The (Mis)adventures of Nava: Book One

by Navanastra


Chapter 18: Home free...almost

Chapter 18: Home free… almost
Edited by: Chrome Masquerade
Proofread by: Rhawkas

Well, this has to easily be the WORST day of my life, or more specifically, the worst WEEK of my life. First, my Magic creates chaos and almost splits my head in two while doing so. Second, an entire Thestral army gets dispatched to search for me and bite me in the ass with their razor sharp fangs, and third, I left myself to get exposed in front of Rainbow Dash, perhaps the worst possible moment where I can get myself exposed in. In the middle of a pony hunt where I am currently playing as the prey!

“Note to self, always make sure to fully dry yourself off before exiting the bathroom and bring some clothes with you to change into afterwards.”

But all of that is really irrelevant for now, as I still have the more immediate problem of explaining myself to perhaps one of the loudest ponies in the show, right behind Pinkie of course, with the irony being that it is much easier (at least to my knowledge) to force Pinkie Pie to keep a secret in comparison to Rainbow Dash.

“I just hope RD can take it a little bit easier compared to Cloud and Flitter’s first reactions... Actually, come to think of it, they DID take it a lot easier than I originally expected. Great… that just makes this whole RD situation even more problematic.” I thought to myself as Dash was still looking at me as if I had just grown a second head… or a pair of wings, as the case may be.

Flitter and Cloud were having their own reactions to this as well, but obviously not as extreme as Dashie’s, with Cloud simply shaking her head while Flitter’s expression was simply buried under a set of hooves.

This is by far one of the biggest fuckups I’ve ever made, period, and all I did to achieve it was simply getting out of the shower. BRILLIANT! Just makes me wonder how far I can go when I am actually trying… Actually, let’s not.

“Uh…Dash… I… I can explain…” I began as I dropped the towel.

“Dude… how long?” Dashi responded while staring at me dumbstruck.

“You mean the wings?”

“Yeah… the freaking wings.” she deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

“Well, um…” I began while shifting a bit awkwardly in place. “Since the… very beginning to be honest.” I replied while smiling sheepishly at her.

She simply shook her head, probably trying to get herself out of her dumbstruck state before glaring back at me, a look that was really not making things easier, I might add.

“So, you are telling me you have been an alicorn this entire time, similar to the princesses themselves?” She asked while still seeming somewhat in disbelief.

“Um… well… kind of, but at the same time… not really.” I replied simply, which wasn’t really a complete lie as I was only an alicorn since the very beginning of my time on this world.

RD, in comparison, just stared at me, utterly confused by my answer. After a moment, an idea seemed to have suddenly struck her, as she stood up with wide eyes.

“Wait a min… it was you wasn’t it?” She accused as she got closer to me.

“What do you mean?” I asked nervously as she was just inches away from my face.

“The magical incident here in Cloudsdale.” She answered before continuing. “I read all about it in a newspaper that a strange and unknown magical phenomenon occurred here two days back. It was you, wasn’t it?” She asked again, this time with a more serious look and tone.

I looked at her, my eyes wide as I started to sweat. To be honest, I was very much surprised to see that RD had somehow made that connection so quickly. I mean, it’s not really that difficult if you suddenly find out that one of your friends is actually an alicorn and just so happens to live right in the area where this phenomenon supposedly occurred. Just put two and two together and you’ve got a pretty good case on the table. But the fact that RD of all ponies managed to get it done so freaking quickly after being completely dumbstruck just a few moments ago is really something. Or am I just being a bit of a jerk and not giving her enough credit for her own intelligence?

She has already proven to me before that she is not 100% similar to the Rainbow Dash I know from the show. She is actually quite smart and does think more, at times, before she says or acts on anything. Not as painfully brash or do I dare say… retarded as the Rainbow Dash I have seen and read of on both the internet and in fanfics.

What am I even doing here? I have a real serious situation on my hands (or hooves, as the case may be now) and I once again let my own mind wander off into other places. I never learn, do I?

I shake my head just as I always do to get my unfocused mind back into the game as I was still being stared down by a not-very-pleased-looking Rainbow Dash.

Both Flitter and Cloud were about to step in but got quickly halted by Dash holding out a hoof in front of them, never breaking eye contact with me.

