Upon having dove into the water, Ava began her shifting. It was a little tougher, since she wasn’t familiar with seaponies, so she had to piece her form together even if Mistress had met them before, which she didn’t know whether or not if that was the case. After a few seconds, Ava gently set down on the silt of the cove at the base of the pier, which was of course littered with nautical brick-a-brack.

“*GASP, cough, cough* -Wow- *cough* gills are...weird when you still have lungs.” Ava breathed slowly, trying to tell if she’d done the lungfish lungs wrong, figuring using lungfish as a basis for a respiratory system was a good idea. After a minute of not drowning and her legs now formed into a long and beautiful black and red koi tail as her robe strank into a formfitting piece over her torso and hips, she decided she got the gills and lungs right. She tried to examine herself as best she could, but the murky water and her normal eyes weren’t up to the task, also they stung from the salt and countless other minerals in the water.

{Don’t give us gross fish eyes please! Maybe give us a second clear eyelid like some reptiles?}

‘You mean a nictitating membrane?’ Ava asked, and gave herself her green dragon eyes, but added nictitating membranes over them, which normally dragons don’t need since their eyes instead are immune to intense heat and smoke. This combination made the water clear as the surface, but it was still dark even with her enhanced eyesight. ‘Not enough, I can’t see further than a few dozen feet.’

{Oh! OH! Make us glow! Like those deep sea fish!}

‘You mean, bioluminescent.’ Ava rolled her eyes at her companion’s peppy nature. ‘Next you’ll be asking me to make a bioelectric organ so we can shock things.’

{YES! We’ll be the ultimate Aquamare!} Ava facepalmed, deciding not to make any more suggestions since Lyra was already so brimming with them. She decided to make the red spots scattered around her koi tail bioluminescent, but not activate them yet, they were still within surface sight. Then, to humor Lyra, shifted her biology until she had some claws coming from her hands, that sparked when she tapped them. {AH~! We are so awesome! We need to become a superheroine after all this!}

‘Please no, this is so tiring as it is….’ Ava pleaded as she moved, wobbling at how her still massive bust completely ruined her hydrodynamics, and looked worriedly down at them. ‘Lyra...this is going to hurt, and ache until we figure out what makes a seapony physically appealing towards reproduction.’ Ava cried out into the water in agony as she forcibly shrunk her basketball-sized breasts down, curling into a ball as she felt like she was ripping them off instead, Lyra screaming in their mind along with her.

After several agonizing moments, and a constant throbbing ache persisting afterwards, Ava uncurled, and looked at her petite B-cup breasts with a sniffle. {Dear Celestia. Please...don’t do that again….}

‘No promises….’ Ava couldn’t understand how Lumi could handle this, and it hurt far more now that she was gone. Eager to find any seaponies and get a sample so she could define what made a seapony appear ‘fertile/virile’ she rocketed into the cove, which steeply dove down into a dark basin. Feeling safe enough from surface eyes, Ava activated her red bioluminescence, and her eyes could now make out everything as if in broad daylight.

She continued down deeper, following the basin until it clearly dropped off into the ocean proper. The pressure was getting painful, the koi and lungfish she’d based her current form on were shallow water creatures, not deep sea. ‘Please, please! Let my light bring one to me, let one spot me and investigate!’

“Hoi~ there~!” At a cheery feminine voice calling through the water in a Scottish accent, carrying in whatever way it is that seaponies broadcast their voices in water, Ava slowed and turned in the direction it echoed from, finding a lithe and sporty yellow seapony mare hurrying up to her. “My aren’t ya an interestin’ one? I haven’t seen-MMPH?!” Ava pounced before the mare could react, desperate to stabilize her situation to the point she lunged and captured the mare in a deep searing kiss, trying to get her saliva as quickly as possible to get the template.

{SHOO-BE-DOO~!} Lyra excitedly declared, even with the pain.

