The War of Ferus Island

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."