Making Waves
The Apprentice, the Student, and the Charlatan
Chapter 21 - Making Waves
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The train couldn’t move fast enough. Luckily, today’s scheduled route was going straight to Canterlot. Unluckily, it was not coming straight back. It was going to take the long road, all the way through Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and Trotston.
“Why couldn’t you just teleport us again? Or why not call the princesses?” Twilight had asked.
“Carriage travel from Canterlot is about an hour at top speed, since you’re letting gravity do most of the work. Carriage travel back, two and a half, since you’re carrying it against gravity,” Nova explained. “The train’s faster.”
They had made emergency preparations, left Spike at Rarity’s, and they were off within the half-hour, just as everypony started realizing what was going on with the magic. The headaches had worn off as ponies’ Sources reconnected to their horns, but that still didn’t stop them from wondering about it. Luckily, the train had made a stop in Ponyville and was in the process of refueling for the afternoon route when they boarded.
And now they were only a few minutes out from Canterlot, and Nova was ready to dash to Novus Manor.
“Why Novus Manor?” Twilight had asked.
“That amulet I had when I beat Envy in the past, I gave it to Comet, remember?” Nova responded. “Told him to keep it as a family heirloom. I need to get it back from my dad. And then there’s also something your dad has that I need to borrow, as well.”
“What does my dad have?” Twilight asked, perplexed.
“A magi-gun,” Nova said. “He threatened me with it when you first brought me to their home, remember? We’re talking about an enemy who can block either of us from casting magic. We need to be ready in case that happens.”
“I’ve never seen my dad use it before,” Twilight admitted, “but I know he has one. He likes to keep it hidden.”
“Yes,” agreed Nova, “a gun that uses magic, that could still function even when a caster couldn’t. Not only that, but it would tap into latent earth pony and pegasi magicks as well. It’s powerful, and it’s dangerous. Your father is right to keep it hidden. In the wrong hooves, this could challenge even the princesses.”
“Why does he have it, then?” Twilight asked. “If it’s that dangerous, why would it belong to him and only him?”
“Because of you,” said Nova.
“Me?”
“Yes, you,” he repeated. “Celestia knew about you long before you were born. As the filly that would become the Element of Magic, you needed protecting when you couldn’t protect yourself. I’m assuming that’s why a princess, Princess Cadance, ended up being your foalsitter, but in the event that she wasn’t there, your father would need something to defend you with, so it was given to him.”
“I don’t remember him ever using it.”
“He never had to,” said Nova.
The next few minutes were silent, save for the sounds of the train. Nova was pacing impatiently, waiting for the train to arrive. The city was visible, which meant they could only be so far out, but Nova just snorted and started pacing all the faster.
“Nova, stop,” said Twilight, standing up and stopping him with an outstretched hoof. He gave her a bit of a glare, but she just walked up and hugged him. “It’s going to be alright,” she said softly.
She could feel the tension everywhere. His shoulders felt taut, his neck felt thicker than it usually did, and his forelegs kept pawing at the ground. However, he relaxed after a moment, hesitantly returning the embrace a moment later.
“I wish I could believe that,” he said in a low voice that didn’t entirely mask the slight shake in it, “but having seen firsthand that collateral damage is nothing Ency cares about, I fear for my friends’ lives.”
“Now arriving at Canterlot Station,” came the cool voice over the intercom. Nova immediately trotted, almost cantered even, toward the exit to the train. As it slowed to a stop, Nova’s impatience only grew. When the doors opened, he was off, blazing past the ponies waiting to board as Twilight sprinted after him, desperately trying to keep pace.
She knew where he was going, so she wasn’t too concerned about falling behind. Still, her job only got tougher as he started weaving in and out of crowds on his way to Novus Manor. When he finally arrived, he tugged frantically on the doorbell just as Twilight galloped past the gate.
After a few moments, Sharp Eye opened the door.
“Oh? Nova? What brings--”
But Nova had already shot past him and was calling for his father at the top of his lungs, which Sharp Eye tried to quiet down, but failed. After a few moments, Ray appeared, looking very irritated.
“I thought you knew better than to yell at your gracious host,” he snapped at Nova.
“There’s no time to argue about this, dad,” Nova replied. “The townsponies of Neighton have vanished, kidnapped by Envy.”
Ray’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open.
“She what!?”
Nova launched into his account of how he found out that Neighton had vanished. His father asked several questions, such as how Envy had the power to execute that wide of anarea of powerful magic in such a short time. Nova truthfully reported that Envy had stolen the Alicorn Amulet, and had used it to attack him earlier. His father had never seen the bandages because they had been hidden under his cloak when they last visited.
“So, why have you come here?” asked Ray, when Nova had finished.
