The Little Adventurer

Eric drowsily woke up from his makeshift bed. Yawning, he felt his mana at it's peak. "Holy shit. I need to use my mana quickly before I get crazy." Eric thought. The last time he didn't use his mana...Eric cringed. He had completely no control of his body. He turned into Nova Shine,his alicorn form. He felt his mana decreasing, but it wasn't enough. Hegroaned in annoyance. Trying out if he still could use magic even when he was Nova Shine, he cast a teleportation spell a few feet in front of him.

"Oh... That is straight up weird." Eric thought while rubbing his horn with his hoof. A small amount of smoke was coming out of his horn....somehow. It didn't hurt, but you definitely could see the smoke. Trying different spells just because he can, deal with it. He cast elemental spells, transformation spells, summon spells and a location spell. Seeing that all his spells worked, he smiled. He cancelled all his spells except for the location spell. By then, he noticed his horn was aching and smoking badly. "I guess I need to rest if I want to continue using magic in this form."Eric thought. He sat down and leaned against a tree, focusing on his mana flow. Once his mana had calmed down, he stood up and thought.

"Now..Where are the leaders?" He cloned himself and teleported a few meters away from the them. He turned back into the scary giant creature he once was and named it Umbra Anteniate. "Kind of a cool name if you ask me.."

He slowly approached the clearly huge wolf made out of wood. "Greetings...." Umbra said in a slow, deep voice. Eric cast a telepathy spell.

The giant timberwolf growled before barking,"Who dares to challenge me?!"

"It is I, the one that you had seen just a day ago. I have come back to give you back the territory I owe you." Umbra showed himself and the giant timberwolf's ears immediately folded back, with his posture turning into a bow.

"My apologies. You may call me as Harou Gunif."

"Greetings, Harou Gunif. You may call me Umbra. Now, let me get to the point. Where would you like your territory to be? Name the size of the area and where it is." Umbra said.

"I would like my pack to be in a place in this forest, but far away from those ponies. This forest expands from miles to miles. I would like the travel to the pony civilisation to be at least a week worth of travelling. That should keep those pesky poniess away from us."

"Then I shall teleport you there. Please alert your pack that there are going to be teleported in 5 minutes."

Harou nodded and howled. Eric carefully didn't show Harou that he's ears were ringing and oozing out a red liquid.

Meanwhile with the Manticore's leader...

Instead of appearing a few feet away from the leader, Umbra appeared directly in front of the leader of the Manticores. The manticore roared at the sudden appearance of a creature bigger than him and slashed the spot where Umbra was before he dodged the hit. Eric quickly set up a telepathic route between them. "My apologies. I did not mean to startle you friend." Umbra quickly said, bowing slightly. The manticore leader slowly got back to his senses and bowed back, saying.

"I should be the one who is apologizing. You may call me Arnic Rahk. I have been the leader of my kind for many decades. I seen many kingdoms fall and rise. None of them even close to this forest. We lived in peace until those ponies appeared and destroyed our territory for their own land. Our kind does not tolerate the ponies any longer. If a pony were to trot in our lands after we moved, we will kill them."

Umbra's brows lifted a little."So the ponies destroyed your territory without even caring for the wild life in the forest?
Arnic nodded solemnly.

"I have discussed with my kind and family. We decided we would like to move to the mountains west from here. Our kind has been here for far too long. It's time we relocate."

"...Consider it done. Please gather your group here in 10 minutes."

After teleporting the timberwolves to a place further than where he had landed in Equestria and the manticores to the
mountains...

Umbra helped the timberwolves and manticores to settle in before leaving them be. "If you ever need our help, please do not hesitate to call us." Harou and Arnic said to him. Umbra nodded,"I would occasionally come by for some meat. The amount of wild life here is around the most in this entire forest."

"Then we shall keep the greatest part of the meat and await your arrival." Harou told him.

Umbra nodded thankfully and teleported back to his hammock. Cancelling his spells and changing back into a human, he sighed in satisfaction. "How did Arnic and Harou talk at the same time? They are 2 different animals...Whatever. This place is magical. Anything can happen when Magic is involved." Eric thought. Eric's mana was nearly half way depleted but was slowly regenerating.

He took a deep breath and exhaled. Sitting down on the soft leaf beneath him, he calmed himself down from his earlier activities and relaxed, allowing his mana to calm into a soft pulse around his body instead of the raging wave it was a moment ago. Sighing and standing up, he turned into Nova Shine and turned to the bush to the left of him. "I know you are there pony. Show yourself."

