No Light

by Vargras

Act 1 | Chapter 2: The Long Version

"New home? I... what? What?"

"Had a feeling you might say that."

"...okay, just... stop for a second."

Noctis sighed and lowered her head somewhat, pausing mid-stride so she could turn towards her companion. They honestly hadn't gotten far at all—Lieutenant Caelum's body was still easily visible, and that was roughly a hundred yards away or so—and already, Ferous' overly-curious nature had gotten the better of him. It hadn't been entirely unexpected, but she had hoped to avoid it for the time being. "What is it?"

"You know what it is."

She smirked. "Do I?"

"Look, just a few minutes ago, I was a couple inches away from ending up like the lieutenant over there." The pegasus scowled at her, then promptly took a seat upon the ground. "You give me some answers, or I'm not moving another step."

"Ferous, it's not that simple."

"Yes it is! I just watched a pony get decapitated, had a run-in with a very grumpy captain and her two lackies, and now I'm 'bound to your service' or something — I just had more happen to me in ten minutes than I thought would ever happen in the past ten years. I deserve some damn answers, and you know that."

"I do, but..." The opliptera sighed and walked over towards one of the walls, placing her hoof upon it and briefly studying the granite surface. "As I said, it's not that simple. This isn't something I can just tell you. It's something that needs to be shown in order for you to truly understand it."

"Noctis, I need to know what the hell is going on, otherwise I don't know wha—"

"Do you trust me?"

The stallion was taken aback by the question and stared blankly at her, though he soon managed to come up with the answer. "I... of course I do. I mean, we're friends... guards, even. That's gotta count for something."

"And it does." Noctis turned away from the wall and quickly approached the sitting pegasus, eying him as she took step after step towards him. "But I need you to trust me on this, Ferous — just this once. You'll get the answers you need, I promise you. Just... trust me. Please."

He huffed in response, his ears flattening as he glanced away from her. "...I hate when you do this, you know."

It was her turn to be surprised. "Do what?"

"Always setting things up so you have the advantage. You did it with your stories, and you're doing it now."

The opliptera shook her head and took a step towards him, giving his flank a poke with her hoof. "Given how I just saved your ass a few minutes ago, I don't think you're in much of a position to even have any sort of advantage."

"...fair enough." Ferous sighed and stood up from his spot, and though he did his best to hide his irritation, the near-constant flapping of his ears gave it away. "You better keep that promise."

"I keep my promises, Ferous — you, of all ponies, should know that."

He simply grumbled in return and began to walk once more, allowing Noctis to take the lead. She certainly had something in mind for him, but he hadn't the foggiest idea of what it could possibly be. She intended to take him somewhere, a place she had described earlier as his new home, but... where? They were still in the bowels of the Royal Guard headquarters, that much he knew — it wasn't as if they could go any place else. Every step they took brought them through progressively older hallways, however, and in these passages, the light struggled to reach such depths. Instead, they now found their trek lit up by torchlight rather than sunlight, a definite sign that they were likely within the deepest areas of the castle.

They had already ducked down several hallways and passed through several doors, many of which he had no idea even existed, and yet she had. It was enough to pique his curiosity, and he spoke up once more. "How—"

"...do I know where we're going, and you don't?" The mare glanced over her shoulder at him, laughing softly before looking back ahead. "It's my very duty to know anything and everything in Canterlot. I'm sure I mentioned that the first time we met... or do you not remember?"

"I remember, just... not very well."

She glanced over her shoulder at him once more, a brow raised. "You at least remember the stories I told you, yes?"

"For the most part."

A sigh. "I take it you'll need a refresher, then?"

"It... wouldn't hurt." He appeared rather embarrassed by such a prospect and lowered his head somewhat.

Noctis slowed her pace, however, and placed a wing beneath his chin, smiling faintly as she brought him back up. "Simply look to the walls, then."

It had managed to elude him up until now, but lining both sides of the hallway were countless engravings, all of them equally elaborate. Ferous quickly broke away from her side, trotting up to one of the walls and inspecting it. It was certainly old, much older than most of the buildings the Royal Guard called home. Not only that, but the engravings themselves depicted not a single pegasus — rather, every pony featured seemed to have wings not unlike that of a bat. "This is... all of these are about the opliptera, aren't they?"

