The same ship that had set sail the very day, they very instant things changed, had cut through the waters, headed for a shore that didn't exist in the way they thought it should have.

"SS. Maribeth," spoke a radio in a faint staticy burst into the listener's headpiece.

The radio operator grabbed for the piece. "Talking. What's the good word?"

"Return to port immediately." They gave the right code and callsign for being a proper authority.

He hiked a brow. That promised no profit, and only misery. "One moment..." He set down that radio and reached for the ship one. "Captain, need your presence in the radio room." He didn't blurt it out. It was an open channel to everyone that worked on the ship. Depending on what the captain wanted to do, keeping some subtlety felt appropriate.

The captain arrived not long after, arms crossing just after he pushed open the heavy door. "We get word of what's going on?" The fact that the GPS was completely out wasn't a secret at that point.

The radio man hiked a thumb at the equipment behind him. "We have a request to return to port. Appears to be a legit source over radio, actual radio, not a satellite link."

"Bloody hell, did they all fall from the sky?" The captain slapped a hand down on a counter, frowning with his frustration. "Can you ask them why? We turn back, that's putting a severe dent on things."

The radio man reached for the speaking part. "I can try. Hey, why are we turning around?"

"All ships are ordered to remain docked," came the quick reply. "Your safety cannot be assured, and you're almost definitely not sailing where you think you are. Reverse course."

That seemed, unfortunately, to be quite clear. The captain grabbed for the receiver. "We're coming back. Is someone going to help pay for the wasted wages we put in on this?"

"I'll see what can be done," came the not-convincing voice.

With heavy hearts, the ship began to turn back around. They would not be getting any bonuses on that trip.

A pegasus stepped forward, dipping her head towards Celestia and Luna. "I know what I saw, Your Highnesses. It was a boat, and not of pony make, or griffon, or anything else I ever saw before. It was huge!" She threw her wings out wide. "And metal, all metal... It had no sails at all! Not a single stitch... I didn't know what to make of it. My captain just avoided it, but I felt I should come here and say something."

Luna raised a hoof. "We do not doubt your veracity, citizen. Did you see what crew operated this vessel, or perhaps what they were carrying?"

Celestia nodded softly. "We have our suspicions, but if you could confirm, that would be of great use."

The pegasus bobbed her head. "After the captain said to just ignore it like it wasn't there... I mighta broke an order or two. I hope you can forgive me or that."

"Forgiven," barked out Luna without hesitation. "What did you see?"

She reared up, gesturing with her forehooves. "Two legs, hands, barely any fur. They were working on their boat and not paying much attention to the sky. They didn't see me, I don't think."

Luna scowled softly. "Mmm..."

"You were very brave." Celestia tipped her head towards the pegasus. "Thank you, for bringing us this information."

As soon as the pegasus left, Luna turned on her sister. "Already they come to attack in boats clad in steel to resist our defenses. And where did they come from?!" She extended a wing westward. "That is not the direction of the frozen north, where we thought they dwelled, and yet, there they are."

Celestia shook her head. "Calm yourself. No mention was made of weapons or any active ill-intent. A boat is not, itself, a sign of war."

Luna hiked a brow. "And you trust the word of a random pegasus? She has not experienced their weapons. They could have been brimming with them and she would be none-the-wiser for it. The time for assuming they are benign has long since passed, Dear Sister."

Celestia gestured for a globe that floated towards them, wreathed in her magic. "West..." She turned the globe, but there was little known to be that far west... "Have we updates from the conflict in the north?"

Luna sighed softly. "Your champions are on their way, along with a regiment of guards to display proper solidarity with the efforts already underway there. Casualties on both sides are confirmed." She leaned in softly. "Ponies are dying, right now, Sister. We should treat that with the proper gravity."

Celestia's expression hardened as she took a slow breath. "I am aware."

Mobile peered from the waters, watching the strange bipeds having their fun. She wanted to rejoin them! They clearly knew how to have a good time, and she was good at having a good time. They were meant to be together! And those bullies... "I'll save them!" She dipped beneath the surface and swam for the shores out of sight until she reached the first of the humans.

So far she knew, the ones that splashed and played were the good ones, so she reached out and gently tapped one of them with a hoof. "<Hello!>" she sang beneath the water, not at all bothered by it.

The human she had touched jumped with surprise, but that didn't carry him very far being as far out as he was. His eyes were as wide as saucers, but he didn't run away. "Holy hell, it's back!"

"Really?"

"Holy crap, don't scare it!"

The attention of the beach turned towards the cry in a ripple that spread quickly. "What'd they find?"

"The sea horse!"

"<Mobile Coral,>" noted one person that had heard the name said.