The bush ruffled before a small yellow earth pony with a red mane, came out. "How didcha ya know ah was there mister?"

Nova smiled at the small filly and said,"No one ever sneaked on me before in my life. A small filly certainly isn't going to be the first. Now, why are you in the forest? You should know it's dangerous here."

"Ah was visitin Zecora, the healer in this forest. I wanted ta ask if ah could get mah pet dog some medicine for her wound. Her medicine is more effective and natural anyways." The small filly said.
"Ah'm sorry sir. But ah gotta go if ah wanna get back my sun down. My name is Applebloom by the way. See ya mister!" In her rush, she didn't pay attention to Nova's wings. Nova spread his right wing to stop the little filly to pass. "Let me go with you. I would like to meet this healer." Nova told Applebloom. In reality, he just wanted to make sure she goes there safely.

Applebloom paused, before exclaiming,"YOUR an ALICORN !? Are ya royalty!?"

"I'm not royalty but just a humble creature..." Nova softly said.
"Now, you don't want to be late don't you? Let's go." Eric sadly smiled. He would never be able to do this to his own children...Their gone anyways.

Trotting quietly, Applebloom glanced at the taller dark blue alicorn beside her. He was even taller than Celestia probably. He's cutie mark a unique one for sure. None that she has ever seen in her life. She couldn't even describe what it was.
Seeing that they were close, Applebloom walked a little faster. Reaching the literal tree house in front of them, she knocked on the door. "Zecora? Ya there?" She asked.

Nothing responded. Eric sensed something was really wrong with the atmosphere. There were no noise around them at all. Not even the wind or insects. A forest like this..should never be this quiet. Nova's horn glowed as he put a see-through spell on his eyes. He blinked. There was a..zebra?, on the ground. She was bleeding badly. "Applebloom. Wait here."

Ensuring that she wouldn't be able to follow him, he put up an invisible barrier around her. He teleported inside while turning back into a human, allowing him to use his full potential of magic. He got to work. Eyes glowing, he cast a healing spell, identification spell and checked if any magic was used on her. The answer coming back was negative. Something was blocking him from healing her and there was massive traces of... weird magic on her. If he doesn't do anything, she might get permanent damage from her injuries.

Determined to heal her,he put all his focus into the next spell he cast. His eye's glowed as intensely as the sun from the amount of concentration. He slowly penetrated through the barrier the other creature had put up to stop him from healing her, from then, he healed Zecora from the inside. Discovering that she has multiple head injuries, he carefully healed them back into what it was before.

By the time he was done, he was literally a ball of sweat. Deciding that this place wasn't safe, he teleported her and him outside, inside the barrier Applebloom was in. He turned back into Nova Shine and teleported everypony into Ponyville, more specifically, Twilight's castle. Knocking on the door frantically, he turned back to Applebloom ,who was currently shaken from the sudden teleportation.

"I need you to tell Twilight that some creature attacked Zecora in her own hut. She had multiple head injuries but I healed her back to what she once before. She needs rest. Twilight knows who I am. Tell her Eric healed her and brought you both here. She will understand." Nova made sure Applebloom got that into her head before teleporting back into the forest. Knowing that the creature was still in the forest, he quickly cast a location spell.

"You won't get away if I can help it..." Eric determinedly thought. He turned back into a human and teleported right in front of the creature. The creature had no time to react before Eric froze the creature completely, only allowing it to move it's mouth to talk. "Get me out of this...!" It said. It wasn't really a scary creature. It was a pony with really really dark features. The horn was crocked up, with a tinge of red on top of it. Eric felt a chill go up his spine and he felt the pony's magic try to escape his hold. It didn't work of course. The magic..felt so wrong.

"Why did you attack Zecora?" Eric said sternly.

"I was ordered to! Now let me go-" Before the pony's heart suddenly stopped for no reason. He didn't do anything. It was like, somebody... took.. his life. He could easily extract information if he was alive though.

"Even if you were a bad person, rest in peace in your next life." Nova said while burying the body. He put a hoof on his chest in a sign of respect. He stood there for a few minutes. Before taking a step back and teleported back into Ponyville, in front of Twilight's castle. Applebloom was gone and a purple barrier was around the castle, blocking anyone to entering. Well, except him.

He teleported a few feet away from Applebloom quietly, undetected. He flinched when he saw Applebloom crying, hugging Twilight while she puts a wing over her smaller body. He took a step forward and softly asked,
"Applebloom, is there anything wrong?"

