My birth was a complete and utter mistake.

Well, not my birth. That part was intentional. My parents were deeply in love and had wanted a foal for years. They'd tried and tried, each time in vain. Until I came along.

But no, it was the fact that the birth was mine that the mistakes started.

Had I been a Pegasus pony, like my mother, or an earth pony, like my father, it all would have been okay. But no. Fate decided to mess with me and gave me the body that I have.

I was born, like most foals, with the appearance of an earth pony. It would be determined whether I would stay that way or become a Pegasus or unicorn pony in about two hours, as I would have wing or horn stubs. At my birth I was perfectly normal. Just a minty, almost sea-green foal with a short, stubby, dark blue mane and tail. My parents thought that I looked like the sea, and named me Dolphin Blaze. The name is all that I have to thank them for. I admit that it is quite fitting.

But my parents started to notice that something was wrong with me after about the first hour. My mane was coming in fine, but my tail hadn't grown an inch. And my mane was separated into two parts-unlike that of many ponies. My parents thought that it was just a phase and went on watching me.

But, by two hours, you knew there was something up.

I still have that body today, except I'm much bigger now. One half of my mane was long and silky and fell over one of my orange-yellow eyes. The other half was still silky, but was far shorter and only touched the back of my neck. Between these mane-halves was a shimmery, webbed, ridgey growth that began between my eyes and went down to between my shoulders, giving me the appearance of a seahorse. My hooves were softer and less pointy than that of other ponies. I had lungs, all right, but I also had fleshy slits in the sides of my throat. But my tail-that was the worst. It was long, but it wasn't hair. It was a muscular, scaly extension of me, like the tail of a fish, and had a dolphin-like fin at the end. Besides these, I possessed nothing special, not horn or wings or even normality.

Have you figured out why my birth was a mistake yet?

My parents never let me into the public eye. I was never even sent to any kind of school, not even to gain my cutie mark. I was kept at home with my parents until I ran away as a filly. But even then, I was afraid of being seen, knowing that I was the only pony of my kind. I kept myself hidden in the Everfree Forest, knowing that nopony would enter even if they had to. I spent months in there, alone, foraging for food, sleeping in nests of pine needles. And then I found it.

At the far end of Ponyville was a beautiful ocean, shining in the sunlight, occasionally casting a rainbow-like glow. I was enthralled, and dove in quickly, holding my breath, never wanting to come up. But I had to! I was under for minutes on end, my lungs screaming. But I couldn't rise! Somepony could see me. Then my lungs gave out, and I realized it.

I was breathing.

Then I knew that I was no Pegasus. I was no unicorn. I wasn't even an earth pony.

My name is Dolphin Blaze.

I am the first mermaid pony.