Eat or Be Eaten (Transcript)

(Title card showing a blue whale swimming in the sea, with Nya and Caralisa being stuck in the belly of the whale, filled with fish chum and some debris of plastic, shown as an anatomy.)

**Caralisa**: *Eat or Be Eaten*

(Under the Endless Sea, a Crystal Coral Castle is shown where some fishes and a green turtle swimming by and a couple of Mermlings are also swim to the right.)

**Hydro Lloyd**: Thanks for inviting us to the Crystal Coral Castle for lunch, Miyu. It is our pleasure to try some dishes at the underwater realm.

**Miyu**: Of course, Lloyd. Many people in the surface world find those dishes taste awful, just like how Merlopians dislike it in the surface.

**Seapony Rarity**: Don't you mean all Merlopians?

**Larissa**: Well, not all Merlopians dislike land dishes like it would, since the Merlopian Quartet only crave for fluffy pancakes at the Boba Sweets Shack before hunting down on Dream Pearls and Kalmaar only craves for pizza.

**Seapony Pinkie Pie**: If the Merlopians didn't try the food at the surface, does that mean that they never tried their cupcakes at Sugarcube Cafè?

**Miyu**: Cupcakes? We have cupcakes served at Coontail Dessert Bar. Since Mermlings are unique species of Merlopians, we made some dishes that comes from the land and from the ocean. For today, I made two dishes that you will enjoy: Sparkling Stew and Kelp Pancakes!

**Dover**: Kelp Pancakes? My mom made these for our tea break.

**Hydro Kai**: Uh, what does the Sparkling Stew contain?

**Hydro Jay**: I'm very curious to find out.

**Miyu**: Don't worry, it's harmless. The Sparkling Stew is made from the edible Sea Sparkling Esscence, mixed with kombu for the broth. An additional kelp is used as a topping, along with prawns, scallops, salmon slices and sea cucumber. For the Kelp Pancakes, I modified the recipe with some usage of fresh kelp harvested from the garden. Would anyone like to try the pancakes and the stew made by me?

**Hydro Jake**: Oh, I want to try the Sparkling Stew!

**Seapony Rainbow Dash**: And the Kelp Pancakes!

**Miyu**: Sure can! (She serves the stew with rice and Kelp Pancakes to Jake and Rainbow Dash.) I hope they complement such dishes.

(Jake and Rainbow Dash tried the dishes made by Miyu and make positive remarks.)

**Hydro Jake**: Wow! The stew taste good! I want more of those!

**Seapony Rainbow Dash**: The pancakes are awesome! It looks delish, and I want seconds!

**Wade**: Oh, can I have the stew?

**Hydro Jay**: Man, I'm starving!

**Seapony Fluttershy**: I also want the pancakes!

**Ava**: Me too!

**Zale**: Yes, more space for my tum!

**Miyu**: Of course, you can have as much as you want!

(As Miyu served the Hydro Ninja, the Seapony Six, the Williams sisters, the nymphlings and Larissa the Sparkling Stew with rice and the Kelp Pancakes, they enjoy eating the dishes.)

**Hydro Damien**: Whoa! The stew tastes like Japanese Curry, but even better!

**Hydro Caralisa**: This is just like the curry that Nya made!

**Hydro Nya**: You really seems to like the curry I made, don't you? (Laughs.)

**Seapony Rarity**: The kelp pancakes looks delicious! I want seconds of it!

(An hour later, they all finished the Sparkling Stew and the Kelp Pancakes, with empty plates filled with a bit of leftovers.)

**Seapony Twilight Sparkle**: Wow! The pancakes and the stew looks delectable! How did you make it?

**Miyu**: Actually, I made it all by myself. At least, I'm just an amateur cook. (Laughs.)

**Tamaru**: This is the best lunch we ever had with our surface friends. What shall we do next?

**Ava**: We can go to the Coral Garden to see some bioluminescent jellyfishes and some glowing creatures! That will be fascinating!

**Hydro Kimberly**: Thanks for such suggestions, Ava, but we have an assignment that Ms. Eileen give us for our Biology project.

**Hydro Nelson**: We are given a task to research more on an ocean food chain.

**Dover**: Food chains, what was that?

**Hydro Zane**: Food chains are a series of organisms each dependent on the next as the source of food.

**Hydro Nya**: An ocean food chain is somewhat similar than what it was on land, except there are some producers that are microscopic.

