Maremuda…

King Triton was swimming around the halls of his castle enjoying the peace. The nobles were not at his door demanding him to get rid of his daughter. His sons were happy with their families and his loving wife was by his side. He stopped and looked up towards a picture of him and his wife holding Selene in their hooves when she was younger. He felt a pair of hooves wrap around his neck causing him to look behind him.

“I thought you would be resting my love,” he noticed his wife smiling as she kissed his cheek.

“I have been thinking about my sisters again. I have also been thinking about our daughter.” She looked up towards the picture sighing.

“Do you regret coming with me?” he looked towards his wife as she shook her head.

“Why do you ask that?” she looked towards him.

“Because you always ask about them” he moved towards her placing his hoof over hers.

“I wish I could visit them or they visit me. But I know the nobles would never allow that” Aurora looked towards the picture still before moving on “I wish I could get some word from Za and Ra to let me know their okay” she sighed as Triton stopped her pulling her into his hooves.

“Well I promised to take you with me to the surface and I am keeping that promise. But I want you to think about something my dear”

“Oh,” she glanced up towards him.

“If she happy and if the princess are willing. How would you feel leaving her in their hooves and letting her live her life on the surface? Away from this bloody mess, the nobles have created” he looked down at her as she pushed back blinking a bit.

“If they are willing to keep her. I would be sad I could not see and hold my daughter but she will be away from this life. Hopefully, they can help her too.” Aurora looked away as Triton held her still.

“We can still visit her my dear” he had a smile on his face.

“What are you planning love?”

“Something you wait. I will tell you when we go for the peace talks” Triton smiled as he started to dance with his wife in the halls. She smiled as she danced with him.

Meanwhile in Ponyvile

Selene was lying in her shell sleeping peacefully with her tail wrapped around her. She slowly opened her eyes yawning a bit looking around as she does to see where Ra and Za had fallen asleep for the night. They were gone and she wasn’t in the tank at Twilight’s house. She noticed she was sleeping on another giant shell surrounded by bright pink and purple coral growing on rocks as different kinds of plants growing along the ground giving the space a peaceful and tranquil feeling. Her nerves were on ends till she hear singing out in the distance. Moving from the shell she swam through the plants following a path. Her eyes glanced around as she notices the path was carved out of the large dark purple coral that grew around the area. Selene stopped swimming as she came to a large cave with a small opening at the top allowing the sun light to come down. Her eyes settled on the long purple merpony sitting on a flat rock singing. Small schools of fish sawm around her before disappearing as Selene came into the opening.

“Twilight? Why are you here?” she spoke up as she moved closer to the pony. She stopped singing as she turned and looked towards Selene smiling softly. She sat up as she moved towards her.

“Were on vacation silly” she smiled as Selene stopped in front of her. She quickly moved around Twilight checking her out noticing her mane was longer as well as her tail. As she moved closer Selene noticed her eyes were different. They weren’t the normal shade of violet she had seen they were red!

“Star! You promised!” Selene hissed as the woman started to chuckle. She placed Selene against the rock as the Twilight in front of her started to change. She started to look exactly like Selene but with a pitch black mane and a long dark ruby tail. The whites of her eyes were black allowing the red iris to stand out. She leaned down wrapping her tail around Selene before moving a hoof towards her neck.

“You also promised to wake me up if you were in danger. Come to my surprise you were injured by your own curiosity! And making it worse by getting attacked by a shark!” she hissed as she looked towards Selene. Glancing up Selene saw black lines swirling around her neck creating a necklace. She felt the hoof on the back of her neck moving softly down her back and back up causing her to squirm a bit. Star’s eyes were glancing going back and forth as a smile appeared on her muzzle.

“And here I thought you were in Maremuda.” She looked towards Selene as she moved her other hoof along her cheek “Didn’t think you would make it to the surface” she chuckled.

“You knew Star. You made my wings fluff up!” she shouted as the mare moved in grinning.

“Who me? Oh no dear that wasn’t me” she kept her grin up watching Selene’s cheeks turn red.

“I can’t like her. I just met her!” Selene tried sitting up but was stopped as Star placed her hooves on either side of Selene.

“That’s right you belong to me” she leaned down and kissed Selene as her hoof kept running along her back. Selene let out a gasp as she watched Star lick her lips.

“Star I’m on the surface”

“So?” she blinked looking towards Selene as she pulled her in closer to her placing the other hoof on her back.

“I can probably get this curse broken,” Selene noticed Star stopped stroking her back as she felt her tail being released. Star was floating in front of her shock written all over her face as she on her lower lip.

“No the surface ponies won’t know how to deal in curses. They are too soft” Star moved in as she leaned down kissing Selene as she grinned “Five more years my dear” she chuckled “But till then I want to meet this pony”

“Star just leave me to my damn fantasies!” Selene huffed as Star patted her cheek.

“I should be your only fantasy” She swam away leaving Selene to frighten of what she was going to do.