She stepped up alongside him, smiling as she looked over one of the engravings herself, and she appeared quite proud of the work. "We always felt that to forget where you come from is the most grievous of sins one could commit."

"And so you recorded it." The pegasus placed a hoof upon the stone, tracing the engravings as he followed them along. "This must have taken ages to do."

"Three years."

He whirled about, a brow raised. "...What?"

Noctis' smile had widened, and she seemed rather amused as she eyed him. "It took three years, if the books are to be believed."

"That can't be right. I mean..." The pegasus turned, pointing a hoof at an engraving that seemingly showed a group of opliptera fighting a dragon. "...with the amount of detail this has, it'd take a group of unicorns at least five years to do it. At least."

"We tend to be nothing if not efficient." She beamed at him, rocking on her hooves somewhat as she inspected the engravings herself. "If I remember correctly, all of this was done after my people were exiled from Canterlot following the Eternal Night. They were trying to complete everything, make sure history didn't forget us like the ponies of Equestria tried to do."

"Looks like they succeeded..."

"Aye." The mare turned away from him, walking towards an opposite wall and squinting her eyes as she traced the outlines of the engravings. "...I believe this is the chronological start, Ferous, if you'd like to take a look."

The pegasus hurried over, standing at her side as he looked over the engraving. It seemed to portray a scene of sorts — on one side, a group of pegasi, and on the other, a group of opliptera. Between the two sides stood two alicorns, both looking rather prominent in comparison to their surroundings. "Right... what am I looking at here?"

"This was how it all began, Ferous. The two alicorns, plainly visible compared to the others, are the Royal Sisters. After everything they had done for Equestria, they were venerated as goddesses, a label that the Sisters didn't particularly enjoy but couldn't do much about — ponies were a rather zealous sort back then. One fateful year, word began to spread that one of the towns on the borders of Equestria had been having some rather strange births, ponies that were born looking akin to monsters."

"The birth of the opliptera, right?"

"Correct." Noctis placed a hoof upon the crowd of pegasi, glancing over towards Ferous as she spoke. "The ponies back then, being a very religious sort, saw the births as being abhorrent and blasphemous. To them, we were crimes against the Sisters, unfit to walk the same earth as they. And so they wished to destroy us and to erase any trace of us ever existing."

Ferous tilted his head as he peered at the engraving. "I'm guessing Princess Celestia and Princess Luna didn't take kindly to that."

"Not at all. Upon finding out, the Sisters were furious, and personally intervened." The opliptera moved her hoof over to the two alicorns, pressing firmly upon them. "Had they not arrived when they did, I doubt we'd be having this conversation right now. However, they did, and we were taken under their wing... figuratively speaking."

"And so you all went to Canterlot."

"Mhm." She stepped away from the engraving and moved towards another one. "We arrived in Canterlot and attempted to settle down — keyword being 'attempted'. It had been hoped that the first string of births had just been a fluke, but that wasn't the case. Many of my ancestors felt lost back then. They had been given a home, and yet they still had no real purpose in life. They were ponies, and yet they weren't."

The pegasus followed her over, inspecting the carving as he listened to her speak. The carving seemed to depict a single alicorn, with several opliptera kneeling before her, and a large crescent moon in the background. "I'm guessing this one is about Luna and the opliptera?"

"I was getting to that, actually. Lady Celestia and Lady Luna had always viewed us as their surrogate children, but Luna had the tendency to see us a bit... differently. She's always been the exceedingly clever sort, and she saw a potential use for us."

"So you became guards."

"That we did." Noctis smiled, her expression softening somewhat as she traced a hoof along the engraved moon. "We served the Sisters proudly and honorably for hundreds of years. Little by little, we managed to redeem ourselves, and it looked like we might get that happily-ever-after."

"But you... didn't."

"...no. We didn't." She sighed and made her way towards another engraving, the smile having already left her features. Noctis seemingly glared at the stone, and her voice sounded somewhat bitter as she continued the tale. "Something eventually went wrong, and Lady Luna ceased to be herself. That was the turning point, and is where everything began to go wrong."

Ferous trotted over to her side once more and took a look at the next engraving, which depicted a scene showing two groups at war with one another. On one side were several menacing-looking opliptera, and on the other was a much more somber group. At the heads of both groups stood an alicorn, locked in battle with the other. "...that's Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, isn't it?"

