//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: White Curse 
// by Jumpitydude 
//------------------------------//

Queen Novo did not want to be woken up, but one of her guards found something strange. She rushed to their treasures, expecting one to be missing, or broken. Instead, she got to the treasures to find... nothing odd.

"What did you wake me up for?"

The guard pointed at one of the treasures, lined with gems. For some reason, the gems had a pulsating glow to them. A glow they didn't have before.

"That's..."





Terramar stepped out of his house on Mt. Aries. Try as he might, he couldn't get to sleep. Because of that memory. He walked around the town as the memory played back in his head.





"This is gonna be great! I can't wait to get to Ponyville!"

"Yeah, lucky you."

"Imagine it! I'll meet Griffons, Yaks, Dragons, and SO MANY PONIES!"

"Yipee, good for you, sis."

"... Is something wrong?"

"No it's nothing..."

"But there is something bothering you, right?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"Terramar, what's wrong? You can tell me."

"What's wrong? You! You're what's wrong!"

"Huh?"

"Mom and dad do what you want! They give you what you desire! Everything they do is for your sake! And I get left in the dust!"

"T-Terramar, please..."

"It's all about you! Auntie wanted me to go to this school, but no! You had to want to go yourself, and I'm stuck living with my problems, while you get to run away! So you know what? GET OUT OF MY LIFE! MAYBE I'LL BE TREATED FAIRLY FOR ONCE!"

"Wha... I... Tha... WWWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHhhhhhhhhh......"





He got punished for what he said, and he knew he was the one that was wrong. Either way, it was the last time he spoke with his sister. He hasn't seen her since, and she hasn't written to him directly. The only way he knew she was fine was because his parents told him she had been writing to them.

But... that's fine. They'll meet again. Someday. They aren't in danger at all. Silver wasn't in danger of dying anytime soon... at all... They'll meet... someday...

Terramar rubbed the tears from his eyes. It would be fine, right? He looked up at the sky.

Just in time for something to hit him in the face.

After tumbling a bit, he rubbed his head and looked for what hit him... and found what it, or rather, who they were.

"What the..."

The other hippogriff's hind legs were raised in the air for a moment before they rolled into a seated position. Once they were facing him head-on, Terramar identified them without trouble.

"SILVER?" He got up and moved towards her a bit. "Sis, what are you-"

The moment she recognized him, she darted towards him, knocking him over with a hug. "Terramar! Terramaaaaaar!"

It took him a moment to realize she was crying, and he quickly hugged her back. "It's okay, sis. It's alright."

"I thought... I... I..."

"It's okay. It's alright."

At that moment, nothing else mattered. Silver needed Terramar to comfort her, and he was right there for her. After a while, she fell asleep, but they both held tight to each other.

"Terramar! Where are you?"

Terramar heard their father calling for him, but couldn't call back without waking Silver up. "Oh, why did you have to fall asleep."

"Terramar?" Sky Beak rounded the corner, and found not one, but both of his children, holding each other. He ran over to them. "Terramar, what is Silver doing here?"

"I don't know. I left the house to clear my head, and she just... flew into me."

"Let's get her back home, we can ask her when she wakes up."





Silver snuggled up to her pillow. Soft and warm. She cuddled her plushie as tight as she could. So comfy.

"You're doing that cuddle thing again."

"How would you know." It took her a moment to process that the voice was neither Gallus or Sandbar. "Wait, Terramar?"

Her brother giggled at her drowsiness. "Took you a moment, huh sis."

"What are you..." She looked around the room they were in. "... This isn't the academy."

Terramar let out a soft chuckle. "Nah. This is dad's place on Mt. Aries. Your room, specifically."

"Mt. Aries?" Silver looked out the window. "... So that wasn't a dream."

Terramar put his claw on his sister's shoulder. "Why did you come here?"

"Huh?"

"Was it because of our... Because of when I..." Terramar couldn't bring himself to mention it.

Though Silver knew what he was talking about. "No. I figured something else was going on with you when I was headed to the academy for the first time, but I didn't know what until Profe- er, Princess Twilight told me. And, I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I was pretty selfish when it came to our parents, huh? You never asked them for much, but I was still wrong for asking them for as much as I did. So..." Silver held her arms out. "Forgive me?"

Terramar started laughing. "You're asking me to forgive you? When I'm the one that snapped and yelled at you till you cried?" Terramar held his arms out. "I guess I can if you forgive me."

Silver lunged forward into a hug. "Deal!"

Both siblings started laughing, in stark contrast to when they last saw each other.

"Ah, you're awake. Finally." Their father was standing in the doorway. "If you two don't mind, your mother is waiting in the dining room."

