If one were to look upon the surface of the great oceans surrounding Equestria, they would be forgiven for assuming it was calm and serene. The way the sun shone brightly upon it's surface, the way it looks so still and undisturbed. It was the very picture of tranquillity. However, these would be the mistakes of an outsider. For those who knew the sea, truly knew it, would know that there was never a moment when it was not bustling with life and activity. Schools of fish, pods of whales, and every manner of bright and beautiful underwater plants made their homes here, constantly shifting and changing with the very tides and currents themselves. It was a world unto itself, far from the concerns of those who dwelt upon the land. And those who lived here could not have loved it more.

In one particular corner of this vast expanse of water, amongst a brilliantly red coral reef, there was one particular denizen that could not help but feel invigorated on this happy day. Amongst a collection of dolphins, all of whom were racing in formation among the reef, was a creature that none above would have recognised. The creature was coloured a shining gold, and at first glance it would appear to have the front end of a pony. But in stark contrast to that was the hind quarters, which, instead of a pair of hooves, was an elongated scaly tail, stretching outwards and ending in a fin, not unlike a fish. The creature's head bore a fantastic and large orange fin, which the casual observer would mistake for a pony's mane. This being's face bore a look of confidence, and a veritable glimmer in her bright pink eyes. As she swam quickly alongside the dolphins, matching their movements and their speeds beat for beat, it was clear that this was a race.

The dolphins kept on swimming forward, dodging and weaving through the various crags and sharp turns of the reef, and with every movement, the golden being kept in-tow with them. Eventually, after reaching more open spaces of water, the creature thrust forward with powerful flaps of her tail, shooting herself ahead of the dolphins. Her smile widening, she closed her eyes as she kept swimming, looking utterly content at her surroundings. After carrying on like this for some time, she finally opened them again, but only after hearing a series of familiar click behind her. Turning, she looked warmly upon the dolphins behind her, who had since stopped trying to catch up to her and simply started making their happy sounds, an acknowledgement of her victory. A chuckle escaped the female's mouth as she swam closer to them. Once amongst them, she raised her hooves and stroked the side of the lead dolphin's face, eliciting another happy clicking sound. They were practically giddy to be with her, and she with them.

Eventually though, they began to move off, and she stayed behind, waving them goodbye. She kept her eyes on them for a while, until they were no longer in view. However, it was here that she began to feel something. It was a rippling of the water behind her, a sensation that something was approaching slowly. Familiarity is what she felt from this, and a small smirk appeared on her face as she began swimming slowly forward, acting as if nothing was wrong. Closing her eyes again, she tuned herself to the movements of the water behind her, waiting for the right moment. Soon enough, it came, as she felt a sudden surge of the water, causing her to quickly strafe to the side almost effortlessly. It was just in time too, as she saw the one who had been following her. It was another of her kind, except light blue in colour. This newcomer was leaping forward with her hooves outstretched in a now-failed attempt to grab onto the "unsuspecting" golden female.

As the leap forward lost it's power, the blue one turned and looked on as her golden counterpart launched her own playful attack, reaching out and embracing her tightly in a hug. As the gold nuzzled the blue, the latter let out an almost whining sound.

"Aw! Dagi! Why do you always have to get the better of me like that? I thought I had you that time!"

Her captor merely chuckled at that.

"Silly Sonata! I'd never give up the chance to do this on a regular basis!"

The two females both giggled loudly after that, resulting in a now-mutual hug between them. After they eventually parted from one another, they began to hear a third voice, one more husky than their own.

"I'd love to watch, but I don't think that much sugar is good for me."

Turning, Adagio and Sonata smiled as they gazed upon a third member of their group, light purple in colour and possessed of a dark purple and green fin-mane. She was reclining with her hooves behind her head on the coral reef below, looking upon her two companions. As the two swam closer to her, it was Sonata who spoke first.

"Cheer up, Aria! You're always so grumpy!"

Aria gave a short snort at that before returning the smile, albeit a much smaller one. She raised a hoof and carefully ruffled Sonata's head-fin, much to the latter's annoyance, before speaking.

"You're always cheery enough for the three of us, Sonata."

Although initially put off by Aria's ruffling of her fin, Sonata perked up immediately afterwards. Adagio, watching the playful display between the two, swam closer before placing her hooves upon each of their shoulders.

"Alright, you two. That's enough. There'll be plenty of time for fun after the ceremony tonight."

Aria rolled her eyes at that.

"Ugh! You know I hate singing in public! Why does Mother always have us do this?"

Adagio looked at her sister with a raised eyebrow.

"You know our traditions, sister. We Sirens are creatures of song. And with our Mother being who she is..."

Adagio didn't finish her sentence, but she didn't need to, As Aria let out yet another snort, making it clear that she'd got the message. The elder sister didn't much care for her younger sibling's apathy in this matter, but she comforted herself in the knowledge that she at least seemed willing to go along with things for now. However, she then felt a tapping on her shoulder, leading to her turning her head towards Sonata, who was looking at her with great joy on her face, in stark contrast to Aria.

"I can't wait! I love this time of year. All the Sirens singing the old songs! Remember that first ceremony we went to when we were little? I'd never heard so many beautiful voices!"

Adagio couldn’t help but share in her sister's sense of nostalgia for the event, and as she briefly turned her eyes to the side, she caught sight of a small smile on Aria's face, showing that there was clearly unity in this feeling. Placing a hoof gently upon Sonata's shoulder, Adagio smiled at her.

"I know, Sonata. I look forward to it too."

The two sisters shared a smile between them before a though suddenly occurred to Adagio. Looking upwards, she saw the bright glimmer of the sun far above the surface of the water, high in the sky. There was a distinct orange glow to it, which made it clear to her that the day was waning. Looking back to her sisters, she cleared her throat a little before addressing them.

"It's getting late. We should get back home. You know Mother hates it when we're overdue for this sort of thing."

She watched as both of them gave her a nod, showing that they were in agreement over this. Nodding back to them, Adagio watched as they both flapped their tails hard, thrusting themselves forward and starting their long swim back to their home. Adagio smiled to herself as she considered what today would bring. It was as she'd said to Sonata, that it was an event she very much looked forward to, just like every member of their race. And so Adagio smiled. The kind of smile that anypony would see and know it belonged to somepony happy and content. So, following the example of her sisters, she began swimming after them, practically daydreaming of what she'd been hoping to do for a very long time, and knowing that today was the day it would happen.