An Explosive Journey

Nova, Ponyville

'Alright, mental recap; Lyra slams a frying pan into my face when she wanders into the kitchen half asleep, and then proceeds to take me to the hospital so I can get checked out, though she checks me herself after I wake up and finds that I'm ok. We go to a place to get some coffee and think things over, and it turns out the place we went to was SkyBucks. One overpowered latte with caramel, and some awkward silences later, we travel to an open field where I can practice using magic. I manage to surpass Lyra's expectations when levitating the apples, and then I suggest we head home after she teaches me a memory spell. I show her my life from when I was 14 to present day, and she gets irritated about being seen as only a work of fiction and those who write about coming here, only to think it's a dream. I calm her down while performing a song, and end up getting help from a magical spectral image I accidentally created for the duration of the song. We make up, and then I use my DJ equipment and put on a little show for her to cheer her up; this attracts the attention of Vinyl Scratch, and I end up with a partnership with her. Then there's the incident at the school... I think I should've done things a little different - ' My musings are cut short by Apple Bloom.

"Hey Nova, are ya listenin'?" Oops.

"Sorry, I just got lost in my thoughts again. What were you trying to tell me?"

"We're here." Thanks Sweetie Belle. For that now redundant statement.

The Apple Family's farm was a sight to behold - apple trees as far as one could see, lucious green fields, and a couple of sturdy looking barns. Not to mention their house, which also seemed to be in the same style of farm houses back home.

'Doesn't look too different than farms from back home, yet it also looks a lot better than most.'

The three little fillies look restless, and they're still full of energy. 'I'm going to need to watch these three, there's no telling what they'd get into without supervision. Now, if only I could contact Lyra...'

'You called Nova?' There was suddenly another voice in my head, sounded like Lyra's, but it couldn't be... could it?

'Yeah, guess I did. Listen, I picked up the Crusaders from school, and I was going to just drop them off at Sweet Apple Acres, but I don't want to leave them there without supervision. Someone has to watch over them until Applejack or Big Macintosh get back.'

'No problem, thanks for letting me know.'

'Ok, I gotta go, looks like they're planning something already.'

'Alright, you go have fun, I'll hold down the fort til you get back Nova.'

I walk over to the Crusaders, just to find out that they indeed are planning something... 'This is going to be interesting...'

"I say we try ziplining again!" Oh Scoots, when will you learn?

"No!" Oh, they're both against it. 'Heh, they don't want to get covered in tree sap again.'

I just sit back on the grass and watch them huddle in and throw ideas back and forth... and nothing interesting has been suggested; Ziplining, bungee jumping, para-sailing, movie production, ninjas, mostly harmless stuff.

'Damn, would be nice if I had a drink, preferably Mountain Dew...' Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. Not a second after finishing my thought about having that awesome drink, lo and behold, one appears right in front of me. A single bottle of said drink now sat in front of me, after literally dropping into existence. I could not contain myself.

"YES!" All three fillies turn towards me as I exclaim my excitement.

"What's got you so excited?" Scootaloo comes up with this rather unoriginal question.

"You girls know how I'm not from around here?"

"Yeah..." All three in unison.

"Well, I come from a different world; one that's reeeaaaally far away," their eyes light up at this statement, 'Seriously, I'm liking theses little fillies more and more as I spend time with them...' "and what I have in front of me is one of my favorite drinks from my home world."

"So how did y'all get one to appear n'front of ya?"

I sit there for a minute, contemplating what I should tell them. On one hand, I could lie to them and say it was pocket magic, or I could tell them I just willed it into existence, quite literally. 'Wait a second, if I'm supposedly the son of Discord, and I just brought one of my favorite drinks into existence by just my own will, then... oh fuckberries. Things are just getting too weird for me, even by this world's standards. Anyway, guess I should just come out with it.'

"Really, I don't exactly know. I was just sitting here, wishing I had something to drink, and then this," I point at the bottle, "appeared in front of me. My guess would be that I just willed it into existence. My will and wishful thinking must have brought it here." 'There, that should pass for a decent explanation without revealing anything.'

"COOL!" Scootaloo jumps up as she exclaims her enthusiasm with the subject, flapping her underdeveloped wings rapidly, like a humming bird. 'Damn, I gotta do something for the little filly, can't have her like that all her life...'

