Ancient Curse Unleashedby ShadowDash26ChaptersA Shocking DiscoveryNew NamesA Lunar ChatA formidable foeCharcoal TunnelsA Shocking DiscoveryUpdate Note: January, 10th 2016 This story underwent a re-write. Some details may have changed. Twilight Sparkle woke up early. She was meeting with her friends over at Fluttershy's Cottage. Spike was still asleep, so Twilight left him there. As she drew closer to Fluttershy's cottage she could hear her friends voices. "Twilight might be able to explain,” Apple Jack's southern accented voice filtered through to Twilight's ears. "Do you think its Discord? Because if it is, It’s not funny,” came the brash voice of Rainbow Dash. "I might be able to explain what?” Twilight asked and then she froze when she saw her friends, they were in a human form, like when she went through the portal to Canterlot High. "So she didn't look in a mirror this morning,” commented Rarity. "How is this possible?” came Fluttershys soft and quiet voice. "I don't know, I could ask Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, after regaining her composure. Rainbow Dash was wearing a powder blue hoodie, a white shirt and light blue jeans, with strangely enough rainbow colored tennis shoes. Her cayn wings fluttered slightly. Rainbow Dash flicked her long rainbow colored hair out of her face. She set her magenta colored eyes on Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy was in close proximity to Rainbow Dash. She was also dressed in a hoodie and blue jeans. Her hoodie, and shoes were a light yellow color, as well as her wings, while her blouse was a light pink. Her pink hair covered half of her face. Her visible blue eye showed worry and concern. Pinkie Pie was sitting in the tree above Rainbow Dash's and Fluttershy's heads. She was wearing a pink long sleeved shirt and pink jeans and, of course being Pinkie Pie, pink shoes. Her pink hair was pulled back out of her face. She had a wild grin on her face. Her blue eyes were sparkling mischievously. Apple Jack was sitting across from Rarity at the table. She was wearing an orange flannel shirt with blue jeans and faded brown cowboy work boots. Her yellow hair was pulled back like it always was. Her hat was pulled low over her green eyes. Rarity was wearing a white blouse, white jeans and white tennis shoes. She flicked her long purple hair out of her face. Like the others she was looking at Twilight, her blue eyes sparking with interest. Dark white runes traced around her wrists and spiraled up her arms, stopping midway on each forearm. Twilight, herself, was dressed in a lightweight lavender hoodie, a pink and dark indigo shirt, lavender jeans and pink, indigo and lavender chucks. Her pink, indigo and purple hair was carelessly tossed over her shoulder. Her confusion was evident in her purple eyes. Runes peeked out at the cuffs of Twilight’s hoodie, they were similar to Rarity’s but a dark purple instead. "Do you really think she will know?” Rainbow inquired moving away from the tree, her magenta eyes blazing in her typical fashion. "Know what young Rainbow Dash?” Inquired the very pony they were talking about. "Princess Celestia,” The six ponies turned into humans chorused and bowed respectfully. They noticed that even the Princess was turned into the strange form. The Princess was still wearing crown. She was dress in an elegant sleeveless dress that stopped about four inches from touching the ground. Her light rainbow colored hair was flowing down around her shoulders. Her wings were the same color as her dress: Pure White. A short sabre was strapped around the waist of her dress. Celestia also had the dark runes, but unlike Rarity’s, they spiraled up the Sun Princess’s arms and under the fabric of her dress. The Six noticed somebody standing a few feet behind the Princess. It was a female somewhere between their human form age and Princess Celestia's. She was wearing black and grey camouflage pants, a black tee shirt and thick black combat boots. Her black, green, pink and blue hair was spiked. Her white wings were black tipped. Her amber colored eyes were contrasted by a dark flare of black on her face. The short sabre was strapped to her leg. She too had runes spiraling up her arms and under the fabric of her shirt, lighter in color on her pitch black forearms and darker on her ashy grey skin. "What with the swords?” Rarity piped up. "Alicorns and Unicorns have them. The sheath blends in with your clothing,” The Person replied, a very soft accent tinging her words. Rarity and Twilight looked down at their right legs and found that this person was right. Rarity’s blade was white as her skin and the hilt was emblozened with her cutie mark: three diamonds. Twilight’s sabre was lavender in color, same as her skin, and her cutie mark was etched in the hilt as well. "Are you going to accompany them, Nova Burst?” Celestia inquired. "Only if you and Princess Luna approve,” Nova answered. "How do you know them?” Rainbow inquired, picking a speck of lint off her cayn colored skin. "I was a student of both of them, when I was younger. Of course that was before the Nightmare Moon incident,” Nova responded non-chalantly. "But you should be old,” Rarity commented in shock. "When Princess Luna took me as a student there was a binding spell, until I completed what she had to teach me we were bound together. So when Princess Luna became Night Mare Moon and was entrapped in the Moon, I became a Dark Whisper of the Night. In that state I was able to freely transverse the dream realms, and report back to the Nightmare,” Nova explained. The group looked from Nova to Celestia as if asking a question. To their surprise Celestia nodded. "Yes my sister did bind Nova Burst to her as a student. Nova had finished her studies with me. Luna felt that there was only a few more things Nova could learn from her when it happened. There were other circumstances in Nova's case as well,” Celestia explained further. "Celestia, could you please come back to Canterlot. Everypony is becoming unsettled about these Human forms. Prince Blueblood is having an exceptional fit. Raven had to come and awaken me,” Princess Luna said as she landed lightly. "Princess Luna,” Nova quietly said and she bowed, her wings spreading out. "Hello Nova,” Luna replied with a cheery tone. Like everypony else, Luna had been turned into a human. Luna was wearing a dark blue long sleeved shirt, black jeans, and black shoes. Her midnight blue hair was flowing down her back. She had a sabre strapped to her leg. Her dark blue wings were fluttering in slight nervousness. Luna looked at her older sister and their faithful student from long ago, Celestia and Nova could see the worry in Luna's dark blue eyes. Blue runes, only slightly lighter than her skin, were visible under the cuffs of the sleeves of her shirt. "Do you think it would be a good idea for Nova to accompany Twilight and her friends?” Celestia inquired "Yes, it would be a good idea. Nova would be a good added security,” Luna agreed, "We have to get back to Canterlot sister. We can't leave the Nobles to barrage Raven for too long." "All right then, Nova I leave you with Twilight Sparkle and her friends,” Celestia said and with that Luna and her left to return to Canterlot. . "So you six represent the elements of harmony,” Nova remarked. "How did you know that?” Rainbow inquired. Nova disregarded the question, "We need to find our starting point." "Do you know what caused this transformation?” Rainbow inquired. "A particularly nasty Ancient Curse,” Nova responded, as the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony caught sight of the hilt of the sword