Lana Swims North

by Lisa Ann Scott

  The class followed Marina and Lana out of the school. Spike swam alongside them.

  “Another creature with a horn? I can’t wait to meet a unipony,” Spike said.

  They swam to the dead zone, where the coral was ghostly white. That’s where the magical archway was that led to the river by the Enchanted Pony Academy. One by one, they swam through. Lana zoomed through a rush of bubbles and bobbed to the surface of the river.

  Lana saw a few ponies with sparkly hooves grazing near the riverbank. A pretty pink one looked up. “Marina! Hello!”

  “Hi, Daisy! I brought some friends,” Marina said.

  Daisy and the other ponies trotted closer to the river. “Merchildren, too! How exciting.”

  “This is my partner, Lana, and her classmates,” Marina said.

  Lana was so dazzled by the beautiful pony, she could only wave hello.

  Marina introduced Daisy to the rest of the merkids and seaponies. “And this is Spike!”

  “Nice to meet you,” Daisy said. “Are you a dolphin?”

  Spike laughed. “I’m not sure what I am.”

  “That’s why we’re here,” Marina explained. “We were hoping you might have books in your library about unique ocean animals.” Marina looked at Lana, like she was waiting for her to finish explaining.

  Lana cleared her throat. “Yes, because Principal Vanora thinks he’s a rare species.”

  “I can check!” Daisy said.

  “We also thought a unipony might know something about Spike,” Nixie said. “Since they both have horns.”

  “Great idea! While I go to the library, say hi to Electra. She’s one of the magical uniponies who live here. I’ll be back in a flash!” Daisy ran off.

  A pony with a rainbow mane and tail stepped closer to the river. She had a beautiful, glowing horn.

  Spike swam closer. “I’ve never seen another creature with a horn.”

  “I’ve never seen a horn as long as yours!” Electra said. “Maybe we’re related!”

  “I’m so excited to meet someone like me,” Spike said. “Even if you don’t live in the sea.”

  Electra bent down, and they touched horns. They both giggled.

  Lana was so happy to see Spike smiling.

  The other magical ponies chatted with the merchildren and seaponies while they waited for Daisy. They shared apples from the trees.

  “Look what I can do!” Cruise juggled three apples in the air.

  Cali grabbed a handful and juggled four.

  Prince Cruise tried to juggle five, but he dropped them all in the river. His seapony, Jetty, zoomed over to gobble them up. Everyone laughed.

  Spike stabbed one with his horn, then tossed his head, sending the apple flying. The seaponies chased after it.

  “We’ve got tons of apples. Take some home!” Electra told them.

  Everyone gathered some of the delicious fruit.

  “I bet Principal Vanora would like one,” Lana said quietly to Marina.

  “I’m sure she would!” Marina said.

  Daisy quickly returned. “The librarian knew exactly the right book!” The pony cleared her throat to cast a spell. “Open the book so we can look!” The book floated out of her saddlebag and opened in front of her.

  What wonderful magic! Lana thought.

  The pages in Daisy’s book turned until it opened to one with a picture of a creature just like Spike. “Listen to this!” she said. “A rare type of whale called the narwhal often has what looks like a horn protruding from its head.”

  “I’m a whale?” Spike whispered. “A narwhal?”

  “That’s what the book says!” Daisy said.

  “Can I see it?” Nixie asked.

  “Sure!” Daisy used her magic to float the book closer to the river.

  Lana frowned. She wanted to read about narwhals, too. But Nixie had asked first.

  Nixie turned to the next page. “The horn is actually a tusk, or a long tooth!”

  “That’s the biggest tooth I’ve ever seen!” Prince Dorado said.

  Spike proudly thrust his tusk in the air.

  “Narwhals live in pods in the Northern Seas,” Nixie went on.

  “You’re far from home,” Marina said.

  “Yeah. And I’m not a dolphin,” Spike said. “I’ve been living with them all my life! I can’t thank you all enough for your help.”

  The merchildren and seaponies said goodbye to the ponies and swam back through the magical portal. Lana loved how the tickly whoosh of bubbles felt as they swam through.

