"So, Jason..." Celestia began, hesitation in her voice as she eyed the human, if he still was one, that sat next to her. They had stopped in his room first as requested, allowing him to clothe himself once more. He had managed to get on a pair of pants, but none of his shirts fit him due to his new wings. Jason had awkwardly shrugged before resting his hand on her shoulder, and then she had teleported the three of them into her study where they now were. "I would assume that this isn't the first time that... that has happened?"
Jason sighed, resting his head in his hands, his wings twitching some as Philomena sat on the armrest next to him. "No, although," he poked at his wings and pointed to his face, "all of this is new. I think she," he pointed at Philomena, "is somehow responsible for the new additions. It's the only thing that makes sense." Jason paused, raising his head back up and reaching over to pet Philomena.
"So," he began at last, "I've been around for awhile. I don't really remember just how long, honestly. I started out on Earth, though, like I told you and Twilight. That part was no lie, although it has since been at least a thousand years since I last saw it." Celestia raised an eyebrow at him in surprise. "Before you ask, I only know that I recall the 'Eternal Night' as your history books put it. Twilight informed me that was a thousand years ago, so it makes sense."
"I see..." Celestia raised a hoof to her chin, pursing her lips in thought. "Would you mind starting from the very beginning then?" Jason wearily smiled before launching into his story.
The young man looked over his gathered tools, preparing for a foray into the forest. Spring had come, and with it the game animals were once more beginning to appear. As the eldest son, it fell to Jason to see to his family having something other than their stored food from winter as they moved forward with planting the fields.
He picked up his bow, stringing it and testing its tension. Satisfied with the twang that rang out from the string as he plucked it, he unstrung it and carefully put it inside a leather holder, a dozen good arrows within it as well. Jason grabbed the skinning knife, testing its edge with his thumbnail.
One by one, he ran through his tools, ensuring that they were all in good shape. Once finished, he carefully bundled everything together, strapping it to his back, knife at his side. Jason stepped out into the cool morning air, his eyes on his brothers already in the field, preparing for this year's harvest. His father approached him, a tall and burly man with a full beard.
"Jason, m'son. Off to the hunt?" he asked, slapping him on the back of his shoulder. Without budging, Jason merely smiled at his father.
"Yes, I am. I hope to be back within two days, father, with meat aplenty for us all." Jason clasped hands with his father, a hearty and strong grip held during the brief embrace.
"Good luck, m'son." he said, walking off shortly after to attend to the fields again. Jason smiled, walking towards the forest that he hoped to find game within. He stepped underneath the canopy, the majority of the sunlight blocked by the dense foliage. Stepping quietly about, Jason began looking for any signs of animals, something to put him on the trail of his first kill of the year.
An hour later, Jason inwardly let out a sigh of relief. He had stumbled upon the tracks of what appeared to be a small, hoofed creature, most likely a deer at first glance. He took note of the direction and depth of the tracks, following them with a calculated haste as he tracked it. Noticing where it had stopped for a small period of time, the tracks that departed the area were much more fresh, giving him great hope.
Jason strung his bow, knowing it was only a matter of minutes before he found his quarry. He set it back on his shoulder, picking up the tracking once more as he came to a small clearing. Within said clearing, a good sized buck grazed, bringing a smile to his face as he reached back slowly for an arrow. Raising the bow, he drew it back without a sound, looking down the shaft of the projectile.
As he slowed his breathing in preparation for the shot, his attention was solely focused on the buck, the arrow lined for its jugular. Jason's breath paused, and his fingers came off the string, sending death at the buck. As the arrow struck true, a flash of light quickly overwhelmed the clearing. In its wake, the buck lay on the ground, the arrow deeply embedded in its throat as it lay on the ground, dying. Jason was nowhere to be seen.
He could not clearly recall how much time had passed. The only thing that Jason was able to recall was darkness, his surroundings completely devoid of light. Additionally, he recalled voices in the dark, although the words escaped his memory. The two mingled together for what could have been mere seconds, or an eternity. Jason was unsure of just how long they lasted, the only thing that came to mind was that it could only be the work of the Devil. His first fully conscious thoughts were coming to within a forest, one much different than the one he had recalled being near home. As Jason looked around in confusion, a voice reached his ears, the very ground shaking from it.
