Chapters Re-earning Your Cutie Mark
For Without Your Cutie Mark, Who are You?
“You son of a bitch!” the dark blue Pegasus yelled as he reeled from the pain in his haunch and looked over his shoulder quickly to assess the damage done. “You bastard! It’s gone! You cut off my cutie mark!” he stepped back from his attacker that had suddenly appeared out of the Everfree Forest and glared at him. The dark black unicorn hovered a long katana like blade over his head. Blood ran down Oz’s left side as he tried to remain calm. He didn’t have anything to defend himself with against this sudden enemy. Looking closely, he tried to see the face of his attacker, but he was shrouded in a dark ghostly mist and his eyes were aglow with a strange orange hue. This mystery attacker almost seemed unnatural in every way, except for the red glow around the weapon he had. The blue pegasus noticed he still had to use magic to hold the katana like blade that was near the spell caster’s head.
Oz stepped back and tried to think of what to do. The attacker had only assaulted his cutie mark, nothing else. “Now for the other side” the dark figure said in a dark echo. He lunged at Oz, the blade going further than the Unicorn’s physical reach. Without hesitating Oz jumped sideways away from the blade as it swung at his unhurt cutie mark of three stars positioned in a triangle.
Oz had actually been surprised his attacker was even solid mass, but he couldn’t think of that right now, he had to get away. He grabbed the now magic free blade in his hip and pulled it out as fast as he could with his teeth. The pain was so great that when he had managed to pull the blade completely free it was instantly let go for a yell in agony. He attempted to stand but his hips were, for the moment, ruined. Opening his wings, he lifted up off the ground with a few powerful flaps. He looked at his attacker and saw him completely unconscious on the ground. The dark, mystical haze that had hung around him was now gone. The Unicorn pony had been smart, under the haze he wore a dark suit in order to mask his identity leaving the only identifying mark Oz could make out was the white horn.
He looked at himself and saw that his cutie marks were shredded and misshapen. Under the blood and dirt it was hard to tell what Oz’s special talent even was. “Without my Cutie Mark…” Oz whimpered as he attempted to fly to Canterlot “…then who am I?” he left the unicorn there, laying silent in the dust. He hoped to never see that monster again. “I hope my Cutie Mark is not forever gone. Oh dear Celestia, please let my cutie mark heal.” Oz thought as he looked up the mountain and saw Canterlot perched atop it’s majestic precipice. Oz, the pony of Astronomy, felt his ability to follow the stars slipping. He gazed at them as he flapped his wings weakly. With the loss of blood, he was growing weaker by the minute. His vision blurred and then his wings became motionless. The last thing he saw was his beloved stars moving further from him, as he closed his eyes and only momentarily felt the thump of the ground against him.
Oz sat looking at the sky above him with an annoyed look. He wondered why the adult pegasi had to choose tonight of all nights to cover the sky with clouds. It was tonight he had waited so long to just gaze at the stars. Always longing to study them, the young colt would sit on clouds in the middle of the night, just pondering the burning balls of fire that lay hundreds of light-years from him. This night however, would be a short one. He flew from the cloud he had been sitting on to the top of the mist canopy. As half of his body still was surrounded by the clouds, he was to infatuated with the sparkling above him to move any further. He stared at the little dots twinkling so far away and smiled with joy. He never understood why looking at them made him feel so much better, but the fireballs relaxed him greatly. He always seemed to beable to forget the stresses of flight camp when gazing into the speckled void. A cold breeze made him shiver and he sighed as he floated back down below the canopy. Oz yawned as he flew back to his dorm in Cloudsdale Flight Academy.
The next day, after Oz had finished the day of Flight Camp, he sat on the cloud cover resting over Ponyville. He always loved sitting here, especially if his favorite pegasus hadn’t cleared the sky yet. Oz watched the sky searching for her. After a little bit he was surprised to hear a subtle laugh behind him. It wasn’t directed at him but it still caused him to jump and see who was there. It was her, his first true infatuation, Rainbow Dash. He did a subtle smile upon seeing her glistening rainbow colored mane and flowing cyan coat. His thoughts were interrupted by her chuckling at herself again. He saw her looking through a hole in the fluffy ceiling. Filled with curiosity, he hovered behind her and peered through her window to the ground. He made sure that his shadow did not fall in front of her to ensure she did not notice him. He also made sure that he was far enough away that she wouldn’t hear his wing beats…or his heartbeats for that matter.