Waking up Selene moved her eyes along the tank noticing Ra and Za were missing. She glanced up towards the surface smiling a bit as she left her trident on the floor. She moved up to the top of the tank popping her head out of the tank. She caught the sight of Princess Celestia sitting at the table sipping on some tea as Ra and Za were sitting in front of her chatting away. Twilight was sitting next to Celestia sipping on her tea smiling.

“She knows a princess?” Star thought to herself as she pulled herself from the tank.

“Twilight is her student. If you do anything stupid I am throwing myself off a cliff!” Selene hissed as Star rolled her eyes. She made sure to keep her magic back as she walked into the library smiling. She didn’t want Twilight running from her just yet.

“Selene your awake” Za spoke up as she nodded to the question. She raised her hoof towards Twilight beckoning her over. Twilight turned her head and smiled as she placed her cup down.

“Princess Celestia came to see how you were doing?” Keeping her eye on Twilight she waited till she got closer. As soon as Twilight was in front of her she waved her hoof causing bars of ice forming in front of the kitchen. Ra ran towards the bars as he looked over towards Selene.

“Selene wat are you up to!” he growled as she ran her hoofs through her mane. Shaking her fins a bit Star dropped her magic. Twilight took a step back as she watched Selene’s mane changed from a sky blue to a pitch black mane floating in the air. Her fur had a grey tint to it as her tail slimed out a bit as the blue faded to a blood red. Her whites slowly shifted to black as the red iris stared her down. She was stuck up against the bars as she noticed black lines crawled around Stars neck creating a necklace.

“Star let Selene out now!” Za shouted as Celestia stood up with her wings flared out.

“Young princess this is not going to help your ponies!” Celestia stared over at Selene with a worried look before glancing towards her student. Star started to chuckle as she looked over towards Celestia.

“Young princess. That is a good one” she was smiling as she pushed herself from the floor floating in the air as if she was swimming. She moved her eyes back towards Twilight moving down to her horn.

“How powerful are you?” she reached out and touched her horn causing her wings to go up as Star quickly released the horn. Twilight dropped to the ground huffing a bit before placing her back towards the bars.

“Twilight no sudden movements! Star won’t attack if you stay still!” Za shouted as she started to pull at the bars.

“Za, Ra what is going on!” Celestia looked over to the guards as they both had worried expressions on their face.

“That’s not Selene princess. That is Star princess Celestia and she”

“I’m a curse” Star had jumped in laughing “I am a curse some pony placed on my poor Selene” she had her smile up as she looked down towards Twilight.

“Are you here to hurt me then” Twilight shouted causing Star to shake her head.

“Oh by the seas no. Selene already told me she throw herself off a cliff if I did” she huffed as she floated around Twilight “I wanted to see what has caught my Selene’s eye” She sat in front of Twilight watching her carefully.

“Star we know how you are with Selene” Ra spoke up as Star blinked.

“What do you mean by that Ra?” Twilight was shaking as Star placed her hooves on the floor.

“Let me give you this warning. You hurt or injure my Selene and I will do the same to you” she started chuckling “However I been thinking”

“That’s a new one” Selene spoke up causing Star to sit up straight up her ears twitching.

“Thinking about what?” Za broke Star concentration. Star licked her lips as she sat on a pillow pushing her mane back.

“Since you are so powerful maybe a challenge?” Star waved her hoof causing the ice bars to melt into the floor. As the bars quickly disappear both the guards got around Twilight as Celestia stood between them.

“I will not let my student be in any challenge that will harm a pony” Star blinked as she looked up towards Celestia shaking her head.

“No. I don’t like hurting ponies. Only those who want to hurt Selene physically will feel my wrath. I am talking about a magical challenge” she leaned back into the pillow as she placed her hooves looking towards Twilight.

“What kind of challenge Star?” Ra spoke up.

“Selene has five years left to live before I claim her soul and her body will return to the coral. I wanted to know if Twilight could break this curse or if she could extend this curse” Star raised an eyebrow as Twilight moved from the protection of the guards and the princess to look at Star in the eye.

“You want me to break you?” Twilight looked up towards her teacher “Princess have you ever heard of a curse doing this?” Celesta had to sit in her spot as she placed a wing under her chin.

“No Twilight. I know many curses that have been made through out the years. However, I never saw one like this” she glared at Star as she kept her grin up.

“Normally I would have kept dormant and would let my magic slowly kill Selene but events forced my hoof.” She sat up looking towards Celestia.

“And what events are those Star!” Za walked around huffing as her fins were flared out.

“Like I said earlier. I was a normal curse sitting in the darkness of her soul slowly killing her till one day. Now time to time again I would look into her memories and see what type of pony I would be killing. During this time nobles were a bit sour as she broke a young wannabe king’s muzzle after forcing himself on her. I saw them hit her and try to blame her for things she never did. I came out when a couple of nobles cornered her and tried ripping her wing from her back. They wanted to cripple her before feeding her to a heard of sharks!” Star hissed as she took a few deep breaths in and out “I broke their hooves. I showed myself another time when others were trying to shove her into the lava pits. I just broke their own tails” Star started to fidget as Ra moved around as he looked towards Za.

“When did you let Selene know about you?” he spoke the question that was on every ponies mind.