Both of them jumped in surprise while Twilight immediately puts a barrier around themselves. Once she saw that it was only Nova Shine, she slowly cancelled the spell. Applebloom instantly ran into Nova, hugging him like her life depended on it. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! Thank u for saving her life Nova Shine! I heard from Twilight that if you didnt *sniff* heal her, she wouldn't be here right now...." She wailed as her tears made Nova's fur lump together. Eric stood there, too shocked to react, before returning the hug.
"It's fine Applebloom. Don't worry about it." He said as he softly caressed her back with his hoof. He put up a telepathic route between him and Twilight.

"Twilight, I got the person responsible for Zecora's injuries. However, something killed him before that pony could do anything."

Twilight later responded, "We'll check that out later. Focus on Applebloom first." Eric mentally nodded and turned his attention back to Applebloom. He sat down and put a wing over Applebloom. Covering her completely. He bent his neck to put his head the same eye level as Applebloom and said,"Shh... Applebloom. I'm here."

He gently leaned his forehead on hers. Her soft cries stopped and she sniffed. She looked at Nova and hugged him once more, not allowing him to do anything except accept that she was hugging him.

Twilight smiled softly,watching the scene. "He's not that bad after all..." Twilight thought.

Applebloom soon took a step backwards. Her eyes stained from the tears she shed. Eric nuzzled Applebloom and stood up. "I think you need some rest. Go to one of the rooms in this castle and sleep to your hearts content." Applebloom stared into his skyblue eyes, nodding slowly. She slowly walked out of the room, leaving Twilight and Eric alone.

"You do know that the one who takes care of Applebloom will be mad right? The moon is high in the sky right now."Nova Shine smirked. Twilight giggled. "Don't worry Nova Shine. I told Applejack that she is with me. She did however had a plan in mind for Applebloom when she goes back though..."

"Applebloom and Applejack? Really?" Nova asked.

"They come from the Apple Family. You honestly can't expect them NOT to have that names." Twilight replied. "Now,back to business. Could you bring me to the pony?"
Nova nodded and teleported themselves to where he dug the body. Twilight cringed as she smelled the odor coming from the body. "Could you tell me what exactly happened?" Twilight asked as she cast a spell on the pony's body.

"Well, after I left Zecora with Applebloom in front of your castle, I used a location spell to locate this pony. And when I found him, I held him in place and asked him who sent him. Before he could answer, something killed him." Nova answered.

"That would mean that something didn't want you to know who it was. This pony used Dark Magic. When it comes to Dark Magic, a lot of possibilities open up. Now, all we know is that something out there wants you." Twilight explained.

"Ok." Nova shrugged. "..." Twilight stared at Nova. "Is that all you have to say? Just a 'ok'?" Twilight asked incredulously.

"Yeah. This is a normal thing for me." Nova shrugged once again. "Well..If you're fine with it. I can't do anything. What do you plan to do?" Twilight asked.

"I'll ask the Timberwolves to help me keep track on who enters the forest. I'll put some clones in the forest and Ponyville. Better be safe than sorry. If it happened in the forest, it can happen in Ponyville."Nova told her.

"Good idea. I'll help out to keep an eye out for suspicious activity. Could you tell me where you live?" Twilight asked while getting ready to teleport them back to her castle.
"Oh? Just so you can sneak into my house and do who knows what to me?" Nova teased.

Twilight blushed at the thought. "Of course not! I just want to teleport you home!"

Nova laughed and put a wing over Twilight's back, causing her to blush even more. "Come on. Let's get out of this forest." Nova's horn lit up as he teleported themselves back into Ponyville. "I live in the forest. I was already home. But you being there made it so much better." Nova whispered into her ear as he took a step back. Twilight's entire body froze up when Nova's hot breath came in contact with her ear. Her entire face was red. Nova winked as he teleported back into the forest, leaving a note behind.

Twilight used her magic to pick up the note to read it. Only for her to somehow blush even more after reading it.

"Oh.. You sly pony Nova Shine..." Twilight smirked. She took the note with her into the castle, ready for a good night sleep. Nova looked at Twilight walking into her castle, snickering as he saw Twilight's reaction to his note. And what was in the note? Stayed between them. Nova Shine turned back into a human and just enjoyed being 2 legged for awhile.

Deciding that he wasn't done for the night and was going to do a full nighter like he once did many times before, he decided to say hello to dear Fluttershy.

He softly smiled as he floated to Fluttershy's cottage. Enjoying the cold breeze that passes by, he closed his eyes and took a calming, deep breath in. Opening his eyes, he said,"Are you the one Fluttershy talked about? Discord... Right?"

