//------------------------------// // 73. #AQueen'sDuty // Story: Ciderfest BOAS APP Stories: 86?! // by Janicethelight //------------------------------// Story Queen Novo dashed around the kingdom of Seaquestria in search of her daughter Skystar. "Skystar? Has any creature seen Princess Skystar?!"  "She hasn't been seen since those ponies left, Your Majesty!" A sea pony quivers, head bowed. "Ponies? She wouldn't DARE!" Queen Novo fumed. Using all her strength, she sprints up towards the world above, crashing through the surface. She looks around, with only the tiniest sign of the group in the far distance. The Queen growls, “PRINCESS SKYSTAR!” echoes all around her, but never reaches her young daughter before the group disappears from view. With one more angry huff, Queen Novo sighs, “The girl is soooo grounded.” Queen Novo swims back down, her subjects, each asking about the news of Princess Skystar and the ponies. Queen Novo sighs, “Not to worry, my subjects. I will find my daughter, and bring her back.” “But what if The Storm King finds you first, Your Majesty?!” One seapony asks. “Or his forces find us and we don’t have you to protect us?” Another bites their lip. “Calm. The Storm King is not able to breathe underwater. Our kingdom is safe. Now, I need to make certain that my daughter is also safe.” Her subjects bow to her wisdom, unknowing of the ache in her heart. Her royal duties were to her people, but her duty as a mom would always be to her beloved daughter. She touched their precious orb, granting her the power to change into her hippogriff form. She flies out of her sea home with a gasp of air, coughing the excess of water out of her lungs. “Oh, Skystar. You had better be ready, because when I find you, and I will, I will give you a lecture like you won’t believe. You won’t leave your room for a month!” She says to herself as she flies in the same direction she noticed the odd group go.  As she flies, she notices a glowing object flutter past her as she flies. The strange glow stops her in her tracks, and she turns, seeing a piece of paper floating through the wind. Confused, she flies back, “Now there’s a dangerous magical item if I have ever seen one. Let’s get it out of the sky before one of Storm King’s blimps finds it.”  Queen Novo scoops the paper into her claws. Visions flicker through her mind. First, she sees a happier world without the Storm King’s tyranny. In another, she sees her, her Kingdom, and her daughter forever safe, in a part of Equestria that no creature would ever find them again. She blinks, looking at the lightly glowing page. She takes out a quill, somehow knowing she needs to write what she desires…but which would be best for the world? Which would be best for Seaquestria? Which would be best for Skystar? [CHOICE] Which should she choose? > The Storm King no longer exists. (Chaos) > Seaquestria is forever hidden. (Villain) [ENDING A: CHAOS] Queen Novo writes her feelings down, sure of her answer. ‘I desire for a world where the Storm King never discovered our lands.’ The page’s glow radiates around her. When she opens her eyes, her Kingdom is back on land, the Hippogriffs happily playing along with Princess Skystar, who flies around without a care in the world. Ponies from Equestria come, not to steal the jewel, but to offer trade. The world is a more peaceful place thanks to one small sheet of paper. Queen Novo smiles, murmuring, “A Queen’s duty is to her people, but it is the duty of every creature to look after one another.” She then joins in, never telling a soul about the tyranny she thwarted. (+1 page for Chaos) [ENDING B: VILLAIN] Queen Novo writes her feelings down, sure of her answer. ‘I desire for a world where we are always safe from any who would wish to harm us.’ The page’s glow radiates around her. When she opens her eyes, she finds herself and her subjects on an island surrounded by an immense fog. Curious, Queen Novo flew into the fog, only to be tossed right back to the Island. It looked like they had a few miles of ocean at all sides. “No way in. No way out.” she nodded. Her subject breached the water, Princess Skystar among them, all looking worried. “Are you alright, mom?” she asked. “Yes, dear. Just checking the fog.” Queen Novo replied. “Were you able to make it out this time?” Skystar asked. “No.” Queen Novo shook her head. Skystar sighed, going back into the water. “Which is good. A Queen’s duty is to her people, and now we will forever be safe.” Meanwhile, Twilight and her friends couldn’t find the hippogriff kingdom, and without the help of the hippogriffs, lost to the Storm King. (+1 page for Villains)