The Apprentice, the Student, and the Charlatan

by Rytex

Bright Lights and Smothering Darkness

The Apprentice, the Student, and the Charlatan
Chapter 05 - Bright Lights and Smothering Darkness

Princess Luna leaned back from her scrying ball, which was providing a fix in Ponyville. Communication between individuals using the scrying ball was limited to two with two different orbs, but anyone with a scrying ball could watch from any reflective surface. Like a mirror, or the surface of some water.

Or even the glass face of a clock, such as the one Nova had made Twilight buy and hang up in the Golden Oaks.

“Sister, they are preparing to travel to Brayton,” she informed Celestia, who had just emerged onto the landing on which Luna had moved her scrying ball table. Luna was currently occupying a large, fluffy pouf and was gazing into the orb.

“Are they, now?” asked Princess Celestia, impressed. “This is fast progress. I expected Nova’s search to last at least two weeks in the Crystal Empire. I find it amazing that he found all of his information in only one.”

“You underestimate his love of books,” replied Luna, grinning at Celestia. “Something, I believe, he has in common with Twilight Sparkle. As we understand it, half of the Crystal Empire’s library was dissected for information within four days.”

Celestia trotted over to Princess Luna’s scrying ball. Her horn glowed with magic and the image of the Golden Oaks library interior appeared. Nova Shine moved across the library ground floor to a door in the wall, which he opened and entered. Twilight Sparkle was levitating books down from the library shelves and packing them in several saddle bags and suitcases. Finally, a blue pony with a light-blue mane watched the proceedings intently, though she did nothing to help in the packing effort.

“Hm?” hummed Celestia, raising an eyebrow at this mare. “What is Trixie Lulamoon doing there? I thought she left Ponyville for good some months ago.”

“She arrived about a week and a half ago, suffering from nightmares and asking Nova and Twilight to cure them,” Luna thought back to how much time she wasted sitting there, expecting Twilight to physically throw the mare out of the library. “That day was the day that Nova found out the name of the Vaults and set off for the Crystal Empire.”

Celestia looked up to stare sternly at her sister.

“She’s suffering from nightmares, you say? Why have you done nothing about them, since you seem to know a lot about the situation?”

Luna blinked at her sister, which was the tell-tale sign of annoyance. Then she grimaced in an equally annoyed manner.

“I’m blocked off.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Something magical is blocking me from entering any of their dreams," Luna admitted. "It started shortly before our little assessment of our pupils. I would often visit Nova in his sleep, and so teach him to wield power over his dreams, but one night, I attempted to do the same thing, but found that I was blocked by a wall of magic.”

Celestia was thinking hard. The previous Night Apprentices and Faithful Students hadn’t complained of nightmares when they started this stage of their magical education. Something was happening in the present time that had never happened before. It felt ominous, whatever it was.

“Nova even wrote to me about them,” Luna continued, “but I didn’t know anything about them, other than the fact that they appear to be magically induced, so I just told him he would learn later. I knew him well enough to know that it wasn’t a lie, but merely a shading of the truth, since he would learn about them later, after all. Just not from me.”

Celestia raised a hoof when Luna indicated she wanted to continue, which forestalled her.

“Twilight wrote me about them, too. I’m not judging your answer to Nova, as I told her the same thing, with the same thoughts in mind,” she hastily added, for Luna had put on the very stern expression she usually wore when she was growing defensive. “But who could induce these dreams? It would have to be someone who knows all three of them well enough to…” she trailed off, thinking of the likely candidates, though none seemed plausible enough.

They both said nothing while they continued to observe as Twilight and Trixie seemed to get into an argument, while Nova attempted to placate them. They did not know what was said, for there was no sound, but Celestia had never seen Twilight give another mare the cold shoulder before, save for Queen Chrysalis in the guise of Princess Cadance.

“Twilight Sparkle does not seem to have a good relationship with the Lulamoon mare,” observed Celestia.

“Oh please, you already know why,” said Luna, rolling her eyes.. “You were always the more empathetic one. Did you not scry her at any point last week?”

“I cannot say I did,” admitted Celestia.

“The Lulamoon mare said something that left Twilight Sparkle in tears, barricaded in her bedroom. I trust you have some inkling why this is so?” she gave Celestia a meaningful look.

Celestia nodded, while staring intently at Twilight, who was now chatting with Nova, although a very angry expression had worked its way onto her face.

“Twilight has confided in me her thoughts about him. Can’t say I’m surprised, to be honest, given the traditional outcome of such a working relationship, but what bothers me is that Twilight normally hides her feelings. She likes to bottle up whatever is eating her up, and then when it becomes too much, it explodes, just like the incident with the ‘Want-it, Need-it Spell’ in Ponyville last year. Whatever upset her must have been so shocking or so heartrending, that it just crushed her.”

Celestia let go of the spell, letting the scrying ball clear, and looked up at Luna’s expressionless face.

“Has he confided in you any feelings for Twilight?” she asked. She had known Twilight long enough to know how what made her tick, but due to her limited contact with Nova, she had no idea how he worked. She wasn’t even sure if he was aware about Twilight’s feelings for him, if he felt the same way, or if he even cared about her feelings for him.

“No,” said Luna. “He has not. Cadance informed us that she revealed Twilight’s feelings to him, but he responded with a fair amount of apathy. But I don’t think he wants to address how he truly feels about her. He has more than once demonstrated the fact that he fears opening himself up to others.”

Celestia could understand why. After everything the colt had been through, she could hardly blame him. he had closed himself off almost completely because he had opened himself up once, only to be betrayed.

That explained why he and Princess Cadance, the alicorn of love, had a rather testy relationship up until his recent trip to the Crystal Empire, given that she always tried to work her way under said shell. That also explained why he appeared to be so hesitant in confronting his opinion of Twilight, whether it be positive or negative. Beneath that smiling, joking manner was a stallion that rarely, if ever came into contact with the outside world. Perhaps that stallion was a much harder, sterner, less likeable pony, but in order to make friends, he covered it up with his snarking and smiling.

Perhaps, sometimes the line blurred from time to time from the stress of a situation, and the pained soul deep down made his presence known. Such was Celestia’s theory on when Twilight and Nova first met, when they served as trade representatives for Ponyville and Neighton. Nova had come across as rude and annoyed at first, but his manner changed and became infinitely more likeable when he entered his library, and discovered that they both had a love for the written word.

“I know what you’re thinking,” said Luna, frowning at her sister. Celestia knew her too well to know that this was no “This is what I think you’re thinking, but in reality it’s something entirely different” shebang. Luna had a gift when it came to that sort of intuition. Perhaps it was because of this that she was such a great teacher.

“Do you?” asked Celestia conversationally. “You haven’t had the privilege of watching Nova for the last ten years. You know what he’s like, but you don’t know what he’s been through.”

“Neigh, sister, he has confided in me,” refuted Luna coldly. “You don’t think he trusts his own teacher?”

“I find it hard to believe he trusts anyone,” she shrugged, “and if he really has confided in you, you would know that.”

“I understand, sister,” Luna replied. “He doesn’t even trust me completely. He doesn’t seem to believe that his teacher of three years is trustworthy, but given his history, we, as the common ponies say, ‘built a bridge and got over it.’”

“You’re picking up modern lingo pretty fast,” Celestia noted, smiling at her sister’s use of the colloquialism. Luna responded with an equally large grin. “When do they leave for Brayton?”

“I would guess tomorrow,” Luna said. “I have been watching them over the last couple of days. They have been making preparations, and they came up with what I assume is a date of travel first thing.”

“How do you know it’s Brayton?” asked Celestia.

Luna merely smiled. “Let’s just we have our source and leave it at that.”

“I see,” said Celestia, smiling as well, since she knew the source in question. “Actually, perhaps you could ask him about the dreams? I’m sure he knows a thing or two about them.”

“Very well,” said Luna, nodding. “It’s getting late, and I have duties to do. I shall ask him tonight. Goodnight, sister,” she added, her horn glowing blue as the moon began its ascent into the sky.

“And goodnight to you as well, sister,” replied Celestia, her own horn glowing gold, and the sun beginning its descent.

{T} {A} {T} {S} {A} {T} {C}

Nova sighed contentedly as he sat in his compartment. The train ride to Trottingham wasn’t supposed to take too long, merely a couple of hours, since it didn’t have to go through the long cycle of Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and so on. They had already passed Neighton, Nova taking the opportunity to wave at some of the townsponies as the train was stopped at the station, and were going to be arriving at Trottingham Station sometime in the next hour.

Despite the fact that a vacation had only been finished up not one week ago, he was looking forward to another one in cold weather, just a bit closer to home.

Unfortunately, the ever-looming day in which he would be forced to confront Twilight about just what they were was approaching.

But that’s Future Nova’s problem, he thought.

A couple of knocks sounded at the door, and a nexus of energy that felt like Twilight Sparkle standing on the other side of it told him another story.

“Come in,” he said.

The compartment door slid open and Twilight stepped in nervously.

“Nova? Can I come in?” she asked.

“Need something?” he asked, trying not to sound as irritated as he was.

Unfortunately, his attempt to mask it didn’t work. Twilight winced at the sound of it, leaving him to inwardly sigh.

“You’re avoiding me,” she stated, frowning at him. Nova sighed and hopped to his hooves.

“No, I’m not. Now, mind moving so I can go and use the restroo--”

Her horn shone and the walls were bathed in a magenta glow, trapping him in the room.

Nova scowled. “That really wasn’t necessary, you know.”

“I think it was more than necessary,” huffed Twilight, before jabbing a hoof at him. “You. Have been. Avoiding. Me.”