“No. I want to hear it from HIM.” She coldly stated, which took both the mares and myself by complete surprise.

I don’t know where this sudden switch of focus in her came from, but what I do know is that there is no path around this, judging by the stern glare she’s giving me.

I inhaled and exhaled quietly to calm myself, to collect my thoughts and prepare myself for a talk I already knew would have come up at some point no matter what. Though to be honest, I never ever imagined that it would be this soon or in this kind of situation while blowing my cover so quickly in the most stupid way possible.

“Yes… yes, it was me.” I finally admitted while trying to avoid her gaze. “But… But I was an accident, I swear. I… I didn’t do it on purpose. I didn’t even have any control at the time, for that matter. You… you can ask Flitter and Cloud to confirm this. They were with me when it happened.” I added in fear of getting her angry and possibly getting my ass handed to me for admitting it.

Though, to my surprise, I wasn’t receiving any scolding or hitting from her. What I got instead was simple silence. Though what happened next was what really caused me to flinch back bit as all that greeted me was a neutral looking Dash.

“Why?”

“Huh?” I asked, confused at this sudden question.

“Why didn’t you tell me anything?” She questioned, this time a bit softer and calmer.

“About what?”

“About everything. The fact that you were an alicorn all along, for example.” She asked once more, a question I honestly wasn’t expecting to hear from her.

I was seriously expecting a lot of things after she gave me that serious glare earlier, but simply asking me why I haven’t been fully honest with her definitely wasn’t one of them, and somewhat out of character for her too, when compared to the one I know from my world’s stories.

Yes, I know at this point I am just hammering it in, but again I have to say it. This is nothing like the show, or at the very least, under the surface it isn’t. Which, to be honest, makes me both cautious and intrigued at the same time, if that combination makes any sense.

“What… what do you mean by that?” I asked again, still completely confused, a look that shared by both sisters behind her as well.

“I… honestly don’t know.” RD quietly replied as she, for the first time, avoided my gaze to look at the floor. I was going to reply to that before RD beat me to it by looking back to me.

“But still… why the BUCK didn’t you told me from the beginning, Nava?” Was her quick question, though this time I felt a bit more calmer and collected and better prepared to properly answer her.

“It never came up. And also because I was afraid of how you would react, that’s why.” I answered her truthfully, which in turn made her look surprised for a change.

“Why the hay would you be afraid of my reaction in the first place?” She asked while tilting her head in confusion.

I sighed. “I honestly don’t know either. Paranoia, perhaps. It was just… too hard to say.” I admitted before simply rubbing my forehead with a hoof in dejection, feeling truly horrible.

To be fair, now that I think back at it, I honestly had no legit reasons on hiding my true appearance for THAT long from her. Sure, during the very start the reasons were pretty understandable, with me having just arrived into this world all lost and confused, and without any concept or sense of guidance, and was still mostly intimidated and suspicious of a lot of things. I mean, I still am, to some degree, but not in the same level I was at the very beginning. Plus I knew of how hostile and suspicious RD can get in both the show and fics I read, especially early RD, long before I even came to this place. But I quickly learned that this world and the show I knew of back home have very distinct differences to one another, heck some of these differences are even mimicking what MY world had going on in the past if any of the history books I read here are anywhere near accurate.

I snapped back into reality when a hoof suddenly landed on my shoulder. I looked up and saw that it was RD, and to my surprise she actually looked somewhat concerned for me. Not very noticeably, but I could still tell.

“Hey, don’t worry. I mean, you have wings, so what? I don’t think having wings is going to suddenly make you into a different pony. In fact, knowing that one of my friends is actually an alicorn is, to be honest, really, really, cool, now that I think about it.” She explained while looking thoughtful the end before looking back at me with a smile. “Oh, and don’t worry, I won’t tell this to anypony, if that’s what you want, dude.” She quickly added.

I was again taken aback by this, but eventually smiled thankfully at her, knowing that despite this outcome and the fact that I deceived her that she was still loyal to me.

“Well she IS the element of Loyalty after all.”

“Thank you, Dash… and again, I’m sorry for not having trusted you sooner.” I say, which in turn made nod in approval.

