Myths and Birthrights: The Archive

Myths and Birthrights

By Tundara

Part Two: Tremors in the East

Chapter Ten: Ask Not The Stars...

Night wrapped itself around the world, the stars taking up their nightly dances even as the creatures of the day far below crawled into their beds. Those stars that didn't join in the dance instead took up vigils, eyeless gazes turned towards the corners and places that interested them the most.

A few of the stars, a very small few, gathered their magic and followed the link down to Twilight Sparkle. The sleeping alicorn, her wing bandaged, tossed fitfully in her cot as small specks of light detached from her mane and shot off into the night. The few wayward stars felt guilty about hiding their newfound ability to manifest in the world below from their Mistress. They comforted themselves with the knowledge that Twilight did know about it, just not the extent of the stars abilities to visit the world below.

Three in particular, Ankaa, Phad and Antares, had shown the Mistress their ability to appear among ponies. Guilt and anger rankled among the three stars as they flitted out of Twilight's mane and shot out through Bellerophon's main cabin window. They, more keenly than any of their sisters, felt shamed and enraged over their failure to protect Twilight from the sea serpent.

For a moment Antares paused, turning to watch the three other ponies sleeping beside her mistress. The pink and blue ones she quickly turned away from and ignored. Instead, the star approached the fourth mare, the one containing part of the soul or essence of an alicorn. Antares could see she was dreaming, eyes flicking back and forth behind closed lids. Curious, the star drifted down lower, touching the unicorn's sleeping mind.

She backed away at once, shocked by the connections and the magic fueling them, that she had felt at the brief touch. It was so very familiar, yet wrong, like a song that was being played out of tune. No, that was wrong, Antares decided, it was more like all the instruments had been changed.

Ankaa and Phad calling her name drew Antares to the window. She made a note to mention her discovery to Twilight once the mistress had awoken from her healing slumber. For the moment, she had a sea serpent to hunt. Casting one last concerned look back, she raced off into the night, a small speck of light buzzing low over gentle lapping waves.

In her cot, Fleur rolled over clutching the thin blanket closer about her.

It was not a particularly important dream in the scheme of things. There were no great events, no dark conquests or battles, no encounters with terrible beings or warlords.

Murmuring to herself, Fleur began to wriggle and moan, a hoof occasionally kicking as if she was trying to run. The kicking slowed and the ambassador began to calm, the moaning turning back into contented sighs.

She remained like this, a couple legs dangling over the side of the swinging cot, a tight smile on her sleeping face, for a several minutes. Then, eyes bursting open, she darted upright, the motion causing the cot to swing violently and send her tumbling to the deck with a groan and clatter.

Almost immediately the cabin's door was thrust open, the head of a royal guard entering the room, his eyes darting to every corner and shadow in search of a threat to his princess until they settled on the moaning pile of sheets and pillows on the floor.

"Ma'am, you alright?" the guard asked, his voice and face a mask of practiced indifference.

"Oui, ca va bien," Fleur managed to respond as she dragged herself upright and towards the large desk overlooking the wide stern windows.

Scrolls and books on Zebrica and Griffonia covered much of its surface, with weights carefully placed so the papers wouldn't go flying with every motion of the ship. Sitting down as she rubbed sleep from her eyes, Fleur opened one of the desk's drawers and retrieved her dream journal. Flipping the book open, over three quarters of its pages full, she reached for a quill and inkwell.

Realizing the guard hadn't moved from the door yet, Fleur looked back up and frowned over her shoulder.

"You may go, Monsieur," She said, a faint note of exasperation pulling at her still groggy voice. "I'm quite alright."

"Yes, ma'am," came the expected response, the door starting to swing shut.

Just before the latch clicked, Fleur had a sudden realization, and called out, "If the galley is lit, I'd greatly appreciate a pot of tea."

"Of course, ma'am."

Click, the door went, and Fleur bent over her journal, her quill already dancing as it detailed the latest, and possibly last, dream.