**Hydro Zachary**: Most of our classmates are using internet to do some research, but thanks to the ninja and the ponies, we are able to study the food chain under the Endless Sea.

**Maylia**: I know you all guys wanted to study about the food chain, but which is the perfect place to get such information from?

**Larissa**: Actually, there is one place where most of the food chains have occurred. The Sparkle Reef is home to many creatures, great and small. It is perfect for exploring sparkle-like corals and some underwater species. It is in the north-eastern side of Merlopia, near the Merlopian Palace.

**Ava**: The Sparkle Reef? This is perfect!

**Molly Williams**: Ooh, I really want to see some of the rarest creatures I have ever seen.

**Miyu**: Yeah, my mom told me that the Sparkle Reef is a perfect spot where whales - the creatures controlled by the great ocean warrior Nyad with her special powers - and the Rainbow Tuna are undergoing their migration. The blue whales are the common type of whales that can see when they are migrating, and it is the largest animal in the realm, bigger than dragons!

**Hydro Damien**: Cool, I want to see the Rainbow Tuna migrating!

**Kitonaru**: Whoa! I want to see the whales too!

**Hydro Nya**: The blue whale are such gentle giants that were befriended by Nyad. Their enchanting calls allow Nyad to defeat Wojira while merging with the sea.

**Hydro Lloyd**: Well, I think we are about to leave right now.

**Seapony Twilight Sparkle**: The Sparkle Reef is the perfect place to learn more about the food chain! Come on everypony, let's move!

**Hydro Ninja, Seapony Six, the Williams sisters and the nymphlings**: Yeah! (They cheered happily.)

(The Hydro Ninja, the Seapony Six, the Williams sisters and the nymphlings are traveling on the *Hydro Bounty* to the Sparkle Reef.)

**Dover**: Wow! Look at the fishes! (He looks at the fishes at the window.)

**Maylia**: That was beautiful!

**Ava**: I can't wait to see the creatures at the Sparkle Reef!

**Wade**: Yeah, I'm so excited to see those!

(The nymphlings are jumping on the bed in boisterous manner, causing Jay to flung out of the bed.)

**Hydro Jay**: Easy, kids. Watch where you were going!

**Rarity**: Nya, how about you warn the nymphlings?

**Hydro Nya**: The nymphlings, I told you not to jump on the bed. The *Hydro Bounty* is not a playground! P.I.X.A.L. upgrade it into a Sub Bounty with effective technology. If you didn't behave, I will have to tell Miyu about this!!!

**Zale**: (Groans.) We are sorry about that. We were excited to visit the Sparkle Reef.

**Hydro Nya**: Well, I forgive you Zale.

**Hydro Cole**: And speaking of which, we have arrived!

**Hydro Ninja, Seapony Six, the Williams sisters and the nymphlings**: (They cheered happily as they arrived at the Sparkle Reef.)

(The Hydro Ninja, the Seapony Six, the Williams sisters and the nymphlings are swimming through the Sparkle Reef.)

**Dover**: Whoa! I can't believe we're at the Sparkle Reef, the coral reefs are very magnificent.

**Hydro Zachary**: Coral reefs give life support for aquatic creatures, as a natural habitat.

**Hydro Kimberly**: Hopefully, we are able to research more on the food chains. There are wonderful aquatic creatures you can look at! (She looks at the green scum.) Huh? The green algae growing on such corals? Gross!

**Ava**: Fluttershy, the invasive algae is going to block oxygen for the corals! Do something!

**Seapony Fluttershy**: Relax, the green scum are harmless.

**Ava**: Then, what is it?

**Seapony Twilight Sparkle**: They are phytoplankton, living creatures that can carry out photosynthesis from sunlight.

(Fluttershy shrinks herself to the size of phytoplankton.)

**Seapony Fluttershy**: Phytoplankton are producers, which many small creatures rely on that as food. (She saw another small creature eating phytoplankton, as she grows slightly bigger.) This is the zooplankton, it feeds on the phytoplankton as primary consumers. (She then saw some tetras consuming the zooplankton, and she grows back into normal size.) Some tetras feed on the zooplankton, which are called secondary consumers. Those were indirectly consumed from the phytoplankton, getting more energy from the producers.

