//------------------------------// // Plan and Promise // Story: Even In Other Worlds // by Rytex //------------------------------// Even In Other Worlds Chapter 02 - Plan And Promise Nathan-- no, Nova stood there, mind still reeling from the realization.  The memories were still slowly flooding his mind, making it difficult to follow all of them. But what was it Mr. Sire had said to do as soon as “they” came back?  Oh, right! “Princess Celestia!” he shouted, as if yelling for someone in a dark forest. At once, his vision went white, and he felt the ground vanish from beneath him.  After a moment of panic, he calmed down when he realized that it was probably her pulling him out of his mind.  It felt like he was flying upward, through this white void, but at the same time, his feet still stood on something solid. A dark spot appeared above him, with small bits of color inside.  As he flew closer, the shape grew larger and larger.  It looked circular, and it appeared to be made of glass. His hands started glowing.  He looked down, thinking vaguely of regeneration, before his fingers melded together and his arms shrunk, his shoulders angled directly forward, his legs shortened and began to take on a more cylindrical shape, and his hair grew slightly longer and further down his neck. He was transforming back into his real self.  His pony self. Even as he thought this, a long blue tail sprouted from behind him, a horn protruded from his forehead, and his transformation completed.  The shape in front of him finally resolved itself, and all the white around him vanished into darkness. He was flying (or falling?) towards the flat top/bottom of a pillar.  The pillar was blue, with deep blue circles set round the edge.  Within the circles were silver crescent moons, like the one on his brooch.  The focus of the pillar was him facing to the left, head bowed, and eyes shut, a serene expression on his face.  Facing opposite and behind him was a light-purple unicorn mare, wings outstretched and facing upward, also with her eyes shut.  Above them were smaller circles, each containing the head of a different pony.  There was one Nova vaguely likened to Alex, one that he also vaguely likened to Trisha.  The others, he had no idea. He was within his mind, he realized.  He recognized the place, having been here twice before.  But as his memories were still in the process of returning, some of the details were still fuzzy.  For example, who was that mare? Whatever force was drawing him upward turned him over, so that he touched down hooves first on the pillar.  Whatever it was made of, it didn’t feel like glass.  It was hard, an it felt more like rock than anything. Tiny white lights appeared all around him and began to coalesce before him.  After a few seconds, a bright light issued from where all the lights converged.  When the light dimmed, a tall, regal white pony with both wings and a horn stood in front of him, her pink, green, and blue mane flowing independently of any wind. “Princess Celestia!” Nova exclaimed, bowing. The Princess inspected Nova for a moment.  She seemed to be making sure he was in good health, and that he really was Nova Shin and not some other pony. “Of all the ponies to break the curse and call for me,” she said in her gentle voice, “I am quite surprised that you were the one.  Rise, Nova Shine.” Nova stood tall, looked up at her, and raised an eyebrow.  Princess Celestia smiled and took the moment to clarify. “I don’t mean that I didn’t expect you to be free at all, but I am surprised that you were the first, and the one to call my name.” “I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Nova said truthfully. “Yes, I suppose you wouldn’t,” Princess Celestia said.  “You and everypony from Equus was dragged out of our world and cursed.  This curse buried your memories of your true selves under false identities, or so I gathered, and made it impossible for me to contact you.” “And yet you’re in my mind.” “Oh, you know where we are?” she asked, her eyes twinkling down at him.  “Good.  Your memory restoration seems to be progressing quite quickly.  Yes, we are in your mind.  Or rather, I am connected with your mind.  I am still on Equus.” “You are?” he asked, surprised. “Why yes,” she said.  “Would you like to see?” “Uh, sure.” Princess Celestia’s horn shimmered with golden energy.  At once, the world around Nova vanished, and he appeared in a great city, full of tall white towers and on the side of a mountain. “Canterlot,” he muttered to himself. But something was off.  Aside from the fact that there was nopony in the town, there was something else that was giving Nova the distinct impression that something was wrong. Nothing was moving.  There was no wind, the birds were frozen in the air, There wasn’t even any sound. “What’s going on?” he asked aloud.  Princess Celestia’s voice ran from all around him. “Equus is currently frozen in time,” she said, and Nova caught a note of sorrow in her voice.  “Well, not necessarily frozen per sé.  It is merely placed under a Hyperbolic Time spell.  Do you remember the effects?” “No,” Nova said.  “You’ll have to remind me.” “There is Time Stasis,” she explained, “in which anything within the target area of a spell is frozen completely, and there is Hyperbolic Time, in which the outside of the target area is slowed to a minute rate.  I placed a mixture of Hyperbolic Time on myself, and Time Stasis on the entirety of Equus.  Only Equestria, the Crystal Empire, and apparently the Changeling Empire were affected by the curse, which means the other nations, including our less-than-friendly neighbors across the sea, the Griffin Empire, still have all of their citizens.” She snarled somewhat. “I could not take the chance that the Griffins or any other hostile nation would not seize their opportunity and conquer Equestria for themselves.  So as soon as I realized the magnitude of what had happened, I cast both spells.  