"So, kind of like Rarity and Pinkie's pocket magic."

"Yeah, you could say that." I reply, and then give an awkward grin; what happened next was beyond what I had expected to happen - I heard the 'squee.' 'Seriously, this makes no sense... ah whatever, just gonna roll with it.'

I move away from the commotion for a bit, and ponder on what I could do to keep the little ones out of trouble, and then an idea struck me: I could watch over them at Lyra's place, that way they won't be so overwhelming, as the both of us will be keeping watch. 'Now, I just have to get in touch with Applejack...'

Getting my magic ready was pretty easy, so that wasn't a problem; the problem that I was wondering about, was if I would be able to get it to work with a non-unicorn. Nonetheless, I concentrated the magic that I gathered, and tried to establish a mental connection with Applejack. Somehow, it worked.

'Hey, Applejack.'

Applejack, Market Square

Boring - that's how one could describe the mundane task of just standing here and selling apples and other foods at a stall all day long. Don't get me wrong, I love selling my apples that I worked so hard to grow and care for, but it's just boring standing here without anypony to talk to, save for the customers that come and buy my apples. 'I'm friendly to everypony, though it's just getting a dull doing this everyday. Oh Celestia, what I wouldn't give for a vacation right about now...' My thoughts are cut short, by the feeling of someone invading my mind. It's just about the weirdest feeling ever. Though eventually, it starts to fade away, but then the weirdest part happens - I hear Nova's voice in my head.

'Hey Applejack.'

"Hello? Nova, where are you?" I look around the marketplace, trying to find him, but to no avail.

'Heheh, I'm not near you, and I'm not physically talking to you, I'm communicating with you through my mind, magically of course.'

'Oh hardy har har... So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?'

'Well, with looking after the Crusaders being somewhat of a full time job, I was thinking that I could bring them over to Lyra's place so we could both watch over them.'

'Erm well, Nova, ah don't think that's such a good idea.'

'Oh? and why not?'

'Well, it's just that she's a filly fooler; I don't want her influencing my little sister to be like her, it just ain't natural.'

There is then this eerily uncomfortable silence that seems to loom over both myself, and Nova. Sure, I'm interacting with customers and selling apples 'n stuff, but the conversation between myself and Nova has just come to a lull, neither of us saying anything for moments on end. Finally, just when I think I'm about to lose my mind, Nova replies to my earlier comment.

'Applejack, I am thoroughly shocked and disgusted; this is just like the Zecora incident all over again. I thought that you would, excuse me for sounding like Rarity but, have more civilized views on those that dated those from the same gender. True love isn't limited by orientation, race, or age. Another thing, Lyra is actually my marefriend, and on top of this, even if she weren't I would make sure that NOTHING happens to those fillies, I would guard them with my life. You have my word.'

'How am I to that you're telling the truth?'

'Applejack, let me tell you something: when two minds are connected, one cannot lie to the other; even if I did lie to you, you would just hear my foremost thoughts and figure out that I was lying anyway. There is also no need to lie when speaking one's feelings.'

'Well, I guess that makes sense...'

'If anything happens to those fillies, then Big Macintosh can buck me as hard as he can. I am that confident that nothing will happen.'

'Alright then, I'll take your word, but you better Pinkie Pie Swear, just to be sure...'

Nova, Ponyville

'Fine; cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.' I then close contact with Applejack and turn towards the crusaders.

"Ok, now that I've gotten things worked out with Applejack, I should probably get you three over to Lyra's." No sooner as I finish that statement, I hear a loud screech in the air coming from the east, where a mountain sits just beyond the Whitetail Woods. I slowly turn towards the crusaders with a worried look on my face.

"Um, girls, please tell me that I'm losing my mind and that there isn't an angry dragon flying this way." The three girls just tremble in fear and slowly shake their heads. "Well crap. Of all the times for a dragon to show up, it just HAD to be just seconds after I tell your sister that nothing will happen to you three." I pause for a moment, thinking of what to do next.

"Girls, how do you feel about teleportation?" Sweetie Belle looks at me curiously before putting in her comment.

"Isn't that spell a bit complicated, and are you sure that you can teleport all of us at the same time without messing up?"

"Sweetie Belle, this is not the time to be questioning my abilities, what's important is that I get you three to safety before anything happens. Now all of you get close to me, I'm going to start the spell."

