//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: The Empress and the Princess (Zervziel Guest Chapter) // Story: Equestria’s Changeling Princesses and the Kinsbane // by vren55 //------------------------------// A lone ship trekked across the heaving waters of the Western Ocean. Though years had passed since the sea ponies had started to tame the currents of the wild ocean, the process was gradual as the last bastion of the natural world fought against the imposed new order. The sky was dark with storm clouds as the ship cleaved through the waves.  Sailors, pony and changeling alike, battened down every hatch and doorway after securing what they could. The Neptune, Alternia’s favored diplomatic vessel heaved back and forth as she powered over wave after towering wave. Inside, several members of the reformed Mirror Guard tried their level best to keep their lunches down, while others struggled to just stand. Staggering over to Alternia, Diamondshell tried her very best not to slam into her queen to no avail. Wing stumps buzzing uselessly, she tumbled forward as the ship bucked once more on a particularly large wave only to be caught in a bluish magical aura. “We picked a particularly lovely night to visit, your majesty,” Diamondshell grumbled as she was set on the floor. Alternia laughed as she turned to the nearest porthole. The deck of the ship was now getting lashed with rain as well as the waves. “Sadly, the reason the Empress couldn’t be contacted is that she has business to attend to. Which is why we have to come all the way out here.” Diamondshell looked down at the table, strewn with maps, some new, others ancient, alight with preservation spells. On some of the newest maps were two dots marked Echinoi and Platonicus, locations absent from older maps. Confused she looked at her queen, “I thought the Aquestrians didn’t have any major cities or towns in the Western Ocean yet? What are those?” A look of excitement crossed Alternia’s face. “Technically true. They have minor outposts scattered across the Northeastern region of the ocean, but those two are ancient sea pony cities. Abandoned at least four thousand years ago. The sea ponies pretty much were forced to drop everything and evacuate to the Eastern Ocean.” Diamondshell blanched a bit. Only one thing in the Western Ocean could force a retreat like that and it was a painful subject for many, especially for her Queen. “Where did you learn that?” she asked. After the incident several years back, she had made a point to look up any old texts for myths and legends of mythical monsters, ancient beings and any sort of forgotten god. With the way ancient evils were rising in the last few years, she wanted to be forewarned on anything that might decide to return next. “It was mentioned in an ancient journal of a dead ruler.”  Diamondshell blinked. A fairly cryptic answer for what had seemed like an inane question. Changing the subject, she refocused on the map. “So are we headed to one of those cities?” With a slight hesitation, Alternia tapped her hoof on a seperate portion of the map. “No, we’re headed to the island of Karkanos.” Diamondshell stared at the spot. Another modification to the newer maps. For a while, the island had disappeared from the maps, destroyed by the awakening of the primal god, Shi-Nihalar. Only in recent years, had it resurfaced, the rock of the ocean floor pulled up to recreate the barren island. “Why? That thing is gone right?”  “Yes, but most of the other nations felt some extra precautions should be made. Magicians from around the world have congregated here at the World Seal, to study magic and perhaps strengthen it.” Diamondshell nodded. It made sense. Ever since the Old God incursion decades before, there had been a scramble to prevent another such incident. Thus, the World Seal had been proposed. A massive spell, cast by dozens of the strongest magic users from around the world to seal off all outside influences. Special care had been made to prevent interfering with the Sun and Moon’s cycle as well as preventing separate schools of magic from conflicting.  The foundation of the World Seal was simple. Much like the spear created to slay gods decades before, the basis of the spell was set in metal. An immense heavily enchanted metal ring, over a kilometer across, laid across four massive pillars of basaltic rock called up from the depths. On it’s top and bottom surfaces laid inscribed arcane matrixes. Along its sides runes, talismans, and any other physical components needed for spellwork were affixed. “With the seas this rough, it will probably take us at least till evening to reach the island, your majesty.” Alternia stiffened a bit before relaxing. It was just one more delay between her and helping her daughters. Still anger and impatience would not help her now. She was here to