First, Hyperbolic Time on myself to offset what was to come, and then Time Stasis on the whole of Equus.” Nova, whose jaw had fallen open some time ago when she had said that she cast Time Stasis on the entire planet!!!!, just stared blankly at the birds, trying to process what he had just heard. “Yes,” said Princess Celestia dryly, “I am rather good at magic, aren’t I?” The world around him vanished, and he was once again standing on the strange pillar within his mind.  Princess Celestia stood, watching him, as if gauging his reaction.  Or perhaps searching for some kind of sign that he had remembered something important. “So what are we going to do?” Nova asked. “I beg your pardon?” Celestia asked back, confused. “You know,” Nova said, “what are we going to do to get back to Equestria?” “We can do nothing, Nova Shine,” Celestia responded, shaking her head.  “I’m afraid that I must once again ask more than I should of you, for you alone are the only one in any position to work to return everypony to Equestria.  I cannot leave Equus, both because I don’t have the ability to, and because if I did, my spells would fail.” “So I’m alone?” Nova asked.  For some reason, he felt let down by that.  Why?  Why did he feel let down all of a sudden?  If his memories were true, he was the kind of pony to do things on his own. “Not necessarily,” she said.  “There is someone who can help, but if you want his help, you’re going to have to be very discreet and subtle about it, given his current predicament.” “Who?” “Me,” came a playful-sounding voice that made Nova think of internet trolls. Wait… “Mr. Sire?” he asked, looking over toward where the voice issued.  Sure enough, a man wearing a top hat, a grey patchy coat and, brown pants, and carrying a cane stood there. “My name isn’t Quincy Sire, Nova Shine,” Mr. Sire said, reaching up, taking off his top hat, and placing it on the ground.  “You’ve never met me in my true form before, but I am sure you will recognize me immediately.” He snapped his fingers.  There was a bright white light, and in his place stood a creature Nova recognized as a draconequus.  And he knew there was only one draconequus alive. “Discord,” he said, to which the titular being grinned and bowed. “At your service, Nova Shine,” he said.  “Celly and I go way back, you see, and semi-recently, I was sent to Fluttershy’s Home for Reformed Draconequi.  So, it turns out I’m on your side now.  Crazy, huh?” “And they don’t know that?” Nova asked.  “Whoever brought us here didn’t know that you were on Princess Celestia’s side?” “I’m still working on that one,” Discord admitted.  “I only just learned who was responsible for our little excursion to this human world.  And I must say, Celly, I had my suspicions, considering the brand of magic used to transport us was not unlike a certain crystal mirror kept in a certain basement in a certain Crystal Palace in a certain Crystal Empire.” Celestia appeared troubled by this. “But how can that be?  He is gone.  Twilight Sparkle saw to that before her ascension.  Before she even met him,” she added, gesturing to Nova.  “How can he--” “I don’t know how it’s possible, but I do know he’s not behind it,” Discord interjected.  “It’s Envy, Celestia.  She’s behind all of this.” Celestia sighed heavily. “I should have known,” she said, eyes narrowing.  “Nova, do you remember anything about Envy?” “Bits and pieces,” Nova said. “That’s fine,” said Discord.  “Your memory will fully return in time.  Just be patient.” “There’s one thing I want to know, though,” Nova said, before they could continue patronizing him about how slowly everything was coming back.  Before, things had sort of rushed back to him, but now nothing seemed to be coming back.  And he couldn’t help but feel like he couldn’t remember something big… “Hmm?” Celestia asked.  “What is it?” “I keep hearing this name,” Nova said, scrunching up his face and starting to rub the skin around his horn.  “I don’t know who this pony is, but I get the feeling she’s a big part of my life.  Can you tell me who Twilight Sparkle is?” The silence spoke volumes to him.  Both Celestia and Discord looked at each other in shock, before looking back at Nova. “Are you sure you don’t remember her, Nova?” Celestia asked. “Nothing,” Nova said simply.  “But then again, my memories are slowly coming back.  Maybe I just need time.  Is this her?” he asked, tapping a portion of his pillar that belonged to the face of the lavender mare. “I… cannot say,” Princess Celestia said, after receiving a warning glance from Discord.  “You need to remember who she is on your own.  Trust me, my little pony, it is better for you that way.” “If you say so,” Nova said, thought Celestia heard the small touch of disappointment in his voice.  “Now, back to my original question, except let me rephrase.  What am I going to do to get back to Equestria?” “You mean to get everypony back to Equestria, right?” asked Celestia, giving him a look. Nova shrugged. “If it works for me, won’t it work for them too?” Nova asked, giving her an annoyed look.  “You know what I meant, Princess.” There was a pause in which Celestia blinked, slightly taken aback by his response.. “I like this guy,” Discord said with a cheery smile.  “You and I are going to have so much fun.” “Fun comes later, Discord,” Celestia reminded him.  “Right now, the priority should be on returning to Equestria.” “And how exactly am I going to be doing that?” Nova asked for the third time.  He was starting to get annoyed that neither of them would answer his question. “I think I know,” Celestia said.  “Though the Elements of Harmony have been returned to the Tree of Harmony, the spirits of the Elements live on inside their bearers, through the power they were given by the Tree of Harmony. Nova, you are going to have to reawaken the six former Bearers of the Elements of Harmony.  Or rather, awaken the spirits of the Elements inside of them.” “Oh good,” Discord said, jumping backwards and laying on air as f he were laying on a hammock.  “For a moment there, I thought you were going to command me to help him.  I’m far too busy catching up on my favorite shows on Netflix.  Like the show this guy’s from.” He snapped his fingers, and there was another flash of white.  