Dear Skystar,
My friends and I just had a wild field trip today!! Headmare Starlight took us to see the northern lights for Hearth’s Warming Eve and it was awesome! Did you know that they have special guided tours ONLY on the night they are visible? Every other day, they are closed! Well, I’ll tell you what we did.
So Gallus and I shared a kiss underneath the lights and it was just magical. I think everycreature knows we’re in love by this point, but come on! It’s not like it was a secret or anything. We made it very obvious. Sandbar tried to show Yona how ice skates worked, but…it failed spectacularly. No near death experience this time, I promise. Smolder and Ocellus went dogsledding and Ocellus actually transformed into a wolf at one point to get those lazy bums to work and nearly got us kicked out of the place for it. Luckily Headmare Starlight and Counselor Trixie got us back in through bribing the management with our connection to Princess Twilight! That’s not illegal, right?
Anyway, I sure wish you could be there with me. We have so much fun and I think of you everyday of the week. How’s Princess Training treating you? I know things have been rough since last incident, but I thought Aunt Novo would’ve come around by now. Just know that if you ever need to chat, we got our meetup in just a few months. I love you, my favorite cousin.
Sincerely,
Silverstream.
Princess Skystar stood on the shorelines of the ocean that connected the two kingdoms of Hippogriffia with a massive smile on her face. The waves splashed against her claws and the wind blew through her mane as she held the letter close to her chest. This was the fourth letter she had received the whole week, the most ever in a long while, and she could not wait to hear from Silverstream again.
Since the Storm King had been defeated, the decision to move the hippogriffs back up to Mount Aris had seen more economic and social growth than ever in the history of the realm. Friendship and cooperation had been extended from Equestria to the hippogriffs and close relations only increased with the ascension of Princess Twilight Sparkle to the throne. Visits were common and Skystar now had more friends than she could ever ask for!
Yet, something just felt off and she couldn’t exactly put her claws or fins on it. Everything from the optimistic future to the close allies they now had seemed like a perfect world to live in. Yet she felt strangely empty. How could this be? She didn’t know. For some reason, the only thing she looked forward to in the entire world was hearing from Silverstream, her favorite cousin, who was currently studying abroad in Equestria.
She looked up to the sky, feeling the warm rays of the Sun beam down on her and watching the clouds drift by her in a sea of calmness. Her world seemed so perfect, yet it was sorely lacking one thing, one small thing that kept her up at night, and she didn’t know what. That’s when the missing ingredient hit her, the one small thing she was missing in order to truly feel content and at ease, and that one troublesome matter that kept her incomplete.
Love.
It wasn’t like Queen Novo didn’t love her. The brave and majestic leader of the hippogriffs certainly did a whole lot, but she didn’t have a whole lot of time to show it. Being Queen of two entire functioning kingdoms was no easy task, and the monarch took it to heart with all the grace as a ruler should, carrying all the responsibilities and duties on her shoulders almost effortlessly. However, being that good at ruling meant there was barely any time for mother-daughter bonding. Whenever Skystar wanted to hang out, play, or even talk with her, Novo was far too busy and often dismissed her.
Now she was old enough to understand the responsibilities of a Queen, that much was certain, and she would never dare ask her mother to forsake the heavy weight for trifle entertainment. But because of that, Skystar had almost no one to talk to aside from the hippogriffs she hung out with and the seaponies that would sometimes take pity on her and partake in her games despite their better judgement. She didn’t want pity though. She wanted true affection from someone, ANYONE.
When Princess Twilight and her friends had come down searching for the hippogriffs, Skystar saw her chance to finally have true friends that would love her for who she was. It didn’t last of course, but before the School of Friendship was ever a thing, she and Silverstream hung out regularly and they were the closest of cousins, having grown up together. When Twilight was looking for her first batch of students though, Silverstream was selected to go and Skystar remembered sobbing for weeks on end, refusing to eat or even speak with any of her personal servants. She remembered how heartbroken and betrayed she felt, how she desperately wanted to go as well, but Novo was firm, and there would be no further discussion.
Happiness was simple, but the thing about it was that it didn’t last.
After about three months, she had more or less gotten over the heartbreak, but the pain still lingered, gnawing away at her like termites on wood. She needed to get this off her chest and as she now thought about all the fun Silverstream and her friends were most likely having without her, the old feelings of loneliness and despair came rushing back like a tsunami and she felt like crying all over again, asking, no, BEGGING the heavens to just let her be truly happy…just once.
Only…she wasn’t going to do that this time. No, she had to talk to Queen Novo about this whether she wanted to or not. She HAD to go to that school and learn with her cousin. There was no other solution, princess duties be darned. She didn’t have a plan nor a method of convincing her mother, but she was going to try anyway.
Putting the letter in her waterproof blue saddlebag, she transformed into a seapony and dove beneath the waves.
———————————————————————————————————————————————
The sea could be considered a world in itself to all who beheld it, and that was not any less true today. All kinds of life lived down in this hidden world, from the majestic coral reefs to the diverse marine life that inhabited it the shallow and deep areas. It was truly an anomaly to most creatures how life could exist all the way down in the deepest and darkest depths and still survive.
