Agents of Discord

by KittyrinnAiko

Chapter 40: How? I’m blaming Discord.

Poor old Mrs Penny Loafer was quite beside herself when both Aerie and Sunshine reached up with a wing and suddenly produced unicorn horns on their heads.

“I’m Princess Aurora, and yes, Miss Tsuki is indeed my cousin. And yes, the little floof ball is indeed Princess Nova. It's a fox pony thing. After all, her sire was a fox pony.”

“Tsuki-chan, any idea how you went from Inariyama to Equestria?” Aerie asked as they trotted along. The fact that Aurora's cousin Tsuki was in Aerie's native world kind of suggested that Discord, or perhaps each world's Discord had been shuffling Novas about. Nova Nightfoal's presence was even more concerning given Aerie had no clue what her back story was like it hadn't even been written yet.

“Not really, no. Found me in a place called Patchwork Hills which is west of the Lonely Mountain.”

“Lonely Mountain?” Nightfoal asked.

“She means Mount Canterhorn. The mountain Canterlot sits on. She likes to refer to it as the Lonely Mountain,” Penny Loafer offered having recovered herself. “She showed up during Discord’s rampage.”

“Suggesting that Discord may well have had some part to play short of Hoshiko just happened to run across a portal at just the right moment.,” Aurora mused.

"Same time I found myself displaced," Aerie commented dryly. "That's if I'm reckoning properly."

“Wow…” Tsuki said as they approached the front gates of the Keep.

“It gets better,” Aerie teased.

“Not like I’ve ever actually been in a castle.”

“I’ve never been inside Canterlot Castle, or any other castles,” Scootaloo offered.

“Lieutenant Irongate, we’ve retrieved the Princess,” Sure Shot offered as they approached the gate.

“Sent you two out to get three ponies, and you come back with seven ponies,” LT Irongate grumbled. “Names?”

“Kitsumi Nova Moon AKA Aerie Potter,” Aerie offered.

“Tsuki Hoshiko Kitzumi.”

“I’m her guardian, Penny Loafer.”

“Kitzumi Nova Nightfoal.” Her voice sounded like she feared being slapped in irons at any moment, and her demeanor was unsure.

“Summer Sunshine, also known as Aurora Summers, and sometimes as Princess Aurora. Why the third degree at the gate?”

“And that leaves us with an extra guard,” LT Irongate mused as he eyeballed the three guards.

“They’re your guards,” Aurora said sounding just a little confused.

“No, I’m your guard,” offered a voice that sounded very much like an adult Nova. “Brightstar Mustang. Surely you must have known that I’d come looking for you?”

“Nova?” Aurora asked in shocked delight. Brightstar pulled off her helmet and a moment later the two had embraced.

“So that’s four princess Novas,” Lt Irongate said in a deadpan tone. “What say we get in out of the cold?

“Nova?! How are you even here? How’d you find me?” Aurora asked Princess Brightstar as she hugged her.

“Tracking individuals who are outside of their appropriate dimension is surprisingly easy using the Great Tree of the Citadel of Arcadia. It can also be used as a portal to anywhere and time for those with the mark of a Priestess of Akkadia. As to how I got here, I figured out how to traverse a whole airship.”

“What say we get inside and see if we can’t sort this out where it’s a bit warmer,” Lt Irongate offered followed by ushering everyone into the castle.

“Nova!” Called the voice of Cozy Glow moments after the group entered the main entry hall of the Keep. “Nova?” Her head tilted at the sight in front of her.

“Sam, it’s so good to see you. What are you doing here?” Aerie called and trotted to meet the pony who looked so much like Cozy Glow. Sans Shirley Temple curls. She still had curls, just not the super tight hairsprings.

“I heard that you were going to be back. Diamond is in the small dining room stuffing her face.”

“Of course, she would be. Probably figures she needs to eat as much as she can before I get in there. Jokes on her though, I’ve had breakfast.”

“Don’t trust her, that’s Cozy Glow!” Miss Nightfoal charged.

“It’s alright, this one hasn’t been tainted,” Aerie offered, and then Checked Sam’s cutie mark.