"She was no longer 'Princess Luna' at this point, but yes — strange as it may seem, Lady Celestia did battle with her own sister once upon a time. The Eternal Night, as we now call it, was a sundering of the opliptera. One side chose to support Lady Celestia, and the other chose to support the usurper, Nightmare Moon. History will record that Nightmare Moon ultimately lost the battle and was banished for a thousand years, but it has never included the fate that befell my people."

"...exile."

"Precisely. The Eternal Night was costly, and with Nightmare Moon gone, the ponies of Equestria had nopony else left to blame — except us. With such hatred in their hearts and little to stop them, we rightfully feared for our lives, and so we left. We became little more than nomads, living in a world that did not want us, and in time, the population of Equestria forgot about us entirely. Even now, despite how many of us guard during the night, many don't know we even exist."

Ferous frowned, troubled somewhat by the tale, and moved to what would have been the next engraving — if it had existed. "Noctis, there's... there's nothing here."

"I know. They either had nothing left to record, or they ran out of time. As much as I wish it was the former, I get the feeling it was the latter..." The opliptera sighed deeply and hung her head, glancing down the hallway and towards an unopened door. "Depressing as it may be, we do what we must, even if it means fleeing the very kingdom we had sworn to protect. Such is the opliptera way of life."

"An awful shitty way of life, if you ask me."

"Yes, well... we've learned to cope. It hasn't exactly been easy, but few things in life ever are." She spoke with a hint of weariness in her voice, but Ferous hardly seemed to notice, and she didn't mind either — it was something she had learned to hide very well over the years. Instead, she took a few tentative steps down the hallway and toward the closed door. "Come. We still have other things I need to show you."

The pegasus hesitantly pulled away from yet another engraving and trotted over towards her side, keeping pace with her as the two of them continued their trek. "So... you weren't kidding when you said this was something I needed to be shown, rather than told."

"Not at all."

"There's still quite a few things I don't get, though."

"We're getting to that, Ferous." The opliptera stopped a few paces short of the door and slowly leaned forward, grasping hold of the handle with her mouth and opening it, revealing a set of stairs that disappeared into the darkness. Even as she did, dust shifted from both the door and the frame, causing Ferous to take a few cautious steps backward. It was enough to lighten her mood somewhat, and as she stood back up, she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, grinning faintly. "What, afraid of the dark?"

He slowly shook his head and squinted his eyes as he peered into the blackness, frowning somewhat. "It's not that. Just... if it's been untouched long enough to have dust on it..."

"It's safe enough. It's just been a very long time since anypony else has been this way."

"Now, when you say 'safe enough'..."

"Neophyte Ferous, if you don't get your ass down those stairs, I'll send it down them myself."

The stallion stiffened and hastily walked through the doorway, pausing once inside. As it had been on the outside, the stairs themselves were lit by the light of the hallway for the first few steps, and then seemingly vanished into nothingness. He wasn't afraid of the dark, heavens no — that was something he had gotten over when he was but a foal. A fear of the unknown, however, was something very real. To go in blind—literally, in this case—wasn't exactly tactically sound, and he turned towards the doorway and watched as his companion made her way in. "Noctis, you're gonna lead, right? 'Cause uh... yeah. Me and dark stairs don't exactly mix."

There was a soft sigh to his side, and he turned just in time to see her shut the door on the both of them... and plunge them into darkness. "Of course I'll lead. Just be patient."

"...Noctis? Can't see shit... where are you?"

"Patience, Ferous."

"Patience for what? You expecting the lights to just come on themselves? 'Cause I really doubt it's gonna—"

As if to prove him wrong, row upon row of torches began to spontaneously ignite, bathing the staircase and the both of them in pale blue light. It was still a little too dark for Ferous' tastes, but it was now light enough for him to see the entirety of the staircase and the glint of Noctis' teeth. The opliptera ran a hoof through one of the nearby torches, smiling to herself as the flame seemed to bend away from her. "Magical torches always did seem a bit gimmicky to me, but they have their uses."

Eager to try for himself, Ferous stepped up beside her and did the same, placing a hoof in the torch and watching as the blue flame seemed to purposely avoid him. "Huh."

She glanced over towards him, still smiling. "First time?"

"I uh... yeah. We don't really see this sort of thing in the Royal Guard."

"I'm not surprised. They're a favorite of Lady Luna's, though from what I understand, Lady Celestia isn't too keen on them."

"They're... kinda spooky."

