Agents of Discord

by KittyrinnAiko

Chapter 42 : Too many Aeries

Celeste Summers showed up at the house in London right about the same time as Mrs Robbins and Mrs Marshal arrived.

“Hi mom,” Aurora called moments after opening the door. “Come on in.”

“Hi, Mrs Robbins.”

“Aerie, how are you?” Mrs Robbins said while looking at the girl who had just addressed her.

“I’m fine,” Aerie offered from behind the door as she pulled it the rest of the way open. It was Hoshiko who was taken to be Aerie.

“Aerie?” Mrs Robbins asked.

“We are cousins,” Aerie offered. “Come on in, and we’ll go upstairs to the reception slash family room.

“Hoshiko!” Mrs Summers exclaimed and wrapped her arms around who she hoped was the right girl.

“I will have to admit that neither girl looks all that…” Mrs Marshal commented to be finished by Hoshiko.

“Japanese? My mother is English, after all.

Neither girl really looked all that English either. No, they were more of a hard-to-define in-between. Their body type was thin and muscular, and their face could be described as narrow, with close-set eyes, thin eyebrows, and high cheekbones. Both would be considered good-looking by most cultures. As for Mrs Marshal, she was more than likely judging Hoshiko against a stereotype she had in her head, likely left over from old war propaganda.

Upstairs, Flora had set out snacks and tea.

“Come on in, and have a seat,” Flora offered as the group made their way into the upstairs parlor followed by everyone choosing a preferred place to sit.

Celeste was the first to break the ice. “I want you to know that I have no intention of letting you take Hoshiko so you can dump her in some ill-suited group home.”

“Our office was contacted by the Japanese Embassy. They wished their citizen returned to them,” Mrs Marshal pointed out.

“And you were going to do what? Make me go back to Mrs Penny Weejuns place until my mother gets here? Some other home? Was I to go to the Embassy until mother got here? Separate me from my own family? Seems to me I’ve been separated plenty long enough. It’s been a whole quarter.” Hoshiko asked while worrying that she might be laying it on too thick. “Here at least, I have a family. A family who wasted no time in contacting my mother.”

“I see,” Mrs Marshal replied. “We are going to need her to get into a clinic and get an examination.”

“Hardly a pressing matter considering how long she’s been in England,” Celeste pointed out.

“Why did you not try to contact your aunt sooner?” Mrs Robbins asked.

“Don’t know the number. Don’t know the address. Do you have any idea how many Celeste Summers are in the phone book? Plus there’s the whole I’m not allowed to use the phone.” OK, so not being allowed to use the phone was a bit of a white lie, but then the Penny Loafer who’d been given the task of taking care of her had been very strict so it may not have been that big of a lie. Mrs Loafer had only agreed to take her to Canterlot castle after hearing about a reward.

“How did you get to England though?”

“Honestly? I have no idea how I left Japan. I got lost up on a mountain that a person would think isn’t big enough to get lost on, not to mention all the paths crisscrossing it. And then I wasn’t.”

“Amnesia? Possibly due to physical or emotional trauma.” Mrs Marshal mused. “This is why we want to get you to see a doctor.”

“I can take her in to see a doctor,” Flora pointed out. “And as has been pointed out, it doesn’t need to be immediate. That and I doubt the girls are going to let you know who is who?”

“Aerie has a scar on her forehead,” Mrs Robins pointed out.

“True, but I don’t,” Brightstar announced from a seat. She’d sneaked in, and was presently giving Aurora a dirty look.

“I can explain,” Aurora offered.

“I bet you can.”

“Who?” Mrs Marshal asked.

“Another cousin,” Flora offered. There might have been just a hint of a smirk on her face. “Oh, dear, was Louise going to join us later?”

“She’ll be up in a bit.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, this is Nova Mustang,” Aerie offered.

“You’re back sooner than expected,” Flora prompted.

“Sweetie and Bloom want to come.”