“There’s two things I need,” Nova replied. “First, do you happento know about an old amulet in our collection of family heirlooms?”
“An old amulet?” repeated Ray, eyes glancing upward in thought, “I can think of one, but it’s pretty outdated. All it’s good for is revealing and solidifying creatures like Windigoes and Ghasts.”
“That’s the one,” said Nova. “I made tha during my time in the past, and it works on Envy. It’ll prevent her from transforming into her shadow form.”
“If you say so,” said Ray. “Sharp Eye, it should be in the Gallery. It’s labelled the Novus Amulet.”
Sharp Eye nodded and cantered off to retrieve it.
“You said there were two things,” said Ray. “What’s the second?”
“Night Light’s Magi-Gun.”
Ray’s eyebrows rose.
“How do you know--”
“He jokingly threatened me with it once, back when Twi and I first met,” Nova interrupted impatiently. “Twilight’s confirmed its existence. I know the risks, so no need to lecture me on them.”
Ray stared at him for a moment, before nodding.
“Alright, but you and I are going to have a word about that weapon before you use it. I’ll send Night a message.”
“Can you send one to Aegis too?” Nova asked. “I’m going to need his help. Knowing Envy, she’ll probably use the ponies of Neighton as meat shields, so to speak. She’ll have them under her control and just send them at us to wear us down before we actually make it to her.”
“I don’t know if he’ll be able to come,” said Ray. “The guardsponies are out on an exercise, leaving a fairly low number in Canterlot. Either he’ll be with the rest of the guards, or he won’t be allowed to abandon his post.”
“Then I’ll order him to,” said Nova simply. “Barring a general’s or higher being’s orders, I can command some of the military.”
“In that case, why not get more guards to help with this?” asked Twilight.
“Because I know several of the guards are susceptible to mind control,” said Ray. “Remember during your assessment how a guard was possessed and put the castle on alert?”
They nodded.
“That was me,” said Ray. “I wanted to see you, Nova, but I knew you’d react rather violently about it, so I settled for watching from afar. I possessed one of the guards to get closer, but I was noticed. The guards may be physically strong, but mentally, I doubt they can ward off an assault from an average being, much less a unicorn augmented by the Alicorn Amulet. They would just swell the ranks of hostages.”
While Twilight expressed her incredulity about how it had been him that had rerouted Nova to her parents home that night, which seemed to start the chain of events that led to them being together, Nova was thinking. Maybe it wasn’t a great idea to being Aegis along at all, even if he could be off.
Sensing what Nova was thinking, Ray responded, “He’ll be alright.”
“Who?” asked Nova, unaware his father knew what he had been thinking.
“Aegis,” said Ray. “He’ll be fine. I helped him train himself to ward off mind control myself. And I know Sharp Eye knows how to ward it off, too. Comes in handy with his bounty hunting. I think they’ll be the best two ponies you can bring with you.”
Sharp Eye can back holding the amulet Nova had crafted those centuries before.
“You know, you’re really lucky we have that,” Ray said. “Your grandfather almost sold that when I was just a colt. After all, the spell is pretty outdated, so the amulet was next to useless. Or so he thought.”
“He would have sold this? Who was the potential buyer?” asked Nova.
“Princess Celestia,” answered Ray.
Nova sweat-dropped. “Now I kinda wish he’d sold it. She knew what it was and what it was for. Why’d he keep it?”
“He never said,” Ray responded. “Just told me he had his reasons. Heh, he probably was going to see if anypony could outbid the princess, knowing him.”
Ray turned to Sharp Eye.
“Now, have you been listening to all of this?” he asked. Sharp Eye nodded. “Good. You’re going with him.”
“I woulda gone anyway,” said Sharp Eye, shrugging. “You did say I could take out other contracts while I worked for you. This one’s basically just a free one.”
“Nova, do you want me along as well? I can bring Tantalus too, and maybe--”
“No,” said Nova flatly, which surprised everyone.
“No? But Nova,” protested Twilight, “we’re going to need as many ponies as we--”
“No,” said Nova, putting more emphasis on the word. “Didn’t you hear dad? I only want to bring along ponies who aren’t unicorns and who are trained in keeping their minds safe from outside forces. The mind control concern has already been explained, but the reason I’d like as few unicorns as possible is because what happens if you find yourself pinned down? You’ll let loose a reflexive burst of magic that might do more damage than I want.”
His countenance darkened.
“Those hostages are my fellow townsponies of Neighton. I will not let any of them die while I can help it. Pegasi would be the preferred group for this task. Most of the ponies of Neighton are earth ponies. The pegasi would have the advantage of the air. I’m the only real resident unicorn, but there were a few staying there, which means we’ll have to subdue them first. The pegasi will have to be taken down as well, which will leave just the earth ponies.”