“I’m so sorry,” Sam offered. “Yes, I know, I look like her, but… eyes up here.”

“I was just checking to make sure your cutie mark hadn’t been tampered with.”

“He tried. It didn’t take. Soon as he got put back in stone it went back to my proper rook. I imagine that’s because I’d been forewarned of the possibility. I rejected the tampering. I won’t be that pony.”

“That’s good, I was worried about that.”

“Tainted?” Nightfoal asked.

“Discord,” Aurora offered. “Part of his basic mode of operation is to corrupt ponies and get them to do his dirty work. Just what exactly did your Cozy do to you?”

“Tricked me into helping her build a machine in the basement of the School of Friendship, and when the thing tried to suck all the magic out of Equestria she framed me. I got sent to Tartarus for trying to help a pony.”

Aerie couldn't help but go to her to give her a hug, and a moment later they were both being hugged by Princess Luna who’d been watching through a side door. Miss Nightfoal broke down crying, and a short time later they were off to the baths. Aerie didn’t need one, but Tsuki and Miss Nightfoal did.

Nothing like a nice warm bath after a good cry. Not to mention getting warmed up again after having to stand out in the cold and Mrs Penny Loafer was treated to a spa day. They wouldn't see her again until much later that day.

“OK, why are there four Novas,” Diamond asked as the group filed into a modest sitting room where Diamond had been working on an assignment that she had to do over the winter break. Scootaloo Louise was already there and had been tutoring Diamond.

“It’s complicated,” Aerie offered. “I’m Nova Arthol, the Nova you know. Kitzumi Nova Moon. House of Athelas.”

“Nova?” Diamond asked. “It’s good to see you again.” She got up from her studies, went over to Aerie, and gave her a hug. “So who are these look-a-likes?”

“With me, I have Tsuki Hoshiko, she’s the one who’s the same relative age and she’s Sunshine’s cousin, our golden Alicorn, Summer Sunshine. Also known as Aurora Summers. Aurora and Tsuki are from the dimension I've been in. Then we have Miss Nightfoal, our teen version, and we have Brightstar Mustang. She's from the dimension where Aurora became an Alicorn, and used her expertise in teleportation to track down Aurora. She was disguised as a guard earlier.”

“Diamond? Diamond Tiara?” Aurora asked. “Why is she hanging out in the palace anyway?”

“Long story short, major attitude adjustment, parents in rehab, and mom, that is, Princess Luna took guardianship following a series of unfortunate events,” Aerie explained. Granted there was more than rehab for her parents for a number of shady deals they’d made.

“They are practically sisters,” Sam offered.

“Just out of curiosity, why are you here?” Miss Nightfoal asked. “Sam, was it?”

“I’m not Cozy Glow. I just look like her. Listen, I’m from another dimension too. That machine hasn’t happened here, and so help me it won’t happen here if I have anything to say about it. Granted that the School of Friendship doesn’t exist yet, but we are forewarned. Hell, I wouldn't even know where to start when it comes to magic-sucking devices.”

“The school doesn’t exist yet, and you know about it?” Miss Nightfoal asked.

“Knowledge from alternate timelines no doubt,” Brightstar offered. “Aurora brought over info from her dimension I’m betting.”

“And that info is from yet another version of Equestria,” Aurora stated just to clarify things a bit. After all, her info about Equestria had been from the show and not actual world knowledge.

“I will have to admit that finding Diamond Tiara living in Canterlot Castle as Princess Luna’s ward was a bit of a shock for me too,” Scootaloo offered.

“So, is there any way for me to contact my parents from here?” Tsuki asked.

“Afraid it’ll have to wait until we get up to the cabin,” Aurora informed her. “The part that’s in England that is.”

“What about that fancy phone of yours?” Aurora asked.

“I’m thinking it might be best to wait. The moment we place that call we are more than likely to get a visit from the London authorities.”

“How exactly do I explain how I got to England? That is once I’m there?”

“No idea,” Aerie admitted sheepishly as Princess Celestia entered the room.