“Nah, it's totally fine. You had your reasons for it. You're still cool in my books, Nava. Still the same awkward little dork I came to know.” She replied, which in turn made me roll my eyes playfully at the last statement.

RD eventually removed her hoof from my shoulder before trotting back onto the couch and letting herself fall back onto it with a sigh, followed by me and the two sisters afterwards.

“Well, one problem down and a REALLY big one to go.” I commented, which in turn caused RD to perk up again.

“Oh yeah… forgot that you basically have an entire army breathing down your neck. Jeez, that’s really some serious heat you managed to attract onto yourself there.” She commented, which in turn made Cloud Chaser straighten up with a small grin on her face.

“Well, I guess that means that somepony has finally trumped you when it comes to ATTRACTING HEAT to themselves.” Cloud Chaser announced with a sly smile, a comment which I quickly understood, as I simply shook my head followed by Flitter facehoofing and RD staring at her with a glare.

“Oh shut up you, at least I had one or two coltfriends compared to your zero back then.” RD retorted, which in turn caused Cloud to shut up for now and both me and Flitter to chuckle.

Not missing a beat, Flitter said, “You want some ice for that burn, sis?” earning a glare.

“Oh, Cloud. Always there to drop a few unnecessary but still sometimes welcoming or funny comments to lighten the mood a bit. Also, I forgot my glasses.”

“Hey uh… Nava? Do you still need some help with you mane and fur?” Flitter suddenly asked beside me.

“Oh yeah… I am still somewhat of a wet fluffy mess aren’t I? Completely forgot.” I thought as I simply gave her a short nod.

“Alright let me just go get the brush than.” Flitter announced before she got up to do just that, leaving me, Dash and Cloud alone in the room.

“So… Nava, about your horn and magic?” RD suddenly asked.

“Yeah… what about them?” I replied as I looked at her blurry form.

“I am just wondering at this point. Do you even know how to control your magic in the first place? Or is there more that you haven’t told me yet?” She questioned.

“Well… crap. Might as well tell her everything then, even the ones I know will greatly amuse her, I guess.”

“I wonder how she will react when I tell her that I can't actually fly at all…”

………………………………………………………………………………………

“So what you are telling me, Sergeant, is that you haven’t found ANYTHING today?!” I shouted while slamming my hoof down hard on a poor, unfortunate desk.

I looked down on it and was not surprised at all to see a deep imprint and very large cracks protruding off of it in all directions. I simply scuffed at it angrily before looking back at the Thestral in front of me.

“Still need to remember to replace this table. since it’s not mine. Same for the large warehouse that I so forcefully occupied as a temporary base of operations here.”

But that thought could wait as I had vastly more pressing matters to worry about… or more annoying matters, to be more precise, as something rarely gets anywhere near “pressing” to me.

The Thestral Sergeant began to shift a little bit under my harsh gaze but still managed to do what I ask of him.

“Well, as I said, ma’am, our search parties have currently found nothing and haven’t managed to gather anything useful regarding the possible source or culprit of the Cloudsdale incident. Even the residents themselves, after questioning them, weren’t able to offer any useful information so far. Most of them actually did just run away or hide from our parties and firmly locked the doors of their home. A pretty natural and expected reaction from… a prey species.” My sergeant explained staying as professional and disciplined as expected even as my rising anger was becoming more and more evident to him.

“So basically we are still in the same spot in which we started?” I asked while gritting my teeth.

The Thestral in front of me simply nodded, which finally broke the camel’s back for me as I immediately slammed my hoof again onto the already damaged desk, completely breaking it in two with the sheer force of my hit.

With most of my anger now out, I immediately went back towards my Sergeant who seems to have not moved or even flinched from my sudden outburst.

“Good. That’s what I have trained all of my fellow guard’s to do. Show no fear even when I am the source of it.”

Where does all of this frustration and anger comes from? Well, for starters, just an hour ago a royal messenger arrived with a letter from both princesses, having learned of my extreme methods of conducting this investigation and have demanded that I withdraw my forces at once. To be honest, I personally couldn’t care less what Sunbutt thinks of my methods and to some degree with Lulu as well, especially regarding my track record of NEVER EVER having lost a trail before and having absolutely no interest of ever adding even ONE to the list. But, a promise of mutual respect I made with Lulu still forces me to honor her wishes, so in turn I am basically forced to disengage the operation before it could even last for a whole freaking DAY.