“I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about,” lied Nova, rolling his eyes. Twilight’s eyes, however, narrowed.

“Oh come on,” she scoffed, “I didn’t even need your energy sensing to tell that was a load of horseapples.”

“So prove to me that I’ve been avoiding you,” replied Nova coolly. “We’re on a trip. We needed to make preparations. And I had things to do.”

“Are we going to keep doing this?” asked Twilight, eyes narrowing. “Stop lying to me. I know you’re intentionally avoiding me, and I want to know why.”

“And suppose I am,” Nova responded. “Why? What does it matter whether or not I’m avoiding you?”

Nova saw a flicker of nervousness pass across Twilight’s face but it was gone as quickly as it had come. In its place was a look of concern.

“Nova, are you avoiding me because of a week ago?”

He wanted to shake it off entirely, look completely unaffected, but unfortunately, his body betrayed him. He flinched slightly at her question, which only confirmed Twilight’s suspicions. Her look of concern fell into one of sadness.

“What… what did I do to make you want to avoid me?” she asked in a low voice, her ears drooping as she broke eye contact with him.

Nova just stared at her in disbelief.

“You… you really blame yourself for me wanting to think about us without your influence?” he asked in a low voice. “Do you really have that low of an opinion of yourself?”

She glanced up at him, but looked away after only a moment, leading him to sigh.

“Look Twilight,” he said, running a hoof through his mane. “You had no part in me wanting to distance myself for the time being--”

“So you have been trying to avoid me,” said Twilight, a triumphant smirk appearing on her face, before it fell to her original look of slight concern. “Look, I’m not mad, I just want to know why.”

“Honestly?” Nova asked. “It’s because I feel like you’ll try to influence my decision.”

“Influence your decision?” asked Twilight, confused. “How would I influence your decision?”

“With all the flirting,” answered Nova simply.

“Wait, so you think my flirting actually influences your decision?” asked Twilight, bemused. “It sounds to me like you’re not opposed to the idea of us dating, but you just don’t want to realize that.”

Twilight wasn’t really sure what she had been hoping to draw out of him with that remark. However, she definitely knew anger and irritation were not on the list.

“See, this is what I’m talking about!” he replied. “You’ll just pressure me into it, and I’ll end up making the decision to date you just because I’d know it’d break your heart or something.”

Twilight stared at him for a moment, leading Nova to think he had said something wrong.

“You know, the apathetic facade works for a while,” observed Twilight, “but talks like this really do bring to light the fact that you actually do care about other ponies and not just yourself.”

“I never said I only cared about only myself,” countered Nova flatly. “I’ve just made it clear if it’s a choice between somepony else and me staying away from my family, I’m going with the latter.”

“I don’t buy that for one second,” said Twilight, giving him an amused look. “I may have only known you for a couple of months, but I can honestly say I know you’re not that type. I’ve seen that type before. And she’s sitting in a different compartment.”

“TRIXIE RESENTS THAT!” came a muffled shout from one compartment over.

“And she’s been listening in on everything,” groaned Nova as his horn glowed and a wave of blue magic soundproofed the walls. “But seriously, going back, I don’t want you constantly flirting because I don’t want to end up dating you just to make you happy.”

Twilight’s mouth parted for a moment, no doubt wanting to further nudge him in that direction, but she paused.

“You… you think I’d want you to be dating me even when your heart wasn’t in it?” she asked.

“Well, yes, I figured that,” Nova said, shrugging. “Isn’t that what everyone wants? Their own way, and forget about anyone else?”

Twilight’s earlier amusement vanished instantly. Does he really think that about everyone?

Almost as if Nova could read her mind, he added, “Look, I don’t believe you think that way, Twi. It’s just,” he sighed, “I’ve been wrong. And I don’t want to be wrong about that.”

Want… Twilight thought.

“Nova, forgive me for asking, but, what do you want?”

“What do you mean by that?” he asked, sounding bemused.

“What do you want?” she asked again.

“To stay away from my parents, of course,” he replied immediately. Automatically, even, as though it were a practiced response. But there was just something about how he said it that really didn’t help her believe it

“So, you want to be on the run for the rest of your life? Never stopping, never enjoying anything for long, always picking something up and dropping it because it’s too risky?”

Nova opened his mouth to answer, but Twilight cut him off.

“Never growing close to anyone? Alone, from now until you die?”

“I’m not alone!” he protested indignantly. “I have Aegis.”

“And how often do you see him?” queried Twilight. “I’m guessing the last time you saw him before our meeting with the Princesses was three years ago, yes?”

Nova blinked. “What makes you think that?” he asked suspiciously. “Have you been spying on me since Trading Day?”

“Well one, you just told me,” Twilight said, grinning at him, leading Nova to groan and roll his eyes, “but two, you didn’t recognize him as a guard--”

“I can’t recognize anyone as a guard!”

“--and your dislike of Canterlot suggests that you don’t visit when you can help it. The last time you visited Canterlot would have been when Princess Luna made you Night Apprentice, after which you would have spent your days in your house.”

“I don’t dislike Canterlot,” Nova refuted. “Just… ponies in it.”

“You say you have Aegis, and yet you didn’t have face-to-face contact with him for three years,” continued Twilight, her grin falling, and concern replacing it. “Any friendships you have are there for a few years but completely dropped if you think you’ve been in one place for too long. You may mask it and patch it, but you really are alone.”

Nova said nothing, instead glancing away as Twilight watched.

“So I’ll say again. What do you want? Do you want to continue being alone? Constantly running, never trusting anyone, never having any meaningful relationships with anypony that last beyond a few years?”

Nova, again, said nothing. His eyes shifted out the window, where they were getting closer to Trottingham with each passing second.

“Just… before you even think about what we are, think about that, would you? After this whole nightmare thing is over, if you must, but do think about it!” she asked, backing up toward the door. “Please, Nova. For your own sake.”

He didn’t look away from the window until well after she had shut the compartment door behind her.

{T} {A} {T} {S} {A} {T} {C}

“Welcome to Trottingham!” announced Nova as the trio exited the train.

Twilight almost squeed with excitement as they stepped off the outdoor train platform, the sudden cold of the outdoors causing her to shiver. It looked like everything she had imagined it to be. Small log-cabin-style houses pushed right up against each other with a few chimneys letting off smoke, narrow snow-covered streets with ponies trotting up and down on either side, a few foals were playing hoofball in a small field not far away…

It almost reminded her of Canterlot at Hearth’s Warming time, but without all the decorations. Hearth’s Warming in Trottingham seemed fairly conservative.

“Where is our hotel?” asked Trixie, hiking up her saddlebags and surveying the town. “Trixie wants to get out of this snow and into someplace warm.”

Nova had told her to bring winter gear, but Trixie hadn’t had anything to her name other than her cape. For what little kindness it was worth, Twilight put a temporary heat shield enchantment on her hat and cape to help her get by.

“Here,” Nova said, passing her a map. “Follow the map. Reservation’s in my name, and it’s for two rooms. If they ask for ID, just let them know I’ll be there in a couple of minutes. They won’t give you the room, but at least they’ll know we’re coming.”

“If you say so,” Trixie said, her magic unfolding the map and placing it before her muzzle for a moment. “When will we go to those Vaults?”

“Tomorrow,” he answered. “It’s not supposed to be frozen over, and we can do it without a three-hour train ride beforehoof.”

Trixie grunted and set off, trudging through the snow toward the street on which the hotel was situated.

“She took your map,” observed Twilight.

“I don’t need it,” he said, shrugging. “I’ve lived here before. I know this town almost as well as I know Neighton.”

The two of them started their own trek up the street, though Twilight could sense it wasn’t going toward the hotel just yet, based on how he was on the opposite end of the road from Trixie.

“You’ve lived here?”

“Yeah,” he answered. “I came here on break once, when I was living in Manehattan. After I left there, I went to Vanhoover for a while, then moved down to here shortly after. Pretty nice little town.”

“How many different places have you lived, exactly?” asked Twilight.

“Six,” he replied. “Seven, if you count Ponyville. Canterlot, Manehattan, Vanhoover, Trottingham, Baltimare, Manehattan again, and now Neighton.”

He stopped in front of an inactive fountain and looked at the statue placed atop it. A jade unicorn had been sculpted there, a bow held and an arrow nocked. The statue seemed to wear a sort of poncho and ranger’s hat, with a quiver of arrows slung over its back.

“Sir Clopyn of Hofe,” said Nova. “Back when Princess Celestia was re-consolidating her power following the shake-up brought about by Nightfall, an unscrupulous sheriff saw fit to charge exorbitant taxes on the ponies of Trottingham, which were given to the area’s nobles who kept him in power. The sheriff dispossessed Clopyn of his land, and Clopyn began to steal from the sheriff and return the money to the ponies of Trottingham, until Celestia saw fit to put a stop to the whole debacle. Nowadays, everyone knows him as--”

“Cloppin Hoof,” finished Twilight. “His effect on literature of the post-Nightfall era is absolutely staggering! Almost as much as Edgar Allan Poeny’s, or William Flankspeare’s, and he didn’t even write anything!”

“Well, the town certainly doesn’t let you forget,” Nova gestured at the fountain.

They turned and began to trot toward the hotel.

“You said you came here ‘on break,’” Twilight pointed out. “Doesn’t break only happen when you’re in school?”

Nova nodded. “It does, and I was on school holiday at the time. Between the fall and spring terms.”

“While you were in Manehattan?”

“Yes.”

“Hang on…” she frowned. “No, that can’t be right. Your use of term implies that it was university level, and you can’t be older than me. I’m university age!”

