The Apprentice, the Student, and the Charlatan

by Rytex

Reunion

“LAST CALL!  PONYVILLE STATION TO CANTERLOT!”

Nova sighed contentedly as he rested his head on the top of the padded seat he currently occupied.  Outside, the bustling of the many ponies entering and exiting the train had begun to die down as more and more got on.  Nova knew he probably wouldn’t be bothered, despite how many people seemed to be going to Canterlot this day.

He could only wonder why this backwater town saw so much business.  While he had heard the rumors of the town’s fashionista and her penchant for adding crystals from the Northern Empire to her work, a rumor which may or may not have inspired a near-stampede to the town from Canterlot, according to Princess Luna, that alone couldn’t be the reason for this much traffic.

Or maybe it could and he was overthinking things.  Again.

He sighed.  Canterlot was still a good three or four hours away, and his attempt to catch up on sleep for the first hour had ended in miserable failure.  He could either keep trying or just resign himself to stay awake and deal with it.

Well, if at first you don’t succeed, try try again, he thought, shutting his eyes yet again and hoping the oblivion of the dreamscape came over him quickly.

*tap tap tap*

He groaned.  He had picked a compartment in the car just ahead of the caboose specifically so he wouldn’t be bothered.  Was there really that much traffic to Equestria’s capital today?

The compartment door opened, and a unicorn mare with a lavender coat, purple eyes, and a navy mane and tail that were streaked with magenta poked her head in.

“Excuse me,” she said, glancing behind her at something out in the hall, “Do you mind if I sit in here?  The other compartments are--”

She turned and saw Nova sitting there, staring at her with surprise, and his expression was mirrored in her’s.

“Fancy meeting you here, Twilight Sparkle,” Nova said, inclining his head.

“And you as well, Nova Shine, was it?” asked Twilight.  When Nova nodded, she gave a small smile and indicated the empty seat.  “Mind if I come in?”

“Not at all,” he gestured at it.  “Was just hoping to catch up on sleep.  I’ve had some restless nights lately.”

He noticed something off about her eyes as she trotted in and set her saddlebags down under the seat.  Her eyes looked slightly puffy and bloodshot.  Either she had been crying or she, too, was sleep-deprived.

“And based on the look of your eyes, you have had some sleepless nights recently too, I take it?”

Twilight was about to answer, but she yawned instead, which all but confirmed Nova’s working theory.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said as Twilight hopped onto her seat.

“I’ve just had these nightmares lately,” she explained.  “I know Princess Luna is the Mistress of Dreams, but she hasn’t shown up to stop them or anything.”

“Well, after working with her for three years,” Nova replied, running a hoof through his mane, “I’ve learned the difference between when she can and can’t enter dreams, and this one is the latter.”

“Working with her for three years, you say?” Twilight asked, giving him a little smile.  “You wouldn’t happen to be her Night Apprentice, would you?”

“That I am,” Nova said, inclining his head and smiling to himself.  Princess Luna was right.  It really was quite the fancy title.  “She asked me the night of Trading Day, actually.”

“And?” Twilight asked expectantly, giving him a meaningful look.

“And… what?”

“Isn’t studying magic fun?” she queried.  “You seemed like it was a really touchy subject last time, so I’m just wondering.”

“That’s because my inability to indulge myself in my own special talent was a touchy subject,” Nova replied.  “I’m really quite amazed I didn’t fall victim to Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome.”

“Pr-pr-pr--” she was cut off by an even wider and more spectacular yawn than the last one, leaving Nova to wonder just how badly her sleep schedule was being affected by her nightmares.  “Probably because you were casting magic that whole time,” she finished.

“Mind if I ask you something?” he inquired.

“Uh, sure,” she answered.

“These nightmares of yours.  What are they about?”

“Does it matter?” she asked.

“Well, yes,” Nova said, rolling his eyes.  “I’ve learned a thing or two about battling Nightmares when Princess Luna is indisposed.  ‘Snot hard, really.  Just gotta take a few steps to realize you’re in a dream and then you become master of your subconscious.”

“‘Master of my subconscious?’” she repeated, looking confused.  “I thought you said it wasn’t hard.”

“It’s not.  Probably should have worded better.” he mused.  “Once you’re aware of your dream, you can gain some control over it.  Bend physics, do the impossible, all that stuff.  All because you are in a world controlled by thought.”

“You make it sound so simple,” Twilight said.  “If it’s that simple, why haven’t I figured it out yet?”

“Probably because from what little I have observed in of you,” Nova said, a sudden calculating edge creeping into his voice, “you’re so grounded in what is real and tangible most of the time that you cannot conceive the possibility of breaking irrefutable laws, even in dreams.”

“Well, duh,” Twilight replied, rolling her eyes.  “Why deal in matters of an unrealistic nature when you need to find solutions to realistic problems?”

“Because it’s fun, lucid dreaming,” answered Nova.

“I’ll take ‘productive’ over fun,” said Twilight, before giving a very wide yawn.  Underneath them, the train lurched and the landscape around them started to move.  Their journey to Canterlot had begun.  “But anyway, to answer your original question, my nightmares are… well, a bit more like memories.  I keep dreaming of that Trading Day, when we met.”

She keeps dreaming about the same day?

“Anything else?”

“Well, yes actually.  This old stone temple-looking ruin in the Everfree Forest--”

“You and I are having the same dreams.”

Nova was too excited to let her finish.  Finally, there could be a solution to his nightmare problem right in front of him.  If someone as smart and talented as the Faithful Student could help him, there was nothing he couldn’t accomplish.