Far away from the ship bobbing gently in the ocean, beyond the Crystalspine Mountain and deep in the ancient northern forest, the dark apparition known as Puff paused in its hunt. Turning to the south it lifted a hoof, searching for something that had vanished. Gone was a silver string of magic that had brought comfort to the entity. Throwing back its head, the apparition let out a piercing howl as if the Gates of Tartarus had been opened. The monsters and fiends that called the forest home all shrunk back from the sound, fearful of the creature that could make such a cry.

"Protect. Must protect the others," the smoke muttered as the howl ended, turning back to the north. Somewhere ahead was another like itself, somewhere ahead it would find one suitable for protecting those that couldn't protect themselves.

* * *

Bellerophon was filled with the rap-tap-tap of hammers and chisels as the ship's crew set about repairing the damage caused by the sea serpent. Long gouges from the serpents claws had been tended to along the port side, and the gaping hole mended with a speed and efficiency that surprised Twilight as she walked back and forth along the stern railing. The strong pungent smell of mariners paint wafted across the deck as brushes restored the yellow and black stripes along Bellerophon's sides. She marveled at how quickly the crew of Earth Ponies and Unicorns managed to repair the ship.

The Butcher's Bill, as the captain had so blithely called the casualty report, had been shockingly light as well. In addition to the one amputation there had been a few splinter wounds and broken bones, and a gun crew had suffered burns when their weapon overheated in the furious exchange, but otherwise everypony was fine. Not a single death among the ship, which had surprised Captain Hardy. He'd taken the report stoically, returning to his pacing along the quarterdeck even amidst the hustle of repairs, side stepping or turning around repair crews.

The crew had smiled and cackled as a whole, more than a few saying prayers to Twilight, Celestia, and Luna as they hurried about their duties. To fight a dreaded Sea Serpent and come off so handsomely was almost unheard of in the annuls of the ocean.

More amazing than the restoration of Bellerophon was Twilight's own recovery.

The crew had been beside itself with anxiety and concern when word spread of the princess' injury. Many took to smoking their tobacco around the skylight set above the princess' cabin. Several times the ship's Master or one of the officers had to chase the loitering crewmares back to work, only for they themselves to stop and try to peer through the tinted glass into the cabin below. Each time Doctor Crown entered or left the cabin he found himself surrounded by a gaggle of curious ponies. Not surrounded in the traditional sense, but rather all ears flicked in his direction and he felt the full weight of the attention of over a hundred ponies descend on his every movement and word, only once he was safely ensconced back in his cabin with his journals did he breath.

Twilight spent a day and a half nearly comatose tied down in her cot. Much to the astonishment of the Officer of the Watch, she stepped out of the cabin the next morning, stretched her fully healed wings and asked for a cup of tea. In a flash the steward was roused from his hammock and forcibly pushed by no less than a third of the mid-morning watch into the Captain's Galley. Under the stern eye of the gunner and her mates, he brewed a quick cup of chamomile with three drops of rich golden honey —long since discovered to be the princess' preferred blend— toasted some bread, applied an apple jam to the crisp brown slices and hurried out onto the deck with the princess' breakfast.

It was under these happy conditions that Bellerophon shook out her sails, caught a brisk northern breeze and set off once more towards the distant Zebrican shore.

Just before the Noon Bell was struck Pinkie and Rainbow emerged from the cabin, a cringing and almost distraught Fleur trailing in their wake. Her customary bounce once more in her step, Pinkie bounded up to Twilight, and almost over the stern railing as the ship lurched.

"Whee!" Pinkie giggled and snorted as she was caught in Twilight's magic and plonked down onto the deck.

"Pinkie, how many times do you need to be reminded to be more careful?" Twilight asked, but there was no bite or anger in her words.

"Silly Twi, the boats have been let out and are trailing the ship." Pinkie pointed over the stern railing to where, sure enough, the ship's boats trailed, attached by thick lines. "You can even see that stuffy doctor in one. Hiya Doctor Stuffy!" Pinkie waved a hoof to the larger jolly boat and her single occupant, the doctor more focused on the nets he had cast from the boat than the ponies on the ship.

Giving her friend a level glare, Twilight sighed, "That's not the point, Pinkie. "

"I know," her friend responded, a moment of clarity flashing behind her baby blue eyes before she was again bounding across the rolling deck, a sea shanty dancing from her tongue.

