//------------------------------// // Chase the Nightmares Away // Story: Even In Other Worlds // by Rytex //------------------------------// Even In Other Worlds Chapter 05 - Chase The Nightmares Away Music, new tab. You know the drill. Nightmare Moon charged straight at him, and Nova at her.  He raised his sword above his head, ready to bring it down upon her-- There was a flash of icy-blue light and Nightmare Moon vanished.  Not fooled in the slightest, Nova spun around in time to see Nightmare Moon rearing back, about to stamp down on him.  He lunged with his sword, burying it in her chest.  He grunted in triumph.  Twilight had tried that same trick on him several times. Nightmare Moon screeched in pain and retreated.  To Nova’s surprise, the wound was bleeding a black aura, but even as he watched, the wound repaired itself in short order. If Nova needed reinforcing that he wouldn’t be able to defeat her using normal methods, that would have done it. Taking advantage of the Nightmare’s distraction, Nova dashed over to the magical prison Princess Luna was trapped in, raised the blade over his head and brought it down as hard as he could on the bubble of dark energy. There was a resounding gong-like sound, and Nova was thrown backwards, landing heavily on his back and sliding across the floor.  He scrambled to his feet and glanced over at Princess Luna’s prison.  Dismay flooded through him, because the cage didn’t appear even slightly damaged. The shimmering sound of magic got his attention, and he dove away from where he had been standing.  A bolt of lightning hit the spot he had been standing on just moments before. “Pulling out the lightning already?” Nova mused to himself.  “Must have really gotten under her skin by beating her in the street and making it here.” Her horn started to glow again.  Without giving her time to cast a spell, Nova dove forward and cleaved her from the top of her head to just above her front right leg.  Nightmare Moon screeched again, and the spell faltered. “What do you intend to accomplish by doing that?” Princess Luna called.  “It gets you no closer to victory!” “It interrupts her spellwork,” Nova replied, leaping back to avoid the Nightmare goring him with her reforming horn, “and I find great pleasure in it.” Nightmare Moon’s eyes bulged.  Before Nova could stop her, she shot one of the most powerful spells he had ever seen at him.  It was a beam as larger than he was, and he could feel that it was concentrated enough to completely disintegrate anything unlucky enough to be caught inside of it. Reflexively, Nova snapped his fingers.  At once, he was suddenly launched into the air, safely out of the beam’s reach.  He had just been hoping to call upon something that could save him, but he wasn’t complaining.  The little springboard that had appeared underneath him had done its job. Nova started to fall back toward the ground.  Nightmare Moon shot a burst of fire right at where she knew he would land.  Nova tapped into his magic, and he vanished, appearing close to Princess Luna’s cage. “Are you going to use your Source extensions, or are they there for show?” Princess Luna called again. “Well excuuuuuse me, Princess,” Nova said in exasperation.  “Are you going to help me or critique everything I do?” But she did have a point.  Having his first Source extension turn into a sword had given him an idea.  Instantly, another of his blue orbs of energy floated down into his hand and with a flash of light, it had transformed into a large round shield. Being that both his sword and shield were made of magical energy at their core, they would make effective tools in this battle, being able to block and deflect Nightmare Moon’s magic by themselves.  Nova still hadn’t given much thought on how to use his blade to manipulate magic, though.  All he knew was that it was possible; he had never really learned how to do it. Nightmare Moon launched a fireball at him, but he raised his shield and braced himself.  With a powerful impact, the fireball hit the shield powerfully, but Nova stood firm and the spell did no damage to either him or his protective piece of magical metal. “You really are her knight, aren’t you,” Nightmare Moon mused.  “First, her comforter, then the protector of her mind, and now you stand here, fighting me to free her.” “I did always consider it the duty of a student to defend the honor of his teacher,” Nova replied.  “‘Knight in shining armor’ description may or may not apply.  As you can see,” he gestured toward his body, “I don’t appear to have armor, let alone of the shining variety.” “Shame,” Nightmare Moon said.  “It probably would be an effective tool at stopping knives from stabbing you to death.” Nova barely had the time to get his shield up in time to block the onslaught of conjured blades.  When he sensed energy behind him, the merest thought had the other three orbs of light fly behind him and block the blades directly. “I get the impression that those things are going to be annoying,” Nightmare Moon said of his Source extensions distastefully as she ceased the assault. “I fought you with them last time,” Nova said.  “Thought you would have learned I can do almost anything with them.” With that, the three orbs flew to different positions around Nightmare Moon, who reflexively conjured a shield around her.  However, Nova had only done that to frighten her.  After all, the last time she had faced them, they had pummelled her into submission with strong beams of energy, followed by Celestia, Comet, and Nova using the Elements of Harmony to banish her to the moon. Which meant Nova could exploit them as the perfect distraction, and then make her pay for not properly paying attention to them. He charged at Princess Luna’s cage again, raising his blade high above his head and bringing it down as hard as he could again.  Once again, with a large flash of light and a resounding boom, he was blasted backwards. However, this time, Nova definitely felt something in the cage.  While it contained a substantial amount of energy keeping it together, every time it exploded like that, the amount of energy in the cage fell, depending on how powerful the blast was.  The first blast hadn’t been that powerful, but this second one was more so and Nova could feel it. He smiled to himself.  There was a way to break this cage using brute force.  Barring a better solution making itself known to him, this was what he was going to do. “That doesn’t seem to be doing anything!” Princess Luna called.  “Surely you can think of something better?” Nova almost screamed at her. “Luna, the last time I rescued somepony, THEY DIDN’T COMPLAIN HOW IT WAS DONE!” Nightmare Moon’s horn glowed, and several pillars of light erupted from the ground.  Nova felt the energy below him assemble in a split-second, and without thinking, he teleported again, right on top of Luna’s prison just as a pillar of energy erupted under where he had been. Nightmare Moon dispelled her shield and with one great flap of her powerful wings, lunged at Nova.  Nova, however, jumped forward and rushed to meet Nightmare Moon head on.  With three swings of his blade, he had severed her head, sliced off one wing, and lopped off both of her hind legs.  Granted, the wounds regenerated, but the amount of time she spent screaming in pain at him gave him the time to run over and bash Luna’s cage yet another time. “So when you say you know the basics of Spellblade,” Luna remarked, “you mean to tell me the basics were simply ‘here is sword, swing at enemy?’  This is some rescue.” While Nightmare Moon continued to piece herself back together (which she was getting faster at), Nova wanted nothing more than to slap both hands on his face and drag them down slowly.  Here, he had been prepared to rescue a Princess in distress, but it turned out she was really a distressing Princess. “Luna, if you want to be rescued here, I suggest that you stop insulting me and questioning my ability and start bucking helping me!” “I am helping you, Nova,” she said simply. “How exactly does insulting me help me?” he asked, hefting his sword again, but this time channeling a basic Fire-element spell and touching his blade.  At once, the blade was set ablaze.  Nova thought it would add extra pain to Nightmare Moon, not to mention if things got a little dark, he would be able to intensify the fire and set the room alight. “I can’t tell you that,” Luna said, sounding quite exasperated.  “She would hear.” Nightmare Moon completed reconstructing herself, and she snarled at him. “How cute,” she hissed mockingly.  “You two fight like a married couple.” “Well, considering I would be married to Twilight Sparkle right now, if it weren’t for your bitch of a mother,” Nova spat at Nightmare Moon, which seemed to make her angrier, “I’m going to have to say I’m flattered, but taken.” At this, his Source extensions fired a barrage of energy beams.  The Nightmare easily deflected them with a conjured barrier, then shot three concentrated beams of her own in quick succession, which Nova teleported elsewhere to dodge. “I’m offended, Nightmare,” Nova said.  “You’re not even really trying.  Really, this is foal stuff, what you’re throwing at me.” “If you must know,” Nightmare Moon said, eyes narrowing, “it’s entirely because it’s been so long since I’ve been in a battle, I’m simply savoring it.” “I think I’ve had my fill of battles with my life on the line, thanks,” Nova responded. “Oh, but that’s what’s so special about this one,” Nightmare Moon said, giving him a catty look.  “It’s not just your life, oh no.  It’s for everypony in Equestria, not to mention your precious little whore of a fiancée.” Nova paused. “Oh no,” Princess Luna said, covering her face with a hoof. “What did you call her?” Nova asked in a low, dangerous voice. “Shouldn’t have done that, Nightmare,” Princess Luna called at her darker half. “I believe I called her a whore, Nova Shine,” Nightmare Moon repeated, smiling smugly at him.  “She’s a stupid little bitch who can’t resist poking her arrogant little snout into things she has no business poking them into.  And I promise you this if you refuse to surrender:  after I defeat you, she will be the first one to suffer, and she will suffer greatly.” Nova had clenched his right fist so hard, his nails had dug into his palm.  Flicking the warm wetness of his blood away, he simply met Nightmare Moon’s look with a glare. “I’m waiting, Nova Shine,” Nightmare Moon said in a singsong voice.  “You stand no chance of defeating me when I can use my full potential.  Why not just give up now while you c--!” Nova had dropped his sword and shield, teleported forward with the merest thought, and had grabbed Nightmare Moon right by her throat.  He was not gentle in how hard he squeezed her neck, and he even lifted her into the air.  Before she could fire off a reflexive spell, Nova channeled magic into his free hand and grabbed the top of Nightmare Moon’s horn, pouring sudden excess wells of his power into blocking off her primary arcane conduit. Nova wrenched her head downward, smashing his knee right into her sternum, eliciting a choked, pained groan from Nightmare Moon. “How-- dare-- you-- insult-- my-- wife-- to-- be-- in front-- of me!?” Nova thundered, punctuating each word with some strike against Nightmare Moon.  He kneed her, kicked her, slammed her into the ground, elbowed her (risking an attack by magic), and crushed her throat all the harder. Finally, in a burst of adrenaline and rage, he twisted her neck as powerfully as he could.  While Nightmare Moon’s consciousness was all shadow and no bone, and thus he would not snap her neck, it still gave him great satisfaction to watch him literally twist her head completely off her body, eliciting a screech from the again-decapitated alicorn. As Nova watched her shadowy neck bond to her head to reattach it, he heard Luna remark, “We really need to work on your anger issues, Nova.” “Considering you’re part of the cause,” Nova fired back, “I don’t think you have a right to talk.” She said nothing.  Nightmare Moon, however, continued to grunt with pain as she reformed. “Y-you think you’ve w-won this fight?” she said, her voice quivering with suppressed rage and pain, but gaining confidence and volume.  “I h-haven’t even tapped into my full potential!  And now you’ve gone and made me angry!  PREPARE TO WITNESS THE TRUE POWER OF THE MISTRESS OF THE NIGHT!” Before Nova could react, her form completely fell.  She had shifted back to a group of black, wispy Nightmare spirits.  Nova took a step back, prepared to run for his sword and shield should the Nightmares’ true form be powerful enough to warrant it. But before he could run, they converged on him as a group, and everything went black. Blackness.  Every direction, all Nova could see was blackness.  There was no hint of light anywhere, or of the Vaults they had been standing in moments before; not even the werelight he had cast upon entering this particular vault could be seen. “Nova!” Nova’s head snapped to his left.  