**Ava**: Wow! The phytoplankton is the food source for the zooplankton, and then the small tetras. (She saw a bigger fish eating the tetras.) And this fish is so huge! What was that?

**Hydro Kimberly**: That's the Rainbow Tuna, and they are tertiary consumers because they feed on small fishes, like tetras.

(A crab eats a scallop after obtaining it.)

**Hydro Damien**: Wow, this is fascinating! The food chain brings an interconnection for some creatures to obtain their energy from one another.

**Seapony Applejack**: The Sparkle Reef is the best place to clear our minds.

**Hydro Lloyd**: And because the reef is clear and pristine, many creatures are running the ecosystem without disruption.

(Gleam saw some krill feeding on the phytoplankton.)

**Gleam**: (Giggles.) The krill, they are feeding on the phytoplankton as the food source.

**Seapony Rarity**: Those krill is enjoying the food, Gleam. The food chain is interconnected with such food source. In fact, they are also the food for the blue whales.

**Seapony Twilight Sparkle**: The whale is so big, with special plates inside its mouth acts as a filter to obtain the krill.

(A blue whale comes and opens its mouth to scoop up the krill.)

**Gleam**: (Gasps.) The whale loves eating krills in one gulp! The food chain that I explore was very interesting to look at! (However, she saw a blue whale opens its mouth.) Uh, this can't be happening! (She screams, as she got swallowed by the whale.) Ahh!

**Seapony Rarity**: (Gasp.)

**Seapony Fluttershy**: Oh, dear! Gleam got eaten by the whale!

**Hydro Kai**: Huh? Where did Gleam went?

**Hydro Lloyd**: That's odd. (He saw a glow inside the whale's belly.) I can see the stomach of the whale is glowing!

**Seapony Rarity**: (Gasps.) Gleam is alive in there!

**Seapony Twilight Sparkle**: I heard that many people and ponies could not survive inside the belly of the whale, that means Gleam is less likely to survive!

**Seapony Rarity**: We better warn Nya, fast! (She swims to Nya, along with Twilight, Kai, Lloyd and Fluttershy.) Nya!

**Hydro Nya**: Huh? What is it?

**Seapony Rarity**: Gleam is stuck inside the whale's belly, and we have to rescue her!

**Seapony Fluttershy**: There is less likely to survive inside the whale, like what Twilight would!

**Hydro Nya**: Gleam got swallowed by a blue whale?

(Jay, Damien, Caralisa, Nelson and Jake swim through.)

**Hydro Jay**: Nya, what happened?

**Hydro Nya**: It is an emergency. Gleam might have eaten by a blue whale by accident!

**Hydro Damien**: You mean, she was surrounded by the krill then the whale did not notice that she was a good source?

**Hydro Caralisa**: Yeah, without her, how would Nya and I able to undergo missions to stop Wojira?

**Hydro Nya**: Don't worry Cara, we have to save her. In order to do that, we must get ingested by the whale.

**Hydro Nelson**: Ingested? That's too risky.

**Hydro Caralisa**: But, we have to rescue her. It is our only chance.

**Seapony Applejack**: Well, good luck both of you. But here's a problem, how they will get into the whale's mouth?

**Hydro Zane**: Krill is the main source of food for the whales. I think Nya and Caralisa can summon the krill in order to get ingested.

**Hydro Nya**: Master Wu and my mom show me the ability to use fish telepathy when I was closer to the depths of the sea. The telepathy signal the fishes and other sea creatures, and help the Master of Water to solve the problem on their own. Nyad used this to signal the whales during the battle against Wojira.

**Hydro Caralisa**: Then, in that case, let's call them!

(Both Nya and Caralisa use fish telepathy to summon the krill, and they surround Nya and Caralisa.)

**Hydro Caralisa**: It worked!

**Hydro Nya**: The whale is coming towards us! We are about to get swallowed!

**Hydro Damien**: (Gasps.) Cara! Stay away from the whale!

**Hydro Caralisa**: Don't worry, I will be alright.

(The whale opens its mouth and swallowed Nya and Caralisa.)