Terramar was confused. "Wait, mom? I thought she didn't like to leave the water."

"She doesn't, but when she heard Silver rushed home for some reason, she had to make sure everything was alright."

Silver was smiling. "We'll be there in a second." Their father left the room, letting them work on untangling themselves from their blankets. Once they did and got out of bed, however, Silver's smile vanished. "Right. It was..."

"Is something wrong?"

"I remembered why I came back, but I'd rather not have to explain it too many times."

Terramar nodded and went with her to the dining room. While they expected their parents to be there, they didn't expect General Seaspray, or...

"Sandbar? Ocellus? Gallus?"

Gallus lifted his claw and tilted his head. "Did you think you could disappear and no one would notice?"

Ocellus looked worried. "When we noticed you were missing, Princess Twilight had us come here to get your family's help to find you."

Sandbar set his cup down. "You can imagine our shock when we learned that you were here, after spending the whole morning wondering where you were."

Hearing that made something click in Silver's head. "Wait, what time is it? How long was I asleep?"

Terramar rubbed the back of his head. "Well, you crashed into me about three in the morning, so..."

"It's one," Seaspray said bluntly.

Silver's eyes shot wide. "One? Geeze, the professors must be freaked out."

Ocellus gave an awkward smile. "Don't worry. We've already sent them a letter saying where you are."

Gallus glared at Silver. "Though that begs the question of why you're here."

"Silver, honey." Ocean Flow put her claw on the seat next to her, prompting Silver to sit there and Terramar next to her. "Is something wrong? You can tell us."

Silver took in a deep breath. There was no way for her to avoid the question. Time to take Professor Rainbow's solution... and face it head-on. "I thought Terramar had died."

Everyone else was shocked and looked at Terramar, who was staring at Silver like someone just stabbed her.

"It was just a nightmare, I've realized that by now." Silver let out a sigh. "But it felt so real."

Gallus gave Silver a concerned look. "What do you remember about your dream?"

"That you feel comfortable telling us." Ocellus quickly tacked on.

Silver hung her head and closed her eyes, only slightly opening them once she started her story. "I was in a village, a small one, with some of my friends. I knew we were there for a reason, but a platoon of creatures was there to kill us, so we were trying to escape. The wind was harsh, there was a lot of rain, the earth grew soft, and someone was screaming. I was trying to protect the others, but I heard thunder right behind me, and then... Terramar..." She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to fight back the tears.

"Silver!" Ocean flow quickly grabbed her daughter's claw and shoulder. "It's okay, Silver. It's okay."

"H-he looked me in the... eye." Silver put her head on her mother's shoulder. "And told me... "You were wonderful." After... After that... he went limp... and everything went... white. Th-that's when I... woke up."

Silence...

"Is that it?"

Gallus glared at the pony. "Sandbar! You could at least have kept quiet!"

Sandbar held his hooves up defensively. "Woah. Sorry, dude. Don't know why you got offended."

Sky Beak looked at his daughter. "As troubling as that sounded, I don't think the Terramar in your dreams was our Terramar."

The siblings looked at their father. "What?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Ocellus spoke up, "But I learned that creatures tend to name some of their young after historical figures, particularly if they're royalty." She looked at Ocean Flow. "Is that what happened with your children?"

"Silver Stream was each of us coming up with half of her name, but that is what we did with Terramar."

"The archer blessed by the ocean," Seaspray commented. "He was considered a hero of ancient hippogriffs. Reportedly fending off an invasion of Storm Beasts on his own, he caught the attention of a pegasus by the name of Sky Blitz, who was forming a team of various creatures. Supposedly, he died in battle."

"He wasn't just a hero," Sky Beak continued for Seaspray. "He was a grand role model. Keeping the children smiling and the adults comfortable in their own home. He was also called the heart of the hippogriffs."

"After he died, many fought to keep his vision alive." Ocean Flow smiled at her children. "He is why we are considered a noble race. His image never died."

Silver latched on to one thing that was said. "That team... Were they... normal?"

Her parents looked confused, while Seaspray grabbed his glass.

Ocean Flow tugged at her necklace. "Well, they were all considered heroes of their races. Except perhaps-"

"Silver."

Silver looked at Seaspray, who then splashed the water in his glass at her. She closed her eyes and held up her claws instinctively... then opened one eye to look at the water she stopped mid-air.

Her entire family was shocked.

"What the..."

"Silver?"

"How did you?"

Gallus, however, couldn't find enough claw to contain all the face. "WE HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO USE OUR DISGUISES, AND YOU'VE ALREADY BLOWN YOUR COVER!"