That scream sounded like Twilight.  Without any thought as to what it would do to him, he turned and galloped in her direction.  She materialized out of the darkness after a moment of galloping.  She was looking around wildly for him, and upon sight, she galloped at him as well. “Uh-uh-uh,” came a disembodied voice from all around them.  “We can’t have that.  Well, you may rest easy, knowing that the last thing the two of you shall see is each other.” The shadow seemed to press in on both of them, covering their muzzles and asphyxiating them slowly.  Nova was trying to think of anything that could get them out of this situation; any spell, any action, any thing in general, but nothing he thought of seemed like it would work. “NOVA!” The call was muffled, but the fear and panic in it was unmistakable.  But at the sound of it, he felt a great rush of adrenaline surge through him.  He was NOT going to let this shadow harm her if it was the last thing he did! Without even pausing to consider the situation, he willed the great surge of energy to burst through his horn as pure, unbridled energy.  The energy in his body seemed to shoot through his spine, directly to his horn, which now felt as if it had lightning inside of it-- A tendril of darkness smashed into Nova, sending him flying sideways, and firing a wayward beam completely away from Twilight and the shadowy entity.  The tendril bound him where he lay, and Nova was forced to watch as Twilight was suffocated, little by little.  He screamed at her, flailed against his bounds with all his might, but it was all in vain. Finally, Twilight Sparkle’s eyes dimmed.  Her panicked expression started to fall, and she fell limp against her bounds.  Her empty eyes stared straight at Nova, blank and glossy. She was dead. “NO!” Nova screamed, an instinctive blast of magic freeing him from his bonds.  He dashed over to Twilight, ignoring the mass of shadows around him as he desperately channeled magic through her to try and restart her heart. “No!  Stay with me Twilight!” he screamed frantically, pumping her lungs like he had seen.  The tears were already starting to fall. Finally, when he had used all of his energy, desperately trying to save her, he collapsed onto her body, sobbing uncontrollably as the shadows converged to reunite them in death. Nova gasped and awoke with a start.  He felt a form shift next to him. “Smmthing the matter Nova?” asked a tired voice. “J-just a crazy nightmare,” he said, burying his face in his hooves.  “Just go back to bed, Twilight.” “Nova…” the voice said, having a sad edge to it.  “I’m… I’m Clover, remember?” Nova’s head bolted up and he stared at her incredulously.  there she was, staring at him with sincere violet eyes, and a telltale green clover cutie mark.  It was Clover the Clever, and he had just wasted some of their final night. “But…” he mumbled stupidly.  “I was just in the Vaults in my time!  What the--” She simply pulled him into a hug.  Nova collapsed into her shoulder, continuing to sob. “I-it was so real,” he cried into her shoulder.  “It was like I was there a-again, and I h-had to watch Twilight d-die right in front of my eyes.” “Shh, peace Nova,” Clover said gently.  “I’m here.  This is real; the nightmare is over.” There was a swishing sound and a soft thump.   Clover suddenly tensed and let out a surprised gasp.  Nova opened his eyes in confusion.  A red handle was protruding from Clover’s back. The red handle to a silver knife. And standing triumphant before him, was Summer Blossom, smiling giddily. “I… I did it…” Summer said breathlessly.  “I did it!  I thought she’d be harder than that, but… I can’t--” Nova roared and tackled Summer.  As soon as they hit the floor, he began to pummel her with everything he had in him. “HOW COULD YOU!?” he screamed at her.  “HOW C-COULD YOU D-DO THIS!?” Summer tried to spit words out between his blows, but he was too strong, and soon, he had beaten her into unconsciousness.  When he saw her limp body, he slowly brought his hooves, fetlocks dripping with blood, to his face and gazed at them in horror. “N-nov… va…” Clover said in a weak voice.  Nova bolted to her side and lay her on her belly, using gravity to help keep her blood inside. “Shh, save your strength,” he said, in a voice that betrayed every fear he had. With what looked like to be a great effort, she lifted her hoof to his cheek.  Nova did nothing to stop it, but he worked as hard as he could with his magic to seal her wound around the knife.  If he took it out, she would bleed to death almost instantly, but even so, she wasn’t doing good with it in either. “I… I lo…” she tried to say, her eyelids slowly fluttering downwards. “No, just keep quiet,” he whispered, his franticness increasing.  “Stay with me, Clover!  Stay awake!  Fight!” “I lo…ve you…” she whispered, before her eyes fell shut.  Her hoof dropped from his face and hung limply beside the bed. Nova stared at Clover.  He stared at her, uncomprehendingly.  It couldn’t have happened.  It hadn’t happened!  HE REFUSED TO BELIEVE IT! Nova started crying again, knowing there was nothing to be done.  He slumped over Clover’s body, sobbing hysterically.  All while Summer weakly cackled at her victory from the floor. Twilight Sparkle and Envy were struggling against each other at the edge of a chasm in the rock.  Twilight was desperately attempting to run over and help Nova up to solid ground, away from the expanding chasm.  Envy, however, was having none of it. “You… little… harlot,” Envy growled out, pushing with all her might against Twilight, who pushed back equally strong.  Nova could only cling to the side of the chasm for dear life with his hoof still in the magi-gun, which was currently keeping him alive.  He was out of reach from the edge itself, which meant he needed Twilight to save him if he wanted to escape this situation. Envy fired a spell at Twilight’s shoulder.  It missed, but Nova’s eyes widened when he saw where it was heading after that. The spell struck Trixie’s chains on the wall.  Trixie, not expecting her sudden and accidental freedom, toppled forward and fell into the chasm, missing the edge and plummeting to her doom. “TRIXIE!” Twilight shouted, diving away from Envy and firing a spell to catch her.  The spell worked, managing to slide her against the wall opposite Nova, where Trixie grabbed on to a jagged outcropping of rock. Envy, however, had other ideas.  