strapped to Nova's hip: the design was not one that ponies would be calm about. "Ancient Curse? I never read anything about that,” Twilight commented "The place where I read it is now in ruins,” Nova said simply, she closed her eyes and then recited "Once the six are six again, Discord will reign for naught a day, an old foe will rise to convey the new path for a new form to take way. Six and one will find the way to the dark one who caused this new way, weather success or fail, the seven will know naught." "That is way creepy,” Muttered Pinkie Pie. "I know there is a place here in Equestria that is the key to reverting back to our original forms,” Nova said quietly, "But the landscape has changed a bit in the last thousand years" "So how long do have to reverse the curse?” Twilight inquired "Three maybe four days at most,” Nova replied. "That’s not much time,” Fluttershy said lofting herself into the air. "I know we have to set off tomorrow,” Nova commented Early the next morning, before the sun even rose, everyone met at Fluttershy's cottage. Nova had a simple satchel bag while the rest had backpacks. Nova pulled out a map of Equestria carefully making mental notes of how much the distances had changed she put it away. With a nod of her head she set off with the mane six following her. Author's Note Okay I am used to putting Discliamers on my stories because I mostly write Fictions on other shows and upload them to FF.net. But anyway I don't own MLP:FiM, The Hub and Hasbro do. I only own the plotline and In this Chapter Nova Burst. Also on FF.net under Robot Wolf 26Z. To be honest this popped into my head while I was watching an episode of the show. New Names"Well this is just a great mess" Nova muttered as the packed lunch exploded. "Lighten up Nova," Chuckled Rainbow as she lazily flew above their heads. The twenty-three year old just gave the multi-colored haired woman a sharp glance. She then returned to fixing the mess that Twilight had caused from her nervousness at the prospect of failing her mentor and all of Equestria. Nova allowed a small sigh to escape, she remembered when she was first taken in by the ruling sisters. Nova's mind wandered to the two young Pegasi that she had taken under her wing. Peppermint Twist or Pepper as she preferred to be called, was the quieter of the two, her red and white mane and body, she was a Zebra Pegasus, very uncommon in Cloudsdale. Mint Chocolate, the other youngster, was a black Pegasus, with green tipped wings and her mane was a chocolate and green color. "You thinking of somepony?" Fluttershy's quiet voice snapped Nova out of her thoughts. "Yeah, two youngsters I look out for," Nova replied, pulling out an old photo. Nova noted with some surprise that it had changed when the transformation hit. The photo showed the human Nova with her arms draped around two young girls, one with green and brown hair, the other with red and white hair. The girl with the green and brown hair had black-green tipped wings and was wearing light grey clothing contrasting her amber colored eyes. Peppermint Twist was wearing light blue clothing that matched her eyes and her wings stayed red. "These are the youngsters," Nova said showing the photo to Fluttershy. "They seem to be enjoying themselves here," Fluttershy noted. "Yeah, That's Mint Chocolate, and Peppermint Twist or Pepper as she likes to be called," Nova explained pointing to the two, "They must be so confused right now." Fluttershy handed the photo back to the amber eyed woman. Nova ruffled her dark toned hair. Fluttershy could tell it was out of concern. Since Fluttershy was the Element of Kindness, she was able to tell when someone was genuinely concerned for someone. Nova Burst's wings fluttered slightly. She let out a simple sigh and drew her sword, it illuminated with a blue-grey glow and she was now holding a broadsword. "What is it?" Twilight asked glancing sharply at Nova. "I don't know Twi," Nova said quietly one of her tattered ears twitched. With a pink glow Twilight had pulled out her sword and motioned for Rarity to do the same. Within the same pink glow Twilight's wings appeared. Nova jumped back in shocked and had lofted herself into the air. What was more noticeable was that Nova had gone Crystal. "What the heck is that?" both Twilight and Nova exclaimed at the same time. Nova set back down on the ground before replying, "My father was a Crystal Unicorn, my mom was a Cha- Pegasus from Cloudsdale. Hence why I am what I am." "Completed a spell that turned me into an Alicorn," Twilight replied. "You were a Unicorn for most of your life weren't you?" Nova asked. "Yes," Twilight answered, confused. "Explains a lot," Nova nodded. "What is that supposed to mean?" Twilight inquired. "Your wings came at a later time than the most part of the transformation," Nova responded with a shrug. A branch snapped behind them and Nova unleashed a blast of magic in the shape of a blue and purple striped star with three black nuclear rings. Once the light from the magic dissipated they heard someone swear viciously. A man about Nova's age came out of the bushes. He had red eyes, but his hair was red and blue much like the jacket he was wearing. He dusted off his blue jeans and looked up at Nova. "What the heck Blaze? I could have hurt you," Nova inquired, her arms crossed. "Nov, what brings you out here?" Wild Blaze asked. "Helping the Elements of Harmony. Don't tell me you lost track of Thunder Strike again didn't you?" Nova inquired with a smirk. "Yeah, and Ashwood won't tell me where he took off to," Wild sighed. "Hon, you might want to try asking Mint, she'll know where Thunder went," Nova said gently. "Okay, I'll see you when you get back?" Wild asked. "Of course but I get the feeling that Luna and Celestia would wish to speak to me success or failure," Nova replied. "Is that good or bad?" Pinkie inquired. "Depends on Luna's mood," Nova replied offhandedly as she watched Wild use a transportation spell. "What do ya mean?" Applejack inquired. "Nothing," Nova answered as she returned the remains of the packed lunch back to it's bag. Pinke, AJ, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash also began packing their bags again. Something changed about Nova's demeanor, Her wings were tightly closed to her body and she seemed as if her mind was racing. As soon as Nova packed the last of the stuff in her bag, she set off with the mane six following behind her. "Who exactly was that, and who are Ashwood and Thunder Strike?" Rarity inquired rushing to keep up with Nova. "How about we focus at the matter at hand?" Nova replied. "Is there something difficult about answering?" Rarity returned. "I promise to tell you after we get done with the task at hand," Nova responded. Author's Note All the unfamiliar characters mentioned here are mine. Nova is lying to Twilight for a reason, which you'll find out shortly. Hurray for updates and my realizing the original version of this was total crap. A Lunar ChatIt was dusk before Nova spoke again. She had disregarded every single question the Elements of Harmony threw at her. She was starting to irritate Rainbow Dash. "You do not need to know of my life before Princess Luna was transformed," was Nova's simple answer, and with it Nova flew up to a cloud and sat cross-legged. "She's doing a meditation. I hardly see anypony do that," Murmured Fluttershy. The sun quickly set and the moon rose. A fire had been started and food was being cooked. Nova strode to the edge of the cloud and murmured the Princess of the Night's name. As a dull blue light landed in front of her, she sat down cross legged. Luna enabled a