“I’m not older than you,” he said, shrugging. “I checked. You’ve got me beat by a couple of months.”

“That’s what I mean!” she continued. “You’ve lived in six places, and you’re only 22, and yet you’ve still gone to university. That doesn’t match up. It can’t match up, unless you’ve only lived in each place for a few months at a time--”

“It does match up, Twilight,” Nova said, an angry edge creeping into his voice.

“How, then? How is it you did university classes before me--”

“I only did a few classes, no degree plan or anything,” he answered, the edge growing more prominent. “Can we please move on to something else--”

“But even so, six different places you’ve lived, in only a few years. How does it possibly match up if you’ve--”

“BECAUSE I RAN AWAY FROM HOME, OKAY!?” he yelled, whirling around and snarling at her, inches from her muzzle. “DAMN IT, SPARKLE, WHY MUST YOU PRY INTO EVERYTHING THAT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!?”

His voice echoed around the street. Twilight recoiled, a sudden flicker of fear crossing her face. No one made a sound, not even the other ponies, who were watching with concern. Nova continued snarling at Twilight until it dawned on him what he had done.

As soon as he did, his snarl fell into an expression of exhaustion. He fell right onto his haunches, breath growing ragged, and he just seemed to deflate after that. Twilight, still shaken by the outburst of anger, seemed to come to at that, watching as his eyes grew unfocused and stared at a spot in the snow.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, turning around and facing away from her. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”

She said nothing, instead walking up and hugging him from behind. He didn’t even seem to register it. The ponies around the street watched with interest at what seemed to be a romantic sight. Twilight couldn’t care less if it were romantic or platonic at that point. Her best friend needed to know that he was forgiven.

After a few seconds, she let go and trotted around. He kept his head down and didn’t meet her gaze when she sat in front of him.

Cautiously, she reached a hoof and touched him under the chin. When he didn’t react, she lifted it and looked into his blue eyes. They were determinedly looking away from her’s.

“Look at me,” she commanded.

He wordlessly complied, eyes shifting and locking onto her’s, flicking slightly side-to-side as they alternated between which eye to look at. Twilight would have giggled in any other circumstance.

There was so much emotion in his gaze. Lingering anger, and fatigue from the train ride and the past few days were prominent, but what got to Twilight the most was the resentment they contained. Yet she could sense it wasn’t directed at her.

He hated himself for his own emotional response.

“If you want to talk about it, I’m right here,” she assured him, pulling her hoof away, and holding her front hooves spread, as if looking for an embrace.

Nova stared at her for a moment, before a small smile suddenly appeared.

“Talking about feelings is what weak, wimpy, pathetic, sappy, touchy-feely ponies do.”

Twilight laughed. She had not expected that response in the slightest, and she openly laughed at it despite the situation. Nova let out a few forced “Ha’s” as well, at least attempting to look happy that she was, but the mirth didn’t reach his eyes.

He got to his hooves and held out a hoof to help Twilight do the same.

“I think we’ve made Trixie wait long enough. The inn’s not too far from here. Follow me, Twi.”

{T} {A} {T} {S} {A} {T} {C}

They had gotten the rooms Nova had reserved, and now they were going about their business passing the time until the next day. Trixie and Twilight were one room over, and Nova had two beds all to himself, if all went according to plan.

The door banged open, a pair of lilac saddlebags were almost thrown onto the other bed, and Twilight Sparkle stomped into the room with an expression of barely-contained rage.

“I’m sleeping in here tonight,” she growled.

Nova glanced up from his book at the room’s clock. It was only 2:18.

“You lasted longer than I thought you would,” he noted in a surprisingly emotionless tone. “I figured you’d have been in here an hour ago.”

“You don’t mind, do you?” she asked. “There’s not enough room in there to share with both Trixie and her ego.”

“Not at all,” he said, returning to his copy of Eragon. “Just don’t take too long in the bathroom every morning.”

“Come on, if there’s anyone you would need to be worried about doing that, it’s Spike. I thought you knew that by now, considering there’s only one bathroom in Golden Oaks.”

“Mmh,” he grunted.

“I’m going to explore the town,” she sighed. “Any particularly interesting places I should see?”

“If you can get the map back from Trixie, there’s a few places you might like.”

He could almost hear her teeth grind together at the mention of Trixie’s name.

“In that case, I’ll just explore blindly,” she said tersely. “What about you?”

“I’ve already seen everything interesting in this town,” he said, turning a page. “Very traditional, very ‘the way things have been done.’ Nothing ever changes. It took them two years to convince city council to let them build a new stadium for Trottingham Forest.”

“Why not show me your old home?” she asked.

“It’s been dozed,” he answered in that same emotional flatness. “I was the last tenant. When I left, they closed the apartments and tore it down to make way for more houses. I could give you the address, if you like.”

“No, that’s fine,” Twilight said, sounding slightly disappointed. “Won’t you come with me, though?”

“Nope,” he said, popping the P just a little bit as he continued to read.

Twilight sighed again, but slipped on her winter gear and trotted out. Nova didn’t know how long she was gone, but it couldn’t have been long because he had only progressed a few chapters when the door was opened again.

“There’s a Hearth’s Warming Lights festival tonight,” she said.

“Yep,” he dipped his head. “Famous festival. Universities send their students up here to create the best lights fixture they can.”

He glanced up at the clock again to find that it had actually been four more hours. And he had failed to notice the passage of time. He glanced toward the window to find that Celestia had lowered the sun, and that Luna had raised the moon while he was so engrossed in his book.

“Have you seriously spent the last few hours just sitting here reading?” she asked.

“Under normal circumstances,” Nova turned another page, “wouldn’t I be the one asking that question?”

“Do you seriously intend to just sit in here and read all night?” she asked, bemused. “Normally, I figured you’d be out pub-crawling.”

“Normally,” he answered. “But as you can see,” he lifted his book a fraction, “I’m a little busy.”

“Nova, there’s a Hearth’s Warming Lights Festival tonight,” Twilight stated.

“So there is.”

“I intend to go.”

“Have a good time.”

She rolled her eyes. “I intend to take somepony with me.”

“Don’t think Trixie would be up for this sort of thing.”

It was then that it dawned on Twilight that Nova was exiling himself in this room on purpose, all because he was punishing himself for the outburst earlier. It had finally become apparent to her that he was emotionally restraining himself so that he didn’t have another outburst, and he was essentially grounding himself from fun because he had let it slip.

“...you okay there, Twi?” he asked, glancing up at her from the top of his book. “You’ve been standing there for the last thirty seconds just staring at me.”

“Sorry,” she said, shaking her head a little. “It’s just, I’d much rather go with someone I’m not angry at for any reason.”

Nova blinked, but after a moment, his eyes returned to the book.

Guess that’s a no, she thought, before inwardly letting out an exasperated shout. I am NOT taking that for an answer!

“You are so stupid, you know that?” she said, her horn shimmering with her magenta magic.

Nova had no time to react as his winter clothes suddenly appeared on him, his book vanished from his hooves, and he was yanked up out of his chair.

“Wha-nononononoNONONONONO!”

Ignoring his indignant protests and commands to put him down, as well as keeping him at a safe distance to not get hit by his flailing, Twilight casually trotted out of the hotel room with him floating behind her. She strode right through the inn’s lobby, acting as though she were not carrying a screaming stallion who was thrashing around in the air.

An older pony sat with his wife at a table in the inn’s little restaurant, observing the spectacle.

“Ahh, young love,” he sighed happily.

“Yes, reminds me of when we were that age,” the mare sighed, leaning up against her husband and an old nostalgic expression crossing her features.

Damn old couples, thought Nova as he continued to struggle against Twilight’s magic.

He didn’t know how long Twilight carried him, but he was thankful she’d had the foresight to dress him in his scarf, coat and boots. The earlier cold had given way to snowfall. The sky was pitch-black, save for the moon, and it seemed like it was truly a perfect night for lights gazing.

And then he was unceremoniously dropped into a pile of slush, right on his uncovered butt.

“AGH!” he shouted, leaping up and trying to paw the soggy melted snow out of his tail, a task made more difficult by how violently he was suddenly shivering.

“Now then,” said Twilight, a magenta box appearing around Nova to keep him from running off, “you and I are going to look at Hearth’s Warming lights. You will at least try to enjoy them. Heck, you are going to at least try to enjoy just spending time with me.”

“You can’t force me to enjoy a date I don’t want to be on, you know,” he admonished, giving her a half-irritated, half-amused look.

“If you don’t want to call this a date, even when it kinda isn’t, you don’t have to,” Twilight replied. “How about we call it… a casual event where two best friends can hang out in a completely platonic manner?”

Nova snorted. “That’s a stupid name.”

“It might grow on you.”

“I doubt it.”

“Anyway,” she said, turning around and starting to trot toward Trottingham Public Park in the center of town, “at least try to have fun tonight, would you? It wouldn’t be good if you were in poor spirits tomorrow all because of your little outburst earlier today, even when I have hopefully made it clear I don’t hold a grudge.”

The magenta box he was trapped in vanished, letting him roam freely. And he instantly tried to sneak back off to the hotel, only to find himself yanked back in her direction by the neck. As he stumbled around, he found her watching him from a couple of paces away, trying not to laugh.

“Magical leash,” she explained, indicating a small blue fake-gem on her purple coat. “I don’t want you running off on me when I’m dragging you out here on this play-date.”

“A play-date!?” he repeated incredulously. “Is that seriously what you’re gonna call it?”

