A Harmless Bit of Fun (Closed)

[SteelEagle]

 

There was an easy solution to that, of course. Twilight could just give Aloe free admission to the Rose Exhibit. Or at least a half-off coupon. Didn't want to show too much favortism but- well, maybe the whole idea was flawed. Rose would be too excited to show off her powers and would turn her tank into a cauldron of some kind and before Twilight knew it all the dead fish in the area would burst back to life. Then she had a zombie fish outbreak and those would likely be difficult to deal with as quietly as she liked. Maybe she could roll back having Rose live there.

 

Besides, it wasn't as if Rose was not gonna be Rose about the idea of critters. Of course she may have lost the plot when it came to the role of an aquarium. It wasn't to show off danger and science experiments, but served two distinct roles. One was an educational experience, primarily for foals and those young at heart. Many ponies would never get the chance to experience such creatures up close and personal, in so much the same context was could be presented. The second was a way to preserve life and endangered species. Nothing Rose was talking about did much of either. "I think it can do without monsters and aquatic homunculi," she said as she swam around, twirling and moving. "In any case, time to dive!" She said as she reared back and then shot down into the depths.

[Aisede]

Rose would never cause a zombie outbreak (intentionally). The undead suited a much better role as soldiers, or to instill terror. Now a mutant fish outbreak... 

 

Hm. She should grab herself an immortal jellyfish to expirement on sometime. 

 

"Indeed!" Following this excited exclamation, she bolted after the purple fish-pony, exhibiting a grace and finesse that few terrestrial creatures would witness in an equine. This was her element- the sea was her birthright! 

 

She felt the currents resist her, tasted the salt in her fabricated gills; she was alive.

 

"Race you to the bottom?" Rose shot Twilight a challenging look as she charged her horn with a depth enchantment. Half of her copies on the surface simply poofed out of existence- leaving a very confused few ponies behind in the wake or such an event- but Rose didn't care. She needed that magic to resist the pressure if the sea. As much power as she could muster without turning into a sea monster.

 

But that would be cheating. She needed to at least give Twi s chance. 

 

 

 

 

[SteelEagle]

 

Twilight didn't even have to reply to the offer. Of course she would race to the bottom. Maybe they would see an angler whale today. The rumors of their extinction were grossly exaggerated even if the marine biologists of Equestria disagreed with her. Or maybe the emperor squid. That would be fun. So many leviathans existed in the depths that only flitted at the corner of imaginations. Of course, in all likelihood they would encounter nothing all that exciting. The ocean was big and so was the pressure! "Oh, well I guess I can give you a head start..." Twilight said playfully as Rose took the lead.

 

Rose would likely remain in the lead. Twilight wasn't the greatest swimmer of all time and in seapony form was not granted the endless endurance that came to her as an Alicorn, so she would be slower and would likely grow weary long before. She could always turn back into an Alicorn and cast some spells and not have those problems, but this was far more fun, experiencing the water as intended. The seaponies of the world certainly had the run of the place! "Should be fun!"

[Aisede]

"A head start?" As if she needed one! "I propose a counter offer: you take the head start, and I'll follow soon after. I understand that you terrestrial equines have a harder time traversing deep waters, if you're capable of it at all."

 

Indeed, while some ponies seemed to have an affinity for water, few could truly embrace it. She was curious to see how long it would take for the alicorn to exhaust herself, and just how far she would get.

 

Naturally, she'd adhere to whatever wishes Twilight had- whether that be the insurance that she goes first, or vice versa- and then rocket through the water like a piscine bullet. If it was a race she wanted, it's a race she'll get!

[SteelEagle]

Twilight had already given up the lead in her mind, but she supposed that Rose wanted to make it more fair? By giving Twilight the head start, of course. Twilight smiled and took it and started shooting down into the water, but she knew how it would go down. Twilight's lead would not last long and when Rose took the lead, she would likely remain in the lead. Twilight wasn't the best swimmer of all time, doubly so because she preferred flight, and in seapony form was not granted the endless endurance that came to her as an Alicorn. No matter what, she would be slower and would likely grow weary long before Rose did! She could always turn back into an Alicorn and cast some spells and not have those problems, but this was far more fun, experiencing the water as intended. "Water-equines do not venture too deep, no. But don't worry- I'll be fine," she spoke telepathically to Rose as she hard-tailed it down and down and down.