“We… are?” asked Twilight, confused.  “But how?  If they’re just random dreams, the likelihood of the two of us sharing the same dream is--”

“But who said it was random?” Nova asked, grinning as excitement flooded through him.  “You and I are having the same dreams, you and I are the Night Apprentice and Faithful Student, there’s no way this can be a coincidence!  And Princess Luna has said she doesn’t know what to do about them, which means she has to be blocked out!  These dreams must be magically induced!”

“That… makes perfect sense, actually,” Twilight said, suddenly sounding intrigued by the possibility.  “But the only problems I can see with this are that the one casting the magic on us needs to know us both personally.  And not just know us like a casual acquaintance, but really know us, so they can cast on our subconscious.”

“Which leaves two possibilities, I think,” said Nova.  “The Princesses.  And I would bet my horn it wasn’t them.  So... it would seem my theory has hit a wall for the time being, but at least this whole situation is starting to make sense to me.”

“Well,” Twilight said, and she yawned again, before resting her head on the compartment wall, “if you don’t mind, I’ll try to catch up on my lost sleep.  I don’t have my full eight hours, and that will impede my spellcasting.”

“I can help with that,” said Nova, getting up and reaching out a hoof, but he paused.  “May I?”

At her nod, he placed his hoof right under her horn and gently pressed against her skull.  With a quick burst of energy, he released the magic into her body, triggering the sleep mechanism.  Instantly, Twilight began snoozing peacefully

Sadly, however, the spell was very dangerous to self-cast.  Still, he wasn’t all that tired.  Perk of being the Night Apprentice, he got used to irregular sleep schedules.  Problem was, now what was he going to do to occupy two to three hours of his time?

So he leapt back into his seat and resigned himself to staring out the window out of boredom for the whole trip.

“Five bits, please,” the bartender said, holding out a hoof.

“This is utter thievery!  The Great and Powerful Trixie only paid three bits for this yesterday!”

“This be my establishment, an’ I can charge whatever I like,” retorted the bartender pony, noting it was probably best not to mention that “The Great and Powerful Trixie” had gotten a completely different drink the day before.

Strong Brew had to admit, Trixie had a certain fire in her gaze when she was particularly angry, but in her current state, he feared the collateral damage more than he feared for his own health.

“...Fine,” she said, hoofing over five golden coins.  Strong Brew stuck them in a little strong box under the bar, grabbed a mug from a stack of them on the wall behind him, and made to fill the glass, but he stopped.

“You ain’t performin’ anywhere, tonight, are you?” he asked.

“The Bannered Mare,” Trixie replied dully.  “Right after DJ P0N-3 and DJ N30N.  When everyone’s already too exhausted and-or drunk to care.”

“Mmh,” grunted Strong Brew.  The Bannered Mare wasn’t that bad.  Trixie had a point, though.  If Vinyl Scratch and Neon Lights were the main event, she was just the afters.

From the few times he had seen Trixie perform himself, she had talent.  That was certain.  If she really applied herself, she definitely could have gotten herself a Los Pegasus show.  So what had happened?

Trixie herself was moping about that.  Except she knew exactly what had happened.  It was all that damned hayseed Twilight Sparkle’s fault.  If she hadn’t been such a goody-four-shoes, Trixie would still be living the good life, travelling around Equestria and making good coin for showing off her awe-inducing spells.

But no, Trixie thought.  Trixie no longer bears a grudge against Twilight Sparkle.  Not after she helped Trixie that second time.

D҉̤͚̤̙o͈͓̙͇ͅn̖͉̪̥͘’̸̙̼͈̣t̜̭̼͉̬ ͉y̹o̺̝̗͙͉͇̘u̡̜̗̖̖̞̖?̫̬͇̯

Trixie had no reply to that second part of her brain.  Deep down, she really did have to admit, she still blamed Twilight Sparkle.  They had walked away with no hard feelings after the Alicorn Amulet incident, but it had been her that had destroyed Trixie’s original dignity, and intentionally or not, it had led to… this.

“Still,” Trixie continued, “it pays the bills. and Trixie has to start somewhere.”

“True enough,” replied the amber-colored muscular earth pony.  Trixie had to admit, that particular coloration, especially with the brown mane and the tan eyes, lent him a lot of credibility as a bartender.  And that wasn’t even considering the mug of ale on his flank.  “Where are you staying?”

“Lower Trottenham, one of the apartment complexes, not all that far from that White Hart Lane place.”

“That’s Trottenham Hotspur’s stadium.”

“Whatever.”

“Is it terribly loud there?  On game nights especially?” asked the bartender, staring at her eyes.

“No, it’s really not that bad,” Trixie said.  “Why do you ask?”

“You… how much sleep are you getting?”

“I’m getting plenty!” snapped Trixie, glowering at Strong Brew.  “I just have… a lot of momentary interruptions.”

“Nope!” exclaimed Strong Brew, making Trixie jump at the sudden-ness of it.  If she was so tired she couldn’t refer to herself in third-person, she was definitely too tired to spend her day at a bar.  He dumped out the glass he had been attempting to fill into a sump container, grabbed the bits Trixie had paid him out of the strong box, and slid them back across the bar top at her.  “No, you look like you’re in bad shape.  Sorry, Trixie, but you need rest.  Get back to your apartment and take a nap or something.”

“B-but--” Trixie attempted to protest, but Strong Brew grew a lot more firm in his command.

“Trixie, if I need to kick you out for the day, I will.  Your well-being is more important than a hoofful of bits.  Get back to your apartment, get some sleep, and go to work in a much better state, alright?”

Trixie, surprisingly, complied.  With a heavy sigh, she slid off the barstool and onto the floor, and began to plod miserably out of the bar.

Strong Brew felt nothing short of utter pity for her.  Whatever was going on with her, he hoped she had it fixed soon.

Trixie, however, wasn’t thinking of a way to get out of this mess.

Why?  Why does this keep happening to me?

