oh, one more thing. I was going to say this on the train but I didn't want anygriff to overhear it." Silverstream slowed her speech to abnormal levels. "But, you should probably refrain from eating any fish this week. Hippogriffs used to eat fish on occasion, but ever since Queen Novo implemented seapony transformation, we lived in harmony with the ocean creatures as we created a new home in Seaquestria. And so many of them would not like it if you decided to snatch a cute little minnow as a snack, as it might be someone's pet." Silverstream used one free talon to gently stroke her mane, her expression one of worried nerves. She was confident Gallus would have fun under the water in his first ever visit to Seaquestria, but she wasn't comfortable telling him what he couldn't do. Raised mostly in the water, Silverstream was strictly vegetarian, but she knew that not all griffons, and hippogriffs for that matter, all had the same diet.