Even In Other Worlds

Chapters

Plan and Promise
Day One: Rainbow's Incident
To Fight Shadows...
Chase the Nightmares Away
The Storm
Double Dinner Date Dare
Swords and Clubs
Queen, King, and Angel
Reunion
2015 April Fools' Special - A Picnic With Friends
Stained
Aftermath
A Date That Goes Right
Bodies in the Cellar
2016 April Fools Special: The Immortal
Knight Vs. King
2017 April Fools Special - Clash on the Big Bridge
Breaking the Curse
The Best Laid Plans
Nathan Samuel
Penelope Poppentop's Preposterously Popular Party

Plan and Promise

Even In Other Worlds
Chapter 02 - Plan And Promise

Nathan-- no, Nova stood there, mind still reeling from the realization. The memories were still slowly flooding his mind, making it difficult to follow all of them.

But what was it Mr. Sire had said to do as soon as “they” came back? Oh, right!

“Princess Celestia!” he shouted, as if yelling for someone in a dark forest.

At once, his vision went white, and he felt the ground vanish from beneath him. After a moment of panic, he calmed down when he realized that it was probably her pulling him out of his mind. It felt like he was flying upward, through this white void, but at the same time, his feet still stood on something solid.

A dark spot appeared above him, with small bits of color inside. As he flew closer, the shape grew larger and larger. It looked circular, and it appeared to be made of glass.

His hands started glowing. He looked down, thinking vaguely of regeneration, before his fingers melded together and his arms shrunk, his shoulders angled directly forward, his legs shortened and began to take on a more cylindrical shape, and his hair grew slightly longer and further down his neck.

He was transforming back into his real self. His pony self.

Even as he thought this, a long blue tail sprouted from behind him, a horn protruded from his forehead, and his transformation completed. The shape in front of him finally resolved itself, and all the white around him vanished into darkness.

He was flying (or falling?) towards the flat top/bottom of a pillar. The pillar was blue, with deep blue circles set round the edge. Within the circles were silver crescent moons, like the one on his brooch. The focus of the pillar was him facing to the left, head bowed, and eyes shut, a serene expression on his face. Facing opposite and behind him was a light-purple unicorn mare, wings outstretched and facing upward, also with her eyes shut. Above them were smaller circles, each containing the head of a different pony. There was one Nova vaguely likened to Alex, one that he also vaguely likened to Trisha. The others, he had no idea.

He was within his mind, he realized. He recognized the place, having been here twice before. But as his memories were still in the process of returning, some of the details were still fuzzy. For example, who was that mare?

Whatever force was drawing him upward turned him over, so that he touched down hooves first on the pillar. Whatever it was made of, it didn’t feel like glass. It was hard, an it felt more like rock than anything.

Tiny white lights appeared all around him and began to coalesce before him. After a few seconds, a bright light issued from where all the lights converged. When the light dimmed, a tall, regal white pony with both wings and a horn stood in front of him, her pink, green, and blue mane flowing independently of any wind.

“Princess Celestia!” Nova exclaimed, bowing.

The Princess inspected Nova for a moment. She seemed to be making sure he was in good health, and that he really was Nova Shin and not some other pony.

“Of all the ponies to break the curse and call for me,” she said in her gentle voice, “I am quite surprised that you were the one. Rise, Nova Shine.”

Nova stood tall, looked up at her, and raised an eyebrow. Princess Celestia smiled and took the moment to clarify.

“I don’t mean that I didn’t expect you to be free at all, but I am surprised that you were the first, and the one to call my name.”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Nova said truthfully.

“Yes, I suppose you wouldn’t,” Princess Celestia said. “You and everypony from Equus was dragged out of our world and cursed. This curse buried your memories of your true selves under false identities, or so I gathered, and made it impossible for me to contact you.”

“And yet you’re in my mind.”

“Oh, you know where we are?” she asked, her eyes twinkling down at him. “Good. Your memory restoration seems to be progressing quite quickly. Yes, we are in your mind. Or rather, I am connected with your mind. I am still on Equus.”

“You are?” he asked, surprised.

“Why yes,” she said. “Would you like to see?”

“Uh, sure.”

Princess Celestia’s horn shimmered with golden energy. At once, the world around Nova vanished, and he appeared in a great city, full of tall white towers and on the side of a mountain.

“Canterlot,” he muttered to himself.

But something was off. Aside from the fact that there was nopony in the town, there was something else that was giving Nova the distinct impression that something was wrong.

Nothing was moving. There was no wind, the birds were frozen in the air, There wasn’t even any sound.

“What’s going on?” he asked aloud. Princess Celestia’s voice ran from all around him.

“Equus is currently frozen in time,” she said, and Nova caught a note of sorrow in her voice. “Well, not necessarily frozen per sé. It is merely placed under a Hyperbolic Time spell. Do you remember the effects?”

“No,” Nova said. “You’ll have to remind me.”

“There is Time Stasis,” she explained, “in which anything within the target area of a spell is frozen completely, and there is Hyperbolic Time, in which the outside of the target area is slowed to a minute rate. I placed a mixture of Hyperbolic Time on myself, and Time Stasis on the entirety of Equus. Only Equestria, the Crystal Empire, and apparently the Changeling Empire were affected by the curse, which means the other nations, including our less-than-friendly neighbors across the sea, the Griffin Empire, still have all of their citizens.”

She snarled somewhat.

“I could not take the chance that the Griffins or any other hostile nation would not seize their opportunity and conquer Equestria for themselves. So as soon as I realized the magnitude of what had happened, I cast both spells. First, Hyperbolic Time on myself to offset what was to come, and then Time Stasis on the whole of Equus.”

Nova, whose jaw had fallen open some time ago when she had said that she cast Time Stasis on the entire planet!!!!, just stared blankly at the birds, trying to process what he had just heard.

“Yes,” said Princess Celestia dryly, “I am rather good at magic, aren’t I?”

The world around him vanished, and he was once again standing on the strange pillar within his mind. Princess Celestia stood, watching him, as if gauging his reaction. Or perhaps searching for some kind of sign that he had remembered something important.

“So what are we going to do?” Nova asked.

“I beg your pardon?” Celestia asked back, confused.

“You know,” Nova said, “what are we going to do to get back to Equestria?”

“We can do nothing, Nova Shine,” Celestia responded, shaking her head. “I’m afraid that I must once again ask more than I should of you, for you alone are the only one in any position to work to return everypony to Equestria. I cannot leave Equus, both because I don’t have the ability to, and because if I did, my spells would fail.”

“So I’m alone?” Nova asked. For some reason, he felt let down by that. Why? Why did he feel let down all of a sudden? If his memories were true, he was the kind of pony to do things on his own.

“Not necessarily,” she said. “There is someone who can help, but if you want his help, you’re going to have to be very discreet and subtle about it, given his current predicament.”

“Who?”

“Me,” came a playful-sounding voice that made Nova think of internet trolls.

Wait…

“Mr. Sire?” he asked, looking over toward where the voice issued. Sure enough, a man wearing a top hat, a grey patchy coat and, brown pants, and carrying a cane stood there.

“My name isn’t Quincy Sire, Nova Shine,” Mr. Sire said, reaching up, taking off his top hat, and placing it on the ground. “You’ve never met me in my true form before, but I am sure you will recognize me immediately.”

He snapped his fingers. There was a bright white light, and in his place stood a creature Nova recognized as a draconequus. And he knew there was only one draconequus alive.

“Discord,” he said, to which the titular being grinned and bowed.

“At your service, Nova Shine,” he said. “Celly and I go way back, you see, and semi-recently, I was sent to Fluttershy’s Home for Reformed Draconequi. So, it turns out I’m on your side now. Crazy, huh?”

“And they don’t know that?” Nova asked. “Whoever brought us here didn’t know that you were on Princess Celestia’s side?”

“I’m still working on that one,” Discord admitted. “I only just learned who was responsible for our little excursion to this human world. And I must say, Celly, I had my suspicions, considering the brand of magic used to transport us was not unlike a certain crystal mirror kept in a certain basement in a certain Crystal Palace in a certain Crystal Empire.”

Celestia appeared troubled by this.

“But how can that be? He is gone. Twilight Sparkle saw to that before her ascension. Before she even met him,” she added, gesturing to Nova. “How can he--”

“I don’t know how it’s possible, but I do know he’s not behind it,” Discord interjected. “It’s Envy, Celestia. She’s behind all of this.”

Celestia sighed heavily.

“I should have known,” she said, eyes narrowing. “Nova, do you remember anything about Envy?”

“Bits and pieces,” Nova said.

“That’s fine,” said Discord. “Your memory will fully return in time. Just be patient.”

“There’s one thing I want to know, though,” Nova said, before they could continue patronizing him about how slowly everything was coming back. Before, things had sort of rushed back to him, but now nothing seemed to be coming back. And he couldn’t help but feel like he couldn’t remember something big…

“Hmm?” Celestia asked. “What is it?”

“I keep hearing this name,” Nova said, scrunching up his face and starting to rub the skin around his horn. “I don’t know who this pony is, but I get the feeling she’s a big part of my life. Can you tell me who Twilight Sparkle is?”

The silence spoke volumes to him. Both Celestia and Discord looked at each other in shock, before looking back at Nova.

“Are you sure you don’t remember her, Nova?” Celestia asked.

“Nothing,” Nova said simply. “But then again, my memories are slowly coming back. Maybe I just need time. Is this her?” he asked, tapping a portion of his pillar that belonged to the face of the lavender mare.

“I… cannot say,” Princess Celestia said, after receiving a warning glance from Discord. “You need to remember who she is on your own. Trust me, my little pony, it is better for you that way.”

“If you say so,” Nova said, thought Celestia heard the small touch of disappointment in his voice. “Now, back to my original question, except let me rephrase. What am I going to do to get back to Equestria?”

“You mean to get everypony back to Equestria, right?” asked Celestia, giving him a look.

Nova shrugged.

“If it works for me, won’t it work for them too?” Nova asked, giving her an annoyed look. “You know what I meant, Princess.”

There was a pause in which Celestia blinked, slightly taken aback by his response..

“I like this guy,” Discord said with a cheery smile. “You and I are going to have so much fun.”

“Fun comes later, Discord,” Celestia reminded him. “Right now, the priority should be on returning to Equestria.”

“And how exactly am I going to be doing that?” Nova asked for the third time. He was starting to get annoyed that neither of them would answer his question.

“I think I know,” Celestia said. “Though the Elements of Harmony have been returned to the Tree of Harmony, the spirits of the Elements live on inside their bearers, through the power they were given by the Tree of Harmony. Nova, you are going to have to reawaken the six former Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Or rather, awaken the spirits of the Elements inside of them.”

“Oh good,” Discord said, jumping backwards and laying on air as f he were laying on a hammock. “For a moment there, I thought you were going to command me to help him. I’m far too busy catching up on my favorite shows on Netflix. Like the show this guy’s from.”

He snapped his fingers, and there was another flash of white. When it darkened, a man with short black hair stood before them, wearing a black and red ensemble with a strange A-shape on the wearer’s left breast.

“Con permiso, capitán,” he said in a mocking sort of voice. “The hall is rented, the orchestra engaged. It’s now time to see if you can dance.”

“His… thing aside,” Celestia said, choosing to ignore Discord’s antics, “he is going to be giving you some help.”

“He is?” Nova asked.

“I am?” Discord said, doing a double take. With a snap of his fingers, he returned to his normal form in a flash of light. “What, pray tell, am I going to be doing? In case you haven’t noticed, Celly, subtlety isn’t my specialty. I doubt any way I could help him would go unnoticed. And are we forgetting about how prone I am to temptation? Does a certain attack by Tirek remind you of any betrayals of mine?”

“I know, and I remember” said Princess Celestia with a small smile. “So you’re not going to do anything direct. Rather, you’re going to teach him chaos magic so he can do things behind the scenes. And furthermore, I'm trusting you to teach him how to defend himself with magic as well.”

“He’s going to what?”

“I’m going to what?”

“I think both of you need to get your hearing checked,” Celestia snorted impatiently. “You, Discord, are going to teach him how to use chaos magic.”

“Why?” Nova asked.

“Because you’re not going to be able to control magic very well in your current form,” Celestia explained. “Chaos magic is easy to manipulate once you get the hang of it, whereas your human form won’t be accustomed to using normal magic, so you may find it difficult. I’m not willing to take that risk. We need you to get started as soon as you can on reawakening the Elements of Harmony.”

“Are you sure about this, Celestia?” Discord asked, sounding for once very serious and cautious. “Chaotic magic is very volatile. In the wrong hands, it could spiral out of control.”

“I have every confidence in him,” Celestia said firmly, which made Nova smile. “I know for a fact he was able to singlehoofedly cast Time Stasis. While I doubt it will be easy, I think chaos magic should be picked up quickly by him, and he will be able to get straight to work on returning everypony to Equestria. Now, you know what you have to do. You are no longer needed here, Discord. Might as well get planning on how you’re going to teach him.”

Discord nodded, and with a snap of his fingers, he vanished. Celestia stared at the spot where he had vanished, which gave Nova the impression she was thinking. After a moment, she turned and then gave Nova a slightly sad look.

“I know it may pain you to hear this when you remember everything, but Nova, I have to impress upon you how important it is that you do this right. The six Elements of Harmony cannot be awakened any other way, and while trying to do it wrong won’t cause any ill consequences, it will waste time. You must awaken the other five elements before you can awaken the Element of Magic.”

“Any particular reason why? I’m still fuzzy on the details.”

“When the first five Elements of Harmony are present, those being Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Kindness, and Loyalty, a spark will cause the sixth to appear. You cannot awaken Magic before the others; it must come after.”

Nova pawed at the ground, not understanding why she sounded so insistent, like she thought he would rebel and wanted to make sure he knew otherwise.

“I don’t see what your fuss is about,” Nova said, somewhat placatingly. “I wouldn’t go against your wishes on something like this.”

“If and when you remember, Nova, you will want to,” she said, shaking her head. “You will want to throw caution to the wind and go right after the Element of Magic, but you can’t. She has to come last.”

“I get it!” Nova snapped. Really, all she had to do was tell him once! Why was this such a big deal!?

“Well, alright then,” Celestia admitted, though Nova could tell she wanted to beat this into his skull further. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Oh and before I forget,” said the voice of Discord around them. He reappeared, still in his draconequus form. “Celestia, Nova, you need to know what you’re up against. And I need my hat.”

He walked over, picked up his hat, and put it back on his head. Then he snapped his fingers, and a little projector screen appeared.

“First thing’s first, the enemy you’ll probably have to worry about least,” Discord said. He pointed his cane at the projector screen, which unfurled downward, displaying a picture of Mayor Oscurit.

Sombra, Nova thought.

“The once-King Sombra,” Discord said, slapping his cane against the screen. “Ooh, I like that sound. I’ll be sure to slap it more often.”

Celestia cleared her throat. Discord just rolled his eyes and continued.

“Some kind of echo of Sombra has been created to keep the curse on the townspeople working. Don’t ask me how. And before you ask, no, we can’t just waltz right up to him and stick a knife in his gut to undo it.”

“Damn it,” Nova said in mock-annoyance. “I was totally hoping to jump right in the face of a black magic caster and just stab him to death.”

“As best I can tell, both him and Envy are maintaining the spell, and since he is only an echo, you simply have to eliminate Envy and the spell will undo itself. That will break the curse on the ponies, but it will not return us all home.”

“Why not?” Nova asked.

“The curse was designed to cause you all to lose your memories, and to keep you in a sort of haze to prevent you from ever regaining them,” Discord said. He jabbed his cane at Nova. “Last night, you broke out. The spell continued to keep your memories at bay until your very spirit finally broke free of the shackles that bound it, and here you stand.

“This being said, breaking the curse may be what we need to happen, but to do that, you’re going to have to get to Envy, wherever she is. As far as I’m aware, the only pony who would know where she is has been delegated the task of keeping an eye on seven ponies in particular. Yourself included. She is,” the image changed to a beautiful pale woman with long blue hair, icy-blue eyes, and a very elegant dress, “Nightmare Moon.”

Nova saw Celestia shift out of the corner of his eye, but he continued to stare at the image.

“Who was she supposed to keep an eye on?” Nova asked.

“Well, I’m sure you can think of six ponies, or at least their reputations, right off the bat,” Discord said. “The six Spirits of Harmony, to be exact. But since I know you’re oh so mathematically astute, you must know that leaves one pony she still watches. That pony, Nova, is you.”

“Me?” Nova asked, confused. “Why me? What’s so special about me?”

“You were the pony they expected to break out sooner than anyone else,” Discord said. “Your spirit, among other things, would naturally fight against the confines keeping you down, and so she was to keep her eyes on you directly in addition to the other six.”

“She’s done a great job,” Nova said dryly.

“She has other methods of keeping her eyes on you than physically being there,” Discord warned. “Remember, she can become a living shadow, and she has those Shadowbolts she’s so fond of. Keep your eyes open for them. They could cause no end of trouble if they tempt a certain would-be Wonderbolt with the prospect of fame and fortune.”

“But what if somepony besides us were to break out?” Nova asked. “What then?”

“Then the third member would be there,” and again Discord snapped his fingers. The image changed to show a literal black woman with long dark-green hair and a very formal-looking police uniform. Her eyes were a light green, with darker green irises, and pupils like Nightmare Moon’s. “Queen Chrysalis, who is using her changelings as the police of the town. Their job is to make sure that nopony else gets out of line, though they will act if you were to start rebelling as well.”

Nova couldn’t help but feel a slight pang in his gut. Chryssie… he thought to himself, remembering the time he had saved her life, those many years in the past.

“Now then,” Discord said, slapping the projector screen with his cane again, “take the day off, get plenty of rest, be in bed by eight, and don’t forget to look both ways before crossing the street. You have a big day tomorrow, Nova. Tomorrow, we start with our chaos magic lessons.”

And with that, and with a snap of his fingers, Discord vanished.

“Are we finished?” Nova asked. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to go ahead and get started.”

Princess Celestia smiled.

“That’s something I always liked about you, Nova Shine,” she said. “You always were the stallion who would immediately be on the job as soon as you knew what had to be done. Yes, we are done.”

Her horn flashed, and Nova’s vision started to go white again.

“Oh, and Nova?” she added. “Whatever you do, if you come into contact with Nightmare Moon, don’t try to fight her. You’ll likely not be strong enough in magic to compete. Run. Just run.”

“Yes, Princess,” he assured her.

“Farewell, and good luck.”

And everything went white.

{E} {I} {O} {W}

After Nova’s departure, the dreamscape vanished, and Celestia found herself standing in the Canterlot Castle throne room once again, the only pony in the deserted Equestria, and the only being capable of moving at the normal pace of time.

It had been a long time; so long, she didn’t even know exactly how much time had passed. With no way to count the days, with the clocks all frozen, and with no need for sleep, Princess Celestia was confined to a prison of misery without a foreseeable end, until Nova could successfully undo the curse and return everypony.

“Why so droll, Celestia?” came the voice of Discord, echoing through the room. With a flash of white light, the being of chaos himself appeared before her, still in his human form. “I would have thought that you’d find something to do, even with nopony else here. Perhaps write a story? Build something?”

“It’s funny,” Celestia said sadly, gazing dismally at the stained glass window depicting Twilight and her friends as she ascended, “when everypony was here, I wanted a day of leisure. A day to myself, free from the distractions of politics and the crown, all so I could relax. Now, when I have unlimited time on my hooves free from those shackles, I want nothing more than to have those responsibilities back. Funny world we live in, eh Discord?”

“Funny world you live in, you mean,” he said, flipping backwards and lying on an imaginary hammock in midair. “I’m stuck in this dismal place. About the only highlight I get is whenever I get to gloriously troll the Queen. I’m not allowed to openly use my powers, after all. What would the townsponies think if it suddenly started raining chocolate milk?”

“How are they confined?” she asked.

“Sorry?”

“If everypony is in one city, the city would have to be five times the size of Manehattan to give everyone space to sleep,” she explained. “So how are they divided up, so to speak?”

“Well,” said Discord, stroking his beard, “there’s the main city in the center, there’s some outlying country, there are other towns, and so on. Fortunately, everypony who really matters to this little scheme of yours is located in the city. I don’t see Nova needing to venture out beyond the fake Sweet Apple Acres, and that’s only if he absolutely needs to, in order to reawaken Applejack.”

“Are the changelings that widespread as well?”

“I think so,” said Discord. “None of her usual commanders are in the city. I think they’re overseers of the other towns. A pity. I do enjoy chatting with Scheherazade whenever he is in town, as he has such a unique sense of humor.”

“And what of Luna’s guards?” she asked.

“I think they may have been force-converted into the Shadowbolts, but I can’t confirm that,” he said, appearing troubled. “I hardly ever see them. They always stick to the alleys, out of sight, though I think we both know who they’re assigned to keep an eye on.”

“And what about Envy herself?” Celestia asked.

“Well, that’s just it. None of us know. We’re sure Nightmare Moon does, but she’s keeping her trap shut on the matter. All I’ve managed to piece together is that, since Moony’s supposed ot be keeping an eye on the Bearers and their close friends and family, she would have to be in a position to receive orders from her mother.”

“So Envy would want to keep herself close to Nova and the Bearers, should they ever start to awaken, as it would allow her to personally keep an eye on things, and it would keep her close enough to give orders to Nightmare Moon,” Celestia said, following her string of logic.

“Exactly what I surmised, but Envy’s tricks in the past, as far as I can tell, have never been what they appear to be at face value,” Discord noted. “I can’t directly give Nova information, so I have to hope he knows this.”

They were quiet for a time. Celestia continued to stare glumly at the windows, as if hoping they would magically come to life and speak to her.

“I suddenly had a thought,” Discord said. “He’s going to have to face Envy sooner or later to remove the curse, yes? Well, how is he going to find her, in any way that doesn’t involve him going after Nightmare Moon?”

Celestia froze.

“You don’t mean--”

“I do,” Discord said. “He’s going to have to beat your corrupted sister if we want to return home.”

Celestia shook her head sadly. Nova would only barely know how to manipulate magic in this new body. If she were honest, she didn’t think he would stand a chance.

“Is there no other way?” she asked.

“Well, he could always figure it out on his own, which I wouldn’t put past him,” Discord added, “but I highly doubt there won’t be a trap or two involved that he will need to know about.”

“Could you not find these out yourself?” Celestia asked pleadingly. “Even though I know it needs to happen, I don’t think Nova would stand a chance if he were to confront my sister right now.”

“You care quite a bit for him,” Discord observed.

“I do,” Celestia said, dipping her head. “The pony who made my sister the happiest she had been in the Old Times? The one who stood by my side and helped me to best my fallen sister? And that’s not even to mention that he’s the one stallion who made two of my former Faithful Students the happiest mares in the world.”

“Forgive me if I’m wrong Celestia, but didn’t Nova ignore Clover’s affections for the most part?” Discord asked. He already knew the answer; he still just liked proving Celestia wrong.

“Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes, “he made one of my former Faithful Students the happiest mare in the world, and he opened the metaphorical eyes of the other. The point is, I care about him a great deal, Discord. I care about all of my little ponies, but even I will admit I care about some more than others. Everypony has favorites. Some of us just know how to treat everypony equally, even if we do have those we like more.”

“An honest answer, worthy of a pony who once bore that Element of Harmony,” Discord said, nodding. “And then you used it against me. My backside’s always been slightly more itchy than usual, you know. I still haven’t forgiven you for that.”

“Yes, well, your backside aside, you both have jobs to do,” she said. “When he finds out who Twilight Sparkle is to him, he’s going to want to do everything in his power to find out who she is in your world, and immediately rush to awaken her. He must not give himself away to the enemy, no matter what.”

“So, essentially my job is to make sure he doesn’t slip up and reveal himself to anyone we don’t want finding out about this?”

“And help him learn Chaos Magic, yes. Chaos Magic is his best hope if he would want to defeat my fallen sister. He’s an imaginative stallion; he should do quite well with it.”

“Will you be wanting weekly letters on our progress?” Discord asked, a slight mocking edge to his voice. A quill and paper appeared in midair. “‘Dear Princess Celestia, today I taught Nova how to perform Chaos Magic. Twilight Sparkle scraped her knee when she bumped into a random passer-by. He nearly burnt the city down with the Chaos Magic to make the poor man pay. Your faithful embodiment of chaos, Discord.’”

For a moment, Princess Celestia said nothing, but she kicked her hooves rather awkwardly, which made the taunting grin slide right off his face.

“You actually do want progress reports?”

“Discord, I know you understand what it mean to be alone,” she said.

“No thanks to you and Twilight Sparkle,” Discord spat.

“That aside… correspondence would be nice.”

Discord blinked.

“You must be joking.”

“I’m not,” she said softly. “It’s… lonely here. There’s no one else I can speak with. Time is all but frozen, Discord. I am the only sentient being on Equus, and I cannot leave. Is it too much to ask for, I don’t know, a conversation every so often?”

Discord stared down at her, watching her as she even sniffled slightly. Discord knew Celestia to be a manipulative bitch when she wanted to be, but even he could see she was actually sincere.

“I‘ll see what I can do,” he said cautiously. “I mean, no promises, and I can’t ever tell you when I’ll be able to talk. Let’s face it, if the others learned I was having meetings with you behind their back…”

“I understand,” she said, smiling somewhat.

“One question, before I go,” Discord said. “Were we in Nova Shine’s mind?”

“We were not,” she said, smiling even wider. “We were in mine.”

“Good,” Discord said. “That will make our meetings much easier if I call out to you. I don’t want to end up in Nova’s mind when he starts imagining this human Twilight in rather compromising positions involving him and a bed. I might puke if that happens.”

Celestia’s face turned beet red, she started stammering, and most humorously of all, her wings sprung up to an attentive position, leaving Discord to chuckle at her.

“Oh, Celestia, you may excellent at this, but let’s not forget who the true master is,” he said, turning around and starting to walk away. “Good day, Princess,” he added with a wave, and with a snap of his fingers, he was gone in a flash of white light.

{E} {I} {O} {W}

There was banging sounding from somewhere near by. Nova was vaguely aware that he was lying on his back on some soft surface, and that he was incredibly exhausted from something. He really didn’t want to go investigate what that banging was.

“Nathan!?” called a familiar, faraway voice. The banging continued. “Nathan, are you here!?”

Tracy…

With a groan, Nova staggered to his hooves-- no, feet-- and hobbled out of his bedroom, feeling sore all over. It felt like he had just undergone one of the most brutal full-body workouts ever! And that wasn’t even counting the dull headache that had returned, though it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been.

“Nathan?” she called again.

“Yeah,” he grunted, “be right there.”

He hobbled over toward the counter separating his small living area from his kitchen and used it to support himself as he made his way to the door. It was slow work, but he managed to get there easily enough.

When he opened the door, he was quite surprised to find Tracy alone. A blast of slightly chilly air hit him at once and he shivered. She didn’t seem to have a problem with it, as she was wearing a black coat, though her hands did look rather red. The fact that one was raised to knock again gave him a good look, but she lowered it and gave a slightly bashful smile.

“Sorry about the banging,” she apologized, but Nova waved it off.

“Don’t worry about it. I was out like a light, so otherwise I wouldn’t have heard.”

“I just came to check that Mr. Sire got you home and see if you were doing alright,” she said, looking down and away. Nova noticed a slight pinkness in her cheeks. Eh, probably just from the cold.

“Oh, yeah, been doing better,” he replied. “Just a dull headache now, and I ache quite a bit, but I don’t feel sick anymore.”

“Alright, well, get well soon Nathan,” she said, turning around and starting to walk off.

“Wait!” Nova called after her, before he realized exactly what he was doing.

She paused and turned around. “What?” she asked.

“I… won’t you come in?” he said somewhat hastily. “I mean, it seems pretty silly to come here just for that.”

“I have too much work to do,” she said, and he felt slightly disappointed for some reason, “but thanks for the offer.”

She turned and started walking away again, leaving him staring after her, watching the magenta streak in her hair as she descended the staircase in front of his door. When she turned as part of the turnaround, she gave him a little wave and a smile, before walking off.

When she was out of sight, Nova sighed and shut the door.

What was that? he asked himself. Why had he been so concerned all of a sudden about why she had come? For that matter, why had she been so concerned that she had to come all the way out from her place a few miles away?

He staggered back to the bedroom. He needed something to take his mind off of Tracy. He had a feeling Natalie would kill him if she found out about this, given her usual reactions. So he figured he could start looking through all of his things and try to find things that would trigger more memories coming back.

He had a feeling there was something huge, just out of his reach. But what?

He opened a drawer in his nightstand. There was something he kept in here to keep safe, since he really didn’t know what it was. The last time he checked, he’d always owned this little earring. It shone a bright reddish color, and he thought it looked nice, but he could never find its match.

He reached in and found the small metal thing and pulled it out. He was wrong. It wasn’t red, but more pink. No… not even that. It was magenta.

The same shade of magenta as the streak in Tracy’s hair.

Is she… is she the mare from that pillar in my mind? he wondered.

Nova tried to think about the memories he had just been barely thinking about. They had been returning at a breakneck rate, so to speak, and he just wasn’t able to think about one before another took its place.

Nova was sitting in bleachers at a football pitch, watching as ponies wearing gold and blue uniforms played against ponies wearing white with black accents around the neck. He was sitting next to a mare like Princess Celestia, a lavender one, who wore a glowing blue earring on her right ear. He reached up and touched an earring in his own, opposite ear.

The earring slipped through his fingers. He was suddenly feeling horrified. It was coming back!

“No...” he whispered to himself. “How could I…”

He and that same mare were trotting through the halls of Canterlot Castle, while he angrily vented his frustration with the House of Nobles to her. Again, they were both wearing the earrings on different ears.

“How could I have forgotten her?”

“I love you too, you beautiful, overly-introverted mare”

His breathing was coming in gasps, and his eyes were welling up.

Him and an older pony were in a bar. The elder pony was lecturing him, but he finally jumped to his hooves and screamed, “I LOVE HER!”

He was facing her, Twilight Sparkle, in her library. Her eyes were tearstained, but she seemed happy. “Twilight Sparkle, I--” he tried to say, but she cut it off, kissing him.

“Tell me, do you love Twilight?” asked a pony in a barely-intact infirmary. “More than anything else in the world,” Nova answered immediately.

Nova sank to his knees, memory after memory passing through his mind.

“How dare you touch her!?” he yelled at Envy in the Everfree Vaults, even as he staggered to his hooves. She had struck Twilight with a painful spell when she had tried to inform him of Envy’s plan.

Another scenario like the last, with him standing between Envy and Twilight in the middle of a great, endless darkness. Twilight was being strangled by tendrils of this black energy, but he stood between her and Envy’s malicious red eyes, horn glowing, and screaming at the top of his lungs, “YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HER!”

The memories were flooding back. He had fallen to the floor, tears streaming from his eyes as everything came rushing back in a wonderfully glorious recollection.

But there was something else. Something more recent that he knew he needed to remember.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, will you marry me?”

His breath caught. He was engaged? How could he have forgotten that!?

But it was one memory in particular that hit him the hardest.

{E} {I} {O} {W}

Nova, dressed in his usual cloak (which seemed to be extra-fine today), was standing before Princess Celestia on a raised dais. There was a large crowd of ponies before them, watching the two of them closely, though some kept stealing glances toward the back. Behind the two of them stood Princess Luna, watching the proceedings with a large smile. Nova’s and Celestia’s attention, however, were directed toward two large doors at the back of the Canterlot Chapel.

Aegis stood at his side, wearing his most formal guard uniform, and waiting at rapt attention. Nova had more that once told him to be at ease. It was a wedding, for Faust’s sake! He should be enjoying himself.

The doors opened, and a procession of five mares entered, wearing recreations of their gowns worn at the last Royal Wedding. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy all slowly walked up the aisle, glancing off to the sides every so often. The ones who seemed to be getting the most looks were Twilight’s and Nova’s parents, who sat next to each other with proud grins.

Following the bridesmares, in came the ring bearer, Spike, and the flower girls, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, all wearing very fine outfits. Nova saw two horn rings and their two earrings on a purple velvet pillow, one glowing blue, and the other glowing bright magenta. The rings they had enchanted only the day before.

Which left only two. One decision, which had surprised even Nova, was that since Twilight couldn’t choose between any of her friends who would be the Mare of Honor, she gave that much-coveted position to Trixie. Twilight had insisted on having a maid mare of honor as opposed to a matron like Cadance or her mother, so they went with it. No one was complaining.

Nova caught Shining Armor’s eye, who was standing in the front row with Cadance. Shining gave him an encouraging nod.

Nova took a deep breath, considering what he knew was coming next.

The doors at the back opened loudly and dramatically. Accompanied by six of her newly-commissioned Magic Guard, and wearing a creation of Rarity’s, a fine dress of immaculate white, Princess Twilight Sparkle entered the Chapel.

The organ began to play the bridal procession piece, and Twilight began her procession to the altar. She kept her gaze downward, but that didn’t stop her from smiling like everypony else. Nova felt his heart swell up, and he could have sworn he grew an extra six inches or so right then and there. Of all the ponies in Equestria, to think that she had chosen him…

She passed the row his and her parents stood in, then she passed the front with Shining Armor and Cadance. Finally, she climbed the three steps to stand beside him. As she ascended, he turned to face Princess Celestia, and for one fleeting moment, their eyes met. In that moment, Nova saw all the same wonder and joy that was flooding through him that same exact moment.

“Mares and gentlecolts,” Princess Celestia said, looking past them toward the audience, “you may be seated.”

There was the momentary shuffling as everypony behind them sat down. Nova and Twilight kept their gazes forward, however.

“I am in a rather unique position,” Princess Celestia announced to the room at large. “I have known both of these ponies from a young age. Princess Twilight, as I am sure you all know, I tutored as my Faithful Student, a role which she has since graduated from. Nova, however, I watched from afar, both for personal reasons and because his father begged me to watch over him.”

“I had a rather unique relationship with Nova, because only a few months ago, he travelled through time to Old Times, when Princess Luna and I still called Everfree our home. We knew him as the both First Night Apprentice and the Seventeenth. In that disjointed time, he grew to be powerful, and I wondered if there would be anypony besides myself and my sister who could ever be his equal, to which he answered his special somepony Twilight.”

She smiled even wider at the crowd.

“Of course, it would be over a millennium before I ever met Twilight, and while Nova helped me to face her fallen self and banish her, it was Twilight who faced her and restored her. As I understand it, Nova was not lost on how this fit,” she added, giving him a little glance. Nova distinctly heard his father, Tantalus, and Professor Hoofman all share a chuckle.

“As they both grew, I watched them. I wanted to know more about Nova’s younger self. What he went through that led him to fall in love with a mare like Twilight, how he got to be so powerful for that time long past, and so on. For a time, I wondered if they were even the same stallion, because due to his experiences earlier in life, he tried to avoid love.”

She turned her gaze to Twilight.

“Fate has a funny way of dealing with things, because it led him to the pony standing opposite him today, who awoke his feelings inside of him. As with all relationships, it had its ups and downs, but for the life of me, I cannot think of another relationship haunted by an enemy to Equestria.”

There was some scattered chuckling.

“However, their bond proved to help them not only save each other, but Trixie Lulamoon from the clutches of Envy as well. Following Twilight’s ascension to Princess, Nova proposed that very night, and four months later, here we stand. I’m sure they both feel that they have waited long enough.”

Princess Celestia nodded at Spike, who almost ran up to them as fast as his short legs would carry him. The two earrings floated off, and Nova and Twilight immediately put them onto their ears, where they had been only a few hours ago.

BANG!

The doors at the back of the chapel burst open, startling everyone in the crowd. Nova and Twilight bolted around in time to see a green pony with a maroon mane stride into the Chapel, sauntering straight down the aisle. Nova knew those red eyes and that ruby necklace anywhere.

“Envy!” he shouted, leaping in front of Twilight and conjuring a bright blue shield around her.

Envy’s horn flashed red, and to Nova’s astonishment, her crackling red magic pushed open an arch in his shield, large enough for her to pass through, without even breaking her stride.

She’s using Black Magic! he realized, having studied the effects before, effects that amplified the power of her magic and made it to where it would go through any normal spell’s waves.

“So sorry to ruin your big day,” she said, staring not at Nova or Twilight, but at Princess Celestia. “As you can see, my dramatic timing is quite poor, since I didn’t want to wait until you asked whether anypony objected to the union.”

She gave Nova a cold look.

“Do you not care for anypony’s feelings?” she asked him, an evil smile workin onto her face. “What if I wanted an invitation to the wedding? You never know. I might have behaved myself.”

“Why are you here?” Princess Celestia asked, calmly, though dangerously.

“Why, it’s simple, Princess,” she said, turning to look back at her. “I’m here to ruin everyone’s fun.”

A shockwave of red magic blasted out from her horn, catching everypony by surprise. All of the guards, Shining Armor, and Princess Luna were thrown against the walls and held with magic binds. Nova managed to get a shield in front of him, Twilight, and Princess Celestia at the last second, halting the spell.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Envy?” Nova asked, moving to stand directly between her and Princess Celestia. “I’ve gotten stronger since we’ve met, my wife is a Princess, and you don’t seem to be wearing the Alicorn Amulet this time.”

“She’s not your wife,” Envy said flatly. “You never got to the ‘I do’s.’ You didn’t say it, you didn’t do it, you’re not married.”

Her horn began crackling with red energy again. Nova noticed the difference between her usual magic and this new brand. Her old magic would crackle, but it would remain like other ponies’ magic. Now, however, it appeared to be pulsing with red lightning.

She directed her gaze back to Celestia.

“I would have you know, Princess, that it took a lot of trouble to prepare this little spell I’m about to cast. Oh, and before you do anything stupid, dear Nova Shine,” she added, glancing to where Nova was even now preparing a spell to block her use of magic, “your magic can’t stop my Black Magic. You may as well save your energy.”

“You seem to be in a talkative mood,” noted Celestia. “Are you, perchance, going to tell us how this spell of yours works?”

“Well, since I am in a good mood, and since you asked nicely,” she said, giving the Princess a catty grin, “I think I can spill the beans, but considering just how much I’m dying to use this spell, I think I’ll keep it brief.”

She turned and pointed directly at Twilight.

“I escaped some months ago, shortly before the Princess Summit, and immediately, I went and hid directly in her shadow, where no one would ever know I was there. I was dragged into that other world, and I witnessed Sunset Shimmer’s rampage. And that got me thinking, what if I could forcibly drag everypony to a different world?”

Nova’s blood ran cold.

“These last few months have seen me preparing this spell for use, and finally, I have finished it, and I have come to cast it. As I said before, Nova, you may as well save your energy. It’s not going to work.”

“What makes you think I’m just going to let myself be dragged off to another world?” he barked back at her.

Wordlessly, Envy shot a bolt of red lightning at Twilight, which hit her before she or Nova could react. She flew backwards, slamming into the wall and collapsing to the floor. Nova cried out and dashed over. She appeared to only be unconscious, which relieved Nova greatly.

“It’s simple. If any of you fight, she dies,” Envy said, her evil smile turning sadistic. “Protect her all you want, Nova, but remember, when I use Black Magic, you’ll do nothing to stop me.”

“If you dare hurt any of my little ponies,” Priness Celestia said in a dangerous voice, wings flaring out behind her and horn brimming with golden magic, “I will make you live longing for the sweet release of death.”

Nova knew Celestia meant what she said, but Envy didn’t seem to be the least bit concerned.

“Oh Princess,” she asked mockingly, “how can they tell you if I’ve hurt them when they won’t even be able to remember?”

Princess Celestia’s eyes widened, and Envy struck. With a report as loud as thunder, another shockwave of red magic blasted from her horn.

It passed through Nova harmlessly, which left Nova to wonder exactly what it had been. He looked back at Envy, who was busy conjuring up a swirling cloud of black, purple, and green magic. Nova sent a spell her way--

--but nothing came from his horn. The spell had removed his ability to cast magic for some seconds, which was all the time she needed.

Nova pulled Twilight close and hugged her as Envy released the spell. The cloud of magic grew larger and larger, until it enveloped him, Twilight, and everypony else in the room.

And everything was gone.

{E} {I} {O} {W}

Nova’s eyes flew open. He was lying on the ground again, clutching something metal tightly.

The earring.

He sat up, feeling his head to make sure he was okay. He had no fever, but his forehead was very sweaty. He felt very weak, and under normal circumstances, he would want to just climb in bed and fall asleep.

But now he knew who Twilight Sparkle was. And he was pretty sure he had a good idea who she was here, too.

He staggered to his feet, and stumbled out of his room, noting vaguely that it was only late afternoon, and that it would seem only a few minutes had passed since he had started to regain his full memory.

He tried to reach the door; he desperately wanted to follow after Tracy! But he stumbled on the way and he fell to the floor.

Looks like I need my rest first, he thought bitterly. Just my luck.

With a sigh, he lay there for several seconds before crawling back to his bed, a task which took him almost three minutes, exhausted as he was. As he climbed in, he felt one final tear on the day trickle down his cheek.

Wait for me, Twilight. I’m coming. I will save you and everypony else here.

I promise.

Author's Note

Finals are over. For sure failed one class (Calculus I). So, Bachelor of Arts it is, so I don't have to take it again.

I foresee getting at least two more chapters (not including this one) up before the next semester. So we should be well into the story by the time school starts up again.

Well, as usual read and review please.

Rytex out. Have a good day!

Day One: Rainbow's Incident

Even In Other Worlds
Chapter 03 - Day One: Rainbow’s Incident

Music this chapter. New tab.

Nova sat on the roof of the building his apartment was built in the next afternoon. Discord had said today would be the day he started to learn chaos magic, but he still hadn’t shown up. Nova had to wonder if Discord was going to ignore the Princess’ orders. Nova wouldn’t put it past him, given their history.

He was doing some thinking of his own at the same time. How exactly was he going to go about restoring the Elements? None of them exactly liked each other at the moment. He had woken up early that morning, likely the product of all that sleep yesterday, and had spent the time remembering who was who.

All of them were obvious, but the more he remembered, the more his heart sank. All of them had less-than-healthy relationships with each other. The human Applejack really didn’t like Rainbow Dash’s carefree attitude, while Dash didn’t like her seriousness all the time. They both hated Rarity, because she was too dainty to even lift a pen without squealing about the ink. The three of them were not great fans of Pinkie Pie, who to them appeared to be quite the whore, with her constant partying and being the center of attention (and that’s not to mention how well-endowed she was).

Those four clearly hated each other. As for Fluttershy and Twilight, they were more or less indifferent. Twilight, being Twilight, spent all her time separated from everyone, reading. Fluttershy, however, spent all her time separate, though Nova had no idea what she did every afternoon. He wanted to say animal shelter, but there wasn’t one in the city.

However, there was one bright spot. Most of them had an amicable relationship with him. Twilight, Tracy Strong, after yesterday especially, seemed to be well on its way to being repaired, but as much as he would hate to admit it, Princess Celestia was right that he had to wait until everypony else was awoken.

He and Rainbow Dash (Rachel Dillon), both liked hoofball-- except on this world it was football. He had to remind himself of that. They never really talked about it, and given the Haze Spell on all the townsponies, he would be surprised if she remembered.

Just like he had done on Equus, he went out drinking with a group of guys every few nights, including Macintosh (Michael “Mike” Appleby). Applejack (Ashleigh) saw her fair share of Nova, and so they appeared to be on the best terms.

As was to be expected, given their relationship in Ponyville, Nova and Rarity (Regina Mills) had a mutual dislike for each other, but that didn’t stop them from being civil. If anything, they saved the best of their snark for each other. Nova definitely appreciated the verbal sparring.

As for Pinkie (Penelope Poppentop), Nova frequented her parties, if nothing else than because Natalie wanted him to. He never really liked being there, though he couldn’t deny they were fun; he just preferred to be home reading. Still, at least she was sensible enough to keep booze ready.

Finally, Fluttershy (Felicity Sanders). Nova’d had almost no relationship with her on Equus, aside from the occasional meeting with Twilight’s friends as a group, discounting the time she had helped save his life. And here, just as with the others, she didn’t really interact with anypony, so he had no idea what to do about her.

The logical thing to do would be to find common ground between any party, and then get those two or more to become friends over that. Probably one of the easiest would have to be getting Rainbow Dash and Applejack to get into a good-natured competition. He knew Rarity and Fluttershy liked sewing, though that was from what Twilight had told him about her first disastrous Gala trip, so there was that. As for Pinkie? He had no idea. As for Twilight? He supposed he could just use his relationship with all five of them to get her to interact with them.

It wasn’t a good plan, but frankly, it was the best he could do without resorting to magic, which he wouldn’t be able to cast anyway. Well, not yet at least. He had felt something arcane, drifting just out of his reach in his new form. When he plunged into his Source, or where it would be if he were a unicorn, his hands did gain a slight blue glow to them. But beyond that, they did nothing. He supposed he would have to work on that some more when he had the time. Still, it was good to know that, given some work, he would be able to cast magic again.

He looked down at his hand and again tapped into his Source just like he had before. A slight blue edge appeared around his hands and started glowing. Nova held the glow there for a time, even though it was getting harder and harder to do so. After several moments, when his hands started shaking with the effort and when he felt as if he had just run two miles, he let it go. It would seem magic here was tied directly to one’s physical energy, as opposed to the mana within the Source.

Note to self. Go running every morning. Get used to the body and build up endurance. That should help my magic.

Nova stood up and started walking across the flat roof of his apartment building toward the school in the distance. It wasn’t the school that was drawing him, but something else. A familiar, itchy kind of feeling. He was starting to redevelop his energy sensing, and based on just how strong it was in one direction, there had to be something powerful in that direction.

Discord?

He climbed on one of his plywood bridges and clambered over to the next building, where he ran to the other side and peered over the edge. Five humans were all chatting to themselves in an alley. Three guys and two girls. And all of them seemed to be wearing the same kind of purple, black, and gold sleeveless hooded jacket and purple pants. A jacket whose hood was patterned with a pony skull with a wing protruding from the back of it.

Shadowbolts! Nova realized. Why are they here!?

The obvious answer would be because he had been found out. But if that were the case, why hadn’t they gone after him yet? It would have been five on one, and the one wouldn’t even be able to use magic. Something told Nova they were here for someone else. He supposed he would wait to see who it was they were after.

In the mean time, reconnaissance. Identify all enemies.

The first he noticed was a dark-skinned big burly man. His arms alone looked bigger than Nova’s head. He was leaning against the brick wall of the building Nova was atop and chatting to one of his friends. She had somewhat short blue hair, wore gloves, but was also sleeveless. Her goggles were hung around her neck, and she looked to be wearing some kind of black athletic leotard. Nova cringed, though, because her pants were pretty low, giving him a view of more than he needed to see. Nova's first thought was that they were Nightmares Tranquillitatis, the quiet one of Luna's guards, and Crisium.

Next to him was a pale, smaller man, with short blue hair. Nova thought he might be a newbie of the group, and his mind immediately went to Starstep. It made sense that when Nightmare Moon was created, her guards were forcibly converted into the Shadowbolts. Which meant everyone here was one of the Nightmares.