The ocean did not need an explanation though. It simply was, and the seaponies understood that. The fish didn’t need to explain how they could live in various temperatures, how their unique adaptations, mutations, and evolutions allowed them to survive. They simply did. It was a tale that weaved all the way back to the dawn of time itself. After all, the seaponies always spoke about how the way of water had no beginning and no end as the story was infinite. The sea lived around you and in you, for it was your home, before your birth, and after your death. The sea gave when it needed to, and took when it needed to. Water connected all things, life to death, and darkness to light.
Skystar swam through her aquatic surroundings, waving to the massive grey whales and the orange fish that swam by her. She giggled as an octopus swam up to her and waved back at her with its tentacles, parting to let her pass by. The Sun shone its brilliant rays down, illuminating all in its path with heavenly light as the coral reefs swished back and forth rhythmically. As she swam along further, a large sea turtle rubbed her cheek affectionately, sensing her troubles, silently telling her that everything was going to be okay. She nodded slowly, thanking the turtle for its concern and it let her continue on her mission.
It took a while of swimming, but eventually she reached the shining lights of Seaquestria, the village of pink houses cluttered together in an ensemble greeting her warmly. She smiled as she looked upon her home. It was their greatest achievement. It told the story of an indigenous species hunted to near extinction by outside forces and how they were able to rise again from the ashes of defeat and humiliation, stronger and prouder than ever before.
She continued on to the large castle on top, waving to any seaponies she passed. Finally, she reached her home and swam underneath the opening, emerging on the other side into the place she called home.
She looked all around for Queen Novo, finally finding her mother in her usual spot, taking a long nap on her throne. She swam up to her, apprehensive of what was going to happen.
“Mother! Mother!” Skystar prodded Novo with her fins, “Wake up! Wake up! Can we talk?”
“Mmm…” the majestic queen mumbled in her sleep, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Ocean Flow…you know Mother hates pickles…”
“Pickles?” Skystar was confused now.
“Huh?” Finally, Queen Novo began to wake, stretching as her beauty sleep ended with the constant prodding of her daughter. She sat up, at first puzzled until her eyes focused on Skystar and she became fully lucid. “Ah, Skystar, there you are. What do you need, sweet pea? ‘Just dreaming of that one failed prank your aunt and I pulled on my Mom as kids. Let me tell you, we were so GROUNDED.”
“You replaced the Pearl with a pickle, didn’t you?”
“Exactly,” Novo confirmed, “Come to think of it, I’ve told you this story before, haven’t I? Let it be known, that is why we have the alarm system. What do you need?”
“Well,” Skystar took a deep breath and spilled the beans in a tumble of words, “I got another letter from Silverstream today and I was just thinking you know after a while of seeing me so lonely you’d finally relent and let me go enroll at the School of Friendship so I can be with my cousin Silverstream who is the only one I know will have actual time to spend with me sooooooooo…yes?”
The two guards below them looked at each other in complete and total bewilderment, not understanding a single thing their princess had just said.
Queen Novo understood though as her relaxed demeanor faded instantly. “Skystar, we’ve talked about this, I need you here-“
“I know!” Skystar said, “But you’re just so busy! And I know I can’t ask you to drop everything to spend time with me, so I just want to be with someone who can!”
“There are more important things in the world than leisure time,” Novo stated a matter-of-factly, “I don’t know why this is suddenly being brought up again. You haven’t talked about it in a long time and now suddenly it’s an issue again?”
“Please!” Skystar implored her, “I know the real reason why you don’t want me to go. Whenever I want to go anywhere else, even diplomatic summits, you let me. Yet when it’s something about Twilight, you…you say no. This is about her trying to steal the Pearl, isn’t it?”
Queen Novo sighed deeply. “Yes. Yes, I’m afraid it is. I didn’t want to tell you the truth as that would make me sound like a complete hypocrite for wanting you to get over things, but…it’s true.”
“You’re still mad at her about that?” Skystar asked, “Why?”
“Because she nearly took the only thing protecting us from the Storm King!!” Queen Novo yelled. “I don’t care what her reasoning was. We offered our hospitality to those demons and they almost left us completely vulnerable!! Can you imagine what would’ve happened if our Pearl was actually stolen?! And to top it all off, you want to go to a school run by the very same pony who tried to destroy our way of life?! I want nothing to do with her, this discussion is CLOSED!!”
“Except it isn’t!!” Skystar shot back. “I wouldn’t’ve asked this in the first place if you had just spent a little bit of time with me!!!” She gasped as soon as she blurted it out, tears forming on the corners of her eyes.
Queen Novo was stunned into silence. The temperature seemed to grow colder around them, the warm feeling that was present now gone.
“What are you saying, sweetie?” Novo asked her.