When it darkened, a man with short black hair stood before them, wearing a black and red ensemble with a strange A-shape on the wearer’s left breast. “Con permiso, capitán,” he said in a mocking sort of voice.  “The hall is rented, the orchestra engaged.  It’s now time to see if you can dance.” “His… thing aside,” Celestia said, choosing to ignore Discord’s antics, “he is going to be giving you some help.” “He is?” Nova asked. “I am?” Discord said, doing a double take.  With a snap of his fingers, he returned to his normal form in a flash of light.  “What, pray tell, am I going to be doing?  In case you haven’t noticed, Celly, subtlety isn’t my specialty.  I doubt any way I could help him would go unnoticed. And are we forgetting about how prone I am to temptation? Does a certain attack by Tirek remind you of any betrayals of mine?” “I know, and I remember” said Princess Celestia with a small smile.  “So you’re not going to do anything direct.  Rather, you’re going to teach him chaos magic so he can do things behind the scenes. And furthermore, I'm trusting you to teach him how to defend himself with magic as well.” “He’s going to what?” “I’m going to what?” “I think both of you need to get your hearing checked,” Celestia snorted impatiently.  “You, Discord, are going to teach him how to use chaos magic.” “Why?” Nova asked. “Because you’re not going to be able to control magic very well in your current form,” Celestia explained.  “Chaos magic is easy to manipulate once you get the hang of it, whereas your human form won’t be accustomed to using normal magic, so you may find it difficult.  I’m not willing to take that risk.  We need you to get started as soon as you can on reawakening the Elements of Harmony.” “Are you sure about this, Celestia?” Discord asked, sounding for once very serious and cautious.  “Chaotic magic is very volatile.  In the wrong hands, it could spiral out of control.” “I have every confidence in him,” Celestia said firmly, which made Nova smile.  “I know for a fact he was able to singlehoofedly cast Time Stasis.  While I doubt it will be easy, I think chaos magic should be picked up quickly by him, and he will be able to get straight to work on returning everypony to Equestria.  Now, you know what you have to do.  You are no longer needed here, Discord.  Might as well get planning on how you’re going to teach him.” Discord nodded, and with a snap of his fingers, he vanished.  Celestia stared at the spot where he had vanished, which gave Nova the impression she was thinking.  After a moment, she turned and then gave Nova a slightly sad look. “I know it may pain you to hear this when you remember everything, but Nova, I have to impress upon you how important it is that you do this right.  The six Elements of Harmony cannot be awakened any other way, and while trying to do it wrong won’t cause any ill consequences, it will waste time.  You must awaken the other five elements before you can awaken the Element of Magic.” “Any particular reason why?  I’m still fuzzy on the details.” “When the first five Elements of Harmony are present, those being Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Kindness, and Loyalty, a spark will cause the sixth to appear.  You cannot awaken Magic before the others; it must come after.” Nova pawed at the ground, not understanding why she sounded so insistent, like she thought he would rebel and wanted to make sure he knew otherwise. “I don’t see what your fuss is about,” Nova said, somewhat placatingly.  “I wouldn’t go against your wishes on something like this.” “If and when you remember, Nova, you will want to,” she said, shaking her head.  “You will want to throw caution to the wind and go right after the Element of Magic, but you can’t.  She has to come last.” “I get it!” Nova snapped.  Really, all she had to do was tell him once!  Why was this such a big deal!? “Well, alright then,” Celestia admitted, though Nova could tell she wanted to beat this into his skull further.  “I’ll take your word for it.” “Oh and before I forget,” said the voice of Discord around them.  He reappeared, still in his draconequus form.  “Celestia, Nova, you need to know what you’re up against.  And I need my hat.” He walked over, picked up his hat, and put it back on his head.  Then he snapped his fingers, and a little projector screen appeared. “First thing’s first, the enemy you’ll probably have to worry about least,” Discord said.  He pointed his cane at the projector screen, which unfurled downward, displaying a picture of Mayor Oscurit. Sombra, Nova thought. “The once-King Sombra,” Discord said, slapping his cane against the screen.  “Ooh, I like that sound.  I’ll be sure to slap it more often.” Celestia cleared her throat.  Discord just rolled his eyes and continued. “Some kind of echo of Sombra has been created to keep the curse on the townspeople working.  Don’t ask me how.  And before you ask, no, we can’t just waltz right up to him and stick a knife in his gut to undo it.” “Damn it,” Nova said in mock-annoyance.  “I was totally hoping to jump right in the face of a black magic caster and just stab him to death.” “As best I can tell, both him and Envy are maintaining the spell, and since he is only an echo, you simply have to eliminate Envy and the spell will undo itself.  That will break the curse on the ponies, but it will not return us all home.” “Why not?” Nova asked. “The curse was designed to cause you all to lose your memories, and to keep you in a sort of haze to prevent you from ever regaining them,” Discord said.  He jabbed his cane at Nova.  “Last night, you broke out.  The spell continued to keep your memories at bay until your very spirit finally broke free of the shackles that bound it, and here you stand. “This being said, breaking the curse may be what we need to happen, but to do that, you’re going to have to get to Envy, wherever she is.  As far as I’m aware, the only pony who would know where she is has been delegated the task of keeping an eye on seven ponies in particular.  Yourself included.  