She popped up from beneath the waves, expecting one surprised human, but instead found an entire beach peering at her. "<Oh... is this a bad time?>"

The human held up its hands. "Everyone's happy to see you."

She had no idea what he said, but he sounded happy to say it, so she smiled. "<Nice to see you too!>" She had no idea how close she had been to responding, had either side known what the other was saying. "<Can we play?>" She saw other humans approaching and flitted towards them, grabbing a ball along the way. "<Like this? In the water, on the land. I don't care!>"

A man on the beach reached up to his neckline to depress a button. "Subject has returned. Peaceful contact established with the locals."

"Wait until it's on land, then approach. Do not scare it away."

"That's a copy." He let go of the button and went back to looking like he was casually enjoying the sun and warmth, his straw hat covering most of his face.

"<Mobile Coral.>"

Mobile turned quickly in place to find the source. "Sandra! <They didn't hurt you, I hope?>" She swam over to her new friend with a big smile.

"You..." She hesitated. She knew they were watching the beach. They had asked her to be there, to increase the odds of the creature returning. She hated it... "You should go." She pointed out to sea.

Mobile shook her head quickly. "<What? No! I want to play, and I'll protect you.>" She hugged Sandra firmly with a happy sound. "<Stop worrying.>" With a little nuzzle to seal the deal, she swam past to join in the games starting up.

They played and cavorted and she couldn't have been more pleased with her decision to give the beach another try. When they invited her up onto the beach, she had little reason to deny them, though she did look towards the hill the lights had come from before.

Mobile promised herself she wouldn't be caught off-guard by the bullies again. Not when the sugary drink was on the line. It was even tastier the second time she got to try it. Their cooking wasn't bad either, even if it was also kind of sugary. They liked their sugar. What kind of race that loved sweet things so much could be possibly bad?!

"<I want a look around.>" Her words were alien to her new friends, but she said them anyway as she spread her wings and took flight to have a look at the beach and its surroundings. Flying was almost as good as swimming, letting go of the shackles of the two dimensional movement of the ground. She could see the hill the bullies had come from led to a big black surface with lots of strange things on it.

She wanted to go take a look! But she resisted for a moment. "<It'd be rude to just abandon all my friends.>" She came down among them, smiling. There was a new friend there. They stood out for being more dressed than most of the rest of them.

"<Mobile Coral,>" He said in a practiced rendition, then waved for her to go with him.

She tilted her head with some confusion, but had little reason to refuse. She ambled after him, equine tail twitching. "<That is my name. What is yours?>" She pointed a talon at him, walking on the other three adeptly.

He didn't lead her far, but the others did not follow, which she found odd. The humans seemed to like being near her, even if they weren't talking to her directly. "<Is everything alright?>"

Maybe he heard the worry in her voice, because he made a placating motion that seemed clear despite the differences in their languages. He pulled out a book and set it in the sand and opened it. There was a picture of a big red apple. He pointed at it and looked at her questioningly.

She blinked softly before her face erupted into a huge grin. "<You're so smart! You want to learn how I talk. That's a good idea. Or maybe you want to teach me?>" She reached out and tapped the picture with a talon. "<Apple.>"

"Apple," he repeated in English.

Elsewhere, there was cheering. The creature had engaged in translation with barely any prompting and no resistance. They were recording the entire exchange, voice and video. "With this," declared a man, thrusting a finger at the monitor that showed what they were doing. "With this, we'll be finally getting somewhere."

Back on the beach, they went through many many pictures. She sat down, then flopped into the sand on her belly. There were so many! "<I forgot there were so many words... Chair.>" She nodded towards the picture of a chair. "<Can we take a break?>" She rolled over and pointed at the happy crowd, all having so much fun she wasn't getting to have.

"The subject is restless," came a voice over his subtle ear-piece. "Let her rejoin the others for a while.

He nodded towards her, and she sprang up to talons and hooves and was off in a flash.

Elsewhere, the scientists nodded at one another in kind. "The body language seems nearly identical. A nodding or shaking of the head means the same thing."

"I saw her shrug," noted a female scientist. "Yawning with boredom, and trying to meet eye contact when she was paying more attention."

"The fact that she can feel boredom in what appears to be a human fashion is telling."

Another rolled a hand. "Are you still unsure if it has human intelligence? Even the smartest dolphins don't casually sit down and exchange words with us. They also don't typically learn names instantly."

The first frowned a little. "That wasn't the argument. It's a conceit to assume that all intelligent life thinks the way we do."

The lady hiked a thumb at the camera that showed the hippogriff playing a rousing game of being buried, grinning all the while. "It may be a conceit, but I'd guess she's both harmless, and just wants to do what everyone does at the beach; have a little fun."

Author's Notes:

Everyone is gathering intelligence, though the humans and the sea ponies are reaching out hooves and hands in what could be friendship.

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