telepathic connection with the younger Alicorn. You seem at an unease young Nova Burst. Princess Luna, the Elements...They don't know of anything about my past. Is it right for me to tell them? Only as right as you think. I know you met with Cadenza in the Crystal Empire before Dark Spire's curse took effect. I figured you would. I think I will tell them a little about them, but definitely not the part about Uncle Sombra. I think that will just lead them to a mistrust of me. What of the- I think it wise to not mention that either. A long line of Unicorns descended from Alicorns and a long line of Pegasi descended from Alicorns as well...Sometimes I feel as if Discord is messing with my life. He could have. We are not sure how much chaos he had caused in the Crystal Empire before we stopped him. There might be more dark times for Equestria in the very near future. Have courage and hope, Nova. Having courage is facing down what you fear in the hopes you can succeed, and hope is going into something and wishing the best will come out of it. I was beginning to think you have forgotten those two traits of yours. I must go now, but I get the feeling that you WILL succeed. Goodbye for now Nova, you know I'm only a call away. Goodbye Luna, thank you. With that Luna left quietly, and Nova returned to sit near the fire. Her amber eyes made contact with Twilight's purple ones. Nova sighed as she tossed a log on to the fire. She looked over the bearers of the Elements of Harmony before asking, "Ye, you don't know much about me other than my name and the fact that I was once Princess Luna's student, correct?" A chorus of nods met her question. Nova then pulled something out her satchel and threw it on the fire and began to tell them part of her past. "I was born during King Sombra's reign. He was once a proud and kind ruler. Both sides of my family are descended from alicorns, ones that did not have the gift of immortality. As you can assume, one side lost their connection to the Unicorn and Earth sides with the other lost their connection with the Pegasus side. Luna took me as her student, despite my only being a couple of years younger than her. Then the Discord, Sombra and Nightmare Moon disasters happened, I was put into into service of the Nightmare until you lot released Luna from her Nightmare Moon's control. As for the last past three years I stayed in Canterlot, mostly studying in the royal archives." It was soon decided that they needed an early start the next morning so most bid each other goodnight and went to bed. Nova was unaware that Twilight was observing her. She did not hear the small gasp escape Twilight's lips when her wings turned pitch black and riddled with holes. Nova swore viciously as her wings turned back to normal. The dark magic was eating away at her pegasus magic, but Nova was hard-head like her mother was, and she will not let any of the Elements know. Twilight took a step back and heard a twig snap. "You saw didn't you Twilight?" Nova's voices was soft and welcoming, much like her mentor's, now that Luna has had adjusted. "Your wings turned like what Changlings bodies are like," Twilight spoke quietly as she came closer to Nova. "You must not tell them. I know that ponies don't like the Changlings, but they can't overthrow their Queen, or she'll execute them. It's basically a forced servitude. They are now bound to Crystalis by powerful magic, hence the reason they can shapeshift," Nova said quietly as she pulled out a two colored feather out of her right wing. "But why'd your wings-" Twilight began. "The dark magic is messing with my pegasus side," Nova said simply, as she handed the white and black feather to Twilight. "Surely Celestia or Luna could help," Twilight managed to choke out. "There was a mistake on my great-great-great and then some Great-grandfather's part. He, ahem, foaled some youngins with a Changling. Most were killed in an uprising, only one survived. Focus on the curse first, You needn't worry about my little hole problem," Nova said with a grim smile. “Do you pose a threat to our mission?” Twilight demanded. “I do not. The Changling part, which by the way is very minsucle, is causing me to have an adverse reaction to this curse the Darkest of Dark Alicorns placed,” Nova replied, “I want nothing more than for everything to go back to normal. The curse is making me sick.” Twilight slowly nodded, convinced by the tone in Nova’s voice. The pair headed back to the campsite, where Nova took her supplies into a nearby tree and went to sleep, her wings fluttering every so often, while Twilight discussed a few things with her friends. A formidable foe"Hey Sugarcube, you might want to see this," Applejack called out. Nova dropped out of the tree, landing on the ground in a not so graceful manner. Nova puffed a bit of her hair out of the way, to give the apple farmer an inquiring look. Dash helped Nova up, although the rainbow haired young woman couldn't help but to smirk at the older woman. The Elements of Harmony and Nova climbed to the top of the hill and peered down the other side. To most of the group’s dismay they saw a group of people in black armor, some with swords that pulsed with magic, some that were lofting above the others. One thing for certain was that they all had some sort of weapon. There was one that was lofted in the air, clutching a sword that radiated dark magic. It was the leader of the group, when it spoke it became clear it was a male. "Find the Elements of Harmony and bring them to me. If you can find their guide as well, that would be most excellent. Now move out," The voice was rough and pitched low. "Buck," Nova swore softly, and then realizing what was about to happen, "Get your bags, now! We have to go." There was a dull flash of blue-grey magic, almost the color of slate, and the Elements found themselves back in the campsite. Magenta and blue magic joined the slate magic in packing everything away. Within a few moments everyone was ready to go. There was another flash of the slate magic and they found themselves on the other side of the mountain. "Whoa there Sugarcube, you alright?" Applejack asked as Nova staggered a little bit. "Sorry, it's been awhile since I have used teleportation spells back to back, in a rapid fire manner," Nova replied, shaking her head slightly. "Who was that?" Twilight asked. "He's supposed to be dead," Nova muttered and the Elements stared at her. "Whatever do you mean?" Rarity asked. "Are we going to have to fight him?" Fluttershy asked quietly. "That was Dark Spire, the one who cast this spell. More than likely Fluttershy," Nova replied. "Who exactly is this Dark Spire fellow?" Applejack asked. "He's a dark Alicorn," Pinkie Pie blurted. Nova and the other Elements stared at her. Pinkie just shrugged her shoulders in response. Nova grimaced slightly, then with a nod at Twilight she started off again. "Wait you said Dark Spire cast this spell?" Twilight asked as she fell into step with Nova. "Yes," Nova's answer was short, and she sounded like she was furious. "How long ago exactly?" Applejack asked. "Over four thousand years, I think...The reason he did it was because of a changeling he fell in love with," Nova replied. "Awww, that's so sweet that you remembered child," An oily voiced said, and a tall man in black armor appeared in front of them. Nova's eyes narrowed as she glared at the man. He removed the helmet to reveal red eyes and flowing black hair. He smiled darkly at the Bearers of the Elements, sharp pointed teeth glinted in the early morning light. His gaze settle on Nova, and his smile dropped. He scowled at her. In a swift