//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Nocturne of the Everfree // Story: Noctis Pax // by Earl Grey //------------------------------// “No, you fool of a pegasus, get in under her swing! You can’t jump over that!” Two fully armored ponies practiced combat on a raised platform while an uncommonly burly unicorn stood coaching them from the side. Although, it was a rather one sided practice session as one of the ponies, a pegasus, was going to town against an earth pony in the duel. “If a rock had legs it would fight better than you... at least its thick head wouldn’t have noodles for brains!” Vermillion scowled and tried her best to ignore the trainer, instead focused on her quarry. The earth pony was breathing hard in contrast to her controlled breaths and was already sporting a dozen more bruises than herself. They circled each other cautiously, her opponent unwilling to engage until he had stopped gasping for air. Despite the harsh words of the unicorn, the earth pony was doing quite well. However, he was continually underestimating Vermillion’s ability to use her wings. It had cost him and she clearly had the upper hoof now, but she still had to be careful; a single mistake could cost her the match against the much stronger opponent. "Stars above!" the trainer cried again. "My eyes are bleeding! Don't make me walk in there, crack your skulls together and send you back to basic. Because if I do, I'll add hauling firewood up to the castle to your regimen!" The earth pony grimaced and Vermillion lunged forward, catching her opponent off guard. She scored a solid hit to his chest and flipped away as he tried to grab her. Thrown off balance, and winded once again, the earth pony careened into a backwards roll. Vermillion lunged again, flapping her wings to close the distance between them once again. Still trying to recover, the earth pony desperately reached in to grab her again. But, she pushed his foreleg away and took a hold of it, pulling it up and away into a hold. The earth pony stumbled and fell forwards, leaving himself open and allowing Vermillion to take the other foreleg and lock him in a submission hold. With Vermillion smiling above him, the earth pony had no choice but to submit through gritted teeth. As she relaxed her grip, Vermillion glanced around, wondering about the unusual silence from their trainer. He was usually castrating the loser verbally by now. As her gaze swept around to him, she began to hear a pony clapping her hooves against the ground. To her surprise, Princess Luna herself was standing along side the unicorn trainer, applauding her victory. Eyes wide, she scrambled away the earth pony to bow. Glancing to her left, she saw the earth pony finding his hooves and doing the same. The clapping stopped, she peeked a glance up and saw Luna quietly conversing with the trainer. A moment later, Luna turned back. “Rise ponies, that was an excellent match, I commend both of your efforts.” Vermillion couldn’t help but notice the Princess was looking at her the whole time she spoke. “Walk with me,” Luna said to the trainer, turning away as Vermillion rose. She couldn’t help but stare as the Night Goddess walked away, her perfect form an entrancing display for any mortal. After a few minutes, and a few glances back at the ring, Luna left the trainer to return. He surveyed them for a moment before clearing his throat. “Alright, Sergeant, you are dismissed. Go clean yourself up, but don’t think you’re out of trouble yet,” he said sternly to the earth pony before turning to Vermillion. “Lieutenant, before you hit the showers, there’s something I have for you to do...” The light of the full moon streamed through the large stained glass window that loomed over the throne room. The light brought a much needed dash of colour to an otherwise drab grey hall, but as it was the middle of the night and the candles had been extinguished, it served as the only light source. Vermillion stood in the elongated column of light, her bright blue eyes casting nervous glances at the shadows around her. She had been ordered to this exact location only minutes before, with no idea why or for what purpose. It had been a direct order from a commanding officer, so she wasn’t about to disobey. Just as she was beginning to become irritated at the apparent lack of anything worth reporting here for, a light flickered on behind her. A candle had burned into life in one of the ornate candelabras that fill the hall. Another flickered on next to it, then more, until a ring of candlelight had surrounded her. Then, as she cast her eyes forwards, at the last candelabra behind the throne, a curious light drew her eyes upwards. The stained glass seemed to be melting away, revealing nothing but open air and the pure moonlight sweeping into the hall. “Well done. You have stayed vigilant, as I knew you would.” A voice echoed around the throne room, making it unable to pinpoint. Vermillion’s