Fourth in the group was another girl who, thankfully, wasn’t as scantily dressed. She was wearing a long-sleeved black jacket under her Shadowbolt coat, and her hair, also blue, hung down just past her shoulders. If the other was Crisium, this had to be Nightmare Imbrium.

Fifth and finally, the unmistakable leader. He had rather wild blue hair, wore polarized golden-lensed sunglasses, also wore the same jacket his female counterpart wore under his Shadowbolt uniform, and he seemed to be carrying himself much more highly than the others. If the new guy was Starstep, Nova would bet this was Nightmare Frigoris, Princess Luna’s best Nightmare.

So five Nightmares out of thirteen, he thought, staring down at them. Wonder if the other eight are on Equestria...

“God, she’s takin’ forever,” muttered the long-sleeved girl in annoyance, her voice confirming that it was Imbrium, based on Nova's interactions with her as a pony. “You sure you told her the right place, Shade?”

“Of course,” said Frigoris in a cool voice. “But let’s remember now, she is Rainbow Dash. When is she ever on time to anything not a Wonderbolts tryout?”

“Still, a little punctuality never hurt anypony,” remarked Imbrium.

“You worry about yourself, Starry. I’ll worry about the new recruit.”

What? New recruit?

“Still, even for her, this is pushing it,” noted the burly one, his voice matching Tranquillitatis' to a T. “Think she might’ve ditched, Nightshade?”

“Who would she ditch us for, Marauder?” Frigoris responded. Nova realized in order to cover up their existing selves, Nightmare Moon must’ve given them new names. “She has no friends; only that little girl who idolizes her, who she finds annoying. Who would she go to in place of us?”

“Just a thought,” Marauder said with a shrug.

“She could have ditched us for herself,” suggested Starstep. “She is pretty full of herself. Maybe she thought she would be better off on her own.”

They paused.

“I can’t deny, that does sound like her,” said Starry. “Think we should go looking for her?”

“No,” said Nightshade. “At least, not yet. We wait for another few minutes, then we go looking.”

“What do you think, Widow?” asked Marauder. “You usually have good ideas.”

The girl Nova thought was Nightmare Crisium was quiet for a moment.

“When someone says they’ll be somewhere at a certain time, they’d better come through. Especially for us. I think she needs to learn that, wouldn’t you say Nightshade?”

Nova didn’t like the way Nightshade smiled.

“Good idea. Rough her up a bit, but not too bad. Still, she’s new. We give her one more minute before we do that.”

Nova felt another nexus of energy suddenly spring up. Knowing his range of sensing, this new being couldn’t be more than fifty yards away. And it was moving. Fast.

Shit! he thought as he recognized the aura. That’s Rainbow Dash!

After a moment, he heard the heavy footsteps of her running, before they slowed, and she plodded into the alley.

“Sorry... *huff*” she gasped from leaning onto her knees. “Got… *huff* held up… by the fucking cops.”

“The cops, huh?” asked Nightshade. “They have been rather active lately.”

“Held up for what?” asked Marauder.

“I dunno,” said Dash sourly, standing up and leaning against the wall. “I think he was just trying to waste my time on purpose. He kept askin’ me for stuff I’m pretty sure he knew I didn’t have.”

“Well,” said Nightshade, with a meaningful glance over at Widow, “since this is your first time meetin’ with us, and since it was the cops holdin’ you up, we’ll let it go. Now, first thing’s first, my teammates’ll introduce themselves. Just go in order.”

He indicated Starry.

“I’m Starry Night,” she said.

“Corsair,” said Starstep.

“Black Widow,” said Widow.

“Marauder,” grunted Marauder.

“Strange names,” Dash said. “I’m Rachel, Rachel Dillon.”

“Ah, yes,” said Nightshade. “See, we dropped our names, at least among ourselves. But you don’t just pick a name with the Hellsings. You gotta have it given to you. Like me, for instance. They call me Nightshade, because I’m about as painless as poison when you rile me up.”

“I’m Black Widow, because honey, you mess with me and I’ll bite.”

“Corsair and I,” said Marauder, “are named because we’re pretty damn good at mugging.”

“And I’m Starry Night because it’s my job to distract people when they’re getting robbed by us.”

She knows they’re thugs, and she’s still going with this!? Nova thought, outraged.

“Finally, your initiation,” said Nightshade. “Don’t worry. We don’t plan on hurting you more than you can bear, but you gotta understand,” Marauder slid behind her, blocking her way out, “you need to know the price for disloyalty. We’re your new number one priority, you got that?”

Marauder shoved her forward, where she fell straight onto Corsair, who tripped her. Dash hit the wall behind him hard, letting out a grunt of pain.

Enough’s enough, Nova thought, placing a foot on the top of the little ridge around the roof of the building, and jumping off.

Having done this sort of thing for however long they had been in this world, Nova’s body acted on its own, landing right in the middle of all the Shadowbolts in a frog-like stance to lessen the fall. When he had landed, his Equestrian instincts took over, and he immediately assumed a bipedal fighting stance.

Following Twilight’s ascension, he had gone straight to Shining Armor, and he had asked him to teach him how to fight with his hooves. There would likely come a time, he reasoned, when he would be unable to use magic, and he would need to defend her. So he had taught him hoof to hoof combat. The training was cut very short, courtesy of the curse, but Nova still had picked up quite a bit.

And now he would be using some of the bipedal stuff.

“The hell is this?” Nightshade asked, rounding on Dash. “You bring him along in case ya got beat up, you little pussy?”

“H-he’s n-not with me,” Dash grunted, wiping some blood from her mouth.

“Well, in that case, you’re pretty lucky he came along,” Black Widow said, smiling sadistically at him. “We’re going to show you exactly what happens when someone ditches us, and we don’t even have to beat you up to do it.”

She reared back, but Nova had already sprung at her, catching her midriff, wrapping it up, and tackling her into the brick wall. With a sickening crunch, followed by her head smashing against the brick, she fell down, unconscious.

“The fuck?” Nightshade asked, surprised. “This guy’s got some fight in him. Well, we can’t just let him take out Widow, can we?”

Marauder clenched his fists and growled, Corsair pulled out a small knife, and Starry pulled out a pipe from behind one of the trash cans she had been leaning by.

“Get in here, Bolt,” Nightshade admonished Dash. “You’re one of us now, which means you fight with us.”

Dash spat the blood from her mouth and assumed a fighting stance. Nova recognized it instantly as a rather poor one. Sure, Rainbow Dash was an excellent fighter and a black belt in some pegasus martial art, but pegasus martial arts didn’t translate well to the ground. Nova, however, may have had a small amount of training, but that translated into a huge advantage against unrefined styles of fighting.

Dash was the first to attack. Nova easily parried her punch and tripped her, sending her to the ground. He didn’t want to hurt her, but the others, he had no such desires to keep healthy.

Corsair lunged with his knife from Nova’s left. By reflex, Nova sucked his chest in, but his cloak proved its usefulness by deflecting the knife away. Even in other worlds, it would appear that Princess Luna’s spellshields worked. Having taken the time to study every one of the enchantments on it back when he was enchanting Twi’s, he knew there was a spell preventing wear and tear by any physical source, including blades.

He grabbed Corsair’s extended arm at the wrist and bashed the back of his hand, which caused him to drop the knife. Then he ducked and pulled Corsair over his back, causing him to land back first on the ground with a heavy thud. For good measure, he stomped right where the celiac plexus would be on a pony, just below the sternum, and was rewarded with a loud yell and some coughed-up blood from Corsair.

He suddenly felt energy behind him and he ducked, just as a metal pipe flew over his head. He kicked backwards, as if he were bucking a tree, and he felt his feet connect with a body, lifting Starry off of her feet and sending her flying backwards.

Nova got to his feet quickly and inspected the scene. Dash had gotten back up, and Starry was struggling to get off the ground, but Black Widow was still unconscious and Corsair was wheezing painfully on the ground beside him. Marauder and Nightshade both looked impressed, though.

“Not bad, kid, not bad at all,” Nightshade remarked, giving him a few claps. “So you can take on a couple of newbies all on your own. You kinda hit Widow before she could do anything, so she’s kinda out of the running, but now you get to deal with the two of us that actually know how to fight.”

Marauder reached into his jacket-vest and pulled out a set of brass knuckles, which he slipped on. Nightshade shifted into a low stance, both arms extended in front of him in a stance Nova recognized as something from Neighpon. So Nightshade knew his own martial arts, eh?

Marauder lunged forward, throwing a quick punch at Nova’s gut, but Nova spun around in a full circle upon contact, deflecting the punch and opening Marauder’s back to him, but just as Nova started to throw a punch, Marauder used the momentum to bring his other fist in a backhand motion toward Nova’s head. Nova ducked under the blow and sent a short series of quick jabs at Marauder’s abdominals. That worked about as well as he expected; in other words, it barely did anything.

Marauder aimed a punch downward, which Nova dove away from at the last second, crashing into Rainbow Dash and sending them both tumbling to the ground.

“Hey!” she shouted, sending a wild swing his way, but he blocked it and got back up just in time to see Marauder charging at him. He bent over just as Marauder swung, causing him to miss. Marauder’s momentum carried him straight into Nova, where he fell onto Nova’s back. Nova finished the move by straightening up as powerfully as his muscles could, flipping Marauder heavily onto his back on the ground, almost right on top of Dash.

Starry charged, but Nova just side-stepped and tripped her, sending her crashing on top of Marauder.

“We-he-hell,” Nightshade said, suddenly grinning broadly, “we got ourselves a real fighter, here. Trained in martial arts, are we?”

“Not really,” Nova admitted. “A man needs to know how to protect his loved ones, even when he doesn’t have a weapon on hand.”

“So Miss Dillon there is a loved one, then?” teased Nightshade. Behind and below Nova, Dash’s face went rather red.

“Can’t say she is,” Nova responded, “but she’s still a really good friend, and I’d hate to see her get involved with you Shadowbolts.”

Nightshade’s eyebrows shot straight up as high as they would go.

“Shadowbolts, eh?”

Nova felt himself grow cold. He’d just revealed himself to them.

Shit! he thought.

There came a loud and resounding tap from behind Nightshade, who turned around quickly. Nova peered over his shoulder to see none other than Discord standing there, watching everything with a frown.

“What do you want, old man?” asked Nightshade.

“I’m here for those two,” Discord said, jabbing his cane at Nova and Rainbow Dash. “Just like them to run off and get themselves into trouble the moment my back is turned.”

“What, are they your grandkids?”

Nova and Dash couldn’t contain a chuckle, but Discord just shook his head wryly. “No, ‘fraid not. The boy’s my protégé, though, and I find he’s run off and gotten himself into some trouble. Now, are we going to do this the easy way? Or are you going to make me come over there and show you why I’ve lived the last seventy years without a scratch?”

Nightshade scoffed and shifted into his fighting stance.

“Bring it, old man,” he challenged. Discord merely tipped his hat at Nightshade in response.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said cheerfully, before walking forward, leaning heavily on his cane.

“Is this guy joking?” Nightshade remarked to Nova and Dash. Nova just shrugged.

Discord had moved within arms reach of Nightshade. Nightshade had his arms raised, ready to strike-- when Discord, faster than Nova thought possible from him, hoisted up his cane, slid his hand down to the bottom, and smashed the brass knob at the end into Nightshade’s face.

Nightshade gave a cry of surprise and pain as he stumbled backwards.

“Go on, you two,” Discord said, lifting the cane again. “Get her back to your apartment, Nathan. I’ll handle them.”

*SMACK*

“Let’s go,” Nova said to Dash, reaching under her arm and helping her up. Dash resisted at first, so Nova persisted. “It’s either come with me, or stay and get the same fate as them,” he barked. That helped her make her decision quickly.

Nova led her around to the building his apartment was in and up the stairs, unlocked the door, and hurried inside.

{E} {I} {O} {W}

Following the third hit, Discord returned the cane to its normal position.

“Lest we forget, Nightshade, Moony’s the one in control of you, and I’m on an equal level as her,” he said, grabbing Nightshade’s hair and yanking him up. “When I tell you to surrender someone to me, you are to ask me if I want some chocolate milk and some cotton candy as well, is that clear?” he hissed.

“C-c-crystal,” Nightshade groaned. Discord threw him back to the ground and snapped his fingers. Ropes appeared, binding all five of the Shadowbolts together.

“Wh-what the--?” Nightshade tried to ask, but a gag appeared in his mouth, courtesy of Discord. And since Discord was being his usual troll self, it was a yellow ball gag with a smiley face on it.

“I can’t have you running off to Moony and telling her that Nova Shine knows who you are,” Discord said to the one conscious Shadowbolt. “That would ruin the fun.”

Nightshade made frantic sounds behind his gag, but Discord smacked him with his cane again.

“Any more noises out of you and I’ll do more than just remove your memory,” Discord said. “I might just kill you and blame it on one of the Changelings.”

“T-traitor!” spat Nightshade, muffled through the gag but coherent enough for Discord to understand. “Y-you’re on their side!?”

“Amazing how persuasive Fluttershy can be sometimes,” Discord remarked, before grabbing Nightshade’s face over the eyes.

{E} {I} {O} {W}

Dash sat on Nova’s couch, staring sullenly at the floor. Nova, on the other hand, had already gotten her a towel wrapped around ice for her to hold over her mouth where she had hit the wall, but she seemed to be ignoring it. Other than the fact that she had come with him, she seemed to be doing her best completely ignoring him, too.

“Hold that over your mouth,” Nova said firmly, indicating the ice pack. “It’ll help the swelling go down.”

“It’s your fault there’s swelling there to begin with,” she snapped.

“I disagree,” Nova said. “You tried to hit me. What was I to do? Just sit there and take it? And let’s not forget, Corsair tripped you into the wall, not me. I just let you hit the floor when you missed.”

She said nothing, but continued glaring at the floor.

“Besides,” Nova continued, “you saw what I did to the other four. I’d say you should count yourself lucky I was trying to save your ass and not kick it.”

“‘Save’ my ass?” she asked, looking up at him with her magenta eyes, which really didn’t help Nova’s emotions after finding his memories of Twilight. “Those guys were my friends! What do you mean ‘save’ my ass?”

“If they were your friends, why were they going to beat the crap out of you to show you what happened if you didn’t stay loyal to their little group, eh?” Nova asked. Again, Rainbow Dash had no retort.

“Tell me,” Nova said, walking over and sitting down next to her, “what made you so desperate for friends that you went looking for those assholes?”

“They’re not assholes!” protested Dash, glaring at him. “Nightshade’s really nice when you get to know him.”

“Oh, yeah,” Nova replied sarcastically, “never mind the fact that he ordered his guys to knife me up.”

They heard the door open, and in came Discord, looking no worse than if he had just gotten done with a mildly challenging physical activity. If anything, he looked quite happy to have engaged in some conflict.

“Oh, man, I missed those days where I could just up and beat someone with my bare hands,” Discord said, flexing his fingers and looking quite pleased with himself. “That made me feel decades younger, I must say.”

“What did you do to them?” Nova asked.

“Oh, nothing that won’t heal,” Discord said darkly. “I beat them so hard, I’ll be shocked if they even remember what happened to them, you understand?” he asked, raising an eyebrow to Nova, who got it immediately.

“I understand.”

“Now, as for you, Miss… Dillon, was it?” Discord asked. Rainbow Dash nodded, but she kept glaring at Nova. “It would probably be best if you went straight home. I already am aware that you were in the process of joining those, er, gentlemen and ladies,” he said distastefully, “but trust me when I say their intentions for you were far more dubious than you seem to be aware of.”

“How?” asked Dash, shifting her glare to Discord. “What did they have planned for me?”

“Do the words ‘raping and pillaging’ mean anything to you?” Discord said. If Nova didn’t know better, he’d think he was almost enjoying this.

Dash paled and her glare turned into a slightly fearful look.

“R-rape?”

“Mmhmm,” Discord said. “Lucky for you Nathan here intervened.”

“I listened in on top of the building I jumped off of,” Nathan explained. “They really didn’t have the best of intentions for you. If I were you, I’d start picking better friends, Rachel.”

Dash hung her head, and Nova heard a sniff, just as Discord continued.

“You have something they want,” he explained, “or rather, something they don’t want. It would be foolish to explain it to you now, but Nathan knows about it as well. That’s why he couldn’t just stand idly by and watch this all happen to you. Knight in shining armor, this one,” he added, which caused Nathan to roll his eyes.

“Guess I owe you, don’t I?” she asked, sounding more than a little let down.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” said Nova, though he had a pretty useful idea at how he could cash in this little debt, involving Sweet Apple Acres, or whatever it was called. “Just doing what any good friend would do.”

“I’m your friend?” she asked, sounding quite surprised and looking up at him with those magenta eyes that made him think so much of Twilight.

“‘Course,” Nova said. “Now, I’m sorry to do this, but Imma have to kick you out. I kinda had an appointment with Mr. Sire today, and it’s probably best if you make yourself scarce before the cops show up to haul that bunch away.”

“‘Kay,” Dash said, getting up and walking to the door. However, with her hand on the knob, she stopped.

“What is it?” Nathan asked.

Dash said nothing. Nova got up and headed over to see what was the matter. Suddenly, there was a rainbow-colored blur and the next thing Nova knew, Dash had kissed him on the cheek.

“Thanks,” she said hastily and not meeting his eye. But then she punched him in the chest. “That doesn’t leave this apartment, ya got that?”

Nova clutched at his gut. Yeah, same old Dash alright.

“And you too, Mr. Sire,” she said, looking straight at Mr. Sire with a strong sort of expectation.

“I won’t tell any person in this town,” he said, sounding a bit too sincere about that. Nova instantly recognized the loophole.

With one last look at Nova, she opened the door and ran off.

“Heheheh,” Discord said, “wait till I tell Twilight.”

“Well, she’s not the first,” Nova said. “Summer Blossom, Clover, Trixie, and now Rainbow Dash.”

Nova watched as she sped out of sight, thinking hard. Based on how she didn’t think she had any friends, it was likely the curse had done the same to the others. It would make sense that Envy would want them thinking they were alone.

“Now,” said Mr. Sire, “about your slip-up.”

“Yeah,” said Nova. “Slip-out, more like.”

“Whatever the case, you’re a fool for opening your mouth.”

“Not for attacking them?” Nova asked, surprised.

“I watched you hold your own. That I don’t mind, especially when you’re saving one of our tickets home. But letting slip their real name? Don’t do it again. You’re lucky I was there. If I wasn’t, he would have called Nightmare Moon on the spot and you would have been back under the curse before you could say the full name of Q from Star Trek.”

“You don’t sound very mad,” Nova noted.

“I’m not mad. I’m not your parent, Nova Shine. I’m only here to keep an eye on you. But let’s just say I’m not exactly happy with you either.”

“Fair enough,” said Nova. “Was the rape thing made up?”

“Unfortunately,” said Discord, his countenance darkening, “it wasn’t. It was the Shadowbolts’ intent to break her somehow. In her mind, with no friends to go to, she would just enter a sort of blank trance and depression, possibly even to the point of suicide. She’s lucky you jumped in.”

“Did you know about this?”

“As a matter of fact,” Discord said, stroking his beard, “I did. You may have heard Dash explaining her lateness due to a police officer wasting her time. I pulled some strings with Good Queen Chryssie.”

“Is she on our side?” Nova asked.

Discord frowned, which wasn’t a very good sign to Nova..

“I don’t know. I don’t know if she would be on our side. The only two of our little pantheon of evil that I can definitely nail down are Envy and Nightmare Moon, who are firmly against us, excepting of course myself.”

“How do I know I can trust you, being a chaotic embodiment and all?” Nova asked.

“Simply? You can’t, and you don’t have to, but I’m on your side.”

“That’s very reassuring,” snarked Nova in deadpan sarcasm.

“Would you rather the situation be that I were on Envy’s side and was working to help keep the Element Bearers distant while simultaneously seeking to further my own ends?” Discord asked. “Right now, even if I were on Envy’s side, I would very much prefer living on Equus in my beautiful normal body instead of this rough, flawed shell. And to be honest, I’d wager I’m not the only one of our little coalition who thinks that way.”

“Oh really?” Nova said, interest piqued. Any of the others they could get on their side would go a long way. Chrysalis would have to be the best prospect, considering she controlled the Changeling Police.

“Yes,” Discord said, waving a hand. The curtains on all windows were drawn instantly. “Prior to your unfortunate encounter with the Shadowbolts, I, too, had been informed about Rainbow Dash’s temptations at the hooves of the Shadowbolts, back before they first took up the Elements. When I saw her taking off and carrying a purple and black hooded vest, I called on one of my associates for a favor.”

“Chrysalis, I’m guessing, since you pulled some strings with her.”

“Correct,” Discord said, nodding. “I had her get one of her cops to hold up Rainbow Dash and confiscate ‘illegal’ things like her vest. I was hoping to completely deter her, but unfortunately, it only delayed her. So, it seems we are both lucky the other was present to help.”

“So Chrysalis seems to be the one most likely to join our cause?” Nova asked, surprised an quite satisfied.

“It would seem so. But first, Nightmare Moon has to be cleared from the playing field, a task you are in no condition to even attempt to accomplish,” he added. “I assume Celestia told you to just run if you ever faced her sister?”

“You doubt I could take her?” Nova asked.

“Simply, yes. Even with Chaos magic, she is still Princess Luna, the most powerful spellcaster Equus has ever seen.”

“Even ahead of Star Swirl or her sister?” Nova asked.

“Did I stutter?” Discord said, giving Nova a small glare. “Luna was always the more intellectually-inclined one. Her magical ability far outstripped that of her sister. Why do you think Celestia had to resort to the Elements of Harmony to defeat her? If she was stronger, she could just defeat Luna on her own.”

“Without mine or Comet’s help,” Nova added, suddenly realizing just how powerful Luna was, despite having faced her personally some time ago.

“And consider this, Nova,” said Discord, smirking. “The real Princess Luna is even stronger.”

“Figures,” Nova said. “The Nightmares can only comprehend so much about her.”

“Which means that,” continued Discord, “while they may be able to control the power of Princess Luna, being that they are creatures with no inherent magic of their own, they lack the experience. They don’t know what you’re capable of, and so when the time comes that you face Nightmare Moon, because that will happen, remember that she is only nothing but power.”

Nova caught a slight gleam in Discord’s eye.

“So you want me to go after Nightmare Moon?” he asked.

“What choice do we have?” Discord responded, “but consider that by attacking her instead of waiting for her to come to you, you gain an element of surprise in your plan. Not now, of course, but when you’re stronger. However,” he added, jabbing Nova in the sternum with his cane, “do not overestimate your abilities, or underestimate her’s. The last thing we need is for you to be put back under.”

“Then let’s get to it,” Nova said.

Discord smiled.

“Alright,” he said, “we’ll get started. We’ll need some space to work with, so right here in front of the door will be fine.”

“So, how do you know when you’re a master of Chaos magic?” Nova asked.

“Hold on there, cowpony,” said Discord. “Celestia’s done a number on you. That much is evident. Chaos magic isn’t like other magic. You can’t just look at it, outline a few simple spells, and then bing bang boom you’re a master. Chaos magic is very simple, in that either you can do it, or you can’t. There is no in-between.”

“No pressure, then,” said Nova, smirking. “Only the fate of Equestria depends on your ability to cast it.”

“I should have worded it better,” Discord said. “Anypony can do it, as long as they are in touch with their natural magic. Before you ask, yes, even pegasi and earth ponies,” he added, for Nova was about to ask.

Nova walked over and sat on his couch, while Discord remained standing in the space between the kitchen and the living area, right in front of the door.

“Chaos magic, as its name implies, is a very indirect form of magic,” Discord said. “As I said before, you either can do it or you can’t, but everypony has the capability to. This means that basically, all I will be doing is helping you to tap into your Chaos magic, and then leaving you after that. The rest is just pure ingenuity.”

“Really?” Nova asked. “That’s all that is?”

“Well, I always look at it this way,” Discord said, giving Nova a little smirk, “Chaos magic is nothing more than stand-up comedy, and you’re the star. The basis of Chaos magic is literally coming up with things on the fly, as they are.”

“Do you happen to have any zebra in your blood?” Nova asked, smirking. “That was a pretty good imitation of Zecora.”

Discord then decided to demonstrate his Chaos magic. Nova sank into the sofa, which was all of a sudden made of Jell-O.

“Hey!” Nova shouted, feeling himself sink into the sickly-squishy material that made up his favorite couch.

“Interrupt me again, Nova,” Discord said in a dangerous voice, but with a very evil grin in Nova’s direction. “See what happens.”

He snapped his fingers, and Nova was bounced out of his gelatin restraint, and the couch returned to normal. Nova picked himself up from where he had fallen, and went over to prod his couch to make sure it wasn’t secretly still a giant hunk of goo.

“You know, for a branch of magic that’s supposedly stand-up comedy,” Nova remarked, giving Discord an annoyed look, “that wasn’t very funny.”

“You know what they say about comedy, Nova,” Discord said, shrugging. “Every joke has a butt.”

“...Touché,” Nova conceded.

“The main difference in casting Chaos magic as opposed to, for want of a better term, Order magic,” Discord continued, “is that with Order magic, you have to shape and bend magic to your will. Chaos magic, on the other hoof-- or in this case, hand-- you simply have to let it happen and trust your imagination to do its job.”

He snapped his fingers again, and in a flash of white, a trumpet materialized in his hands, and a mariachi band appeared around him. With a short high note from Discord on his trumpet, they all started playing.

“A mariachi band?” Nova asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Would you rather it be Vinyl Scratch and her dubstep?” Discord asked, snapping his fingers again. The band vanished, but a flash of light immediately to his right made him jump. A human girl, slightly shorter than him, with spiky two-toned blue hair and purple sunglasses was grinding against his right side as dubstep played with no discernable source. Nova went very red when he noticed Vinyl was only wearing a bikini only half-a-second later.

“D-Discord!” Nova exclaimed, his face easily able to put Pinkie Pie to shame.

“Oh, fine,” Discord said, snapping his fingers again. Vinyl vanished, but not before she managed to start molesting his ear. Nova couldn’t help but wonder exactly what it was about his right ear that made it so attractive for ponies to lick and nibble. First Clover, now Vinyl…

“Now, for such a relatively simple branch of magic, a lot of preparation goes into it,” Discord said. “You have to temper your imagination. This is key, because if you don’t, you might lose control of the chaos you wish to wield, and bring to life everything you don’t want to bring to life. Exhibit A,” he snapped his fingers, and a censored naked human Granny Smith dancing with a stripper pole appeared, “this.”

Nova yelped and slapped his hands over his eyes so hard it hurt.

“Exhibit B,” said Discord, snapping his fingers again, “that.”

Nova peeked through his fingers to see that Granny Smith had vanished. In her place was a white pony with a horn and a mane that looked like fire.

“What the hell?” the unknown pony asked, looking in every direction. Then it clapped its hooves over its mouth. “I can talk!?”

With a snap of his fingers, Discord made the creature vanish.

“What was that?” Nova asked.

“A creature from another world,” he said. “As for a specific specimen? I believe it is called a Rapidash. But imagine if I had brought a less-equine monster. There’s this artificially created purplish one with two necks, a long tail, and psychic powers that could destroy the universe. Imagine trying to control that, when you can’t even control your own imagination.”

The gravity of what exactly he was getting himself into started to sink in. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“But fear not, Nova,” said Discord. “Chaos magic seems like a daunting prospect, but trust me, the pros very much outweigh the cons. Now, let’s dive right in.”

He snapped his fingers for what seemed like the millionth time that afternoon alone, and an easel with a blank white canvas appeared. Again, he snapped his fingers, and a bright white light flashed around Nova’s head.

“What did you do?” Nova asked.

“I’ve cast a simple little spell on you that should begin to take effect shortly,” Discord explained. “In a moment, the spell will start working, and it will paint exactly what you’re picturing on that canvas. Every little detail.”

“Every little detail?” Nova asked, suddenly going very cold. What would happen if I randomly thought about Twi in compromising situations?

No sooner had he thought those words than the canvas turned black and they appeared in white at their center. Then the canvas mortified Nova by painting exactly what he had imagined following that little thought passing through his head.

Discord stared at the canvas, with an unreadable expression.

“Well,” he said after a moment, “I suppose you are a stallion, after all. Now look here, Nova. This is how we will train your mind to focus on one specific thing at a time. Your focus, as I understand it, has improved greatly since Princess Luna took you as her Night Apprentice. Your focus will be invaluable here.”

“How will this help my training?” Nova asked. “You’ll just ask me to focus on something random as long as I can?”

“As a matter of fact,” Discord said, smiling at him, “that’s exactly it. I will be telling you to form specific shapes, paintings, et cetera on this canvas. You will think about it and focus on it. We will do it for longer and longer periods of time until I think you’re able to control your thoughts enough to do chaos magic.”

“What, you’re not going to ask me to think about something for an entire hour?” Nova jokingly asked.

“What do I look like, a robot factory?” Discord asked. “Now, that’s enough banter. Let’s get started. Paint me a picture of…”

{E} {I} {O} {W}

“...so overall, not bad. For day one,” Discord said, adjusting a multi-colored scarf that had appeared around his neck as he made his way to Nova’s door. “That should be all for today. Practice forming a shape and holding it for five seconds, focusing on the detail. Every little detail has to be right, or else something will inevitably go wrong.”

“Well,” said Nova, very red-faced after one of the earlier moments in the last couple of hours where Discord had decided to deliberately troll him, “forgive me, but you don’t seem to do a whole lot of focusing on details whenever you mess with things.”

Discord responded by pointing his cane at the canvas, which instantly painted itself as the Pony Lisa. And the more amazing thing about it, nothing was blurred, like Nova’s had been. Every detail was crisp and clear.

“Just because I can do this on the fly doesn’t mean I don’t focus on details,” Discord said. “In the meantime, good day, Nova Shine. I will see you again in two days.”

And with that, he walked out the door into the slight snow that had developed that afternoon, and shut the door behind him. Nova watched him as he walked on down the stairs, and then off toward whatever place he called home on this other rock.

As soon as he was gone, Nova let out a great sigh and fell onto his couch. The day had been exhausting, physically and mentally. The last thing he wanted to do was something productive. Maybe he could just go to the bars and take the night to drink.

He bolted up again. It was Friday afternoon. The Council of Gentlemen was meeting tonight!

He hurried off to his room, grabbed some new clothes, and threw on his cloak. He was not going to miss this meeting, not when he had a reason to get himself drunk with nothing to worry about the next day!

{E} {I} {O} {W}

“Funny little guy, isn’t he?” Discord asked, watching Nova through a window from an adjacent rooftop.

“You wouldn’t know funny if it sliced open your neck,” Queen Chrysalis said, also watching Nova as he ran around his room.

“Come now, Chryssie, we’ve known each other for how long now?” Discord asked.

“Don’t call me Chryssie!” she snapped at him, eyes glowing slightly and her teeth abnormally sharp for a human form.

“Whyever not?”

Chrysalis’ anger faltered slightly, and she returned to watching Nova. Discord stared at her for a moment, remembering what Princess Celestia had told him about Nova’s trip to the past. As he returned his gaze to Nova, he couldn’t help but wonder what she thought. Was he was just a reincarnation? Apparently Twilight and one of the pegasi Royal Guards looked exactly the same as the two ponies in the past Nova called friends.

“Does he remind you of your savior?” he asked gently, choosing not to antagonize her for once.

“How do you know--” she asked, surprised, but Discord cut her off.

“Just because I was imprisoned in stone at the time doesn’t mean I couldn’t see or hear what was happening,” he said. “My statue may have been in Everfree at the time, but I heard every word Celestia, Clover, Steelshod, and the first Nova ever said on the incident, since they chose to have a little picnic in front of me once.”

“Even Celestia?” asked Chrysalis, looking at him skeptically and raising an eyebrow. “I know she wasn’t as reserved back then, but enough to go out on a picnic when there was work to be done?”

“Well, not the picnic, no, but she did often talk about it with them,” Discord admitted.

“I remember Clover,” Chrysalis said. “She was the one he wanted me to turn into.”

Discord snorted.

“So he had only known her… what, an hour or so? And he was already asking you to turn into her for some depraved fantasy?” Discord said, unable to stop himself from mocking this. Old habits die hard after all.

“Shut up!” she snapped. “He did it to give me love energy! I would have died without it!”

“He saved your life, eh?” Discord asked, raising an eyebrow. “He did more than that. He saved your life, returned you to your home, and prevented a war that would have destroyed your people. I swear, history does not remember him as well as it should. Then there’s the first Nightmare Night and his involvement…”

“What are you saying?” she asked.

“I’m saying that, for someone who owes their life to an Equestrian citizen, you sure went out of your way to dishonor your memory of him,” Discord said harshly. “Invading the very country that saved you? Attacking one of the beings who was responsible for the war being averted? You even imprisoned Twilight Sparkle, a mare who looks astonishingly like Clover did, in the caves you were once a slave in. Bravo, Chryssie. Bravo.”

He started clapping slowly, mockingly. All through his tirade, her head had sunk lower and lower. She knew he was right.

“Why do you care?” she growled, staring at the snow-covered stone barrier atop the deserted building. “Why do you care so much about what I’ve done to Equestria? You’re supposed to be on our side!”

“I happen to know, Chryssie,” Discord responded, “that you prefer Equus to this place. Don’t even bother denying it. I have my ways of knowing.”

Chrysalis said nothing. She continued to stare at the edge guard.

“I think you also know,” Discord said, continuing, “that the Elements of Harmony are the way to return everypony to Equus. I tested you earlier, when I had you send some of your children to delay Rainbow Dash, which you did almost immediately.”

He leaned down right next to her ear.

“If I didn’t know better,” he whispered, “I’d think you wanted them to reawaken so we could return to Equus.”

She continued to stare, content to remain silent. Discord smiled, then stood back up and adjusted his hat, coat, and scarf.

“I’m not telling Moony, or anything,” he said. “But I do hope that in the future, you’ll consider where your loyalties should lie.”

He turned and started to walk away, the faint sounds of snow crunching under his foot sounding louder than they normally would have, in the otherwise-silent night. Chrysalis again said and did nothing. She just continued staring at the edge guard, occasionally her gaze flicking up to the person in the apartment across the street.

Why does he have to look so much like him? she thought to herself. Why does he have to haunt me like this?

After several minutes, sitting out in the cold, she finally drew herself upright and marched off toward her humble house not far away. Despite all appearances to the contrary, she was sad all of a sudden. Was he a reminder of the one she had failed? Or was he just there because fate had a cruel sense of humor?

There was no way he could be the real one; Nova Shine had died over a millennium ago. Which meant he had to be the reincarnated version. The next in this never-ending cycle of Night Apprentices, Faithful Students, Night Masters, and Prime Magi plaguing Equestria.

She continued walking back to her home-- no house. Home was where the heart lay. And the heart lay in Equus, in the cities of the Changelings.

What I wouldn’t give for you to come back, Mister Nova, she thought sadly. Here I am, a slave again, to the ones who would trap us in this nightmare of a world.

As she opened the door to her one-story home, a single tear fell from the Queen’s eyes, shining like a liquid diamond in the darkened skies as it froze and fell to the snow.

Please save me again, Mister Nova.

Author's Note

Not much to say here. Please read and review.

Rytex out. Have a good day!

To Fight Shadows...

Even In Other Worlds
Chapter 04 - To Fight Shadows...

It had taken Nova a little over a week, but he had finally managed to train his concentration to the point where, even with Discord distracting him, he could create almost anything Discord wanted him to create, and hold it on the canvas for thirty seconds, complete with details.

“Nova, the Pony Lisa doesn’t have a mustache.”

Most of the time.

“You made me think of it,” accused Nova indignantly. “If you hadn’t sprouted that handlebar, I wouldn’t have screwed this up!”

“What, this old thing?” Discord asked, stroking and admiring his new handlebar moustache that had most certainly not been there five seconds before. “Hmm, you should get your sight checked. This was here the whole time.”

Nova rolled his eyes and cleared the easel of any of his thoughts.

“I must say, you made much faster progress than I expected,” Discord said. “I figured it’d be at least two weeks before you could make it past ten seconds. It takes most beings around a month to make it as far as you.”

Nova grinned and scratched behind his head in a bashful sort of way.

“Don’t get cocky, Rodeo,” Discord said. “I said ‘most,’ not ‘all.’”

“Can you blame me?” Nova asked. “I have plenty of motivation.”

Which was perfectly true. Nova was giving his all at mastering Chaos magic. The sooner he could undo the curse on Twilight and the other Bearers, the sooner they could all return to Equestria, and the sooner he could once again be with Twilight. Though this time without any potential end-of-Equestria threats.

“It’s good to have a driving force behind your studies, Nova,” said Discord, “but sacrificing this time of ours to work on Chaos magic so you can go and play with your friends? That’s not motivation.”

“Playing?” Nova asked, shaking his head. “If I want to blend in here, I have to show up to those classes. Otherwise, Nightmare Moon will know something’s wrong and hunt me down to put the curse on me again. Or are you still sore about the time Dash came over?”

Only a couple of days ago, Rainbow Dash had once again ended up in Nova’s apartment, though this time Nova didn’t have to beat senseless the Shadowbolts. She actually seemed genuinely thankful he had helped her out, and was keen to repay the favor, despite Nova’s insistence there was no debt to be paid. Still, he enjoyed the company when watching sports. Discord, however, was irritated because this cut into practice time.

Nova thought the trade was worth it, though. Rainbow Dash was already good friends with him, which meant he needed a good segue to getting her to interact with the others. Unfortunately, Dash had kept quiet about Nova’s encounter with the “Hellsings.” Nova thought the increased spike in attention would have been just what he needed to get in good with at least Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, and possibly even Fluttershy.

Twilight, however, was proving to be a chore. Every time he went anywhere near her, even for class, who would turn up but Natalie. Given the fact that he would quite like to avoid causing any scenes for Nightmare Moon to show up in, he figured it was best that he avoided causing Natalie to go berserk. But at the same time, he needed to get closer to Twilight. Not just for himself, but for Equestria. How would Twilight get any friends if there wasn’t someone there to show her any?

Especially when none of the other five liked her. If Envy had gone an rearranged everypony’s memories, then it was conceivable that Envy had given Twilight and the others memories of something awful happening between them when they all were younger, which had caused them all to split apart.

Not unlike a certain scenario Twilight had told him about which had happened in a human world very much like this one.

Complete with being that wanted to destroy Equestria. Possibly. Sunset Shimmer’s plan never really was that clear, except that she wanted power.

“I’m not sore about the time Rainbow Dash came over,” Discord said, shaking his head. “I am sore that you chose to spend all that time watching football instead of doing something productive. Like perhaps introducing her to any of the other Bearers.”

“I think you’re just jealous that I have girls that want me,” said Nova, leaping over the back of the couch and landing in a perfect napping position. “At least two, considering how Dash decided to give me a little reward for saving her ass.”

Discord snapped his fingers, and with a flash of white light, no less than eight beautiful women, all wearing nothing more than bikinis, appeared around him. All of them were making sultry sounds and rubbing up against him in lewd ways. Nova wasn’t watching, but the sounds they were making said enough.

“Discord eight, Nova two,” Discord said. With another snap of his fingers, all the women vanished.

Nova groaned and reached for the remote, before finding it and grabbing it--

Nova bolted upright, glancing between the remote and the table it had been sitting on, over four feet away. They had pushed it back before the lessons started, which meant that it wasn’t in arm’s reach of the couch. Nova had just called the remote to his hand with magic, completely unconsciously.

“Not bad, Nova,” Discord said, smiling. “You seem to have rediscovered your magical ability. Now all you gotta do is break it in a little.”

Nova instantly held out his hand toward his refrigerator.

Nothing happened.

“Well, something tells me your magic doesn’t want to give you any alcohol today,” Discord said, adjusting his coat and hat. “Try this instead,” he added, conjuring a soda can and tossing it to Nova.

“What, no chocolate milk?” Nova teased.

“Not in the winter, no,” Discord said, picking up his cane from where it had been leaning against the counter, and ignoring the harmless jab. “I need to be off. I have an appointment with the Mayor.”

“You and Sombra sure do spend a lot of time together,” Nova observed. “If I didn’t know better--”

“You don’t,” Discord said, cutting him off. “I have to maintain appearances. And since Sombra is nothing more than a conjured echo, he answers directly to Envy. And we can’t give her any indication that anything is out of the ordinary. And let’s not forget Moony.”

“I still find it hard to believe she hasn’t noticed you and I interacting a lot more than usual. Wouldn’t she jump at this sort of thing?” Nova asked.

“Yes,” Discord said, stroking his beard, “it is troubling that she hasn’t noticed. Though I think she has actually noticed. Though what could be stopping her from making her move is completely beyond me.”

He shrugged.

“Anyway, keep practicing. And work on that new ability of yours you just re-learned. When I return next Monday, I want you to be lifting X-Wings out of swamps.”

“When did you get into the fantasy genre?” Nova asked, quite perplexed by Discord’s sudden fanboyism.

“I told you and Celly that I started watching this show on this wonderful human invention called Netflix,” Discord said, shrugging. “Figured I’d watch other things, too. Not much to do when all you’re here for is backup. A chaotic draconequus has to kill the time somehow, you know.”

And with that, he threw open Nova’s door against the resistance of a freezing gale outside, letting in the sound of howling wind and flurries of snow. With hindered steps, he walked on out into the blizzard that had struck their town for the past few days, shut the door behind him, and vanished into the cold.

As soon as he was gone, Nova smiled and held out his hand toward the refrigerator again. At once, the door opened and a small bottle of alcoholic cider flew out toward his hand while his can of soda flew back into the refrigerator, settling itself neatly in one of the shelves on the inside of the door, which closed gently.

Obviously, he had already been practicing his magic. He had already started casting spells. Hell, his progress was astonishing for a week being out of the curse. After he had been able to produce the glow in his hands before attacking the Shadowbolts, he had snowballed to being able to lift things up that night. The next day, it became rudimentary spells. Now, a full week later, he could call forth his five orbs of light that he usually kept with him in fights.

He figured they would prove even more valuable here, when he wasn’t in full control of his magic. The ability to have extensions of his being that could cast spells for him would prove invaluable when he couldn’t cast as powerful of spells as he was used to.

With a slight hissing noise, Nova flicked off the bottle cap with magic. Magic was so useful, and in ways he was only just beginning to realize. Why did those companies have to use the small caps with the hard-to-grip edges? A little magic, and you would no longer need a bottle opener.

The sweet, slightly burning taste of the alcoholic cider flowed down his esophagus. Nova hadn’t quite been expecting the cider taste to be that strong compared to the alcohol, and he sputtered for a moment.

“Aww,” he lamented, before letting out another cough, “I was expecting it to be a bit more booze-y. Still,” he added, before taking a great swig, “Dash would kill me if I let such good cider go to waste.”

So he spent the next few minutes watching football and drinking his cider. The only difference between his old life in Equestria and this current situation was his lack of a pony body. This realization was not lost on him.

Seems just like old times, he thought to himself sadly. Before I met Twilight again. Just staying up and watching hoofball, going and doing odd jobs… I don’t even have those anymore.

Suddenly, all desire to continue in this old ritual of his just left him. Nova sighed and threw his head back, now ignoring the television as he stared blankly at the ceiling. Really, why did he have to go and think that? His Friday evening was now wasted.

He moved his head back to its normal place and glanced down at the bottle in his hand.

Well, not entirely wasted, at least. With another sigh, he lifted the bottle past eye level in a mock toast.

“To life lost,” he said, taking a quick gulp, “and life regained,” he added, taking another quick gulp.

{E} {I} {O} {W}

“You know, Chryssie,” Discord drawled as he continued to stare through Nova’s window at him while he made his mock toasts, “I enjoy a stargazing night as much as the next pony, but do all our dates have to be out here?”

Chrysalis gave him the merest of glares; she had almost gotten used to him by now.

“Why does he leave his curtains open?” she asked. “He was using magic.”

“Yes,” Discord said, “that he was.”

“Which means that he’s recovered his memory,” Chrysalis said, turning and staring at Discord.

“Probably,” Discord said. “I’ve seen weirder things.”

“Which means one of us needs to report it to Nightmare Moon, don’t you think?” Chrysalis asked.

“Maybe,” Discord said, shrugging, “but let’s face it; it would be a lot more fun to let him run rampant, don’t you think? And,” he added, slipping an arm around Chrysalis’ shoulders (which she instantly tried to slide out of), “we both want something to come of him remembering.”

“W-what do you--?” Chrysalis started, but Discord cut her off.

“I mean,” he said sharply, “let’s face it. You haven’t been your usual self since we came to this other world. You’ve been moody and temperamental and have given me death threats every six seconds instead of every five, like it had been when I came to your rescue in that one place with the living Pinkie Pie costume.”

Chrysalis made a sound that seemed like half-snicker, half-snarl, but otherwise, she kept her peace.

“If I didn’t know better, Chryssie,” Discord said, snaking his way around to just behind her other ear, “I’d think you actually wanted him to win.”

“My loyalties haven’t changed, Discord,” she said coolly. This only made Discord smirk.

“Oh, and you think that I, the Master of Chaos, can’t see that little loophole? Really, Your Highness, did you think that would work on me?”

She shook her head, nearly bopping him on the nose in the process. “Discord, you should know my answer,” she said. “I want nothing more than Celestia and that damned unicorn Twilight Sparkle to pay for ruining my plans at the wedding.”

“Well,” said Discord, leaning back and stretching a little, “for one, she’s an alicorn now, so there’s that, and for two, if you really wanted them all to pay for foiling your invasion, why haven’t you done anything yet?”

Chrysalis said nothing. She just stared at Nova, who appeared to be appraising his cloak and practicing spellwork on it.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” Discord said, indicating Nova. “You think he’s the same one?”

“No,” said Chrysalis, head drooping. “It’s impossible. My Nova Shine died. His grave is even in Everfree’s ruins.”

“How would you know that?”

She gave a coy smile, the first he had seen since he met her. “Shapeshifting has its uses. Even when the entire country wants your head on a plate.”

“Haven’t they invented spells that undo your illusion?”

“When you keep your head down and give no cause for alarm, they have nothing to suspect. Or so I believe,” she added. “I only visited Everfree once after the failed invasion of Canterlot. I walked right by that whorse’s house, and I couldn’t do anything about it to avoid arousing suspicion,” she snarled angrily, before taking a breath and calming herself before continuing. “I walked right through Ponyville, cast an invisibility spell on myself, went into Everfree, spent my time there, and left the same way I got in. Nopony was any the wiser.”

“If you were so good at getting yourself in and out of Equestria undetected, why didn’t you just smuggle all of your Changelings into Canterlot?” Discord asked, genuinely curious. “I mean, it is a popular tourist destination. Nopony would bat an eyelash at the large numbers of ponies wandering the streets.”

“That was the original plan,” Chrysalis said, sighing. “Scheherazade suggested that as a course of action. He’s my best advisor, but Killik suggested his own strategy of a frontal assault by infiltrating the city, setting off its defenses to analyze their weaknesses, and then neutralize them to allow my children to invade.”

“A plan which would have worked, if you had properly acted like Mi Amore Cadenza,” Discord said.