“Well now, it seems we are all together,” Princess Celestia announced. Sunset was right behind her.

Miss Nightfoal dropped to the ground in what looked very much like a kowtow and while shaking began to beg Princess Celestia to let her stay.

“Hey, it’s OK, everything is going to be alright,” Aerie offered while dropping down and placing a wing over Nova Nightfoal.

“Oh my?” Cadance said from the doorway as she entered.

“By all means, you can stay. Perhaps we could go over to the sofa, and we can talk?” Celestia offered, and after a bit of prompting they all found seats.

“Something tells me it’s more than just getting framed,” Aerie offered.

“I always seem to do the wrong thing, or be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Nova Nightfoal offered. “When mom got overshadowed by the Night Mare, I didn’t understand what had happened. I did my duty by my mother and supported her. I got banished right along with her. I hampered the Element bearers when we were freed and made things worse when the Ursa came to town. I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to help. And although I made friends with Zecora long before anyone else did it just caused ponies to look on me with suspicion.”

“Zecora is a good pony,” Scootaloo offered. “At least the one in my world is.”

“And ours,” Princess Luna added.

“I helped Fluttershy at the Grand Galloping Gala. When the animals stampeded I got the blame. When Discord got loose even though I was nowhere near the statue, I got the blame. Might be because when Pinkie kept calling mom Nightmare Moon I punched Pinkie just as hard as I could and called her a meanie pants. Because she was. Right across the muzzle. Ha, you should have seen the look on her face. I doubt any pony had ever once told her no. And I doubt it occurred to her that someone might take offense to her antics. I got in a lot of fights actually. When Cerberus got loose I rode him into town never realizing ponies would panic. He’s a good doggie. Ponies seem to panic over the littlest things too. Another thing I did was punch Chrysalis when she was pretending to be Cadance. Even after she was eventually outed ponies still saw me as an uncivilized pony.”

“You have my permission to punch me if I’m not me,” Cadance offered cheerfully.

“What about the Chrystal Empire?” Aerie asked.

“I’m not allowed to go anywhere near the Empire.”

“King Sombra your father?” Luna asked.

“Luna?” Celestia sounded shocked.

“What? Before he went all smoky he was rather hot.”

“He’s my dad.” The admission was quiet.

“Oh, my,” Celestia said softly.

“Me and Babs Seeds hit it off… OK, we kept getting into trouble together. Did I mention that I got into a lot of fights? I was at a boarding school at the time. When I learned that Tirek was in Manehatten I hunted him down and we got into a big fight. I’d nearly won and then Discord showed up. All any pony remembered was all the damage I’d done. Me. Not Tirek, it was all on me. Never mind I’d had him on the ropes and that Discord betrayed Aunt Celestia.”

“Discord?” Celestia asked.

“Discord was set loose so that he could be reformed, and it sort of works,” Aerie offered. “At least that’s how it happened as reported from another version of Equestria. Aunt Tia, your counterpart sends discord as a favor to round up Tirek and Discord joins up with him instead of stopping him. Everything worked out in the end, but that’s just how he is.”

“Tirek was weak, I had it handled. And then Discord shows up and helps him,” Nova Nightfoal said in her defense.

“But how were you able to fight him without him taking your magic?” Princess Celestia asked.

“It’d be the fox magic,” Aerie offered. “Let's keep in mind that it’s pony magic he wants.”

“He tried. I’d suddenly found myself able to manipulate his movements. Like he was some kind of marionette. He had to regurgitate the magic to regain control of himself. After that, I managed to stay out of trouble and when Twilight set up her school I was sent to the school. I was tricked into helping to create a machine that would suck up all the magic in Equestria, framed, and sent to Tartarus without even so much as a trial. My little Moonie was taken from me, but she found her way back to me and we found a way out. Once I was free, I figured that maybe if I could just get a fresh start in one of the mirror worlds things might be better.” She took a deep ragged breath. “Mom spotted me, and she helped me.
“I’m not asking for any special privileges, send me as far away as you want, just don’t make me go back.”