She is,” the image changed to a beautiful pale woman with long blue hair, icy-blue eyes, and a very elegant dress, “Nightmare Moon.” Nova saw Celestia shift out of the corner of his eye, but he continued to stare at the image. “Who was she supposed to keep an eye on?” Nova asked. “Well, I’m sure you can think of six ponies, or at least their reputations, right off the bat,” Discord said.  “The six Spirits of Harmony, to be exact.  But since I know you’re oh so mathematically astute, you must know that leaves one pony she still watches.  That pony, Nova, is you.” “Me?” Nova asked, confused.  “Why me?  What’s so special about me?” “You were the pony they expected to break out sooner than anyone else,” Discord said.  “Your spirit, among other things, would naturally fight against the confines keeping you down, and so she was to keep her eyes on you directly in addition to the other six.” “She’s done a great job,” Nova said dryly. “She has other methods of keeping her eyes on you than physically being there,” Discord warned.  “Remember, she can become a living shadow, and she has those Shadowbolts she’s so fond of.  Keep your eyes open for them.  They could cause no end of trouble if they tempt a certain would-be Wonderbolt with the prospect of fame and fortune.” “But what if somepony besides us were to break out?” Nova asked.  “What then?” “Then the third member would be there,” and again Discord snapped his fingers.  The image changed to show a literal black woman with long dark-green hair and a very formal-looking police uniform.  Her eyes were a light green, with darker green irises, and pupils like Nightmare Moon’s.  “Queen Chrysalis, who is using her changelings as the police of the town.  Their job is to make sure that nopony else gets out of line, though they will act if you were to start rebelling as well.” Nova couldn’t help but feel a slight pang in his gut.  Chryssie… he thought to himself, remembering the time he had saved her life, those many years in the past. “Now then,” Discord said, slapping the projector screen with his cane again, “take the day off, get plenty of rest, be in bed by eight, and don’t forget to look both ways before crossing the street.  You have a big day tomorrow, Nova.  Tomorrow, we start with our chaos magic lessons.” And with that, and with a snap of his fingers, Discord vanished. “Are we finished?” Nova asked.  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to go ahead and get started.” Princess Celestia smiled. “That’s something I always liked about you, Nova Shine,” she said.  “You always were the stallion who would immediately be on the job as soon as you knew what had to be done.  Yes, we are done.” Her horn flashed, and Nova’s vision started to go white again. “Oh, and Nova?” she added.  “Whatever you do, if you come into contact with Nightmare Moon, don’t try to fight her.  You’ll likely not be strong enough in magic to compete.  Run.  Just run.” “Yes, Princess,” he assured her. “Farewell, and good luck.” And everything went white. {E} {I} {O} {W} After Nova’s departure, the dreamscape vanished, and Celestia found herself standing in the Canterlot Castle throne room once again, the only pony in the deserted Equestria, and the only being capable of moving at the normal pace of time. It had been a long time; so long, she didn’t even know exactly how much time had passed.  With no way to count the days, with the clocks all frozen, and with no need for sleep, Princess Celestia was confined to a prison of misery without a foreseeable end, until Nova could successfully undo the curse and return everypony. “Why so droll, Celestia?” came the voice of Discord, echoing through the room.  With a flash of white light, the being of chaos himself appeared before her, still in his human form.  “I would have thought that you’d find something to do, even with nopony else here.  Perhaps write a story?  Build something?” “It’s funny,” Celestia said sadly, gazing dismally at the stained glass window depicting Twilight and her friends as she ascended, “when everypony was here, I wanted a day of leisure.  A day to myself, free from the distractions of politics and the crown, all so I could relax.  Now, when I have unlimited time on my hooves free from those shackles, I want nothing more than to have those responsibilities back.  Funny world we live in, eh Discord?” “Funny world you live in, you mean,” he said, flipping backwards and lying on an imaginary hammock in midair.  “I’m stuck in this dismal place.  About the only highlight I get is whenever I get to gloriously troll the Queen.  I’m not allowed to openly use my powers, after all.  What would the townsponies think if it suddenly started raining chocolate milk?” “How are they confined?” she asked. “Sorry?” “If everypony is in one city, the city would have to be five times the size of Manehattan to give everyone space to sleep,” she explained.  “So how are they divided up, so to speak?” “Well,” said Discord, stroking his beard, “there’s the main city in the center, there’s some outlying country, there are other towns, and so on.  Fortunately, everypony who really matters to this little scheme of yours is located in the city.  I don’t see Nova needing to venture out beyond the fake Sweet Apple Acres, and that’s only if he absolutely needs to, in order to reawaken Applejack.” “Are the changelings that widespread as well?” “I think so,” said Discord.  “None of her usual commanders are in the city.  I think they’re overseers of the other towns.  A pity.  I do enjoy chatting with Scheherazade whenever he is in town, as he has such a unique sense of humor.” “And what of Luna’s guards?” she asked. “I think they may have been force-converted into the Shadowbolts, but I can’t confirm that,” he said, appearing troubled.  “I hardly ever see them.  They always stick to the alleys, out of sight, though I think we both know who they’re assigned to keep an eye on.” “And what about Envy herself?” Celestia asked. “Well, that’s just it.  None of us know.  We’re sure Nightmare Moon does, but she’s keeping her trap shut on the matter.  