The golden white sand churned under the three mares’ hooves as they followed the tributary down towards the beach. Thankfully aside from the huge black basalt outcroppings jutting from the sand, the descent to the beach proper went without incident, given the large overhanging ledges afforded them cover---Rainbow Dash also going to ground so her signature rainbow trail wouldn’t give their presence away.

When they reached the beach proper, the acrid stench of smoke, blood, plus the sound of ringing steel and crashing waves in their ears reached them. Rarity choked, covering her muzzle with one hoof, and Rainbow Dash’s ears and wings drooped visibly at the bloody sight about 250 yards away from them further down the strand.

Gerudo mares--pegasi, unicorn and even Earth Pony, all with rich caramel colored coats and fiery red manes and tails, clad in purple silken barding and golden hoofcups with matching silk veils over their muzzles, wielded various weapons against the angry Zora savagely fighting in the water and on the shore. However, with the amount of blood being spilled, sharks, Desbreko and Skullfish were being drawn to the crimson streaked maelstrom in the water, aiming to feast on both wounded Gerudo mares being thrown from their boats into the surf, or injured Zora soldiers who had been slashed, shot, nicked or blasted by a Gerudo warrior or mage.

Skyward looked sadly at her friends, nudging them to get their attention; royal blue eyes giving them a compassionate look. “One didst warn thee about this…thou canst still return to Equestria if thou wish; there is no shame in turning back for either of thou,” she said softly.

Rainbow Dash shook her head; she was sickened by the blood and the screams of agony and battle she could hear, but her magenta eyes were hard as gems. “The sooner we restore the Ocean Gate Fortress, the sooner we can return to Equestria.”

Rarity nodded—she was speechless at the sight of real battle; yes, Skyward had warned her, but the fashionista had truly been unprepared for the terrifyingly gruesome sight. Skyward put a foreleg over her shoulder, trying to comfort the pure white unicorn mare.

“Come. We must needs find mine ancestor’s legacy.”

Rarity turned her head to look at her armored friend, ears drooping. “Is this…this what you have to do? All the time?”

Skyward shook her head at the white unicorn mare. “Not all the time, no. However…”

The bluesteel mare turned and pointed an armored hoof at the carnage raging on further down the beach. “Blood, battle and life; tis the price for freedom, Rarity. This is the price anypony shalt gladly pay should they not wish to be ruled by a tyrant. Think thou this—if Celestia and Luna’s thrones were ever in danger. All of Equestria wouldst rise in fury, aye?”

Rarity nodded—she knew that for certain. Skyward nodded at her in return, her royal blue eyes somber as she indicated her seemingly blank flank. “This is why one must stop Ganondorf. Bandits, raiders…those battles art nothing compared to this. This war is about something else…something mine princess is keeping safe.”

“And something you’re also trying to keep out of his hooves,” Rainbow Dash pointed out, and Skyward nodded grimly.

“Right…well. Where is this waterfall cavern we need to find?” Rarity asked shakily, trying to muster some courage herself.

The three mares looked behind them—well, Skyward kept an eye on the fighting further away from them while Rainbow Dash and Rarity looked for anything that would give them a clue…

“It’s over there!”

Skyward turned, looking towards where Rainbow Dash was pointing with one forehoof, and she cursed under her breath in Haylian. The waterfall cavern in question wasn’t too far off---as a matter of fact, there was another large river flowing down to the beach from it but there was one big problem—or one big, bloody obstacle in the way. Some of the fighting had inched up the beach and the cavern in question was almost too close to the battle proper.

Rarity groaned, putting her head in both her hooves. “How are we going to get up there without them seeing us?”

Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin. “I might be able to cause a distraction…”

Skyward arched an eyebrow at the smirk on her friend’s face. “What the buck are you thinking, I know that look in thine eye, Rainbow…”

The pegasus nodded at her. “Yeah and right now we don’t got a lotta time. We need that artifact, so we can go kick the flank of whatever’s messing with Zora’s Domain. Rarity, when you see my Sonic Rainboom go off, you two run hay for leather up to wherever you need to be. Flash your horn to show me where you’re at, okay?”

“All right, but be careful, Rainbow Dash! I don’t want anypony laying a hoof on you…”

“Aye. They do and they shalt regret it sorely,” Skyward growled, and the cyan pegasus mare smirked, flipping her mane in a brash manner. “Please. Look who you’re talking to, girls! They can’t catch me.”