“Why not bring along Rainbow Dash or Applejack, then?” asked Twilight. “Particularly Rainbow. You want a good fighter who’s a pegasus--”
“No,” said Nova again. “She’s brash, and with the right provocation, which Envy is particularly good at finding, she could become angry enough to be easily taken control of. Plus there’s the whole ‘National Hero’ thing.”
“And yet I’m going,” said Twilight.
“I never said you were,” said Nova, shaking his head.
“Since when are you in control over where I go, or what I do!?” Twilight asked, her voice rising in anger. Would Nova really just leave her out of this!?
“It’s too dangerous!” responded Nova, also growing louder. “Envy’s proven to be quite the match for me, and I’ll feel a lot more at ease knowing you’re safe. You’re not--”
Her horn glowed magenta, and in short order, Nova found himself a victim of the awesome power of Twilight Sparkle’s Magical Energy Beam. The shot hit him right under his sternum, right in the celiac plexus, and blasted him right back into the wall. Sharp Eye and Ray both almost leapt onto the scene, but stopped. Twilight was only using the beam to hold him against the wall, and while it did hurt, it was only because of where it hit him.
She glared at him.
“You seem to forget, Night Master,” she spat coldly, “that Trixie Lulamoon is my friend, and that I will do my best to save her with or without you. And if you try to stop me, we’ll get to see which of us is the stronger after all.”
The flow of magic stopped, and Nova fell to the ground.
“And besides,” said Twilight, watching him as he slowly got to his hooves, “I’m pretty sure you’re well aware that even in dire situations I’m in good control of my magic.”
“The Everfree Vaults,” Nova replied. “Envy’s first attack. You froze up, and I had to save you.”
“I was tired,” said Twilight. “Little sleep for the past few months, coupled with the nightmares themselves. Exhaustion does quite a bit to the equine body, like making it shut down in high stress situations. I promise, Nova, I’m nowhere near as deprived of sleep as I was back then, and now I know what we’re facing.”
“Should we intervene?” Sharp Eye whispered to Ray.
“No, let the lovers quarrel. They need the experience for marriage anyway,” Ray whispered back.
Despite the fact that Sharp Eye and Ray were staying out of the argument, no one told the pony walking in through the front doors.
“Oy, put a lid on it, you two!” shouted the gruff, Braytish voice of one of the pegasus Royal Guards. Both Twilight and Nova stopped instantly.
“Good timing,” said Nova. “I was just about to go find you.”
“No need,” said Aegis. “The princesses know what happened down in the valley, and they had a feeling you’d be coming to recruit my help, so they sent me to join up.”
“Well, that saves me some trouble,” remarked Nova. “Now that we’re all here--”
“Wait, only four of us?” asked Sharp Eye. “Because you already said you didn’t want Ray coming.”
“The fewer the better,” Nova said. “You two are both trained in mental defense, and i’m assuming Sharp Eye is trained in hoof-to-hoof combat as well--”
“I’d be a poor bounty hunter if I wasn’t.”
“--which makes you two the only two ponies I trust to come with us. As I explained to the rest earlier, I don’t want other unicorns to come along, because all it takes is one desperate spell to kill one of the townsponies of Neighton, and I will not let that happen while I draw breath.”
“Do you even know where she’s keeping them?” Aegis asked. “Seems kind of foolish to go running off after an enemy when you don’t even know where she’s at.”
“I think I know where she’ll be waiting for us,” said Nova. “She’d want to use the townsponies to wear us down before we even got to her. The best way to do that would be to pick a place with only one way in, no back doors or secret passages. As we already know, she’s been frequenting the Everfree Forest, which means she should hide in any of the caves. Most of them are one-way after all, but this means she’d run the risk of running into a dragon. Regardless of the outcome of that fight, we’d be alerted to where she was.”
“So you’re saying she’s probably hiding in any random cave in the Everfree Forest?” asked Aegis.
“No, I’m not,” Nova said. “I also think she’d want to use the whole hostage situation more to her advantage. Put them in a place where they can be killed if the wrong move is made. I know for a fact there are two ruins in particular that have that kind of trap. And one of them fulfills the first requirement.”
“Which ones?” asked Twilight, already having a feeling she knew.
“First, the one that she probably isn’t at, is the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters,” Nova explained. “The high cliff on which the ruin is perched means we’d have to be careful not to to send them plummeting into the river below, but that ruin has three ways in. Which leaves the second: the Everfree Vaults.”
Twilight felt a slight chill run up her spine. Of course it would be there.
“The Vaults are built above a hole dug into the ground. Around the hole are the actual vaults themselves, but the hole goes down quite a ways. All the way to Vault 1000, if I remember right. There is only one way in, which makes it the perfect gauntlet for us to have to go through. Couple that with the extra effort in keeping them alive…” Nova trailed off.
