//------------------------------//
// New Apprentice, Old Friend 
// Story: The Archmage's Last Bow 
// by Rytex 
//------------------------------//


The Archmage’s Last Bow
Chapter 02 - New Apprentice, Old Friend


The reception was a lovely affair.

Nova had expected there to be some kind of presentation, with him being ushered outside onto the school’s balconies for all of Equestria to gaze and cheer for their new archmage, but mercifully, they instead had all migrated to the lunchroom, where tables had been set up, food had been placed in gorgeous arrangements on several serving tables, and the light of the sunset streamed in through the windows.

Nova glanced back at his mentors to see that they were, indeed, coordinating a raising and lowering, just for the added effect.  Luna gave him a small smile and a wink.

As they all entered the room, Nova couldn’t help but suppress a giggle.  Only four years ago, he had helped start a food fight in this very room.

It felt so long ago.  He had been so different back then.  So afraid, so angry…

And yet, as his new cape showed, he had come a long way since those days.  Here he was, now the newest Archmage of Equestria, and the first in over six-hundred years.  He was still more than a little bit scared of what was to come, of everything expected of him.  After all, he hadn’t quite been given the same easing-in as Twilight was getting with her own upcoming special day, though Luna promised she would help show him the ropes as it got closer and closer to Twilight’s coronation.

“So, where do I sit?” Nova asked as they entered. He could see several gilded high-backed chairs arrayed toward the end of the room, though none of them had any visible markings on them for who was supposed to sit where.

“Why, I should think it’s obvious,” Luna tittered, before pushing him forward with a wing.  “Front and center, high table.  Today is your day, and thus you are going to sit in the spotlight and hear the congratulations from everyone!”

“Oh lovely,” Nova sighed, trotting forward and taking his seat.  “My favorite part of high-brow events like this.”

“It won’t be for very long,” promised Celestia,taking a seat two spaces away, with one between her and Nova, clearly meant for Twilight.  Luna, however, opted not to sit next to her sister, and instead sat on Nova’s other side.  “There’ll be some courtesies, of course, but I daresay you’ll be allowed to get proper bedrest tonight.”

It wasn’t long after he had taken his seat that his darling fiance chose to trot up next to him, and give him a lingering kiss on his cheek.

“I am so proud of you, you know that?” Twilight beamed, taking her seat next to him and laying her head on his shoulder.  “Today was your day.  You really have earned it.”

“Thanks, love,” Nova leaned his head down and rested it on hers.  It was a beautiful moment that could have lasted forever...

...Until the guests came streaming in.

First to his table were his mom and dad.  Nova reached across the table to embrace both of them.   Ray’s face just said it all.  Nothing but pure, unadulterated pride radiating off of every inch of him, and Shimmer looked to be on the verge of tears.

“We are so proud of you,” she said, pulling him in across the table and holding him close.  “So, so proud.”

After they took their seats, next was Professor Hoofman, whose mane appeared to be thinner today.  Age, and the demands of running a school and interacting with the nobles, appeared to be getting to him.

“It has been an honor to have been involved in your development, Lord Archmage,” he said, in the most formal voice Nova had ever heard him say.  With a short bow, he, too, went and found his seat.

Then came Tantalus Lulamoon, with Trixie and Aegis in tow.  Tantalus was polite as usual, Aegis treated him no differently, and Trixie was… well, Trixie.

Then came Cadance and Shining Armor, with baby Flurry.  Cadance did most of the interaction, however.

“You’ve come so far, and I couldn’t be happier for you,” she said, leaning down and giving him about as fierce a hug as his mom had.

“Thanks, LSBFF,” he replied, sniffling a bit.  Her praise meant more to him than he wanted to admit.  “You should take some of the credit, you helped push me the right way.”

She just smiled at him, and the Crystal Royals went to find their own seat, not far away.  Nova felt it was odd that Cadance didn’t get a seat at the high table like her three counterparts, especially since she had been part of the ceremony, but shrugged it off and moved on.  Perhaps she just wanted to sit with her family.

There were so many that were there to meet him.  Twilight’s parents, Twilight’s friends, his friends from Neighton, the Council of Gentlestallions, even some creatures he hadn’t met before, like Dragon Lord Ember and the new Changeling King Thorax.  Even Neighsay and Nocturnal Glow came up to him to give heartfelt congratulations.

The line seemed endless, but as time went on, it grew shorter and shorter.  By the time they had arrived at the end of the invited guests, he was getting congratulations only a few words long, as these strangers moved aside and joined the group at the tables.

Even though the lecture hall hadn’t been very large, and half of the ponies here hadn’t been able to fit inside, many had still showed up to endear themselves to the new archmage for various reasons.  Nova knew some of them were probably doing it for political favors, some of them were just trying to associate, some of them were genuine, and some of them were just there to bear witness.  It had been over six-hundred years since the position was last filled, after all.

Nova also saw many familiar faces from the House of Nobles that he’d had to deal with over the years, and probably would continue to deal with.  At least in the uncertainty of the future, he could continue to enjoy his current duty: keeping things deadlocked in the legislative branch of government to allow the acting rulers to rule unimpeded.

Or, now that he was supposed to be all-but-equal with the Princesses, would he now technically be unable to attend?  Something to iron out with Celestia before the abdication.

Speaking of, he couldn’t help but notice that most of the ponies that were showering him with compliments and promises also seemed to be paying extra-attention to Twilight today.  Twilight had the fake-smile plastered over her muzzle as she exchanged vague promises and niceties with them, but Nova noticed that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were all but completely ignored, and they looked relieved because of it.

He supposed now that they were abdicating, the social climbers no longer cared about them, and wanted to ingratiate themselves with the upcoming ruler before she took the crown, and the Royal Sisters were just living it up.

A family of strangers approached him now.  An earth pony stallion, a unicorn mare, and an older unicorn filly who appeared to be in her late teens, all wearing very formal-looking outfits.  Although they were certainly more modest than some of the nobles wore, they were better dressed than any of Nova’s friends, most of whom weren’t dressed at all.  The stallion was a deep forest-green, with gleaming emerald eyes, a brown mane, a short well-trimmed beard, and a braided tail.  His cutie mark was covered up by his suit, so Nova wasn’t able to determine his talent.  The mare was yellow-coated, with a golden mane and tail, and she looked gorgeous in the light streaming in, and she was currently minding the filly they had brought with them.

Nova’s gaze, however, was drawn to that filly.  She was pink-coated, with a golden mane that was pulled back into a ponytail, tied with a green ribbon.  She wore a simple dress, with a simple citrine pendant hanging from her neck, and with her bright green eyes, she was gazing at Nova Shine in utter wonder and no small amount of trepidation.  Nova frowned at her.  She seemed very familiar, but he couldn’t quite put his hoof on exactly where he had seen her before.

“Lord Archmage,” the stallion bowed, his voice a very rich bass that seemed to make the very air in front of him vibrate.  He didn’t have that je ne sais quoi in his voice that usually tipped Nova off to someone brown-nosing; he seemed to be offering legitimate congrats.  “We cannot tell you how glad we were that we were at least able to make the reception today, per Doctor Hoofman’s invitation.  Sincere congratulations on your Ascendancy.”

“Thank-you,” Nova smiled graciously, reaching out and shaking hooves with the stallion.  “Have you enjoyed it so far?”

“Oh yes, we have!  Gleamy just could not stop talking about how excited she was to come see you,” the mare said, patting the filly’s back.  The filly flushed at her mom’s teasing, and seemed to shrink under Nova’s amused look.  “She always gets excited when you’re here for your lectures.  And even with all the ponies here, she’s refusing to let us leave until we got to see you!”

“You seem familiar,” Nova said, now looking “Gleamy” in the eyes, which caused her to shrink even further toward the ground.  “Have we met before?”

“I… y-yes…” she said softly.  It sounded like a whimper and it sounded so very much like Fluttershy...  “O-once.”

“Really?”  If Professor Hoofman had invited the family, did that mean she was a student here?  “You’ll have to refresh my memory, sorry,” he smiled apologetically.  “I’m usually good with names, but not faces.”

The filly bit her lip, now looking completely terrified all of a sudden.  “I’m B-Bright Gleam,” she squeaked.

“Bright Gleam?” Nova asked, recognition flooding through him.  A pink filly with a golden mane and tail, running up to him crouched on one of the windowsills in this very room, and tagging him on the thigh as part of a “really hard test…”

“Yes, she’s a huge fan of yours,” the stallion said, apparently oblivious to his mortified daughter.  “Has been for several years now.  Attended all three of your guest lectures here at the school and everything.  She’s in her final year now, and I imagine when she graduates, she’s gonna want to maybe work for--”

“Can I be your apprentice?”

Almost instantly, everything around them ground to a halt.  While most of the chatter in the room continued, oblivious to what had just been asked at the high table, several ponies in the immediate area were now openly watching what was happening.  Celestia and Luna looked surprised, and Luna seemed almost impressed at Bright Gleam’s daring, Twilight looked stunned, and all Nova could do was stare at the filly.

“Can you repeat that?” he asked, slowly, and making sure to keep as much emotion out of his voice as possible.

Immediately, her parents leapt into action.

“I am so sorry about her,” the mother said, with a strained smile on her face.

“You see what I mean?” asked the stallion, clearly trying to play it off with an amused smile, though he couldn’t fake it very well.  ”She just adores you compl--”

“Enough,” Nova said firmly.  Authoritatively.  As an archmage-- no, as a prince would.  He stood up, teleported in front of the table with the tiniest flashes of blue light, and approached the filly directly, ignoring her parents, who seemed to be on the verge of panic.  The filly now seemed like she wanted to run and hide under a rock, but she stood her ground.  Nova admired that about her.  Scared out of her mind, but she wouldn’t flee.  “Can you repeat that?” he asked again, softly.  So that only she and her parents could hear.