**Hydro Nya and Caralisa**: (Screams.) Whoaaa!!

**Hydro Jay**: Nya!

**Hydro Damien**: Cara! Come back!

**Hydro Kai**: The whale actually ate them! Now they have to rescue Gleam.

**Hydro Nelson**: But, what if they can't make it?

**Hydro Lloyd**: Don't worry, Nya and Caralisa will be fine inside the whale.

(Inside the whale's mouth, Caralisa wakes up.)

**Hydro Nya**: Cara, are you okay?

**Hydro Caralisa**: Yeah, I'm fine. The mouth of the whale is so comfortable to land on. (Laughs.)

**Hydro Nya**: Gleam must be somewhere inside the belly of the whale. We need to walk gently, or else the whale might spit us out.

(Nya and Caralisa walk gently to the whale's throat.)

**Hydro Caralisa**: There it is! Whoa! The throat looks squeezy. This leads to the whale's stomach!

**Hydro Nya**: Come on, let's crawl through the throat.

(Nya and Caralisa squeezed through the throat and reached to the upper cavity of the whale's belly.)

**Hydro Caralisa**: (Gasp.) We finally made it! (She saw a glow, indicating that Gleam is down there.)

**Gleam**: (Off-screen.) Help! I'm down there!

**Hydro Caralisa**: We're coming down to rescue you, Gleam! We can slide down to the lower and the main part of the stomach, then we are able to find her.

**Hydro Nya**: Come on, let's go down even further. Ready, Cara?

**Hydro Caralisa**: You sure bet, Nya.

**Hydro Nya and Caralisa**: (Screams.) Wheeee!! (They slide down to the lower cavity of the whale's belly.)

**Hydro Caralisa**: (Laughs.) That was fun! Better than we are sliding down at the indoor playground!

**Hydro Nya**: The tube was very long to reach here. This is even more fun compared to Kai and I sliding down to the bottom of Hono Mizu in the Boiling Sea. As what I said, sometimes I don't know what you'd do without me.

**Hydro Caralisa**: (Saw a glow illuminated by Gleam.) There she is, Gleam is here!

**Hydro Nya and Caralisa**: Gleam!

**Gleam**: Nya! Caralisa!

(They all laughed as they reunite each other.)

**Hydro Nya**: Thank goodness, we managed to find you!

**Gleam**: Phew! I can't believe I survive inside the whale.

**Hydro Caralisa**: (Looks at the viewers.) We all did, even though we been eaten by a whale like in Pinocchio. Now we need to find a way out of… (Gasps, as she saw many waste of plastic surrounding Nya, Caralisa and Gleam.) Oh dear, the whale ate loads of plastic waste.

**Hydro Nya**: Eeugh! (She picks up a plastic bag.) Those plastic bags and all of such waste cause the whale to have a stomach ache! People are very irresponsible for not throwing the plastic properly, and ended up dumping into the ocean.

**Gleam**: But, since you came inside the belly of the gentle beast, perhaps we can clean up all the waste of plastic. We do not want the blue whale to die from plastic poisoning.

**Hydro Nya**: Gleam is right. We have our responsibility to save the blue whale from being poisoned.

**Hydro Caralisa**: So, let's get cleaning!

(Nya and Caralisa use their Water powers to clear away some debris of plastic, and Gleam uses a magic pouch to clear away the plastic waste from the whale.)

**Hydro Nya and Caralisa**: Ninja, go! (They do Spinjitzu to clear the remaining plastic waste. The whale's belly is free from the plastic waste.)

**Hydro Nya**: The belly of the whale is free from such awful waste. (She touches the stomach wall.) As such, the whale is all okay by now.

**Hydro Caralisa**: (Sighs.) All that cleaning makes me feel that I need some rest. (She lays down on the squishy floor, with Nya and Gleam doing the same.)

**Hydro Nya**: The belly is so squishy and comforting for us to take some rest. When Nyad becomes the ocean spirit after she merged with the Endless Sea, she went inside the blue whale and sleeps peacefully, in order to relax herself.

**Hydro Caralisa**: (Sighs.) You're right. Being inside the whale is so relaxing and calm, as it releases tension and stress.

**Hydro Nya**: Now we are resting inside the belly of the whale like Nyad used to be.

(Just then, Caralisa's phone rang.)