"Precisely why she doesn't like them." Noctis began to descend the first few steps, stopping to briefly look over her shoulder. "Coming?"

"Yeah, yeah." He took a short jump and glided over to her side, giving her a confident nod. "Ready for... whatever it is you're taking me to."

"You'll see soon enough. We only have one more stop before reaching our destination."

"And that is?"

"Ever the curious one, aren't you?" The opliptera snickered and continued to face forward as they traveled ever deeper into the depths of Canterlot. "As I said, you'll see soon enough. It isn't much further."

The pegasus huffed and directed his attention towards the stairs in front of him, shaking his head somewhat. "All this waiting is killing me."

"I suppose that compared to the alternative, this form of being killed is much better, hm?"

He could hardly muster much of a response to that, and instead, remained quiet.

"I thought so. I know you hate secrets, Ferous — that much was rather evident during our first few meetings. It goes in direct opposition of who you are." She let out a soft sigh and briefly looked over in his direction. "Canterlot has several secrets, many of which I will reveal to you in due time. But for now, you simply aren't ready for all of them. You understand, don't you?"

"I... think so. My father told me a saying once, that ones reach should never exceed their grasp. That's roughly the same thing, right?"

"Indeed — your father sounds like a very wise pony. I'll admit, I'm rather surprised you haven't mentioned him before."

The pegasus' ears quickly flattened and he sighed. "He um... he passed away a few years back."

"Oh." Noctis frowned and quickly looked away from him, not wanting to make things any more awkward than they already were. "I... I apologize, Ferous."

"No, it's... it's fine. He was the main reason I joined the Royal Guard in the first place."

"Was he now?"

Ferous' ears perked up as he nodded. "Yeah... always told me stories before I went to sleep, every single night. Those stories made me look up to 'em all."

"Your father was also a guard?"

"Huh? Oh, no... he was a blacksmith. Wasn't a guard himself, but he helped out with a lot of their weapons and armor. I think he had always wanted to join himself and never got the chance to."

"Well, I'm..." The mare paused and briefly glanced around before looking back over towards Ferous and offering him a smile. "I'm sure he would be proud of you."

"Yeah. He probably would be..." Ferous also paused, seemingly lost in his own thoughts, though he quickly snapped back to attention. "So what's the next stop anyways?"

"I'm glad you asked, because..." Noctis hopped off the stairs and unfolded her wings, gliding down to yet another door and landing in front of it. "...we're here."

"And... where is 'here', exactly?"

"You'll see in just a moment." As with the previous door, she leaned down and grabbed hold of the handle, slowly pulling it open. This one seemed to require a bit more effort than the last one, though she still didn't have much trouble with it. "Step inside, Ferous. I'll be right behind you."

He sighed once more and reluctantly did as told, stepping out of the blue light of the staircase and into darkness once more. The magical torches from the staircase did little to help him see, though off in the distance, he could faintly make out what appeared to be a basin of sorts. "Right, so... where are we again?"

"This, Ferous... is the Codex."

The stallion coughed and looked around. "...I don't see any books."

"That's because the Codex isn't a book. It's a thing."

"...come again?"

Noctis pushed past him and instead proceeded towards the basin, stopping in front of it and raising one of her forelegs to her mouth. She knew it was something that he likely wouldn't approve of at first, but after it had all been explained, well... that would be a different matter. Actions speak louder than words, however, and so Noctis proceeded to the next step.

She bit herself.

Tiny as they may be, the fangs of the opliptera are still often long enough to pierce flesh, and Noctis had just done precisely that. Even as she drew the foreleg away from her mouth and placed it into the basin, she could already hear Ferous taking a few steps — away from her. "Ferous...?"

"B-blood?!"

"Don't be squeamish."

"I... I always heard them telling stories about you all, but I didn't think..." The pegasus took a few more steps away from her, clearly nervous. "Goddess, I didn't think the stories were true!"

"Because they're not."

"You just bit yourself and now you're—"

"Ferous. It's not a damned ritual."

"Then why use blood?!"

"Neophyte Ferous, I'm saying it because I've heard those same tales time and time again, and they're equal parts horrendous and offensive. I thought you would've known better by now than to buy into such folly."

Ferous stopped in place, and instead, continued to look back towards her. "Okay, if they're not true, then... then what are you doing right now?"