motion he caught her by her throat and pinned her to a nearby tree. "You are a smug bastard aren't you great-grandfather?" Nova spat at Dark Spire. "You are most definitely Solaris's daughter. He always was the defiant one. Star Burst only added to his defiance," Dark Spire snarled. Three blasts of magic caught Dark Spire unawares. He flew several feet away and landed hard. Dark Spire groaned once and lost consciousness. Nova looked over at Rarity and Twilight, both of whom looked shocked that they were still able to use their magic in that manner. Nova glanced at Dark Spire, her amber colored eyes burned with cold fury, and trails of slate smoke started to trail from the corners of her eyes. She blinked her eyes, the trails vanished. She jerked her head and the Elements followed quickly. "He will not be taken off guard next time," Nova spoke quietly. "But I thought the only Alicorns were Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence," Twilight blurted. "And you, Alicorns are long lived compared to most ponies. There are the Emotion and Spatial, if I remember correctly, that are immortal. The others live longer but do die of old age, Celestia and Luna are the Spatial Alicorns, although you could slot in there just fine. Cadenza is an Emotion Alicorn, and you can slot in there too...Anyways Dark Alicorns are more dangerous than Dark Unicorns, like Unc- I, mean King Sombra. They have flight and magic, very dangerous," Nova mused aloud to the Elements. "Hold on there," Rarity spoke up, "You nearly said 'Uncle' when you mentioned Sombra. Why?" "No reason," Nova answered and quickened her pace. "No way you are getting away with avoiding answering this question," Dash growled as she flew in front of Nova. "Fine! Sombra was my Uncle. I'll explain more when Dark Spire isn't hot on our flanks!" Nova grumbled in response as she scanned the ground for any excavation tunnels. She finally found one and used a small spark of magic. The ground opened up and swallowed the group. Charcoal TunnelsThe Element bearers were groaning and Twilight could hear Nova franticly scrabbling along the walls, muttering an incantation. Twilight winced as a bright light flared up. Applejack had managed to disentangle herself from the pile. “Where the hay are we?” She inquired. “A Charcoal passageway. They run all over Equestria. The torches need to be replaced,” Nova replied. “Will he be able to find us?” Twilight inquired. Nova smirked as the other torches illuminated slate grey then faded to a soft white, “Only Charcoal Alicorns or Unicorns can open the passageways.” “Okay so you owe us an explanation,” Applejack remarked. “Okay, so he’s like my fifty times great-grandfather, on my father’s side. His Changeling daughter married into a Crystal Alicorn family. This was before Chrysalis’s hive Changelings came about. Anyways, several generations passed and a Crystal Alicorn named Emerald Storm had three children with a Charcoal Unicorn named Diamond Trail, Sombra and Solaris, twins, then Amor de Crystal Corazon, a daughter. Sombra had a wife and two foals. Solaris was married to Star Burst, her father was Khonsu, a Charcoal Alicorn. They had two daughters: Bravura Dolce Spatial Burst, and myself, Nova Silverwind Nightfall Radical Burst. When I was young, Uncle Sombra was very kind, however Dark Spire corrupted him, just like he corrupted Queen Chrysalis. When Sombra’s wife and children were killed, he lost it becoming what you had to fight. My father was able to resist Dark Spire’s whisperings. When he married my mother, who’s a Pegasus by the way, his resolve strengthened. Dark Spire couldn’t turn my father dark,” Nova explained. “Hold on, what about your Aunt?” Rarity asked. “She had just one child, a daughter,” Nova replied. “So what happened to them?” Dash inquired. “It would take far too long to explain that one,” Nova replied with a light laugh. “Who was that guy that we ran into?” Pinkie asked. “Wild Blaze?” Nova blurted. The others nodded. “Wild Blaze is my……husband,” Nova answered. “But you’re barely older than us,” Fluttershy blurted. “I’ve been married to him since I was about sixteen. Marriage laws were different back then,” Nova said quickly. “My folks were married by the time they were eighteen. They had a foal on the way by their first anniversary,” Applejack commented. Nova seemed to wilt a little, “We have no children. We both had busy schedules. Blaze was a guard, I was busy with my studies. We had been married for a few years when the Nightmare incident occurred.” The Mane Six looked at her curiously. Grief seemed to consume Nova’s amber eyes, “When I got turned into the Dark Whisper, I was expecting a foal. That change destroyed it. I was unable to sustain a physical form for more than five minutes at a time… I-i-i lost the foal. Blaze was also forced into a Dark Whisper because of his marriage to me. It was my fault that I lost it. I should have asked Princess Luna to release me from my studies when I found out that I was expecting the foal, but I didn’t. I was an idiot.” The Mane Six were stunned. They exchanged looks unsure of what to say or do. This was the most amount of emotion that Nova Burst had displayed since meeting her. Fortunately for them a crimson glow provided a distraction. They prepared for an attack, but were surprised when Nova tackle hugged the cause of the glow: A young man around her age with a glowing torch in his hands. “Nov!” he spluttered, “Get off. I’m trying to- Oh I see, you lit them with your magic.” “Riptide, is Grandfather okay?” Nova said as she straightened her shirt. “Yeah, he’s fine. A bit perturbed about something though. Must have something to do with the new forms,” Riptide replied, pushing his dusty bronze hair out of his sea-green eyes. “Is he at Aurum?” Nova asked, urgency in her voice. “Yeah. What’s going on Cuz?” Riptide replied. “Dark Spire,” Nova said heading down the tunnel Riptide had just come up. Riptide and the Mane Six rushed after her. “Grandfather’s going to-“ Riptide started. “I think he already knows Rip,” Nova replied. “You’re her cousin?” Dash inquired. “Long story,” Riptide replied, catching Rarity, Pinkie and AJ before they tumbled off a steep cliff. “That could have been a disastrous,” AJ mumbled. “Considering it’s an eight hundred foot drop into a pool of water? Yeah it would have been,” Nova remarked. _~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ The ruler of the Charcoal Ponies was impressive. He was silver with blazes of black and dark blue. His hair was a mix of white and silver, and his eyes were a glowing white. He radiated power and Twilight could feel it. Golden runes spiraled up his arms and under the plating of his armor. “Grandfather,” Nova said and bowed politely. Khonsu smiled, “Nova, what brings you here?” “I wish it could be as simple as my wishing to just visit. But….Dark Spire is after us.” Khonsu frowned slightly, “I’m aware of his return. Some ignorant Unicorn must have opened the gate for him and his army to come through. The first Queen banished him, you know who her children are.” Nova gave a slight nod then replied in the Charcoal language, “Alicorn birth records have been wiped by the Queen’s lingering spell.” Khonsu nodded and replied, “For a very good reason. If the bloodlines that have traces of Alicorn in them, others would take steps to eradicate them.” “I understand Grand-father,” Nova replied, “I will show my friends to the guest rooms, and we can discuss the Keystone at dinner.” Author's Note Yes, yes, I know this chapter is completely different than the original. And I pulled some off the wall explanation for the 'Alicorn' thing. So sue me.....This was started long before Season 6 so meh...