I concentrate for a moment, digging through my mind for the teleportation spell that I learned, but as I was doing so, I realized that we already arrived in Lyra's common room. I take a look around, and all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders are accounted for, and Lyra hasn't noticed yet that we're all standing in front of her, due to the fact that she's in the middle of watching an episode of K-On; specifically, the episode where they perform for the first time on stage. I step forward and waive a hand in front of the screen to get her attention.

"AHHHH! Nova! You startled me... what's up, you look worried."

"Lyra, there's a dragon headed this way, I need you to look after the crusaders while I go deal with the pest. If I don't contact you within two hours, then go get Twilight and tell her, she'll notify the princess and the royal guard. Got all that?" Lyra gets a worried look on her face, but nods anyway. I hold her in my arms for a moment, and then back away a little. Staring into her golden eyes, I see that she's quite upset at the notion of me facing a dragon by myself. "Listen, you can't come with me, I couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to you if I let you tag along; plus, you have the CMC to keep you company." I kiss her on the lips, getting a slightly shocked expression from both Lyra, and the crusaders, "I love you, Lyra, and I promise that I'll come back in one piece."

I let go of Lyra, and exit the house, all four of the girls staring at me with worried expressions.

"I'll be back in a bit, try not to burn down the house, alright?" This gets a chuckle from all of them, and they finally shut the door. It is then that I realize that I have almost no way to get to the dragon, aside from teleporting.

'Dammit, I can't teleport because I don't know exactly where the thing is, and I don't have wings... wait a second, there was a spell that creates balls of light, and solid ones at that, maybe if I tinker with it enough, I could make it useful...' I stand there, in front of the house in concentration as I think of a way for me to use that spell to my advantage.

'Those balls of light are pure energy in their basic state, so what if that energy could be manipulated? Hmmm, what about changing them into kinetic energy? Though if I do that, then I would have to be able to change their output at will... well, here goes nothing...'

I use the newly created spell, hoping that it worked. Sure enough, when I pictured four balls of energy, one at each hand and foot, I started to float just above the ground. 'Now, let's try flying...' I put my hands at my sides, and lean forward, projecting myself forward, and thankfully not face-planting into the ground. "YES! Weeeee!" I could not help myself as I squeed in a high pitched tone while flying around. I then cleared my throat, and headed off into the direction of the dragon.

Nova, Whitetail Woods

Have you ever flown through the air just above the treeline, at breakneck speeds, to fend off a dragon that is very likely to be pissed off more than a 12 year old girl who was told that Justin Bieber was gay? Didn't think so; in any case, that is what I am currently doing, flying right towards a dragon all Tony Stark-like, with no real plan in mind, except to kick its ass if it turns out to be hostile.

"Why oh why did I have to rush off with no plan in mind? Oh yeah, cause I'm a moron."

My self berating though has just been cut short, as the dragon has just come into view; it's a silver dragon with neon-green eyes, and his overall look doesn't seem to be menacing, though you should never judge a book by its cover.

I fly towards the dragon, and I can hear that he is upset about something, and going on a rant. 'think dammit, think!' I struggle to find a way to get the dragon to calm down without having to resort to battle.

I eventually come up with something that I think will either calm him down, or at least get his attention. I take in a breath, concentrate, and, "Siiv, Drem, Sindugahvon" the shout hits the dragon, and he immediately stops flying around like mad and faces me.

"Krosis, I did not think that anyone would hear me if I was so far away from the town. Someone has woken me up from a peaceful nap. I had planned on sleeping for another 400 years." well, that rules out the possibility for it being hostile...

"Before I ask any questions about that, let me introduce myself, I am Jason Morrison, though I have recently adopted the name 'Nova' as it fits better with the community. May I ask of your name?"

"I am surprised at your manners towards us dragons, even moreso because you are dovahkiin. My name is Daarbritkoor, I am pleased to meet you."

"So what was it that woke you up from your slumber?"

"It was all the action that is going on in Chrysalis' territory."

"Pardon me for not knowing, but who is Chrysalis? Some queen in another country?"

"That is exactly right, she is queen of the lands southeast of the equestrian proper, her people are changelings."

"I'm sorry, what are changelings exactly, I gather that they can change form, but what purpose does that ability serve?"