“More cousins?” Mrs Marshal asked.

“Friends. We’ve got a Miss Louise Cutter who lives in the basement,” Flora informed her.

“She goes to a private school,” Aerie cut in. “She commutes.”

“Kind of how you are going to a private school,” Mrs Robbins said. “In Scotland, wasn’t it?”

“We are here to interview Miss Hoshiko,” Mrs Marshal pressed. “Not Aerie. Now, as there is a relative here, Mrs Summers?”

“I can take her in, but to be honest, as my own daughter is staying here over the holidays, I see no reason Hoshiko can’t do the same. My sister is bound to be along before the holidays are over. Who knows, she might even bring her husband with her. She’s not going to be happy if she has to go fetch her from someplace else. She knows Hoshiko is here. And this is where she will expect to find her.” Celeste looked at Flora. “Is that not correct?”

“I was on the phone with the detective in Japan who is handling the missing person’s case earlier, and her mother is coming here. In fact, she may already be on her way.”

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Mrs Silverwood asked as she entered the room. Detective Nissim was right behind her along with a trio that included Scootaloo and one little fox.

“I let them in. I hope that’s alright?” Louise asked.

“She’s my niece, and I will not sit idly by and let her be taken,” Celeste protested.

“Who said anything about taking anyone?” Detective Nissim asked.

“We were instructed to collect her,” Mrs Marshal stated.

“Nobody said anything about collecting her,” Mrs Silverwood protested. “All she needs is identification and a passport so she can go home when her mother gets here. Which should be in a couple of days at the latest. If she was able to get the earliest available flight she might even be here this time tomorrow.”

“I’m just here to do an interview,” Detective Nissim informed them.

“Mrs Finch-Fletchley, might I borrow your phone?” Mrs Marshal asked.

“By all means,” Flora replied, got up, and took the phone over to her, the cord dragging behind her.

Ms Marshal made her call, and a few moments later she was saying, “..but that doesn’t even make any sense? How is it I was sent out here to pick up a girl who apparently doesn’t need to be picked up, with no court order, and Aerie’s name somehow managed to get on an order that hasn’t, your words, been filled out properly?”

“If I was a betting man,” Detective Nissim drawled, “I’d say a certain Professor Dumbledore may have had something to do with that.”

“I’ve got an idea, why don’t I go with you?” Nova (Brightstar) Mustang offered. “Whoever did that isn’t likely to know the difference.”

“And see what crawls out of the woodwork, is it?” Mrs Silverwood asked.

“Someone is threatening a sister of my sister, and I’d kind of like to know who it is.”

“Brightstar Nova, no,” Aurora stated firmly.

“And why not?” Brightstar countered.

“Because you don’t know anything about the people who could be behind this,” Aerie stated. “Assuming it’s not a miscommunication of some sort, these people don’t play by Equestrian rules.”

“Equestrian?” Mrs Marshal asked.

“Akkadia,” Mrs Silverwood informed her as she gave Aerie a curious look. “We have a lot of horses. Ponies, to be exact. As such, we refer to our homeland as Equestria.” She took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “I can’t believe I’ve let myself get sucked into this. Aerie, you do realize that I’m the leader of a small country?”

“Who moonlights for her Majesty's government,” Aerie pointed out. “It’s not like we don’t have mutual goals.”

“Hang on, you’re Princess Nova Silverwood Swan?” Mrs Robbins asked.

“I am at that, and Aerie’s right. I do moonlight. I set up the government of Akkadia so that they’d only need me as an arbitrator. Which left me with plenty of free time. Free time in which I have uncovered numerous plots to try to overthrow me or my government by foreign powers. Which is kind of bizarre given the only time I’m really involved in government decision-making is when our leaders get deadlocked when someone appeals the decision of our Supreme Court, or if I feel they’ve done something monumentally stupid.” The curious glances gave her to understanding people wanted a little more info. “I retained veto power. Granted that it means I have to do more than dial it in. The only reason I’m involving myself personally in Aerie’s affairs is that she is a cousin, and I’ve got a personal grudge against Professor Dumbledore. One of these days I’m going to pin something on him and make it stick. When it comes to it, my number one priority is to keep my people safe and that man is a threat.”

