//------------------------------//
// Part V 
// Story: Falling from the Sky 
// by RD-loves-RA 
//------------------------------//


(I own nothing but the plotline and characters. MLP:FiM is property of Hasbro and Lauren Faust. Any attempts to sue me or my affiliates will be met with crying, pleading, and with negotiation, a written apology.)





Falling from the Sky





By RD-loves-RA





Chapter 23: Goodbye


“I think he’s waking up.” 

Twilight. That was definitely Twilight.

“What gave you that idea? Was it the fact that he’s wriggling all over the bed like an impatient earth worm?”  Aurora said sarcastically.

“As opposed to what, Aurora? A calm earth worm? What’s the difference?” Twilight’s cynicism began to show.

“I reckon one’s patient and the other’s im”— 

“Thank you, Applejack! I couldn’t have figured that out without your help.”

“Ah didn’t even finish! If’n I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were bein’ sarcastic with me!”

Oh really?

“Nope. Never.” Twilight said, her words dripping with derision.

“G-Girls, please stop… he’s been through a lot, and I think…”

“Are you lyin’ tah me? You know Ah hate liars!”

“Applejack, calm down. It’s sarcasm, not the end of the world.”

Wow, they’re really good at arguing and being loud… Fluttershy isn’t having much luck diffusing this. Maybe if I lie still, and don’t make a sound, they’ll all go away and let me sleep in this comfortable bed.

“I’d be pretending to sleep too if I were you.” I heard Rainbow Dash next to me, whispering in my ear. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

Crap, she knows!

“Ah’ll tell you what, Ah’m goin’ downstairs tah make more pancakes. Food ain’t never been ill tah me.” Applejack stormed out the door of Twilight’s bedroom, presumably towards the kitchen.

“Huh, looks like I don’t need to step in after all. You can ‘wake up’ now.” Rainbow Dash said out loud.

“Morning!” I said with mock enthusiasm, sitting up in bed rapidly enough to startle Fluttershy from across the room. “How is everypony?”

“We’re all fine, and just for the record, it’s the middle of the night…” Twilight spoke up, correcting my confused internal clock.

“Oh, sorry… I didn’t mean to keep anypony up. It’s kinda hard to keep track of the time as of late.”

“Maybe if you stopped passing out on us, you wouldn’t be having this problem.” Rainbow Dash said, elbowing me in the side with a laugh.

“Consciousness and I have a very rickety relationship.” I said with a chuckle of my own. “So what have you all been up too while Dash and I were busy?”

Twilight and Fluttershy’s eyes lit up when they picked up on the familiarity I used when addressing Rainbow Dash, but they didn’t seem to pick up on why. I looked at the only other pony in the room for an answer, but her neon green eyes were constricted in what looked to be fear and apprehension.

“Well…?” Aurora said, managing to break through her nerves.

“Well, what?” I said, smiling deviously. I looked towards her flank and decided to make her mad. “I don’t know what you want from me Rory, why don’t you just leaf me alone?”

Aurora’s composure shattered, and her face contorted into one of confusion. She began to fidget around a bit, trying to get her thoughts in order. Then, like clockwork, her face solidified into her trademark scowl.

Here it comes.

“I haven’t seen you for weeks. I went looking for you everywhere. I worried about your sorry flank every minute of every day, and I finally find you, lacking EVERY memory of me. Then, you regain consciousness the next day, and the first thing to come out of your mouth…” Aurora turned red, and the vein in her forehead pulsed steadily.

“Yes…?” I said slyly, my grin growing even wider.

“And the first thing to come out of your mouth is that SHITTY pun!?” Aurora yelled, losing her temper completely. “What the hell happened to you!?”

“Things didn’t go according to plan, sue me.” I said, still wearing my grin. “Just because I messed up, doesn’t mean you should tree me like this.”

“I’M GOING TO STRANGLE YOU!” Aurora leapt towards me in anger, leaving me barely enough time to hop out of bed and avoid her. “Oh no, you aren’t getting away!”

Aurora jumped off of Twilight’s bed and towards the wall, which she used as a vertical stepping stone to rebound upon. Her wall jump trajectory put her in my path, and before I could react, the petite pink pony was latched onto me. She forcibly closed my wings and we fell to the ground, to which she now had me pinned.

“Somepony pull me off of him or so help me he won’t live long enough to piss me off again!” Aurora yelled, clearly fed up with my antics.

Much to my surprise, Fluttershy was the one who moved forward. She gingerly wrapped her hooves around Aurora, who was still clad in her combat vest. Aurora calmed noticeably, seemingly influenced by Fluttershy’s calming aura. Fluttershy looked my way, and upon seeing the idiotic smile I wore, shot me a smile of her own, complete with flustered cheeks.

The sight was enough to make my heart melt, but I could see Twilight was about to step in and make me speak. A feeling of Déjà vu swept over me as I realized we’d come full circle. Once again, I was waking up in Twilight’s bed, overwhelmed with stimuli, and being prompted to speak by an impatient lavender unicorn. This time however, I had all the answers I had previously longed for.

“I hear you loud and clear, Twilight. I’m assuming Rainbow Dash hasn’t told you much, so we’ll tell you everything in a bit. If it’s alright though, I’d like to get something to eat first.” My stomach rumbled on cue, sparking the realization of how hungry I actually was.

“Of course, and that’s all well and good… But I didn’t say any”—

“You were going to.” Rainbow Dash said, merely smirking at the lavender unicorn as she turned red and smiled sheepishly. Twilight regained her composure and started speaking.

“Ok, let’s get set up in the study again. Rainbow Dash, would you mind getting the others? I’m sure they want to hear all of this.”

“Three ponies and one baby dragon, coming right up!” Rainbow Dash said with a mock salute, before zipping out the bedroom window.

“Fluttershy, Aurora? Would you mind getting something for our famished friend? I have a couple questions for him.”

“Uhh… Sorry Twilight, but I have to object here. The last time I asked Aurora to cook for me, I got a black eye. I think I’ll go help Fluttershy in the kitchen. Any questions you have for me can wait for my debriefing. I’ve nothing to hide.” I said, smiling at Aurora and Fluttershy, who scowled and beamed at me respectively.

“Whatever you say then. Aurora?” Twilight asked, almost cringing as the pink pony’s neon green eyes pierced the lavender pony.

“Yes, Twilight?” Aurora responded flatly, indicative of her usual indifference to the situation.

“Would you like to help me get the study ready? I’m sure nopony wants to sit on the ground anymore.” Twilights comment clearly struck a synapse in Aurora’s head.

“If fate grants me the opportunity to prevent another pony’s flank from suffering that floors evil abuse, then so help me, I’ll do everything in my power to help.” Aurora said jokingly, and actually smiled at Twilight. The two ponies left the room, and I turned to Fluttershy.

“Was she just being…social?” I asked, in utter disbelief.

“I think she was.” Fluttershy’s soft voice returned, its sweetness catching me off guard. “She’s a very nice pony. I can see why you’re her…friend.”

I caught her hesitation immediately. “Fluttershy, who do you think Aurora is, in relation to me?” I looked to her for an answer.

“Oh, well I… She and I talked, and…” I could see Fluttershy was having difficulty expressing herself. Her shyness was hindering her ability to speak to me. Luckily, I knew where she was going, and knew exactly how to diffuse the situation. 

“She told you that she and I were together at one point.”

“Y-Yes…” Fluttershy’s head sank.

“Well, that’s the truth. We stumbled over each other while we were just kids, and we tried a relationship a bit later. It didn’t work out.” I said flatly, having the memories fresh in my head.

“Do you still… Do you still like…her?” I hated seeing Fluttershy so insecure, but my next statement was necessary, and would most likely floor her.

“Do you still like Rainbow Dash?”

“W-What!? W-Who t-told you”—

“Aurora wasn’t the only one who felt like sharing it seems. Rainbow Dash told me about you two.” I looked away for a moment, gathering my thoughts. “Do you still like her?”

“Well, no… She’s like a sister to me now! I only have feelings”—

“For you. I only have feelings for you.” I said, cutting Fluttershy off. “I didn’t know it at the time, but Dash and I were in similar situations. We both had a pony that we saw mostly as a sister fall in love with us, and even though we wanted nothing more than to see them happy, we couldn’t reciprocate those feelings.”

“Thundervolt…”

“I tried; don’t get me wrong, it’s just… The universe didn’t want us together, and so we went our separate ways for a while. She went to Manehattan, and I wandered around the surrounding area, made some friends… Maybe spied on her a bit, just to make sure she didn’t get into trouble.” I sighed, thinking back to that trip. “She made it really difficult to follow her though. She’s extraordinarily good at covering her tracks.”
 
You’re getting off topic, swoop in for the save!

“Sorry, getting off track. The point is your feelings for Rainbow Dash are in the past, right?”

“Yes, yes they are. I haven’t thought about her in that way for a long time, and we’ve stayed great friends.” Fluttershy responded, starting to come out of her minor depression.

“Well, my feelings for Aurora are in the past as well. She isn’t an ex, she’s family…” I smiled at the last part of my statement, my heart warming slightly.

“Ok. I feel much better now.” Fluttershy said, exhaling softly. A load had clearly been lifted from her shoulders.

“What do you say we go make that snack?” I said, motioning for us to head out of the room. “And Fluttershy?”

“Yes?” Before she could do anything else, I moved in and placed a small kiss on Fluttershy’s cheek.

“I missed you.” The yellow pegasus turned bright red and smiled lovingly at me, before joining me on my way to the kitchen.




“Alright, listen up everypony!” Rainbow Dash growled, sounding like a drill instructor. “We’ve got a lot to cover this evening, and I won’t be tolerating any shenanigans!”

“That’s right; please hold your questions until we reach the designated Q&A segments of the lesson!” I said, following Rainbow Dash’s lead.

“I’ll be telling the story for the first half of the lesson, allowing Thundervolt here to fill in the details accordingly.”

“She’ll be very direct, and tell the story faster than I would. During the second half of the story, I’ll be giving the floor to Aurora, who is also more direct with her information.” I said, gesturing at the mare accordingly.

“Why aren’t you telling the story? You were there the whole time.” Twilight asked skeptically.

“What did we say about questions ma’am?” Rainbow Dash said sternly towards Twilight.

“I’m very sorry, carry on.” Twilight said, merely smiling at Rainbow Dash’s mock chastisement.

“To answer your question, I’m not the best at summarizing. I spin a long tale with elaborate descriptions and dramatic pauses that fill my listeners with”—

“He’s been known to ham it up.” Aurora said, cutting me off with a grin.

“Ma’am, you’re disturbing the audience.” Rainbow Dash said sternly once again, this time being met by Aurora’s flat stare.

“Not to rush you two, but we should get started. It’s late, and we had to wake everyone up to get this going.” Twilight said, acting as the voice of reason.

“She’s right. Shall we?” I asked Rainbow Dash, motioning for us to take our position in front of the group.

Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Aurora were all sitting down next to each other from left to right. Rainbow Dash and I took our places in front of them, and prepared to recount our time in the dome. Rainbow Dash looked eager to start, so I nodded my head, signaling her to begin.

“Okay, just a warning everypony, this story isn’t the happiest around. Save the waterworks because Thundervolt and I are good.” Rainbow Dash looked to me for confirmation, and I nodded in agreement. “It all started on a dark and stormy night in Cloudsdale…”

“A lone pegasus by the name of Tempest Torrent discovers an orphan pegasus on his doorstep, and brings her to live with him in his orphanage. Her name?” I said, pausing for dramatic effect.

“Her name was Rainbow Dash! She would live her life in this orphanage until the age of 12. Who was there to keep her company you ask?” Rainbow Dash said, mimicking my theatrical tone.

“It was Thundervolt of course!”

“Rainbow Dash and Thundervolt: Orphanage Siblings Extraordinaire!” Rainbow Dash and I said in unison, earning bewildered looks from everypony in the audience.

“Darlings, I love theatre as much as the next pony, but don’t you think there is a time and place for everything?” Rarity asked, clearly bothered by our enthusiasm.

“Seriously, you two are getting a bit…eccentric.” Twilight said in agreement with Rarity.

“Well considering how depressing the rest of the story is, it seemed appropriate.” I said, a small frown finding its way onto my face.

“Alright then, keep going.”

“Wait, Twilight?” Aurora spoke up. “Would you happen to know how to put up a barrier? One that doesn’t let other ponies magic in or out?”

“Yes, I have a spell like that. Why?” Twilight asked, clearly confused.

“I need you to cast it, if it isn’t too much trouble. It would make me feel better.”

“Um, sure… Just a second.” Twilight said, charging up her horn. Small lavender light built up at its tip, and expanded outward until everypony in the circle was encapsulated in a sound canceling orb. “That should do it. Let’s get going. Quickly please.”

