The War of Ferus Island

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1: Premonition
Chapter 2: Somber Feast
Chapter 3: First Divisions
Chatper 4: Scouting Ferus
Chapter 5: Early Deception
Chapter 6: Dogs and Dreams
Chapter 7: Theft and Capture
Chapter 8: Enter Griffons

Prologue

Few ponies knew the meaning of war. They knew the definition of the word, and they knew the theory behind the concept, but not one living Equestrian truly knew the complete, disturbing meaning of the thing. To be sure, some ponies had seen combat, but never in the gritty sense that the sickness of war brings about.

This tale begins not with war, but with sickness of another breed. Ponies throughout the land began falling ill. Their eyes became blood-shot, their fur began molting off, and their lungs began failing, all with no visible cause. Their energy dissipated, and they took to their beds. Some of the ponies with whom they were close came down with the sickness as well. Thus the plague spread.

* * * * * * *

It was Nightmare Night, and all the ponies in Ponyville were out on the town enjoying themselves with the festivities. Pinkie Pie was dressed as a cat this year with short ears, whiskers, and a fluffy tail-extension. This was one of her favorite holidays. When she thought about it, she couldn't pick a favorite. They were all so much fun! The dancing, the music, and most importantly, the parties! She forced herself to stop letting her mind wander, as she couldn't afford to waste another minute of candy-collecting time.

Prowling up to the door of the Library, Pinkie knocked and waited in anticipation. Spike opened the door and Pinkie pounced. Spike yelled in alarm as they both rolled end-over-end into the main room of the library, colliding with a stack of books.

“Did I surprise you?” Pinkie asked as she got up.

“Yeah, a little,” Spike responded. He rose and dusted himself off and fixed his pony costume.

“Love your costume Spike!”

“Thanks! Rarity made it!” He smiled.

Pinkie noticed Twilight lying on the floor in front of a book, concentrating. “Twilight, where’s your costume?” Pinkie asked, noticing the mare was naked.

Twilight glanced up. “Oh. Hi, Pinkie. When did you arrive?” she asked as she went back to her studying.

“You didn't answer my question, Twilight!” Pinkie walked over to her. “This is the most fun night of the year and you’re sitting inside studying! What gives?”

“What? Oh, there are more important things afoot, Pinkie. An illness is popping up all over Equestria. That’s why I’m going over Perplexing Pony Plagues.”

“Oh. That’s too bad. I hope nopony gets too sick. It would be a shame to have to stay in bed on Nightmare Night!” She looked over Twilight's shoulder at the book. It showed miserable symptoms of several different illnesses. Pinkie grimaced. “Does anypony in town have it? Maybe I could go cheer them up!”

“There are no reports of it in Ponyville yet, Pinkie,” Twilight told her. Pinkie frowned. “They need their rest, anyway. And it may be contagious.”

Pinkie nodded slowly. She looked down at her bag of candy and remembered her mission. “Well, I hope you come up with something to help them, Twilight. If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

“Nothing yet, Pinkie.”

“Okie dokie,” she said slowly. She left and trotted down the street, heading for the Town Square, where the main festivities would be held.

* * * * * * *

Returning to the Palace after a long night of frightening children, Princess Luna trotted through the back-streets of Canterlot and sighed. She would have flown, if not for all the restless colts and fillies carefully watching the skies for her. She did not like Nightmare Night. It was a glorification of the evil she had once let control her.

Perhaps “glorification” was not the proper word. She decided “reminder” was a better fit. At any rate, it made her regret ever having let greed get the better of her. Luna had enough of a reminder any time she looked in her sister’s eyes. Celestia was truly a wonderful sister, and Luna loved her very much. The mere fact that she had ever denied her the right to raise the sun brought about feelings of remorse and loss. The loss of a thousand years of a sister’s love was something nopony should have to live through. Yet Luna had brought it upon herself. She accepted that, as much as it pained her.

The small gate in the back of the palace led to the garden. The gardens were truly beautiful, and made Luna appreciate her sister’s ability with plants, but they looked better to her at night. Her moon’s light shining off the leaves gave a lovely blue-green glow to the whole place. Luna frowned, reminding herself that her moon’s light was merely a reflection of her sister’s own glory. The moon was a beautiful thing, but it would be a dark, useless mass without the life-giving light of the sun. Luna smiled briefly, knowing that Celestia well deserved the place of honor she held.

Some children screamed in the distance. Luna was out of sight, but there were always ponies trying to rile the youngsters up for a laugh. This sobered Luna further. The screams were only caused by the nervousness that everypony felt due to her actions in the past. She wished she could wipe the tales from the face of history, but there they were, always in the back of her mind—in the back of everypony’s mind.

Luna had elected to remain in Canterlot tonight rather than returning to the moon, as she truly was tired, both physically and emotionally. There was also the matter of the Feast in the morning. That would likely cheer her up a bit. It certainly had last year.

Luna opened the door that led from the garden into the palace proper and began climbing the back stairs. Upon entering her room, she found Celestia sitting on the floor. Celestia opened her eyes and looked up, smiling. Luna smiled back.

“How were the festivities?” Celestia asked with a smile.

“Lovely,” Luna replied with as much false sincerity as she could muster.

Celestia frowned. “What is the matter, Sister?”

“Nothing, Sister. Nothing at all.”

Celestia watched carefully as Luna trotted slowly to her bed. “You seem… depressed.”

“No, Sister. I am merely tired.” That was half true.

Celestia furrowed her brow. “As you say, Sister. You had best get some sleep before the feast. You have little time to rest.”

Luna nodded. “Wake me up when you need the moon lowered,” she said, yawning.

Celestia nodded, still looking distressed. “I shall, Sister. Goodnight.” She turned and trotted out of the room, closing the door magically behind her. Luna yawned again and climbed into bed, putting out the light with magic. She closed her eyes and fell quickly asleep.

* * * * * * *

Celestia walked down the hall, wondering what was troubling Luna. She had seemed quite content at the end of last year’s Nightmare Night. What was different about this year? Perhaps she would feel better in the morning.

A guard pony trotted up to her and saluted. “Yes?” Celestia asked.

“Shall we begin preparing the Grand Hall for the feast, Your Highness?”

“Go right ahead,” she said, smiling. Now was no time to be thinking of the past. She had larger matters to focus on, with the reports of illness. “I’ll be in my chambers until an hour before dawn,” she said.

* * * * * * *

East of Equestria, a small island in the sea had been ignored for a thousand years. Blue Stars had wanted to know why. There were many tales of the island, of course. Stories of terrifying creatures, spouts of fire coming from mountains, and violent, unnatural storms gave the place the name Ferus Island. So far, none of the promised adventures had come to fruition. Blue Stars had been on the island for several days, and he was alarmed at the pure blandness of it all. There were large creatures, but they were dormant and boring. There was a large mountain, but it was disappointingly absent of spouts of fire. All his time spent preparing weather-protection spells had been wasted on mild rain showers.

Blue Stars trotted through a meadow indistinguishable from the others he had seen. Why couldn't he find some place interesting at least once? He had spent four years traveling around the globe, and hadn't found anything anypony would want to hear about.. He kicked his hoof at a small piece of a rock poking through the ground. The rock came loose and lay in front of him, glowing faintly.

Blue furrowed his brow. He had never seen a rock that glowed before. He picked the thing up with his hoof. His horn twitched, but he ignored it. The glow the stone put off was… enticing. It seemed to throb with power in a way he had never seen…

He decided to make a log of it. Using magic, he opened his bag to take out his notebook, but stopped with it halfway out. Something was… wrong. His horn felt stronger than it usually did. He knew that was impossible. All unicorns are born with a certain amount of potential. While magical strength could be increased with exercise, to an extent, it never just suddenly jumped up. He almost decided to ignore it before resolving to test it. He used his horn to pick up a nearby fallen branch and threw it forward as hard as he could manage. It vanished in the distance. But the extra strength seemed to vanish with it.

The boredom must be getting to me, he thought, rubbing his eyes. He went back to his notebook. After getting the pen out, he looked back to the stone. The glow had vanished. How long had it been gone? Grabbing the stone with his horn to bring it closer to his face, he gasped as he felt the magic gripping it being… destroyed as it tried to touch the thing. He was too astonished to stop the flow of magic, and as he stood there with his mouth open, he saw the glow slowly returning to the stone.

Alarmed, he cut off the flow and dropped the stone. He picked it up with his hoof and set it in his bag, turned, and started galloping to the summit of the mountain. From there, he would be able to see the coast of Equestria on the Horizon. Being able to see the destination always aided in teleportation. It was still hard, and it took time, but it was the only way he had to get to this island without a boat, and he had to report this to somepony. Even with a boat, there was always the danger of sea monsters. Teleporting from the shore to the summit earlier in the week had taken nearly three hours, but it had been safe.

The trip to the top of the mountain took several hours, even at full speed, and upon reaching it Blue was exhausted. After a brief rest, he carefully took the stone out of his bag. It was glowing only about half as brightly as it had been when he had found it. Taking a deep breath, he tried to grab it with a flow of magic. He felt the flow being sucked into the thing again, and the glow began brightening. It went past the original brightness after only a minute more, and kept brightening. Blue knew he should be careful with the thing, but was so enticed by the entire concept of magic storage, or whatever was occurring, that he kept up the flow.

After about four minutes it stopped taking in the flow of magic. In fact, it was almost pushing back. Abruptly Blue stopped, not wanting to damage the thing. Can it be damaged? Holding the stone firmly in his hoof, he focused on the shoreline just barely visible across leagues of ocean. Flowing magic slowly around himself in the certain pattern required for teleportation, Blue sent a feeler flow to the spot on the shore. Taking another deep breath, he forced himself through the linking flows, in the standard method for teleportation, putting more magic behind it than he had ever thought possible. The landscape blinked and his eyes went wide again.

He was standing on the shore, facing the forest. It had felt like teleporting only a few feet, yet he was here. Looking behind him, he could scarcely make out the tip of the mountain poking out beyond the waves. He looked at the crystal. It was still faintly glowing. He stuffed the thing in his bag and started galloping east, toward Baltimare, where he would be able to take a train to Canterlot. The Princess must be told.

Chapter 1: Premonition

Chapter 1

Premonition

"Spike, did you pack my copy of A Brief History of Illness? Twilight asked as she sorted through the tomes lying about her room in the Canterlot Palace. The Feast of Luna would be that night. Twilight had missed the Morning Ceremonies, since she had spent Nightmare Night in Ponyville and hadn't arrived in Canterlot until nearly midday.

"Yeah, it should be next to Deathly Diseases of Dire Dimensions." Spike was lounging on the large bed in the room, enjoying the luxurious pillows.

Twilight nodded as she found the book, opening it to the page she had left off at last night and resuming her study. Suddenly Spike yelled and there was a crash.

"Did I surprise you, Spike?" Pinkie's voice asked.

"Pinkie," Spike said, getting up and dusting himself off. "You're not even dressed like a cat this time! Why'd you pounce on me?"

She smiled. "It was just so much fun last time!"

Twilight smiled and closed the book. "Are you ready for the feast, Pinkie?"

"Duh! I'm always ready for a party!"

The door opened and a palace messenger pony handed a letter to Pinkie. "For you, miss." He closed the door and left as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Pinkie opened the letter and read it.

"Oh no!" she cried.