“And you are about as helpful as Miss Aerie,” Detective Nissim said a short time later. He had been asking Hoshiko a battery of questions while getting few answers.

“I’m sorry, I can’t really tell you how I was transported from my home country.”

“Mrs Robbins, Mrs Marshal, are you familiar with a Mrs Penny Weejuns?” Detective Nissim asked.

“Outside of my jurisdiction, I’m afraid. And her reputation isn’t the best.”

“Miss Tsuki, the last place you remember was being up on Mount Inari was it?” Detective Nissim asked. “What kind of place is it? Were you hiking, camping?”

“Oh, no, it’s not the sort of place one camps at,” Hoshiko offered.

“It’s technically a religious center,” Mrs Silverwood supplied. “The place is crisscrossed with paved paths leading to and from hundreds of little shrines. One doesn’t go there to go hiking, although I suppose walking to the top could be considered hiking.”

“I’m going to get teased when I get home I just know it,” Hoshiko lamented. “No one gets lost on Inari Mountain.”

“And yet you did,” Aerie offered with a smile on her face.

“Well, the thing is, if you can’t account for how you got to England, we can’t rule out abduction,” Detective Nissim pointed out.

“Perhaps,” Mrs Silverwood began. “The thing is, that mountain has something of a reputation. People will go missing only to turn up hours later thinking they’d only stepped away for a moment. So, while abduction can’t be ruled out, it’s certainly not the only possibility. Now if we count out abduction and mysterious portals we still have the possibility of getting trapped in a shipping crate and literally mailed overseas.”

“Is it the sort of place something like that could happen?” Mrs Robbins asked.

“There is a rather large complex at the base of the mountain.”

“I’d imagine that is a possibility. Might explain why she can’t actually remember how she left Japan,” Detective Nissim mused. Passes out due to a lack of oxygen, and high altitude conditions. Oh, she would have to have had enough oxygen for the trip and a way not just for air to get in, but a way to get out on her own. I mean we are going to have to assume she went by air almost immediately for it to even work. Wakes up at the delivery end confused and disoriented, managed to get out on her own and gets picked up later.” He made a couple of notes in his notebook. Sure not one bit of that speculation was true, but by the time Mrs Silverwood finished filling in all the holes no one would ever think otherwise. “Right. I’ve enough for my report and see no reason to move her.”

“About all I need now is a medical evaluation,” Mrs Marshal offered.

“I’ll get her scheduled with Justin’s Pediatrician first thing tomorrow,” Flora offered.

“I guess that will have to do. We’d likely be all night if we tried to drag her down to the twenty-four-hour clinic.” Mrs Marshal got up. “Come on Robbins, let’s get back to the office so we can close up and go home.”

“I’m thinking that either the embassy may have been compromised or there is someone at the child protective agency who’s doing favors for Professor Dumbledore. The later being the more likely,” Mrs Silverwood said once they’d seen Mrs Marshal, Robbins, and Detective Nissim out the front door.

“Oh, I wish they’d just leave Aerie alone,” Flora lamented even as the door opened and Justin entered.

“We are good to go by Floo,” He announced as he closed the door. “The address is Le Marron Abbey.”

“So where’s Basil?” Aerie asked.

“Working late, I’m afraid,” Flora offered. “Not to worry, he said he’d be joining us later.”

“Hey, I did it!” Kitsu cheered from down the hall.

“I hope they don’t mind extra guests,” Flora stated even as Princess Luna congratulated Kitsu for figuring out how to turn herself into a human. Granted that the girl had a floofy tail and pointed ears, but she had managed to transform herself most of the way.