**Hydro Caralisa**: Oh, it's from Nelson. (She answers the call.) Hello?

**Hydro Nelson**: Caralisa! You're alive! Have you manage to find Gleam?

**Hydro Caralisa**: Yes, it was! And we managed to clean up the belly of the whale from the plastic waste lying around!

**Hydro Nelson**: Great! You and Nya have to get out of the whale right now! We were worried.

**Hydro Caralisa**: (Ends the call.) Come on, Nya. Let's get out of here!

**Hydro Nya**: Sure, Cara!

**Hydro Nya and Caralisa**: Water! (They summon their Water Lyres, and they start to play their enchanting melody.) Seabound Rhapsody!

(The melody of the lyres cause the whale to regurgitate Nya, Caralisa and Gleam.)

**Hydro Nya, Hydro Caralisa and Gleam**: (Screams.) Whoaa!!

**Hydro Nya**: We made it out of the whale! Whoo!

**Hydro Caralisa**: That was awesome!

(Jay, Damien, Kai, Lloyd and Rarity swim through Nya and Caralisa.)

**Hydro Jay**: Nya, you're alive!

**Hydro Kai**: Thank goodness, you're okay!

**Hydro Nya**: Yeah, I learn the lessons from Nyad that she survive inside the whale to relax herself while she is asleep.

**Hydro Caralisa**: And we finally managed to clear out such plastic waste! Whew!

**Seapony Pinkie Pie**: And since we manage to find all creatures being part of the food chain, the project is complete!

**Hydro Ninja, Seapony Six, the Williams sisters and the nymphlings**: (They cheered happily.)

**Seapony Applejack**: Come on, let's get back to the coral castle!

**Megan Williams**: I hope she will get impress with the project the Young Ninja are working on!

(Back at the Crystal Coral Castle, the Hydro Ninja, the Seapony Six, the Williams sisters and the nymphlings present their findings.)

**Miyu**: Welcome back! So, what have you learn about the food chain?

**Hydro Nelson**: We learned that food chains started from either phytoplankton or aquatic plants, which are consumers.

**Hydro Damien**: Then, some primary consumers eat the producers, notably the zooplankton and other small fishes.

**Hydro Kimberly**: The secondary consumers also ate the primary consumers, like the tetras.

**Hydro Caralisa**: Finally, tertiary consumers consume the secondary and the primary consumers. The whale is the top consumer, eating huge amounts of krill!

**Tamaru**: But, if plastic waste or any other toxic trash comes into the oceans, the food chain and the entire ecosystem is affected.

**Hydro Zachary**: That is why we have to bin it responsibly to prevent some consumers from eating it, or else they may die.

**Miyu**: Wow, you gain some knowledge on the food chain and the marine ecosystem.

**Hydro Lloyd**: Caralisa, how did you know about whales being top consumers?

**Hydro Caralisa**: You know, I was having a whale of good time.

(The Hydro Ninja, the Seapony Six, the Williams sisters, the nymphlings and Miyu all laughed together at the end, after a great adventure.)

### Friendship 101

(Somewhere in the Endless Sea, Nya, Caralisa and the nymphlings are observing the creatures, great and small.)

**Nya**: Oh, hi. In today's episode, my friends and I are exploring the food chain in the ocean.

**Caralisa**: We know that a food chain starts from a producer, then it was eaten by a primary consumers, then a secondary consumers, which follows until top consumers in order to survive.

**Dover**: Food chains are important because they show the intricate relationships in ecosystems. They can reveal how each organism depends on someone else for survival.

**Tamaru**: Aside from the producers and the consumers, decomposers also play their part in an ecosystem. They feed on dead matter from plants and animals. An example should be the zoosporic fungi.

**Caralisa**: However, food chains often get disrupted, when people threw litter into the ocean. Most of the litter we throw are plastics.

**Nya**: Globally, 100,000 marine mammals die every year as a result of plastic pollution. This not only includes whales, but other marine mammals like dolphins, porpoises, seals and sea lions. A plastic bag ballooned with water can look a lot like squid, or other prey, to the seals and marine mammals that hunt them.

**Caralisa**: In order to maintain the ecosystem and balance the food chain, we need to recycle our plastic so that it don't go into waste. Ask your friends to go for a beach cleanup every year to keep the oceans and beaches clean for everyone to live in.

**Nya**: Let's play our part to maintain the ecosystem and save innocent creatures from certain death. Until then, sayonara, minasan.

(End of the Episode. For more information, click here.)