[Aisede]

Rose waited about five seconds before shooting down after her, and she did catch up pretty quickly. However, she didn't take the lead. No, she kept just the right pace to narrowly avoid exceeding her, grinning at the pony the entire time and- perhaps in a mocking sort of way- literally swimming circles around her.

 

"It occurs to me to ask if there are any sea-pony societies in Equestria. So far, all I have found are ruins, and a single kelpie." She'd heard about hippogriffs, but she knew the sound of transformation when she heard it. They weren't real sea creatures. 

 

[SteelEagle]

 

 

Twilight gave it a little more effort. She expected to eventually lose but if she was going to be dominated in the humiliating way she was now, the least Rose could do was look like she ws trying! "In Equestria proper, no. Okeanos is the closest and the hippocampi of that city do not consider themselves part of Equestria. To the overwhelming majority of Equestrians, the city remains lost. I respect the wishes of the hippocampi in not delving further," Twilight said as she made way for a whale and went around a school of fish, diving deeper and deeper at increasing speeds. "Beyond that, it depends what you are looking for. There are hippocampi in Equestria. Not too many of them but they exist. Enough for a society, or communities as a whole? Not so much," she said as the darkness started to crowd around. I didn't matter to her at all, but it certainly gave her the indication that they were finally starting to get somewhere. "They don't even make the list of the 'five natives of Equestria' as popularly considered."

[Aisede]

As Twilight began putting in more effort, so did Rose. She actually had to stop twirling in circles, but that didn't mean she was anywhere near out of the race.

 

She didn't sound overly pleased to receive this news. 

 

"Ah... Truly unfortunate." She was quiet for a moment, briefly taking the lead, but slowed down a bit when she resumed the conversation. "Am I to assume that... My kind... Are also absent from these waters?"

 

She had never thought about it before- too busy building a family on land, after all- but even meeting another of her kind, even pink ones, would be... Nice. To know she's not essentially an extinct species now.

 

Equestrian changelings just felt too different. They were inefficient, prone to errors such as the infamous Wedding fiasco, and overall too alien for her to relate too beyond surface level.

 

They were changelings, yes, but they were not her kin. 

[SteelEagle]

 

It was hard to know everything even when you had the capacity, to be sue of every nook and cranny when you stuck your head down far too few of them. The harsh truth was that for all intents and purposes, Rose was one of a kind. They all were- that's how Twilight viewed things. Every earth pony, every pegasus, every griffon and unicorn- they were all unique, a nation unto themselves in some ways, free and independent of all speciest bonds. That was the real magic of friendship in a global sense- to shatter the chains and bonds that bind and separate in equal measure.

 

For a moment, Twilight did not respond as she sped up towards the bottom. Then she sighed. "I can't say I've ever seen any creature quite like you, Rose. Maybe there is and they are hidden. Maybe there is not, and you are unique. Either way, you are never alone. Either way, you are loved," she said as she held onto one of the tentacles and swam around in a hug, though she still managed to swim down. She then let go of the tentacle and continued to swim feverishly down, down, and down some more.

[Aisede]

Rose wasn't feeling up for racing anymore. That whimsical mood that compelled her to see this pony out had soured a little too much, but she kept on anyways. 

 

She graciously accepted the hug, and followed, followed the mare to the very bottom. To depths that would crush lesser creatures, and Rob all but dwellers of the abyss their sights. You don't need sight to perceive your surroundings, however- just as she didn't need sight to know Twilight was there for her... For whatever that counts. 

 

Eventually- she wasn't sure when- their race came to an end. They had eventually reached the bottom, or close to it, and Rose was actually feeling rather winded. 

 

With a dull flash, she turned into something large but vague. Something that fit her somber mood in some form of fashion. And there she float, listless and lost in thought.

 

"It's not about love, Twilight. I have love, more than I'd ever asked for. It's about... Kinship. Imagine if you were the last pony in this world. You can surround yourself with creatures who love you, but it's not the same..."

 

A sigh spills into the void, and Rose takes a moment to collect her thoughts.

 

"The first ever changeling I encountered was at Port Malaga. They were pink, and ran a brothel that took advantage of pony vices. I... My past self travelled there because she knew the location of something I wanted, and we struck a deal. A deal which was broken."