“You never spend any time with me anymore!!” Skystar cried. “You know why I occupy all my time with shells?! Because they can’t leave!! I’ve been stuck underwater for most of my life with barely anyone to talk to, you’re so busy with your duties that you practically ignore me, the first visitors that come in years you chase out for a misunderstanding, Silverstream gets chosen to represent us and I now don’t even have her to play with anymore, what do I have?! I’ll tell you what. Nothing!!”
“Skystar-“
“Silverstream and I used to play together all the time!! We would swim up to the surface, laugh and tell each other stories, share everything together…now she’s gone!! You and General Seaspray made this decision behind my back without telling me and I didn’t even get to say goodbye!! And you told me to get over it!! The only time I see her is during the Three Days of Freedom Celebration and I didn’t even get to see her this year because they wereoff on a field trip!!!!”
Queen Novo hung her head low in regret. “Skystar, I’m really sorry. Believe me, I wanted to tell you. I would’ve rather not send anyone there considering my feelings still haven’t changed on her, but Celestia was very persuasive. What could I say in response? Our reintegration policy was just starting out and I had no idea how to navigate this changed world. I still don’t.”
“You could’ve told me beforehand…”
“You’re right, I could’ve. There was nothing stopping me from doing so, yet I chose to hurt your feelings instead…”
“And another thing,” Skystar added. “The whole thing you’re mad at Twilight and her friends about was a misunderstanding. They needed that Pearl, Mom. I know you’re still mad at her, but can you blame her?! Her entire kingdom was going to fall to ruin! Just like ours. And unlike us, they couldn’t escape underwater to hide and rebuild.”
“It still doesn’t excuse stealing the Pearl!” Novo replied firmly, “I don’t want you learning the wrong lessons from that Princess. Stealing is never okay under any circumstance, especially the very thing we needed to survive!! Celestia should’ve taught her better.”
“Taught her better?! Mom, imagine if we were in that situation!!” Skystar shouted back, “Would you have done that to save us?! Imagine if we were the ones on the run and we found Equestria underwater.”
“That doesn’t-“
“Would you have tried to steal the Pearl in that situation to protect us…protect me…?!” Skystar’s voice was full of emotion and anguish as she let out all her feelings to her mother in that moment, everything she had tried to repress, attempted to conceal…it all came spilling out. Tears streamed down her cheeks, being lost in the water around them. She didn’t care if she was going to be grounded or anything worse. She wanted to let her mother know how much she had been hurting.
Novo stared into the eyes of her daughter, knowing full well that she was right. If she were in that very same scenario, she would’ve done that and more to protect her subjects. So who cared if Twilight said no in that situation? Her subjects, her people, her family…they meant more to her than anything in the world.
“I would’ve…” Novo admitted. “You’re right…you mean more to me than anything in the entire world. If someone was threatening you…morals be darned…I would’ve done all of that. I would’ve done all of that and so much more. I know I haven’t been the best mother to you, Skystar. My responsibilities took precedent over your life and mental health…”
“Mother…”
“I’m so sorry, Skystar…” Novo apologized. Tears were now leaking out of her eyes as well as she spoke, “I was so focused on protecting our people that I lost sight of why we left in the first place, why we swam all the way down here. I wanted to give you a great future, Skystar, free from a life of slavery and bondage. Little did I know, I only made things so much worse…I let you become isolated and ignored you when you wanted to spend time with me. I never should’ve pushed you away…”
“It’s okay, Mother. I understand why you did it,” Skystar told her, “I mean…I don’t blame you. Ruling two kingdoms is a big deal and I can’t imagine what you must go through on a daily basis. What I must eventually do…I don’t envy your duties as Queen and if I had it my way, I wouldn’t take it up at all…but I know I have to, and I can’t ask you to step away from the big job, so…can’t I have fun before I must take the throne?”
Novo took a deep breath. “You do deserve a better life than this kingdom can give you, that I can give you. I remember how close you and Silverstream were. And now your only forms of communication are through letters and one holiday visit. I can’t imagine feeling what you must be going through on a daily basis…it shall be so.”
Skystar gasped, not daring to believe what she had just heard. “Really?”
“Yes,” Novo told her. “I know I cannot give you the life you deserve, the life you need. But being surrounded by teachers and students who will love and support you may do the trick.” She stood up in a regal manner, addressing the guards present. “Help Princess Skystar pack her belongings. We shall have another representative for us in the School of Friendship!”
Skystar could not believe what was happening. This was it! She was going!!! She vowed to write to Silverstream as soon as she could and tell her the exciting news. But there was still one more thing left to do. Quick as a flash, she swam up and enveloped Novo in a big warm hug. Novo’s eyes went wide in surprise for a moment, but she closed her eyes and returned. They held each other in that embrace, all the love that Novo had kept locked beneath the stoic exterior coming out in one gesture. The nightmare was over. Skystar deserved to live her life the way she wanted it. Even she deserved to live a better life.
“Thank you, Mom! Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!!” Skystar thanked her profusely. “How can I ever repay you?”