  They went back to school and told the principal everything.

  “A narwhal! How fascinating! And how lucky we are to have met you, Spike,” Principal Vanora said.

  “I’m the lucky one. I wouldn’t know who I am without all of you,” Spike said.

  “It’s a wonderful mission accomplished!” Principal Vanora said. “I’d say that earns you all early dismissal.”

  The class cheered.

  Lana took a deep breath, trying to find the courage to hand her apple to the principal.

  But the principal had another announcement. “Please be on the lookout for the lost trident and its gems we talked about last week. Since Nixie and her friends found the Sea Diamond recently, we believe the Trident of Protection, the big, pink Fathom Pearl, and the Night Star are out there, too. It would be wonderful to restore the trident’s protective power to the Eastern Seas,” the principal said. “We’ll see you next weekend. Safe travels back home to your kingdoms.”

  “Would you like an apple?” Waverly asked the principal.

  “How lovely! Thank you so much,” the principal said.

  Lana’s shoulders drooped. She should have spoken up sooner so she could have given the apple to the principal. Slowly, she swam out of the school.

  Spike and Marina followed.

  “My kingdom is north of here,” she told Spike, determined to be cheerful for his sake. “It’s on the way to the Northern Seas. Why don’t you swim with us? You can spend the night at my castle.”

  “That would be great. Thanks!” Spike said.

  They swam out of Astoria toward Lana’s home. Finally, she had a break from Rescue Crew School!

  The beautiful castle where Lana’s family lived soon appeared in the distance. It was built from chalky white clamshells and the deep blue shells of mussels. The water here in the north was colder than in Astoria.

  The king and queen’s seaponies were grazing in front of the castle. Lana waved to them, and they bobbed their heads at her.

  Lana rushed into the castle. “I’m home! And I brought a friend!”

  Her parents, King Keel and Queen Nerina, swam to the grand entrance. Her little sister, Tulia, followed.

  “Welcome home!” Tulia said. “I missed you, and Marina, too.”

  “And this is Spike,” Lana said. “He’s a narwhal! He needs to find his pod.”

  “Hello!” Spike bobbed his head.

  “Any rescue calls while I was gone?” Lana asked. Since all royal mermaids were on the Rescue Crew, her parents went out on calls, too. But they usually left the rescues to younger members like her cousins, Coral and Trent.

  “No, it’s been nice and quiet,” her mother said.

  “That’s good.” Lana didn’t want to think about rescues for a long time. It was going to be a relief to work with her tutor on Monday, when she could focus on easier topics like Mer History and Care of the Seas. She had no problem speaking up with her tutor.

  “Dinner is waiting in the dining room,” her father said. “Your favorite! Shrimp stew.”

  “Yum! And look what I brought!” Lana plucked a few apples out of Marina’s saddlebag. “They’re called apples. They’re from the surface!”

  “Wow!” Tulia said.

  They all went to the dining room, and Lana and Marina told them all about their trip to visit the ponies.

  “I hope I get to do that when I go to the rescue school,” Tulia said.

  “You’ve still
got a few years before you start training,” her mother reminded her.

  “It sounds like things are going very well at Rescue Crew School,” her father said.

  Lana’s smile disappeared.

  The king frowned. “Is there a problem with your studies?”

  Lana didn’t want to disappoint her parents. “Everything’s fine. There’s so much to learn. And everyone else is so smart and brave.”

  “Lana just needs to speak up so everyone else can see how great she is,” Marina said.

  Lana flinched. She didn’t want her family worrying.

  Queen Nerina stirred her stew. “She’s always been a quiet, dreamy merchild.”

  “Which aren’t great qualities for a Rescue Crew member,” Lana mumbled.

  “Well, you sort of rescued me,” Spike said. “I wouldn’t know who I am or where I come from without your help.”

  Lana looked down and blushed.

  “So what will you do now, Spike?” Lana’s father asked.

  “I’m heading to the Northern Seas to find the other narwhals.”

  “When are you leaving?” Tulia asked.