Twilight just snapped a hoof up to her face at Pinkie's antics. A part of her, a very large part, admitted she'd be more worried if Pinkie ever didn't act in a frivolous and care-free manner. Leaving Pinkie to her own devices, Twilight instead focused on Rainbow and Fleur.

Rainbow, while still looking a little on the queasy side, seemed to have gotten over the worst of her sea-sickness. Fleur looked to have her mind elsewhere, enough so that her paralyzing fear of the ocean wasn't causing her to latch onto the nearest object for dear life. The ambassador simply sat a polite distance from Twilight, her sight fixated on the horizon, a pensive frown pulling at the corners of her mouth.

"The two of you seem to be doing better," Twilight commented when the silence began to grow oppressive.

"Yeah, I think I'm finally getting the hang of this sailing thing," Rainbow grunted. "Sea sickness is so un-cool. Just remember your Pinkie Promise. Nopony in Ponyville is to know about this, ever." Rainbow tried to look threatening, but after being nearly eaten by a sea serpent, the glare she shot towards Twilight was more comical than dangerous.

For her friends benefit, Twilight again went through the motions of the Pinkie Promise, stopping just short of jabbing herself in the eye.

"I don't know why you're so worried about it. Ninety-five percent of Pegasi have terrible sea sickness. Almost half get train sickness as well. It's nothing to be ashamed of, Dash. Why do you think there are so few pegasi among the ship's crew?" Twilight shrugged as she let a bit of her lecture mode slip into her tone. "It probably has something to do with how your natural magic is being influenced by the magic of the oceans." Tapping a hoof to her chin, plans and ideas on possible methods to test the hypothesis began to flicker behind Twilight's eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. And the Kestrels are adapted to the oceans and islands, and that's why they avoid the mainland, blah-blah. I learned it all in Pegasi History class in school, Twi'," Rainbow smirked, the grin growing wider at the genuine surprise and then glee that shone from her friend's open face.

"So, you know about the first divergence in the pre-classical era, when Commander Desolation and Commander Harbour had—."

"Yeesh, I know about the history Twi. I just said that," Rainbow gave her eyes an exasperated roll.

"Well, yes, I just thought it'd be interesting to talk about it and see each other's point of view on things and if..." Twilight's voice trailed off as she began to sulk, her ears pressing downward and her mane drooping a bit as the stars glimmering among the strands faded ever so slightly.

"Your majesty, it is good to see you about," Captain Hardy said, his thick voice interrupting Rainbow before she could give Twilight the friendly ribbing she'd walked into. Like every pony else, he fixated on Twilight's wing, a light shake accompanied by the word 'remarkable' ending the brief inspection. "What an interesting voyage it has been, eh?"

"Yes, I wasn't expecting the ocean to be so... dangerous," Twilight admitted sheepishly. "I mean, I've read the stories. About ships that just vanish, or those that sail blindly over the edge. I just never thought I'd see pirates and a sea serpent."

"Sea Serpents are not so uncommon. They just normally demand a toll for sailing across their waters before sinking below the waves. I haven't heard of a sea serpent attacking a ship since I was a colt on my first voyage and still yearning for hearth and home." Hardy gave his hoof an angry tap on the deck.

"So... you're saying something made that thing attack us?" Rainbow tilted her head to the side, concern more than confusion pressing her brow together.

"Almost certainly. The way it attacked and went for the princess with a single minded focus, something was driving the beast, or controlling it."

Twilight couldn't help but give a light snort. As Hardy and Rainbow both gave her questioning looks, she said, "That serpent had to be at least a thousand years old, given its length. The spell needed to control or even manipulate it would be incredible. It's more likely that it was just in a bad mood." Twilight finished her short explanation with a short nod of satisfaction.

Hardy gave a level chuckle as he considered Twilight out of the corner of his eye.

"That is as may be, your majesty, but it doesn't explain why it followed you and ignored the ship until you managed to teleport back here." Pausing for a moment, Hardy then said, "Princess, I am concerned that you couldn't fend off the beast on your own."