The nearby butterfly suddenly turned into a flash of light and turned into a....Honestly, the best description Eric could give was that he looked like a piece-together toy gone wrong. "Oh! You must be dear Eric that Fluttershy talked about!"
Eric stared at Discord, whose smirk on his face disappeared. Eric closed his eyes and made himself the same height as Discord. They both continued to stare at each other. Eric lifted his arm into a fist, Discord following the same.

They brofisted. Instantly, Discord and Eric fell onto the ground laughing hysterically. "WOW! I HAD NEVER LAUGHED that hard in decades!" Discord exclaimed. "Seems like we have come into a agreement. Shall we?" Eric smirked. Discord returned the smirk and snapped his lions paw. They both appeared in front of their dear Fluttershy's cottage. They both turned into rabbits, each having a feather in their hands. "Will you do the honour Eric?" Discord said. "I'll love too," Eric responded.

Eric, in his cute little bunny form, knocked on the door. "Who's there...?" They both heard a voice inside. Slowly, the door opened to show a yellow pegasus. However, the moment she opened the door, the 2 rabbits in disguise took their chance and pounced. They landed on Fluttershy's back and used their feathers to tickle her belly. "Haha! Stop it! Boys please! I'm going to pee!" Fluttershy laughed out. Eric and Discord flashed and turned back into their original forms, only Eric was still the same height as Discord.

Eric held a fist up, Discord responding with his own fist and fistbumping. "Have fun with Fluttershy!" Discord snickered before teleporting away. Leaving Eric to Fluttershy's mercy. Eric turned back into Nova Shine and slowly trotted to Fluttershy, who was panting on the ground. Nova sat down and put a wing over Fluttershy, letting her catch her breath. "Flutters...Breath..." Nova gently said to Fluttershy. Fluttershy would have blushed a little if not for her need for air. Nova stayed with her until she finally stopped panting. Fluttershy leaned into Nova's chest. "T-thanks Nova Shine..." She muttered.

Nova smiled back and closed his eyes,"Your welcome Flutters. Your welcome." This moment was however ruined by a rainbow coloured maned pony coming in from the front door like it was her home. "Hi Fluttershy! I just wanted to-" Rainbow looked at the scene. A dark blue stallion was hugging Fluttershy...

Nova, however, smirked at Rainbow Dash and put a hoof to his mouth, asking her to be quiet. Rainbow's cheeks turned pink as she slowly stepped out of the cottage. Leaving Nova to his own devices. Snickering quietly, he apologized to Fluttershy. "I'm sorry Flutters. Discord and I just wanted to..." Nova's irises slowly went downwards. Noticing that Fluttershy's chest was at a steady, but slow pace. He gently lifted her up and put her on the couch. "Goodnight Flutters..." Nova whispered as he teleported out of the cottage, switching off all the lights.

"I guess I'll just stay here..."Nova said as he trotted in Ponyville's park. He went onto a bench nearby, put a barrier on himself for safety reasons and slowly dozed off into the dream realm.

In Canterlot..

Luna stood in the balcony of her private chambers. Quietly observing the place that her sister built over the thousand years she had been away. Seeing that nothing was out of shape, she muttered quietly into the darkness of her room,"Go protect my ponies if the need arises." A armoured bat pony came out of the shadows and bowed,"As you wish your highness." The bat pony went back into the shadows and disappeared completely.

Luna closed her eyes and entered the dream realm, the only realm she really feels like she has total control of. She floated around, millions of stars decorate the surroundings, millions of doors everywhere around her, with different coloured glows around the doors. She carefully looked around, making sure she doesn't miss a black glow. Her eye's widened when she saw a new door she had never seen before. The colour showed her it was fine to enter it, and so she did.

In the dream, there was a dark blue alicorn just sitting on the ground, surrounded by a city she had never seen before and random objects. Staring at the random objects he had created, he spoke, "Why are you here?" He turned and flew to Luna. "I didn't summon you, so why is this pony here?" Nova put a hoof on his face.

"I am not a dream, dear pony. I am the Princess of the Night, Princess Luna Selene. You shall call me Princess Luna. Surely, you have heard of me before?" Luna asked with her brows raised.

Nova shook his head."In fact, I didn't. I'm not a real pony Princess Selene."

Luna's eyes flashed white before she shouted,"YOU DARE CALL ME PRINCESS SELENE?!"

"In fact I do. I see no reason to call you Princess Luna when I am not from your country."Nova spoke.

Luna stared at the blue alicorn and smiled. "Nice to meet your acquaintance. I have not come across a pony so daring ever since I came back. It's quite boring to say the least."

Nova smiled back. This was going to be much more fun with her around.