With one quick, hard buck, Twilight was kicked off the edge and fell. “NO!” Nova shouted.  The spell holding him to the edge dropped and he dove downward, flying at breakneck pace toward Twilight, hoping to grab her and grab onto the edge as well. A blast of magic struck him, and he fell onto Trixie, knocking her loose as well.  Now all three of them were falling. In that one moment, Nova knew now that there was no hope.  There was no chance.  Twilight and Trixie both knew it, too.  As they fell, they gazed up at him, eyes wide with fear.  Nova could only shut his eyes and brace himself for the landing that would end all of them. The last thing he thought about was of Twilight, that night under the lights in Trottingham. “MOVE!” Celestia didn’t need telling twice.  She launched herself in his direction just as a brilliant beam of blue energy vaporized the area she had been sitting at just moments ago.  The loose bricks of the Old Castle’s roof crumbled into the crater, giving Nova a view of what was outside. A black alicorn mare wearing blue battle armor, with an ethereal blue mane and tail and icy-blue eyes was floating above them and sneering down at where they recovered from the blast. Wait a minute… Nova thought. He knew this!  He knew all of this!  The previous three visions had already happened and they hadn’t resulted in the deaths of those he cared about!  He knew this, but why had he fallen for the illusion? A beam of blue energy shot forward from Nova’s horn and struck Nightmare Moon straight in the chest before she could react.  At once, the entire dreamscape wavered around him, looking quite fuzzy, as if seen by a pony who needed glasses yet wasn’t wearing any. “Caught you,” Nova said triumphantly, firing three more beams at Nightmare Moon.  The first clipped her wings, and she shrieked with pain and the illusion wavered again.  The second caught her chest again, and much of his surroundings vanished again, revealing darkness in all directions. The third struck her directly on the horn, and there was an explosion of light. Nova collapsed, falling to the surface of the dreamscape of Luna’s mind.  He heard Nightmare Moon give a surprised gasp. “Impossible!  How could you resist my nightmares!?” “You know nothing of my student, Nightmare Moon,” Princess Luna said, with a strong note of pride in her voice.  “You believe everything can be overcome with power, and Nova is determined to prove otherwise.  He saw through the illusions you sought to trap him with, and now you are going to pay the price for it.” Nova managed to get a shaky arm under himself in an attempt to push himself upright as Nightmare Moon guffawed. “Even if he did defeat my illusions, look at him.  He’s completely exhausted.  What could he possibly do to free you?  This fight is won!  He will never again get to see his little whore as he knows her.” That one word alone did wonders for Nova.  Suddenly, his exhaustion was gone and there was a wellspring of magical power in him. “I think you just doubled the price you’re going to pay, Nightmare,” Princess Luna casually remarked. Nova staggered to his feet, glaring with nothing but hatred at the black alicorn.  At once, he felt something like electricity begin to shoot through his arm. “How dare you,” he said, stumbling sideways slightly.  “I would have thought you had learned your lesson after the last beating I gave you.” Nova could actually feel the energy flowing through him, just begging to be released. “You made me see the ponies I love and care about die right before my eyes,” he said, the images going right through his head and only intensifying the rage.  To think she would sink that low… “Just like my princess said, Nightmare,” Nova said, starting to lose control of his power, ready to release it. Nightmare Moon’s smug grin vanished, replaced by a sudden nervousness.  If Princess Luna could have see Nova, she would have known why, for Nova’s eyes had very briefly flickered red, and the arm with all the power was giving off a slight crackling of power. “I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!” The power in Nova exploded.  A shockwave of magical energy, stronger than any use of magic Nova had ever cast in his life, burst out of him, striking the Nightmare and blasting her far across the circular platform she was on. Nova sensed his window of opportunity.  The shield, having been thrown around by the magical explosion, vanished in a flash of light.  The sword was simply recalled to his hands, being an extension of his Source. Nova ran right at Princess Luna’s cage, his sword glowing with blue light as he filled the blade with as much power as he could.  He leapt up, bringing his sword above his head, roared with all the strength in his lungs, and brought the blade crashing down on top of Princess Luna’s prison. There was a crystalline shattering sound, and another explosion of light.  Nova was launched away and sent sliding across the floor.  Without waiting to stop, he dug the sword into the ground to swing himself around and stumbled into a standing position, where he charged Nightmare Moon and began to hack and slash at every bit of black fur he could see. So preoccupied was he in his berserker attack that he did not properly defend, and with a defensive kick from the Nightmare, Nova was sent sliding across the floor yet again. “YOU LITTLE WHELP!” Nightmare Moon screeched, bearing down at him, horn lit with magic-- A blue barrier appeared, stopping Nightmare Moon in her tracks.  Princess Luna trotted regally toward the both of them, gazing at Nova with nothing short of massive pride. “Good work, my Night Master,” she said, smiling at him.  “I thank you for freeing me from Nightmare Moon’s prison.” Nightmare Moon had never looked more scared than when Nova saw the look on her face now.  Even she had to know it was over, that she had lost.  She was never powerful enough to imprison Princess Luna alone; Envy had helped her both times.  And she wasn’t here to save the Nightmare this time. Princess Luna’s horn shimmered, and Nova was lifted up and set down on his feet along with his sword and shield, and then a dome-shaped bubble of transparent blue magic appeared around him, separating him from Luna and Nightmare Moon. “Now that you’ve freed me, I can dispose of Nightmare Moon once and for all.  So, as they say, ‘sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.’” Almost instantly, Princess Luna vanished in a flash of blue light.  