Twilight felt her face instantly heat, a deep blush making her coat go an almost maroon colour. Rainbow and Twilight both sputtered for a moment, but were quickly intercepted by Hardy.

"You are a scholar of history as much as magic, I'm sure you know what happened at the Battle of Baltimare in the year Five Thirty Two?"

It took Twilight a few moments to recall the battle, naval history not being a particular strong point in her education. She knew that it had been fought off the coast of Equestria, and that it had been between the Solar Navy and the Kingdom of Unicornia, but that was the limit of her knowledge.

"I'm not surprised," Hardy chortled when he saw Twilight's blush deepen. "The War of the Sun and Moon isn't exactly commonly taught in this age. Princess Celestia tried her hardest to insure that when Princess Luna returned it would be with a clean slate. That the events of the war have been mostly lost is just an unfortunate side effect.

"The Kingdom of Unicornia had decided to throw their lot in with Nightmare Moon. Why, who can say. Princess Celestia, at the time, was pressed in tight in the north-east, Nightmare Moon controlling nearly two thirds of the nation. Unicornia planned to land their armies in the village of Baltimare, and in doing so open a second front. Celestia's forces would have been crushed, all modern historians agree. She got word of the attack, however, and with only a few sloops and a brigantine the princess went out to face almost a hundred Unicornian ships.

"The princess won the battle, not because she out manoeuvred her enemy, but because she out-powered them. The Battle of Baltimare is a prime example of why no nation has fought a war, and had any meaningful victory, against Equestria since Princess Celestia was crowned.

"Princess Twilight, you said you were a sixth level Abjurer and Enchanter, but what is your skill and knowledge with Evocations like?"

Twilight stuttered for a moment, then she gave a defeated grunt. Rainbow was trying hard not to come to her friends defense, the pegasus' face twitching as her hooves jittered on the deck.

"I made my qualifications," Twilight finally muttered. The argument rung weak and hollow in her own ears. "And I've learned a few basic spells since the Changeling Invasion, but..."

Hardy let an impassive look form on his face as he nodded understanding. Turning to return to his pacing, he said in parting, "It is something you should learn sooner rather than later, princess. You have a long life ahead of you. Who can say what enemies may come knocking on your door?"

Twilight had already come to a similar conclusion. Still, the idea of learning proper combat magic frightened her. Though not as much as facing something like the sea serpent again without any way to fight back, or protect those she loved. Part of her wanted to say 'No', and put her hoof down on learning such spells. That part was drowned out by the pragmatism formed from several adventures and nearly being eaten. Before she'd managed to resist the idea under the guise of her being just a simple country librarian. It was Future Twilight's problem, not hers. Well, now she was Future Twilight, and she cursed her younger self for being so naive and sheltered.

"He is right, the captain," Fleur said, finally showing signs of life. Twilight started a little, having forgotten about the unicorns presence. "I have had more than a few dreams now where," Fleur paused to wet her lips and wince at some memory, "where my 'guest' has used terrible magic."

"Yeah, but, we don't know where those ponies are, or if they are even real," Twilight tried to protest, though she wondered why she was even arguing. She agreed with Hardy and Fleur; she needed to learn combat magic.

Fleur just shrugged.

"This other soul inside of me came from somewhere, princess," she stated. "It'd be wise to consider what would happen if the other ponies in these dreams are real, and what would happen if they found Equestria." Fleur let out a little sigh, moving away from the railing to face Twilight. "We also have to consider that we are going into a hostile nation to retrieve an alicorn foal. They may not be willing to give her up without a fight. What will you do if that happens?"

Twilight was taken aback by the question. She hadn't considered the idea that there would be a problem retrieving the filly. A simple application of logic, that only other alicorns could properly raise and deal with an alicorn foal, and the griffons should be more than willing to let Twilight leave with the filly. After all, who'd want to have a potential bomb sitting in their city? If an alicorn foal had a magic surge... Twilight didn't like to contemplate the idea.

"Of course we'll get the foal," Rainbow snorted, answering for Twilight as the princess' mind raced. "And if they say 'no', well, I know a few tricks to make them see things our way."