“When she tried to kill herself. She was tired of others calling her a monster for what I was doing. She went to the trenches and tied a weight to her tail and wrapped her gills up so she could drown. Thankfully the weight slipped from her tail allowing her to drift to the surface. While she was out cold I made my way to her mind and made a connection with her. She let me place the connection so we could talk while she was recovering. We grew close and well… I will not let any pony hurt her” Star huffed as she sat up. Her eyes drifted towards Twilight finally noticing the necklace around her neck. She moved closer tapping the shell as Twilight jumped.

“Hey Selene made this for me” she was on edge as Star pulled two scales off of her tail. She rolled the scales in her hooves “Her father made her trident for her. It holds a seal a shaman made for her to keep me asleep. Her father never made it public that I was a curse just another personality she has to cope with things. These beads are just the same” Star moved towards Twilight placing one on either side of the shell whispering into them.

“These beads will glow and warm up when I am out and Selene is not. they will also act as a second set of seals to keep me hidden. If that is alright with you” she glanced towards Celestia. Celestia looked towards the ground for a moment before nodding.

“I would not have my subject harm because of an unknown curse” she spoke softly as Star huffed.

“If they don’t hurt Selene then you won’t hear about me.” she smiled before her hooves started to shake.

“Star?” Za looked towards her as she blinked a bit.

“I’ve pushed us both too far.” She turned to look over at Twilight “The back of our necks shows the scar of the curse. Mine is a full moon you can see hers if you move her mane.” She started to cough as she leaned towards Twilight kissing her deeply before breaking it “That is to seal our little challenge” she closed her eyes dropping to the ground. Twilight sat there in shock as she noticed the sky blue of Selene’s mane started to return to normal. Her tail changed back to normal as Selene opened her eyes allowing the others to see them glossed over.

“Hello?” her voice was soft as she had tears in her eyes. Her heart sunk in her chest as she started to fear the worst “If I am in a prison just tell me, please. If you're going to hang me just do it. I didn’t hurt them but its better” she was cut short as a wing moved her mane from her eyes.

“You are not in a prison” Celestia spoke up as she noticed the pain on Selene’s face. She could almost feel it herself as she heard the words the merpony started speaking.

“You will not be hung. You have harmed no pony my dear” Selene started to move closer to Celestia as she dropped short crying. Za moved towards the kitchen as Celestia moved Selene’s mane noticing a black moon with ink or blood dripping from it. By this time Twilight had snapped out of her stupor rushing around grabbing scrolls as she quickly writing down everything from memory.

“Twilight” Celestia spoke up causing the unicorn to turn her head. Za walked back placing a ran over her gills.

“There will be time for that later. I want to know do you want this challenge?” Celestia stood up as she held Selene in her magic before placing her on her back. Twilight looked to her scrolls as she placed her quill down. She took a deep breath in and slowly nodded.

“Of course I do. I read up on most curses and this is something new! I can break something or fix something that Starswirl has never even done” Twilight looked up towards her teacher with a light smile on her muzzle “This can help us greatly in years to come” Twilight was standing on her hooves as Celestia giggled. She couldn’t help it. She knew how bad her student’s curiosity for knowledge was.

“Alright, Twilight. I will send some books on curses. I also want you and Selene to visit me in Canterlot when she is well. Now I think you should help me with your guest before taking notes” she winked at Twilight causing her to blush.

“Of course” Twilight ran up stairs opening her bedroom door. She placed a waterproofing spell on her sheets and mattress before Celestia placed Selene on the bed.

“On her stomach” Ra spoke up as he placed a small bag in front of his hooves “Her gills need room to move” He walked over as Za was carrying some towels on her back. Twilight help rolls her over onto her stomach stepping back a bit. Celestia stood back watching as Ra quickly braided her mane keeping it out of her gills. Za covered her tail in the towels before draping a blanket over her.

“We’re sorry Princess. We never thought Star would appear if she was on the surface. She trusted the island ponies so much we thought she would sleep” Ra was softly patting Selene’s head as she fell into a deep sleep.

“I am not blaming you Ra or you Za but can you promise me that Star will not simply harm a pony?” She glanced towards the guards as the nodded.

“The king placed us with his daughter because no one else will guard her. Star knows of us and trusts us with Selene. She even gave us the same spill she gave Twilight. We thought she would hurt us for leaving Selene alone but she forced Selene to tell us about her suicide attempt. Other than the attacks she has told you we never see Star” Ra glanced up as Celestia nodded.

“I will be sending one guard to help you two out. I will make sure he is here by morning” Celestia walked out of the room as Twilight was sitting next to Selene drawing her gills and the curse on a piece of parchment. Ra looked over at Za as he sighed.

“It went better than expected” he smiled as Za nodded.

“That it did”

Celestia walked out of the treehouse looking down at her guards. She got into her chariot allowing it to take off. Her mind started to wonder during the flight back to Canterlot. It wasn’t a long till the jolt of the chariot landing caused her to take notice of her surroundings. She climbed off of the chariot as she looked towards the guard.

“Find Shining Armor tell him I wish to see him in my chambers now please” she bowed as they gave her a salute before walking off.