 

"The first ever of my kind tried to kill me and my crew." She chuckled. "And yet I still feel more connected to them than I do any of the changelings walking around here. Hells, I'd even welcome their company now! At least... At least it'd be something familiar."

 

[SteelEagle]

 

"Hmm..." she said as they settled near the bottom. She allowed her tail to switch along the bottom, clearing it of some bottom dwellers as she pondered what to say. "We aren't that dissimilar, in some ways. I was born a unicorn but I am now an Alicorn. There are four other Alicorns in existence. You feel the deep pain of being alone, which I know I will not feel in the same way. The pain I will feel...will be loss," she said as her horn lit up in the dark. As she did, the faces of her friends appeared in lights, scattering some rather terrifying sea beasts away. "Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie, their children, my mother, father, brother, the Crusaders, their friends, the list will go on and on, endlessly and without fail," as she spoke the lights grew in intensity and then slowly faded away until they were gone.

"Those I hold closest will live, grow old, and die and I will continue on. I will be there at their funerals. More than that, I will live to a time when they are all but forgotten, and then I will still continue on. I don't know how I will handle it. I do know that I will have to learn how to process it," She said with a sigh. She would always have the other Alicorns, and she cared for them. But they were not her friends, not the same way.

"We all have our traumas and our histories are all fraught in their own way. I cannot say I fully understand what you are going through. I cannot being the last of my kind. I wish I could say I had the solution for you, or that I could conjure one up out of thin air- or pressurized water, as it was- but I cannot. All I can offer you now is the kinship of all creatures, not the kinship of your own kind."

[Aisede]

Well... Something was better than nothing, she supposed. But oddly enough, listening to Twilight list off her own woes was a balm in itself.

 

Rose found herself hugging the alicorn, ignoring the monsters she herself had probably grown up around. If they were a similar genus, at least. 

 

"Thank you... But you will not be alone forever, Twilight. I don't know if I'll live as long as you do- with your weird cosmic magic, that's actually a possibility- but I will be around for centuries to come, and mellinium after that. If ever you need a friend, or a shoulder to lean on, I will be there."

 

Pulling back, she offered a small smile. "My children too, some of them. Although if I am unable to recreate my cure for mortality, only Albedo will be preserved from time."

 

[SteelEagle]

 

Twilight kept the darker thoughts to herself. After all, forever was forever, and however long Rose would live, Twilight would live a length of time beyond her that could as well be called infinite. There was no expiration on the Alicorn; with the strange aeons of their existence, even time would fade into a formless puddle. It was enough to drive a mare to desperation and madness. As Luna told her, "that will come later".

 

"Thank you. We'll see how it all shakes-" she emphasized with a wiggle of her fans, sending a stream of water at her friend, "out. For now, let's focus on the moment, right? You wanted a dive down, a race, to the bottom. We're here. What do you want to do now?" Twilight asked as she started to swim in circles, studying the various monsters outside of the range of her light. She could see them as clear as day and they could see her as clear as...whatever their equivalent to day was.

[Aisede]

Rose gave this some thought, observing her surroundings curiously. 

 

"We could start that aquarium," the pony said with more than a little humor in her voice. "Wrangle up some monsters and put them on display. I'm sure Equestria would love that... So long as they didn't touch the glass."

 

Curiously, she reached out for the mind of one of the creatures, roughly the size of Twilight's ship above. To any regular pony, it could best be described as 'fathomless', but to Rose it was just very complex for an animal.

 

"I'd really hate to get sued because a pony got eaten."

 

[SteelEagle]

A royal aquarium would be fun. There was a royal zoo. It did well, but it was more exclusive than the largest zoo in the nation, the Manehattan Civic Zoo. Twilight was considering turning it into a free admission zoo that selected schools and universities on a daily basis for entry. That way she could go ahead and program it so that each and every student got the maximum amount of educational value out of the visit. She knew it would work better in her head than in practice but she was committed to doing the best for Equestria's students that she could. As for a Royal Aquarium, she knew it would do well, The Solstice Heights had a wonderful cave system and underwater lakes that had the right conditions and depth to host one without great difficulty. 