Below them was Apple Jack at Sweet Apple Acers bucking the trees in the east orchard. Rainbow Dash blushed as she watched her infatuation. She couldn’t help but giggle out loud as she watched with great admiration the strong hind quarters of the brown earth pony below. She had kept the night’s blanket over Sweet Apple Acers per Apple Jack’s request. AJ had asked Dash to do this for her just simply so Celestia’s hot sun wouldn’t be to much of a bother as the Apple Family harvest some of their apples.
Apple Jack bucked, and like always her sister, now grown and possessing her Cutie Mark, caught the apples in a barrel on her head. Rainbow watched the farm girl fully engulfed in her well versed movements. After a firm buck, AJ leaped over her sister, doing a front flip mid air and upon landing on her fore hooves, spun her rear around and delivered a massive blow to the next tree. Apple Bloom was already waiting with a new barrel and caught the apples just as they fell into the wooden cylinder. Oz was both amused and impressed with the sight he saw, but was saddened by the subtle sigh let out by the one he found infatuating.
He landed softly next to her and finally revealed his presence. “Didn’t know you were actually into other girls.” Oz said with slight depression in his tone. He knew he could never have Rainbow Dash. She was in her twenties, and he had just recently turned thirteen himself. However, he had never imagined he would lose out to another girl. Rainbow Dash broke from her hypnotic state and looked up at him surprised. At first she was scared, but once she noticed it was just a little foal that was interrupting her fantasies, she became irritated.
Suddenly and without any reason, he began to sink into the clouds. It was almost as if he was losing the ability to stay aloft in the sky. He tried to flap his wings but it seemed as if the air was just passing right through them. When he slipped completely through the clouds all he saw below him was perpetual darkness, not the ground like he should have.
Oz shook himself awake with that feeling of falling that always would wake anypony and shot up in the bed he was laying in. He would regret that involuntary action for his wings hurt, as did his head and hips; which had caused him to let out a loud grunt. He looked around the dimly lit room and noticed he was sitting in a dark tan tent. It’s door had a mesh screen that seemed to have a zipper that could me moved to open and close it. At this time it was zipped half open, leaving the other half hanging loosely in the air. “W-where am I?” he pondered as he rubbed his bandaged head. He noticed that other than the bed in this tent, there was nothing else except for the candle on the floor, mildly illuminating the area. It occasional flickering seemed to mildly intensify Oz‘s headache.
“So…you’re awake” said a large alicorn walking into the room, pushing the loose material aside. He stood with a natural military stance, but it seemed weaker, as if something had reduced his moral in the past. His body was covered in many scars, most notably were the ones covering his cutie marks. Oz also noticed his horn appeared to have been cut in half at some point.
Nova ducked from the claws of a Griffon that passed over him. He glared at the beast and fired a fireball from his horn. The griffon barrel rolled out of the way and came at him, his talons wide open. Without hesitation, Nova shot his wings straight up, letting all lift he had dissipate immediately and making him drop rapidly. The griffon flew right over, just barely missing any part of his body. The bird-lion turned sideways and flew back at him. He cupped his wings and pushed back up, putting his fore-hooves out in hopes his opponent would just slam right into them. His plan almost worked entirely. Yes the griffon was stupid enough to fly right into his stretched out hooves, but he did not just get knocked out as Nova had planned.
The impact made them slam together and drop out of the sky. As they tumbled and twirled the griffon scratched at Nova’s face. He kept his head held back but not enough. At one point when he turned his head sideways to avoid a swing, the bird-lion managed to cross his arm and swing again at the same spot. This attack connected not just with Nova’s face, but the talons chewed right through his eye. He yelled in pain and in a furious rage pointed his horn right at the Griffon. The bird lion grabbed the horn with his beak and bit as hard as he could. The pain in the alicorn’s horn was enough to enrage him even further. He closed his eyes and summoned as much force as he could. The next thing Nova knew was an extreme heat wave erupted in front of him as he felt his horn shatter from the eruption. He opened his eyes and saw the headless corpse falling limply next to him. He looked up, or really it was down, and saw the ground getting closer. Knowing the urgency of the situation, he twisted mid air and opened his wings. They cupped from catching the air and he landed softly on the ground. Looking over his shoulder, Nova saw the Griffon’s twisted body laying in the dirt. He huffed and then began to walk away.