I̥̺͔̲̣̺ ̘̰͖͔t̛̘͍̣̥h͎̞͇̪̥̠̕ͅi̪͇͖̣̫͡n͉͚̹̮͈k̯̙̙̬̗͕̫ ̲̯̜̰̝̥̗y̸͇o̱̟u̩̗̠̞̫͉ͅ ͎̟̙̺̦̲̥͝s̰̫̜̮̺̻̱a͕̬̦̗̖̼i̧̼̝̜̞̦̗̩d̶ i̡͔t̵͉ ̛̦̞ỵ͎̘o͚̯͕u̩͈̹̦r̝͎̦̠͘s̬̤e̡l͖̗̫̗̣̪ͅf̖͇͔ͅ.̸̯̩ ̲͈ ͓͝D҉͚̣̬̘̱̭̩ị̷̰̝̭̼̖d̝̻̜̩n̳͕͉͔͎͕’̸̙͖̻͙t̖ ̢͉̜̝T͏w̸ì̜͇ĺ͉͖͓ͅig͎̫̣̹̫̲̀ẖ̥̟̙ͅt̗͇ ̛͎S̗̝p̶̯̬̺̺̼͕a̛͇͍ͅr̴̯͈̥̪̜̬ͅkl̵̙̘̰̲̺e͏̖̟̰̣ ̣̲̼͚̥r̕u̪̯͎̙̫̖i̢͓̣̩n̸̞̬͉̭͉̺ ̛͎̻̺̞͉ͅy̢o̡͍ur̜̰͕ ̯̲̯͍̲ͅd̸͓͔̤i̞̜̰̞g҉̭n̕í̥̝̠̞t̥̩̯̪y̫͈̲͙?͓̩̺

No, I don’t bear a grudge against Twilight anymore.  Not after she peacefully let me go.

D̠̞̤͢i̟̭̝͙͙̣̼d̻̟̭͚̩n̦͎̩̱̳’̨͚̣͉͈̹̘̝t̼̰̙͠ ̙̫̹͔͔̣͍͝s̼̟̞h̭̰̰̥͕̙e̫̱̲?̨̣̝ ̗͈̣͓̤̝͢ Y͍̱͜ͅo̳̜͔̟͓u̺̺̦̗̺̱ͅ ͘k̭̘̼no̤̞̹̬w̡͇͓̞̫͓͎͇ ̛̪̫ṱ̰̺̖̪̭̫͟h͇͇̙͉̼̥a̻̤̖̺t̮ ̘̤͠i̻͠n̰͞du̱͈̥̖̙͎͘c̷̱͈̩̯͍͔͍e͇̜̻͓͙ͅd̷̯ ̧͇d̨̤̫̻̗͙͖r̦͘e̵a͔͓̗͖͉m̗̲̀s̱̪͓͕ ̯͎̬̟̝a̜̻̮͢ŗ͉̟̫̘̹̞̞e̻͓̻ ̹̻̜̥͕͍t̟͔͎̪̹̻̻h̴̠͇̮ͅe͎̺͎͚͈͚̦͟ ̧̟̭̦̼̗̩p̰r̝̙͙̲͓͢o̮͟d̝͝uc͠t̸̰̮͇̙̘ ̥͕̣͙͖͘o̱̤f̘̻ ̖̺̖͎̥̣̰a̴̟̟n͖̞̘͔͈̭ ̰̼̜͇͟i̷̫m̝͉̼̠̙͎m͙̬̝̠̲e̷̹͉̘n̝̰͙͖s̫͉͓el̺̼̣̯̪̮͝y̬̹͙ͅ ̴̻͈͚ṕ̤o̵w͙̤̱̞̝͙ͅe͔̟͍rf̦̱̫͕̣̮ͅu̠͔̝̙͔͓l͢ ͉͍͝s̶̲̭̹͉͔͎p̼̗̲̼̳̭e̫̜̮̜͈̙͖l̠̟̯͓l̘͕͖̻̣̮̭c҉͕͍̮̟͓ąs̩̞̞̭̰t̰̱̗̠e̻̘͇̣̝r̡̫̩̰,̫͡ ̵̦d҉̙o̧͔͓̹̲n̴̖͚͎̜̩̗͍’̶̹̰͎͎̗̺̺t̲͇͝ ̣̜̦͙͚̰̳͟y̴̤͎͍̤̹͙o͙͕͔̯̘̩͎u?̲̱͙

Well… yes… but--

I̸̤̗̞̭̫ț̜̲ ̣s̢͇͕̼̱̫̩͕e͕̬̞̳̼̞e̟̱̣̦̠͔m̯͘s̻͈͖ ̫͉̗̮̣̲ç͉l͙̖̜̻̟e̷̻̥a̗̞̺̝r̭͇̕ ̸̘͍̭̱̝͍͇t̻̝͟h͔̞̳̳̣i̞͈s̶̺̬̗̹ ̸͙͔w͘as̝̗̞̟̰̹͍ ̳̻h̹̪̫̰̠e̸̬̗̬̰̱͖r̝̠͈͍ ̪̫̳p͓͕̻̣u͎̰͙n̬̖i͇̱̦̭͎̬̺s҉͇h̸͕̼m͏̯̱̖̠̯̫̳e̳͟n̸͓̩͉̯̯̝t ̗̠a̱̲̣͞ll͕ al̲͇͘o̟̞̞̞̣̪n̝̱g͕̝͈͔͢.̣̺̤͖

Whatever the case, Twilight Sparkle had some explaining to do.  And Trixie vowed that she would answer for this, and for humiliating her twice.

The train had arrived perfectly on schedule, and Twilight had gotten plenty of rest on the ride.  Whatever spell Nova Shine had used had worked to perfection, though after feeling its effects, she figured she could emulate it.  Though considering that it was actually using magic on the brain in some way, it probably was a very bad idea to cast on herself.