“You didn’t like the other one,” she said, rolling her eyes. With that, she turned around. Nova almost flew into the sky the moment he felt something soft caress the underside of his muzzle.

“Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Twilight Sparkle?” he asked, completely taken aback by her tail’s caress. “I don’t ever remember you being such a flirt, and I never expected you to be kinky enough to keep a magical leash spell on hoof.”

“Been taking advice from Rarity,” she explained. “And I’ve been reading a book on how to seduce somepony. I have to be lively, and I have to be provocative. How’s my provocativeness?” she asked, continuing to trot ahead.

Nova wasn’t sure what genuinely surprised him more. The fact that she wasn’t lying, or how completely casually she told him.

“How’s my provocativeness Nova?” she repeated, with just a touch of self-consciousness behind it, even turning to give him an inquisitive look.

Nova chuckled. “Well… it’s really strange to see it from you,” he shrugged, “but you’re doing a decent job I guess. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a mare sway her flanks that widely with every step.”

Twilight blushed furiously and her swaying posterior corrected itself into a far more natural gait. Nova’s chuckle deepened.

“You know, I’m really flattered that you’re putting that much effort into trying to charm me,” he said, trotting up to walk next to her. “Really, I am! But you should know, I’d much rather you be yourself instead of you trying to be something you’re not.”

Twilight paused and blinked as Nova trotted past her.

“Besides, never really cared much for flirts,” Nova admitted. “They typically don’t know how to take no for an answer.”

He felt the leash tug his neck a little, and he turned to find Twilight still standing there.

“Oy, weren’t you trying to take me on this ‘casual event where two best friends can hang out in a completely platonic manner, and not the other way around?’”

“Oh you,” she said, jolted out of her thought and trotting forward to catch up with him, taking care to swat him with her tail as she started trotting alongside him.

They turned a corner and the lights festival came into view. Nova heard Twilight gasp beside him, and he grinned. It looked just like how he remembered it. The main attraction was a giant Hearth’s Warming tree made of color-changing lights, but there were several other things there that blended into a massive palette of light. For the first time that evening, he suddenly was glad Twilight had yanked him out of the room.

“It looks amazing,” Twilight breathed beside him.

“I know,” he concurred.

They approached the park entrance, which did not feature an entry salespony, and strode in. The park seemed almost empty, given that the main holiday rush wasn’t for another few weeks, but that made it all the more enjoyable. No line-waiting, no pushy salesponies, no havoc…

The first attraction broadened Nova’s grin. One shield for every Equestrian Premier League team, arranged in alphabetical order, split on either side of the main path in. Naturally, due to personal bias, the Arsenal HC crest was the best, in his opinion.

Beyond that, the path split into four lanes, which left Nova literally not knowing which way to look first. Twilight seemed just as eager to go any which way as well, and they both were looking around the park eagerly at all the different attractions.

“Come on, you,” Twilight said, curling her left hoof around his right and yanking him along the farthest-right path.

Nova, for the most part, simply let.himself be steered around the park. Just about everything was interesting to him. The problem was, the sheer amount of magical spells concentrated in one place blinded his energy-sensing, but he wasn’t even paying attention to it as he walked around. There wasn’t really too much use of it anyway, given how few ponies were in the park.

“The pamphlet said these lights were supposed to be festive,” Twilight said, frowning at the sight of a Con Mane display up ahead.

“Ooo! Con Mane!” exclaimed Nova, darting forward to get a better look. It turned out to be the iconic laser-table scene from Goldhoof.

“I mean, seriously,” complained Twilight, “don’t they read instructions?”

“Nah, that’s just what they put in the leaflet every year,” Nova replied. “I mean, look around. No one else seems to be taking that to heart. Besides, you didn’t complain about the hoofball shields.”

“That’s because we’re in Brayton, and you know them,” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean? I live in Brayton, in case you’ve forgotten.”

“Well, technically, you live with me right now,” she reminded him.

“I still own property in Brayton, so… ah, whatever,” Nova waved it off. “Yeah, ponies think of a cool lights display and make it. Doesn’t have to be holiday-themed.”

.”What’s this one?” Twilight asked, trotting over from the Con Mane display toward one that featured a pony wearing sunglasses and a baby-blue tuxedo, standing on two legs and bouncing around with his forehooves crossed at the fetlock in front of him.

“Oh, that’s PSY and the Pony Gangnam Style,” he answered. “Some Neighponese music star or something.”

They walked past a few more of the lights displays toward a giant red dragon display that seemed to be acting as if it were alive.

“Pretty ambitious project,” observed Nova. “Semi-consciousness spell, not to mention all the skeleton frame work they had to have done.”

The dragon must have heard Nova, because it turned toward him and blew a jet of smoke into his face. As Nova sputtered and tried to wave it out of his face, Twilight giggled beside him, which for some reason, made the smoke experience feel just a bit more worth it.

The next display featured both of the diarchs wearing backwards baseball caps, sunglasses, and white earbuds connected to iPons.

“I… don’t get this one,” confessed Nova.

“Me either,” agreed Twilight. “Next one?”

“Next one.”

They proceeded further down, eventually coming to the one Nova knew just had to be the winner, if this was a contest.

A cream-colored, brown-maned earth pony with glasses and a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead was firing a beam of red magic out of a wooden wand toward a black-cloaked snakelike-faced nose-less pale earth pony, who was shooting a green jet that was colliding with the red one.

“Harry Trotter and the Deathly Hallows’ final battle,” recited Twilight, from a plaque near the base. “Though this could be taken from Goblet of Fire, too.”

“Shut up and enjoy the stand,” Nova admonished her.

“Nice to see you’re enjoying yourself out here,” Twilight replied, giving him an amused look. “I had to drag you out here, and now you’re the one telling me to stop complaining.”

Damn it, Nova thought. He had been trying so hard to not give her the satisfaction of being right.

She bumped him with her flank, more than aware of what he was thinking. “Oh relax, would you? This wasn’t about me being right, it was about you getting out of that room. And I’m glad you’re having fun tonight.”

He grinned.

“Let’s go over here,” he suggested, pointing toward where the giant tree of lights was set up, which happened to be next to what appeared to be a miniature hoofball stadium.

“You and your hoofball,” Twilight commented, but complied anyway.

Nova darted ahead, discovering that Twilight had done away with the magical leash spell, though he had no intention of running back to the inn at this point. There was a hooded pony wearing a dark blue cape standing there and observing the inside of the pitch, and Nova sidled up next to him to watch what was going on inside.

“‘Scuse me, sir,” he said.

“Mmh,” grunted the pony, who watched for a few more seconds and then trotted off. Nova watched him for a moment, noticing that there was something off about him, but shrugged and returned his attention to the pitch below.

Two sets of different colored dots were playing a miniature game, with a white dot serving as the ball. The dots even lifted themselves off of the surface whenever applicable. Nova watched with full interest, completely fascinated by it.

How did they make this? he wondered, watching as a red-colored dot scored a shot past the yellow team’s keeper. Semi-consciousness spells, perhaps? Definitely a combination of magic energy and werelight magic to create solid dots, and they even accounted for the laws of physics too. This… this is some pretty fantastic work!

His first thought was to show Twilight, and on glancing behind him, he noticed that she was heading toward the color-changing tree, which featured an opening to allow ponies to stand within it, and he cantered off to catch her.

“Hey Twilight, come look at this!” he called after her, turning back to look by the stadium again as he trotted into the tree frame.

“Hmm?” he heard from further in. He returned his attention to within the tree as the tree changed color from green to white.

And what he saw left him breathless.

Twilight Sparkle was standing within the tree, looking up toward the top of it, an expression of wonder and joy on her face and she looked around it. The white light of the tree framed her in a corona of light, which almost made it seem as though she was glowing.

As Nova stared, transfixed at this image of perfection, a strange jumpy, tingling feeling made its presence felt in his gut, as though little jitters had suddenly appeared there.

“Nova? You alright?”

So caught up in the moment was he that he didn’t realize that Twilight had returned her attention to him, a look of slight concern on her face. He jolted himself from his reverie, shaking his head vigorously and trying to clear his jumbled thoughts.

“You were staring at me like you were shocked by something,” she said, reaching a hoof up to his forehead to check temperature. “You feeling sick or something?”

“Wha-- no! No, sorry, just…” he searched for the right way to describe it. “It’s… nothing.”

“Nothing?” Twilight asked, a skeptical eyebrow raised. “Nothing at all?”

He nodded a little too eagerly, something Twilight noticed. She chuckled for a second, before tilting her head.

“Are you suddenly getting cold hooves about tomorrow’s expedition?” she asked, taking a step in his direction.

“S-something like that,” Nova said, running a hoof through his mane awkwardly.

She stared straight into his eyes with a bemused expression. “Nova, I brought you out here to relax.”

“I… I know,” he said, his voice and knees trembling for some reason.

“You know what I think?” she asked, tilting her head the other way.

It was then that Nova noticed that she was slowly, almost imperceptibly, leaning forward toward him. And he was doing the same thing.

“I think,” she said, her voice growing softer, “for tonight,” he felt rooted to the spot, “you should just…”

Nova’s eyelids fluttered shut. He could feel her warm breath against his muzzle.

“...let it go,” she whispered.

Something amazingly soft touched his lips. He leaned into whatever this heavenly softness was, and for one wonderful, timeless moment, the world around him ceased to exist.

But then came a moment of crystal-clarity. He was acutely aware of where he was and what was happening.

“NO!” he exclaimed, suddenly breaking away.

Twilight recoiled, startled by Nova’s action.

“Wha--”

“N-no.”