A Shocking DiscoveryUpdate Note: January, 10th 2016 This story underwent a re-write. Some details may have changed. Twilight Sparkle woke up early. She was meeting with her friends over at Fluttershy's Cottage. Spike was still asleep, so Twilight left him there. As she drew closer to Fluttershy's cottage she could hear her friends voices. "Twilight might be able to explain,” Apple Jack's southern accented voice filtered through to Twilight's ears. "Do you think its Discord? Because if it is, It’s not funny,” came the brash voice of Rainbow Dash. "I might be able to explain what?” Twilight asked and then she froze when she saw her friends, they were in a human form, like when she went through the portal to Canterlot High. "So she didn't look in a mirror this morning,” commented Rarity. "How is this possible?” came Fluttershys soft and quiet voice. "I don't know, I could ask Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, after regaining her composure. Rainbow Dash was wearing a powder blue hoodie, a white shirt and light blue jeans, with strangely enough rainbow colored tennis shoes. Her cayn wings fluttered slightly. Rainbow Dash flicked her long rainbow colored hair out of her face. She set her magenta colored eyes on Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy was in close proximity to Rainbow Dash. She was also dressed in a hoodie and blue jeans. Her hoodie, and shoes were a light yellow color, as well as her wings, while her blouse was a light pink. Her pink hair covered half of her face. Her visible blue eye showed worry and concern. Pinkie Pie was sitting in the tree above Rainbow Dash's and Fluttershy's heads. She was wearing a pink long sleeved shirt and pink jeans and, of course being Pinkie Pie, pink shoes. Her pink hair was pulled back out of her face. She had a wild grin on her face. Her blue eyes were sparkling mischievously. Apple Jack was sitting across from Rarity at the table. She was wearing an orange flannel shirt with blue jeans and faded brown cowboy work boots. Her yellow hair was pulled back like it always was. Her hat was pulled low over her green eyes. Rarity was wearing a white blouse, white jeans and white tennis shoes. She flicked her long purple hair out of her face. Like the others she was looking at Twilight, her blue eyes sparking with interest. Dark white runes traced around her wrists and spiraled up her arms, stopping midway on each forearm. Twilight, herself, was dressed in a lightweight lavender hoodie, a pink and dark indigo shirt, lavender jeans and pink, indigo and lavender chucks. Her pink, indigo and purple hair was carelessly tossed over her shoulder. Her confusion was evident in her purple eyes. Runes peeked out at the cuffs of Twilight’s hoodie, they were similar to Rarity’s but a dark purple instead. "Do you really think she will know?” Rainbow inquired moving away from the tree, her magenta eyes blazing in her typical fashion. "Know what young Rainbow Dash?” Inquired the very pony they were talking about. "Princess Celestia,” The six ponies turned into humans chorused and bowed respectfully. They noticed that even the Princess was turned into the strange form. The Princess was still wearing crown. She was dress in an elegant sleeveless dress that stopped about four inches from touching the ground. Her light rainbow colored hair was flowing down around her shoulders. Her wings were the same color as her dress: Pure White. A short sabre was strapped around the waist of her dress. Celestia also had the dark runes, but unlike Rarity’s, they spiraled up the Sun Princess’s arms and under the fabric of her dress. The Six noticed somebody standing a few feet behind the Princess. It was a female somewhere between their human form age and Princess Celestia's. She was wearing black and grey camouflage pants, a black tee shirt and thick black combat boots. Her black, green, pink and blue hair was spiked. Her white wings were black tipped. Her amber colored eyes were contrasted by a dark flare of black on her face. The short sabre was strapped to her leg. She too had runes spiraling up her arms and under the fabric of her shirt, lighter in color on her pitch black forearms and darker on her ashy grey skin. "What with the swords?” Rarity piped up. "Alicorns and Unicorns have them. The sheath blends in with your clothing,” The Person replied, a very soft accent tinging her words. Rarity and Twilight looked down at their right legs and found that this person was right. Rarity’s blade was white as her skin and the hilt was emblozened with her cutie mark: three diamonds. Twilight’s sabre was lavender in color, same as her skin, and her cutie mark was etched in the hilt as well. "Are you going to accompany them, Nova Burst?” Celestia inquired. "Only if you and Princess Luna approve,” Nova answered. "How do you know them?” Rainbow inquired, picking a speck of lint off her cayn colored skin. "I was a student of both of them, when I was younger. Of course that was before the Nightmare Moon incident,” Nova responded non-chalantly. "But you should be old,” Rarity commented in shock. "When Princess Luna took me as a student there was a binding spell, until I completed what she had to teach me we were bound together. So when Princess Luna became Night Mare Moon and was entrapped in the Moon, I became a Dark Whisper of the Night. In that state I was able to freely transverse the dream realms, and report back to the Nightmare,” Nova explained. The group looked from Nova to Celestia as if asking a question. To their surprise Celestia nodded. "Yes my sister did bind Nova Burst to her as a student. Nova had finished her studies with me. Luna felt that there was only a few more things Nova could learn from her when it happened. There were other circumstances in Nova's case as well,” Celestia explained further. "Celestia, could you please come back to Canterlot. Everypony is becoming unsettled about these Human forms. Prince Blueblood is having an exceptional fit. Raven had to come and awaken me,” Princess Luna said as she landed lightly. "Princess Luna,” Nova quietly said and she bowed, her wings spreading out. "Hello Nova,” Luna replied with a cheery tone. Like everypony else, Luna had been turned into a human. Luna was wearing a dark blue long sleeved shirt, black jeans, and black shoes. Her midnight blue hair was flowing down her back. She had a sabre strapped to her leg. Her dark blue wings were fluttering in slight nervousness. Luna looked at her older sister and their faithful student from long ago, Celestia and Nova could see the worry in Luna's dark blue eyes. Blue runes, only slightly lighter than her skin, were visible under the cuffs of the sleeves of her shirt. "Do you think it would be a good idea for Nova to accompany Twilight and her friends?” Celestia inquired "Yes, it would be a good idea. Nova would be a good added security,” Luna agreed, "We have to get back to Canterlot sister. We can't leave the Nobles to barrage Raven for too long." "All right then, Nova I leave you with Twilight Sparkle and her friends,” Celestia said and with that Luna and her left to return to Canterlot. . "So you six represent the elements of harmony,” Nova remarked. "How did you know that?” Rainbow inquired. Nova disregarded the question, "We need to find our starting point." "Do you know what caused this transformation?” Rainbow inquired. "A particularly nasty Ancient Curse,” Nova responded, as the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony caught sight of the hilt of the sword strapped to Nova's hip: the design was not one that ponies