Nightmare Moon whirled around wildly, but Luna struck from the sky.  A great circle composed of other circles and runes every few spaces appeared in the void around them, glowing Luna’s blue aura. Nova blinked.  He already knew what was coming. “Oh shi--” A massive beam of energy blasted forth from the circle, catching Nightmare Moon completely off-guard and slamming her into the pillar bearing Luna’s likeness.  Were Nightmare Moon a creature of actual flesh, blood, and bone, she would have been reduced to near-jelly by that one blast alone.  However, Nova saw the telltale wisps of shadow flee from the blast and spread out.  He had a feeling some of them were hoping to hide in the cover of the darkness surrounding them. No sooner than he had thought this than no less than a dozen bright parks of light appeared in each of the wisps that had attempted to flee.  Instantly, they were absorbed into the light.  The other shadows flying around almost instantly converged and reformed into the form of Nightmare Moon. “It’s simple, Nightmare Moon,” Princess Luna’s voice rang out from around them.  “While my Night Master wasn’t strong enough to banish your separated Nightmares back into your land of dreams when he managed to wound you, I am.  And I will continue to rend you apart and send your spirits back to the Dream World until you are nothing.  There will be no surrender or quarter.” The beam dissipated, and Princess Luna flew down to stand on her dreamscape and glare at the quivering form of Nightmare Moon, who looked nothing less than terrified. “This will not be a painless experience for you,” Princess Luna continued.  “Even if you were to surrender, you forfeited any mercy I would have shown you when you resorted to giving Nova the visions of those ponies he loved most dearly being killed before his eyes.” Princess Luna’s eyes began to glow bright blue and her mane started to deepen into a more midnight shade of blue.  Nova recognized this change from when Princess Celestia had channeled the pure power of the sun back in the past.  He figured she had to now be channeling the pure power of the moon, now. Before Nightmare Moon could move again, a sudden glimmering in the air appeared close to her.  Within an instant, it had expanded into a transparent three-sided pyramid that enveloped Nightmare Moon. “While my sister invented this spell, that hardly disqualifies me from using it,” Luna said dispassionately, her horn shining pure white.  “I simply will refocus the power source from the sun to the moon.” A small star appeared inside the pyramid, shining brighter than burning magnesium.  Nova couldn’t even stare in its general direction without covering his eyes.  An instantaneous spell from Princess Luna later, and Nova’s eyes were shielded.  The star was growing in intensity, and Nightmare Moon was pressing herself against the walls of the pyramid in a futile attempt to avoid the spell. “I, Princess of Equestria, condemn you to oblivion,” Princess Luna announced, before Nova felt her release her magic. The star suddenly exploded, though it was contained by the magical prison Luna had trapped her in.  Nova didn’t even hear Nightmare Moon scream over the roar of the explosion inside. The shield around Nova vanished, and Princess Luna landed beside him. “One day I shall teach you how to use the stars as your allies,” she said, watching the glowing pyramid.  “While my sister invented the basic concept of the spell, I refined it.  I summoned a pure white dwarf star and I added just a bit of volatile energy to it.  Knowest thee what this star is called, dear Night Master?” she asked, fixing him with an expectant gaze. Nova smiled.  Only a couple of weeks ago, mere hours before his memories had returned, Dr. Hoffman had been lecturing on this very kind of star. “So you destroyed Nightmare Moon with a nova, then?” he asked. Princess Luna dipped her head. “Indeed.  Since you freed me from her prison, I think I might just honor you by naming this spell after you.  Nova Shine’s Nova Summoning Spell.  Though it would be a shame for it to be named after you and you be unable to know how it worked.” “Is the fight won?” Nova asked, gesturing at the white light still issuing from inside the pyramid. “Not entirely, though it is well on its way,” she replied.  “Nightmare spirits cannot be slain like animals, Nova.  If they are hurt, they lose power.  This spell is so powerful that it is dealing enough force to completely disintegrate a normal pony.  Nightmare Moon will be completely rent from head to hoof, and all the spirits that comprise her will be separated and made all but harmless.  Once the nova finishes releasing all of its energy, I will banish them back to their world of dreams once and for all.” They were silent while they watched the light for any sign of it dying down.  Almost a minute passed, and still there was no reduction in the power of the star’s outburst. “I am very disappointed by this battle, Princess,” Nova said.  “I expected her to put up a better fight.” “She is not the true Mistress of the Night, and could only wield a fraction of my power,” Princess Luna said, a scathing note entering her voice.  “And despite that, she believed herself superior.  The first time they caught me was nothing more than a moment of weakness for me.  The second was a surprise and forceful method of trapping me.  There will not be a third time.” “But even so, she wasn’t very powerful when I faced her.  Why did everyone make such a big deal about me not being able to battle her?” “Because of the spirits’ ability to recompose themselves,” she said.  “You had no way to truly hurt the spirits, and so they would lose no power.  They would defeat you simply by outlasting you.” “But in the past--” “In the past, you battled them controlling my body, a body of flesh and bone,” she interrupted.  “A body you could wound and damage.  Here, however, you battled the spirits themselves.  You stood the greater chance of winning a battle between you two if you battled in the physical world.  Here, where they could recompose themselves all they wanted, you had no chance of winning alone.  Yet you freed me, and so won the battle.”  She gave him an affectionate nuzzle, as she had often done when he had managed to figure out a particularly difficult subject during their time as student and teacher.  “You are truly worthy of your title, my Night Master.” The light dimmed inside the pyramid.  