No sooner does Luna exit the short tunnel does a googly-eyed red clam shell whiz inches past her mask-clad muzzle. She rears back, surprised more than anything: Who throws a shell? Honestly!

Until her keen eyes, unobstructed by the clear crystal goggles, spots a thin line trailing behind the shell, nearly undetectable. She can’t observe any active magic, only latent, but it looks far stronger than a simple piece of string or hair-twined rope, the kind of empowered fishing line designed to haul in whales, or hold aloft antiquated engines at Cooper’s Train Emporium. It wouldn’t do much, by itself, besides serve as a poor tripwire and entangle a distracted swimmer - much like flying, swimming isn’t restricted to narrow angles of attack. Luna traces the projectile’s trajectory, spotting her assailant.

“Stay back, storm scum!” the yellow coated, blue maned seapony commands, high-pitched voice in serious danger of breaking. Teal eyes, large as a pony’s and narrowed in a deep scowl, carefully watch every move of the cobalt alicorn. One teal-shod foreleg holds a second shell, purple and googly-eyed, ready to throw at a moment’s notice. She apparently thinks the shell is a more threatening weapon than the barbed spear at her side. “I’m warning you!”

Luna stares at the seapony, trying to place her. She studied all the other races of Equus, but the names and faces - many only seen in a picture - swirl together. Most are of them as hippogriffs, from before they sunk beneath the waves, and their reclusive nature has made gathering further intelligence much more difficult.

Still, she sets that aside to focus on the aggressive creature. It would be laughable, such an attempt on an alicorn’s life, if not for her deadly seriousness. Her legs automatically bend slightly, tensing, ready to leap off the stony floor at a moment’s notice. The contemptuous snort at the audacity can’t be seen behind the mask, but can certainly be heard, as the Royal Canterlot booms through the water.

“Thou dares assault a Princess of the Realm?”

“Hear that, Shelly?” Unfazed, the seapony opens and closes the shell in her hoof, miming it responding in an even higher voice. “She’s a bad one!” She nods back, in one motion whipping one foreleg back while chucking ‘Shelly’ with the other as hard as she can. “Go get her!”

A bad one? Luna frowns to herself; this isn’t at all the introduction she hoped for! A nagging voice in the back of her head cackles, that her Sister would be doing a much better job at first impressions; she might as well give up now and let the better sibling pick up the pieces! She does her best to ignore those thoughts, glad the mask covers her scowl.

She casually raises a hoof to knock aside the shell, then to hold in a placating manner, only for the first shell to smash into the back of her head with far more force than such a small object should possess. She reels forward, head spinning and glad for even the small protection the mask gave. I’m going to have a lump there!

The water around Luna suddenly fills with pitch-black ink. At least, I hope it is ink, and not my corneas detaching. Growling, she swaps the goggles to mage-sight, just for them to overload with the bright light of a crescent tail swatting her in the face. It takes a second to readjust, a second she spends hunched over, forelegs defensively raised around her horn and face. It doesn’t hurt, not compared to the shell, but that doesn’t mean she is any less angry, the mask absorbing the spittle she spews in her rage.

As soon as she gets her sight back she spots a blur of light amidst a sea of black: the seapony rapidly swimming away, the two shells trailing behind and spewing seeping clouds of black and purple ink from their wide open mouths that quickly fill the entirety of the cramped corridors. Will she lead me all the way to Seaquestria? Or another trap?

And then the distorted blur flips over, building up speed for a charge.

Grimacing at the necessity, Luna’s horn flares, trapping the seapony in a dark cobalt bubble. She can feel the reverberations as the now-panicked creature slams into the unyielding wall, then repeatedly slaps at it with her wide tail, swimming fruitless circles in the vain hope of finding an opening or weakness. She’s surprised when the seapony stops struggling against the barrier, scrunching up into a small ball.

