The Misfortune of Clover the Clever

The next time he opened his eyes, Storm Chaser found himself flying. That was strange. Not the part about flying in his sleep, he'd done that before, but it didn't usually happen right after an intense mission. It certainly didn't happen any night Silky was in the mood. She had more than enough endurance to ensure he'd be completely worn out, after all.

He looked around, or at least he tried to. His body didn't seem to want to cooperate, leaving him as little more than a passenger in his own body. Despite that, the night continued to pass below him, bringing him to only one real conclusion.

He was dreaming.

It was the only thing that really made any sense. He wasn't really sure where he was, and he still felt kinda sleepy. The biggest thing that stood out was that the horrible headache that had been bothering him since the end of the raid had finally vanished.

And so he just let himself relax as the dream played itself out, not that he was really complaining or anything. Sure, he would've preferred being surrounded by pretty faces and hips that wouldn't quit, but this was nice too.

Up until the scenery started to change. He had noticed a number of tiny lights down below, but he was far too high to really worry about them. Now though, they had grown much bigger and far more numerous. It wasn't until the air around him grew light enough that he was sure he was now visible from the ground that he started to worry, and as if it was waiting on him to confirm that suspicion...

"Raid!!!" The shout from below pierced the silence of the night. Storm Chaser looked down as he started to slow his descent. Panic started to well up within him and his instincts were already screaming at him to get out of the way. He was in the open, far too easy a target, and there were a lot of unicorns down there. Far more than they had seen during the rescue mission.

However, his body continued to ignore his protests, even when no less than a dozen spells of varying color were rocketing up to intercept him. This was definitely far more intense than his dreams usually got, and he'd very much like to wake up now.

None of the spells made contact, even though he was certain they had with the bright light he soon found wrapped around his body. Instead, his surroundings maintained their blinding luminesce for several agonizingly long moments. When the sounds of spells being thrown through the air finally died down, and the light dimmed enough for him to be able to see again, Storm saw that the magic meant for him had instead come in contact with a multicolored shield.

"I said hold your fire you brain-dead oafs," the sound of a very annoyed mare reached his ears. "I swear some of you must be part mule. Now hold your fire! The Great and Powerful Nova won't be telling you again."

Forget intense, now this dream was just weird. Those were Storm Chaser's thoughts as he finished his descent, the rainbow colored shield keeping him company the whole way. It wasn't until he felt the soft and cool ground beneath his hooves that the shield finally evaporated into nothing.

And that's when he saw her.

He hadn't gotten that good of a look at her, but he still remembered the smile she had on her face just before before sending that nasty spell after one of his loved ones. The same spell that had left him with the mother of all headaches. Those same eyes looked at him now from behind the wispy blue mane that cascaded down her blue coat before stopping in little curls at the ends. He only saw her face for a moment as she passed, but the short time their eyes met, he felt a chill run down his spine. The way she had looked at him had just felt... wrong. Like he was nothing more than a toy to her.

"Lady Nova!" A new voice came from somewhere nearby, not that Storm could turn to see who it was. "What is the meaning of this?! What is this pegasus doing here?"

Nova paused for only a moment to look at whoever had dared speak to her that way. "Captain... what was it? Nevermind," she said dismissively before turning back to Storm. "Nova just realized she doesn't care."

Storm could hear the distinct sound of some pony huffing through their nose. "I am Sergeant Nightstar of the third battalion," she said angrily. "The head officer in charge of this outpost, and I will not be talked to this way by some..."

Her protests were cut off by Nova's high-pitched laughter. "Nightlight, was it? What do you think you have to be proud of? Two dozen dead under your watch and the sixty-three pegasuses you were responsible for escaped. What do you think the Grand Matriarch will think when she hears of this failure? Hmmm?"

"I... I... Uh..."

