Simply Signal SOS
Fanfic by Englishwitch

Chapter 1

Twilight gently trotted up the dirt road toward Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow Dash had gone all out today, the skies were clear the blue all the way to the horizon. The day was too good to waste, so even Twilight was compelled to leave the library to go for a walk. She was going to visit Applejack and see if the farm pony would like a lunch in the park.

Sweet Apple Acres was messier than usual. Piles of boxes and stacks of old junk were scatrterd around the yard in front of the barn, the huge double-doors of which were open wide. Just inside the barn was Granny Smith and Big McIntosh who were looking though a box together. Applejack was outside the barn, sitting next to a wooden chest with a book in her hooves. It was old, the cover was faded and the pages were dog-eared. It had been read so many times it was on the verge of falling apart.

Twilight approached. She wasn’t being quiet but Applejack didn’t seem to notice her presence. “Hi Applejack.”

“Hmmmm.” AJ hummed non-committally. Twilight stared, was she like that when she got into a book?

“AJ, your hat’s on fire.”

“Hmmm.” Applejack didn’t even blink.

Twilight wasn’t sure if she should be annoyed or amused. “Apple Bloom got her cutie mark.”

Applejack just turned the page of the book. “Uh huh.”

Twiligh frowned, how best to get Applejack out of her daze? “The mayor decided the official fruit of Ponyville should be pears.”

AJ’s shot up so fast her neck cracked. “WHAT? Why that, no good, grey haired ol-”

“APPLEJACK!” Twilight decided to interrupt her before her friend said something she’d regret. “I was joking. I had to get out out of your reading somehow and nothing else was working.”

Applejack still looked angry. “That ain’t somethin’ you should joke about Twi.” She shook her head.

Twilight decided to move the conversation on, hopefully AJ would forget her annoyance. “So what’s going on here?” she indicated the large and growing collection of boxes and other assorted items in the yard.

“We was just spring cleanin’ the hayloft.”

“It’s summer.” Twilight said.

AJ just shrugged. “Better late than never.”

Twilight had to agree with her there. She liked things neat and clean but sometimes her studies kept her distracted, meaning she wasn’t always prompt with her dusting. “What were you reading? It must be a good book.”

Applejack smiled and held up the book so Twilight could read the cover.

The Little Sea-pony

“It was my favourite story when I was a filly.” AJ explained. “I didn’t even know we still had it. But I was looking through the boxes while we were cleanin’ and just had to read it again.”

Twilight smiled, it was sweet. She had many books that were fillyhood favourites and she knew what Applejack menat. Sometimes Twi even got the urge to read them again and enjoy the memories. “The Little Sea-pony was one of my favourites when I was a filly too.

...***...

The tale of a sea-pony who fell in love with a young pegasus pony she saved from downing. He’d hurt his wings, crashing into the ocean and couldn’t swim or fly.

She longed to be with him so much she went to the immortal monster Lord Squirk who’s magical jewel, The Flashstone, had the power to do anything the user desired.
After pledging service to him in exchange for becoming a land pony Squirk used the Flashstone to transform her. Squirk, however, was known for his trickery. He didn’t make her into a pegasus but an earth pony.

Her love lived in The Cloud’s-Vale —an old name for Cloudsdale— and he never visited the ground except once a year to help bring water up to the sky so weather ponies could make rain. The sea-pony couldn’t return to the ocean and she couldn’t go to the sky. She had no choice but to live as an earth pony for a whole year before she saw her love again.

For a long year she lived and worked as an Earth pony. Her delicate hooves became hard, her soft coat became coarse, when summer came she grew too hot because of her long luscious hair so she cut it short. Her body changed as hard work, small meals and the passing seasons took their toll. She was tired all the time and hungry a lot but she endured every challenge, all for her love.

Then the day she’d been waiting for finally came; the Pegusi will come to the ground to draw up water to make more rain for the next year.
But on that day Squirk made contact and demanded the service of the sea-pony.
He ordered her to pour a magic potion into the water the Pegusi will use. The potion would make all rain clouds made from that water ten times more powerful. When the uncontrollable storms break, the land would be flooded and Squirk would become ruler of a new and expansive underwater empire.

The sea-pony didn’t want to do it but she was scared to refuse. Squirk would turn her back into a sea pony and lock her up forever as punishment for disobedience.

When she arrives at the lake, before she can put the potion in the water, she sees her love. Overjoyed she ran to meet him, only to discover he didn’t recognise her. After a long year working hard as an earth pony she is no longer recognisable as the beautiful, gentle, soft coated sea-pony he’d been saved by. Her heart is broken as she sees that in the time between their meeting and reunion, he has fallen in love with another, a pegasus mare.

In her anger the sea-pony destroyed the potion of Squirk, who’s treachery had brought her nothing but pain. In her despair she knows Squirk would punish her terribly for not doing as he ordered. To make sure that he wouldn’t force her to do something else much worse she sacrificed herself by leaping into the sea. No longer able to live under the water, she drowns.

But the Great Galaxia, mother of Celestia, saw the sacrifice the sea-pony had made, knew all she had done in the name of the love she had lost. Her blessing shone down upon the sea-pony and she was risen from the oceans, forever freed from Squirk’s power and was reborn as a pegasus with great wings that shone with all the colours of the rainbow.

Soaring into the sky and taking her place in her new home in the clouds the once sea-pony lived a long life among the pegasi. Eventually she met another stallion whom she fell in love with and they lived happily ever after.

...***...

Twilight smiled, “Do you know the old nursery rhyme?”