ears swivelled involuntarily, following the sound of the voice around the room. It was almost disorientating. “Night is a mystery, an enigma. It is that which you cannot see, it is the unknown.” The voice rang out again, this time louder. Vermillion’s head was filled with the voice, nothing else able to drown it out. “When faced with Night, a pony has two choices. They can choose to feel fear and flee, or they can feel curiosity and plunge forth, ever onwards into the unknown.” The voice was at it’s loudest yet, but as soon as the last word was spoken, an unnatural silence pressed upon the throne room. The silence was more disconcerting than the voice, the Everfree forest was never silent. Vermillion glanced around the room again, she wasn’t sure if the voice was urging her to act or was merely waiting. After what felt like hours, the voice returned, although this time it came whispering into her ear. She even felt the hot breath against her coat. “Which one will you choose, I wonder?” She spun around on the spot, but there was nothing there, just empty air. Vermillion’s breathing quickened and she took note of everything in the hall, her pinions quivering. Nothing had changed and there was nothing around to suggest the possibility that something might have done. She could feel her heartbeat in her ears and she knew that she was letting the fear get to her. Taking a deep breath, Vermillion closed her eyes and felt the effects immediately, her heartbeat had normalised and she felt calm. “Who’s there?” She shouted, hearing her own question echo around the empty hall. Her voice was level and stern, as if she was demanding an answer and not merely hoping for one. Her only answer was a long, loud laugh that echoed around the large room and sent shivers down her spine. The silence pressed in once more. Vermillion wanted to find the mysterious voice quickly and sort this mess out, but she got the feeling that the darkness wasn’t going to let her go so easily. She stepped one hoof into the vast expanse of darkness as a test and for a brief few seconds, nothing happened, but then just as she eased up, a clinking of metal on metal sounded from somewhere beyond the darkness. It sounded almost like chains rattling against each other as they were dragged along the floor. Vermillion had never been more sorry that she had been right. Hunched forms were stumbling out of the darkness all around her, they were pony in shape, with shackles around their legs, dragging chains as they walked. Moans escaped their mouths and rotting flesh fell from their bodies as they advanced closer and closer to the pegasus. As the first monster lunged at her, she flapped her wings hard in tandem with a jump, sending her several metres in the air before she slammed back down to the ground, landing with a crunch upon the rotten body of the pony below her. She felt liquid pooling around her hooves, but she didn’t care right now, her eyes were flickering between the approaching monsters in front of her, ears scanning for noises from behind. She heard it, a rapid clink from behind her. One of the monsters had tried to grab her but she ducked low and span quickly, grabbing the surprisingly light body beneath her as she did. Using all the strength she had in her forelegs, she swung the body by the head and flung it at it’s fellows, taking out the one closest to her and several behind it. She turned quickly and noticed several more ponies approaching from the front. Clocking one in the jaw and bucking another, she made quick work of the brainless punching bags until she was standing alone in the safety of the light once more, the silence still pressing upon her. “I see. Very interesting.” The voice spoke again, but this time it didn’t echo menacingly around the room. It seemed a lot more real than before, but most importantly, Vermillion could pinpoint it. She turned her head to her right to see a figure emerging from the shadows as if it were a part of them. Tall, regal and strikingly beautiful, Princess Luna approached out of the darkness, her eyes fixed firmly upon the beige pegasus still stood in the column of light. “You, my dear, are an excellent candidate.” Vermillion fell into a bow so quickly that she almost headbutted the ground. “Your Majesty!” She cried, “If I had known-” The Princess cut her off mid sentence, “You wouldn’t have been able to react properly in my little test.” She smiled mischievously, her eyes warm and friendly. “You... were testing me?” Vermillion raised her head, looking slightly confused. “Wh-why, Your Majesty?” She was unable to suppress the slight waver in her voice. The Princess didn’t answer straight away, but began walking slow circles around the much smaller pegasus. “I’ve had my eye on you for a long time. I invited you here today because I believe you have what it takes to join my Night Guard, your little performance today makes me a little more confident in my