His head hurt to much for him to beable to concentrate on flying. He needed to get to the village nearby, but his strength was fading fast as shock was beginning to set in. All he could think about was keep walking. That’s all he kept saying to himself in his head. “Keep walking Nova, if you stop , you die.” He stumbled into the town and looked around at the buildings. Some were being reconstructed from the last battle that had been there while others were just shoddy shacks. A lot of ponies didn’t consider making permanent homes worth the time because the war would just come back and destroy everything anyway. He spotted the hospital and started to meander to it. Through his blurred vision Nova saw a group of town ponies start to try and help him, but he couldn’t continue on. His vision blackened and he collapsed.
The dark blue Alicorn stirred from his thoughts to stare at the wooded terrain across the road from him. It was dark and creepy and it caused him to wondered if it was the infamous Everfree Forest he had heard a little about. He glanced over his shoulder at the tent he was standing outside of and sighed. The pegasus he had saved reminded him of himself that day back when he lost his eye and horn. He pawed at the eye patch with his hoof and grimaced at the feeling of scared flesh behind it.
He had watched everything happen. He had gone to help, but Oz had defeated the pony before he could get there. The way the pegasus had flown away and then collapsed, made him feel…oddly sympathetic to him. It was the only reason why he had offered any form of help. He stood into the stance that he had been trained to stand, militaristic. He would stand guard against that forest. If any more of those ghostly ponies wanted to attack, he’d be ready. He did hope though, that by defending Oz like this, he’d be happy to become Nova’s first friend. He huffed and pushed the thought away. “Nopony wants to be my friend.” Nova Spat. Oz though…maybe could be his friend…maybe…just maybe…
Re-earning Your Cutie Mark
Oz sat up in the bed he was in and winced in pain. The skin on his hips burned as the bandages pulled tight. It was just another reminder that yesterday had really happened. He yawned and opened his wings. He bit his lip as his left wing shot with pain. He looked over his shoulder at it and saw a splint there. “I must have broken it when I crashed into the ground after passing out.” he thought. Glancing outside he could see the silhouette of Nova sitting outside. “Has he been out there all night?” Oz pondered. He hopped off the bed and walked as carefully as he could. Each step with his hind legs shot pain up his spine. He managed to walk outside and stand in front of the sleeping Alicorn. Nova was in a lumped sitting position, his mouth hung slightly ajar, and drool hanging precariously from his lower lip. Oz looked the scarred pony all over. “By Celestia, how did he get all screwed up?” Oz was examining the navy blue pony’s scarred flank when the snoring stopped. Oz shot up and looked Nova in the eye. The Alicorn just stared at him with a scowl.
Oz and Nova sat along the dirt path that led to Canterlot, the tent set up behind them. Oz pawed at a bandage on his hip and sighed. “Are you feeling any better?” Nova asked bluntly, his eye never leaving the forest below. They were now hundreds of feet up the mountain and would be in Canterlot by mid day tomorrow. Oz looked at him.
Nova had been watching the young Pegasus from the door way. He sighed and went to lay on the floor. There was only one bed, and Nova was NOT sharing it with another MALE pony. He laid his hooves over one another and plopped his head on top of them. Before he knew it he was sound asleep. Visions of dragons and griffons danced through his head. One image in particular stuck. He stood in the halls of Arch-Unicorn Nahimana chambers, looking at a wooden door and surrounded in dilapidated castle walls. He pressed his hoof against the feeble blockade and it swung open with ease. Taking in the room around him, he saw the degraded walls lined with book shelves. Most were overgrown with nature, much like the rest of the castle, but the far right corner was well light and devoid of any plant life. Inside this area the aged Unicorn laid on her back, her hooves curved carelessly over her, with a book hovering by magic beyond them. When she noticed Nova enter, she put the book down and hurried to stand. “What do you want, young Alicorn?” she asked in contempt of his presence.
Nova’s eye shot open, and he felt the scar under his eye patch pull. He looked up to see Oz standing over him. “It’s morning, we should get going.” Nova looked out the door of the tent and saw Celestia’s sun rising over the horizon. He looked at Oz irritated and then stood.
As they rounded the mountain side Canterlot came into view and they stopped to take it all in..