“I w-want to be your apprentice,” she said, her voice shaking as she admitted it.  “C-can I?”

For a moment, Nova said nothing, just studying the filly, who seemed to be on the verge of just running away, yet here she stood.  She was clearly in her late teens, with the lanky figure of a pony who hadn’t quite filled out their body, which made it all the more apparent that she was trembling from head to hoof.

Acting on instinct, and remembering the many times Princess Luna had done this, he reached out a hoof, and gently placed it on her shoulder.

The effect was immediate.  The trembling ceased, though she was still taking heavy, shaking breaths.

He looked over to Luna and Celestia.  They were watching the scene quite intently.  On seeing him look to her,  Luna seemed to ponder it for a moment, before she held out both her hooves and shook her head.  Nova recognized that she wasn’t telling him no, but rather, she was leaving the choice up to him.

He was the Archmage of Equestria.  It was now his, and only his, decision.

Looking over at Twilight, she looked… proud of him?  When she noticed he was looking, she gave him a nod.  Did that mean she thought he should?  Or was that just her telling him he was doing well?

Was it both?

Taking a deep breath, he turned back to Bright Gleam, and bent down just a bit to meet her at eye level.

“Bright Gleam, I can effectively say that you’ve given me the biggest surprise of the day.  I certainly did not expect someone to ask me to make an apprentice of them for at least a few weeks.”

It was an attempt to ease the tension, and it seemed to do it by just the tiniest amount.  She almost let out a giggle, but her mortification outweighed her amusement.

“So,” he said, measuring every word, “before we even get into yes or no, I would just like to understand why.  Your parents believe that you look up to me, and asking me to become my apprentice is proof enough of that.  But is there more to it?”

Now everyone in the room seemed aware that something was going on.  There was still quite a bit of chatter, but it was hushed now, as everyone was watching the scene play out.

She took a few deep breaths, licked her lips, and then seemed to steel herself.

“D-do you remember the day y-you came here four years ago?”

“I do,” Nova nodded.  It was hard to forget that day.  Receiving the full report of the defining incident of his childhood, meeting Tantalus Lulamoon for the first time after said incident, Twilight confessing that she truly loved him for the first time…

“Do you remember me?” she asked, even more softly.  “I-it’s okay if you don’t, I mean--” she seemed to stumble over her words for a moment, but after a pause, she found her footing and continued.  “I was the one that started throwing the food at you, remember?”

The image of foals throwing every messy bit of food they could get their hooves on entered his mind, and couldn’t resist a laugh.  “Oh yes,” he said, “I remember you now.  A clever idea, throwing messy food because it would stick to me and reveal where the invisible stallion was at.”

She smiled at the encouragement, but it was a fleeting thing, vanishing almost immediately.

“I…”  She fell onto her haunches and tapped her hooves together awkwardly, “I just… you inspired me that day,” she admitted, as her face flushed.  “What you said after I said I could do a spell b-better than you.  It... it didn’t matter to you how powerful you were, but you were proud to be Princess Luna’s apprentice anyway.”

Nova looked over at his old teacher in time to see her completely look away to hide her eyes, though he didn’t miss the emotional smile she tried to conceal as she did so.

“S-so when I…” she swallowed, “wh-when I heard you were gonna be the Archm-mage, I j-just…”

She trailed off and looked away, and Nova could practically feel the heat radiating off of her face as it reddened even more.

Nova removed his hoof from her shoulder and instead stood up, turning to each of her parents, who looked equal parts stunned and terrified.

“I don’t suppose you both are free tomorrow?” he asked, taking just a smidge of grim amusement at just how terrified they were.  Here they were, in a room full of some of the most influential ponies in Equestrian society, and their daughter had just committed a serious faux pas that even they had known would have ramifications.  He could already see the newspaper headlines the next morning…

“T-tomorrow?” the stallion asked, gulping nervously and looking over helplessly at his wife.  “I… yes, I think we are, but--”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Nova assured them.  “I just think this is a conversation better had away from the pomp and circumstance of the occasion.  Taking an apprentice is something I’ve always thought about, but I didn’t think I would be confronted about it so soon, so you’ll forgive me for needing some time to think it over.”

He offered a hoof to Bright Gleam to help her back to her hooves.  She seemed to be calming down now.  Her breath was far more normal, and her blush appeared to be going down, and she was finally able to look him in the eyes again.  She glanced at his hoof nervously, then back to him, before finally taking it and letting him help her back to her feet.

“T-tomorrow it is,” the stallion nodded tensely.  “We live in Lower Canterlot…”

“Just make sure Professor Hoofman has your address,” Twilight said, stepping into the conversation.  “Nova can get it from him, and I know he will be looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow!”

The mare let out a relieved sigh, now that everything seemed to be wrapping up.  “Yes, we will have everything prepared for you.  Again, sorry for disrupting the reception.”

“No no no, not at all,” Nova shook his head vigorously.  Perhaps too vigorously, but the last thing he wanted was for this to be weighing on the young filly’s mind.  “If anything, you’ve actually improved the evening,” he added in an undertone, which got a gigglesnort from Bright Gleam.

“So… tomorrow around lunchtime, then?” the stallion asked, glancing over to his wife nervously.

“Yes, I think that will be perfect,” Nova said, dipping his head as Twilight reached her own hoof out to shake theirs.  “It was very lovely to meet you, and I am looking forward to it!”

“Y-yes, as are we, Lord Archmage,” the stallion bowed, as did his wife.

His daughter, however, just met Nova’s eyes once again.  She was shaking again, and chewing on her lip nervously.  Nova gave her what he hoped was a disarming smile, and even a little wink, which seemed to do the trick though.  Breaking into a relieved smile of her own, she followed her parents as they trotted rather hastily out of the lion’s den and back into the safety of the city.

“We’re gonna talk about this when we get done,” Twilight said in his ear.  “You handled that really well.”

“Appreciate the praise, love,” Nova said, teleporting back into his seat.





Perhaps unfortunately for all of them, none of the other guests in line were quite as interesting.  The rest of the reception had passed without any more surprises.  Nova had been left to really consider what had been asked of him that whole time, which had, naturally, left him quite distracted.

Can I be your apprentice?

When she got to know him, when she knew who he really was, would she still want to?

The living room of the home Celestia and Luna were staying in was rather spartan compared to the castle, as was expected.  Given that the Terrible Trio had destroyed almost all of their belongings, it was only natural that they only have the bare essentials now.  The room was plain, with no real decor, and only a pair of couches, a couple of easy chairs, a stone hearth in one wall, and a simple coffee table between them.

Nova and Twilight sat on one couch, with Nova still wearing his new cloak, and Twilight’s hoof clutching his own, while their teachers sat on the opposite couch.  Shining Armor was there too, holding Flurry as she napped in his hooves on one easy chair, rocking her gently and humming a lullaby tune, and Cadance was pacing around the entire room.

Nobody said anything after they all sat down.  No one wanted to be the first to mention the topic of the hour.  Nova was still very perturbed by it himself, given he was currently frowning at a particularly uninteresting bit of carpet on the floor.  Goodness only knows what was running through his head right now.

“Sooooooooo…” Twilight said, with a nervous glance to her right at her pensive coltfriend, “who wants to talk about the elephant in the room?”

“She was just so adorable!” cooed Cadance, positively squeeing at the memory.  “And so very brave!  Walking into a room full of ponies who wanted nothing more than to advance themselves by getting in our new Archmage’s good books, and then asking him to be his apprentice with no frills or conditions…”

“Yes, I have to admire that filly’s temperament,” Luna nodded.  “A very bold question to ask, on this day of all days.”

“What did you think?” Twilight asked, nudging Nova.

“Huhwha?” Nova started, blinking out of his thoughts.  “What were we talking about?”

“That filly!  What was her name again?” Cadance tapped her chin.

“Bright Gleam,” Nova answered immediately.

“Yes, her!” she beamed.  “What do you think?”

“What do you mean, what do I think?”

“Oh come on!” Shining exclaimed, which elicited a sleepy grumble from Flurry.  “You had to admit that it was really gutsy.”

“Yeah,” Nova said, his gaze falling on the sleeping child in Shining’s arms. “Yeah… it was,” he agreed distantly.

Twilight nudged him again.

“What?” He asked, looking back at her.  To his surprise, she had a knowing smile on her face.

“You want kids,” she stated.

Nova blinked.

“Uhh, what?”

“You want kids,” she repeated, pointing at Flurry.  “It’s plain as day.  I’ve seen how you look when Shining’s holding her.  I’ve seen how you adore the colts and fillies of both Celestia’s school and my own.  I’ve seen how you never pass up an opportunity to play with Pound and Pumpkin whenever we’re at Sugarcube Corner.”

She reached out and took his hooves in hers.  “You want to be a father, don’t you?”

A scene passed through Nova’s mind at that moment.  Nova imagined himself standing beside a bed, while a young white unicorn filly with a navy blue mane curled up in her bed, her stuffed Spikey clutched in her front hooves, and staring at Nova with glittering violet eyes, and asking him to read her a bedtime story.

Nova would smile, and his favorite storybook would appear in his hooves, the story of how the filly’s brave mother had once defeated Nightmare Moon against all odds, with the help of her friends.  The filly would gasp when Twilight nearly fell off a cliff but for Applejack, would exclaim “No!” when the Shadowbolts tried to coax Rainbow Dash from their goal, would nearly cry when Nightmare Moon destroyed the Elements of Harmony, and would cheer when he told her how the Elements were restored and how her momma and her friends used them to restore Princess Luna.

But then when Nova finished the story, with Princess Celestia decreeing that Twilight could live in Ponyville with her friends, the filly would cry out in dismay.  “But what about you, daddy?  Why weren’t you in the story with momma?”