Novo laughed as tears of joy came down her cheeks. “Visit often. I promise that whenever you come back, I will give you all the mother’s love and warmth to last several lifetimes…”
The guards were all stunned by what they were seeing. This was their Queen Novo, the usually stoic and resolute leader? She actually showed emotion? She was laughing?! It was unfathomable to them to comprehend, yet here it was. The entire exchange had showed a new side to them both.
Finally, they released each other and Novo was beaming from ear to ear like she used to when she was Skystar’s age. Skystar smiled back, finally feeling like she belonged. All the pain she had built up was now washing away in a grand flood. This was the time to rebuild their relationship, rebuild their lives, and they weren’t going to waste it.
“Race you to the surface!” Skystar called, swimming away as fast as her fins could take her, out of the castle, and back into the world.
Novo grinned mischievously. “Oh you are so ON!”
With that, she swam after her daughter, the two of them laughing and shouting as they swam after each other. Novo was a queen and Skystar was a princess, but at the end of the day, they were mother and daughter.
They were family.
———————————————————————————————————————————————
One month later…
Princess Twilight and Queen Novo sat on the beach overlooking the shore, in the exact spot where Skystar had been one month prior. This was their first time talking non royal matters in years, the last time being that fateful encounter.
“So…” Twilight began awkwardly, “We gonna talk about what I did, or…”
“Save the explanation,” Novo assured her, “Skystar already worded it beautifully. What you did was wrong for sure, but I don’t fault you for it in the slightest anymore. In fact I commend you for risking everything for your future subjects…”
“You did too,” Twilight reminded her, “I mean, evacuating your entire kingdom to go underwater? That must’ve been super serious. We shared a common enemy in the Storm King. I just wished we could’ve talked it out civilly.”
“You tried to, but I wouldn’t hear it. If we’re being honest, I brought the situation on myself.”
“Really?”
“Mhm. My foolish pride drove you away, drove her away. I hope she’s happy at the School right now. Any updates?”
“Oh I don’t keep up with the curriculum nowadays. Too much Princess stuff going on. But Starlight did tell me that Skystar’s met a lot of new friends. She even goes without her shells now, which is a big surprise. I’m impressed. She’s really thriving!”
“Good,” Novo relaxed on the sand. “I’m glad that she’s happy. She’s had a rough upbringing and all I want her do now is use her new chance at life to the fullest. You were right the whole time, Twilight. Just know that.”
Twilight lay down as well. “I’m surprised to hear you say that, but…thank you. I guess it all worked out in the end, even if I lashed out at my friends, got captured by Tempest, got my magic stolen, battled for the Staff of Sacanas, and almost died several times, all things that could’ve been avoided with the Pearl. But it still all worked out just peachy!”
Novo blinked. “What?”
Bonus Chapter: The Secret Message
Princess Skystar stood in the Mount Aris train station next to a crowd of hippogriffs, waiting for the Friendship Express to arrive and take her to Ponyville. She had a blue saddlebag on with as many of her belongings as she could pack. She could barely contain her excitement.
At long last, after begging her mother Queen Novo to let her go, she was finally going to the School of Friendship to study with her cousin Silverstream. She still could not believe that this was really happening. She was practically bouncing up and down, ignoring the curious stares from the other hippogriffs as she eagerly anticipated the arrival of the train.
Her ears perked up as she began to hear the sound of a whistle in the distance. Sure enough, the Friendship Express was speeding along the tracks towards the station. It finally stopped and the doors opened to let the ponies and hippogriffs out.
As Skystar began to take a step forward to board the train and start the next stage of her journey, a departing passenger on the train caught her eye and she stopped dead in her tracks. This pony looked familiar and she knew that she had seen her before.
The pony was a unicorn mare and she sported a purple coat with a blue mane and tail. Her horn was silver colored. She had a concerned expression on her face as she departed the train and stepped onto the brown platform.
All at once, Skystar instantly recognized this pony. “Izzy Moonbow…?”
“It’s good to see you too,” Izzy spoke calmly, “I’m sorry for coming here on such short notice and it’s not even our multiversary.”
“No no, it’s alright,” Skystar assured her, “I’m happy to see you. I assume Pinkie Pie sent you through one of her fourth wall portals. I can tell something’s wrong though. What is it? You know you can tell me.”
Izzy sighed deeply, staring at her friend directly in the eyes. “I assume you haven’t heard. We have a crisis back in Maretime Bay. I’ve already warned the others.”
“Discord?”
Izzy shook her head. “No. Not Discord. It’s somepony far worse. I need to see your mother now. But first…Skystar, we should talk.”
Skystar blinked in confusion. “Okay? What’s been happening?”
Izzy motioned with her hoof to the inside of the train. “Come on out, Misty. It’s okay.”
A blue coated unicorn mare came out of the train. She had stringy hair and no cutie mark, which Skystar found to be particularly odd.
“My name is Misty,” Misty introduced herself. “Misty Brightdawn. We’re from the future and we need to talk to your mother. Is she Queen Novo?”
Skystar nodded. “How do I know I can trust you? I mean, I can trust you, Izzy, but as for your friend, I don’t know her. And you know how my Mom is with outsiders.”