Once it faded, Nova saw Nightmare Moon’s slumped figure inside and walked forward.  He stopped instinctively, however, when he noticed that there were patches of transparent skin on the Nightmare, revealing many black specks of shadow inside. “She has lost her power,” Luna observed, “and is losing control of herself.  In a moment, the spirits will completely fail to keep in control, and I will send them back to the world from which they came.” “One thing first,” Nova said, squatting down and giving some rather sharp pats onto Nightmare Moon’s cheek.  “Wake up, Moony.  You’ve got some explaining to do.” Nightmare Moon groaned and struggled to rouse herself from her stupor.  One quick backhanded slap from Nova was enough to wake her forcefully, though. “Haven’t you… done enough?” Nightmare Moon said weakly, giving Nova as angry a glare as her tired state would allow. “Not just yet, Nightmare,” Nova said, reaching over and binding her neck in place with magic.  “See, you have some information I want, and if I have to pillage it myself, I will.  So why not make this easy on yourself and just tell me what I want to know?  That being said, where is Envy?” Nightmare Moon sputtered for a moment, but it devolved into laughter. “You expect me to sell out Mother?” she asked, chuckling painfully.  “You really are as stupid as they come, Nova Shine.  I guess your little harlot fianceé more than makes up for it, though.” “Screw this,” Nova said, slapping a hand directly under her horn.  “I tried to be the good cop, but it looks like I get to be the bad one, now.” With a muttered incantation, Nova cast the legilimency spell, and everything went black. The interrogation took quite a bit of time.  Nova sifted through every memory the collective consciousness ever had as long as they had been in control.  However, he wasn’t looking for anything but where Envy might have gone.  Who was she pretending to be?  In particular, he was searching for some of Nightmare Moon’s earliest memories, when she had managed to take control of Luna at his wedding. This was hardly Nova’s first experience sifting through a pony’s memories, thoughts, and so forth.  There had been an incident where he’d had to look through Fluttershy’s thoughts to determine exactly why her canines were longer than any pony’s had any right to be.  The results he found to be… interesting.  Twilight had accidentally turned her into a vampire fruit bat, and the change wasn’t exactly gone for good.  He hadn’t been able to do anything about it, but at least he’d been able to locate the source of the problem. There had even been times where he had visited his dear fianceé’s thoughts and memories.  Mostly to help her learn to repel mental invaders, given that this was one of the few schools of magic Celestia hadn’t trained her Faithful Student, the art of Occlumency.  Still, it allowed him to glean information on happenings she didn’t exactly want him to know about. Such as Flash bucking Sentry. Dismissing this irritating thought, Nova floated through the inky blackness of Nightmare Moon’s thoughtscape, moving further and further into her past.  Every time he saw a glowing white orb of light, he would touch it to see if it was what he was looking for, but every time thus far, none had been. He floated over toward another one and touched it.  A simple memory of a meeting between all those in charge of their little town flashed through Nova’s mind, and he left it alone.  Nightmare Moon, it seemed, wasn’t getting orders from Envy.  Envy had simply trusted her to do things right.  But where was she!? He touched yet another, and to his surprise, it showed Nightmare Moon opening her eyes in the middle of the near-empty Chapel Hall of Canterlot Castle. “Hello, daughter,” a familiar voice said.  Nightmare Moon struggled to her feet.  Once more, she was in control of Luna, it would seem.  This time, however, it would be a permanent transformation. “M-mother?” Nightmare Moon asked weakly.  “You… you brought me back?” “Of course I did,” Envy said, smiling up at her alicorn henchpony.  “A good mother never abandons her children. However, there is an ulterior motive, and the truth is, just like last time, I need your help.” “Anything,” Nightmare Moon said immediately.  Envy smiled, and gestured over to where Princess Celestia was magically restrained against a wall, watching the proceedings with a look of caution and apprehension.  Envy had trapped her in a large, crackling red bubble, else Nova was sure she would be fighting. “I am about to cast a curse on the whole of Equestria,” Envy said.  “It will blanket everypony’s memories, making them think they’re different ponies than they actually are.  I’m also using a bit of magic from Sombra’s spellbooks to transform everypony into the native shape of some other world and transport them there.” She looked Nightmare Moon straight in the eyes. “In order to be in the right position to counter any attempt made to transport everyone back to Equestria, I need you to watch the six Bearers of the Elements of Harmony personally.” “What will you be doing, Mother?” Nightmare Moon asked. “I will subject myself to the curse,” Envy explained.  “If anypony breaks it, I will come to and go after whoever broke it personally.  There are other stipulations too, but should the curse remain unbroken for so long, I will come out of it thanks to a time-delayed spell I borrowed from Sombra as well.  I won’t do it right away, because we have some details to work out.  But know this, my daughter:  this is our victory, and we should not let it go to waste.” “As you say, Mother,” Nightmare Moon said, dipping her head. At once, Envy’s horn sparked red, and everything vanished. Nova withdrew his hand from over Nightmare Moon’s face. “Did you discover where she is?” Luna asked. Nova shook his head. “She subjected herself to the transformation and curse,” he explained.  “She could be anyone out there.  She could have disguised herself as somepony I know.” Luna’s brow furrowed. “Interesting.  She would subject herself to her own curse,” she muttered to herself.  “But Sombra’s curse wasn’t designed for self-casting.  In that case, who is the one sustaining the spell?” Neither of them said anything for a long moment. “We can discuss this matter later,” Luna said.  “However, the time has come to put the Nightmare out of her misery.” With a shimmer of her horn, Nightmare Moon screamed as she was rent from the tip of her horn to the end of her tail.  