"That's what Nova thought," Nova said as her horn lit up and Storm felt an invisible force take hold of his head and pull him down to meet her gaze. From there, she turned his head side to side and even looked in his mouth. She was smiling to herself the whole while, seemingly satisfied about something. "Fortunately for you," she said. "She'll be so busy congratulating the Great and Powerful Nova for her unrivaled success that she'll forget all about your colossal failure. Maybe now, ponies will see Nova for how great she truly is, that she isn't just as another member of the Star family."

"What is it," Nightstar said dismissively, "that you actually did? Just about everypony here can capture a pegasus if they manage to spot them. I will give credit where credit is due, though. I don't think anypony else can hold them quite so still."

"Is she now?" Nova asked smugly as the sound of her magic went quiet. "What makes you think that Nova is currently doing anything to keep this pegasus at bay?"

Nightstar had apparently caught what she just did, along with several others as gasps and murmurs began to fill the space around them.

Nova smiled as she stepped away from Storm. "Since none of you seem able to properly grasp the magnitude of the Great and Powerful Nova's magnificence, she will explain. If just so she doesn't have to look at your dumb faces longer than she has to. Anyway," she said, "Nova has been hard at work modifying the control spell that's been in circulation for the last several years and..."

The thunderous laughter that echoed from every unicorn present completely drowned out whatever it was that Nova was going to say next. Storm almost wished he could see the look on her face since she seemed like the type to get very annoyed by this kind of response.

"Are you quite finished," she said once the sound started to die down. "Anyway, as Nova was saying..."

"No offense, Miss Nova," Sergeant Nightstar said with amusement, "but there's no way you managed fix a spell on your own when every scholar over the last ten years could not."

"Very well," Nova said, clearly masking her annoyance. "Since you're clearly so much smarter than Nova, why don't you educate her on how the spell is supposed to work."

"Heh, gladly," said Night happily, "especially if it'll finally make you stop talking." She turned to the rest of the guard standing watch, ready to receive their "lecture" on how this magic was supposed to work. "The earlier version of the control spell didn't require much more than a spark and a suggestion to make the pony in question obey basic commands."

"But..." Nova droned on, eager for the other pony to finish.

"But," Night continued smugly, "It didn't take much more than some mild trauma to make the spell go awry. It could be any kind of trauma, be it physical or mental, but it always resulted in the same thing, the commands given to the subject would begin to warp, sometimes even making them turn on their master."

"And the newer version?" Nova yawned. She was clearly ready to be done with this part.

"The newer version required more frequent influxes of magic than the first, in return for complete obedience of the pegasus in question. It even makes them fight through the pain, assuming it doesn't get too bad," Night finished as others nodded along with her. "This is the version we still use today."

"So what you're saying..." said Nova as she slowly walked back towards Storm. "Is that in all known cases, complications arise in the presence of pain or additional stimuli. Is that what you're telling Nova?"

"The magic isn't strong enough to hold up against pain, yes," Night said pointedly. "That's exactly what I'm saying. Now, is there a point to all this?"

Instead of answering, Nova looked Storm Chaser right in the eye and ordered, "you are not to move, no matter what."

Storm didn't answer her, of course. He couldn't. But he had a good feeling for how this weird dream was about to end. This pony was going to hit him or shoot him or do whatever it was she was going to do, and he was going to wake up to find that one of the girls had rolled over and kicked him in his sleep.

That's not what happened, though.

She maintained her sinister smile, even as she walked out of sight. The look she had on her face was one that Storm was more than familiar with. It was the look of a pony who believed they had already won. Not that it was his problem though. Any moment now he'd be waking up from this...

Gut-wrenching pain suddenly tore though Storm Chaser's entire body. He started seeing stars and his legs wanted to buckle beneath him, but the worst part was the feeling that his guts wanted to pull themselves free of his insides and vacate out the back end. All he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cradle his sore and bruised pride.

But he couldn't.