"I WILL DEFEAT THEE, NIGHTMARE MOON! THOU SHALT SULLY MY SISTER NO MORE!" the voice spoke, sending tremors through his body as he panicked and took off in a rush. Jason lost track of just how long he had been running for, and he nearly collapsed in exhaustion once he finally stopped.
"Wait a moment," Celestia began, shock on her face. "That was me who said that during my final confrontation with Nightmare Moon. If you heard that, you were no more than a mile away from me at the time."
"Huh," Jason said, scratching at his neck. "To think, I was that close to you, then. It only took what, nearly a thousand years to actually meet the holder of that voice." He chuckled, taking a sip of water, looking at his reflection within the nearby mirror and sighing.
"The next bit of what I can recall... there was a lot of pain. I was unaware of my change until a few days later, when I was out scavenging for supplies. Once I had taken stock, I realized that the only thing left on my body was my tunic, and even then it was thoroughly stained with blood. I'd..."
Jason grinned, the sound of running water finally greeting his ears. He had been searching for something larger than a brook so that he could clean himself up. Luckily, there were many edible fruits within this odd forest, and sustenance had been easy to come by because of that.
He set down a stick that had made for a good, makeshift spear and waded into the shallow stream. It was only a few feet across and a foot or two deep at most, but it was more than enough to finally clean himself. The dried blood in his tunic was less than pleasant, and he had already fended off very odd, wolf-like creatures in the time since coming to.
He waded into the water, enjoying the cooling sensation and the feeling of the pebbles underneath his feet. The last few days had been increasingly warm, as if it were in the middle of the growing season. Wind tickled his chest, running its way through the open area provided by the stream as he dunked his tunic into the water, watching the water start to run red with the caked blood.
Washing his tunic, Jason’s mind drifted to some of this place’s oddities, both environmentally and his own body. As a child, he had foolishly played with his father’s skinning knife, slicing his palm wide open. The ensuing scar had been bold, even though it had happened more than a decade ago. That scar was now gone, as was every other spot, blemish, and mark that had come about from his life.
He held up the tunic, closely examining the remaining blood spots before dunking it again. Jason then drifted to the forest itself, and how wrong it all seemed. For starters, the sun went from being on the horizon to high in the sky on his first day here, when he had ran from the voice and the ensuing sound of a battle.
A roar interrupted his thoughts, further proving just how odd this place was. A creature bounded into his sight, a massive beast composed of a variety of exotic animals, and a mouth filled with death. Jason dropped his tunic, splashing water everywhere as he grabbed for his makeshift spear and held his ground. The creature hissed, sizing him up before swiping a claw the size of his head at him.
Jason leapt back, keeping his makeshift spear close to him. His eyes widened as the paw left a noticeable indent in the ground, realizing that all it would take is one hit to put him down. As another paw came towards him, he jumped in behind it, spear outreached for its face. The spear buried itself in the shoulder of the beast, wrenching itself from his grip as it leapt backwards. Jason never even saw the tail coming from the side, which caught him in the side of his left leg, piercing clean through the tissue and breaking the bone.
Excruciating pain filled his senses as he crumpled to the ground, tears and pain causing his vision to blur. A numbness spread from the wound as the blood rapidly left his body, and moments later another swipe from the beast caused his vision to go dark as he died.
With a gasp, he feebly twitched, stirring as something around him shifted. Jason was thoroughly surprised at the lack of pain, initially thinking that perhaps he had gone to Heaven, even though it was the work of the Devil that had brought him wherever here was.
He felt a lot of fine dust against bare skin as he used his hands to prop himself up. Almost immediately he realized that something was different. He was still near the stream, as the running water reached his ears, but all around him was ash and scorched earth. The only sign of the beast was blood and broken branches were it looked as if it had ran off in a panic.
Coughing, he dusted as much ash off himself as possible, noticing the fact that he was now stark naked. Walking to the stream, he began washing the ash off, thoroughly confused as to what had just happened. His gaze lingered a moment longer on the circle of earth that was now devoid of any life before turning to the water, where looking within gaze him another shock.