"All of this is necessary in order to properly utilize the Codex. It won't activate without opliptera blood, or a suitable replacement. This is runic magic we're talking about."

"R... runic magic?"

A sigh. "Runic magic is an ancient and deceptively powerful form of magic, created in secret by the earth ponies during Discord's reign. Unicorn magic was easily detected by him, but runic magic was something he couldn't. Strong as it may have been, though, the fuel sources were often rather... exotic."

"Like... like blood."

"Precisely."

"So it's... not some dark ritual?"

"No, Ferous, it isn't. Now come over here — it's almost finished."

With a hint of reluctance, the pegasus took a step forward, and then another, and another. A few more steps, and he was once again at Noctis' side, nervously glancing down towards the self-inflicted wound on her leg. "Was all of that really necessary?"

"It was that, or have you do it. Which would you prefer?"

"I um... yeah, you can do that."

"Thought so."

"So is the runic magic broken or something? Because—"

As with the torches, the neophyte quickly found himself silenced as the runes slowly began to activate. It was indeed a slow process at first, but it quickly began to escalate — one rune would light, then two, then four, and they steadily began to trail away from the basin. They soon ended at what seemed to be a wall, and just as Ferous was about to speak up once more, he once again was cut off as several murals suddenly sprang to life, lighting up and illuminating the very room they were in. The change had been sudden enough to catch him off guard, and the pegasus instinctively leapt backwards, drawing a laugh from Noctis. "Easy there. Just because it's slow, doesn't mean it doesn't work anymore."

"...I've got some awful timing, don't I? First the torches, now this."

"Could certainly use some work."

"No kidding..." Ferous gradually approached the basin once more and took his spot next to the opliptera, tilting his head and slowly turning around as he tried to get a look at the full picture. The murals themselves glowed a soft white, and though it wasn't bright enough to light the room at all, it had been enough to reveal that the room itself was circular, and that they stood in the very center of it all. Each and every image seemed somewhat similar to the engravings from before, and yet there were subtle differences — next to some of the opliptera figures were ponies that appeared quite normal, and almost all the murals seemed to feature them fighting some manner of beast. He glanced around a few more times, tilting his head a bit every now and then, and eventually let out a sigh. "Okay, so... mind explaining all this?"

"Certainly." As if to point, Noctis extended a single wing, gesturing to several of the glowing murals. "This is the history of the Vigil."

"I... heard that mentioned earlier, by your captain."

"That you did. The Vigil is a highly specialized group, with one job and one alone."

"And that would be?"

"Demon hunting."

Upon hearing mention of that, he balked and turned to stare at her incredulously. "...demon hunting? Did I hear that right?"

"You did. Why?"

"I... I thought demons were just a folktale, meant to scare foals into doing as told."

Noctis narrowed her eyes at him, huffing slightly. "And the same happened to my kind. But I assure you, demons are as real as the stone beneath your hooves."

He swallowed hard and quickly returned his attention to the murals before him. "...how long have your people hunted demons? And why?"

"Since the birth of our people and the formation of the Night Guard, a small sect have fulfilled their duties to the Sisters as demon hunters. This sect simply had no name at first, but later came to be known as The Vigil. Time has not stopped us, nor has the Endless Night — we simply carry on. And as for the why... remember when I told you that we do what must be done?"

"I do."

"Same thing. We do it because no others can, because no others should. Our birthright, our 'gift', has made us uniquely suited for such a task. Not only that, but... when you've been spat upon by society as a whole, you tend to become a rather vengeful bastard. Instead of allowing our anger and rage to fester and grow, we guide it and redirect it to targets much more... worthy of our wrath."

"But what about the others? I mean... there's a few ponies in the murals who... aren't exactly opliptera."

"We sometimes recruit outside the Night Guard when we find individuals who possess certain... qualities that we see as useful. Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi have all served under the banner of the Vigil."

"And Princess Celestia is okay with that?"

"She approves of it. The Vigil was something created solely by Lady Luna, but Lady Celestia has always been aware of its existence. The numbers were unfortunately thin during Lady Luna's absence, but we've managed to fix that." Noctis straightened up slightly and turned to face Ferous, a faint smile on her face. "It's not often that we extend the invitation to outsiders, though sometimes we're forced to do so because of other circumstances."

Ferous blinked at her and tilted his head, raising a brow as he did. "So that's what this is about?"

