No Light

by Vargras

Act 1 | Chapter 3: Welcome Home

Time was a difficult concept in the depths beneath Canterlot, something Ferous was quickly being reminded of. Without a line of sight to Celestia's sun, it was impossible to tell just what time of the day it was, or if it was even still day at all. His best guess was that they had been down here for hours, but even that might have been wrong — it was impossible to tell. For now, his attention was focused upon the stairs before him, which seemed to stretch on and into the infinite. He had lost count of the steps several minutes ago, and with his legs beginning to ache from the strain, he had already begun to use his wings to help himself out.

Unlike him, Noctis hardly seemed winded at all. Instead, the opliptera quietly hummed to herself as she hopped down several steps at a time, keeping herself well ahead of the pegasus. It was almost as if she were making a game of it, and the faint smile upon her face seemed to confirm it. "How are you holding up?"

"My everything hurts, Noctis."

"'tis expected. You're going to be working for your meals now — no more standing on walls and collecting your pay after several hours of nothing."

In between his own wheezes, Ferous let out an irritated huff. "Lucky me."

"You're just too stiff from all that time with the Royal Guard. We'll get you limbered up soon enough."

"We?"

"The Vigil, of course, as well as some other things. My kind tends to be more proactive than the ponies you've got wandering around Canterlot." Noctis leaped down another set of steps—ten this time—and continued to muse to herself. "Not much further."

He groaned. "You said that at least ten minutes ago!"

"I mean it this time."

"Hope so... feel like I'm gonna die."

"Mm, no dying just yet. You haven't sworn your oath to Lady Luna." She giggled and grinned to herself, promptly leaping off a step and gliding down to another landing before skidding to a stop. "And besides, if you died, I wouldn't be able to show you the biggest surprise of all."

"And..." Ferous landed beside her, though it wasn't nearly as graceful as her own landing. Instead, he simply collapsed into a sweating and panting heap, looking up to her as he caught his breath. "...that would be?"

"First, there's something I need to ask you. While you were in school in Equestria, did they ever teach you anything at all about the gryphons? History, anything of that sort?"

He appeared slightly confused at first, but slowly nodded. "...yeah? I mean, it wasn't anything specific. Just the bare bones stuff."

"They taught you about the war between Equestria and the gryphons, then?"

"Sure. Happened over 1500 years ago or something." The stallion slowly stood up, groaning as he did, and he looked forward as he did. Before him was a simple door, though he certainly had no idea what was behind it. Rather than attempt to open it, however, he turned his attention back to his companion — this was her territory, after all, not his. "Why are you asking?"

To that, Noctis simply smiled and wandered over towards one of the stone walls. "Tell me, Ferous... how did the war end?"

"Er... well, the gryphons launched a massive attack and razed Canterlot to the ground. Shortly afterwards, Princess Celestia negotiated a truce with the gryphons, and then they rebuilt the city. I... think that's how it ended, if I'm remembering it right."

The opliptera seemed somewhat amused by the answer and turned to face the door. "And what would you say if I told you that Canterlot... isn't the only Canterlot?"

Ferous simply appeared even more confused, his head tilting as he mulled it over out loud. "N-no, that can't be right. If there was another Canterlot, we'd know about it. We would've known years ago."

"All you have to do is open the door, Ferous. Then you'll see which one of us is right."

"...you're playing mind games again, aren't you?"

"Perhaps. Only one way to find out."

With a sigh, the pegasus reluctantly began to approach the door, stopping just before it. He at least knew that whatever was behind the door was safe — Noctis wouldn't let him open it otherwise. Still, there was an awful lot he didn't know, and that alone was enough to make him uneasy. As she had said, however, there was only one way to find out, and Ferous slowly pushed the door open. What he saw was something he never even dreamed possible, and he quietly gasped. "...Goddess."

The door did not lead to another room, but rather, to a cavernous area — literally. The countless steps they had taken down had evidently placed them in the caves beneath Canterlot, and the latest doorway had simply opened up into a gargantuan area within the cave system. At the very top of the enclosure, far in the distance, was an opening, just wide enough for the light of a dying day to leak in... but that wasn't what Ferous was fixated upon. In the midst of this vast space, all the way down here in the depths of Equestria, was a castle nearly as grand as the one within Canterlot. It had certainly seen better days, something made obvious by the crumbling spires, torn and tattered banners, and fading paint. All around it, however, life had managed to spring up — countless buildings dotted the landscape, and it was quickly becoming evident that these weren't just ruins... this was a city. This was...