“So Thundervolt and I grew up together. We’re like adopted siblings, except we never got adopted. The closet things we had to parents were Tempest, the pony in charge of the orphanage, and this mare named Coldfront.” Rainbow Dash said, obeying Twilights wish.

“We just called her Coco.” I added.

“On the day I was supposed to head into flight school, we went to the orphanage to check on everything.”

“At that point, we were just living with Coco.”

“So we go into the orphanage, and…” Rainbow Dash started, trailing off as she became lost in thought.

“Dash?” I asked, trying to snap her out of her stupor.

“Oh, sorry…” She said, gathering her thoughts. “Tempest’s…body just gets thrown in front of us. He’d been killed.”

“Violently…” I said, my eyes constricting at the image.

A gasp was audible from our audience, as they expressed their own blends of shock, concern, and disgust at our words. We waited for them to settle down slightly before continuing.

“So we freak out, and all the doors to the orphanage lock. We look around, and see this big unicorn colt just watching us. Then he starts laughing, talking about how Tempest was a pushover and worthless…” Rainbow Dash said, sounding a bit more frantic.

“Nova…” Aurora said bitterly, her neon green eyes cutting the air like daggers.

“Who?” Twilight and Fluttershy asked simultaneously.

“Whoever he is, I reckon he ain’t too nice a fella…” Applejack responded grimly.

“Indeed, he seems comparable to a brute…” Rarity added.

“A big dumb meanie!” Pinkie Pie said with an irritated frown.

“You have no idea.” Aurora said, ending everypony’s rant.

“He attacked us, and almost killed Coco and Dash.” I said. “I stepped in and distracted him long enough for them to get away. I thought I was going to die, but he took me with him instead.” My brow hardened as I finished my statement.

“Apparently I repressed all of the memories from before, which is why I didn’t remember anything. Coco left me with a pony she could trust, and I went off to flight school. The rest is history.” Rainbow Dash said, her words sounding heavy and filled with emotion.

“That’s… That’s terrible!” Fluttershy said, her eyes watering.

“That’s also as much as I know.” Rainbow Dash stated flatly. “I think it’s…”

“Aurora.” The petite pink pony supplied Dash with her name.

“I think it’s Aurora’s turn to speak. I’m just as curious as everypony else to hear what these two were up too for so long.” Rainbow Dash gave the floor to Aurora, who promptly stood up beside me.

“Ok, listen closely. I’m only going to say this once. And I intend to keep it much shorter than the drama club’s rendition.” Aurora said, pouring on her ‘charm’. “Any objections?”

“They’re all yours, Rory.” I said, causing Aurora to glare at me. “Hey, you call me Thunderdolt all the time. I think I’ve earned the rights to your pet name.”

Aurora merely rolled her eyes as she took up her position next to me. She cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and began her compacted lecture.

“After Nova took Thundervolt, he brought him back to Canterlot, into the night guards’ chambers. Below the barracks is a laboratory that was built under the guise of being a ‘Research and Development’ department. I was already being held there for a few days before Volt here joined me. Nova started forcing us to train with him under threats against people close to us, in Thundervolt’s case, Rainbow Dash.” Aurora paused to glance at Rainbow Dash, who wore a guilt filled expression before Fluttershy started to comfort her.

“Needless to say, we cooperated. We were being turned into warriors… Weapons that he could use to further his own purposes, most of which we’ve still yet to uncover.” I said, realizing how little we actually knew about our captor.

“After a while, we’d learned the ins and outs of the mercenary’s trade. All while this was going on, Nova developed a serum. Its goal was to make us stronger, smarter, and more resilient. It mostly made us more durable and able to heal quickly, alongside some faster cognitive functions. The effects it had that didn’t show were much more incredible.” Aurora nodded towards me, and I understood what she wanted.

I stepped forward, staying clear of everypony around me. I focused my energy, and began to hear a small crackling around my body. Soon, tiny volts of electricity began emanating from my body, convulsing in all directions. Feeling the energy pulse through me, I flared my wings suddenly, drawing all the energy towards them, igniting them with large amounts of electricity, producing the glow and the buzz that I’d come to know.

The spectacle itself wasn’t as impressive to me as the faces of the ponies who witnessed it. Only Aurora and I had ever seen my wings like this, and so naturally, looks of shock and amazement were on everypony’s face. Applejack, Rarity, and Spike sat in awe, Twilight was furiously gazing upon them in an attempt to catalog any and all scientific information she could, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were marveling at the ‘coolness’ of the brightness and color, and Fluttershy…

Fluttershy sat there, blankly staring at me. She didn’t look surprised at all. No fear, no apprehension, no amazement, no wonder. It was as if she already knew about my power. Her lack of a response was more than worrisome, but it would have to wait. Aurora still had a story to tell.

“We’ve been changed. We’ve been places we’d have never gone, and we’ve done things we aren’t proud of… But that’s in the past. What matters now is what needs to be done.” Aurora looked out into the small crowd of ponies we were addressing. “I’m sure you all have questions, so”—

“How did the princesses let something like this happen!?” Twilight asked impatiently. “It’s not like you two were being kept a secret all this time, right?”

“Celestia is clueless. All she has is the vague knowledge that some science is going on somewhere and isn’t causing her any problems. Contrary to popular belief, she isn’t omnipotent.” Aurora responded coolly.

“Luna on the other hand…” I said hesitantly. “Luna is more involved than you’d like to believe.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense. Why would she do any of that?” Twilight asked, her worry climbing to the surface.

“Because she’s been manipulated by a monster and doesn’t know otherwise.” Aurora stated plainly.

“Nova used her like he used us. Only she doesn’t know she’s been used.” I added.

“Well how come she don’t know? Ah mean, she’s got to know something, right?” Applejack spoke up, sounding confused.

“I’m not sure how he’s managed to keep his intentions a secret, but my guess is that he omits our circumstances, and appeals to one of Luna’s desires.” I said thoughtfully. “He was doing this for a long time before she returned, and he became almost subservient when she appeared.”

“This gave her the illusion of control, and allowed Nova to keep working behind the scenes.” Aurora added. “She’s completely oblivious, which is why she thinks we’re traitors, instead of victims.”

“T-Traitors?” Fluttershy said nervously. Her previously blank stare was gone, replaced with her usual expression.

“Nova convinced her that we were plotting against the monarchy, and got Luna directly involved in our capture. He just wanted a distraction so that she wouldn’t watch him so closely.” I said softly, trying not to alarm Fluttershy too much.

“Instead, she’s been watching us. We’d been extremely careful to cover our tracks up until now, but circumstances didn’t allow it in this instance.” Aurora looked directly at me, and then continued. “She’s been watching us since Cloudsdale, Twilight and Fluttershy.”

“What!?” Both mares exclaimed in shock.

“That’s why I had you put up the barrier. She’s been surveying us for hours. This information needed to be hidden, lest she think we were trying to turn you against her.”

“Well what is she going to think now?” Twilight asked nervously.

“That we’re trying to turn you against her.” Aurora said flatly. “You’ll have to look like you don’t believe us when you drop the barrier, maybe even kick us out. It’s up to you.”

“That doesn’t sound very fun.” Pinkie said, her expression deflating ever so slightly.

“Indeed, the circumstances we’ve found ourselves in are rather undesirable.” Rarity said.

“You said it, Sister.” Spike said, sharing the white mares worry. “What are we going to do, Twilight? We have to help them!”

“I know, Spike. But how are we going to do that?” Twilight asked the dragon, racking her brain for an answer.

“We’re gonna do everything we can! We aren’t just gonna let friends of ours down!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed sternly.

“That’s exactly what you’re going to do!” Aurora yelled, matching Rainbow Dash’s volume. “There isn’t anything you all can do to help us in this situation. Thundervolt and I are on our own here, and for your safety, it has to stay that way.”

“What are you talking abo”—

“She’s right.” I said, giving no indication of my emotions. “We’ve endangered you enough as it is.”

“You can’t just tell us about all these horrible things and expect us to do nothing! What kind of friends do you think we are?” Twilight asked in a hurt tone.

“The kind that know when to leave well enough alone.” Aurora said coldly. “I told you everything as a courtesy. I never wanted to bring anypony else down this road.”

“You’re being stupid!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “No offense, but you can’t just tell us about some monster and then say ‘Don’t worry about it’.”

“Dash!” I yelled, stunning the cyan pegasus. “Stop. This colt isn’t something you can all take down so easily, and I won’t have any of you get involved just to get hurt. Or worse…”

“You don’t know what”—

“I lost you once; I’m not losing you again!” My voice boomed, silencing the stubborn mare. “You’ve all been amazing, but I can’t let any of you get hurt because of me. It’s my fault you even know who I am. None of this was ever supposed to happen.”

“I have a question.” Fluttershy raised her hoof expectantly, catching everypony off guard. “If you won’t let us help you, then what are you going to do?”

“The same thing we’ve been doing for years. We’ll keep moving, keep watching. We’ll make sure he doesn’t get ahold of anypony else, and when we figure out how to do it, we’ll take him down.” Aurora answered.

“So what, you’re just going to leave? Like none of this even mattered!?” Fluttershy’s calm tone was gone; giving way to anger I had never seen. “You’re willing to let all this go because of some backwards idea that you’ll be keeping us safe!?”

“Yes. It’s kept you all safe this long, it will keep you safe longer.” Aurora said, clearly done with the questions. “You can drop your barrier Twilight, we’re done here. Thank you for all your hospitality.”

The barrier dropped immediately, and Twilight sank down, her energy drained from the magical activity. Aurora and I walked towards the door of the library, while everypony stood up and began to go their separate ways.

“You can’t leave! Not now!” Fluttershy stood up, yelling towards me. “If you leave, I won’t wait for you… Please…don’t go.”

I turned around and looked at the cream colored pegasus in shock. Everypony was staring directly at us, but I only saw her face. Tears were streaming down her face, the hurt and regret forming salt stains on the floor. Her eyes were pleading, and scared, but her face was stern and resolute. She meant every word of what she said. If I left now, it was over.

“Fluttershy, I…” I couldn’t muster up any other words.

“Come on; don’t make this any harder for yourself. You know we can’t stay.” Aurora said from behind me, her words firm and truthful.

She was absolutely right. Every minute we were here was another minute they were at risk. Another minute Fluttershy was at risk. I wanted nothing more than to run over to her side and embrace her, the mare that made everything worthwhile. But I knew I couldn’t. Keeping her safe was worth more to me than my own feelings. She’d come to accept it in time, move past a stupid colt like me. I stared into her eyes one last time, and sent all the reconciliation I could her way. Without another word, I turned away and walked out the door.

I could hear her sobs as we left, walking out into the unforgiving darkness of the night. The sun would be up in a few hours, but there would be no warmth. Not now, not ever. The minute I left was the minute I resigned into myself with all the sorrow I deserved. I almost laughed at the cliché present in my mind at the time. As Aurora and I walked into the Everfree forest on our way to Canterlot, I mused that I had left my heart behind in Ponyville.

“I’m sorry, Volt... Now you know why we don’t make friends. Why we don’t get involved… It always ends with pain.” Aurora said coldly.

The silence quickly overtook us once more, and we faded away into the night.




Chapter 24: Pursuit


“I dunno Twilight, she hasn’t really been…talkative lately.” Rainbow Dash said apprehensively.

“I wouldn’t be either. Not after that…” Twilight trailed off, losing herself momentarily in thought. “But you’re her best friend, and it’s been a couple of days. I’m sure you can get her to say something this time.”

“I’ll try…” Rainbow Dash said, turning her head towards the friendly looking cottage in front of them. “The last time I tried to cheer her up, she had this crazy look in her eye. I’m worried Twilight.”

“It’s going to be fine. I’ll go in with you, ok?” Twilight said, nuzzling the nape of Rainbow Dash’s neck.

“Haha, fine. You’ve got a deal.” Rainbow Dash said cheerfully, as she began to walk towards her task.

The two ponies walked towards Fluttershy’s cottage from the main road quickly, but calmly. The distraught pegasus inside wouldn’t need to be startled after what she’d been through. Rainbow Dash and Twilight made sure to make just enough noise to prevent their arrival from being an unwanted surprise, and scaring the pegasus into silence. They made it to the door, and Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight.

“You sure we can’t put this off a little? To be honest, Fluttershy kinda scares me when she’s emotional. I can’t predict her at all!” Rainbow Dash said, worry growing inside her magenta eyes.

“It’s Fluttershy, what is she gonna do?” Twilight asked almost sarcastically. “We’re doing this, right here, right now.”

Twilight knocked on the door, causing Rainbow Dash to wince as a shiver shot down her spine. Rainbow Dash was never attune to other ponies emotions, and her best friend was no exception. Usually, Dash would just act as a multi-colored tissue for Fluttershy to vent into, until the pegasus reasoned with herself enough to fix her own problem. When Fluttershy was silent, Rainbow had no clue what to do. She hated not knowing what to do.