“Sounds like she’s picked the perfect fortress,” remarked Sharp Eye. “Well then, what are we waiting for?”
“There’s one more thing I need to get,” Nova said. “Something that Night Light has.”
“Shall I tell him you’re coming?” asked Ray,
“Yes, please,” Nova answered. “The sooner we can leave for Trottingham the better.”
“You’re probably going to be spending the night,” said Aegis. “The trains around the nation have been stopped because of the incident, and Princess Celestia has already sent the order for the Canterlot train to go to Trottingham as soon as you’re ready.”
Nova silently thanked Princess Celestia for this, even if it did cost him the extra day.
“I’ll be back,” he said, cantering out of the house, and making his way through the streets toward Twilight’s parents’ home. The run was pretty short, and in only a few minutes, he was standing outside the Sparkles’ home. He galloped up to the front door, and knocked frantically.
It opened quickly, revealing Twilight Velvet.
“Nova Shine?” she asked, sounding surprised. When she saw that he was alone, she asked, “Where’s Twilight?”
“She’s at Novus Manor,” he said. “I came because I need something from Night Light.”
“From Night?” repeated Velvet, sounding somewhat bewildered, but Night Light came into view behind her.
“Let him in, dear,” he said. “Just got the message from Ray. Come on upstairs, Nova.”
Nova entered and followed as Night led him toward his room. It had been a while since he had last been inside, so Nova took a moment to look around Night Light’s room as Night went straight for his closet. The pleasant sky-blue paint colored the walls, and the pictures took up most of the visible space on them. What surprised Nova was that he found a picture of himself added to the collection of pictures around the wall.
He had forgotten. During the night spent looking at Hearth’s Warming lights, Twilight had insisted on getting a picture ot remember the night, and Nova had gone with it, if unwillingly. He and Twilight were smiling, Nova half-heartedly, at the camera, while the Trottingham Lights Festival sign glowed next to them.
Nova admired the picture of his younger self. A shorter mane, a shorter tail, a slightly softer, gentler gaze, not quite as strong a chin, and shorter as a whole. Twilight, however, hadn’t aged even slightly since then.
It was amazing how much time travel could change one pony.
“Nova, come over here,” said Night Light from inside the rather spacious closet. He was currently pulling down a large metal crate with magic with the letters BHRF painted in white on the side, along with their logo.
“Here, give me a hoof will you? Let’s move it into the room,” he said, catching it in his fron hooves as Nova did the same. When it was securely in their grasp, he stopped the magic and they worked it into their bedroom and set it down.
Once it was on the floor, Night and Nova set to opening it. It was secured by an almost ridiculous number of straps and locks, but given how powerful the weapon was, Nova couldn’t blame Black Haysa for the security. However, after some effort, they managed to get all the straps and locks undone, and open the crate, revealing the magi-gun sitting in a molded black mesh protector.
Nova was surprised by the magi-gun’s appearance. The gun was a metal sleeve, with a thick closed end and glowing lines of some material Nova didn’t know running up and down the length of where his hoof would go. A number of needle-like protrusions inside the sleeve itself caught his eye, and he shuddered. He hated needles.
“Yes,” said Night, following his gaze. “The needles do hurt the first time, but you get used to them after that. Also, the first few shots you fire will also feel uncomfortable, until your body learns how to redirect the flow of magic when it is called upon like this.”
“How do you know?” Nova asked, still looking over the gun.
“I practiced with it. You didn’t think I would just blindly take a weapon and not learn how to use it, would you?” he asked, which made Nova feel sheepish. “:What if my little Twily was attacked? How would I defend her with a weapon I didn’t know how to use? I still take it once a week to an archery range and use a private range to practice.”
“How do you retract the needles? I don’t think they’re supposed to be like that when you put it on.”
“Like this,” said Night, pushing a small button on the edge of the open end of the sleeve. Instantly, the needles retracted. “Here, put it on. After the first time, the needle-sticking won’t hurt.”
Nova hesitantly took the sleeve an nervously slid his right front hoof in. When the bottom of it touched the end of the sleeve, he touched the ground with it. Nothing happened.
“Hit the button again,” said Night.
Nova wordlessly did so. He pushed the small button that made all the needles retract and instantly several spots of very sharp pain erupted on his hoof as the needles extended into his arm. He let out a cry of pain and surprise, but after a moment, the pain vanished completely.
“Yes, the enchantment on the needles is an anesthetic meant to numb the pain completely, and then not hurt at all any other time you put it on,” said Night, looking him over. “Here, lift the gun up to shooting level.”
Nova did so. After a moment, a loud clack sounded, and three prongs extended a few inches from the end of the gun. Nova turned the gun around to look and saw that the end had opened up to reveal a glowing blue light.