After a few seconds of startled struggling, Ava let her go and groaned as her whole body became coated in a different pattern of scales, but kept her koi pigments. Her lungs changed, moving her trachea into a separate system that led straight to her lungs rather than piping her lungs through it. Her bosom grew only slightly into DD cups but she felt them grow a bit deeper into her chest. Finally, her former hip region actually slimmed down into a sporty shape that made her inherently faster, and the pain stopped, both from her Aspect and the pressure. “Whew! Sorry about that! But I needed help getting stable. I’m not normally a seapony.”

“Well! Isn’t that a fine greetin’?” The mare instead seemed entirely nonplussed, instead cheekily grinning. The yellow-scaled mare moved her orange mane behind her shoulders and placed her palms on her slim waist where a surface mare’s hips would normally be, her sharp amber eyes slitted like Ava’s in an eerily similar fashion. She was flat as a board, but Ava wasn’t so sure what that meant. “Pouncin’ on me like you’re in rut like that? Kinda got my dander up.” She then looked down at Ava’s pelvic region, blinking. ‘What’re ya? A herm?”

“Um….” Ava blinked, checking her pelvic region, and realizing that, yes, she’d default gone for best of both worlds. “Yes.”

“Oh really? Well isn’t that a dandy thing. Sorry lass, not exactly lookin’ to breed yet even if ya got me a bit riled.” The mare replied, and Ava sputtered. “I mean, I’m a perfect specimen for layin’ our eggs, but I’m not up for a commitment yet.” She looked Ava up and down. “Regardless how hot it would be to see ya bloated up with my eggs.”

“P-pardon?! I’m sorry, but I’m trying to tell you I’m not normally a seapony. I’m here because you all are getting too close to the cove and it’s agitating the surface ponies.” Ava cut to the chase. And what did she mean? Bloated with HER eggs? How did seaponies breed?

“What? Them lubbers makin’ a fuss? Ugh, joy. Now I’ve gotta tell the Jarl we gotta stop scavvin’ in the cove for a bit.” The mare grumbled. “Well now, guess I’ve gotta take ya to the Jarl. Get him up to snuff on the surfacers.”

“Well, I guess. Gotta find out what the relationship is between you lot and Ruby Ridge.” Ava reasoned, following the sporty mare with ease, the pressure no longer getting to her, her eyes even seeing far more clearly.

[$]

It was quite a swim, Ava had NO clue how far down this was, but the moment the drop-off leveled out, a town appeared. Oddly enough, most of the buildings seemed to be made from the repurposed hulls of sunken ships, or otherwise made with coral, stone, or even carefully arranged whale skeletons bound with seaweed. “What is this place?”

“We just call it Skully. We’re just a humble scavvin’ outpost. You surfacers are so wasteful, we make little towns like this anywhere you lot tend to make your own homes on the shores.” The mare informed, guiding Ava towards the most intact sunken ship.

“Well, just so I know who’s guiding me, what’s your name?” Ava asked out of curiosity as they got near to where the captain’s cabin was.

“Fenelia. Eachann! Got a visitor!” Fenelia hollered as she casually barged through the door, and Ava winced at the clear disrespect she displayed to who she was told was the Jarl, which memory told her was a very important position.

“Oi mare I heard ya! The tykes are givin’ me a right sour stomach if you’d be so kind as to not give me a jolt!” Replied back a shockingly husky female voice which honestly sounded a bit ill.

‘I thought Jarls were male? Didn’t Fenelia say the Jarl was male too?’ Ava mused in confusion.

“Oh come off it! Ya like the eggs pressin’ on your stomach.” Fenelia taunted and Ava entered, and gawked in shock and the very clearly heavily pregnant blue mare...stallion? Who was laying back in a throne to let his utterly massive belly have clearance. He honestly looked quite haggard, his long flowing green mane was a billowing mess, and his...breasts? Were quite swollen. Easily Ava’s normal size. Also his face was just as feminine as Fenelia’s….

‘What...the...fuck?’ Ava thought in shock and confusion.