All I’ve managed to piece together is that, since Moony’s supposed ot be keeping an eye on the Bearers and their close friends and family, she would have to be in a position to receive orders from her mother.” “So Envy would want to keep herself close to Nova and the Bearers, should they ever start to awaken, as it would allow her to personally keep an eye on things, and it would keep her close enough to give orders to Nightmare Moon,” Celestia said, following her string of logic. “Exactly what I surmised, but Envy’s tricks in the past, as far as I can tell, have never been what they appear to be at face value,” Discord noted.  “I can’t directly give Nova information, so I have to hope he knows this.” They were quiet for a time.  Celestia continued to stare glumly at the windows, as if hoping they would magically come to life and speak to her. “I suddenly had a thought,” Discord said.  “He’s going to have to face Envy sooner or later to remove the curse, yes?  Well, how is he going to find her, in any way that doesn’t involve him going after Nightmare Moon?” Celestia froze. “You don’t mean--” “I do,” Discord said.  “He’s going to have to beat your corrupted sister if we want to return home.” Celestia shook her head sadly.  Nova would only barely know how to manipulate magic in this new body.  If she were honest, she didn’t think he would stand a chance. “Is there no other way?” she asked. “Well, he could always figure it out on his own, which I wouldn’t put past him,” Discord added, “but I highly doubt there won’t be a trap or two involved that he will need to know about.” “Could you not find these out yourself?” Celestia asked pleadingly.  “Even though I know it needs to happen, I don’t think Nova would stand a chance if he were to confront my sister right now.” “You care quite a bit for him,” Discord observed. “I do,” Celestia said, dipping her head.  “The pony who made my sister the happiest she had been in the Old Times?  The one who stood by my side and helped me to best my fallen sister?  And that’s not even to mention that he’s the one stallion who made two of my former Faithful Students the happiest mares in the world.” “Forgive me if I’m wrong Celestia, but didn’t Nova ignore Clover’s affections for the most part?” Discord asked.  He already knew the answer; he still just liked proving Celestia wrong. “Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes, “he made one of my former Faithful Students the happiest mare in the world, and he opened the metaphorical eyes of the other.  The point is, I care about him a great deal, Discord.  I care about all of my little ponies, but even I will admit I care about some more than others.  Everypony has favorites.  Some of us just know how to treat everypony equally, even if we do have those we like more.” “An honest answer, worthy of a pony who once bore that Element of Harmony,” Discord said, nodding.  “And then you used it against me.  My backside’s always been slightly more itchy than usual, you know.  I still haven’t forgiven you for that.” “Yes, well, your backside aside, you both have jobs to do,” she said.  “When he finds out who Twilight Sparkle is to him, he’s going to want to do everything in his power to find out who she is in your world, and immediately rush to awaken her.  He must not give himself away to the enemy, no matter what.” “So, essentially my job is to make sure he doesn’t slip up and reveal himself to anyone we don’t want finding out about this?” “And help him learn Chaos Magic, yes.  Chaos Magic is his best hope if he would want to defeat my fallen sister.  He’s an imaginative stallion; he should do quite well with it.” “Will you be wanting weekly letters on our progress?” Discord asked, a slight mocking edge to his voice.  A quill and paper appeared in midair.  “‘Dear Princess Celestia, today I taught Nova how to perform Chaos Magic.  Twilight Sparkle scraped her knee when she bumped into a random passer-by.  He nearly burnt the city down with the Chaos Magic to make the poor man pay.  Your faithful embodiment of chaos, Discord.’” For a moment, Princess Celestia said nothing, but she kicked her hooves rather awkwardly, which made the taunting grin slide right off his face. “You actually do want progress reports?” “Discord, I know you understand what it mean to be alone,” she said. “No thanks to you and Twilight Sparkle,” Discord spat. “That aside… correspondence would be nice.” Discord blinked. “You must be joking.” “I’m not,” she said softly.  “It’s… lonely here.  There’s no one else I can speak with.  Time is all but frozen, Discord.  I am the only sentient being on Equus, and I cannot leave.  Is it too much to ask for, I don’t know, a conversation every so often?” Discord stared down at her, watching her as she even sniffled slightly.  Discord knew Celestia to be a manipulative bitch when she wanted to be, but even he could see she was actually sincere. “I‘ll see what I can do,” he said cautiously.  “I mean, no promises, and I can’t ever tell you when I’ll be able to talk.  Let’s face it, if the others learned I was having meetings with you behind their back…” “I understand,” she said, smiling somewhat. “One question, before I go,” Discord said.   “Were we in Nova Shine’s mind?” “We were not,” she said, smiling even wider.  “We were in mine.” “Good,” Discord said.  “That will make our meetings much easier if I call out to you.  I don’t want to end up in Nova’s mind when he starts imagining this human Twilight in rather compromising positions involving him and a bed.  I might puke if that happens.” Celestia’s face turned beet red, she started stammering, and most humorously of all, her wings sprung up to an attentive position, leaving Discord to chuckle at her. “Oh, Celestia, you may excellent at this, but let’s not forget who the true master is,” he said, turning around and starting to walk away.  “Good day, Princess,” he added with a wave, and with a snap of his fingers, he was gone in a flash of white light. {E} {I} {O} {W} There was banging sounding from somewhere near by.  Nova was vaguely aware that he was lying on his back on some soft surface, and that he was incredibly exhausted from something.  