would be calm about. "Ancient Curse? I never read anything about that,” Twilight commented "The place where I read it is now in ruins,” Nova said simply, she closed her eyes and then recited "Once the six are six again, Discord will reign for naught a day, an old foe will rise to convey the new path for a new form to take way. Six and one will find the way to the dark one who caused this new way, weather success or fail, the seven will know naught." "That is way creepy,” Muttered Pinkie Pie. "I know there is a place here in Equestria that is the key to reverting back to our original forms,” Nova said quietly, "But the landscape has changed a bit in the last thousand years" "So how long do have to reverse the curse?” Twilight inquired "Three maybe four days at most,” Nova replied. "That’s not much time,” Fluttershy said lofting herself into the air. "I know we have to set off tomorrow,” Nova commented Early the next morning, before the sun even rose, everyone met at Fluttershy's cottage. Nova had a simple satchel bag while the rest had backpacks. Nova pulled out a map of Equestria carefully making mental notes of how much the distances had changed she put it away. With a nod of her head she set off with the mane six following her. Author's Note Okay I am used to putting Discliamers on my stories because I mostly write Fictions on other shows and upload them to FF.net. But anyway I don't own MLP:FiM, The Hub and Hasbro do. I only own the plotline and In this Chapter Nova Burst. Also on FF.net under Robot Wolf 26Z. To be honest this popped into my head while I was watching an episode of the show.
New Names"Well this is just a great mess" Nova muttered as the packed lunch exploded. "Lighten up Nova," Chuckled Rainbow as she lazily flew above their heads. The twenty-three year old just gave the multi-colored haired woman a sharp glance. She then returned to fixing the mess that Twilight had caused from her nervousness at the prospect of failing her mentor and all of Equestria. Nova allowed a small sigh to escape, she remembered when she was first taken in by the ruling sisters. Nova's mind wandered to the two young Pegasi that she had taken under her wing. Peppermint Twist or Pepper as she preferred to be called, was the quieter of the two, her red and white mane and body, she was a Zebra Pegasus, very uncommon in Cloudsdale. Mint Chocolate, the other youngster, was a black Pegasus, with green tipped wings and her mane was a chocolate and green color. "You thinking of somepony?" Fluttershy's quiet voice snapped Nova out of her thoughts. "Yeah, two youngsters I look out for," Nova replied, pulling out an old photo. Nova noted with some surprise that it had changed when the transformation hit. The photo showed the human Nova with her arms draped around two young girls, one with green and brown hair, the other with red and white hair. The girl with the green and brown hair had black-green tipped wings and was wearing light grey clothing contrasting her amber colored eyes. Peppermint Twist was wearing light blue clothing that matched her eyes and her wings stayed red. "These are the youngsters," Nova said showing the photo to Fluttershy. "They seem to be enjoying themselves here," Fluttershy noted. "Yeah, That's Mint Chocolate, and Peppermint Twist or Pepper as she likes to be called," Nova explained pointing to the two, "They must be so confused right now." Fluttershy handed the photo back to the amber eyed woman. Nova ruffled her dark toned hair. Fluttershy could tell it was out of concern. Since Fluttershy was the Element of Kindness, she was able to tell when someone was genuinely concerned for someone. Nova Burst's wings fluttered slightly. She let out a simple sigh and drew her sword, it illuminated with a blue-grey glow and she was now holding a broadsword. "What is it?" Twilight asked glancing sharply at Nova. "I don't know Twi," Nova said quietly one of her tattered ears twitched. With a pink glow Twilight had pulled out her sword and motioned for Rarity to do the same. Within the same pink glow Twilight's wings appeared. Nova jumped back in shocked and had lofted herself into the air. What was more noticeable was that Nova had gone Crystal. "What the heck is that?" both Twilight and Nova exclaimed at the same time. Nova set back down on the ground before replying, "My father was a Crystal Unicorn, my mom was a Cha- Pegasus from Cloudsdale. Hence why I am what I am." "Completed a spell that turned me into an Alicorn," Twilight replied. "You were a Unicorn for most of your life weren't you?" Nova asked. "Yes," Twilight answered, confused. "Explains a lot," Nova nodded. "What is that supposed to mean?" Twilight inquired. "Your wings came at a later time than the most part of the transformation," Nova responded with a shrug. A branch snapped behind them and Nova unleashed a blast of magic in the shape of a blue and purple striped star with three black nuclear rings. Once the light from the magic dissipated they heard someone swear viciously. A man about Nova's age came out of the bushes. He had red eyes, but his hair was red and blue much like the jacket he was wearing. He dusted off his blue jeans and looked up at Nova. "What the heck Blaze? I could have hurt you," Nova inquired, her arms crossed. "Nov, what brings you out here?" Wild Blaze asked. "Helping the Elements of Harmony. Don't tell me you lost track of Thunder Strike again didn't you?" Nova inquired with a smirk. "Yeah, and Ashwood won't tell me where he took off to," Wild sighed. "Hon, you might want to try asking Mint, she'll know where Thunder went," Nova said gently. "Okay, I'll see you when you get back?" Wild asked. "Of course but I get the feeling that Luna and Celestia would wish to speak to me success or failure," Nova replied. "Is that good or bad?" Pinkie inquired. "Depends on Luna's mood," Nova replied offhandedly as she watched Wild use a transportation spell. "What do ya mean?" Applejack inquired. "Nothing," Nova answered as she returned the remains of the packed lunch back to it's bag. Pinke, AJ, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash also began packing their bags again. Something changed about Nova's demeanor, Her wings were tightly closed to her body and she seemed as if her mind was racing. As soon as Nova packed the last of the stuff in her bag, she set off with the mane six following behind her. "Who exactly was that, and who are Ashwood and Thunder Strike?" Rarity inquired rushing to keep up with Nova. "How about we focus at the matter at hand?" Nova replied. "Is there something difficult about answering?" Rarity returned. "I promise to tell you after we get done with the task at hand," Nova responded. Author's Note All the unfamiliar characters mentioned here are mine. Nova is lying to Twilight for a reason, which you'll find out shortly. Hurray for updates and my realizing the original version of this was total crap.