assumption.” Vermillion looked stunned, this was the last thing she was expecting out of today. “Your personal guard? You mean...” Her voice trailed away, of course she knew what the Princess was talking about, it was hard not to know about it when you served in the guard. The Night Guard had the best equipment, the best training, the best missions, they were the elite. The group was surrounded by rumour however, the biggest one being centred around their appearance. They were the size and shape of your garden variety pony, but they were different, the most obvious difference being the leathery wings that looked like they belonged to a bat of some description. This, coupled with their characteristically dark coats, sharp teeth and pointed ears, had earned them the nickname, ‘bat ponies’, amongst the common folk. “Yes, I think you have more than earned the right to join their ranks.” Princess Luna’s previously mischievous smile turned into somber frown. “Although...” The Princess grinned again, “maybe one more test will do it. Follow me, please.” Two torches flickered on in the seemingly infinite expanse of shadow. Luna walked unflinchingly towards them and threw a look over her shoulder towards the pegasus, it was one Vermillion had never expected to see being given by the Princess. It was a hungry glare, beckoning her over to the Princess’ side. Vermillion had never thought about the Princess in that manner before, but now there was nothing else occupying her head. Vermillion ran to catch up with Princess Luna, joining her by the distant candlelight, which revealed a stone corridor. The Princess started down the corridor and motioned for Vermillion to follow, which she did in earnest, although she couldn’t help glancing sideways at the taut, midnight blue flank bobbing along at eye level. “Enjoying the view?” The Princess’ playful voiced lilted over and broke Vermillion out of some kind of trance. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment and she looked pointedly away, making sure not to say a word. Princess Luna stopped at a nearby door, “We’re here. Step inside please.” She may have said please, but there was a sense that the Princess wasn’t giving Vermillion any chance to say no. ‘Not that I could say no. This is more than I could have ever dreamed.’ Inside, the room was much smaller than she was expecting. It looked like it had been used for storage at some point, but had been gutted out. Right now, it seemingly only held a raised stone dais surrounded by lit candles and a tall wooden cabinet that stood in the furthest corner of the room. There were no windows to let in any natural light, just the candles. There was a definite gloomy atmosphere coming from the room that gave off the air of ancient magical rituals. “This is where I conduct my ancient magical rituals.” Luna announced, closing the door behind her. Vermillion stared at the princess for a few seconds, wondering whether she had the ability to read minds. Finally, she decided that it wasn’t worth the time and effort to decode the inner workings of higher beings. “I assume you’re wondering what all of this means. Who and what are the Night Guard? and a multitude of other things.” Luna took a few steps and took a place at the far end of the circular dais. “It’s only natural after all, you should remember that I said the night breeds fear and curiosity. Would you join me up here, Lieutenant?” Again, Princess Luna’s question left no room for a no. Vermillion took the step up to the raised dais, one she took with more difficulty than the princess due to it’s height. Now that she could get a better look at the dais, she could see a complicated series of carvings etched into the surface of the stone. She assumed that this had a reason, but her magical knowledge was next to nothing so she couldn’t even begin to make a judgement. “My Night Guard aren’t born as they are, I don’t recruit them from some far off nation across the sea, the Night Guard are made.” Princess Luna left that statement hanging in the air for a few seconds, letting Vermillion digest that information. She swallowed hard, her mouth oddly dry. “You see, they were once regular ponies like you, earth ponies or pegasi with special skills and talents that caught my eye. I offered them a choice, to join me as a Night Guard or to continue on as they were. Some accepted and just as many more have declined, I never try to coerce a pony into joining my guard, but I always give them the truth before asking them to join.” Vermillion was following the princess’ every word, listening intently, but she wasn’t able to respond to the princess’ last words. The Princess hadn’t said anything else so she asked the first question that came into her head. “You said earth ponies and pegasi, but not unicorns. Is there a reason for that?” The Princess studied the pegasus for second, “You’re rather sharp aren’t you?” She smiled playfully. “Well, in short, they’re immune