Re-earning Your Cutie Mark
Canterlot was foreboding to Nova. It's giant and pristine castle walls were so far from normal to him that he didn't want to approach. He hovered next to the pure stone walls and gawked at them. Oz stood at the gates, the guards checking him for anything malicious on his person. He looked up at the flying Alicorn and sighed. "Nova, you're gonna havta get checked by the guards if you want in Canterlot, they don't take to kindly to ponies who can fly going over the walls!" he shouted up. Nova looked down at them with a frown. He pondered to himself if they would arrest him for something stupid just because he was a foreigner. He glided down to them and landed gently, hoping to not do anything that the guards would consider suspicious. The one unicorn guard hovered a spell over Nova that then slid down him as if it was scanning him. When it reached the ground the guard lifted it back up him and then stopped at his broken horn. The guard looked at him suspiciously and then shook it off.
Re-earning Your Cutie Mark
Shining Armor walked ahead of Oz and Nova. The two guards that had been with them had stopped at the door way to this long hall. Oz looked past his escort to see metal bars in front of many of the doors in this hallway. Except for one. The bars were swung open and a light green/blue hue could be seen projecting on the floor in front of it. This door is the one that they stopped at. Shining peered into the room, looking for his sister. Both winged ponies noticed the lines of bookshelves neatly running in rows in a circle around a hour glass in the middle of the room. Oz’s ears dropped when he saw the Pegasus sitting on top of it reading a Daring Do novel. The multi-colored Rainbow Dash was perched comfortably at the edge of the hour glass’s rim, her hind legs hung without care over the edge as she held the book up with her fore hooves. Shining also noticed her. “Rainbow Dash!” he shouted to get the cyan mare’s attention. Oz jumped when Shining gotten her attention and slightly scooted closer to Nova to hide behind the white Unicorn in front of them. Nova looked down at the cowering Pegasus and rolled his eyes. Rainbow Dash looked up at Shining and waved.
Luna stared through the window to the Starswirled the Bearded wing from her perch at the precipice of Canterlot Tower. She had been attracted to the window by the commotion that had happened in there a few moments ago. She could see Twilight talking to the two new comers, and she couldn’t stop watching Nova. To her he was everything she had dreamed in a man. Mysterious, dark furred, and gruff. He also showed assurance about himself that she knew she could never have. Even though it had been seventeen years since she had been trapped on the moon, she still felt awkward addressing her subjects. Maybe if Nova stood by her side she’d feel more confident. Also the scars made him look more appealing to her. Showed how tough he was and that he’d be willing to not only protect her, but her kingdom as well. “Staring at him isn’t guarding the night, sister.” Celestia said jokingly as she walked up behind her younger sibling. Luna broke from her ponderings and looked over her shoulder at her sister, blushing.
Re-earning Your Cutie Mark
Oz meandered the great halls of Canterlot Castle. He had been walking for hours, mostly because he was glad he could walk at all again. As he walked down a dead end hallway with stained glass windows on each end. He stopped as the moon’s colored light crossed his vision. He looked up at the painted window to see Discord on the receiving end of the Elements of Harmony. He gazed at the picture, focusing on Rainbow Dash. He frowned and waked to the end of the hall. There he stared a the closed door with a Unicorn statue on each side. He examined the door and noticed it had a hole in it large enough for a Unicorn or Alicorn horn. He sighed and sat there, his ears flopped down. “Why so glum, young Pegasus?” said Celestia as she walked up to him. He glanced over his shoulder at her to see her smiling down at him.
Oz stood there, staring at Twilight’s door. He looked at Rainbow Dash ash she motioned with her head for him to go ahead. “Are you sure she’s awake?” he asked nervously.
When awake.
To see the one I love.
My secret love.
He then looked past the book she held up with a raised eyebrow. “So…you really are a fillyfooler too huh?” Twilight bit her lip and nodded.
The next morning Celestia’s sun shown through Rainbow Dash’s bedroom window right onto Oz’s face. The bright light woke him and made him squint his eyes. He used his free wing to blow wind at the clouds and shut the window. Once he was no longer blinded he saw an amazing sight. Rainbow head was tucked under his chin, her neck arching over his right fore-hoof, and her fore hooves curled up between them. Her hind legs ran down between his and he noticed that the curved portion of her hips were pressing into his groin. The discomfort was easily ignored as he smiled and laid his free wing over her. Now she was completely protected in his mind.