"Home." Noctis strode forth and stood beside Ferous, beaming as she looked down upon the city. "Welcome to Old Canterlot."

The pegasus continued to stare at the city below, wide-eyed as he took it in. "I... this is..."

"Unbelievable? Amazing? Beyond your wildest dreams?"

"One of those, yeah." Ferous took a few tentative steps forward, blinking and looking about. "Noctis, this is... how long has this been down here?"

"Over a thousand years, give or take."

"What?! That long?"

"Mhm. You see, Canterlot—the original Canterlot—was never on top of a mountain, but rather, in a caldera. Once upon a time, this place was evidently a volcano, and the very cave we're in now would've been filled with magma."

"No shit?"

She nodded. "Placing the city within a caldera gave it good protection from just about everything, except... well, from the air. Predictably enough, that did little to stop the gryphons during the war, and they razed it to the ground — not completely, obviously. After negotiating the truce with the gryphons, the Royal Sisters decided that rather than build yet another fortress, they would build a shining beacon for all of Equestria."

"So they built... over it?"

"Precisely. For all their power, it took a bit of time and effort on their part to move that much rock, but they eventually formed a decent enough spot on top of the ruins for them to build—"

"Which is why Canterlot is on top of a mountain."

"Fast learner." She flashed him a quick grin and took a few steps of her own, approaching the edge of the overlook and gesturing out towards the city. "With their new Canterlot to watch over, the old one was largely forgotten... until the Royal Sisters discovered us. When they offered us a home within Canterlot, this is what they gave us: a city of our own, hidden in the shadows and safe from those who would wish us harm. It worked out well enough, until the Eternal Night rolled around and we found ourselves on the run."

"And now you're back."

"Mhm. Things got rather messy while we were away, so we're still in the process of cleaning up." The opliptera promptly turned to one side and began to walk down a nearby trail, pausing to glance over her shoulder at him. "Coming?"

Ferous tilted his head, ears perked. "To where?"

Such a response was evidently amusing to her, and she laughed at him before pointing downwards with a hoof. "To the city, of course. 'tis your home now."

"So this is what you meant?"

"Aye."

The pegasus lowered his head and pawed at the ground with a hoof. "So is this... permanent?"

A nod. "For the most part. All members of the Vigil live down here, opliptera or not. It's easier that way."

"Oh. Well it's just—"

"If you're worried about family, you're allowed to go on leave for that."

"That'd be nice and all, if I uh... you know, had any family left."

"Oh." Noctis frowned somewhat, ears flattening, and she quickly looked off to the side. "Apologies."

"S'fine. Mostly just wanted to talk to my captain one last time."

"Captain Shining Armor will be informed of your promotion. Don't worry about that too much."

"Right, well..." The latest bit of information had perked up Ferous a bit, and the stallion had already trotted over to her side, seemingly at the ready. "Let's get a move on, then."

"Excellent." The opliptera promptly began to walk down the path, and Ferous quickly took off after her, sticking to Noctis' side as they zigzagged their way down to the city below. While it was certainly lacking in steps, it was still a little rough on the legs, and the pegasus eventually settled for simply flying beside his companion. She had hardly seemed to notice, and if she had, she had simply decided to say nothing of it. Instead, she glanced down towards some of the houses and soon directed her attention back towards him. "Before we enter the city itself, let me go over a few things for you."

"Such as?"

"Well, for starters, you're an outsider."

He huffed. "Meaning?"

"For me, nothing. But for many opliptera down here, you're going to be the first outsider they see, and their first exposure to much of anything from the outside world. It's usually just the foals, but there's a few mares and stallions who have never seen a non-opliptera."

"So... make a good impression?"

"Essentially. Your coat color complicates things slightly, though."

Ferous glanced down at his own white wings and raised a brow. "How?"

"You're white. Lady Celestia is white."

"...oh."

"Yeah. Don't be surprised if some of them get a little weird around you. It's happened before and it'll happen again." Noctis sighed and shook her head. "As long as you stay by my side, we'll be fine. In addition, there's also the matter of your housing — until we can get you properly set up elsewhere, you'll be staying with me."

"...isn't that a little—"

"I have a spare bed you can sleep in." She looked over in his direction, eyes narrowed somewhat. "You were going to say 'awkward', weren't you?"

"M-maybe?"

"Yes, well... that won't be the case. Separate beds. Of course, even after we do find some place else for you, you can simply choose to stay with me if you want. The Vigil is fairly relaxed in regards to a lot of things, and it isn't uncommon for recruits to stay with their recruiter for extended periods of time."

"Ah." The pegasus let out a sigh of relief, relaxing somewhat. "Anything else?"