In the rippling reflection provided by the stream, the face that stared back at him was much too young to be his. Although still covered in a fine coating of soot, all of the lines and ridges that had been earned from his time toiling on his father’s farm were simply gone.
Celestia hummed, interrupting Jason’s narration. “So, you don’t recall anything about what happened, to cause this, it just… happened?” She pursed her lips in thought, looking at Philomena as she worked through the pieces in her mind.
Jason nodded, fidgeting around in his seat some more, still unable to get comfortable. “Yeah, one moment I was back home hunting for my family, then here I was. It was a wild surprise to come to alive and naked, completely unharmed and a lot younger.” He paused, a slight frown on his face. “Usually I don’t change my appearance at all, though. I have no idea where these came from…” Jason glared at Philomena. “From what little bit I’ve looked up since coming here, I think her kind has something to do with it, but I honestly don’t know what.”
“Oh, that explains it,” Celestia began, “now I understand why you spent so much time in the archives. You could’ve asked myself, Luna or even Twilight for aid… we would’ve been more than happy to assist you.” She turned her focus towards Philomena, who was enjoying herself by harassing Jason’s wings. “As for the basis of these powers being similar to a phoenix, I believe I do have a method of identifying that.”
Jason scrunched his brows, not very pleased at the thought. “Let me guess, you have to use a spell on me? Bleh…” He went quiet for a few moments, thinking. “Fine. I don’t like it, but maybe getting an answer to this after so long… I’ve only been able to find limited notes on phoenixes, even with your archives. It just doesn’t seem like something that has been explored much.”
Celestia nodded, her horn glowing softly. “There isn’t. At one point when they were much more numerous, phoenixes were looked into by those attempting to strive for immortality, among many other methods.” Jason felt a tingling sensation as her spell went off, the sensation of needles filling his skin. “However, the research was quickly suspended and made illegal. Not only did the native population become dangerously low, anypony who attempted to instill the essence of a phoenix, or even an iota of their magic, died a violent and painful death. Their magic wasn’t compatible with other Equestrian-native species.”
Jason merely nodded, attempting to block out the sensation that any magic used on him brought forth. It felt like he was being poked and prodded everywhere at once, even underneath his clothing. “I see…” he muttered. “How would one kill something that’s supposed to rebirth themselves at death? Doesn’t that sound rather… hard?”
“Well, one would think so, but if you destroy a creature’s magic, you destroy what they are. Everything and everypony has an internal pool of magic that is unique to them. Remove that, and you remove an essential part of their life and they inevitably die.” Celestia finished her spell, an odd expression coming to her face. “Jason. Going from what little you’ve told us of your home and how magic was mostly a non-existent force, I can postulate what happened.”
Jason patiently waited, simply nodding his head for Celestia to continue. “Whatever brought you here, my guess is that you had no internal magic. They managed to instill a large portion of a phoenix’s natural reservoir into you. That explains the rebirth, and it looks like it has recently gotten stronger, more developed.” She looked at Philomena, “It also explains why Philomena has taken such an attachment to you like none other. Even though externally you’re different, internally… the two of you are very much similar. I would also postulate that close proximity with her has helped to develop your own magic, which may explain your changes.”
“Huh. All of that makes a lot of sense. Shame that it took so long to find out, though…” Jason said before laughing. “Poor Twilight, I can only imagine her reaction when she finds this out. I left my past vague on purpose, it really didn’t seem to matter much to me, not anymore. Knowing her, she’d probably want to spend hours talking with me again now.”
Celestia shared a laugh with him at the thought of her student turned-princess. “Be careful what you wish for, Jason, for she is going to be visiting soon.” She hummed, summoning a fresh pot of tea to the table and getting a cup. “Now, do you mind sharing with me how exactly you managed to go one thousand years without gaining my notice? I’d received whispers in the shadows at best about some random creature who would show up at times, but the details were always vague, at best.”
Jason scratched at the back of his neck, a hesitant look on his face. “Well… I suppose I can tell you a few things. I spent a lot of time wandering, somehow managing to find myself in more than a few situations where I tried to do some good…” Jason launched into another account of his past, Celestia listening on in silence.