{Oh~! Right! Seahorses, not, uh, seaponies, but I guess them too at least in this case, kinda have the males as the females, and females as the males...sorta.} This made Ava’s eye twitch, confused. {The females lay eggs in the males, who in the womb, thing, inseminate them, and carry them to term.}

‘That is...both very interesting, and hot, yet revolting. My Aspect absolutely LOVES it though….’

“Shut it ya misandrous mare! Not every stallion loves carryin’ their wife’s brood!” The stallion/mare shot back at Fenelia, huffing as the yellow mare grinned condescendingly down at him/her. “Now then lass...uh, Fen, this is a lad.” Eachann remarked at Fenelia in confusion.

“No she ain't. She’s got both!” Fenelia moved to Ava and shamelessly pulled open her vagina while at the same time, tugging a huge penis from her slit just above it. The penis wasn’t actually a penis Ava realized as she looked down in shock, seeing the X shaped opening that clearly marked it as an ovipositor. Quickly recovering, she blushed and smacked the offensive mare for touching her without permission as she covered her privates back up, getting the yellow brute to giggle and rub her cheek. “Feisty one ain't ya?”

“Fen, what have I told ya about public indecency?” Eachann warned with a searing glare, the...fuck it, mare, sitting up in her throne more to get a better look at her visitor. “So. What’re ya visitin’ for?”

“Okay, first off: I’m a surfacer. You’re both females by our definitions, let’s get that out of the way so I’m not confused.” Ava let be known, and the two mares looked to each other before shrugging and gesturing for her to continue. “I change shape, so that’s why I am the way I am right now. Now then, your scavengers-.”

“Scavvers. It’s an official job title, be respectful.” Eachann warned, before motioning for Ava to continue.

“Sorry, Scavvers, have been getting too close to the surface, and in case you didn’t know, the world above has been at war for the past few decades.” Ava informed, getting the two mares to instantly become wary and concerned. “So the city you’re near, Ruby Ridge, an actual Fortress City in fact, is getting antsy since they’re currently being invaded by spies that have cut them off from all outside communication. And they’ve been spotting your Scavvers.”

“Oi, oi! We ain’t no invaders! This is bad, we don’t want the surfacers gettin’ riled at us.” Eachann bit her plump and kissable lower lip in worry. “We need to...Fen...how you feel about gettin’ yer fins dry?”

“About as unwillin’ as anypony?” Fenelia squirmed in discomfort. “But, we cannae just send the lass back without proof of us. I suppose this means we’re done hidin’?” Fenelia asked her leader, who somberly nodded.

“Best let them know at last ourselves, rather than them find out on their own and decide we’re a threat.” Eachann declared, looking back to Ava. “You bring my sister-in-law back in one piece ya hear? If anythin’ happens, there WILL be war.” Eachann warned, shuddering at the thought. “Whether I want to at that point, or not.”

Ava gulped, and looked at the sporty male/female then the female/male in concern, and nodded her understanding...ugh, this was so confusing. ‘This is it. The day boys are girls and girls are boys.’

{To think we thought it was just a school joke….}

[$]

“So this is how ya normally look?” Fenelia asked as she swam around Ava at the bottom of the pier back at Ruby Ridge, giving the goddess a grope here and there in her handsy exploration, making Ava blush and growl in annoyance at being touched without permission yet again. This mare had no sense of boundaries. Ava had changed back in preparation to take Fenelia up, but the perverted mare had other priorities. “If this is how big your colts are before they have eggs in em, how do they move when the eggs start growin’?” Fenelia asked as she squeezed Ava’s breasts, making her shudder and express milk into her corset.

“Fen, for the last time. Hands off.” She smacked the mare’s hands off her breasts, and huffed, glad she saved the lungs and gills for last. “Now. On the surface, I’m a mare, not a stallion. If they have THESE.” Ava hefted her tits, and gestured to her pussy between her legs. “They’re female. If they have THIS.” She reached forward, and Fenelia had the gall to moan as Ava penetrated her groin slit, and pulled her huge orange ovipositor free for demonstration. “They’re male. So you need to treat everypony with respect, or else you’ll be chum in the water.”