“I only acted on the best intel we had at the time. I didn’t know he had a sister,” she spat, “much less that I was to disguise myself as her foalsitter. If I had, I probably would have done better, but when you only factor in one pony who should know everything, brainwashing seems to be the best modus operandi to use.”

“And, like I said, it did work, even until Twilight Sparkle freed Cadenza.”

Chrysalis didn’t respond. She just continued to gloomily stare at Nova.

“You know,” said Discord, starting to munch on some hot, buttery popcorn he just conjured, “what irony this is for you, Chryssie. You hate Twilight Sparkle to the point of attempting to drain her magic and murder her under the influence of the Secretariat Comet not even a full two years ago. Now, here you are, staring all deathly, darkly, and drearily at young Nova Shine over there, and Twilight Sparkle just happens to be his fiancée.”

“I’m aware,” she mumbled.

“Do you… like him?” Discord asked, his mouth curving into a devilish grin.

She made a sort of grunt, which Discord took to mean “yes,” but then she decided to explain herself and ruin the multiple scenarios running through Discord’s mind on the romantic irony.

“I always had feelings for the Nova Shine that rescued me from Lord Silverblood, all those years ago,” she said softly. “It’s one of the reasons I still have no mate. I just didn’t want a changeling who wasn’t like him. Strong, kind, smart, funny…” she sighed dreamily, “and let’s not forget handsome.”

“My my, Chryssie, this is quite a change of character for you,” Discord noted. “I definitely prefer old Chryssie though. Please stop being a lovestruck filly and go back to being your normal self.”

“I’m a Changeling, Discord,” Chrysalis said, giving him a smug grin. “Lovestruck is what we’re supposed to be, to.fool the pony we’re looking to feed on. To pretend to be lovestruck, sometimes you have to know how it feels.”

“Yes, well, still--”

“As I was saying,” said Chrysalis, cutting him off, “yes, I had feelings for my rescuer. I suppose I dampened them when I heard he was dead, but if I didn’t then, I definitely did after Father died at their hooves. I thought I was getting my revenge when I bested Celestia at the wedding.”

“As I understand it, you saw him there, too,” Discord said, gesturing at Nova.

“Yes, I did,” Chrysalis sighed, head once again drooping. “My children dragged him to me, because he had been fighting them off. He looked younger than my Nova had, but it still brought up bad memories. So I told them to keep him bound and kept somewhere secure away from the Chapel. I didn’t want reminding about him, not when victory was so close at hoof.”

“You know,” Discord said, conjuring a hammock and leaping backwards onto it, “for a queen who’s supposed to be an effective leader for her ponies, you really have boy issues.”

“Queen Elizabeak I did too, and she’s remembered as the greatest Griffin Queen in their history,” countered Chrysalis.

Discord opened his mouth and raised an index finger in the perfect pose to tell her why that was bullshit, opened his mouth, blinked stupidly as he realized she was right, then put down his hand. “Point taken.”

“And before you tell me I’m not a griffin,” she added, grinning as a beak suddenly sprouting from her face, “I can be if I want to be.”

Discord openly laughed.

“That’s more like it, Chryssie! Always so morose, it’s good that I can finally get you cracking jokes like the rest of us.”

“Please don’t call me Chryssie, though,” she said, rolling her eyes. “It’s something only Father and Nova Shine did, and I kind of want to keep it that way.”

“Fair enough,” Discord said. “Since you asked nicely. Should I just call you ‘Chrys’ from now on, or something?”

“Long as it’s not Chryssie, I think I can handle it,” she answered.

“Alright then, Queen Cheeselegs.”

It took Discord an hour to untie himself from the human knot he had been left in.

{E} {I} {O} {W}

Nova and Discord had agreed to take the weekends off from attempting to teach Nova control over Chaos magic. Not really because either of them had wanted to, but they both knew that taking at least one day of the week off as a break was more beneficial than not taking one at all. Nova also suggested taking another day to work by himself.

Both ideas seemed to be working wonders, but not exactly on the intended branch of magic. And so, one fine Saturday over a week later, Nova was relaxing at his house. His television was tuned in to the English Premier League, and he was quite enjoying himself. Nova’s natural magic was about as potent as it had been the day he had met Twilight for the second time, although his focus was stronger. His body just wasn’t quite used to manipulating a force it was never intended to manipulate. This would not go well in fights with strong enemies.

To remedy this, and in lieu of battling entirely with magic and with the aid of Princess Celestia, Nova and Discord had (re)discovered a solution that balanced his recent incomplete training in mundane combat with his magical proficiency: Spellblade.

Metal was an excellent conductor of both heat and electricity, which made it the ideal material for arcanologists to use when conducting magic from a distance. During the period shortly after Nightfall, the Equestrian military began experimenting with the practice of imbuing the metal blades of pikes, spears, and the like with spells, so as to not have pegasi or earth ponies be disadvantaged when dealing with a rogue unicorn (or the return of a vengeful alicorn imprisoned in the moon).

This eventually led to the enchanting of armor, but not before one particularly brilliant unicorn made his name as a warrior by fighting with an actual sword, which he would channel his magic through. His sword gave him an edge in close range combat that he normally wouldn’t have, whereas his magic gave him a long range attacking medium. Due to advances in armor enchanting, the practice was rendered outdated due to the First Fundamental Law of Magic, but because of the fact that Nova was probably not going to encounter an enemy using magic-enhanced armor, Celestia, Discord, and Nova decided that it would be his best option while on this world.

The next few Chaos magic lessons revolved around Nova actually trying to conjure something, with almost no success. “Something” being a weapon with a metal end. “Almost” meaning Nova did manage to conjure up an unrelated thing. Only yesterday, as a matter of fact. He managed to conjure up a fountain of beer from the drain of his sink completely by accident.

Of course, that didn’t stop him from indulging in his alcoholic conjuration, using the logic that beer was there to help him celebrate that he had actually conjured something. Discord only rolled his eyes, but joined in the “festivities.” He even conjured a mariachi band again.

However, that was the extent of his conjuring achievements. Every other time he tried only resulted in either smoke or flashes of light with nothing else coming of it. Despite his successive failures, he was far from disheartened. It was always like this for him. It had taken him years to really become proficient with magic, starting with when he and Twilight had met for the second time and culminating near the end of his two-year trip into the past. This being said, the rate he was picking up Chaos magic was rather standard for him.

As far as striking up a friendship with the rest of the Elements, Nova had made no progress. He and Rainbow were getting more friendly, that much was true, and so were him and Twilight, but other than that, he hadn’t gone anywhere near the other four. There just hadn’t been a good enough window of opportunity for him to use, like there had been with Rainbow.

So, this fine Saturday, Nova was bored out of his mind. He was bored with the human hoofball, he was bored with practicing magic, he was bored sitting around and thinking of windows of opportunity, and he was definitely bored of just Rainbow and Twilight, despite never getting them to speak to each other.

He had mentioned the idea to both of them, but Rainbow had made some hasty excuse about needed to go and practice, and Twilight had insisted that she had studying to do. He would have pursued the matter with Rainbow Dash, but the (un)timely arrivals of Alex and Natalie prevented that.

Nova sank in his chair until his back was in the seat and his head was the only part of his body resting on the back, leaving his legs sticking a whole foot and a half out from where they would if he was sitting up. He desperately needed something to do.

When he needed something to do, he would usually just head on out to the roof of his apartment, hoping something would present itself. Well, considering it had served him well in the past…

He heaved himself out of his chair, turned off his television, and with flick of his finger and a blue spark, every light switch clicked off and his coat materialized around him. As he adjusted it around himself, he grinned. It had taken some time, but he was getting quite used to casting magic in this human body.

With everything in his house off, he exited, locked the door, and then walked down to an alley beside his building, where he climbed up a fire escape to get to the rooftop. From there, it was a short walk over to his usual sitting place, in the corner of the roof where the edge barriers met.

For whatever reason, on this particular building, the barriers were a lot higher than the other ones. Probably just to make the building look taller. However, Nova had put a comfy chair in that little corner. It was one of the most effective wind-guards ever.

And now, with nothing better to do, Nova plopped himself down into the chair.

It was then that Nova made a startling realization: when you’re bored out of your mind, and you think sitting outside will help you think of something, it doesn’t actually help you think of something.

He groaned and slumped down in his chair again, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Why can’t there be something important happening!? It would be better than this.

A terrified scream shattered the otherwise-quiet soundscape. Nova bolted to his feet. I didn’t mean that literally!

He took off in the direction he heard it, which was, ominously enough, the same direction as the alley he’d saved Rainbow Dash from the Shadowbolts in. He clambered over one of his board bridges, sprinted over another rooftop, and leapt over a relatively narrow gap between two more buildings. As he got closer, he felt something distinctly wrong with the auras coming from it.

One of them was Twilight’s.

He redoubled his sprinting and skidded to a halt just before the stone barrier keeping him from falling to the alley below. Quietly, hoping to not blow his cover, he peeked over the edge, and what he saw made his heart freeze.

Twilight was backing up in terror as three Shadowbolts advanced on her, all three men leering at her sickeningly. The two women appeared to be keeping an eye on things in the street, making sure no one was coming.

“So you just happen to walk right by us, huh?” Nightshade said, stepping slightly ahead of his comrades. “You think you can just intrude on our turf without our permission, is that it?”

“N-no.” Twilight desperately tried to explain, “I was just--”

“Aww, shut it!” Nightshade said, cutting her off. “I don’t wanna hear it. I’d rather listen to the sound of you screaming.”

With that, he pulled out a knife and advanced.

Without even thinking, Nova leapt over the barrier and fell toward the trio of Shadowbolts. As he got closer to the ground, he kicked his feet under him, crushing Marauder under him as he landed.

“What--” Nightshade tried to say, but Nova punched him hard across the jaw, sending him reeling sideways.

Only now were the other three reacting, but Nova was in a frenzy. He tackled Corsair to the ground and with three quick strikes, he knocked the Shadowbolt unconscious, before getting up in time to fight the two ladies.

Starry Night had grabbed the pipe by one of the dumpsters and she swung it at him, but it was too heavy for her, and Nova evaded the clumsy blow. He responded with a quick kick to her midsection, sending her back a few feet, and giving Nova some space against Black Widow, who was swinging a chain she had grabbed threateningly.

Before Nova could do anything else, she lashed out with it in an overhand swing. Instead of trying to avoid it, which would have been the smart thing, Nova held up his arm. The chain hit it painfully, but it wrapped around his arm. Nova seized the chain between them and yanked, dragging Black Widow with it. He punched out as she got near, hitting her straight in the solar plexus and sending her to the ground, quivering in pain.

Nova sensed a sudden rush of energy behind him and ducked. Nightshade’s fist swung over his head. Seeing as how Nova needed him conscious, he just swiped behind himself with his feet, tripping Nightshade and knocking him down before going over to finish off Starry Night.

As he passed by Black Widow’s doubled-over form, he kicked her quickly to knock her unconscious. Starry chose that opportunity to swing the pipe at him again, but he again dodged it. This time, however, he reacted with the same quick three punches to stun, floor, and then incapacitate her, which did take her out.

With four of the five Shadowbolts dispatched and unconscious, and Nova rounding on the fifth, Nightshade took an instinctive step back out of fear as Nova advanced on him.

Right in Twilight’s direction.

She hadn’t had an opportunity to escape, with the fight blocking the exit from the alley, and was backed against the brick wall of the building behind her. Nova needed to distract Nightshade so she could escape. Without thinking, he charged. Nightshade stumbled back even faster, but Nova slid himself in between Nightshade and Twilight, arms outstretched.

“Nathan!” cried Twilight behind him, but Nova ignored her, preferring instead to glare at Nightshade, who took a moment to calm himself down and assume a fighting stance with his knife.

“Well, I’ll admit it, kid,” Nightshade said, smirking at Nova. “You took down all four of me mates. I’m impressed.”

He took a step forward, pointing past Nova at Twilight.

“All this for some girl,” he said, shaking his head. “Either you’re quite the knight in shining armor for her, or chivalry ain’t dead after all.”

His smirk widened.

“Or maybe you got the hots for her, or somethin’?”

Nova said nothing. Instead, he continued glaring at Nightshade, who stared back from behind his golden goggles.

“Not much of a talker, are you,” he said. “Well, you had me by surprise earlier, and I gotta say, that was the best chance you had. ‘Cause now you ain’t got no chance, now I’m ready!”

Nova inhaled a deep breath, held it in for a moment, then slowly let it out through his mouth. This was going to be messy.

Nightshade charged, stabbing downward with his knife. Nova dove sideways, grabbing the pipe Starry Night had been using. Instantly, he wished there had been a better weapon. The piece of metal was dense, heavy, and awkward. But it would have to do.

Nightshade charged again, but Nova swung the pipe right at Nightshade’s knife hand. There was a loud ping!, and a clatter as something metal hit pavement. Meanwhile, Nightshade howled in pain, and the momentum of Nova’s swing carried him a little too far, which made him stumble slightly.

But he was up, and Nightshade had lost his knife. Nova threw the knife down and charged Nightshade, who was clutching a swollen right hand in pain. Nightshade didn’t even seem to see him coming. Nova tackled him against a wall and held him there.

“Go!” he barked at Twilight as he kept Nightshade pressed against the wall.

“But Nathan, you’re--” she tried to protest, but he cut him off.

“I said GO! Don’t worry about me!” he ordered, much more forcefully. With the sheer intensity of the glare he was giving her, she seemed to relent, and she took off, running out of the alley and away from the scene.

As soon as she was gone, Nova grabbed Nightshade by the throat and lifted him as high onto the wall as he could. Admittedly, it was only a few inches, and it strained his arm, but the intimidation factor seemed to amplify the terror in Nightshade’s eyes behind his goggles.

“W-who the hell are you?” Nightshade asked, gagging against Nova’s chokehold.

Nova said nothing, but he punched Nightshade hard in the solar plexus and dropped him. Nightshade doubled over on the ground, wheezing painfully and coughing up blood. Nova took the opportunity to kick the knife on the ground further out of Nightshade’s reach, before dragging the four unconscious Shadowbolts together and binding them with Starry Night’s chain. It was a flimsy binding, but it would have to do.

After that was taken care of, Nova picked up the knife, then advanced on Nightshade again. Nightshade hadn’t moved from his spot. Nova grabbed him again, slammed him against the wall, and pressed the knife against his throat.

“I’m only going to request this once, Nightshade,” Nova growled, “so I expect a good showing.”

He took a deep breath. With the carnage he had wreaked in this alley, there was no going back. If Nightmare Moon came calling, she would know what had happened, and she would know that someone had broken out. Nova wasn’t able to alter memories like Discord had done, which meant that he had to succeed now, or he would forfeit his only chance of defeating Nightmare Moon later. It was “do or be placed under the curse again” time.

“Call her,” he growled.

“Call-- call who?” Nightshade asked stupidly. Nova clucked his tongue.

“Wrong thing to say,” he said, so he slashed Nightshade’s left arm at the tricep area. Nightshade howled again.

“I’m going to say it again. Call her!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he growled, struggling against the pain and his twitching left arm.

“Do you?” Nova asked, slowly cutting a little lower on Nightshade’s arm, causing him to cry out. “Why don’t you think of it this way? You’re obviously in a spot of trouble, and you can’t get out of this alone, so why not go ahead and call your mother to come save you, and save yourself a lot more pain?”

“B-bastard,” Nightshade, spat, before groaning. “Y-you think I’d j-just do something like this?”

“What do you have to lose?” Nova asked, shrugging. “I mean, don’t you have confidence she can beat me? Oh, and I’ll give you a little tip as to why it would be in your best interest to call her.”

His hands started to emit a blue glow as he channeled magic through them. Nightshade’s eyes bulged.

“Y-you broke out!” he cried incredulously. “H-how!?”

“Mmm,” Nova said, cocking his head. “I’m not telling. Maybe Nightmare Moon would know. She was supposed to be watching me.”

There was the soft sound of someone walking up to his left, by the alley’s entrance. Nova chanced a glance, and he instinctively clenched his hand on the knife. A beautiful woman with long blue hair, icy blue eyes, and a black tiara upon her head stood at the entrance, surveying the scene.

“Speak of the devil, and she shall appear,” Nova noted, dropping the knife and hitting Nightshade with his elbow to put him out of his misery and knock him out.

“What have you done to our children?” she asked calmly, but the undertone of her voice betraying her murderous intent.

“Eh, just knocked them out,” Nova said, shrugging. “They were trying to assault a very dear friend of mine. I would have been a poor friend to come to her aid. Besides,” he added, cracking his knuckles leisurely, “I figured it would get your attention.”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

“How dare you touch our children? We will make you suffer greatly for it!”

“Oh, I don’t know if Envy would want that,” Nova said, shaking his head.

Nightmare Moon’s eyes widened slightly. Nova decided to press his advantage.

“What?” he taunted. “Surprised I know about her? Think about what that would imply, Moony.” He smirked. “I broke out of the curse.”

“Then you’re a fool for revealing yourself to us,” Nightmare Moon said, glaring at him. “Did you not think this plan of yours through? Do you not know how powerful we are?”

“Oh, I know just how powerful you are, Nightmare,” Nova said, inclining his head. “It would appear that you’ve forgotten.”

“Forgotten what?” she asked, cocking her head.

“I was there, at Nightfall,” Nova answered. “I was there, alongside Celestia and Comet Novus. I took up the Elements of Loyalty and Magic, and I helped to banish you to your millennium-long imprisonment. I am well aware of how powerful you are.”

Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized him. Nova just shook his head.

“You’re supposed to be keeping an eye on the Elements of Harmony, yes? And me as well, I think. What a job you’ve done,” he said, giving her an ironic slow clap. “Clearly Envy trusted the right pony for the job.”

“You mock me?” she asked, eyes sparkling dangerously. “You would dare to mock me!? You would mock the Mistress of the Night, the Lady of Dreams!?”

“I would mock any pretender,” Nova said simply.

“You would dare to call me a pretender!?” she thundered. Nova shifted into a stance where he could be prepared to cast magic. He was getting her close to losing her temper.

“You are not the real Mistress of the Night,” Nova said, shaking his head. “Nor are you the Lady of Dreams. The real Mistress of the Night is Princess Luna, not some pretender like you..”

His hands began to glow a bright, vivid blue as he magically lifted the Shadowbolts onto the roof..

“And because I am her Night Master, in the name of Princess Luna, I am going to destroy you.”

Her hands began to glow an icy blue color, and a pair of ethereal wings appeared behind her.

“Do you think this wise, boy?” she asked. “Attacking me? You should have kept your head down, if you wanted to keep your memories.”

“This was going to happen sooner or later,” Nova said. “But when your Shadowbolts decided to try to attack Twilight Sparkle, you forced my hand. Now I guess it’s time to see how well I’ve learned from the real Mistress of the Night.”

Nightmare Moon snarled. With a flick of her wrist and a shimmering in the air, she made the first move. Nova saw its effects immediately. It was only an illusion spell, designed to give the appearance and sounds of something else. She obviously didn’t want this magic duel attracting any unwanted attention from cursed ponies, and so she had cloaked the alleyway.

Which gave Nova plenty of time to make the opening attack. Two beams of brilliant blue burst from his hands as he thrust them in her direction. Nightmare Moon was quick enough to create a shield between Nova’s beams and her, though, and with a bright flash of light, Nova’s beams collided with Nightmare Moon’s shield.

Using his magic to grip some of the detritus of the alley, Nova then flung it at her. Nightmare Moon caught a flying tire and the lid of a trash can, before disintegrating them.

“You think flinging ordinary objects at me will help you win?” she asked, before blasting at Nova with a ball of fire, which Nova countered with a deluge of water.

“No,” Nova answered, before freezing the water and sending the icicles flying at Nightmare Moon, who battered them into the surrounding walls with a quick motion of her hand. “I’m simply doing what my teacher told me to do in times like this.”

“What, times where you’re facing an enemy with no chance of victory?” she asked, sending a beam of energy at him, which he blocked with a swish of his cloak.

“No, duelling an unknown entity with magic,” he said. “Do you remember what she told me? Because I’m sure the real Princess Luna would.”

She snarled and flicked her wrist at him. A fiery whip lashed down towards his cheek, but a simple raised hand blocked it with a shield of ice.

“No?” Nova asked, blocking another lash of the whip toward his opposite leg. “Well, then allow me to educate you. When dealing with an unknown adversary, study the environment, study the situation, and above all else, study the opponent. How they choose to fight, their preferred method of attack and defense, and definitely any limits or weaknesses.”

“Interesting though your dated magic lessons are sure to be, how exactly will this help you win?” she asked, arching an eyebrow and rearing back the flame whip.

“Simple,” Nova said, finally countering by catching the whip in an icy glove and disabling it. “You don’t want anything to get past you and alert possible passers-by to the magic duel going on in here. Even if you have it cloaked, they will still see any spells that go beyond the confines of the illusion spell you cast. You’re also attacking any time you get the chance and defending only when necessary. Your main method of attack appears to be straightforward uses of the Four Elements, primarily fire, and pure magic itself.”

“Congratulations,” said Nightmare Moon, rearing her hands back to blast another beam at him. “You can pay attention in the middle of a fight. What a superb skill.”

“Oh, trust me Nightmare,” Nova said, preparing to block the impending beam, “you’re only playing right into my hands.”

Nightmare Moon lowered her hands and glared at Nova suspiciously.

“Oh, do go on then,” she said. “How am I playing into your hands?”

Nova shrugged. “Does a showmage reveal his secrets to everypony? Why should I let you in on my plans?”

“Because you’re just dying to,” Nightmare Moon said. “I can just see it on your face.”

Nova chuckled, and nodded. “Oh, you do know me after all. Fine, I’ll enlighten you.”

He dropped most of the magic in his hands, but he had a feeling Nightmare Moon was waiting for him to drop his guard in the middle of his monologue. Fortune favors the prepared, so he kept some magic in his hands, waiting for the opportunity to fire off a defensive spell.

“You seem to think that power behind a spellcaster holds any sway in a magic duel such as this,” he explained. “In a way, you’re quite true. Power can hold sway in a duel, particularly if someone inexperienced misses blocking a normal magical energy beam. That could either do little, or do a lot depending on how powerful the caster is behind the spell.

“But you’re either ignoring or just have no idea about the First Fundamental Law of Magic,” Nova continued. “‘Magic cannot go through other magic, no matter how powerful either source is compared to the other.’ You’re putting a decent amount of power behind your spells, but I’m using the simplest of counterspells and shields to disable them. Basically, you’re wasting your strength in trying to overpower me, when it’s just impossible to overpower someone with magic.

“Now, you’re probably wondering, why would I tell you this? Wouldn’t this remove my advantage from the battle?” Nova queried her, as Nightmare Moon had narrowed her eyes upon him telling her she was wasting her strength. “Well, the truth is, not really. Sure, I might remove a small advantage now, but now that you know you’ll just be wasting space, you’ll cut back on your spell power, which means I won’t have to block some of these myself. If anything, I’ve put you in a difficult position. You’d either cut back on power, whereupon I can turn up my offensive, or you keep wasting strength as I just wear you down and take you out myself.”

He smirked. “Well? Which will it be? Make it easier for me to attack? Or just wear yourself out, and then, you know, make it easier for me to attack anyway?”

Nightmare Moon, who had kept her gaze on him the entire time, snarled even deeper. Nova knew she now had to consider that he knew what he was doing, even if he had rushed into the battle. This would make her a lot more cautious toward the fight. The Nightmares were always an overconfident bunch, if Twilight’s story about Rarity was anything to go by, and so he figured that the more he could undermine their confidence, the better chance he had of gaining the advantage in the physical battle and proceeding to make it to the part where he invaded her mind to free his mentor.

With a roar of rage, she thrust her hand out at him. A roaring fireball erupted from her hand and flew towards him. Instead of nullify it with water, Nova threw his hands outward, as if he were forcefully pushing aside members of a crowd. The fireball separated and flew around him. Nova then clapped his hands together and the fireball converged back on Nightmare Moon. The Nightmare reacted in surprise as the inferno surrounded her.

Nova knew immediately it hadn’t worked. He could feel the shield as it prevented the magical fire from harming her.

A sudden spike of energy shot through the ground in his direction. Nova quickly batted the hidden bolt with a small shield just as it erupted from the asphalt. Several more spikes lanced toward him, hidden from his sight. Nova rolled his eyes. Might as well be time to break out all his tricks.

He blocked all of the beams with a shield underground to prevent them from coming at him. Meanwhile, Nightmare Moon had warded off the reversed fire, but she looked quite startled that Nova wasn’t defeated by her sneak attack.

“How did you--” she started, but Nova cut her off as he started to kick off one of his shoes.

“Energy sensing,” he answered. He managed to pry off one of his socks and immediately, he stamped his bare foot down. He winced slightly as the cold and the rough pavement immediately made their presence known, but he endured. He tested this new method by channeling magic toward his feet, shuddering slightly as the strange, cold sensation did not mix well with the freezing concrete.

Three blue lances of magic struck in unison, shooting out of the ground at Nightmare Moon. The Nightmare didn’t even bother blocking them, however. She simply sidestepped where they had been shooting toward. Nova didn;t mind. That had only been a test to see if that would work after all, and it had. Without delaying, he kicked off his other shoe and sock.

Nova knew he was toying with a dangerous foe. While it was true that the Nightmare was holding back here and now, and that he might get lucky enough to force the fight into her mind, he was going to have to bring his A-game if he wanted to stand a chance of freeing Princess Luna and surviving this fight without being put back under the curse. And this meant that he had to hold back a little as well. If he showed his entire hand to the Nightmare now, he would have nothing in his bag of tricks to pull out when he needed to fight with his all.

And the longer this battle in the streets went on, the less likely he would be able to keep his abilities hidden. He needed to end this quickly.

“You know,” Nova noted, “neither of us have really moved at all this fight. What poor duelling form, to sit still and tank your way through every spell that comes your way.”

“I have no need for form,” Nightmare Moon hissed.

“Really?” Nova said. He snapped his fingers, and in a flash of blue light, he vanished. Nightmare Moon whirled around just in time for Nova to whip his hand at her face to slap her. She caught it, however.

Nova then blasted her sideways with a point-blank magical explosion. Nightmare Moon yelped in pain as she crumpled to the ground, having flown straight into the side of the building. Nova smiled. In one of their play duels, Twilight had finally taught him how to teleport without the use of his cloak. He had responded by actually aiming a blow at her that she blocked, then subverting it with the same contained magical explosion.

It did no damage in and of itself, but the terrain could prove quite hazardous in tandem with the force the victim would hit an obstacle with.

Nova leapt right at Nightmare Moon, who was still down from the force of the blow, and in a second, arranged and triggered a small trap spell to keep her arms and legs held down. She twisted and tried to pry herself loose, but Nova had her held down good and tight.

“Congratulations,” she spat. “You’ve got me nice and bound here. Now what are you going to do? Leave me here so the changelings can come and free me?”

“You don’t think I have a plan?” Nova asked, arching an eyebrow. “I’m wounded, Nightmare. Sure, you’ve only seen me once before, but surely you must know that a master spellcaster always has something planned for a duel he’s in. I’ve known what I was going to do for a while, now. I’ve known what I needed to do in this duel since before I even started learning magic.”

He held out his hands toward Nightmare Moon’s neck, binding it and keeping her head in place.

“I can’t compete with you on my own, and we both know you’re only holding back because Envy doesn’t want you to kill me. But at the same time, you and I both know that you won’t hold back if I actually prove to be a threat, which is what I have to be if I want to get out of here with my memory.”

She glared at him.

“So,” Nova said, using the magic to pull her towards the wall and hold her there, “the only way for me to win this battle is for me to free Princess Luna from your prison. And the only way to free Princess Luna,” he added, placing his hand over her eyes, “is by breaking into your mind.”

With that, he thrust his being at the pool of energy he felt behind his hand, and everything around him vanished.

{E} {I} {O} {W}

Nova was aware that he was suddenly standing on something. Immediately, he looked down. The first thing he noticed was that he was on a blue platform not unlike the one in his mind. There were circles with bats lining the outside, moons at the top of the image, and Princess Luna’s form etched into the center.

The second thing he noticed was that he was still human.

“Figures,” he said, irritated. He had hoped otherwise, but he had expected this. He had forced his way in, after all. This wasn’t his mind. He wouldn’t be his true self after externally penetrating someone else’s mind in this form.

Third, and most importantly, he found her. She was trapped a swirling vortex of black energy, but Princess Luna was definitely there. And she was still a pony.

“Princess Luna!” Nova exclaimed, before running over to her prison, placed directly at the top of her mental platform thingy (Nova really needed a new name for them). Princess Luna, who had been apparently unconscious, stirred. She opened a bleary eye, but upon seeing him standing there, she froze.

“Who art thou!?” she thundered, leaping to her hooves and pointing an accusing hoof at him. “Who art thou, and how hast thou entered this mind of mine!?”

Nova smiled at her.

“Don’t recognize me?” he asked. At the sound of his voice, her eyes widened, her pupils shrunk, and her mouth fell open.

“N-Nova Shine!? Is that you!?”

Nova nodded.

“I don’t know how much time I have,” he said, forestalling a response, “but I’ve broken into Nightmare Moon’s head in an attempt to free you. It’s the only way I can win this battle, because I’ve managed to beat her quite handily when she was holding back, and I have a feeling she’s about to let loose.”

“You foolish colt,” she said, watching him. “If you succeed, we will have words for you when we are through.”

“Need to get you out, first,” Nova reminded her. “How do I break this?”

“It is a magical shield that can prevent all but the strongest spells from penetrating it,” she said. “I am prevented from casting magic inside. You need magic beyond your current ability.”

“Aww, that’s just too bad,” came an echoing voice. Nova whirled around. In her winged form, Nightmare Moon stood on the part of the pedestal depicting Princess Luna’s cutie mark, advancing on him with a manic glint in her eyes.

“You did all this work, but you come up short because you were simply not powerful enough,” she taunted him, a cruel smile twisting across her face. “But it ends here. For you see,” the very darkness around Nova began to twist and turn, “in here, I have all the power.”

“You think it ends here?” Nova asked, staring at her. “I’ve been doing some work of my own while I prepared for this inevitable fight of ours.”

Nova plunged his being into his Source. At once, five bright blue orbs of light appeared around him, the first time he had put them to use in months. He held out his hand, and one of the orbs flew right into it. With a bright flash of blue light, it transformed into a blade.

It was a simple sword, with no decorations and only a basic guard and pommel, but it was weightless, and Nova could channel magic through it like nothing else, given that it was crafted from an extension of his own Source.

Princess Luna gasped behind him.

“You’ve learned Spellblade?” she asked. “Who could have taught you--”

“Only the basics, Princess,” he said, “but in the hands of a master spellcaster, the basics are all you need.”

“Then prove to me you are a stallion worthy of the title Night Master, Nova,” she said.

Nova assumed a stance he had been seen in many a book and movie. He grabbed his sword with both hands and kept it at a ready position, blade pointing at Nightmare Moon.

For seconds, they stared at each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

Nova took a deep, steadying breath to calm the anxiety and fear inside of him. It was time.

And with a yell, he charged.

Author's Note

Next chapter, Nova Shine vs. Nightmare Moon, Round 2

Took me a while to get this written. Once I made it to the actual fighting, it progressed pretty quickly.

Well, enjoy the wait till the next chapter! As usual, please review.

Rytex out. Have a good day!

Chase the Nightmares Away

Even In Other Worlds
Chapter 05 - Chase The Nightmares Away

Music, new tab. You know the drill.

Nightmare Moon charged straight at him, and Nova at her. He raised his sword above his head, ready to bring it down upon her--

There was a flash of icy-blue light and Nightmare Moon vanished. Not fooled in the slightest, Nova spun around in time to see Nightmare Moon rearing back, about to stamp down on him. He lunged with his sword, burying it in her chest. He grunted in triumph. Twilight had tried that same trick on him several times.

Nightmare Moon screeched in pain and retreated. To Nova’s surprise, the wound was bleeding a black aura, but even as he watched, the wound repaired itself in short order.

If Nova needed reinforcing that he wouldn’t be able to defeat her using normal methods, that would have done it.

Taking advantage of the Nightmare’s distraction, Nova dashed over to the magical prison Princess Luna was trapped in, raised the blade over his head and brought it down as hard as he could on the bubble of dark energy.

There was a resounding gong-like sound, and Nova was thrown backwards, landing heavily on his back and sliding across the floor. He scrambled to his feet and glanced over at Princess Luna’s prison. Dismay flooded through him, because the cage didn’t appear even slightly damaged.

The shimmering sound of magic got his attention, and he dove away from where he had been standing. A bolt of lightning hit the spot he had been standing on just moments before.

“Pulling out the lightning already?” Nova mused to himself. “Must have really gotten under her skin by beating her in the street and making it here.”

Her horn started to glow again. Without giving her time to cast a spell, Nova dove forward and cleaved her from the top of her head to just above her front right leg. Nightmare Moon screeched again, and the spell faltered.

“What do you intend to accomplish by doing that?” Princess Luna called. “It gets you no closer to victory!”

“It interrupts her spellwork,” Nova replied, leaping back to avoid the Nightmare goring him with her reforming horn, “and I find great pleasure in it.”

Nightmare Moon’s eyes bulged. Before Nova could stop her, she shot one of the most powerful spells he had ever seen at him. It was a beam as larger than he was, and he could feel that it was concentrated enough to completely disintegrate anything unlucky enough to be caught inside of it.

Reflexively, Nova snapped his fingers. At once, he was suddenly launched into the air, safely out of the beam’s reach. He had just been hoping to call upon something that could save him, but he wasn’t complaining. The little springboard that had appeared underneath him had done its job.

Nova started to fall back toward the ground. Nightmare Moon shot a burst of fire right at where she knew he would land. Nova tapped into his magic, and he vanished, appearing close to Princess Luna’s cage.

“Are you going to use your Source extensions, or are they there for show?” Princess Luna called again.

“Well excuuuuuse me, Princess,” Nova said in exasperation. “Are you going to help me or critique everything I do?”

But she did have a point. Having his first Source extension turn into a sword had given him an idea. Instantly, another of his blue orbs of energy floated down into his hand and with a flash of light, it had transformed into a large round shield.

Being that both his sword and shield were made of magical energy at their core, they would make effective tools in this battle, being able to block and deflect Nightmare Moon’s magic by themselves. Nova still hadn’t given much thought on how to use his blade to manipulate magic, though. All he knew was that it was possible; he had never really learned how to do it.

Nightmare Moon launched a fireball at him, but he raised his shield and braced himself. With a powerful impact, the fireball hit the shield powerfully, but Nova stood firm and the spell did no damage to either him or his protective piece of magical metal.

“You really are her knight, aren’t you,” Nightmare Moon mused. “First, her comforter, then the protector of her mind, and now you stand here, fighting me to free her.”

“I did always consider it the duty of a student to defend the honor of his teacher,” Nova replied. “‘Knight in shining armor’ description may or may not apply. As you can see,” he gestured toward his body, “I don’t appear to have armor, let alone of the shining variety.”

“Shame,” Nightmare Moon said. “It probably would be an effective tool at stopping knives from stabbing you to death.”

Nova barely had the time to get his shield up in time to block the onslaught of conjured blades. When he sensed energy behind him, the merest thought had the other three orbs of light fly behind him and block the blades directly.

“I get the impression that those things are going to be annoying,” Nightmare Moon said of his Source extensions distastefully as she ceased the assault.

“I fought you with them last time,” Nova said. “Thought you would have learned I can do almost anything with them.”

With that, the three orbs flew to different positions around Nightmare Moon, who reflexively conjured a shield around her. However, Nova had only done that to frighten her. After all, the last time she had faced them, they had pummelled her into submission with strong beams of energy, followed by Celestia, Comet, and Nova using the Elements of Harmony to banish her to the moon.

Which meant Nova could exploit them as the perfect distraction, and then make her pay for not properly paying attention to them.

He charged at Princess Luna’s cage again, raising his blade high above his head and bringing it down as hard as he could again. Once again, with a large flash of light and a resounding boom, he was blasted backwards.

However, this time, Nova definitely felt something in the cage. While it contained a substantial amount of energy keeping it together, every time it exploded like that, the amount of energy in the cage fell, depending on how powerful the blast was. The first blast hadn’t been that powerful, but this second one was more so and Nova could feel it.

He smiled to himself. There was a way to break this cage using brute force. Barring a better solution making itself known to him, this was what he was going to do.

“That doesn’t seem to be doing anything!” Princess Luna called. “Surely you can think of something better?”

Nova almost screamed at her.

“Luna, the last time I rescued somepony, THEY DIDN’T COMPLAIN HOW IT WAS DONE!”

Nightmare Moon’s horn glowed, and several pillars of light erupted from the ground. Nova felt the energy below him assemble in a split-second, and without thinking, he teleported again, right on top of Luna’s prison just as a pillar of energy erupted under where he had been.

Nightmare Moon dispelled her shield and with one great flap of her powerful wings, lunged at Nova. Nova, however, jumped forward and rushed to meet Nightmare Moon head on. With three swings of his blade, he had severed her head, sliced off one wing, and lopped off both of her hind legs. Granted, the wounds regenerated, but the amount of time she spent screaming in pain at him gave him the time to run over and bash Luna’s cage yet another time.

“So when you say you know the basics of Spellblade,” Luna remarked, “you mean to tell me the basics were simply ‘here is sword, swing at enemy?’ This is some rescue.”

While Nightmare Moon continued to piece herself back together (which she was getting faster at), Nova wanted nothing more than to slap both hands on his face and drag them down slowly. Here, he had been prepared to rescue a Princess in distress, but it turned out she was really a distressing Princess.

“Luna, if you want to be rescued here, I suggest that you stop insulting me and questioning my ability and start bucking helping me!”

“I am helping you, Nova,” she said simply.

“How exactly does insulting me help me?” he asked, hefting his sword again, but this time channeling a basic Fire-element spell and touching his blade. At once, the blade was set ablaze. Nova thought it would add extra pain to Nightmare Moon, not to mention if things got a little dark, he would be able to intensify the fire and set the room alight.

“I can’t tell you that,” Luna said, sounding quite exasperated. “She would hear.”

Nightmare Moon completed reconstructing herself, and she snarled at him.

“How cute,” she hissed mockingly. “You two fight like a married couple.”

“Well, considering I would be married to Twilight Sparkle right now, if it weren’t for your bitch of a mother,” Nova spat at Nightmare Moon, which seemed to make her angrier, “I’m going to have to say I’m flattered, but taken.”

At this, his Source extensions fired a barrage of energy beams. The Nightmare easily deflected them with a conjured barrier, then shot three concentrated beams of her own in quick succession, which Nova teleported elsewhere to dodge.

“I’m offended, Nightmare,” Nova said. “You’re not even really trying. Really, this is foal stuff, what you’re throwing at me.”

“If you must know,” Nightmare Moon said, eyes narrowing, “it’s entirely because it’s been so long since I’ve been in a battle, I’m simply savoring it.”

“I think I’ve had my fill of battles with my life on the line, thanks,” Nova responded.

“Oh, but that’s what’s so special about this one,” Nightmare Moon said, giving him a catty look. “It’s not just your life, oh no. It’s for everypony in Equestria, not to mention your precious little whore of a fiancée.”

Nova paused.

“Oh no,” Princess Luna said, covering her face with a hoof.

“What did you call her?” Nova asked in a low, dangerous voice.

“Shouldn’t have done that, Nightmare,” Princess Luna called at her darker half.

“I believe I called her a whore, Nova Shine,” Nightmare Moon repeated, smiling smugly at him. “She’s a stupid little bitch who can’t resist poking her arrogant little snout into things she has no business poking them into. And I promise you this if you refuse to surrender: after I defeat you, she will be the first one to suffer, and she will suffer greatly.”

Nova had clenched his right fist so hard, his nails had dug into his palm. Flicking the warm wetness of his blood away, he simply met Nightmare Moon’s look with a glare.

“I’m waiting, Nova Shine,” Nightmare Moon said in a singsong voice. “You stand no chance of defeating me when I can use my full potential. Why not just give up now while you c--!”

Nova had dropped his sword and shield, teleported forward with the merest thought, and had grabbed Nightmare Moon right by her throat. He was not gentle in how hard he squeezed her neck, and he even lifted her into the air. Before she could fire off a reflexive spell, Nova channeled magic into his free hand and grabbed the top of Nightmare Moon’s horn, pouring sudden excess wells of his power into blocking off her primary arcane conduit.

Nova wrenched her head downward, smashing his knee right into her sternum, eliciting a choked, pained groan from Nightmare Moon.

“How-- dare-- you-- insult-- my-- wife-- to-- be-- in front-- of me!?” Nova thundered, punctuating each word with some strike against Nightmare Moon. He kneed her, kicked her, slammed her into the ground, elbowed her (risking an attack by magic), and crushed her throat all the harder.

Finally, in a burst of adrenaline and rage, he twisted her neck as powerfully as he could. While Nightmare Moon’s consciousness was all shadow and no bone, and thus he would not snap her neck, it still gave him great satisfaction to watch him literally twist her head completely off her body, eliciting a screech from the again-decapitated alicorn.

As Nova watched her shadowy neck bond to her head to reattach it, he heard Luna remark, “We really need to work on your anger issues, Nova.”

“Considering you’re part of the cause,” Nova fired back, “I don’t think you have a right to talk.”

She said nothing. Nightmare Moon, however, continued to grunt with pain as she reformed.

“Y-you think you’ve w-won this fight?” she said, her voice quivering with suppressed rage and pain, but gaining confidence and volume. “I h-haven’t even tapped into my full potential! And now you’ve gone and made me angry! PREPARE TO WITNESS THE TRUE POWER OF THE MISTRESS OF THE NIGHT!”

Before Nova could react, her form completely fell. She had shifted back to a group of black, wispy Nightmare spirits. Nova took a step back, prepared to run for his sword and shield should the Nightmares’ true form be powerful enough to warrant it.

But before he could run, they converged on him as a group, and everything went black.

Blackness. Every direction, all Nova could see was blackness. There was no hint of light anywhere, or of the Vaults they had been standing in moments before; not even the werelight he had cast upon entering this particular vault could be seen.

“Nova!”

Nova’s head snapped to his left. That scream sounded like Twilight. Without any thought as to what it would do to him, he turned and galloped in her direction. She materialized out of the darkness after a moment of galloping. She was looking around wildly for him, and upon sight, she galloped at him as well.

“Uh-uh-uh,” came a disembodied voice from all around them. “We can’t have that. Well, you may rest easy, knowing that the last thing the two of you shall see is each other.”

The shadow seemed to press in on both of them, covering their muzzles and asphyxiating them slowly. Nova was trying to think of anything that could get them out of this situation; any spell, any action, any thing in general, but nothing he thought of seemed like it would work.

“NOVA!”

The call was muffled, but the fear and panic in it was unmistakable. But at the sound of it, he felt a great rush of adrenaline surge through him. He was NOT going to let this shadow harm her if it was the last thing he did!

Without even pausing to consider the situation, he willed the great surge of energy to burst through his horn as pure, unbridled energy. The energy in his body seemed to shoot through his spine, directly to his horn, which now felt as if it had lightning inside of it--

A tendril of darkness smashed into Nova, sending him flying sideways, and firing a wayward beam completely away from Twilight and the shadowy entity. The tendril bound him where he lay, and Nova was forced to watch as Twilight was suffocated, little by little. He screamed at her, flailed against his bounds with all his might, but it was all in vain.

Finally, Twilight Sparkle’s eyes dimmed. Her panicked expression started to fall, and she fell limp against her bounds. Her empty eyes stared straight at Nova, blank and glossy.

She was dead.

“NO!” Nova screamed, an instinctive blast of magic freeing him from his bonds. He dashed over to Twilight, ignoring the mass of shadows around him as he desperately channeled magic through her to try and restart her heart.

“No! Stay with me Twilight!” he screamed frantically, pumping her lungs like he had seen. The tears were already starting to fall.

Finally, when he had used all of his energy, desperately trying to save her, he collapsed onto her body, sobbing uncontrollably as the shadows converged to reunite them in death.

Nova gasped and awoke with a start. He felt a form shift next to him.

“Smmthing the matter Nova?” asked a tired voice.

“J-just a crazy nightmare,” he said, burying his face in his hooves. “Just go back to bed, Twilight.”

“Nova…” the voice said, having a sad edge to it. “I’m… I’m Clover, remember?”

Nova’s head bolted up and he stared at her incredulously. there she was, staring at him with sincere violet eyes, and a telltale green clover cutie mark. It was Clover the Clever, and he had just wasted some of their final night.

“But…” he mumbled stupidly. “I was just in the Vaults in my time! What the--”

She simply pulled him into a hug. Nova collapsed into her shoulder, continuing to sob.

“I-it was so real,” he cried into her shoulder. “It was like I was there a-again, and I h-had to watch Twilight d-die right in front of my eyes.”

“Shh, peace Nova,” Clover said gently. “I’m here. This is real; the nightmare is over.”

There was a swishing sound and a soft thump. Clover suddenly tensed and let out a surprised gasp. Nova opened his eyes in confusion. A red handle was protruding from Clover’s back.

The red handle to a silver knife.

And standing triumphant before him, was Summer Blossom, smiling giddily.

“I… I did it…” Summer said breathlessly. “I did it! I thought she’d be harder than that, but… I can’t--”

Nova roared and tackled Summer. As soon as they hit the floor, he began to pummel her with everything he had in him.

“HOW COULD YOU!?” he screamed at her. “HOW C-COULD YOU D-DO THIS!?”

Summer tried to spit words out between his blows, but he was too strong, and soon, he had beaten her into unconsciousness. When he saw her limp body, he slowly brought his hooves, fetlocks dripping with blood, to his face and gazed at them in horror.

“N-nov… va…” Clover said in a weak voice. Nova bolted to her side and lay her on her belly, using gravity to help keep her blood inside.

“Shh, save your strength,” he said, in a voice that betrayed every fear he had.

With what looked like to be a great effort, she lifted her hoof to his cheek. Nova did nothing to stop it, but he worked as hard as he could with his magic to seal her wound around the knife. If he took it out, she would bleed to death almost instantly, but even so, she wasn’t doing good with it in either.

“I… I lo…” she tried to say, her eyelids slowly fluttering downwards.

“No, just keep quiet,” he whispered, his franticness increasing. “Stay with me, Clover! Stay awake! Fight!”

“I lo…ve you…” she whispered, before her eyes fell shut. Her hoof dropped from his face and hung limply beside the bed.

Nova stared at Clover. He stared at her, uncomprehendingly. It couldn’t have happened. It hadn’t happened! HE REFUSED TO BELIEVE IT!

Nova started crying again, knowing there was nothing to be done. He slumped over Clover’s body, sobbing hysterically. All while Summer weakly cackled at her victory from the floor.

Twilight Sparkle and Envy were struggling against each other at the edge of a chasm in the rock. Twilight was desperately attempting to run over and help Nova up to solid ground, away from the expanding chasm. Envy, however, was having none of it.

“You… little… harlot,” Envy growled out, pushing with all her might against Twilight, who pushed back equally strong. Nova could only cling to the side of the chasm for dear life with his hoof still in the magi-gun, which was currently keeping him alive. He was out of reach from the edge itself, which meant he needed Twilight to save him if he wanted to escape this situation.