A few seconds passed, and nopony answered the door. Not surprising. Fluttershy rarely answered the door when she was in an emotional state. This was Twilight’s cue to push the door open and walk in to greet—

“What the- It’s locked!” Twilight said in disbelief.

“She doesn’t lock the door…” Rainbow Dash said, deliberating the circumstance in her mind. “Fluttershy! It’s Rainbow Dash and Twilight! Can we come in!?”

Silence. The lack of a soft, yet familiar sobbing was troubling enough to say the least. Rainbow Dash dropped the formalities and flew up to the closed window on the second floor. She attempted to force it open, but had no luck. This was strike two. Fluttershy liked her home to feel breezy. Even when she was upset, she would always leave a window open, subliminally or otherwise.

“Twilight?” Rainbow Dash said, looking down at the lavender mare.

“I’m already on it.” Twilight’s horn was glowing, and her ear was pressed up against the door of the cottage. “Remind me to ask Fluttershy when she got the new lock. This pin-tumbler wasn’t easy to pick.”

Twilight pushed the door of Fluttershy’s cottage, and walked inside. Rainbow Dash soon followed, more confused than she had been before.

“Where did you learn”—

“I live in a library. Where do you think I learned it?” Twilight said dismissively, glancing around the empty cottage. “Fluttershy?”

“Twilight… Look.” Rainbow Dash said, pointing at a small slip of paper lying down on the kitchen table.

Twilight walked over to the unassuming piece of paper and levitated it in front of them.

“Oh no…” Rainbow Dash said

“Wow, I didn’t think she had it in her…” Twilight said with astonishment.


To My Friends,





If you’re stumbling on this note now, then I have to tell you not to worry. I’m fine. I just couldn’t let things end so easily.





I’ve taken one of Rarity’s spare adventure vests, and set out in Thundervolt’s general direction. It may take a few days, but I’m going to find him and bring him back. Don’t try to follow me, not that you’d have much luck.





I’m sorry for worrying you, but I know you understand.





-Fluttershy





P.S. Please lock up on your way out. The draft bothers my little Angel Bunny.


“We have to go find her!” Rainbow Dash yelled after completing the letter, and just about to fly off in a huff.

“You won’t be able to, she’s absolutely right.” Twilight said calmly.

“What are you talking about? She can’t be that hard to spot!”

“No, but she’ll be covering her trail. She doesn’t want to be found, and she knows enough to make sure we won’t.” Twilight said, attempting to diffuse the cyan pegasus.

“But how”—

“I’m not the only pony that can pick up a few things at the library. Fluttershy was avidly checking out my survivalist books, as well as my tracking guides. Considering her natural ability to communicate with animals, along with her aptitude for nature as a whole, she’ll be invisible.”

“You just want me to sit here and do nothing!?” Rainbow Dash was fuming now. “That’s exactly what he said!”

“He? Thundervolt is he now?” Twilight asked suspiciously. “He must have made you pretty mad too.”

“You don’t even know.” Rainbow Dash said coldly.

“Regardless, I’m not asking you to do nothing. I simply said we wouldn’t be following Fluttershy.” Rainbow Dash’s eyes lit up and Twilight had her full attention. “We’ll be following Thundervolt!”

“How are we gonna do that?”

“I’ve scanned him enough over the past week to give him a magical tumor. I can follow my own aura, thank you very much.” Twilight said confidently.

“That’s amazing! You’re a genius, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash rushed over to hug the lavender unicorn, whose face was now red.

“Oh it’s nothing. Now come on, let’s go tell the others. I’m sure they’d like to know what’s going on.”

“Sounds like a plan to me!”

The two ponies rushed out of Fluttershy’s cottage, locking the door on the way out in accordance with her instructions. They had ponies to find.




“North, north northeast… west? Where in Equestria are they going?” Fluttershy thought to herself, glancing at her compass.

The open expanse of Whitetail Woods stood all around Fluttershy as she attempted to make sense of her directions. She had been tracking some hoof prints she most assuredly matched to Thundervolt, but was confused at the wayward path they seemed to be taking.

Fluttershy sighed as she looked ahead of her. Though not as densely packed as the Everfree forest, in the thick of its brush, Whitetail Wood was just as confusing. The only difference between the two was that Whitetail Wood was under pony control. The only thing dangerous about these woods was the relatively uniform pattern of the foliage, which made it very easy to get lost.

The woods were situated in between Ponyville and Canterlot, extending the length of Unicorn Range, and reaching as far as Smokey Mountain. There was nothing of interest within them, so nopony usually wandered into the woods, save for the annual Running of the Leaves. Hoof prints should have been an easy indicator of where Thundervolt would have gone, but looking at their headings only confused Fluttershy further.

“West, west northwest, east…” Fluttershy continued following the tracks, absentmindedly taking note of where each step was headed.

Dragging hoof prints littered the ground in front of her. Thought she thought there should have been two sets, she realized that Aurora was most likely more careful where she was stepping. Thundervolt’s hoof prints almost seemed to be laborious, as if he had been dragging them the whole way.

A pang of realization hit Fluttershy, and a layer of depression laced her monotonous task.

“He didn’t want to leave, but he did anyway. Now he’s suffering for it. That should make you feel better.” Fluttershy thought.

It didn’t. It merely reminded her that she was feeling the exact same way. She knew why he left, and she even understood to a point. That didn’t mean she was just going to lie down and take it like she usually would. No, this time she’d be active. She’d change things herself. After all, Rarity had always told her: ‘An empowered mare doesn’t sit on the sidelines. She knows what she wants, and she takes it.’

“Oh no, Rarity…”

Fluttershy had almost forgotten the fact that she’d stolen a vest from Rarity’s boutique. More disturbing than that however, was that she’d stone a vest from Rarity’s boutique without asking.

“Sigh, Rarity will be fine. Thundervolt though…”

Fluttershy began thinking of her current situation, and became uncharacteristically angry. How could he leave her like that? Why couldn’t he have just asked for help? What in Celestia’s name gave him the idea that the danger they would be in was his fault? All of these questions and more came pouring into Fluttershy’s head, ravaging her delicate constitution and causing her to break down in tears.

The salty pang of sadness reached Fluttershy’s lips as the tears streamed steadily down her face. They were warm and constant. Her feelings, however, were cold and fleeting. She couldn’t make up her mind. Was she angry? Was she hurt? Maybe worry was the right way to describe it. Or maybe it was all of those and more. Fluttershy hated to use such an obvious description, but all she could think was that things were ‘complicated’.

She needed something, anything to make it better. A promise that she and Thundervolt would be reunited. A hint of hope that somehow everything would be alright. Hell, even something to keep her mind from exploding!

*Rustle*

Fluttershy’s tears stopped, and she immediately snapped her head towards the source of the noise. Fluttershy was now totally alert. She couldn’t afford to be emotional. Not now. She wasn’t at home in her own woods. She was at the mercy of whatever lay inside Whitetail Wood’s borders. If she wasn’t ready, anything could come out of the bushes and kill her without so much as a blink.

“Manticore? Wolf? D-Dragon?” Fluttershy thought as she steeled herself for the creature making the noise.

“A… A hippo?” Fluttershy said to herself, as she looked upon the large figure that had emerged from the brush.

“Yes, I’m a hippo. At least I was the last time I checked.” The large grey creature said, sounding formidable, yet friendly.

“Oh, I’m s-sorry. I was just…”—

“It looks to me that you’ve been crying little lady. Someone as sweet as you shouldn’t be subjected to something like that.” The hippo said, showing sympathy to the pegasus. “Why don’t you tell ol’ Blue what’s troubling you?”

“B-Blue?” Fluttershy asked, unsure of what else to say.

“That’s my name; feel free to wear it out. I don’t hear it that often.” Blue said, mustering a friendly smile.

“O-Ok Blue. Maybe you can help me. That is if you don’t mind, of course.” Fluttershy said shyly.

“Of course not little one, try me.” Blue said, sitting down with noticeable thud. “You’ll forgive me, I had a big lunch.”

Fluttershy giggled at the joke, and slowly started to open up to the strange hippo. After about a half hour of bonding, and a few stories, Blue was ready to offer his sage advice.

“Honey, you’re both wrong.” Blue sad, sounding oddly sassy.

“W-What do you mean?” Fluttershy was taken aback by the hippo’s response.

“I mean exactly what I said. You are both wrong. But, as a consolation, you’re both right.” Blue smiled happily, his eyes closed from the magnitude of his grin.

“B-But”—

“Your friend should not have left you the way he did. It was very stupid, and he should have known that you would stay by his side no matter what.”

“Exactly, so I”—

“But! You should realize that he just wants to keep you safe. From what you told me, it sounds like he leads a rather dangerous life. In fact, I haven’t heard of a pony with such a hazardous life in a long while. Clearly he left in order to protect you.”

“I suppose, but”—

“I think you should keep looking but when you find him, don’t get mad. Just talk to him. It’s all you need to do to get back on track. I promise.” Blue said reassuringly.

“I suppose you’re right.” Fluttershy said softly, taking the hippo’s advice. “I’ll just tell them both that I thought what they did was wrong and”—

“Wait, both?” Blue sounded confused.

“Well, yes. He and his friend left together. I thought she and I were becoming friends.” Fluttershy said sadly.

“He left you for another mare? That two timing snake!” Blue said with irritation. “Honey, when you find those two, be sure to give them a back hand from your good buddy Blue.”

“Wait, you’re leaving?” Fluttershy said with a gasp, not eager to part ways with her friend.

“I’m afraid I am, Honey. I’ve got greener pastures to find, deeper rivers to swim in.” Blue said happily. “Tell me though, where are you from? I’d hate for this to be our last time speaking. You’re just a delight to talk to.”

“Oh, well I’m from Ponyville. It’s a small town over”—

“Ponyville, really? Small world… I had business over there not too long ago. Tell me, have you seen a baby alligator roaming around town recently?” Blue asked hopefully, his small eyes searching Fluttershy’s for an answer.

“Hmmm, I only know one alligator, Gummy. Small, green, big purple eyes… He’s Pinkie Pie’s pet.” Fluttershy said, arbitrarily speaking of the reptile.

“How is the little guy?” Blue asked, sounding oddly worried.

“He’s fine, very happy as far as I can tell. It’s kind of hard to know what he’s thinking. Like owner like pet I suppose…” Fluttershy giggled a bit, thinking of the bouncy pink pony.

“That’s good news.” A genuine smile flashed across Blues face before he turned back to Fluttershy. “I must be going Fluttershy, but if you need me you don’t hesitate to come find me!”

“But how will I do that?” Fluttershy asked the hippo as he walked into the shrubbery from whence he came.

“When the time comes, if you’re feeling blue enough, I’ll stumble along to help out.” The hippo said with a chuckle, leaving Fluttershy alone in the forest once again.

Fluttershy was a bit confused at the Hippo’s cryptic response, but decided not to question it. With a renewed vigor, she picked up Thundervolt’s trail, and headed north. Wherever he was, Thundervolt was going to answer to Fluttershy.




The maintenance never ends… At least this infernal thing is operational. Now all I need is—

“NOVA!” A royally angry voice yelled from the entrance of the lab.

-the harlot…

“Emerge from underneath the apparatus at once! You’ve much to answer for!” Luna’s voice boomed, sending echoes throughout the empty room.

“Oh I’m absolutely sure I do.” Nova said sardonically as he pulled himself out from under his completed machine.

“I’ll forgive your reprehensible tone for the moment. Are you aware that your fugitives are mobile again?” Luna asked with irritation. Her deep blue eyes boiled with fervor.

“Of course not, my humble eyes are merely those of peasants. They couldn’t hope to measure up to your divine eyesight, my liege.” Nova’s words became drenched in scorn.

“Such mockery is not so easily forgiven, Nova. Perhaps you forget your place in my castle!” Luna’s irritation had now evolved into a disturbingly collected anger.

“Your castle? Ha, what an excellent joke! I wasn’t aware the ruler of the night had other talents.” Nova said, pushing his boundaries immensely. “I was under the impression Equestria was under Celestia’s control.”

Luna’s buttons had now been pushed. “Silence! Shall I have you thrown into the castle’s dungeon!?”

“Princess, why is it that you hate your subjects?” Nova said calmly, changing the subject abruptly.

“Wha- To what do you refer!?” Luna was still angry, but now she was curious as to where Nova was leading the conversation.

“In your absence, Celestia ruled over the land without much progress. The military you had worked so hard to found had been dissolved and the only notable leap in science was machinery designed to be powered by magic.” Nova said, glancing around the room appreciatively. “Why is it that you’ve refused to see the future when it stares you directly in the face?”

“I do not understand.”

“Why would you? You’re only royalty after all. I can’t expect someone of your class to understand. Progress is defined by the proletariat, not the bourgeoisie. Which is why, it seems, nothing has changed under your rather encompassing rule.” Nova paused, and then turned around to face Luna. “Don’t you think it’s time for…a change?”