“I understand,” Izzy stated, “But there is a crisis where I’m from. An evil alicorn named Opaline is attempting to destroy Equestria. She’s kidnapped Sparky and Sunny! My friends and I aren’t enough. We need reinforcements. We need you to tell Novo what is happening, have her come and meet us, so that we may deliver a special message and she will believe it.”
“Okay okay okay,” Skystar tried to make sense of this. “So this message you need passed down through generations, so that upon your arrival here where you’re from, my great great great great great great granddaughter will send troops to your aid?”
“Precisely,” Misty confirmed, “Look, contact between ponies and other creatures is practically nonexistent where we’re from. We’re attempting to change that. A secret call to arms that only your family will know, no one else. You can’t tell anyone but your Mom until we arrive. But Queen Novo must know this, so that you guys can prepare, so that you will recognize us.”
Skystar shook her head in confusion. “All this wish washy timey wimey stuff is confusing! Well, I understand this is serious, sooooooo…I’ll be back.”
———————————————————————————————————————————
Skystar swam through the ocean once again as fast as she could, passing by all the fishes and whales she normally saw. They were normally a source of comfort, the embodiment of solace and tranquility that came with the sea itself.
This time though, she didn’t have time to talk, not even when the kind and gentle sea turtle came swimming by for a chat. She stopped briefly and motioned with her fins in sign language: Not now, this is important.
The turtle understood instantly. Go now, Skystar. I will be here.
Skystar swam through the rock wall opening to the beautiful kingdom of Seaquestria where she saw her mother talking with some of her advisors over by the castle.
“…and that’s why we will now extend our underwater borders to those in need,” Queen Novo finished. “This is a change of plans, yes, but I do believe my daughter has made an excellent point. We cannot change the future by being closed off, we-“
“Mother!!” Skystar called frantically, swimming over to them and leaving a trail of bubbles in her wake.
Novo turned her head and smiled. “Oh! Speaking of which, right on time. Skystar, please explain to our stubborn advisors right here why this new policy I came up with is good as they keep telling me that it’s a bad idea.”
“Mother, we have no time!” Skystar said hurriedly, “We have to talk in private right now, this is serious.”
Novo saw the fear on her daughter’s face and nodded quickly, motioning for her advisors to leave at once. They swam away and she turned her attention to Skystar. “Alright, what is it? Speaking of which, aren’t you supposed to be on the train?”
“Mom, the future is in danger!” Skystar took a deep breath. “Okay, you’re going to think I’m crazy, but…” She cleared her throat and told her mother everything from the first time she met Izzy a year ago in Discord’s dimension to the present.
Novo could not believe what she was hearing. It all sounded so…fantastical and hard to take seriously, yet she knew Skystar would never lie to her. It had to be true, yet she wanted to make sure of it before taking any action.
Are you sure?! Absolutely sure of this, Skystar?!” Novo demanded, terror in her voice. “Are you certain of this?!”
Skystar nodded. “Izzy asked me to relay this to you. It’s a distress message. Should a great evil arise and threaten Equestria, we all must stand and fight! Please, Mother. We have to do this.”
“Why would I risk the safety of my kingdom for a future that doesn’t even affect us? For all you know, this message could be a lie.”
“Has Izzy ever led me astray, Mother?”
“…No, but I don’t trust her. She’s not from the Equestria we know.”
“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help her. Please, Mother. If I have you meet her, will you consider answering the call?” Skystar pleaded.
Novo nodded back. “If you can prove to me that she’s genuine, then we shall pass this message down to our successors.”
It took a couple of minutes, but Skystar managed to bring Izzy and Misty down to Seaquestria where a skeptical, yet alert Queen Novo was waiting for them. She stared at them with an unflinching gaze that spelled ‘authority’ right in their faces. Upon seeing the hardened and resolute figure before them, Misty began to tremble as the look that Novo was giving her gave her flashbacks of Opaline and her wrath.
The graceful seapony monarch wasted no time in interrogating the both of them, starting with three harsh words: “Speak, time travelers.”
Izzy swam up a couple of inches. “Queen Novo, daughter of Empress Eternalia, ruler of the hipppgriffs and seaponies…I’ve come asking for your help. Equestria is under attack where I am and I need the help of the hippogriffs. I need your help, your majesty.” She bowed.
Misty admired Izzy’s use of proper courtesy and was relieved that she was doing the talking instead of her. She knew deep down that if she tried to do it, she would mess up spectacularly.
“Skystar has told me you have a secret message that only Skystar and me may know,” Novo stated, “Tell me what it is if the message is true.”
“That was it,” Izzy replied, “That was the message. Equestria has cut contact with the other creatures where we’re from. They will not listen, nor will they recognize us, unless you have seen us face to face.”
“You can pass down this message from generation to generation,” Misty spoke up, “A secret call to arms that can only be activated when the time is right, so that we can hopefully reestablish connections with the other kingdoms, wherever they are now.”