“Mmph, ya got very nice hands~....” Fenelia purred as she thrust her ovipositor into Ava’s grip, and the mare jerked her hands away in disgust of the misandrous mare. “What? Ya grab a mare’s dick and expect her not to start ruttin’? You surfacers are so backwards.”

“Shoes on the other hoof.” Ava growled.

“What’s a hoof?” Fenelia asked, and Ava sighed.

“C’mon you brute.” Ava demanded, grabbing the lithe mare and arranging her into a bridal carry, marching up the incline to the shore.

“Whoa now! I thought we weren’t gonna have foals-!” They breached the surface, and Fenelia was thankfully shut up quick by hacking and coughing as her gills registered no water, and her lungs quickly purged the water out of them to start breathing air for the first time. “Oh, various GODS! How do you breathe up here?! It’s dryer than a thermal vent!”

“Welcome to land.” Ava dryly snarked, as she continued to stride onward towards the ramp up to the city proper, the sun was setting and soon the portcullis would close, she had no time to indulge the folks who lived down here, or the guards who were also down here for the night in her companion’s existence. “Move along! One side! Important business!” Ava declared, getting a path of gobsmacked onlookers to watch her ferry the once-a-myth creature into the city.

“Yes! Gaze upon me surfacers! I am your goddess now!” Fenelia declared, and Ava sighed again as she trudged up the ramp in a hurry.

“Not making a good first impression.” Ava growled as she made it up the ramp, and about-faced towards the twin towers to find the Admiral.

“Pfft, right, and what do ya expect me to do? Meekly shrink back into my big strong stallion’s arms?” Fenelia snarked, fluttering her eyes at Ava.

“I’m a mare, I repeat, a mare.” Ava reinforced. ‘I can’t believe I feel so strongly about this. Guess I’m definitely not a man anymore. Here you are andro officer, I’ve shredded my man card into tiny bits for your proof.’

{This bitch. Ugh. I can’t believe the Jarl thought SHE would be a good choice.}

‘She’s her sister-in-law, it’s probably a sort of diplomatic or political thing.’ At least, Ava HOPED that was why. Ava stormed up the tower, quick as could be, and knocked briefly before entering the Admiral’s office, finding him behind his dusk, furiously writing in a scroll with a new officer she hadn’t seen before off to the side, wearing instead a blue frock coat and a small bicorn hat. “It’s seaponies. Here’s one. She’s a bitch. Their females are males, and their males are females.” Ava informed blandly as she plunked Fenelia into a chair.

“Well isn’t that just rude?” Fenelia huffed, before looking at the mutually gobsmacked Admiral and officer. “Well, let’s get on with it before my scales dry out. We’re not spies, we’re not gonna try to invade, and we’ve nothin’ to do with your enemies. There, done, take me back.” Fenelia aimed the last bit at Ava, only for the Admiral to start...laughing.

“HA~! Ha-ha-ha~! I knew it! I told those stick-assed idiots seaponies were real!” Full Sail declared with raucous laughter.

“S-sir! Now isn’t the time for any sort of levity!” The blue-coated officer, who had mother-of-pearl skin rather than pearl itself, and had aqua hair for his mane and tail, his red eyes were filled with worry as his face contorted in slight disgust at his superior’s behavior for some reason.

“Ha-ha-ha~! I’m sorry Colonel Half Sail-.” Ava and Fen both chortled at the other stallion’s unfortunate name, getting the Colonel to frown and the Admiral to get a few more laughs in. “-But I see your point!” Full Sail managed to gather himself, and sighed down into a somber mood. “Thank you for looking into it. At least that’s SOMETHING gone right….”

“What do you mean? Didn’t the mayor take action?” Ava asked in concern.

“Well...that’s just it. The mayor’s dead.” Full informed bluntly, and the room fell into ominous silence for a moment.

“...FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff….uck….”

Author's Notes:

GASP! My gog! Is it happening?! Is this the real life? Is it just fantasy? Of course it's fantasy!