Nova would smile, reach over and lightly ruffle her mane, whisper, “A story for another night, little star,” and draw the blanket over her.  As he trotted back toward the door, he would turn back to see her still watching him, not wanting to go to sleep yet, and he’d smile reassuringly at her and say “I love you, little Glimmer.”  She would say, “Love you more, dad.”  He would fire back, “I love you the most.”  And again she would say, “Love you times infinity.”  Just before he shut the door, she would lift up her head and ask, “Dad, can you leave it open?  Just a little bit?”  He would nod, and whisper, “Good night, little star.”

Nova left the door, and as he did, the scene vanished.  Nova found himself back in the Princess’ temporary home on the couch in their sitting room, surrounded by something warm.  He blinked, and took stock of his surroundings.  Twilight was holding him, her head resting on his shoulder, and he was surprised to feel that there was a tear trailing down his cheek.  Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Shining were all watching him, with varying degrees of emotion pervading their features.  Cadance and Luna both looked ready to coo and fawn all over them.  Celestia just quietly observed the scene and their affection for each other, and Shining was trying not to watch, either to give them some space or because he wanted to appear a bit more stallionly in front of his future brother-in-law.

I love you, little Glimmer...

“I want foals too,” Twilight confessed, adjusting her head so that it was now in the crook of his neck.  “I’ve wanted foals since… well, as long as I can remember.”

“Aren’t we here to talk about a new apprentice?” Nova asked, failing to stifle a sniffle as he wiped his cheek with the shoulder Twilight wasn’t occupying.

“You’ll find that raising a child and guiding an apprentice are very different in many ways, but also very similar in others,” Celestia replied, still watching the scene in front of her.  Twilight still hadn’t let go, and in all honesty, Nova didn’t want her to.

“And you know this from experience?” Nova asked, arching an eyebrow.

Celestia merely smiled mysteriously.  Nova didn’t miss that Cadance gave her an uneasy glance at that.  Did she actually…?

Finally sensing that the moment was officially gone, he eased Twilight off of him, though she was most reluctant to let go.  Taking a deep breath in through his nose, he gave everyone there a look, with his gaze yet again lingering on Flurry, before he finally spoke.

“Yes, I want to accept her as my apprentice,” he confessed, oddly not feeling reluctant about doing so.  “But…” he sighed as he felt the familiar pang in his gut, “I just… I’m not sure…”

“You don’t think you would make for a good teacher,” finished Luna.  “Just like you don’t think you will make a good Archmage, or that you don’t think you’ve done anything worthy of us actually appointing you to the position in the first place.”

Nova stared at her.  How…?

“Well, you didn’t have to say it so bluntly…” he rubbed at the back of his head, going a bit pink.

“You may not think so,” Twilight took over for Luna, “but we really were listening when you said you wanted to postpone the ceremony.”

“Aye,” Luna dipped her head.  “And I was watching when you drank a little too much only a few short weeks ago, and ended up a wreck who didn’t believe he was capable of taking over a position held by two of your ancestors and many other legendary mares and stallions in the past.”

“Nova,” Cadance trotted up and touched his arm, “if any of us didn’t think you were capable, or that you were a bad fit for the position, we never would have let it get this far to begin with.  Give us just a little credit.  We’ve only been ruling lands for a combined nearly sixteen-hundred years between us.”

“Take out Celestia and that value plummets, Cadenza,” Nova pointed out.  “She skews the average with her millennium-long reign.”

“The point is,” Twilight draped a wing around him, “you are very worried that you will let us and Equestria down as the Archmage, because you don’t think you’re good enough for it.  We have known that you believe this for many moons now, and we’re here for you,” she assured him, patting his arm fondly.  “If you can’t have any faith in yourself, then please, have faith in us and in our decision.”

Nova said nothing, and instead allowed himself to lean into Twilight.  Honestly, what would he do without her?  Just where would he be without all of them?  Still running?  Still desperate to escape his family?  He’d probably still hate Cadance’s guts, now he thought about it.

“So…” he said after a long moment, “do you think…?”

“Yes?” Celestia asked, smiling encouragingly.

“D’you think I should take her as an apprentice, then?”

“I do,” Princess Celestia nodded.  “I feel as though there is much you could learn from her, and she from you.”

“I feel the same!” Luna exclaimed, vaulting over to sit on Nova’s other side.  “There is so much to learn from mentorship.  You helped me learn so much, and without a doubt, she will return the favor on my behalf.”

“And I learned a lot from mentoring Starlight,” Twilight added, sliding her hoof down his arm and taking his hoof in it.  “I’ll be there to help if you need it.  You don’t have to do it alone.”

“But…” Nova felt the familiar feeling of shame as the undeserved support washed over him.  “But… what if I’m a bad teacher?”

“What if you’re a bad teacher?” Twilight asked, failing to contain a titter.  “Nova, it’s because of you that Sweetie Belle learned how to harness her magic in the first place, don’t you remember?  You’ve been called to make three guest lectures at Celestia’s School, and I find every excuse to have you speak to the creatures at my school.  If you were a bad teacher, don’t you think Professor Hoofman or I would have found some polite way to ask you not to lecture again?”

Nova said nothing, though he felt himself brighten just enough at that.

“It’s your decision,” Twilight continued, squeezing the hoof in hers ever so slightly, “but… well, I think taking an apprentice is the best thing you could do to help you settle into the position.  Someone else that you can confide in, and someone to offer fresh perspectives.  After all, Starlight did all that for me.”

“And a certain first and seventeenth Night Apprentice did the same for me,” Luna added, giving Nova a fond look.  “For both times that I had to adjust to ruling, my dear apprentice was, in many ways, the rock that I needed in a way that my sister could not provide.  Truly, I do not know what I would have done without him.”

“And many times, I myself found that taking the time to teach someone can be a welcome distraction from your problems,” Celestia trotted over and draped a wing around her sister, a wing that also proved long enough to envelop her, Nova, and Twilight all at once.  “If you want my advice, then take an apprentice, Nova.  Educate them, nurture them, allow yourself to grow close to them, and allow them to grow close to you.  You will find that nothing is more rewarding than helping someone along to realizing their potential, and nothing comes even close to the pride that comes from seeing them become who they were meant to be.”

She punctuated this statement with a squeeze that all three of them felt.

“Alright then,” Nova let out a shaky breath.  The young filly’s face filled his mind once again, so full of terror when she had taken that leap of faith, but full of wonder only moments before.  “Twilight?”

“Hm?”  He could almost hear the grin that he knew was spreading across her muzzle.

“I don’t suppose you have any lunch plans tomorrow?  There’s someone I want you to come with me to meet.”

“Nova,” she squeezed his hoof once again “I thought you’d never ask.”





It felt like the entire room was spinning.

Bright Gleam had gone straight to her room as soon as they had gotten home, had shut the door, and had spent the entire night stewing after she’d ruined the reception.  Seriously, what had she been thinking?  That the newly-minted Archmage of Equestria, who was engaged to the Crown-Princess who would be taking full control over Equestria in just a few short months, would accept her?  Sure, she was competing to be the top student in her class at Celestia’s School, but what was that worth compared to the literal Archmage of Equestria?

There had to be hundreds of colts and fillies that were top of their classes across Equestria.  Was she somehow expecting that she could be so lucky out of all of them?  And what if she finished salutatorian and not valedictorian?  She’d be behind all of them.

There was no chance in Tartarus, was there?

Letting out a mopey sigh, Gleam rolled over onto her back.  The pictures around her room always offered fond memories, but one of them just made her cringe now.  It depicted Archmage Nova Shine standing at the center of a large lecture hall in the remote campus of Celestia’s School, down here in Lower Canterlot, giving a speech to all of the colts and fillies present, and she looked just so happy to be there to her Mom’s camera...

She was a braceface at the time, attending one of the Archmage’s lectures at Celestia’s School back a few years ago.  Honestly, she could remember every detail what he had lectured on!  She remembered being there, and how smart he had been!  How inspiring!  Sure, he’d been born to a rich family, but he’d been living barely better than on the streets for most of his adolescent years, until Princess Luna found him and educated him.

“The point is that if I can make it from where I came from,” he had said, looking at each and every one of them in the room, “that if a unicorn trying to run away from his own parents, who struggled to cast even rather basic spells, could go on to become the Archmage-in-Training, then there’s hope for every single one of you here to go on to do great things.”

Her mom had insisted on getting a photograph with him in the background.  They couldn’t go up and have a picture taken with him directly, and even if they could, it’s not like he’d stand for a photo-op with her when he had better things to do.

There was a distant knocking sound, but she didn’t pay it much mind.  At least, not until her mother’s voice called from downstairs.

“Gleam?  Can you get that?”

“Sure Mom!” she called, rolling off of her bed with a groan and plodding out of her room, down the stairs, and out toward the door.  Pulling it open, she plastered the practiced smile on her face and--

--and slammed the door shut immediately, right in the faces of the new Archmage and the Crown Princess.

There was a single heartstopping moment, where she could feel her heart beating a mile a minute as she processed what she had just done, when the most unexpected sound she could imagine started coming from outside the door:  laughter.

The Archmage was laughing, and it didn’t seem to be derisive, either!

“What’s so funny?” she heard the Princess ask.

“I did this exact same thing to Princess Luna when she showed up at my door seven years ago!” the Archmage exclaimed.  “I thought I was about to be sent to the moon!”

He… wasn’t mad?

She opened the door just a crack and peered out.  Archmage Nova Shine was actually struggling to stop laughing at this point, having fallen on his haunches and stuffed both hooves into his mouth despite the tremors wracking his body.  Princess Twilight, however, just shook her head in that bemused disbelief.

“My silly stallion…” she chuckled, before she noticed Bright Gleam peeking out at them.  “Oh!”  She gave the Archmage a hard elbow, which startled him out of his laughter.  “Stand up!” she hissed, which got him to scramble to his feet and find her gaze.