Re-earning Your Cutie Mark
Canterlot could be seen coming into view as Nova and Oz rounded the mountain. Fighting back tears, Oz pushed ahead of Nova, wanting more than ever to get some form of distraction. His mind couldn’t replace the image of Rainbow looking at him with disgust. How long he had waited to be with her, and just when she was in his hooves, she pushed him away. His heart ached more than it had in years. Glancing over to Nova, he pondered if the stout Alicorn dealt with these feelings all the time. Nova couldn’t wait for his arrival at Canterlot again. Twilight had told him that she had something for them. According to what she had told him, it was an object of importance to each of them. Getting closer to Canterlot, the two winged stallions could smell the fresh baked bread coming from the royal bakery. The sweet rolling smell wafted into their nostrils, making both of their stomach grumble. They hadn’t eaten a thing since they had arrived in Canterlot the previous evening. “Was there any food?” Oz asked over the wind.
In the meal hall, both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia sat, sharing their one of two meals for that day. Luna slept the day away to maintain her strength for the night, and Celestia did the same at night. Only the morning and evening meals could the sisters share together. Celestia did notice something different about her sister this morning. She was quiet. It almost seemed as if she was deep in thought. “Is there something troubling you this morning, sister?” Celestia inquired. Luna shook and looked at her sister with an assuring smile.
“I’m going back to the Crystal Kingdom.” Shining Armor stated. His statement made Twilight pick her head up out of her studies and look at him in shock.
“Well, lets get down to business.” she said as she tried to brush off the embarrassing moment. She turned back to the hallway the two had come from and motioned for them to follow. As she left the room, they did as well. Oz stopped at the turn into the hallway just long enough to look out the window again. He frowned and then rejoined the other two.
Re-earning Your Cutie Mark
Nova let out a subtle sigh. The carbon monoxide expelled from his lungs crystallized in the cold air and became a subtle mist in front of him. Oz bit his lip and took a step back, his rump thumping against the cold steel door. Nova glanced at him with his good eye and rolled it. "C'mon coward." he spat as he began walking down the tunnel. With a gulp, Oz followed. "I don't know what you're afraid of, you've got armor on after all."
Nova wasn't wrong. The next cavern was abuzz with more little crystal ponies. As soon as they had entered the room Nova had to blast one out of the sky. This room had a s-shaped ramp that led further down into the catacombs. The rails that the carts had ran on now stopped, having been destroyed by the crystal ponies. Oz let loose a few rounds into another Pegasi that was diving at him. The bullets tore through the rock and it fell to earth. Upon impact it shattered into hundreds of shards. They galloped across the open expanse to the s-shaped ramp. Bullets zipped out of Oz's guns as he took down flights and flights of Pegasi ponies. Nova kept blasting Earth Ponies that dared charge him. One almost got to close but he had opened his wings and lifted up over the crystal stallion. After dodging that attack however he had to land abruptly to avoid an incoming Pegasus. As the reached the ledge that had the ramp go down both ponies just leapt off without even discussing the proposition first. They cupped their wings and drifted to the floor below. A few crystal Earth Ponies had leapt of with them and were now shards of glass scattered across the ground. They looked up and saw a horde of Pegasi bearing down on them from the cliff above as the earth ponies were starting to filter down the s shaped slope. Nova growled. He knew that even if they ran from these masses, that they would just continue to follow them into the caves. He couldn't imagine fighting them and Luna simultaneously. He closed his eyes and began to summon massive amounts of magic. "Keep them busy!" Nova called out with obvious strain in his voice. Oz glanced at him and noticed the buildup of magic around his broken horn. With that he turned to face the oncoming mass and gulped. He flared his nostrils to let in a deep breath and then bit down on the mouth piece in his helmet. Bullets erupted from the metallic maws on his wing joints and pushed back into the tie rods. The fountain of heated metallic slag slammed into the front line of crystal ponies and shattered them. However, the bullets maintained enough momentum to continue through the lines of crystallized ponies and shatter more of their numbers. Oz let the bit go to give his wings a rest. They were beginning to buzz from the constant vibration. He took in a deep breath and was just about to fire again when all of a sudden a dark blue wave erupted from behind him. It shot out from the tip of Nova's horn and passed harmlessly by Oz, however his guns were suddenly unresponsive to him biting the bit. The wave passed through the lines of crystal ponies without any resistance. As the magic went through them, they froze and then shattered into tiny pieces. Oz stopped gnawing on his mouth piece to watch as glass came clattering to the crystal floor. He spun around to see Nova laying down and breathing deeply. The blue Pegasus trotted over to him and examined him for injury.
The next chamber provided a unique challenge. It had two exiting tunnels. While there were no enemy ponies to be worried about for the time being. They peered down each pathway, unsure of which to choose. "This has got to be the right way!" they both exclaimed the same time as they turned to go down different passageways. Upon hearing each other they stopped and looked at one another confused.