Nevertheless, everything looked to be perfect on the day.  The two of them exited the train into Canterlot station, and began to trot out.  Twilight thought that now, the two of them could get to know each other on the hike up to the castle.

Imagine her surprise when Nova opted instead to duck into a side-alley between a couple of the pristine marble buildings.

“Nova?” she asked, before following.  She knew Upper Canterlot was a safe place to use routes like this, in clear contrast to the lower section of the city where you were very likely to get mugged.  But why was he taking this path?

Nova said nothing, instead continuing to follow the alley as it proceeded between more and more buildings.

“Slow down!” she called after him, before breaking into a canter to catch up with him.  He didn’t speed up, but neither did he slow down at her command.  “Why the alleys?  Wouldn’t taking Mane Street be quicker?”

Nova nodded, not stopping for conversation.  “It would.  But Mane Street is out in the open.”

“Why does that matter?” she asked as they neared a wall with only one outlet path.

“Because there’s certain ponies I don’t want to run into while I’m here.”

He turned at the outlet, only to come face-to-face with a Peacekeeper.  The Peacekeeper stood right at Nova’s eye level and glanced at him with disdain.  Twilight managed to see around him and spotted a pair of wings folded over his golden armor.  So why wasn’t he flying?

But more than that, in all her time spent being guarded by them, Twilight had never had any moments where she felt intimidated by the Pegasi Guardsponies.  But here, in an enclosed space, where one stood taller than her, she felt a flicker of nervousness in her gut.

Nova was backing away, and made to turn around.

“Stop right there, criminal scum,” barked the Peacekeeper in a gruff voice.  There was something about the way he said it that just sounded a bit fake, to Twilight.

Wait a minute… criminal?  Is Nova a fugitive?

Nova turned around hesitantly, looking very displeased.

“Look, officer, the lady and I have appointments with the Princesses.  I don’t think they’ll be very pleased to see us being late.”

“In that case,” the guard said in his gruff, faked voice, “why are the two of you not on Mane Street?  It’s more open, and it’s faster.  Plus, the only ponies who skulk about the alleys in Canterlot are those who don’t want to be seen doing something… unsavory.”

Nova made to move past the guard, but he was blocked.

“Well, we both know you’re not capable of that, don’t we Nova?” asked the guard, his accent suddenly switching into a very natural sounding Braytish.

“Aegis!?” Nova asked, sounding quite exasperated.  “Seriously!?  Why did you have to go and scare me like that!?  We have somewhere to be!”

“I know,” Aegis said, smirking at Nova.  “It’s why I came.  I brought something along to help you get up to the castle faster.  Gimme a second, and I’ll have it right out.”

Aegis turned and strode further up the alley, with Twilight and Nova left to follow him.

“Who’s he?” Twilight asked Nova as he began to trot along behind Aegis.

“Friend of mine from when I lived here,” answered Nova.  “We trade letters every so often, but that damn armor makes him look no different from the rest of the guards!”

“I’m not apologizing,” Aegis replied, giving Nova a smug smirk over his shoulder.  “Wanted to see how you’d react.  Anyway, gimme a moment here.”

They had reached a dumpster, the lid of which Aegis had thrown open and was now rummaging around inside.

“Dumpster diving?” asked Nova, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s empty, normally,” Aegis explained.  “This one’s listed as a drop-off point for the Peacekeepers, if they need a spare set of armor or they need to drop it off.  Most of the time, both.  We’ll break up scuffles and stuff, get the armor all dirty, and switch sets so that the one that needs cleaning is in the bin and we have the clean one.  Problem is, you usually don’t get on in your size, which is why I volunteered to bring out a set.”

To emphasize his point, he pulled out a full set of Peacekeeper armor and tossed it at Nova.

“Here, put all that on.”

“Uhh…” was Nova’s intelligent response.

“Hurry up, hurry up, you have somewhere to be,” admonished Aegis.

“Why does he need to wear this armor?” asked Twilight, feeling confused.

“It’s… a long story,” Aegis answered.  “Short version is, he’s avoiding certain ponies in the city, and one of the easiest ways to do that is to travel in disguise.  Since he’s the right build for a unicorn guard, and the armor will change his coat and mane colors as needed with their Uniformity Enchantment, we can pass him off as the second guard in your escort to get through Market Street.”

“Why don’t you want certain ponies finding you?” asked Twilight.  But Nova’s flat look told her she probably wasn’t going to find out soon.

As Aegis helped Nova to put the armor on, he decided to talk with them a bit more.

“I really don’t get it,” he said.  “You always insist on making things more difficult for yourself than they need to be.  I’m sure if you just asked me to tell them, or something, they’d leave you alone when you visited the city.”

“Aegis, they came after me in Manehattan,” Nova retorted, rolling his eyes.  “They aren’t going to not try to take me just because I send them a nicely-worded letter.  Frankly, I don’t think the letter would be nicely-worded at all.  I might play a drinking game with the sheer number of ‘Fuck you’s and other expletives I write in, since I haven’t seen them in ten years.”

Aegis opened his mouth, but thought better of saying something and just shook his head.

“Very well then.  Now, you must be Miss Twilight Sparkle, yes?”

Twilight had not expected to be addressed by Aegis, given that he had seemed to be deep in conversation with Nova.

“Oh, um… yes.  How did you know--?”

“Your name?” finished Aegis, cutting her off.  “Well, hard not to know the name of one of Equestria’s national heroes and Princess Celestia’s personal student when you live in Canterlot.”  Twilight blushed at his remark about being a national hero.  “However, I also guarded you several times in your spot in that library.  Never spoke to you, naturally.  A pleasure to actually get to know you.”