He really didn’t want to go investigate what that banging was. “Nathan!?” called a familiar, faraway voice.  The banging continued.  “Nathan, are you here!?” Tracy… With a groan, Nova staggered to his hooves-- no, feet-- and hobbled out of his bedroom, feeling sore all over.  It felt like he had just undergone one of the most brutal full-body workouts ever!  And that wasn’t even counting the dull headache that had returned, though it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been. “Nathan?” she called again. “Yeah,” he grunted, “be right there.” He hobbled over toward the counter separating his small living area from his kitchen and used it to support himself as he made his way to the door.  It was slow work, but he managed to get there easily enough. When he opened the door, he was quite surprised to find Tracy alone.  A blast of slightly chilly air hit him at once and he shivered.  She didn’t seem to have a problem with it, as she was wearing a black coat, though her hands did look rather red.  The fact that one was raised to knock again gave him a good look, but she lowered it and gave a slightly bashful smile. “Sorry about the banging,” she apologized, but Nova waved it off. “Don’t worry about it.  I was out like a light, so otherwise I wouldn’t have heard.” “I just came to check that Mr. Sire got you home and see if you were doing alright,” she said, looking down and away.  Nova noticed a slight pinkness in her cheeks.  Eh, probably just from the cold. “Oh, yeah, been doing better,” he replied.  “Just a dull headache now, and I ache quite a bit, but I don’t feel sick anymore.” “Alright, well, get well soon Nathan,” she said, turning around and starting to walk off. “Wait!” Nova called after her, before he realized exactly what he was doing. She paused and turned around.  “What?” she asked. “I… won’t you come in?” he said somewhat hastily.  “I mean, it seems pretty silly to come here just for that.” “I have too much work to do,” she said, and he felt slightly disappointed for some reason, “but thanks for the offer.” She turned and started walking away again, leaving him staring after her, watching the magenta streak in her hair as she descended the staircase in front of his door.  When she turned as part of the turnaround, she gave him a little wave and a smile, before walking off. When she was out of sight, Nova sighed and shut the door. What was that? he asked himself.  Why had he been so concerned all of a sudden about why she had come?  For that matter, why had she been so concerned that she had to come all the way out from her place a few miles away? He staggered back to the bedroom.  He needed something to take his mind off of Tracy.  He had a feeling Natalie would kill him if she found out about this, given her usual reactions.  So he figured he could start looking through all of his things and try to find things that would trigger more memories coming back. He had a feeling there was something huge, just out of his reach.  But what? He opened a drawer in his nightstand.  There was something he kept in here to keep safe, since he really didn’t know what it was.  The last time he checked, he’d always owned this little earring.  It shone a bright reddish color, and he thought it looked nice, but he could never find its match. He reached in and found the small metal thing and pulled it out.  He was wrong.  It wasn’t red, but more pink.  No… not even that.  It was magenta. The same shade of magenta as the streak in Tracy’s hair. Is she… is she the mare from that pillar in my mind? he wondered. Nova tried to think about the memories he had just been barely thinking about.  They had been returning at a breakneck rate, so to speak, and he just wasn’t able to think about one before another took its place. Nova was sitting in bleachers at a football pitch, watching as ponies wearing gold and blue uniforms played against ponies wearing white with black accents around the neck.  He was sitting next to a mare like Princess Celestia, a lavender one, who wore a glowing blue earring on her right ear.  He reached up and touched an earring in his own, opposite ear. The earring slipped through his fingers.  He was suddenly feeling horrified.  It was coming back! “No...” he whispered to himself.  “How could I…” He and that same mare were trotting through the halls of Canterlot Castle, while he angrily vented his frustration with the House of Nobles to her.  Again, they were both wearing the earrings on different ears. “How could I have forgotten her?” “I love you too, you beautiful, overly-introverted mare” His breathing was coming in gasps, and his eyes were welling up. Him and an older pony were in a bar.  The elder pony was lecturing him, but he finally jumped to his hooves and screamed, “I LOVE HER!” He was facing her, Twilight Sparkle, in her library.  Her eyes were tearstained, but she seemed happy.  “Twilight Sparkle, I--” he tried to say, but she cut it off, kissing him. “Tell me, do you love Twilight?” asked a pony in a barely-intact infirmary.  “More than anything else in the world,” Nova answered immediately. Nova sank to his knees, memory after memory passing through his mind. “How dare you touch her!?” he yelled at Envy in the Everfree Vaults, even as he staggered to his hooves.  She had struck Twilight with a painful spell when she had tried to inform him of Envy’s plan. Another scenario like the last, with him standing between Envy and Twilight in the middle of a great, endless darkness.  Twilight was being strangled by tendrils of this black energy, but he stood between her and Envy’s malicious red eyes, horn glowing, and screaming at the top of his lungs, “YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HER!” The memories were flooding back.  He had fallen to the floor, tears streaming from his eyes as everything came rushing back in a wonderfully glorious recollection. But there was something else.  Something more recent that he knew he needed to remember. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, will you marry me?” His breath caught.  He was engaged?  