to the process. By it’s nature, the process isn’t intrusive, it can’t force change, I created it to function in that exact way. All ponies have magic flowing through their bodies, but a unicorn’s magic is much different to that of an earth pony or a pegasus, it is wild and unstable and it easily overpowers the process and nullifies its effects. I’ve never had a problem with it however, unicorns have their skills and my Night Guard have theirs as well, together they can make formidable teams.” “So the batpo-” Vermillion broke off, her eyes wide, she had almost used the common nickname, “I mean, the Night Guard are just regular earth ponies or pegasi, but changed a little?” She finished off her question with a level voice, but her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Surely the Princess wouldn’t want her beloved Night Guard to be referred to in such a way. Princess Luna paused to smirk at her young charge, almost playfully chiding the pegasus with the look alone. “On that regard, you’re wrong actually. The Night Guard are so radically different on the biological level that it wouldn’t be fair to call them anything other than their own subspecies. I have dubbed them thestrals, although I am aware of some of the names others have used.” Despite Luna’s smile, Vermillion couldn’t help feeling embarrassed again. “Now, lets get down to the meat of this conversation, what exactly the process is and what will happen afterwards.” Luna took a breath to begin what was most likely a complex and lengthy lecture, but Vermillion spoke before the Princess could begin. “With all due respect, Princess, I... I don’t think I need to hear it. I’m ready to join your Night Guard, regardless of what happens to me.” “Are you sure? There’s hesitation in your voice and I must remind you that this process cannot work against your will, conscious will or not.” Vermillion looked up into the Princess’ eyes with a fierce determination. “I’m quite sure, Princess. It’s been my dream to serve both you and Equestria since I was a filly and I’m not about to change my mind. I’d just like to get this started as soon as I can, if you please.” “If you’re really sure then I shall not stop you, but I am going to tell you this one thing before we start; becoming a Night Guard is a little more than pledging your allegiance and going about your merry way. This is a choice that will give you a new life, a life that is one with the Night.” The Princess stepped closer and crouched down, bringing herself to eye level with Vermillion, her look was pleading, but her voice was strong. “You must cast away your previous existence and give it all to the Night. For all intents and purposes, the pony known as Vermillion will cease to exist.” Vermillion’s face was shadowed by her helmet and it cast an eerie pall across her. She looked impassive as she contemplated the Princess’ questions. “I’m ready.” She answered, her voice unwavering. Princess Luna broke out into her mischievous grin again. “Wonderful, let’s get started then.” She used her magic to open up the cabinet and a large flask came floating out, coming to rest in front of the pegasus. The contents were almost black in colour, but it shone a deep blue when the candlelight hit it. As it sloshed back and two in the flask, Vermillion thought that it looked like it had the consistency of ink, although that could just be the colour fooling her. “What’s this?” Vermillion asked, staring at the flask confusedly. The Princess raised an eyebrow and smirked, “I thought you just wanted to get this over with?” Her voice was mocking, but playful. Vermillion found it incredibly strange to see the princess like this, just speaking casually with her. Vermillion found herself getting slightly annoyed with the Princess and it must have shown on her face because the alicorn started pointing and giggling. “You know what I mean, Princess.” “You get the most adorable crease in your brow when you pout, did you know that?” Princess Luna fluttered her eyelashes and had the briefest hint of a smile playing around her lips. Vermillion could tell the princess was just messing with her head and she tried her very best to remain stoic and unresponsive to the mental attack, but she just couldn’t, her cheeks were already burning. “So... about the flask?” Vermillion reiterated, trying to bring the conversation back into a more comfortable area. Princess Luna, it seemed, had had her fun and seemed much more serious. “It’s a potion. It’s desperately tricky to brew and disastrous if gotten wrong, but rest assured, I have been brewing this potion for many, many years and I have gotten it perfect each time. I won’t go too far into what exactly it will do, no one but the most fanatic alchemist would find it interesting anyway, but it essentially prepares the body for the transformation, galvanising the process to make sure it works properly.” “So I just have to drink this?” Vermillion stared at