Luna swims closer, frustrated with the difficulty of using her hooves and jealous of the seapony’s hydrodynamic body, how she effortlessly cuts through the water like it is air. Her first attempt with her wings seems viable, but the backswing sends her in the wrong direction. Something to work on. Perhaps she could mirror Armor’s method of using telekinesis to push herself through the water, odd as that might seem.

‘Shelly’ and whatever foalish name the other shell has dangle from the barrier created around the lines. If some other trick is at play she cannot detect it, the ink charges spent and water rapidly clearing. Satisfied of her own safety, and feeling in control of the situation, she drops her barrier.

The seapony uncoils like a spring, the barbed spear rushes forward, propelled by the powerful thrusts of her tail.

Luna snorts in amusement; her horn flares bright, her aura conjured around and pinning her assailant to the rocky ground while stripping her of the spear.

“Hey!” the seapony objects, straining against the mystical restraints. “Let me go!”

“Desist in thy efforts,” Luna orders. She takes a deep breath as she carefully inspects the envenomed spear. Enchanted, little else noteworthy except how the curved barbs resemble a seapony’s fins. “We art searching for information.”

“A likely story,” she spits out, writhing as Luna searches her body for any hidden weapons, finding only a pearl shard and some sort of bubble blower, both of which she leaves unmolested. “We’ll never talk to a villain like you!”

“We do not wish to harm-” Luna starts, then cuts off at the strange look of pain on the seapony’s face: her eyes are clenched shut, and Luna imagines tears would be streaming down if they were above water. She cocks her head quizzically. “Art… art thou attempting to sever thine own tongue?”

“Err.” A phony grin cannot hide the odd way her voice sounds, like she has been injured and can’t quite move her mouth right, nor the whimper. “No?”

Luna sighs. “One cannot lie so easily to a Princess of Equestria.” She shakes her head as the seapony fidgets nervously, noting how her expression changes from one of sheer defiance to a bored recalcitrance. “And neither can one escape questioning by rendering themselves unable to speak. Now, answer us truthfully. Why didst thou attack, unprovoked?”

“Duh,” the impetuous whelp states, as if it is obvious to anypony. “You’re working with the Storm King!”

Luna’s face scrunches up. One could technically argue that is true, not that she has any desire to partner with the puffed-up hedgehog.

“Don’t tell me you’re not! You can’t lie to me!” The seapony points her foreleg at Luna with far less deference than the Princess feels she ought. “My mom knows everything, ‘cause she’s the queen, and she’s told me all about you!”

“Really.” Luna steeples her forelegs under her chin, gleaning much from this new tidbit of information. Princess Skystar, the only child of Queen Novo and King Aponis. A lot of pieces fall into place, such as how imperiously the seapony speaks, and how valuable she would be to keep… contained. “And what wisdom, pray tell, hath thy dam imparted?”

“That you’re not to be trusted!” The assumed princess nods confidently. “That you’re gullible and naive, and that the Storm King is going to use you to get to us!” Her smile falters as she realizes that she is, in fact, insulting the creature who could easily capture her again. “And your, um, whole theme kinda matches his?”

Luna glances down at her dark blue coat, the way her night-sky mane and purple accents could be construed to mirror the teal and steel. Certainly her Nightmare form, which accentuates the blacks to a far greater degree, and incorporates more teal into the design. “Dost thou always judge others on their appearance?”

A snort accompanies the retort. “Hey, I don’t hear you denying it.”

Luna sighs. “Very well. We shall not impart to the Storm King, or those who would pass to him, any information regarding thine brethren.”

Teal eyes peer into Luna’s cyan. “And you speak for those with you?”

“Those with us?” Luna laughs as she hears herself speak. “Ah. Thou refers to our… my… archaic pattern of speech.”

“Yeah,” comes the glib reply. “You do, kinda, talk funny.”