Twilight found Nova, who had fallen on his haunches and had covered his face with his hooves. The most concerning thing, though, was that he was trembling from head to hoof despite his winter gear. Without even pausing to consider the situation, she reached a hoof out.

“Nova, are you--”

One of his hooves lashed out and knocked hers away, before returning to covering his face. She recoiled again, surprised and a little hurt by his reaction.

Why… why would he do this?

“I’m s-sorry,” he mumbled, shaking his head and dropping his hooves.

“What… what for?” asked Twilight, trying not to let how hurt she felt be indicated in her voice.

Nova must have heard it, though, because he immediately looked her straight in the eye, an anguished expression on his face, and said, “Don’t blame yourself, Twi.”

She blinked, noticing the stinging feeling that preceded crying in the corners of her eyes.

Nova shook his head again as he got to his hooves. “It wasn’t your fault. It was me,” he said in a voice that sounded like he was trying to hold completely steady but was failing. “I just… I let it go too far.”

“I shouldn’t have--”

“NO!” he interrupted her, making her jump. “Sorry, no,” he apologized. “You did nothing wrong. It’s all on me.”

He stepped out from inside the tree, Twilight following close behind, still unsure of what to do or say next.

“Listen,” he said quietly as they exited the park, “I’ve opened myself up to ponies before, and it led to them betraying my trust. I just...” Yet again he shook his head. “Let’s just say I have serious issues. Shocker, I know,” he added, in a desperate attempt to lighten the mood a bit. To his relief, Twilight gave one small unforced giggle, but otherwise remained silent. “But I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I ruined the night.”

“Nova, did you have fun tonight?” she asked.

“Yes. Before what just happened, yes.”

“Then you didn’t ruin anything,” Twilight assured him. “I mean, that’s not exactly how I expected my first kiss to go or anything, but--”

“Wait,” Nova interrupted, “I was your first kiss?”

“Not counting my family or Cadance, yes,” she answered.

“Well,” said Nova, looking away somewhat awkwardly. “Looks like I managed to botch two first kisses in one go.”

“I... I was your’s too?” Twilight asked, suddenly feeling like her insides were starting to melt.

Nova didn’t answer as they continued on their way. Twilight didn’t mind. He probably just needed a bit of time to breathe and let go of the incident and he’d be back to normal.

Or would he? Had she just completely axed all of her hopes of being able to date Nova by being premature and drawing out that reaction?

No you didn’t, her logical half stated. He kissed you back for a moment, there. Clearly he has some sort of feelings for you. Her emotive half didn’t really offer her a counter-argument, simply still basking in the fact that her first kiss with Nova was his too and still feeling a twinge of pain from the disappointment.

Over on Nova’s end, though, his two halves were in all-out war.

You’re letting her in, his logical half growled. You are letting her grow close, and it could undermine everything you’ve worked for these last ten years.

But what if I don’t want that anymore? his emotive side retorted. I’ve lived in Neighton for four years and he still hasn’t showed up. What if the danger is passed?

What if it hasn’t? That bounty hunter is still following you. Do you really want to risk going back “home” over some mare? Her father knows him! He could use this relationship to get to you! Use Twilight to get to you!

And yet, Nova honestly didn’t know what to make of it. All he could think about was that moment, that wonderful timeless moment in which the heavenly softness of Twilight’s lips were on his.

Is it finally time to stop running? he asked.

“Twilight,” he said, jolting both of them out of their thoughts.

“Hm?” she glanced over at him.

“When all of this is over,” Nova said, waving a hoof vaguely through the air, “when we’ve dispelled the nightmares and we’re back to our usual routine, I’ll have an answer for you.”

“Nova,” she sighed, “don’t rush into this just because of tonight. Make sure it’s what you really want. I only want to date you if your heart’s in it.”

He dipped his head slightly as they continued back to the hotel. Once inside, they trotted upstairs to their room, where Nova sensed Trixie already in bed. They divested themselves of their winter gear, made their own preparations for bed, and even laid out some of the things they were going to need tomorrow.

“Nova?”

Nova glanced over to Twilight, who had a hoof on her bed, but hadn’t climbed in yet.

“Something on your mind?” he asked.

Her head bowed slightly, before she turned and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

“Thank-you for tonight,” she said sincerely. “Even though it didn’t end the way I’m sure either of us would have liked, I still had a wonderful time.”

Nova felt his hoof reach up and touch the spot where her lips met his cheek completely on its own. After a moment, he smiled warmly at her as she climbed into bed.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” he responded, his magic taking hold of the chain connected to the electric lamp’s power node.

The last thing they saw before the room went dark was each other’s warm, affectionate smile at the other.

{T} {A} {T} {S} {A} {T} {C}

Nova hated strange dreams. He hated them with a passion.

Lucid dreaming normally wasn’t a problem for him. Thanks to his training, most of the time he was able to get himself into a dream and then take control. From there, he could often take part in additional lessons with Luna, reflect on what he had learned up to that point, or just have fun by making the dream about what he wanted.

But the strange ones wrecked his concentration every single time.

He was in the Canterlot Castle throne room, with Twilight standing opposite him. They appeared to be dancing in some way, with Princess Celestia standing on top of her throne and playing a three-part harmony on a single vuvuzela, and with Luna next to her playing the bagpipes.

And right when he had almost regained control, the doors to the throne room burst open, and in strode a guard wearing pink armor, painted with hot rod flames and bunnies, who had announced, “Wonderful! Time for a celebration! Cheese for everyone!”

Nova finally managed to gain control and exit the throne room, only to find that instead of the Central Corridor, he had apparently entered a forest setting. He turned around, and found that the throne room had vanished.

On top of that, the dream felt different. It wasn’t the random overflow of thoughts like normal dreams were. This felt… deliberate.

Before he could do anything else, the ground started moving beneath him. He felt like he was standing stock still, but the ground beneath him was sliding backwards, propelling him through the foliage.

He glanced backwards and saw an exit in the forest and Trottingham beyond that before he turned and it vanished.

And then he noticed that he was sliding along a dirt path toward his destination, wherever that was. After a while on the path, he shot sideways, through some trees and onto a lesser-travelled path, and after a moment of that, he emerged into a clearing, leading him to gasp.

The Vaults from his dreams was right in front of him, The person inducing the dreams had just shown him how to get there.

“What am I supposed to do?” he asked aloud. The inducer must have heard him, because the ground shot him forward again, propelling Nova up the front stairs, past the outer row of pillars and into the stone walls of the building. He passed a room full of destroyed banking furniture before passing through a portal leading to a large open room with a giant hole in the ground.

He was thrown off of the edge, much to his horror, but he found that the imaginary surface beneath his hooves was still firmly there. Once he was out in the middle of the hole, he noticed that a path was dug into the wall, in a screw-pattern around the edge of the Vaults, and every few meters along the path there was an indentation in the wall, where a giant stone vault door was nestled, above which was a pink gem.

Nova began to sink into the hole, descending past row after row of vaults, before he finally came to a stop. He was pushed forward, slowly this time, right up to a vault with the number 111.

Before he could study the door any more, the door opened and he was pushed into a room where several gems set into the walls and ceiling illuminated the room with a blue-green glow, and beyond that, into a large, hexagonal room with a little pedestal set in the center.

“What’s this room?” he asked aloud, stepping forward toward the pedestal. Something was placed on top of it, but it was covered with dust.

He reached out a hoof and brushed it off to find a vial of some kind, sitting there on the pedestal undisturbed for a thousand years.

“Is this what’s causing the nightmares?” he wondered out loud, hoping the inducer could hear him. “What is it?”

He glanced back at the vial, and for some reason, he felt a bit apprehensive at the sight of it. Something was off about it. He brushed off some more dust, and as if to make him feel even more uneasy, he saw a crack in the glass.

“What is this vial?” he asked. “Why are you showing me this?”

There was no answer. Before Nova had a chance to ask again, everything went white.

---

Nova’s eyes opened. Everything was dark, but he could sense Twilight beside him and Trixie in the other room. He was still in his bed in Trottingham, he had most definitely not been dancing in the Canterlot Castle throne room with Twilight while Celestia playing a three-part harmony on the vuvuzela and Princess Luna being a virtuoso on the bagpipes.

But the other part of the dream, though…

He sat up and looked over at Twilight, but to his surprise, she wasn’t awake yet.

But, if the dream was induced, wouldn’t it mean we had the same dream at the same time?

He couldn’t physically see her, due to the darkness of the room, but he could hear the constant shuffling of the sheets and sense that she was tossing and turning.

A nightmare?

He got up and trotted over to her, thinking he could at least cast a warding spell to keep whatever it was out of her mind.

He placed a hoof on her forehead, noticing that it was slightly damp with sweat, and channeled one of the many spells Princess Luna had taught him, before--

Twilight catapulted herself forward, crying out and nearly impaling Nova with her horn.

“Whoa!” Nova yelped, falling backward. She started sobbing a moment later, and at that sound, Nova scrambled back to his hooves and leapt into her bed, laying a comforting hoof around her shoulders.

“Hey,” he said quietly, “I’m here. What’s up?”

“I-it was h-horrib-ble!” she cried, burying her face in her hooves.

Nova squeezed her shoulders gently, and she sidled up closer to him. Alarm bells immediately started blaring in Nova’s mind, but he paid them no mind. His friend needed comfort before he needed his space.

“What did you see?” he asked gently. If she didn’t want to answer, that was fine, but if she did, it might clue him into what was causing these nightmares.

“D-don’t you already know?” she asked, her breath hitching as she spoke.