  “I’d like to go tomorrow morning. Now that I know I’m not the only one of my kind, I can’t wait to meet others like me. I’m so excited!” Spike said.

  “There’s a portal a few miles north of here. It will take you right to the Northern Seas. It works just like the one you took to see the ponies,” King Keel said.

  Lana dropped her spoon. “There is? I didn’t know that.”

  Her father nodded. “We’ve never used it, but it’s part of the Stillwater territory. The portal is an archway made of coral.”

  “Just like the one to the river,” Lana said.

  “Are there other portals, besides those two?” Marina asked.

  “There used to be one to the Western Seas,” Queen Nerina said. “But it was destroyed in the Great Storm.”

  “Can we swim with Spike to the portal tomorrow?” Lana asked. “I’ll have to miss classes with my tutor, but this will be educational.” And it would be a great way to keep her mind off her Rescue Crew School worries.

  “I want to go, too!” Tulia said.

  “Of course. I bet Spike would appreciate the company,” Queen Nerina said.

  “That would be great,” Spike said.

  “Come on, let’s go upstairs! Can we please be excused?” Lana asked.

  “Yes, you may,” her mother said.

  They raced upstairs. Lana had decorated a beautiful room right next to hers for Marina. It was a tradition for Rescue Crew members to share their homes with their magical seapony partners.

  Marina’s room wasn’t that big, though. Spike kept banging his tusk into things. “Maybe the other narwhals will have some advice on how to be less clumsy!” he joked.

  I wish someone had some advice for me, Lana thought sadly. She was jealous that Spike was going to have a brand-new start. She sure could use a new start at the Rescue Crew School.

  The next morning, Lana clipped on her Say Shell in case she needed to communicate with any animals who didn’t speak the Mer language. Then she, Marina, and Tulia headed off with Spike.

  “I wonder if your dolphin family has been looking for you,” Lana said.

  “Probably not. I left a message that I was leaving. They know it’s for the best,” Spike said.

  “Still, I’m sure they’d like to know you’re okay,” Marina said.

  “Let’s ask some of the animals of the kingdom to spread the word,” Lana offered.

  Tulia grabbed Lana’s hand as they swam toward the portal. Lana gasped. “Look, it’s a flotilla of sea turtles!”

  “A flotilla?” Spike asked.

  Lana nodded happily. “That’s what a group of them is called.”

  “See, you know your schoolwork,” Marina said.

  “That was such an interesting lesson. And it definitely makes sense why a group of sharks is called a shiver!” Lana shuddered. “I shiver just thinking about them. But I’m not afraid of these turtles.”

  Tulia hid behind Marina. “They’re so big!”

  “Turtles are kind,” Marina told her.

  Lana swam up to them, grateful she was wearing her Say Shell. “Excuse me, have you seen a pod of dolphins looking for a lost member? For a dolphin with a horn, like my friend here?”

  A turtle swam toward her. “My goodness, you’re a member of the Royal Mermaid Rescue Crew! Are you on a mission?”

  “No, I don’t even have my rescue cape with me. We’re just trying to get the word out that my friend Spike is going to meet up with the narwhals of the north,” Lana explained.

  “He thought he was a dolphin, but he’s a narwhal!” Tulia said.

  “We haven’t seen any dolphins, but if we do, we’ll let them know about Spike!” the turtle said.

  “Thanks so much!” Lana said.

  They swam on, giving the same message to a school of tuna and a great big humpback whale.

  “Hopefully, someone will find the dolphins,” Lana said.

  “Thanks,” Spike said. “You’re such a great friend. And a great Rescue Crew member.”

  Lana didn’t think that wasn’t true, but she smiled anyway.

  “Look, there’s the coral archway!” Marina said.

  “It’s the portal!” Tulia said.

  Spike paused.

  “Aren’t you going to go through?” Lana asked.

  “I’m scared,” Spike said. “Will you come with me?”

  Lana bit her lip.

  “Please?” he said. “You’re on the Rescue Crew. Isn’t this the sort of thing you do? Help sea creatures?”

  “That’s true,” Tulia said.