“Much to the joy of the local populace, I am sure. I was originally also planning to have them actively search every single house one by one, but that would have been pushing it.”

This situation is really the source of my anger, since it now basically forces me to just suck it up and live with my broken track record.

... Or do I?

An idea quickly popped into my head. Just because I am prohibited from using an army to find or capture whatever we are looking for doesn’t mean I can’t just have a much smaller task force keeping an eye on this part of Cloudsdale anonymously.

Now that I actually think about it, I should probably have done that from the very beginning and not let my usual anger get the better of my logical thinking.

But hey, whatever. Scaring these little ponies was still an interesting distraction from our boredom, which I am sure a lot of my fellow Thestrals could easily agree on.

With that idea in mind I went back to facing my Sergeant, much calmer and collected, to his relief, as I can tell by looking at his features.

“Call off the platoons. We are closing this operation and returning to Canterlot.” I ordered, which was met with a quick salute to the chest.

“Right away, Captain.” He replied before he quickly turned around to carry out my orders.

“Oh, and please tell Sergeant Thera to report to me with her squad before I leave. I’ve got a special assignment for her.” I quickly added, to which he nodded before fully exiting the room and leaving me to my own devices.

“I will find the source of that… strange force, and not even the princesses themselves will be able to stop me from doing so. They can try, though, if they want.” I thought to myself while looking out a window behind what used to be a desk beside me.

“Ah, yes… still need to replace that quickly before I leave too. Midnight Gear better have my Lance ready and done when I get back or I WILL lock him out of his workshop and throw the key somewhere far away where he can’t find it.”

………………………………………………………………………………………

Well, this reaction was expected. Right now Rainbow Dash is looking at me as if I had just told her that I have a twin brother that looks 100% identical to me, which to be honest is actually somewhat true because of Silver Wing.

But anyway, it doesn’t matter at the moment, or it normally would, but the relaxing sensation of someone brushing you is just feels so nerve-melting… in a good way, obviously.

Now I understand why horses--or in this case ponies--like to be brushed, it really is immensely relaxing. Makes you also wonder how belly rubs and scratching behind the ears feel, but at this point I am just getting ahead of myself. I still have Rainbow Dash to worry about, not to mention an army of carnivorous ponies (or omnivores, more sensibly) patrolling around outside.

I blinked to get my head back in the game as RD too seems to be regaining her own control again as she began to shake her head.

“Dude… you can’t FLY?” RD repeated a second time.

I nodded, which made RD facehoof.

“I have absolutely no idea if I should be laughing at this or crying… I just… seriously, Nava, how the HAY can you not fly? You have perfectly good and BIG-looking wings, so how can it be that after all your life you have NOT ever capitalized on them?” Dash asked again once more in both frustration and disbelief.

“That’s because I have acrophobia.” At the head tilt I received, I rephrased myself. “I am afraid of heights, ok? That’s why I haven’t bothered all this time to ever learn how to fly. Because me and high places have never seen eye to eye.” I finally admitted with a slight frustrated groan despite the pleasant brushing I was getting from Flitter.

Did I also mentioned that I was practically laying belly down on her lap? If it wasn’t for that fact that I was telling RD all of my weaknesses and feeling somewhat frustrated on her constant overreactions I would be feeling a bit more awkward now especially with RD watching me getting groomed by a mare. A grown stallion getting groomed by a mare on her lap… to be honest, I never really bothered in making myself look MANLY anyway… partially because I am a stallion now. Yeah, really bad joke.

There is the ”are you freaking kidding me?” look again from Dash, something that she has been using frequently since I accidentally revealed myself to her.

She blinked a few times before, for the first time ever, she actually started to fall off the couch laughing as if there was no tomorrow, which might be true for me if any of these guards might happened to be just outside. I know for a fact that these bat-ponies have vastly better ears compared to regular ponies and it would be no surprise if one of them hears this… sudden laughter despite the fact that most ponies are fearful and on the edge around here is going to raise some suspicions among them, which will no doubt lead to further investigations.

Though thankfully Flitter--once AGAIN--took the hint before I could voice my own concerns myself.