"What's wrong?"

"Blinkie is sick! It sounds like the plague you were talking about yesterday!"

"That's terrible!" Twilight said.

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Who's Blinkie?"

"My sister! Twilight, did you find anything out about the plague yet?"

Twilight shook her head. "There's nothing even remotely like it in the history books."

"I have to get home!" she started out the door.

"Pinkie, wait!” Twilight called after her. “Do you want me to go with you?"

"No no. You all enjoy the feast. I'll be back soon." She vanished out the doorway.

Twilight sighed and reopened the book.

Celestia walked toward her room. The Morning Ceremonies had gone well, and Luna indeed seemed to be feeling better. The plague was the only thing still pestering her mind. The symptoms were unlike anything she had seen in her thousand years of ruling Equestria. It didn't seem to be a magical disease, but it was nevertheless potentially devastating.

Entering her room, she closed the door and reached for a pen and ink with her horn to write to the local governments of the cities. Suddenly her horn backfired. That was the only way to describe it. The magic fluxed back into her, and her vision went white. Slowly, shapes took form. She saw armies marching on each other. She saw pony fighting pony in an endless war. She saw Luna leading an army clad in dark armor. She saw a massive battle raged on a small island, ending in a complete white-out of her sight. Everything went black, and she fell into a deep sleep.

* * * * * * *

The halls of the Canterlot Castle were confining. They penned one in. I should be out there in direct command, Shadow Light thought. Before long I shall be. Patience! The unicorn could feel the moment closing in on her. Somehow, they would prosper. Not yet...

Opening the door to Celestia's room, she saw the Princess lying on the floor. Her eyes were closed, and she was motionless. Shadow furrowed her brow. What could have caused this? Why now? Slowly, she approached the unconscious alicorn and decided to try to wake her.

"Princess Celestia!" she said loudly, shaking the princess and trying her best to sound alarmed. "Are you alright?"

The princess opened her eyes, shaking her head. "I... I am fine, Shadow Light. I thank you for your concern." Standing, Celestia was once again the picture of equine perfection.

Perfection is overrated. “What happened, Your Highness?”

“Nothing, Shadow Light. I was merely tired from the night’s festivities,” she said, her voice dripping with sickening regality. Shadow nodded in feigned belief. “Now, did you need something?”

“Yes, Your Highness. These letters have arrived.” The letters contained more information regarding the plague from places scattered across Equestria. There was also one from the Griffon King, which verified the plague had made the jump across the sea. The letters were all sealed, but it had been a simple task to open them unnoticed.

Taking the letters, Celestia said, “I’ll have some for you to send out in an hour or so. Meet me in the throne room then.”

“As you wish, Your Highness.” Shadow Light bowed out, trotting down the halls toward her personal quarters. Soon…

* * * * * * *

Luna walked up the steps toward her sister’s room. She had seemed very preoccupied by the plague. Luna herself was at a loss for how a crisis could be avoided. The plague was spreading fairly quickly. But illnesses often left as quickly as they came. Perhaps they would just have to wait it out.

Luna met Shadow Light in the hall. “Is my sister in?” Luna asked. She never quite trusted the unicorn, but she could never put her finger on why.

“Yes, Your Highness. She’s just awoken from… a nap.”

Frowning, Luna thanked her and continued toward Celestia’s room. Opening the door, she saw Celestia lying on the bed, going through a stack of letters. Celestia glanced at her before going back to the letters, not even bothering for a simple greeting.

“Any news on the plague, Sister?” Luna asked.

Celestia nodded. “Seems to be coming from all sides.” Looking up, she added, “Garran says it’s reached the griffons as well.”

Luna shook her head sadly.

“There must be a cure,” Celestia said.

“There isn’t always,” Luna told her. “We may just have to wait it out, Sister.” She was practiced at waiting.

“No. We can stop this, Sister, if we try. Waiting idly by while ponies are killed by this illness is not an option.”

“Then what do you suggest, Sister?” Luna questioned. “The plague seems to be very resilient against magical healing, from what our research has shown. It would take a unicorn stronger than you and I together to cure just one victim.” Celestia sighed and went back to the letters. Looking at the clock on the wall, Luna said, “I’ll see you at the feast this afternoon, Sister.” Turning, she left the room.

* * * * * * *

Pinkie had caught the first train to Ponyville, and was now trotting her way through Rambling Rock Ridge. It was fairly close to Ponyville, and Pinkie visited frequently. But with Blinkie sick, the journey wasn’t as filled with anticipation as it usually was.

Cresting a hill, the family rock farm came into view. It was large now, with a farm-hooves’ quarters, three large crystal storage sheds, and a barn full of work animals. The place had really boomed since Pinkie had started throwing parties for the workers all those years ago. Inkie and Blinkie had kept up the tradition since Pinkie had moved away.

Opening the front door, Pinkie called out, “I’m here!” No response came. “Hello?” Still nothing. “Where is everypony?” She walked through the house to Blinkie’s room. Blinkie was lying in her bed, her eyes closed. She looked thin, and was breathing weakly. Seeing her there like that brought tears to Pinkie’s eyes.

Blinkie’s eyes opened and she managed a weak smile. “How are you, Sis?” she asked.

“Never mind me,” Pinkie managed to get out. “How do you feel?”

“Not great.” She coughed.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“You could bring me that glass of water,” Blinkie said, nodding toward a side table. Pinkie got it and handed it to her sister.

“Pinkamina, you’re here.” Her mother stood in the door of the room, with her father behind her, and a young farm-hoof behind him. “It’s good to see you.” Her voice was sober—more so than usual.

“Pinkamina, you look well,” her father said simply. “This is Stone Tumbler.”

The farm-hoof moved forward to shake Pinkies Hoof. “Call me stone. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Pinkie. Blinkie has certainly told me a lot about you.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Stone.” Pinkie glanced at Blinkie for some direction.

“Stone is my very special somepony,” she explained. “We’re engaged.” She coughed.

“Oh wow!” Pinkie said. “Congratulations! Can I throw the reception?”

Blinkie and Stone laughed. “That’s what we’ve been hoping,” Stone said.

Pinkie looked back to Blinkie. She had gone into a slight fit of coughing. The smile vanished from Pinkies face, and she wondered about whether the reception would ever be thrown.

Chapter 2: Somber Feast

Chapter 2

Somber Feast

Luna looked out over the countless ponies enjoying a variety of meals in the Grand Hall. The hall seemed somehow bigger when filled. She listened to the buzz of conversations that filled the hall. They were all there to celebrate her. Realizing that she was wearing a toothy grin, she quickly adjusted her smile to one more fit of Canterlot Royalty.

"So it can't be related in the slightest way to the Plague of Cloudsdale in 768 either!" Twilight was telling Celestia all that she had discovered about the sickness through study. So far she had divulged no useful information whatsoever. Twilight shook her head is admission.

"Where is Pinkie Pie?" Celestia asked. "She never misses a feast."

Twilight sobered further. "Her sister came down with the plague. She just got word today and went to see her."

Luna grimaced. There were already too many reported cases to count, with more coming in every day. Perhaps waiting it out would indeed be futile. Not that we have much choice...

"Have you tried any magical remedies yet, Princess?" Twilight asked.

Celestia nodded. "The plague is too complex for even my power to heal. It would take an incredible amount of magic to defeat this enemy."

Twilight looked down at her plate and poked at her food with a fork. "There must be a way to stop it!"

The doors to the palace burst open, and a dark blue unicorn galloped in, heading straight for the Royal Table. He looked tired, and was breathing heavily. A buzz of whispers fell over the hall. As he approached Celestia and Luna, even the whispers vanished. As he grew closer, Luna felt a pressure growing in her mind; a sense of terror that began to fill her every thought.

The unicorn bowed deeply before saying, "Your Highnesses, I come bearing an incredible discovery." reaching into his bag with his hoof--which Luna found odd, considering he was a unicorn--the pony brought out a sizable stone. Upon seeing it, Luna's stomach turned. She couldn't fathom why, yet she could feel the stones presence like grime covering her body. "I discovered this on Ferus Island, Your Majesties. It has the incredible ability to store magical energy, and release it in mass on demand." The crowd filling the hall gasped as one.

Celestia looked at the thing. "What is your name?" she asked the Unicorn.

The unicorn bowed. "Blue Stars, Your Highness."

"Come with us, Blue Stars." Celestia turned to face the hall. "Everypony, continue enjoying the feast. I shall return shortly." Celestia glanced at Luna before turning and heading through the doors behind them, which led deeper into the palace. Luna shied away from the stone as Blue Stars passed her, but followed. Celestia led to a private Study and turned back to Blue Stars. "Now, Blue Stars, if you will, demonstrate this storage ability you spoke of."

Blue took the stone out of his bag with his hoof and set it on the floor. He licked his lips and sent a flow of magic toward it. The flow seemed to vanish as it reached the plain-looking rock. He kept up the flow of magic, and the thing began to glow with a feint light. Stopping the flow, he looked up at the sisters. "It is now storing all the magic I sent into it," he said. "To use it, I merely use magic as normal while touching it, but I can force the magic through far more quickly than without it. The result is that I can use more magic in less time, and thus cast far more powerful spells."

Celestia furrowed her brow. "Show me." She walked to a window which opened onto an inner courtyard and opened it with her horn, handing an empty inkwell to the unicorn. Blue Stars nodded and grasped the inkwell with his magic. Looking down toward the ground in the courtyard, he focused for a moment and the inkwell vanished. A patch of dirt in the courtyard exploded in a cloud of dust, and when it cleared a hole nearly three feet deep stood with the inkwell lying shattered in the bottom.

Luna's eyes went wide. "Nopony can release that much magic that quickly!" she exclaimed, looking at the pony. He was not panting from exhaustion, not tired from using so much magic. He merely stood looking at the sisters. The stone in his hoof had lost its glow.

"The stone was holding little more than a tenth it's capacity," he said. "If I had charged it for longer, I would have been able to use far more power in the same amount of time."

"How many of these stones did you find?" Celestia asked.

"Just the one, Your Highness, although I may have seen more of them without realizing it during my exploration."

Celestia nodded. "I'll send a scouting party at once. Blue Stars, you may have just helped save everypony in Equestria. I thank you for that. I would also like to request that you be included in a scouting detail, as you know the landscape than anypony close at hand." Blue Stars stood stunned for a moment before graciously accepting. "Then I shall see you tomorrow. The Pegasi party will go out today, but we won't be able to get a unicorn and Earth detail there for several days."

"Your Majesty, I was on Ferus Island last night. I arrived here so quickly by grace of the stone."

Celestia eyed him. "Teleportation?"

"Yes. Teleportation is vastly benefitted by the stone's abilities. I jumped from the summit of Ferus Island to the shore instantly with a full charge." He shrugged. "I had been planning on taking the train, but when I saw how far I could see up the river valley, I decided to put the stone to use."

Celestia took a step back. "I shall require this stone for research, Blue Stars, so the land scouts will have to travel by train and hoof for now." Blue Stars nodded, handing the stone to Celestia.

"It's impossible to grip with magic. It just sucks in all the flows until it's full. Then it pushes them away."

Celestia nodded, reaching out to take the thing. Luna backed away, fearing the stone's presence. Why do I fear this simple rock?