“The light is different for every pony,” explained Night. “For my magic, it’s kind of a pale periwinkle, actually. Everything looks good. This means your magic is already flowing through the gun. Excellent. Now, put your hoof down again.”
Nova did, putting his hoof down as if he were walking. The prongs were pushed back into the gun and the blue light vanished.
“A little aperture of metal keeps it covered up when the prongs are pushed in, and it renders the gun unfireable, so you don’t accidentally shoot the ground you’re walking on. This lets you walk around with no worries. Now, for shooting it, we’re going to have to go back to your parents’ house.”
“What’s in the rest of the crate?” asked Nova. The crate was far too large to only contain just the gun.
“Just tools for repairing it should it break, as well as the schematics for another one.” said Night. “And a self-destruct mechanism. The weapon was made for a reason, and after that reason is accomplished, it will be taken out to the San Palomino Desert and destroyed.”
After they made sure everything was working on the magi-gun without firing it, Nova returned to Novus Manor with Night Light. Night had sent an advance message asking to set up a private target range to test the gun in, and when they arrived, they were brought by Sharp Eye to a back room with several paper archery targets pinned to the back wall.
“I want to warn you,” said Night, “the first couple of times are going to hurt a lot.”
“Then let’s get it out of the way,” said Nova. “How do you fire?”
“Try to cast a spell,” said Night. “Any spell at all while the gun is pointed at a target.”
Nova held the magi-gun up towards one of the archery targets and attempted to cast a simple levitation spell. Instantly, it felt like the magic circulating in his body was forced away from the path from Source to horn and town towards that one leg in particular. Nova, however, was surprised that it didn’t really hurt that much. All it did was make him grunt in discomfort.
And then the gun fired. The beam looked no different than a normal magical energy beam, except it was wider and more concentrated. The beam shot towards the wall and hit the target, burning it instantly.
After a short moment, the magic stopped. Night looked surprised after the blast.
“You made it sound like it didn’t hurt at all? Why is that?”
“Because it really didn’t that much,” said Nova, shrugging. “You made it sound like it was going to feel like breaking a femur, or something.”
“As one of the people who made the gun in question,” interjected Ray, raising a hoof, “I think there’s an explanation. Nova, have you attempted to cast a spell through your hooves before? Like an earth pony or pegasus uses their magic?”
“Yeah, once,” said Nova, remembering that moment in his, Comet’s, and Princess Celestia’s battle against Nightmare Moon where he had cast a spell through his hooves to get under Nightmare Moon’s shield.
“That explains it,” said Ray, with a smile. “The magical pathway from Source to his hooves has already been established, even if it isn’t used regularly. The magi-gun didn’t have to create one; it just followed its own existing path.”
“It still didn’t feel that comfortable,” said Nova. “I haven’t cast a spell through my hooves in a little over seven months.”
“In that case, it was probably just using a pathway Nova wasn’t used to using yet,” Ray said. so it still would cause some discomfort. It’ll hurt less and less each time until it doesn’t hurt at all. So, we need you to shoot more. This time, however…”
Ray’s horn shimmered and a wall of silver magic appeared in front of Nova, directly between him and the target.
“Fire straight at the target,” instructed Night. “This surprised me when I first did it, too.”
Nova nodded, shifted the magi-gun to firing position, and let loose another spell. Nova watched as the beam flew right at the wall, and he expected it to simply collide and do nothing.
But it didn’t. It went right through the wall of magic and blackened the target. Twilight and Nova both gasped as the spell faltered and died.
“Now,” said Ray, “I’m sure Miss Twilight here could tell me, why can’t normal magic go through other magic?”
“Because magic is quantum, and thus can be a particle and a wave at the same time” Twilight recited. “Because of the particle physics aspect, when the two different magicks meet, they neutralize each other. In short, the magical particles display total neutralizing annihilation. But then why--”
“Why did the gun’s go straight through the wall?” asked Ray. “Why don’t you tell us? I’m sure you could figure it out.”
“But it can’t,” said Twilight. “The only way magic goes through magic is if they are both in wave state…” she trailed off as her eyes lit up in understanding. “The magi-gun forces the magic to exist in wave state when it makes contact with other magic!”
“Correct, Twilight,” said Ray with a grin. “The gun forces a wave state at arcane contact. Which means if an offensive spell, like a beam from this gun, and a defensive spell, like a shield, were to meet, the beam would go through the shield, which would continue functioning normally. Neither magic would be neutralized. In that area where the two met, the overall magic would probably be weaker, but once it passed through, the beam would be its normal strength, as would the shield.