Envy fired a spell at Twilight’s shoulder. It missed, but Nova’s eyes widened when he saw where it was heading after that.

The spell struck Trixie’s chains on the wall. Trixie, not expecting her sudden and accidental freedom, toppled forward and fell into the chasm, missing the edge and plummeting to her doom.

“TRIXIE!” Twilight shouted, diving away from Envy and firing a spell to catch her. The spell worked, managing to slide her against the wall opposite Nova, where Trixie grabbed on to a jagged outcropping of rock.

Envy, however, had other ideas. With one quick, hard buck, Twilight was kicked off the edge and fell.

“NO!” Nova shouted. The spell holding him to the edge dropped and he dove downward, flying at breakneck pace toward Twilight, hoping to grab her and grab onto the edge as well.

A blast of magic struck him, and he fell onto Trixie, knocking her loose as well. Now all three of them were falling.

In that one moment, Nova knew now that there was no hope. There was no chance. Twilight and Trixie both knew it, too. As they fell, they gazed up at him, eyes wide with fear. Nova could only shut his eyes and brace himself for the landing that would end all of them.

The last thing he thought about was of Twilight, that night under the lights in Trottingham.

“MOVE!”

Celestia didn’t need telling twice. She launched herself in his direction just as a brilliant beam of blue energy vaporized the area she had been sitting at just moments ago. The loose bricks of the Old Castle’s roof crumbled into the crater, giving Nova a view of what was outside.

A black alicorn mare wearing blue battle armor, with an ethereal blue mane and tail and icy-blue eyes was floating above them and sneering down at where they recovered from the blast.

Wait a minute… Nova thought.

He knew this! He knew all of this! The previous three visions had already happened and they hadn’t resulted in the deaths of those he cared about! He knew this, but why had he fallen for the illusion?

A beam of blue energy shot forward from Nova’s horn and struck Nightmare Moon straight in the chest before she could react. At once, the entire dreamscape wavered around him, looking quite fuzzy, as if seen by a pony who needed glasses yet wasn’t wearing any.

“Caught you,” Nova said triumphantly, firing three more beams at Nightmare Moon. The first clipped her wings, and she shrieked with pain and the illusion wavered again. The second caught her chest again, and much of his surroundings vanished again, revealing darkness in all directions.

The third struck her directly on the horn, and there was an explosion of light.

Nova collapsed, falling to the surface of the dreamscape of Luna’s mind. He heard Nightmare Moon give a surprised gasp.

“Impossible! How could you resist my nightmares!?”

“You know nothing of my student, Nightmare Moon,” Princess Luna said, with a strong note of pride in her voice. “You believe everything can be overcome with power, and Nova is determined to prove otherwise. He saw through the illusions you sought to trap him with, and now you are going to pay the price for it.”

Nova managed to get a shaky arm under himself in an attempt to push himself upright as Nightmare Moon guffawed.

“Even if he did defeat my illusions, look at him. He’s completely exhausted. What could he possibly do to free you? This fight is won! He will never again get to see his little whore as he knows her.”

That one word alone did wonders for Nova. Suddenly, his exhaustion was gone and there was a wellspring of magical power in him.

“I think you just doubled the price you’re going to pay, Nightmare,” Princess Luna casually remarked.

Nova staggered to his feet, glaring with nothing but hatred at the black alicorn. At once, he felt something like electricity begin to shoot through his arm.

“How dare you,” he said, stumbling sideways slightly. “I would have thought you had learned your lesson after the last beating I gave you.”

Nova could actually feel the energy flowing through him, just begging to be released.

“You made me see the ponies I love and care about die right before my eyes,” he said, the images going right through his head and only intensifying the rage. To think she would sink that low…

“Just like my princess said, Nightmare,” Nova said, starting to lose control of his power, ready to release it.

Nightmare Moon’s smug grin vanished, replaced by a sudden nervousness. If Princess Luna could have see Nova, she would have known why, for Nova’s eyes had very briefly flickered red, and the arm with all the power was giving off a slight crackling of power.

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!”

The power in Nova exploded. A shockwave of magical energy, stronger than any use of magic Nova had ever cast in his life, burst out of him, striking the Nightmare and blasting her far across the circular platform she was on.

Nova sensed his window of opportunity. The shield, having been thrown around by the magical explosion, vanished in a flash of light. The sword was simply recalled to his hands, being an extension of his Source.

Nova ran right at Princess Luna’s cage, his sword glowing with blue light as he filled the blade with as much power as he could. He leapt up, bringing his sword above his head, roared with all the strength in his lungs, and brought the blade crashing down on top of Princess Luna’s prison.

There was a crystalline shattering sound, and another explosion of light. Nova was launched away and sent sliding across the floor. Without waiting to stop, he dug the sword into the ground to swing himself around and stumbled into a standing position, where he charged Nightmare Moon and began to hack and slash at every bit of black fur he could see.

So preoccupied was he in his berserker attack that he did not properly defend, and with a defensive kick from the Nightmare, Nova was sent sliding across the floor yet again.

“YOU LITTLE WHELP!” Nightmare Moon screeched, bearing down at him, horn lit with magic--

A blue barrier appeared, stopping Nightmare Moon in her tracks. Princess Luna trotted regally toward the both of them, gazing at Nova with nothing short of massive pride.

“Good work, my Night Master,” she said, smiling at him. “I thank you for freeing me from Nightmare Moon’s prison.”

Nightmare Moon had never looked more scared than when Nova saw the look on her face now. Even she had to know it was over, that she had lost. She was never powerful enough to imprison Princess Luna alone; Envy had helped her both times. And she wasn’t here to save the Nightmare this time.

Princess Luna’s horn shimmered, and Nova was lifted up and set down on his feet along with his sword and shield, and then a dome-shaped bubble of transparent blue magic appeared around him, separating him from Luna and Nightmare Moon.

“Now that you’ve freed me, I can dispose of Nightmare Moon once and for all. So, as they say, ‘sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.’”

Almost instantly, Princess Luna vanished in a flash of blue light. Nightmare Moon whirled around wildly, but Luna struck from the sky. A great circle composed of other circles and runes every few spaces appeared in the void around them, glowing Luna’s blue aura.

Nova blinked. He already knew what was coming.

“Oh shi--”

A massive beam of energy blasted forth from the circle, catching Nightmare Moon completely off-guard and slamming her into the pillar bearing Luna’s likeness. Were Nightmare Moon a creature of actual flesh, blood, and bone, she would have been reduced to near-jelly by that one blast alone. However, Nova saw the telltale wisps of shadow flee from the blast and spread out. He had a feeling some of them were hoping to hide in the cover of the darkness surrounding them.

No sooner than he had thought this than no less than a dozen bright parks of light appeared in each of the wisps that had attempted to flee. Instantly, they were absorbed into the light. The other shadows flying around almost instantly converged and reformed into the form of Nightmare Moon.

“It’s simple, Nightmare Moon,” Princess Luna’s voice rang out from around them. “While my Night Master wasn’t strong enough to banish your separated Nightmares back into your land of dreams when he managed to wound you, I am. And I will continue to rend you apart and send your spirits back to the Dream World until you are nothing. There will be no surrender or quarter.”

The beam dissipated, and Princess Luna flew down to stand on her dreamscape and glare at the quivering form of Nightmare Moon, who looked nothing less than terrified.

“This will not be a painless experience for you,” Princess Luna continued. “Even if you were to surrender, you forfeited any mercy I would have shown you when you resorted to giving Nova the visions of those ponies he loved most dearly being killed before his eyes.”

Princess Luna’s eyes began to glow bright blue and her mane started to deepen into a more midnight shade of blue. Nova recognized this change from when Princess Celestia had channeled the pure power of the sun back in the past. He figured she had to now be channeling the pure power of the moon, now.

Before Nightmare Moon could move again, a sudden glimmering in the air appeared close to her. Within an instant, it had expanded into a transparent three-sided pyramid that enveloped Nightmare Moon.

“While my sister invented this spell, that hardly disqualifies me from using it,” Luna said dispassionately, her horn shining pure white. “I simply will refocus the power source from the sun to the moon.”

A small star appeared inside the pyramid, shining brighter than burning magnesium. Nova couldn’t even stare in its general direction without covering his eyes. An instantaneous spell from Princess Luna later, and Nova’s eyes were shielded. The star was growing in intensity, and Nightmare Moon was pressing herself against the walls of the pyramid in a futile attempt to avoid the spell.

“I, Princess of Equestria, condemn you to oblivion,” Princess Luna announced, before Nova felt her release her magic.

The star suddenly exploded, though it was contained by the magical prison Luna had trapped her in. Nova didn’t even hear Nightmare Moon scream over the roar of the explosion inside.

The shield around Nova vanished, and Princess Luna landed beside him.

“One day I shall teach you how to use the stars as your allies,” she said, watching the glowing pyramid. “While my sister invented the basic concept of the spell, I refined it. I summoned a pure white dwarf star and I added just a bit of volatile energy to it. Knowest thee what this star is called, dear Night Master?” she asked, fixing him with an expectant gaze.

Nova smiled. Only a couple of weeks ago, mere hours before his memories had returned, Dr. Hoffman had been lecturing on this very kind of star.

“So you destroyed Nightmare Moon with a nova, then?” he asked.

Princess Luna dipped her head.

“Indeed. Since you freed me from her prison, I think I might just honor you by naming this spell after you. Nova Shine’s Nova Summoning Spell. Though it would be a shame for it to be named after you and you be unable to know how it worked.”

“Is the fight won?” Nova asked, gesturing at the white light still issuing from inside the pyramid.

“Not entirely, though it is well on its way,” she replied. “Nightmare spirits cannot be slain like animals, Nova. If they are hurt, they lose power. This spell is so powerful that it is dealing enough force to completely disintegrate a normal pony. Nightmare Moon will be completely rent from head to hoof, and all the spirits that comprise her will be separated and made all but harmless. Once the nova finishes releasing all of its energy, I will banish them back to their world of dreams once and for all.”

They were silent while they watched the light for any sign of it dying down. Almost a minute passed, and still there was no reduction in the power of the star’s outburst.

“I am very disappointed by this battle, Princess,” Nova said. “I expected her to put up a better fight.”

“She is not the true Mistress of the Night, and could only wield a fraction of my power,” Princess Luna said, a scathing note entering her voice. “And despite that, she believed herself superior. The first time they caught me was nothing more than a moment of weakness for me. The second was a surprise and forceful method of trapping me. There will not be a third time.”

“But even so, she wasn’t very powerful when I faced her. Why did everyone make such a big deal about me not being able to battle her?”

“Because of the spirits’ ability to recompose themselves,” she said. “You had no way to truly hurt the spirits, and so they would lose no power. They would defeat you simply by outlasting you.”

“But in the past--”

“In the past, you battled them controlling my body, a body of flesh and bone,” she interrupted. “A body you could wound and damage. Here, however, you battled the spirits themselves. You stood the greater chance of winning a battle between you two if you battled in the physical world. Here, where they could recompose themselves all they wanted, you had no chance of winning alone. Yet you freed me, and so won the battle.” She gave him an affectionate nuzzle, as she had often done when he had managed to figure out a particularly difficult subject during their time as student and teacher. “You are truly worthy of your title, my Night Master.”

The light dimmed inside the pyramid. Once it faded, Nova saw Nightmare Moon’s slumped figure inside and walked forward. He stopped instinctively, however, when he noticed that there were patches of transparent skin on the Nightmare, revealing many black specks of shadow inside.

“She has lost her power,” Luna observed, “and is losing control of herself. In a moment, the spirits will completely fail to keep in control, and I will send them back to the world from which they came.”

“One thing first,” Nova said, squatting down and giving some rather sharp pats onto Nightmare Moon’s cheek. “Wake up, Moony. You’ve got some explaining to do.”

Nightmare Moon groaned and struggled to rouse herself from her stupor. One quick backhanded slap from Nova was enough to wake her forcefully, though.

“Haven’t you… done enough?” Nightmare Moon said weakly, giving Nova as angry a glare as her tired state would allow.

“Not just yet, Nightmare,” Nova said, reaching over and binding her neck in place with magic. “See, you have some information I want, and if I have to pillage it myself, I will. So why not make this easy on yourself and just tell me what I want to know? That being said, where is Envy?”

Nightmare Moon sputtered for a moment, but it devolved into laughter.

“You expect me to sell out Mother?” she asked, chuckling painfully. “You really are as stupid as they come, Nova Shine. I guess your little harlot fianceé more than makes up for it, though.”

“Screw this,” Nova said, slapping a hand directly under her horn. “I tried to be the good cop, but it looks like I get to be the bad one, now.”

With a muttered incantation, Nova cast the legilimency spell, and everything went black.

The interrogation took quite a bit of time. Nova sifted through every memory the collective consciousness ever had as long as they had been in control. However, he wasn’t looking for anything but where Envy might have gone. Who was she pretending to be? In particular, he was searching for some of Nightmare Moon’s earliest memories, when she had managed to take control of Luna at his wedding.

This was hardly Nova’s first experience sifting through a pony’s memories, thoughts, and so forth. There had been an incident where he’d had to look through Fluttershy’s thoughts to determine exactly why her canines were longer than any pony’s had any right to be. The results he found to be… interesting. Twilight had accidentally turned her into a vampire fruit bat, and the change wasn’t exactly gone for good. He hadn’t been able to do anything about it, but at least he’d been able to locate the source of the problem.

There had even been times where he had visited his dear fianceé’s thoughts and memories. Mostly to help her learn to repel mental invaders, given that this was one of the few schools of magic Celestia hadn’t trained her Faithful Student, the art of Occlumency. Still, it allowed him to glean information on happenings she didn’t exactly want him to know about.

Such as Flash bucking Sentry.

Dismissing this irritating thought, Nova floated through the inky blackness of Nightmare Moon’s thoughtscape, moving further and further into her past. Every time he saw a glowing white orb of light, he would touch it to see if it was what he was looking for, but every time thus far, none had been.

He floated over toward another one and touched it. A simple memory of a meeting between all those in charge of their little town flashed through Nova’s mind, and he left it alone. Nightmare Moon, it seemed, wasn’t getting orders from Envy. Envy had simply trusted her to do things right. But where was she!?

He touched yet another, and to his surprise, it showed Nightmare Moon opening her eyes in the middle of the near-empty Chapel Hall of Canterlot Castle.

“Hello, daughter,” a familiar voice said. Nightmare Moon struggled to her feet. Once more, she was in control of Luna, it would seem. This time, however, it would be a permanent transformation.

“M-mother?” Nightmare Moon asked weakly. “You… you brought me back?”

“Of course I did,” Envy said, smiling up at her alicorn henchpony. “A good mother never abandons her children. However, there is an ulterior motive, and the truth is, just like last time, I need your help.”

“Anything,” Nightmare Moon said immediately. Envy smiled, and gestured over to where Princess Celestia was magically restrained against a wall, watching the proceedings with a look of caution and apprehension. Envy had trapped her in a large, crackling red bubble, else Nova was sure she would be fighting.

“I am about to cast a curse on the whole of Equestria,” Envy said. “It will blanket everypony’s memories, making them think they’re different ponies than they actually are. I’m also using a bit of magic from Sombra’s spellbooks to transform everypony into the native shape of some other world and transport them there.”

She looked Nightmare Moon straight in the eyes.

“In order to be in the right position to counter any attempt made to transport everyone back to Equestria, I need you to watch the six Bearers of the Elements of Harmony personally.”

“What will you be doing, Mother?” Nightmare Moon asked.

“I will subject myself to the curse,” Envy explained. “If anypony breaks it, I will come to and go after whoever broke it personally. There are other stipulations too, but should the curse remain unbroken for so long, I will come out of it thanks to a time-delayed spell I borrowed from Sombra as well. I won’t do it right away, because we have some details to work out. But know this, my daughter: this is our victory, and we should not let it go to waste.”

“As you say, Mother,” Nightmare Moon said, dipping her head.

At once, Envy’s horn sparked red, and everything vanished.

Nova withdrew his hand from over Nightmare Moon’s face.

“Did you discover where she is?” Luna asked.

Nova shook his head.

“She subjected herself to the transformation and curse,” he explained. “She could be anyone out there. She could have disguised herself as somepony I know.”

Luna’s brow furrowed.

“Interesting. She would subject herself to her own curse,” she muttered to herself. “But Sombra’s curse wasn’t designed for self-casting. In that case, who is the one sustaining the spell?”

Neither of them said anything for a long moment.

“We can discuss this matter later,” Luna said. “However, the time has come to put the Nightmare out of her misery.”

With a shimmer of her horn, Nightmare Moon screamed as she was rent from the tip of her horn to the end of her tail. As soon as she was split in two, the many spirits flew out of her, only to be engulfed in light and vanish completely.

“And so ends Nightmare Moon,” Princess Luna said, a note in her voice that reminded Nova of the way history textbooks would speak of even the most vile figures with nothing more than dispassion, “the would-be usurper of the title Mistress of the Night. Requiescat in pace.”

“Even after she imprisoned you and gave me those visions, you still show her respect after her defeat?” Nova asked.

“Of course,” Luna said, staring at the spot Nightmare Moon had been laying. “It is a lesson my teacher taught me. Holding onto feelings of anger and revenge, even after your foe has been vanquished, can lead you down a path you would not want to go. With her final defeat, I let go of my anger toward her. It was a lesson I had almost literally beaten into me.”

“Lord Star Swirl?” Nova asked.

“Of course,” Princess Luna replied with a mischievous wink down at him, but her smile fell. “We have lingered too long in my mind, and we must rescue my guards. Come, Nova, it is high time we left and contacted my sister.”

She trotted by him and draped a wing around his shoulders. As soon as she had a secure hold with her wing, her horn flashed. Instantly, everything around them went white.

{E} {I} {O} {W}

Nova was standing in the familiar alleyway, one hand placed over Princess Luna’s human form’s eyes and the other around her neck. With a slight sigh, he loosened his grip on her neck and gently lowered her to the cracked concrete below. With the merest of gestures from his hand, the unconscious Nightmares were lowered from their place of safety on the roof of one of the buildings surrounding the alley.

Princess Luna’s body remained unchanged, comparing it to when Nightmare Moon had been in control. Nova kept his magic ready, just in case it was all a ruse. For all he knew, this could still be one of Nightmare Moon’s visions, an attempt to let his guard down so she could get him out of her head.

Princess Luna’s eyes suddenly opened As soon as Nova looked into his teacher’s eyes, he knew that it was the real her. There was a certain warmth in her gaze, a counter to the iciness that Nightmare Moon had radiated.

“What a queer form,” Princess Luna remarked immediately. “I do not know how you or Twilight Sparkle did it.”

“Did what?” Nova asked, holding out a hand to help her up.

“Adjusted,” Princess Luna said, reaching out and taking Nova’s hand. He felt her arms shaking as he helped her to her feet, and upon helping her balance, she nearly toppled over, only to be stopped by Nova’s timely aid.

“Curse this form,” Luna said darkly. “I feel like a monkey, trying to balance upon two feet for the circus.”

“You get used to it,” Nova said, taking her arm and slinging it around his neck for support. “My apartment isn’t far from here. I’ll take you there.”

She hummed her assent, but then she yanked out of his grasp.

“What?” Nova asked, turning to see her staring at the crumpled forms of the Shadowbolts.

“My loyal Nightmares,” Luna whispered, a tender, pitying expression appearing on her face. “What did she do to you?”

“She brainwashed them,” Nova answered. “They were her scouts, keeping an eye on Rainbow Dash. But they almost got ahold of Twilight Sparkle earlier today. It’s why I leapt in so soon.”

She continued to stare at their unconscious bodies for several seconds. Nova thought she might be attempting to think of how to cure them.

“Are they all alive?” she asked. “I can’t feel their usual life forces. For that matter, I can’t feel yours or anyone else’s.”

“They are,” Nova said. “I only knocked them out. I did have to be a bit brutal for a couple of them, though,” he added apologetically.

“I am sure they will understand,” she replied, before slowly inching her way forward and kneeling beside Frigoris. She placed a finger on his forehead, and instantly, she tensed.

“O Captain, my captain,” she whispered, her voice taking on an archaic note, “why didst the Nightmare do this to thee?” She turned to Starstep’s unconscious body. “And thee too, mine newest Nightmare, thou poor stallion.”

“What’s up?” Nova asked, walking over and kneeling down.

“Touch his head and extend your mind towards his, like you did to free me,” Luna commanded, and Nova was startled to hear a note of clear anger in her voice.

Nova obeyed, placing his hand over the unconscious captain’s eyes and extending his mind. Upon touching it, his mind was invaded by images of death, destruction, and sorrow. Nova cried out, unprepared for this mental attack, and scrambled backwards from the captain’s body.

“Yes,” Luna said, raising herself up again with a slight wobble. “Nightmare Moon trapped their minds in that illusion. From what I can sense, there is no fight left in them. They are trapped until somepony can break the illusion on them and restore them as they were. And even then, it will take time for them to recover mentally from their ordeal.”

“What about the personas that took up residence while you were under the Nightmare’s control?” Nova asked.

“The spirits of the Nightmare’s Shadowbolts are but offshoots of her own spirit. As such, they were merely extensions of her will, even if she chose to see them as her subordinates. This being said, they vanished when she did. However, the lingering magic still exists.”

“What can we do to help?” Nova asked, concerned. “My apartment’s not far; I can keep them there.”

“No,” Luna said. “We need somewhere to hide. Someplace to lie low, away from this city. I need to get used to this form, and like the last time the Nightmare invaded my mind, I will need some time to regain full control over my magic”

Nova guided Luna back to his apartment, which took some time with Luna’s inability to walk properly yet. Upon reaching his room and opening the door, he was tackled in a full embrace.

“OHMYGOSHIWASSOWORRIEDWHYTHEHELLDIDYOUDOTHATYOUSTUPID--”

Nova managed to extricate himself from the sobbing mass of relief that was Tracy Strong with relative ease, only to get up and find that Luna was looking daggers at Discord.

“Tia appointed you to be his teacher?” she asked in a deadly low voice.

Discord made a simple cutting motion at his neck with his hand, then gestured at Tracy/Twilight. Luna stared for a moment, but she did nod slightly, to show that she had gotten the message.

“Not to be rude,” Nova said, groaning and walking inside, “but why do I have a welcoming party, Tracy? Mr. Sire?”

“The young lady came and found me immediately after you told her to run from the Hellsings,” Discord explained. “Really, Nathan, not even two weeks after you saved Ms. Dillon from them, you already get yourself into trouble with them again?”

“Who’s this?” Tracy asked, looking over Luna with a strange note in her voice.

“This is Lu--” Nova started to say, but a sharp look from Discord made him catch himself “--cy. Lucy Selene.”

‘Nice to meet you, Ms. Selene,” Tracy said, with a slight note of iciness in her voice that Nova noticed. He smiled to himself. She was jealous that he had brought home another pretty lady from the battle. A sign that her feelings were still there, showing even in the curse?

Without warning, Nova collapsed. Tracy shrieked and knelt down instantly to try and help him out, but Discord charged in, pushed her gently away, and picked him up.

“Leave him be, Ms. Strong, Ms. Selene,” he said, giving them both looks. “He’s been through a lot, and a man needs his rest.”

Nova felt himself suddenly land on a soft surface, which he could only figure was his bed.

“Nova, once again, you charged off and did one of the stupidest, most bone-headed things I’ve ever seen a stallion do, particularly when so much was at stake,” Discord admonished him.

With a wave of his cane, the sheet and comforter on Nova’s bed slid out from under him and covered him up.

“But you did good,” he added. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle Luna and Celestia. Take pride in your accomplishment, and rest.”

Nova tried to move his arm to give Discord a thumbs up, but it seemed this exhaustion made it completely impossible to control anything but his neck and facial muscles. All he was able to do was nod and then nod off. Within seconds, he was out like a light.

Discord stared at the sleeping form of Nova for a moment. His body was not used to channeling magic. Sure, for short periods of time, it could sustain it. But just how much magical energy had Nova used, that it was enough to make his entire body unresponsive?

Someone tapped on his shoulder, and he turned to see the human Twilight standing there, her purple eyes attempting to look past him, toward Nova.

“Can… I?” she asked hesitantly.

“Stay with him?” Discord asked, cocking an eyebrow. Twilight just nodded. Well, Discord couldn’t see why not, so long as she didn’t ask too many questions.

Which, knowing Twilight, was more than likely. But her new self he had no idea about.

“Sure. Just don’t bug him too much when he wakes up,” Discord answered, moving aside. “He might not exactly be in the right mind when he comes to, seeing as how he just took on five thugs and won. His adrenaline must be completely depleted.”

Twilight attempted to correct him on the fact that the compound was actually epinephrine, and that the body produced it, but Discord was already moving back to the main room, leaving Twilight alone with the unconscious Nova.

“You trained him quite well,” he said, reaching the living room of the apartment, where Princess Luna, it seemed, was attempting to use magic by waving her hands around wildly at Nova’s TV remote. “I don’t think it was what little of Chaos I was able to teach him that helped him save you.”

“You would be surprised,” Princess Luna remarked. “He used Chaos to great effect. True, not as much as physical combat or his natural magic, but it saved him several times.”

Discord couldn’t help but smile a little at that knowledge. Nice to know that Nova was actually applying himself!

“Speaking of physical combat,” Discord suddenly brought up, “how was his swordplay?”

Princess Luna rolled her eyes.

“Passable, if the curve was as generous enough to make the poorest pony in Canterlot a Duke.” Discord smirked at Luna’s slight bashing of her own pupil. “But I don’t expect him to be that great with a blade in this form.”

“Well, I do,” Discord countered. “I’m sure your sister will refuse point-blank on a gun. That weapon’s too dangerous, and we don’t need him breaking people like Twilight out of the curse, just for them to go and study it to make it themselves. He needs a good blade, with which he can channel his magic. But he needs to be able to fight without magic too.”

Discord stroked his beard thoughtfully.

“I wonder if I can come up with a way for him to learn it quickly…” he muttered. “I would have to master it myself…”

“What are you planning?” Luna demanded.

“I’m planning on teaching him the fine art of swordplay,” Discord answered, irritated, “so he can better defend himself without resorting to putting himself in danger with no weapon. Nova’s not exactly the brawniest guy.”

“Magic will augment his strength over time,” Luna said, turning her head to stare down at her own arms. “I feel so much stronger than I should be. No doubt my vast reserves of magical power are affecting my strength. They should work much the same way with Nova. His own magical reserves will start to bolster his strength.”

“And he’ll need a way to hide it,” Discord added. “I think I might have him start physically working out. That way, if he does something unbecoming of someone his current size, such as lift an extremely heavy object, it’ll be less suspicious.”

“Less, not unsuspicious,” Luna pointed out.

“Well, there’s no stopping it from manifesting,” Discord said, shrugging. “We just have to mask it.”

“And speaking of masking,” Luna said, glancing in the direction of the alleyway, “my Nightmares were forcibly masked by Nightmare Moon’s cursing. Would you be able to bring them back?”

“It would take time,” Discord said. “Time we do not have. I think this will have to be something for you to do, while I continue to train Nova. Now that Nova’s more free to pursue the Elements without Nightmare Moon, he has more freedom to do anything, really. So long as he doesn’t get on the wrong side of the Changelings or Sombra, that is.”

With that, Discord grabbed his top hat from the kitchen counter and placed it atop his head, before grabbing his cane and hobbling on out of the apartment.

“Well, Nova needs his rest, and I’m willing to provide a bed for you and your guards tonight,” he said, motioning to the Princess. “You’ll find I was made into quite the affluent man.”

Luna groaned.

“Isn’t there anywhere else I can stay until we find somewhere for my guards and I to live?”

“Nope!” Discord answered cheerfully. “Now come along, Princess. We need to get your guards from that alley.”

Author's Note

Two months. Significantly faster turnaround considering my last Nightmare Moon battle. Well, enjoy the new chapter.

The Storm

Even In Other Worlds
Chapter 06 - The Storm

Nova sighed, feeling utterly relaxed as Alex rubbed out the many kinks in his back. It had been a week since he had freed Princess Luna. A week full of Tracy fussing over his recovery, of Natalie fussing over the fact that this was the second time he had engaged the Hellsings (apparently not knowing that he had done it for Tracy), of Discord teaching him how to fight with a sword, and of visits to Princess Luna’s new cottage in the outskirts of the city. After such a long and exhausting week, including school work to maintain the appearance of still being under the curse, Alex had noticed his sudden work ethic and had offered to give him a massage.

Upon asking, Nova’s only reaction was an arched eyebrow.

Alex immediately went red upon realizing what Nova had been implying.

“Damn you, Nathan, I meant just as a friendly, help-you-relax thing,” he protested defensively. “Trisha’s been making me give her massages, so I’ve gotten rather good at them and figured you could use one.”

Nova just shrugged and agreed. And fifteen minutes later, Alex was proving his proficiency as a non-professional masseuse while Natalie jabbered on and on about anything in particular. It almost reminded Nova of Pinkie Pie

“And speaking of muscle mass,” she continued, segueing from something about the school’s hoofball team, “you, sir,” she poked him in the shoulder, “have been working out.”

“Yep,” he said, then let out a groan of satisfaction as Alex managed to rub out a particularly painful kink in his back.

“How so? You don’t run, or anything.”

“Mr. Sire,” he said, raising his head to rest his chin on his crossed arms in front of his head. “Teaching me fencing.”

“Fencing?” Alex asked curiously. “Never took you for a fencer, Nathan.”

“You’d be surprised,” Nova replied.

“And why Mr. Sire, may I ask?” Alex continued. “He seems to have taken quite the interest in you, ever since that day you got sick.”

“He helped get me home,” Nova replied. “I dunno. I think he likes me, or something.”

“May God have mercy on our souls,” Alex snarkily muttered in earshot of all of them.

“Why fencing, though?” Natalie asked. “Why not martial arts, or something? Does he even know fencing?”

“Well, apparently,” Nova answered. “As for martial arts, I dunno. I don’t even know who would teach me. Or what they would teach me.”

With that, all was silent, save for the occasional groan from Nova as Alex caught a particularly sensitive kink.

“Today’s Friday,” Alex finally said.

“Way to go, Alex! You’ve learned your days of the week!” Nova responded sarcastically.

“I mean,” Alex said, digging his fingers into Nova’s sensitive spinal area as retaliation, “isn’t tonight Council of Gentlemen night?”

“Oh, really?” Nova asked, this time sincerely. He had quite forgotten about his weekly night of drinking with friends over the last few weeks. “Huh. Thanks, Alex. I’d forgotten.”

Alex grunted.

“Why do you ask, out of curiosity?” Nova added. “Looking to join us?”

“Yep,” Alex affirmed. “Where’s the bar?”

“Pub, more like,” Nova responded. “It’s the Londoner, in Uptown.”

“Oh, that’s where you run off to every Friday,” Alex said. “And here I thought it was some shady place down in Downtown. Figures, considering none of those guys would enjoy booze nearly as much as ale or British brew.”

“Seven o’clock sharp,” Nova said. “And make sure you’re prepared to talk about Trisha.”

{E} {I} {O} {W}

Nova hurried along the sidewalk of Uptown, toward the warm, cheery light spilling from the insides of a proper British pub. It was ten minutes till seven, and it was group tradition that the first to arrive would the the one to not buy the round. Of course, he had neglected to inform Alex of this because of initiation. He was going to have to buy a round anyway.

He approached the moderately-sized rectangular building and pushed open the wooden swinging door to reveal the pub’s interior. Wooden floors, tall and short wooden tables alike populated with pubgoers, a few billiards tables in a side section, along with comfy pleather chairs, and so forth.

“Hey, Stephen!” he called to where a portly man with black hair was polishing a bar mug near a beer draft. The man nodded without looking up, then gestured with the mug toward their round table in the back corner of the seated section of the bar. To Nova’s delight, the round table was completely devoid of people. “No sign of the others?” he asked. Stephen shook his head.

Nova pumped his fist. No round-buying for him!

It was strange, really. He had memories of the times he had actually been there, drinking with the Council, doing things these humans did. And yet, he hadn’t been present there as Nova, only as Nathan. It was really strange having two personas living in his mind.

And that’s not even counting the emotive and logical halves of my brain, he thought.

The door to the tavern opened, and in came the usual group of the Council of Gentlestallions. Or rather, their human selves. A muscular, ginger-haired man with a red tank-top and brown work pants was leading the group. Nova couldn’t help but muse to himself that everyone looked like their pony selves, and they had similar names.

Big Mac was Mike Appleby, Lucky was simply Luke, Caramel was simply Carey Carmichael, Pierce was, oddly enough, Pierce, Thunderlane was Theo, with no last name Nova had ever managed to get out of him, and finally/most amusingly, Time Turner was Timothy “Tim” Turner.

Really, Envy, it’s like you weren’t trying to hide them at all, Nova thought.

“Damn it,” Nova heard Turner say. “The one day I wait for you guys, and I have to spend my hard-earned money to buy a round.”

“Umad, bro?” Nova asked, flashing a teasing grin. One of the things he would miss about this world is easily the internet. Even when he had regained his memory, there was something about that place, for want of a better term, that just made it too much fun to be legal.

“No, I’m more like very irritated,” Turner answered. “The money’s important! I’m taking Deborah out on a date next week!”

“Well, let’s count the number of times you haven’t bought rounds,” Mike said. “Let’s see, there’s the last five times, you paid on the one just before that little run, then there’s the three before that one--”

“Okay, okay, fine, I get the point,” Turner said, rolling his eyes. “It’s not my fault I have something to dedicate my money to each week.”

“Remind me,” Nova interjected as everyone slid into their round table, Aegis on the end since he’d have to be the first one up to order, “what exactly are you putting your money towards?”

“A ring,” drawled Mike. “What else?”

“What Mike said,” concurred Pierce. “If he isn’t putting his money toward a ring for his girlfriend, he’s doing a poor job managing his money--”

“I’ll have you know that I’m actually working on saving up to purchase a decent house in the city,” Turner interrupted irritably. “‘Snot my fault that house out by the Appleby farm is terrible. Only managed to get an apartment in town a few weeks ago, so now I’m making payments on that and getting enough to buy a house.”

“But you’re still getting an engagement ring, aren’t you,” Mike said, giving Turner a challenging gaze. “If you’re not, then I think you need to explain exactly why I saw you exiting the jewelry shop in the mall today.”

Turner went very pale.

“H-how’d you know I was there!?” he demanded of Mike.

“Answer the question,” Mike said in a low voice, which somehow carried a lot more weight than Turner’s shout.

“Well yeah, I was searching for engagement rings,” Turner said, and Nova grinned to himself when he felt no telltale flare of energy that indicated him lying. “I mean, I’ve been dating her for almost a year now; isn’t it about damn time?”

“Well, congratulations,” said Alex, clapping him on the shoulder, “but why the secrecy about it?”

“I dunno,” Turner said, shrugging. “This is a council of bachelors, after all. Didn’t know if you guys would kick me out, or something.”

Nova could only smile, knowing it wouldn’t happen. After his engagement to Twilight, the Council had explained it didn’t matter if they were all bachelors or not, only that they were the town stallions all getting together.

“So is this all you do?” Alex asked. “Go drinking and talking about your love lives?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Nova answered. “Speaking of, you still need to buy us the first round for the night.”

Alex groaned good-naturedly, but took everyone’s drink orders. When they were all said and done, he proceeded up to the counter and ordered, before coming back to the seat.

“Well,” Mike said, “now that that’s out of the way, we move on to a more pressing issue, one I think we discussed not that long ago.” He turned his gaze toward Nova. “Nathan here took on the Hellsings a couple of weeks ago to save Miss Rachel Dillon, and as I understand it, he repeated the feat for Miss Tracy Strong.”

The group collectively applauded him, and Turner and Carey both clapped him on the shoulders. Nova only smiled bashfully.

“Come on, guys,” he said modestly, “‘snot like you wouldn’t have done the same thing.”

“Leapt in? Maybe,” responded Theo, “but you beat them. All of them! And you did it twice!”

“Element of surprise goes a long way in a fight,” Nova replied, shrugging. “I almost literally jumped them. Like, right on top of them.”

The group collectively winced.

“As I understand it, they went underground,” Theo said. “No one’s seen them, no one’s heard anything about them for the last couple-a weeks. What happened? Did the cops get ‘em?”

“Unlikely,” Turner said. “Their leader’s a slippery one. He probably wormed his way out of trouble from the police again.”

Nova couldn’t tell them that Princess Luna had taken them all to the small cottage in the outskirts, close to the farm. It had only been a week and she had already successfully freed Frigoris from the mental prison Nightmare Moon had crafted, but the others were still trapped.

“True knight, this one,” Pierce said, clasping his hands under his chin and fake-nuzzling Nova. “Leaping into danger, saving beautiful women from thugs, and risking his life to protect any helpless citizen,”

Why must everyone insist on calling me a knight? I have no shining armor, blade, or shield. I’m just an ordinary pony who wants an ordinary life. He internally snorted. If I was going to get a normal life, I suppose I wouldn’t have gotten myself engaged to a Princess, he thought.

“So what’s Natalie thought of this?” Mike wondered. “Knowin’ her previous track record regarding you helpin’ other girls, she probably refused to talk t’you fer the first three days.”

“It’s weird,” Alex said, “but it kinda seems like she’s getting more bearable lately. I would know, considering I hang around both of them, and if anything, she was quite pleased he had beaten them. Maybe there’s hope for us not hating-- sorry, strong word, strongly disliking-- her after all.”

“Hey, lay off Nathan’s choice in girlfriends,” Turner protested indignantly. “I’m sure he sees something in her that makes it worth his while.”

“You make it sound like I’m dating her for personal gain,” Nova remarked. “Any ma-- girl I choose to date I do because I legitimately like them. Maybe even love, down the line.”

Unbidden, a memory of when he first agreed to date Twilight popped into his head. He did like her back then, and now he knew it. Such a shame that back then, he didn’t buck up and admit he had fallen head over hooves for her earlier. It would have prevented unnecessary heartache.

Alex suddenly snickered. “Were you about to say ‘man’ there?” he asked, as everyone at the table chuckled at Nova’s expense.

Nova shook his head, smiling despite the knock on him. “Nah, you really wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Fair enough,” Alex said, shrugging.

Discussion on all of their love lives resumed. Alex, being the new guy, had the most to answer for, but the general question was how he could willingly date a narcissist such as Trisha. Nova had been wondering the same thing about that in Equestria. Just how had Aegis and Trixie become a thing?

Aegis’ first night came and went without incident, except for Mike being harried by the group for not making good on a promise to ask that elementary school teacher he had a thing for. But after a long night spent with good company, everyone took their leave. Nova got up and swung his cloak around himself, but just as he was about to pass outside, a muscled arm blocked him from leaving.

“Yes, Mike?” Nova asked, turning to see Mike Appleby looking down at him with an unreadable expression. Nova had never really appreciated just how tall and muscular Mike was.

“Walk with me,” he said simply, before throwing open the door and proceeding out.

“Uh, sure,” Nova said, following suit.

The night was crisp, calm, and cloudy. Nova enjoyed colder weather, so the night was perfect for him. It seemed Mike thought the night was perfect too, because he didn’t speak up until they were a good block away from the pub.

“So Nathan,” he drawled, “jist how many gals d’you plan on keepin’ on the side?”

Nova blinked.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” Mike said in a dangerous voice, turning and giving him an equally-dangerous look. “Yer datin’ Miss Verano, and whahle Ah may not lahke it, Ah’ve nothin’ to say ‘bout it. Yet the word is you’ve been spendin’ more tahme with Miss Strong, and that’s not even countin’ the rumors ‘bout you and Miss Dillon.”

Nova raised a hand with a pointed finger, trying to interject, but Mike was having none of it.

“An’ then a couple’a days ago, he continued, now backing Nova into the wall of a random store, “Ah see you movin’ all sneaky-like out by the Appleby farm with some lady in a blue dress. Lahke the two o’ya didn’t want nobody seein’ you.”

Mike was glaring into Nova’s eyes a mere two inches away.

“Start talkin’,” he commanded.

“Yes sir,” Nova said. “Still dating Natalie, becoming closer friends with Tracy, saved Rachel Dillon from the Hellsings, and the lady in blue ended up on the wrong side of them as well, so I chose to help hide her somewhere out in the open where people like you who are up early enough and late enough would see them coming.”

Mike’s eyes narrowed.

“You were hahdin’ her?” he asked skeptically.

“Yeah,” Nova said, nodding. “Just go check that old cottage on the road to Charrington. It’s her and a few friends of mine.”

“Friends-a yers?” Mike asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Nova nodded. “They were forced into helping the Hellsings,” he explained. “Now they’re hiding out with her until it’s safe to come back to the city.”

Mike scrutinized Nova, looking for any evidence he was lying. Nova knew he would be damn good at it, since he lived with his Element-of-Honesty sister.

“Fahne,” he said, backing up and letting Nova off the wall. “Yeh owe me a Saturday of farm work.”

“What for?” Nova protested.

“Payment,” Mike said. “If they’re hahdin’ out there, they’ll need food, and they’d lahkely.steal it from our farm. Not that we’d mahnd, given their situation, but it’d be better for us ta feed them willin’ly.”

It was true, they did need food, and Nova couldn’t just go out there all the time. The last thing he needed was to attract the attention of the changelings or Sombra for visiting Princess Luna every few days.

“Thanks, Mike,” he said gratefully.

“You’ll be workin’ with mah sister, since Ah usually take Saturdays off. She’ll git ya good and tahred by the end o’the day.”

An opportunity to work with Applejack? This fit quite nicely with his plans to find a way to reawaken everypony.

“Can I bring a friend?” Nova asked.

“What?” Mike asked, giving him a curious look.

“Can I bring a friend along?” he asked again.

“Long as yer there workin’, Ah don’t see whah not,” Mike answered, turning and continuing down the street. “But one last thing, Nathan,” he added. “If Ah go t’that cottage, and there’s nobody there, or Ah fahnd out that yeh lahed to me, Ah’ll go straight to Natalie and tell her everythin’ Ah jist interrogated you about.”

“Feel free,” he said.

Mike gave him a blank look at that.

“Yer actin lahke yeh don’t want ta be datin’ her no more, yeh know that?” he asked. “Did yeh jist ask me ta tell her ‘bout the other three gals?”

“Wha-- nononono!” Nova hastily replied, realizing what he had said. If Envy was who he thought she was, this could be a trigger to undo the curse. And he couldn’t do that just yet. The status quo had to remain in place as long as he could keep it there.

Mike just snorted and kept walking, heading for what was presumably his truck. Nova kept pace with him, waiting for him to say something else, but it seemed the interrogation was over.

A deep rumbling sounded. Both of them looked up instinctively.

“Storm’s comin’,” Mike observed. “This’ll be good for the crops.”

“Are you being metaphysical on me, or just observing the weather patterns?” Nova asked.

Mike chuckled.

“Whah? Yeh think somethin’ big’s about ta happen?”

“You could say that,” Nova answered evasively.

Mike chuckled again and shook his head.

“But it does feel lahke somethin’’s about ta happen here,” he continued. “The cops’re gettin’ inta more scuffles with the townsfolk, the Hellsings’ve been more active, even seems lahke you’ve changed quite a bit over the last few weeks. Ah can only wonder where we’re headed.”

Nova said nothing. He had felt for a while that ever since Twilight became a princess, events had proceeded to quickly get less and less controllable. If the business with the Everfree Forest hadn’t been enough, Tirek’s attack really messed with him. Due to a little bit of diplomacy the Princesses needed him to do in Eurpone, he had been absent for it, and he came home to find that Twilight had a sparkly new treehouse-castle and that his favorite library had been incinerated.

He had been most displeased by the castle, though. Just when he had finished his hoof-built (read, no magic involved) new home on the road to Neighton and everything, Twilight got herself an even bigger, grander house to live in.

And she lived in it, too. Princess Celestia had told her that, at least for a while, it would do her good to live in her castle in an act that would help to instill in the citizens that she was now truly a princess over them, and that after it had become ingrained, she could move in with Nova. Of course, Nova could move in with her at any time, and it would definitely have happened after the wedding at the latest.

It had not been fun being around Twilight during that time. She’d had to replace all of her books. ALL of them. Including her Star Swirl writings. While Nova knew she wasn’t so petty as to prize her books more than her own life, he knew she wasn’t taking the loss of some of her most treasured possessions well.

So caught up was he in his trip down memory lane that he almost fell over when Mike suddenly caught him by the upper chest, stopping him from accidentally running into his very old pick-up truck.

“Ya look purdy thoughtful there, Nathan,” Mike said after Nova had stabilized himself from nearly toppling backwards. “Penny fer yer thoughts?”

Nova just shook his head. “It’s complicated, and it revolves around memories that kinda hurt right now.”

Mike just nodded. With that, he opened his pickup door and started to climb in, but he paused for a moment.

“Yeh got an umbrella?” he asked Nova, who shook his head again. Upon doing so, Mike tossed him a collapsed black umbrella, before climbing in and shutting the door. The truck started with a sputter, and with a near-roar, Mike was off, driving down the road that led out of town.

Nova watched him go for a while, but after feeling a wet plip! on his head, he opened the umbrella, leaned the metal support against his shoulder, and started walking off as the rain began to fall.

The apartment was several blocks away, and he had no transportation. But still, it was a nice night, and he wasn’t getting rained on. Mike had lent him a pretty large umbrella, perhaps enough to fit him, Ashleigh, whoever Bloom was, and whoever Granny Smith was all under it. He wasn’t complaining, though. The magic woven into his cloak kept him warm, and his umbrella kept him dry.

He yawned slightly, feeling pleasantly inebriated from the round of drinking, but thanks to some clever spellcasting, he had prevented his decision-making and general judgement from being affected by the alcohol. So he was able to enjoy the pleasant buzz in his head without suffering from any of the negative side effects, except maybe the hangover. Still hadn’t figured out an effective ward against those, yet.

Nova stopped dead in his tracks, alarm flooding through his entire being. Tracy Strong was running pell-mell through the rain. In no particular order, some things Nova noticed were that she had no umbrella, she had no coat, she was wearing a thin, white oxford shirt, and she was drenched, which only meant her shirt was effectively see-through.

Thank goodness she remembered to put on that human bra thing. Nova still hadn’t figured out what was so appealing about human teats, but apparently his body, mainly his manhood, seemed to enjoy it immensely. The last thing he needed was to look like a total pervert in front of Twilight’s human self.

“Tracy!” he called. She slowed to look in his direction. While he doubted she could recognize him with it being so dark out, she had to know his voice, and so she bolted in his direction.

Nova held the umbrella up above him as she got closer, which allowed her to duck under it.

“Th-thanks,” she said, shivering from the cold.

“Not at all,” he said. “Let’s get you out of the storm. My apartment’s not far. Or should we head to your place? Where’s it at?”

“A-a-c-c-cross t-t-town,” she answered, her teeth chattering against each other. She noticed Nova trying not to stare at her black bra and hastily covered herself up as best she could. “I-it’ll have t-to b-b-be y-y-yours.”