Celestia rung a bell sitting on her desk. Shadow Light appeared immediately. "Shadow Light," Celestia said, "Show this gentlecolt to a room. Then tell my fastest scouts to meet me here." Shadow Light nodded and motioned for the stallion to follow her. They left, closing the door behind them.

"Sister,--" Luna started before being cut off.

"This is the answer, Sister!" Celestia said excitedly. "With enough of these stones, we could cure the entire land!"

"No, Sister!" Luna nearly shouted. Taking a deep breath and a step back, she said, "I don't like it. It feels... wrong... painful somehow."

Celestia furrowed her brow. "The stone? I feel nothing of the sort, Sister."

"I feel sick just thinking about using one of these cursed things," Luna said, trying to focus on settling her stomach. "I cannot be near it."

Celestia thought for a while. "Then you won't have to be. I can do everything related to the stones myself. You can remain here, or in your lunar palace until the epidemic is ended."

"Sister, I beg of thee, do not use these on the ponies of Equestria. I fear what such a wretched thing could do."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Why do you fear the thing so?"

A tear came to Luna's eye. "I don't know, Sister. But I can remain here no longer. I must get away from the thing. Far away! I cannot stand to be in the same city with it!"

Celestia sighed. "Okay, Sister. I shall explain to everypony why you are unable to remain at the feast. I shall write to you while we are apart. But I cannot sit idly by while my ponies suffer from this plague. I shall collect these stones and heal the land."

More tears came to Luna's eyes. She thought of making a final plea to avoid the use at all costs, but she could remain no longer. "I'll tell them myself, Sister." She cantered through the door and back out toward the Grand Hall, wiping the tears from her face on the way.

* * * * * * *

Twilight managed to eat some of her meal, trying to take her mind off of the plague for long enough to enjoy it. The Princesses had been gone for quite a while now. What was keeping them?

"Hey, Twilight," Applejack said beside her. "Do ya' think that stone could really store magical energy?"

Twilight shook her head. "I don't know. I've never heard of it before, but with magic anything is possible."

"Well it sounds absolutely ridiculous, if you ask me," Rarity put in. "The thought of a plain old rock holding the power only a unicorn's horn should possess is absolutely absurd!"

Rainbow Dash laughed. "I'm surprised to hear you say that, Rarity! I remember a time when you were quite fond of a "plain old rock!"

Rarity rounded on Rainbow. "Oh yeah? Well if you hadn't been so busy trying to abandon your friends maybe that wouldn't have happened!"

"Stop this arguing!" Twilight yelled. The two ponies looked at her. "Let's just try to enjoy the feast."

Luna came back out and stood by her seat at the head of the Royal Table. Everypony fell silent and looked to her. "I have an announcement to make," she said, soberly. "I shall be retreating to the moon for some time. I seem to be having a negative reaction to the stone brought to my sister and I, and shan’t be able to return until the issue is addressed. I hereby publicly ask her not to use the stones, as I fear they may cause... pain to everypony.

"I apologize most profusely for running off at my own feast, but I simply can't stay. I thank all of you for attending, and hope to see you next year. Now, continue the feast, and I shall keep you all in my heart. Celestia should be returning to the feast in short order."

As Luna turned to go, Twilight frowned. Why should Luna have a negative reaction when nopony else seemed to? The crowd began murmuring as Luna took flight and headed for the moon. Why would Luna have to make a public plea? Has Celestia declined a private one?

"Twilight," Applejack said.

"Yeah?"

"She's tellin' the truth."

Looking up at the shrinking alicorn, Twilight felt a lump growing in her throat.

A dark colored unicorn appeared in the doorway. "Twilight Sparkle?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Celestia requests your presence."

Twilight nodded. "I'm sure I'll be back soon," she told her four friends. "Enjoy the feast." Twilight followed the unicorn back into the palace and up some stairs to one of Celestia's private studies. The unicorn showed her in, and Twilight thanked her.

Celestia was talking to a group of seven Pegasi. "I need you there as quickly as possible. You are to scour the ground, looking for anything like this." She held up the stone. Is it really glowing, or is it just the lighting in here? Twilight thought to herself.

"We can't leave without a Squadron Leader," one of the Pegasi said. "Nose Dive broke his wing and won't be in flying shape for a couple months at the least."

Celestia thought for a moment. "I'll get a new Squadron Leader. You'll head out tomorrow." The Pegasi nodded and turned to leave. Once they were out of the room, Celestia addressed Twilight. "This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen, Twilight Sparkle." She held up the stone.

"What does it do, exactly?" Twilight asked.

"All I know so far is that is stores Magic and can release it far more quickly than any unicorn has ever dreamed of." Celestia smiled. "I trust you've read A Principle Explanation of Magic, Physics, and Unicorn Horns?"

Twilight smiled. "I have three copies!"

"Well, this stone seems to have no upper limit on Mags over time!"

Twilight gasped. "That would mean that you could do nearly anything! These could be incredibly destructive, if somepony wasn't careful with them..."

"Yes, Twilight. I'm putting you at the head of the research of the stones. But you must promise to be extremely careful in your study."

A large smile took hold on Twilight's face. "I promise, Princess."

Chapter 3: First Divisions

Chapter 3

First Divisions

The stone sat in a small stand designed for displaying gems. The stone was not much larger than Twilight's hoof, and the power it held fascinated her. Sending a flow of magic into it, she topped off the charge. The thing shone brightly with a light ever-changing in color. Twilight took the stone with a hoof and used her own magic to pick up a nearby boulder.

The practice field was a bit south of Canterlot. It had been designed for training with catapults, but it would work equally well for Twilight's purpose, which was primarily to test the stone's attributes. Twilight used some of the stone's power to make the boulder go around in a circle in the air. Slowly draining the energy from the stone was as easy as using it all at once, it seemed. Halting the boulder's spin, Twilight pushed all the stone's power into forcing the boulder up and slightly away from her. It was out of sight before Twilight could blink, and she set the now dull stone in her hoof back on the stand. Picking up a pen and notepad, she wrote a quick log of the test before returned to charging the stone.

After a while, she looked in the direction she had launched the boulder. It came falling down with tremendous speed, leaving a massive crater in the earth about half a mile away. Twilight wrote another bit in the journal before going back to charging.

"Twilight?" Fluttershy's soft voice made Twilight jump. She hadn't noticed the mare approach, being so intent on watching the flow of magic disappear when it touched the stone.

"Fluttershy! How are you?" Twilight continued charging the stone, but forced herself to focus her attention on her friend.

"Um, I'm worried," Fluttershy said cautiously. "Why do you think Luna left?"

Twilight frowned. "I don't know. It's not like Luna to just run off like that." Twilight frowned. "But Celestia seems to think Luna is overreacting... All I know is that this plague needs to be taken care of soon, and these will be able to do that."

A gust blew overhead. Looking up, Twilight saw Rainbow Dash coming in for a landing. "Twilight, Fluttershy! I've been appointed as Squadron Leader of the first scouting party to Ferus Island!"

Twilight smiled. "Congratulations, Rainbow! That's great news!"

Fluttershy nodded slowly. "Yep, you're looking at a military officer! The original Squadron Leader is on medical leave, and there was nopony else in Canterlot fast enough for the job!"

Twilight nodded. Suddenly she felt a halt in the flow of magic. The stone had charged again. "Hey Rainbow, I'm about to use off this magic. Want to stay and watch?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Magic is boring. Too precise."

Twilight smiled. "Just trust me." Taking the stone in hoof, Twilight took up a small rock from the ground with her horn, moving it straight up about a hundred feet. She then scratched an X in the ground about two hundred feet away before turning to Rainbow. "Ready?" The Pegasus nodded, skeptically watching the small rock. Twilight punched all the energy from the stone into the rock floating in the air. A loud boom occurred overhead, and a massive channel of dirt exploded out of the ground. Twilgiht made a shield around the three of them to protect from the flying debris.

When the dust cleared, Twilight let the shield down. Rainbow's face was pure astonishment. "How did... was that a sonic boom?" She was yelling because all their ears were ringing loudly.

Twilight giggled. "Yeah," she yelled. "I didn't think it would be quite that loud. Sorry." Looking over at Fluttershy, who was lying on the ground with her hooves over her head, she looked up and saw the gash in the earth.

"Oh... my..." was all the mare could get out.

Rainbow shook her head. "Be careful with that thing, Twilight! Now I gotta’ go get ready to leave. We're leaving in an hour or so." She started to fly away.

"Rainbow," Twilight called after her. "Bring me back some more stones!"

"Will do, Twilight," she called back.

"I had better get going too, Twilight. I wouldn't want to keep you from your studies any longer."

"Oh it's no trouble, Fluttershy," Twilight said, smiling.

"Well, I have to get some things done before heading back to Ponyville. I should visit Philomena." She turned and trotted off.

Twilight sighed. "Way to go, Twilight, you scared off the Fluttershy." Applejack trotted past Fluttershy and looked back at the mare as she past her.

"What the hay was all that noise?" Applejack asked Twilight.

"I was testing the stone," Twilight said. "Nothing special."

Applejack looked around Twilight at the large gouge out of the earth. "Uh huh.. Anyway, I've, uh, got some news, Twilight."

"What is it?" Twilight started charging the stone again.

"I'm traveling to the moon."

Twilight's flow of magic cut off out of alarm. "What? Why?"

"Lots of ponies are headed there since they trust Luna's instincts, and Celestia has said that she'll be using the stones to end the plague no matter what."

"But the stone's right here!" Twilight motioned to the stand. "You can see it's not dangerous if used by someone who knows how!"

"I know, Twilight, but all those ponies up there are gonna need somepony to grow some food, and I'm just the pony for the job." She hesitated. "And Twilight... Sometimes I know when a ponies telling the truth or not. I can just tell sometimes. Luna's not makin' it up. I don't know what it is about the stone that gets her so worried, but whatever it is, I'm not gonna’ have any part of it. Luna thinks all the stones should be buried on the moon, safely out of reach."

Twilight sighed. "You know Pinkie's sister has the plague we're trying to cure, don't you?"

"Yes Twilight. But these things happen, and if the alternative is worse, why take the risk?"

Twilight nodded, seeing that her friend would not be swayed. "Good luck on the moon," she said sincerely.

Applejack smiled. "Thank ya, Twilight. I'll see you sometime." They hugged before Applejack trotted back toward Canterlot.

Just then Spike came rushing up. Twilight groaned. "I'll never get any work done at all if everypony keeps coming with news!"

"Twilight," Spike called. "Princess Celestia is gonna’ make an announcement! We need to get back to Canterlot!"

Looking at the stone, which was about half-charged, Twilight took it and focused on the gate to Canterlot to the north. Wrapping Spike and herself both in flows of magic and smiling, she jammed them both through the linked feeler flows.

* * * * * * *

"The Guard is ready to move on your command, Your Highness." Celestia and the Royal Guard officer were walking down a hall toward the balcony. "We've organized our troops, and everypony is ready to head out. We've prepared supply..."

Celestia stopped listening to the officer. She had too much on her mind right now. Luna, the plague, the stones... Important things were afoot. Luna worried her. The number of ponies heading to the moon was shocking. I hope it at least proves to Luna that ponies care about her, she thought. Were they all just going to stay up there until the plague was over? What if the plague traveled to the moon? Would they all just slowly die up there as the sickness overtook them all? Would they accept no offer of help from Celestia?