A Lunar ChatIt was dusk before Nova spoke again. She had disregarded every single question the Elements of Harmony threw at her. She was starting to irritate Rainbow Dash. "You do not need to know of my life before Princess Luna was transformed," was Nova's simple answer, and with it Nova flew up to a cloud and sat cross-legged. "She's doing a meditation. I hardly see anypony do that," Murmured Fluttershy. The sun quickly set and the moon rose. A fire had been started and food was being cooked. Nova strode to the edge of the cloud and murmured the Princess of the Night's name. As a dull blue light landed in front of her, she sat down cross legged. Luna enabled a telepathic connection with the younger Alicorn. You seem at an unease young Nova Burst. Princess Luna, the Elements...They don't know of anything about my past. Is it right for me to tell them? Only as right as you think. I know you met with Cadenza in the Crystal Empire before Dark Spire's curse took effect. I figured you would. I think I will tell them a little about them, but definitely not the part about Uncle Sombra. I think that will just lead them to a mistrust of me. What of the- I think it wise to not mention that either. A long line of Unicorns descended from Alicorns and a long line of Pegasi descended from Alicorns as well...Sometimes I feel as if Discord is messing with my life. He could have. We are not sure how much chaos he had caused in the Crystal Empire before we stopped him. There might be more dark times for Equestria in the very near future. Have courage and hope, Nova. Having courage is facing down what you fear in the hopes you can succeed, and hope is going into something and wishing the best will come out of it. I was beginning to think you have forgotten those two traits of yours. I must go now, but I get the feeling that you WILL succeed. Goodbye for now Nova, you know I'm only a call away. Goodbye Luna, thank you. With that Luna left quietly, and Nova returned to sit near the fire. Her amber eyes made contact with Twilight's purple ones. Nova sighed as she tossed a log on to the fire. She looked over the bearers of the Elements of Harmony before asking, "Ye, you don't know much about me other than my name and the fact that I was once Princess Luna's student, correct?" A chorus of nods met her question. Nova then pulled something out her satchel and threw it on the fire and began to tell them part of her past. "I was born during King Sombra's reign. He was once a proud and kind ruler. Both sides of my family are descended from alicorns, ones that did not have the gift of immortality. As you can assume, one side lost their connection to the Unicorn and Earth sides with the other lost their connection with the Pegasus side. Luna took me as her student, despite my only being a couple of years younger than her. Then the Discord, Sombra and Nightmare Moon disasters happened, I was put into into service of the Nightmare until you lot released Luna from her Nightmare Moon's control. As for the last past three years I stayed in Canterlot, mostly studying in the royal archives." It was soon decided that they needed an early start the next morning so most bid each other goodnight and went to bed. Nova was unaware that Twilight was observing her. She did not hear the small gasp escape Twilight's lips when her wings turned pitch black and riddled with holes. Nova swore viciously as her wings turned back to normal. The dark magic was eating away at her pegasus magic, but Nova was hard-head like her mother was, and she will not let any of the Elements know. Twilight took a step back and heard a twig snap. "You saw didn't you Twilight?" Nova's voices was soft and welcoming, much like her mentor's, now that Luna has had adjusted. "Your wings turned like what Changlings bodies are like," Twilight spoke quietly as she came closer to Nova. "You must not tell them. I know that ponies don't like the Changlings, but they can't overthrow their Queen, or she'll execute them. It's basically a forced servitude. They are now bound to Crystalis by powerful magic, hence the reason they can shapeshift," Nova said quietly as she pulled out a two colored feather out of her right wing. "But why'd your wings-" Twilight began. "The dark magic is messing with my pegasus side," Nova said simply, as she handed the white and black feather to Twilight. "Surely Celestia or Luna could help," Twilight managed to choke out. "There was a mistake on my great-great-great and then some Great-grandfather's part. He, ahem, foaled some youngins with a Changling. Most were killed in an uprising, only one survived. Focus on the curse first, You needn't worry about my little hole problem," Nova said with a grim smile. “Do you pose a threat to our mission?” Twilight demanded. “I do not. The Changling part, which by the way is very minsucle, is causing me to have an adverse reaction to this curse the Darkest of Dark Alicorns placed,” Nova replied, “I want nothing more than for everything to go back to normal. The curse is making me sick.” Twilight slowly nodded, convinced by the tone in Nova’s voice. The pair headed back to the campsite, where Nova took her supplies into a nearby tree and went to sleep, her wings fluttering every so often, while Twilight discussed a few things with her friends.
A formidable foe"Hey Sugarcube, you might want to see this," Applejack called out. Nova dropped out of the tree, landing on the ground in a not so graceful manner. Nova puffed a bit of her hair out of the way, to give the apple farmer an inquiring look. Dash helped Nova up, although the rainbow haired young woman couldn't help but to smirk at the older woman. The Elements of Harmony and Nova climbed to the top of the hill and peered down the other side. To most of the group’s dismay they saw a group of people in black armor, some with swords that pulsed with magic, some that were lofting above the others. One thing for certain was that they all had some sort of weapon. There was one that was lofted in the air, clutching a sword that radiated dark magic. It was the leader of the group, when it spoke it became clear it was a male. "Find the Elements of Harmony and bring them to me. If you can find their guide as well, that would be most excellent. Now move out," The voice was rough and pitched low. "Buck," Nova swore softly, and then realizing what was about to happen, "Get your bags, now! We have to go." There was a dull flash of blue-grey magic, almost the color of slate, and the Elements found themselves back in the campsite. Magenta and blue magic joined the slate magic in packing everything away. Within a few moments everyone was ready to go. There was another flash of the slate magic and they found themselves on the other side of the mountain. "Whoa there Sugarcube, you alright?" Applejack asked as Nova staggered a little bit. "Sorry, it's been awhile since I have used teleportation spells back to back, in a rapid fire manner," Nova replied, shaking her head slightly. "Who was that?" Twilight asked. "He's supposed to be dead," Nova muttered and the Elements stared at her. "Whatever do you mean?" Rarity asked. "Are we going to have to fight him?" Fluttershy asked quietly. "That was Dark Spire, the one who cast this spell. More than likely Fluttershy," Nova replied. "Who exactly is this Dark Spire fellow?" Applejack asked. "He's a dark Alicorn," Pinkie Pie blurted. Nova and the other Elements stared at her. Pinkie just shrugged her shoulders in response. Nova grimaced slightly, then with a nod at Twilight she started off again. "Wait you said Dark Spire cast this spell?" Twilight asked as she fell into step with Nova. "Yes," Nova's answer was short, and she sounded like she was furious. "How long ago exactly?" Applejack asked. "Over four thousand years, I think...The reason he did it was because of a changeling he fell in love with," Nova replied. "Awww, that's so sweet that you remembered child," An oily voiced said, and a tall man in black armor appeared in front of them. Nova's eyes narrowed as she glared at the man. He removed the helmet to reveal red eyes and flowing black hair. He smiled darkly at the Bearers of the Elements, sharp pointed teeth glinted in the early morning light. His gaze settle on Nova, and his smile dropped. He scowled at her. In a swift motion he caught her by her throat and pinned her to a nearby