the flask like it was a new enemy that she had just been told to defeat. Before Princess Luna could even say “Yes”, she had uncorked the flask and downed the contents. When she placed the flask next to her, now empty, she grimaced and shuddered as the aftertaste hit her. That potion was nasty. The Princess was taken aback by Vermillion’s almost reckless behaviour. “You really are serious about this,” she said aloud. “You should feel a tingling sensation as the potion gets to work, but don’t worry, it won’t hurt.” There was a tingling, of that Vermillion was definitely sure. It had started in her stomach and slowly began spreading to her legs and up to her head. It was certainly uncomfortable, it was like her entire body had pins and needles. “That should be enough time for the potion to have taken full effect.” Luna cleared the flask away, floating it back into the cabinet and then looked back at Vermillion, her eyes serious once more. “Now for the ritual. Sit down, please.” Vermillion obeyed instantly, prostrating herself before the Princess. She stared intently at the alicorn, who alighted her horn, and watched as the armour she had been wearing melted off of her body, disappearing entirely. “You won’t be needing that.” She smiled and moved onto casting another spell. The Princess had her eyes scrunched together, apparently focusing intently on the spell she was weaving. The glow from her horn was an entrancing blue and it grew and grew until it was lighting up the entire room. The magic poured into the stone dais, filling the etched lines with a pulsating power, it continued to grow until the entire dais was glowing. An immense magic circle had been formed, with layer upon layer of concentric circles, each one in-laid with alternating clockwise and anticlockwise runic markings. Vermillion’s head was starting to spin. She didn’t know if it was an after-effect of the potion or whether it was because of the spell, but she was finding it harder and harder to focus on the princess before her. The haziness abated and Vermillion shook her head to try and help things. She only succeeded in giving herself a splitting headache, but she did see that the princess had ceased casting the spell. The magic circle was still going strong though, so Vermillion assumed that it didn’t require a constant supply of magic to make it work. The princess stood up and approached her, her eyes glowing with power, it was all Vermillion could do to keep her eyes open to observe things because her body refused to move by her will. “First the potion, then the spell.” Princess Luna’s voice echoed around the small room, eerily ethereal and brimming with ancient power. “Next comes preparation, then the transfusion.” Vermillion had no time to consider the meaning of these words as the princess had brought herself down to the pegasus’ level, their faces mere inches apart. “Spread your wings.” It wasn’t a suggestion and Vermillion didn’t hesitate in obeying. The Princess didn’t waste any time, she lunged forwards and grasped several of the primary feathers on her left wing, plucking them out with ease. Vermillion cried out, but she muffled it by gritting her teeth together. She couldn’t build any sort of resistance against the princess, she couldn’t seem to form the words needed to tell her to stop. The Princess lunged again and tore out several more primaries on the other wing, her pinions were gone, yet the princess kept on plucking and pruning. Vermillion closed her eyes against the constant stabbing pains throughout her wings. She could tell that the princess had started on her secondaries by now, but it was then that she noticed that the princess wasn’t indiscriminately tearing feathers from her wings. There was a certain order about it and a certain tenderness with the amount of force she was using to pull them out. Vermillion had lost feathers before, so she knew full well that the princess could cause much more damage if she really wanted to. Even still, as Vermillion sat defenceless against Princess Luna, the tears finally came. It wasn’t because of the pain, her training in the guard had given her a high tolerance for pain, it was the fact that her wings were being taken from her. The wings that she had been born with, the wings she had learned to fly with, the wings that had helped her become the mare she was today, all of that was ending in this one moment. In the back of her mind, she had known that it would come to this ever since accepting the offer to join the Night Guard. She had seen the wings they all had, she knew that if she was to become one of them that she would have to lose her old wings. It still didn’t lessen the blow of losing them however. When the princess had finished, she moved to sit in front of the pegasus, staring down at the pathetic looking pony before her. “Soon, my little pony. It will be over soon.” Vermillion seemed to have regained a little control over her body and she flapped her once proud wings feebly, feeling naked as the usual rush of wind against her feathers was nowhere to be found. “Now for the transfusion.” Luna barely flinched as she bit down on her own foreleg, breaking the skin and causing a trickle of blood to flow. ‘How did she do that so effortlessly. Pony teeth aren’t designed for cutting.’ Vermillion thought incredulously, but as she looked up at the princess, she saw a mouth full of canines and incisors. Teeth that certainly weren’t there before. ‘Did she use some kind of magic?’ The Princess brought the wound up to her own mouth and suckled at it for a few moments, apparently drinking her own blood. Vermillion had a few seconds to try and wonder what was going on before the princess leaned in and kissed her full on the mouth. At first, she was confused as to why the Princess of the Night was doing this to her of all ponies, but then she just relaxed and accepted it, actually leaning into the kiss and giving back as much as she got. Vermillion used her own tongue to try and coax the princess into joining her, but when she finally did it, her tongue came with a rush of a viscous liquid that she immediately recognised as the blood the princess was sucking from her own wound. Vermillion didn’t have any time to be disgusted, with the princess’ mouth against her own, there was no other place for the blood to go other than down her own throat. She swallowed it reflexively and the princess broke away, a red tinted strand of saliva joining their mouths for a few seconds before dripping down onto the floor. The pegasus gagged and tried to form a retort, but a shot of pain hit her in the stomach that felt like she’d just been slugged by a manticore. It drove all of the air from her lungs and sent her falling onto her side, her body writhing. She had her eyes scrunched up in a vain attempt to lessen to pain, but she risked opening them to see what was happening to her. The first thing she saw was her right foreleg, which was shedding rapidly, leaving only reddened and raw skin behind. Vermillion tried to get up and survey the damage, but even the slightest movement felt like being burned with a hot poker. She could only assume the same was happening with her whole body. The pain subsided for the briefest moment and it gave Vermillion a chance to move into a more comfortable position on the stone dais. She breathed heavily at the effort, but she was glad at least to that moment of time to compose herself. When the next wave of pain hit her, she was a little more ready for it, like watching a hoof slowly flying towards your head, but knowing you can’t dodge it. Her entire body tingled violently as every pore on her body burned white hot. Despite herself, she whimpered due to the pain. Vermillion’s breathing was still laboured, but the pain seemed to have abated once more. She chanced opening her eyes again and saw that her raw skin was hidden, although this time by a swathe of dark blue hair. She looked up and saw the princess smiling down at her reassuringly, it was almost enough to make her feel better, but just as she was about to examine herself more closely, the pain returned, centred solely in the stumps that had once been a pair of magnificent wings. The blinding pain was followed by one of the strangest sensations that Vermillion had ever felt. She could actually feel the rapid growth of her new wings, she could feel the new bones knitting themselves into place, she could feel the patagium stretching between them to form the shape. It was a sharp ache followed by a stinging sensation as she felt the air against her newly formed wings. She collapsed against the dais once more, the pain physically exhausting her. The transformation wasn’t over however. “Once you get through the next stage, this will be over.” Luna’s voice drifted through the haze of pain dominating her mind. It helped clear things a little and it allowed her to focus on the princess’ voice, using it as an anchor to stay sane in the swirling storm threatening to swallow her whole. She was thankful for this, because the worst was yet to come. It began as a simple headache, she’d had it since the pain began in fact, but the pain around her body had distracted her from it. Right now it had began building and building upon itself until it felt as though her skull was trying to force itself out of her head. When the pain reached it’s utmost peak, she screamed loudly, a pathetic wretched sound that filled the entire room and echoed her shame. It felt as though her head was dissolving, a persistent buzzing sound that she could hear from inside her own head. Tears fell openly and freely from her clenched eyes and a constant stream of exhausted sobbing escaped from her mouth, framed by a sharp, new set of teeth. The pain began to ebb away slowly and with it, all of the energy in her body. By the time the transformation had been completed, she was completely unconscious.