The War of Ferus Island

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!