Nova pounded his hooves against the crystal floor as he stormed down the tunnel. He couldn't believe the nerve of Oz in accusing him of not caring for Luna. Of course he cared for her! Thoughts of her flowing portrait hanging in Canterlot Castle's foyer made his anger fade slowly as he began to smile at the memory. He remembered how she had walked around him in the throne room, his mind's eye following her tail. He couldn't stop thinking of her. Her flowing mane, her dark fur. Everything about her made Nova's mind turn into mush. He stopped, and looked down the passage way he had gone down. He was in shock. It occurred to him that he was in love. This feeling he felt creeping up his spine lurched at his very soul. He never knew what it was like to love somepony else in this way. Yeah he loved his parents, but that was different from this. He lowered his head and thought of how he had treated Oz just now. In his mind Nova had been ridiculing Oz over his infatuation with Rainbow Dash, but now he understood. Now he could see what drove the blue Pegasus to try and get her to be with him. He turned his head to look down the long void behind him. The emptiness separating him from his potential friend almost seemed to signify Nova's empty heart. He turned to take a step when he heard the sound of flapping wings getting closer to him. His gaze lifted up to see Oz appear out of the darkness and land in front of him. The Pegasus gave a weak smile, even if Nova couldn't see it for the helm on his head. "I'm sorry Nova." Oz said. The Alicorn was taken back at how fast Oz was willing to apologize, and be first to do it.
Re-earning Your Cutie Mark
A loud pop reverberated through the great halls of Canterlot. It's piercing scream loud enough to shake the stained-glass paneling of the throne room that Oz, Nova, and more importantly Luna appeared in. they appeared within a sharp light, quickly flashing and then winking out of existence as soon as it had appeared. The three winged ponies floated to the floor with grace. Pride beamed from Oz, even though it was stunted by his helmet. Nova was glad to see all the guards in the room having a look of admiration towards him. Luna…collapsed. As soon as her hooves touched the solid granite flooring, she fell limp. Many of the guards rushed to her aid; even one that had been talking with Princess Celestia at the time of their arrival. This particular guard stood out to Oz, as they all stood over the fallen form of their Princess of the Night. He looked at the guard's dark armor, and noticed that the Unicorn's eyes were aglow in a soft white hue. When Princess Celestia pushed her way through the circle of ponies, Oz returned his attention to his fallen co-ruler. "Get her to the hospital wing right now!" Celestia exclaimed with a sense of urgency. One of the Unicorns gladly obliged as he lifted the motionless body of Princess Luna into the air, his magenta colored magic dancing across her fur. A precession of ponies followed them as they headed out of the throne room towards the hospital wing across the castle. Nova walked to the right of Princess Luna, while Oz trailed behind Princess Celestia. The Princess of the Sun trailed behind the guard holding her sister, so as to keep an eye on everything. With her sister in a weakened state, she didn't know if anypony would try to attack now. Oz had chosen this place because he could observe something that seemed to bother him. This dark guard that stayed at the Princess's left, why hadn't he noticed him before? Where had this overly concerned guard come from?
Finally movement was seen from Princess Luna. It was subtle, but it existed. She momentarily opened her eyes and looked at the Dark Guard. It was as soon as she opened them that they were shut once more. Oz found her current state out of place. He pondered what her mind was experiencing at this time. It seemed to him as if she was under the influence of great amounts of fatigue. She continued to barely open her eyes, look at one of the ponies near her and then go back to what seemed like a deep slumber.
Nova watched her with anticipation. He wasn't sure which to worry about more, if she was going to wake up, or if this long walk to the infirmary was going to end. Each step closer almost made it seem as if they were no closer to being at their destination. However, every time she glanced up at him, even giving him a subtle smile, it made him more at ease. As they walked, the thing that kept running through his mind the most was the kiss. She kissed him. It wasn't the other way around. She had willingly leaned in and planted her soft moist lips right onto his. He looked at her and noticed her usually free flowing mane seemed to now hang without motion, actually letting gravity's clutches wrench it downward. How he felt at this moment was conflicted. He now knew she had feelings for him as well, but this was too fast. They had just met only yesterday, and now they were kissing. Also, he had to return to Tesorias. If they had a relationship, what would become of it? He shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind. He had to remember why he came to Equestria in the first place.