“Can’t be helped,” Mrs Silverwood replied. She’d tried to talk Princess Luna, Aerie's actual mother, into going back to her world. Princess Luna was not having it as she simply did not want to be separated from Aerie if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. As for Mrs Silverwood, she would now be going with them as well. She simply could not bring herself to let this Princess Luna walk about in Wizarding Britten without an escort. But first, she’d a phone call to make, pulled out her phone, and stepped off to be uninterrupted for a few moments.

“So are we going out the front door or the basement? Aerie?” Flora asked.

“I, well, the basement would be better,” Aerie replied. “It’s just that I fear turning that dial. What if I can never get that connection again?”

“We will be together,” Luna offered as she went up and gave her a hug.

"What about Trixie?"

"She'll be fine. Her father will be out on parole before too long anyway.

“Downstairs and out the basement door then,” Flora announced followed by the group making their way downstairs where they were all ponies now. Everyone with the exception of Mrs Silverwood and Kitsu remained in their human forms. Make that mostly human for Kitsu.

“I have an idea, Mrs Silverwood?” Luna queried.

“Yes?”

“Why don’t you take Miss Kitsu as your personal student?”

“Me?” Kitsu asked. Her tone was unsure.

“My dear, I can’t help but think that you are still running. After all, you could have stayed behind. And I’ve got a feeling you are more like our Mrs Silverwood than any of the others. She can teach you. And so long as we have that connection, you’d be able to come back and visit.”

“Running?” Mrs Silverwood asked.

“Discord set her up,” Aerie offered. “Or to be more precise, her world’s Cozy Glow framed her.”

“Where exactly does a little filly get the plans and engineering know how to be able to build such a thing… Kitsu, when we get there, let’s just tell them you are my daughter. Are you alright with that?” Mrs Silverwood asked.

“Do I call you mom, then?”

“You may if you wish. Mumsie seems a bit too posh to me.”

“Alright, mom it is.”

Aerie watched anxiously as Mrs Silverwood reached up to the dial above and to the right of the door. It presently had four colors dividing the disk. It was set to green.

“Something tells me we want the black section,” Aerie offered with a touch of sarcasm.

Mrs Silverwood turned to blue and watched as the outside view switched to downtown Canterlot.

“We will have to explore that one later, I guess,” Flora suggested.

“It matches the back door,” Moonie informed them.

“Might prove convenient,” Aerie admitted with a smile.

Mrs Silverwood turned to the red partition. Suddenly everyone was human again.

“My tail?!” Kitzu exclaimed. She was now fully human and when she turned about her hair shifted revealing a scar in the shape of a checkmark.

“What do you suppose the black one connects to?” Scootaloo asked.

“Don’t,” Kitzu said in a tone almost like pleading.

“I suppose there is the possibility that it leads to your world,” Aerie said. “You are probably going to have to go back, but not before you are ready.”

“Ready? I don’t ever want to go back.”

“I understand. Still, though, I think we need to warn you about Grogar.” Aerie thought for a moment, her hand going to her pendant. “Hang on, I’ll be right back.” And off she went, dashing upstairs.

She returned, somewhat winded, wearing the pendant that marked her as Aerie Potter.

“OK, Now I’m ready,” Aerie announced. “Oh, and Kreacher, I hate to be a bother, but if anyone comes calling, be sure and let us know.”

“Yes, Miss,” Kreacher offered from a corner.

“Right, mustn't forget that,” Mrs Silverwood said with a big smile and then opened the door.

The group went out and crossed over into the old vault.

“Now, to get back, the address is now ‘The old vault’.” Mrs Silverwood explained. “Aerie, don’t use the old address.”

“Lands in a cell I’d imagine.”

“It does at that. With a big spiderweb. So no one gets hurt. Now, we are going to Le Marron Abbey. One at a time, take a handful of the floo powder, step into the fireplace, cast down the powder, and say ‘Le Marron Abbey’.”