“But suppose an offensive spell met another offensive spell,” continued Ray, his grin vanishing. “The spells’ strengths would more than double and go right through each other, doing more than double the damage to both casters. The strength of each spell would remain the same, but on top of each other, the overall power would double. And the one with the gun can’t cast a defensive spell while it can be fired, which means you have to close it to use a shield, Nova. Like you probably know, just step down on it to do that.”
Nova did, and as he did, he marveled at the gun itself. A weapon that could challenge the princesses? It could do more than that. In the wrong hooves, it could toss the princesses aside.
This… is too powerful. Black Haysa is right. It needs to be destroyed when it isn’t needed anymore.
“Do you plan on leaving as soon as you can?” Ray asked, after Nova pressed the button to retract the needles and slid the gun off his forehoof.
“As soon as possible, yeah,” said Nova. “As much as I would like to ask the Princesses for help in this one, I’ve got this feeling that this is something Twilight and I have to do without their aid.”
“They’ve already given you all the help you will get from them,” said Aegis. “They said much the same to me when they told me to come help you. This is something that the Night Apprentice and the Faithful Student must overcome together. Granted, you’ve already past Night Apprentice, but still…”
“Which settles it,” said Twilight with a rather smug grin sent Nova’s way. “They want us to do this together, so that means I’m coming, no matter what you may feel about it.”
Nova inwardly snarled to himself. This would put Twilight into unnecessary danger against an enemy she barely knew that he had extensive knowledge of. How was this a good idea?
{T} {A} {T} {S} {A} {T} {C}
Much like his younger self had done a little over two weeks before, Nova sat outside on the balcony that overlooked Novus Manor’s courtyard, deep in thought and trying to calm himself about tomorrow. The moon was high in the sky, the stars were bright, and the mountain air was very cold. Nova wasn’t complaining, however. His cloak provided him what warmth he needed.
Everyone else slumbered peacefully inside, including Aegis and Twilight. They had decided to stay at the Manor, prepared to leave the moment Nova was ready. Nova had spent some more time growing accustomed to the magi-gun, including discovering that, while normal mundane spells were converted into energy beams, some spells like a grappling grip spell could be fired by the gun with the right thought. Considering they were going to the Everfree Vaults again, Nova thought it would come in handy.
He sighed, and his breath froze as a mist the moment it left his mouth. He watched it for a moment as it dissipated in the air, then fell back against the ground, shutting his eyes and enjoying the calm night.
“Here you are again, outside in the cold on the night before something you are about to do,” came an all-too-familiar voice. Nova cracked open an eye to find Princess Luna hovering before the balcony, watching him with concern. “You would do well to go inside; you’ll catch cold in this weather.”
“I’m warm already, Princess,” said Nova, sitting back up. “The cloak keeps me warm.”
She fluttered down next to him, sat, and drew her wing around him like she had done those weeks ago, years to him.
“I wish I could do anything more to help, but it must be this way. You and Twilight alone must be the ones to face Envy.”
“What about the time a thousand years ago, with Nightmare Moon?” Nova asked.
“That was the one time anypony other than the Night Apprentice and Faithful Student confronted her,” she said. “That was an extreme case. This time, I have the utmost faith that neither you nor Twilight will let any harm come to each other.”
“I’d be lying if I said I have that kind of faith in myself,” said Nova bitterly. “I still believe her to be stronger than me. How can I protect her from something more powerful than her?”
“We agree to disagree,” said Princess Luna dismissively. “I know for a fact, Nova, that no matter Twilight’s power, yours is stronger at the present moment.”
“How?” Nova asked. “How is that possible?”
Princess Luna tilted her head, studying him closely.
“After months of training alongside a pony as powerful as Twilight, educated by one of the most powerful magical minds in history, you do not think yourself stronger?"
“No,” said Nova. “She’s defeated Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, and Sombra. What have I done? Created my own worst enemy, who keeps trying to kill us both so she can kill the descendants of Clover.”
“So that’s her goal?” asked Luna in some surprise. “Interesting. Does she know about you?”
“Yes,” sighed Nova. “I told her in the past. I don’t know if she knows about Twilight, though.”
“She’s part of your family?”
“The Sparkle line comes directly from Starlight Sparkle, Comet Novus’ youngest child and only daughter. Twilight and I match up exactly as far as generations go.”
“How do you know?” asked Princess Luna.
“When you have seven months to kill, you get bored,” Nova answered with a shrug. “Watching Arsenal matches only kills so much of the time. Felt like looking into my family tree.”
“P-Princess Luna?” came a tired voice from behind them. Nova and Luna both turned to see Twilight standing in the door, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
“Good evening, Twilight Sparkle,” said Luna.
“Why are you here?” Twilight asked, trotting over slowly to sit next to Nova.
“I saw my former pupil sitting in the cold and I came to pay him a visit,” she said. “I’m sure he remembers the last time I did this, only a couple of weeks ago.”