Luna was at a loss for words. She could only watch as Nova’s once subservient nature she had grown accustomed to melt away, revealing a monster she didn’t approve of. “You are not the pony I thought you were, Nova. It seems you’re much more dangerous than I would have liked to believe.”

“Oh?” Nova asked, almost sarcastically.

“You’re done here. I’m officially disbanding the Research and Development portion of the castle’s infrastructure.” Luna said, commanding her authority with ease.

“Oh that’s too bad. I didn’t even get a chance to test out my creation.” Nova said, sauntering over to the large metal device and rubbing his hoof over a control surface. “Couldn’t hurt to try it now, could it?”

Before Luna could object, Nova’s hoof pressed down on a small button on the side of the machine, exposing a small, tentacle-like protrusion. The appendage was about an inch in diameter, and had a series of long needles at its end, pulsating with electricity.

“I’d make a joke about how this next part will be shocking for you, but I’m afraid that kind of humor belongs to one of my idiot fugitives.” Nova said with an evil grin on his face.

“Guards, arrest him!” Luna bellowed, two guards moving into the chamber as swiftly as they could. Nova looked upon the two guardsponies and smiled.

“You couldn’t have picked a better time to show up. Hold her down for a moment.” Nova pressed another button on the console of his machine as the two guards attempted to subdue the dark princess.

Their hold on the princess was short-lived, as Luna quickly sent both guards flying. One of them cleared the majority of the lab and landed in a heap behind some work stations. The other guard got the majority of the damage, his spine smashing into a support column nearby, before he too slumped to the ground motionless.

As this exchange came to an end, Luna looked up just in time to see the tentacle appendage rushing towards her at an alarming rate. She side stepped the projectile just in time, avoiding its electrical current. She was about to strike Nova’s smiling face down when her entire body fell limp and useless onto the cold laboratory floor. The tentacle had curved almost instantaneously and injected her with ten thousand volts of magically amplified electricity.

“Feel that Princess? That’s the feeling of all your magic being suppressed within your body, and your muscles seizing up in response.” Nova said boastfully. “Not even a Royal Alicorn can withstand such an attack on the nervous system.”

Luna’s body was limp on the ground. She could barely muster up the ability to look at the dark grey unicorn as he stood over her triumphantly. Her actions flashed before her eyes, and she realized how foolish it was to have trusted Nova, even if it was only slight to begin with. Because of this, she was now at his mercy. “He doesn’t seem to be the merciful type, however.” Luna thought with apprehension.

“Guards, take her to the secure chamber. Make sure she’s well taken care of. We wouldn’t want our leader to be uncomfortable during her diplomatic visit to Greifenraum.” Luna couldn’t move her body to object to the statement. “I’ve never really understood that name. It translates so poorly to our dialect. The Gryphon Republic really does deserve a native title that transcends the language barrier.”

Luna’s limp body was dragged off by two of her own ‘trusted’ guards. After this experience, Luna would definitely be re-evaluating where she placed her trust.

“Either way, Celestia will be under the impression you are acting as Equestria’s ambassador to Greifenraum, in order to plan a joint Gala or some other drivel. The irony of the situation is that she wanted you to go anyway. I couldn’t have asked for a more cooperative and oblivious ruler.” Nova said, a flash of appreciation sweeping across his face. “I can assure you; you’ll be safe and sound in your cell with your big sister none the wiser.”

The guards carried Luna off, her body dragging limply behind them. As the dark body of the dark princess moved from view, Nova moved towards the guard closest to his position. The poor soul who hit the column. Nova leaned down and put his hoof to the stallion’s neck. Nothing. He died the second his back hit the column.

The Princess is much stronger than I’d have imagined. Dealing with her would have proved difficult without the machine. I have to be more careful. Nova thought as he traversed the lab towards the other guard.

With Thundervolt and Aurora on the move, Nova would have to act quickly. Everything was set for their capture. With the machine tested and working, all he needed was bait. Something to get both traitors to come back. Unfortunately, Aurora made better efforts to hide her relationships from Nova, leaving the only obvious course of action to be those close to Thundervolt.

It looks like I’ll be heading to Ponyville. Nova thought, reaching the guard on the floor.

The poor soul was writhing in agony, the majority of bones in his body broken. A quick scan revealed that the stallion suffered from severe internal bleeding, and multiple ruptures in numerous internal organs. The stallion would die within the hour.

Taking somepony that belongs to him may just lure him in close enough for me to recapture them. If that fails, they’ll end up begging for mercy like my friend here.

“Don’t worry yourself, Soldier. You’ve fought well, and served me to the best of your abilities. May the afterlife serve you well.” Nova said solemnly, raising his hoof above the immobile stallions head.

A small groan of pleading could be heard from the stallion’s chest, causing Nova to hesitate for the briefest moment. Without another word, Nova’s hoof fell to the ground, silencing the guard’s cries with a sickening crunch.




Chapter 25: The Woods




The fact that I was stalling for time was an understatement. Aurora was lucky she didn’t have to drag me along behind her. Though to her credit, she might as well have started. I was being a lead-hoofed turd.

“Thundervolt, quite being a lead-hoofed turd and let’s GO!” Aurora yelled back to me, clearly tired of my lagging behind.

“We aren’t even going anywhere. We’re back on the run. Where is there to go?” I asked futilely, completely aware that Aurora had a list of locations running through her head.

“Anywhere but here.” Aurora turned and trotted back to my position. “We spent too much time in Ponyville. Or more accurately, you spent too much time there.”

“I left my heart in that town…” I said quietly, reminiscing privately.

“And I left an ass-print and some partially digested apple pancakes. I feel your pain.” Aurora said harshly.

“Glad to see you’re as sensitive as ever.” I said sarcastically.

“Sensitivity is a luxury we can’t always afford, Thundervolt. Keeping a level head is our only chance of making it; you know that.”

“A level head isn’t the same as a cold heart. Not everypony can numb themselves of feelings like you.” I said, getting annoyed at my earth pony companion.

“So now I’m cold-hearted?” Aurora’s anger didn’t fade, but a hint of sadness flashed across her sharp eyes. “Maybe I’m just not stupid enough to let some mare keep me from staying alive!”

“She isn’t just some mare!” I yelled back in anger. “She was somepony that loved me!”

“Of course she was. She knew you for all of seven days, four of which you were either gone or unconscious. How could she not love you after all that time?” Aurora said mockingly, rolling her eyes to complete the attitude.

“Well I’m sorry you don’t understand love. It doesn’t always take years to develop.”

“Now you have the nerve to stand there and tell me I don’t understand love!?” Aurora said, giving up her composure for anger. “Believe me, I’ve been on both sides of the equation, and I know enough to tell you that you’ll get over it!”

“When have you ever been on ‘both sides of the equation’? The only relationship I’ve even seen you have ended mutually. And it was with me!” I said, trying to understand Aurora’s anger.

Much to my surprise, Aurora halted her assault and turned away silently. She began walking away; back in the direction we were previously headed. Her reaction was one I was unfamiliar with. Aurora never backed off from an argument.

“Aurora?” I asked, following behind the petite pony. “Is everything ok?”

Silence. Not a word was uttered from Aurora’s mouth to reassure me, or to insult me. I hadn’t seen her submit to silence since after our mission in Las Pegasus.

Oh no…

Her silence at that time was because she’d been through hell. She’d suffered physically to the breaking point, and thanks to our augmentation, was able to live through that suffering. No pony goes through something like that without scarring. Not even Aurora.

So why is she being quiet now? She can’t be thinking of that…

Her silence is motivated by suffering. She clearly isn’t in any physical pain, so it had to be something emotional. Something that I didn’t know about. I had spent the majority of my life with this pony; what didn’t I know?  And then it dawned on me.

“Manehattan.”

Aurora turned her head, looking more curious than anything.

“What about it?” Her tone was unfamiliar to me. She sounded almost…receptive.

“What happened there?” I asked curiously.

“A lot happened there, but you don’t want to know about that. You already know about that.” Aurora said, smiling to herself.

What is she talking about…?

“You’re probably wondering what I’m getting at here.” Aurora said, invading my thoughts, much like Twilight. “I know you were there…keeping an eye on me, probably.”

“Uhhh…noooooo.” I said guiltily, stalling for a better response. I didn’t get the chance.

“Save it, you remember the white unicorn with the goggles?”

“Hard to forget someone like her…” I said, recalling the experience. “I’m pretty sure she was a wanted criminal.”

“She was wanted at the time, yes, but not a criminal. But that’s beside the point.” Aurora said, dismissing the topic like it was nothing. “She told me about meeting you, and considering how well I know you, it wasn’t hard to figure out who she was talking about.”

“Well damn. And I thought I was being sneaky…” I said, evaluating my stalking ability.

“Well it was a good try.” Aurora said, lying with a smile on her face. “I was staying with her, among a few other ponies. Pinkie Pie, for one.”

“I noticed.” I looked her over, analyzing the good mood she displayed. “When you came back… When you came back you were really happy. But you were also the saddest I’d ever seen you.”

“I think you said it the best. Your heart’s in Ponyville?” Aurora paused, and raw emotion washed over her. “Well, mine is in Manehattan with somepony I loved.”

Everything suddenly made sense. Why Aurora was acting so harsh, so cold. Why she rushed me away from Ponyville… She was trying to protect me. She went to Manehattan and fell in love, but she couldn’t stay. Not with Nova following our every move. She couldn’t endanger them; pull them into a life they didn’t want. And suddenly I realized what I had to do.

“We have to end it.”

“What?” Aurora said, unsure of what I meant.

“Nova, his reign over our lives! We’re going to finish what I started a month ago and end him.” I was resolute in my cause, and Aurora could see it.

“We don’t have a plan.” She said flatly.

“We’ll make one up.”

“It’ll be dangerous” Aurora had a smile forming on her face.

“Everything we do is dangerous.”

“We might not even survive.” Aurora’s smile was turning into a huge grin.

“Everypony’s gotta die sometime.”

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” Aurora said, sold on my gung ho attitude.

“I promise we’ll finish this.” I said, coming down to a more serious tone. “We’ll both find what we’re looking for, or we’ll die trying.”

“Together.”

“Together.”

In that moment, Aurora and I were reminded of what we had. Without our old families and friends, without our freedom, without the ponies that inspired love in us, we had each other. Though we’d rarely been sentimental, Aurora and I realized that our bond was something that couldn’t be broken. We would step into the fray together, and no matter what happened we would accept our fate with the support of the other.








“And so that’s the difference between Ribonucleic Acid and Deoxyribonucleic acid. Now, onto Mitochondria…”

“NO!” Rainbow Dash yelled in fear. I glared at the cyan pegasus, turning her cheeks red. “I mean, uhh. Why don’t we talk about something else?”

“Oh, ok then. What did you want to discuss? We could move onto the notes I was taking on the Horsehead Nebula. Ooh, or we could discuss sinusoidal functions in regards to rotary mechanics!” I said, giving Rainbow Dash a few interesting topics to choose from.

“Uhh….how about no?” Rainbow Dash said, wearing a guilty look on her face.

“What? Did I do something wrong?” I asked, worried about her sudden mood change. “You looked bored a second ago, and now you look…I don’t know, embarrassed?”

“It’s nothing, I’m just not feeling…open to education at the moment.” Rainbow Dash said, wearing a very toothy smile.

“Oh, now I get it!” I said, full of realization.

“You do?” Rainbow Dash asked with worry.

“Yeah! You’re worried about Fluttershy!”

“What?”

“You can’t stand knowing that she’s out in the woods alone.” I reasoned. “Talking about all these interesting subjects is just distracting you from looking out for her and you feel guilty about it.”

“Go on…” Rainbow Dash replied hesitantly.

“You are a naturally restless individual, and feel like you could be doing more to help her.”

“Yes, exactly.” Rainbow Dash said, excitedly nodding her head. 

“So you should use those gorgeous wings of yours and canvass the area for any sign of activity. Whitetail Wood isn’t as heavily populated as the Everfree Forest, so it shouldn’t be as hard to spot anypony from the air.” I said, blushing a bit at my own flirtatious tone.

“You’re the best, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash gushed. “I won’t let you down!”

Rainbow Dash zipped over to me, planted a quick kiss on my cheek, and flew off at sub-sonic speed. Her rainbow trail and a cloud of dust were all that remained for me to gaze at, as I reveled in my own warmth.

“There has to come a time when she kisses me and doesn’t make me melt.” I said smiling happily to myself.  

Now alone in Whitetail Wood, I continued walking in a northern direction. Thundervolt’s residual magic aura was starting to wane, but at the same time it was growing closer. Much to my surprise, his direction of travel didn’t always match my heading. He and Aurora had clearly decided to wander what appeared to be randomly through the woods. Whether they were lost or trying to lose other ponies was up for debate, but the fact that they were following a pattern was absolute. They were heading for Canterlot.