 

"Well, what fun is there an aquarium or zoo if the staff don't have to be trained in combat to battle the monsters and save ponies?" She said as she swam about, looking at smaller creatures and fish as they fled from her. "Perhaps if they failed it wouldn't be as fun, but I don't think you'd be sued. The Royalty would, the government. Unless of course you started feeding little fillies and colts to giant sea monsters for fun," she turned around and put her fin-legs on her hip, "now now, Rose, don't feed little ponies to giant sea monsters," she looked up in faux consideration, "well, the good ones at least."

[Aisede]

"Why, I would never!" Rose exclaimed with faux-hurt, a pout forming on her lips. "Unless of course they asked for it. I'm sure these cuties would appreciate a good snack once in awhile. Isn't that right, cuties!?"

 

She called out to the monsters lurking just beyond visual sight, and received a deep rumble in response.

 

"He said he'd like that," Rose translated. "Don't worry, I speak fish. Another innate talent of my waterborne brethren ~" The fish-pony pressed a single hoof to her chest, glowing in pride. Of course, that was total bullshit... She just read its mind and interpreted its intention, which did not at all mean she could 'speak' with them.

 

It also didn't say it'd appreciate a good snack. More along the lines of 'GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I EAT YOU!' which was not nearly as friendly a message. 

[SteelEagle]

 

"Ah, so you're a slave to your aquatic masters? You do everything they want?" She faux taunted as she swam towards the big fish. "If they wanted to eat Equestrians you'd do it? Tut tut," she did her best disappointed mother face. "And here I thought I had done such a great job teaching you friendship. I guess it is six decades in the friendship dungeon for you," she laughed as she continued swimming. She did so even as the giant fish opened its mouth and snapped down on her with razor sharp, spear like teeth. It then started to swim away, its huge mass causing the currents around the bottom to shift wildly as it did.

 

After a few moments it stopped and its mouth was opened as Twilight swam out, with one of its spear-teeth in her hooves. "Oh, look at this. It is so rare that we get to see such creatures up close, even rarer we get an example of their dental maturity at such a young age! Look at the razor edges? They are used to tear apart their prey upon impact, allowing quicker digestion. The downside is that it has a habit of growing uncontrollably, piercing their upper and lower jaws and eventually developing through them. They can starve to death if the teeth then curle, effectively sealing their mouth shut. He had such poor teeth- already curling. Don't worry. I fixed him and regrew his tooth for him," she said as she swam up to Rose, the tooth vanishing after a magical pop.

[Aisede]

"I'm sure he appreciates it!" Rose said, unable to contain her own laughter. Oh, what are these two even doing down here? "Although it's certain that he'll be experiencing these troubles again. We should setup a dental appointment for him. What do you think, mr... ?"

 

The beast cried out again, no doubt overjoyed at the prospect of meeting these lovely mares for a second time. 

 

"Mr. Toothless! Oh, what a funny name!" The mare chuckled, then swam over to Twilight, laying a single hoof on her shoulder. She'd all but forgotten the immense pressure pressing down on her, enough to reduce any regular mortal into paste. "How does that sound, Twilight? We'd get to see those pearly whites every once in awhile!"

 

Just incase, Rose actually already cast a tracker on it. She hadn't gotten to study these as much as she'd like. 

[SteelEagle]

Twilight watched the creature as it swam away from them, first quickly and then a little slowly as it tried to keep a distance from the two unknown creatures that had so rudely interrupted its dominance of the deep. Twilight knew it was being tracked and was quite happy with the acts being undertaken for further study, but that was a matter for later. She had better things to do than worry about that at the moment. As interesting as the study of the deep was and as important as it might be for the future of Hippogriff-Seapony-Equestrian relations in the future, she didn't think that it was something she had to worry about. Not as long as she had Rose here to be concerned with. 

 

Speaking of, she started to get a feeling that she was needed back topside. She turned to Rose, swimming about in circles. "I think that sounds like a good idea. Anything else you wanted down here? I think I'm needed back up there," she said, arching her head up and through the black void of the abyss above them. As fun as this was, and as much as she wanted to continue to hang out, she wasn't sure just hanging out at the bottom was what she had in mind! "Unless you want us to harass more underwater life, of course."

[Aisede]

Rose giggled. "I think we've done enough of that for now." She also looked up, although without a simulacrum topside, she had no way of simply seeing that far into the water. 