How could he have forgotten that!? But it was one memory in particular that hit him the hardest. {E} {I} {O} {W} Nova, dressed in his usual cloak (which seemed to be extra-fine today), was standing before Princess Celestia on a raised dais.  There was a large crowd of ponies before them, watching the two of them closely, though some kept stealing glances toward the back.  Behind the two of them stood Princess Luna, watching the proceedings with a large smile.  Nova’s and Celestia’s attention, however, were directed toward two large doors at the back of the Canterlot Chapel. Aegis stood at his side, wearing his most formal guard uniform, and waiting at rapt attention.  Nova had more that once told him to be at ease.  It was a wedding, for Faust’s sake!  He should be enjoying himself. The doors opened, and a procession of five mares entered, wearing recreations of their gowns worn at the last Royal Wedding.  Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy all slowly walked up the aisle, glancing off to the sides every so often.  The ones who seemed to be getting the most looks were Twilight’s and Nova’s parents, who sat next to each other with proud grins. Following the bridesmares, in came the ring bearer, Spike, and the flower girls, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, all wearing very fine outfits.  Nova saw two horn rings and their two earrings on a purple velvet pillow, one glowing blue, and the other glowing bright magenta.  The rings they had enchanted only the day before. Which left only two.  One decision, which had surprised even Nova, was that since Twilight couldn’t choose between any of her friends who would be the Mare of Honor, she gave that much-coveted position to Trixie.  Twilight had insisted on having a maid mare of honor as opposed to a matron like Cadance or her mother, so they went with it.  No one was complaining. Nova caught Shining Armor’s eye, who was standing in the front row with Cadance.  Shining gave him an encouraging nod. Nova took a deep breath, considering what he knew was coming next. The doors at the back opened loudly and dramatically.  Accompanied by six of her newly-commissioned Magic Guard, and wearing a creation of Rarity’s, a fine dress of immaculate white, Princess Twilight Sparkle entered the Chapel. The organ began to play the bridal procession piece, and Twilight began her procession to the altar.  She kept her gaze downward, but that didn’t stop her from smiling like everypony else.  Nova felt his heart swell up, and he could have sworn he grew an extra six inches or so right then and there.  Of all the ponies in Equestria, to think that she had chosen him… She passed the row his and her parents stood in, then she passed the front with Shining Armor and Cadance.  Finally, she climbed the three steps to stand beside him.  As she ascended, he turned to face Princess Celestia, and for one fleeting moment, their eyes met.  In that moment, Nova saw all the same wonder and joy that was flooding through him that same exact moment. “Mares and gentlecolts,” Princess Celestia said, looking past them toward the audience, “you may be seated.” There was the momentary shuffling as everypony behind them sat down.  Nova and Twilight kept their gazes forward, however. “I am in a rather unique position,” Princess Celestia announced to the room at large.  “I have known both of these ponies from a young age.  Princess Twilight, as I am sure you all know, I tutored as my Faithful Student, a role which she has since graduated from.  Nova, however, I watched from afar, both for personal reasons and because his father begged me to watch over him.” “I had a rather unique relationship with Nova, because only a few months ago, he travelled through time to Old Times, when Princess Luna and I still called Everfree our home.  We knew him as the both First Night Apprentice and the Seventeenth.  In that disjointed time, he grew to be powerful, and I wondered if there would be anypony besides myself and my sister who could ever be his equal, to which he answered his special somepony Twilight.” She smiled even wider at the crowd. “Of course, it would be over a millennium before I ever met Twilight, and while Nova helped me to face her fallen self and banish her, it was Twilight who faced her and restored her.  As I understand it, Nova was not lost on how this fit,” she added, giving him a little glance.  Nova distinctly heard his father, Tantalus, and Professor Hoofman all share a chuckle. “As they both grew, I watched them.  I wanted to know more about Nova’s younger self.  What he went through that led him to fall in love with a mare like Twilight, how he got to be so powerful for that time long past, and so on.  For a time, I wondered if they were even the same stallion, because due to his experiences earlier in life, he tried to avoid love.” She turned her gaze to Twilight. “Fate has a funny way of dealing with things, because it led him to the pony standing opposite him today, who awoke his feelings inside of him.  As with all relationships, it had its ups and downs, but for the life of me, I cannot think of another relationship haunted by an enemy to Equestria.” There was some scattered chuckling. “However, their bond proved to help them not only save each other, but Trixie Lulamoon from the clutches of Envy as well.  Following Twilight’s ascension to Princess, Nova proposed that very night, and four months later, here we stand.  I’m sure they both feel that they have waited long enough.” Princess Celestia nodded at Spike, who almost ran up to them as fast as his short legs would carry him.  The two earrings floated off, and Nova and Twilight immediately put them onto their ears, where they had been only a few hours ago. BANG! The doors at the back of the chapel burst open, startling everyone in the crowd.  Nova and Twilight bolted around in time to see a green pony with a maroon mane stride into the Chapel, sauntering straight down the aisle.  