“Actually, no,” admitted Nova. “I had a different dream tonight, about the Vaults, but that’s beside the point. What did you see? What got you into this state?”

“The… the shadow again,” she said. Nova’s mind cast back to the cracked vial in Vault 111. “I… I was in a d-dark room, couldn’t see anything, and this pair of big red eyes j-just started leering at me.”

“Did it say anything?”

“Y-yes,” she breathed. “It said that I was going to die for st-stealing ’him’ from it, and when I tried to run, it j-just covered me completely and tried to smother me. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t run, and right when I tried to sc-scream, I woke up.” She buried her face in her hooves again and let out a quiet sob.

“It’ll be alright,” Nova assured her, using his other forehoof to stroke at her mane while she cried. “I know where we’ll be going tomorrow now. That was my dream, and I think it had a different inducer than your’s did.”

“Wh.. .what about Trixie?” asked Twilight.

Nova turned his attention toward the nexus of energy in Trixie’s room, only to find that she was still unmoving and unchanged.

“She’s still asleep. Do you need a moment? We need to try to get as much sleep as we can before tomorrow. I have a feeling it’s gonna be a long day.”

“Can you…” she started to say, but she trailed off to a point where Nova couldn’t hear her.

“Sorry?”

“Could you… sleep in my bed for the rest of the night?” she repeated, slightly louder.

Nova would normally have had no problem saying no, but Twilight turned to look at him, and the tear-stained puppy-dog gaze she was giving him was crushing his resistance.

“...fine,” he said, letting go of her shoulders and sliding into her bed. “But just for tonight.”

“And could you cast that spell that you did on the train? To make me fall asleep?” she asked.

“Sure,” he said. He waited for her to slide in and curl up next to him, a position which left them gazing eye to eye. “Close your eyes,” he instructed. She complied, and he reached a hoof up to her brow, pressing down gently, before letting a small burst of magic trigger her brain’s sleep mechanism, knocking her out instantly.

It was odd seeing her face, which had been so full of fear moments ago, and now looked calm and serene as she visited the land of her dreamscape. Nova felt oddly protective of her as he watched her sleep, listened to her slow, rhythmic breathing, and paid extra attention to the periodic feeling of contact whenever he or she shifted and their hooves brushed each other for a brief period of time.

Soon, Nova felt the familiar heaviness in his eyes, and he surrendered to it, feeling relaxation come over him again as he drifted off into sleep.

For the second time in one night, the last sight he had was of Twilight’s face, peaceful, and unaware of everything that had just transpired in her mind.

{T} {A} {T} {S} {A} {T} {C}

Nova’s first thought when he woke up in the morning was Where the hell is my arm!? For some reason, there was an overwhelming feeling of nothingness coming from right about where his right forehoof should be.

His second thought was This isn’t my bed. The room’s fan felt too close to where it was yesterday.

His third thought was Someone’s next to me. He looked over to see that Twilight was responsible for his first problem as well, since she was curled up next to him and was clinging onto his arm for dear life in her sleep.

Well, shit. was his fourth thought. This was going to be uncomfortable.

With a grunt, Nova started sliding himself up and out of Twilight’s grip. It was incredibly difficult, considering he was down an entire forehoof, and said forehoof was trapped in a vicegrip, but after a few minutes of effort, he finally slid it free.

But it wasn’t any fun to walk on until all the feeling returned, which took another few minutes of Nova sitting at the edge of the bed. Once all was right in his arm again, he got up, trotted over to the window, and opened the blinds to peer outside.

Trottingham looked like every fantasy winter town brought to life. The rooftops were still covered with snow, most of it likely frozen over. The streets featured a healthy slush between road and curb, a slush that was avoided by ponies walking on the streets but not by the carriages taking those who didn’t want to walk from place to place. Out in the distance, Nova could make out the wire frames of the lights festival, sitting in Trottingham Park.

The Everfree Forest was on the other side of the hotel, giving Nova no good view of it, but that didn’t matter. He’d get plenty to look at when they finally started making their way into the depths of the old jungle.

He heard Twilight yawn behind him, and felt her stir in the bed.

“Good morning,” he greeted, not turning from looking out the window.

“M-morning,” she murmured sleepily. “What--” she yawned again, “what time is it?”

“Ahh,” he looked down at his arm, which didn’t feature a watch, “I want to say white fur past the grey fur. No wait!” he held up his other hoof, “...grey fur past the white.”

“You already have grey fur?” Twilight asked, trotting over.

“Aaaaand you missed the joke,” commented Nova dryly.

“It’s too early for jokes,” Twilight whined.

“How’d you sleep?” he asked.

“Like a rock,” she said. “And that second time around, there were no nightmares.”

“Good to hear!” Nova chirped.

“And it’s all thanks to you,” she said, sidling up and nuzzling him affectionately. “I don’t think it would ever have been that good if you hadn’t used that spell.”

“HAH!”

The room’s door banged open, revealing a very smug-looking Trixie. “Trixie heard that, Sparkle. Seems Trixie was right, and you were sleeping with him!”

“That wasn’t-- TRIXIE!” shrieked Twilight. Nova just snorted and rolled his eyes as Trixie strode in toward them, sniggering to herself. “He was just helping ward off the nightmares last night,” Twilight explained.

“Liar,” Trixie replied, still grinning. “Trixie isn’t angry, Sparkle. Trixie had no nightmare last night, and if those nightmares are connected like the two of you seem to think they are, then you can’t fool Trixie with that excuse.”

She sniggered again.

“About time you became a mare.”

Twilight groaned, burying her face in her hooves. Nova just shook his head, refusing to take part in the teasing. He was more concerned about the fact that there now seemed to be two dream-inducers on the loose.

It had been bad enough when there was only one of them, and they were giving Nova, Trixie, and Twilight nightmares. But two? Now they were looking for two separate ponies, one who knew Nova inside and out, and another who knew Twilight well-enough to get into her head and give her dreams.

“Well,” he said placidly, “if all goes well today, we won’t even be able to use nightmares as an excuse at all.”

“Are you confirming that you--”

“Nothing of the sort,” Nova interrupted Trixie flatly. “We had two separate induced dreams last night. One was Twilight’s nightmare, the other was one that showed me where in the Vaults we’ll be going. I stuck around to ward off Twilight’s nightmares after we both woke up.”

“Riiiiiiiiight,” Trixie nodded her head a little too enthusiastically. “Makes perfect sense. Just admit it, you rutted. No shame in it!”

While Twilight continued to attempt to refute Trixie’s thoughts, Nova just rolled his eyes. “Sure. If that’s what you want to think, go for it.”

They went through their morning routines after that, with Nova deciding to spend a little bit longer in the shower than usual and ponder the dream he’d had.

Is it safe to trust whoever showed me that?

His preoccupation must have been obvious.

“What’s eating you?” asked Trixie as they started on their way out of Trottingham.

“Nothing,” he lied.

“Mare troubles?” asked Trixie, nudging him knowingly. “Just balls up and ask her out already!”

“It’s not mare troubles!” he snapped, wincing slightly at the unexpected harshness. “Sorry. I just… I had a different dream last night.”

“A different one?” Trixie asked, a gleam of curiosity in her eye.

“Yeah,” Nova sighed, looking down at a little map he’d bought from a vendor before they’d started their trek. Unlike the one Twilight owned, this one was incredibly simple, with just a few dotted paths showing the different paths through the Everfree Forest.

“Different how?”

“It wasn’t a nightmare,” he answered simply. “I mean, Twilight’s not lying. She had a nightmare last night, and I think it might have been induced. My dream, however, showed me the path to take, if it’s accurate.”

“You’re trusting a dream?” Trixie cocked an eyebrow skeptically.

“What else do I have to go on? Why do you think we’re even out here in the first place?”

Trixie had no answer. The group remained silent for a few minutes as they entered the gloom of the forest, but almost as if they just couldn’t resist…

“Watch where you step, Sparkle,” Trixie barked as Twilight stumbled into her.

“I didn’t mean to!” Twilight protested, shaking her head and pawing at her eyes. “I’m just ti-ti----red,” she yawned.

“Is she even cut out to be out here?” asked Trixie. “She’ll just be a liability.”

“No,” Nova replied flatly. “She’s part of this, she’s coming.”

There came a squelching sound a moment later, followed by Trixie jumping a bit into the air.

“Ugh, Trixie thinks she stepped in something,” she whined. Twilight felt the need laugh uncharacteristically harshly back at her. Before they could start going at it again, Nova sighed and picked them both up with magic. It had worked for Twilight yesterday, so he was going to give it a try today.

“Put Trixie down, you plebian!” commanded Trixie, but Nova didn’t listen, instead turning off of the path at a point where he recognized the scenery from his dream. An X had been gouged into a nearby trunk, making Nova wonder if whoever had induced the dream on him had gone ahead of them and was leading them there.

“Pipe down, you two!” Nova yelled behind him as Twilight and Trixie renewed their bickering. When they didn’t, he clamped their mouths shut with magic. “With your bickering, I’m surprised the whole forest doesn’t know we’re here!”

Twilight gave him an askance look from her spot floating next to Trixie. He could almost hear her screaming, You’re supposed to be on my side! at him. Trixie, meanwhile, just glared at Twilight as if it were all her fault.

Nova, however, just kept his gaze fixed firmly ahead toward the path he traversed in the dream the night before.

We have to be getting close, he thought as he pushed his way past a bush. The dream had been almost devoid of landmarks, but it still felt like he was going in the right direction.

