As night turned into day—or perhaps it was still night, he honestly wasn't sure—Ferous awoke once more, and to a rather peculiar scratching sound. He sighed and closed his eyes once more, trying in vain to block out the sound so he could just go back to sleep, but it largely proved pointless. Despite his best efforts, the sound persisted, pausing at some points and picking up in volume and intensity at others. His curiosity once more got the better of him, and the pegasus rolled over in bed, if only to try and see the source of the noise.
Seated at the desk right beside his bed was Noctis, a quill in her mouth and a candle upon the table as she continued to write, seemingly unaware of the fact that he was wide awake and watching her — too caught up in her work, it would seem. Perhaps it was the lone candle lighting the room, but he simply couldn't get over how tired she looked. Her own eyes seemed heavy, the circles around them dark enough to even be visible beneath her coat, and she struggled to fight off a yawn on numerous occasions.
"Noctis...?"
She paused, quietly placed the quill back within the ink well, and glanced over in his direction. "Ferous."
"Why are you up?"
"Couldn't sleep. Felt like writing."
Ferous sat up in bed somewhat, narrowing his eyes. "You couldn't sleep because you wanted to write, or you couldn't sleep and you're writing to kill time?"
"The latter."
"...you really should go back to bed, you know."
"And why should I?" Noctis scowled at him, her voice taking on an irritated tone. "Who are you to tell me what to do, and in my home no less?"
A hostile Noctis had been rather unexpected and Ferous quickly found himself on the defensive, his ears flattened as he stared at her. "Look, all I'm saying is that maybe you should get some more sleep. You were drunk as hell just a few hours ago, to the point that I had to drag you back here and put you to bed myself, and you may or may not have a hangover — I don't know. All I'm doing is trying to help, so how about you pull the stick out of your ass when you've got a friend trying to support you."
For most any other pony, such a message might have been a little too frank, but Noctis was not most ponies. To see curious and naive Ferous become so serious so quickly had a bit of a sobering effect on her, and her own expression softened. "...right. Apologies. I've just been... thinking about something, is all. I'll be fine."
"Noctis. It was enough to keep you from sleeping. What is it?"
She lowered her head somewhat, refusing to answer, yet still looking at him out of the corner of her eye. She had always seemed so proud, so confident, and yet... she bore the look of one whose pride had been wounded.
"C'mon, Noctis. You can tell me — you trust me, right? I mean, I had to trust you earlier, so..."
"Yes, yes." The opliptera sighed and lifted her head slightly. "I've just been thinking about what Acuta said earlier. Can't get it out of my head."
Ferous shifted somewhat, eying her. "It's bothering you that much?"
"Aye. She's always been rather harsh with her words, but... they've always been true too." Noctis turned toward the desk once more and spread some of the papers out before herself. "Sad as it may be, I've often lived vicariously through some of these stories. Gives me a bit of something that I haven't been fortunate enough to have."
"Love?"
She nodded. "I have no living relatives — my mother and father both served in the Night Guard, and both were killed in action. Mother died defending a convoy from a hydra, and father died while trying to stop a group of bandits. I had always been an only-child, so I have no siblings, and there's no extended family either as far as I'm aware."
"And... relationships?"
Noctis frowned and hung her head. "Disastrous. I'm often little more than a sexual conquest to them — to those who aren't opliptera, I'm 'exotic'. 'Wild'. 'Forbidden'. To those who can see past that or are opliptera, I'm married to my work. I just... want to be good at what I do."
"You are good at what you do." He sighed, placing a foreleg to his eyes and rubbing at them — tired as he may have been, he was doing his best to hide it. "How about you go get some rest... you've gotta introduce me to Princess Luna in a few hours, remember?"
"I suppose. Still, I just have to ask... I didn't do anything stupid while I was drunk, did I?"
Ferous' thoughts immediately went back to the kiss he had been given just a few hours before, as well as her own ramblings about not wanting him to leave. There was nothing to gain in telling the truth, however, so he did the next best thing. "...Nah, you didn't."