“Here, hold this,” Nova said, handing her the umbrella, before unfastening his cloak’s brooch from around his neck, taking it off, and putting it on Tracy. She handed him back the umbrella, before pulling it tight around herself and, either for extra warmth or for some other reason, huddling against him.

Nova was lost for words, but he couldn’t deny he was quite enjoying himself. But with a slight nudge, he pushed Tracy off of him so he could move.

“Will Spike be okay?” he asked, before mentally kicking himself for forgetting that his name wasn’t Spike in this world.

“Who?” she asked.

“Your… ah…” he trailed off.

“Oh, y-you mean Sam, and he’s my l-little adopted brother,” she said. “I-I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s managed without m-me before.”

“Little adopted brother?” Nova asked, quite intrigued.

“Y-yeah,” she answered as they walked. “H-he’s been living with me as long as I can remember.”

“Oh,” he answered. “Didn’t know. Honest mistake.”

“I-it’s fine,” she answered. “H-how far away is your apartment, by the way? I h-haven’t been there for a while,” she asked, as they passed by a familiar setting Nova was sure Tracy ought to have recognized.

“Well, there’s the alley where I managed to beat the Hellsings,” he said, pointing it out. “Man, the pub’s closer to my apartment than I thought.”

She let out a soft “hmm,” but said nothing else. They walked in silence the rest of the way. Once they were there, Nova hurriedly opened up the door and they both quickly got inside.

“I’m going to go start a fire,” he said, heading on over to his fireplace, where a gas emitter was already in place. With a few knobs twisted and a match lit, he soon had a quiet fire heating up the living room of the apartment.

“Th-thanks,” she said, still huddling under his cloak. He walked on over, unfastened the brooch, and swung it off, making sure to avert his eyes from the wet button-up shirt she had on as he did so.

“You’re probably going to want to leave those by the fire to dry,” he said.

“Th-that just an excuse to get me to strip down f-for you?” she asked, giving him a look that, were it not for the twinkling mirth in her eyes, would have made him feel quite bad about himself.

“Not at all, but since you don’t seem opposed to the idea,” he said, deciding to go along with it anyway. But to his simultaneous horror and perverse delight, she actually pulled the shirt right off and laid it flat on the ground to dry off in the heat of the fire.

Nova almost had a nosebleed right then and there.

Tracy just winked flirtatiously at him as he couldn’t stop staring at the bare skin of her back, before making his night even better/worse and turning around.

Nova’s blue eyes met her rather playful purple ones, before trailing down her before he could stop himself. Thank goodness the bra was modest, covering nearly all of her rather average endowment, Was it average? Hers seemed to be smaller than most everyone else’s, but he tossed that information aside as his eyes trailed down to her navel, then beyond to her black dressy pants, which looked pretty drenched too, but not nearly as much. Thank Celestia they were far less revealing.

“Like what you see?” she asked, giving him an even more playful grin. Nova just blinked several times, before finally managing to realize he was still in control, and turning around as fast as he could.

Tracy giggled behind him.

“Oh Nathan, you’re too much fun to tease,” she said. “Maybe if you let me tease you some more, I might remove my pants for you to get a good look, too.”

Nova almost fainted. This was, without a doubt, the most embarrassing thing to have happened to him inside his apartment, and this was including the pole-dancing Granny Smith Discord had summoned. The last thing he needed now was for the draconequus himself to show up…

BAM BAM BAM!

Oh, no way… Nova thought. It just can’t be…

But it wasn’t Discord. No, instead it was the one person Nova was hoping wouldn’t catch him in this situation.

“Nathan?” Natalie’s voice sounded from the other side of the door. “Nathan, are you inside?”

Oooooooooohhhhhhh shit… Logic and Emotion decided to say at exactly the same moment. Nova had to agree with them.

Thankfully, Tracy was off the mark instantly. She had snatched up her wet shirt and had bolted into one of Nova’s empty rooms as quietly as she could, which would easily not be heard with the din outside. As soon as she was out of sight, Nova walked over to the door and opened it up.

Natalie stood there, closing up her umbrella and shaking what little water was in her hair out of it.

“Thanks,” she said breathlessly as she walked inside, not even waiting for him to allow her. “Some storm, huh?”

“Yeah,” Nova said, rolling his eyes and following her back inside. “Just showed up out of nowhere and invaded without anyone’s consent,” he added.

“Oh hush,” she said, giving him an irritated look. “I was just coming to make sure you got home safely. I know how late you guys stay out at the Council of Dudes or whatever, and I didn’t know if…”

She trailed off. To Nova’s horror, she had noticed a wet water trail on the ground. She looked back up.

“How late were you out?” she asked, furrowing her brow. “Did you get caught in it when it first struck?”

“Yeah,” Nova said, hoping beyond hope she didn’t investigate beyond that. “Mike brought me home when he saw me out in the rain.”

Nova noticed her eyes flick ever so briefly toward the hearth, where the puddle of leftover water from a removed shirt lay in front of the fire.

“Did that coat get soaked?” she asked.

“That what?”

“Your coat,” she repeated. “That new coat you’ve started wearing.”

“Oh, yeah,” he replied. “Needed to dry it off, and I figured it’d be nice for a good heating, so I turned on the fire.”

She yawned slightly, before walking over to his couch and falling on it and rubbing her eyes tiredly.

“It’s been a long day,” she groaned. “Please don’t make it any worse. Just tell whoever’s hiding in your other room to come on out.”

“I-- what?”

“Oh Nathan, don’t play dumb,” she snapped irritably. “Seriously, why do you even bother? It’s not like I’m going to be angry for you having friends over, especially out in a storm like this.”

“Well, given how you normally are around other girls...” Nathan trailed off as the door opened up and Tracy started to come out. He was immensely relieved to see she had buttoned her shirt back up as well. That would at least take most of the heat off.

Natalie continued rubbing her eyes. “I’m working on it,” she replied sourly. “But I swear I’m not going to speak to you for a week if it’s--”

Her hand came down right at that moment, and in that dramatic, predestined moment, she and Tracy locked eyes. Tracy’s were full of apprehension, and Natalie’s were at first full of surprise, but then they narrowed dangerously.

“What. The hell. Is SHE doing here?” Natalie asked softly, glaring with unabashed hatred at Tracy, who only glanced at him helplessly.

“Something about having people over during a storm?” Nova retorted, already less than happy with her for her response to Tracy’s entrance.

“I said friends,” snapped Natalie. If looks could kill, everyone in the general cone behind Tracy would have been incinerated by the ferocity of Natalie’s gaze.

Nathan took that opportunity to step right in between the two of them.

“Tracy,” he said calmly, “go and wait in my bedroom. There are earplugs in the nightstand, and you might want to put them on; I think there’s going to be a lot of yelling.”

“But--” she tried to protest, but Nova gave her a look. She fell silent, and stared between him and Natalie for a moment, but then complied.

As soon as the door had shut, Nova rounded on Natalie.

“You know, Alex taught me some valuable words of wisdom,” he said, struggling mightily to keep his voice calm. “‘Don’t insult someone in their own house. They’re the ones who know where the meat knives are.’”

“What does that have to do with anything?” she asked, arching an eyebrow at him, a snarl working its way onto her face.

“What does it have to do with anything?” Nova repeated, putting an incredulous edge into his voice. “What doesn’t it have to do with this!? You come into my house and immediately imply that I should throw her out to the street!? Do you have ANY idea how insulted I feel by that!?”

“Who’s to say I was implying anything?” Natalie asked, eyes narrowing.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Nova responded scathingly, “how about the part where you questioned why she was here? You couldn’t possibly have missed the completely drenched shirt of hers, or the fact that it’s storming outside. Why the hell do you THINK she’s here?”

Nova hadn’t noticed his voice getting steadily louder and louder, but Natalie had, and she had risen to her feet and was advancing on him. Nova simply drew himself to his fullest height, which was about a head taller than Natalie. Maybe if he tried to intimidate her off of this subject…?

“Make her leave,” Natalie commanded softly, glaring at Nova, challenging him not to do it.

“No,” Nova said firmly. “She is a friend, and she was out in the rain. I wouldn’t make her leave even if I hated her guts. I’m not like that, Nat.”

“Make. Her. Leave,” Natalie repeated, eyes narrowing.

“What is your problem with me helping other girls!?” Nova demanded, drawing himself even a bit higher, a full head taller than her. “First Deborah, now Tracy!?”

“I just don’t understand why you spend so much time focusing on other girls!” Natalie responded, shaking with suppressed rage.

“Natalie,” Nova said, sighing and shaking his head in disappointment, “you should know by now that I always try to help people.. It’s just what I do.”

“Then stop doing it,” she retorted. “I don’t want you helping out people I don’t like.”

That did it.

“Get out,” Nova said through clenched teeth.

Natalie looked dumbstruck, and for the briefest of moments, a flicker of fear crossed her face. Nova’s eyes had again briefly flickered red.

“Wha--” she started to say, but Nova cut her off.

“GET OUT!” he roared, finding it in himself to draw himself up even taller than he already was.

She just stared at him, completely shocked. What the hell had happened to Nova to put him like this? He never yelled at her; mostly, he just sort of tried to play mediator whenever she got really angry at Alex for some reason, so why now?

Her eyes fell on the door Tracy was hiding behind. Of course, she thought.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, for once, actually sounding apologetic about it.

“No you’re not,” Nova said scathingly. “You’re only sorry I’m kicking you out.”

She let out a growl of anger.

“Fine! Be that way! I wouldn’t want to date someone who lowers their standards like that, anyway,” she added as she stalked towards the door, threw it open, stormed off, and then slammed it shut.

It honestly took serious effort from Nova not to go after her and slap her for that remark.

He simply stared after her, his fist clenching so hard, his nails dug into his palm. He was shaking with anger; how dare she say that about Tracy!?

“Nathan?” came her voice from behind him. “Are you alright?”

“F-fine,” he growled, feeling blood run down his fingers and onto the floor, still watching the door. “Just peachy.”

“You’re bleeding,” she observed. “I’ll go--”

“No,” Nova said, turning to stop her from fussing over him. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll clean it up myself.”

Nova walked over to the kitchen half of the front room, tore off a paper towel, and stuck it in his hand to soak up the blood. And speaking of soaking, Tracy’s shirt was still sopping. To make matters worse, it was transparent in how wet it was.

“Go put your shirt by the fire,” he said dispassionately. “Natalie’s gone now; you won’t have to worry.”

“A-are you sure?” she asked, sounding somewhat apprehensive.

“If you’re alright with it, and since you saw to tease me earlier,” he added, with a small smile.

Tracy just stared at him for a bit of time, without moving. Nova even saw her slightly squint a couple of times.

“What, something on my face?” he asked.

“N-no, it’s just… your eyes,” she answered, still scrutinizing him.

“What about them?” Nova asked, turning to look into a reflective surface.

“They were, well, red for a bit.”

Red eyes? Nova thought. Magical residue? Or something else?

The matter troubled him, but he reasoned he could just go and see Princess Luna or Discord about it later. At any rate, his eyes were their usual shade of blue when he glanced in a small mirror, so it must not have been an immediate cause for concern.

“Sorry about this,” he said in a soft voice as he turned on the tap to run cold water over his hand. “I’m sorry you had to witness that.”

“No, Nathan,” she said, walking over and giving him a look he had seen many times from a different form of the girl involved. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry this happened because of me. If I’d known this would happen because I was here, I would have just gone ahead and walked all the way home.”

“You’re sorry what happened?” Nova asked her, shaking his head. “Sorry that I apparently broke up with a girl I, quite frankly, don’t even know why I was dating her in the first place?”

Tracy said nothing for a moment, choosing only to watch Nova as he washed the blood from his palm, before unfolding a napkin from a drawer and binding the wound with it.

“Can I say something honest but… harsh?” she asked , sounding slightly nervous about it.

Nova grunted. “Go ahead,” he said in a flat voice, staring at the fire while he idly rubbed his opposite thumb over the makeshift bandage, which was already soaking through.

“Well, okay then,” she said slowly. Nova thought she must have been watching to see how he reacted. “I think just about everyone who knows you was wondering why you were dating her, too.”

“I didn’t take you for the gossipping type, Twilight,” he said.

“What do you mean, ‘Twilight?’” she asked, confused.

“Sorry,” Nova said, mentally slapping himself. “Just something that sprung to mind, like how I called your brother Spike on accident. Guess my night of drinking’s getting to me.”

“You’ve been drinking?”

She sounded surprised. Didn’t she-- well, of course that would be one of the memories Envy would have suppressed. Drinking Nights were the nights she typically had the girls over.

“Yeah,” he said, heading over to the couch to sit by the fire. “Weekly thing with some friends.”

“You don’t sound drunk,” she said, following him over. She leaned close to his mouth and sniffed. “Your breath doesn’t smell of alcohol either.”

“Lucky me,” Nova said, leaning back against the couch. “Tracy, so sorry to put a damper on our conversation, but I’m tired and I want to get some sleep.”

“Oh, umm, okay,” she said. “Where are the blankets at? And do you have a spare pillow?”

“What for?” Nova asked, feeling slightly bemused.

“So I can sleep on the couch,” Tracy replied, sounding as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Nonononono,” Nova said, shaking his head. “You’re sleeping in my bed. I refuse to make a guest sleep on my couch.”

“I couldn’t,” she said, holding up her hands defensively. “I don’t want to impose--”

“You’re not imposing,” Nova interrupted her, grabbing her by the wrists and looking her in the eyes. Had he been more perceptive, he would have noticed that her pulse quickened ever so slightly, that her pupils dilated a fraction, and that the faintest of blushes tinged her cheeks. “I’m taking the couch, and you’re taking the bed. Not up for discussion.”

“We could… you know…” and then she trailed off, mumbling something that made Nova think of Fluttershy off the top of his head.

“We could… what?” he asked, cocking his head in confusion...

“Share… it…” she almost whispered, going quite red. Nova just stared at her, blinking stupidly, without any real response to it.

Then he laughed. He laughed long and hard The situation was just so familiar, almost like it had been that night in Trottingham, and he wanted to cave so much. But he couldn’t. Not yet, at least. They had literally just barely started to get to know each other.

“What!?” demanded Tracy, looking slightly offended, but Nova just shook his head.

“Sorry, Tracy,” he said, still chuckling slightly, “but I can’t. Not that you’re ugly, or anything-- you’re pretty cute, actually-- but I’m too honorable for getting into a bed with a girl I’ve only really known or a month, even if it’s completely platonic.”

Now for TWO months on the other hoof… he thought, only adding to his amusement.

Tracy just stared at him, eyes narrowed. Nova half-thought she might hit him. Twilight would have. It was funny, she first started with swatting him with her tail--

Scratch that, she just whapped him with her shirt as she turned around.

Nova could only chuckle again as Tracy walked off back to Nova’s room, nose slightly in the air. Up until now, Nova hadn’t noticed that her shirt was again unbuttoned, except that she was keeping it drawn close. When she whirled around, with dexterity Nova knew befit Twilight’s magical ability, she had wormed herself loose and swung it up to whip him in the face gently.

Nova knew it was intentional, because he definitely saw Tracy’s light smile as she walked back to his room.

“Hey, toss your shirt out and I’ll leave it by the fire,” he called after her. After a moment, an arm appeared out of his door and flung the wet oxford at him. He caught it, chuckled yet again, and walked on over to lay it by the fire.

The storm was still going strong outside. He felt a slight pang of worry about Natalie being caught out in it, but his earlier anger was enough to make sure he wasn’t going to worry too much. Hopefully she got splashed by a semi driving through a really deep, muddy puddle.

He smoothed out the oxford carefully, the same way he had done to many of his shirts in this world on rainy days, if his fake memories were anything to go by, then toned down the fire from a blaze to a peaceful crackle, the better to help him sleep.

He sat on the couch for a while, thinking about the night’s proceedings and how they were going to affect how his plan played out. Would this breakup help to trigger the curse falling apart? Hopefully not. But what if it did? Would it accelerate his plans, or set them back?

He sat there for a few minutes, eventually coming to the conclusion that this called for a chat with Luna and Discord, before he fell sideways onto--

His couch. With no pillows or blankets. And it suddenly hit him that he didn’t have any pyjamas either.

He got up, walked over to the room Tracy had hidden in (a rather roomy closet), and grabbed himself a small pillow and a blanket, but realized there were no pyjamas in this little storage closet; they were all in his room.

He dropped the blankets and pillows off on his cough before heading back to his room, and knocking on the closed door.

“Tracy? Mind if I grab something real fast?” he asked.

There was no response. Trying to emulate Fluttershy as best he could, he quietly opened the door and tiptoed inside. Tracy was sprawled on the bed, under no covers and out like a light.

And she was only wearing her bra and panties. Her pants and socks, true to Twilight Sparkle form, were laid flat to dry on the hard floor.

Nova hastily glanced away, hoping to find his pyjamas and get out. But Nova being a normal stallion/man, couldn’t avert his gaze that easily.

I’m starting to sound like that stupid vampony… he thought. Watching her while she sleeps.

Snorting quietly, he walked over to his bed and drew the covers up over her sleeping form. She gave a gentle coo and curled herself up, before rolling over and facing him, still asleep.

Satisfied with this corny romantic scene that he had just played out, Nova walked over to a drawer, pulled out a random pair of pyjama top and bottoms, and then tiptoed toward the door. As he was about to exit, he turned and gaze one last look at the sleeping Tracy.

She had a faint smile on her face, which was only magnified on the tender smile that etched itself onto Nova’s.

“Sweet dreams, Twilight Sparkle,” he whispered, shutting the door quietly. “Even if you may not remember, I still love you.”

Author's Note

Thank you all for your patience. This semester went infinitely better than the last one. That'll probably be the way things go from here on out, though. Fewer updates so I can focus on work and school.

Still, enjoy the new chapter! And how about that finale!?

Rytex out. Have a good day!

Double Dinner Date Dare

Even In Other Worlds
Chapter 07: Double Dinner Date Dare

Nova sighed, leaning back against his teacher’s chair as she tousled his hair. This was an old favorite position of theirs, particularly after a long personal session of studying. Nova would collapse against her pouf and she would gently tousle and style his mane, and occasionally massage his shoulders after a particularly grueling session.

“I don’t know, Princess,” Nova sighed heavily as she ran her bony fingers through his hair. “I just… wish I knew what I was supposed to do. I mean,” he waved a hand vaguely, “I know what to do, but I don’t know how to go about doing it.”

“Did you not already have a plan?” Luna asked, managing to untangle a messed up portion of his hair.

“Well, yes and no,” Nova said, closing his eyes. “I had a general idea at what to do, but in no way did I have a clearly-thought plan on how to do it properly.”

“Explain,” Luna commanded, moving her fingers down toward his neck to get the lower sections of his hair.

“Well, for starters, I think I majorly disrupted the status quo last night.”

Luna paused for a moment, but grunted.

“Things never stay the way they are; change is to be expected if progress is to be made.”

“I just didn’t know if it was one of the triggers to cause the curse to become undone, or something,” Nova admitted.

“But that’s just it, Nova. You said one of the triggers. I assume there must be more, though Sombra’s curse unraveled with the right stimulus; namely, the Crystal Fair and the Crystal Heart. But ponies had to break out of the curse themselves before the whole curse came undone. As it stands, you remain the only pony we all know of to have broken out. The fewer ponies you reawaken, the better the curse will stay in place.”

“So it’s like a shirt then?” Nova asked.

“I don’t follow,” Luna said, as she managed to untangle another clump of hair.

“You pull out one string, it’s not so bad. You pull more out, the shirt falls apart after a while.”

“A good metaphor,” Luna said, removing her fingers from his hair. “You know, I could get used to having these ‘fingers.’ They really are quite useful.”

“They are, aren’t they,” Nova nodded. “Certainly something I’ll miss about this world when we’re gone, but anyway--”

A sharp knocking sounded at the door.

“That’s probably him,” Nova said, getting to his feet and going to open the door for Mike. As expected, Mike was standing outside, wearing a red wife-beater and khaki work pants. Nova saw the pickup behind him had its bed full of different boxes of fruit and vegetables and he was instantly that much more grateful for Mike’s willingness to help.

“This the place?” he drawled. “Didn’t ‘spect ta see yeh here, Nathan.”

“Needed to talk to her about something,” Nathan said, stepping aside so Mike could see in. As soon as Mike saw Luna, he inclined his head toward Nova.

“A’right, Ah believe ya now. Mahnd helpin’ me unload the food?”

“Oh, you only believe after you’ve seen it with your own eyes?” Nova teased.

“Trust, but ver’fy,” Mike answered.

“Good point,” admitted Nova, as he and Mike started grabbing small crates of food and hauling them inside.

“Where d’you want the food, Miss…”

“Selene,” Luna said, standing up and moving to help as well. “If you do not mind, allow me to help too.”

“‘Ennnope,” Mike said, shaking his head. “‘Fraid Ah can’t let a purdy woman lahke yerself do the work fer us. Doesn’t sit well with me.”

Luna’s cheeks went slightly pink. Nova smiled to himself, remembering the time Luna said she had visited a carnival in Ponyville and had run into Big Macintosh and that they had spent a good amount of the day doing things together.

“Very well, then,” Luna said, sitting back down. Nova did notice the look of irritation that crossed her face and he could only empathise. Luna was never the princess who could sit and do nothing when there was something to be done.

He gave her a sympathetic look as he passed back from the small kitchen on the way out, which she only returned with an annoyed eyeroll.

The food was all unloaded in a matter of minutes, and Mike was on his way immediately after that. Nova thanked him for donating the food, and Mike just waved it off with the comment, “Surplus.” Still, free food was free food.

“An’ Nathan, Remember, yeh’re workin’ with mah sister come Saturday.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Nova responded with an ironic fistpump.

As Mike drove back to the Appleby farm, Nova returned to his earlier position with his teacher, and she resumed preening his hair.

“I know how you feel,” Nova remarked. “Like you’re sitting on the sidelines and you’re just in the way, right?”

“Sort of,” admitted Luna. “I would say I know more how Twilight Sparkle felt before Tirek attacked. All she could do was sit around and look pretty for our guests. Patience was always a difficult lesson for me to learn as a child,” she sighed. “At this point, I must admit, I’m practically looking for an excuse to do something.”

“Eh, that time will come,” Nova assured her. “It may be a while, but it will come.”

“Speaking of which, what is this I hear about you working with that man’s sister?” she queried.

“Oh, I promised Mike an afternoon of farm work in exchange for the food. It’s his day off, so I’m going to be working with Ashleigh, his sister.”

“I don’t see why you call them by their human names,” Luna said. “Why can you not call them ‘Macintosh’ and ‘Applejack?’”

“To get in the habit,” Nova explained. “I’ve had a few instances where I’ve let slip their pony names out loud. Called Tracy Twilight at one point, and I’ve called Spike… well, Spike. His name’s Sam on this world, but I didn’t know that. I’d rather not contribute to the unraveling of the curse just yet. I don’t need Envy providing me with physical setbacks when I have this period to only deal with Queen Chrysalis and Sombra, who have been surprisingly quiet as of late.”

“Hmm,” Luna pursed her lips. “I can only wonder what is happening.”

“Mike did say the police are starting to get into more frequent scuffles with the townspeople,” Nova added. “I wonder if Chrysalis has something to do with this.”

“Do you think she knows you’re the same one that rescued her from Silverblood back in the Old Times?”

“Well, according to Discord, she doesn’t.” Nova answered, feeling slightly sad at the thought. “I’d figure if anyone in this town would suffer the brunt of her anger, it would be Shining Armor and Cadance. Still haven’t met them yet, by the way,” he added. “I suppose Shining’s probably Tracy’s older brother on this world too, so I get the feeling we’ll run into each other at some point.”

“Are they suffering the brunt of her anger, though?”

“Well,” Nova said, reaching back and scratching behind his head, “I don’t know. I doubt it, honestly, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were.”

He glanced up at the clock. He still had a few minutes before he had to leave, and he wanted to ask about a particularly troubling issue.

“Say Princess,” he asked, “have you ever heard of ponies whose eyes flash red?”

He felt her stiffen against him.

“How do you mean?” she asked, and Nova heard a sharp sort of worry in her voice. “How do they turn red?”

“Well, I don’t know. I haven’t seen them. Tracy told me last night that my eyes flickered red for a moment. I thought it might have been magical residue, or something but--”

“Nova Shine, explain no more, only answer my question,” Princess Luna interrupted him. Nova knew that tone. He had bucked up big time somehow. “Were you in a particularly angry mood when it happened?”

“I… yeah,” he said. “Natalie had just demanded that I kick Tracy out into the storm, so I yelled at her to leave.”

Princess Luna inhaled deeply and exhaled it slowly. “Nova Shine, I said in my mind that we would have to work on your anger issues, and I see now that I was right.”

“What do you mean?” Nova asked, scoffing slightly. “How does anger make my eyes red?”

“Because if you let your anger blaze unchecked, Nova, you may very well one day find yourself treading down a dark path. A unicorn or an alicorn is particularly at risk, because if the anger is left unchecked, they are at risk of indulging in Black Magic.”

“Black Magic?” Nova asked, surprised.

“Yes,” Luna said. “My sister and Twilight Sparkle are both able to cast Black Magic with no fear of side effects, because they are both able to cast it only when necessary. But you, however, have difficulty keeping your emotions in check. In some ways, you experience life better than we do, but in others, you are more at risk of falling into traps. As I understand it, you threw away your entire plan to rescue Twilight Sparkle and Trixie Lulamoon and dashed straight into the Everfree Vaults when Twilight was captured.”

“Well, yeah,” Nova admitted. "But that was the whole plan, so--”

“Irrelevant,” Luna interrupted him again. “You wear your heart on your fetlock, and certain ponies have exploited you for it. You may have once upon a time acted aloof and cold, but when you began to embrace your feelings, you just let that habit go. It is a habit you would do well to work up again.”

“What’s so bad about casting Black Magic?” Nova asked, veering away from being lectured on keeping his emotions in check.

“Have you not seen what Sombra looked like at the height of his power?” Luna queried.

“Of course I did,” Nova said. “But I’m not Sombra. I wouldn’t fall that far.”

“‘If you give Tirek an inch, he shall take a mile,’” Luna recited. “If you lose control even for a second, Nova, you may find yourself irrevocably steeped in it, with no way back to purity.”

“But what about Twilight?” Nova asked, resigning himself to losing this part of the argument.

“What about her?”

“She bursts into flames when she’s angry enough,” Nova pointed out, remembering one incident where he had found Spike sneaking out of the library to come to drinking night when it just so happened that Rarity and her usual Gossip Group were going to be there that night. It took Spike a week to clean the scorch marks from the floor.

“She is a Fire Elemental; her passion is tied directly to her magic, so it is to be expected. But even so, she still keeps it in check,” Luna said impatiently. “In many ways, you are better than she, but in this way, you are so far behind her. You are undisciplined, and you are in danger of being ruled by your own emotions. And with you being a Wind Elemental, this is even more dangerous.”

Nova said nothing, only staring at the ground while Princess Luna continued to pick at his hair.

“Nova Shine, we are not angry at you,” she added, and Nova heard almost a sort of pleading note in her voice. “We only want the best for you, and take it from somepony who has been corrupted by darkness and hate before, this is not a path you want to tread.”

Again, Nova didn’t respond. He knew Princess Luna only wanted to help him; when had she ever given him a reason not to trust her?

“Thank-you for bringing this to my attention, Princess,” he said, getting to his feet. “I honestly didn’t know what it meant, but now that I do, I’ll be more careful,” he promised.

“For your own sake,” the Princess said, giving him a stern look, “We hope you make good on your word.”

“Yes ma’am. By the way, you slipped into Royal We again.”

“Did we-- I?” Luna facepalmed, but smiled in sheepish amusement.

“Good day, Princess,” he said with a wave, and he left the cottage.

Princess Luna sat, staring at Nova through the window as he walked off, whistling something she couldn’t hear.

“Hmm,” came a voice from her right, “Nova’s having anger issues, eh?”

“How long have you been there?” she asked in irritation as Discord jumped out of the floor in her shadow.

“I was in Nova’s shadow, actually,” Discord said, plopping himself down in front of Princess Luna and leaning back, as though he expected her to pick at his hair too. “When the streams crossed, I switched. Been meaning to chat with you, to inform you on the state of things.”

“Mmh,” Luna grunted, rising from her easy chair and walking into the room where her five Nightmares would stay. Three of them had been rescued from the spells of Nightmare Moon, but Starstep and Nightmare Crisium remained comatose, completely unresponsive on their beds. Frigoris, Imbrium, and Serenitatis were sleeping on their beds, but as Serenitatis was the one most recently brought out of the spell, she was the on dealing with dream trouble.

Luna walked over to her sleeping form, placed a hand on her forehead, and whispered a soft incantation. Within minutes, what had been a terrified, pained expression eased as Serenitatis’ dreams ended, leaving her in blissful, dreamless sleep. She had already cast a spell on Frigoris and Imbrium to make sure neither of them dreamt until she could be sure the influence of the Nightmare’s spell was gone.

“The curse on my Nightmares ends, the aftereffects begin,” she observed, shaking her head sadly.

“But in the week since you’ve been freed, you’ve made excellent progress,” Discord said. “Three freed, and this while you’re learning the magic of your form? As well as the physical capabilities, too,” he added, noting the slight quiver in her legs that was certainly progress compared to her needing to lean against the walls, as she had after she was free.

“I haven’t had much else to do,” Luna admitted sheepishly. “I sound like a child. I’ve nothing else to do; might as well learn how to walk.”

“Let’s return to the matter of Nova and his red eyes,” Discord said as Luna made her way back to her chair. He had already turned the couch into his own personal tempur-pedic relaxing pad, and he was making full use of it. “I’ve just had a particularly troubling thought.”

“Oh? How so?” Luna asked, curious to see what could trouble Discord.

“The day Nova broke out of the curse,” Discord said, stroking his little goatee, “I had been walking with Sombra to a game of golf. Appearances, you know. Gotta look like we’re not supernatural Big Brothers to the townspeople,” he explained, seeing the look on Luna’s face. “Anyway, before we went to our little game, Sombra called for a little detour, saying he had an investment to check up on, before leading us both toward the university, where lo and behold, Nova’s human cursed self was starting to break out.”

“You’re saying Sombra has plans involving Nova?” Luna asked.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Luna. I’m not saying it; I’m theorizing it. But that’s a problem, because Sombra is nothing more than an Echo of the real one, whom we both know has been destroyed by our favorite Super Saiyan Princess.”

“Our… what?” Luna was utterly bemused.

“Dear dear, I need to show you Netflix. Wonderful way of passing the time,” Discord said, veering off-topic for the moment. “But anyway, thanks to Twilight Sparkle’s efforts when restoring the Crystal Empire, Sombra is gone. I looked into it shortly after Tirek was put back in Tartarus. A shard of his horn had been flung away, and given its regenerative properties, I felt compelled to look into it.”

“And?” Luna asked. If Sombra was still alive...

“Nothing,” Discord said, shrugging. “I found the horn shard, and the amount of Black Magic radiating from it was enough for me to tell it was the real thing, but without its master, it was completely useless. Still, can’t be too careful. I stuck it in Tartarus as well, just in case. He’s completely gone from Equus as far as I’m able to tell.”

“But then how could Nova be an investment of his?” Luna asked, troubled. “The only time he came into contact with any associate of Sombra’s was when he defeated Lord Silverblood in the Crystal Caves of Canterlot.”

“Correct me if I’m mistaken, but did not this Lord Silverblood cast a spell of Black Magic on Nova as a last ditch effort, a move which cost him his horn?”

Luna’s jaw fell open.

“But… how did you--”

“Your sister keeps the report from Princess Platinum in the Canterlot Archives,” Discord replied. “I read it and I felt quite strange about it for some reason. Now I know why. Sombra’s planning something to do with Nova. Or rather, he was before he was destroyed. And this Echo won’t be able to do anything on his own, since he’s just that: an Echo. But that spell of Black Magic troubles me, considering we have both been in close proximity to Nova, and yet he doesn’t seem to be radiating any kind of Darkness.”

“You don’t know what it is?” Luna asked, surprised.

“I don’t,” Discord admitted. “When we get back to Equestria, I might just go and interrogate my old friend Tirek on what it could be.”

“Hmm…” Luna said, tapping a finger on her cheek as she thought. “We’ll need to talk to Tia about this.”

“We’ll need more facts first,” Discord said. “I’ll have to keep an eye on Nova to see if he starts displaying any more symptoms before we can nail down what the spell really is. In any case, good day, Princess.” He tipped his hat, got up from his couch which changed back into its usual material.

Before he reached the door, he turned back and, faster than Luna could react, he hit her with a sleeping spell that caused Luna to fall unconscious in her chair. Discord smirked.

“So simply beaten, my dear,” he mused. “But then again, I should have expected nothing less from the inferior Princess.”

Discord strode over to Luna and covered her closed eyes with his hand. In short order, he had gone into Luna’s mind and removed any trace of the conversations she’d had with him and Nova about Nova’s red eyes. The less she knew, the better.

Satisfied with his work, Discord left her sleeping in her chair and walked back toward the town, whistling to himself as he went. The town wasn’t all that far from the Appleby farm, so his walk lasted only a few minutes. Once he was back in the city’s limits, more specifically once he was closer to City Hall, he strode into an alley surreptitiously. Once sure he wasn’t being watched, he brought his hand up, and a black, purple, and red aura of magic appeared in his palm, before wrapping around his body. After a moment, the shape-shifting spell ended. A muscular man, with shaggy black hair, sideburns that came very close to his jaw, and a neatly trimmed beard stepped out of the alley, and continued on his way.

So Nova Shine is already starting to exhibit the effects of the spell? Sombra thought. Excellent. With Nightmare Moon defeated, Nova Shine now has most of the freedom needed to reawaken the Bearers of Harmony, and Envy remains blissfully under the curse’s effects. Everything is progressing nicely. And with the spell continuing to grow in strength, it will only be a matter of time before he falls and I return to power.

{E} {I} {O} {W}

“So why are we out at the football practice fields again?” Alex groaned as he and Nova sat in the bleachers, watching the girls practice.

“Need to talk to Rachel about something important,” Nova answered, eyeing the rainbow-haired girl as she rocketed a beautiful shot past the keeper in a set piece rehearsal.

“You do know the rumors going around about the two of you, right?” Alex asked. “This certainly isn’t helping things.”

“I’m well aware of those rumors,” Nova responded, thinking back to his and Mike’s little chat. “Let them be rumors. They aren’t true, and I personally don’t care.”

“I’m sure you will if Natalie finds out,” Alex warned. “I notice you seem to be avoiding her today. What’s going on?”

“I’m not avoiding her,” Nova said, half-truthfully. It was true, he wasn’t going out of his way to not end up in the same hall as where he knew she would be, but every time she called his name, every time she tapped him on the shoulder, he just ignored her and kept moving as though she didn’t exist.

“Suuuure you aren’t. What happened, Nathan?”

“We had a row,” Nova answered quite casually. “I found Tracy stuck in the storm after I left the Council and brought her back to my place to spend the night since she doesn’t have a car. Natalie showed up and demanded I throw her back out.”

“She what!?”

Nova hadn’t heard Alex get angry often, or even Aegis for that matter. But DAMN, did he sound pissed.

“Just when you were starting to not strongly dislike her, too,” Nova added.

“That bitch,” Alex growled through gritted teeth.

“So I don’t care if Natalie sees me with Rachel. If anything, the only person she ever minded was Tracy, but now I say buck her and everything she cares about.”

“Uhh, ‘buck?.” Alex asked, giving Nova a raised eyebrow.

“You know what I mean,” Nova said, rolling his eyes. “Damn, that was a good shot,” he crowed as Rachel put home another shot from several yards out. I wonder if she ever thought about being a Mare’s Premier League player back home…

The coach blew his whistle at that, and the entire team huddled up for the last-minute announcements, pep talk, and dismissal. Alex and Nova watched for a few seconds, but then Alex got up.

“Need to go, Trisha and I have a dinner date in an hour.”

“Oh, so you’re calling them dates now?” Nova asked, giving Alex a teasing grin.

“Well, I am, after Saturday. But her? No idea.”

With that, Alex walked off, heading back towards his dorm room. Nova just shook his head at the idea of the two of them. Not for the first time and not for the last, he simply wondered how the hell it happened.

I mean, he knew she, for some reason, had found Aegis quite interesting after he proved to be one of the few ponies to do as she said, even if it was in annoyance. And he knew Aegis for whatever reason found Trixie just as interesting as she found him. Naturally, it had developed into casual events where two best friends can hang out in a completely platonic manner, and from there, it had evolved into actual dates.

Even if Trixie only called them sources of free food and moral support.

“‘Sup Nathan?” came the trademark, slightly-scratchy voice of Rainbow Dash.

“Good afternoon, Rachel,” he answered, turning to see her standing a few bleacher rows down. Despite her tiredness, evidenced by the sweat-stained white practice kit of their university, Rachel looked quite energetic all of a sudden.

“Any particular reason why you were watching us practice?” she asked. “Or didja come to see me score more awesome goals like that on at the end?”

Nova laughed, but shook his head.

“Actually, I came to ask a favor from you,” he said. “You know how you always are insisting you owe me after I saved you from the Sha-- Hellsings?”

He had almost slipped up yet again, and he was really starting to anger himself with his own inability to get it right. If he was going to make any progress at not alerting the Changelings, he was going to need to practice with Discord if he ever wanted to get this right.

“A debt that you, mister,” she poked him in the shoulder, “have been saying doesn’t actually exist?”

“Yeah, that one,” Nova said, starting to walk out of the bleacher section with her in tow. “Well, I’m here to call it in.”

“Just here for that?” she asked, sounding slightly disappointed. “Well, what do you want? I’ll do just about anything, you know. Long as I’m not doing something stupid and boring like--”

“I need you to come with me to do a little work on the Appleby Farm on Saturday,” Nova interjected.

“No. Fucking. Way.”

Nova had expected this sort of resistance. It made sense that the curse was designed to keep the ponies believing they could never get along with each other.

“Dash, you owe me. You can’t exactly refuse,” he said, continuing despite Rachel’s flat refusal.

“Like hell I can’t,” Rachel responded angrily, running ahead of him and turning to look him in the eyes while walking backwards. “I’m not going to work on some stupid farm to make up for you saving, Nathan. That’s beneath me. And quite frankly, I think it wouldn’t be worth it.”

“I’ll decide if it’s worth it or not, Rainbow,” Nova said. He had actually said it on purpose this time, as he had with “Dash” a moment ago. “You’d be surprised how important this is to me.”

“I’m not going,” Rachel said flatly, giving a glare that was just asking him to challenge her. “I don’t want to have to deal with Ashleigh’s snide self the whole day. It’s bad enough I have to deal with her when Sierra hangs out with Andrea and Susan, and she’ll go off on how I’m a bad influence on them and that I should stay away from her little sister!”

“Rachel, how about I make you a deal?” Nova asked. He knew how Rainbow Dash could get. Maybe if he offered her something out of it...?

“A deal?” she asked, giving him a skeptical look. “What deal can you think of that would get me to go to the farm on Saturday?”

“How about I leave that up to you to decide?” he asked. “I’ll owe you a favor after, anything you want from me within reason.”

“Within reason?” she asked, stopping so she could walk alongside him instead of ahead. “You could just use that to turn down everything I ask you for.”

“Why does that bother you?” Nova asked, giving her a serious look. “I’m a man of my word, trust me, so you don’t have to worry about me not holding up my end of the bargain. Which means you must be considering something you don’t know if I’d agree to.”

Rachel had no answer for that question, so she just changed the topic.

“Can’t you have me do something else?” she whined.

“Look Rachel,” Nova said impatiently, “I’m actually trying to repair a relationship between you and Ashleigh. Don’t interject, I know you’ve had one in the past. Seems to me it would do you some good to fix it.”

“Since when do you care about my relationships?” she asked sourly.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Nova replied.

“But seriously, isn’t there something else I can do? I really don’t want to pay you back by doing a bunch of farm work. It just doesn’t seem all that fair.”

“Well, what sounds fair to you, then?” Nova asked, looking over at her. She was staring at the sidewalk as they walked past the squared Language Arts building.

And Nova noticed she was blushing.

“Well?” he asked.

She responded by mumbling something completely unintelligible.

“You’re going to have to speak up,” he said.

She mumbled something again, but went scarlet.

“I’m still not getting it,” Nova said. “Do you not want to talk about it in public, or something?”

“N-no,” she said softly, shaking her head. “It’s embarrassing… can I tell you in my dorm? Gretchen won’t be back from the track meet until much later tonight.”

“Sure,” Nova nodded, and they immediately changed course toward one of the small, motel-esque dorm buildings about a hundred yards away.

Nova had said to himself multiple times that he was prepared to do just about anything to get everypony back to Equestria. As such, he walked into Rachel’s room confident that he would be able to use what she wanted as part of the deal to get her to go to the farm. To him, it would be a very fair trade if it helped get him closer to reuniting with Twilight Sparkle as herself in Equestria.

However, upon entering Rachel’s poster-riddled messy dorm room and sitting in one of her wooden chairs, he had to break that promise to himself that he would do anything.

“What is it you want, Rachel?” he asked again.

She looked incredibly embarrassed and sheepish for some reason. Nova figured if she had to say it in private, and she was still embarrassed about it, it really had to be something sappy.

Oh, how right he was.

After a moment spent, apparently contemplating whether or not she should tell him what was nagging her, she lunged forward and kissed him. For only a few seconds, she let it linger, before she pulled back to see what he would do.

Nova could only sit there, surprised. His hand automatically reached up and touched his lips lightly.

“How.. how long?” he asked in a weak voice, staring down at his fingers, as if they had something on them.

“Ever since you saved me,” she said coyly. “I dunno. I just sort of used to think of you as that unflappable guy who wanted nothing to do with almost everyone, but now… it’s like you’ve changed completely. I liked the new you, but I, well, started to like like you after you saved me from the Hellsings.”

Nova sighed.

“Rachel, I’m sorry, but--”

“What do you mean, ‘you’re sorry?’” she asked, sounding quite accusatory. “I know you broke up with Natalie-- hell, just about every girl I know seems to have heard about it-- but I know you wouldn’t be the kind of person to just jump right in a few days after breaking up.”

“So, why kiss me then?” Nova asked, feeling quite perplexed.

“Well, because I’m not good with words, being sappy, or being an egghead--”

“Oh, thanks,” Nova remarked.

“--but I just wanted you to know I’m here, and I want to date you.”

Nova had to be honest, he didn’t think he would ever have another touching moment like this with Rainbow Dash ever again. While he would normally savor this opportunity for petty and embarrassing blackmailing purposes, he wasn’t going to be a moron and ruin a moment with the mare least likely to have said moments.

“Rachel,” Nova began, and he knew he had sounded more disappointed about having to say no than he actually was, “I’m sorry, but even when I finally get around to wanting to date again…”

“It’s okay Nathan,” she said, and Nathan felt his heart sink when she sounded like she had been extremely let down, “I… I understand.”

“You understand?” Nova asked, making his skepticism very noticeable. “Why do you think I don’t want to ask you out, Rachel?”

“It’s obvious isn’t it?” she snapped, glaring at him. “I’m a tomboy. No one wants to date tomboys. They always assume my door swings the other way, whether it be because of my hair or how I like sports. I don’t like being pretty or wearing frou-frou things like Regina,” she spat, “and even when they don’t assume, they still don’t want to date us. Typical.”

“Oh hush, Rainbow,” Nova said. “It’s not you, it’s me. There’s a terribly long list of complications and reasons why I can’t pursue you, but you wouldn’t believe half of them. Or all of them.”

“Not much different,” she sighed. “Either way, I don’t get the guy I like.”

“When did you even start wanting to date me, anyway?” he asked.

Rachel went a little pink and looked at a pair of dirty cyan pyjama pants on the floor.

“After you rescued me,” she mumbled. “I mean,” she got louder, “I thought I was being obvious about it, what with us hanging out more. Figures, you couldn’t see it.”

“Well, it’s not a matter of whether or not I couldn’t see it,” Nova said, scratching the back of his head. “I was kind of still dating Natalie at the time.”

“Yeah, and now that you’re not dating her, you still don’t want to date me,” she said, pointing an accusing finger at him.

“Don;t want to sound cruel,” Nova said, shrugging, “but that’s life I suppose. Buuuut…” he added, trailing off significantly and giving her a meaningful look.

“But… what?” she asked.

“How about I make you a deal, Rachel?” Nova asked. Twilight might not like his implementation of this idea when he got back, but even he had to admit, Equestria comes before his love life. “If you’ll come to the Appleby farm and work with me, I’ll owe you one date.”

When she glanced up at him in disbelief, Nova knew he had her.

“You’ll go on a date with me if I go work on the farm with you?” she asked.

“Sure,” Nova said. “Trust me, it’s more important than you think it is that you work with me this Saturday. So, you coming now?”

“Hell yeah I am, with an offer like that!” she said, grinning broadly. Nova, however, knew this would only lead to disappointment on her part. One date, and he would keep his word, but he would actively try to make sure it didn’t evolve into anything beyond that.

“Good. Saturday, seven AM, Appleby farm. Now, I have things I need to work on,” he said, getting to his feet and heading for the door.

“Wha-- what about the date?” Rachel asked, sounding indignant.

“Work first, dinner later,” Nova replied. “Don’t want you skipping after you’ve gotten your end of the bargain. Don’t worry, though, I’m a man of my word.”

“Fine. I’ll be there,” she promised. “Might be a little late, but I’ll be there.”

“Good,” Nova said, exiting the dorm. “I’ll see you then, Rachel.”

{E} {I} {O} {W}

The Appleby farm was a large expanse of land that covered at least a square mile outside of town. While it was far from a simple apple farm, despite the name, Apples were 75% of their crop. As a result, they put the extra effort into getting it just right for their cider and various apple-themed wares. They usually had hired farm hands help with the other crops, but the Appleby Apple-Hammering Technique was a closely-guarded family secret.

Which is totally why Ashleigh was breaking it out today. Nathan Samuel wasn’t exactly a friend of her’s, but she wanted to get this work done as soon as she could. Besides, it’s not like they’d get it absolutely perfect enough to show everyone on the first day.

Ashleigh Appleby was up at the rooster’s crow, was dressed in minutes in her usual work clothes of a short-sleeved, tight orange T-shirt and slightly-ragged jeans, and her favorite scuffed working gloves.

Ashleigh yawned widely as she walked past her sister’s bedroom, grabbed her stetson from the hat hanger it was placed on, slipped on her boots, and jogged on out to the barn to grab three sledges. Big Mike had said Nathan was bringing a friend, so she had to make sure there was plenty of work to go around.

With three people, they might get the entire eastern orchard done by noon, which would be exactly what the family was hoping for. A quarter of their usual harvest done in one morning.

She hefted three sledgehammers off of their racks and onto her shoulder effortlessly, then briskly walked out to the front of the barn where he knew Nathan and his friend were going to show up.

Ashleigh never really liked nor disliked Nathan in all the time she’d known him. He’d always seemed rather cool and aloof towards everyone but his girlfriend. Normally, she would not like him for that, but there were those moments where he went out of his way to help someone, such as what he did with Deborah Hoover, or how he saved Rachel, Tracy, and that Lucy Selene lady from the Hellsings. Those moments always redeemed him in her eyes.