“Oh, hi,” he said, acting as though he hadn’t just been caught up in a laughing fit only a few seconds ago.  “Bright Gleam, right?”

“Y-yes sir,” she whispered, suddenly overwhelmed by the fact that the princess and her hero were right on her house’s front porch!

“Your parents should be expecting us,” the Princess said, giving her a kind smile.  “How have you been since the reception yesterday?”

“Fine!” she exclaimed, a bit too insistently.  “I have been perfectly fine, and haven’t spent all my time thinking about how stupid I was for asking you that, sir!”

Archmage Nova Shine and Princess Twilight blinked, looked at each other for a moment, and then back to her.

“...right,” Archmage Nova Shine said, before continuing.  “Are your parents home?”

“Y-yes,” she squeaked.  For a moment they stared at her, but then something clicked in her mind, and she scrambled backwards, holding open the door for them.  “Sorry!  Sorry, sorry…”

“It’s alright,” the Archmage smiled at her.  “I’ve got some news that I think you might like to hear.”

Gleam felt… felt something shoot through her.  Was it alarm?  Was she, dare she say it, excited?  In any case, she just stared after him, slack-jawed and rooted to the floor.

No… no, it couldn’t be.

Forcing herself to follow them, Gleam stepped through the hall and into their living room, where he found the Archmage and the Princess meeting Mom and Dad again.

“Thank-you for having us,” Princess Twilight said graciously, shaking Mom’s hoof.

“Anything for the Princess and Archmage,” answered Dad in his rumbling voice.  “We never introduced ourselves, did we?  My name is Timber Feller, and this is my wife, Golden Glow.”  Mom bowed to their guests.

The Archmage seemed to grin.  “Oh, you work with one of the lumber companies?” he asked Dad, sounding very interested.

“I do actually,” Dad sounded surprised that the Archmage figured this out.  “I’m actually the director of the Big C Lumber Company.  Recently promoted, but still,” he grinned under his beard, “next to being Equestria’s new Archmage, that must be nothing, right?”

Gleam noticed a brief frown cross the Archmage’s face, but it vanished as quickly as it came.

“I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully,” he said, smiling modestly.  “Though as it happens, I have been meaning to inquire about placing a large order of lumber and stone for a rather large construction project I’ll be needing in the near future, but we can go over that later.  There is something rather important today that we came to talk about, and we were hoping to head back to Ponyville later this afternoon.”

“Yes, why don’t we…” Dad gestured at the couch.  The room was rather small, with only a couch, a few pictures hanging on the walls, a bookshelf with some knick-knacks scattered around it, and two extra wooden chairs from the dining room that Mom and Dad had brought in for them.  “I know it’s probably not what either of you are used to, but…”

“Oh, it’s perfectly fine!” chirped Princess Twilight, trotting over toward one of the wooden chairs and taking a seat.  “It reminds me of when I still lived with my parents, actually, although they live up in Upper Canterlot.”

“The house I lived in for several years in Neighton and again in Ponyville was pretty modest as well,” the Archmage added, taking his own seat beside her.  “Despite being where we’re at now, we both had somewhat humble beginnings.”

Her parents looked mortified at the sight.

“P-princess, we-- please, sit on the couch!  We would never ask you to sit on wooden--” Mom looked as terrified as Gleam had felt yesterday.  Surprisingly, however, Gleam suddenly felt like she was the calm one in the room.

“Mrs. Glow, it’s fine!” Princess Sparkle assured her.  “It is your house, we would never want to impose.”

Mom and Dad looked at each other, simultaneously gulped, and seemed to regret every life decision they ever made, even as they made their way over to their sofa.

“So, yesterday you approached me at the high table,” the Archmage began, turning to look her right in the eyes.  Blue met green, and the calmness she was feeling disappeared once again, leaving her insides feeling all mushy and her legs feeling like jelly.

Was this what that one guy meant when he said “Never meet your heroes”?

“Y-yes sir,” she nodded.

“You asked me if you could be my apprentice,” he continued.  The way he said it was amazing in itself.  Just a simple statement of fact.  No accusation, no judgement, nothing to make her feel any worse about herself!

“I d-did.”

Archmage Nova Shine smiled at her, which didn’t help her calm down much.  “Well, Bright Gleam--”

“M-my friends just call me Gleam!” she blurted out, unable to stop herself.

Archmage Nova Shine blinked, before he nodded.  “Very well.  Gleam, I told you yesterday that you were the biggest surprise of the day, in no small part because I didn’t think I would be taking an apprentice so soon after my Ascendancy.  I have to admit,” he gave her an approving nod, “I admire your nerve.  To walk up to my table on that day and ask that, no matter how scared you were, and not flee?  Well… let’s just say you helped your own case tremendously.”

She blinked dumbly.  No… no, don’t do that.  Don’t give me hope… she silently pleaded.

He took a deep breath.

“Bright Gleam,” he rose and trotted over toward her, before he knelt down to meet her at eye level, “I would be honored to have you as my apprentice.”

Silence washed over the room.  Her parents’ mouths fell open.  Princess Twilight was watching her expectantly.  Archmage Nova Shine was looking her right in the eyes and waiting for a response and what was she supposed to do!?  What was she supposed to say!?

She fell onto her rump, as her legs suddenly lost all feeling entirely, yet despite this, there was this feeling building up inside her.  Something that demanded to come out.  Like a great balloon, it welled up inside of her at top speed as she proceeded what Archmage Nova Shine had just asked her.

“I would be honored to have you as my apprentice.”

The dam burst.

“YES!” she shrieked, leaping into the air, suddenly feeling as though she could shoot herself up into the sky, which manifested itself in her jumping around the room.  “Yes yes yes yes YES!”

She was vaguely aware of her parents glancing at each other in shock, before breaking into nervous stupid grins of their own.

“You’re… you’re serious?” Mom asked the Archmage.

“...Yes yes yes yes yes!...”

Archmage Nova Shine nodded firmly and instantly.  “One hundred percent.  We talked it over last night, and all of us-- that is to say, Twilight, Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Captain Armor, and I-- we all think this is something that both of us would greatly benefit from.”

“Yes, b-but…” Dad searched for words, “b-but our Gleam?”

“She made quite an impression on Nova yesterday,” Princess Twilight patted the archmage’s arm.  “I think Nova really wanted to say yes almost as soon as she asked, but it was something we needed to talk about.”

“...Yes yes YES!  Yes yes yes yes!...”

“Oh my…” Mom said, slowly sinking off of the couch and onto the ground, overcome with emotion.  “Oh my stars… our little Gleam, the Archmage’s apprentice…”

Dad just looked completely and utterly lost for words, watching her prance around the room, still shouting “Yes!” to the high heavens.  Oh, she could fly over the moon right now!

Of all the unicorn colts and fillies, in all of the schools, in all of Equestria, he had chosen her!

“Gleam,” Archmage Nova Shine reached out a hoof and waved to get her attention, “I’m glad you’re excited, but there’s some stuff you need to know.”

Sliding to a stop, Gleam danced in place, squirming with excitement and squeeing even harder than the time Mom and Dad had gotten her tickets to see Countess Coloratura live a few years ago.  It was just so wonderful!

Princess Twilight was suppressing as much laughter as she could, which made Gleam tilt her head in some confusion. “What’s so funny, Princess?”

“Well, you are!” Princess Twilight said, before giggling again.  “Gleam, I did exactly the same thing when I got my cutie mark and Princess Celestia showed up to offer me her tutelage.  You just… reminded me of me, I guess.”

Reminding the Princess of herself?  Was that a good thing?

“Please, sit down,” Archmage Nova Shine gestured at the sofa.  “There is still some stuff to talk about.  For starters, you’re in your final year at Celestia’s School, right?”

“Yes sir,” she dipped her head.  Not a hint of a quake in her voice!  It was amazing what a few words could do to her!  “School’s closed until further notice, though.  Terrible Trio attack and all.”

“Right,” the Archmage nodded, as if confirming something.  “Well, we still currently live down in Ponyville, and that won’t change until her coronation,” he gestured at Princess Twilight.  “After that, we’ll move up to Canterlot full-time but as it stands, we’ll be in Ponyville for at least the next several months  That being said, given that we don’t know when your school starts again, and us being in Ponyville for the foreseeable future, I would like to know, do you want to start your training immediately, or do you want to wait until after you graduate?”

“As soon as possible, please!” she replied instantly.  “What are you going to teach me?”

“Gleam, slow down,” Archmage Nova Shine held up his hooves.  “There’s still quite a bit to hammer out here.  For starters, there is the fact that when your last year starts back up, your apprenticeship will be put on hold until you’ve graduated, just so you know.”

“I figured,” she admitted.  “And I was going to ask for it anyway.  I’ve put too much effort into trying to be Head of Class to back out now.”

“She really does remind me a lot of me,” Princess Twilight sighed nostalgically.

“If you want to start now, or any time soon before school starts,” Archmage Nova Shine continued, “then it seems prudent to me that you come stay with us in Ponyville.”

“Wh-what?” Dad asked, rising to his hooves.  “Ponyville?  It’s so far away!  And you were leaving today!”

“It’s down in the Canterhorn Valley, a pegasus taxi away,” Princess Twilight responded.  “We talked this over.  Nova’s previous teacher had wings and the bits to afford scrying orbs to educate him.  Nova does have the bits, but he doesn’t have the wings, and proximity is important in an apprenticeship.”

“B-but-- where will she stay?  At your Friendship Castle?" Mom asked.

“I have a house I haven’t been able to live in since Twilight got her eyesore of a castle,” Princess Twilight thumped him for that one, “and I’m perfectly willing to let her live in it.”

“But what about bits?” Dad asked.  It seemed as though they wanted to say no to her now, something that was seriously starting to annoy her.  Couldn’t they see this is what she wanted!?   “Will you be buying her food or something?”