Rainbow puffed out her chest, customary cocky grin on her face.

Again, Fleur just shrugged.

"I only mention it so you can think it over, princess."

Something was wrong with Fleur, Twilight realised as she recovered from the turn of the conversation. She wasn't acting normal, though Twilight would admit she had little idea of Fleur's normal. But she had come to expect the Prench Ambassador to be calm and collected, but not detached and almost disinterested.

"Fleur, is something going on? Did something happen with the, you know?"

Fleur jumped a little, guilt and worry warring on her face.

"Oui," she eventually said. "She visited me last night."

"She can do that?" Rainbow asked, scratching the side of her head.

"I guess so," Twilight said, a spark of curiosity making the princess almost dance on the spot. "So what happened? What did you talk about? What could you sense? Oh, this is so fascinating! Wait, I had a checklist of questions in case something like this happened!"

Twilight's horn flashed, a long roll of parchment blinking into being beside her.

"Yeah, before you get too egg-heady on us, Twi, why don't you let her just tell us what happened?"

"Oh, fine," a slight huff escaped the princess, the scroll vanishing in a puff of magic.

Fleur returned to staring out across the sparkling ocean. "There is little to tell," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the creaking of Bellerophon's rigging and hull as she slid through the water. "Except that she came to tell me that she is passing on."

"You mean, she's going to the Fields?" Twilight kept her voice low and soft as the implications struck her. She wasn't sure if she should have been sad or not. On one hoof, whoever it was that had invaded Fleur was leaving the ambassador. On the other, it meant that whoever it was that had possessed Fleur was truly dead. Logically, Twilight knew that the other soul had always been dead, and this was a good thing, but she couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity. Stepping over, Twilight wrapped a hoof around Fleur's withers.

"Who can say? Would you go to the Elysium Fields if you were to die, Princess?" Fleur raised a brow, while slumping a little beneath the hug.

"I... I don't know. Luna said that we can't die. But that makes no sense, because I had a sister who did die, or something. Everypony is being frustratingly glib on the subject." Twilight ground her teeth together a little as her mind flickered back to the conversations she'd tried to have with Iridia, Celestia, and Luna on the subject. It always ended the same; deflection and a promise of 'later'. Twilight couldn't help but feel like it was her really being an alicorn and no pony telling her all over again. "But, I suppose, yeah, we'd go to the Fields."

Fleur nodded slowly, her features lifting a little out of the glum pit they'd been in all morning.

"I hope that is where she went," Fleur rubbed her hooves together.

"Is there anything else she said?" Twilight asked, trying to comfort and satisfy her curiosity while also not pry. She found it a tricky balance to achieve.

Fleur hesitated for a second, then she nodded.

"Oui. It is all in my journal, princess."

Twilight barely resisted the urge to clap her hooves in joy. Fleur's journal, while a bit subjective in its observations in places, was rather thorough. She couldn't wait to get her hooves on the book and feel its crisp pages beneath her magic. Rainbow, recognizing the look in Twilight's eyes, shook her head while muttering the words 'eggheads' under her breath.

Just as she was about to head to the cabin to read the journal, Twilight gave out a sharp hiss, a hoof flying up to her horn. Far off to the south she felt a loud note of distress. High above in the bright blue sky a pair of stars burst awake.

Mistress, did you feel that? Polaris shouted, her panicked voice making Twilight wince.

"Yes, I heard them!" Twilight shouted, Rainbow and Fleur sharing a look of profound confusion at the sudden change in the princess' demeanour. "It was Ankaa, Phad, and Antares, right? What are they doing awake, and down here?" Twilight demanded as she hurried over to the starboard railing.

Somewhere beyond the horizon she could hear the three stars shouting to each other in sudden panic. What they were saying Twilight couldn't tell, only that all three were suddenly very afraid. Closing her eyes, Twilight detached her Awareness from herself, flinging it towards where the three stars were. After only a few moments Twilight found herself panting in exhaustion, sweat flowing down her face and neck. The sun was too high and bright, her magic, antithesis to that of the stars, creating a sweltering blanket across the world. It was like Twilight was trying to fly through a sauna, one filled with smoke that obscured her sight. Growling in frustration, Twilight abandoned trying to send her mind to the three endangered stars.