“Before he went back in time,” Twilight said. Luna’s lips curved into a small smile.
“Yes,” Luna said, nodding. “He wasn’t too much younger back then, but comparing him and his older self now, he looked younger than he actually was.”
She withdrew her wing from around him as Twilight leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.
“You’re nervous about tomorrow, aren’t you,” said Princess Luna.
“What gave it away?” Nova muttered.
“Peace, Nova Shine, peace,” Luna said gently. “As I said before, I have the utmost faith in you and Twilight. I have no doubt your venture tomorrow will succeed.”
She stood up and prepared to fly away, but paused and turned back to them.
“Take care of him, Twilight Sparkle,” she said. “And you, Nova, take care of her.”
“I will,” they said in unison. Luna chuckled.
“Very well. Good night, and good luck tomorrow.”
With that, she flapped powerfully, propelling her forward and into the night sky, where she blended and vanished after a moment. Nova stayed, watching the spot she vanished at, long after he couldn’t tell her apart from the rest of the sky.
“Nova?” Twilight asked softly. “I’m sorry about earlier.”
“No,” said Nova. “I’m sorry. I’m being far too overprotective of you, when you just as capable as me, if not more so, at protecting yourself.”
He smiled humorlessly, feeling as cold as the air around him.
“I don’t understand you,” he said. “Time and again, I demonstrate exactly why I don’t deserve you, and yet you’re still here.”
“Really? Name one time you've shown you don’t think you deserve me,” she said.
“Earlier today, telling you that you wouldn't be coming. Presuming to be in charge of where you can and can’t go, I suppose.”
“Nova, I understand why you don’t want me to come,” she said, snuggling closer to him in the cold. “After what happened in the Vaults last time, and after your little fight with her when you were stabbed, trust me, I know why you don’t want me to come. But if you think I’m just going to sit back while my coltfriend is going out there, risking his life to rescue ponies, you’re dead wrong.”
She sniffed.
“Frankly, even if you suddenly became a walking magic bomb, and you were running away, or even fighting me, to keep me from being caught in the blast, I would fight just as hard to stay with you and help.”
Nova looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.
“A walking magic bomb?” he asked teasingly.
“Oh, shut up,” she said. “It’s the only comparison I could think of.”
“Falling to Black Magic,” he pointed out.
She paused.
“Yes, I suppose that too,” she conceded, “but even then, Nova. Never forget that.”
“Never forget it?” he asked, looking back down at her. She looked up at him from her spot leaning on his shoulder to meet his blue eyes with her purple ones.
“Yeah,” she said. “Promise?”
“I promise,” he said, but she shook her head.
“Sorry, I meant Pinkie Pie Promise,” she corrected herself. “You never break a Pinkie Pie Promise, so I know you’ll never forget it.”
He gave a small laugh. Pinkie Pie Promise?
“How do I do that?” he asked.
She sat up and turned to face him, which he mimicked. When they faced each other, she took his front hooves in hers, traced an X over his heart, flapped his hooves like wings, and then pushed his right hoof into his eye (which he only just managed to close in time).
“Do that, and say, ‘Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.’”
Nova smiled at her.
“Just for you, Twilight.”
So he did. He recited the rhyme and did the actions. As soon as he had done so, they both turned back to their previous positions and looked back out over the peaceful cityscape of Canterlot in silence.
Nova closed his eyes, listening to her slow, rhythmic breathing, and revelling in the contact between them. On a sudden impulse, he drew the side of his cloak around her, and she snuggled even closer. And together they sat, awaiting the new day and what it would bring.
{T} {A} {T} {S} {A} {T} {C}
“Ready?” Nova asked, as the four of them stood at the edge of the Everfree Forest path in Trottingham. “If any of you want to turn back, now’s the time.”
“Heh, drawing a line in the sand, are we?” asked Sharp Eye.
Nova bowed his head.
“In a manner of speaking.”
Twilight trotted right up to his side, gave him a quick peck, and said, “I’d say I made my decision seven weeks ago.”
“Really?” asked Aegis. “What was seven weeks ago?”
“The day I realized that I loved Nova,” explained Twilight with a bright pink blush.
“Now this I have to hear,” said Aegis with a devilish grin sent Nova’s way. He didn’t miss that Nova’s cheeks had gone pink, and he certainly intended to make fun of him later.
“Well,” started Twilight, but Nova just shook his head.
“We’ll have plenty of time for embarrassing stories later, Aegis,” he said, starting to trot forward and motioning with a hoof for them to follow him. “Right now, let’s stay focused on the task at hoof."
“Just injecting some humor into the situation,” said Aegis. “No need to get snippy.”