“No,” Archmage Nova Shine shook his head, “but I will be giving her a weekly stipend to make sure she has plenty to put food on the table.  I will always take care of anyone I’m responsible for.”

“Mom, Dad,” Gleam cut in, “I really want this!  Please?”

Mom and Dad looked at each other, clearly searching for words.  “We’re not saying you can’t be the Archmage’s apprentice, Gleam,” Dad finally said to her.  “Hay, we’re not even telling you you can’t do this.  It’s your decision, it’s just…”

“We want to make sure you’re taken care of,” Mom said, trotting over and giving her a quick hug.  “We promise, we want this just as badly as you do, but…”

“But you want to make sure your child is in good hooves,” Archmage Nova Shine finished, with his fiancee nodding approvingly.  “And that’s something I can promise.  If not mine, then the Princess’ hooves.  And I have something to confess as well,” he added, meeting her at eye level again. “I… cannot promise that I will be a good teacher, Gleam.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” she asked, confused.  Him?  Not a good teacher?  Preposterous!  He was always a great teacher whenever he came to the school!

“You would be my first apprentice, and while I was taught by the best, that doesn’t mean that I will be as good a teacher as her.  So…” he gave her a small grimace, “I guess I’m asking for a little bit of patience.  If you do decide this is something you want--”

“Sir, I’ve already decided--”

Nova just cut her off with a wave of his hoof.  “Please, Gleam.  Let me finish.”

She did so, falling silent.  The Archmage took a deep breath.

“I’m asking you to talk to me,” he confessed, looking into her eyes with an almost pleading look.  “I’m going to do my best to train you, to help you grow, all that stuff, but that’s no guarantee that I will do it right, or be any good at it.  I’m going to have Princess Twilight’s help,” he reached back and placed it on the first part of her he could find, which was her lower left leg, “but if you don’t think you’re responding well to something, or you’re having trouble and I’m not noticing, then don’t be afraid to tell me.”

He smiled in that great way he always did.

“I may be asking to be your teacher, but I also want to be a friend.”

He stood up and offered a hoof.

“So, I’ll ask again.  Since it’s quite clear no one has any objections about you becoming my apprentice, would you like to start immediately, and stay with us in Ponyville?  Or perhaps wait until you graduate?”

Gleam looked over to Mom and Dad.  They looked at each other, and for one heart-stopping moment, she thought they might say no.

Instead, they both nodded, beaming at her.

“Yes,” she breathed, feeling the same balloon inflating inside of her once again.  “Yes, I would--” she caught herself, and then did the politest bow she could.  “I would be honored to be your apprentice, Archmage Nova Shine.”

The Archmage snorted.  “Don’t do that again, please.  I’m not some stuffy noble you need to curtail to every time you see me.”

“You’re not stuffy, but you are a noble, though,” Princess Twilight teased, giving him a nudge, before turning to address Gleam.  “Well, if you’re coming with us, you may want to pack some of your things.”

It was later said that her subsequent squee had been so loud, Princess Luna’s thestral Knightmares lost several hours of sleep over it.





Gleam could hardly contain her excitement! That huge balloon inside of her was back, and it felt like it could burst at any second!

It was really happening!

The last few days had been an enormous blur for her.  It all seemed too good to be true!  She had ridden in a chariot with Archmage Nova Shine and Princess Twilight AND Spike the Brave and Glorious himself!  That alone was an experience unlike anything she had ever had before.  Spike was just so funny, and Princess Twilight was just so patient and understanding!  And of course there was also the Archmage, who was just so… so amazing!  His understanding of magic was unparalleled!  All three of them were just wonderful to be around!

And the house!  The house the Archmage owned in Ponyville was huge, with a personal library and everything!  It must have cost thousands of bits, and he was just letting her stay in it for free!

After they’d gotten her settled, Princess Twilight had shown her around the town and introduced her to all of her friends (she’d gotten to meet THE Rainbow Dash!  The fastest flier in Equestria AND one of the Wonderbolts!), while Archmage Nova Shine was apparently doing something with Princess Luna.  But later that afternoon, he had taken her out to Sweet Apple Acres, and he’d had her do all sorts of spells and stuff, trying to get a feel for where she was and what she could do.

She was pretty pleased that she could do most of them, though she wished he hadn’t asked her to enchant anything.  Enchanting had never been something she was good at, and to struggle so badly in front of him was kind of embarrassing, but he seemed to be perfectly understanding about it.

Then there was the “Welcome To Ponyville And Congratulations On Becoming Nova Shine’s Apprentice Party” that Ms. Pinkie Pie threw that night.  Apparently it was a tradition or something.  It was just so fun!  She was a barrel of laughs, she made Gleam feel right at home despite only just meeting her, and she’d introduced Gleam to all these cool creatures like Smoulder, Gallus, Yona, Sandbar, Silverstream, and Ocellus!

Was every day as Archmage Nova Shine’s apprentice going to be so exciting?  Probably not, but it was still a wonderful first impression.

There had been another few days while Archmage Nova Shine and Princess Twilight had let her get familiar with the town and did some archmagey and princessy stuff over those days, but they had still taken the time to introduce her to several ponies they thought she might like to know.

Counselor Lulamoon seemed like fun, and she was even from Canterlot too!  It was really cool to know both the Archmage and Ms. Lulamoon.  There was also Head Mare Starlight Glimmer and Vice Head Stallion Sunburst up at the school.  Princess Twilight had assured her that she could always come to them, or her and her friends if she needed anything.

And the town!

She had only ever visited places like Manehattan and Fillydelphia, and even the Crystal Empire a couple of times, but never Ponyville.  Truthfully, she had been a little apprehensive about moving here.  She enjoyed Canterlot and having her friends there, so she was nervous about leaving them, even if it was only for a few weeks.  As well, Ponyville had a… reputation.

Apparently odd things happened there every few Saturdays, and usually only for about 22 minutes or so at a time.  Plus it was full of country ponies.  She still remembered the ruckus that had been caused when a bunch of Ponyville yokels had interrupted a Canterlot garden party five years ago.  The sons and daughters of the nobles at Celestia’s School still liked to bring it up whenever there wasn’t much else to gossip about.  Apparently one of the yokels’ dancing was so bad, it made a grown stallion cry.

How well was she going to fit in?  How well was she going to like it here in the long run?  Sure, it was cool now, but who knows what can change with exposure?  What she had seen so far made her feel like the place was going to be amazing, but would that remain the case?

This particular Saturday, a week after Archmage Nova Shine had accepted her as his apprentice, found her eagerly preparing to go about her day.  It was supposed to be the first day Archmage Nova Shine was actually going to teach her something!

Teeth brushed, mane brushed, coat brushed, everything a brush could brush brushed, she was ready for the day!

She still had a few hours to kill while Archmage Nova Shine did some more archmagey stuff.  He always did some morning training and then some other stuff around lunchtime, but if she needed him, he said he was going to be at the Friendship Castle with Princess Twilight.  Other than that, she was supposed to meet him at the Castle at 1:00 in the afternoon sharp!  That couldn’t be too far away, could it?

...it was only 9:34.  It was going to be a long morning.

But that just gave her a lot of time to think about what he was going to teach her!  Would she be learning combat?  Alchemy?  What about elemental magic like fire manipulation?

Was it enchanting?  She seriously hoped it wasn’t enchanting.  The last thing she needed was to make a fool of herself on her first day.  If she did, would he even want her as an apprentice?  What if he didn’t?  Would he send her away?  Would she be forced to go back to Canterlot a failure?  Would he even get her kicked out of Celestia’s School for not being good enough!?  WOULD SHE EVEN BE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC AGAIN!?

Four knocks sounded at the front door.

Gleam practically leaped off of Archmage Nova Shine’s couch and dashed for the door, eager for the distraction.  Plastering a smile on her face that she hoped didn’t betray the turmoil within, she yanked the door open.

“Hello-welcome-to-Archmage-Nova-Shine’s-house-my-name-is-Bright-Gleam-how-can-I-help-you?” she asked, perhaps a little too cheerfully.

Smooth, Gleam.  Real smooth.

The unicorn mare in front of her stared at her. She was green, with a dark-red mane that kinda reminded her of that Roseluck mare Ms. Pinkie Pie had introduced her to.  She was wearing a beautiful ruby pendant around her neck, and if Gleam craned her neck just enough, she could make out an orange flower on her flank.  But perhaps most striking about the mare were the bright red eyes that were scrutinizing her.  Studying her.  Judging her!

Gleam suppressed a shudder.  Even random strangers were causing her distress.

“Yes, hello,” the mare said, sounding fairly impatient.  “You said this is Nova Shine’s house?”

“Y-yes ma’am,” she dipped her head.  “I’m Bright Gleam.  He’s letting me stay here.”

“Bright Gleam, huh?” the mare asked.  “Staying at the Archmage’s house.  Why’s he letting you house-squat?”

“I-I’m his apprentice, ma’am,” she answered, trying to sound as bright as her name, but still not quite succeeding.  “New apprentice,” she corrected hastily.  “And I haven’t actually learned anything… yet, so…” she trailed off at the end and tapped her hooves together awkwardly.

The mare snorted slightly, though Gleam noticed the mare suddenly seemed acutely interested in her, and was looking her up and down.  Gleam suppressed another shudder.  There was just something… wrong with the way she was studying her.

“So he’s not here?” the mare finally asked.

“No ma’am,” Gleam shook her head.  “But I know where he is.  He’s at--”

“That’s alright,” the mare waved a hoof to cut her off.  “Just pass along a message for me, would you?”

“Sure!” Gleam smiled.  Finally, something she could do.

“Tell him… tell him an old friend wants to say hello,” Gleam noticed the ghost of a smile touch the mare’s lips.  “And also, tell him I want to meet him back where it all began.”

