CHAPTER ONE

It was a perfect day in Canterlot. The sky was a crystal blue, and not a cloud was in sight. Fluttershy and her friends decided to have a picnic to celebrate Tempest’s first month in Equestria. They’d spread a blanket out in the field beyond the castle, which had a view of the valley below. They could see for miles in every direction.

“Sorry I’m three and a half minutes late!” an exasperated Twilight Sparkle called out from across the garden. She was carrying a huge pink box, aided by the glowing magic from her horn. She set it down beside Rarity’s purple tea set and collapsed onto the picnic blanket.

Fluttershy recognized the box immediately. “You stopped at Cinnamon Chai’s shop?” The tea and cake shop was the best in all of Canterlot. Fluttershy had always loved their buttercream frosting rosettes and their cinnamon buns and their banana cream pudding. Who was she kidding? She loved every treat she’d ever had there.

“I had no choice!” Twilight Sparkle joked, and turned to show the dessert to the guest of honor. “It’s not a proper Canterlot picnic party until we give you a taste of their famous chocolate-cherry cake. Just look at that rich chocolate frosting, that custard filling—it will change your life.”

“Canterlot has already changed my life.” Tempest laughed. She took a piece of the cake anyway.

“An alfresco feast with friends is so divine, is it not?” Rarity mused, admiring the dozen different teas with fancy names like raspberry hibiscus or huckleberry rose she’d brought to share. Rainbow Dash had brought ice cream and everything anypony could possibly want for a sundae—chocolate fudge, sprinkles, crushed candy bars, whipped cream, and cherries. True to form, Pinkie Pie had brought a selection of Sugarcube Corner’s best cupcakes. It was all perfectly displayed on the dainty china plates and picnic set Fluttershy had found in her attic. She’d even folded the flowered napkins into perfect triangles as Rarity had taught her.

“What’s your favorite part of Canterlot so far?” Fluttershy asked before taking another sip of her Maretonian mint tea.

Tempest swallowed another bite of cake. “The ponies. Everypony is so kind. It’s not really what I’m used to….”

“Oh no? The Storm King seemed like a big fuzzy teddy bear…” Twilight Sparkle joked.

“I definitely don’t miss him,” Tempest said. Her expression grew serious. “Or any of the Storm Creatures. Well… maybe Grubber.”

“Grubber?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Blue eyes? Always eating? He actually was a bit of a teddy bear. You probably never saw him, because he didn’t like to fight,” Tempest explained. She put a piece of cake onto a plate. “I’d always find him hiding on the ship, shaking in his quills.”

“That’s terrible,” Fluttershy replied, feeling a pang of sympathy for the creature. “I hope he’s feeling better now.”

“Without the Storm King ordering us around, I think we all are!” Tempest assured her. Even though it had been hard for Tempest to adjust at first, she seemed happier than she’d been in a long time. Those first few days in Canterlot, she was skeptical of everypony she met. When ponies were nice to her, she found herself wondering what they wanted and whether they were secretly out for something else. But slowly, with the help of Fluttershy and her friends, she was learning to trust. And even to have a little fun! During the group’s visit to the capital, they were planning on taking her on a tour of all of Canterlot’s best places: the opera house, Restaurant Row, and even the restricted section of Canterlot Royal Library. Twilight Sparkle was especially excited about that stop.

“So… now that we’re all here,” Twilight said, plopping a big scoop of ice cream into a bowl, “I wanted to share an idea I had with all of you. It’s about a school of—”

She was interrupted by a strange sound somewhere above them. The ponies looked up. A giant purple pelican swooped down around the castle, carrying something in its beak. As it came closer, the sound of its wings beating against the air grew louder. Whoosh boom whoosh boom whoosh boom!

“Well, I’ll be…” Applejack stared up, holding her cowpony hat against her head so it didn’t fly right off in the breeze. “It’s a plum-pickin’ purple pelican!”

“That is quite unusual. It’s a long way from the ocean….” Rarity marveled at the way the bird’s plum-colored feathers faded into a pretty lavender ombré. She could feel the inspiration striking for a fabulous hat of the same hues. “What do you think it wants, Fluttershy?”

“I’m not sure, but I think we’re about to find out,” Fluttershy replied without taking her eyes off the beautiful bird as it flew down and landed just inches away from them. Now that it was closer, they could see it was carrying a white bag filled with seashells. It leaned forward and pulled out a glittering, pearlescent clamshell.

“For us?” Fluttershy asked, meekly stepping forward. The bird spread its wings and began a series of elaborate squawks. Fluttershy nodded along as she listened. “Oh, I see. Well, thank you very much.

“He says it’s a special delivery from Seaquestria Post! But, if you’ll excuse him, he has a full bag today…. Lots of shells to deliver…” The ponies watched as he took off into the sky. “And he has to get going,” Fluttershy finished, though there wasn’t much point.

“Well, aren’t ya gonna open it?” Rainbow Dash urged with an impatient hoof stomp. “Must be something super important if that dude flew all the way to Canterlot to deliver it to us!”

Fluttershy pried open the clamshell, and a rush of salty water came out. A tiny scroll was inside. It was tied up with a piece of seaweed.