“Likewise,” she replied, inclining her head.

“There we go, that looks good,” Aegis said as they got his chestplate put on, and Nova slid the helmet onto his head.  At once, Nova’s fur darkened to a grey color, his eye color brightened into a golden hue, and his mane and tail changed from their bright blue to white.  After only a moment, Nova Shine looked no different than the many other unicorn royal guards Twilight had seen in Canterlot, except for being a bit more scrawny.

“How do I look?” Nova asked, sweeping his tail around to get a glimpse of it.

“Like an undernourished guard,” answered Aegis.  “But we can’t help body mass.  Come on, you two.  Let’s get you both up to the castle.  We still have a good ten minutes before your little appointment.”

He gestured with his head for Twilight to join them.  She complied, walking toward the two of them as Aegis cleared a space between them to walk.

“Alright, Nova, you don’t need to stay in step with me, but you need to keep your head up and your eyes front.  She leads, we follow.  Sound easy enough?”

“I think I can get it,” Nova replied, nodding.

“Well alright then.  Miss Sparkle, whenever you’re ready.”

Twilight nodded and began to trot forward.  At first, she couldn’t help but wonder if her pace was too fast or too slow.  Aegis had said they didn’t need to be in step, but what if she was trotting too fast?  What if she ruined the plan because she was trotting so fast they couldn’t keep up and keep together and--

“Uh, Twilight?” Nova asked.  “You can move faster than that, you know.  We’re not snails.”

--and she had just gone all of five paces in a whole minute.  She ducked her head to hide the blush that was undoubtedly the source of the heat in her cheeks.  And after that, she took on a normal, leisurely trot.

They emerged from the alley onto Mane Street, the road that directly connected Lower Canterlot with Upper Canterlot.  However, their target was the High Street, which connected Upper Canterlot and Canterlot Castle, passing by Market Street on its way. However, High Street wasn’t far from their location, and so they set off from there further into the upper city, ultimately toward the towers that stuck out above the marble buildings of the city.

While Twilight knew this city like the back of her hoof and seemed very comfortable in it, as did Aegis, she couldn’t help but notice that Nova seemed very tense as they walked.  Occasionally, she would glance back at him to see if he was doing alright, but he dutifully kept his eyes forward.  But there was a certain rigidity in the way he walked that even Aegis, a guard who spent his cadet days endlessly marching, didn’t have.  She could only wonder what it was about the city that made him this way.

They turned from Mane Street onto the High Street, an up ahead, Twilight could see the crowded shoppers on Market Street.  Nova seemed to get even more tense at the sight, but he continued on.

“Something wrong?” she asked as they walked.

“No ma’am,” answered Nova.  Twilight couldn’t help but admire just how much he sounded like a soldier with that short line alone.  “But the sky has eyes.”

She heard a sharp intake of breath from Aegis at that comment.

“In that case, we need to move into the crowd at Market Street and hopefully we’ll lose whoever’s following us.”

“How do you even know--” Twilight asked, but Nova just shook his head.

“No time to explain.  Maybe when we’re in the castle.”

Twilight was left with the question on the end of her tongue, but she complied and sped up in her pace.  Market Street was growing closer and closer, and with any luck, they’d find their way inside and out the back with no incident.

But Twilight couldn’t help but think that it would certainly help if she actually knew what was going on.  No one had told her anything except that Nova didn’t want to be found by certain ponies in Canterlot.  And that these mystery ponies apparently came after him when he was in Manehattan for some reason.

Nova said he hadn’t done anything illegal, but what was to stop him from lying to her?

She tossed that idea aside.  Aegis was a Peacekeeper, sworn to the service of Equestria.  Even if they had been good friends, Twilight knew no Peacekeeper would ever lie to defend a criminal.

They were about thirty meters away from the crowd when it happened.

“EXCUSE ME, PLEASE!”

The loud, male, Neigh Zealand-accented voice sounded from somewhere above and behind Twilight, before a red blur shot overhead and landed right in front of them.  The pegasus was fairly muscular, about like Aegis, and his red coat shone in the afternoon sun.  Clearly he was a stallion who took pride in appearances.  His dark brown mane and tail both looked slightly disheveled, having just been tossed by the wind.  And adorning his flank was a telescope.

“Yes sir?” asked Twilight, trying to sound pleasant but noticing on a nearby clock tower that it was 2:54, which meant they needed to get to the Castle fast, or she’d be late.  And Twilight Sparkle was never late if she could help it!

“Sorry, miss,” the stallion said, with a polite dip of his head, “just need a word with one of your guards.”

“Sir, we’re on a tight schedule,” said Twilight impatiently.  “I’m Princess Celestia’s Faithful Student, and I’m sure she won’t like it if I’m late for a meeting with her.”

“Fortunately for both of us,” the stallion said, inclining his head, “the Princess is merciful.”

He strode past her without another word, right toward Nova.

“Halt, citizen,” Aegis barked, stepping between them.  “If you have something to say, you speak to me.”

“Except it’s not for your ears, Corporal,” the stallion replied.  “I’ve been searching for Nova Shine for almost ten years now, and I finally managed to--”

But what he managed to do, they never found out.  Nova had panicked.  His horn had shone blue and the pegasus had been vaulted into the sky.  It had little effect, since all he had to do was spread his wings and begin his descent.

“That’s not good…” Aegis remarked dryly.  “Nova, when I say to keep your damn composure, you keep your damn-- and damn it, he’s gone.”

Twilight looked down toward where Nova had been to find a sudden lack of Nova Shine.  Up above, the pegasus began to aim toward a spot in the midst of the Market Street crowd, which meant he was the best bet at catching up.

I am so going to be late… Twilight thought irritably.  So long, perfect record of punctual attendance.