The plague... She needed to show Twilight the healing spell she devised to cure it. Then she could test it on a small scale before beginning the gathering. Pinkie Pie's sister, perhaps... But the cure was not a complete elimination of the sickness. Nor did it make the target immune to the plague. It merely healed all the conditions of the plague. Perhaps Twilight would have time to develop an immunity spell with the stone.

The stones… Assuming there were more than one on Ferus Island, which she was counting on, why had they remained hidden for so long? Ferus Island had been populated many years ago... That had been before she was born, before she and Luna had discovered the Elements of Harmony and defeated Discord. Why had Ferus been abandoned? Furthermore, where had the stones come from?

"Your Highness?" The officer asked.

Celestia snapped out of her train of thought and thanked the officer for his report, and to prepare to march toward Ferus Island. The officer bowed and turned to leave. Celestia sighed and stepped out onto the balcony. She noticed Twilight galloping up at the back of the large crowd below. Taking a deep breath, she addressed her subjects.

"Citizens of Canterlot: As you all know, Equestria is being overrun with a deadly plague. There have been reports from all over the land, and the sickness is spreading. The only way we shall be able to end this plague comes to us through a fantastic new discovery. Stones have been uncovered on Ferus Island off the east coast of Equestria. These stones have the extraordinary ability to store magical energy, and to release it all at once when held by a unicorn. This ability makes any unicorn's magic far more powerful. Using these stones, we shall be able to cleanse the entire land in one fell swoop.

"My sister Luna believes the stones to be evil. She tells me she feels sick just being near them, and has thus left to spend some time on the moon. Let me assure you that she shall be retaining the responsibility of raising and lowering the moon, and shall do so without qualm. We are sisters, and although we disagree on the stones, we shall continue ruling together.

"Numerous ponies have travelled to the moon to help Luna in her cause. Let me assure you all that Luna has not and will not make any threatening moves toward me or my subjects, as they are equally her subjects. She is not constructing an army.

"Luna made a public plea to get me to give up my thoughts of using the stones to end the plague. If somepony can offer a better way to cleanse the land of this sickness, I will surely hear it, but until then, the stones will be gathered and eventually used to end this illness once and for all.

"As for the matter of Ferus Island; officially it is not part of Equestria, or any other nation for that matter. However, if any creature from any nation tries to stop us from taking it, we shall use force, as this plague must be stopped as soon as possible. My scouts are about to leave for Ferus Island, and a land force will follow shortly after.

"This is an important day for Equestria. The acquisition of the stones will secure our place as the most powerful nation of the world. I have seen what the stones can do, and it is beyond imagination. I wish to clarify that we shall not use the stones' power for aggressive acts unless absolutely necessary. After the plague is taken care of, the stones will be primarily used to help in natural disasters world-wide.

"In these times of unrest, it is good to know that Equestria is still the greatest nation, and shall remain that way, Plague or no." Celestia breathed deeply as the roar of hoofs stomping the ground and cheers rose to her ears. I've still got it, she thought, smiling.

* * * * * * *

The room was large and empty, with cobwebs in the corners and a large iron gate at the entrance. It was dark, cold, and drafty. That's how Chrysalis liked to keep things. It made her feel at peace.

Examining the stone the held before her, she sent a flow of magic into it. She had done this seven times over the past two days, but wanted to make sure it was stable. The glow in the thing slowly brightened. Her magical prowess was very weak at the moment, seeing as how she hadn't gained anypony's love in the past year, but she still had some natural ability. Growing impatient and releasing all the power the stone held, a statue across the room exploded violently, sending shards of marble flying everywhere. A smile crept across Chrysalis' face before she threw her head back in throaty laughter.

"Stooge!" she called. A servant changeling appeared at once in the gateway. "Ready the army."

Chatper 4: Scouting Ferus

Chapter 4

Scouting Ferus

The island was a pretty long flight from Baltimare, but the scouting party was made up of the fastest Pegasi in the Canterlot Guard. They made good time, which Rainbow was thankful for. The five Pegasi behind her were keeping pace nicely. They were nearly there after little more than half a day. Rainbow was still getting used to the armor of the Guard, but the Scouting armor was light and aerodynamic, so she had no complaints.

"Do you think there will be any more of those stones on the island?"

Rainbow turned her head and saw a dark brown Pegasus flying next to her. "I sure hope so. This plague needs to stop."

The Pegasus nodded sadly. "It took my brother two weeks ago. Now my mom's got it."

Rainbow gave the Pegasus a reassuring and sorrowful look. "Well, we're about to find out." Angling down, Rainbow made for a landing in a large grassy field on the island, just as Blue Stars had described. Folding her wings in as her hooves hit the ground, she took several steps forward. She scanned the horizon, making a quick spin in place. She had heard tales of the dangers of Ferus Island, but all she could see were some lumbering animals grazing in the distance. They hardly looked threatening.

"Okay, everypony," Rainbow said after the others had landed. "You know what we're looking for. They may just look like normal rocks, but they're heavier than rocks, and they may be glowing. Spread out and start searching."

Rainbow trotted over to Rocky Shield. He was a geologist pony, and they had brought along to learn more about the stones' formation. He already had his pickaxe out and had started digging a hole. "What do you think?"

Rocky looked up. "The island appears to have been formed by a volcano." Rainbow gave a start. "Oh, don't worry. It seems to be completely dormant."

Rainbow nodded slowly. "Let me know if you find anything." Heading away from the landing site, she began looking for any rocks poking through the dirt. She overheard one of the other Pegasi talking to his friend. "I can't believe we're being led by somepony who's little more than a filly." Rainbow grimaced, but pretended not to hear.

After an hour, they had found three stones on the surface. Rocky had brought four up from the small hole he had dug. Of the seven stones, all were glowing, albeit faintly. Rainbow Dash leaned over to examine the pile they had gathered. Picking one of them up with a hoof, Rainbow looked closely at the light it was emanating. It was constantly changing its color, and was pulsing slightly.

"Look at her over there," the stallion Rainbow had overheard before murmured. "Acting like she owns the place. A mare shouldn't be allowed to lead a scouting squadron, especially one so inexperienced."

"Shut your mouth, Arro," came the voice of the brown Pegasus Rainbow had been talking to before landing. "That's Rainbow Dash. She's the only pony to ever pull off a Sonic Rainboom. I saw it with my own eyes. Until you can do the same, you had better show some respect."

The memory of the Best Young Flyers Competition rushed into Rainbow's mind. The pure adrenalin as she prepared for the dive, the rush of excitement as she beat her wings as hard as she could, the feeling of pride as she looked back and saw the rainbow streaming out of her mane...

A blue bolt shot toward a nearby boulder from the stone in Rainbow's hoof. The boulder burst, pieces of it flying everywhere. Rainbow jumped back and yelped, dropping the now dark stone she was holding.

"What the hay was that?" Rocky asked as he poked his head up from his hole.

"I... I don't know," Rainbow told him. Gathering herself, she turned to the rest of the scouting squadron. "Keep searching for stones, but don't touch them. Bring them here wrapped in cloth or something, just don't touch them!" Rainbow looked back at the place the boulder had been and gulped.

* * * * * * *

Twilight Sparkle trotted through Rambling Rock Ridge. It was rather bland scenery. The thin road ran between rock-filled fields and the occasional farm house. The low sun cast long shadows on everything, making the scene only slightly more interesting.

Spike groaned on her back. "What's the point of these boring old rock farms anyway? Don't we have enough rocks?"

Twilight giggled. "The rocks aren't what the farms produce, Spike. This whole area has strong magical currents flowing underground. These cause valuable gems to grow on the rocks."

"Oh. So why does this place have such strong magical currents?"

"Because the area is surrounded by a deep band of metallic minerals. This allows the natural magic flows to enter, but not to leave. They’re just reflected back into the valley. Because of the way they reflect and bounce, different areas of the ridge are better for gem production at different times, so the farmers rotate the rocks to whichever field is getting the best magical reception at that time."

Spike's eyes had lost focus. When he realized Twilight had stopped talking, they snapped back to hers. "Oh, that makes sense."

Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile and kept walking. Cresting a hill, a large farm came into view. Light came from the windows, as the sun had finished its descent below the horizon. Twilight sped up to a canter, heading for the sizable farmhouse. Knocking on the door with the bottom of her hoof, Twilight was surprised when it opened nearly immediately. A middle-aged gray mare stood before her. Her expression was solemn.

"Hello. I'm Twilight Sparkle. I'm a friend of Pinkies..."

"Ah yes. Come in, Twilight Sparkle," the mare said, gesturing for Twilight to enter. "Pinkie's told me much about you." Her expression never changed.

"I understand one of Pinkie's sisters is sick," Twilight said, entering the house. The main room was full of people. Most of the ponies looked to be farm-hooves, but Twilight saw some family resemblance in several of them. "May I see her? I'm studying the plague for Princess Celestia."

The mare looked over Twilight before nodding. "Follow me. The doctor is with her now." She led the way back to a small bedroom. Pinkie was there, standing with a doctor over a bed. On the bed was a mare who looked younger than Pinkie by at least two years. Also in the room were two brown stallions, one with gray hair and one with black, and a gray mare about the same age as the one in bed.

Pinkies looked up as they entered. Her face was drained of her usual exuberance, and she merely nodded to Twilight as a greeting. The heavy coughing from the mare on the bed would have been explanation enough, even without the patches of skin visible through the pony's molting hair. The doctor was busy listening to the mare's heartbeat. Twilight approached him and said, "I'm here to attempt a magical healing of the plague."

Everpony in the room gasped, save the one coughing on the bed, who looked unaware of everything around her. The doctor looked doubtful. "It's impossible. Nopony has enough power to heal something this serious. You're wasting your time."

"I've been sent with the authority of Princess Celestia," Twilight said. "If you have a problem, you can take it up with her." The doctor stared back at her with a furrowed brow before shrugging and backing up.

Twilight had spent the entire night before studying up on healing magic and it's uses. It was a delicate art, and required many separate flows of magic all working together. Even with the stones, it would take an immense amount of focus to get it right. Stepping up to the bed, Twilight sent some feeler flows into Blinkie. This was her first chance to examine the plague first-hoof. They confirmed all her suspicions, verifying all the causes of the symptoms she had prepared the healing spell for. She took a deep breath and looked around at everypony in the room. "I need you all to be quiet," she said. "This will take all my focus, and I can't afford to be distracted." They all nodded.

Turning, Twilight brought the stone out from her bag. It was glowing brightly, fully-charged with magical energy. Gazing into it, she ran over the spell one final time in her head. She closed her eyes, depending on the far more accurate magical feeler flows to guide her. Taking a final breath, she began.

The flows wove themselves around each other, twisting and turning through the body of the young mare, grabbing hold of damaged bits of flesh and binding them together, flushing out the bacteria from bloodstreams, weaving their way through the lungs and fixing the massive amounts of damage found inside... The number of flows was nearly impossible to comprehend all at once, much less control, but using the stones energy instead of her own meant Twilight could focus all of her mind on the task at hand, rather than using it to produce magic, as she usually had to.

It seemed like hours to Twilight, but finally the last flow had worked its way through Blinkie carrying out its purpose. Letting the flows go, Twilight took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

Blinkie looked... different. The patches of hair were still missing, and she was still coughing. But after a moment, her coughing stopped. She opened her eyes, looked up at everypony, and said, "What... what happened?" Her voice was clear and strong.