“You can stay,” Celestia offered in a tone that she hoped would reassure the filly. “You can stay right here as long as you want to. - now, who’s up for tea?”

A moment later tea and platters of little sandwiches were brought in.

“So… um… Fine, looks like I’m going to have to use Aerie,” Celestia began. “No change from what you told us last night?”

“Not really, no. I’m kind of committed to seeing this through,” she offered as she helped herself to a plate full of little sandwiches. “That and I don’t see as I’ve much of a choice.”

“And there is no other way?” Celestia asked.

“Short of there is an easy way to negate the black magic my primary target did to himself on a grand scale, I’m afraid not. Anyway, I get to learn their methods of magic in the meantime.”

“There is that,” Luna said thoughtfully as she rubbed a certain kitty's head. “Aerie, this wouldn't happen to be the avatar spell I created for you?”

“She is indeed. I think she’s rather taken to that form.”

“Guess what I was doing when you were Nova Arthol?” kitty Moonie teased.

“Let me guess, recruiting sailor scouts?” Aerie asked with a grin. Moonie replied with a smile. “That’s not a no.” Aerie’s face lit up unexpectedly. “Tsuki, it just occurred to me to call Nova Silverwood!”

“What?” Tsuki asked as Aerie dug out her phone. Aerie had been human for so long that she found herself fumbling with the phone, and it took her a bit to get the thing-oriented. Then came unlocking it, bringing up the phone app, and dialing with a hoof.

“Ha, I’ve forgotten how to horse,” Aerie offered with a smile as she struggled with her phone. Her face lit up when a hoof grip extended from the bottom. “Well, that’s more like it.” A moment later she was dialing. “Hi, Mrs Silverwood. Yes, it’s Aerie. Listen, we’ve discovered a little problem… Oh, nothing to do with wizards. Not this time at any rate. Listen, I’m at home, my actual home, Canterlot Castle. My home dimension. Our counterpart who belongs in the world we’ve been living in is here. Tsuki, Hoshiko Kitzumi. She was in Japan, and then she was here, in Equestria. I’m guessing she found her way here right around the same time I ended up in London. How? I’m blaming Discord.”

<I had nothing to do with that.> Discord’s voice said over the connection. The phone had also inexplicably switched to speaker mode. OK, maybe not so inexplicably.

“Discord?!” Aerie protested causing everyone around her to tense up. “We’ve four of us, at least two I’m blaming on you. How are you on this line?”

<Hey, just because I’m frozen in stone doesn’t mean I can’t jump in on conversations over the very phone I gave you.>

“Well, as long as you are on the line, You said my total time away from home would only be about a week. Care to explain what happened.”

<Oh that. Your little toy moved the mirror.>

“Watch it buddy, or I’ll turn myself into a pigeon and poop on your statue,” Moonie protested.

<Oh, like that doesn’t happen on a daily basis. You’re the one who put a portal inside Hammer-space.>

“OK, Moonie… maybe never do that again,” Aerie cautioned.

{Is that how you stole the mirror?!} Nova Silverwood’s voice was plenty loud enough to be heard by all. “What do you mean four of you?”

“We’ve Hoshiko, a Miss Nova Nightfoal whose father was King Sombra, and a miss Brightstar who tracked Aurora. It’s like we are near identical sisters. Hoshiko is my age, Miss Nightfoal is a teen, and Brightstar is an adult. Isn’t your apartment in a suitcase technically Hammer-Space too?”

{The suitcase is a pocket dimension. It’s different. I’m a Nightfoal too, but I’m pretty sure my father was a Neighpon prince.}

“The gravity of the Hammerspace is zero isn’t it?” Moonie asked. Her thought process was such that she didn’t think there could be any consequences to stuffing things into that little pocket void she could generate.

{The moment you put something there the gravity is no longer zero. Small items have no consequence, but big items do. When you put the mirror into Hammer-space the gravitational coefficient of the portal displaced your native time stream. You are damn lucky things turned out the way they did.}

“Alright, alright, I’m lucky I got to go home even if only for a visit. This also gives me that much more motivation to put an end to Riddle along with Dumbledore’s machinations. Now, the only way to get Hoshiko home is to take her to England short of we can find the portal she came through.”