ask the Empress’s aid in retrieving her daughters from the past and she intended to have it. Due to the island’s unique nature and the fact it was frequently visited by a massive kelpie, the port on Karkanos was like no other. Normal ports have berths and piers for ships. This port had them, but it also had several large rails that ran into the water, drydocks and some truly impressive cranes. The cranes were intended to lift ships onto the rails, or if absolutely necessary, into the drydocks. This afforded the ships safety from large waves, an inevitability when a certain individual visited, causing tidal surges on par with or even surpassing the most powerful hurricanes. In fact, Alternia’s ship, the Neptune was being lifted onto the rials now. Unfortunately, because of the World Seal’s nature as an international effort, Alternia found she still had certain duties to attend to the moment the Neptune was beached. She had to greet the current Seal Guardian, the deep pony, Archmagus Mareel, who essentially managed the seal and the various teams of mages monitoring it. She also had to at least greet the various attaches of the countries that had invested in the seal. Thankfully, what diplomats that had recognized the approach of the Neptune were relatively few. Only a griffon and a kirin approached to exchange pleasantries, and even then she was able to end her conversations with them quickly.   However, one of the few beings she’d like to have avoided—if only for now—caught her by surprise as a hippogriff bedecked in jewels and a feathery crown, dropped in from above. It was Queen Novo, of the Hippogriff Kingdom. Alternia was going to very quickly apologize for being in a rush, but she stopped, as the setting sun seemingly disappeared. Night fell briefly across the island before the sun re-emerged from behind it’s brief cover. As soon as she could see again, Alternia finally noticed the sky-engulfing Empress Tethys. The storm clouds that had been hanging overhead had moved off to the south leaving the monstrous kelpie’s stretching wings as the sole culprit for the temporary eclipse. Alternia watched as Tethys finally settled down, cruisings slowly towards the island. She pulled up on the shoreline.  “Queen Novo, Empress Tethys, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Alternia asked. Queen Novo smiled. “Princess Alternia, the Empress and I have a bit of a disagreement we would like you to mediate. You see, a few months ago, we discovered an island in the Western Ocean and I requested the Empress allow me to settle. She disagreed and I have been unable to convince her otherwise.” The Empress’s voice boomed loudly, as per usual. This time though, she was not projecting her stoic mask. Rather, there was evident exasperation in her tone. “That’s because what she proposes will likely end in the death of the settlers. The Western Ocean is still being harnessed by my sea ponies, and it’s resisting. The storms it’s generating will easily swamp any vessel. Trying to cross now is suicidal and trying to build at the same time is equally dangerous. “But once we establish the colony, there could be significant benefits. We can account for the storms hitting the island and build deep foundations. We can also work the land to create breakwaters for seaponies to rest. You’d be able to pacify the ocean easier with a base of operations in the Western Sea,” countered Novo. “My sea ponies can go deep to avoid the storms. As of now, your ships would be lucky to make it close enough to the land without being grounded by random currents or slammed into shoals by waves,” Tethys said. “If you accompany our ships with some leviathans, we’ll have the cover to achieve a successful landing!” Novo exclaimed. “We don’t even have leviathans in the Western Ocean now. And taming the ones in the Western Ocean is proving difficult. I think the Old One (mah snack) may have affected them somehow. They are more aggressive than normal and more likely to attack ships. Oh Alternia, forgot to mention the Leviathans are more aggressive here so watch your ship, and make sure your vessel adheres to the cleared route,” said the Empress. Her tone was still reasonable, but Alternia could see Tethys’s massive eyes glancing over to her—a not so subtle request for assistance.  “I appreciate the warning, and I will inform my crew to not stray from the designated course—” Alternia smiled sincerely “— But please continue, I can see this issue is quite important to you both.” Novo nodded, “But you are training leviathans, so why can’t we have a fleet set out when they’re finished training? The Hippogriffs have gotten long experience building storm-resistant structures at Mount Aris.” Several large tentacles of the Empress smacked the water, throwing up a blinding curtain of spray. She had shown enough restraint so that tentacles were far enough away that none of the water hit either Alternia or Novo, but the Empress was clearly losing her patience.  “You’re deliberately missing the point. There are too many threats facing your hippogriffs if you go through with this.” Undeterred, Novo grimaced.  “There are many threats, but many potential rewards. Alternia, please, can’t you see how the hippogriffs can contribute to this project if we get the go ahead?  Maybe if we get Equestrian support—perhaps a flight of airships— we can further mitigate the risks.” Alternia didn’t frown, but she allowed her smile to fade as she regarded Novo. “Having heard both of your points of view, and considering what my own meterologists and observers on Karkanos have mentioned, I also believe this project is too risky at the moment, for multiple reasons. For one, I concur with Tethys’s assessment of the weather situation. The Neptune was recently modified for high sea travel, set out during a more ‘calm’ season and even then it was an extraordinarily rough journey. On a poor season, say winter? Nevermind oceangoing vessels, such weather would wreck even our largest Geary class airships.” “And even one missing supply vessel could prove an immense setback to the project. And moving materials underwater isn’t possible as the journey would ruin most of the supplies,” Tethys added. Novo frowned. “I thought you had waterproofing spells.” The Empress’s mane rippled slightly, “We do, but enchanting every single pallet and crate isn’t feasible. Not to mention move such items underwater is far more cumbersome than above, which makes my sea ponies more vulnerable to attack by rogue creatures.” “Novo, it’s not that setting up a colony is something we can’t do, it’s that it’s something we can’t do right at the moment. I think that opening a base in the Western Sea is an excellent idea. We just need more time,” said Alternia. She smiled at the Hippogriff queen. “Is there any particular reason why you seem to be in such a hurry?” Novo averted her gaze from both the Empress and the princess and it didn’t take a changeling for one to see her sheepishness. “I have the feeling this has more to do with pride than logistics. Am I wrong?” Tethys asked. The hippogriff’s feathers fluffed up. ““It has nothing to do with pride.” “Novo, pride is not necessarily a bad reason. If you don’t mind me making a guess… you want to be able to contribute more to the Kelpie-Hippogriff alliance, is that correct? And you feel that the Hippogriffs have been relying a bit too much on the kelpies?” Alternia asked. “ ... Yes,” admitted Novo. The Empress didn’t smile, but her tone softened. “You don’t need to push so hard. Your kingdom has suffered from the Storm King's continued raids over the years. There’s no reason to thrust your hippogriffs into a dangerous situation to prove anything.” Novo sighed. “But neither can we continue to keep relying on our friends to help us. I mean, the Hippogriff Kingdom has relied on the Aquestrian Empire and the Equestrian Triumvirate for decades. There has to be a point where we—we—can stop—can actually contribute to our allies.” Alternia nodded. “I can understand your frustration, Novo, and again, I do think a colony would actually solve some of our problems. It would actually give the Hippogriffs a base to establish industries out of reach of the Storm King’s airships. However, I believe you are overlooking some of your kingdom’s own contributions. Don’t hippogriffs continue to take care of polluted seaponies and respond to sinking ships? Doesn’t the Hippogriff Coast guard continue to assist with western sea exploration and rescue Equestrian ships that run afoul in Western Sea and seaponies in Eastern Sea harmed by the Storm King’s raids?” Novo seemed somewhat receptive to Alternia’s questioning, but as she went on, she gave the changeling a flat stare.  “And Equestria does what exactly?”  Alternia swallowed. “Um, that is—” “The same thing,” said Tethys, firmly. “Which isn’t a bad thing. On a personal level, your restraint, Novo, has prevented needless casualties. Remember Stronkheim? Without your help, I’d have reduced it to a ruin out of anger due to the Storm King’s endless attacks regardless of what it might have cost the city. The lives of those griffons were spared due to your council.” “Some of those griffons did prove rather useful to our intelligence network,” said Novo, a little more confidently this time. Alternia smiled. “Exactly, the Hippogriff Kingdom may not contribute as much, but it has always proven to be reliable and a willing friend, and I think that is most important.” Alternia glanced at Tethys. “When the western seas calm, perhaps we can review the colony project then, Empress?” The Empress nodded. “It will take some time. As I said, it’s resisting us. However we are making headway. Once we