"Mm. Good. I tend to get rather careless when I'm drunk." She gave a satisfied nod and snuffed out the candle, hopping off the stool and walking towards her room. "Good night, Ferous."
The sound of her bedroom door shutting ended any attempts at bidding her goodnight, and instead, the pegasus simply laid back down and rolled onto his side — this time, however, it would be with the knowledge that the pony known as 'Noctis' wasn't nearly as confident as he had thought.
All he had gotten in the end were a scant few hours of rest, but it was more than enough compared to what Noctis had gotten herself. His morning bath consisted of little more than a wet rag, and breakfast was a bowl of oats eaten at the desk on the first floor — Noctis apparently hated the idea of eating anywhere near where she slept or worked. Despite his wanting to look his best for royalty, he had also been forbidden from polishing his armor, and any questions he asked in regards to it were answered with a rather cryptic answer of "You'll see why".
The left Noctis' home at roughly eight in the morning—if only because the clock on the wall said so—and promptly departed for the castle in the middle of Old Canterlot. In spite of how often they gave the impression of being nocturnal, the opliptera seemed to be anything but. Ponies walked up and down the street, many of them either running errands or simply out for a walk, and unlike the day before, none of them seemed to pay him or Noctis any mind.
Ferous briefly watched another pony as they walked by, his gaze following them even as they rounded a corner. "So what's with the change in behavior?"
"It's morning, Ferous — they're either too tired or too busy to notice you."
"I uh... right. I knew that."
Noctis quietly yawned and gave him a quick grin, snickering as she did. "I bet you did."
"I did!"
"Mhmm. Still, as with the city, I feel it might be in your best interests if I go over some things with you before we arrive." They promptly turned down another street, and based on both the abundance of banners and the sight of the castle directly in front of them, it was safe to assume that this was the city's main street. "First and foremost, you must show Lady Luna the utmost respect — I can't stress that enough."
"That's... sort of a given, Noctis. She's royalty."
"You don't understand." She sighed and shut her eyes, even as they passed through the main gate to the castle. All of the guards on duty snapped her a salute, but it wasn't as if she noticed, and she soon continued. "Lady Luna isn't just royalty to us — she is our surrogate mother, a paragon of all things we value, and above all else, she is a goddess."
He raised a brow at her. "Didn't you say just the other night that you didn't think they were goddesses?"
"All I said was that they don't appreciate being called goddesses. To actually be in their presence, though, is... well, there's a reason so many of us think of them as such." They gradually began to approach the entrance, and as they did, two gargantuan doors in front of them slowly swung open, allowing them to step into the castle itself. Once inside, Noctis spoke once more. "You'll see soon enough. And, as part of showing the proper respect, don't speak to Lady Luna unless you're spoken to."
"Why?"
She showed a hint of irritation at the question, but quickly hid it. "'tis polite."
"Ah. Right."
He had fully expected the castle to be dimly lit, but quite the opposite was true — mounted on every single pillar was one of the magical torches that Princess Luna seemed so very fond of, and while it didn't necessarily leave things dark, it did make them a bit... different. The castle itself seemed to be in various states of repair, and if a guard wasn't nearby, a worker almost certainly was, no doubt aiding in the restoration. Countless banners hung from the walls, almost all of them bearing Princess Luna's cutie mark, and surprisingly enough, some even bore Princess Celestia's. In addition to the banners, there were also several stained-glass windows, and it didn't take long for Ferous to realize that they were all the very same scenes he had seen in the engravings just the day before.
They rounded another corner, and it was rather obvious at this point that they were nearing the throne room — the ceiling had given way to several high arches, the mounted torches now hung from chandeliers, and the workers were completely gone, instead replaced wholly by guards. They soon approached another set of doors and Noctis paused in front of them, turning to face one of the attending guards. "Gentlemen."
One of the ponies, a stallion, snapped a salute. "Her Majesty is expecting you, Sergeant."
"No sense in keeping her waiting, then."