“Can we help them, Mother?” Skystar pleaded. “I know you don’t know them, but they’re as much worthy as our help as Twilight and her friends were back during the battle against those three villains.”
Novo stared at the two ponies from the distant future in deep thought. She knew they weren’t lying as they had no reason to. This was all too much to comprehend. Yet…this was her chance. This was her chance to right a previous wrong, something Skystar had rightfully called her out for. She had failed Princess Twilight when she kicked them out of Seaquestria without giving them a chance to explain. Even when she had sent troops to save Equestria from Cozy Glow, Queen Chrysalis, and Lord Tirek, she had never fully forgiven Twilight for what she did. It was only during that fateful conversation with her own daughter practically sobbing, begging her to let her go did she finally understand the ramifications of her actions.
She had an opportunity to help Equestria now, to save the future from a potentially even worse threat than the Storm King. She had once tried to solve her problems by running. Now she knew that wasn’t the answer. This was where she had to make her stand.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to, your majesty…” Misty said, sensing the conflict within her, “It was just a suggestion…”
Izzy glared at her. “We came all this way, Misty.”
“So what?!” Misty snapped at her. “We can’t do force her to help if she doesn’t want to. We’ll find another solution if she doesn’t agree.”
“Please, Mom…?” Skystar stared at her mother with sad, pleading eyes. She knew how hard it was for Novo to agree to help a future she didn’t even know, but she hoped that she could find it in her heart to agree.
After much pondering, Novo finally took a deep breath. “Like it or not, you ponies still are close allies of Hippogriffia and I would be doing a disservice to your future if I did not help. I will not run from my problems as I did years ago.”
Izzy immediately perked up upon hearing this. “So you’ll actually help us?!”
Novo nodded. “Yes, I will. I shall carry your message through our family for generations to come until the time comes for our successor to officially reveal it to the rest of the kingdom. It’s time we stand and fight together as we used to. It’s time we stand as allies, as friends, as neighbors. Whatever your future has become and wherever we are, there are ponies like you carrying on the legacy of your ancestors, which is enough to get us involved as well. Let your final stand be one of victory, not of defeat. And when you come here once more, years from now, you girls let our successor know that QUEEN NOVO AND PRINCESS SKYSTAR GIVE THEIR OFFICIAL APPROVAL TO FIGHT!!!!”
Upon hearing this news, Misty and Izzy both cheered and shouted for joy as Skystar swam up and hugged her mother again. Izzy couldn’t believe her own eyes. They had secured an ally all by themselves! She couldn’t wait to tell their friends back home.
Although they couldn’t tell exactly what was to come, they knew now that their future was in good shape.
———————————————————————————————————————————
Many thousand years later….
The Kingdom of Hippogriffia stood largely unchanged by the passage of time. The realm that was said to be home to the mythical hippogriffs and the elusive seaponies still operated the way it usually did on a remote southern island off the coast of the raging ocean.
On land, these majestic beings of flight continued to inhabit and embrace their terrain, which was known as Mount Aris. It was a fairly agricultural-based nation, although some of the technology from Equestria had been stolen in recent past and integrated into the culture. Despite this, the hippogriffs had no use for it. They were largely rigid in their ways and preferred to stick to their traditional ways, a mindset that was bred into them since the very day they were founded.
The kingdom had been founded four billion years ago when the first hippogriffs broke off from the land that would eventually become Equestria to form their own country. Led by Queen Aris, they created their culture and their own way of life. This was so monumental that the mountain from where they had first gathered together was named after her.
For over a thousand generations, the hippogriffs grew their empire and expanded their influence across the seas. As the reigns passed from Queen to Queen, Hippogriffia became a major world power. No foreign country ever dared to invade it and everycreature across the world loved Queen Eternalia, a resolute, but compassionate leader who led a revolution in domestic policy, improving the hippogriffs’ home life.
But all that changed when Queen Eternalia passed away, leaving her daughter Princess Novo the Queenship. Queen Novo was not like her mother. While she was a respected and resolute leader, she was far too focused on maintaining harmony between her subjects, and building the Harmonizing Heights for leisure activities while abandoning the kingdom’s borders.
This came to a head when the Storm Kingdom set their sights on finally capturing Hippogriffia. The leader of the invaders was a being called the Storm King, a name cursed and feared in every universe. While the Storm King was never able to conquer Hippogriffia, he had posed a visible threat to the other kingdoms, conquering them for a brief time and then moving on after mass murdering the majority of the population.
Finally, the Storm King made his move on Hippogriffia, attacking and utterly destroying the populace, forcing the hippogriffs underwater, leaving their former capital of Mount Aris abandoned. However, despite her failure to protect her kingdom, Queen Novo vowed to not let her mother’s legacy collapse, calling upon all the powers of the sea to craft a magical Pearl of Transformation that would allow the hippogriffs to live new lives underwater as seaponies.