“I bet I know who this is from,” Fluttershy said as she unrolled the wet paper. The message was written in squid ink. She read it quietly to herself.

Hi, friends!

It’s Skystar. Remember me? We defeated the Storm King together? Of course you do! I’m writing from underneath Mount Aris, and I guess… I wanted to know how you all were doing. And what you were doing. What are you doing up there?!?

Since we last saw one another, I’ve made six seashell picture frames, a seashell purse, and this really cool seashell necklace that holds smaller seashell necklaces inside each of the shells! I’m about to start a finstool made of abalone shells. I guess what I’m saying is… I’m bored! Are you bored, too? Would you want to come visit me down here?

There’s no way my mom is going to let me come back to Canterlot any time soon, not after that stunt I pulled. And a Seapony can only make so many seashell necklaces, you know? And, really, how am I supposed to go back to my normal life when I just helped defeat the evil king who destroyed my city?!?

Anyway! Come visit… pretty please with seashells on top?

—Me

“Fluttershy!” Rarity said. She leaned forward, trying to see what the note said. “Come on, don’t keep us in suspense!”

“It’s from Skystar,” Fluttershy said, laughing. “She’s bored, and she wants us to come visit Mount Aris. She’s stuck crafting seashell picture frames until Queen Novo decides she’s not grounded.”

“Being grounded to the ocean floor is just about as grounded as a pony can get!” Rainbow Dash commented, shaking her mane at the thought of it. Having grown up in Cloudsdale, she’d never been grounded in her life.

“Oooooohh, I’d love to go back to Mount Aris,” Rarity said. “We didn’t really get to explore because of the whole imminent crisis thing last time. Remember that cute street with all the tiny shops and cafés? I’d love to find some of that iridescent fabric that seems to be the current fashion in Seaquestria.”

“That fountain was the most fun ever!” Pinkie Pie squealed. “It was like a twirly-whirly secret trapdoor to another world!”

“I hope you all have fun!” Tempest forced a tiny smile. She took another bite of chocolate-cherry cake to mask her discomfort.

“Yer not comin’?” Applejack asked, raising a brow.

“I don’t think I’ll be allowed back there…” Tempest said. Everypony else grew quiet, realizing she was right. Before Tempest was their friend, she’d been their enemy, working with the Storm King. Even though she’d helped the ponies in the end, the Hippogriffs and everypony in Seaquestria remembered her as the Unicorn with the broken horn who’d tricked them and stormed their city. Fluttershy knew Queen Novo wasn’t one to forgive and forget.

“Tempest does have a point. I don’t think Queen Novo would be happy to see me, either,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Not after what happened with the pearl.”

“She definitely wasn’t thrilled about that.” Fluttershy tried to find the right words. Twilight Sparkle had distracted Skystar and tried to steal her mother’s pearl. It was a mistake, and while she was sorry, it wasn’t the easiest thing to explain away. Whoops! I lied to your daughter and tried to steal your most important possession! My mistake!

“Don’t worry, I’m sure there will be lots more chances to visit Skystar!” Pinkie Pie offered. “After all, we love visiting ponies all over the place! We’re visiting you in Canterlot right now! Come on, we still have to take you on that tour. We’re gonna see a show at the puppet theater or gallop through the hedge maze. Or play with puppets while we gallop through the hedge maze!” Pinkie leaned in and gave Tempest a wink. “It’s kind of a best-friends tradition we have.”

“It is?” Applejack whispered to Rarity, who just shrugged. It was better not to question Pinkie’s random traditions and just go along for the ride. “Oh, uh, I mean, it sure is!”

“But what about your friend Skystar?” Tempest asked. “Aren’t you the least bit concerned about all the… you know, shells?”

The rest of the ponies didn’t want to make Tempest feel left out, especially when she’d been in Canterlot for only a few weeks. But Skystar was writing them because she was bored, and it did sound as if she could use a friend. How many crafts could one Seapony make? Wouldn’t they be lonely underneath Mount Aris, too?

“I’ll go see Skystar,” Fluttershy volunteered. “A Seaquestrian sleepover could be fun. But promise not to show Tempest everything without me—I want to see her face when she visits the Canterlot Menagerie for the first time!”

“Deal.” Twilight Sparkle smiled. They could always go back to Seaquestria together some other time. Right now it was better for the ponies to stay with Tempest and make sure everything went smoothly with her transition. Fluttershy would tell Skystar they missed her, and they’d see her soon.

“I should probably bring Skystar something, right?” Fluttershy asked, eyeing the remains of their picnic. It was always nice not to go empty-hoofed when a friend was hosting.

“If only this double-chunk chocolate ice cream didn’t melt,” Rainbow Dash said, popping another spoonful into her mouth. “Guess I have to eat the rest.”

Fluttershy cut a slice of the chocolate-cherry cake and put it on a plate, then covered it with a napkin. “A little slice of Canterlot for her…”

“A bit unconventional for an underwater trip,” Rarity observed. “But it really is the best cake on land, so I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be the best under the sea as well!”

Fluttershy packed up her stuff to go and took off back through the field. She didn’t get far before Twilight Sparkle called after her.

“And, Fluttershy?” she asked. “Will you bring us back some seashell necklaces?”