"Captain!" Twilight shouted, her voice only a few decibels below the threshold of the Royal Canterlot Voice. "Turn us south, NOW!"

To his credit, Hardy quickly snapped out the orders without asking why they were turning, Bellerophon jumping forward as she turned to run with the wind. As the ship began her turn, he strode across the deck, his face an indifferent mask.

"Princess, for what reason are we heading south? There is nothing there but many thousands of miles of open sea until you reach the glacial Antarctic."

Trying her best to contain her anxiety, heart hammering in her chest loud enough that Twilight was sure the entire ship could hear its erratic beats, she responded, saying, "Three of my stars have gotten themselves into trouble."

The answer was frustratingly cryptic even in her own ears. It came as a bit of a surprise when Hardy just nodded, gave a crisp salute, and then turned to the pony at his side instead of asking for clarification.

"Miss Flintlock, I want Royals and Skysails set!" The captain barked to the second lieutenant as the drum was beat to rouse the crew up the masts and into the shrouds.

Sails began flashing out in rapid succession creating a white pyramid atop the gently rolling sea.

"Something has the Princess in a right pinch, mate," one of the crewmares said to pony beside her as they hauled the lines to raise the sails. "Tartarus itself must have opened up, the way she is cracking on."

"Oh, this is nothing!" the other pony laughed as she stamped her hoof before giving the rope a mighty tug. "You should see her when something is really bad. She gets a twitchy-twitcher-twitch in the right eye and her mane starts to go all frazzled."

Looking over her shoulder, the crewmare almost jumped out of her skin when she saw it wasn't her usual crewmate beside her, but Pinkie Pie. The line wrapped around one hoof, Pinkie was considering her friend while Twilight continued to stare over the railing, a look of profound determination on the princess' face. As Pinkie watched three strands of Twilight's mane sprung loose and she saw a distinct mini-twitch. Not a full on twitchy-twitcher-twitch, but enough to concern Pinkie.

"Come on, lasses, heave-ho!" shouted the ship's Master, forcing Pinkie to pay attention to hauling the line and not tripping up any of the crewmares.

Glancing up at the angry sun, Twilight chewed on her lower lip.

After the initial burst of fear and activity, the three stars had grown quiet. Closing her eyes Twilight could feel the connections to the stars, but they were weak and fluttery. Cursing herself for not making sure that all the stars had been in the sky when she'd put them to sleep, Twilight began to pace, a nervous energy stabbing through her legs.

The ship was moving too slowly, Twilight realised. It would be hours, maybe even days, before Bellerophon could reach the distant stars. She wanted to scream in frustration as worry bubbled higher and higher, her eye taking on a constant tick as more hairs came loose from her mane.

"Twi, you need to calm down," Rainbow said, trying to put a hoof on her friends withers.

"No! I can't, Dash!" Twilight snarled, rounding on the pegasus. "I should have made sure that all the stars were alright! I knew that more than a few were sneaking down in order to explore or visit the ponies they'd spent years watching. They thought they were being crafty, but I could feel each one as she manifested. Except Sirius. I still haven't figured out how she's managing to avoid me."

Twilight began grinding her teeth, glaring at the horizon as it seemed to stay the same, passive, unmoving and unchanging. She knew it was just an optical illusion. She could feel Bellerophon trembling as it surged across the ocean, making over twelve knots at the heaving of the log. It wasn't near enough Twilight knew as she made a few simple calculations. She could feel the stars were almost three hundred knots to the south. At their present speed it would take them just over a full day to reach the stars' location.

It was wholly unacceptable.

But what choice did she have?

Unless she teleported there was...

Twilight froze as the idea blasted into her anxiety addled mind. Three hundred miles, that would only be several seconds within the Aether. That was doable. Now, she just needed a visualization of the destination.

"Polaris, can you see where the others are?" Twilight asked, casting a glance up at the star flickering in the baby blue sky.

I can, came the stars hesitant response. It is an island in the mid-Marelantic. It is hard to make out, something is trying to block my sight.