They trotted along the forest path quietly. Every small non-hoof sound made Nova twitch, and Twilight could see the weight of the incident was starting to get to him, but she didn’t want to voice her concerns. The last thing she needed was for him to accidentally vaporize the lot of them from a jump scare.
“Hate to spoil the mood,” said Aegis in a hushed voice, “but does anyone else get the feeling that we’re being watched?”
Nova halted, and they almost walked into him from how sudden he stopped. He was looking around surreptitiously, no doubt hoping he wouldn’t alert whatever being was in the forest that they knew it was there.
“Just keep moving,” whispered Twilight. Nova nodded, and they continued forward.
The trot seemed to take longer than the last time Twilight hiked it, but maybe that was because this time she knew they were walking into a trap, with no other option than to spring it.
Either way, it was only multiplying the jumpy feelings she had in her gut.
Finally, they arrived at the split from the trail, where the Everfree Vaults were off of. Nova wordlessly started pushing his way through the brush, and in short order, they arrived at the clearing in front of the crumbling entrance.
Nova stared straight at the dark entry, attempting to make out if anyone was inside, but it would appear he couldn’t see anything, because he started to look around.
“Where is everypony?” asked Aegis. “This building doesn’t look big enough to fit an entire village in it, so where are they?”
“The Vaults are dug into the sides of a giant hole in the ground, the top of which is inside,” explained Twilight. “They may just be waiting for--"
Three lights erupted out of the ground beneath Twilight, trapping her in a cage of magic. Nova, Aegis, and Sharp Eye all leapt away reflexively. Twilight looked around wildly, trying to find the spellcasters, while Nova charged forward and attempted to negate the cage.
“It’s no use, Nova Shine,” came an eerily familiar voice. Nova bolted around to see a large, muscular earth pony descend dramatically from the steps of the Everfree Vaults. Balanced Budget’s normally-brown eyes were glowing red, and an evil grin on his face. Behind him, a group of ponies were following him down the steps, all staring at Nova with glowing red eyes and evil smiles.
Nova’s blood felt like it turned to ice. Behind him, he heard Aegis and Sharp Eye shift into fighting stances.
“She’s trapped in there, nice and safe from you,” Envy’s voice issued from Balanced Budget’s mouth. “But rest assured, it isn’t for long.”
The three spell nexuses at the base of Twilight’s cage flared, and a bright light surrounded her. Nova bolted toward the cage, but the moment he made it, the entire cage, Twilight included, vanished. He whirled back around to face Balanced Budget.
“WHERE IS SHE!?” he shouted at them, instinctively tapping into Luna’s magic to bring out the Royal Canterlot Voice.
All of the townsponies’ grins grew wider.
“At the bottom of the Vaults. Come and get her, Nova Shine,” she taunted in a singsong voice, which only caused Nova to let out a yell and charge right at Balanced Budget, much to the protestations of Aegis and Sharp Eye. Right before he collided with the earth pony, he vanished in a bright blue light, which reappeared behind the crowd of ponies. He was past the first line of defense.
Before Aegis and Sharp Eye could do anything more, the forest around them suddenly erupted in sound as ponies emerged from it. All of their eyes were red, and all of them wore eerie, evil smiles.
“Idiot!” shouted Aegis in frustration. “We do all this planning, and he just runs off when Twilight vanishes!”
"How romantic," noted Sharp Eye dryly. "Abandon the plan the moment the damsel ends up in distress. That'll ensure her survival."
They shifted into bipedal fighting stances, back-to-back, and surveyed the crowd.
“Target the unicorns first due to magic,” Aegis muttered, “then the pegasi to give us the aerial advantage, and then go after the earth ponies. Strike to submit, not to kill.”
“Noted,” said Sharp Eye, scanning the crowd for any unicorns. “Think we can handle all of them on our own?”
“Maybe,” Aegis replied. “Might be tough if one or two more show up.”
“Guess those’ll have to be the one or two that I take care of,” remarked Sharp Eye.
They both chuckled as they stared down the possessed ponies watching them, waiting for them to attack.
“On three, then?” asked Aegis.
“Yeah,” Sharp Eye nodded. “Go ahead and start us off.”
“If you say so. One.”
“Two.”
“THREE!”
And they charged.
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Kingdoms Hearts 2 reference. Nice!
I absolutely Love this Story!!
3441304
Ya caught me. I even threw in the Showdown at Hollow Bastion music for good measure, Nice to know my shout-outs are appreciated.
3442706
((yes I just did that)
I love it when authors use references like that. it make the story exciting and fun. Keep up the Great and Powerful work!
3445878
Well, I referenced the music, I referenced a few moments from the games, and there are some more elements I'll be bringing up later. So, only naturally, I brought up the actual lines of dialogue. Love the series that much.