He remained locked in place and looking straight forward as the worst pain of his life went unchecked. All he could see were the winces of pain on the faces of many of the unicorns, namely the stallions among them who shared looks of sympathy for how much that must have hurt. One of them even throwing up in response.

This wasn't a dream, he was painfully aware of that now. And that scared him. More than he thought he could possibly be scared. He had been captured. That spell that had originally been meant for Silk had done its worst, leaving him a prisoner in his own body, and at the mercy of their enemy.

"Nova believes she has made her point," she said as she proudly strutted back around to the front. Storm Chaser held nothing but contempt for the unicorn. If he ever got free, he'd make sure she'd regret this.

"You have," Night looked like she herself was about to be sick as well, despite not possessing the requisite equipment. "What happens now?"

"Pegasus," Nova addressed him. "Tell us your name and rank?"

"Storm Chaser," he said without even the slightest hesitation. "Captain of the first battalion." That shot to the nuts had left him so out of it, he hadn't even realized right away that he had been the one to speak. His heart began to race as dread began to settle into him. They were never supposed to talk to the enemy, no matter what.

"Wait?!" Nightstar's eyes grew wide as she practically jumped to get a closer look. "Is he actually aware of what's happening to him? Isn't that a bit cruel?"

"Cruel?" Nova lifted an eyebrow and gave her a puzzled look. "Cruel?! We are at war, sergeant! Do you have any idea how many unicorns have died due to these repeated attacks?! Too many, that's how much!"

"I... I..." Night backed up in fright in the presence of the mage's ire.

Nova, for her part, seemed to take a moment to recollect herself. "It's fine," she said. "As long as Nova has made her point. Besides, she's in a particularly generous mood seeing her hard work come to fruition. So, she is feeling a bit forgiving."

There was no forgiving what this pony had done, Storm thought to himself. He continued to seethe as he was forced to watch in silence. He couldn't wait for his chance to see every single one of these unicorns dead, and this Nova would be the first one.

"Oh, pegasus," Nova called out to him, seeming like she just remembered he was there. "Where will your home base be by noon tomorrow?"

She wanted to know what?! Storm Chaser started to sweat, despite the lack of control he had over his body. If there was anything he shouldn't tell them, it was that.

"We..." He swallowed hard, every part of his being fighting to keep his silence. "We should be drifting over the Clawthorn plains," he finally said.

No!!! He had actually told her! Everything he had fought for, everything that mattered to him, all of it was in danger!

"Hmmm?" Nova muttered under her breath as she studied him. "Seems the new spell might still need a few more adjustments. No matter."

"Can he be a little more accurate than Clawthorn?" Night asked. "It's going to be near impossible to find a flying fortress in a place that large."

"We can do one better," Nova said, the sinister grin apparent on her face. "We'll send our new friend here ahead, and have him show us once we're in position."

They can't do that can they?

"You can make him do that?!" Nightstar asked in wonderment. "Just how long does the new spell last?"

"The Great and Powerful Nova's magnificence knows no limit," she boasted. "The magic will hold indefinitely or until a unicorn as skilled as Nova removes the spell. Of which, Nova assures you, there is none."

"I'm sorry I ever doubted you," Sergeant Nightstar said as she turned to address her soldiers. "Mobilize the cages!" She barked the order.

"No cages," Nova said in a complete deadpan, cutting her off.

"No cages?" Night asked in confusion. "Why not?"

"The Grand Matriarch has made it very clear that this war has gone on for far too long. An example must be made if we're to halt any further bloodshed," she said the last part with a gleam in her eye.

"What are you saying?" The other unicorn looked nervous, like she really didn't want the answer to that question.

Nova pushed past her and with a dramatic sweep of her hoof, addressed the waiting soldiers. "Wipe them out!" She shouted to the waiting ears. "Leave none alive! Show the rest of ponykind, nay, the world, that we are not to be trifled with. We shall burn a hole in the memory of every living creature so grand that no one will dare to stand against us ever again!"