Then it had seemed like he’d suddenly changed into a different guy altogether. He even threw out his own girlfriend when, so the story went, she tried to make him throw out Tracy in the middle of that storm a week ago. Ashleigh never had any feelings towards Nathan, but it sure satisfied her quite a bit when she heard Natalie had gotten exactly what she deserved. Nathan could do so much better than her.

Of course, there were those rumors about him and Tracy and Rachel, which apparently her brother knew weren’t really right, but they could have a shred of truth to them. She didn’t really care for Tracy all that much, considering she was just a little bookworm who kept herself distant from anyone else, but she was certainly better for Nathan than Rachel. That girl hadn’t done an honest day’s work in her life, choosing to focus on playing instead of doing what needed to be done.

As if she stood a chance of making it into… whatever it was she was trying to get into. Didn’t she know that only the best of the best, of which she was not, ever made it past college level? She needed sense. She needed a sensible job that she could realistically do for the rest of her life instead of just having fun for twenty years and then blowing her money for the next forty.

Ashleigh noticed someone trudging along the dirt path that led up to the farm. The telltale blue hair gave Nathan away no problem. What she was not expecting was to see a rainbow-shaded ponytail standing out in the morning darkness.

He didn’t… she thought. Did he seriously bring Rachel?

If he did, she’d at least work one honest day in her life.

But sure enough, as they got closer, the figure of Rachel Dillon became so much clearer. She’d at least come prepared to work. She was wearing an athletic tank-top, shorts, work gloves, and she seemed to be having second thoughts about it.

Ashleigh could only wonder what kind of deal Nathan had made with her to get her to show up.

“Ah can’t believe you actually got her t’come,” she drawled, indicating Rachel, who had already crossed her arms and was giving Ashleigh a look of immense dislike. Nathan just rolled his eyes at the pair of them.

“Took some doing, but I figured this would be beneficial to both of you in the long run.”

“Beneficial?” scoffed Rachel, giving a skeptical sort of smirk. “What, you’re trying to play friend matchmaker now, or something?”

“Yep,” Nathan answered firmly. “I figured the two of you could use the time to air things out. Preferably when you’re smashing hammers against trees.”

He walked over, took a sledge from Ashleigh, and headed over towards the closes orchard.

“Wrong one, Nathan,” she said. At his inquisitive glance, she gestured over toward an enclosure on the other side of the dirt road. “An’ Rachel, you’ll be needin’ this,” she added, tossing the sledge quite carelessly at Rachel, who caught it easily, but with a very audible growl at her.

“Girls, can we go twenty minutes without arguing? Try to set a personal record, perhaps?” Nathan asked over his shoulder.

“No promises,” Rachel said, stomping after him while Ashleigh jogged ahead of Nathan to open the gate.

“So what’s the day’s quota?” Nathan asked, a little loudly and obviously, trying to steer them away from these dangerous topics.

“The whole East Orchard,” Ashleigh said. “‘Snot as much as it sounds. With the three of us, doubt it’ll take more’n the mornin’.”

“Oh, good,” Rachel said, sounding quite pleased. “I thought we were gonna be here all day.”

“We were, if it were jist me an’ Nathan,” Ashleigh replied. “But seein’ as how yer an athlete an’ all, Ah reckon yeh’ll get the hang of the sledgin’ soon enough.”

“Finally,” Nathan exclaimed, “something that could be taken as a compliment! We made progress, and we’re only thirty seconds in!”

Ashleigh punched him as he walked through the gate. Nathan just smirked and moved to stand next to a tree, flipping his hammer off his shoulder to rest the hammerhead on the ground. Were it not for the fact that he bashed his own shin by accident, Ashleigh would have thought he’d been doing that sort of thing before.

*snrk*

“What’s so funny, Rachel?” demanded Nathan, giving her an indignant look.

“You!” Rachel replied, starting to guffaw unashamedly at Nathan’s failure to be cool. “Swinging that hammer down, then smashing your own shin? Nice try, Nathan, but you’re gonna have to do a lot better than that to be cooler than me.”

“To hell with coolness,” Ashleigh interrupted, stepping over to a tree, rearing back, and letting the hammerhead sort of fall into the tree’s sweet spot. With a plonk, all but one of the apples came loose, tumbling to the ground.

“I guess here’s where I redeem myself,” Nathan said, walking over, leaning against the tree, and casually elbowing it. The single apple fell into his waiting hand and he took a bite, one of the biggest shit-eating grins Ashleigh had ever seen working onto his face.

“Well, let’s get workin’, y’all. Ah wanna get this done,” Ashleigh said, choosing to ignore Nathan’s antics. “Lemme show y’all how it’s done.”

She motioned for Rachel to come over, and when she was close enough, Ashleigh started pushing against the trunk with two fingers.

“You need to find the tree’s sweet spot, a softer spot than the rest of it. When you’ve found it, alls you gotta do is pull the hammer back, then let gravity do the rest.”

To show everything off, she walked over to another tree, prodded until she found the softer bark, then reared back and let the hammer swing again. With another plonk, all the apples fell out, where she started to pick them up and toss them into a waiting wooden bucket.

“Get to it, y’all,” she instructed, waving a hand as she went off to get another tree.

Nathan plodded back to his tree and immediately started poking at the tree, looking for its soft spot. Rachel, however, seemed genuinely confused.

“So, this is the big Appleby family secret?” she asked. “Just hitting them down with sledgehammers?”

“Yep,” Ashleigh said, having already knocked down all the apples from another tree. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“Not really disappointed. Well,” Rachel said, before making a “so-so” motion with her hand. “I guess I am a little bit. I always thought you, like, made them fall by kicking it, or something.”

Ashleigh guffawed openly at Rachel’s words. Rachel, however, was having none of it.

“H-hey! What’s so funny?”

“Oh nothin’ sugar, it’s just, we get that a lot. It never fails to make me laugh. I don’t mean to insult you with the laughin’ or anythin’.”

“Yeah, best saving the insulting for when i’m done knocking half the trees over, huh,” Rachel said, walking back to her tree and starting to poke at the trunk.

“Now why would Ah do that?”

“I know you won’t lie, since it’s not like you,” Rachel started, before raising her hammer, “but you’re pretty brutal when you’re honest. Too brutal. Doesn’t the Bible say ‘If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything?’”

“Nope,” Ashleigh said, shaking her head. “Never says that anywhere. The line’s from Bambi, actually.”

“No kidding?” Rachel asked, surprised as she let her hammer fall. With a solid plonk, almost all of the apples fell out.

“Nope, no kiddin’. Nice job, by the way,” Ashleigh added, noting that Rachel had certainly done better than Nathan, who hadn’t even gotten half of his out. Maybe she wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“Thanks,” Rachel said, swelling a good inch or so. “Maybe with some practice, I might get better than you.”

“That a challenge?” Ashleigh asked, an eyebrow arching and smiling deviously.

“Depends,” Rachel said, hefting her hammer onto her shoulder, but grinning just as deviously. “What are we doing and what are we doing it for?”

“Oh come on,” Nathan complained. “I’m the only one doing work here!”

He still hadn’t gotten all the apples down from one tree yet.

“Well, since you're gonna do so well at sledgin’ apples, Ah say we do just that. Whoever can sledge the most apples down bah the time we git all the trees done wins.”

“Wins what?” Rachel asked.

“I swear, it’s like I’m not even here,” Nathan grumbled.

“Shut up, Nathan,” Rachel commanded.

“Yes ma’am,” Nathan said obediently, resuming his attempted knocking down of apples.

“Oh, well, Ah think Ah just got me an idea,” Ashleigh said, having witnessed this exchange. This would easily be the best way to get under Rachel’s skin, bragging that she’d gone on a date with him when Rachel was the one who liked him. “Winner gets to take Nathan on a date.”

“What?” Nathan asked, looking up from his fourth consecutive failed attempt.

“Question,” Rachel said, “Nathan’s already agreed to take me on a date. What, does that mean a second one?”

“Ah guess,” Ashleigh said, shrugging. “Hang on, you’re datin’?”

“Nah, I just promised her one if she came out to help,” Nathan answered, finally managing to knock them all down from one.

“Well, that answers how he managed ta git you here,” Ashleigh said, “but sure, Ah guess ya get two.”

“So, how’s this gonna work?” Rachel asked, clearly anxious to win a second date with Nathan.

“Well, all the buckets are already out by the trees,” Ashleigh said, looking out over the entire orchard. “Ah guess you claim a tree, knock ‘em all down, mark your bucket, or somethin’ like that. Try to fill the entire thing up, it’ll make it easier ta count. Each bucket holds 50 apples. Put the incomplete bucket off ta the side when we’re done. Sound good?”

“Fantastic. ReadysetGO!” Rachel said, shooting off towards her next tree.

“BE CAREFUL WITH THE TREES! AH DON’T WANT ANY O’ THEM HURT!”

But the contest had already started. Nathan could only watch and feel emasculated as these two athletic women ran about knocking apples out of trees and filling up the buckets. Ashleigh almost laughed at how comically ineffective Nathan was at this. He might have only gotten five trees bare in the first hour, while she and Rachel were going on thirty each.

“This isn’t fair,” he whined as he stomped off to his sixth tree while Ashleigh and Rachel took a five-minute break.

“Damn right it isn’t,” Rachel said, looking at how she and Ashleigh had apparently gotten about the same number of buckets. “She’s going easy on me.”

“Sugar, Ah know it’ll kill you to hear this,” Ashleigh said, wiping her brow and fanning herself with her stetson, “but Ah ain’t goin’ easy. ‘Snot exactly somethin’ that can be rushed, and we’re both takin’ it at the proper pace.”

“Unless you’re Nathan,” Rachel said, which caused both of them to chortle at Nathan’s expense. Nathan had just managed to knock an all-time low of three apples down from one hit. “Guess some people aren’t naturally good at this.”

“Well, back at it, Ah guess,” Ashleigh said, picking up her hammer. Rachel did the same, and within minutes, they were both deadlocked yet again, leaving Nathan to just complain and whine the whole time.

But Nathan wasn’t complaining. He just seemed to be observing Rachel’s and Ashleigh’s competition with a smile on his face. It was almost as if this had been the plan from the beginning. By the end of the second hour, Ashleigh and Rachel were taking good-natured jabs at each other and returning fire in kind. By the end of the third hour, they were chatting while they continued their work. And by the fourth, they had nearly finished everything up in record time.

“Well, Ah’ll be damned,” Ashleigh said, taking deep breaths after having hauled all of her buckets to one pile. Rachel was busy moving her’s into her own pile as well. The piles looked to be quite even, but Ashleigh was confident she had won. She wasn’t going to let some dumb jock beat her at her own game.

“You know, if I didn’t know better,” Nathan said, hauling his last bucket into place, having gathered apples from a paltry twenty-six trees, “I’d say the two of you were friends.”. He had sped up towards the end, once he (finally) got the hang of it, but Ashleigh had, at her own personal count, gotten over a hundred twenty on the day. This was about how many she normally got, having had a lot of experience.

“Friends, huh?” Ashleigh repeated, giving Rachel a look. “Ah’ll admit, Ah misjudged you, Rachel. Thought you were just some stupid jock who’d never do an honest day’s work in her life.”

“Me too,” Rachel said. “Always thought you were some super-serious no-fun-allowed kind of people. This little contest was fun, I gotta admit. You’re pretty cool, Ashleigh.”

“Ah’m cool?” Ashleigh asked, snorting slightly. “Well, thank you kindly, Rachel. Ah guess you're pretty cool yourself.”

“Well, duh,” Rachel said, rolling her eyes. “I am only the most awesome person in the entire city.”

“Well, let’s count the buckets,” Nathan sighed. “Better find out who I’m going on a date, or second date with.”

He yawned and stretched for a moment, relishing in the slight soreness. Probably wondering how Ashleigh did this every day. But then he set to work, counting the full buckets in their piles, which didn’t take long. What took long was his counting of the one bucket that didn’t have a flat fifty in it.

After he counted Ashleigh’s, he moved on to Rachel's. Ashleigh could see they had gotten the same number of buckets, which she thought was pretty impressive. Rachel had done pretty well for her first day.

“It’s a tie,” Nathan announced.

“What?”

“No freaking way.”

“‘Fraid so,” Nathan said, gesturing over to the buckets. “Forty-seven complete buckets each, and eighteen apples in the incomplete one. It’s a draw.”

“H-how?” Rachel asked.

“How’d she tie me?” Ashleigh asked, completely surprised by this.

“I presume by working as hard as you did,” Nathan replied, shrugging. “So, how’s this working? Am I not taking either of you? Both of you?”

“I like the both of us option, and Ah’m sure Rachel could agree.”

“Second date’s always nice,” Rachel said, nodding. “Even if I do have to share it.”

Nova looked between the two girls as they huffed from the day’s work. He felt he had succeeded quite nicely. Applejack and Rainbow Dash seemed to be on a lot better of terms. Maybe it was too soon for the Spirits of Harmony inside of them to awaken, but at least it was a good start.

He glanced into Rainbow Dash’s eyes… and there was a strange little gleam in them. A gleam that seemed familiar to Nova. Upon glancing at Applejack, he saw that same strange gleam in her eye as well.

Did this mean the Spirits had awoken?

“You okay there, Nathan?” Rachel asked. “It’s not too hot out here, is it?”

“Nah,” Nova replied, shaking himself from his thoughts. “Well, gotta say, Dash, I thought you and Applejack here wouldn’t get along well, bu here you are chatting and laughing like you’re the best of friends all of a sudden.”

“Did you just call me ‘Applejack?’” Ashleigh asked.

“Well, he called me Dash,” Rachel answered. “He’s been calling me Rainbow and Dash a lot for some reason. Not that I mind. Rainbow Dash sounds like an awesome nickname.”

“It does have a nice ring to it,” Ashleigh admitted. “Fair ‘nuff. Ah’ll tell Mike you did y’all’s work. Y’all go on home and-- Winona!”

Applejack’s dog came bounding around the barn, but Nova could tell something was wrong. Winona was limping along, yipping whenever something so much as brushed her left front leg.

“Oh lord, her leg’s hurt,” Ashleigh said, running over and scooping up her dog into her arms. After some probing, and some rather loud whines from Winona, Nova thought she must have broken her leg doing something.

“Ah don’t know what’s wrong with her leg,” she said, her voice sounding about as concerned with Winona as Nova would be if Twilight were in any danger. “Do either of y’all know a good veterinarian? Our old one moved.”

“Actually,” Nova said, struck by another idea. Two for one today? “I know a good one. Mind if I take her?”

“Please be careful with her, Nathan,” said Ashleigh nervously, walking over and handing her dog to Nova. “Ah’d hate to see anythin’ happen ta her.”

“I’ll be careful,” promised Nathan. “I’ll need to get her there quickly. Rachel, you going to come with, or do you plan on sticking around and helping out here?”

“I think I’ll hang here for a bit,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Gotta help Ashleigh finish up the work. Wouldn’t want to leave her hangin’.”

“Very well, then,” Nova said, turning and starting the walk back to the city. “I’ll be back as soon as I can with my friend. She ought to help you out.”

“Please be back soon,” said Ashleigh pleadingly.

Nova walked off, carrying Winona and doing his best not to jostle the injured leg.

“It’s alright, girl,” he said, stroking her behind the ears. "Do you happen to remember?”

Winona’s eyes lit up and she licked Nova’s cheek, which made him laugh.

“I’m going to take that as a yes,” he chuckled. “Well, in that case, let’s go see about making an appointment with our dear friend Fluttershy.”

Author's Note

Another chapter up. These are so much faster to do now that school's out. Enjoy!

Read and review please.

Rytex out. Have a good day!

Swords and Clubs

Even In Other Worlds
Chapter 08 - Swords and Clubs

Music, new tab. You know the drill.

“...and he’ll need his medicine twice a day. I’d suggest wrapping it up in a slice of cheese, since sometimes doggies don’t want to eat the pills,” Felicity Sanders explained in her trademark soft voice to Ashleigh , who was dutifully writing everything down. They were back on the farm, and Nathan was hauling his share of the buckets he hadn’t gotten before he’d had to speed off.

“Ah see. Thank yeh kahndly, Felicity,” Ashleigh said, giving the girl a quick thank-you hug. “Ah think Ah need a long sit-down ta think about who else Ah misjudged. First Rachel, now you…”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Felicity said, hiding her face slightly behind her curtain of pink hair. “I know I’m not someone you’d spend all of your time with. I’d just work at my animal shelter anyway.”

“What the hell are you sayin’, Fel?” Rachel asked, sounding thoroughly bemused. “You think we don’t wanna spend time with you ‘cause you’re working at that animal shelter?”

“Well… maybe…”

“To hell with that,” Rachel said. “I’m crashing your shift at the animal shelter sometime next week.”

“You’re… what?”

Rachel almost facepalmed, but she reminded herself, this was Felicity. If anything could be remotely taken as an insult, either to her or from her, she’d take it that way. Rachel had never met a less assertive person in her life.

“I’m showing up unannounced in the middle of your shift to help out,” she deadpanned.

“Oh, well, I can do it on my own just fine… Besides, Mr. Sire usually comes in and helps, too.”

“Mr. Sire? He’s a friend of mine,” Rachel proudly proclaimed to Felicity. “I’ve been hanging around him and Nathan over the last few weeks. Whaddya say? Think I can join in?”

“Umm… sure, I guess…” said Felicity, shrugging.

“Wonderful!” Nathan exclaimed. “Isn’t that nice? Everyone seems to be getting along all of a sudden.”

This might be over faster than I expected.

Which, of course, meant that it wouldn’t be. Nova knew that, this being Envy and all, there was likely a lot more to this than what appeared at first glance.

“Well,” he said, noticing that everyone seemed to be getting along quite well, “I think I’m going to head on home. I’m looking forward to catching up on my sleep.”

“Yeah, think I’m gonna head in, too. Need to get in some shots for coach,” Rachel said. Nova secretly thought this was her way of excusing herself for a walk with him.

“Well thank ya kahndly fer the help, Nathan,” said Ashleigh, smiling and waving at them. “An’ you too, Rachel. Ah’ll be glad ta have you back fer some more help, if yer willin’. An’ Nathan, when we gonna sit down an’ talk about mine an’ Rachel’s little prize?”

“Later,” Nova said, yawning and starting to walk out.. “When we have more time, we’ll all sit down and figure it out. But for now, I’m tired.”

“Good-bye, Nathan! Bye Rachel!” Ashleigh called as the two of them walked off. Felicity seemed content to give a shy little wave as she continued to look after Winona.

“So?” Nathan elbowed Rachel as soon as they were back within city limits, “What did I tell you?”

Rachel just grunted.

“You don’t seem pretty pleased to have realized you had more in common with her than you think.”

“Fine, you were right,” admitted Rachel, rolling her eyes.

“You’re goddamn right,” said Nova, feeling the Breaking Bad quip was too good to pass up. And receiving a punch to the shoulder for his trouble.

“So, about that date you owe me…” Rachel trailed off quite significantly, before looking up at him expectantly. Nova didn’t really know whether she wanted him to ask her, or say he already had ideas.

“What about it?” he decided to ask.

“When do you think we can go? Where do you think we can go?”

“Very eager to go on this date, aren’t you, Dash?” he observed.

“Well… yeah…” she sheepishly trailed off, scratching at the back of her head. “It’s just…”

“Just… what?” asked Nova, as they passed a couple of cars parked near a clothes shop.

“Just… I don’t know.” She groaned. “Look, I know I’m fast. You know I’m fast. I, well, like doing things fast. Like today, for example. Working on that farm, getting it done in record time, absolutely perfect for me.”

“You know, Dash,” Nova smirked, “some guys prefer taking it slow. Gives them time to savor it.”

“I… oh for goodness sake,” she facepalmed, “walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

“Why yes, yes you did,” answered Nova. Discord was right. Netflix was amazing. They needed something like it in Equestria. He would certainly love continuing to watch Phineas and Ferb.

“But anyway, I just, you know, want to go on a date as soon as I can.”

“I can’t help but get the feeling it’s not so much you want to go on the date quickly,” said Nova, somewhat conspiratorially, “as it is you want to snatch me up before someone else does.”

It was Rachel’s lack of a denial that surprised Nova the most. He hadn’t expected her to be this up front about it. No, he had expected her to sputter, to say that was impossible.

“You must be joking,” he groaned. “Are you really that shallow?”

“No!” answered Rachel indignantly. “I just… I’ve already told you, I really like you. I know it sounds bad,” Oh, how right you are Rainbow, “but I just… it seems like you’re really taken with Tracy. I don’t really have any sort of bad blood with her, but I will do my best to get you.”

“I am not a prize to ‘get,’ Rachel,” Nova snapped, snarling at her. “If I’m very taken with Tracy, then you have no right to try to pluck me away. I promised you a date, two if you count today’s tie, and I will honor my word. But I didn’t promise we would be an item, Dash. If it becomes more, so be it. If not, I expect you to respect my decision.”

Nova continued walking, despite knowing that Rachel had stopped at those words. Once he had made it a few paces, he sighed softly.

I should never have promised her a date, he thought dejectedly. It will only lead to heartbreak in the end.

“I’m sorry.”

Nova turned and gave her a stern look, but he didn’t stop walking. Rachel had caught up to him and was determinedly looking him straight in the eye. Nova did notice a slight dejection in her eyes, as if she already knew what his tirade meant. But while she might assume she knew, there was no way she really knew about everything between him and Twilight.

“It’s alright, Dash,” he said. He meant it, but he cringed at his own voice sounding like he didn’t.

“No, really, I mean it. I am sorry, Nathan.”

Rachel sped up until she was next to him. Once she caught up, she just took to staring at the ground as they walked.

“Look, if you like Tracy, why didn’t you tell me already?” she asked, and Nova definitely heard the dejection in her voice. “If you plan on taking me on a date, but you already like someone, your heart’s not gonna be in it, right? What would the point of the date be?”

“You don’t understand yet, but you will later,” responded Nathan. “Cryptic, I know, but you have no idea how important it was that you and Ashleigh repair the relationship between you.I was willing to promise you a date to make it happen. That’s not to say I won’t put my heart into it, though,” he added hastily.

“It’s fine, Nathan,” Rachel sighed. “Listen, today was fun. It really was. I’m still willing to go on that date, even if things don’t end up working well.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it,” Nathan promised.

“I’ll head on home from here. Bye, Nathan.”

And with that, Rachel took off, jogging back toward the university. Nova leaned against the wall of a shop behind him, watching her go. The situation had suddenly gotten a lot more complicated than he had intended it to.

What if this carried over? If Rainbow Dash harbored feelings for Nova even after they returned to Equestria? Even though Dash was undeniably loyal, she had a very mean competitive streak, and though he wished this weren’t the case, he and Twilight still weren’t married yet. Who knows? She might use that as justification for trying to win him over before their second attempt at tying the knot.

What if this lead to a rift between Rainbow and Twilight? What if that meant the Spirits of Harmony wouldn’t work? What if that meant that their little Rainbow Castle thingy (Note to self, Nova, find a better name) was brought to a screeching halt just because he--

Damn it, Twilight, Nova thought, shaking his head, but he couldn’t stop grinning. You’ve got me already starting to think of apocalyptic scenarios for even the smallest of mistakes. What have you done to me?

{E} {I} {O} {W}

Nova sat atop one of the buildings on the way to the University that he would run over. It was the Tuesday after, class for the day was over (for him, anyway), and now he was simply sitting outside and enjoying the cool day. Winter was in full swing, with a forecast of heavy snowfall slated for the evening, which meant that Nova felt pleasantly cool as he sat on the edge of a building’s roof, feet dangling over the sidewalk below.

He yawned; it had been a particularly early morning, thanks to his new assignment from Discord: he now had to visit the gym and work out. The first day yesterday had been nothing short of hell. The second day, today, had been about as bad.

They said they needed him working out because his magic would build on his strength, meaning that he could basically lift things far larger than usual. This being said, they were making him work out so that, in the event that he did end up moving something far larger than him, it was less likely to arouse suspicion.

The cold air was perfect for him. His muscles were so sore they almost hurt. And yet, he still felt very satisfied with how he had started off. He didn’t know exactly what the human average was, or anything, but he felt a 100lb. max bench press was a reasonably good starting point. Triple digits when he hadn’t lifted in his life before.

If he had been impressed by his benching, his leg press had certainly stunned him. Clocking in at a 580 lb. max, Nova would be on Cloud 9 for the rest of the day.

But still, if maxing day, which was by far supposed to be the easiest day, hurt this much, Nova was in for a long life of sore muscles. Maybe he could turn himself into Bulk Biceps (whoever he was in this world) if he worked long enough.

Yeah, fat chance of that happening, he thought.

“Nathan?”

Nova smiled to himself. How nice, he thought. She’s coming to visit more often, now.

“Over here, Tracy!” he called, waving towards the roof of his apartment. Tracy had obviously seen him from down on the sidewalk below and had come up for a visit. Considering she was probably coming to visit anyway, Nova guessed it really didn’t matter what venue was used.

He yawned slightly as he heard the crunching of the rooftop gravel growing closer. A few moments later, and the sweater-vested form of Tracy Strong slipped into his peripheral vision as she sat down next to him on the roof edge.

“So, what brings you to my humble abode?” asked Nova, smiling at her.

“No reason,” answered Tracy, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. “I just felt like coming to visit. I mean, it’s been a bit more than a week since… you know.”

“Yeah,” Nathan said, snarling at the thought.

“I was just coming to see how you were doing,” she finished. “Are you doing alright?”

“Me? Oh, I’m doing fine,” he said, smiling again. “Repaired Rachel’s friendship with Ashleigh Appleby, made sure my old teacher is taken care of out in a cottage by the farm, and it seems that me breaking up with Natalie is reaping only benefits. I’m on Cloud fucking Nine.”

He noticed Tracy wince almost imperceptibly at his profanity and resolved to not do it again. When around her, at least.

“Your old teacher?”

“Yeah. Ms. Selene,” he added, seeing the blank look on her face. “Taught me… well, quite a bit of what I know. Doc Hoffman taught me the rest.”

She just stared at him. Nova couldn’t help but shake the feeling that she didn’t believe him, but it didn’t really matter. After all, it was true. Maybe not for Nathan Samuel, but definitely for Nova Shine.

“You don’t believe me, do you.” He smirked. “Figures. No one believes me when I tell them I’m engaged, too.”

Tracy just blinked. She didn’t seem to have any response to that one. Nova just chuckled and went back to staring at the town from his perch.

“Are you… are you serious?” she asked.

“About what? Ms. Selene and Doc Hoffman? Totally. About being engaged?” Nova smiled one of the most tantalizingly evil smiles he could. “Maaaayyyybe.”

Tracy, again, just stared at him. Though this time, Nova could see something in her eyes. Was that… disappointment? Upon actually turning to face her, it was unmistakable. Tracy was definitely disappointed. Well, understatement actually. She almost looked as if this was the biggest let-down of her life.

“You believe me?” he asked, startled.

“I… guess,” Tracy admitted, turning away and staring at a random bug as it skittered across the concrete surface. “I just… I get the feeling you’re not lying to me.”

“It’s complicated,” explained Nova, “really difficult to explain, and even if I did, I doubt you’d believe half of it. This being said…”

Pressing his luck, he reached over and placed his hand on her’s. At once, her head snapped up, staring at him with a slightly wary expression, but this time Nova didn’t miss the blush that coated her cheeks.

“You should know that it shouldn’t interfere with anything that could happen between you and me,” he finished.

He felt her hand twitch ever so slightly under his, a slight clench of the thigh-high concrete barrier, but she let the contact stand.

“So, what did you promise them?” she asked, after a long moment of silence.

“Hm?”

“Ashleigh and Rachel,” clarified Tracy. “They couldn’t stand to be in the same room with each other without arguing about something. What did you promise them, if they got along?”

Nova laughed. He tossed his head back and he laughed openly and in such a way that even sensitive Fluttershy would have known that this was genuine amusement, and not the variety that came at one other’s expense.

“Sharp as a tack, aren’t you Tracy?”

She just stared at him seriously, until Nova’s mirth sort of fell away. He just nodded.

“Yeah, did promise them something. Well, two things actually. Promised Rachel a date if she’d come with me to work on the farm, and since Ashleigh and Rachel both tied in a little contest of theirs, they agreed to take me on a double-date, as it were.”

And yet again, she just stared at him.

“‘Course, they did kinda rope me into that one, but still…”

And still, she just stared at him. Nova was wondering if he had just overloaded her mind in some way. There had been that time when he had dropped the news that he had been back from his little trip to the past seven months before he was actually back in Ponyville.

But then another thought occurred to Nova. A thought so out of place, he never would have thought of Twilight feeling this way. Rarity and Rainbow Dash, maybe, but Twilight?

“Are you… jealous?” he asked, bemused.

“So what if I am?”

Nova was taken aback by this response. Twilight Sparkle would usually stammer and blush and explain why she was not jealous. Perhaps the fake memories she was given were messing with her head?

“I’m flattered, Tracy,” Nova said after a moment.

“But…?” Tracy sighed. It seems she knew that generally people who used that term had a stipulation.

“Mm, no buts,” he shook his head. “I’m just flattered.”

He leaned his head back and took a deep breath, enjoying the crisp air as it stung his sinuses.

“I mean,” he added, shaking his head vigorously, “not even a couple of months ago, I thought you hated my guts.”

“I didn’t hate you,” she protested, waving her hands back and forth. “I just… really didn’t like you very much.”

“You hated me, Tracy,” Nova assured her. “Or at least, you hated me when I was like Natalie. Either way, I’m not offended. Not anymore, at least.”

He removed his hand from over hers and took another great whiff of the cool air. He had never before appreciated just how good it felt, knowing he had worked hard to do something, and now was enjoying the fruits of his labor. Of course, he had only worked one day, and he had only lifted barely anything, but he still felt quite satisfied.

“Well,” he said, swinging his legs back onto the rooftop, “while I don’t exactly have stuff to do today, I do need me a shower.”

Tracy wrinkled her nose as a great surge of his sweaty smell radiated straight into her nostrils.

“Yes, yes you do,” she concurred, fanning the air in front of her nose to clear the air. She coughed too, but Nova couldn’t help but think that was just for show. “Go on,” she said, shooing him towards his own apartment, “I’ll wait.”

Nova smiled, but complied, whipping off his shirt and tossing it back at her as he jogged back. It was time for some teasing payback!

Sure enough, Tracy blushed at the sight of a shirtless Nova. Granted, Nova wasn’t exactly the most built guy, but he wasn’t completely out of shape. Nova halted, then turned back and winked at her, causing her red face to go almost purple.

“Like what you see?” he smirked back at her. “I can always flex too, you know.”

He did. Again, not the most built guy on the planet, but that seemed enough for Tracy. She just blinked stupidly at the sight of him pretending to be a manly man.

“Well, got to go,” he said, before stretching. “Showers to take, pretty girls to tease, you know the drill.”

And like that, Tracy was jolted out of her reverie. “Umm, sure.”

“Won’t take long,” he assured her, before jogging into his apartment and turning on the warm water.

Showers are often the place where the most metaphysical, philosophical thoughts happen. One moment, you could be staring at the nozzles, and the second moment, you’re pondering the ultimate meaning of life, the universe, and everything, and why exactly it was 42. Nova Shine, in one of his few cases of being a normal pony, was doing something along those lines…

So if she’s swooning at the mere sight of me shirtless, he thought, she must have some sort of feelings for me. Is Twilight Sparkle breaking out? Or is it just me managing to win Tracy over?

Either way, it pleased him to know he was winning over at least half of Twilight Sparkle.

{E} {I} {O} {W}

“Are you ready, Nathan?” asked Discord.

They were standing in the middle of a drawn circle on the ground of his manor’s little gym, ready for another session of learning to fight with blades. Discord was wearing a strange work outfit, namely a grey T-shirt and athletic shorts, but even though he appeared a weathered, older gentleman, he was quite the fighter.

Nathan, in contrast, was only wearing athletic shorts as well. Normally, this wouldn’t have been a fact to mention.

If it weren’t for the fact that today, Discord had let Rachel and Tracy in to watch. Somehow, some way, they’d known “Mr. Sire” had been training him, and so they’d both shown up at his front door. Considering they weren’t exactly friends yet, and their mutual attraction to him might not do any favors, Nova was hoping that Discord would turn them down.

He didn’t.

Nova took a deep breath, before shifting into his fighting stance. Hilt of the blade by his pelvis, blade pointed vertically forty-five degrees, and most importantly, sword kept between him and his opponent.

“Begin,” Discord said, before darting forward and stabbing at Nova’s heart.

Nova twisted his own blade and deflected the stabbin blow away just in time, though it wouldn’t have really done anything. They’d infused their swords with magical warding in case they inadvertently made a critical strike. This would stop them in their tracks, preventing anything worse than broken bones. Bruises, scratches, and other minor injuries, however, were still fair game.

As Discord found to his chagrin when Nova immediately followed up his deflection with a quick roundhouse kick with his right foot. He wasn’t athletic enough to get it to head level, but he did plant it quite satisfyingly into Discord’s side.

With an “oof!” Discord stumbled sideways, leaving him completely open.for Nova to dart in and put a couple more strikes.

Discord, however, was a fantastic fighter. He used the momentum of the kick to somersault on the ground, before springing back up and battering Nova’s blade away and following up with an attempt at cleaving him in two.

Nova dove away from that blow. He wouldn’t have been able to get his blade back up in time, so he settled for avoiding the attack. No sooner than he had righted himself than Discord came again. Nova, this time, managed to parry the blow away before countering with his own swipe at Discord.

The duel continued in this vein for a few minutes, with Nova and Discord trading attacks and defenses, but neither of them really getting anywhere near victory. Nova wasn’t trying his hardest-- he needed energy for the next three or four fights Discord would insist on-- but he was certainly giving it a hell of a shot.

Finally, after Discord managed to twist himself into a particularly contorted position to deflect one of Nova’s attacks, after Nova had managed to catch him out of form, Nova managed to trip him up and then jab the blade at his throat. As intended, and as had happened several times before, the blade stopped just shy of Discord’s flesh.

“Nicely done, Nathan,” Discord said approvingly, as Nova helped him up. “You played that one a lot like a tennis match, where your whole objective is placement. And,” he leaned into Nova’s ear, “it really reminds me of your magical duelling style, trying to force your opponent into one of your traps.”

“Yeah, I guess the habit carried over,” agreed Nova. “What did you think, ladies?” He turned to Rachel and Tracy, who both looked fairly pleased that he won.

“Nice, Nathan,” Rachel said, walking over and examining Nova’s sword. “When I heard he was teaching you fencing, I thought it was, like, the sport. Didn’t know he was just teaching you how to fight with swords.”

“A little more than that,” Nova admitted, “but those are just between me and him.”

Rachel giggled. Nova could only realize the implications of private lessons between a young handsome man and an elder man and roll his eyes at her display of immaturity.

Tracy looked no less impressed as well.

“Were you always trying to catch him out of position? Or did that idea just occur to you at the end?” she asked curiously.

“It’s how I do things,” Nova said, moving his arms in a slight wind-mill exercise to loosen them up. “I like to play a bit of chess with my opponents, no matter which little game it may be.”

“Not always the most practical thing to do,” said Tracy.

“Oh, lighten up egghead,” Rachel groaned. “Let him savor the victory.”

“I am not an egghead!” Tracy huffed, stamping her foot in a manner that Nova couldn’t help but find cute.

“Yes, you are,” Nova sighed. “Just lighten up and admit it. Some of us guys like egghead girls.”

Tracy went pink and looked downward so that her bangs hid most of her face, and a look of irritation passed across Rachel’s face for a brief moment before she hid it.

“Five minutes, Nathan,” Discord said, walking over and taking a sip of water from a bottle he had left over on one of the benches, next to a pile of damp towels..

“Hey, toss me one of those towels,” he called over to the elderly man, who obliged, tossing Nova a white towel from a pile, who caught it and wiped his face and hair with it, trying to soak up the sweat.

And then he tossed it at Tracy, who wasn’t ready for it and took it straight to the face. Rachel snickered, and Nova heard a touch of cruelty in the laugh that only made him frown. Rachel, it seemed, was taking it quite personally that he liked Tracy, despite him saving her and her own admission that she liked him.

“You alright, Nathan?” she asked.

“Oh,” Nova said, shaking his head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just lost in thought, is all.”

“Dangerous pastime,” snarked Rachel, inclining her head toward Tracy, who rolled just her eyes.

“Yeah, can’t deny that,” Nova admitted. “After all, thinking gave birth to the Twilight Saga. Or was it the lack of thought? Either way, they all suck.”

For the first time, Nova had gotten them both to laugh at the same time. And both were pure, genuine, amused laughs. Sounds Nova had to admit he could get used to hearing. Especially when compared to the alternative of them continuing to compete for him when the winner had been decided long before the contest even started.

The three of them talked for those five minutes, idly chatting about the goings on. Every time Rachel tried to bring up her doings on the school’s football team, Tracy would try to drag it back to how classes were going, and the tug of war would continue until Nova asked something.

Inwardly, Nova groaned. He always hated love triangles in literature, and now he was part of one. Well, part of half of one. No matter Rachel’s feelings toward him, or Rainbow Dash’s by proxy, he was engaged to Twilight Sparkle, and given his past experience with other girls (namely Clover), he wasn’t going to give himself any leeway, lest he do something that could come back to bite him.

“Take a couple more minutes, and get ready to go again,” Discord said, taking a quick swig of water.

They duelled a good nine times. Nova won six of them, much to his delight, but Discord only remarked that he had been going easy on Nova, so then came the tenth duel, where Discord absolutely demolished him. Rachel and Tracy, for whatever reason, both found the last duel very funny.

As soon as they were done, Nova immediately dashed over to the nearest sink, where he splashed water onto his face to remove any sweat from it and his hair. Tracy excused herself not long after, leaving Rachel and Nova alone with Discord, who was closing up his gym.

“Go on, you two,” he shooed them out, “I’ve had enough of my visitors. Same time next week, Nathan?”

“Yeah,” Nova nodded. “See you then.”

“Practice your forms. I expect them to be second-nature come this time next week.”

“Yes sir,” Nova promised, before strapping his scabbard to his back, which was nothing more than one of his Source extensions, modified to carry his Source extension sword.

“What’s that on your back?” Rachel asked, poking him between his shoulder blades right under his neck. “Did you get a tattoo?”

“A tattoo?” Nova repeated, bewildered. He jogged over to a mirror and turned around to see what Rachel was talking about, then twisted himself as best he could.

There, sitting right where she had poked him, was a navy-blue moon, surrounded by four stars. His cutie mark had somehow branded itself onto his skin.

“Well,” he muttered to himself, “that’s not supposed to be there.”

“I think it’s pretty awesome.”

“Do you?” Nova smirked. Of course she would. “Hey Rachel, this is gonna sound awkward, but do you mind if I take a peek at that spot on your back?”

“Uhh, why?” she asked hesitantly.

“Call it morbid curiosity,” Nova remarked. Rachel just shrugged and shed her shirt, revealing her toned midriff and her somewhat flat chest, restrained entirely by a black athletic bra that covered almost everything but her shoulders on her upper body. She turned around, moved her ponytail around to her front, undid the restraints, and pulled it open just enough.

Nothing but smooth, blank skin. Except...

There was something there. It was small, to be sure, but right in the same spot, there was a faint red lightning bolt. Faint, but unmistakably there.

“You’ve got one too,” said Nova, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“I do?” Rachel asked, turning around to take a peek and momentarily forgetting she was holding up an athletic bra.

“R-RACHEL!” stammered Nova as she let it drop in her haste to see what was on her back. He had quickly averted his gaze when he saw what was happening, but still.

“Hold on, hold on,” Rachel groaned. “I can’t-- whoa.”

“Can you please just put your bra back on?” he asked.

“Oh hush,” she admonished. “We both know you’d like what you’d see if you’d been perverted enough to look.”

“I’m not really sure whether to feel complimented by that,” Nova observed.

“But anyway, when did I get a tiny lightning bolt on my back?” she asked.

“Dunno. Same time I got that moon and stars on mine, maybe?” he wondered. “Wouldn’t worry about it too much, though.”

“Why not?”

“Doesn’t seem to be doing anything different, so guess it’s not too much to worry about,” Nova cheerfully proclaimed, grabbing his white shirt from its resting place on one of teh benches and slipping it on.

“That… is one of the dumbest outlooks on a possible health concern I’ve ever heard, and this is coming from someone who mocks eggheads like Tracy,” deadpanned Rachel.

“Eh, I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

“True,” conceded Rachel. “Well, let’s make like a stoner and blow this joint.”

Nova didn’t need telling twice. Within minutes, they were out and walking away from Discord’s rather expensive-looking mansion and towards the campus.

Winter was once again making its presence known. The wind howled through the streets, bringing with it its biting cold. To Nova, however, having finished with his athletic workout, it felt like heaven. Cooling him off after an afternoon sweating in Discord’s gym…

“Enjoying yourself?” snickered Rachel as Nova let out a pleasant sigh.

“You’ve no idea,” he breathed. “Love winter.”

“Wish I could say the same. More of a summer fan. So much more to do.”

“I suppose,” Nova dipped his head. “More games to play, more sports in season, grass ain’t dead…”

They passed the gates of Discord’s manor, with pegasi statues stuck on top of each brick pillar. Nova couldn’t help but notice one of the statues looked remarkably like Fluttershy. He had seen it before, of course, but the resemblance was always striking. Nice to know he cared about her that much.

“Do you think Ashleigh has a mark like that, too?”

“Huh?” Nova returned his attention to Rachel, who was fiddling with her neck.

“A mark like this,” she clarified. “Do you think Ashleigh has one too?”

“What makes you say that?”

“I dunno,” she shrugged. “I just… well, we do hang out more, and the three of us did work on the farm that one day. Maybe it spreads.”

“So, that being said, Felicity might have one too?” Nova couldn’t help but feel like this was exactly the sign he was looking for.

“I guess. Come on, we’ll get to the campus faster this way,” she said, turning into an alleyway. Nova followed suit, ducking in behind her. He was going to take this path anyway. Not because it was faster, no.

Something was wrong. Something felt off about the area.

There were several pricks of energy on different sides of him. All of them were distant, but they all had the same strange feeling, as though they were different from inherent pony magic.

“Dash, turn left here,” he said, his voice lowering to nearly a whisper. They had come to a four-way intersection between buildings.

“What?” she asked, turning and giving him a strange look.

“Something’s wrong. Let’s get out of the alley as fast as we can.”

“Are you feeling alright, Nathan?”

“Just get going. I don’t know what it…”

He trailed off as a policeman walked by the entrance to the alleyway. It wasn’t just any policeman, either. These weren’t the generic Changeling drones. These were the warriors. They got the SWAT gear. And now Nova could sense several of them in the immediate vicinity.

“Fuck,” Rachel cursed. “It’s the cops.”

Nova felt a prick of energy behind him and turned back. One of the SWAT-garbed policemen was now blocking the alley entrance they had used. A couple of pricks later, he turned and saw that each entrance had one cop, blocking their way out. And they were moving in.

Nova had the distinct impression he knew who they were after.

“Dash, get out of here,” he growled. “Parkour up to the roof of the buildings and get out of here as fast as you can.”

“What about you?” she asked.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll get this sorted out. Now go!”

She didn’t need telling twice. Quick as her ponysona, she leapt onto a trashcan and jumped from wall to wall, ascending the building as fast as she could. And sure enough, the policemen didn’t seem to care in the slightest. Nova watched her go and felt her energy fade away as she ran. When she was out of range, he took a deep breath and cracked his neck.

When they were five feet away, they stopped and pointed their weapons at him.

“We need you to come with us,” one of them growled.

“Do you, now?” he asked, surreptitiously flexing his fingers and already beginning to channel the magic. “On whose authority? Your commissioner’s?”

“Don’t play dumb with us, pony,” the same changeling growled. “We know you’ve broken out of the curse. Her Highness wants us to bring you to her alive.”

“What does the Queen want with me?” he asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” the same changeling said, already moving forward.

A shockwave of blue magic exploded out of Nova, blasting all four of the changelings backwards. At once, Nova sprinted, leapt over the fallen commander, and dashed out of the alley.

“After him!” shouted the commander, and suddenly, Nova felt a great deal of pinpricks of energy around him as several changelings in SWAT gear appeared from buildings and alleys.

“Shit,” Nova cursed.

He grabbed his sword and his sheath, which quickly transformed into a weightless shield in a flash of light, and ran as fast as he could away from the group of changelings. Unfortunately, he was near downtown. The Police Department wasn’t far away. If at any time they needed reinforcements, they were a short couple of blocks.

There were a couple of pops behind him, and Nova winced as something punched him in the back, sending him sprawling forward onto the concrete, scratching him up.

“Damn,” he said, looking over to where a fallen rubber round was still smoking from the shot. “They’re really going all-out to bring me in, aren’t they.”

He got back to his feet and took off again, slightly slower due to his banged-up skin. He needed to get out of the open. With the streets cleared of people, there weren’t too many places that he could hide, which left buildings.

Problem was, he needed a place where he could blend in. A place where he could hide among other people.

And he knew just the place: Veronica Salazar’s dance club.

With that thought in mind, Nova altered his course, dashing with purpose further into downtown as opposed to just running around hoping to slip away. The club was on the other end of the district, but if he could just make use of a few shortcuts and alleys…

Nova and Veronica were on good terms, having carried over from their pony selves. He and Vinyl Scratch had been introduced at Twilight’s private party after her coronation, where Pinkie had been kind enough to get the famous DJ P0N-3, of whom Nova was quite a fan, to, well, deejay. Nova and Vinyl started off quite well, and twice, Nova had run into her on Council of Gentlestallions night, enjoying her few nights off from the various clubs around Equestria.

As such, here on this human world, he and Veronica were still on good terms. Nathan Samuel was a frequent attendee of Penelope Poppentop’s parties, where Veronica was almost always the entertainment. Here, on this human world, she owned the club in question, for some unknown reason. And now Nova was going to make use of that.

He felt more pricks of energy around him. The changelings were starting to surround him. He needed to keep moving to prevent them from doing so.

“Almost… there…” he grunted as he slowed to a jog a couple of blocks later. He was glad he had been a freerunner. He doubted he would have made it this far without stopping if he hadn’t been.

He saw a police car up ahead and ducked around the block corner, revealing a building almost literally covered in neon lighting.

“This is it,” he said, sprinting forward and ducking inside, sword and blade disappearing before he did so, and supporting himself on his knees as exhaustion started to overtake him. It had been sunset outside, but inside, it was almost pitch black. Loud music was already assaulting his ears, and strobe lights were flashing in the main room. The bouncer, a burly man with a mohawk, gave Nova a look, then waved him in.

“Enjoy the club,” he grunted.

“Thanks,” huffed Nova, already moving inside to surround himself with the guests.

Unfortunately, there weren’t very many. A few people at the bar, a couple of dancers, and Veronica up at the turntables, rocking out and wearing her trademark white headphones and purple shades.