“Dash, not so loud! Or you are going to attract unwanted attention.” She harshly whispered, though I am not sure why she whispered it rather than saying it normally, just like how she and all of us have been talking this entire time. Probably a force of habit.

Thankfully though, that did the trick as Dash slowly started to calm down. After a few more chuckles she finally had the strength to get back up as she was still giggling to herself while doing so.

“Dude… you… you're hilarious. A pony… with wings… that is afraid of heights! Oh, mare! This is… too good to be true.” She said in between chuckles as she eventually climbed back onto the couch beside Cloud.

I simply grumble a bit while rubbing my forehead before looking back at her. “What do you mean by THAT? Fluttershy is the same way, so what makes ME so much more fun to laugh at?” I countered, which was met with a smirk from Dash.

“Well, yeah, but the BIG difference here is that she is a mare with a very… complicated past. You… you’re a full grown stallion who ‘as far as I know’ doesn’t have that.” She explained while still holding that grin of hers.

“That actually does make sense, to be honest.” Cloud suddenly added, which was quite unnecessary if you ask me.

Flitter, as usual, was the only adult in the room as she got in between things once more.

“You two, stop it. It’s actually not that rare to meet Pegasi who are or used to be scared of heights themselves. Look at Spitfire, for example. Before she even made the cut to join the Wonderbolts herself she was actually quite nervous whenever she was in the air. Obvious signs of having some fear of heights.” Flitter explained, which the three of us were taken completely by surprise by.

Dash was the first to recover from that. “Wait… wait, wait, wait… Spitfire… the captain of the WONDERBOLTS used to be afraid of heights herself? Where the HAY did you got this information from?” Dash asked in disbelief, which was somewhat mimicked by Cloud’s own expression as well.

“Well, I read it on an interview article in the Equestrian Weekly magazines.” Flitter answered with a shrug as she was finally done with my coat.

I finally got off of her and sat up straight for the first time in the last 15 minutes and stretched myself a little bit to get some of the numbness out of my legs as the topic continued between them.

“Seriously? I have never read that.” Cloud chaser commented.

“That’s because you hardly read the Equestrian Weekly magazine at all, same for Dash, since she hardly does any reading herself anyway.” Flitter answered which immediately causes Dash to protest.

“Hey, I read stuff! Just not the usual stuff like news and gossip magazines and such, I’m not stupid.” RD argued, which in turn made Flitter smirk.

“Your grades say otherwise.” Flitter again countered, which in turn made RD frown and cross her hooves as she leaned back.

“That has nothing to do with smarts. I just found most of this stuff unnecessary. I know for a fact that I won’t use any of that crap anyway, especially with the goal I had set for myself back then. That is why I actually had pretty good scores in math, science and physics compared to anything else.” She explained, which immediately made me perk up in shock.

“Dash actually being pretty good in math, science and physics? Ok, now I am 100% certain that this world is NOT the same as the show! But to be honest, it kind of makes sense for a mare like her, whose goal is to join the Wonderbolts and become an aerial racer and stunt flyer. Those two are very math and physics heavy if you want to do well. The science, though, I’m not so sure.” I thought to myself. Never will I question Dash’s supposed intelligence ever again. At least THIS Dash, that is.

“Oh yeah… forgot about those… never mind what I said. Sorry Rainbow.” Flitter admitted, which made Dash nod and smirk victoriously.

“Quite amazing in how I seem to get very interesting information without even asking for it.”

Though, since I was quite happy that all four of us were having a pretty normal conversation and momentarily forgetting about the dire situation that is still present just outside our door, I still feel the need that IT needs to be brought back up to the surface before we accidentally get careless again.

“Uhm… guys there is still the whole ‘army looking for me’ problem just outside our home, so…” I began, which seemed to bring realization back into everyone before I could fully finish my sentence.

“Oh, right. You’re still in a very deep hole here.” RD said while scratching the back of her head.

The room got very quiet afterwards, with none of us seeming to have any ideas to add. To be honest, what else could be added anyway? It’s not like we four are capable of taking on a whole army… well, maybe I can if I knew how to control my powers, but that would seriously be the worst plan I could possibly execute. For one, it would definitely put me onto the wanted list, which means I would either live the rest of my days on the run or leave Equestria forever, if I can even be safe outside the borders, that is. Plus, afterwards, I would have no other place to go. Worst of all though, I would also be putting both Cloud and Flitter at risk as well, which is something I would never be able to forgive myself for, especially after everything that they have given me.

