//------------------------------// // A Letter From a Friend II // Story: Across the Antlertic Ocean // by StageQuill //------------------------------// The rope slapped the ground in rhythm with Dorothy's counting. "Ninety, ninety one, ninety two-" "Princess Dorothy-" Dorothy whirled around, startled out of her jump rope rhythm. "Oh, Jellia Jamb. It's you." "Princess Ozma would like to see you." The young housemaid smiled at the little girl. "All right, Jellia." Dorothy put down her jump rope. "Thanks." She ran out of the garden and through the emerald palace, her dog, Toto, trailing at her heels. "Ozma!" Dorothy burst into the Princess of Oz's boudoir. The fairy ruler was on a loveseat, staring wistfully out of the window. "Ozma, what's wrong?" "Nothing, Dorothy." Ozma sighed. "I'm just missing someone. Someone I knew before I was Tip, even. Someone I have not seen in- Well, nearly two thousand years." "Two-" Dorothy's eyes widened. "How?" She walked over to sit next to the fairy princess. Toto curled up on top of her feet. "Time flows differently in Oz and in Equestria, where my friends live." Ozma answered. "The Wizard thinks he only ruled Oz for forty, fifty years- And he did, in time outside of any fairyland. But in Oz- That was one thousand years. When you left Kansas that first time, you were in Oz for at least a week, but your Aunt and Uncle missed you for three days." Ozma pulled the younger girl into a hug. "Can I tell you about my friends?" "Awright." Dorothy grinned. "Can I meet them?" Ozma laughed. "I hope so! That would be very fun for everyone." She gazed off into the distance. "Celestia and Luna would be very good friends with you, I think. And the sawhorse." "The sawhorse?" "Yes." Ozma said. "I didn't say? They're alicorns." "Ally-whats?" Dorothy looked at Ozma with a confused expression. "A-li-corns. Ponies, with a horn like a unicorn and wings like a pegasus. They live in Equestria, a land entirely populated with ponies." Ozma explained, illustrating what she meant with dainty hand movements. "So- What happened?" Dorothy asked. "And where do they live?" "Across the Nonestic Ocean, only they call it the Antlertic." Ozma answered the second question. "Do you remember Inga? The prince of Pingaree?" Dorothy nodded. "We met on that island, before it was very well known. Luna, the younger one, discovered the pearls. We were playing hide-and-seek, and she thought she found Celestia, who has a shining white coat. But instead, she found a beautiful bed of many-colored pearls. Celestia had the idea to enchant them and give them to the king as a gift." Ozma sighed again. "I forgot them until I got the letter. The spell Mombi cast is still holding back bits of my memory." She frowned as much as such a pretty girl could. "I wonder what- or who else I can't remember." Dorothy patted her hand. "I'm sure you'll remember sometime. After all, you're recovering thousands of years of memories, and it's only been about a hundred since you were freed." The little girl smiled at her best friend. "I suppose. Glinda tried to help me and I thought she got everything. At any rate, Celestia sent me a letter and I responded. So much has happened since I knew her! I am quite excited to see where this goes." Ozma grinned again, her spirits lifted. "Can we look in the magic picture?" Dorothy asked. "Of course!" Ozma answered. She used her wand to pull back the curtains covering one of Oz's most valuable magic objects: A picture that could show anywhere in the world with a simple question. "Show me Princess Celestia!" The picture swirled and showed an elegant white alicorn mare, with a flowing mane and tail. Dorothy gasped. "Goodness! She's really pretty!" "Older than I remembered." Ozma said. "I knew her as a filly." The mare bent to talk to a smaller alicorn, a purple mare with a straight, squared mane. "Is that Luna?" Dorothy asked. Ozma furrowed her brow. "No. I have never seen her." Ozma answered. "Oh! There's Luna! And- Another one I don't know." A purple alicorn mare entered with a pink alicorn mare. All four seemed to be engaged in a conversation. "I wonder what they're doing." Dorothy wondered aloud. The four mares finished what seemed like a letter and magicked it away. A second later, it appeared in the room the two girls were standing in. "Ooh!" Dorothy exclaimed as Ozma read it. A grin grew on the princess' face. "Dorothy!" She exclaimed. "Celestia and Luna want us all to visit! An invitation for the entire court!" Ozma beamed. "Oh, yes! YES!" Dorothy had never seen Ozma get that excited. "Shouldn't you tell everyone else before answering yes?" Dorothy asked. "Of course." Ozma calmed down. "We'll meet right away."