Everypony in the room smiled and ran to her, hugging and kissing her. The commotion brought more ponies in from the main room, all pushing to see what was happening. Twilight snuck out against the torrent of ponies, and sat down on the sofa. The spell had not exhausted her as she had feared it would. In fact, she felt exhilarated. It was the same feeling she had after finishing complex math problems in record time. She felt as though her mind was on overdrive, taking notice of every little thing.

Looking down at the stone still in her hoof, she saw how dreadfully close she had come to depleting the supply of magic. The glow was too dim to see in the well-lit room. She took a deep breath, and smiled. She went about refilling the stone, since she would need it pretty soon anyway.

A dark brown pony with black hair broke out of the bustling crowd in the room, and trotted to Twilight. "I thank you for what you did in there. Blinkie... she means a lot to me." Twilight gave the pony a questioning look. He smiled and said, "My name is Stone Tumbler. Blinkie and I are getting married next spring."

Twilight smiled. "Congratulations!"

"So what is that thing, anyway?" Stone asked, nodding toward the dimly-lit rock.

"It’s a stone that can hold magical energy. It was found on Ferus Island. We're not quite sure how they work yet, but Princess Celestia is gathering them up to use to end the plague. This was the first field-test of it, but it seems to have worked."

Stone laughed. "Good thing too." he frowned. "The doctor said she only had another day to live."

Twilight's eyes widened. "How long had she been ill?"

"Several weeks. At first it didn't look that serious, but she just wouldn't get better. That's why we wrote to Pinkie."

Twilight nodded. The stone was nearly full again. "Well, can you call everypony in here? I'd like to clean everypony's systems to kill any bacteria you all may have picked up while in contact with her."

Stone nodded and headed back to the crowded room. After a moment they all gathered in the main room, including Blinkie, who looked tired but was smiling, walking side by side with Stone Tumbler.

"Okay, everypony, listen up. As most of you probably know, the plague is very contagious. That's why I need to cleanse everypony’s bloodstreams. Normally, this would take a long time, but I think with this," she held up the brightly-glowing stone, "I can get it done in a couple minutes." The flush of the bloodstreams had been a very minor piece of healing Blinkie, and Twilight felt confident that she would be able to get everypony in the room at once. "I'll also try to clean the walls and furniture, killing any of the bacteria."

Everypony nodded and looked back at her, all of them smiling and laughing. Twilight smiled to herself before starting the cleansing.

* * * * * * *

My dearest sister, Luna,

I am writing to inform you of my intentions concerning the stones. My scouts have been sent to Ferus Island in search of more of them. I shall be receiving their report sometime tomorrow. Assuming they find more of the stones on the island, a small force will move out by land toward the island, with the intention of securing as many of the stones as possible. Twilight Sparkle is testing a magical curing of the plague as I speak, and if it goes well, I intend to use the stones to banish the sickness from all of pony kind. I wish to help the ponies who have traveled to the moon during this time as well, as I'm certain the plague will make the jump eventually if it hasn't already.

I continue to feel no ill toward the stones, and am anxious to help you find out what causes your fear of them. I hope to bring an end to it before bringing an end to the plague, so that I have your full support in the healing. I hate being apart from you, and hope to visit you on the moon before long to discuss things in more detail. Don't hesitate to ask me for any supplies you or the ponies there may need during the trying time.

Always remember that I care for you, Luna. I need you.

Your loving sister Celestia.

Celestia set her quill down and read over the letter. Satisfied, she rolled it up and cast the spell to turn it into magically guided smoke. Placing the lid on the inkwell, she turned and trotted out of the study toward her bedroom. The past couple days had been tiring beyond belief. She could only hope Twilight was successful in curing the plague, and that the scouting party would find more stones, and... She sighed. Too many ifs.

* * * * * * *

Straining, Shadow Light held the green smoke in a bubble of magic. Sending in feelers, she managed to rip the fabric of it apart before she collapsed from exhaustion. Intercepting smoke-messages was not an easy task, but she was more powerful than she let other ponies believe. Taking a deep breath, she read through the torn letter before holding it in a candle's flame to destroy it. Taking out a quill and inkwell, she went about composing a replacement.

Soon...

Chapter 5: Early Deception

Chapter 5

Early Deception

Twilight held a stone in each hoof. The one in her left hoof was glowing brightly, while the one in her right hoof was dull. Taking a deep breath, Twilight brought them together. A flash of light momentarily blinded her, but as she regained her focus, Twilight saw the two stones were glowing equally.

"Just as I suspected!" she exclaimed, smiling. "Stones can share magic between each other and equalize themselves! Which means..." Focusing on one of the touching stones, she sent a flow of magic into it. As the glow in the first stone increased, so did the glow in the second. "...that they can be charged synchronously!"

"Uh, English please," Rainbow Dash said, stamping a hoof impatiently.

"I can charge a whole barrel full of stones without having to focus on each one!" Twilight said. "This should also mean that I can use more than one stone's magic at a time, which means that I can theoretically acquire enough magical energy to vanquish the bacteria causing the plague from all of Equestria!"

Rainbow blinked. "Um, sure. Could you just tell me what happened back on the island now?"

Twilight snapped her attention back to the blue Pegasus. "Right! I think I know the answer to that as well." Walking up to Rainbow, she held out one of the half-filled stones to her. Rainbow backed away. "Rainbow, I need you to help me test this! Now hold this for me."

Hesitantly, Rainbow took the stone, looking surprised that nothing exploded when she touched it. "Okay, now what?"

"According to my studies, the stones are somewhat like refined Unicorn Horns. They allow magic to be channeled into them, and can focus the magic. However, a Unicorn horn is just a focal device, the actual magic coming from the Unicorns mind and heart. But the stones have their own magic supply—at least when they're charged. So anypony should be able to use one of the stones as if it were their own Unicorn horn, even though non-Unicorn ponies don't have natural magic production."

"English!" Rainbow yelled.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "With one of these, I could teach you how to use magic, just like I could teach a young Unicorn to use their magic. But it would be harder, since you can release all the magic in there at once, making it far more dangerous."

Rainbow dropped the glowing stone. "I don't want to learn how to use magic! Just keep the things away from me. Find somepony else to do your crazy experiments on! Besides, I need to get some rest. We're headed back to Ferus tomorrow."

Twilight was busy writing in her notebook, and didn't notice when the Pegasus took her leave.

Dear Princess Celestia,

As you know, magical energy is produced by a collaboration of the mind and heart of a Unicorn. This raw magic is very unstable, and a Unicorns body pipes it to the horn, where it can be focused and used for practical purposes.

The only way we have to charge these Ferus Stones is to pipe magical energy through our horns. This energy has already been focused, and thus only has to be altered slightly to be used for different purposes. When using a Ferus Stone, this alteration occurs on the surface of the stone where it meets the body of a pony. This alteration takes far less time that the focusing which occurs in a horn, and thus the magic can be released from the stone far more quickly than from a Unicorn horn. It also seems to amplify the magic, focusing it into a more pure form so the same theoretical amount of magical energy carries far more power. This would explain why a five minute charge is able to do an hour's worth of work. Although I havn't been able to discover how this is done yet... At any rate, the things put out far more theoretical energy than is put in.

When two stones touch each other, the magic contained within them equalizes, so that both have the same amount of magical energy. As an additional facet of this piece of the stones' nature, charging one stone will in turn charge any stones in contact with it, or any stones with a path through other stones to the target stone. In practice, this will allow us to gather a large number of the stones in one container, and charge them all at the same time.

Using magic through the stones should work the same way. Thus holding two stones (or one stone which is in contact with another stone) effectively doubles the amount of magical energy you can have access to. The transfer between stones seems to be instantaneous, as the focused magic doesn't need to be altered at all to pass from one stone to another.

The nature of the stones allows for even non-Unicorn ponies to use the magical energy stored within them. This would take lots of practice and training, but it is something to consider.

In closing, I believe that with enough of these stones, a Unicorn with a strong enough mind and enough skill with manipulating magic could completely cure the plague from Equestria.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

"Oh Spike," Twilight called.

Spike awoke from his slumber in the corner of the study. "Yes?"

"Take this to Princess Celestia." She handed him the rolled up scroll.

Spike took the scroll and saluted with it before marching out the door of the study. Twilight turned back to the stones and arranged them in a pyramid on the floor. There were four on the bottom, then three, two, and one on the very top. She blinked at the small flashes produced each time they equalized. She then began charging the stone on the top of the pile, smiling with delight as all the glows began increasing.

"Twilight," Spikes voice came from the doorway. "Princess Celestia wants to see you." Twilight nodded and passed Spike on her way into the hall. Hopping on her back, Spike said, "So you think the stones will be able to end the plague?"

"As long as there's enough of them on the Island, which I think there are."

"So what if there aren't?"

Twilight looked at him reassuringly. "There will be."

Spike hopped off Twilight's back as she opened the door to Celestia's study.

"Hello Twilight!" Celestia said. "Is everything in this report true?" She nodded toward the scroll lying on the desk.

"Yes, Princess! The stones are incredible! Although I haven’t tested using more than one at a time yet, but I'm certain it will work."

Celestia nodded. "Twilight, your research has been incredibly useful! I believe you are right in thinking we should gather as many as we can and take out the plague in one fell swoop. That's why I'm asking you to travel to Ferus Island."

Twilight gave a start. "Why?" she blurted before she could think of anything else to say.

"We'll need to gather and charge many Ferus Stones, and the best place to do that will be at their source. I want you to supervise the collecting and charging of the stones, while continuing your research of them."

A smiled overtook Twilight face. "Thank you so much! This is an incredible honor!" She ran up and hugged Celestia. "I won't let you down!"

Celestia smiled down at her. "I know you won't. Now I want you to leave with the Land Party I'll be sending first thing tomorrow, so get packed." Twilight nodded and hurried out of the study.

Spike had to run from his resting place in the hall to keep up with Twilight as she nearly galloped back to her room. "What's the rush, Twilight?"

"Celestia wants me to oversee the collection of Ferus Stones on Ferus Island!"

Spike blinked. "Oh. That's... that's great, Twilight! Congratulations."

Twilight burst through her door and began packing her bags. She would want to travel light, and would need room in the bags for the stones. Walking into the attached study she had been working in, Twilight came to an abrupt halt. "Spike," she called. "Did you touch one of the stones?"

Spike appeared in the doorway. "No... Why do you ask?"

"Because one is missing! I had eight! They formed a perfect pyramid, but now there's one missing. Now it's just a trapezoid!"

"A trape-what now?"

After nearly half an hour of frantic searching through the study, the bedroom, the water closet, the balcony, and every drawer and cupboard in the suite, Twilight gave up. "Somepony must have taken it," she said. "But who would have had reason to steal it? We're in the Canterlot Palace, for pony's sake!"

A knock came on the door to the suite, and Twilight opened it. Pinkie pounced, and was soon hugging Twilight on the floor. From her mouth came a torrent of 'Thank You's.

"You're welcome, Pinkie," Twilight said. "I was just doing my job."

Pinkie stopped and stood up. "Job?"

Twilight smiled. "I've been appointed Supervisor of the collection and research of Ferus Stones!"

Pinkie squealed "Congratulations! I'm sure you're the best pony for the job! Looks like everything is going swell all of a sudden!"