Again, if the only way that all of this could finally meet its end is with me surrendering myself to whoever wants my tail, then I guess I will do it. Mostly just for both Flitter and Cloud’s sakes. And who knows? Maybe my judgment would be tame and I might have been paranoid over nothing this entire time. A distinct possibility.

Nope. I have a gut feeling that I would be in a LOT of trouble when they know I exist, so hiding in this house and waiting until this storm passes sounds like a better idea. Yeah, let's go with that.

“Well, I could maybe just roam around a bit, unsuspiciously of course and try and get some info or pattern on what, where, and when their patrols are. Then I can escort Nava somewhere where we can sneak out of the district and crash a bit in one of the hotels here in the city until it all blows over, or maybe even go straight for Ponyville for better safety.” RD suddenly suggested which made us all perk up at her.

Cloud Chaser was the first to speak up. “That… could work… but it’s also pretty risky. I mean, what if you two suddenly get caught?” Cloud asked, concerned, a question that I was also asking myself after having heard Dash’s idea.

Dash simply smirked. “They won’t, I don’t care how many of these guys there are, how good they are in combat or whatever weapons they might be carrying around. In fact, all that crap on them must be pretty heavy which means their speed would be drastically lower compared to a normal Pegasus. Heck, even if they would suddenly ditch all that stuff and pursue us they are still going to be dealing with the FASTEST flyer in all of Equestria.” Dash explained while crossing her hind legs and forelegs while looking smug.

“All Nava needs to do is hold on tight and I will do the rest, it's actually not the first time I carried a pony while zipping around in the air, so it’s no biggie.” She quickly added.

All three of us simply stared at her, and to be honest I was still feeling very unsure of her plan.

“Cloud is right, there is just too much risk involved in this particular plan even IF RD’s abilities are true. There is just one tiny little flaw in this plan of hers. If we do get spotted then they will know exactly who to look for later IF we make it out of the city. Posters of my face will be present all over the land and then my days of living freely will be over. I either just turn myself in or somehow reach the border.” i thought.

I was about to speak up when I noticed that during my spacing out RD had gotten off of the couch and was making her way to the front door.

“Well, I am going to have a look around then. You three just sit tight and don’t make too much noise.” She announced before opening the door and stepping out.

”No! WAIT! DASH!” I called out as I stood up but before I could even reach the halfway point the door closed, leaving me and the two sisters alone in the living room.

“Nava, why did you panic like that? Is something wrong?” Flitter asked as she trotted over beside me with a worried look, followed by Cloud who flanked me from the other side.

I looked between them. “Well it’s just that-” I began before the front door suddenly opened again.

All three of us tensed up as we thought the worst, but sighed when it was just Rainbow Dash again, stepping back inside looking quite… surprised?

“Hey, Dash? Uh… why did you came back so quickly?” Cloud asked, a question both Flitter and I had on our minds as well.

RD looked between the three of us before answering. “The Bat-ponies are leaving.” She simply answered, sounding and looking very surprised.

We instantly mimicked her expression. “What? What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“It means that the streets are empty and that they seem to be flying back to Canterlot, if the direction of their takeoff is anything to go by. Large groups of these guys are taking off as we speak. Take a look outside and see for yourself.” Dash explained before opening the door and beckoning us to come outside.

Cloud and Flitter both went, as for myself, I decided to just use the windows instead for safety reasons.

I gently moved the curtains to the side and, wouldn’t you know it, Dash was right. From my position I could clearly see squads upon squads of Thestral guards taking off and flying east, where Canterlot presumably is.

I was in a slight state of disbelief, but was also relieved as I watched them all take off one by one and swiftly disappear over the rooftops of neighboring buildings.

Is this it? Did I somehow get lucky once more? Or was this somehow Silver’s doing again and I just didn’t notice?

“Nava, you lucky bastard.” I heard Rainbow Dash comment from outside as we all continued to just stand there and watch the unexpected departure of the Thestral army.

“Lucky bastard indeed.”