“Follow me, let’s go get him,” Aegis groaned, grabbing her by the hoof and dragging her into the mess of ponies.  They weaved in and out around the bodies all massing in the midst of the street, trying to get to the other side as quickly as they could.

Meanwhile, just past a marching column of guards, Nova ducked into another alleyway and collapsed on the other side of a metal dumpster.  His side felt like it was on fire.  He was definitely not used to this armor, to state the obvious.  How the hell did Aegis put up with it?

“Tired, Nova Shine?”

Ah, come on, thought Nova indignantly.  After all that, he’s still caught up to me?

The Neigh Zealand pony was standing in front of him, a slight expression of concern on his face as he looked down.

“What’s it to you?  Doesn’t that make it easier for you to drag me on back?”

“‘Drag you back?’  My job was just to find you and keep an eye on you.  Not drag you back.”

“Well congratu-fucking-lations, you found me,” Nova growled, digging a hoof into his burning side so that the pain would stop.  “If I may ask, how?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“Because it’s pretty obvious your special talent is finding ponies.  I suppose if all you’re gonna do is keep an eye on me, I can deal with it.  But I don’t want any of the others he’s sent coming after me.”

“Fair enough,” said the pegasus.  “But if you must know, I really am the only bounty hunter he hired.”

“Not taking that chance,” Nova replied curtly.

“If you say so.  All I did was--”

CLONK!

The pegasus’ eyes suddenly unfocused, and he fell right onto his face.  Behind him, Aegis stood there, examining his helmet.

“Stupid hardheaded pegasus,” he said as he noticed a little dent above the lip of the helmet that rested just above his right eyebrow.  “Well, that escalated quickly.  And with your help, the pegasus did too.”

“Oh shut up, Aegis,” Nova groaned, getting to his hooves.  As he stepped over Sharp Eye’s unconscious form, he paused.

“Have the street-cleaning crews made their rounds for the afternoon, yet?” he asked.

“I believe so,” Aegis nodded, glancing behind him, perhaps attempting to see the strange new machine they had invented in Manehattan that street-cleaners were now using.

“So the next time they’ll be around is much later tonight, yeah?”

“Should be.”

“Good.”

With that, Nova’s horn shone blue and the pegasus was lifted off of the ground and unceremoniously dropped into the dumpster.  As soon as the body hit the metal, Nova shut the lid and was just about to click the padlock into place when Twilight stopped him.

“What are you doing!?” she asked, a bit horrified.

“Setting him back a few hours,” answered Nova.  “He’s in no danger.  He’ll just smell terrible when he gets out.”

“You shouldn’t just throw ponies into dumpsters.”

“Frankly, you shouldn’t throw ponies into the sky either,” remarked Aegis.

“What if he’s got some kind of physical condition and he ends up in serious condition because no one could find him, all because he was locked in--”

The apocalyptic scenario that had just sprung to Twilight’s mind never reached its conclusion.  Nova had sighed, leaned forward, and flicked the tip of her horn.  A strange tingling had flickered up her spine, completely distracting her.  At the sudden burst of sensation, Twilight gave an “Eep!” of surprise, but no harm was done.

“I think you’re overthinking this, Twi,” he said.  “He’ll be out here until the street-cleaners make their rounds, which should be in about three hours.  Nothing bad’s going to happen to him.”

“Wh-what was that?” she asked, rubbing gingerly at her horn.  Nova smirked.

“Just a little thing I learned from Princess Luna, for when I asked too many questions at once.”

“Well, that little encounter was fun,” Aegis said to Twilight as the three of them took up their positions and continued on their way to the castle.  “Nice way to make a morning not boring.”

“You’re telling me,” Twilight said under her breath.

“Oh, before I forget, I assume both of you plan on taking the train back to your homes tonight, yes?”

“I am,” Twilight said.  Nova nodded as well.

“Well, in that case,” said Aegis, ”the last departure leaves Canterlot at about 4:00.  The next departure doesn’t leave until tomorrow morning, meaning you’re stuck in town for the night.”

Nova lightly groaned.  “Figures.  Well, at least I came prepared.”

“Railside?” Aegis asked.

“Railside,” confirmed Nova.

“Railside?” asked Twilight.

“Railside,” repeated Nova with a grin.

“Railside?” Aegis asked again, grinning as he noticed the increasing annoyance on Twilight’s face.

“Railside!” Nova responded.

“STOP!” Twilight shouted as Aegis and Nova broke into chuckles at her expense.

“Y-hes, ‘Railside,’ as in Railside Inn,” explained Aegis, still smiling from their banter.  “So named because it’s situated right next to the tracks about half-a-mile from the Upper Canterlot Station.  Nova here stays there every time he’s in Canterlot for a night, simply because it allows him to get to the station almost as soon as he wakes up.”

“Does this have to do with avoiding those ponies in Canterlot?”

“Everything to do with it, yes,” answered Nova.  “Quicker I can get out, the more likely I can avoid seeing them.”

BWONG!  BWONG!  BWONG!

“And speaking of ‘seeing them,’ Aegis said, sticking his hooves into Twilight’s and Nova’s backs to push them forward, “you two need to get to the Throne Room as quickly as possible.  You both know where it is.  Nova, just dump that armor in the cleaning chute just inside the foyer.  I have to get to my post.  Have a good one, you two.”

“And you as well, Aegis!” called Nova as Aegis took off into the sky.  Once Aegis was an acceptable height in the sky, he banked to the right and with a couple flaps of his wings, he was gone, flying toward his post in the castle grounds.

“I think he’s forgotten that I’ve never gone any further into the castle than the foyer,” Nova commented as he watched Aegis go.

“Really?” asked Twilight.  “But what about the night you went through the formal induction ceremony like I did?  Didn’t Princess Luna need you to come to her room like Princess Celestia did for me?”