Applejack laughted lightly. “Sure do sugarcube.”

Together, they started to sing the old song,

“Call on the Sea Ponies when you're in distress
Helpful as can be ponies - simply signal SOS
If you find you're past the drift, and haven't got an oar
Count upon the Sea Ponies - they'll see you to shore”

Twilight was about to sing the second verse as Applejack jumped to her hooves and raced for the orchard. Twilight stared for a second, wondering what had startled her friend. Then she caught sight of them as they stepped out of the trees. The Cutie Mark Crusaders; Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. All three of the fillies were dripping wet, soaked to the bone. Scootaloo’s usual fring was lying flat against her face, Apple Bloom’s pink bow was heavy with water, lying flat against her dripping hair and Sweetie Belle’s legs were covered in mud from her hooves to her haunches.

“Apple Bloom, what happened?” AJ grabbed her sister tightly around the shoulders. Twilight had seen Applejack scared many times, this was the first time she had ever seen her completely terrified.
Apple Bloom shrugged off her sisters grip. “It’s nothin’.” she tried to assure the older mare.

“Nothin’, you look like you been tryin’ to fight with, Stephen Magnet, again.”

Apple Bloom shook her head vividly. Stephen Magnet was a river serpent —like a sea-serpent only he lived in a river, obviously— who lived in the Everfree forest. One time when the Crusaders had tried to earn Monster Hunter Cutie Marks they’d come across him and began a pitched battle, which lasted all of thirty seconds. Twenty five of those thirty seconds had been a combination of Stephen laughing at the cute little fillies and him trying to explain why he didn’t want to fight them. The final five seconds had consisted of Stephen thrashing his powerful tail to send a huge wave of water at the crusaders, knocking them off their hooves.
“We ain’t been near the Everfree forest.” Apple Bloom explained. “We was down by the river, tryin’ to get our fishin’ cutie marks.”

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo nodded along. “Then this huge catfish as big as big as Apple Bloom grabbed her line.” Scootaloo explained. “It was pulling her in, I grabbed, Apple Bloom to help and Sweetie Belle grabbed me.” She glanced at her two friends, taking note of how wet and filthy they were. “The fish was really strong, it pulled us in.”

Sweetie brushed some of her mane out of her eyes with a muddy hoof, leaving brown streaks on her forehead. “Me and Scootaloo swam to shore, but Applebloom didn’t want to let go of the fish. It pulled her all the way to the bottom of the pond.” She seemed unaware of the expression of pure horror that was on Applejack’s face.

Apple Bloom kicked at the ground with a hoof. “Well I didn’t wanna lose the fishing rod. But when I touched the bottom I let go and swam to the top again.” She, unlike Sweetie, could see how worked up Apple Jack was becoming. “I’m fine, Applejack, really.”

AJ grabbed her sister and pulled her into a tight hug. “I told y’all a hundred times to be careful around the water.” She said gently into the filly’s ear. “What if you’d got hurt, or worse?

Apple Bloom gave some half hearted attempts to get out of her sister’s hold. “I’m okay Applejack. Y’all know I’m a strong swimmer. Y’all made sure of that.”

AJ nodded but she didn’t show any sign of trying to let Apple Bloom go. “I know sugarcube. I know you’re a good swimmer. But I just worry so much when I learn you went near the water ‘cause of this very thing. You fell in and if you’d got hurt-”

Twilight interrupted Applejack by placing a hoof on her friends shoulder. “It’s okay Applejack.” she said gently. “Apple Bloom’s fine. She didn’t get hurt. Now, why don’t you let her go and dry herself before she catches a cold?”

Applejack managed a weak smile and her hold on her little sister loosened enough for Apple Bloom to squirm out of the hug. As the filly stepped away from Applejack, Twilight’s attention was caught by something shining in the light.
“What’s that?” She pointed at the shining object. Apple Bloom stopped and looked down at the necklace around her neck. It was a small white scallop shell with several coloured stone, tied to a thong. The shell only looked white at first, as Twilight examined it and the light caught its angles it shimmered with all the colours of the rainbow in a prismatic display of light dispersal. “Strange,” Twilight said. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. Where did you get this Apple Bloom?”

“Ah found it.” Apple Bloom said. “When the fish dragged me to the bottom of the river it was lying there in the mud. I thought it was a shiny shell and grabbed it before I swam back up. Then we found out it was a fancy necklace. Ain’t it pretty Applejack?”

Applejack said nothing. She hadn’t even heard Apple Bloom’s question. Her eyes were wide and fixed on the shining sea-shell necklace. She visibly started to tremble, grabbing the attention of Twilight, Apple Bloom and the other two Crusaders.

“AJ?” Apple Bloom sounded frightened. “What’s wrong?”

Applejack snapped out of her daze, blinked several times and stared at Apple Bloom and Twilight. “I....uh...I gotta go.” She turned and galloped off back towards the house.

Twilight and the group of fillies watched her run into the Apple household, slamming the door behind her. “What the hay?”

Author's Notes:

The story of The Little Sea-pony, has no baring on the rest of this fan fiction. I just decided to pop it in there, mostly as filler I guess.
When I decided to write Sea-ponies in a fanfic I looked up The Little Mermaid to see if there was any material I could incorporate into the story. Surprisingly little whether you go from the Disney version, or the gruesome Hans Christian Anderson version. But the idea wouldn't leave me alone so I took the HCA story and ponified it. For a time I thought it could make a good side story but it never really grew past the abridged version you read in the chapter. So, in the end, I just stuck what I had in there.