At first, they seemed to moving off a bit towards the west of the royal mountain, but had shifted their travel directly in its path. If it was their first stop of many, we didn’t have a lot of time before they could blend in. His aura would dissipate by the time they reached the city, and something told me that they wouldn’t be found easily among Canterlot’s vast population. They’d have a place to hide, and they wouldn’t stay long.

That was what worried me the most. Rainbow Dash and Thundervolt told their story. It all checked out. It was sad, but more importantly, it was true. I could fact check that story in a heartbeat and lose a total of zero sleep over the matter. Aurora though…

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her. I mean, I really don’t… But it wasn’t why I doubted a few details in her story. She made it seem like there was a huge conspiracy going on in that city, right under the princesses noses. There was no way either of them would let a madpony do such awful things to ponies without consequence. It just seemed ridiculous.

Granted, Princess Celestia doesn’t notice everything. Being her personal student, and under her ‘watchful’ gaze for years has taught me that. She may be the most powerful equine in the world, but she isn’t a god. That’s why she had us take care of Nightmare Moon. And Discord. And Chrysalis. And I guess there have been some times where she could have been more vigilant. Like when Ponyville came under attack from the Ursa Minor. And when the Parasprites leveled about 82% of the town. And when Cerberus left the gates of Tartarus exposed, and I had to run across the country to return him…with absolutely no assistance from the Royal Guard which I have blood connection to…

Ok, bad example. Those instances are…forgivable. Princess Luna picks up the slack when Celestia is busy with other duties. Of course, she has been known to be a bit of an absentee, but that wasn’t a big deal. They’re practically immortal; a thousand year absence is nothing. And even though we had to defeat her evil alter ego to restore her to her normal self, she has proven to be a wonderful asset to the diarchy. Terrorizing Ponyville on Nightmare Night was forgivable; after all, she only wanted to improve her public image. I’m not even sure where she was during the entire Discord fiasco, but I’m sure she was somewhere useful, doing everything she could to help. And the same goes for the Changeling invasion, which she was also curiously away for…

I stopped walking forward, a bit of realization passing through my head. I took in a deep breath, and closed my eyes, and collected myself. I held my breath for a few moments and contemplated a few thoughts that were rolling around in my head. I then opened my eyes, and let out a deep, disappointed sigh.

“The Princesses are getting a serious talking to once this is all over.” I said to myself, making no effort to conceal my irritation. “And when I find you, Aurora, you are getting a heartfelt apology.”




Fluttershy walked on in the Whitetail Woods, finally confident in her heading. It had been a long process, cataloging each and every direction Thundervolt was heading in, but it had given her the theory that he was heading north for the city of Canterlot. Tracking animals down had proven to be very helpful in her current mission, as their sporadic movements often followed a pattern. Fluttershy was thankful now for Twilight’s help in learning more on the subject.

The forest had become slightly thicker in the area, and so walking a straight line wasn’t entirely possible. The thick trunks of the trees shot upward into air, covering the sun with their broad canopy. It was uncommon for deciduous forests like this one to have trees growing so close together, but considering the ecosystem was regulated by pony’s, it wasn’t surprising. Birch, Dogwood, Maple… So many different kinds of trees, all beautiful in their own way. From their majestic bark, to their broad roots, and their varied leaves, each tree held a sort of refined stance in the large forest.

It was truly a magnificent sight for the cream colored pegasus. The beauty distracted her from her predicament long enough to give her some peace of mind. She was jealous of the flora, wishing that she too could abandon the responsibilities of her life and simply respirate all day, providing clean air for all the wonderful creatures of the forest, and all the ponies living their lives in Equestria. How being a tree could be anything less than perfect, Fluttershy could only wonder.

“If only.” Fluttershy said, exhaling a deep, longing sigh.

Her walk had taken her into the late afternoon at this point. The climate was very warm, and a bit humid, indicating the approaching summer. Fluttershy liked summer. It was nice out, and her animals got to play and frolic much like in the spring, which was hoofs down her favorite season. All her animal friends waking up and greeting Equestria for the first time in a few lonely months brought Fluttershy unparalleled joy.

She continued to think happy thoughts as she trotted down the natural path forming in the forest. It followed a northern direction, basically keeping to the path Thundervolt took. Since the path was easy follow, Fluttershy could gaze at the scenery and let her guard down for a bit.

*SNAP*

“Eeep!” Letting her guard down wasn’t an option apparently.

“Fluttershy!”

Twilight of all ponies had emerged onto the path in front of her, and galloped towards her position. Fluttershy stood still and let the lavender unicorn collect herself before speaking. She looked have been walking for quite some time, evident from the ruffled state of her mane and sagging saddlebags.

“Twilight, what are you”—

“Thank goodness you’re ok, Fluttershy! We were so worried about you!” Twilight said, genuinely having been distressed. “We saw your note and had to follow you!”

“Well of course you did. After all, I did tell you not to do exactly that.” Fluttershy said under her breath. Twilight still heard.

“A friend in need doesn’t always want help. Applejack learned that lesson, and now so do you! We would have gone with you had you asked us.” Twilight said sternly, softly reprimanding the pegasus. “You shut us out almost immediately, instead of talking to us.”

“I’m sorry Twilight, but this was something I needed to do on my own. Thundervolt left me, and I needed to make him see that was wrong.” Fluttershy said, irritation evident in her voice.

“I know he was the closest to you Fluttershy, but he left us too.” Fluttershy looked at Twilight in confusion. “It’s true. He’s practically Rainbow Dash’s brother for Celestia’s sake. And to be fair, he was another intellectual to speak with. Believe it or not, he knows his way around a fair amount of subjects, and kept my mind busy during our late night talks.”

“He only slept long when he was unconscious.” Fluttershy said, laughing internally at the memory. “I guess you’re right. You keep saying we…”

“Rainbow Dash came out with me. She went ahead to see if she could find Thundervolt.” Fluttershy’s eyes perked up at his mention. “We were following him, not you. You didn’t leave a trail for us to follow.”

“You were the one who told me to learn from the library.” Fluttershy countered, her trademark voice whispering the remark softly.

Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but the words didn’t come. Her eyes widened, and her mouth closed, forming a look of surprise and comprehension.

“You’re right, I did…” Twilight said, sighing heavily. “I think I need to start monitoring what gets checked out at the library.”

Fluttershy just smiled widely at Twilight’s comment, unable to do anything else. Though it wasn’t her intention, or even her hope, Fluttershy couldn’t deny that it was nice to see her friend at a time like this. If she had found Thundervolt now, there was no telling how she would react. Fluttershy didn’t know if she’d break down in tears at his hooves, or unleash all her pent up anger on his face. His handsome handsome face…

So maybe it wouldn’t be anger rearing its ugly head at the moment of truth…

Fluttershy was getting ahead of herself however, and decided to focus on finding Thundervolt before dwelling on what she would say to him once he was before her. Planning for something like that would probably be useless anyway. In the heat of the moment, planned speech falls apart for what the heart wants to say.

With Twilight at her side scanning the sky for their rainbow tailed companion, Fluttershy felt slightly more at ease with her surroundings. Granted, Twilight wasn’t exactly a nature buff, but she was a smart unicorn that could help out in a pinch. The fact that she and Rainbow Dash came out into the woods looking for her wasn’t exactly surprising, but it made Fluttershy feel warm inside. She had ponies that cared about her, and would stand by her no matter the circumstances.

Fluttershy’s cheerful mood carried on for the ten minutes she and Twilight were walking through the woods. The path that they’d been following widened to the point where it could almost be considered a road, were it not for the random shrubbery growing in spots. Twilight said that they were nearing Canterlot. The fact that they hadn’t run into Rainbow Dash and Thundervolt was odd, which was when Twilight had a realization.

“I dropped the spell!” The lavender unicorn yelled anxiously

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked, unsure of what caused the outburst.

“The tracking spell! When I found you, I dropped the spell and forgot to put it back up…” Twilight said, her head sinking in shame. “I can’t believe I made such a stupid mistake! Stupid stupid stupid!”

Fluttershy couldn’t watch Twilight kick herself any longer. “You listen right now, it was an honest mistake! No need to beat yourself up about it. Why don’t you just start the spell up again?”

“Doing it now.” Twilight said, focusing her magic. “Hopefully we aren’t too far off course because of this.”

Twilight’s horn ceased glowing, and her attention turned back to the path the two ponies had been following. Her eyes hardened slightly, and looked almost warily ahead. Fluttershy followed her gaze and saw what the lavender mare was looking at. Another pony was on the path heading towards them from the opposite direction. It wasn’t unheard of to meet another soul in the woods, but this encounter struck Fluttershy as odd.

“Be careful.” Twilight said quietly, confirming Fluttershy’s suspicions.

The figure trotted into view after another few moments, and was revealed to be a friendly, if not formidable looking unicorn stallion. He had a dark grey coat, blood red eyes with a mane and tail to match, and a cutie mark that looked relatively close to an exploding star.

His face appeared wrinkled, showing signs of experience and aging. His brow was relaxed, but lines pressed into his face hinted that it was normally pressed together from stress. He wore a confident smile on his face, one that exuded self-assuredness.

That was what put Twilight on guard.

“It’s a rare sight indeed, seeing other ponies in these woods. How are you ladies doing this fine day?” The stallion said politely, sending a chill down Fluttershy’s spine.

“Haven’t been paying it much mind.” Twilight said, shrugging off the stallions comment. “What brings you out this way?”

“I’m just looking for a change of scenery. Canterlot can get a bit dreary if you spend too much time in the city.” These words seemed almost genuine, causing Twilight to drop her guard ever so slightly.

“Canterlot, huh? I used to live there as well. I never really had a problem with scenery. I spent most of my time in the Royal Library.” Twilight said, almost gushing over the memory of so many books in one place.

“The Royal Library you say? My, you must be very privileged to have such an honor bestowed upon you. And with all that information at your disposal, you must be quite knowledgeable.” The dark grey stallion said, attempting to flatter the lavender unicorn.

“I try.” Twilight said, reigning herself in, still wary of the mysterious unicorns presence.

“Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.” The stallion said, earning a questioning look from Twilight. “A great philosopher once said.”

“Wise words.” Twilight said, once again refraining from saying more. “I think it’s best we get going. Not much daylight left to burn.”

“I understand. I’ve my own agenda to follow as well. I won’t keep you any longer.” With that, the stallion moved past the two mares and began walking in the direction from which they came.

Twilight had already looked away from the stallion and began marching away towards Canterlot. The Stallion had done the same, and was headed in the opposite direction towards his unknown goal. Fluttershy turned to follow Twilight, but something made her stop. It was a feeling that worked its way into her head, and she couldn’t get it to go away. Without thinking about it, Fluttershy turned towards the stallion with the blood red mane.

“Excuse me, sir? What did you say your name was?” Fluttershy asked curiously.

The stallion stopped moving, seeming to consider the question. He turned his head, exposing a red eye and half a smile. “My name, dear, is Nova.”

“N-Nova…?” Fluttershy said nervously. Her eyes constricted and she began to tremble, her fears overwhelming her.

“You…” Twilight said ominously. She had stopped moving completely.

“Tw-Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, worry superseding her previous fear.

“You were the one who took him away…” Twilight said, almost laughing.

“Pardon?” Nova said, his voice devoid of emotion.

“YOU WERE THE ONE WHO HURT RAINBOW DASH!!!” Twilight’s voice tore through the air, magically amplified. Her head whipped around to reveal her eyes had gone a stark white, and her face contorted to one of pure anger.

Nova’s eyes went wide with surprise as the lavender mare flashed out of existence, and before he could react, he felt his throat constrict and his hooves leave the ground. His strong body was forced against the nearest tree with amazing force, and he heard a sickening crack. He couldn’t tell if it was the splintering of the tree, or the shattering of his own bones. From the numbness and heat coming from Nova’s right shoulder blade, and angle at which the tree tilted, it was probably both.

Twilight suddenly appeared in front of him, pressing him harder against the tree. Nova’s eyes were still wide, but he managed to look at the mare that had him in a chokehold. She was filled with righteous anger, and not in complete control of her actions. If left unchecked, she could easily kill him. At that thought, his throat closed tighter and the force on him increased.

“You’re absolutely right. Your life is under my control, just like Rainbow Dash’s, Aurora’s, and Thundervolt’s were in yours!” Twilight was lost to the world.

Nova felt a spike of pain shoot through his back, and his right hoof lost its ability to move. He looked past the fury of Twilight and into the eyes of Fluttershy, who was cowering behind her own hair, with a terrified look in her eyes. She wouldn’t be stopping Twilight. Not even if she tore off his head and began eating it…

“I wouldn’t sink to such lows to end you! I’ll just watch you forget to breathe!” The lavender demon began forcing Nova’s throat to collapse, and the tree was being crushed, sending splinters into his back, embedding deep within his skin.