From there, Queen Novo and the seaponies used their ambition and resourcefulness to build a new kingdom called Seaquestria, hidden away in the darkest depths of the sea, where the Storm King could never go. Following the Storm King’s defeat by the ponies, the kingdom was divided into two depending on where they wanted to go. The hippogriffs could choose to be seaponies and vice versa.
Although it was once allies with Equestria, however, that was no longer the case in present day. This was because the rise of the evil alicorn Opaline had sown so much distrust amongst the general population that creatures who were not ponies were no longer welcome and those who refused to return to their own countries would be slaughtered. This resulted in the hippogriffs and seaponies officially declaring their allegiance to the kingdom of ponies over.
It was in this state of isolationism that Hippogriffia stayed for a thousand years and many grew distrustful of ponykind. Some even considered them to be myths in turn. But all that was about to change one stormy night as a centuries-old prophecy was finally going to come true.
It all started way below the ocean’s surface in the underwater Kingdom of Seaquestria, a beautiful city made up of pink houses that glowed brightly and lit up the dark water surrounding it in a fabulous light. To all who visited it, it was known as a place of peace and sanctuary. There was no war or any form of recorded armed conflict as no potential invader could possibly know where they were.
Not much was happening on this day. While their land brethren dealt with the harsh climate above, the seaponies were leisurely swimming along, their fins flapping against the smooth current and propelling them forward. They talked with one another and integrated with various marine life that passed by them.
The seaponies lived in blissful ignorance as they went about their day to day lives, unaware of the danger they were about to get themselves involved in. On the very top of their fantastical city was a building much larger and more luminous than the others. This was the Queen’s Castle and home to the currently reigning monarch Queen Skygrace.
She sat on her throne in deep contemplation, remembering the last message from her mother Reefstream bestowed upon her before passing the title of queen to her. It was a sad night many months prior that her mother passed away and she still was not over it. She was only 18 years old and much of the populace thought her far too inexperienced to be the ruler of the two kingdoms, yet they still respected her regardless.
She was their queen and by law, she was to be obeyed.
She remembered laying by her mother’s bedside, crying and sobbing, begging her not to die like this. Reefstream told her though that death was natural and was only a chapter of the endless story that was the way of water, the cycle of life. And it was on that very night, the Sacred Message was bestowed upon her.
“Remember,” Reefstream had said on her deathbed, diagnosed with terminal cancer, “Remember…the secret message those ponies gave us a long time ago. ‘Queen Novo, daughter of Empress Eternalia, ruler of the hipppgriffs and seaponies…I’ve come asking for your help. Equestria is under attack where I am and I need the help of the hippogriffs. I need your help, your majesty.’ This was given to us by our great ancestor Queen Novo…”
“And you want me to carry this message?” Skygrace had asked, fear on every inch of her body, not just of the enormous responsibility bestowed upon her, but about the nature of the message itself.
“Yes,” Reefstream coughed out blood. “They will come…those very ponies…in a time of great sorrow. They will bring us back out into the world. Until then, we must hide. Do…not…forget…”
With that, she had passed on and the funeral had been held the following day. Skygrace remembered being inconsolable for months, yet she held onto that message and never forgot it. It was her mother’s last words. She kept the memory close to her no matter how much it hurt her to constantly relive it.
As she began to lay down and fall asleep, a seapony guard swam into the throne room faster than a rocket, seemingly with urgent news.
“Your majesty!!” the guard spoke frantically. “Our scouts are detecting an unidentified flying aircraft in the sky! It’s headed right towards us!”
Skygrace was instantly on high alert. No creature had ever found them in ages as it was presumed to any outsider that their existence was a myth. If the guard was telling the truth, then that meant that someone knew of their existence.
“Are you certain of this?!” she demanded. “What does this aircraft look like to you?! Describe to me in detail.”
“They say that it is an unusual looking craft,” explained the guard cautiously. “It is purple and white, large window for the cockpit. They’re saying that they have spotted some ponies inside. What should we do?”
Skygrace froze. She knew what this meant. It was the message that her mother had told her to keep in the back of her mind. She had been right. Although the story seemed so fake to her as a child, she could not deny its existence and it terrified her. What could these ponies want that required their help? Didn’t they know that the hippogriffs and ponies were no longer allies?
She knew that she could not refuse them, even if she wanted to. It was her duty as a ruler to answer the call and she knew her mother would have wanted her to. Despite her better judgement, she knew what she had to do.
She stood up from her throne in an instant and swam over to him. “Send out all of our military and army personnel to meet them.”
“Pardon, my grace?”
“You heard what I said.”
“But why? They carry no weapons.”
“That’s just it,” Skygrace said fearfully, “This is the prophecy my mother warned me about. It’s coming true. Send out all army personnel to greet them on the shore. Let them know that we see their cursed beacon in the sky. It’s those ponies…they’ve come for us.”
The Marestream slowly descended from the air, landing on the beach that connected Mount Aris and Seaquestria. The sky was obscured by a sea of storm clouds and rain poured down on the shores. The wind howled violently and the sea raged as waves bashed against the shoreline in a thunderous display of nature’s fury.