Gleam tilted her head in confusion.  Back where it all began?

“Should I give him a name?” she asked.

The mare shook her head, before turning and starting to trot away.  “Trust me, he’ll know exactly who you’re talking about, though it might take him a moment.  But if he can’t get it through his head, just remind him that no one says no to me.”

And with that, she was gone, back into the town, leaving her standing there awkwardly.  And it might have been Gleam’s imagination, but as soon as the mare entered a crowd, she had vanished.

Who was that? she wondered, frowning.  “Back where it all began”?

She supposed Archmage Nova Shine would know.  It was, after all, a message from an old friend.  And this would give her an excuse to get out of the house and go see him.  Maybe he’d even give her a sneak peek at whatever topic they were going to be studying.

It wasn’t hard to find the Castle of Friendship.  The thing could be seen from literally any part of town, but that just meant she’d have to literally trek across town.  The house was on the complete opposite side of Ponyville, substantially closer to the large open square where according to the locals, the Golden Oaks Library had once been, which was probably intentional, given the house she was now living in had apparently been built before Tirek’s attack.

Gleam had thought it would have been cool to see the place Princess Twilight had lived before she had become a princess, but alas, now all that was there was the sprout of a new tree that was slowly growing.

She made her way through the town, eventually arriving at the castle.  After pulling open the door and heading inside, she stared in every direction, wondering just where the Archmage and the Princess were at this time of day.  Were they doing anything important?  Perhaps they were at the school across the way?  But before she could back out and head over there to check, she was startled to hear two unmistakable voices arguing not far away.

“--just think you’re asking me to take things a little too quickly, Twi,” a voice that was unmistakably Archmage Nova Shine’s said from whatever room he was in.  It didn’t sound heated, but he certainly seemed irritated by something.

“If what you’ve told me about her is correct, and if I’m remembering the curriculum for Celestia’s School correctly, then it would really help her out for you to teach her this.  Enchanting is one of the more heavily-weighted subjects in the final exam.”

Bright Gleam felt a veritable avalanche of dread at Princess Twilight’s words.  Enchanting?  On the first day!?  Oh no, oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no!  She really was going to embarrass herself on her first day!

“I don’t know, I just feel like jumping into a topic that she needs work on like that could cause problems,” Archmage Nova Shine protested.  “Did I ever tell you how I reacted when Princess Luna tried to get me to figure out alchemy?”

“You told me enough,” Princess Twilight replied.  “You convinced yourself that Princess Luna would strip you of your apprenticeship, if I’m remembering it right.”

“Yeah,” Archmage Nova Shine pressed.  “What if she doesn’t get it?  What if I can’t help her to get it?  What if she doesn’t want to be my apprentice because I’m asking her to do what she thinks is too much, Twilight?”

What!?  Not want to be his apprentice anymore!?  How could he think anyone wouldn’t want to be his apprentice!?  He was the Archmage!  No one in their right mind wouldn’t want to be his apprentice!

Princess Twilight actually laughed at that one, something that made Gleam feel indignant for her master, even if she did also think that what he’d said was preposterous.

“Nova,” she said, with a kind and encouraging note in her voice, “from what I’ve seen of her in the little time I’ve gotten to talk to her, I don’t think you’ll ever have to worry about her not wanting to be your apprentice.  I mean, she practically worships the ground you walk on.  She actually came by and asked if she could borrow your old Night Master cloak for a few days.  Looked scared out of her mind for daring to ask me for it, too.”

...that was true.  She’d wanted to be prepared in case it actually was enchanting that he’d have her study on her first day.  His cloak could supposedly do so many things.  Some of the colts at the school said he could use it to fly, others thought he used it to turn invisible, one little filly with a hyperactive imagination thought he could use it to turn into a giant dragon, and her friend Tango Foxtrot swore he could use it to bat spells back at their caster.  She’d told him that was next-to-impossible, but Foxtrot hadn’t backed down.  Said he saw it with his own eyes during the Storm King’s invasion.

She thought that by studying his cloak, she might have been able to figure out how enchanting actually worked before he ever got to teach her.  Make a good first impression and all, and maybe his cloak would have some kind of secret that the simple enchanted props at the school didn’t have.

“...Twilight,” Archmage Nova Shine said, so softly she could barely hear it, “will I be a good teacher?”

She heard a shuffling.  “I think you will be a great teacher, Nova.  Sure, you may need to adjust at first, but I’ve personally seen how you handle teaching, and I think with you guiding her, Bright Gleam will go on to do wondrous things.”

Gleam felt all mushy all of a sudden.  Did Princess Twilight really have that kind of faith in her?  It was easy to see why she would have that kind of faith in her master, since Archmage Nova Shine was one of the greatest ponies she knew, but how could the princess think so highly of her?  She was just some random filly who’d been bold enough to ask if she could be his apprentice at his Ascendancy reception.  It wasn’t like she had done anything really deserving of such praise.

There was a sniffling noise now, followed by more shuffling.  “Th-thanks Twilight,” Archmage Nova Shine said, his voice now lightly quivering with emotion.

“Anything for you, love,” Twilight assured him.  “Now, do you need a moment?  Or can we get back to finding things for Gleam to enchant this afternoon?”

“J-just a moment,” Archmage Nova Shine replied, before she heard him start to trot.

...and he was trotting in her direction.

Before she could react, one of the doors in this entry hall was pushed open, and Archmage Nova Shine came trotting out, pawing at his eyes.  Behind him were several boxes of things, clearly in the middle of being packed.  Gleam remembered for a moment that they were planning on moving to Canterlot eventually due to Princess Twilight’s coronation, but she put that at the back of her mind.  As the archmage stepped out, he looked up, and their eyes met.  He froze where he stood when he realized who he was looking at.

“Gleam?” he asked, sounding surprised.  “Our lesson isn't for another three hours.”

Princess Twilight’s head poked out from behind a wall, looking confused.

“Did you not sense her?”

“I didn’t,” said the Archmage, giving her an equally-confused look.  “Is the castle blocking it or something?”

“It has before,” Twilight muttered to herself, frowning.  “So, what brings you here, Gleam?” she asked, dropping the matter and trotting out of the room.

“I’m-sorry-for-eavesdropping!” she immediately answered, feeling the familiar panic burst forth.  At once, she started to hyperventilate like she always did.  “Please-don’t-send-me-back-I-promise-I-won’t-do-it-again!”

The archmage and princess glanced at each other, and back at her.

“Gleam, slow down,” Archmage Nova Shine instructed, trotting forward, placing a steadying hoof on her shoulder, and then reaching up and flicking the tip of her horn with his hoof.  A chill ran down her spine, and she gasped as it seemed to… reset her?  It felt like some kind of weird on-off switch, startling her out of her panic and putting her at least into less of a panicked state.

“Take deep breaths,” the archmage added, waiting patiently for her to calm down.

She did as she was asked, taking great gulps of air to calm down.  His hoof did wonders alone, but the air really helped things, slowing her hammering heart and doing wonders for her composure.  After a few seconds, he removed it and gave her a sympathetic smile.

“Better?” he asked kindly.

“Yes,” she bowed her head, relieved.  “Thank-you master.”

“Never call me ‘master’ again,” the Archmage made a face.  “Call me ‘Nova’, please.”

Bright Gleam felt dismay course through her system.  The Archmage, the heir to the Novus clan and her master, wanted her, a commoner from Canterlot, to call him by his name!?  She looked aghast at the very suggestion, which caused to start Princess Twilight start laughing again.

“B-but master, it wouldn’t be right to call you by name!” she protested.  “And you didn’t want me calling you Lord Archmage all of the time!”

“Gleam,” Archmage Nova Shine said, sounding half-amused, half-exasperated now, “I may be the Archmage, and this means that yes, I am your master, but even so, I want to be a friend first, who just happens to be helping you to achieve your potential.  I get it if you want to call me ‘master’ in front of others, but if it’s not in public and you have to call me something, just call me ‘teacher.’  Otherwise, please, just Nova will do.”

Gleam felt as though she were going through a mini-crisis right then and there.  Her gaze flicked between the Archmage and Princess Twilight, almost as if she would get in trouble for daring to even consider the notion.

“Did you need something?” Princess Twilight asked, thankfully throwing her a lifeline, one that she took without a second thought.  “As my bonehead of a fiancee said, your first lesson isn’t for another few hours.”

“Yes!” she blurted out.  “Yes, I…” she took a deep breath again, slowing herself down to get it out in one piece, “someone came to see you.”

“Oh?” Twilight asked, giving Nova an odd look.  “Someone came to see you at that old house?  You haven’t even lived there in three years.”

“Yeah,” Nova frowned.  “Weird.  All my friends know I live here.  Who was it?  Did they leave a name?”

“No,” Gleam shook her head.  “She just said that she wanted to meet you back at the beginning or something.”

“‘Back at the beginning?’” Twilight asked, now seeming positively flummoxed.  “What… who…?”

“You said ‘she’.  It was a mare, right?” Nova queried. When Gleam nodded, he asked, “What did she look like?”

“Well, she was green, with a dark red mane and tail,” she said, thinking back to the odd, impatient mare from a few minutes before.

There was a sharp intake of breath.  Gleam blinked and refocused on her teacher.  Archmage Nova Shine had stiffened, his eyes wide, and his mouth parted.  Princess Twilight looked uneasy as well.  She was looking between Gleam and her fiancee at lightning speed, but Gleam noticed that she was paying extra attention to the Archmage.

“Nova?” she asked, reaching out and touching his shoulder.  “Are you--?”

A hoof shot toward Gleam and grabbed her by the shoulder so hard it almost hurt.  Gleam jumped, staring at the white hoof gripping her, before she turned to find the Archmage’s face mere inches away from her own, and looking… scared?

“Her eyes,” Archmage Nova Shine said breathlessly.  “What color were they?”

