Across the Waters Chapter 3

Across the Waters
Chapter Three

At the castle of the two Princesses, there was some extra activity going on. Not because that the Princesses were expecting company but rather, their children were out and about, unaware that they were about to get company.

“Q! Q! Damnit, Quandary!” The alicorn bat pony was livid. Unlike the majority of bat ponies, who were shades of black, silver, and gray, this one was colored a rose ebony, a shade of black bordering on dark red. She was delicate and small, with a similar feature on her flank as her mother, Princess Luna. Her hips were adorned in a wheat cloud like pattern. Upon that marking was a stylized dream catcher, the circle cream and the rest light yellow. She also bore a cloud like marking, also wheat, upon her left eye.

Even more startling were her bat wings. Where the skin stretched thin was a shiny goldenrod membrane which sparkled like stardust. Her hair was layered heavily and longer on the right side of her face, in strands of charcoal and goldenrod and her tail followed the same fashion. Her bright eyes, as shining as the wings, were a cream color.


She stood in the middle of the hallway, glowering as she used a wing to block out the sudden surge of bright light. “No fair! You know I cannot see well in bright light!”

“Whoops!” Came a disembodied voice, not the least bit repentant.

“QUANDARY!” Light yellow magic tore from the young mare’s horn.

An elegant pony landed lightly after the bright blast of power. She had free-flowing hair that was rooted in blue-violet going into dodger blue, and then light goldenrod tips. Her head and hair down her neck that ended in fluff was white. Upon her head, through her hair, she bore two curved, smooth bright cerulean horns. She had lovely two-toned eyes, of silver blue lake fading into orange yellow. Her body, for the most part, was colored buff. Her front right limb and left back limb were pony limbs but her right back limb was a back paw with charcoal claws and her front left limb ended three-fourths down, with a straw-colored bird-like hand. Her tail was as long as her body and the top was lined in scales that went from pigment green to celadon, a light goldenrod flame the bloomed from the tip.

She was a blank flank, despite being nearly full-grown. However, no one dared to tease the Princess about it. Being born of Princess Celestia and Discord, she was treated with high regard and a great deal of caution.

She floated across the floor, literally about three inches from the ground as her cousin glared at her.

“Now, now, Sleepwalker, you’re fine, aren’t you?” Quandary twisted to float on her back as Sleepwalker’s glare intensified.

“Quandary, what are you doing?” Princess Celestia said from behind her daughter. “Feet on the ground, please.”

Quandary turned her attention to her mother as she dropped gracefully to the floor. “Good morning, Mother!”

“We’re to have company. Princess Twilight Sparkle, her husband, daughter, and a new friend is coming over and I wanted to be sure that you as well as your father were on your best behavior.”

“What about Dreamy there?”

“I am not..!”

“Shhh..” Princess Celestia said soothingly. “Q, don’t antagonize her like that. Sleepwalker should be a good influence on you but you don’t seem quite to see that.”

“Well, duh,” Quandary muttered and then popped out of view. Princess Celestia’s eyebrow twitched.

“She had to have Discord’s attitude. Suppose I have to wait until she’s an adult to grow out of it…”

“But Uncle Discord still acts like that.”

“Well..” Princess Celestia sighed. “Let’s head to the main foyer. We’ll greet the group there.”

Across the city, Princess Twilight Sparkle, her family, and Melanippe had made it to Canterlot. Hypernova was sticking by Melanippe, under the gentle guidance of her mother who had purposely asked her daughter to keep the older mare company.

As the quartet neared the castle, Hypernova was noting Melanippe’s anxious movement.

“Are you all right?” Hypernova whispered, concerned.

“I.. I don’t know how they will take to me.”

“Well, I’m sure they’ll like you!”

“I hope they can recognize me.”

“But..I don’t understand. I thought you never met them.”

“I, I haven’t. I mean, it’s complicated, Nova. It’s just.. I really need to talk to them.”

Hypernova eyed her as they walked in near sync. She wanted to ask more but something told her to let it be for now. ‘Anyways, if she wants to keep it to herself, I’m sure she’ll tell someone eventually,’ Hypernova thought to herself.

As they traversed further into the castle, Hypernova was aware of the stares that Melanippe was garnering. She found herself glaring at the guards who quickly averted their gaze as the doors opened, revealing the two Princesses. Princess Celestia and Luna had talked quickly and due to the change in the atmosphere per Luna, they had sent their children away.

The moment the group was in, Hypernova watched the color drain from the Princesses’ face. ‘What in the world?’ Hypernova was flabbergasted.

Princess Celestia was swift. “Comet Tail, perhaps you’d like to take Hypernova out in town since she’s free from school for a bit? Quandary and Sleepwalker could join you as well, they’re in their study room.”

Comet Tail nodded and pushed at Hypernova who tried to stay rooted to the floor. “But I want to stay!” Hypernova wailed. “I’m an adult now!”

“Later, Nova,” Comet Tail said sternly as Hypernova’s ears fell back and she resigned herself to obeying her parents.

Hypernova soon found the two cousins as Comet Tail opted out of going out with them as Hypernova grumbled.