As soon as she was split in two, the many spirits flew out of her, only to be engulfed in light and vanish completely. “And so ends Nightmare Moon,” Princess Luna said, a note in her voice that reminded Nova of the way history textbooks would speak of even the most vile figures with nothing more than dispassion, “the would-be usurper of the title Mistress of the Night.  Requiescat in pace.” “Even after she imprisoned you and gave me those visions, you still show her respect after her defeat?” Nova asked. “Of course,” Luna said, staring at the spot Nightmare Moon had been laying.  “It is a lesson my teacher taught me.  Holding onto feelings of anger and revenge, even after your foe has been vanquished, can lead you down a path you would not want to go.  With her final defeat, I let go of my anger toward her.  It was a lesson I had almost literally beaten into me.” “Lord Star Swirl?” Nova asked. “Of course,” Princess Luna replied with a mischievous wink down at him, but her smile fell. “We have lingered too long in my mind, and we must rescue my guards. Come, Nova, it is high time we left and contacted my sister.” She trotted by him and draped a wing around his shoulders.  As soon as she had a secure hold with her wing, her horn flashed.  Instantly, everything around them went white. {E} {I} {O} {W} Nova was standing in the familiar alleyway, one hand placed over Princess Luna’s human form’s eyes and the other around her neck.  With a slight sigh, he loosened his grip on her neck and gently lowered her to the cracked concrete below. With the merest of gestures from his hand, the unconscious Nightmares were lowered from their place of safety on the roof of one of the buildings surrounding the alley. Princess Luna’s body remained unchanged, comparing it to when Nightmare Moon had been in control.  Nova kept his magic ready, just in case it was all a ruse.  For all he knew, this could still be one of Nightmare Moon’s visions, an attempt to let his guard down so she could get him out of her head. Princess Luna’s eyes suddenly opened  As soon as Nova looked into his teacher’s eyes, he knew that it was the real her.  There was a certain warmth in her gaze, a counter to the iciness that Nightmare Moon had radiated. “What a queer form,” Princess Luna remarked immediately.  “I do not know how you or Twilight Sparkle did it.” “Did what?” Nova asked, holding out a hand to help her up. “Adjusted,” Princess Luna said, reaching out and taking Nova’s hand.  He felt her arms shaking as he helped her to her feet, and upon helping her balance, she nearly toppled over, only to be stopped by Nova’s timely aid. “Curse this form,” Luna said darkly.  “I feel like a monkey, trying to balance upon two feet for the circus.” “You get used to it,” Nova said, taking her arm and slinging it around his neck for support.  “My apartment isn’t far from here.  I’ll take you there.” She hummed her assent, but then she yanked out of his grasp. “What?” Nova asked, turning to see her staring at the crumpled forms of the Shadowbolts. “My loyal Nightmares,” Luna whispered, a tender, pitying expression appearing on her face.  “What did she do to you?” “She brainwashed them,” Nova answered.  “They were her scouts, keeping an eye on Rainbow Dash.  But they almost got ahold of Twilight Sparkle earlier today.  It’s why I leapt in so soon.” She continued to stare at their unconscious bodies for several seconds.  Nova thought she might be attempting to think of how to cure them. “Are they all alive?” she asked.  “I can’t feel their usual life forces.  For that matter, I can’t feel yours or anyone else’s.” “They are,” Nova said.  “I only knocked them out.  I did have to be a bit brutal for a couple of them, though,” he added apologetically. “I am sure they will understand,” she replied, before slowly inching her way forward and kneeling beside Frigoris.  She placed a finger on his forehead, and instantly, she tensed. “O Captain, my captain,” she whispered, her voice taking on an archaic note, “why didst the Nightmare do this to thee?”  She turned to Starstep’s unconscious body.  “And thee too, mine newest Nightmare, thou poor stallion.” “What’s up?” Nova asked, walking over and kneeling down. “Touch his head and extend your mind towards his, like you did to free me,” Luna commanded, and Nova was startled to hear a note of clear anger in her voice. Nova obeyed, placing his hand over the unconscious captain’s eyes and extending his mind.  Upon touching it, his mind was invaded by images of death, destruction, and sorrow.  Nova cried out, unprepared for this mental attack, and scrambled backwards from the captain’s body. “Yes,” Luna said, raising herself up again with a slight wobble.  “Nightmare Moon trapped their minds in that illusion.  From what I can sense, there is no fight left in them.  They are trapped until somepony can break the illusion on them and restore them as they were.  And even then, it will take time for them to recover mentally from their ordeal.” “What about the personas that took up residence while you were under the Nightmare’s control?” Nova asked. “The spirits of the Nightmare’s Shadowbolts are but offshoots of her own spirit.  As such, they were merely extensions of her will, even if she chose to see them as her subordinates.  This being said, they vanished when she did.  However, the lingering magic still exists.” “What can we do to help?” Nova asked, concerned.  “My apartment’s not far; I can keep them there.” “No,” Luna said.  “We need somewhere to hide.  Someplace to lie low, away from this city.  I need to get used to this form, and like the last time the Nightmare invaded my mind, I will need some time to regain full control over my magic” Nova guided Luna back to his apartment, which took some time with Luna’s inability to walk properly yet.  Upon reaching his room and opening the door, he was tackled in a full embrace. “OHMYGOSHIWASSOWORRIEDWHYTHEHELLDIDYOUDOTHATYOUSTUPID--” Nova managed to extricate himself from the sobbing mass of relief that was Tracy Strong with relative ease, only to get up and find that Luna was looking daggers at Discord. “Tia appointed you to be his teacher?” she asked in a deadly low voice. Discord made a simple cutting motion at his neck with his hand, then gestured at Tracy/Twilight.  Luna stared for a moment, but she did nod slightly, to show that she had gotten the message. “Not to be rude,” Nova said, groaning and walking inside, “but why do I have a welcoming party, Tracy?  