With a whoosh of air, a cyan streak arced high into the sky, becoming little more than a dot against the darkening skies. Below, both unicorns tensed; Rarity had her eyes on the skies, while Skyward kept an eye on their surroundings. A loud whistling noise overhead grew louder, and louder…louder still…

All over the beach the fighting briefly stopped to see what was making the noise. As she rapidly descended, Rainbow Dash let out a yell of exhilaration as she felt the familiar pull at her body—her form elongated briefly as a faint aurora cone formed around her forehooves…

With a shattering KA-BOOM, a huge expanding ring of shining rainbow light erupted from her form as she blasted herself into supersonic speeds. A brilliant rainbow trail soared out from behind her as she swooped down, then curved upward, smirking at the magical feat she had performed, and she let out a whoop as she streaked skyward—ha, skyward, pun totally intended…

The two fighting groups of ponies stared in awe at the enormous rainbow ring expanding overhead—the light touched the crystalline stones around the peak of the Domain, gently brushing them with an auroral aura, and they began to shimmer and shine of their own accord.

Both Rarity and Skyward rushed out from hiding, Skyward gesturing for Rarity to go ahead of her, directing with tiny, harmless orbs of light she released from her horn to show the other unicorn mare where to jump, where to find purchase on a seemingly unscalable ledge, or even jumping from stones to ledge to outcropping to climb the riverbank towards the cavern.

The bluesteel unicorn mare leaped up behind her friend and quickly ‘boosted’ her onto a higher ledge. She coiled her legs to prepare to jump herself…

A sudden splash sounded from behind; two cold, scaled and finned hooves suddenly grasped her rear hind legs, pulling her back forcefully; the bluesteel mare cried out and began struggling to break the cold, wet, painful grip her assailant had on her back legs—she knew it was a male Zora, given the strong hold he had on her—female Zora were more akin to spellcasters than physical fighting and did not have the strength they did.

Glancing behind her, Skyward’s eyes widened in shock and anger when she saw her assailant was none other than Prince Ruyan himself! She began struggling, lighting her horn to cast a spell—as angry as she was, she didn’t want to kill the prince…

But Ruyan shoved his muzzle forcefully in between her back legs, and she shouted, viciously kicking and lashing out, trying to push him away, but to no avail. She unconsciously aimed a blast with her horn, but missed because he was…well, in a much lower position than she was. She gasped, eyes widening before she tightly shut them at the sensations he was rapidly coaxing to life within her using only his tongue. She had never had sex before, though she’d heard a lot of crass jokes from her comrades, read a few erotic tomes on the sly, or listened to their tales of sexual prowess with one mare or another only to smack them upside the head and leave the room to their uproarious laughter and playful jibes…

Stories had nothing on what she was feeling now. The constant gliding stroke of the prince’s tongue against her outer pussy lips felt…

Ruyan’s tongue was covered in tiny bumps that gently laved over her velvety pale bluesteel downy opening, pressing firmly against her tender flesh again and again with every sweep. Ruyan purred lustfully as his tongue snaked out to caress her outer folds of her sleek flower, the tip of it dipping briefly into her slowly moistening core as he pulled his prize closer. He tilted his head to better please his future mate—land born mare or not, she would give him many healthy foals; he would please her well, ensure she would never wish to leave his side. With that thought in mind he pressed his muzzle deeper, shoving his tongue deeply into her love tunnel, his writhing oral appendage snaking into her and stroking the velvety walls of her inner passage. He drank deeply of her seeping essence, swirling his tongue around her outer lips, darting his tongue around her inner lips, keeping a strong grip on her hind legs so she couldn't escape.

Skyward whimpered as heat slowly grew in her belly, hot waves of pleasure streaking through her body at the prince’s passionate ministrations, his tongue laving her pussy lips repeatedly, sucking hard at her slowly budding clit. The Haylian unicorn mare cried out, her tail lashing sharply as she arched her back; Ruyan sliding his tongue in and out of her, now not quite going in completely to tease his intended mate, his hooves roughly rubbing against her flanks and hindquarters as he tried to pull her closer…

Rarity suddenly popped up, her diamond blue eyes blazing with anger and she blasted the lustful Zora prince with a lance of pale blue colored magic, sending him flying back into the river with a resounding splash. Red-faced with her horn blazing silver, livid and embarrassed, Skyward badly wanted to retaliate, but Rarity tugged at her, frantically shaking her head and both mares took off once more, staying well away from the water as they bolted, using their magic to cloak their presence from any other ponies nearby that might have heard or seen the struggle. They spotted the waterfall up ahead—Rarity lit her horn, ‘pushing’ the water out of the way just enough, hoping to find what they were looking for—and was rewarded with the darkness of another cavern entrance.