"Aye." The guard grabbed hold of one door, his counterpart doing the same, and they slowly pulled the doors open, allowing Noctis and Ferous entrance into the throne room itself. Ferous had only ever been in Canterlot's throne room on just a few occasions, but from what little he could remember, this was almost identical to it — hardly surprising, given that this had evidently been the first Canterlot. Compared to the outside of the throne room, the inside was sparsely guarded, something that confused him somewhat.
It was certainly extravagantly decorated, however — the chandeliers and stained-glass windows continued to be present, though they were now joined by several statues, many of which lined both sides of the hallway. The pegasus paused in front of one, eying both the inscription and the statue itself, which seemed to be an opliptera locked in a heroic pose. "Who is this?"
"That would be Lady Clementia." The voice that spoke up was not, as he was expecting, Noctis. Instead, it was much louder, yet still managed to sound sweet and gentle to the ears. "Arguably the most famous one of our order."
He slowly looked away from the statue, and instead, to the throne itself. Seated atop it, and with a guard on either side of herself, was Princess Luna herself. He had heard the stories before, of course, and had even seen a few paintings as well, but to actually see her for herself was something else entirely. Luna truly seemed larger than life, and indeed, she managed to dwarf both of the guards at her side, beating them both by several feet. Her mane and tail seemed to constantly billow and move in an unseen wind, and the sea of stars within both flickered with their very own light, the image shifting and changing with every movement. Noctis had said before that there was a reason so many opliptera thought of the Sisters as goddesses, and he was seeing the 'why' for himself. Ferous had been completely awestruck by the sight of the princess and certainly hadn't noticed that Noctis was already bowing — instead, she hastily placed a wing upon his back and pushed him down to the floor, forcing him into a bow.
To see such an impromptu sign of respect was evidently amusing to the princess and she was already leaning forward slightly, a faint smile upon her face. Noctis' own head was hung low, her face hidden, and in spite of his own bow, Ferous couldn't help but continue to look at the alicorn. Luna took notice of this, her eyes locking with his as she shifted upon the throne.
I've heard much of you, little one.
The pegasus' eyes widened and he began to nervously glance about the room as he searched for the source of the voice — Luna's own gaze remained locked upon him, however, and her amused smile continued to grow.
So quick to act, even with so little to go by — reflexes alone shall only do so much for you down here.
It was only now that Ferous began to truly realize what was going on, and he looked up at the princess, his expression turning into one of confusion. ...Princess Luna?
The alicorn gave a simple nod. I go by a great many names, Neophyte Ferous — She of the Night, Daughter of Selene, Princess of the Night, Lady Luna, Princess Luna... there's several others, but I have neither the time nor the patience to list them.
B-but... how—
Do I know your name? How are we able to speak to one another through thoughts alone? You must remember, little one, that this is my domain that we're in — the question isn't what I am capable of, but rather, what I am not capable of.
Noctis' legs had begun to tremble from the rather extended bow, but she remained quiet. It was something that Princess Luna silently took note of before returning her gaze to Ferous once more.
Your friend has told her fair share of tales that involve you — learning your name wasn't exactly difficult. And telepathy is trivial in comparison to what I've done over the course of centuries... or are the tales of my sister and I not nearly as grand as I had remembered?
Ferous gave his head a quick shake. N-no, your majesty.
Mm. Good. Princess Luna straightened up somewhat, her smile remaining present as she decided to finally address Noctis. "Sergeant, terribly sorry to keep you waiting — I'm afraid I was caught up in my thoughts. I see you've brought a guest along."
Perhaps it was experience from past encounters, but Noctis took this as her cue to stand, and she let out an audible sigh as she did. "Lady Luna, I give you Neophyte Ferous of the Royal Guard."
"Formerly of the Royal Guard, I presume? Else he wouldn't be down here, now would he?" The dusky alicorn took a brief glance at Ferous and softly laughed. "Such a messy bite, Noctis. I thought I trained you better than that!"
The opliptera shifted on her hooves, seemingly embarrassed by such a statement. "Using my fangs on another pony wasn't exactly part of the training, milady."
