//------------------------------// // Chapter 30: Leaving a Piece // Story: Through the Aurora // by Starscribe //------------------------------// “You indulge too much in drama, daughter of mine,” said a distant voice, drifting in from somewhere far away. Summer couldn’t see where it came from—but with the distortion caused by her bubble-helmet, that wasn’t terribly unusual. Everything sounded strange and out of place. A creature emerged from one of the curtains of glowing jellyfish fronds, somehow escaping without apparent chemical burns. Like one of them, except—longer, more elegant and beautiful. What they were to a child, this stranger looked to Skystar. She was also swimming right for her. She circled around the three of them, slow strokes of tail and flicks of a fin, an occasional twirl through the water. “This is the one who comes to us from strange seas. Born of our allies, unknown until now. We’ve been expecting creatures like you.” “Didn’t you just say I was too dramatic?” Skystar settled beside her. “It’s not nice to keep her like this, mother. Look at her. Soaked feathers, kicking and struggling like that. It’s like watching a wet kitten.” They hardly seemed to notice the ponies, and for once Sharp didn’t seem bothered by that. He kept Emerald from wandering too far with an occasional touch, but otherwise stayed well back. Out of sight, where he wouldn’t attract attention until he was needed. “You’re right.” She stopped swimming, right in front of Summer. “You’re from far away. Did ponies explain to you the importance of the Pearl? It’s so important that everything else can wait. Nothing matters more.” “Th-they… they didn’t,” she squeaked. So quietly that the fish didn’t even seem to hear her. “Well, it’s possible they aren’t aware. Currents know some of our own fish don’t. So I’ll tell you.” She gestured, and at her command the spectacular curtain of glowing filaments behind the throne reacted. It uncurled around something she couldn’t see, slowly stretching down towards them until something round settled there, something Theo couldn’t look at. She knew it was bright, she could feel the brightness against her coat. It warmed the water even to be brought closer to it. Yet she didn’t want to see the thing directly. Maybe couldn’t. “There are many stories about how we found it, long ago. How it found us. But those don’t matter. All that matters is that the Pearl of Transformation isn’t just an artifact. Its magic works on all creatures, but not the same way. Your friends, those ponies—it transformed them. Yet, if they did what you’re about to do, nothing would happen. They can feel the spell, but not wield it. But when you touch it, that’s when you will tie yourself to the Pearl. Give a little of your land self to the sea, and receive a little bit of the sea in return.” She leaned forward, tapping the necklace she was wearing. “Or did you never wonder what this was meant to hold? You’re dressed like an explorer, but the magic was exhausted this whole time.” “Not completely,” Skystar offered casually. “She says the necklace is translating for her. Apparently her language is weird? I didn’t ask.” “Interesting.” The queen looked her up and down, swimming in front of the Pearl. Summer relaxed instantly, no longer feeling that source of unplaceable sickness. The nausea fled, and her eyes would focus again. On the queen’s intense interest. “I’ve known dozens of griffons in my time, and plenty of ponies. Our language descends from a common root. How far did you fly from?” “Very,” she said, glancing briefly back at Sharp. But the pony didn’t move, either to encourage her or to try and stop her. He flicked his tail, drifting a little closer. The message was obvious. ‘This is your secret.’ “Further than anyone else you’ve ever met, probably.” The queen leaned closer, then shook her head. “We’re getting nowhere here. If I wanted to have this interrogation on the surface, maybe we could finish it. But shy and air-spell don’t mix. Besides, even if I was about to cast you into prison, I’d want you to claim your birthright first. Let’s just do that.” She swam up and over, looping around Summer until she was behind her. She settled one foreleg on her shoulder, pushing her forward through the water. “These ceremonies aren’t usually so informal. When birds come from the surface, there’s a dozen of them at once, all prepared for ritual and ceremony. But it wouldn’t be fair to make you wait. Besides, your story interests me. I’m sure you’ll be able to resolve some of the rumors we’ve been hearing about Equestria. Or just enrich our library.”  Theo whimpered, kicking out with one of her hindlegs, trying to push further away from the pearl. It was no use—the queen’s powerful strokes were impossible to resist. She was getting closer and closer, to a heat that felt like it was boiling the water. Cooking her alive. “It’s been ages since an older bird went through this,” Queen Novo said absently. “You can do it, strange newcomer. Reach out and take your birthright. Become a part of the sea.” This isn’t a good idea this isn’t a good idea, this isn’t a good idea. It wasn’t just that the object apparently made her sick. But this was obviously powerful magic, much more than she should be tampering with. She didn’t want a piece of some alien sea stuck inside! “I don’t think…” But she was too quiet, too fearful. She wasn’t speaking up over her bubble, or the queen just didn’t care. “I really shouldn’t.” Summer would never know if it was the queen’s confident expression, Sharp’s sympathetic gaze, her desperate fear of running out of air, or the armed guards swimming at the edges of the room. There was an initial pain there, certainly, but something else as well. A distant familiarity, maybe even a longing. Whatever her reason, she stopped fighting. The only way to escape from this thing