Jason pulled himself to his feet, eating a carrot that he had plucked from a nearby field. The forest he was currently calling home made for a good refuge, and the thick canopy ensured none of the ponies that lived in the nearby village could easily find him. He was on the way back from a quick raid on their crops, only taking enough for a few days. While the small game was plentiful, Jason liked a change from meat.
Walking up to a particularly large tree, Jason ducked into a small hole created from the mass of branches low to the ground, crawling into a small enclosure created by the branches. While cramped, it provided the perfect cover to sleep in and store a few things. Carefully placing the variety of vegetables into a small hollow covered by cloth, Jason lay down, watching the last of the sunlight filtering through the canopy above.
Just as his mind is drifting into the edge of sleep, voices nearby wake him. “So, the village over yonder… their inn is supposed to have a safebox buried underneath it containing a small mountain of bits. Everypony should be asleep one hour after sunset. I’ll leave the backdoor to the inn unlocked for you. Now, do you have what I asked for?”
Jason quietly listened in, now awake and alert. This was not the first time he had ended up around such activities, and although dying did hurt, he almost felt obligated to do what he could to prevent such things from happening. The voices continued on as he quietly listened.
“Good, good. Now, I need to make myself scarce. A small place like this will probably suspect that I was involved since I’ve only been there for a short time. Just remember what I said. One hour past sunset. Any earlier and you’ll risk ponies still being awake.”
Jason heard the soft sound of hooves on grass walk off, while the individuals that were paying for the information hang out nearby. The sounds of wings rustling reached his ears, telling him that those gathered outside are either pegasus or gryphons. Slowly, he crawls out of the confines of his enclosure, looking at the surrounding area.
Clawed feet greeted his eyes, meaning that the future offenders are gryphons for certain. By the time Jason had encountered his first gryphons, he had long since stopped being surprised at the oddities of the world, and accepted the odd creature as surely as the sun’s existence. He slowly counted, coming up with three pairs of legs, and mentally cursed. He clutched at the makeshift metal knife, knowing that it wasn’t going to be enough; but he still had to try.
He waited until it appeared as if all three had their backs to him. Quietly, he slunk the rest of the way out, inwardly cringing every time he made a noise. Luckily, the idle chatter the bandits were involved in drowned out the few sounds made during his exit. Jason slowly made his way to the closest of the three, knife tightly grasped in his grip.
With a cry, the other two jumped back in alarm as he grabbed the head of the third and mercilessly cut the blade against their throat. Dropping the gryphon, Jason took up a ready stance, blade in hand, as the two gryphons drew short swords of their own.
“What in Tartarus are you?” one of the gryphons asked, eyes wide as the life left the body of their comrade. Without a word, Jason advanced on them, careful to try and keep his target in front of the other.
The gryphons were immediately aware of what he was attempting to do, and although incapable of flying due to the low canopy, they split to either side in a move to flank Jason. Letting out a curse, he quickly struck out at the one to his left, exposing his back for a moment as his blow was blocked. A sting on his shoulder caused him to jerk forward, the blade barely breaking the skin.
Coming out of the block, the gryphon took the initiative, grinning as much as one can with a beak when the smell of Jason’s blood reached his nostrils. With a wide swing, he made a sweep at Jason’s gut, who deftly stepped back, only to feel a blade miss his head by inches.
Pivoting on the balls of his feet, Jason spun in a one hundred and eighty degree turn, swinging out at the gryphon previously at his back. Taking him by surprise, he struck a glancing blow, bloodying the gryphon’s chest. With a cry of fury, the wounded gryphon retaliated, claws digging into his forearm.
Jason’s eyes watered as his arm is partially shredded, the claws making quick work of his flesh. Gritting his teeth, he dug his sword into the gryphon’s gut, ending it with a vicious twist. Jason watched the eyes go wide, then the life quickly fled from them.
While Jason was occupied, the remaining gryphon saw his opportunity to strike, digging his blade into him with one claw, while the other buried itself into the shallow wound in Jason’s shoulder.