"Ahh, but perhaps we should change that, lest you start leaving all the recruits with nasty looking scars." Luna gave the sergeant a playful look, even as she reclined slightly upon the throne. "He is a rather curious thing, isn't he?"
"...Milady, are you referring to the fact that you find him intriguing, or—"
The alicorn promptly let out a laugh, the grin on her face widening further. "His own curiosity, of course! What did you think I was referring to?"
Noctis' jaw briefly worked itself, but she eventually settled for a sigh and a shake of the head. "...nothing, milady."
"Mm. As you say." Luna briefly eyed the opliptera for a few seconds more, her attention soon shifting to the pegasus in her midst. "Still in a bow? My, such dedication!"
Ferous awkwardly glanced about and soon rose to his hooves, tilting his head as he looked up at the princess. "Er... thank you, your majesty...?"
"A compliment is a compliment, Neophyte Ferous. I see that Captain Shining Armor has trained you well, hm?"
"Oh, yeah! He did a fantastic job training me and—"
"'twas a rhetorical question, neophyte. After the changeling attack on Canterlot, Captain Shining Armor's abilities are without question, as are the abilities of those who have been under his command." Luna cocked her head and eyed the pegasus, seemingly inspecting him. "Captain Procella raised such a fuss over you, and I can't help but wonder why."
At the mention of her captain, Noctis' own expression soured somewhat, and she spoke up. "Perhaps because she was denied a purge she felt was necessary, milady."
The Princess raised a brow upon hearing this, her curiosity piqued. "Is that so?"
"Aye, milady."
"Procella mentioned nothing of the sort within her report, perhaps because she felt that I might disprove of such a thing." Luna's wings briefly flared, perhaps as a display of irritation — regardless, they soon folded back to her side. "She would be right. I assume she wished to do so to ensure silence on the matter?"
"Aye, milady."
"...and you invoked the Rite of Conscription."
Noctis nodded once. "Aye, milady."
"Such a thing is normally reserved for ponies who would prove valuable to the Vigil, and yet you did it to save the life of a friend. Procella might see such a thing as a selfish and useless endeavor, a waste of the Vigil's time and resources, and yet..." The alicorn placed a hoof to her chin, her eyes narrowing as she looked over Ferous. "...I have vision she lacks. The neophyte is but untempered steel, malleable yet easily capable of being forged into an instrument of my might — all things in due time, of course."
"Aye, milady."
Luna faintly grinned, her gaze locked upon the pegasus. I truly don't know if she's saying that because of her training, or simply because she's bored.
Ferous briefly smirked and forced himself to stifle a snicker, something which drew a rather harsh look from Noctis. "Ferous!"
The opliptera's irritation apparently amused the princess once more, causing her grin to grow ever so slightly. She's always been so very prim and proper when on duty — I doubt it'd hurt her to loosen up a bit more often, have a drink or two... but you two did just that, didn't you?
The stallion smirked once more, a faint snicker slipping out as he struggled to maintain his composure, much to Noctis' chagrin.
Wouldn't surprise me if you drank her under the table.
Unable to hold back any longer, Ferous openly burst into laughter, drawing some surprised looks from the guards at Princess Luna's side. Noctis looked utterly aghast and seemed to be equal parts embarrassed, shocked, and infuriated, her wings flaring out as she growled at him. "Neophyte Ferous!"
"At ease, sergeant." Luna reclined upon her throne, the grin still evident as she watched the scene unfold before her. "I find the neophyte's... spontaneous sense of humor to be a breath of fresh air, especially in a place such as this. A bit of laughter can do wonders for one's disposition."
To hear that such conduct was allowed—no, encouraged—by Princess Luna was something that left Noctis confused, and she tilted her head. "I... but milady, I simply didn't wish for him to offend you."
"And he did nothing of the sort, Noctis. I assure you, I'm quite unoffended." The princess gave her head a simple shake, though one couldn't be sure if she did in regards to Ferous' or Noctis' conduct — or perhaps both. Whatever the case, she had already stood up from her throne and was beginning to make her way down the steps, slowly approaching the both of them. If Ferous had thought of Luna as being tall before, seeing her up close simply gave him the impression that he had grossly underestimated things. Despite the fact that he had always been a bit tall for a stallion, Princess Luna still stood several feet above him, and even though she was now seated before them, it was still incredibly obvious that she dwarfed him. "Isn't there something else you need to take care of, Noctis?"