  Lana felt her chest tighten. She looked at Marina.

  “He’s got a point.” Marina laughed. “Sorry, that wasn’t a joke about your tusk.”

  Lana smiled. She was going to miss Spike. It would be nice to spend a little more time with him. “Okay, we’ll come.”

  “Me too!” Tulia said.

  “Sorry, kiddo. You’re too little. Go home and tell Mom and Dad I’ll be back in a few days.”

  Tulia crossed her arms and pouted. “I’m too scared to swim home all alone.”

  Tulia was too young to make the trip back herself. But Lana wanted Marina to come to the Arctic. It was too bad Tulia didn’t have a rescue seapony yet.

  But there was a seapony grazing nearby. Lana swam up to it. “Hello, what’s your name?”

  The seapony’s eyes widened. “I’m Mobi. Are you a princess?”

  “I am. And I’m a member of the Rescue Crew. I need your help.”

  “Of course. Anything!”

  “Please escort my sister, Princess Tulia, back to our castle,” Lana said.

  “This will be good practice for when you’re on the Rescue Crew,” Marina told Tulia.

  Tulia nodded and clapped her hands. “Let’s go, Mobi!”

  Lana watched them swim away.

  “Another great solution,” Marina said.

  Lana shrugged. “But it wasn’t a rescue. And the principal didn’t see me do it.”

  “Are we ready to travel to the Arctic?” Spike asked.

  “Let’s go!” Marina said.

  Lana, Marina, and Spike swam under the arch and zoomed through a tunnel of bubbles, just like they had on the way to the river. But here, the water was getting colder and colder. They started slowing down and emerged from another archway into icy, blue waves.

  The sandy ocean bottom was mostly barren. “There aren’t any plants,” Lana said, looking around. There were no bright corals like in Astoria and Stillwater and not very many fish. It was eerily quiet, except for the creaking and groaning of the ice around them. “I hope this is the right place.”

  They swam past a giant chunk of ice floating in the water. A school of fish flashed by, and a seal plunged into the water after them.

  “I wonder where the other narwhals could be.” Spike sounded worried.

  “We’l
l keep looking until we find them,” Lana said.

  They swam along the edge of the ice for a while but still didn’t see any other narwhals.

  “The water sure is getting murky.” Marina fluttered her fins and coughed.

  “There’s something up ahead,” Lana said quietly. “It’s moving.”

  “What is it?” Spike sounded scared.

  As they slowly swam closer, Lana saw a walrus digging in the sand.

  “Excuse me, I’m Princess Lana of the Royal Mermaid Rescue Crew. What are you looking for?”

  “Lunch.” He popped a clamshell into his mouth, swallowing it whole. “What are you looking for?”

  “We’re trying to find a pod of narwhals,” Lana said.

  The walrus gobbled another clam. “You’ll find them in the open water. Swim away from the edge of the ice. And don’t you touch these clams. I found them first.”

  “We won’t. And thank you,” Lana said.

  They swam into deeper waters. A jellyfish with tentacles ten times as long as Lana glided past them.

  “That’s the lion’s mane jellyfish!” Lana said.

  “You’ll be able to draw a great picture for your assignment,” Marina said.

  They kept swimming, and Lana wondered where the narwhals could be.

  “What if I can’t find them?” Spike stopped swimming. He looked so sad.

  “We can’t give up now! Come on, let’s keep going!” Lana said.

  They swam on under the thick ice until the ice got thinner and they saw a big opening overhead. They popped up above the surface and saw a large stretch of open water.

  Lana saw dark figures swimming in the distance. One with a long horn burst above the water. “Look! Narwhals!”

  Spike smiled. “So the ponies were right. I’m really not the only one.”

  “They could be your family,” Marina said.

  “Let’s go find out,” Lana said.

  They hurried over to the big group of narwhals breaching the surface. Chirps and whistles filled the water. As they got closer, a few of the creatures stared at them.

  Spike cleared his throat. “Um, hi. Hello. My name is Spike.”

  “Hi, I’m Krill,” said a small spotted narwhal. “How come we’ve never seen you before?”