It was now or never, he had to act. With great pain and determination, Nova’s horn began to glow a bright red. The destructive mare was reading his mind, but her thoughts were fueled by emotion.

“…they…suf-suffered every d-day…” Nova managed to choke out, coughing and attempting to breathe with each word. “…they were…were miserable…”

Twilight’s full attention was on Nova’s words now. Nova’s horn brightened, producing an overglow. Twilight’s horn did so as well, increasing the force on Nova, but loosening his throat accordingly.

“…and do you…do you know what?” Nova said, baiting the lavender mare. “…I wasn’t hard enough on them…”

The force increased again, but his throat was completely loose now. Twilight wanted to hear it all, so that when she obliterated Nova from the face of Equestria, she could do it knowing it was totally justified. Nova aimed to give her that closure.

“And your precious Rainbow Dash…my only regret?” Nova started, noticing a wince from the stark white eyes focused on his very soul. “My only regret is that I never got to break her too!”

That was the final straw. Twilight poured all her magic onto Nova, and went for her final strike. She was so focused on ending the sick stallion that she didn’t notice the third overglow form on Nova’s horn as he jerked his head to the left. The tree hit Twilight, swiftly knocking her off her hooves, freeing Nova to fall to the ground.

The stallion landed on his right hoof, and grimaced in pain as the appendage revealed it was not just broken, it was ruined. Blood leaked from the multiple wounds now present on the limb and formed a small puddle below him. The only thing stopping Nova from passing out was the fact that the nerves inside the hoof were severely damaged. In all likelihood, Nova would lose the limb.

He turned his attention to the lavender monster that almost ended him, and examined her. The tree hit her at close to eighty miles an hour, and she was totally unscathed. She only passed out due to magical exhaustion. Nova was floored at this, and decided that he needed to take her captive and study the source of her power.

A small squeak and the sound of hoofsteps brought Nova back to the moment. He looked up and saw Fluttershy, tears running down her face, and her hooves moving backwards slowly. She refused to look away from Twilight, but she wanted nothing more than to run away. Nova focused a small amount of magic to his horn, and fired.

The yellow mare fell to the ground, unconscious for the next twenty hours or so. Nova breathed a deep sigh, and looked at the scene before him. A simple walk towards the town he planned to ravage had turned into a disaster. He looked down at his now useless right hoof, and realized that Ponyville was no longer a priority. He needed medical attention first of all, and he needed to regroup. These two ponies knew everything, and chances were so did others. Others that were on their way home.

Nova closed his eyes, focused his magic, and with three small flashes, the three ponies disappeared from the scene, leaving the battlefield behind.




Chapter 26: Monster


Bits of light filtered through Fluttershy’s eyelids as the yellow pegasus came to. Everything around her was dark, yet illuminated. It was as if she was underground, surrounded by dark grey walls. Her gaze fluttered around, trying desperately to find a point of reference but the blurry shades of grey took a toll on the newly conscious pony, twisting and turning in her vision and tying knots in her stomach.

A familiar shade of lavender crept into Fluttershy’s sight, moving back and forth in a seemingly erratic manner. The pegasus decided it was time to move, so she started towards the blur. Much to her surprise however, Fluttershy’s legs made no contact with the ground. Realization slowly hit the pegasus, as she realized she was lying on her back, flailing her legs in the air with the collective grace of an inebriated turtle. “Tank, eat your little heart out.” Fluttershy thought before opening her mouth.

“Oh, silly me! I seem to be upside down…how did that happen?” Fluttershy asked tiredly, not realizing how little energy she possessed before now.

“…ershy! You’re fin…orried!” The voice sounded familiar, but was horribly muffled. Fluttershy rolled over and stood up with difficulty, almost falling back over.

“I’m sorry, my ears aren’t working properly.” Fluttershy said, giggling like a drunkard.

A moment later, Fluttershy heard what sounded like a knowing sigh, and felt a sharp sting pass through her cheek as her face was forced to the left. The melting pot of sounds and colors suddenly sharpened, and Fluttershy was once again a member of the land of the living. She darted her head around, looking for something familiar. In just under a second, she found something.

“Tw-Twilight?” Fluttershy said meekly. “Where…Where are we?”

“I’m not entirely sure…” Twilight said quizzically, looking behind her. “Wherever we are, it’s safe to say we aren’t guests…”

For the first time, Fluttershy noticed the bars on the door. The bars on the door of their cell. The bars of the door on their cell in the dark, creepy, underground laboratory! Fluttershy approached the situation as calmly as she could, by hyperventilating and babbling in a non-cohesive manner.

“Fluttershy, please calm down.” Twilight said softly. “Now is not the time for this.”

The yellow pegasus was still scared out of her mind, but she knew Twilight was right. Fluttershy and Twilight both looked out through the bars of their prison. The dark grey walls were smooth, as if they were carved in rock. The ceiling was the same, smooth and undulating, with numerous holes that let in natural light from the surface.

Across the room, directly to their front, was a set of stairs presumably leading out of the lab. In the center of the room was a medley of work stations surrounding a relatively large open space. The smell of science wafted through the air, the scent of chemicals, electrical wiring, and latex embedding into the two mare’s noses. Twilight, unsurprisingly, was not phased. Fluttershy however, cringed at the heavy scent lingering in the room.

“We aren’t getting out of here without help,” Twilight started, gears turning in her head. Her face quickly deflated, however, as a discouraging look surfaced on the lavender mare. “And it looks like we don’t have any…”

Fluttershy wanted to panic, but had been told not to. “T-Then what should we do?”

“While you were unconscious, I tried my luck at a few things.” Twilight said, thinking of the previous plans she had enacted. “Two-hundred and forty-seven things to be exact.”

“Uh…” Fluttershy was otherwise speechless.

“To keep things simple, I couldn’t get us out of the cage, and I can’t reach anyone from outside the cage. It has a magic dampener that keeps my spells inside the cell.” Twilight’s eyes were filled with worry.

“Oh…my.” Fluttershy said, realizing the weight of Twilight’s words.

They were trapped in this lab by Nova, the very stallion that separated Rainbow Dash and Thundervolt as children, and tormented him and Aurora for years, going as far as experimenting on them. Things were not looking good.

“Rainbow Dash is still out there, Fluttershy. She’ll find Thundervolt and he’ll know what to do. Until then, we just have to survive.” Twilight said.

The word ‘survive’ caught Fluttershy off guard. In fact, Twilight’s whole attitude struck Fluttershy as odd. The mare looked almost depressed, and not in the ‘trapped in a cell’ kind of way. As if to confirm Fluttershy’s suspicions, Twilight’s head sank and she closed her eyes tightly.

“Twilight, what’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked with concern.

“It’s because of me…” Twilight’s voice was barely audible, a whisper that carried throughout the room.

“Twilight, what are you”—

“It’s because of me we’re in here! If I hadn’t attacked that monster, we wouldn’t be trapped in here.” Twilight’s eyes were glistening brightly.

“But Twilight, you didn’t”—

“Save it, Fluttershy. You don’t have to try and convince me otherwise. I know it’s my fault. I… I attacked him.” Twilight said, her eyes growing wide enough to let tears drop to the floor. “I was just so angry! I thought of what he did to our friends, what he was going to do…”

“…” Fluttershy tried to speak, but cringed at the memory of Twilight’s assault. She’d never seen her friend so emotional, so frightening.

“I was going to kill him, Fluttershy. I had him by the throat, and wanted nothing more than to end his wretch of a life.”

“B-But you didn’t!”

“But I wanted to. The only reason he got loose was because I was letting him get me angry enough to finish it.” Twilight looked the cream coated pegasus in the eyes, tears streaming down her face steadily. She took a few stifled breaths before continuing.

“And I was going to finish it… You want to know the worst part?” Twilight asked, filling Fluttershy with a sense of dread. “I was in control of myself the whole time, and I enjoyed watching him struggle. I spilled his blood and I wanted all of it. I wanted that evil bastard wiped from the face of Equestria, and out of our lives for good…”

Twilight took another deep, shaky breath and looked at her friend with the most extreme guilt she’d ever felt.

“Doesn’t that make me a monster too?”

Twilight finally fell to floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Fluttershy remained quiet, and only moved to support her fallen friend. The pegasus held her in a quiet embrace for hours, as the sobbing gradually waned to tumultuous breaths, and finally puffy-eyed exhaustion.

Despite all that had happened, Fluttershy had to remain strong. She had to stay strong for all of her friends. For Rainbow Dash, for Thundervolt, and for Twilight. But most importantly, Fluttershy had to stay strong for herself.




“She’s far more powerful than any unicorn I’ve met in all my years. She may even rival the Princesses for raw magical power.”

“And you in skill, if you told the story correctly.”

“I suggest you hold your tongue, lest I be forced to hold it for you.”

“Why don’t you take that broken hoof of yours and shove it up your”—

“Silence!”

Nova sat in the crystalline chamber deep below his lab, reflecting on his encounter with the two mares in the forest. Nova’s leg had ceased bleeding, thanks to some quick magical healing on his part. The leg as a whole however, would need some chemical assistance to heal fully. For the time being, he walked with a severe limp. Prepping his leg for injection would take enough time that a conversation could alleviate the boredom.

“I thought you came down here to talk. If I stay silent, how will you ever keep from getting bored while you lick your wounds?” Tempest said, poking fun at the incapacitated unicorn.

“I honestly don’t know why. All you ever do is turn the conversation into collection of quips.” Nova said, rolling his eyes at the bright red pegasus.

“I think what you meant to say was: ‘Despite my engorged brain, I was unable to retort to your fabulously crafted response due to my lack of coolness’. Isn’t that right, Nova?” Tempest said, grinning madly.

“You will be the one who drives me to drink…”

“Good, maybe you’ll bring in some apple whiskey and I can get hammered with you. Living in this cell is boring. You should let me out so I can stretch my wings.” Tempest said, leaning towards Nova with his head pressed against the bars.

“But if I let you out, then you would be free.” Nova said, mirroring Tempest’s tone of voice.

“Exactly!”

“No deal.”

“Awww…you aren’t fun anymore.” Tempest’s head drooped mildly.

“As I seem to recall, you never described me as ‘fun’.” Nova said, once again rolling his eyes at the captive pegasus.

“Maybe that’s because you need to loosen up a bit. Come on, we’ll go for a picnic! It’ll be great!”

“Your attempts to gain access to the outside don’t even show effort anymore. Can’t you be at least a little creative?” Nova asked, growing genuinely bored.

“I don’t know. Can you go a day without kidnapping ponies or ruining someone’s life?” Tempest said, any sign of his light-hearted attitude gone.

Nova paused for a moment, looking into Tempest’s lavender eyes. They were dead serious, and burned with ferocity. In all the time he’d been prisoner, Tempest had never once given him a look like that. It was very unsettling, and frankly, Nova didn’t like it. It made Tempest look like a threat.

Without another word, Nova left the room, escaping the pegasus and his disturbing change in demeanor. His hoof was almost entirely healed, resembling an injury that had had time to heal for months. A slight limp was the only evidence left over, and that was exactly what he was going to correct.

The way back up to the lab had never taken so long for Nova to navigate. His gimp hoof was the major deterrent, but almost immediately upon leaving Tempest, Nova had developed a splitting headache. His ears were ringing profusely, and his vision blurred, forcing him to stop a few times during the precarious points of the journey. After about twenty minutes, Nova finally made it back to his laboratory.

“It’s just a side effect of being smashed into a tree.” Nova said, reasoning with himself.

The dark grey walls of the lab welcomed him home as he stepped inside. The glorious smell of science penetrated his nostrils immediately, bringing another spike of pain. It was worth every ounce of discomfort. This lab was his home, after all of the struggle and strife, and filled him with the feeling of safety.

He glanced around the room, and drank in the sight. All was well and good, everything in order, all according to plan. Just the way Nova liked it. The new additions to the room didn’t look to be sharing his enthusiasm however. He would have to go over there and cheer them up after fixing his leg.

Nova strode as best he could to the nearby medical station set up next to his workstation and looked in the cabinet. Numerous bandages, ointments, and stitches were present, none of which ever saw much use. Being a capable unicorn, he had enough healing spells to keep himself from suffering small to midsized wounds. What he was looking for, however, was a specific syringe filled with a greenish liquid.

“There you are.” Nova said, levitating the vial up to his eyes, inspecting it thoroughly. “Just a quick injection and the bone will set quite nicely.”

With measured caution and precision, Nova plunged the syringe into his leg, the needle entering bone-deep. Nova winced at the pain as the needle passed a few nerves, and then squeezed the serum into the inside of his hoof. There was a chilling sensation, and then soothing heat rushed across the appendage. Numbness followed the warmth, and slowly faded as the leg set into the old shape.

Nova put the supplies down on the table, and gingerly put weight on his right side. “Good as new. Thank you science, you truly are a wonder.” Nova said happily. He turned around to look at his guests.