reach a safe enough threshold, you’ll have my support in the colonization.” “I understand and I will be glad to have your support then.” She regarded Tethys with an apologetic gaze. “I’m sorry I have been so persistent on this.” To that, Tethys nonchalantly flopped one of her tentacles. Taking a deep breath, Alternia spoke up again. “If you don’t mind, Queen Novo, I need to have a quick word in private with Tethys.” “Oh, of course,” said Novo. There must have been something in Alternia’s tone that made her leave. And then they were alone, the changeling queen looking up to the Empress. Remembering the secrecy Tethys had shown when the Empress had mentioned the favor, Alternia ordered her guards to move back with a hoof, out of hearing range. “Empress Tethys, I’ll get to the point. I have something I wish to ask.” She didn’t raise her voice, knowing from past experiences how good kelpie hearing was. She wasn’t too worried about the Empress’s mood. The decades of peace since the Kelpie Incident as some called it having done wonders in getting the titan to relax, and relax she had. “ Alternia. How are things going in Equestria?” The changeling shifted her wings. “They could be better. I’ll be brief. I’m here to call in that favor. My daughter’s Kyria and Mirage have been pulled into the past by a misfiring spell and I need more than just magical knowledge. I need your might. You’re the only one with the power to bore a large and stable enough hole into the time stream to retrieve my daughters.” Alternia paused. She had planned on asking Tethys if she knew of another way to retrieve her daughters from the timestream, but over the years it had become apparent that while the Empress was knowledgeable about many things, the secret ins and outs of arcane magic was not one of them. Which made for an odd juxtaposition. She’d seen Tethys weave magics that sundered land, raised mountains, and could heal seaponies and changelings of grievous wounds. But then the Empress could prove wholly ignorant of basic tenants of arcane magic. Not that she’d admit it, but Alternia had been a teacher of magics long enough to know when a student was out of their depth. Still no harm in asking. “Unless you know of any other way to retrieve something from the timestream?” The Empress shook her head. “Sorry, but I’ve never even tried time magic. I’ve only moved forward in time the same way as anyone else.” It was the answer she had expected, but Alternia still felt a little disappointed at the answer. Another potential avenue closed to her.  Tethys looked down upon the Princess. “Still, you ask for my aid and you will have it. You have a place in mind for this...spell? Or is it some sort of ritual?” Alternia duck her head in thanks “We will be meeting at my retreat. It’s a mountain over from Canterlot. It’s where the spell first went awry. We’re hoping to link to any remnant of the original spell to get the right spot if not the right time.” “Very well. Once I am finished here, I will make for the coast. You might want to get moving, to prepare the way.” Alternia nodded. “That’s an excellent point. I assume you’ll be traveling by land like last time? If that’s so I’ll have notices sent to the nearby towns. That being said, last time you went to Canterlot there some ponies got spooked. I’m thinking an escort might be in order to expedite your passage.” “At least this time we can anticipate the earthquakes. You have any systems in place to handle damages?” The Changeling Princess chuckled. That the mere walk of the Empress caused the earth to shake had been a rather rueful discovery by both parties. “Ah, yes. We have a planned route that my staff will give to yours. We will also have mage teams and earth ponies on standby to handle the damage any vibrations cause.”  “Excellent. That said, what actual purpose will the escorts serve?” Tethys asked. “On your last visit, we found out that some ponies in Equestria live in rather rural communities and while not completely uninformed, often have a lot of questions.” Alternia winced as she remembered, “Mirage proposed to me that the next time her godmother visited Canterlot, an escort should be provided. They would be able to pre-empt or answer any questions so that you wouldn’t be bothered.” The Changeling took a deep breath, briefly closed her eyes, and then looked back up at the Empress. “I should get going. We are still investigating what spell to use and Canterlot is… not taking my daughter's disappearance well.” Tethys flicked her tentacles dismissively. “Canterlot is not of any concern. That situation will resolve itself when we retrieve your daughters. Rest easy, Alternia. Mirage will take care of her sister and we will get them back.” The Changeling Princess smiled. “Thank you, Tethys.” “Also, I’m gonna need *that* to be ready for when I reach the shore.”