 

"Oh, I know a fun way to do this!" A fun way indeed, as she suddenly turned into a large marine mammal of some sort. It wasn't quite a whale, but it had a blowhole, so it was enough.

 

She opened her mouth wide, projecting her thoughts to the pony. 

 

Now get in my mouth. 

 

Anypony could see where this was going.

[SteelEagle]

Twilight concurred. They had done well enough down here and that was good enough for her. The deep was endlessly entertaining but she had responsibilities above the waves and she needed to get back to it. They were used to her wanders and travails but rarely did she spend this long out. Time had passed slowly enough for them but she could tell more than a small amount of time had passed for those above. So much so that when her friend changed and opened her mouth, she didn't much consider the weird implications. She was just more enticed by whatever unusual entrance she had in mind for the crew of the ship more than anything else. "I am interested in seeing where this goes," she replied in kind before she grew smaller and teleported into the mouth.

[Aisede]

Rose mentally giggled before promptly closing her mouth. Soon enough, she used that powerful tail to propel herself upward, accelerating at an incredible rate. Black receded into dark blue, and that into lighter blue as she breached the surface.

 

She was sure she must have been a majestic sight to the crew of Twilight's airship. What probably was not as majestic was their princess as Rose curved midair and ejected her from her blowhole. Rose likened it to fireworks in terms of spectacle, grinning as she discarded her titanic form in a brilliant display of turquoise flames.

 

Of course, a gentlemare catches her dame, and Rose was anything but unkind.

 

"How is that for an entrance?" She asked as she caught the princess bridal style, having equipped herself with her own pair of wings. 

[SteelEagle]

 

Nocreature could deny that Rose had a penchant for dramatics. Entrances, often dramatic. Rare were the occasions when she walked up to somepony and greeted them without unusual conditions. Her exits, almost always dramatic- she had powers, was always busy, and was never shy about tying needs and desire together. And she was very good at making the mundane very exciting.

Even more importantly, none of this was mundane. Twilight just allowed herself to go along for the ride. Her crew, on the other hoof, had been taken aback by the Princess' absence in the first place. Not panicked mind you, they were used to it. But what they weren't used to was the sight of Twilight flying out of a blowhole and doing an unassisted summersault before coming back down, caught like a bridesmaid by a retransformed Rose.

 

The crew clapped in appreciation for the theatrics.
"How long have you been trying to practice that with Aloe?" Twilight laughed as she got herself out of Rose's hold and landed on the deck. Her horn lit and her coat cleaned from the fairly awful juices that she had been slathered in.

[Aisede]

Rose just chuckled, landing beside her. She didn't much mind being wet, however, but still shed her own coat of water- but gathering all the added moisture into a little blob at the tip of her horn, then flicking it over deck.

 

Because why not?

 

"Oh, if we recited that performance you would have been in there quite a bit longer," she informed with a humorous chuckle. "Would you beleive me if I said I made it all up as I went?"

 

Realizing that she hadn't actually made her presense known before now, she offered token greetings to their impromptu audience, smiling and nodding. On sheer impulse, she also subtly studied the conditions of everyceature onboard. One can never be too cautious when it came to health. 

[SteelEagle]

 

She would scan the crew and find nothing all that remarkable about their health. For the most part, they were all in excellent physical condition. As sailors and members of the various branches of the REA and Guard, they were expected to be so. Most were younger as befit the military, vigorous and strong. A few had some small, non-vital conditions that didn't hamper their work. One had a broken hoof wall that was healing. One mare had recently given birth and her body hadn't fully recovered, though her position required the least work of them all. A few had more serious conditions, underlying and part of family histories. One had a congenial heart condition that he wouldn't discover until he was older. Another, the oldest stallion on the boat, was a cancer survivor whose mortal foe was due to return. But for the most part, it was a crew in excellent shape.

 

Twilight knew that as well.
"i think you'll find them as expected, if you don't mind," Twilight said playfully as she looked around. "Now stop side ogling my crew. The younger stallions are getting excited," she finished with a smile as on cue some of the stallions looked every which way but them, crossing their legs strategically.
"Thank you for the show, Rose," Twilight said out loud as she started trotting deeper on. "Come now. I'm sure you have other activities planned, right?"