“Uh… red?” she answered softly.

Nova Shine’s hoof pulled her even closer, and the grip on her shoulder tightened.  “Where!?” he demanded.  There was a terrifying note of desperation in his voice, and she recoiled, but he didn’t lose his grip.  “Bright Gleam, where did she say--?”

“Back-- back where it began!” Gleam answered, leaning away from him.

Archmage Nova Shine let her go immediately and galloped toward the door.  There was a momentary flash of blue light and the Archmage’s Cloak appeared around his shoulders, flapping in the air as he sprinted away, out of the castle and in the direction of the Everfree Forest.

“Nova, wait!” cried Princess Twilight, flying after him.  Gleam blinked stupidly for a moment, but then gave chase herself.  Archmage Nova Shine didn’t pay her any heed, and seemed to gallop even faster.

“Master!” Gleam called after him.  Princess Twilight glanced back at her, and then suddenly diverted coure, landing in front of Gleam and using her magic to stop Gleam in her tracks..

“No, Bright Gleam,” Princess Twilight ordered her, blocking off from following him.  “You need to stay here!”

She tried to fight her way past the Princess.  “But--”

“No buts!” Princess Twilight shoved her back with a single hoof.  How strong was this mare?  “You need to stay here, where it’s safe,” she commanded.  “Go find Spike at the school, and tell him to send a letter to Princess Celestia and Luna.  The letter should say that this is an emergency,” Gleam felt a chill run down her spine at that word, “and they needed to keep an eye on the Everfree Vaults,  Go, now!”

Gleam scurried away, galloping toward the School of Friendship as fast as her legs could carry her, all while desperately hoping her teacher was going to be alright.





Nova ducked under brambles, dodged trees, jumped over fallen logs a-plenty, and otherwise sprinted through the woods as fast as his legs could carry him.  While he had little time to dwell on it, he found himself actually being grateful to Sharp Eye and Princess Luna for insisting he train every morning.  He hadn’t been able to run at a full sprint the entire time, but his endurance had allowed him to move at no slower than a canter the entire way to and past the castle, as he now approached the one place in the entire forest he had hoped he would never have to visit again.

It was close.

Ducking off the main path, he slipped through an extra-thick section of the jungle, continuing his mad dash.  He didn’t care one bit about stealth at this point.

It can’t be her… he thought, almost pleading with reality.  She can’t have returned so soon!

Finally, he pushed through and emerged into a clearing in the woods.  Rubble lay before him, the remains of what had once been known as the Everfree Vaults.  It was here that he had nearly died four years ago, that they had successfully sealed Envy away yet again, and that they had believed they would never have to deal with her in their lifetimes.

Yet there she was.

She hadn’t changed a bit.  She was standing tall, just radiating vanity as a smile wormed its way across her face when she watched him enter the clearing.  Her eyes were half-lidded, the ruby necklace she wore glinted in the sunlight, and a light breeze ruffled her maroon mane and tail ever so slightly.

And despite the fact that she was right in front of him, he couldn’t feel her at all!  Why?  His energy-sensing never failed him!

Worry about that later!

“Impossible,” Nova wheezed, gasping for air as his breathing caught up to his hour-long dash.  “You… I sealed you away.”

“‘Oh hey Envy, it’s nice to see you again after four years, how have you been?’” she mocked, before the smug grin disappeared, replaced by a furious scowl.  “It’s insulting of you to think that you could get rid of me so easily, Nova Shine.”

“How?” Nova asked, his voice barely above a croak.  “The Novus Amulet fell down there with you.  Even if you broke out, you couldn’t just shadow your way back here!”

“You wanna know something funny?” she asked in a sickly sweet voice, stepping toward him with a cloying grin.  “Soul Jar magic trumps thousand-plus-year-old amulet magic.  And unless that amulet is made out of orichalcum, it’s gonna run out of juice eventually.  So yeah,” the grin faded, replaced with that scowl again.  “An entire building dropped on my Soul Jar, leaving me with inches of space tops if I was able to get out, which meant my only hope was being able to break that amulet of yours forcing me into pony form instead of my oh-so-useful shadowy self.”

She punctuated the statement by dissolving.  Her entire body dissipated into a grey shadowy cloud floating languidly in midair.  But her eyes, burning in intensity, remained, and they were fixed on him.

“All I had to do was weaken the seal on the Soul Jar just enough to let me escape whenever I wanted, and then stick a hoof or two out until the amulet ran out of energy trying to force me into pony form while the Soul Jar kept me stuck in shadow form to suck me in.”  Her rather venomous tone suddenly became outright hostile, and she shifted back into the form of a green mare with a maroon mane and tail.  “It took me four years to wear your amulet out before it broke.  And here I am.”

“I won’t let you near anyone!” Nova declared, his horn glowing and the sheer intensity of the magic he was channeling causing the grass and cape to billow around him.

“Oooh, you’ve gotten stronger,” Envy mused.  “I think this is going to be a lot of fun.  And I bet you’re just dying to find out--”

Nova didn’t let her finish.  There was a great ripping noise and an entire tree was tossed toward Envy, who blasted it apart.

“That was uncalled for!” she snarled.  “I was just saying, I bet you’re dying to find out what--”

Nova tossed a boulder at her this time.  Envy blasted it into powder, her snarl deepening.

“You’re just dying to find out what I’m--!”

Rubble from the destroyed Vaults dropped on top of her, though she teleported out of the way.

“LET ME FINISH!” she yelled, tossing a small rock at him with her hoof in frustration.

“No,” Nova replied, as he watched the rock fall short by several meters.  With a loud musical hum, a bright blue beam blasted from his horn, speeding toward Envy at a breakneck pace.  Envy yelped and shifted into her shadowy form just in time for the beam to shoot through her.  The beam hit the rubble of the Vaults, sending a particularly thick chunk flying backwards into the thick of the forest.

Envy returned to solid form, glaring at him.  “Honestly, some ponies just have no taste in dramatics.”

“Wrong,” Nova rebuffed, before stamping his hooves into the ground.

From where they hit, the earth began to shift and rumble, before large chunks began to spike upward from the ground, trying to spear Envy where she stood.  Envy leapt sideways to avoid them, and then did so again to avoid a new set of earthen stalagmites, before sending a red blast of lightning his way.  Nova’s blue shield neutralized it well before it could hit him.

“You aren’t playing the game right!” Envy scowled at him.  “We’re supposed to banter, I’m supposed to tease my villainous plan, we’re supposed to-- HEY!” she sidestepped a thrown log, before galloping forward and physically tackling Nova to the ground, before straddling him and pressing her silver knife to his throat.  “Okay, that’s enough.  What the hell happened to you?  Four years can’t have turned you into a no-fun grouch.”

Nova stiffened as the cold metal touched his neck, acutely aware of the scar on his back that he still had from the last time Envy had actually used her knife on him.

“I like the new duds, though,” she continued, quite casually for someone who held life and death in her hoof.  “That black cape looks super-sharp on you.  And you’ve clearly gotten a lot more powerful since we collapsed the building over there.  I think this one might be even more fun than last time.”

“What are you talking about?” Nova asked, as neutrally as possible while he slid a hoof onto the ground as slowly as he could.

“The game,” Envy huffed, clearly annoyed.  “You know, where I terrorize a few innocents, you and that purple one stop me, and you seal me away for a few years before we get to do it all over again… this is the first time I’ve gotten a rematch!” she seemed positively giddy.

“Hate to break it to you,” Nova failed to stop a snigger, “but if you think we’ve just rested on our laurels and not gotten any stronger since then, you’re in for a nasty surprise.”

“Oh, I know” Envy purred.  “You’re the Archmage now, she’s got a big pair of flippy-flappers, and rumor has it,” her voice got conspiratorial, “she’s going to become ol’ Sunbutt’s replacement soon.  I wonder,” a wicked smile spreading across her muzzle, “how’s she gonna feel when you croak and she has to live out the rest of eternity all by her lonesome self?”

“Funny story,” Nova grunted, digging his hoof into the ground.  Just a little more…  “She and I have already had this conversation.”

“Oh?  Do tell,” Envy leaned an ear toward him.  “Don’t tell me, you’re gonna go for a pair of wings yourself, just so she doesn’t feel so--”

WHAM!

A column of earth shot out of the ground, slamming into Envy’s side and sending her flying sideways with a yelp of pain.

The moment he felt the knife leave his throat, Nova vaulted himself to his hooves, horn brimming with magic.  Envy had landed a few meters away, but was staggering to her feet, wiping dirt off of her face.

“That was a cheap trick,” she spat, glowering at him.

“All’s fair in love and war,” he replied, stamping his hooves into the ground again and causing a yawning chasm to split open beneath her and attempt to swallow her up.  Envy just shifted into her shadow to avoid it.

“Ooh, all’s fair in love?” she asked, giggling girlishly, “oh my, what will your darling dame think of this?”

A wave of blue magic pulsed out of Nova’s horn, passing right through the floating shadow and an instant later, Envy was re-solidified and plummeted to the ground where she landed in a heap.

“Ow,” she grunted, stretching and massaging certain body parts as she got back to her hooves.  “What’s your deal today?  Did I kill your goldfish or something?  Normally you at least humor me.”

“You threatened Gleam,” Nova growled.  Five white orbs of light popped into existence around him and began to orbit him at a breakneck pace.  “If you touch her, I will end you, Summer.”

He punctuated his statement by launching all five of them at Envy.  She yelped and backpedaled just in time to avoid each one of them slamming into the ground at top speed.  A veritable geyser of dirt erupted from each impact zone, which added to the objects raining down on Envy.

After she seemed to be in the clear, panting, she glared at Nova.

“Okay, first, that was also uncalled for,” she growled, “and second, what did you call me?”