Ocellus slapped her hoof over Gallus' beak. "Volume, Gallus!"

"You won't have to worry about Equestria's laws here." Seaspray gently tapped the floating water. "No, they were not normal. Terramar displayed the ability to manipulate water like you just did. The other members of the team displayed similar powers." He paused when he felt a breeze inside the building.

"Powers like that, right?" Sandbar stopped the wind. "I heard about that team, but I thought they were a team of ponies."

Ocean Flow shook her head. "No. Sky Blitz was the only pony on that team. There were a number of other creatures on the team, including Terramar."

Sandbar tilted his head. "Like what?"

Ocean Flow sighed. "We don't know. We just know about Terramar and Sky Blitz. The rest of their names were lost to our history."

Terramar matched Sandbar's gaze. "Though odds are, they're still in the lore of their respective races."

"Terramar did have a heritage," Seaspray resumed. "From what we know, Queen Novo is his descendant, which means you are as well, being her niece. As such, it makes sense for you to have his power."

"Hold on one second, mister po-" Gallus quickly re-evaluated name calling someone that could probably break all of his legs without much effort. "Er, General. How did you know Silver had that power before chucking water at her?"

"My suspicions were because of her suspicions." Seaspray vaguely declared. "We gave her no reason to believe that Terramar's team was anything but normal, but she knew they weren't. The main reason I could think of is if she was interested in Terramar's power prior to knowing about him. The most likely reason for that is if she had the power herself, and looked into it, discovering Terramar's team."

Ocellus took note of Seaspray's logic. "Either you know Silver better than we do, or-"

"Both." Silver preempted Ocellus' other point. "He trained me in both weapons and combat. A lot of it was getting used to weapons and preempting opponents both before and during battle."

"So that's why she's able to figure out others so easily." Silver smiled proudly at Ocellus' words...

"While being so bad at math." Only to frown at Gallus'.

Ocean Flow, however, found it amusing. "She's always been bad with numbers. Just like her father."

Sky Beak's frown matched his daughter's. "Thanks, honey."

Seaspray looked straight at Silver. "If there's some way we can help you, just name it. I'll try, with all of my authority, to give it to you."

Silver closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them, she followed with four words. Four words that shocked everyone in the room one last time.

"The Land-Sea Bow."

Seaspray was completely shocked by her words. "Ab- The- Bluh?"

"I learned recently that Terramar is comprised of two words; Terra, meaning land, and Mare, meaning sea. Therefore, it makes sense for a weapon named land and sea to belong to someone named land and sea."

Seaspray was proud of Silver's skills at deduction, but highly nervous nonetheless. "Th-that... falls outside of my authority. I can try to get it to you, but..."

"Is that the Queen?"

They all looked out the window at the commotion.

"Queen Novo?"

"What is that on her back?"

Ocean Flow stood up. "Novo is here?"

They all headed outside to see Queen Novo, who was actually headed towards them.

"Auntie?" Silver ran up to the Queen. "Is something wrong? Did I-"

Seaspray looked at the object on Queen Novo's back. "Th-that's!"

Queen Novo grabbed the long, navy blue bag off her back, then pulled out its contents. An extravagant bow painted light blue with glowing sapphires in the wood.

"Is that..."

"... The Land-Sea Bow?"

"Why did she bring it here?"

Queen Novo held it out to Silver, who took it in her claw. The moment she did, she felt an immense energy flowing through her.

"What's happening?"

"Her eyes are glowing!"

"Is this why the Queen is here?"

A few moments later, Silver and the legendary bow both stopped glowing. She held her eyes closed, panting.

Terramar looked at his sister with concern. "Silver?"

Hearing that, Silver's eyes snapped open. She made an arrow out of water, nocked it, and pointed it up at the sky. She let it fly, causing it to turn into eight arrows that all flew up, and, once barely visible, exploded, causing it to rain down.

"That's amazing!"

"Look at that!"

"How did she do that?"

"Is she Terramar's descendant?"

"That's why the Queen brought it up here."

"Look at that rainbow!"

Silver looked up, then at the bow. A second later, it seemingly vanished, leaving a glowing spot on her claw.

"So. You've truly inherited his power." Queen Novo smiled at her niece. "Terramar was able to summon it at will. And now, so can you. It truly belongs to you."

Silver smiled. "Thank you, Aun- er, your High- Uh..."

Queen Novo giggled. "Auntie will be fine."

Silver nodded. "Alright, Auntie."

Both of them smiled at each other, then started giggling.

Ocellus realized something serious. "We need those weapons."