As the ship touched down on the wet sand, an army of about five thousand hippogriffs emerged from the sea and the distance, marching in quick formation towards the landing site. Leading them was Queen Skygrace, decked out in full battle armor. She had a solemn and serious expression on her face as she approached the vehicle.
The doors opened to reveal none other than Izzy Moonbow and Misty Brightdawn, the ponies of the prophecy, stepping out to meet the army in front of them.
Skygrace was the first to speak to the newcomers. “Greetings, ponies of Maretime Bay. Have you come to bring your war here as you foretold many years ago?!”
Izzy shook her head. “No. We instead need you to help us. We have no intention of bringing this war to your soil. Equestria is in danger and our friends too. Several thousand years ago, Misty and I told you guys about the time of great sorrow, about the rise of Opaline, and why we need your help. Your great great great great great great great great great great grandmother Queen Novo gave you all permission to fight alongside us.”
“That was then, this is now.” Skygrace’s voice reverberated across the vicinity. She might’ve only been a teenager, but the authority in her tone was clearly present and no soldier dared to step out of line unless told to do so. “Why should we trust you?”
“Your ancestors and Equestria were once allies,” Misty continued. “You fought together and you fought many victories on the field of battle. When the Storm King arrived, you guys fled underwater. You swam away from your problems instead of facing them head on, and Queen Novo vowed to never do that again. If you don’t help, Opaline will take our war back to your shores, to your children’s children. You will never be safe unless we stop her together. It’s time for you all to rise again, born again as our allies. We will help you if you help us. We will supply you with whatever you need, armies, ammunition, communication, knowledge.”
“It’s time we make our stand together!” Izzy declared. “Today is a privilege to call our own, a story that will be told for a thousand years!! Let our final stand be recorded to the histories!! And let it be shown THAT WE CHOSE TO DIE AS COMRADES IN BATTLE RATHER THAN AS SLAVES TO TYRANNY!!!!!”
The hippogriff soldiers all cheered in unison, applauding in one massive standing ovation, and Skygrace gave a small bow of respect to the two ponies before turning towards her army. “You heard them!! MOVE OUT!! I shall follow you all!!”
The hippogriffs all shouted battle cries and took to the skies, their powerful wings beating against the storm that threatened their lives. The soldiers didn’t care about death, however. Their lives were made on the field of battle. Their legacies would be one of victory and comradeship, not defeat and cowardice.
Lightning struck the ground and thunder sounded across the sky as Izzy and Misty got back into the Marestream, which took off into the sky. It was the symbol of harmony, the symbol of friendship, the triumph of light against darkness, and the beacon that signaled the fulfillment of the ages-old prophecy.
Finally, Skygrace took flight after her soldiers, but not before whispering one last prayer into the heavens as her future became one of uncertainty.
“This is for you, Mother…”
Author's Note
The stage is set for the final battle! Actually, not yet. There’s still one more fanfiction to go before “Redeemed” and that one is called “The Fall of Opaline.” The title does sound a bit familiar, doesn’t it? That’s because it’s going to be a loose adaptation of the ‘Fall of Sunset Shimmer’ comic, depicting you guessed it: Opaline’s backstory. Now it’s a loose adaptation, so things will be changed here and there. Plus, I could never do justice to the iconic original with a straightforward adaptation even if I tried. I wanted to take a stab at Opaline’s backstory for a while now and I’ll be using the most popular theories about her as my baseline.
Now as for this story…man this was fun! I had this one in the brain for a while now, but the reason why I didn’t write it for such a long time…well, I’m a big fat slob, so I didn’t. In all seriousness though, these two chapters have such wildly different tones, don’t they? First chapter is an emotional rollercoaster of a one-shot from start to finish and the second chapter ends with MAXIMUM EPICNESS!!!!! To those of you who had questions about the Izzy and Skystar stuff alluded to in the extended edit of “Forgiven,” I hope this makes sense. This is my definitive way of connecting Izzy’s multiverse crossover trilogy to Misty’s story arc and now they are both permanently canon. Now “Redeemed” will make so much more sense to you guys, so I am happy. As for the creative process behind this whole story, well as I said, I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Since Princess Skystar was never even brought up in FIM proper (aside from a small blink-and-you’ll-miss cameo, thanks Hasbro), I wanted to write a story featuring her. The whole ‘How does Novo feel about Twilight now?’ thing was never addressed either and neither was the fact that Skystar literally has NO FRIENDS and is socially awkward, and Hasbro was just all like, ‘This is fine’ and just tossed both juicy storylines down the Death Star 2 reactor. They could’ve very easily hired a new VA to portray her in the show, WTF?! Anyway, this is my answer. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it and I hope I did the characters justice. Novo is just so hard to write for Luna’s sake! Anywho, as always, if you have feedback or you just want to comment on this story, feel free to! I love getting comments as it lets me know that you enjoy these and in turn, inspires me to keep making them. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me so far in the Saga, I really do appreciate it.
With that being said, I will see you all very soon with the next entry. Byyyyyeee!!!! 