“If I don’t come out at the other end I’ll be in Nocturn Alley,” Aerie teased.

“Not going to happen,” Justin said, hoping to reassure Aerie, stepped in, cast down a handful followed by green smoke erupting at his feat, and with the words “Le Marron Abbey,” he vanished.

Sweetie Belle was eager to go next, followed by Scootaloo, and then Apple Bloom who was only a little hesitant. Kitsu was followed by Luna, and then Aerie decided she’d best go next.

“What? Aerie?” Lavender asked. The room Aerie had emerged into had alabaster walls, burgundy trim, and ornate furnishing in dark cherry. The walls were covered in sketches of varying detail and skill and the light came from a handful of lamps that looked like they might be modern but had no electrical cords. Little light came in through the windows.

“That would be me,” Aerie offered as she stepped forward. Hoshiko was next, followed by Aurora, Brightstar, Flora, and finally Mrs Silverwood.

“Lily?” Mrs Brown said sounding startled. She’d been standing in the doorway of the room.

“Oh, no, that’s Luna Moon,” Flora said right quickly. “It seems we had a bunch of Aerie’s relatives come calling. I must say I hadn’t known she had so many. I hope you don’t mind. If you need any help?”

“Oh, no, that’s quite alright. They definitely share a family resemblance. Luna, I must confess you look a good deal like a good friend of mine did at that age.”

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Luna offered with a curtsy, even as two seemingly identical black cats seemed to appear from nowhere. One went to Aerie and the other went to Kitsu.

“So… who are these Aerie look-a-likes?”

“We have Aerie,” Flora pointed to Aerie not quite sure how she knew. Could it be an equestrian trait? After all, ponies had a tendency to look alike. “Her cousin Tsuki Hoshiko who seems to have found her way from Japan. Aerie and Aurora discovered her today. And this is Nova Mustang. We are calling her Brightstar because Mrs Silverwood is also named Nova. And finally, we have Miss Kitsu Moon -Silverwood.”

“Ah, Mrs Silverwood, yours?” Mrs Brown asked.

“One of many.”

“Is that a scar on her forehead?”

“I was climbing the stacks in the library and the thing collapsed on me,” Kitzu informed her.

“Takes after me,” Mrs Silverwood explained with a big smile on her face.

“Well then, let's go upstairs,” Mrs Brown offered as she showed everyone the way out.

“Oh, and feel free to call me Flora. Saying Mrs Finch-Fletchley all the time can be rather cumbersome.”

“Yes, I imagine it would. My name is Leigh, and to be honest, I’m so accustomed to calling my mother-in-law Mrs Brown that I’m still not quite used to being called that myself.”

Comments

[Da Fennec]

Too many Aeries? Sorry with the idea of infinite universes they are lucky to not have many more for every major decision made there is an chance the opposite decision or random chance occurred such as male versions of Aerie or a world where Nova was sent to boarding schools rather than being reared in the place

[Kentavritsa]

“Akkadia,” Mrs Silverwood informed her as she gave Aerie a curious look. “We have a lot of horses. Ponies, to be exact. As such, we refer to our homeland as Equestria.” She took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “I can’t believe I’ve let myself get sucked into this. Aerie, you do realize that I’m the leader of a small country?”

Oh kay, this is a very interesting explanation!

11498369
these are just the once who had the good fortune to gate into the same place in the short time spann allowed.

[KittyrinnAiko]

11498369
I lean toward the idea that it takes something fairly major to cause a new timeline/dimension to come into existence. And these would include worlds where there is no version of Nova.

As for alternate Novas, in Kitzumi's adventures through the looking glass., we do meet a Nova who is just an ordinary unicorn, and Hoshiko is a human with Kitsune ancestry. During her stay in Equestria, she ended up in a group home. As for whether or not I'll write a story centering on any of these individuals I can't really say other than I've no plans past my present project.