She nodded. "An opportunity has presented itself to you, Ferous. In invoking the Rite of Conscription and binding you to my service, you aren't necessarily part of the Royal Guard anymore — such a thing leaves you in a unique position."

"...to do what, exactly?"

"You have the opportunity to take on one of the highest honors in Equestria, and to serve both Sisters in the process. But, the question is..." The opliptera drew closer to him, placing a wing beneath his chin and raising his head slightly as she spoke to him. "...will you accept?"

He quickly pulled away from her, unsure of the choice that lay before him. "I... I don't know. I mean, yeah, I signed up to protect Equestria, but... hunting demons? Magical devices fueled by blood? This... this seems a bit much."

"So all of this talk of demons, eldritch devices, and killing our own just for the sake of preserving a secret... something about that implied to you that we're just as happy-go-lucky and shiny as you sun-loving colts and fillies? This is the real stuff, Ferous. The magic that cuts all the way to the blood and bone, the very things the Sisters try so very hard to keep in the dark because the rest of Equestria will never be ready for it. If you can't handle that..." Noctis paused, her jaw slowly working itself as she seemed to struggle for the right words — or, perhaps, the delivery. "...now's your chance to leave."

Ferous opened his mouth to speak, closed it, then briefly glanced towards the only door within the room. "...what would happen if I do leave?"

"Then... that would be the end of things. You would simply go back to being a Royal Guard, no doubt spending most of your career standing atop a wall."

"And... what about you? What would happen to you if they found out what you did?"

"They won't know."

"But what if—"

"I said they won't know." Though she had spoken it with a growl, Noctis quickly sighed and placed a hoof to her forehead, closing her eyes. "Look. If you don't want to do this, then go. The sooner you leave, the better."

He was already facing the door and could have just as easily left, right then and there. And yet... he didn't. Rather than leave, the pegasus instead turned towards one of the glowing murals and placed a hoof upon it, his voice soft as he spoke. "...my father told me something once, during one of his bedtime stories. He told me that... the true heroes are those willing to do what no other pony would dare do, those willing to stare danger and fear in the eye with their chins held high and their hooves firmly planted. And... that's you, isn't it? That's what the Vigil does."

Slowly, the opliptera opened her eyes and glanced over in his direction, nodding as a faint smile made its way to the surface. "That we do. So... what say you, Neophyte Ferous? Do you accept?"

"Eh, why the hell not? It'd probably look pretty good on my resume anyways." The stallion trotted back over towards Noctis and paused in front of her, grinning slightly as he eyed her. "Just... don't make me regret this or anything."

"I won't." The smile had already grown a bit, and by this point, her fangs were clearly visible. "Now, before we proceed, there's something we need to do in order to properly initiate you."

"I've gotta take an oath or something, right?"

"Oh no, you'll do that later on, and in the presence of Lady Luna." Noctis took a step towards him and placed a hoof behind one of his forelegs, raising it up. "You'll be swearing a very different kind of oath... one of blood."

"...already regretting this."

"Ferous, every new recruit to the Vigil has to go through with this — I went through it myself when we first joined. A drop of blood is drawn and added to the Codex. It signifies the blood you're willing to shed in defense of the kingdom."

He sighed. "Alright, so how do we go about doing that?"

"Well... new recruits often have a rather special bond with the pony who recruited them, and it's partially due to how we gather the drop of blood."

"And how's that?"

"Do you remember how I bit myself so that I could activate the Codex?"

"Yeah, I... wait." He blinked at her and slowly pointed a hoof at her and then himself. "...let me get this straight. You're gonna bite me?"

She nodded.

"Doesn't that seem a little... personal? I mean, biting another pony?"

"Such is the way of things, Ferous, eccentric as they may be." She placed a hoof behind one of his forelegs once more, raising it up and pausing as she briefly stared at the exposed limb. "I'll... admit, though. You're the first one I've recruited, so I've never really had to do this before."

"So we really have to go through with this?"

"I'm afraid so. I'll do what I can to make it as painless as possible, but... no guarantees or anything." Noctis sighed and raised the pegasus' leg a bit more, bringing it level with her mouth. "Are you ready?"

Ferous sighed and slowly nodded, shutting his eyes as he did. "Ready as I'll ever be. Let's get this over with."

"Very well then." She opened her mouth, fangs bared and at the ready, and paused one last time.