“What’s wrong?” Quandary poked at the unicorn.

“I wanted to stay for the meeting. Poor Nip seemed so anxious, I just wanted to be there for support.”

“Well, I’m sure she’s fine. You know how well our parents are and quite gentle.”

Quandary burst out laughing suddenly as the two stared at her. “Sorry but I was thinking about my dad.” She sniggered.

“Want to go into town?” Sleepwalker inquired.

“I go to school here. I know what’s around,” Hypernova said dryly.

“Well, let’s go for a walk anyways. It’ll pass the time by faster.” Sleepwalker used a stretched wing to guide the other pony. Quandary followed after a short bout of thought.

It was a nice distraction, especially as the two cousins ended up causing some unneeded trouble. The three were coming back to the castle as Sleepwalker was glaring at Quandary.

“Look, I’m sorry I used the sun to blind you.”

“You didn’t just use the sun to blind me, you wanted to burn out my retinas! Since I’m already half-blind, you thought it’d be better if I were fully blind! Then I could.. what did you say? Get a guide pony!”

“I would have volunteered,” Quandary said innocently.

“And how many walls would you have me hit?”

“Well, as many as I could get you to, naturally.”

“Hypernova, let’s go home now!” Princess Twilight Sparkle called out as she and her husband trotted to their daughter.

“What about Nip?”

“She’s to stay here for a little bit,” Her mother told her soothingly.

“Is she in trouble?”

“She is, actually. But the Princesses will help her now.”

“Can I do anything?”

“That’s my girl,” Comet Tail said proudly.

“No, honey. Not at this time,” Princess Twilight Sparkle told her.

“Can I at least say goodbye?”

Comet Tail gave his wife a look as she seemed to backtrack on what she was about to respond with. “Sure,” Princess Twilight Sparkle said quietly. “But don’t take too long. Need to go home to eat dinner.”

Hypernova bounded off as she raced through the halls. She passed a partially open door and heard from behind her a faint call of her name.

Hypernova was quick to back up and return to the now open door. Melanippe was smiling at her as Hypernova heaved a hard and loud sigh.

“Are you all right, Nova?”

“I don’t know, I was worried that something happened to you for some odd reason. But you’re here and I have to go but I really wanted to say goodbye and..” Hypernova teared up unexpectedly. “Geez, why am I crying?”

There was a head bonk as Melanippe’s forehead hit hers, not quite gentle but not too painful that Hypernova would’ve backed up hard. “You are a good soul, Nova. With a heart of gold and pure, gentle magic, you make the world better.”

“If you need help with something,” Hypernova began as Melanippe lowered her head in thought.

“I may need your help, if the Princesses cannot.”

“What can I do?”

“By being yourself,” Melanippe said very quietly as Hypernova eyed her in confusion. “In time, you will understand. But for now, you must go home and have dinner, right?”

“Oh my goodness, how did you know?! Are you psychic?”

“Well, no, not really. But by judging the way the light falls that the sun is lowering in the skies, evening is soon approaching.” Melanippe pointed behind Hypernova to the open window that did indeed reveal the falling sun. “Evening usually means dinner.”

Hypernova turned red. “Well, I suppose that was pretty obvious. Will I see you again?”

“Of course you will. Take care of yourself, Nova. Let the footprints guide you.”

Hypernova blinked and then nodded as she turned away. She wondered momentarily what Melanippe had meant by that last line.

Hypernova made herself at home and fell into a hard sleep. She woke up groggy and struggled to wake up fully as there was the sound of gentle twinkling, signaling visitors.

“GOOD MORNING, PRINCESS!” A familiar Pegasus stallion came bolting in by flight, wings spread out as he thudded to the ground. He shook each wing before folding them against his sides. He was a beautiful aero color with bright carnation pink eyes. His hair was predominantly sapphire, with streaks of olivine and golden poppy. He wore his hair and his tail long and it was slightly feminine in style, having been carefully groomed to be a perfect feature on the stallion.

Upon his flank was a white cloud that spilled a watery rainbow of red, yellow, and blue, ending in a colorful puddle. It symbolized the stallion’s love of art and painting.

“Azure Canvas!” Hypernova squealed. She bounded to him with a beam of her smile. “What are you doing here?”

“Mam wanted to visit Auntie Twilight. Something about a necklace and shining bright light. It was very strange to hear her panicking over something so simple.”

“Shining necklaces… you know,” Hypernova said slowly. “That seems awfully familiar. Like I read it or maybe Mama told me a stor…” Her eyes grew big. “Oh, the Elements of Harmony!”

“What about the…” Was all that Azure Canvas managed before he stared at a dust version of Hypernova. “How does she do that?”

Hypernova managed to appear at the end of the conversation. “Twi, I haven’t seen this in a long time!” Rainbow Dash was livid. “All these years and now they start up again? What’s going on?!”

“Look, Rainbow Dash..” She took notice of her daughter peering in the doorframe. “Hypernova, please. We’re having a private discussion.”