tree. "You are a smug bastard aren't you great-grandfather?" Nova spat at Dark Spire. "You are most definitely Solaris's daughter. He always was the defiant one. Star Burst only added to his defiance," Dark Spire snarled. Three blasts of magic caught Dark Spire unawares. He flew several feet away and landed hard. Dark Spire groaned once and lost consciousness. Nova looked over at Rarity and Twilight, both of whom looked shocked that they were still able to use their magic in that manner. Nova glanced at Dark Spire, her amber colored eyes burned with cold fury, and trails of slate smoke started to trail from the corners of her eyes. She blinked her eyes, the trails vanished. She jerked her head and the Elements followed quickly. "He will not be taken off guard next time," Nova spoke quietly. "But I thought the only Alicorns were Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence," Twilight blurted. "And you, Alicorns are long lived compared to most ponies. There are the Emotion and Spatial, if I remember correctly, that are immortal. The others live longer but do die of old age, Celestia and Luna are the Spatial Alicorns, although you could slot in there just fine. Cadenza is an Emotion Alicorn, and you can slot in there too...Anyways Dark Alicorns are more dangerous than Dark Unicorns, like Unc- I, mean King Sombra. They have flight and magic, very dangerous," Nova mused aloud to the Elements. "Hold on there," Rarity spoke up, "You nearly said 'Uncle' when you mentioned Sombra. Why?" "No reason," Nova answered and quickened her pace. "No way you are getting away with avoiding answering this question," Dash growled as she flew in front of Nova. "Fine! Sombra was my Uncle. I'll explain more when Dark Spire isn't hot on our flanks!" Nova grumbled in response as she scanned the ground for any excavation tunnels. She finally found one and used a small spark of magic. The ground opened up and swallowed the group.
Charcoal TunnelsThe Element bearers were groaning and Twilight could hear Nova franticly scrabbling along the walls, muttering an incantation. Twilight winced as a bright light flared up. Applejack had managed to disentangle herself from the pile. “Where the hay are we?” She inquired. “A Charcoal passageway. They run all over Equestria. The torches need to be replaced,” Nova replied. “Will he be able to find us?” Twilight inquired. Nova smirked as the other torches illuminated slate grey then faded to a soft white, “Only Charcoal Alicorns or Unicorns can open the passageways.” “Okay so you owe us an explanation,” Applejack remarked. “Okay, so he’s like my fifty times great-grandfather, on my father’s side. His Changeling daughter married into a Crystal Alicorn family. This was before Chrysalis’s hive Changelings came about. Anyways, several generations passed and a Crystal Alicorn named Emerald Storm had three children with a Charcoal Unicorn named Diamond Trail, Sombra and Solaris, twins, then Amor de Crystal Corazon, a daughter. Sombra had a wife and two foals. Solaris was married to Star Burst, her father was Khonsu, a Charcoal Alicorn. They had two daughters: Bravura Dolce Spatial Burst, and myself, Nova Silverwind Nightfall Radical Burst. When I was young, Uncle Sombra was very kind, however Dark Spire corrupted him, just like he corrupted Queen Chrysalis. When Sombra’s wife and children were killed, he lost it becoming what you had to fight. My father was able to resist Dark Spire’s whisperings. When he married my mother, who’s a Pegasus by the way, his resolve strengthened. Dark Spire couldn’t turn my father dark,” Nova explained. “Hold on, what about your Aunt?” Rarity asked. “She had just one child, a daughter,” Nova replied. “So what happened to them?” Dash inquired. “It would take far too long to explain that one,” Nova replied with a light laugh. “Who was that guy that we ran into?” Pinkie asked. “Wild Blaze?” Nova blurted. The others nodded. “Wild Blaze is my……husband,” Nova answered. “But you’re barely older than us,” Fluttershy blurted. “I’ve been married to him since I was about sixteen. Marriage laws were different back then,” Nova said quickly. “My folks were married by the time they were eighteen. They had a foal on the way by their first anniversary,” Applejack commented. Nova seemed to wilt a little, “We have no children. We both had busy schedules. Blaze was a guard, I was busy with my studies. We had been married for a few years when the Nightmare incident occurred.” The Mane Six looked at her curiously. Grief seemed to consume Nova’s amber eyes, “When I got turned into the Dark Whisper, I was expecting a foal. That change destroyed it. I was unable to sustain a physical form for more than five minutes at a time… I-i-i lost the foal. Blaze was also forced into a Dark Whisper because of his marriage to me. It was my fault that I lost it. I should have asked Princess Luna to release me from my studies when I found out that I was expecting the foal, but I didn’t. I was an idiot.” The Mane Six were stunned. They exchanged looks unsure of what to say or do. This was the most amount of emotion that Nova Burst had displayed since meeting her. Fortunately for them a crimson glow provided a distraction. They prepared for an attack, but were surprised when Nova tackle hugged the cause of the glow: A young man around her age with a glowing torch in his hands. “Nov!” he spluttered, “Get off. I’m trying to- Oh I see, you lit them with your magic.” “Riptide, is Grandfather okay?” Nova said as she straightened her shirt. “Yeah, he’s fine. A bit perturbed about something though. Must have something to do with the new forms,” Riptide replied, pushing his dusty bronze hair out of his sea-green eyes. “Is he at Aurum?” Nova asked, urgency in her voice. “Yeah. What’s going on Cuz?” Riptide replied. “Dark Spire,” Nova said heading down the tunnel Riptide had just come up. Riptide and the Mane Six rushed after her. “Grandfather’s going to-“ Riptide started. “I think he already knows Rip,” Nova replied. “You’re her cousin?” Dash inquired. “Long story,” Riptide replied, catching Rarity, Pinkie and AJ before they tumbled off a steep cliff. “That could have been a disastrous,” AJ mumbled. “Considering it’s an eight hundred foot drop into a pool of water? Yeah it would have been,” Nova remarked. _~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ The ruler of the Charcoal Ponies was impressive. He was silver with blazes of black and dark blue. His hair was a mix of white and silver, and his eyes were a glowing white. He radiated power and Twilight could feel it. Golden runes spiraled up his arms and under the plating of his armor. “Grandfather,” Nova said and bowed politely. Khonsu smiled, “Nova, what brings you here?” “I wish it could be as simple as my wishing to just visit. But….Dark Spire is after us.” Khonsu frowned slightly, “I’m aware of his return. Some ignorant Unicorn must have opened the gate for him and his army to come through. The first Queen banished him, you know who her children are.” Nova gave a slight nod then replied in the Charcoal language, “Alicorn birth records have been wiped by the Queen’s lingering spell.” Khonsu nodded and replied, “For a very good reason. If the bloodlines that have traces of Alicorn in them, others would take steps to eradicate them.” “I understand Grand-father,” Nova replied, “I will show my friends to the guest rooms, and we can discuss the Keystone at dinner.” Author's Note Yes, yes, I know this chapter is completely different than the original. And I pulled some off the wall explanation for the 'Alicorn' thing. So sue me.....This was started long before Season 6 so meh...