The opliptera blinked, a brow raised. "...milady?"
"Perhaps something to make things more official?"
"Oh, yes! Of course!"
Luna quietly snickered and shook her head. Not exactly a forgetful girl, but perhaps overburdened. Such is the life of a lorekeeper.
Rather than answer, Ferous instead nodded. Noctis seemed to be mulling over a few more details, possibly rehearsing things within her head before going through with things — it wasn't as if either Princess Luna or Ferous were in any real hurry. The opliptera seemed to be confident in herself, however, and she calmly turned towards the pegasus at her side. "Neophyte Ferous, please turn to Lady Luna, bow, and repeat after me — I, Neophyte Ferous, now kneel before you."
Apologies — the opliptera have always been so very formal with things that involve myself, and I've learned that it's best to go with their wishes rather than against them.
He briefly ignored the message for the time being and instead did as told, turning to face Luna and bowing before her. "I, Neophyte Ferous, now kneel before you."
"I relinquish all that I am and all that I was. My life is the Vigil's, just as my life is yours."
"...I relinquish all that I am and all that I was. My life is the Vigil's, just as my life is yours."
Noctis briefly paused and swallowed, continuing soon after. "My foes will be plentiful and my paths arduous, but I will not bend and I will not break. The might of Luna and the grace of Celestia are my sword and shield, and with them, I shall stand for those who cannot."
"My foes will be plentiful and my paths arduous, but I will not bend and I will not break. The might of Luna and the grace of Celestia are my sword and shield, and with them, I shall stand for those who cannot." It was only after he finished the most recent line that he realized that both Sisters were not referred to by their titles within the oath — a tad unusual, given how formal the opliptera were.
"For honor, for family, and for home. For Equestria and Crown — vigilo aeterna, nox aeterna."
"For honor, for family, and for home. For Equestria and Crown... vigilo aeterna, nox aeterna."
"Rise, Neophyte Ferous, and be welcome, for you are now a brother of the Vigil." In spite of her earlier irritation, Noctis now appeared quite pleased with the oath seemingly complete — it wasn't hard to guess why. "Congratulations."
The pegasus slowly got to his hooves, his legs shaking somewhat — he had apparently been kneeling longer than he thought. "That's it?"
"Aye. The Codex was the worst of it, in regards to the initiation."
Unless you think swearing an oath to me is somehow worse.
Ferous glanced up at the princess, and was hardly surprised to see her smiling faintly. Not at all, your majesty.
A good answer, lest my pride be wounded.
Noctis had apparently taken notice of the fact that both Ferous and Princess Luna were staring at one another, and she quietly coughed to get their attention. "Milady, with Neophyte Ferous now sworn to your service, what do you wish of me... or us, rather?"
The alicorn briefly eyed the both of them, her expression one of mild amusement — she seemed to enjoy a great many things, it would seem. "As much as I enjoy my sister's choice of colors, I doubt the neophyte will be of much use to the Vigil unless we give him the proper equipment... don't you agree?"
"I... of course, milady. I'll have him outfitted at once."
"See to it, then. I'd like for the both of you to be ready, in case I have need of your services."
"As you wish, milady. It shall be done." Noctis gave the princess a quick bow, and a forceful wing upon Ferous' back encouraged him to do the same. They both quickly rose and gave Luna one last look before turning about and departing, but not before the alicorn left Ferous with a parting message, one that caused him to look over his shoulder.
You are a variable, neophyte, an unknown, and one that I failed to account for before your arrival. I do not yet know what role you may play in the days to come, but be ready for anything. Time stops for nopony, and fate is a fickle thing indeed.
As enigmatic as such a message may have been, it was useless to ask for a meaning. Instead, Ferous took one last look at the princess as they left the throne room.
And all he saw was a knowing smile.