“Oh, she did,” Nova nodded as they continued trotting toward the castle.  “But when I entered the foyer, she teleported me directly there.  Never even told me she was going to do that!  I got queasy from even turning around too fast for the next week.”

“But you don’t know how to get to the Throne Room, then?”

“Nnnnnope,” he said, popping the P for emphasis for no other reason than to amuse himself.

“That’s fine, I can lead you there.”

“Thanks, Twi.  You’re such a peach,” he said, smiling thankfully at her.

Unbeknownst to Nova, Twilight’s cheeks had slightly heated up.  Of course, it was nothing more than a simple thank-you, but for some reason, Twilight couldn’t shake a strange little moment of happiness at being called that.  Maybe it was the way he’d said it…?

They passed over the castle drawbridge, followed the stone walk through the courtyard, and into the castle’s foyer.  The large and expansive room, decorated with suits of armor, works of art, and plush rugs would normally have inspired a less-time-constrained pony to sit and bask in its glory, but Nova and Twilight had somewhere to be.  Nova trotted over to the armor cleaning chute Aegis had mentioned, took off the borrowed armor, and dropped it down.

As Nova’s eyes, mane and tail, and coat returned to their normal color, Twilight couldn’t help but feel it was almost a bit of a relief to see him in his natural coloration again.

“So nice to be back in my own colors,” Nova sighed contentedly, shaking his head to tousle his mane.  “Feels more like I’m actually me.”

“You look much better in those colors, too,” Twilight said.

Nova glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow.  “Were you calling my guard colors ugly?”

“Wha-- nonononono!” Twilight hastily clarified.  “I just-- your white and blue look-- I mean--”

But Nova reached forward and flicked her horn again.  And again, Twilight was started out of her stammers with a surprised “Eep!”

“Sorry, was just messing with you, Twi,” he explained.  “Didn’t expect you to get all flustered.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, irritated with herself.

“Even if you are cute when you’re flustered.”

What.

Twilight’s cheeks, earlier simply mildly heated, now felt like they were outright burning.

“You… think I’m cute when I’m flustered?” she asked.

Nova gave her a strange look.  “It was just a compliment.  I compliment everypony.  Just a polite thing to do.”

But even though he simply resumed his trot forward, Twilight was left feeling confused.  Confused and… something else.  She couldn’t quite put her hoof on it, but there was just something about Nova that stayed on her mind.

Why am I thinking about him like this? she wondered to herself.

“Say Twilight,” the subject of her current train of thought brought said train to a crashing halt, “aren’t you supposed to be showing me to the Throne Room?”

“Wha-- Oh!  Right.  Sorry,” she apologized as she trotted ahead of him and led him through the halls of Canterlot Castle toward Princess Celestia’s Throne Room.

The two guards on either side both nodded at them as they approached, and pulled open the great doors.

Having never been in the Throne Room before, Nova gasped.  The foyer had been something, but the plush red carpet leading up to the rather simple throne, the high ceilings, the stained-glass windows…

Nova blinked.  Was that Twilight on a couple of them?  Upon further inspection, yes it was.  She and her friends resealing Discord into stone, she and her friends banishing Nightmare Moon…

“Ahem,” came a voice from his right.  Nova turned to look at Twilight, who was motioning quite frantically that he should turn to look at Princess Celestia.  So he did.  Princess Celestia, however, was merely rolling her eyes at her pupil’s actions.

“Well good afternoon to you, Nova Shine,” she said, rising from her throne and trotting out to meet them halfway.  “It is a pleasure to see you again.”

“And you as well, Princess,” Nova said, bowing politely.  “If I may, where is Princess Luna?”

“Preparing the room we will be using to compare your’s and Twilight’s progress in your education,” answered Celestia, before pausing and bringing a hoof to her chin.  “But now that you mention it, she should be finished and in here by now.  No matter, I suppose,” she brushed it off.  “She will be here when she is ready.  Now, if I may ask, why were you late in coming?  I would never have thought Twilight of all ponies would allow this to happen.”

Twilight went a little pink again, but said nothing.  Nova, however, launched into an explanation of what had happened after they had arrived.  He left nothing out, including Aegis meeting them in the alley and the pegasus confronting them in the street, even being so honest as to note that he had launched said pegasus into the sky to get away.

At that, Princess Celestia had chuckled, a tinkling sound that proved to be infectious enough for Twilight and Nova to both smile.

“But yeah, that’s why we’re late,” he finished.

“I see,” said the Princess, her smile fading somewhat as her expression became unreadable.  “Very well, sometimes these things are out of our control.  Now, all we are waiting for is my sister’s return.”

Speak of the devil…

“TIA!  THOU NEEDEST TO REMIND US HOW TO OPERATE THIS MODERN MACHINERY!”

An almighty crash sounded inside the Throne Room as Princess Luna burst into the room, blasting the two large doors right into the walls they were hinged on.  For a moment, Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes.  The regal and powerful Princess of the Night was tangled in several cords and wires that were connected to a large metal machine that was dragging on wheels behind her.

Nova started to laugh, a genuine and very loud, raucous fit of laughter that almost made Twilight want to smile, just as Princess Celestia’s chuckle had.  But she only felt mortified.  Why was he laughing at the misfortune of his own teacher?

Princess Luna seemed to have a similar opinion, because her eyes began to glow white and she turned her gaze toward Nova.

“WHO DARES TO MOCK THE HUMILIATION AND MISFORTUNE OF THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!?  WE WILT MAKE SURE THOU ART IMPRISONED FOR THEIR-- Oh.  It’s just you, Nova.”

The change was so sudden, Twilight couldn’t stop herself and let out a giggle of her own.  Princess Luna smiled sheepishly.