Mr. Sire?” “The young lady came and found me immediately after you told her to run from the Hellsings,” Discord explained.  “Really, Nathan, not even two weeks after you saved Ms. Dillon from them, you already get yourself into trouble with them again?” “Who’s this?” Tracy asked, looking over Luna with a strange note in her voice. “This is Lu--” Nova started to say, but a sharp look from Discord made him catch himself “--cy.  Lucy Selene.” ‘Nice to meet you, Ms. Selene,” Tracy said, with a slight note of iciness in her voice that Nova noticed.  He smiled to himself.  She was jealous that he had brought home another pretty lady from the battle.  A sign that her feelings were still there, showing even in the curse? Without warning, Nova collapsed.  Tracy shrieked and knelt down instantly to try and help him out, but Discord charged in, pushed her gently away, and picked him up. “Leave him be, Ms. Strong, Ms. Selene,” he said, giving them both looks.  “He’s been through a lot, and a man needs his rest.” Nova felt himself suddenly land on a soft surface, which he could only figure was his bed. “Nova, once again, you charged off and did one of the stupidest, most bone-headed things I’ve ever seen a stallion do, particularly when so much was at stake,” Discord admonished him. With a wave of his cane, the sheet and comforter  on Nova’s bed slid out from under him and covered him up. “But you did good,” he added.  “Don’t worry, I’ll handle Luna and Celestia.  Take pride in your accomplishment, and rest.” Nova tried to move his arm to give Discord a thumbs up, but it seemed this exhaustion made it completely impossible to control anything but his neck and facial muscles.  All he was able to do was nod and then nod off.  Within seconds, he was out like a light. Discord stared at the sleeping form of Nova for a moment.  His body was not used to channeling magic.  Sure, for short periods of time, it could sustain it.  But just how much magical energy had Nova used, that it was enough to make his entire body unresponsive? Someone tapped on his shoulder, and he turned to see the human Twilight standing there, her purple eyes attempting to look past him, toward Nova. “Can… I?” she asked hesitantly. “Stay with him?” Discord asked, cocking an eyebrow.  Twilight just nodded.  Well, Discord couldn’t see why not, so long as she didn’t ask too many questions. Which, knowing Twilight, was more than likely.  But her new self he had no idea about. “Sure.  Just don’t bug him too much when he wakes up,” Discord answered, moving aside.  “He might not exactly be in the right mind when he comes to, seeing as how he just took on five thugs and won.  His adrenaline must be completely depleted.” Twilight attempted to correct him on the fact that the compound was actually epinephrine, and that the body produced it, but Discord was already moving back to the main room, leaving Twilight alone with the unconscious Nova. “You trained him quite well,” he said, reaching the living room of the apartment, where Princess Luna, it seemed, was attempting to use magic by waving her hands around wildly at Nova’s TV remote.  “I don’t think it was what little of Chaos I was able to teach him that helped him save you.” “You would be surprised,” Princess Luna remarked.  “He used Chaos to great effect.  True, not as much as physical combat or his natural magic, but it saved him several times.” Discord couldn’t help but smile a little at that knowledge.  Nice to know that Nova was actually applying himself! “Speaking of physical combat,” Discord suddenly brought up, “how was his swordplay?” Princess Luna rolled her eyes. “Passable, if the curve was as generous enough to make the poorest pony in Canterlot a Duke.”  Discord smirked at Luna’s slight bashing of her own pupil.  “But I don’t expect him to be that great with a blade in this form.” “Well, I do,” Discord countered.  “I’m sure your sister will refuse point-blank on a gun.  That weapon’s too dangerous, and we don’t need him breaking people like Twilight out of the curse, just for them to go and study it to make it themselves.  He needs a good blade, with which he can channel his magic.  But he needs to be able to fight without magic too.” Discord stroked his beard thoughtfully. “I wonder if I can come up with a way for him to learn it quickly…” he muttered.  “I would have to master it myself…” “What are you planning?” Luna demanded. “I’m planning on teaching him the fine art of swordplay,” Discord answered, irritated, “so he can better defend himself without resorting to putting himself in danger with no weapon.  Nova’s not exactly the brawniest guy.” “Magic will augment his strength over time,” Luna said, turning her head to stare down at her own arms.  “I feel so much stronger than I should be.  No doubt my vast reserves of magical power are affecting my strength.  They should work much the same way with Nova.  His own magical reserves will start to bolster his strength.” “And he’ll need a way to hide it,” Discord added.  “I think I might have him start physically working out.  That way, if he does something unbecoming of someone his current size, such as lift an extremely heavy object, it’ll be less suspicious.” “Less, not unsuspicious,”  Luna pointed out. “Well, there’s no stopping it from manifesting,” Discord said, shrugging.  “We just have to mask it.” “And speaking of masking,” Luna said, glancing in the direction of the alleyway, “my Nightmares were forcibly masked by Nightmare Moon’s cursing.  Would you be able to bring them back?” “It would take time,” Discord said.  “Time we do not have.  I think this will have to be something for you to do, while I continue to train Nova.  Now that Nova’s more free to pursue the Elements without Nightmare Moon, he has more freedom to do anything, really.  So long as he doesn’t get on the wrong side of the Changelings or Sombra, that is.” With that, Discord grabbed his top hat from the kitchen counter and placed it atop his head, before grabbing his cane and hobbling on out of the apartment. “Well, Nova needs his rest, and I’m willing to provide a bed for you and your guards tonight,” he said, motioning to the Princess.  “You’ll find I was made into quite the affluent man.” Luna groaned. “Isn’t there anywhere else I can stay until we find somewhere for my guards and I to live?” “Nope!” Discord answered cheerfully.  “Now come along, Princess.  We need to get your guards from that alley.”