was forward. She extended a claw to the pearl—and it passed through. The surface felt hard only for an instant, before it yielded under her grip. Her whole body exploded with pain, overwhelming every sense. Her world was an ocean. She screamed, thrashed about on a sea of snow and ice. She saw figures far below, figures that she tried and failed to resolve into clear shapes. They were… a line of marching hunters, maybe, struggling forward with spears over their shoulders and fresh kill dragging behind them. Cold, desperate, hunted. Wolves chased after them, bears harried them. Some didn’t come back. Then they were somewhere else. The snow lifted up in a great wave over her head, and came down as tropical water. Promise sworn, promise kept. A city grew beneath the waves. Coral settled along sculpted lines, as fish swam, and birds flew, and all were marked alike. They had a new home—they were different. But there was magic for them. Suddenly she was choking. Summer took another breath, and it was as though nothing flowed into her lungs. Her eyes opened and she was back in the strange throne room. A glow faded around her, leaving her body strangely numb below the waist. She kicked and struggled against it, swearing desperately. “Can’t… can’t… breathe…” “Daughter,” the Queen said, her voice carrying just a hint of annoyance. “You should’ve known she wouldn’t manage a form that could breathe air on her first try.” Something popped, and water pressed up against her face. Summer whimpered, curling up on herself. She could feel the water pressing against her, bringing with it her inevitable death. She’d never see Earth again, she’d never speak to her family again. This was where she died. She couldn’t just hold her breath forever, even if instinct demanded that she try. There was no chance of reaching the surface, no visible air—but the body demanded she try. She opened her mouth, took a breath, and relief swept down her throat. She exhaled moments later, and shuddered at the strange sensation. Liquid passed out her neck, bringing a relief, but cold against her skin that she’d never felt before. Cold where no cold ever ought to be. “I’m…” She didn’t sound like she was speaking into a fishbowl anymore. She looked down, and somehow wasn’t surprised by what she saw there. Summer Ray was a fish now, or a seapony, or whatever they were properly called. Larger than Sharp Edge, smaller than the other hippogriffs in the throne room, but similar in basic shape and color. She blushed, as she was reminded again of just how naked she was. This was back to having all her parts up front, like when she’d been human. There would be no pretending here. It wasn’t only her body that was different. Her necklace still looked just as old, but something had appeared that hadn’t been there before. A pale stone, roughly round, with a faint glow to it whenever she looked. The necklace caressed it perfectly, as though it had always been there. This is what I was missing, she thought, remembering the gateway. This is how we turn it on.  After everything she’d accomplished, after as far as she’d come, she had what she needed.  Now all she had to do was make it back. “And now the ceremony is over.” Queen Novo flicked her tail a few times, gliding back across the room until she rested elegantly in the waiting throne. “Though if there are many more of you, we may need to make other arrangements.” She gestured expectantly. “Come forward and introduce yourself. Expect no leniency from my court beyond what you’ve been granted already.” “She’s usually pretty lenient,” Skystar whispered, before darting up to the throne.    Summer did her best to obey, kicking and squirming and trying to lift herself into a vertical position in the water. Unfortunately it felt exactly like being changed into a hippogriff for the first time. All her instincts from her time in Equestria betrayed her, and her tail mostly flipped her around randomly. She squawked and started drifting the wrong way. “Sorry, sorry! I don’t think I’m very good at this.” Something grabbed her out of the water, a universal, invisible pressure. She squirmed reflexively against it, but was powerless to break free. There was no one holding her, nothing to shove away. The magic deposited her free-floating in the water at the base of the throne, where she would be looking up at the Queen and the princess. At least she was neutrally buoyant, so she didn’t start drifting up or down again. Summer concentrated on her fins, focusing on keeping them still. At least if she stayed put, she wouldn’t make more of a fool of herself. “We’re going to begin with the questions that brought you here in the first place,” the Queen went on. “Captain Sky Beak, the one whose ship towed you here, said that an unknown hippogriff was discovered trying to reach us, with ponies aiding her. The two of you are welcome to swim forward, by the way. You aren’t the first ponies in my court.” Sharp swam up to Summer’s side, with far more coordination than she had. He’d been a fish for an hour by now. “I think we met one of them. A pony named Applejack assisted us on our journey. She sends her regards.” “Really? And if you’re friends of hers, then that greatly eases my tensions about this whole…” She dragged one fin through the water in front of her. “Encounter. The stories I’ve been hearing about Equestria in the last year almost made me second-guess revealing ourselves in the first place. Not that I… This conversation isn’t about that. I don’t expect you to speak ill of your nation, either of you. It would be wrong of me to ask.” “Were those stories coming from…” Summer finally dared to speak, flicking forward a little through the water by reflex. She didn’t bump into the throne though, because Sharp gripped her with a foreleg, holding her still. “Your ambassador in Canterlot?” The Queen’s casual demeanor hardened instantly, and she sat alert in her seat. “Maybe they were, maybe they weren’t. You know something about it?” She nodded. Then she told them. It wasn’t like very long had passed—the memory of their unpleasant experience with Stratus Skyranger and her subsequent daring escape was still quite fresh on her mind. All the while Queen Novo listened without interruption, looking more disturbed by the moment.  “There’s one thing I don’t understand,” she said, as soon as Summer had finished sharing the story. “I don’t… Stratus has always been ambitious, that’s partly why I was so eager to be rid of him. But why would he want to see you locked away in a pony… insane asylum, you said? Currents encircling us know why he would think that was a good idea.” “He was… afraid of where I came from,” she said. She wasn’t sure what possessed her to tell the truth—maybe it was that this strange ruler of a strange land had taken the time to visit personally with a potential new citizen from far away. But once she was talking, she couldn’t stop. “I’m not the child of a griffon and a pony, Queen Novo. I’m not from this world. I’ve come here from… much further. Traveled through a Doorway in the north. That’s where I met my pony friends here. Sharp Edge was studying the Doorway, just waiting for a creature to come through. That creature was me.” An uncomfortable silence settled on the throne room. The queen’s face became unreadable, and she shared a glance with her daughter. For a moment it seemed like Summer had just released an unpleasant fart right in the middle of court, or at least that was how they reacted. The throne room had a dozen different entrances and exits, and from all of them a guard or two appeared, wielding oversized tridents instead of crossbows.  The Queen cleared her throat, sitting up straighter in her seat. “You’re, uh… That isn’t something we talk about around here. Any of what you… what you mention.”  “I’m sorry,” Summer said, lowering her head. “I didn’t come here to insult you, or confront you with… things you don’t want to talk about. I just wanted to tell the truth. About where I came from.” She didn’t look up, so she didn’t see how they reacted. The silence stretched longer and longer, until Skystar finally said, “She’s wearing the pearl around her neck, Mother. The stories can’t all be true.” “No, I suppose they can’t.” The Queen tapped one fin on her throne, and the soldiers vanished back down their respective doorways. “Even if you told Stratus what you just told me… his reaction was inappropriate. He should’ve sent you directly to me. The fact that he didn’t send word of what you said is… uncomfortably strong evidence to support your story.” “It’s all true!” Sharp Edge added, circling once around Summer. “Forgive me, Queen. But Summer Ray is telling you the truth. About where she came from, and how we met. I’ve been working in… that field… for the last four years. To be honest, I only recently realized the artifact she’s wearing came from ancient hippogriffs. Equestrian archeology lags considerably with the creations of other creatures.” The Queen nodded. “You’ve done nothing wrong to share this information with us. Clearly we have much to consider. I will need to speak with the lore keepers about this. But… before any of that, I wish to know what you plan to do, Summer. Have you come to dwell with your… distant cousins? Did the Pearl call you here? What will you do?” You’re giving me a choice? After the way everyone had reacted, she half expected to end this conversation with a trip to prison. But now it didn’t seem like that would happen after all. “I want to…” That wasn’t entirely true anymore. “I need to try and go back,” she said. “Maybe if I do, I can… stop my people from coming here.” “I’m sure… there are many creatures in my realm who would appreciate that,” the Queen said. “But I would remind them, as I will remind you, that diplomacy with other nations is my role, not yours. And I will not banish any bird or fish from my realm on some… mission of self-sacrifice. The cause may be wise—I don’t know yet.”  She sat up, rubbing at her temple with one foreleg. “I’ve come to a decision. Summer Ray, stranger no longer, you’ve done a service to Seaquestria and all of Mount Aris by informing me of the… loyalties, of my appointed Ambassador. Given the gravity of what you know, I cannot be satisfied with this service alone. I require you to remain here for the next…” She shrugged. “Long enough to learn about your world, and those who live there. We’ll see you and your friends well cared-for in the meantime. And if there’s any reward we could offer in return…” Summer almost refused, it seemed like the polite thing to do. But it wasn’t just her who needed the help. “Our airship needed to be towed here,” she said. “We’d be… really grateful for the resources and maybe some extra hooves to fix it. Even if we won’t be leaving again until… you’re finished with us.” “If you want to leave at all,” Skystar added. “Lots of creatures don’t! There are some seaponies here now from Equestria, who stay even though they don’t have the magic to visit half the kingdom. You might stay too.” Seaquestria isn’t what makes me want to stay here. She looked back at Sharp, who nodded approvingly. “Of course,” the Queen said, waving a hoof. “So long as you remain on the island or below it, I’ll see you receive every resource you require. Or rather, my daughter will. You may be called to appear before me again, next time with the court in attendance. So prepare for that.” “They’re not scary either,” Skystar said. “Maybe a little boring. You’ll do fine!” She swam right up to Summer, dragging her forward by a hoof. “You’re not going back to the surface right now, so don’t even ask. You and your pony friends are gonna see the kingdom, and you’re gonna like it.”