“Somewhere in the Patchwork Hills,” Hoshiko offered.

“And may not even be there anymore,” Aerie suggested.

<Oh, it’s there. Good luck finding it and it has a pretty long cycle between times it’s open. So, sorry, no shortcuts.>

“Discord, not helping.”

{So how can I help?}

“She’s going to need identification, a passport, a visa, and some sort of believable story as to how she ended up in England. I thought we’d call her parents as soon as we get back to the house.”

{Accidentally locked in a shipping crate, and suffered from amnesia due to Hypoxia. Think I’ll contact the Japanese embassy in London first as this may take a bit of maneuvering.”

“I was on Inariyama.”

“She was up on Inari Mountain,” Aerie pointed out. “How’d she get in the shipping crate? Not to mention the time it takes.”

{We put it out as a working theory, came over by air freight, and let people speculate on the rest. It’s a big place, isn’t it? She could have gotten lost and found her way off the mountain. It’s been a while, she could have fallen, hit her head, and somehow wandered her way all the way to England where you found her.}

“Were you going to head back right away, or will you be able to stay for lunch,” Celestia asked.

“You planned a Luncheon?” Aerie asked.

“We did,” Princess Luna supplied.

“Tsuki, will you be alright with staying for a luncheon?” Aurora asked.

“To be honest. Heading out to England right now isn’t going to get me home any faster, and I might regret it if I don’t stay. In fact, I’d be honored to be an invitee.”

“Looks like we are staying for lunch,” Aerie said into the phone. “And Aunt Tia has that Rarity look in her eyes.”

{Better you than me. Listen, I’m going to contact the Japanese Embassy soon as I get off the phone and let them know I’ve got a line on the whereabouts of one of their citizens. They have people who know about magic and such things so I doubt I’ll have too much trouble. I’ll give you a ring later this afternoon. Honestly, the things I do for you. Bye for now.}

“Alright, I’ll see you later.” Aerie disconnected the call and put the phone away. “You’re going to make us wear fancy outfits aren’t you?”

“Maybe I could call my mom now? I mean so long as there are people who know about magic. Mom and dad know about magic. They are both magic users themselves.”

“Alright then,” Aerie offered, got out her phone, and passed it over to Hoshiko using her magic having remembered that she can use magic in Equestria.

Hoshiko was far more adept at using the cell phone and had dialed the number in short order.

“Kon'nichiwa mama,” Hoshiko said into the phone moments later. What followed was a fast-paced conversation in Japanese where Hoshiko did her best to explain her situation, along with lots of crying. Aurora was brought into the conversation at one point when the language shifted to English, mostly. This lead to Aurora trying to explain Equestria. Trying to explain the Princess Nova look-alike pageant only helped to confuse things. This then lead to an explanation of portals, and why the closest available portal was in England.

Aunt Selena would be going to England. They’d tried to explain that it wasn’t necessary, but she’d insisted on getting the first flight she could. After all, she had dual citizenship and still had her passport and visa.

The conversation over the phone only ended when it was time to get ready for the luncheon.

“Nova! I heard you were… back?” Prince Junior had just rushed into the room where the family was gathering and he’d Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle right on his heels. They were not expecting multiple Novas or the extra Scootaloo. And to make matters worse, dear sweet Aunt Tia had dressed Aerie and Hoshiko in the same frilly outfit. A floral pattern dress colored light violet. Miss Nightfoal had a pink two-piece outfit that made her look like she’d just stepped out of Teen Vogue, and Miss Brightstar had been provided with a Night wing dress uniform. Aurora and Louise both had on outfits that complimented Celestia’s golden dress.

“You’ve got a mini Prince,” Brightstar teased.

“Let me see, I think I’ll take that one,” Prince Junior said while pointing at Miss Nightfoal. “Ha! Knew that’d do it!” Suddenly he was hugging Aerie.

“What?” Aerie asked.

“You do like me. Your ears went flat.”