And then she bit. The stallion's eyes immediately flew open, and he soon found himself staring at Noctis as she continued to bite down on his leg. It wasn't as if it hurt too much or anything—he had certainly had far worse—but to have a pair of fangs sink into your flesh was still a painful experience, and he had never really expected a pony to do it, nor did he expect himself to willingly submit to it. She soon released her hold of him, and even as she pulled away and went to cover her mouth, he had still taken a quick enough peek to spot the tell-tale color of blood upon her teeth. At the very least, she had done what she had intended.

"Sorry, Ferous, I didn't think—"

He quickly shook his head, even as he inspected the fresh wound. "No no, it's fine. You did what you had to... right?"

"I... yes. Of course." Noctis had already wiped her mouth with one of her own legs, no doubt trying to get rid of any traces of blood, but she soon grimaced. "Blegh."

"What?"

"...just got a taste."

"Oh." The pegasus let out a nervous cough and glanced over in her direction. "I um... I just hold my leg over the basin and wait to get a drop in, right?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. Shouldn't take long." The opliptera let out a cough of her own and made another face. "Egh. Water would be nice about now."

"Afraid you're gonna have to wait on that."

"I wish that weren't the case."

"Yeah, well..." Ferous redirected his attention back towards his own leg and the basin, and silently watched as a trail of blood made its way down his leg, to the hoof, and slowly onto the basin itself... at which point it promptly disappeared. He simply blinked in confusion and raised a brow, tilting his head as he stared at the stone. "Uh... Noctis? The basin just... ate my blood."

"Did it now?"

He scoffed. "You make it sound like it's supposed to do that!"

"Mm, we'll see soon enough." Noctis made her way over towards him, looked down at the basin and his leg, and then stared at one of the murals. "If everything worked right, it should..."

"...should what?"

"Just watch."

Slowly, the center mural began to blink — once, twice, then three times. The other murals soon followed suit, briefly blinking, and then resuming their steady glow. The pattern slowly made its way around the entirety of the room, and once it had managed to finish, every mural glowed a brilliant yellow, shutting itself off seconds later. Just as quickly as they had appeared, the murals had disappeared once more, and Ferous tilted his head as he stared at the wall. "Huh. So what does that mean?"

"Means you're done."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"So... what next?"

"Next?" Noctis faintly laughed and smiled at him, even as she began to walk towards the door. "Next, I show you what I've been meaning to show you."

He quickly trotted off after her, catching up and walking alongside her. "Last stop?"

"Aye."

"Finally." The pegasus sighed and gave his wings a brief stretch, and as they exited the Codex, he found himself being lead down a hallway he hadn't seen on their way in. "So what's all this?"

"Don't think you're finished just yet. There's one more thing in the way."

They arrived at another darkened landing, and when the torches slowly flickered to life, Ferous let out a groan. "...oh no."

Noctis' only response was another laugh, louder than the previous one, and she grinned widely as she looked upon what lay before them.

"More stairs."

Comments

[Vargras]

New update? New update.

[ShadowBro]

Ooooooo

Mysteeeeerious.

[Storylover-Vodhr]

Brilliant. Love the story.

[Ridire]

Ooooooooooooooooooh. I'm detecting awesome emanating from this fic.

[Ezbok58a]

So it appears the Vigil and King Sombra have a love for the stairs...I wonder if they also have a love of Slinkies...

[Blue_Paladin42]

Demon hunting? My interests. They are piqued.

1630950
i.chzbgr.com/completestore/12/11/12/nDnlxtcBlESoMM3ZttWRnA2.png

[Cyanide]

"Venerated as as goddesses"

And you're rapidly supplanting my headcanon about the batpones, dammit.

[Psykosis]

Yay, an update!

Hmm... mostly just a refresher of the first story, but still some new developments. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

[Vargras]

1641557

Hmm... mostly just a refresher of the first story, but still some new developments.

More or less the point of this chapter.

[BeezelPony]

yoopiyo~~ youpi~~

[Grendel_Town]

I really like your take on the bat ponies, looking forward to when Ferrous swears an oath in front of Luna!

[Toku]

i like ferous and his shyish/curious nature, but i really like noctis. The way she acts/talks kind of reminds me of a cat playing with a mouse, which now that i think about it, ferous makes a good mouse in this situation too XD

[djthomp]

Secret order of guard pony demon hunters? Now that's right up my alley.