"If it is Sol, I am going to have to have a chat with Celestia when I get home," Twilight growled, the tone of her voice making even Rainbow back up and flatten her ears in shock.

Eyes closed, Twilight waited what felt like an eternity for Polaris to touch her thoughts and share the image of a small crescent shaped island sitting amidst the dark blue ocean. The bay was wide and a bright turquoise while a thick canopy of green covered most of the island except a tall peak in the middle. Smoke billowed out of the mountain, showing it to be an active volcano. Feeling the image was clear enough, Twilight turned to Hardy.

"Captain, you may want to order everypony to brace themselves," was all Twilight said before she started to channel her magic.

Hardy opened his mouth belatedly to ask what Twilight was up to before turning and ordering the crew to brace.

Sparks began to spit and snarl from the tip of Twilight's horn as she called on more and more of her immense magic reserves. She pulled up her entire well, leaving barely a scrap behind to avoid magical exhaustion. No pony had ever even attempted what she was trying as a thin pink light began to encompass the ship. Theoretically it was no different than what she'd done while fighting the serpent, except for the mass being vastly greater.

Mass was the biggest limiter when it came to teleportation, even more so than distance and needing to know where one was teleporting. Teleportation wasn't uncommon because of the later two draw-backs, it was the power required to overcome the exponential increase in needed magic that keep the spell from being used by the vast majority of unicorns. Twilight was only aware of a dozen unicorns capable of the spell to begin with, and of them only three could teleport a second pony when using the spell.

Teleporting a weight that was measured in the hundreds to thousands of tons would have gotten Twilight looks like she was utterly mad if she'd mentioned the idea to any of her old professors at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Twilight had no idea Bellerophon's actual weight, only that she had to get the ship to that island.

Fleur caught on to what Twilight was planning, a look of panic filling her face in the last moments as the light generated by Twilight's horn encompassed the ship. With a grunt, Twilight finished the spell as the ambassador shouted for her to stop. A deafening crack resounded through the air, the ocean where the ship had stood trembling as a shock-wave forced the waves back.

Everypony felt the bone numbing chill of being submerged within the flow of Aether crash down on their bodies. Those below decks that hadn't been prepared for the sudden change fared the worst, many stumbling about in the absolute blackness, unable to see even the tips of their noses. Some clawed at the decks, desperately trying to breath, but no air existed to fill their lungs. Panic and terror gripped the ship as the seconds ticked by.

Twilight heard a chorus of five hundred voices shouting prayers in her name, most asking for forgiveness or her mercy. She cringed knowing that it was wrong to put so many through such terror, but comforted herself that it was only for a few seconds and then it would be over.

With a second almighty boom, Bellerophon emerged from the aether, the sea thrust back by the ship's appearance. Ponies sat stunned around the ship, many checking themselves over to make sure they were all there.

"Wowie! That was chilly," Pinkie exclaimed, leaping up from the middle of a crowd of ponies.

Panting heavily, Twilight gave Pinkie a thin smile. Beads of frozen sweat clung to her body, clumping her mane about her face. To her surprise, and relief, Twilight found the spell had only drained roughly half her well. The exertion still left her body feeling like it had been run over by a stampede, every movement sending fresh aches jolting throughout her. Ignoring the grumbles, Twilight pulled herself to the railing, spotting the island only a few miles to the south.

A smile had barely time to grow before Twilight's senses fully re-oriented themselves and she found herself sitting down with a heavy thud, her mouth falling open.

"Ugh, Twi', don't ever do that again, no matter how cool it might be," Rainbow groaned as she gathered her hooves beneath her, Fleur and Captain Hardy echoing the sentiment. Knocking feeling back into her hooves, Rainbow noticed Twilight's shocked expression, and asked, "Hey Twilight? Rainbow to Twilight? What gives?"

Working her mouth slowly, afraid her voice would crack, Twilight pointed to the island. The island where she could feel her three missing stars.

"There is an alicorn on that island, one I've never felt before," Twilight said, turning to Rainbow as the colour drained from her face, "And I think he or she has my stars."