“Now, how are we”—

“Fancy lab you’ve got here, Nova! No wonder you spend so much time away from me.”

“H-How did you get out!?” Tempest was there, standing in between Nova and the cell. “What do you think you’re”—

“Relax, you have nothing to worry about.” Tempest said, back to his normal, good spirited self. “I just wanted to keep you company.”

Nova opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off. “Besides, you left without saying goodbye.” Tempest’s eyes narrowed into an angry expression. “I didn’t appreciate that.”

“What you appreciate doesn’t matter. You’re a prisoner who left his cell without permission.” Nova lowered his horn, which was now glowing red. “And I’m about to do what needs to be done to get you back there.”

“Were you doing what needed to be done when you kidnapped these poor mares?” Tempest said, gesturing towards Twilight and Fluttershy.

“I was attacked. They left me no choice.” Nova said, dismissing the statement.

“Then why do you have the Princess locked up? I didn’t notice her attacking you.” Tempest said.

“You shouldn’t have noticed that at all! How did you obtain that information?” Nova said, his temper flaring.

“Calm down, Nova.”

“TELL ME!”

“That’s not calm.”

“You’ll get ‘calm’ when you tell me how you know about that!”

“The same way I know about what you did to Thundervolt.” Tempest said flatly.

Nova’s eyes widened, and he was speechless. His prisoner had too much information to have been consistently locked up in that cage. Another spike of pain shot through Nova’s head, causing him to lose his balance momentarily. He looked up, and Tempest was right up in his face.

“You changed him! You took him from a loving family and turned him into a freak!” Tempest yelled, anger rising to the surface.

“I liberated him from the life of an orphan!” Nova retorted.

“Please, that’s shit and you know it! He was happy, Dash and Coco were happy. I was happy!”

“He was the only one who could have worked!”

“No, he wasn’t. He was just the only one you could get away with! Orphans aren’t always accounted for. They fall through the cracks real easily.” Tempest said, advancing on Nova even more. He continued the onslaught, sending another spike of pain into Nova’s head.

“That wasn’t the worst of it though. It wasn’t enough to ruin his life, you had to threaten Coco, send her running to Celestia knows where! She could be dead!” Tempest sounded particularly hurt about that.

“It…It…was for the good of Equestria. The only way I could have enough pull to dethrone the Princesses.” Nova reasoned.

“And how would you propose doing that!? You’re not nearly strong enough to pull that off, and nobody would follow you. By force or otherwise. You’re going to fail, just like you failed me.”

Pain was near constant for Nova, as he buckled to his knees. The onslaught didn’t stop.

“Even if you managed to somehow gain power, the ponies would revolt. This empire is ruled by peace and love, and deep down, you know exactly why you’ll never succeed. That love has kept me alive for all the years you tortured me. No food, no water, just love.” Tempest was becoming furious. “If you really wanted to do what was good for Equestria, you’d just die!”

“T-Tempest…argh! You can’t…think that what I did…was wrong?!” Nova said, pain enveloping his entire being.

“The only thing that was wrong was the mercy I showed you on the night you came for me. By letting you live, I was the one responsible for all of this.” Tempest said, a tear falling across his muzzle. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”

Tempest continued, fueled with anger and hate. “The mare should have killed you as well. I see another face that wanted nothing more than your demise, but was too good a pony to finish you off. History really has a way of repeating itself, doesn’t it?”

Nova writhed in agony, the stimuli of his world becoming too much for him. “Instead of ending you, I let this happen. I’m just glad I’m not around to watch it all burn to the ground.”

“What…what are you talking about?” Nova said, picking himself up from the ground, breathing heavily with exhaustion. “You’ll be here the whole time. Remember, I spared your life back in Cloudsdale. I own you!”

“You poor son of a bitch… you don’t even remember. You’ve become so twisted in your quest for power that you forgot…”

“Forgot what?” Tempest only responded with silence. “FORGOT WHAT!?”

“You forgot killing me.” Tempest responded, his voice low and ominous.

“I didn’t kill you! I couldn’t kill you!” Nova said defensively.

“But you did, and you used my corpse to traumatize my family!”

“No, no I didn’t!”

“You did! You did and you can’t change it!” Tempest yelled back fervently.

“I DIDN’T KILL YOU!” Nova levitated his workstation and threw it towards Tempest. Much to his horror, the projectile never struck its target. Tempest’s bright red body passed directly through the desk, not moving an inch. “…Wh-What are you!”

“You could call me a ghost. Maybe your conscience, assuming you have one. I like to  call myself a message.” Tempest stared Nova down, walking closer and phasing through debris as he came.

“A message?” Nova was shaking. “What message?”

“The message that explains to you what you’ve done. The one that rips you from your safety net and exposes you to the truth you’ve hidden from all this time.” Tempest paused, looking away. He began to look transparent, like a projection.

“What!” Nova said desperately.

“I’m dead, and you killed me, becoming nothing more than”—

“Becoming what! What exactly have I become!?”

“A monster…” Tempest faded away, leaving the grey stallion behind.




“Twilight, I’m scared…” Fluttershy said, practically whispering.

“Just stay calm, let me figure this out.” Twilight said, watching Nova talk to himself.

Talking to himself was an understatement however. The stallion was on the verge of murder it seemed, as he threw his lab around and yelled at air. He began to look defeated, and had finally fallen to his knees shaking. Silence enveloped the room, save for the two mare’s short conversation. Their few words however, had been enough to gain his attention. Twilight’s in particular.

He stood up, and rushed to the bars of the cage, slamming his hooves onto them with terrifying force.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!?”

Fluttershy cowered behind her mane, but Twilight stood her ground. She remained silent, but looked at him without so much as flinching. Her strong lavender eyes stared into his blood red pupils, now perturbed and distraught. This was not the same stallion who she’d encountered in the forest. This one had gone truly mad.

“I’m locked in a cage. I couldn’t have done anything to you.” Twilight said coolly, eliciting a wince from the psychotic unicorn.

“LIES! YOU DID SOMETHING! YOU…You had to!” Nova yelled desperately, rescinding into himself. “It’s th-the only explanation. It has to be.”

Nova looked almost shocked to hear Twilight reply, as if he had forgotten she was there. “Maybe you’re just crazy like everypony thinks.”

The dark grey unicorn looked up at the lavender coated mare and narrowed his eyes sharply. A slight amount of composure seemed to grace his face before he stood up and responded.

“I’ll just have to take a look at my other prisoner then… Excuse me.” Nova dismissed the captives and sprinted back the way he came, leaving the two mares alone once again.

“Other prisoner?” Fluttershy voiced from the corner of the cell. “You don’t think he”—

“No.” Twilight said, knowing exactly where Fluttershy was going. “None of our friends are here.”

The cream coated pegasus gave the lavender mare a quizzical look, prompting her to explain. “I spent plenty of time learning about this cage while you were unconscious. Magic can get in, but it can’t get out. I can still sense our friend’s general whereabouts from their arcane signatures.” Twilight looked at Fluttershy with a flat expression. “Unicorn or not, I know where they are. And it won’t be long until they come to find us.”




Nova carried himself with renewed vigor down the halls of his lab, heading swiftly towards Tempest’s cell. The pegasus had just shown Nova a terrifying display, and the unicorn aimed to correct such behavior.

“Or prove that you aren’t as insane as the mare believes” Nova thought, as he barreled across the crystalline bridge to his chamber. The room opened up before him, and his thoughts began finding words attached to them.

“He’ll be sitting there with a smug grin on his face as usual. It was all just a prank.” Nova said with a half-smile. “He’s managed worse in his time, and this was just him being…creative!”

“There’s no way he would risk actually escaping! He knows that I’d swiftly end his life if necessary. It’s why he’s been such a good prisoner all these years.” Nova was getting increasingly worried as he neared the chamber.

“I’ll have him explain exactly how he did it when I see him. After all, it’s not like he could just phase through the bars and laugh at me. And that information was most likely overheard somehow.” The dark grey stallion realized the improbable nature of that thought. “Sound does carry underground…”

As the stallion neared the room, all of his fears and reservations piled on top of one another, causing his resolve to crack. A truly outrageous level of anxiety had mounted on Nova’s mind by the time he reached the cell, outweighing all the concerns he’d ever had before. It would all be fine once he laid eyes on the familiarity of the bright red pegasus. Who is most certainly sitting in his cage like a good little captive…

Nova burst into the room and laid eyes upon the cell, but what he saw in that room was not the reassurance he so desperately needed. The bright red pegasus he had grown to love having in the deep recesses of his basement was there, but Tempest was not.

“So it’s true… I’m just crazy, is that it?” Nova said, looking upon the pegasus before him. “How long…? How long have I been wasting my time talking to you!?”

No response. “You think you can just stand there and marvel at my stupidity without consequence?” Nova stomped his hoof and his magic flared, amplifying his voice. “ANSWER ME!”

The pegasus in the cell merely looked at Nova with a cautious hostility. His lavender eyes were deeply focused on the stallion, but betrayed a sort of primal expression. Stepping backwards from the cell’s bars, the pegasus opened its mouth revealing fangs. A shrill hissing sound emanated from its throat, and its eyes turned a bright, bug-like green. The Changeling in pegasus form watched anxiously as the dark grey stallion before him collapsed into himself, unmoving and silent for hours. Broken.




Chapter 27: The Plan




“I’m simply asking you a question. There’s no need to get defensive.” Aurora said, rolling her eyes.

“I’m not defensive, you’re being condescending.” I countered. “It may not be my best idea ever”—

“Not even close.”

“But I’m telling you, it’d work.” I said seriously. “It’s not exactly a predictable strategy.”

“I just want to know how you plan on making him step in the puddle.” Aurora said with a pointed look on her face.

“I’m working on that part…”

“And where is this puddle going to come from exactly?” More skepticism from the petite pony. “Do you plan on using the tears you’ll cry when you realize how bad your ‘plan’ is?”

“Laugh all you want, I think electrocution is still a viable option.”

“So is coming up with a plan that doesn’t involve mysteriously formed bodies of water and wishful thinking.” Neon green never looked so sarcastic.

“But you know how much I love wishful thinking.” I said with a grin.

Aurora and I continued to debate as we walked through the Whitetail Woods. Having reconciled, we now had time to start coming up with a suitable strategy for taking on Nova. So far, the drawing board was full of unintelligible scribbles drawn by yours truly, and a storm of red pen marks making the scribbles feel bad, written by a certain sarcastic pony.

The day was beginning to show signs of waning. The sun was still touching the world with its light, but in a few hours the familiar embrace of the night would wrap Equestria in its cooling embrace. I used to like the night. It was a time where everything was peaceful, and when I could be alone with my thoughts. Now it just brings concealment. I can hide in the dark, just like we’ve been hiding for years.

The one pony that managed to make everything seem completely fine was now miles away in Ponyville, probably crying because of me. I honestly wish she wouldn’t though. I’m not worth the pain, as I’ve told myself a million times. Somehow, I don’t think she’d agree. All I can do for her is stay alive and pray that she finds happiness somewhere else.

I looked up to the sky to find some kind of solace for the time being. Thoughts of Fluttershy were bringing me down, and the last thing I could afford to be at the moment was upset. I needed to be focused, strong, and determined. No amount of sadness could make my resolve falter. No amounts of heartbreak could weaken my spirit. And no number of rainbow streaks shooting across the sky at breakneck speeds could distract…oh crap.

“Aurora!” I said sharply.

“I saw her, quick! This way!” The petite pony darted into the underbrush with me in tow.

We ran as quickly as could, dodging between bushes, trees, and rocks in an attempt to put distance between us and the cyan blur. I didn’t dare take to the air, lest she see me somehow and find me. For all the stock I put in avoiding Fluttershy, I didn’t realize how much more I’d wanted to avoid Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy would be mad. Rainbow Dash? She was going to kill me…

…which is exactly why I was terrified when we happened to run into a clearing and Rainbow Dash happened to shoot into said clearing directly in our path while wearing the angriest look I had ever seen on the mare. Or any mare for that matter…

“So, you thought you could get away, huh!?” The cyan pegasus said indignantly. “You thought you could just abandon us!?”

“Dash, I”—

“Don’t you Dash me! My friends call me Dash! Friends don’t abandon friends, especially when they’re in mortal danger!”

“Rainbow Dash…”

“And you know what? You aren’t even my friend! You’re practically my brother! How can you even look at me, your sister, after just up and leaving like that!?”

“I had to go.” I said weakly.

“Of course you did. You just had to get away from all those ponies willing to help you out in your time of need.” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically. “You had to abandon some of your loved ones to spare us from danger.”

“…”

“Danger, I might add, that affects all of us. You seem to be forgetting you aren’t the only one affected by that monster.”

“I didn’t forget. It’s all I can remember. I couldn’t stop him that day, and now other ponies are paying the price because of it.” I looked at Aurora with a guilty expression.