The Dark Guard continued his watch on his beloved Princess. He vowed so long ago to keep her safe, and the one night he actually chose to leave her side, was the night she was harmed. He cursed himself as they finally pushed through the doors leading into the hospital wing of Canterlot Castle. Tears were not shed however; he had no time for such feeble actions. He knew he had to apologize as soon as Luna was capable of forgiving him of his fault. The Dark Guard did not fear her chastising him; after all, he had known her for some time now. He knew she would simply ignore him for a little while.
Oz stood at the door way, watching as Luna was laid upon a hospital bed, her mane slowly floating to the ground around her. It was an odd sight for him, to see one of the most powerful Alicorns to be in this state. As he looked on, he thought of the fight just a few moments ago. The battle surged in his head. As he thought about it, he realized that if it wasn't for Luna, the very pony they had gone to save, Nahimana may have destroyed them. She was definitely was powerful and he suddenly became concerned that she might be stronger than Twilight. He watched as Nova and the Dark Guard stood over the Princess, both seeming to have the same look of concern. Oz had noticed Nova's signs of romantic feeling towards Luna, but he had no idea that this guard would show the same body language.
Just as Nova began to peer down on Princess Luna's sleeping face, Nurse Redheart came from the back room and began to shoo him away. "Leave her alone, she needs to rest." Redheart stated as she mockingly shooed a hoof at him. He stepped back, partially confused as she turned to the Dark Guard. "And you're sick, get out of here too!" he stepped back from the bed a little, looking at the nurse. "Who knows how weak she is, I don't need any of you getting her sick." she turned to Celestia and bowed. "I'm sorry your highness but I must ask you to leave as well. I will tend to your sister as best I can."
"I understand" Celestia stated with a nod and soon meandered out the door. Nova followed closely behind her, but the Dark Guard lingered. He stood there, watching his mistress sleep.
"Off with you." Redheart demanded again. With his head hung low, he turned and walked out of the room. As the swinging doors shut behind him, he was taken hold by the shoulders and spun facing the area next to the door. There he saw a young blue Pegasus starring suspiciously at him.
"How dare you!" The Dark Guard exclaimed starring down at the pony as if he were his lesser.
As he walked from the hospital wing towards the center of Canterlot Castle, he found himself in the center entryway with the y-shaped staircase. He had come in from underneath the right side of the room. As Oz walked from under the staircase he noticed Nova sitting in front of the flowing cloth mural depicting Luna's image. He walked over to the apparent lonely stallion and sat next to him.
"She kissed me" Nova said without any questions from Oz.
"Oz, Nova!" said a guard from the landing of the staircase, between the two sets leading off to elsewhere in the castle. Both ponies mentioned looked up to the one who had called their names with genuine curiosity. "Princess Celestia would like a formal debriefing in her throne room. Please follow me." he continued as he turned up the left stairway.
"You should be careful of how close you get to her" said a dark voice from behind Nova. With haste, the young Alicorn looked over his shoulder to see two white orbs glowing from under the stair case Oz had meandered from earlier. The dark figure stepped out and Nova could see it was the Dark Guard.
Nova had been shoved with enough force that he had been pushed onto his romp. From there he had watched the Guard disappear through the door, a maddened glare following the jet black pony. "Fucking ass hole" Nova spat as he stood back up. He walked up the stairs and turned towards the Throne room. He passed through the doors, using his magic to open them and then close them after he had passed through. As he meandered down the hall towards the guarded door on the other end of the hall, his gaze never left the slightly moving banner of Princess Luna. He didn't stare at it just because of her beauty, but because he felt a sense of remorse. Luna herself had to defeat Nahimana. Nova dropped his head as he remembered looking up past Luna and watching her banish the spiritual beast from Oz's body and the room itself. As he approached the double doors that lead to the Throne room, he noticed there was no sound indicating movement. He looked up and noticed both of the Unicorn guards were simply scowling at him. His eye danced between the two of them as their subtle look of disdain dug into him. "Let me pass, the Princess is expe-"
"No I didn't hurt her." Nova finally said, insulted. "Why the Tuataras would you think I'm responsible for her injuries?"
"Oz has already informed me that it was Nahimana that had possessed my sister." Celestia said after Nova and Oz had stopped at the base of her throne. "Is she much of a threat?" Oz looked at Nova as he spoke, "I told Celestia how Nahimana had said she was your mentor at one time." Nova glanced at the Pegasus and then looked back up at Celestia.