Several minutes of relative silence passed, in which Nova continued to trudge through the mire of the forest, following the path his dream had shown. When he was certain Trixie and Twilight would stop being noisy, he had let them down and released them. Trixie seemed a bit more passive-aggressive with him as a result, which he didn’t mind, but Twilight seemed like nothing was amiss.

“How much further?” she asked, avoiding a pile of some kind of slime on the ground.

“I don’t know,” admitted Nova. “But we’re getting closer. I can feel it.”

His feeling proved right not a minute later. He noticed something change in the scenery ahead of him, and a few paces later, the trio emerged into a clearing in the woods, and before them sat a great stone building.

It looked exactly like Nova’s dreams had shown it. A large pegasi temple in design, with ivy clinging to the walls. A row of pillars supported the front of the roof, but the front wall was behind it, as was a door leading to a dark room.

“We found it,” Twilight breathed. “After months of searching, we finally found it.”

“Yes, we did,” concurred Nova, smiling despite himself. “Welp, now for the hard part.”

They strode forward, up the steps, and the apprentice, the student, and the charlatan entered the Everfree Vaults.

The first room was exactly how Nova remembered it from the night before. Smashed desks, broken chairs, faded stone, and moth-eaten carpet littered the room. The smell alone almost made Nova reconsider this little adventure of theirs.

“You’re paying the dry-cleaning bill,” Trixie coughed as she passed the two of them. “If this smell doesn’t get out of Trixie’s cape, you’re buying Trixie a new one.”

“You didn’t have to wear it,” pointed out Nova, already casting a spell to filter the pungent air away from their muzzles. “You could have gone in without clothing like we did.”

“Please, and pass up the opportunity to let the two of you bask in Trixie’s presence?”

“Are you sure this isn’t just a stage act?” Nova wondered aloud as they passed through a second doorway at the back of the room.

The second room was just as wide, though a lot longer, owing to a large hole in the ground. A few shafts of sunlight shone into the room from a couple of holes in the ceiling, but it remained mostly dark. In the dream, Nova recalled, he had just floated over the hole and down, but there had been a path around the edge. With the lack of light, he couldn’t immediately see a path, but he figured it’d start somewhere close to where they were standing.

“So how do we get down?” asked Trixie.

“There’s a path around the edge, but I’ve got to find where it begins,” answered Nova, trotting around the edge of the hole in the ground.

“How far down does it go?” Twilight asked.

“At least 1000 vaults, maybe more,” Nova replied. “That book in the Crystal Empire mentioned a vault 989 as a vault where they kept a lot of enchanted magical items.”

“So what’s probably causing our nightmares is down there somewhere?” asked Trixie, looking down.

“Yep,” Nova said simply.

“And we’ll likely have to go through magical traps when we come to the right vault,” theorized Twilight.

“Probably,” Nova nodded.

“And the vault in question is going to be down at the very bottom, because that’s how this sort of thing works,” continued Twilight.

“Nope,” refuted Nova.

“I know-- huh?” Twilight did a double-take as Trixie snickered.

“We’re looking for Vault 111,” he recited. “Oh, here’s the path,” he found the point where the ground started sloping downward. “We’ve got a bit of a walk, so keep up.”

They started their descent. There was still enough light bleeding through the holes in the roof to where they could make out the numbers on the early doors, but as they went deeper and deeper into the ground, the light of the sun vanished.

“If there was an older version of OSHA, would they have made the ponies who owned the vaults put rails in or something?” wondered Twilight, noticing the lack of protective railing on the inside of the curling path.

“Well, I don’t think they ever intended the Vaults to be devoid of life when it was made,” pointed out Nova. “Thriving commerce center, it was. And the paths are wide, for what that’s worth,” he indicated the fact that the three of them were separated by almost a meter each, and there was will about two meters between Trixie and the empty space of the hole.

They continued downward, passing the 70s, and then the 80s, until at long last…

“109… 110… 111! Here it is!”

The three of them ran over to the vault door with the number 111 cut into it. It was an exceedingly ordinary stone door, about as ordinary as a stone door with a gem set above it could be. Twilight was studying the sides, hoping to glean some information about who owned the vault, while Trixie was scrutinizing the gem above it.

“Nova, Trixie, look at this!” called Twilight. The two of them trotted over. Twilight pointed at something etched into the wall. “Look at this.”

Nova turned his gaze to the etched design. It was a circle, containing within it a crescent moon, exactly like the one adorning his teacher’s flank. And between the arms of the crescent was an unfurled scroll. Reflexively, he turned his gaze to the other pillar and noticed a similar etching, this time depicting the sun on Celestia’s flank, with the unfurled scroll within the sun’s body.

“Did this vault belong to the Princesses?” he wondered aloud.

“Maybe,” Twilight muttered, rubbing at her chin. “Or maybe, it was intended for us.”

“Intended for us?” asked Nova, surprised. He thought about the dream, how it felt like someone had been leading them there. “How do you figure?”

“The scroll was considered the symbol of the Student or the Scholar in the Pre-Classical Era,” Twilight explained. “The fact that these sigils show scrolls with the sun and moon mean they must be intended for the Night Apprentice and the Faithful Student.”

“But that’s impossible. I’m the first and only Night Apprentice, so how could this have been made for us?”

“I’m not the first Faithful Student, though,” Twilight reminded him. “Before me was a mare named Sunset Shimmer, before her was Cadance, and before her was some mare six hundred years ago, and that’s just the recent ones. What if Luna had Night Apprentices before she was banished?”

“Wouldn’t we have heard about them?”

“Well… we should have,” Twilight furrowed her brow. “So if they existed, why haven’t we?”

“This is all very interesting, but none of this is solving our mutual nightmare problem,” Trixie huffed. “If you two are going to keep sucking face all day, then Trixie will solve it herself.”

“No, Trixie, wait!” Nova shouted, suddenly feeling energy welling inside her, but he was too late.

A stream of pink magic shot from her horn and collided with the gem above the stone door. A bolt of light lanced down and struck Trixie, letting loose a flash of light and a bang. When Nova was able to see again, he saw that Trixie was encased in pink crystal, face frozen in an expression of surprise.

“Trixie!” cried Twilight, dashing over.

“Don’t waste your energy, Twilight,” Nova instructed, holding a hoof out.

“Are you crazy!? We have to help her!”

“And we will,” he assured her, “but this crystal here is designed to keep its victim alive for interrogation. The outer shell of the crystal is enchanted, and we’d have to wait for a few minutes before we could breach it. From the inside, it’s nigh-impenetrable, so I don’t think she’ll be breaking through. She can hear everything we’re saying, but she’ll be fine.”

“Do you not care about her?” Twilight demanded, glaring at him.

“I do,” Nova fired back, scowling. “But she’s safe in that crystal, and in all honesty, it’s probably best that she isn’t able to blunder into any traps. We’ll get her on the way out.”

Before she could respond, his horn shone blue and a beam of light struck the gem. There was a moment’s pause, but then the stone door slowly opened.

“She wasn’t a Night Apprentice or a Faithful Student, so she couldn’t have opened that door.”

They strode forward, into the darkness of the vault, darkness soon dispelled by a slight blue glow around them.

Nova looked at the ceiling, to find dozens of small crystalline rocks embedded in it, all glowing blue and illuminating the hall.

“Glowstone,” breathed Twilight.

“Sorry?”

“Glowstone,” she said a bit louder. “Stone that absorbs magical energy and then lets it off, little bit by little bit to illuminate the surrounding area. Probably absorbed your magic.”

“Cool,” Nova smiled at the stones, but then turned his gaze further into the vault. The hexagonal room lay ahead, with a slightly raised pedestal in the center. In the center of the pedestal was a small pillar, and on that pillar was the vial from his dream.

As soon as she saw it, he heard Twilight gasp.

“Don’t get any closer to that,” she whispered sharply.

“Why not?” he asked, also whispering.

“That’s a Soul Jar,” she said. “Look, see that little skull? That happens when magic is used to enchant a jar or vial to be able to contain and imprison some intangible or otherworldly entity.”

“Like what?”

“It was first crafted to capture Windigoes when they followed the Equestrians over from Dream Valley, but it’s also able to capture and hold ghasts, spirits, wraiths, lethifolds, the Vashta Nerada…” she trailed off.

Against her warning, Nova trotted forward to observe the jar. There was a fine layer of dust on it, and he reached a hoof forward to brush a bit off.

His eyes alighted on a crack in the glass.

“Twilight, is this thing supposed to be cracked?”

“It should be no different,” she furrowed her brow. “Just a cosmetic change. The only thing to be worried about is if it’s not glowing.”

Nova’s insides went cold.

“Well, it’s not.”

Nova heard a sharp intake of air from Twilight, but paid it no mind and brushed off the rest of the dust. “No big deal, though! It’s pretty obvious that what was in here is causing our nightmares, so all we have to do is capture it in this Soul Jar again and we’ll be good to go.”

“I’m very flattered that you think I’m causing you to have nightmares,” came a smooth, sultry voice from the entrance to the vault, “I haven't, by the way, but it’s really not that easy to stop me.”

Nova whirled around, as did Twilight, to find Trixie Lulamoon standing at the vault entrance, grinning like a cat that had its mouse cornered.

“Trixie?” asked Nova. “How did you escape from the crystal.”

“You said the crystal was nigh-impenetrable to her,” Trixie shrugged. “So I blew myself out of it.”

“‘To her?’” he asked, eyebrow raising.

“Yes, ‘her,’” Trixie replied again, horn glowing and a red barrier of magic appeared in the only door out of the room.

And without warning, Trixie collapsed, as a black shadow started issuing from her body, coalescing in the air above her, a pair of red eyes staring down malevolently at them.