Nova knew those red eyes and that ruby necklace anywhere. “Envy!” he shouted, leaping in front of Twilight and conjuring a bright blue shield around her. Envy’s horn flashed red, and to Nova’s astonishment, her crackling red magic pushed open an arch in his shield, large enough for her to pass through, without even breaking her stride. She’s using Black Magic! he realized, having studied the effects before, effects that amplified the power of her magic and made it to where it would go through any normal spell’s waves. “So sorry to ruin your big day,” she said, staring not at Nova or Twilight, but at Princess Celestia.  “As you can see, my dramatic timing is quite poor, since I didn’t want to wait until you asked whether anypony objected to the union.” She gave Nova a cold look. “Do you not care for anypony’s feelings?” she asked him, an evil smile workin onto her face.  “What if I wanted an invitation to the wedding?  You never know.  I might have behaved myself.” “Why are you here?” Princess Celestia asked, calmly, though dangerously. “Why, it’s simple, Princess,” she said, turning to look back at her.  “I’m here to ruin everyone’s fun.” A shockwave of red magic blasted out from her horn, catching everypony by surprise.  All of the guards, Shining Armor, and Princess Luna were thrown against the walls and held with magic binds.  Nova managed to get a shield in front of him, Twilight, and Princess Celestia at the last second, halting the spell. “Are you sure you want to do this, Envy?” Nova asked, moving to stand directly between her and Princess Celestia.  “I’ve gotten stronger since we’ve met, my wife is a Princess, and you don’t seem to be wearing the Alicorn Amulet this time.” “She’s not your wife,” Envy said flatly.  “You never got to the ‘I do’s.’  You didn’t say it, you didn’t do it, you’re not married.” Her horn began crackling with red energy again.  Nova noticed the difference between her usual magic and this new brand.  Her old magic would crackle, but it would remain like other ponies’ magic.  Now, however, it appeared to be pulsing with red lightning. She directed her gaze back to Celestia. “I would have you know, Princess, that it took a lot of trouble to prepare this little spell I’m about to cast.  Oh, and before you do anything stupid, dear Nova Shine,” she added, glancing to where Nova was even now preparing a spell to block her use of magic, “your magic can’t stop my Black Magic.  You may as well save your energy.” “You seem to be in a talkative mood,” noted Celestia.  “Are you, perchance, going to tell us how this spell of yours works?” “Well, since I am in a good mood, and since you asked nicely,” she said, giving the Princess a catty grin, “I think I can spill the beans, but considering just how much I’m dying to use this spell, I think I’ll keep it brief.” She turned and pointed directly at Twilight. “I escaped some months ago, shortly before the Princess Summit, and immediately, I went and hid directly in her shadow, where no one would ever know I was there.  I was dragged into that other world, and I witnessed Sunset Shimmer’s rampage.  And that got me thinking, what if I could forcibly drag everypony to a different world?” Nova’s blood ran cold. “These last few months have seen me preparing this spell for use, and finally, I have finished it, and I have come to cast it.  As I said before, Nova, you may as well save your energy.  It’s not going to work.” “What makes you think I’m just going to let myself be dragged off to another world?” he barked back at her. Wordlessly, Envy shot a bolt of red lightning at Twilight, which hit her before she or Nova could react.  She flew backwards, slamming into the wall and collapsing to the floor.  Nova cried out and dashed over.  She appeared to only be unconscious, which relieved Nova greatly. “It’s simple.  If any of you fight, she dies,” Envy said, her evil smile turning sadistic.  “Protect her all you want, Nova, but remember, when I use Black Magic, you’ll do nothing to stop me.” “If you dare hurt any of my little ponies,” Priness Celestia said in a dangerous voice, wings flaring out behind her and horn brimming with golden magic, “I will make you live longing for the sweet release of death.” Nova knew Celestia meant what she said, but Envy didn’t seem to be the least bit concerned. “Oh Princess,” she asked mockingly, “how can they tell you if I’ve hurt them when they won’t even be able to remember?” Princess Celestia’s eyes widened, and Envy struck.  With a report as loud as thunder, another shockwave of red magic blasted from her horn. It passed through Nova harmlessly, which left Nova to wonder exactly what it had been.  He looked back at Envy, who was busy conjuring up a swirling cloud of black, purple, and green magic.  Nova sent a spell her way-- --but nothing came from his horn.  The spell had removed his ability to cast magic for some seconds, which was all the time she needed. Nova pulled Twilight close and hugged her as Envy released the spell.  The cloud of magic grew larger and larger, until it enveloped him, Twilight, and everypony else in the room. And everything was gone. {E} {I} {O} {W} Nova’s eyes flew open.  He was lying on the ground again, clutching something metal tightly. The earring. He sat up, feeling his head to make sure he was okay.  He had no fever, but his forehead was very sweaty.  He felt very weak, and under normal circumstances, he would want to just climb in bed and fall asleep. But now he knew who Twilight Sparkle was.  And he was pretty sure he had a good idea who she was here, too. He staggered to his feet, and stumbled out of his room, noting vaguely that it was only late afternoon, and that it would seem only a few minutes had passed since he had started to regain his full memory. He tried to reach the door; he desperately wanted to follow after Tracy!  But he stumbled on the way and he fell to the floor. Looks like I need my rest first, he thought bitterly.  Just my luck. With a sigh, he lay there for several seconds before crawling back to his bed, a task which took him almost three minutes, exhausted as he was.  As he climbed in, he felt one final tear on the day trickle down his cheek. Wait for me, Twilight.  I’m coming.  I will save you and everypony else here. I promise.