"Quite the observant one, you are; the changelings take the form of the one you love, and gain power by feeding off of your love for that person."

"Kind of like a less perverted succubus," (insert name) looks at me with a curious face, "succubi are mythical creatures that feed off the life force of another being through intimate contact, and are generally in the form of a human, what I am."

We continue trading information about each others worlds, not keeping track of time, thus prompting Lyra to get worried, though I eventually take note of how much time has passed.

"Excuse me for a moment, I have to contact my marefriend." (insert name) nods, and I fire up the spell to communicate with other ponies and beings through a mental connection, and connect to Lyra.

'Hey, sorry I didn't contact you earlier, been trading info with the dragon.'

'What!'

'No worries, he's not hostile, or I would've been busy battling it. He's quite wise and friendly.'

'Sorry to disappoint you, but I already called twilight about the dragon, and she sent out a request for search and rescue, as well as some guards to help deal with the dragon if needed. Sorry nova.'

'It's ok Lyra, I would've done the same thing if I were I your position, you did the right thing.'

There seems to be a group of pegasi heading our way, so I decide to cut the conversation short.

'Lyra, it seems the guards have arrived, so I have to cut contact for now. I don't know when I will be home, but as soon as the chance arises, I will come home. I love you, stay out of trouble.'

I cut the link, and then turn to fly towards the guards. One of then shouts at me, "stop right there, criminal scum!" I am not surprised.

"So what do I owe for the honor of being hauled away by Celestia's personal guards?"

"Using your power of The Voice within city limits not once, but twice, and for leaving to engage in battle with a dragon without the princess' permission."

I float there for a moment, before coming back to the problem at hand.

"Weren't you sent out as a search and rescue party to look for me in case the battle turned ugly, and to bring me to the hospital if needed?"

One of the other guards spoke up, "that is true, but some of us thought it also convenient if we brought you in on those charges as well, seeing as we were already sent out to find you."

"Just so you know, I did not leave to engage in battle with a dragon, I came here to deal with the situation of a dragon flying around and causing a disturbance; engaging in battle was a last resort in the event it was hostile."

"In any case, you are to come with us immediately."

I comply with their demands, and fly with them to Canterlot, not knowing what lies ahead...

Nova, Canterlot Castle

I stand with the guards, just outside of the throne room doors; apparently Celestia has told them she wishes to speak with me alone, though I don't know why. The guards take off, probably going to one of their 'off duty' hangout spots; I push open the door, not knowing exactly what to expect, though nothing could have prepared me for what I was seeing...

There sat Celestia, in the middle of the throne room, at a table with piles of cards in front of her, and a hand of seven cards that she was holding, as well as numerous cards off to the side that are facing upwards, an to top it off, a pile of cards on her other side that were face down, about 50 or so. That itself isn't what's surprising, no; what is not only surprising, but quite a shock, was who she was playing with... Discord.

I could only think of one thing to say to Celestia's little 'let's arrest Nova' joke. "You seriously couldn't help yourself, could you?" I yell while pointing right at Celestia, an discord does what pretty much everyone would expect him to do: he calmly asks me a very simple, yet irritating question, "Problem, Nova?" he grins just after asking this, and I sigh very heavily before continuing.

"The both of you have some explaining to do, because I'm pretty sure that Magic: The Gathering doesn't exist in this world... Wait, you knew the whole time, didn't you Celestia?"

"Yes, I did, and I also know exactly who you are."

"Well, then why is it that you imprisoned Discord, because I doubt his fun actually harmed anyone." after this is said, discord comes over beside me and explains what happened...

"About a milenia ago, Celestia and I were playin Magic, and at one point she stole my favorite card, the Spawnsire of Ulamog card, which allows me to summon every Eldrazi that I do not have in my deck or hand, into the battlefield, and attack the other player in one sweep. I decided that instead of stealing one of her cards, I could just have some fun with her subjects - they didn't mind any of the chaos, because they were so busy having fun; well, aside from those canterlot snobs that don't appreciate a good laugh. She was originally going to just give me back my card, but when I created your soul by taking a piece of mine, and healing it outside of my body, she got pretty mad. She banished you to the far reaches of space, not really aiming at anything and just tossed you," I glare angrily at Celestia, "and she encased me in stone. And now - " he gets cut off by Celestia, "and now, after whining an complaining as if he were a little filly, I opened a gateway in order to let you come back, and set discord free."