“Summer.  You know, your name? Summer Blossom?  Ring any bells?” Nova replied scathingly.

Envy snorted.  “That’s not my name, you idiot.”

“What, you trying to tell me that Envy’s your real name and not just some edgy moniker you adopted now?” Nova scoffed.

Envy just stamped a hoof and snorted again.  “Okay, I get that you’re trying to get under my skin, but it’s not going to work, so just can it now.”

“What are you talking about?” Nova’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“I mean,” Envy snarled, throwing him a supremely annoyed look, “that you calling me Summer just to annoy me isn’t going to--”

Her face suddenly fell slack as realization spread across her face.  For a moment, all she could do was stare at him in shock, before she started to giggle.  Then the giggles turned into laughter.  The laughing became guffawing, until she had fallen right over and was kicking her hooves with reckless abandon.  Nova could have sworn he saw actual tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes.

“HAHAHAHA!  YOU REALLY DON’T KNOW!  YOU REALLY THINK-- HEE HEE!-- THAT I’M HER!”

All Nova could do was stand there, watching the scene unfold in front of him with a sinking suspicion that he was about to learn something horrifying.

“Oh-- oh my,” Envy staggered to her hooves, fighting off the last wheezy giggles   “Oh please, you have to be joking.  You really had me going there for a second.”

When Nova just continued to stare at her, horn glowing and dreading what was going to come next, the smile slid off her face.

“You… you really don’t, do you?”  Amusement gave way to disbelief.  “You can’t even recognize it when it’s right in front of you?  I had that filly tell you something that made it so supremely obvious that even a blind, deaf, comatose lobotomy patient would have known about it!”

“What, ‘back where it all began?’”

“No, you dumbass!” Envy just rolled her eyes in exasperation.  “She didn’t tell you, did she?  I distinctly told her to tell you--” she cut herself off and dragged a hoof down her face before grumbling to herself, “Can’t rely on anyone these days.  Have to do everything yourself!”

“What’s going on?” Nova demanded, the glow of his horn intensifying.

“You see this?” Envy tapped the ruby pendant.

“What about it?”

“You know what it is?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.

“What?” Nova asked.

Envy let out a long, disappointed sigh.  “I really don’t know what he sees in you,” she muttered angrily.  “They really will make just anyone an archmage these days…”

“What is it, Envy?”

“This, Lord Archmage,” she added in a mocking tone as she tapped on the pendant again, “is a Spirit Gem.  Ever heard of it?”

Something about the phrase sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t put his hoof on it.  Nevertheless, he still kept his guard up.

“And?”

Envy just continued to stare at him, her disbelief growing more and more apparent.

“So… so let me get this straight,” she pinched the bridge of her nose, “they made you the Archmage, and you can’t even tell me something as basic to alicorn magic as what a Spirit Gem is?  What, were they just giving the position away that day?”

“Shut up,” Nova growled.

“Ooo, touched a nerve,” Envy observed, taking a step forward.  “Well, you learn something new every day.  So, Spirit Gems.  Handy little gems that have been altered with alicorn magic to sustain a portion of, or an entire, spirit.  What separates them from the usual horcruxes, however, is that Spirit Gems can store the mind as well as the soul, and just what you can do with them.”

“I don’t like where this is going,” Nova whispered to himself as something slowly started to dawn on him.

“Most relevantly,” Envy stepped forward, a cold smile crossing her muzzle, “someone could store their own spirit in the gem and use it to take over the body of someone else.  And since I know you’re starting to put two and two together...”

The cold smile turned absolutely frigid.

“Summer Blossom hasn’t been in control of her own body since that last night before you went back to your own time.”

Nova’s breath had suddenly become heaving.  No… she had to be lying…

“Then… then who are you?” he asked.

Envy’s frigid smile approached absolute zero.

“The eyes are the window to the soul, Nova Shine.  Don’t tell me you don’t recognize them.  Just in case you don’t, though, I’m sure you’ll remember that...”

The smile vanished instantly, replaced by a death glare.

“No one says no to Shimmer Silvermane.”

Nova’s breath caught, his eyes flicking down to the Spirit Gem, then back up to Envy’s red eyes.

Those horrible red eyes…

“You… what have you done to Summer?” he asked, his voice shaking with barely restrained rage.

“Oh, nothing,” Envy-- no, Shimmer rolled her eyes, before tapping on the gem.  “She’s safe and sound right here.”

“Why?” he asked, the air around them beginning to swirl dangerously as he teetered on the edge of letting go…  “Why her…?”

“Because I knew it would get exactly this reaction out of you,” her stance widened, and her horn began to let off several red sparks.  “Does the thought of me trapping someone you clearly cared a great deal about for over a thousand years make you--”

Nova snapped.

A beam of energy blasted out of his horn and caught her right in the breast, sending her flying backwards.  Nova didn’t even give her time to land before plunging his hooves into the earth.  There was a great ripping noise and several ropey roots ripped themselves free from the soil and lashed out toward Shimmer, who was only just able to evade them, and Nova noticed with savage satisfaction that she looked utterly terrified.

He sprinted forward, the five orbs of light reappearing around him and spinning at a dangerous pace, before they zoomed off and began to attempt to crush her again.  Unlike before, everywhere they hit the ground began to hiss and fizzle, and the ground ignited everywhere they touched.

Shimmer danced away from the orbs of molten death and even fired a blast of red lightning Nova’s way, but Nova almost casually deflected it into the ground with a wave of his cape, the spellwork that lay within it making it a nearly-trivial task.

Great chunks of the collapsed stonework were lifted into the air, several at a time, and were brought down on Shimmer as well, causing the ground to shake all around them.

The stone exploded outward, some of the debris scratching Nova as he failed to shield himself, to reveal that Shimmer was looking irate at the turn of events.  Her earlier terror must have only been momentary shock, but now she looked like she was ready to take the gloves off.

“Fine,” she said in her silkiest voice, “if that’s how you want to play…”

Before she could say or do anything else, however, Nova felt the welcome aura of his fiancee approaching from the air, before a lilac blur slammed into the ground right next to him, horn already brimming with energy, and wings flared dangerously.

“Sorry I’m late,” Twilight growled, pawing at the ground.  “I don’t suppose that nuckelavee was your doing?”

Shimmer shrugged, but the smile on her face said it all.  “Honestly, am I your go-to for every weird creature the forest wants to spit out?”

Twilight fired a warning shot she ducked under, which seemed to do nothing but irritate her.

“Wow, you both just aren’t in the mood today.  Yes, that was me,” Shimmer answered.  “I just wanted a moment to talk to Nova Shine without you being here to ruin the fun.”

Nova neither knew nor cared what a nuckelavee was.  He wanted nothing more than to fire a blast powerful enough to disintegrate everything in front of him right now, something that Twilight seemed acutely aware of.

“What’s she done?” Twilight asked, nudging him.  “Nova, what has she done!?”

Before Nova could answer, there came the snap of a twig that startled all of them.  The snapping sound echoed throughout the clearing.  Nova’s eyes snapped toward the source of the noise.

Blue eyes met green, hidden in a bush at the forest’s edge.

...directly behind Shimmer.

Gleam!

There was a heartstopping moment as Nova’s gaze flicked back to Shimmer, who was now grinning malevolently.  He had shown too much.

A blast of red lightning flew from her horn as she whirled around.  Nova acted purely on instinct.  The next thing he knew, he was standing between Gleam’s hiding place and the oncoming bolt, had whirled his cape up, and had braced himself against it just in time to catch the bolt.

Nova felt the impact of the bolt on his cape, push him back a few inches, but he dug in and pushed against it.





“Master!” he heard Gleam shout from behind him.

“GO!” he shouted back at her.  “RUN!”

“But--!”

“RUN!” he repeated, starting to feel himself lose his footing.  “GET TO THE OLD CASTLE!”  He heard the bush rustling, he felt her aura retreat, and to his immense relief, felt the force of Shimmer’s lightning vanish.

Lowering his cape, he could see that Twilight had intercepted the blast and was now in a beam lock against her, as magenta magic struggled against red lightning.  Twilight was throwing every other spell she could think of into the mix to try and disrupt Shimmer’s focus, but Shimmer ducked under and around each thrown rock, gout of flame, or other attempt.  But Twilight’s brute alicorn strength would not be denied.  Inch by inch, her beam pushed Shimmer’s back, until--

Shimmer dissolved into shadow with a cackle, as Twilight’s beam passed right through her.

“Aaaaaand the stall job is complete,” she announced, already starting to fly backwards away from them, even as Nova chased her with the same tangibility spell he’d used before at the ready.  “Sorry, but I’m not letting you catch me off-guard like that again.  Be seeing you both!”

And with that, the black mass of shadow zipped away, faster than Nova could chase.

Nova watched her go, still running on fury and adrenaline.  “COME BACK!” he roared, shooting after her, but each beam harmlessly passed right through her and she flew away.

“Nova, wait!” Twilight called, flying up to him and trying to restrain him.  “We have to get back to Gleam!”

“No!” Nova tore himself free and continued to give chase.  “I have to save her!”

“Save who!?” Twilight asked, now resorting to magic to trip him up and hold him down.  “Nova, what’s going on!?”

“LET ME GO!” Nova fought in his bonds.  “SHE’S--!”

“STOP!” Twilight shouted, a wave of magenta magic pulsing out of her and washing over him, making him feel sluggish, as though each hoof weighed a thousand pounds.  “Nova, you’re in no condition to chase after her  What happened!?  Are you alright!?”

Nova slumped back against the ground, feeling hopelessness and pain well up inside of him as everything he had just learned started to wash over him again.

Summer Blossom was never Envy.  He had hated her, and felt bad for his role in making her who she was, but she was never his enemy.  Summer was a victim.  Summer was collateral damage!

“...no,” he whispered, falling back against the ground and blinking back tears.  “No, I’m not.”