Damn, Nova thought. So much for hiding out with a bunch of people.

Nova just shrugged. His best bet was probably the dance floor. What few people were there would be moving around. With that thought in mind, he moved over and joined in, keeping an eye on the door.

But there was something strange going on… It was a Saturday night. In a city as big as this, the club would normally be overflowing with people. Perhaps it was a side-effect of the cops on the streets?

A couple of the bar patrons gave Nova a brief glance, but went back to their drinks. Nova ignored them, keeping his attention focused on the doors. But he would need to do his part to avoid attracting attention. He straightened up and started swaying tamely to the beat. No all-out dancing or grinding. Just pure and simple moving to the beat,

Nova felt the pricks of energy again. The changelings must have been surrounding the building. But why weren’t they moving in?

The energy pricked again, but these felt a lot closer--

Nova couldn’t react with surprise, lest he alert the changelings dancing around him. It was a trap. They had counted on him attempting to hide in this club. How much did the changelings know?

A quick glance over at the bar, and though they tried to hide it, Nova noticed that they had been glancing his way, too.

The only one who didn’t seem to be emanating a prick of energy was Veronica. She seemed normal, dancing away at her turntables, oblivious to everything that was about to happen.

Nova took a deep breath, feeling an excited smile work its way onto his face. Why not have some fun while beating these changelings’ asses?

“Before we get started,” he announced loudly, putting a bit of magic into his voice to augment it over the loud dubstep, “does anyone want to leave?”

No one moved. The dancers stopped, scattered around him, and the people at the bar all stood up.

“Veronica!” Nova shouted, adding some more magic to project the Royal Canterlot Voice.

She turned the music down hastily and whipped her headphones off.

“Yeah, what Nathan? Can’t you see I’m busy?” she asked, fixing him with an agitated glare. "I've got five more sets to do tonight!"

“I’m thinking ‘This Will Be the Day,’” he answered flatly. “And I’d suggest sitting in your back room for a bit. Things are about to get ugly here.”

Veronica glanced up. Nova saw the red irises move slightly behind the purple shades glowing in the black lights, before looking back down.

“Gotcha.”

Nova watched, and apparently so did the changelings, as Veronica fiddled with her table for a bit, before sauntering off back to her break room. The room was silent for a moment as the track loaded.

“No use hiding any longer, fellas. I know what you are,” Nova announced. At once, the room was illuminated with green fire, as the changelings transformed into their police selves. Pistols were whipped out, and all were leveled at Nova.

“Surrender yourself, pony.”

They see you as small and helpless. They see you as just a child.

“Love this song,” Nova remarked, listening to the electric guitar’s riffs, already channelling magic to his hands.

Surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild!

Nova struck. A blast of blue energy exploded out of him, blowing back the closest changelings and startling the others.

Nova ran forward, leaping over a fallen body and charging the nearest changeling, who was slowed by his initial attack. Nova grabbed him by his vest and flung him towards one of the other changelings, who was only just now starting to get his pistol levelled at Nova again.

Nova grinned. Discord had explained that his magic would soon start making him a hell of a lot stronger, and boy, he was not kidding.

Nova vanished in a flash of blue light, appeared behind another changeling close to the bar, and kicked him right in the small of his back, sending the unfortunate sod flying through two others.

They were still using rubber rounds, as Nova could see when he created a magic shield and blocked several rounds from the group of policemen closest to the door. With the merest flick of his hand, said shield flew towards the changelings, bowling them all over, before Nova’s magic snatched up their guns and crushed them.

“Now now, boys, it’s impolite to shoot people,” he said, turning around and firing beams of energy at the other few policemen around the room, which neutralized their weapons in various ways. “If you want to beat me, you’ll have to do it with your hands.”

One changeling rushed him instantly, but Nova just planted his feet, punched as hard as he could, and even threw his shoulder behind it. Said changeling was thrown all the way across the dance floor. Nova winced slightly, as he had hit the badge by accident. Still, it was better than a carapace.

Things were going swimmingly. Nova hadn’t ever felt this strong physically. He’d had a similar moment of zen upon realizing how much progress he’d made with magic when working with Clover and Steelshod once, which had predictably been followed by Nova proceeding to duel both of them at once and soundly best them within a few seconds.

Which made it even more surprising that Steelshod could hold his own against Nova on his final night in the past. He really had gone all-out to try to beat him for Clover…

Nova shook himself out of his brief memory in time to duck under a punch from one of the changelings, following up by jumping away from the changeling’s subsequent kick.

“Come on, now,” he taunted, “I’m not even using magic to beat you assholes. Any chance you guy scan stop sucking?”

A couple of the changelings hissed angrily, and one of them even reacted. He charged Nova, and threw a fist right at Nova’s cheek, but at the last moment, Nova ducked and threw his shoulder forward, catching the changeling right in the gut and upending him over Nova’s back. A satisfying thud followed as the changeling collided quite painfully with the floor.

The remaining changelings, some battered and bruised from his beatdown, had grouped right on the dance floor. A poor spot, considering the flashing squares on the floor illuminated their position, one that Nova could take advantage of.

A quick spark from his finger, and suddenly, all the squares underneath started glowing a bright blue color, illuminating the entire crowd of them.

“So tell me fellas,” he said, his hand brimming with blue fiery magic as he casually strode toward them, “what does her Highness want with little ol’ me?”

The group of changelings just hissed and spat at him, but suddenly, those whose eyes weren’t covered by masks’ eyes widened, and instantly, they all shuffled into a line.

Nova blinked, not really sure how to take this development. But when he felt another prick of changeling energy behind him, he whirled around, hands brimming with his fiery blue magic.

A large changeling stood before him, looking down at him with distaste. His gear was little more than a combat bandolier strapped over a tight-fitting black muscle shirt and combat pants and boots.

To Nova, he looked quite distinct from the other changelings, especially considering most drones were identical in appearance. Behind him, Nova could see an elderly changeling watching the scene as well.

“I believe I can answer that question for you, pony,” the large changeling said, in a very calm, deep voice, far different from the usual hissing and chittering that was typical of changeling kind.

The elderly changeling behind him met Nova’s gaze, then flicked his hand over toward the DJ booth, where the music and flashing lights vanished, to be replaced by normal loghts illuminating the club.

“The hell is this?” Nova asked, noticing how the changelings were helping up their fallen comrades and ushering them out of the bar.

“Call it a test,” the elderly changeling said, shrugging. “Not too harsh, now, Brutus.”

“By your command, Advisor,” the large changeling, apparently Brutus, affirmed.

“Brutus, eh?” Nova asked. “Heard of you. The Champion of the Changelings, took down an entire platoon of the Royal Guard during the wedding--”

“It was only a simple squadron,” Brutus cut him off. “Seems rumors in Equestria have a tendency to get blown out of proportion. And that feat earned me the title Champion.”

He eyed Nova’s magic.

“Put that away. I don’t plan on fighting you with you shooting fire at me. I was hoping for the two of us to brawl like drones, or how you say, like stallions.”

The fact that Brutus hadn’t shown any outright animosity towards him was intriguing enough. So much so that Nova felt compelled to go ahead and duel the changeling. He had, after all, held his own against other beings just as strong (namely, the Shadowbolts).

“So, why are you here, advisor?” Nova asked, directing his question toward the elderly changeling who stood by the door.

“I’m here to make sure none of the drones under the command of my queen do anything out of hoof to you, Nova Shine,” the elder answered.

Nova’s hand brimmed with magic at the mention of his name, but the changeling held up a hand.

“Now now, let’s not go jumping to conclusions, Nova Shine. We do not mean to put you back under.”

“Are you on my side?” Nova asked, not bothering to lower the magic.

“No,” the changeling answered, “but neither are we against you. We simply obey Her Majesty. Let her make that decision, which side she’s on. Now, if you intend to battle Brutus, I would suggest you hurry up. You have a meeting with Her Highness.”

“Well considering that your welcoming party wasn’t exactly the most hospitable,” Nova said, twisting around and pulling up the back of his shirt to show off the bruise from the rubber round he had taken to the back, “what if I don’t intend to honor Queen Bug’s wishes?”

Brutus growled a bit, but the elder just chuckled.

“Oh Brutus, don’t take offense,” he said, wagging his finger at the muscular drone. “He doesn’t really see the Queen that way. I can tell by his aura. In any case, Nova Shine, do you intend to duel him or not?”

Nova stared at the large changeling for a moment, but then shook his head.

“No, I’m sorry. I’m tired from my duels with Discord today.”

Brutus nodded, and the elder moved for the door.

“You duel Discord?” Brutus asked.

“Blades,” Nova said, briefly summoning his sword before vanishing it again. “Figure I can learn to be a master of Spellblade.”

“A noble branch of both magic and swordplay,” Brutus remarked, before motioning for Nova to follow. “I do apologize. For the sake of appearances, we will need to ‘arrest’ you.”

“No, no, I understand,” Nova said, turning around and letting himself be cuffed. “You’re certainly one of the few changelings I’ve had a cordial relationship, not to mention I can tell when somepony is lying and that includes changelings, so I know it’s just for appearances.”

Brutus led Nova out of the club and toward a parked police vehicle, where the elder was sitting in the backseat. Nova allowed himself to be pushed in and buckled up, where at once the elder uncuffed him.

“So why exactly does she want to see me, now?” Nova asked, wringing his hands to get the blood flowing.

“Because, Nova Shine,” the elder answered, “she wants to know if you’re him.”

“Who?” Nova asked, confused.

“The same Nova Shine as the one from our history,” answered the elder. “The Nova Shine who rescued her from one of Sombra’s lackeys and returned her to her home. She believes you and he might be the same pony.”

Nova laughed.

“But that’s impossible,” he said. “That was over a thousand years ago.”

“Oh yes,” the elder concurred. “And so would we believe, if it weren’t for the fact that you and I have met before, Nova Shine. I would recognize your aura anywhere.”

“Say what, now?” Nova asked as the car started to move.

“We’ve met, you and I,” the elder repeated, smiling at him. “Back then, I was nothing more than a simple drone, and you were nothing more than the Night Apprentice. Nova Shine, it is an honor to meet you again.”

An instance of recognition flooded through Nova and he gaped at the elder changeling, who merely smiled.

“I am Her Majesty Queen Chrysalis’ oldest and most trusted advisor, and the changeling whom you met over one thousand years ago in the desert. My name is Scheherazade.”

Queen, King, and Angel

Even In Other Worlds
Chapter 09 - Queen, King, and Angel

More music. you know the drill.

“No fucking way.”

“Please mind your language when we stand before the queen,” the elder changeling admonished dispassionately.

“It was over a thousand years ago!”

“So it was,” concurred the elder, nodding sagely. “Changelings can live abnormally long lives if they are properly able to ration their love energies. We can stockpile a near-infinite amount, and I have been able to keep myself alive by strictly rationing the amount I take when it gets too low.”

“But… but…” Nova sputtered. It was impossible! There were precious few beings who could live for that long! Only changeling royalty had the longevity to, as evidenced with little Princess Chrysalis now being the Queen a millennium and a quarter later.

“No buts, Sir Nova Shine,” Scheherazade chided him, smiling. “It does not become the Savior of the Princess.”

Nova just stared stupidly at Scheherazade, who stared back, before shaking his head.

“Dear oh dear, and here I thought you would always have some kind of a witty quip whenever I said something, but the well seems to have run dry.”

“Wh--” Nova swallowed nervously. “Why am I being dragged before the Queen again?” he asked.

“It’s simple,” Scheherazade said. “She wants to see if you’re the same one as the one in the past.”

Nova couldn’t stop staring at Scheherazade, who only shook his head.

“I cannot say why,” he added, “but I hope beyond hope that it leads to her doing the right thing.”

“She attempted to invade my nation,” Nova said, sounding somewhat bemused. “I’d say she’s gone more than a little off the wrong end here.”

“Rulers only do what is best for their nation, Nova Shine,” Scheherazade said, staring at him meaningfully. “My Queen believed this to be the best option to feed her starving children. I advocated against this invasion, but alas, the loud voice of the young cried out to her, and she gave them what they desired. They had tasted the love of your land, and they demanded that we attempt to take it.”

“And when she attempted to take all the magic from my fiancée?” Nova asked, arching an eyebrow.

“I do not know,” Scheherazade admitted. “She didn’t return home after the invasion, instead choosing to build her new empire there. We who did not go to war with her waited at our home, in our hive. Only later did we learn that our Queen had attempted revenge against your dearly beloved, and that she had been trapped in a room, kept inside with an unanswerable riddle.”

Scheherazade let out a quiet scoff.

“You don’t happen to know a word that rhymes with ‘orange,’ do you?” he asked.

Nova snickered, but did answer. “Borage, actually,” he said. “You spend enough time around Discord, you learn all sorts of strange things.”

“Borage? Really?”

“Yeah. It’s small leaves used for spices and such, or young leaves eaten in salads and the like. You’d think the queen of a nation that spends its time pretending to be members of a herbivorous species would know that.”

They drove past the large, rectangular City Hall, a very austere-looking building compared to the surrounding architecture of the city. Nova couldn’t help but feel that the building had a foreboding nature about it. Which he supposed was fitting, if Sombra spent his time there.

“What do you want me to say to her?” Nova asked, seeing the police department grow ever closer, as it was only three blocks from City Hall.

“I do not know, Nova Shine,” Scheherazade shrugged. “I only wish that you say what she needs to hear, whatever it may be. What that is, I couldn’t tell you, nor do I think you know, but I hope regardless.”

Brutus pulled the car into the police lot, where at once a group of changelings met them. Nova was hoisted out of the car and almost literally dragged to an interrogation room close to the deep interior of the building.

It was a simple room, with metal walls and a table and two chairs, but surprisingly, it lacked the one-way window. The Queen must not have wanted her children in on this.

Scheherazade made sure Nova was as comfortable as he was going to be, before walking on out, but not before he instructed, “Be honest. Changelings can detect lies. Be completely open with Her Majesty, and you never know. Some good might come of the situation.”

And then the door shut behind him.

Now, all Nova could do was twiddle his thumbs and wait for the Queen to come in. It was worse than it had been when he had been waiting for Professor Hoofman, nearly a year before.

No, scratch that. That occasion had been far worse.

Nova sighed and leaned back in his chair, casting his eyes up to the ceiling, where nothing but a single, typical white light shone, casting everything around them into shadow…

Shadow…

Nova’s hands shone blue and a bubble of blue energy blasted out of him, dispelling all of the shadows in the room instantly. If Envy had been intending to hide in her shadow form before, it wasn’t going to happen now.

But only then did Nova remember that Envy had placed herself under the curse. Still, it made him feel a lot better about the security of the room.

“Hm, you’re left alone for only a few moments, and already you’re casting magic.”

Nova directed his gaze toward the door, where a tall, slender woman stood. She was pale, with shining green eyes, dark, forest-ish green hair, and a certain aura of energy emanating off of her that he had felt twice before. However, like the changelings in the bar, she was giving off a faint energy that told Nova this wasn’t her native form.

“Do you not know how to properly greet a foreign dignitary?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Enlighten me,” Nova responded, before adding with some irony, “your highness.”

She quietly hissed, catching his sarcasm, but she let it stand.

“You stand, until she is seated.”

“Oh, of course,” Nova replied, rolling his eyes. “You’re just like Rarity, you know that? Do I really have to observe all these niceties when you’re interrogating me?”

“I assume you were told of the reason for your visit?” she asked, still standing by the door.

“Yep, and I think it’s a completely ridiculous notion,” Nova said, waving a hand in the air, as if to brush the matter away. “You think I’m this ancient, historical pony that saved your bug flank and prevented a war between the ponies and Sombra. Really, how… ludicrous.”

Her eyes narrowed, but Nova felt it was time to stop antagonizing her. So, reluctantly, he stood up and gestured toward the seat.

“Have a seat, your highness.”

The Queen stared at him, searching, Nova was sure, for a sign of weakness or violent hostility, but he showed nothing, choosing instead to meet her gaze with a blank stare.

After a moment spent staring, she finally strode forward, closing the door behind her, and took a seat at the table, before leaning forward and clasping her hands together.

“You think the notion ridiculous?” she asked, her voice becoming much less harsh than it had been. “I recognize you, pony. Perhaps you may not be the one who rescued me, though you do share his name and appearance, but I do remember you from the wedding. Yes, I quite clearly remember you.”

Nova remembered too. He had been subdued by several changelings and had been dragged before her, only to be told that he was to be stuck and guarded in one of the side rooms. Quite the contrast from all of the ponies who were trapped in cocoons or imprisoned in the caverns beneath Canterlot for that brief time.

“Yes, you’re the pony who gave me so much trouble at the wedding of Shining Armor,” she continued, gazing into his eyes. “So much trouble that my guards had to drag you before me personally.”

“And instead of treating me like the rest of my kind,” Nova interrupted, “you had me thrown into a random room off to the side.”

“...Yes.”

“Why?” Nova asked, leaning back.

“Because…” she paused, “I remembered… him. You looked too much like him for me to be completely guilt-free if I were to trap you in a cocoon or imprison you in the caves.”

“How sweet,” remarked Nova. “Why’d you attack my fiancée, then?”

She paused, and her stare became quite intrigued. “Your fiancée? Is there something I should know about between you and Princess Cadance?”

Nova laughed. A genuine, amused laugh. He had to admit, he had not seen this response coming. But then again, he had forgotten the Queen wouldn’t have known.

“No, your highness, not Princess Cadance,” he said, shaking his head. “I mean Twilight Sparkle.”

Her eyes widened, ever so slightly.

“You’re engaged to Twilight Sparkle?” she asked, arching an eyebrow “Yes, I should have realized. Your aura stinks of her. Her... and another.”

Her intrigued look turned confused for a moment.

“A familiar aura… one I haven’t felt since…”

She trailed off, eyes narrowing as she stared into Nova’s unflinching gaze. Would she figure it out? Would she recognize Clover’s aura?

“Explain yourself,” she demanded. “I can’t identify that aura, and yet I remember the aura of every pony I’ve transformed into. It’s the only explanation for why this one seems so familiar to me. Explain!”

She snarled, and Nova noticed her canines were pointed, just like her self on Equus was. And for the briefest of moments, the pale exterior flickered, revealing a pitch-black complexion underneath. Nova’s interest grew, but he didn’t pursue it. Instead, he continued staring at the Queen right in the eyes and giving no indication that she had threatened him in the slightest.

“You’re not my queen, your highness,” Nova stated flatly. “I don’t have to explain. Perhaps it may have something to do with me being descended from a pony from that time? I’m actually named after Nova Shine I, so you know.”

Her glare faltered as a flash of disappointment flickered across her face, but only for a moment. She was snarling even more now.

“But that still doesn’t explain how you have the aura of Clover the Clever intertwined with your own!”

Nova rolled his eyes.

“Queen Chrysalis,” he began, in a faux-long-suffering sigh, “Clover the Clever was the mother of Nova Shine I. This may have something to do with the fact that she’s my ancestor.”

“No, that cannot be true,” Chrysalis replied, averting her gaze to stare at the table intently. “Auras don’t intertwine simply by birth… could they?”

Nova let out a derisive bark of laughter.

“You’re the queen of your species,” he chortled, “and you don’t even fully understand your own species’ magic, inside and out? Seems like a massive oversight in your tutoring.”

“Be silent!” she snapped at him, adding a slight growl to emphasize her point. “You have no idea what I’ve been through. I was kidnapped by members of your kind and was forced to serve as a slave in those very mines I imprisoned Twilight Sparkle in! I watched as Celestia herself slew my father in battle while he was trying to defend my own brethren!” She stood up. “I have had to watch my children starve, until we had no choice but to invade your land! I DID NOT HAVE THE TIME TO LEARN ALL ABOUT MY SPECIES’ CULTURE WHEN I WAS TOO BUSY KEEPING THEM ALIVE!”

Perhaps what seemed to be the most infuriating part to the Queen was how, through her tirade, Nova kept a completely blank face, staring at her as she grew angrier and angrier, before finally raising a hand to strike him.

Nova didn’t even move until she swung it across. But before it hit his cheek, the merest flick of his fingers allowed his magic to shield him.

And Nova knew the Queen would recognize his magic. No two individuals throughout all of history had the same exact aura of magic. Even Clover and Twilight had their differences, though they were very minor.

Queen Chrysalis’ eyes widened as her hand was caught in his shield, and she stared, completely shocked at Nova, who only gave her a disappointed look.

“Really, Chryssie, I thought your father taught you not to strike your friends.”

Nova’s magic faded, and so shocked was she that she fell right into her chair, still gaping at him.

“I… but… how...”

Nova sighed.

“It’s quite easy,” he said. “Time travel has its uses. Such as allowing me to go back to see exactly who my enemy would be over a thousand years later.”

“Your… enemy?” she asked, her voice suddenly soft and weak. She was still staring dumbstruck at Nova, who shrugged and kicked back in his chair.

“Yep. Enemy. I’m sure you remember Lord Silverblood?” he asked, casting her a glance.

Her mouth twitched for a moment, but otherwise her expression didn’t change.

“Yeah, see, he’s kinda responsible for this, as his daughter Shimmer Silvermane got one of my friends kicked out of Canterlot and stuck in Everfree.”

“Your enemy is Shimmer?” Chrysalis asked, still quite breathless.

“No,” Nova said, shaking his head. “Her name is Summer Blossom. Or, it was. I hear she just goes by Envy now. She got pretty riled up when I called her Summer once. But anyway, as you noticed, my aura and Clover’s are intertwined. That may have something to do with the fact that we were in love back in those times.”

Nova felt again a familiar ache in his gut at the mention of Clover’s name, but he ignored it.

“Well, turned out Summer liked me too. When she found out about me and Clover…” he shut his eyes his voice turned slightly morose, “she didn’t take it so well.”

“But you and Miss Clover weren’t close in those caves,” the Queen said, and Nova almost heard the voice of the young princess behind the strange, dual-voice thing she had going. “She was shocked that you wanted me to turn into her.”

“That’s because, as I’m sure you must be aware,” Nova said, “or perhaps you’re only just figuring it out now, but Twilight Sparkle and Clover the Clever bore the same appearance in all but cutie mark. I and Twilight Sparkle had already fallen in love in the present day, only confessing to each other two days before I went back in time.”

Nova smiled fondly, remembering the mare from the past.

“Clover was taken with me, as I’m sure you remember, seeing as how she gave me a good farewell kiss on my way out of Unicornia Palace. When I returned from our little venture, I woke up to find that she had been tending to me for the entire time I had been unconscious.”

“What… what happened?” the Queen asked.

“An encounter with a sandstorm and King Sombra, that’s what,” answered Nova. “Knocked me out for a week. I wake up, and she seemed quite embarrassed to even be in the same room as me.”

He chuckled to himself, remembering the incident with a nostalgic sigh.

“I miss those times,” he admitted. “Steelshod and I would squabble over her, and I would always win. She would flirt with me, as would Summer Blossom, but I made no move on either of them. I guess if I had been up front with both of them, none of this would have happened.”

“Discounting, of course--” Nova’s head snapped sideways to face the door, “--the fact that if you had altered history, you wouldn’t have gone back in time, creating a paradox that could destroy everything.”

“You,” Nova growled, as a muscular man stepped into the room. He was tall, with shaggy black hair, a very sharp black suit and tie, and sideburns that came close to the corners of his mouth. And his red eyes fixed Nova with a confident, almost smug gaze.

“Good day, your highness,” Sombra said, giving a polite bow to the Queen, who only glared at him.

“This is my building, Sombra,” she hissed. “Yours is down the street.”

“Technically, as the mayor, this is my building too. Since Moony’s not around anymore, courtesy of our mutual friend here,” he gestured at Nova, “and since our benefactor remains hidden, that power defaults to me.”

“I must have missed the part where I added you on Facebook,” snarked Nova.

“Well, as they say,” Sombra shrugged, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“Attributed to a Saddle Arabian sheikh, who was beheaded by his own subjects,” Nova retorted.

“Still, a fitting quote to describe our current, ah, situation,” Sombra continued, He waved his hand, black smoke-like tendrils emanating from it, and another chair appeared.

Or, to be more accurate, a black, ornate throne adorned with rubies appeared, on which Sombra sprawled.

“Since we’re all… for want of a better term, allies at this moment,” he said, but Nova interrupted him.

“What makes you think I would ever deign to ally myself with you?”

“Why, it’s quite simple,” Sombra said, leaning forward and staring at Nova with unmistakable smugness this time. “You are trying to return everypony to Equestria, your homeland. You do it both because you want to and because the Princesses wish it of you. You,” he turned to face the Queen, “have never truly wanted this victory. You have always preferred Equestria. And I,” he leaned back, “will not rule this realm as a puppet, but Equestria as a king.”

“I would die before that happened,” Nova snarled.

“Be careful how you phrase that, Nova, as it can easily be arranged,” Sombra waved him off. “But the point is, all three of us are interested in a common goal. Despite the fact that after this is all said and done we go our separate ways, right now we’re joined at the hip.”

“That usually implies that you have something I need,” Nova pointed out. “And in case you haven’t noticed, I happen to be doing just fine.

“Oh, but that’s just it, Nova Shine,” Sombra said, his smug stare getting even more pronounced. “You’re doing brilliantly when it comes to your plan, but do you really think Envy will have made it that easy for you?”

Nova opened his mouth to object, but then he stopped. Knowing Envy, would it be this easy? Would it be as simple as it so seemed? Just reawaken the Bearers of Harmony and return to Equestria?

Nova’s mouth slowly closed as he considered it. No, obviously it wouldn’t be that simple. This was Envy they were talking about. The same Envy who had tenaciously continued to come after Night Apprentices and Faithful Students for over a thousand years, the same Envy who had played Nova and Twilight masterfully on their own first date.

The same Envy who had forced Nova into a situation to where he had nearly been forced to blast either Twilight or Trixie in the Everfree Vaults with his Magi-gun.

“No,” he admitted. “It can’t be this easy.”

“Because it isn’t,” Sombra continued. “She has set up failsafes in case you were to make too much progress. Some not even Nightmare Moon knew about. But unfortunately, as I was created to help cast this curse, I cannot tell. So, I believe I’ll let the queen do it for me.”

“What do you--” the queen started, before being cut off.

“Don’t play dumb with me, your highness,” said Sombra, a note of cool irritation in his voice. “You’ve had those few changelings who are truly loyal to you to the bitter end go around and try to figure out potential ways to weaken the curse’s framework. So go on, Chrysalis. What did you find?”

Nova turned to look from the king to the queen.

“Envy is under the curse as well,” the Queen said, “and while I would assume you know that much already, there’s more to it than that. Far more.”

“You see, Nova, Envy placed herself under a timed portion of the curse,” Sombra explained. “She would wait for a specific amount of time to see if it stuck, and if it was still intact, she would break out. But there was just one problem: she hasn’t broken out yet, and it’s been nearly six months.”

Nova had already known that Envy was under the curse, courtesy of his intrusion into Nightmare Moon’s mind, and he had known that she was only doing it for so long. But it had been six months. Why wasn’t Envy out yet?

“You do realize what this means, don’t you?” Sombra asked. “I understand you’ve been working to reawaken the Bearers of Harmony, but you must know that, unless you don’t want your shadowy former-friend running around, it would be best to continue to do this without trying to break the curse. Not yet, at least.”

Nova groaned. Breaking the curse had been a sure-fire way to reawaken the Spirits of Harmony inside the Bearers, and it was a backup plan in case his current primary one failed. And it was now a bad idea to go through with as well. Not just because of Envy being under the curse until it was broken, but also because the sustainer of said curse knew all about it and would be expecting an attack.

A thought came to Nova as he pondered this, and out of sheer curiosity, he voiced it.

“Aren’t you an Echo?” he asked the would-be King, who arched an eyebrow.

“I beg your pardon?” he asked.

“Sombra is dead,” Nova said. “Twilight Sparkle and Spike are responsible for that, back when the Crystal Empire came out of its own curse. How come you’re acting in the interest of a dead king, even when you’ve been puppeted to do one specific task?”

The Queen appeared surprised to hear this.

“I was never informed of Sombra’s demise. But then again,” she added, “if it was right as the Crystal Empire returned from its banishing, my spies wouldn’t have known.”

“To answer your question, Nova,” Sombra said, stroking his sideburns with his thumb and index fingers, “I won’t be telling. You think the real Sombra forever dead? Did you not forget, Nova? I told you in the desert.”

“Told me what?”

“‘The World of No Memory, the Neverending Fantasy…”

“...all of it leading to my eventual return,’” Nova finished.

“Yes. And Nova, as you may or may not be aware, we are currently in that first part of my own little prediction. Nopony remembers who they are. We are in the World of No Memory.”

Nova went cold as Sombra hit him with that last statement. How had he not made that connection before?

Sombra merely nodded at the expression of cold shock that had appeared on Nova’s face. The Queen seemed affected as well, noticeably uncomfortable and sidling away from Nova ever so slightly.

“Regardless of your feelings on the matter,” he continued, “it falls on you to act. As far as I’m aware, you are doing quite well, having defeated Nightmare Moon and working to restore the Elements. But unfortunately for you,” he added, leaning forward, “you lack a certain component in your magical education that you’re going to need. A certain component that I can teach you, and possibly even Discord, master of Chaos that he is.”

He turned to the Queen.

“I believe you have what you brought him here for. Allow me custody of him for the remainder of the evening, your highness.”

The Queen gave one last look at Nova, and in it Nova saw slight apprehension and fear of what was to come, before she nodded, and waved them both away.

Before Nova could even protest, Sombra snapped his fingers. Jagged, black sparks of energy flew from his fingers and bound themselves around Nova’s wrists.

“Follow,” Sombra commanded, standing up and banishing his throne away. Nova felt his body move of its own accord, standing up and taking steps he didn’t want it to take to stay behind Sombra as the would-be King led him out of the Police Department, into a rather expensive-looking black Rolls-Royce, and off to Sombra’s rather lavish manor.

Discord’s was more affluent, but that may have had something to do with his ability to reform reality on a whim, but Sombra’s chateau-like manor was no slouch in the luxury department. Though Sombra’s residence was more like his parents’ than anything. Fountains, gardens, marble and stone architecture, and a two-wing structure with a center main section.

“What the hell is this spell?” Nova asked, only able to look around using his neck and eyes, but without being in any control of the lower areas of his body.

“A spell taught to me by my former Master, which allows me to command anyone whom I have managed to bind with it,” Sombra replied as he drove the car to a garage around the back of the house. “Such as my subjects in the Crystal Empire, who wouldn’t build me my kingdom if I hadn’t commanded them to with this. Be very grateful, Nova Shine. This spell only works once per victim per caster, and I chose to use it on you for such a lowly purpose as to make you follow me to my home. Were I to remove the spell and cast it on you again, it would have no effect. But then, of course, the question comes into play: am I the real Sombra? or am I just an Echo, as you said?”

Nova remained silent from then on, even when he was forced to follow Sombra into his house, through several rooms and into a sort of sparring room.

“Stand in the center,” he commanded, and Nova’s body complied, striding forward and standing in the exact center of a drawn circle in the floor, almost twenty yards in diameter. Nova had read up on enchanting circles, and this appeared to be no such magical conduit, since for one, they were small, and for two, they typically used magic powder to direct magic. Indeed, the powder on the ground did not seem to give off even the slightest of arcane energies, which meant that it couldn’t be magic powder.

If anything, it was just chalk.

As soon as Nova stood in the center, Sombra stepped into the circle as well. He snapped his fingers again, and a wall of red energy sprung up to the ceiling of the room from the powder on the ground. Were it not for the occasional spark of black lightning along the magical wall, Nova would have assumed it was normal magic.

“I, Sombra, release the unicorn Nova Shine from his servitude,” Sombra announced, hand brimming with more of the black lightning. At once, the black lightning surrounding Nova’s wrists dispelled, and Nova once more had control of his body.

Which he demonstrated by immediately falling over, being unprepared for it.

“Your mastery of your own body is astounding, Nova Shine,” observed Sombra dryly.

“Shut up,” Nova growled as he got to his feet. “Why the hell am I in this circle, and how the hell can that chalk channel magic?”

Sombra chortled.

“Oh, Nova Shine, tell me you’ve seen magic powder before. I always thought it was the princesses’ tradition to christen their new Night Masters and Prime Magi with the stuff.”

“That can’t be magic powder,” Nova protested. “Magic powder gives off faint arcane readings. This didn’t.”

“True enough,” Sombra said, inclining his head. “To answer your question, it is magic powder, though a more thoroughly-processed form. Useful for maintaining traps, which wouldn’t give off the slightest of arcane readings. As for why you’re in the circle, well…”

A black fire appeared on the collar of the suit at his neck and swept downward. Where it burned, the suit vanished. Sombra was left standing bare-chested in a pair of flexible athletic pants.

The king’s body was heavily scarred, likely from the use of his magic, it was very toned, and it also had a very shaggy carpet of hair across it as well.

“Does my physique interest you?” Sombra asked, one of his thick eyebrows rising above the other.

“Err… no,” Nova said, shaking his head when he realized he had been staring.

“Hmm… I did not know you went both directions, Night Master,” Sombra continued, the faintest of smirks tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“N-no, I--” Nova stammered, before groaning. “How the hell did you get all those scars?”

“All of these?” Sombra asked, turning to display his back, which looked even worse, with what looked like a grid of white lines on it. “Remnants from battle and from my exile from the Crystal Empire.”

“Exile?” Nova asked, surprised. “I didn’t know you were exiled from the Empire.”

“There’s a lot about me you do not know, Nova Shine,” Sombra responded. “But out of curiosity, what did you think?”

“I just thought you inherited the position from your father and then enslaved everypony to build your empire.”

“Well, you’re not wrong,” Sombra said. “I did inherit the position from my father, and then enslaved everypony to build my empire, that much is true.”

“Let me guess, you killed your father,” Nova said.

“Also true, but there is far more to it than that. Perhaps one day, you might hear it. But right now, we have more important things to do.”

Without warning, Sombra raised his hands and pointed his fingers at Nova. Before Nova could react, jagged lightning shot out of Sombra’s fingers and struck Nova in the chest.

Nova yelled and collapsed, writhing in pain, but as soon as it had come, it was gone. He remained on the ground, twitching and taking quick shallow breaths as he tried to recover from the blast.

“Black Magic is not painless, Nova Shine,” Sombra explained as he knelt down and offered a hand. Nova just spit at him and batted it away. Sombra’s lip curled, but he retreated.

“Wh-what the hell was that for?” Nova asked, his voice wheezing because of how quickly he was trying to breathe.

“Incentive,” Sombra replied simply. “You’re going to learn how to block Black Magic or you’re going to keep getting shocked with my favorite spell in my repertoire. Now stand up.”

Nova’s entire body shook as he tried to get to his feet, only for his legs to give out. Sombra let out a tired sigh that betrayed some irritation as Nova tried again.

“You never seemed to take a spell of Black Magic well. First that time in the desert, where it took the merest charm to set you into an enchanted sleep, and now barely a second of lightning. So much for Her Majesty’s Night Master.”

When Nova had finally stabilized himself, Sombra held out his hands again. Nova instinctively conjured a bright blue magical shield, but the black lightning just shot right through it. Once again, Nova was reduced to little more than a pathetic pile of convulsions, twitching, and pained yelling.

“You can try to use your Light Magic, Nova Shine, but against Black Magic it will not work.”

Again and again, Nova was subjected to Sombra’s spells, and again and again, Nova attempted to stop it the only way he knew how. But Light Magic didn’t seem to work even slightly at stopping Sombra’s lightning.

“I keep telling you, Nova Shine,” Sombra said, and again, there was a note of irritation in his voice, “Light Magic will not work. Think! Use that brain, and that ingenuity that has saved you more times than anypony could care to count!”

“I-I c-c-can’t,” Nova said, attempting to speak, even through the convulsions he was still suffering.

“You can,” Sombra corrected him. “You have the tools to do it, but you’re ignoring one entire set of them! Light Magic isn’t the only magic you can cast! For Equestria’s sake, boy, think!”

He raised his hands once again and the lightning lanced forth. Out of sheer instinct, Nova held up a hand and snapped his fingers on the other.

A bright white light appeared in Nova’s outstretched hand, and almost magnetically, the lightning seemed drawn to it. And yet it did absolutely nothing to Nova’s hand. The white light was simply absorbing the Black Magic as it came.

A few seconds after Nova managed to conjure the light, Sombra ceased in the spellwork.

“Finally, he uses his brain.”

Nova managed to get to his feet, though his legs still shook beneath him. But he felt… strangely accomplished.

“What… what did I do?” he asked weakly.

“Chaos, Nova,” Sombra said. “Chaos Magic doesn’t follow the rules when it comes to Light and Black Magicks. While Black Magic can essentially completely negate Light Magic’s rules, Chaos Magic doesn’t follow either of them, and so for ponies such as yourself who are too afraid to take that step into ultimate power, it is the only way to defend against it.”

He gestured at the wall.

“Now, do us both a favor, and cut us out of this enclosure. Despite being on the same side, however temporarily, I can only stand your presence for so long.” Nova rolled his eyes. “That, and there is work to be done before any of us can make any attempt at breaking the Curse.”

“Isn’t the Curse your curse, though?” Nova asked.

“It is,” Sombra said. “I cannot break it myself, but due to a loophole in the reason I was created as an Echo, it doesn’t prevent me from… shall we say, implying the ways to break it, but you already know the most direct way of doing it, so I am not needed in that regard.”

Another, more disturbing thought occurred to Nova. The would-be King had once stated that he was invested in Nova’s future. By teaching Nova to defend against Black Magic with Chaos, Sombra had just potentially handed him a way to defend against his preferred magical style.

“Why did you teach me this?” he asked.

Sombra arched an eyebrow.

“Why does it matter to you? Are you not pleased that you can defend against Envy, now?”

“You told me once that you’re invested in my future,” Nova stated. “Why, then, would you help me? Why would you give me a way to defend against your true self, should he ever come back?”

Sombra rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“Astute observation. Have you ever read the Thirty-Six Stratagems?”

Nova had heard the name before, but other than that, he knew nothing, so he shook his head.

“They were a Neighponese essay, written years before even I came to power. I studied it during my exile, along with Sun Tsu’s Art of War. One of the stratagems states ‘Sacrifice the plum tree to preserve the peach tree.’ In this case, don’t be afraid to sacrifice short-term objectives to preserve my long-term goal. It does not please me that I must teach you this method, but it is necessary, and I hardly unable to work around it. Do you understand?”

“I guess,” Nova said. “Be flexible enough to alter your plans to keep the long-term goal alive?”

“Exactly,” Sombra said. “When I make my plans, I like to set everything up to where, no matter the outcome, I am benefitted. For instance, you look at the situation between the Unicorn Kingdom and the Changelings. The moment Chrysalis was captured by Silverblood, no matter the outcome, something would have happened that would benefit me. Either Chrysalis was rescued, but tensions between the Unicorns and the Changelings would have drastically increased, or the two sides would go to war, dragging your principality and the Pegasi and Earth Ponies into the conflict as well. Your intervention was unforeseen, but not unplanned for, as you did rescue her and tensions did escalate. All-out war between the two sides followed, a couple of centuries later, but by then, Luna and Celestia had already dealt with me. If they hadn’t, I would have swept in and taken Equestria as soon as both sides ended the fighting.”

“So that outcome didn’t benefit you, then,” Nova said.

“Not entirely as I would have liked, but I simply allowed it to happen, so as to set up my future plans.”

“Which won’t be happening, courtesy of Twilight Sparkle.”

Almost as soon as Nova said it, Sombra only smiled at him. And Nova was sure he didn’t like the look of it.

“Won’t they, Nova Shine?”

Nova decided not to give Sombra the satisfaction of answering that one, so he instead turned to the crackling wall of Black Magic, currently trapping them both in.

“So, how exactly do I bust us out?” he asked.

“Really, it’s like you didn’t just get electrically tortured until you learned,” Sombra snarked behind him.

“Okay, okay,” Nova said, rolling his eyes. “I didn’t know if there was some trick to the Chaos or not. Well, here goes.”

His hand shone with blank white light, and he reached out a hand to touch the wall. To Nova’s surprise, the wall felt flat, despite the crackling energy. Against his better judgement, but to test his theory, he reached out his other hand toward the wall tentatively.

Almost at once, he felt the dark energy lance up his arm and he yelped and reflexively clapped his Chaos-riddled hand to his shoulder. Almost at once, the flow of Black Magic ceased in his arm.

“Smooth,” Sombra observed.

“I never took you for the sarcastic type,” Nova commented.

“As I said before, there are a lot of things about me that you do not know.”

“Fair enough,” Nova reasoned, before a sudden, idiotic idea occurred to him. And yet, knowing Chaos magic, it just might work.

Backing away from the wall ever so slightly, he knelt down and touched the very bottom of the wall with the index finger of his Chaos hand, and started to trace upwards. To his surprise and satisfaction, a thin white line trailed behind. Nova arced the finger high over his head on the wall, before bringing it back down on his other side. When he finally removed his finger, having completed the semi-circular pattern, he stepped back to admire his handiwork. the white line remained.

With a smirk, Nova strode forward and simply blew on the section inside of the line, and instantly, that section fell backward, leaving a large hole in the wall.

“Bravo, Nova Shine,” Sombra said, clapping appreciatively. “It seems you have been learning from Discord after all. No doubt cutting the hole in the wall would have been something he’d do.”

Nova smiled as the wall vanished, leaving the white magic powder sitting on the ground one more.

Suddenly, a crackling sound issued from Nova’s shoulder, and a sudden spike of pain erupted. Nova screamed. The pain was even worse than it had been when Sombra had been shocking him.

“No!” he heard as he clutched at his shoulder. “It is not time yet!”

He felt Sombra grab the wrist of the arm clamped over his shoulder and wrench it away. But before Nova could pull free and cover it again, he felt Sombra’s fingers press against his heart and, miraculously, the pain seemed to stop.

Nova looked down, and to his mingled surprise and horror, Sombra appeared to be extracting black essences from him, collecting the energy in his hand.

A wave of nausea rolled over Nova. He retched, vomiting on the floor beside him, before the ground rushed up to meet him, and all became darkness.

Sombra stared down at the unconscious form of Nova Shine, feeling more concerned and surprised than he had ever felt about the boy before. That had not gone according to plan at all. He had learned what he needed to learn, but why had the dark energy chosen that moment to strike? His wall was not designed to be malignant.

Perhaps… he thought, hearkening back to the spell the fool unicorn had cast on the then-Night apprentice. ...an unexpected side effect?

It would require more observation. He hadn’t exhibited even the slightest inclination towards corruption, save for the red eyes, so why now?

With a wave of his hand, Sombra cleaned the magic powder and the vomit as he pondered how best to go about watching.

It seems the best course would be to let Discord and the Princess watch him, he thought, but knowing them, they might find some way to upend everything that I have worked so hard for.

Still, this could not be done now. Now, all Sombra could do was let the boy sleep, and at least find rest within his dreams.

{E} {I} {O} {W}

He was warm. And for some reason, he felt weightless, too.

The weightlessness was a familiar feeling, as more than once he and Twilight had gone for a flight in her dreams, but this felt more real than that.

Was he dreaming?

Nova opened his eyes. Everything was white around him. And he felt like he was floating in water, apart from the fact that he was warm and dry.

What was this place?

He swung himself forward, as if sitting up, only to flail about when he realized there was no floor beneath him.

Yeah, he thought. Definitely dreaming.

He looked down at his hands-- wait a minute. He had hooves again.

He looked over his body and realized, to a mixture of astonishment and pleasure, that he was his pony self once again.

Almost as if to add to his happiness, his favorite navy-blue cloak appeared around his shoulders and fastened itself with the brooch of the Night Master.

“Wonder why that happened,” he said aloud.

“Well, if you’re going to meet a pretty lady, you need to be dressed for the occasion.”

That voice…

Nova turned around, still floating in the air.

Twilight Sparkle was standing before him, a pony too. But there was something off about her. Nova couldn’t quite put his finger on it, though. Everything seemed there, at least. The eyes were the same, her horn was the same, it was the same old unicorn that he had…

Twilight wasn’t a unicorn anymore. Which could only mean...

“No way.”

Nova felt himself drop to the ground, and he just fell flat on his face, still in disbelief.

“Well, if you really are dreaming, then shouldn’t it come as no surprise to you?” the pony asked, offering a hoof to help him up.

“I told Luna to make sure I never dreamt of you!” Nova said as she pulled him to his hooves. “It’s too painful to even think of you when I’m awake!”

“Then what makes you so sure that this is only a dream?” Clover asked, cocking her head. “For all you know, I just got bored in the afterlife and decided to pay you a visit when I got the opportunity.”

Nova could only stare at her. For some reason, despite the surrealism, and the fact that every bit of this encounter defied all logic, everything seemed perfectly normal. As if this was a normal occurrence. Nova wasn’t panicking or just plain losing it.

“You’re still wondering if I’m real, aren’t you,” Clover asked, still smiling at him.

“You died, though,” Nova protested. “I’ve been to your grave! Your’s and Steel’s! How can you be standing here, looking so young, so beautiful, so...”

“That’s the beautiful thing about eternity, Nova,” she said, glancing at the whiteness beneath her hooves. “It’s eternity. And he and I have been waiting for you to join us for centuries.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to drag me off to the afterlife,” Nova said, ears splaying back (a feeling he was pleased to feel again). “I don’t think I’m ready to die.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Nova,” Clover said, laughing. “You’re not dead. You are asleep, though. A blissful, dreamless sleep that allowed me just the right window to pay you a visit. And for the first time in years, we can talk like we used to.”

“So,” Nova swallowed, “you are real, then?”

“As real as you are,” she answered, taking a few steps forward, to put them both only a few inches away. “Go on, then.”

Nova needed no other words from her. He reached out a tentative hoof to Clover’s cheek, and to his astonishment, his hoof touched her.

Immediately, her own hoof came up, and pressed his into her cheek, which she nuzzled into happily.

“I have waited over a thousand years for this,” she breathed.

At that, Nova let his inhibition go. He pulled Clover’s face right to his and he kissed her, as he had not done since the best and worst night in his life.

After several blissful, unending moments, Nova and Clover separated. Almost immediately, she nuzzled into his neck, and Nova hugged her tightly, tears spilling out of the corners of his eyes.

They almost stood in direct contrast to each other. Clover was peacefully nuzzling into him, without even a little bit of fear, but Nova was unashamedly crying, and holding her so tightly, as if he was afraid she would just vanish.

As with the kiss, they remained in their embrace for several long moments before Nova finally relaxed, and they both sort of fell onto the ground, Nova’s legs wrapped around her.

“My, someone’s eager,” Clover observed.

“This, coming from the mare who wanted me to give her a whole night and spent a year and a half attempting to woo me against my will?” Nova retorted.

“Still as snarky as ever,” she answered. “I see a couple of years have done nothing to tame the tongue of Nova Shine.”

“Well, you’ve been watching me, haven’t you?” Nova asked, bemused. “Of course a couple of years have done nothing.”

“Well, we haven’t been watching you,” Clover replied. “We can’t, really. We can sense things about ponies we are or were close to, but we can’t watch your every move.”