They teleported inside the cavern they could see ahead—it was hidden behind another waterfall, but this one wasn’t as large as the one they had exited out of. Skyward threw off her helm and slammed her hooves against the stone floor, obviously angry and extremely embarrassed, stomping her front hooves in distress and tossing her head from side to side.

“That…that foalish, foul, oversexed, lustful son of a deep python! One shalt geld him where he swims next one sees him…”

She took a shuddering breath, and another, trying to cool the fires the male Zora had stoked in her lower belly; glancing down revealed that her pussy was seeping, the clear juices of her arousal sliding free a little bit, the lush pink of her excited sex showing she still wanted more. The urge to continue what the prince had started was extraordinarily strong, but Skyward lit her horn, conjured a large globe of water and doused herself with it. The water was ice cold—it had been on purpose, to quench the flames of lust still smoldering in her belly. Rarity was panting, looking over at the drenched Haylian unicorn, who was breathing erratically, eyes closed tight…

The fashionista moved forward and clicked her hoof gently against the ground to get Skyward’s attention.

“Skyward? Skyward, my dear, please, are you all right?”

The soaking wet unicorn mare looked at her friend—the tormented look in those royal blue eyes was all the answer Rarity needed, even as bitter laughter escaped the bluesteel mare’s mouth. “One warned thou and Rainbow Dash constantly about this...and yet, I art the one who was caught like a fish,” Skyward muttered, shaking her wet mane and laughing harshly as she lowered her head. The laughter was soon choked off, sounding suspiciously like muffled sobs—Rarity straightened her posture and moved forward, lifting one hoof to tilt Skyward’s head up so royal blue met diamond blue.

“My dear Skyward, do not blame yourself. You are not to blame, that…that foul excuse for a stallion is. I do not have a will of steel like you do; despite the fact you clearly do not have any romantic experience with stallions, you were able to resist his…ah, attentions. You still fought back, and it shows your character.”

“One must beg of thee to not…not say anything to anypony about this…”

“Don’t worry, darling. What happened back there stays between us. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. I Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony what happened here this day.”

Skyward nodded, giving the ivory unicorn a grateful nod—Rarity pulled her into a hug and let the Haylian mare shed a few tears on her shoulder. “There, there, Skyward. Don’t worry. It’ll be all right.”

“One feels so…debased…”

Rarity gently stroked her friend’s royal blue and indigo streaked mane in comfort as the bluesteel mare broke down in tears—the white unicorn knew she herself had a few…paramours before, as well as some sex toys to ‘scratch her itch’ when she felt like it, and for her, sex and pleasure was no stranger. She was certainly no whore, but Skyward clearly had no experience in those fields whatsoever. The poor mare had almost been raped—and knowing her friend’s mindset towards honor, as well a wish to be loved for who she was and not for her status, this had to be a terrible blow to her morals and mindset. The wavy purple maned and tailed unicorn mare let her cry for a little while before wiping her eyes with a spare handkerchief she had in her saddlebag.

“Chin up now, my friend. The time shall come when you shall welcome a male’s touch. No… (Skyward had been about to explode in protest) Trust me, darling. It will be worth it when you find the right stallion who loves you for who you are. Now, we must summon Rainbow Dash, before any other pony gets their hooves on her.”

Skyward used her shield, Rarity bending a beam of light on her horn on it to signal Rainbow Dash. The cyan mare shot downwards, pushing a huge cloud in front of her to hide her descent and then flying right through it—the cloud dissipated as fog due to the temperature change the closer she got to the ground, and hid her entry into the falls where she had seen the flashes of light on the shield.

“You two all right?”

Rarity waved a hoof as Skyward dried herself off with her Fashion Flash spell—Divine Design, the Princess’s own personal tailor, had taught her that spell when she would have been late for a royal function and hadn’t had time to brush out her mane, tail and fur. “We’re fine, Rainbow Dash. Hurry, we need the artifact!”

“But where is it?”

Rarity lit her horn—if anyone had experience finding treasures, it was her. Her horn swept up, to the left, and down…pointing right at a pool of shimmering water. The water was deep—they couldn’t see the bottom of the large pool, despite the luminous stones embedded in the rock walls.

“You have got to be bucking kidding me.” Rainbow Dash muttered, and Skyward cursed as she stared at the pool.

“Wonderful—well, let us go for a swim then,” she growled, but Rarity held out a hoof.

“The chest may be in the pool but let us not forget our own magics. Give me a few moments…twist this here…move that there…and…voila!”

The pool splashed as Rarity triumphantly lifted out a large sea chest with a clearly waterworn silversteel lock. Skyward lit her horn, raised her sword high and brought it down hard on the lock, snapping it off cleanly, and she ‘opened’ the chest.