Twilight sobered. "Not everything, Pinkie." She sighed. "Luna's retreated to the moon because she thinks the stones are evil, and doesn't want them to be used."

Pinkie frowned. "Why wouldn't anypony want them to be used? They cure the plague!"

Twilight shook her head. "I don't know, but a bunch of ponies went to the moon with her. She really hates the stones, Pinkie." Pinkie furrowed her brow and rubbed her chin. "Anyway, I need to finish packing."

"Okay, Twilight. See you around." Pinkie left the room, and Twilight packed the seven stones, all but forgetting about the missing one.

* * * * * * *

Luna,

I am writing to inform you of my intentions concerning the Ferus Stones. I have sent a scouting force to Ferus Island to bring back as many as they can find. If the venture is lucrative, I shall be sending a larger force there to begin gathering them. This plague will be stopped at all costs, Luna. Know that. If anypony tries to stop me from accomplishing my goals on Ferus Island, I shall be forced to relinquish any responsibilities he or she may have, by force if necessary. This plague will be brought to a halt by my power, Sister.

Your Sister Celestia

Luna frowned at the scroll as she finished reading it. Did Celestia really mean to take the power over the moon from Luna simply because she felt sick around the stones? Luna had made no such threats, merely a plea to reconsider. The only way Celestia could take the power from her would be to use the Elements of Harmony, and that would require Applejack, who was currently in service on the moon raising crops. What could her sister be thinking?

"Guard," Luna called. "Summon a diplomat. I must sort some things out with Celestia, and would like it to be done by proxy."

"Yes, Your Highness." The guard trotted off, returning after a few moments with a white pony.

The white stallion bowed, saying, "I am Olive Branch. It's a great honor to be called to your service, Your Highness."

"I need to you travel to Canterlot, and question Celestia about her intentions regarding me and my followers. Show her this, and pay attention to her reaction to it." Luna handed the letter she had just received to the stallion. "Then report back to me."

"As you wish, Your Highness." Olive Branch trotted out of the throne room and Luna sighed.

* * * * * * *

Turning the stone over in her hoof, Shadow Light stared at the glow in the dark storeroom. She could feel the power in the thing, could sense the strength it would give her. The glow was bright enough to make out the small engraving on her front left hoof; an egg with a horn sticking through it. This is it. This is the moment we have been waiting for. Now is the time to act.

Sending out a shock wave of magic, she heard the sound of countless drinking glasses being shattered. She began to laugh deeply. Our glorious king shall once again rule over all!

Chapter 6: Dogs and Dreams

Chapter 6

Dogs

Side by side and one by one,

Into love they fall,

Until we come to spoil their fun,

And then destroy them all.

Free Form shook his head. He had had that infernal nursery rhyme stuck in his head for days. He stamped a hoof on the ground impatiently as he peaked out from the bush he was hiding in. He had been waiting for nearly an hour, and nopony had come down the small back road. He needed something good on his record. For years he had just been another grunt in the Queens army. One grunt is just like the other thousands of grunts. So he opted for this assignment. Free Form would not be caught in an endless loop of front-line invasions.

His hole-filled ears snapped up as he heard the sound of hooves coming down the road at a gallop. The diplomat. Changing form required but a thought, and after only a moment Free Form had become an elderly mare. Feigning trouble walking, Free Form stepped out into the road. As the galloping stallion rounded the bend, Free Form fell over with a hoof on his currently wrinkled forehead.

A cloud of dust filling Free Forms nostrils and the sound of skidding hooves told him it was going well so far. "Ma'am, are you okay?" The stallion came over to see if he was breathing. Seeing that he wasn't, the stallion quickly leaned down to listen for a heartbeat.

Free Form brought his hooves up in a flash, and thrust them down toward the stallions head. Unfortunately, the stallion had moved his head in time and leaped back, causing Free Forms hooves to come down squarely on his own chest. Grunting, he leapt to his feet and faced his opponent, who was wearing a startled look and trying to slowly back away.

Free Form reverted to his natural shape and flew into the air. The stallion on the ground hesitated for only a moment before starting at full gallop down the road. Diving, Free Form kept his hooves at his side as he aimed for the pony's back with his head. Impact was approaching. As hard as the stallion attempted to dodge from side to side, Free Form's aim was magnificent. The two bodies collided.

* * * * * * *

Shadow Light took her time guiding the diplomat from Luna down the corridor to the throne room. I should kill him. He could foul everything up! But the three guards accompanying them would keep that from happening. She had no choice but to take him to the Princess. Perhaps she would be able to slip out. Why didn't I anticipate this? Everything she had worked for could be ruined.

Sighing, Shadow opened the door to the throne room. "Presenting Olive Branch, a diplomat from Princess Luna." It took great effort to keep her voice steady.

Princess Celestia stood, smiling at the diplomat. He walked toward the matriarch and bowed. Shadow Light took her place behind Princess Celestia, grimacing. "It is a great relief to see you, Olive Branch. I had been afraid I had somehow offended my sister when she did not respond to my letter within a week. But I suppose it takes time to teleport from the moon."

Olive Branch looked Celestia in the eye. "I come bearing a warning and nothing more." Shadow Light's attention snapped to the stallion. "The glorious Princess of the Night declares that you shall regret it if you do not keep your forces off of Ferus Island. If you do not destroy or surrender all the stones you have thus far collected, Canterlot shall be overthrown. A corrupt empire cannot be allowed to survive."

Shadow’s mouth fell open. Scanning the stallions hooves, she asked herself, Where is it? Where is the engraving?

Celestia frowned, thinking. After a moment, she said, "Tell her I have no wish for conflict, but she cannot possibly think she can overthrow Canterlot. This is the most heavily defended city in Equestria. She must realize that it would be impossible for her to take."

"You know not of our capabilities. We shall take Canterlot if you do not comply. Tell me, how many ponies have traveled to the moon so far?"

If he is not with us—with me—than for whom is he working?

Celestia eyed the stallion warily. "According to our knowledge, around four hundred, including mares and foals. Hardly enough for an army."

The white stallion laughed. "As I said, you know not of our capabilities. The Glorious Princess of the Night has spoken, and shall not offer any further warning. You have four days to comply with these demands." Turning, Olive Branch left the throne room.

Could he truly be from Luna? Was my forgery that effective?

"Shadow Light," Princess Celestia said after he had gone. "Send a messenger to the Ferus Land Force. Call half of them back." It took Shadow Light a moment to comprehend what had just occurred, but she nodded and hurried down a side passage.

Luck has graced the Minions of Discord this day.

* * * * * * *

The island was calm in the cool air of the evening. The land forces had arrived three days ago. They moved surprisingly fast in establishing a more permanent fortress in the field. There were wooden palisades up, and the container for the stones was far larger than Rainbow had been imagining. It would take quite some time to fill.

Although the gathering of the stones had sped up quite a bit as the mine was expanded. The land force spent most of the day underground, hauling up wheelbarrows full of the things. It pleased Twilight, of course, but that much power could be an incredibly dangerous thing. Until Twilight had explained it to her, Rainbow had not known Celestia intended to cure all of Equestria from the island, in one mass spell. It seemed too ridiculous to believe, but she was the princess, and Rainbow would never question her.

Rainbow was just about to head back to the camp, having finished her nightly patrol. Turning to the horizon, she noticed a sparkle in the distance, like the glint off a piece of broken glass. Furrowing her brow, she flew toward it. It was only several miles away, and she arrived in a matter of minutes. A light fly always cleared her mind before bed anyway.

As she approached the place the glint had come from, she began seeing some strange piles of dirt. The geologist pony had gone on several digging expeditions, but none this far from the camp. Grimacing, Rainbow landed on one. "Hey, Diamond Dogs!" she called. There was no answer. "What are you even doing out here?" Still nothing but silence replied. "Hey Rock Mutts, I'm talking to you--"

Rainbow was pushed from behind and tumbled halfway down the pile of dirt before managing to take flight. Turning to face her attacker, she saw a Diamond Dog on the top of the mound, chattering an incomprehensible string of words. He was holding something, but Rainbow couldn't see what.

"What are you doing here? You hunt gems! There are no gems here!"

"My precious does not need to be a gem, no..." The creature was cooing to the thing in his arms. "My precious is perfect just as she is, yes...." Picking up a clod of dirt, he threw it at Rainbow Dash.

Ducking to avoid the projectile, Rainbow made a dive and bucked the Diamond Dog off of the mound of dirt. The creature rolled down the pile, flailing his arms about. The Ferus Stone he had been holding flew into the air and Rainbow caught it, being careful not to activate it. Twilight had taught her and the other non-unicorn scouts how to avoid accidently casting magic.

"My precious!" the dog cried up from below. "Give it to me!" He began jumping up and down as if trying to reach Rainbow and pull her back to earth. Rainbow frowned, looking at the glowing stone. Sighing, she focused on it in the same manner she had absent-mindedly done on the first scouting trip. She remembered the Rainboom again, and the emotion that filled her seemed to channel itself through the stone. It was released in a beam of blue magic, colliding with one of the mounds, sending a spray of dirt everywhere.

Shaking the dust from her mane, she saw the Diamond Dog still jumping below. Then he did a double take. "What have you done to my precious?" he demanded. Rainbow glanced at the stone in her hand and saw that it was empty now. The dog leaped into the air and dug his way down on the dive, vanishing into the ground. As Rainbow began to fly away, she heard cackling laughter coming from the hole. "My precious! Here you are! And another precious! And another!!!"

Rainbow turned back and narrowed her eyes. After a moment the top of the hole was filled with dirt, mimicking the other mounds. Rainbow turned back toward the camp and started flying back as the sun fell below the horizon.

* * * * * * *

Trotting out into the empty valley, Twilight watched with satisfaction as the sun dipped completely below the horizon. The moon arose at the opposite end of the sky, and Twilight nodded. Turning around, she opened her saddlebag. The light from the ten glowing stones within momentarily blinded her in the darkness, but she adjusted and touched a hoof to one of them. The shifting feeling in her horn was noticeably stronger than it had been with just one or two stones. She felt as though she was limitless... She closed her eyes for a moment to enjoy the feeling.

Snapping them open, she thought to herself I can't let myself be distracted. Looking up, she focused on a valley on the moon. Unicorns had teleported to and from the moon before, but it usually took at least twelve hours to cast the spell. The moon was the furthest place visible. Although having the destination in sight was not a requirement of teleporation, per say, it did help imensely.

She sent out feelers, using some of the energy from the stones to expedite the process. They hit the moon’s surface a moment later, and she smiled, building the linking flows between the two locations. Smiling to herself, she thrust the stone's energy into punching her through.

Blinking and looking around, Twilight examined the lunar surface. She had never been to the moon before, as until recently everypony had been too afraid of Nightmare Moon to try it. She felt.... lighter. The difference was significant, in fact. After the plague was cured, she would have to return to discover why.

Looking at her stones, she saw that they were a little less than half full. Sighing, she went about filling them until she had enough to get back.

* * * * * * *

Nightmare Moon opened her eyes. The light of the infernal sun was streaming onto her bed in most unpleasant ways. It was year thirty-four of her imprisonment, and she still had been unable to entirely block the light from her castle.