"Celestia," I growl angrily at her, "I thought you valued life, no matter what kind of soul the person had. Were you even thinking of my well being when you banished me? Did you even stop to look for one second, to make sure you didn't hurl me into the sun! I thought of you as as a mother I didn't have, because of your kindness, but I can see now that it was only because you wanted to cushion any hard feelings I might develop if I heard the truth. Well guess what, it hurts more to know that than if you told me everything from the start. I hope you're happy, because I just lost any and all respect for you!" by the end of my rant, I'm panting from all the emotion that I put into it. The room is deafeningly silent - if one were to drop a pin on the floor, you could hear it throughout the whole room, which is saying something.

Finally, after a few moments of tense silence, Celestia speaks up. "nova, hear me out. I actually placed you specifically on that planet, in that universe, so you would grow to be kind-hearted, no matter what family you ended up in; not only that, but to also protect the people of Equestria, and yourself... if you recall, Rarity said something about unicorns having unusual bursts of magic when they are very young, now imagine what could happen with your powers if you had stayed here... I know that I shouldn't have let you go through those hardships, but it all was made up for when that world came up with the tv show you adored so much, as well as some of the anime that you have seen before Friendship is Magic. And to be fair, I put you there, not because of discord creating your soul, but because I actually /am/ your mother. I couldn't live with the idea of my reputation being ruined those 17 years ago - "

"Wait, so you're telling me that you, Celestia, are actually my mother... Then again, that does explain my magic's aura color."

"So, you're not mad at me for putting you in that world?" Celestia looks as though she's actually going to cry. I move towards her and give her the biggest hug ever, "no, I'm not mad at you, at least not anymore. I'm sorry for losing it earlier, I should've figured that discord was being a giant troll." this encites a raspberry from said being.

"Be quiet over there. You don't know how much I want to punch you right now." what I hear from Celestia next makes me chuckle.

"Go right ahead, he deserves it."

And so I walk towards Discord, and as I'm doin so, my anger gets loose and activates the intimidation aura, thus allowing me to use all my strength. I rear my fist back, and discord says nothing, but places a target right on his midsection. I take this as a go ahead, and punch him, sending him flying... Right towards the moon. Both Celestia take note of this, and quickly make use of an already overused joke, "To the moooooooooonnnnaaaaahhhhhh! Beeeeeeyyaaaaaaatch!" this gets us both laughing like hyenas.

A few moments later, when all the laughter has died down, I turn to Celestia an give her another hug. "you're just so huggable, I don't know why... Wait, where's Luna?"

"She's in her bedroom, she stayed up a bit late yesterday, so she's catching up on her sleep."

Just after celestia finished saying this, said alicorn walks into the throne room, all flustered about something.

"I'm sorry sister for not being here earlier to raise the moon, I -" celestia cut her off, in he usual polite manner, "it's alright, I figured you would need your sleep so I raised it for you, though I left the stars for you -" I cut off celestia, finishing her statement and surprising Luna, "because no one can make the night sky as beautiful as it is when you have a hoof in placing the stars, every night sky is breathtaking in its own way." to say that Luna is shocked would be an understatement.

Luna points a hoof at me and her mouth is hanging open in shock, unable to complete a single sentence for a few minutes; eventually, she manages to speak.

"N-n-n-nova? I thought my sister placed you in another world so you wouldn't be cast out because of your parentage. How did you get back?"

"A simple answer: during my entire life apparently, my soul has been searching for a way to come back here, and one day while celestia was speaking with discord through a link, he kept pestering her to allow me to come back here. When Celestia made a hole for me to come home, i immediately jumped through; I ended up also taking my stuff that I had nearby when I was waiting for a flight to another city, where I would have had an awesome job, though I did manage to get signed to Vinyl Scratch soon after arriving here."

Luna takes a moment to let all of this information sink in; when it does, she smiles as she walks towards me, and does something that I never thought she would - she hugged me. A couple seconds later I return the embrace, and we have a tender moment. 'Yay, I got a hug from Woona.' For the most part anyway.

'It's going to be interesting to see what happens for the rest of the time that I'm here...'