“So how come you didn’t pick the Night Guard version?”

“Too old.”

“Why is there another me, and when did Sunset become an Alicorn?” Scootaloo asked.

“I didn’t. That’s Princess Aurora,” Sunset informed her as she entered the room. She’d chosen a vibrant green dress for herself.

“And this is Louise,” Aurora offered. “She’s sort of my ward, and half-sister.”

“What’s going on?” Apple Bloom asked.

“We’ve guests,” Luna offered. “Just more fall out from Discord’s little rampage.”

“Aunt Celestia, is it true what I hear?” asked Prince senior as he rounded the corner. He was quite the sight with his gray tweed jacket and red satin sash over the shoulder in much the fashion of ancient Romans. “Ah ha! It is truly a red letter day for we have not one, but a full squad of Princesses to boast of!” He let out a hearty laugh following his pronouncement.

“Sweet Harmony, there are two of him,” Aurora said in dismay.

“By any chance did you marry Pinkie Pie?” Brightstar asked.

Prince Senior burst into laughter even as a white unicorn mare with a blue and silver mane came into the room. Her cutie mark was that of five roses arrayed as though a firework burst. She was followed by Spitfire, and a moment later by Lofty and Holiday. Lofty and Holiday wasted no time in making sure they hugged every Nova there prior to making any attempt to sort out which was which.

“What’s so funny,” the as yet unnamed mare asked.

“The idea of myself married to Pinkie Pie,” Prince Senior offered. “Ladies, this beautiful mare is Captain Glory Rose, my wife.”

“Oh, I don’t know, I think you two would be a perfect match,” Glory teased. “You are such an incorrigible prankster.”

“I’ll not deny it, and I’ve no doubt every pony will think this one of my pranks,” he offered with a big grin even as Spitfire zeroed in on Louise.

“Spitfire, dear, she’s from another dimension,” Celestia offered.

“She’s underweight.”

“We intend to remedy that,” Aurora offered.

“And you must be Sunshine Aurora Summers, Mustang was it?”

“Summer Sunshine, also Aurora Summers, and I am proud to call myself a Mustang.”

“As am I,” Brightstar offered. “I came to bring my sister home.

“About that…” When Aurora announced that she couldn't go home just yet it required an explanation. An explanation that had all the Novas offering to help. Aerie understandably objected.

“I can’t just go home and leave you?!” Hoshiko objected to Aerie’s objection.

“As much as I appreciate the offer of help…”

“I can get a transfer. I already know basic magical techniques.”

“Hoshiko, would you not require your mother’s approval first?” Luna asked.

“I’ll need to talk to my crew first,” Brightstar mused, “but I’m sure they’d be more than willing.”

“Crew?” Celestia asked. “Hang on. Just exactly how did you get here in the first place?”

“I figured out how to traverse an entire airship across the dimensional barrier. It makes the passage a lot easier and safer.”

Author's Note:

For anyone wondering who this specific Nova Nightfoal is...

The fact that Aurora's cousin Tsuki was in Aerie's native world kind of suggested that Discord, or perhaps each world's Discord had been shuffling Novas about. Nova Nightfoal's presence was even more concerning given Aerie had no clue what her back story was like it hadn't even been written yet.

This line was me as the author breaking the fourth wall to tell people that I havn't written that story yet.

Comments

[Flashgo]

Looks at drink. Yep no alcohol in a coke. That might explain why my head hurts after reading this chapter.

Might I suggest an extra non story chapter explaining were each character comes from what story. I have read each of your stories multiple times and I'm still getting lost.

[harts fire]

wow this chapter is full of all of your story's i love it.

[KittyrinnAiko]

11485190
All you really need to know is that there are multiple versions of Nova. This story's Miss Nightfoal doesn't even have her own story.

[Pacific plus 12]

There's a problem with almost every MLP/HP fic. Equestria is wider, richer and more funny than the little dark pit of HP universe, so storylines come to Equestria and simply do not want to return.

[RyRy]

Dear sweet chaos, I foresee an army of Nova's taking out all of the horcruxes at once