"Forgive me, Princess Celestia, but what is the Summoner's Monocle?" Oz asked, curiosity clearly written on his snout.
All the ponies in the room stared at the door, unsure of what to do. Princess Celestia hadn't dismissed them and this was the first time Twilight had seen her once mentor act like this. "She's acting so…sullen." Twilight verbally observed. She then turned to Nova, putting all the books she still had hovering above her on the floor in a neat pile behind her. "Sorry for not telling you two that Luna was down there." she said with an innocent smile. "She passed through our testing facility a little before you both came to the library."
"I'm sorry Twilight. I have a hard time trusting Arch-Unicorns. I knew a few others in Tesorias that were worse in some ways than Nahimana. At least I think…I can't really remember her anymore." He put a hoof too his head and looked at the floor as if trying to drive the memories of Nahimana to the surface of his mind.
Nova watched them leave the room, he watched the door shut, and then waited for the clopping of their hooves to fade away. He turned to the window that was nearby and meandered to it. There he found himself starring at the night sky. "I wonder when it became night." he pondered as the twinkling night sky danced across his ocular. His mind drifted. It bounced around from home, Luna, his future. He found himself thinking about her again. Would they be a good couple? Would it work? Would she be willing to come back to Tesorias with him? He realized he was leaning on the window seal and sat up. "I should go check on her." he said out loud, a little louder than he had intended as he heard his own voice echo off the walls. He did a small embarrassed grin at the guards that were now looking at him funny as he walked out of the throne room and down the long hallway.
The Dark Guard sat at the window of his chambers, starring at the moonless night. He knew that Luna was injured, but for Celestia to also forget to raise the moon was very odd. He stood, and walked over to his coat tree. There sat his armor, shining with the candle light from his nearby dresser. Using his magic he lifted the purple metal off the tree and lowered it onto his shoulders. He then levitated the purple tabard from his nearby dresser and let it hover over his back for a moment. He draped the tabard over his back to make sure he was well covered, and then walked out of the room. He was going to go talk to Princess Celestia and remind her to raise the moon since Luna was incapacitated. He knew where Celestia's quarters were, but he felt himself drawn to Luna's hospital room. "It's on the way." he said to himself as he followed the corridor that led to the hospital wing from the housing wing. As he approached the hospital wing, he saw Nova come from the other hallway that leads from the foyer. He galloped to ensure he beat the blue Alicorn to the doors of the wing. When he reached them he slid to a stop, facing the Tesorian with a glair.
Re-earning Your Cutie Mark
The cutie mark is a prize for any pony and is a mark of individuality and pride. It is a showing to all others around you what you are the best at what you do and all ponies in Equestria show their marks with great honor. A cutie mark is probably the most important thing to a young foal. Many misunderstand how to obtain a cutie mark, such as the misadventures of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. However, should they finally and successfully find their cutie mark, they were the happiest foal in the world for those few moments. The cutie mark has known to become such an infatuation to some new bearers, that they were known to stand in front of a mirror and stare at their flank for hours on end. To the non-pony races, the cutie mark is not really worth the trouble of getting, but to be a pony without a cutie mark you may as well not even exist. Cutie marks are a sign of adult hood and maturity. If a pony were to go their whole life without obtaining a Cutie Mark, then they would be scorned. However, there is no record of anypony not having ever achieved a cutie mark.
As mentioned before, nopony in Equestria knew what would happen if one were to lose your Cutie Mark. Would your abilities drain away? Would you lose control of yourself? Many a scientist had speculated the matter, but Celestia herself had banned the experimentation. It was noted that most ponies subjugated to the loss of their Cutie Mark were usually involved in scrupulous activity of some kind and were generally the cutie mark was removed by their own lifestyle before any results could be recorded. Also, in the few murders that had been documented in Equestria since Celestia and Luna took the land from Discord, very few have had the removal of the Cutie Mark from both hips; and it has been verified that losing only one of the two Cutie Marks has no effect on the pony.
The ponies of Tesorias are at war, causing Celestia to ban any Equestrian pony from venturing there. They have unfortunately had many opportunities to know about the loss of their marks. Many of them wander the wretched wastes in hopes of ever regaining their cutie marks, just to finally perish without ever finishing their quest. However, even though the land is torn asunder by war, doesn’t mean that they know what happens either. After all, they’re to busy killing one another over petty matters. So what happens if an injury should remove your cutie mark? What would Equestrian society say to that? Two Ponies are soon to find out…