Inside was a medallion—the talisman itself looked to be made entirely of gold. Set in its center was a carved relief of a pony—a pony with a long, sleek fishtail. The pony’s upper half was inlaid with jade while the lower half was a mix of sapphire, diamond and amethysts. Turning it over showed an inscription on the back…

“Hey…isn’t that the same thing you said to the Zora King to find this place?” Rainbow Dash asked, and Skyward nodded.

“Aye, it is. And now we hast the means to enter the Ocean Gate Fortress. One shalt teleport us back to the beach—gather close now, girls, if thou wilt…”

Both Rainbow Dash and Rarity moved close to Skyward, who lit her horn and closed her eyes—in a brilliant flare of silver light and sparkles, they were gone in an instant. And not a moment too soon, for mere moments after the three mares had gone, a furious Prince Ruyan leaped through the waterfall’s protective curtain of crashing water, his eyes blazing with thwarted lust and rage…

********************************************************************************************************

Reappearing back on the beach, the three mares ran into the rushing surf, staying close to Skyward as she held the amulet in her magic. When they were leg deep in the water, the bluesteel unicorn mare held the medallion aloft as she intoned the incantation.

“Gone, gone, the form of land…”

In response to her words, the amulet began to glow and shimmer, emanating waves of sea blue colored magic from it…

“Arise the ocean from the sand…”

The glow surrounded the three mares, wrapping each in a cocoon of lagoon colored light…

“To shun the land and explore the sea…”

The glow around them shimmered, the cocoons sliding away to reveal long, streamlined fish tails…

“I invoke the Pact of Tides--so mote it be!"

With a brilliant flare of light, the cocoons fell away to reveal the three mares…albeit with vastly different forms.

From the top they looked normal enough—ears, mane, forehooves, muzzles, eyes…

But the bottom was a completely different story. Where their hind legs should have been were beautiful fish tails, their scales and fins gleaming in the sunlight.

Rarity’s tail was, of course, pure white, her flowing tail fins a deep royal purple. Her cutie mark was displayed on the dorsal fin that had formed from her back; two more gleaming diamond marks shown on two smaller fins above her main ones.

Rainbow Dash’s tail fins were akin to her mane—a liquid like rainbow unfurling from a cyan sky. Like Rarity, she had a dorsal fin showing her cutie mark. However, she also bore ‘wing’ like fins on her back, akin to a ‘flying fish’ of sorts.

Skyward’s tail was no less magnificent: the colors of her scales were iridescent in hue, going from blue to purple jeweltones depending on how she moved. Her tail fins were royal blue on the outside then shifting to indigo on the inside. But Zelda’s glamour still held strong—her dorsal fin remained blank.

She still had her armor on, and after she had safely stowed the medallion away, she gestured to them to follow her. The three mares swam deeper, the seawater moving through their lungs as easily as air. The deeper they went, the darker the color of the water got…and, the danger level steadily increased. Because of the blood in the water, the three transformed mares had to avoid clusters of Skullfish, Desbrekos and sharks who were heading towards the carnage further towards the shore.

Skullfish were living skeletons of fish—the Desbreko were their much larger and more dangerous cousins, resembling the skeletons of pirahna fish. But what made the Desbreko so much more deadly, was the fact Skullfish liked to cluster near them, resulting in a deadly swarm of skeleton fish if anypony was unlucky enough to get their attention.

It was Rarity who saw it first…the looming luminous stone and coral walls and the massive arch as the seafloor dropped away, revealing the entrance of the large stone fortress below the three mares, far beyond the shoreline, fathoms below in the vast ocean. The Ocean Gate Fortress was below them, the ziggurat like structure almost like a temple in of itself. The walls were made of luminous stones, huge blue, pink, green, gold and white coral branches growing off the top of the wall like barbed stone spears. The arch was made entirely of pearlescent stone, carved with swirls and bubbles, the symbol of the Zora set high in the center. Beyond the arch was the entrance…lit by two carved luminous stones shaped like large cone shaped seashells.

But it was clear that Ganondorf’s evil had touched the fortress…Desbreko, Bomb Fish, and Skullfish roamed the waters freely and Shell Blades littered the sandy floor around the walls and entrance of the Fortress.

Shell Blades were massive clams with razor sharp blades growing from the back of their shells—when threatened, they would close and turn their backs, twisting and bucking to try to gore and slice their attacker. Their only weak point was while their shells were open to cut the adductor muscle on the inside.

The three mares swam over the wall, careful not to attract attention from any of the Desbreko clusters swimming nearby. They descended, and slipped into the entrance, Rarity and Skyward lighting their horns to allow for light as they vanished into the Ocean Gate Fortress's depths.