Luna ignores the barb. “We… I... came alone.” She takes a deep breath. “And I would hate to sully our relationship before it even began. Perhaps we can begin again, on the correct hoof.” She releases her hold on the seapony while levitating the spear and shells to her, then offers her a low bow. “I am Princess Luna, Caretaker of the Night.”

“Oh, come on!” Princess Skystar squats down, huffing as she crosses her forelegs and pouts. “This is exactly what I’m talking about! You can’t just, like, forgive someone who attacked you so readily!”

“Would thou prefer we extract the information we seek directly from thy incapacitated mind?” Luna’s mane and tail billow, her wings flare, an intimidating sight that leaves the seapony shivering. “And leave thy corpse for the fish?”

“I-I thought you were supposed to guard against nightmares,” Skystar whimpers, hunkering down. “Not fuel them.”

“Fascinating. Thou has one thing right about us.” Luna sighs, this interaction again going the opposite of how she wishes. Her dread aura fades, and she beckons with a hoof. “What, then? Indulge us. How would’st thou have desired our initial encounter to proceed?”

“How?” Skystar sputters, apprehensively getting to her fins. She grabs the spear and expertly slices through the water, noticing how Luna’s eyes - and only her eyes - watch the tip swing back and forth. “It would have been nice, you know, if you at least thought I was a worthy opponent. Or something!” Her face scrunches up. “Instead, you treat me like a child!”

Luna sighs; she certainly knows that feeling, having just told off her own Sister for doing the same. “There is a certain charm to infamy. To be one whose blade we fear to cross.” She offers what she hopes is a reassuring smile, then realizes she still has a mask on. “We can see the allure of such an introduction. But not every battle is best won by leveling horns, or hurling shells.” She gets a far-off look in her eyes. “Take it from somepony who knows what it is like to be on the receiving end of such a clash.”

“Uh-huh.” The accompanying eye roll isn’t lost on Luna. “You know, listing ‘former villain’ next to ‘current villain’ isn’t really helping your case here.” While the princess seems unconvinced by the initial suggestion, she loses a bit of her frustration with an ambivalent shrug. “Um, I dunno. I guess I’d rather save your life. Or something? And then find out that you opposed the guy who wrecked our way of life, and we’d become friends! And go on a totally awesome adventure to stop him!”

Luna nods along. “T’is our main objective in coming here, to become friends. And we art… worried as to thy dam’s reaction when King Aponis returns.”

“My dad!?” Princess Skystar’s eyes light with cheer, then fury. “Urgh! My mom never tells me anything! I haven’t seen him in…” Her eyebrows narrow as she tries to remember. “Well, ever. I mean, I’ve seen pictures, when I sneak into mom’s room, but she always yells at me when I ask about him.” Her eyes suddenly go wide. “Y-you won’t tell her about my sneaking, will you? Please?”

“Thine indiscretions are thy own,” Luna reassures, much to the distraught seapony’s relief. “We see no need to inform her thusly.”

“Awesome! And, um, I’m not supposed to talk to strangers, so if you can keep quiet about that, too…” Skystar grins at Luna, who sighs and nods. “Oh, I totally forgot! I’m Princess Skystar. But you probably knew that! So we aren’t really strangers!” The seapony offers an apologetic smile of her own. “And, um, sorry about your armor.”

Luna looks down, spotting a light but long scrape down the center of her peytral. Thank Faust she didn’t clip my side; Celestia would never have let me hear the end of it if I was to be injured. “Ah. Perhaps I should fear thy prowess.”

“Yeah, totally!” She flashes another grin, Luna beginning to grow weary of the exuberance. “You wanna follow me back? I can introduce you! It’d probably go way better than, you know, you zapping a guard and getting captured.”

Not at all how the encounter would go. “Lead on,” Luna states, ignoring the voice telling her, ‘yes, that’s exactly how it would go’.

Next Chapter: Ch. 79 - Fluid Motion, Part Six Estimated time remaining: 19 Hours, 28 Minutes