"For now, no. We'll get you to my home and get you settled in, and then you'll have the rest of the night off. Tomorrow will be spent getting you oriented and informing you on how we run things. Nothing strenuous."

"Works for me."

"I'm sure it does."

Rather than immediately answer, he looked out and towards the place that was to be his new home. Their trek downwards had brought them closer and closer, and they were now at a distance to where he could begin to see things a bit more clearly. Despite still being rather far, it was plain to see that this was an actual, living city — ponies roamed the streets below, some of them fixing roads or lamps, and others tending to gardens. There even seemed to be quite a few stores, with several opliptera looking through the windows of some, and if Ferous looked hard enough, he could make out what he thought to be a school group of colts and fillies. "It's so... normal."

Noctis glanced over her shoulder at him, a brow raised. "Expecting worse?"

"Sort of. I mean... a lot of Equestria has treated your kind like dirt, and yet, this is... almost just like Canterlot. It's clean. Everypony seems happy. It's normal."

"We do what must be done, Ferous — 'tis a recurring theme amongst my kind, if you couldn't tell by now. Even if we're quite literally living under the noses of those in Canterlot, life still has to go on for us. We can't continue to mope and lament our fate. We simply have to push past it and... well, live. It may not be much of a home, but it's ours."

"Yeah... looks like you treat it fairly well."

"It's the only home we have. We have to treat it well."

"Good point."

She nodded and directed her attention forwards. They were nearing the bottom of the path, and as the stone beneath their hooves began to gradually even out, she threw one last glance over her shoulder. "We're almost in the city now. Remember, just stick by my side, and we should reach my home with little trouble."

He snickered in return, landing and folding his wings as he began to walk once more. "You say that like you're expecting trouble."

"Down here, Ferous, you learn to expect anything — if you don't, you might not live to see another day. Stay close."

Rather than verbally answer, he instead nodded and took his place at her side. Their entrance into Old Canterlot was simple enough, and had involved nothing more than transition from unhewn stone to paved brick. Given how careful Noctis had wanted to be, however, Ferous had expected them to duck down an alley or use some sort of secret passage... and instead, they were simply walking down the street. He, of course, stuck out rather easily compared to most everything else, and they had already begun to draw stares. Even after the warning earlier, it had been a little unexpected — ponies stopped in the midst of their own activities, if only to get a look at this strange visitor.

A mare tending to her garden dropped her hoe and tilted her head, eying him curiously.

A school group, teacher included, paused in the middle of the street, looking at him with awe.

An elderly stallion, seemingly out for a walk, caught sight of him and quickly dropped to the ground, quietly uttering something as they walked past.

Ferous briefly glanced at the stallion and leaned towards Noctis, whispering to her as they continued on through the city. "What was he doing?"

"Likely reciting a prayer."

"...what for?"

"As I said earlier, Lady Celestia is white, and so are you. He likely thought you were a demigod of some sort."

The pegasus frowned somewhat. "They don't really think that, do they?"

"Ferous, it's a very common belief down here that the Sisters are goddesses. Some of them can and will think of you as a demigod, simply because of the white coat and the wings."

"Do you believe that?"

She sighed, briefly eyed him, and shook her head. "I'm inclined to say 'No', if only because I know that the Sisters themselves don't appreciate being called goddesses. Maybe they are, and maybe they aren't."

"Hrm." He could have just as easily pressed the issue, but he instead decided to take in his surroundings a bit more. Now that they were actually much closer than an overlook, the similarities between this and the Canterlot on the surface were startling — this essentially was Canterlot, albeit slightly dilapidated. There was another thing Ferous noticed, though, and it was most noticeable now that they had hit one of the busier sections of the city. All of the opliptera present on the street had given both him and Noctis a rather wide berth, and he leaned over towards her once more. "...they're avoiding us."

"It happens."

"Why, though?"

Noctis turned to face him, a smirk easily visible on her face. "Never run out of questions, do you? They do it because they recognize me — because the Vigil answers directly to the Sisters, simply being a member commands a great deal of respect around here."

"...and fear, it looks like."

"Not always."

"What about me, though?"

"Well, since you're with me, you're one of two things. You're either an ally, or a friend, and either one means that nopony will likely mess with you if they have any common sense."

"Guessing that means 'prisoner' isn't a possibility?"

She turned away, her expression darkening. "We don't take prisoners."

"Oh." The pegasus audibly gulped and glanced around, more than eager to change topics. "So uh... how much further?"

"To my place? Not very. We're only about a block away, if that."