Trotting through a doorway and down a massive flight of stairs leading to her mine, she yawned. The small amount of magic Celestia had allowed her made constructing the palace go a bit too slowly for her tastes. As she reached the bottom, she began the endless task of cutting square blocks of moonstone and ferrying them up to the surface once more.

As she shoved a flow of magic into the side of the wall, she felt something...odd about it. It was as if it was being sucked up by something.... Letting the flow go, she began bucking the wall. After several bucks, the moonstone crumbled away and a flood of rocks poured out. They...they were glowing.

Luna lurched up with a jolt. She had not had nightmares of her former self for over a year. For the past few years she had tried to force the memory of her imprisonment out of her mind, but every attempt had been unsuccessful. She remembered most of it in vivid detail. And yet try as she might she could remember nothing involving the stones.

Getting up and walking to a mirror, she sat there, staring into her own reflection, feeling the sickly feeling the stones gave her. Is one here on the moon? Or is it just a memory? The feeling abruptly vanished and Luna shook her head, trying to clear it. Yawning, she looked back at the bed. With a sigh, she pulled a book from a shelf and began reading, not wanting to dream—or even think—of the stones or Nightmare Moon any more.

Chapter 7: Theft and Capture

Chapter 7

Theft and Capture

Spike gazed down into the tall cylindrical container. Every time a stone fell into it, there was a little flash of light. Spike had to squint as the constant stream of ponies with wheelbarrows dropped stones in. Even with such a regular input, the contents of the container never seemed to grow. It was going to take a long time to fill.

"Everything looks good," Twilight said with a smile. They were standing on a raised platform which surrounded the lip of the container. The sun was nearly below the horizon, but everypony was still working hard. "We're moving along right on schedule. After the conveyer belt it built, it will go much faster. We'll begin charging tomorrow." As a test, Twilight sent a beam of purple magic into the pit, smiling as it made contact with the stones below. "Now I need to get some research done. You can stay here and watch the operation if you want, Spike."

"Sure!" Spike said eagerly. Leaping off Twilight's back, he sat down on the edge of the container, his feet dangling into the pit.

"Be careful, Spike," Twilight warned before trotting back to her room.

The long line of ponies stretched down a spiraling ramp. The line was moving quickly, and nopony ever had to wait for anypony else. Some of the ponies were dumping the contents into the pit, but most were dumping it into a growing pile of dirt and rocks off the side of the platform. Standing and looking over the edge, Spike saw the spiral ramp led down into a large hole in the ground below. That would be the mine. There were scouting parties out surveying the surface, but the mine was a much faster source of stones. The ground seemed to be filled to bursting with them.

Spike fell in with the stream of ponies moving away from the container. They walked down another ramp and down into another hole. The mine was very efficient, thanks to Twilight's planning, and nopony was ever left waiting. As the ramp carried him below ground, Spike stared in awe at the number of ponies occupying the cavern that opened up before him. Reaching the bottom of the ramp, Spike fell out of line and looked up. The ceiling was not high, but the room was very expansive and filled with ponies working.

On the walls, ponies with pickaxes chipped away the wall. Ponies behind them loaded the dirt and rocks from this into wheelbarrows. These were dumped onto conveyer belts, which ran past sorter ponies, who examined any rocks in the line of dirt and took them out if they were Ferus Stones, tossing them into wheelbarrows. The excess dirt and rocks were carried on down the conveyer and fell into other wheelbarrows. Ponies from the line would grab the first full wheelbarrow they came to and take it to the spiral ramp. The next pony in line would replace the wheel barrow, and continue on down the line of sorting conveyers until they came to a full wheelbarrow. If they ever made it to the end of the line without encountering a full wheelbarrow, they went on mining duty. If there weren't enough ponies to take all the full wheelbarrows, they would call one of the miners back. Twilight had told Spike that this prevented bottlenecking, and he didn't see anything wrong with anypony's neck, so it must have been working. The only other ponies in the mine were constantly building wooden supports to keep the ceiling from caving in.

Spike walked behind the line of miners, hoping to find a gem or two poking out among the refuse they left. There was nothing but boring old rocks with a glowing one here and there. The whole island seemed incredibly devoid of gems. He wished he had packed more than he had. Coming to a section of the wall where nopony was working, Spike examined a pile of glowing rocks. Twilight had said something about leaving some charged Stones in the mine to help with mining when she got around to teaching some unicorns how to use them.

The empty patch of the wall crumbled. Spike saw a Diamond Dog suddenly reaching out to grab at the glowing stones. Yelling in alarm, the surrounding mining ponies came to see what was going on. The Diamond Dog grabbed two stones and vanished back into the wall. Immediately another piece of wall crumbled a little further down the line, and a Diamond Dog leaped out and grabbed a stone that was lying in a pile of dirt one of the miners had just loosed. Suddenly, Diamond Dogs began jumping out from everywhere, laying about for any Stones they could get their hands on. As the miners ran to start fighting them off, Spike sprinted toward the exit ramp.

* * * * * * *

Twilight sat down on the floor and looked at the dimly-glowing stone. Picking it up, she looked into it. It was nothing but a dull stone beneath the glow. What the things were and where they had come from was the question that had plagued her for the past week. There was no natural explanation for them, which meant they had to have been created at some point. But by whom? They seemed to be indestructible, and what could forge that which could not be destroyed?

Sighing, Twilight turned to an ancient tome she had found. It was the oldest record of history that she had ever seen. Celestia had given it to her, hoping it would help in the research of the stones. Celestia had believed it to be nearly eight-hundred years old. Turning the fragile pages gently, she became enthralled with the words.

The Reign of Discord was ended in the year zero by two young Alicorns. These Alicorns were incredibly talented with magic, and had discovered the Elements of Harmony on Chorus Mountain. Nopony knows where exactly the Elements came from. They seem to have been forged by somepony ages ago, but nopony knows by whom.

The Alicorns had only recently received their Marks of Talent. Due to the incredibly strong nature of their magic, they were given the abilities to control the sun and moon. Grasping these things from the control of Discord threw him into a confused daze. They seized the opportunity to move in and defeat him using the Elements of Harmony, encasing him in stone for all time. Everypony worshiped them for what they had done, and they assumed the roles of Princesses, ruling over the land.

Twilight looked up from the book. Chorus Mountain? She had never heard of it. Perhaps the name had been changed through the years. Just like Marks of Talent. She turned her head as Spike burst through the door panting. "Twilight, Diamond Dogs are invading the mine!" Twilight jumped to her feet. Just then, Spike belched and a scroll appeared. Picking it up and reading it, Twilight gasped.

"Spike, go to Rainbow Dash. Give her this letter." She handed him a smaller scroll which had been rolled inside the larger. "Have the guard ponies who don't immediately leave help out in the mine. I have to go to the moon." Throwing on her saddlebags full of charged stones, she stepped outside, touched the topmost stone, and looked up. In a flash the landscape around her changed to the grey of the moon's surface. She dropped the bags, knowing that Luna would not want her to bring the stones near her, and started at a gallop toward the single tower of the palace visible in the distance.

* * * * * * *

Pure Corruption watched the purple unicorn gallop across the surface of the moon. It was a rare sight--most Unicorns were unbearably tired after spending all day teleporting to the moon. This one seemed vibrant and well-rested. Most odd.... Looking back at the bags the pony had dropped, Pure gasped. "Take her," he mumbled to the three ponies behind him. They complied, galloping off to a small pass in a ridge the pony would undoubtedly traverse soon.

Pure trotted to the saddlebags. Opening them, he gasped. Shadow Light had reported such glowing Stones, but she had also said she had been lucky to get her hands on one. Pure smiled and threw the bags on his back. Trotting toward the pass, he laughed, thinking of the praise he would receive from Shadow Light for this accomplishment.

Watching the purple Unicorn as she galloped toward the pass, Pure laughed again as she was tackled. She put up a half-way decent fight, but one of the attackers clubbed her upside the head with a large moonstone, knocking her out cold. Yes, he would certainly be praised.

* * * * * * *

Rainbow Dash,

I am recalling eighty percent of the Ferus Island forces back to Canterlot. Luna has made threats of attacking the city, and seems confident. You will remain there and be placed in charge of the remaining force. I believe Twilight will be able to defend against any attackers using the stones, so it should be no problem.

Princess Celestia

Rainbow Dash read and reread the letter, her mouth hanging open. Luna threatened Canterlot? Was she out of her mind? Looking up, she spied the Commander of the Ferus Island forces. Flying to him, she handed the letter over and exchanged a few words before returning to Spike. "Now what else did you need, Spike?"

"Diamond Dogs are attacking the mine!" he exclaimed.

"Oh hay-seeds! Come on," she motioned to her squadron. "We've got to buck some mutts out of our mine." They flew off toward the mine entrance. Dropping down through the hole, they saw the extent of the battle. Some of the dogs appeared to be retreating, but there were still numerous patches of fighting going on all over the cavern. The pile of Stones meant to be used in defense was gone, and several miners lay wounded on the ground. Diving into the fray, Rainbow Dash started kicking any Diamond Dog in sight.

Why does this sort of thing always happen to me?

* * * * * * *

Rarity stepped off the gangplank from the boat onto the island. Turning to Fluttershy, she nodded. They had gotten sick of waiting around for something to happen, and had decided to form this band of ponies: The Peace Hooves.

The boats held nearly a hundred ponies they had gotten to join in their cause. They had numerous nurses and several doctors to help if ever the conflict led to fighting. Rarity dearly hoped it would never come to that, but they had to be prepared. Also included in the ranks were several ponies skilled in speech craft and debating. These would be useful for organizing peaceful solutions to conflicts, and promoting diplomacy.

Fluttershy looked worried as she watched the ponies trot off the boats. Rarity flashed her a reassuring smile, which brightened the yellow mare only briefly. Rarity turned toward the fortress visible from the shore and gasped. There was an army marching toward the docks nearly a mile down the shoreline.

"Where do you suppose they're going?" Fluttershy asked in her soft voice.

"I don't know, but I don't like the looks of it," Rarity replied. "At any rate, we need to meet with Twilight and Rainbow, and let them know what we're doing here." Fluttershy nodded, and followed as Rarity started trotting toward the tall wooden palisades.

* * * * * * *

A throbbing headache was the first thing Twilight was aware of as she awoke. The second was the pain from kinks in her neck and back brought about by her awkward sleeping position. Lifting her head, she blinked, trying to clear the blurriness from her eyes. What had happened? Had she been attacked? That sounded familiar....

"I see you are awake." The voice coming from a blurry gray Earth Pony was chilling. "I have some questions for you."

Twilight groaned and put a hoof to her head as she tried to stand up. "Who are you?"

The voice laughed as her vision cleared. "All in good time, filly." Moving to a table placed on the wall of the dimly lit room, the gray pony picked a Ferus Stone up. "Right now I want you to tell me everything you know about these."

Twilight shook her head and immediately regretted it as the throbbing in her head increased. "I'm not telling you anything."

Another laugh. He ducked his head through the small doorway and called somepony to come inside. A Unicorn entered, taking the stone from the gray pony with a nod. Focusing on Twilight's horn, the Unicorn slammed magic into it. He throbbing headache was replaced by piercing pain all over her body. Horns were meant for one-way focusing of raw magic into usable energy, and pumping magic through the other way was like trying to force water to go upstream. It was usually impossible, since the horn naturally repelled magic from the outside--much like a full Ferus Stone--but Twilight supposed it would be doable with the power and speed of a Ferus Stone.