“We suppose we overreacted a little,” she said, her cheeks flushing.

“No, you think?” asked Nova, cocking an eyebrow.  He glanced at the cords.  “Need any help?”

“Yes, please Nova,” the Princess answered.  Nova immediately trotted forward and began to help her untangle herself from the knots of copper and plastic.

“We thought the point of all this technology was to make this sort of thing easier,” complained Luna.

“It is, if you read the instructions,” Nova said, tapping a diagram on the machine.  Luna’s flushed cheeks went even darker.

“We still don’t see why we can’t just manually keep tally of thy results the old-fashioned way.  We art more than capable with our abacus.”

“This is faster and easier when you get it hooked up,” Nova explained.  “And also, you’re speaking in Ye Olde Canterlot again.”

“Are we-- I mean, am I?”

“Ah, much better,” Nova said, as he managed to get the last few snags of cords off of Princess Luna, wrap them up, and place them back on the machine in a neatly-organized manner.

“Thank-you, my Apprentice,” Luna said, leaning down and giving him a very affectionate nuzzle.  “Ah, Twilight Sparkle.  A pleasure to meet you again.”

“The feeling is mutual, Princess,” Twilight said, smiling as Princess Luna trotted over to stand beside Princess Celestia.  “Are we ready now?”

“I believe we are,” Celestia said, dipping her head.  “If you both will follow us, and if you, Nova, would get that arcanograph for us?”

“Sure thing,” Nova said as the group began to trot off into the Castle.  He found the proper front of the machine, turned it around, and began to follow.

Eighteen… nineteen… twenty… twenty-one.  About-face,

Aegis smoothly turned on his hooves a full one-hundred eighty degrees and began to count his steps again as he marched.  Aegis always relished being delegated the task of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  He respected anyone who gave their lives in service to Equestria, but even more so those who did it and weren’t known

Four ponies rested inside.  One perished during the first Changeling invasion,.before Nightfall.  He had been tasked with making sure a magical bomb was detonated, and in the end, he’d done it manually, killing him and completely disfiguring him beyond recognition, as well as mortally wounding the Grey Monarch.  The other three had been ponies who had died keeping Nightmare Moon at bay before she could attack Celestia during Nightfall, as Celestia had concentrated on getting everypony out of Everfree before confronting her sister.

The normal tribute to the fallen was a twenty-one arrow salute, but so as not to disturb their rest, it was a twenty-one step salute instead.

Twelve… thirteen… fourteen-- what the?

Aegis almost stumbled, but managed to right himself just in time to avoid embarrassment.  There was a unicorn guard who was hiding in one of the bushes underneath one of the stained-glass windows nearby.  Based on the rank and platoon markings on his armor, he was supposed to be guarding the Statue of Discord.  The replica of it, anyway, considering Discord was free and was living in Ponyville now.

What was the guard doing?  Probably watching inside, given how the guard had his back to Aegis.  But what was he hoping to see?

His answer came as four shadowy shapes began to pass along the windows.  Two of them were instantly recognizable as the two Princesses.  the other two, then, must have been Twilight and Nova.  Nova appeared to be pushing some sort of machine as the shapes passed the location where the hiding guard was situated.

He returned his attention to the task at hoof, almost stepping off the rug he wasn’t supposed to leave until his shift was over, which was in another… according to the castle clock tower, another hour and forty-four minutes.

He could leave his post if it was an emergency, but suspicious though it was, one guard peeking in the bushes didn’t warrant it unless it was obviously an assassination attempt.  Or obvious espionage, which was a hell of a paradoxical oxymoron.

Eighteen… nineteen… twenty… twenty-one.  About-face.

He turned again, his eyes snapping to where the guard had been, but he was gone.  After a moment of surprise, he shrugged it off.  He would still alert his superiors, but it probably wasn’t that big of a deal.

“Attention, soldier!”

The guard in question had suddenly appeared to his right.  But even though he was a sergeant, the duties of the guard of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were from the princesses themselves, and as such, only a direct order from them or an emergency situation could make him stop doing his job.

“Corporal Aegis!  Attention!” the sergeant repeated.  When Aegis ignored that order as well, the guard turned and began to march with him, perfectly in step.

“Aegis,” he muttered, “mind telling me how I got to be in that bush over there?”

“Sir?” he asked, just as quietly.

“How did I get in that bush?” the sergeant repeated.  “One minute I was in front of the statue of Discord, the next thing I know, I’m in that bush staring through the stained glass.  No clue how I got there.”

Aegis had no answer.  He marched silently while he considered the situation.  The pegasus only twenty minutes before, now the sudden possible instance of possession.  It was a logical way to explain why the guard had suddenly appeared there.  Assuming, of course, that he wasn’t lying.

“I’d suggest reporting it to the superiors,” Aegis advised.

“I can’t alert the military or the princesses just yet,” he said.  “No harm appears to have been done, and I, like you, shouldn’t leave my post.  I’ll go speak to them at the changing of the guard.”

“I will do the same,” Aegis promised.  “They’ll need to know, but they’re with their students right now.”

“Keep a watchful eye open, Aegis.  Something’s up, and we’d best be prepared for it if we don’t want another wedding fiasco.”

“Noted,” he said as the guard trotted off.

Even for the next hour and forty-five minutes, Aegis couldn’t stop thinking about the happenings.  The sergeant wouldn’t be relieved of his post for another three hours, which left Aegis to report what had happened.  As soon as his replacement took his post, Aegis practically sprinted into the room he knew the princesses would be testing Nova and Twilight in.

“Apologies for the disturbance, everyone,” he said, inclining his head.

“Not at all, corporal,” Princess Celestia replied with a kind smile.  “We just finished.  Is there something wrong?”

“Yes, ma’am.  We have a very serious problem.”