"Good. I'm about ready for a break."

Noctis faintly laughed at that, turning to face her companion as they rounded a corner. "Is that so?"

"Hey, I think after everything that's happened today, I deserve a bit of a nap!"

"Perhaps! I think I'll be the judge of that, though." She stuck her tongue out at him, something that drew an audible groan from him and quickly caused her to laugh in return. "A nap might be a bit much, but I suppose I can let you take a break. The stairs haven't exactly been kind to you, hm?"

"Please don't mention stairs."

"If only you were so lucky — all the beds are on the second floor. And speaking of which..." Noctis paused in front of a storefront and stuck out a hoof, gesturing to the building and sign behind her. "...we're here!"

Ferous craned his neck as he tried to get a good look at the sign, and though it was heavily weathered, he could still make out the lettering on it. "...Old Canterlot Library? You live in a library?"

"I also run it during my free time... what little I get, of course. This should hardly be surprising to you, Ferous, given my status as the Lorekeeper of the Night Guard and the Vigil."

"Er... right. Of course."

She leered at him. "Did you forget that too?"

"N-no! Of course not! It just... slipped my mind for a moment."

"I bet it did." The opliptera rolled her eyes and approached the door, fiddling with the lock briefly before nudging it open. "There. Oh, and Ferous?"

"Yeah?"

She promptly stepped inside the library, turning around to face him and holding the door open, even as she gave him what was possibly the most genuine smile he had ever seen before.

"Welcome home."

Comments

[Vargras]

1670601

As for Ferous and Noctis, I believe I already expressed that they're my OTOCP. Even if this isn't a romance story in any way, shape, or form, I can dream.

Ehehehehe. The things I have planned.

Also, time for another new chapter. More worldbuilding this time, sorry -- it didn't really fit with the previous chapter, so I had to give it some space of its own. For those of you wondering when the adventure tag will kick in, that won't happen until the start of act II.

[Cloudhammer]

Again, darn you. You're steadily influencing my Nightguard with yours

[Vargras]

1700970

Again, darn you. You're steadily influencing my Nightguard with yours

YOU CANNOT ESCAPE IT.

[Cloudhammer]

1700986 Well, mine aren't true batponies (well, most of them aren't, anyway), but they have their own tragic history to them...

[ponygrad]

Man, I'm so used to secret societies in pony fics being completely random plot devices I forgot how satisfying it is to learn about their necessary infrastructure. I am unreasonably happy to find out where their families buy groceries.

[Vargras]

1701166

Man, I'm so used to secret societies in pony fics being completely random plot devices I forgot how satisfying it is to learn about their unnecessary infrastructure. I am unreasonably happy to find out where their families buy groceries.

I laughed.

[Cyanide]

Little known fact: Until they expacked the opliptera in, Old Canterlot was only accessible by clipping through a wall in Celestia's throne room with either a poly or blink glitch.

[Vargras]

1701426

Little known fact: Until they expacked the opliptera in, Old Canterlot was only accessible by clipping through a wall in Celestia's throne room with either a poly or blink glitch.

PFFT.

[Arcshod]

Goddammit. I'm in love with your batponies, and yet it feels like we've only seen a glimpse of them. Write more, you fool!

[Blue_Paladin42]

Underground cities are best cities. I think that's why I like dwarves so much in fantasy. There needs to be fanart of this city.

Noctis lives in a library. Huh. She reminds me more and more of a cynical Twilight Sparkle.

[Psykosis]

Awesome.

[SecondLaw]

At the very top of the enclosure, far in the distance, was an opening, just wide enough for the light of a dying day to leak in...

I'm curious. Unless there is some kind of periscope system going on here, you'd think that somepony would've probably rediscovered the place by now.

Anyway, interesting chapter, love the world-building and very much looking forward to more.

[Lemonschooner]

Something somebody else said reminded me of a question... are the opliptera strictly winged, or are there occasional unicorns among their ranks?

[Vargras]

1710363

Something somebody else said reminded me of a question... are the opliptera strictly winged, or are there occasional unicorns among their ranks?

Strictly winged. They're related by blood to the pegasi.

[Toku]

I was happy to find this, since their always need to be more bat pony stories.....err opliptera stories. I can't wait to see what shenanigans ferous gets into due to people thinking he's a demigod

[Thespurgin]

1700986 get your fanon out of my headcanon blast it you special-eyed psycho!

[JustBrowsing]

What exactly does the ceiling of Old Canterlot look like? Is it built up with stone arches or magic'ed rock molded into shape?

Love the story besides the little nitpick, keep it up!