“What have you done to Trixie!?” demanded Nova. Twilight, meanwhile, had gone pale and had taken a step back.

“Oh relax,” the shadow rolled its eyes. “Trixie Lulamoon is simply unconscious. I need my vessel alive, if I am to maintain a presence here.”

Twilight took the opportunity to teleport behind the shadow, attempting to make a break for the exit, but instantly, the shadow whipped itself around and tossed her back in.

“We’re not doing any of that, now,” it tutted. “You can’t teleport out of here with the enchantments in the walls, and I have the only exit blocked, so allow me to introduce myself.”

Twilight’s breathing was growing shallower. Is this shadow the one from her nightmare?

“My name is Envy.”

“What are you?” asked Nova, only feeling like he was half as afraid as he should be.

“Used to be a pony like you, but then everything changed when I was hit with those stupid Elements of Harmony. A girl’s gotta entertain herself somehow, so I’ve been trying to kill you Night Apprentices and Faithful Students for centuries,” she said conversationally.

“A girl?” asked Nova.

“What about you?” the shadow floated down and stared Nova straight in the eyes. “Hmm… you look exactly like him, and yet…” she lowered her voice, apparently talking to herself, “you’re not him. How is this even possible?”

Before Nova could ask what she was talking about, the shadow floated in front of Twilight, only intensifying her panic.

“And you look exactly like her,” the shadow spat. “Reincarnation seems to have gotten the last laugh.”

Its-- no, her-- eyes glinted maliciously at Twilight’s panicked state.

“What’s the matter? Too afraid to speak?” Envy taunted.

"Shut up!" snapped Nova.

“Oh, at least someone has a backbone,” the shadow sighed. “Well, it would seem the time has come for me to take care of business. Just to sate your curiosity, I wasn’t giving you any nightmares, and your little friend here will be perfectly fine. But the two of you will be dead before you can do anything to save her. Them’s the breaks, I suppose. Just remember, it’s completely personal.”

And without warning, the shadow converged, covering them in darkness.

Black. All Nova could see in any direction was black. No glowstone, not even the color of his own magic could penetrate it.

“NOVA!” he heard from somewhere close by.

“Twilight!”

He ran in the direction of her voice. He was not going to let her die if it was the last thing he did!

She came into view, whirling around, horn glowing with energy, trying desperately to find him. He charged forward, hoping to meet her in the inky landscape, but something knocked him back.

“Uh-uh-uh, we can’t have any of that,” the shadow admonished them. “Well, at least the two of you can rest easy, knowing that the last you’ll ever see is each other.”

Nova felt something like a pillow mash itself against his mouth and nostrils. He flailed his hooves, trying to bat something invisible away from his muzzle. He even tried magic, but nothing seemed to have an effect.

“Nova!” came a muffled cry.

And his eye fell on Twilight, who was watching him with a horrified expression as the darkness holding her airways shut slowly asphyxiated her.

An instinctive surge of magic blasted out of him, blasting the darkness away from him and letting him breathe, but he didn’t pay it a second thought. As the surge of energy within him redoubled itself, he channeled it into his horn.

“YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HER!” he bellowed.

He didn’t pause to consider the effect it would have on him. Instead, he released the surge of energy through his horn, illuminating the area around him with a great flash of light.

Envy screeched and recoiled, letting Twilight out of her grasp and fleeing back into Trixie. Once she was safely inside her host, she staggered to her hooves.

“You haven’t seen the last of me, Night Apprentice! I will kill you both! I swear it!”

There was a flash of red light, and Trixie Lulamoon vanished, leaving Nova and Twilight alone in the vault.

Immediately, Nova collapsed, falling over to his side as his legs gave out. He heard shifting and saw Twilight gallop over to him.

“Are you okay!?” she cried, tears already forming.

“‘M fine, Twi,” he slurred a bit. “Jus’ tired.”

“Post-arcane exhaustion,” she observed, wiping a tear away. “Is there anything I can--”

“We need to get out of the vaults,” he mumbled. “We’ve gotta get to Canterlot. The Princesses…”

Twilight’s breath hitched as he slumped into unconsciousness. At first, she panicked again, but after checking his vitals, she saw that he was just exhausted and asleep. Whimpering a little as the memory of the shadow attempting to strangle her replayed in her head, she levitated Nova onto her back and started the climb out of the Vaults.

{T} {A} {T} {S} {A} {T} {C}

Princess Celestia looked up from the scrying ball to watch her sister, who suddenly did not seem to want to meet her gaze. The scrying orb had been able to catch a muddled view from the glass covering of the compass they had taken with them.

“You have truly trained him well,” she said, her voice full of pride. “He has grown very powerful.”

“I’m not so sure,” said Luna, whose voice seemed slightly choked up. “They only managed to drive her off. They have a long way to go before they can reseal her. Still, I never expected Nova to achieve that level of power in a single spell.”

“You do know what this means, do you not?” asked Celestia, eyeing her sister over the scrying ball, which now showed a bouncing view of the interior of the Vaults, as Nova was carrying in on his back on his knapsack.

“What does it mean?” Luna asked.

“It means that I was right: Nova can match Twilight in magical ability. Like I said, you have trained your Night Apprentice well. I’m proud to have learned from you.”

Rising from her position, Princess Celestia trotted back into the castle, leaving Lun to watch the orb.

The die is cast, Envy has revealed herself to Equestria once more, and now the stage is set for the next iteration of this never-ending cycle,Luna thought miserably. I only wonder if they will prove able to defeat her in the future, because all Nova was able to do today was drive her off.

She drew herself upright, starting to feel the beginnings of pride in her pupil.

Well, Tia was right. Nova has proven to be an excellent Night Apprentice. Perhaps I have no reason to fear.

Allowing herself a small grin, she stood up and walked inside to begin her duties as Princess of the Night.

Author's Note:

Original chapter name, in 2012: "The Hatred of Centuries."

New chapter name, in 2013: "Lights and Dark."

New NEW chapter name, in 2015: "Bright Lights and Smothering Darkness."

Got through this one. Had a tough scene to write, but got through it and managed to get it all written. How did I do? Lemme know in the commends below!

Rytex out. Have a good day!

Comments

[RyuImperator]

Good chapter!

[CrimsonEyedPrince]

great chapter. finally got around to reading it. Loved all the references and as for the pony with the cloak...I see what you did there.. Keep up the great work.

ps: Glad to see Nova is still kind of an ass

[Loony23]

You can't contain Vashta Nerada in a bottle, especially if said bottle has two shadows.

[Yutah123]

“BECAUSE I RAN AWAY FROM HOME, OKAY!?” he yelled, whirling around and snarling at her, inches from her muzzle. “DAMN IT, SPARKLE, WHY MUST YOU PRY INTO EVERYTHING THAT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!?”

The preceding conversation is taking my mind on a twist, I can't sort out what Twilight's trying to say, and what actually happened. Can anyone explain? This'll nag me for a while if I don't understand it.

“Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Twilight Sparkle?” he asked, completely taken aback by her tail’s caress. “I don’t ever remember you being such a flirt, and I never expected you to be kinky enough to keep a magical leash spell on hoof.”

“Been taking advice from Rarity,” she explained. “And I’ve been reading a book on how to seduce somepony. I have to be lively, and I have to be provocative. How’s my provocativeness?” she asked, continuing to trot ahead.

Nova wasn’t sure what genuinely surprised him more. The fact that she wasn’t lying, or how completely casually she told him.

“How’s my provocativeness Nova?” she repeated, with just a touch of self-consciousness behind it, even turning to give him ["a" missing here]n inquisitive look.

Nova chuckled. “Well… it’s really strange to see it from you,” he shrugged, “but you’re doing a decent job I guess. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a mare sway her flanks that widely with every step.”

Yeah, it surprises me, too. Maybe not, Twilight does have a "let's do something about it" side, and if the books told her to do that... well, who's to argue?

Also, you'd better be enjoying that, Nova, a lot of people would give just about anything to be in your position.

A cream-colored, brown-maned earth pony with glasses and a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead was firing a beam of red magic out of a wooden wand toward a black-cloaked snakelike-faced nose-less pale earth pony, who was shooting a green jet that was colliding with the red one.

Yes! A Harry Potter reference! As a potterhead, I approve of this; brownie points for you!

Something amazingly soft touched his lips. He leaned into whatever this heavenly softness was, and for one wonderful, timeless moment, the world around him ceased to exist.

Yeah, a lot of jealous people.

Well, Tia was right. Nova has proven to be an excellent Night Apprentice. Perhaps I have no reason to fear.

You have no reason to fear about them defeating Envy; plot dictates that they will win, the only thing you need to fear about is at what cost.

---

Also, one thing I've noticed, well, two actually. There's "someone" "anyone" and "everyone" in this story, but shouldn't the "one" be "pony", since this is an MLP fanfic? As in "somepony", "anypony", and "everypony".

The other thing is that you wrote "arm" rather than "foreleg" or "hindleg", but seeing as that's more natural sounding, I think that's alright.

[LostArchivist]

to give him n inquisitive look. <-- an inquisitive look

Vault 111? Really? :D

Okay, so the Sisters are not sharing all they know, again...

[Sunny_and_Auri_23]

Because of this chapter, every time I hang out with my friends I call it "A casual event where two best friends hang out in a completely platonic manner" just to annoy them. And now I can't get it out of my system XD

[Mighty C]

Nova began to sink into the hole, descending past row after row of vaults, before he finally came to a stop. He was pushed forward, slowly this time, right up to a vault with the number 111.

Fallout 4 fanboy sounds intensifies.