“But I want…”

“Leave, Nova!” Magic made the door bolt close as Hypernova dove back, startled. Her eyes filled with tears as she turned and raced down the hallway, tears falling freely. Azure Canvas had seen what had happened and never had seen the Princess react so coldly to her daughter. Whatever had bothered his mother bothered the Princess even more.

‘Wonder if she knows something?’ Azure Canvas turned away and flew off at a low level, keeping an eye on his path.

He found Hypernova stomping out of the castle and followed her hurriedly. “Hey! Hey!”

“What’s wrong with her?” Azure Canvas was caught up by Flora. She was the daughter of Fluttershy and her husband Noteworthy. She was a beautiful maya blue color with bright harvest gold eyes. Her hair was predominantly pink lace with an azure stripe. She had braided her tail and her hair, both which were of a long length.

Unlike her mother and her talent, Flora was centered upon her incredible memory and her ability to write. A trait that was shared by her father who happily encouraged her to do as she dreamed.

“Her mom sort of yelled at her.”

“Wow! What did Hypernova do?”

“Nothing that I could see,” Azure Canvas and Flora walked in unison. “What are you doing?”

“Mother is upset about something. I could only make out that it was about a necklace.”

“Yours too? My mom freaked about it too. Hypernova might know what they’re talking about. If we can get her to stop moving.” Azure Canvas added with a roll of his eyes.

“Hello, friends!” Strawberry Quartz trotted happily to the trio, though Hypernova swiftly passed her. “Oh, umm.. bye?”

“Just follow, I’m sure she’ll stop eventually.” Flora offered as the duo became a trio. “Oh, hey, by the way, have you guys heard from Russ or Cherry?”

“Cherry Lollipop was locked up in her room, about being mopey or something. I know Auntie Pinkie Pie tried to cheer her up butt.” At that, Azure Canvas trailed off. All three know of the strained relationship between mother and daughter.

“Oh, hi, Hyper, how are you..” Hypernova passed by the Sugarcube Corner as Cherry Lollipop had been leaving. She stared at Hypernova walked by without a word.

“Wanna join us?” Strawberry Quartz invited Cherry Lollipop.

“Hey, while we’re walking, can we go by the Sweet Apple Acres?” Cherry Lollipop asked hopefully.

“I don’t think Hypernova’s going anywhere near that. She’s heading toward the forest from the look of it,” Flora noted.

“I’m going to go get Russ,” Azure Canvas stated. “He’s big. With him in the way, she just has to stop!”

“I don’t see why we can’t stop her,” Flora muttered.

“Well, we can try,” Strawberry Quartz said smoothly. “Hey, Hypernova!”

As if she was startled, she tore off, leaving her trademark dusty path. Everyone raced after her in surprise, shouting at her to stop.

Golden Russet appeared at the front of the forest and stood in Hypernova’s path with determination. “Now, waita min there, Hy…”

Hypernova bolted out of view and reappeared behind Golden Russet. He swore as he raced after her, everyone else following with a similar shout. Nothing they did could stop her and Hypernova was moving too fast to catch up to her.

“Where is she going?” Azure Canvas called out in hopes that someone would know the answer.

“Only thing on this path is the Tree of Harmony!” Strawberry Quartz answered with a gasp.

“Why is she going…” All of them came to a stumbling halt in front of the Tree of Harmony. On each branch existed an element.

“I..I  don’t understand..” Hypernova was ranting. “The necklaces.. aren’t they the elements of harmony? Oh, why can’t she have just let me listen! Why can’t I help!”

“Hypernova,” Strawberry Quartz spoke soothingly to her best friend. “Why don’t we just all calm down and think about what we’re doing. What brought you here?”

“It was the only thought I could muster. Why the necklaces are glowing. The Elements of Harmony used to belong to our parents, remember? They had necklaces before the elements were returned to the tree. I thought, I don’t know, that maybe they had left the Tree of Harmony.”

“I don’t think that they can,” Azure Canvas rubbed his ear.

Cherry Lollipop took notice of something and began to move away from the group and toward the shining tree. She remembered dimly of coming here, years ago with her mother. Before Party Cannon had been yet conceived. In her mind, she heard herself, so much younger, laughing with her mother and feeling so happy.

She came to the base of the tree without realizing it as tears fell. She wished that she had the closeness again, to feel that shine as when she had laughed so freely.

The tree began to glow, first at the trunk as light corralled up the base and to the tree limbs. Each element in turn was alit as the group fell back. Cherry Lollipop, the closest, was fully blinded as she saw nothing but white, hot light.

“Lolly!” Golden Russet called out with worry. He surged forward to pull her to and behind him. “Are you all right?!” He asked, panicked.

Cherry Lollipop buried her head into the ground, crying out in pain. The light had disappeared as everyone piled around the fallen mare.

“What do we need? Water? Meds? Zecora!?” Hypernova wailed.

“Just wait a moment!” Strawberry Quartz ordered as she used her magic to gently encourage Cherry Lollipop to look up. “Keep your eyes closed, honey. There we go, dear. Just take a deep breath. Lean against Russ if you need to.”

“He’s next to me?” Cherry Lollipop asked in confusion. Golden Russet looked like he was about to get angry when Flora blurted out.

“You’ve gone blind?!”