Nearly blinded by pain and aware of his impending death, Jason did his best to fall back into his attack, gripping him with his one good hand. He felt the gryphon taking a sadistic pleasure in his death, lending him a sense of relief even as the last of his consciousness fled.
Jason came to, something he was highly familiar with, with blackened earth greeting his sight and ash covering his body. However, as he propped himself back up, what he saw stunned him. Blackened trunks met his eyes, the immediate area devoid of the color green. But, the immediate forest was not the only casualty. Black smoke was visible on the horizon, already well off into the distance. A quick glance showed that where fields and a village stood, a leveled, smoldering heap was all that remained.
Sighing, Jason brushed the ash off as best as possible, before setting off in a random direction towards the next place to temporarily call home.
“Do you know when and where this was?” Celestia asks, almost accusingly. She realizes her tone moments later, softening her look and smiling. “Sorry, but do you recall the name of this village, and when?”
Jason shakes his head. “No, I purposely stayed on the fringes. That was one of my larger failures, I only learned to fight by doing, and it was still early on. I did later hear that no one had died, though, if that helps place it. It was near a forest, and the terrain was pretty flat. Plus, I have no idea how long had passed. Sometimes after I die my return is nearly instant, othertimes it seems like years have passed.”
Celestia’s brow creases as she thinks on the matter. “Ah ha! Yes, I recall now. I received a report on the small village of Plainsborough in the year…” She drifted off into thought for a moment once more. “One Hundred and Thirty-Four C. R. It was odd, as a forest fire started from an unknown source, but the inhabitants had enough time to pack essential items and leave well ahead of the flames.” Celestia shook her head a little bit.
“Yeah, that was the only good thing about it. For awhile, I thought that I was responsible for their deaths… I have no qualms at taking the life of one who has ill intentions, but innocents…” He trailed off, a pained look entering his eyes. “I try to live by tenets that, even though I no longer believe in the reason behind them, they still are worth following.”
“I see…” Celestia spoke comfortingly, a sad look in her eyes. One that spoke of her understanding his pain from experience. “I’m guessing that there are other circumstances like this one that happened during your travels?”
Jason nodded, sipping at his water. “Yeah. That one I told you about was the worst. Most times I was able to either help prevent something before it happened, or I was too late.” He shrugged. “I did my best to stay away though. The worst part about it all, though?” Celestia leaned in as he moved his head forward, as if wanting to tell her a secret. “Getting new clothes. It’s such a pain in the ass incinerating my clothing every time I die. It sucks, no way around it.”
Celestia looked at him incredulously before breaking out into laughter, Philomena’s tittering caws joining in as well as Jason smiled. “Well,” she began, once her laughter was under control, “so long as you’re here, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about either…” Celestia trailed off, her face taking a grim expression.
“That assassin… it’s the first one in many, many years. I haven’t been called the Sun Tyrant in a long time as well. It’s a name that was branded to me by the supporters of Nightmare Moon. I knew that there were still pockets, but they had been silent for some time. It’s… not good that they would so openly and brazenly attempt such an act.”
Celestia got up and surprised Jason with a hug, wrapping her hooves around him, even as tears began to leak from her face. “I thank you for stepping in, even though you knew you would ultimately be fine. To say I was concerned is an… understatement. Even knowing what I do now, I would rather you not risk your life even though you will simply come back to us.”
Jason simply returned her hug, even more acutely aware of his new wings as Celestia’s fur rubbed against the feathers, an odd tickling-like sensation coming from them. He suppressed the urge to laugh as they hugged, two friends seeking a moment of solace with each other.
All too soon the moment was over, Celestia pausing as she ruffled the feathers on his wing. “I’ll have to teach you to use those, once I find some time.” She settled back down on the sofa. “So, what brought you to Canterlot? For working so hard to avoid the larger population centers, you came to one of the largest at a time of rather high security.”
He grinned, shuffling in his seat and finishing off his water. “Well, I’d actually managed to go for awhile without dying; really nice feeling by the way, really nice. I was staying with some minotaurs, rather interesting individuals, minotaurs… when the morning that was supposed to come, didn’t. I left towards Equestria once more, where whispered words of Nightmare Moon lingered in the air...