“And that’s why we want to help stop him now! He isn’t just going to stop with you two. He’ll keep being evil no matter what you do!” Rainbow Dash stepped closer to me, anger still present on her face.

“I’m going to stop him, and you aren’t going to be a part of it.” I said, hardening my resolve. “Even if I have to stop you with force.”

“What do you think you’re gonna do!?” Rainbow Dash stepped forward to push me.

I flared my wings and electricity shot through the appendages, forcing Rainbow Dash to step back in surprise. I moved into a defensive stance and stared her down in an effort to dissuade her from pushing the issue any further. I did my best to keep a stern face, but evidently the anxiety and my lack of desire to hurt her gave me away. I swiftly received a cyan hoof in the jaw.

“Threaten me again! I dare you!” Rainbow Dash somehow seemed angrier than before. “I’d love to knock some sense into your sorry flank!”

The pegasus moved into an aggressive stance, the complete opposite of my posture. I didn’t back down however. I couldn’t. Not now.

“Do your worst.” I said, inviting another swing.

“Just remember, you asked for it.” I closed my eyes as Rainbow Dash wound up another blow.

*THOK*

I opened my eyes at the sound of the impact, and found myself staring at the back of Aurora’s mane. She had stepped in between Rainbow Dash and I, absorbing the blow with her own cheek. She didn’t so much as move a muscle in response. She just stared at the ground, wearing an emotionless stare.

“I-I didn’t mean to hit you!” Rainbow Dash scrambled to apologize to the pink pony. “That was meant for Thundervolt!”

“I know whom it was meant for.” Aurora stated calmly. “That doesn’t mean he’s the one who deserves your wrath.”

“Aurora…”

“No Thundervolt, don’t say it. I was the one who took you away. It should be I who bears the consequences.” Aurora raised her head and looked at Rainbow Dash. “Go on, hit me. Take it out on me!”

“I-I… But”—

“Come on, hit me! Just do it! I deserve it!” Aurora yelled, her neon green eyes flaring with emotion.

“You didn’t”—

“JUST HIT ME! HIT ME, DAMMIT, HIT ME!” Aurora screamed, losing control. Tears flowed down her cheeks, and she shuddered as she took in stifled breaths. “It was me… It was all my fault.”

The small pony fell to her flanks and let out tears I had never seen before. Years’ worth of emotions streamed down her face and nourished the grass below her hooves. I looked at Rainbow Dash with concern, and saw that she looked mortified. She had no way of knowing that she could have caused Aurora’s breakdown with a swipe of her hoof. Then again, I suspected it wasn’t that at all.

I sat down and held her in my hooves, saying nothing as she cried into my shoulder. I had no way of knowing that the strongest pony I knew could be broken to such an extreme, and it terrified me. I always thought of Aurora as my anchor. To see her in this state was to see my world unravel before me. If I wasn’t ready to end Nova before, I was now. If only to stop my best friend from suffering any longer.

Rainbow Dash and I sat with Aurora and merely looked at each other, sharing a silent understanding in that moment. We were in this together, and I would accept that fact one way or another.




“I made a choice back then. It may not have been the right choice, but it was mine and mine alone. I made the mistake of trying to make the same decision for you, Thundervolt.” Aurora said in her usual flat tone.

We walked through the forest, Aurora, Rainbow Dash and I in an attempt to regroup with Twilight. Rainbow Dash left her behind to scout ahead, and wanted to get back to her as quickly as possible. It was still odd to see the rainbow-maned pegasus so adamant about reuniting with the lavender mare. Then again, anything other than blind, conceited self-praise was slightly unbecoming of Rainbow Dash.

“I don’t get it. He’s the moron who followed you. That makes it his choice, doesn’t it?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Besides, blaming yourself isn’t really gonna fly with us.”

“I appealed to the logical side of his brain. I know it’s shocking, but he does in fact have a brain in his head.” Aurora said without an ounce of sarcasm present.

“You do know that I’m standing right here, right?” I asked, earning the same indifferent look from both mares. “I still want an explanation you know.”

Aurora sighed, and dipped her head below her shoulders. “I let somepony down a long time ago, Thundervolt. I valued their safety over our relationship, and I’m paying the price.” The pink pony looked over to me. “It would seem you and Fluttershy are willing to risk your lives to be together. It’s noble, and romantic. I just wasn’t ready to make that gamble.”

“It sounds like you gave up something really important.” Rainbow Dash said supportively. “I can’t imagine how hard that must have been.”

“I was attempting to do the same thing, and all you did was hit me.” I didn’t even try to stifle my irritation.

Rainbow Dash smacked my face with her wing and kept walking.

“Giving them up was never my intention. I’ve been keeping them safe by leaving them behind, and the only hard part has been living without them. I know they’re safe, and that’s all that matters to me.” Aurora said without emotion.

“I hope I’m not overstepping my boundaries when I say I doubt they feel the same way.” Rainbow Dash said, sounding oddly polite.

“Quite frankly, you are. But you’re right. They most certainly do not.”

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. When this is over, you’re telling me that story whether you want to or not.” I said adamantly.

“Whatever you need to sleep at night.” Aurora said dismissively. Rainbow Dash flew ahead of us.

“That story is like a glass of warm milk and some cookies to me.” I said, suddenly craving chocolate chip cookies.

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in front of us. “Guys, come check this out!”

Aurora and I exchanged a quick glance and took off in Rainbow Dash’s direction. A moment later, we arrived at our destination, and took in a very strange sight. It looked like a section of forest had been the site of a struggle. There were numerous hoof prints and body marks on a small path, and a collapsed tree that looked as though it had been pulled from its roots and thrown.

Another tree looked even more damaged, a pony sized dent in the middle of the trunk with fractured bark and leaves littering the ground. Right below it, was a decent sized puddle of dark red, sticky liquid. The blood of a pony, no doubt. A pony that would have been in bad condition, if they were still around. The area was curiously lacking in the injured pony department.

“What do you think happened here?” Rainbow Dash asked with concern.

“Well, look at this.” Aurora’s attention turned to a small groove in the ground. “This circular groove looks to have been carved by magical overcharge. You can tell by the even displacement of sediment, and the burn marks on the outsides.”

“Ok, so a unicorn got mad, and smashed a pony into that tree.” I looked at the tree again, disturbed by the amount of damage. “A lot. The blood seems to have collected underneath the tree anyway.”

“Well then what about that tree over there?” Rainbow Dash asked, flying over to investigate.

“Thundervolt, look at this.” Aurora said, sounding disturbingly worried. She pointed at the tree bark above the dent.

“Is that…part of somepony’s mane?” I asked, flying up to get a closer look.

“Yes. What do you notice about it?”

I stared at it, and then felt a dark chill run down my spine. The hair was blood red.

“Oh no, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash yelled from the other impact site. She was looking at a pair of saddlebags, adorned with a purple star that looked like Twilight’s cutie mark. “These are Twilight’s saddlebags! She might be hurt!”

Before the cyan pegasus could fly off, Aurora pointed out more evidence from the magical groove. I didn’t even notice her move away from me. “You’ll both want to see this.”

Rainbow Dash and I rushed over to see what else was left behind, and were taken aback at the sight of a compass on the ground. Aurora picked it up in her mouth, and turned it around, revealing an engraving on the back. A small butterfly, along with the letters “F.S.”

“This is Fluttershy’s compass!” Rainbow Dash was on the verge of panic, and I was right there with her. “What’s going on!?”

“Twilight and Fluttershy have been taken.” Aurora said gravely, turning to me with her piercing neon eyes. “It looks like he’s forced our hooves, Thundervolt.”

Rainbow Dash turned to me, her magenta eyes constricted with worry. I took a deep breath, and looked them both in the eyes. “I know how we can take him down.”




The Princess of the night felt her magic focus at the tip of her horn, only to be sucked away and into the machine above her. The low humming sound of electrical generators and focusing lenses pulsed throughout the room steadily, sounding almost like fluorescent lighting. No pony had ever been able to trap a full grown alicorn in a terrestrial prison before. Until now.

Princess Luna was trapped under her guards chambers, enclosed in a shielded cage. There were no bars, no walls. Just a transparent barrier in front of the dark alicorn, mocking her with the full illusion of freedom. She couldn’t so much as take a step without being forced back, and whenever she focused her magic, it was drained away and absorbed. The midnight blue princess was helpless.

She was alone, with only the sounds of machinery and her own thoughts to keep her company. She couldn’t even raise the moon from inside her cage, which unfortunately, wasn’t enough to make Celestia come looking for her. Nova had conveniently scheduled a ‘diplomatic excursion’ for the Princess of the Night so that the responsibility of raising the moon would fall to Celestia for its duration.

For the first time in over two years, just like her time in exile on the moon, Luna truly felt alone. Her friends were nowhere to be found, her sister was unaware of her captivity, and even her tormentor stepped out for some fresh air. Isn’t he at least supposed to keep us company while he explains exactly how he plans to ruin Equestria? Luna thought to herself.

Unfortunately, being alone was the time when Luna had time to criticize herself. Being trapped in a magically resistant prison in your own castle is definitely an appropriate time to dwell on past mistakes.

You had one thousand years on the moon to learn how to avoid screwing up so royally, Luna. What happened?

A unicorn by the name of Nova promised Equestria a new age of scientific progress under our rule, and we got curious. That, my dear, is what happened.

Well I don’t suppose you have any advice on how to escape our current predicament, do you?

We do not. Our magic is useless, and we cannot simply walk out of this captivity…

No, not exactly… I do have something to stave off the boredom at the very least.

You don’t mean—

Yes, I do. It doesn’t actually require any magic, so it should work.

Ceasing her inner dialogue, Luna closed her eyes and focused all of her thoughts. She concentrated her energy into the front of her forehead, and poured her spirit into the same spot. She pulsed a dark blue, and felt her heartbeat accelerate as she left her body and began to float upwards.

Opening her eyes, Luna saw her body on the floor of the cage. She looked at herself, and saw that she herself was translucent. She had successfully managed to separate a part of her spirit from her body. In simpler words, she was astral projecting, however this was not entirely accurate. This type of magic was older, and very different, though it served as a viable comparison.

Now ‘free’ of her prison, Luna stepped out into the main room of the laboratory in an effort to gauge the situation. The dark recesses of the lab disturbed Luna greatly, not because of the lack of light. Luna was quite obviously accustomed to the darkness, and all it had to offer. What perturbed her was the general aura of the room. It was filled with such hate and disdain, that it made her skin crawl.

Moving around as a spirit opens up many kinds of new sensations, which only made the depressing room more disturbing for the midnight blue alicorn. She looked around for Nova, but did not find the dark grey unicorn. She was not able to locate him by simply glancing around the lab. What she laid eyes upon, however shocked her, and made her unquestionably angry.

In a cage at the back end of the laboratory were Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy, two of her closest friends. They looked distraught and haggard, as if they had been through a struggle. Knowing the psychotic unicorn that ran the lab, Luna did not doubt the circumstances of their capture. The fact that they were alive at all was comforting, though foreboding. Nova did not take prisoners unless he could somehow use them to his advantage.

The laboratory workstations around the two mares looked torn up and broken. Nova must have been desperately looking for something, or perhaps displaying his anger to his captives. Neither of those seemed quite right however. Princess Luna closed her eyes and once again focused her thoughts. This time, she focused on one stallion in particular.

With a flash of light visible only to her, Luna transported to Nova’s location. He was still in the castle surprisingly, this time in a chamber much deeper in the mountain, in the crystal catacombs. He was yelling at something in a cage. Another prisoner, perhaps?

“You think you can just stand there and marvel at my stupidity without consequence?” Nova stomped his hoof and his magic flared, amplifying his voice. “ANSWER ME!”

Luna stepped closer, wondering who could get him so angry. Inside the cage, she saw a bright red pegasus stallion she did not recognize. She watched his lavender eyes as he backed up in the cage. Her eyes widened considerably as the stallion’s eyes turned a bug-like shade of green and he began hissing. It’s a changeling! Luna thought to herself.

She watched as Nova fell to the floor and remained silent. She waited for him to make a move, for him to do anything that matched his normal behavior. That moment did not come however. Luna watched him for at least a half hour before moving on, distressed by what she had beheld. Nova had gone completely mad, and she didn’t know if that made him more or less dangerous.

Luna was about to go back to her body when a rogue thought passed through her head. The traitors may be of some use as of yet! Luna focused again and reappeared next to Aurora. Thundervolt was in the middle of deliberating a plan to her and Rainbow Dash. Entranced by the conversation, Luna remained by their sides until after they had finished setting each and every detail. Surprisingly, their plan had hope. Despite all of the unknowns they were working with, the two traitors and their element actually posed a decent threat to the monster underneath Canterlot.

It’s up to you now, my little ponies. Your path is true, and your skills are sharp. Succeed where I have failed, and bring evil down to its knees…




And so ends Part V of Falling from the Sky. Only one more update after this, so hold onto your saddlebags!