The flow ended abruptly but the pain lingered on, and Twilight passed out, a chilling laugh filling her ears.

Chapter 8: Enter Griffons

Chapter 8

Enter Griffons

Nightmare Moon looked into the hole. She had it nearly half filled. The small pocket of stones she had found nearly five months ago was but one of numerous small chambers full of the glowing beauties. She was quite happy with how it was going. She needed the stones here, on the surface, to aide in the teleportation back to Equestria. It was a far distance, and being able to see it would help.

Sighing, she lay down and began charging the stones. She had done this each day, bringing them up to their full capacity. They fascinated and enthralled her. She would be free. Free! Looking up at the sun, she scowled at the fact that it was visible. Days on the moon lasted 28 Equestrian days, and sometimes it was hard for her to get through the light without vomiting at the memory of her greedy sister.

She picked up one of the stones she had refrained from casting into the depths of the pit. Gazing into it, she drifted off to sleep...

Luna opened her eyes and ran through her memories of the dream, trying to shove the feeling of revulsion out of her mind. She recalled nothing of the stones from Nightmare Moon's time imprisoned! It was as if it had never happened. But if that were so, where are these dreams coming from?

Trotting to her room's balcony, she looked down at the farm. Applejack and numerous others were hard at work cultivating soil and examining the sprouting plants. She had told Luna that growing on the moon was significantly different from growing in Equestria, and she would need some time to adjust, but the plants were coming along beautifully. Applejack had a true talent for farming.

Luna stepped back inside her room, walking to her desk. Frowning, she looked at the unopened letter on her desk. It must have arrived while she slept. Opening it, she saw her sister's grand flowing script.

Luna,

I request a direct letter to my throne room outlining your intentions regarding the stones, Ferus Island, and Canterlot for verification purposes.

Celestia

Luna blinked and reread the short note. Celestia was never so brief. Pulling out her quill and ink, Luna began writing.

* * * * * * *

Rainbow Dash drifted about the cavern, surveying the Guard. The first attack of the dogs had been fought off, but subsequent invasions came frequently. They had begun storing their defense stones in another container above-ground, to make them more difficult to swipe, but the Diamond Dogs seemed to have an insatiable appetite for collecting the glowing things, and a deep hatred for anypony else in possession of them.

All was calm now. There been nearly ten casualties in the past four days in Diamond Dog attacks, and Rainbow was done fooling around. She had ordered the guard to attack on sight, and use any force necessary.

Four days! Where is Twilight? Rainbow worried about her friend. The only thing Spike knew was that she had teleported to the moon. Coupled with the threats from Luna...No, Rainbow could not allow herself to believe that Luna had taken her prisoner.

Flying up out of the mine, Rainbow spotted a scout she had sent to the east approaching. As she neared, panting, she said, "Commander Dash, there is a large mass of Griffons approaching. It appears to be an army."

Rainbow raised her eyebrows. "What do they want?" she asked.

The panting Pegasus shook her head. "I don't know, I came to you as soon as I saw them. They are headed right for our position."

Rainbow groaned. "We have no forces here! We'd better hope they're not planning anything stupid." She saw the Pegasus still panting there, waiting for orders. Rainbow still hadn't gotten used to being in charge. "You go rest. Take the day off. You did good." The scout saluted and flew down to the fortress. Rainbow flew to the west. Perhaps Fluttershy and Rarity would be able to do some good here after all.

The Peace Hooves' camp was set up only a mile from the fortress. It was comprised of tents. Rainbow had offered rooms in the fortress for them to stay in, but Rarity and Fluttershy said they didn't want to be directly associated with any one party or some such rot.

Trotting into the Main Office--which was a slightly larger tent than the rest--Rainbow saw Rarity and Fluttershy drinking tea on the floor. "Hello, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said. "What brings you here this fine day?"

"There's an army of Griffons coming this way. We don't have nearly enough forces to try to fend them off, and I have no idea what they want."

Fluttershy and Rarity stared at her blandly, still sipping their tea. "And?" Rarity replied finally.

Rainbow sighed. She suddenly regretted being so rude about their Peace Hooves idea when they arrived four days ago. She couldn't recall exactly what she had said, but the phrase 'Diplomacy is for little fillies,' came to memory. "I guess I'm asking for your help."

Rarity smiled. "But Rainbow--"

"Save it, Rarity. I'm not in the mood. I lost two ponies today to Diamond Dog attacks. If you want to play your little head games then forget it, 'cause I don't have time for them." She turned, heading for the door.

"Wait, Rainbow. I'm sorry, I didn't know. Of course we'll help. We'll head west as soon as we can." Her voice carried a hint of sincere sorrow.

"Fine. Let me know when you go. I'll come too." Leaving the tent, she took to the sky.

* * * * * * *

Garron was... large. He was significantly larger than the average Griffin. He was dark black with a white head. His magnificent wings were spread in a show of strength. He sat silently and stared at the three ponies standing in front of him. They seemed rather small to him, as all ponies did. Well, all but the Alicorns. He frowned, trying to decide how much information to give them.

"You want to know why we're here? Alright, I'll tell you. We are here because our informants tell us that you have a cure for the plague. Some sort of rocks. As you likely know, the Griffin population has been affected by the sickness as well. We are just as anxious for the cure, and if you get it, we should get it as well. So we are here to take out fair share of the cure and then be on our way."

"That's not exactly how it works," the light blue pony with a rainbow mane said. "The stones aren't a physical cure. They have to do with magic."

Garron spat. "Magic is for the weak." Ponies were only as far advanced as they were because of magic. Griffins had gotten to their current impressive status by hard work and dedication, rather than having thing handed to them supernaturally. However, Garron reminded himself, Magic was what helped defeat Discord more than a thousand years ago. Griffins owed that to Celestia and Luna. Discord had hated the griffins. For some reason, he found them repulsive, and had taken it upon himself to punish them all. Garron had not been there himself, of course, but Griffin heritage was always pure and true.

"Well, it's the only way to stop the plague, so..." The rainbow pony scratched at the ground with her hoof impatiently.

"Um.... If I can.... um.... say something..." The nearly inaudible voice came from the yellow pony, who seemed to be in a constant state of cowering. "Well, if you... um... just wait for us to... um... gather the stones... then we can heal your... um... plague as soon as we finish healing... ours..."

Garron frowned at the yellow pony. "Why don't I just take them all and use them to heal our people myself?"

"Commander Garron," the White Unicorn said. Garron frowned at her, but she didn't even blink. "The stones require somepony skilled in the art of magic to use properly. Using enough of them to cure the plague will take somepony incredibly talented. We already have somepony like that. You simply don't. It just wouldn't work."

Garron scowled. To suggest that magic was required for anything was considered crude and vulgar in Griffin society. Furthermore, Griffins despised it when the term 'anypony' was used. "You lie! I have reports of non-Unicorn ponies using the stones!"

"Ah, yes well--" the white one began.

"No!" Garron shouted. "I'll hear no more of your falsehoods. The Griffins will end this plague without lies. We have no secrets from anyone. I'll give you until dawn tomorrow to evacuate your troops."

"But if you'll just let me explain!" the Unicorn shouted as they were pushed away from him. Garron sighed and watched them be thrust away, until finally they turned and left on their own. Why must Ponies be so difficult?

* * * * * * *

Pure Corruption watched the purple pony through the bars of the cell. She was merely standing in the middle of the cage, brow furrowed, examining everything around her. She was not a normal pony; that was for certain. She took no notice of Pure whatsoever, her eyes just passing over him as she scrutinized every nook and cranny. She was still wincing in pain from the headache occasionally, so she wasn't likely to be able to cast any spells more complicated than producing a little light. That was good news. Also good news was the fact that the stones were not able to be magically moved. If she got her hooves on one of them, she would likely be able to escape, but for now they were safe.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Twilight Sparkle?" he asked mockingly.

She managed a little smile. "Yes. I'd like to know how and when you got us back to Equestria."

Pure frowned. He had been hoping the Unicorn thought they were still on the moon. That was why they were in a secure underground cell. The move was one of the first tests of the stones that the Unicorns performed. Sighing, he said, "What gave it away?"

Twilight laughed. "I can't tell you all my secrets, now, can I?"

A messenger came in, and handed Pure a letter.

Pure Corruption,

The time is upon us! Celestia has moved most of her forces out of Ferus Island! Move in, and strike! Gather as many stones as you can get your hooves on and secure them underground! Move with haste, my servant!

Shadow Light

"Unfortunately, my dear Twilight, I cannot stay to chat. I have business to attend to." Trotting through the doorway at the far end of the room, he walked through several hundred feet of hallway before coming to the main stairway. It was long, and tiresome, but he was used to it. Upon finally reaching the top, he poked his head up and looked about, squinting in the low light of evening. Hundreds of ponies stood in armor, ready to move out. They saluted as he rose above the surface. He walked along the front line, examining the troops. He sighed and began his speech.

"This is the time, my friends! For over a thousand years we have been under the suppression of Order that Celestia, and now her sister Luna have pressed upon us! Some ponies say it is Order which makes the world go round, but I say differently! It is Order which limits us! It is Order that keeps us from reaching our full potential! It is Order which keeps the higher-ups in power, and pushes the low into the ground! Well I tell you today, I will not stand for it! The Great Lord will rise again, and his release begins with us!

"The ponies have mistakenly recalled most of their forces to Canterlot! This will be their downfall! They shall be overrun and crushed by us! Their desperate grasp on reality will slip from their hooves! Order shall be a mere memory! A stain on the course of pony history!

"And now we go. We go to fight for freedom! Freedom from this painfully restricting reality! It shall end in Chaos, my friends! Justice shall be served, and I swear on my life that it shall be us, the Minions of Discord who serve it!"

* * * * * * *

"We are not retreating." Rainbow's voice was calm. "The Griffins have us outnumbered, sure. They may be irrational and insane. But we represent Princess Celestia, and we shall defend her honor. The Guard feels the same way."

"But Rainbow," Rarity pleaded. "You are all going to be crushed! The Griffins have a large enough army to overtake the fortress with two hooves tied behind their backs!"

Rainbow turned and started walking away. "We have no choice, Rarity. I'm staying. You and Fluttershy should go back to your camp. I doubt they'll attack the Peace Hooves, but with Griffins you never know."

Fluttershy took a step forward. "I'm staying wherever you are."

Rarity followed in suit. "As am I."

Rainbow turned and smiled at them. "We'll be fine. Trust me." She leapt into the air and flew toward the pit.

* * * * * * *

Chrysalis frowned. She could feel animosity on the island. According to her scouts, it was from the Griffins and Ponies not getting along. It was bad news. To make it worse, these fools calling themselves the Minions of Discord were preparing to attack from the south, taking advantage of the lack of troops Celestia had on the island. The lack of troops that she had arranged.

Why must everypony take the spoils of my work at once?

A messenger entered the room. "My Queen, the troops are ready to move in." The feeling of animosity was ever growing. This was not good. As a creature who fed on love, Chrysalis didn't like fighting a battle where so much hatred reigned.

Frowning, she sighed. "Call them back. Tell them to get some rest tonight. The assault will have to wait." The domination of Equestria would have to wait. Sighing disappointedly, Chrysalis trotted to her bed and collapsed, falling asleep.