“Oh, good, I feel loads better,” Nova said.

“You received my final letter?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Of course,” Nova smiled fondly at the memory of discovering the final words Clover had written him in his own code. “Which reminds me. You haven’t asked about my earring yet.”

“No, that I haven’t,” she said, glancing at the small glowing magenta stone, still fastened to his ear even in this dream state. “I assume this means you and Twilight Sparkle are engaged?”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, now,” Nova corrected her. “I proposed not too long after she ascended, and naturally, considering that I’m a very sexy stallion--” Clover flicked his muzzle with her ear, “--she accepted on the spot.”

Clover hummed peacefully as Nova fell silent. They were content to lie there, simply enjoying each other’s company. It felt as though no more words needed to be spoken.

But like any good moment with Nova Shine, it was ruined somehow.

“So, you wait more than a thousand years to meet me, and all we do is kiss, hug, and cuddle?”

Clover let out a patient sigh, but she did flick Nova’s muzzle with her ear again.

“Well, you do have a point,” she admitted. “You’ll be waking up in only a few hours. Not exactly the biggest window of time for us to catch up.”

Instantly, the white dreamscape around them changed. No longer were they just floating around. They were now standing in the Great Hall of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, exactly as it had been the night Nova had left, minus the crowd.

A golden and silver throne were placed up at the high table, there was a great clearing in the middle of the floor, the tables had food left over on them, and the starry sky could be seen outside the windows.

“A dance?” Nova asked, feeling suddenly quite warm around the ears.

“Yes, Nova. A dance,” Clover affirmed, standing and turning around to face him. Nova was drawn up to his hooves, and the same spell she had used to long ago pulled his sternum towards her, holding them close.

“Do you remember how it goes?” she asked, and to Nova’s surprise, he could hear the same strains played by the orchestra that night as he and Clover had danced.

As soon as the music had gotten into its full swing, she took the lead. She led him as they waltzed slowly across the ballroom floor. All the while, Nova just let her lead while he basked in just her presence.

And as they moved, Nova once again felt the tears start to fall. She was here, with him! Clover the Clever!

“Please,” he croaked, his voice suddenly weak, “tell me I’ll remember this when I wake up.”

He heard her hum quietly again, but otherwise, she offered no response, content to continue her slow dance with him.

“Not entirely,” she finally said, which caused Nova’s heart to sink. “You’ll only remember it like a half-forgotten dream. But Nova Shine, I want you to promise me one thing,” she added, letting the spell binding her to him wear off so she could look him in the eyes.

“Anything,” he said immediately, and completely sincerely.

“Promise me, Nova Shine, you will never forget that I am always with you.”

“I promise,” he said, bending down to kiss her. When he pulled back, he felt uncertainty wash over him. “But how? How are you always with me? Can I ever talk to you like this again?”

“We will meet again, Nova. Perhaps like this, but if not, we will reunite for eternity someday. But despite this, always remember, I am with you, right here.”

She reached forward and placed her hoof right over his heart. Nova felt a strange warmth well up inside him at her touch, and he recast the spell that bound them together.

“Well, we only have a few more hours till I wake up,” he said, feeling her nuzzle into his neck. “Let’s dance the night away, shall we?”

“I think that is a wonderful idea,” she agreed softly.

And they began to dance once again, and they didn’t stop, all through the night.

Author's Note

Well, I got it done in a month. Doing my best, but school starts up next week. And I don't want to repeat the epic fail that was last Fall semester.

But other than that, I got nothing. Please review!

Rytex out. Have a good day!

Reunion

Even In Other Worlds
Chapter 11 - Reunion

When Nova told her the truth, Tracy just couldn’t believe it.

“Be serious, Nathan, why were your hands glowing?”

“I am being serious, Tracy. It’s magic.”

“There’s no such thing as magic.”

“There is. I used it right in front of you.”

Having heard the story secondhoof and not having seen it himself, Nova couldn’t help but wonder if this was how Twilight had been when Pinkie’s Pinkie-Sense was messing with her.

“Want me to prove it to you?” Nova asked, holding out his hand toward a random book. At once, his hand glowed vivid blue and the book shot toward his hand at top speed, where he caught it and placed it on the coffee table.

“Wha…” was all Tracy could say as she stared at his hand, which was still glowing, dumbfounded.

“I can do more than just call things to me, too,” he said. With an flicking-sort of flipping motion, Nova had a bright blue flame sitting in the palm of his hand. With a wave of his other hand, the fire transformed into a simple blue were-light that added to the already-well-lit room.

Tracy’s mystified eyes never left his hand, even when he ended the spell play and returned his hands to his lap.

“So, where’s Sam?” Nova asked conversationally, as though he had not just gotten done completely breaking his opposite number’s worldview. “With your parents for the evening?”

Tracy nodded dumbly, still staring at his hands. Nova was starting to feel terribly awkward about it, but fortunately, she glanced at her own hands a moment later.

“I guess this means you’re wondering whether or not you can use magic, too,” he commented. “Can’t tell you, honestly. Maybe you can, maybe you can’t. But you definitely have the potential to. But I’m not the one to teach you how.”

Well, it was true. From a certain point of view, at least.

“How do you know I have the potential to?” Tracy asked. “How did you know?”

“You know that lady I saved from the Hellsings?” he asked. More sort-of truths, he supposed.

“Lucy… Selene, was it?”

“That’s the one,” he nodded. “She taught me everything I know about magic. Including a way to detect if someone else can use it. Give me your hands.”

“What?”

“Your hands,” Nova repeated. “Let me see your hands.”

Tracy glanced at her hands hesitantly for a moment, and when she extended them, it was very hesitant. But Nova meant no harm. He took hold of her wrists and held them up in between them.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“Simple. I’m going to channel a bit of magical energy through your hands,” he explained. “If you are able to cast magic, which everyone has the potential to somewhere deep down, your hands will glow like mine.”

Before she could say another word, he let the energy flow into her. Instead of Nova’s hands glowing, they stayed dark while Tracy’s hands began to glow a bright magenta, almost exactly like Twilight Sparkle’s aura.

Hmm, that’s weird, Nathan said, noticing that it was slightly brighter than he remembered. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t use her magic that it glows as brightly?

After a moment, he let go of her hands and set them gently in her lap.

“All there is to it.”

Tracy just continued to stare at her hands, almost as if through sheer willpower alone, she could make them cast magic. And perhaps she could, if her reflexes and instincts kicked in, but with her modified memory, Twilight Sparkle’s knowledge would remain locked away until the curse was broken.

“Could that woman, Missus Selene--”

“Miss,” Nova corrected reflexively.

“--Miss Selene,” said Tracy, looking up at him with eager eyes, “could she teach me?”

“How to use magic?”

Tracy nodded, and Nova saw the merest flicker of a smile tug at her mouth.

“Well,” he said shrugging, “you would have to speak to her about it yourself. And I can only tell you where she is if she agrees to it.”

“Why?” Tracy asked.

“Well,” Nova said, trailing off as he tried to think of a suitable explanation, but then he figured a third half-truth would be best. “You know the tension going around the town right now? The police and the townspon-- people getting into little scuffles, me having to save you, her, and Rachel from the Hellsings, that stuff?”

She nodded.

“She’s laying low until it all stops. Doesn’t want me telling anyone except in the strictest confidence. There are some who do know where she’s at,” he added, thinking of Mike Appleby, “but I won’t be telling you who they are.”

She pouted and protested, but he was firm in his decision. Nova had a feeling Princess Luna would only turn her down anyway. It wasn’t her place to teach Twilight any magic; that responsibility was her sister’s.

“Is that all you wanted to ask me about?” asked Nova, now that it seemed he had satisfied her.

“Well, I don’t know if you would know about this,” she began, sounding nervous.

“Know about what?”

She hesitated, looking torn between telling him or not, but after a moment she just rose to her feet and indicated that he follow her down the hallway in the kitchen, towards the bedrooms.

“Wait here,” she said, stopping by her bedroom door and going inside. Nova did as he was told, patiently waiting while he heard the sounds of wood sliding on wood, followed by a satisfied “Ah!” and a paper rustle. Once the door opened, Twilight handed him a piece of paper. “Have you ever seen this mark before?”

Nova looked down, and to his astonishment, the paper bore his cutie mark. Exactly the same color, and exactly the same design. How could she have known about this?

It must have shown, because Tracy smiled. “Well, go on then, what is it?”

Nova hesitated yet again. Would it be better to lie? Another half-truth? Or just the full truth?

After a moment of indecision, he decided to just show her, as she had shown him. So he took hold of the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head. Tracy let out a surprised little gasp and blushed, but Nova paid it no mind. Instead, he turned his back to her where she could see the mark standing in stark contrast to the color of his skin. And when a second surprised gasp came from her, he knew she had recognized it.

Something cold touched his back, and he flinched, but it was simply Tracy touching his mark in disbelief.

“Sorry,” she said instantly after he jumped.

“‘S fine,” replied Nova, shrugging. “Just, a little more warning next time?”

A sudden chill ran up his spine, the result of Tracy’s touch and the chilly air from the gale outside. Seeing as Tracy already knew of his magic, he figured there was no harm in warming himself with it. A bright blue glow shone on the walls as his hands lit up, and instantly, there was relief as the circulating energy in his body warmed him.

Another gasp caused Nova to end the spell abruptly and turn his head.

“What?”

“Y-your mark,” she said, staring confusedly at it. “It just… glowed.”

“Did it?” he asked, surprised. That’s new. My mark glows when I cast magic?

He cast the thought out of his mind as Tracy continued to stare at his mark.

“What such a big deal about my back tattoo?” he asked.

“I-it’s nothing important,” she said, cheeks going a bit red. Nova, however, felt a familiar flare of energy emanate from her aura.

“Tracy, I can tell this is a big deal to you; you don’t have to lie to me.”

Tracy blinked. “I-it sounds stupid…”

“Try me.”

Tracy bit her lip for a moment, her blush deepening. Nova couldn’t help but chuckle a little; she looked quite cute when she was embarrassed, just like Twilight did.

“I’ve been having weird dreams,” she said, looking away. “About horses.”

Uh-oh…

“Like, I’m in this cave-looking place, and there’s this white horse with a really blue mane, a lot like your hair, and your little mark on its side. And there’s another horse, with lighter blue fur and an even lighter mane…”

“Huh,” Nova said, faking puzzlement.

“But… after that…” she trailed off, scrunching up her face as she tried to recall the details, “it’s all a little fuzzy. The horses are talking, and I’m responding, but I don’t know what I’m saying.”

“You remember your dreams better than I do mine,” Nova lied, stepping into her bedroom and sitting down on her bed, noticing that it looked very similar to her room in Canterlot, with books lining every conceivable part of the wall..

Tracy made a funny sound and gave him an odd look as she followed him in.

“What?”

“You’re lying,” she said. “I don’t know how I know, but I can definitely tell that you’re lying.”

Smart, Nova thought. Even in a memoryless state, she still can pick up on energy reading.

“Alright,” he said, raising his hands in mock-surrender, “you got me. I remember my dreams pretty well, actually.”

“Why would you lie?” she asked, confused. She didn’t seem angry about it, which surprised him. “I mean, it seems innocuous, what we’re talking about.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Nova said, shrugging. “Actually, let’s test that. Did you know I can randomly walk into other po-- peoples’ dreams?”

Tracy blinked dumbly.

“You can…”

“I can dreamwalk, yes. There’s a lot of things I can do with magic. Not just levitate.”

He held out a hand, and in a flash of blue light, his sword appeared in hand, which he promptly tossed at Tracy. Tracy shrieked and scrambled backwards, letting the sword hit the ground with several dull thunks.

“Come on, now,” Nova said, rolling his eyes. “Maybe you should try catching it this time.”

But instead of tossing it again, he simply handed it to her after picking it up. Tracy had been expecting a typical sword weight, but instead, she found that it was completely weightless. So surprised was she that she embedded in the ceiling, having expected much more of a burden.

Nova snorted, but repaired it with his magic after she pulled it out, grinning quite sheepishly.

“So you want to know what your dreams mean, eh?” he asked, and then he smirked.

“What if I told you that I’m from a land where magical talking candy-colored ponies are the dominant population?”

Tracy stared at him.

After a moment, Nova snickered, causing her to roll her eyes.

“Anyway, I can’t tell you what your dream means, Tracy,” Nova said, shrugging apologetically. “You wouldn’t believe me if I did. So, perhaps instead you would be interested in my work around town thus far?”

“Your work around town?”

“Oh yes,” said Nova with a small smile. “I’m sure the thought must have crossed your mind, ‘exactly why in the hell is he trying to mend the broken bridges between those people?’ Well, in truth, there’s… something that they all have that I need to use. Something locked away inside that I need to awaken for reasons I don’t think you would understand.”

With a wave of his hand and six little wisps of different colors appeared around the room. One purple, one orange, one blue, one red, one magenta, and one pink.

“While these aren’t the real thing, they’re a good visual representation,” Nova explained, “but these are the six Elements of Harmony.”

“The what?”

“The Elements of Harmony,” repeated Nova. “Each of the six elements are sentient, and their spirits rest inside of a chosen bearer, waiting to be awakened.”

Tracy stared at the wisps as they simply floated in their places.

“Are you trying to awaken these… Elements?” she asked.

“Good guess. That I am. Or rather, I’m trying to reawaken the Spirits of Harmony inside of them,” Nova corrected. “You see, these Elements came from an enchanted tree, but in time they were returned to their places, else primal magic would do serious damage to the land they’re from. However, their spirits never left those bearers, and I am striving to reawaken them.”

“What are these elements?” asked Tracy curiously, leaning forward and scrutinizing the purple one.

“Why don’t you tell me?” Nova asked, smiling. “I’m sure you might know somewhere, deep down.”

Tracy continued staring at the purple one, before she finally reached out and poked it with a finger. The wisp shifted, transforming into a purple diamond-shaped cloud.

“Generosity,” she said.

“Good,” encouraged Nova.

Tracy touched the orange, and it became an apple. “Honesty.”

“Very nice.”

The blue, which became a balloon. “Laughter.”

“Keep it up.”

The red, a lightning bolt. “Loyalty.” And the pink, a butterfly, “Kindness.”

And now it was time for that very special magenta element. Nova could feel a strange tingle within his mind, not unlike the time he’d been a vessel for the Consciousness of Magic. Perhaps its residue sensed itself?

At Tracy’s touch, it transformed into the familiar six-pointed star that Nova knew resided on Twilight Sparkle’s flank.

Tracy stared at it for several second, seeming as though she wasn’t quite comprehending it.

“I… I don’t…”

“Think about it,” said Nova encouragingly. “What does your gut tell you?”

“M-magic?” she asked, her brow furrowing.

“Six for six!” exclaimed Nova, applauding. “Very good, Tracy. Very good.”

“B-but how do I know this?” she asked, sounding quite surprised and, dare Nova say it, terrified? “How could I possibly know about these when I’ve never heard of them before?”

“Well, if you’ll allow me to continue, I can explain,” said Nova, standing. With a wave of his hand, all six elements flew forward and arranged themselves in front of Tracy, who let out an “eep!” and flinched backward.

“I want you to tell me, who does each element remind you of?”

Tracy stared at the purple diamond for a moment.

“Regina?”

“Regina Mills? The Bearer of Generosity.”

Next, the orange apple. “Ashleigh.”

“Ashleigh Appleby, the Bearer of Honesty.”

The red bolt of lightning. “Rachel.” Her voice was growing in confidence.

“Rachel Dillon, the Bearer of Loyalty.”

The pink butterfly, “Felicity.”

“Felicity Sanders, the Bearer of Kindness.”

The blue balloon. “Penelope.” She made it sound easy.

“Penelope Poppentop, the Bearer of Laughter.”

And finally, the magenta star. Tracy stared at it for a moment, before turning back to Nova and looking at the side of his face, where Nova knew she would find his engagement earring.

“Is it whoever’s little aura this is?” she asked, reaching out and touching it.

“It is,” Nova nodded. “Think you know who it is?”

“What is it?” she asked, moving his ear to get a better look.

“My engagement ring,” Nova answered nonchalantly.

Her fingers froze, and she withdrew them a moment later.

“I’m sorry, I--” she started to apologize, but Nova cut her off.

“Remember what I said, Tracy, it won’t come between anything that may develop between us.”

“B-but you’re engaged!” she protested. “I-it’s not fair to her if I just--”

“Once I’ve completed my objective with the Bearers of Harmony,” Nova said, placing a finger over her mouth to silence her, “I have no doubt that she won’t have a problem with it.”

Twilight blinked, evidently confused. “She’d… be okay with this?”

“Doubtlessly,” said Nova, nodding. “Which, of course, begs the question, ‘whose aura is it?’ And since it’s an engagement ring, another question is, ‘Where’s its twin?’”

Tracy’s eyes alighted all of a sudden, and she ran over to a nightstand and pulled it open. After a moment of rummaging, she pulled out an earring that was glowing a bright blue light.

Her engagement ring to him.

“I-is this it?”

“Yes, that is,” Nova nodded. “I’m sure you recognize the resonance?”

His hands glowed and a matching blue light emanated from them.

“But why would I--”

“Surely the thought crossed your mind?” Nova repeated. “Why would you have the other ring?”

“But… but that would mean…”

“That would mean… what?” Nova asked, curiously, giving a little smile.

“We’re… engaged?”

“Right on the money! Glad you finally figured that out.”

Tracy dropped the ring in shock and just stared at a spot on the floor as she tried to process it all.

A sobering thought struck Nova. Tracy knew the truth, but it was something she couldn’t know. Princess Celestia had cautioned him against this.

She must come last, Nova!

The moment that thought hit him, the good mood that had been dominating his insides since he had managed to awaken Felicity and Penelope left. He was going to have to do the same thing to her as he had done to Trisha: lock away these memories until the curse broke.

“Tracy,” he began, but her finger pressed against his lips and stopped his response.

“I-- I know,” she said, her head drooping. “I… I can’t have forgotten this for no reason. You need me to forget again…”

“I’m… I’m sorry Tracy.”

“You said you can Dreamwalk, though,” she said, sitting next to him and taking his hands into her’s.

“Yes, what of it?”

“Please,” she said, holding his hands to her heart. “Stay with me tonight. Give me one night with you. If you must block my memories, do it while I dream, because I just w-want one night before I f-forget again.”

Nova could see her blinking back tears, and it hurt him to see her like that. And so, acting purely on reflex, he leaned forward and kissed her.

It was over far too soon, after so long. As was the night. Nova stripped down to his boxers, Tracy to her own modest undergarments, and the two of them climbed into bed. As they both held each other close, Nova began to cast the enchantments within his mind that would allow him to enter Twilight’s mind and seal everything away.

{E} {I} {O} {W}

The task of sealing Tracy’s memories away had not been enjoyable. Perhaps it had been easy, but certainly not pleasant. The only hard part was creating the fake memories that would last until the curse broke. Everything had to be convincing, else they wouldn’t take root properly within her mind. He’d had to modify her memories of why they were even there. There were things he left in, such as his mark, but he changed the reasoning for her bringing him there, and modified it so that she point-blank refused to allow him to sleep on the couch. And that she had refused to sleep on it as well.

But upon returning to his own mind, in his native pony form, who should he find waiting for him on the glass pillar of his consciousness than a green pony with a maroon mane and tail, with a glimmering ruby pendant around her neck.

Upon seeing Envy, Nova was already preparing to cast the first spells, but Envy just smirked at him.

“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you.”

“And whyever not?” Nova asked, the magic ready to burst from his horn.

“Because we’re in your mind,” Envy said. “Granted, only the entry to it, but I could always hop behind this door over here, and then you’d be literally breaking your own brain.”

Even as she said it, an ornate door appeared behind her.

“You’re just hear to talk, then?” he asked.

“Maaaaaaaybe. If somepony behaves, that is.”

Nova let out a soft growl at her words.

“Heard it through the grapevine that you’ve got yourself a little temper problem,” Envy said conversationally, starting to pace around him.

“How could you have heard it when you’re supposed to be under this curse as well?”

“I hear a lot of things,” she said, shrugging. “Remember, I can turn all shadowy.”

“So you’re not under the curse?”

“That’s for you to decide,” she replied, smirking. “You still haven’t even figured out how I’m even here. And for that matter, I don’t think you can figure out why I’m here.”

“To gloat, naturally,” Nova said, scowling.

“Not even in the slightest.”

Envy’s horn lit up, a soft blue light illuminating the darkness around them. Wait, hang on.

Envy’s magic is red…

“Who are you, really?” Nova asked, magic releasing and holding the imposter Envy up in the air, preventing him or her from using any magic or moving.

To his surprise, however, a tiny white light appeared within the magic and encompassed the pon he had trapped, before pushing Nova’s magic outward. Nova felt the strain in his skull as with all of his sheer willpower, he attempted to keep the pony trapped. The pony he had trapped was strong, stronger than anyone he had ever battled before.

When sufficient space was available, the pony dropped gracefully to the ground, before a white light cut a hole in his spell, allowing the imposter to step out of the confines of his spell.

“We must apologize for the deceit practiced here tonight,” she said, before the same light blue lit up her horn. The form of Envy shifted and transformed under the light, until the figure was fully formed, after which the light faded.

“We meant no harm, dearest pupil,” Princess Luna said apologetically, trotting over and giving him a nuzzle. “Part of the reason for our visit was because we were testing the extent of the powers we had gained on one we knew would not take unkindly to our presence. Though we must admit, we did not expect you to be away from your apartment for two evenings in a row.”

.”Circumstances forced me here,” Nova answered. “Not that I mind.”

Princess Luna’s mouth went from being a smile to being a stern line.

“Yes, we observed your encounter with the girl. It is also part of why we came to your dreams tonight.”

“Were you trying to come last night?” Nova asked, remembering that he had definitely dreamt while he slept over at Penelope’s, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what of.

“We were,” she affirmed. “However, your mind was locked to us. We, however, know the cause, as we have witnessed many such occasions. Nevertheless, doubtlessly, you won’t remember.”

“No kidding,” Nova grumbled. “It sucks, because I could have sworn it was something important.”

“A long story short, Nova Shine, it was.”

“Great, that makes me feel loads better,” said Nova rolling his eyes. “If it’s so important--”

“That is beside the point, dearest,” interrupted Luna. “We came not to debate this, but to send a message on behalf of your parents.”

“My parents?” asked Nova. “They’re out?”

“They are,” Luna dipped her head. “Your mother broke free first, and assisted your father, and the both of them freed the pegasus Sharp Eye. Beyond that, they have yet to attempt to free anyone else.”

“When you’re done here, can you make sure they know not to go about freeing anyone else?” Nova asked. “The more ponies free of the curse, the faster the curse is going to unravel, and I can’t have that yet. Not when I have relative peace in awakening the Spirits of Harmony.”

“We will see what we can do,” promised Luna. “And speaking as your former teacher, we would like to say that your work with four of the Spirits of Harmony has been nothing short of excellent. It has only been a few weeks since my rescue, and you already have four of the six needed. However, that leads me to another reason why I’m here tonight.”

With a shimmer of her horn, the scene around them transformed into the very room Nova now slept in, his arm curled around Tracy’s sleeping form as the two slumbered peacefully.

“You, we think, need a reminder,” the princess said, gazing down at the two of them.

“A reminder?”

“Yes,” said Luna. “Nova, we understand what you are feeling.”

“Oh, do you?” asked Nova, already knowing where this was going, and he didn’t want to hear any of it.

“You have been separated from her, and now you come back to find that she has no knowledge of your shared past, and it is quite plain that you are attempting to win her back.”

“No, really?”

He felt a wing spread around his back, and he tensed.

“Nova Shine, please,” Luna said, leaning her head onto his. “We know what you must be going through right now. You feel alone, without the other half of your heart there to catch you if you fall. You are lonely in your task, even with friends.”

Nova neither confirmed nor denied it. He just grunted, but he did relax under Princess Luna’s hug.

“Is that why you freed my parents?” he asked.

Luna blinked.

“Did we not just say that--”

“Princess,” Nova laughed, “come on. I know you did it. You saw I was lonely without another pony save for you, and you went and freed my parents and Sharp Eye from it.”

Luna brought her other wing to her face.

“You’re too perceptive for your own good sometimes, Nova,” she said. “One of these days, it’s going to get you into trouble.”

“Implying the many other times I didn’t find my way into trouble,” he said. “My diary, for instance, with me being the only one able to understand it, and proceeding to go straight to the past.”

“Indeed,” Luna dipped her head, “but it is far from the only time. What of the incident that started this whole mess? When you had to go and give yourself, Twilight, and Trixie nightmares to start you on this path to discovering and battling Envy?”

“I still stand by that decision,” Nova said, shrugging. “Had to get our younger selves moving somehow.”

“We do not criticize that,” Luna replied. “We criticize the fact that you and she had to go behind our backs about it.”

“Well, you weren’t helping when we asked…”

Luna opened her mouth, but then closed it.

“Point taken.”

“Nova Shine one, Princess Luna nil,” Nova noted, with a teasing smile at his former teacher.

“Be that as it may, Nova Shine,” Luna continued, “we promise you, you will have and hold Twilight Sparkle again. But not now. Not when our victory is close. You must remain focused on your objective, lest you lose your way and it all comes undone.”

Nova had nothing to say. It was true; he had started to lose his way. Granted, he had gotten Felicity and Penelope only this very night, but he would have to reiterate that the last thing he wanted was for the curse to come undone prematurely.

“So… my parents,” he said, not wanting the silence to go on any further.

“Your parents.”

“Where are they?” he asked, as the dreamscape around them dissolved and they returned to Nova’s mind, with the pillar depicting him and Twilight Sparkle standing side-by-side.

“They are within the city, unlike some of your other friends,” Luna said, and the dreamscape vanished once again, leaving them standing in the sky over the town. The towers of downtown rose high over the lesser buildings below, and the highway cut through the heart of the city on its way to the other cities where ponies were being kept in their fake lives. Nova scrutinized where the university was, thence to his apartment, specifically for a frame of reference.

“Here,” said Luna, and a white light shone on a portion of the city close to Discord’s and Sombra’s manors. “It seems Envy was kind enough to give them an affluent estate, little kindness though it was.”

“Are you able to drop in on their dreams tonight?” he asked, tracing a path from Tracy’s apartment to their house. “If you can, could you let them know I’m showing up tomorrow?”

“we can. And we can also give them your message not to free anypony else. Will that suffice?”

“Yes, thank you, Princess.”

“You are most welcome, our former apprentice,” Luna said, bending down to nuzzle him again. “Alas, it seems as though our time tonight must end, if I am to deliver your message.”

“Princess, one more request.”

“Name it.”

“Please,” Nova said, rolling his eyes, “don’t ever show up in my dreams as Envy again. I seriously did consider attacking.”

“Understandable,” conceded Luna. “Very well, next time we will visit your mind as Twilight Sparkle and attempt to seduce you. Will that be less uncomfortable?”

The dreamscape around them changed, revealing the interior of Nova’s house in Equestria, the new one he had built in Ponyville. More specifically, the master bedroom. And lounging on his bed was Twilight Sparkle, eyes half-lidded, a sultry smile on her lips, and ribbon tied around her.

Nova felt his ears splay back, his eyes shrink, and a rising heat in his cheeks, before Luna as Twilight laughed, and the scene dispelled, leaving them back on the pillar.

“It seems as though we found your weak spot, dear Night Master,” she said, giving him a cheeky smile. “Remind us to inform Tia when we return to Equestria.”

“Not on your life,” Nova said, still trying to get the image of Twilight out of his had.

Thank Celestia this is only the gateway and not actually my subconscious.

“Well, we must be off,” said Luna, who was already starting to glow a bright blue. “Fare thee well, our Night Master. Remember, stay the course, and then you can be with your beloved.”

And with a flash of blue light, everything around him vanished.

{E} {I} {O} {W}

Nova opened his eyes slowly. For a brief moment, he wondered exactly where he was, why he felt so strangely proportioned, and why he wasn’t in his home in Ponyville.

But only for a moment, as the ever-sobering memory of their predicament came back to him, as did his current surroundings. He sighed and sat up, noticing first that Tracy was still fast asleep, and that it was only about six in the morning.

Thank goodness it was still the weekend. After the madness on Friday and the clubbing last night, he still had a Sunday to get his head back in the game before he was expected to show back up to his classes and continue the facade.

Nova got out of the bed, giving Tracy a light kiss on the head as he did so, and retrieved his clothing as he made his exit. As he passed through Tracy’s living room, he took the moment to write a quick note, explaining that something had come up, and thanking her for allowing him shelter over the night.

And with that, he was off, back out into the streets, walking back toward uptown, thence to his apartment.

Knowing his dad, he would be up right about now, but Sharp Eye and his mother were always late sleepers. Perhaps he would wait until sunrise before going and seeing them.

Yeah, that’s probably a good idea, he thought.

But then he realized, it would probably take him until sunrise to get there by walking.

Nova smiled rather wistfully at himself.

“So disappointed I can’t just use magic willy-nill-- wait.”

His apartment was closer to his parents’ house than Tracy’s apartment. And he had set up a teleportation point for his cloak there. There wasn’t anyone in the streets for more than a hundred yards in any direction, and none were in sight. What was stopping him?

So with a little grin, Nova swished the cloak on his back around him and let his body fall forward. A split-second later, his feet met solid ground and he found himself standing in his apartment’s living room once again.

And he immediately walked right out the door despite arriving back at his place for the first time in two days.

The walk to his parents’ house wasn’t nearly as long as it could have been, had he gone there from Tracy’s. But he was occupied for a good half-hour. The snow from the previous night’s storm still lay on the streets, smushing underfoot as Nova briskly walked toward the upscale portion of whatever the hell the name of this city was.

What a nice day, he thought. The trees of the upscale neighborhood, devoid of leaves, had their own charm with the snow kept trapped within their branches. Wonder if Dad’s kept his plants alive well in this new form.

When he arrived at the house, he was surprised to see that his dad wasn’t outside, working with the plants. The sun was starting its progress up into the sky, though. Perhaps he had already finished?

Nova did notice come footprints moving from the house to the plants and back. It would seem that was indeed the case.

Raising a fist as he neared the door, he knocked three times. Within seconds, the door opened to reveal a man a little shorter than Nova, with clear blue eyes, dark brown hair, khaki cargo shorts, and a red button-up shirt.

“Nova Shine?” the man said, taken aback, his familiar Neigh Zealand accent a welcome change of pace from the constant normal accents, aside from Alex’s british one..

“Nice to see you too, Sharp Eye,” Nova said, smirking and holding out a hand. Sharp Eye grinned and they shook “When did you get out?”

“Just yesterday,” he answered, stepping back and allowing Nova into the foyer of the stylish house. It looked a lot like the house in Canterlot. Mezzanine, halls that went to different sections of the place… “Were you the first one out? Your mum said you were.”

“That’s me,” said Nova, nodding. “How are they, by the way?”

“We’re all doing well,” he answered. “No real damage. This curse, this ‘victory,’ seems to be a very disappointing win for them. All we got is no memories. ‘Snot like we’re slaves, or something.”

Nova was led along a familiar path back to the living room of the house. His mother and father were sitting side-by-side in evening wear, his mom’s silver hair and his dad’s tidy brown contrasting each other in the dim room.

“Mom? Dad?” Nova asked, coming inside.

Shimmer and Ray both looked back. At once, both of them got up and gave him a great hug. And dare Nova say it, it was the first time he had ever hugged both his parents. It really was the first time he had ever felt like they were a family again.

“We were so worried after we got out,” Shimmer said, pulling back. “Princess Luna told us what happened, how you faced Nightmare Moon.”

“Eh, you know me,” Nova remarked. “A few traps here, a few beams there, and some underhanded trickery all around and bob’s your uncle, Princess Luna is running around again.”

“You’ve been hanging around Aegis too much,” noted his father, who still hadn’t let go.

“Dad, you can let go, you know that right?”

“Sorry,” said Ray, letting go and stepping back. Nova noticed there were a few grey strands in his hair now. Strands that weren’t in his mane on Equus. “It’s just, I’m glad that you’re safe, given everything that’s happening.”

“We are glad you’re safe,” Shimmer said. “Battling Nightmare Moon must have been dangerous.”

“No more than what I expected,” Nova said. “Really, it was actually a bit on the underwhelming side, since I knew just how to push her buttons.”

Shimmer gave a wry smile.

“You know just how to push everyone’s buttons, it seems.”

“Part of being me, I guess,” Nova said, shrugging. “So, I never bothered to find out. What is it exactly that you guys do up here?”

“Well, I work at a laboratory, apparently,” Ray said, as the three of them moved to sit on the couple of couches in the room. “Fitting, really. I get to keep studying things for a living.”

“I’ve been thinking about that, actually,” Nova said, reaching back and interlacing his fingers behind his head. “My theory is that this curse put us into familiar situations, specifically so that the fake memories would ‘feel’ real to us and take root quickly.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” Ray said, rubbing at the skin of his forehead. “You can cover things up all you want, but you can never truly overwrite a mind. If she had thrown us elsewhere, can you imagine how quickly it’d have unraveled?”

“Obviously, even this place wasn’t perfect,” Nova said. “Something caused my mind to shake off the bindings holding it down. And I think I know what that something is.”

He waved his hand in front of him, a momentary blue glow illuminating it. And a model of the head of Natalie Verano appeared.

“Natalie Verano,” he declared. “When I was under the curse, she was supposedly my girlfriend.”

Another wave of the hand, and Tracy Strong’s head appeared.

“Tracy Strong,” he added. “For obvious reasons, I’m pretty sure you can see why I think I broke out.”

“So Envy duped you into dating this… Verano girl?” asked Shimmer, cocking an eyebrow. “You told us about your adventure in the past. What was there to be gained by this?”

“The last name,” Nova said, smiling grimly. “And the middle, as well. ‘Verano,’ if you’ve ever been to Mexicolt, is their word for summer.”

Realization dawned on Ray’s face, but Shimmer remained confused.

“I don’t understand.”

“Think about it, Mom,” Nova said, and with a wave of his hand, a magical model of Summer Blossom appeared in the room. “Summer Blossom was smitten with me in the past, and she tried to kill Clover because Clover had won me, which led to her becoming Envy. Natalie’s last name is the Mexicoltian word for summer.”

The realization started to dawn on Shimmer, but Nova continued nonetheless.

“And what’s more is her middle name, ‘Dahlia.’ The dahlia flower blooms in summer, making it a literal summer blossom. Finally, her initials. N. and V.”

Ray looked utterly dumbstruck. Shimmer looked a little less impressive with her surprise, but she still appeared quite unnerved by the information.

“Hang on,” Ray said, shaking his head suddenly. “No, that doesn’t sound like Envy.”

“What do you mean?” asked Nova, giving him a curious look.

“She would never be that obvious about it, would she? I don’t know her like you do, but if this really is how her plan is laid out, she’s being remarkable blasé about it.”

“What do you mean ‘blasé?’” asked Nova, confused.

“If this is the case,” Ray explained, “she knows you’re bound to find her out sooner or later, so she made it obvious. I mean, you know, what’s the point of hiding if you’re just gonna unravel it anyway? If this is the case. But from what I know of Envy, this can’t be that simple. I find it more likely she put herself close by, where she can watch you without arousing suspicion. Perhaps by also sowing a little chaos among the Bearers of Harmony as you attempt to awaken them?”

Nova opened his mouth to respond, but then it hit him. Rainbow Dash had never shown any romantic interest in him in Ponyville. He had almost-daily contact with her, she seemed to be a little more harsh than usual with Tracy than she was with anyone else, and she always seemed to be nearby whenever something happened. And that’s not to mention she was almost overtly competing with Tracy for his affections.

He’d had to rescue her from the Hellsings, she had been observing him as Discord trained him, she was there when the Changelings had attempted to drag him off to Chrysalis…

But she has the red lightning bolt on her back, he reasoned. If she’s Envy, why does she have that?

Nova voiced the opinion that had sprouted in his mind. That Rainbow Dash, Rachel Dillon on this world, was the one who fit that description, and his concerns about the Mark of Loyalty that was below the nape of her neck. At this, Ray scowled.

“It’s all too puzzling,” he grumbled. “No one that you know of is definitely Envy. PErhaps she could be leading you one way, only to subvert that in the end. I know the residents of this world have a name for that. I want to say... the Kansas City Shuffle? Regardless, Nova, you cannot trust anyone at this point, save for those whom you know for a fact are who they say you are. Such as Princess Luna.”

“Does this mean I can’t trust you?” he asked his mom and dad. His dad rolled his eyes, but his mom just smiled sweetly at him.

“I don’t know, Nova. Can you? Maybe I’m Envy, and you just don’t realize it.”

Now it was Nova’s turn to roll his eyes.

“Sure, Mom. Whatever you say.”

“Oh, I’m just teasing, son,” she said, nudging him with her elbow. “I suppose now you know where you got that side of you.”

Ray looked over at a clock on the wall and sighed.

“You will have to forgive me, Nova,” he said, standing up and walking off toward the main area of the house. “It may be a Sunday, but I still have things to do in the city. You’ll probably want to spend the day with your mother, yeah?”

Nova nodded.

“I haven’t spent quality time with Mom since we made up,” he said. “About damn time I do.”

Shimmer responded by giving him an affectionate hug.

“You two enjoy yourselves,” Ray said, heading back into the house. “Oh, and Nova? There’s a message for you on the kitchen counter.”

Nova got up from his spot on the couch and followed his dad until the hall split in a direction heading to the house’s kitchen. Once inside, he noticed a small roll of parchment with nothing more than a single fiery-red feather laying beside it.

“It’s from Princess Celestia!” he exclaimed, recognizing Philomena’s plumage. He knew Celestia was powerful enough to send messages at high speed in Equestria, but never had he guessed that Philomena was able to cross world boundaries.

Nova Shine,

Since I have the time, I will write everything I feel you need to know or hear from me, based on Discord’s and my sister’s updates on your current progress, but allow me to get straight to the points.

Allow me to start first with the matter I’m sure is closest to your heart: Twilight Sparkle. I am aware you have been seen in her human counterpart’s company very often as of late, and I am also aware that Luna has been attempting to dissuade you from pursuing her. I have no intention of undermining her instruction or advice, but I would recommend the opposite. Twilight Sparkle was the one who brought the other five Elements together, and you share your own bond with them as well. If you can use Twilight to help them come together, it may save you time and effort, both of which are of the essence.

Second, Discord has informed me he has been instructing you in Spellblade. An unorthodox style of battle, but no doubt one you will put to good use. I’ve heard good things of what little you have used it for thus far; keep up the good work.

Third, I am aware of your truce with Sombra. Luna remains unaware, as I doubt she would approve, or even allow such a truce to continue. I also know of your uneasiness with Sombra and your encounter with him in the past. You need allies, Nova. Perhaps not ones with which to strike permanent bargains, but allies nonetheless. Trust him only so far as you can throw him, but remember, he was summoned by Envy. When the time comes to make your final moves, his Echo will need to be dealt with in some way.

Fourth, and finally, I am leaving Philomena in your care She cannot return to the other side of the Crystal Mirror with my Hyperbolic Time spell still functioning. That, and I thought an extra helper might come in handy. Philomena’s talents are many, and she will perform her duties to the letter. As such, she knows that you are the one taking care of her until she and I are reunited. You need not give her food, she will usually find her own. As well, she may choose to prank you every so often, but do not take offense. It is merely her way of showing affection. If you wish to call her, simply say her name as if you were calling her from afar.

Continue with the excellent progress you have made thus far, and you will return everypony to Equestria within the year. You can do it, Nova. I know you can.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

Nova grinned. He’d always liked Philomena, the few times he’d ever interacted with her.

“Philomena!” he called. For a moment, he felt awkward, but in a burst of flame a moment later, the red-orange feathered form of a magnificent phoenix appeared before him, standing atop the counter, with no ash or char to be found. The bird regarded Nova for a mere moment, before letting out a chirp and hopping onto his outstretched arm and climbing up to his shoulder.

“Nova, honey, what was--” he heard Shimmer call, before she walked in and stopped at the sight of the phoenix on his shoulder. “Is that Princess Celestia’s phoenix?”

“Yes it is,” Nova said as the bird dipped her own head. “Mom, meet Philomena.”

Shimmer reached out with an arm, but paused. “May I?” she asked, looking directly at the phoenix, rather than at Nova. Philomena responded by hopping off of his shoulder, talons briefly digging into his shoulder, and landing on her arm. Shimmer reached up and stroked the phoenix’s plumage, causing the phoenix to let out a pleasant chirrup.

“She’s quite beautiful,” Shimmer observed. “Why did the Princess send you her pet?”

Philomena let out an indignant squawk and dug her talons into Shimmer’s arm. Shimmer winced, and nearly flung her into the air. Nova could only chuckle.

“I don’t think she takes kindly to being called Princess Celestia’s pet, Mom,” Nova noted. “I think the more accurate term would be ‘familiar.’ After all, Philomena’s more than just a bird that sits around.”

Philomena gave a happy chirp and bopped Shimmer’s head with her wing. Shimmer couldn’t help but chuckle at the display, but proffered Philomena back to Nova.

“She’s quite a creature, I’ll give her that.”

Nova smiled up at the phoenix, who fixed him with a faux-innocent look, before letting out on loud caw and taking flight, vanishing in a flash of fire between them.

The remainder of Nova’s time with his mother was spent simply around the town, in which they talked about various things, but as the day began to wind down to a close, Shimmer had one rather large secret to reveal to Nova as they left the Londoner, Shimmer having insisted on buying Nova his dinner for the day.

They had walked out to the parking lot in which Nova and Big Mac had had their little conversation only weeks ago, where Shimmer had parked their horseless carriage. Or car, as they were apparently known.

“Just out of curiosity,” Nova pondered aloud, staring at the very old-looking vehicle before them, “why an old car?”

“We were only awoken last night, son,” Shimmer said. “Haven’t had the time. But…”

She reached her right hand up and lightly bit down on her thumb, gazing at the car with a look of thoughtfulness. Then after a moment, she reached out and placed her hands on the car’s top.

A wave of light-blue magic rippled down her arm and across the car. After the wave of energy rippled across it, the car began to change from an old, rundown model to a sleek, expensive model right before Nova’s eyes, leaving him utterly thunderstruck.

“Wha…” he tried to say, but he trailed off. Where a rusty old car had been was unmistakably a high-performance car. Based on the logo on the hood, it was a Ferrari, which left Nova feeling rather weak at the knees. How had his mother done that? Sure, she had been a unicorn, but she had never been as strong a spellcaster as his dad had, and even Ray was only slightly stronger than an average unicorn when it came to magic.

Shimmer looked quite pleased with her handiwork, but laughed at Nova’s confusion.

“I’ve never shown you my alchemy before, have I?” she asked.

“A-alchemy?”

“Alchemy,” confirmed Shimmer. “I know about your… shall we say, inability to use it, since Princess Luna kept us updated on your tutoring with her, but did you ever wonder why you never saw me cast much overt magic before?”

Nova couldn’t answer. He was still gaping at what had transpired.

“The secret is in the science, son. I can’t openly create or destroy any matter, but I can rearrange what’s already there to my liking, only if I know how it fits together. Like this.”

She knelt down and touched the earth with her hands, her white dress grazing the asphalt beneath her as the ripple of energy flew down her arms again. But this time, a stone statue of a horse with a dunce hat appeared in the parking lot.

“Hmm…” she mused, looking over the grey likeness. “Nah, tail’s not long enough.”

With another use of her magic, and the horse’s tail lengthened a short ways. And yet, Nova still couldn’t find anything to say.

But then she smirked and placed her hand upon the statue and with a flash of light, there were now two statues sitting side by side.

“But… but you said you could only rearrange…” Nova protested weakly, still reeling from this.

“Oh, I did,” Shimmer said matter-of-factly. “I just utilized a well-known, shall we say, loophole in physics called the Banach-Tarski Paradox. If you feel like hurting your brain, you can give it a look.”

She gave Nova a sweet smile.

“Should you ever want to learn about Alchemy from a true master of it, feel free to come visit in Canterlot when we get back.”

She opened her arms, letting Nova hug her.

“I had fun with you today, Nova,” she said, holding him tight. “We really need to do this more often when we get back to Equestria.”

“What, go and make random statues out of the dirt?” Nova asked.

“Of course! I might even make one right in front of your new Ponyville house and everything, just because.”

They shared a chuckle, but the time had come for him to leave. Shimmer gave him a quick peck on the cheek, before bending down to step inside her new car.

“Good-bye for now, son,” she said, giving him a warm smile that Nova returned. “I love you.”

“Love you too, mom,” Nova said.

And with that, Shimmer started her car, shut her door, and began to drive. Nova watched as she drove around her statues, out into the street, around a corner, and out of sight, feeling very satisfied with how the day had gone.

He and his father had made up, that had been obvious, but he and his mother hadn’t really gotten together and done any mother-son bonding since until today. And Shimmer was right; it was indeed very nice.

Nova smiled to himself, and set off, heading back up the familiar roads to his home, humming a happy tune as he did. Things were starting to fall in place. Four of six bearers awakened, four of five of the first stage, he and Tracy were starting to get on in their relationship…

Things were definitely looking up.

Suddenly, Nova felt a burst of energy somewhere to his left. Before he could do anything, he was yanked sideways and thrown against the brick wall of an alley. Stars erupted behind his eyelids as his head collided with the brick, and he struggled to get back to his feet.

“Well done, Molossus, well done,” came a calm, composed voice. Nova heard the tenor behind the voice and it sounded unmistakably changeling in origin. Unfortunately, with his current predicament, his energy senses had been completely knocked cold, leaving him feeling half-blind as he tried to stagger to his feet.

Nova opened his eyes, noticing first two dark shapes blocking his way out of the alley as the sun began to set behind them. He noticed vaguely that he was in the alley he had defeated the Shadowbolts in, but apart from that, there wasn’t much that was making any sense to his brain.

“Who… who’re you…?” he slurred, trying to will his mind back into clarity.

“My name is Killik, Nova Shine,” came the same calm and collected voice from before.

There was something wrong with that statement, that much had occurred to Nova, but what?

“My associate here,” the smaller dark figure indicated the taller one, “is named Molossus. You’re probably wondering why we had to toss you against a brick wall, correct?”

“Y-yeah,” Nova said, still trying to shake his mind back to working condition.

But then it hit him. Killik had referred to him by his pony name, not his alias. His cover had been blown somehow.

At once, everything snapped into focus. Two changeling policemen were barring his exit from the alley, one of them noticeably more muscular and larger than the other, who carried himself with more of the air of a strategist than a fighter.

“It’s quite simple, Night Master,” Killik said, glancing down at Nova with no shortage of distaste. “We’re here to kill you.”

(Click here to skip the April Fools' Chapter)

2015 April Fools' Special - A Picnic With Friends

Even In Other Worlds
2015 APRIL FOOLS SPECIAL - A Picnic with Friends

“Just kidding,” said the Changeling, as the two of them pulled out a blanket and a picnic basket and set it down in the alley. “Just want to eat with you.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Nova, completely forgetting that they had just smashed him into a wall.

Nova pulled out a few slices of bread and began to eat.

“...” he said.