//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 - Aftermath and an Arrival 
// Story: (Re)Birth Through Fire 
// by Spacecowboy 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight walked off the train slowly, the din of Canterlot reaching her ear as the train whistled. She looked around, her eyes settling of the armored form of her brother lumbering towards her. "Twilight!" he called out to her, closing the gap between them in a startling speed.

His hooves wrapped around her in a massive hug as he lifted her off the ground slightly. "Ack! Shiny, wings!" Shining let out a small exclamation of shock and set her down quickly. "Whew..." She looked up to the sky in confusion, a few chariots headed towards the castle with Royal Guard pegasi escorting them.

"There was finally a break on the cultist's location," he began speaking, a frown crossing his face. "It seems she abducted Jason and took off, and Philomena gave chase. I sent the guards after them, and it seems that they're just getting back." Shining quickly put on a smile. "But, let's not worry about that, I'm sure they're good. You're finally back, this evening should be about you! Your friends are all at the castle, they wanted to be here but were occupied with, well..." he trailed off, a small smirk on his face.

Twilight just sighed, resting a hoof on her face. "Pinkie?" She received a nod from him before continuing. "Of course she would... Well, I suppose that there's no time like the present, Shining. Lead the way?"

He laughed, then bowed slightly and held out a hoof. "This way, m'Princess." Twilight threw a hoof into his shoulder, her earth pony strength causing him to stumble slightly. After he recovered, he noticed the glare she was giving him. "Oh, fine, no joke then," he briefly stuck out his tongue, "now, time to get moving."

They only drew a few stares as they passed through the city, the Princess of Friendship and her brother the Prince of the Crystal Empire in full armor walking side by side, casually chatting as if nopony else existed. Twilight smiled as they passed ponies by on the street, although Shining could tell that she was still hurting inside.

“It's a shame that you're coming back when I'll probably be heading back to the Empire soon, Twily." Shining softly spoke as they passed through another crowd, the castle gates looming close. "With the apprehension of this last cultist, I'll finally be able to hand the Captain position back over to Stone." He shook his head as a sigh escaped from between his lips. "Talk about timing with taking a vacation. I didn't take any until my honeymoon, and on one of his bi-monthly trips I get handed a hot mess."

She giggled, drawing a smile from Shining. "I'm sure that Celestia appreciated having you around for it..." she trailed off, a far-off look coming into her eyes as her expression turned to one of pain. It only lasted for a moment, but it was a moment longer than he wanted to see. "Sorry... Cadance helped me a lot, but I still come back to it, sometimes..."

They stopped talking as they passed through the palace gates, the two attending guards offering crisp salutes as they went by. Once Twilight felt comfortable at being out of earshot of them, she spoke back up. "Shiny... am I a bad pony?" she questioned, shuddering slightly.

He walked closer to her, offering his support should she need to lean on him. "No, Twily... you were thrust into a situation many think about, but few consider the deeper ramifications of." Shining sighed, nuzzling her for a moment after ensuring nopony was in sight. "You had a lot of harsh truths forced on you that even those who're trained for it have a hard time swallowing. And, no offense, Twilight, but..." he paused, a grin coming to his face, "you are a bit neurotic. Y'know, overreacting just a bit too much."

Shining grunted as one of Twilight's hooves connected with his barrel, causing his next few steps to wobble to the side a bit. She grumbled under her breath, muttering what he assumed to be some rather colorful language. Twilight's mutters continued until a pony screamed out her name, a pink blur stopping inches from her.

"Welcome back, Twilight! We've missed you!" Pinkie exclaimed, pulling a cookie from behind her back and offering to her. "It's your favorite, chocolate chunk with raisins!"

Twilight took the offered cookie and smiled widely, then held it underneath her nose and breathed deeply. "Ah, you know just what to do, Pinkie. It's good to be back, too." she softly spoke, a glimmer of tears forming in her eyes as she took a bite of the cookie. She closed her eyes and softly smiled as she began crying.

"Aw, shucks, Twilight. No need to go cryin' on our account!" Applejack spoke, the rest of her friends right behind her. They all crowded Twilight, each mare offering welcoming words to their friend. Shining smiled at the exchange before carefully taking his place back at her side.

"Excuse me, Applejack," he said, gently nudging her aside as he brought his mouth close to Twilight's ear. "I need to leave and see what they found, I'm sure the princesses and I will be joining your small get-together soon, though. Take care, Twily."

He received a small nod from her and then backed away, turning towards the hall leading to the flight strip. It was only a short walk, and given how long it had taken Twilight and him to walk to the castle, the last of the pegasi should be almost done with their post-flight checks. As good a starting place as any, Shining reasoned to himself.

Shining left the shaded hallway and walked into the afternoon sun, the last of the carriages being put away by a few pegasi. He walked up and waited for them to finish before addressing them. "What news?"

The guards halted and offered a quick and smart salute. The closest to him had a large grin on his face that spoke of good news. "Well, Captain, I believe you'll find yourself back up north in no time at all!"

He inwardly grinned, his mind drifting towards Cadance's letters and some of the things she had dared to put into writing concerning exactly what she was back home waiting for. "That's wonderful news!" he exclaimed, throwing a hoof around the shoulder of the guard who gave him the information. "So, where exactly is this prisoner? I'd like to thoroughly grill her for all the trouble we've gone through because of her."

The guard flinched slightly at the contact, and let out a sigh at the end of his question. "Dead, sir. It seems that she was shacked up in a cave a few miles within the Everfree. When we arrived to the final chamber, everything was mostly ashes at that point, and much of the cave had been collapsed. Apparently, Philomena had an issue with this cultist abducting Jason, sir."

Shining removed his hoof and chuckled. "Damn, I was hoping to get a piece of her. Still," he trailed off, a glint in his eye, "if Philomena took care of her, I almost feel bad for the whorse. She mention how Night Shade died? You know, for the sakes of my report."

The guards shared a chuckle, another one replying this time. "She reported that after a small scuffle, an explosion set fire to most of the flammable materials contained within. Night Shade was caught on fire before the collapse buried her. We checked for her body, but it was a thorough collapse, and apparently the fire was Dragon's Breath."

He let out a whistle. Dragon's Breath was a notorious alchemic concoction that, when cooled and then exposed to open air, created a filmy liquid that ignited within seconds. It stuck to anything it touched and burned for a long time. "Well, as wrong as it may be for me to say, I'll take some pleasure in knowing how she went out. Even if it was only indirectly, she was responsible for a lot of trouble. Night Shade was the one who provided the assassin with the Night's Bane, after all.

"Well, thank you, soldiers. I'll let you get back to your duties. Before I go, though, where can I find your superior?" he asked, a large amount of satisfaction running through him.

"Should be in the Command Post giving his report, sir. Also, the guests are in the infirmary, sir." Shining nodded, dismissing the gathered guards who immediately dispersed. He let his hooves carry him through the familiar motions that involved getting to the mentioned location; a path he had walked many times during his stay at Canterlot.

Pushing open the door with his hooves, Shining stopped at the threshold and took in a deep breath. The smell of ink, paper and polish greeted his nostrils, a reminiscent mixture of his times spent before leaving to rule the Crystal Empire. He wound his way through the hustle and bustle of the busy halls, making his way to where he thought the post operations debrief would be located.

Shining opened up one of the office doors, a pegasus still in full armor talking with an earth pony lieutenant. "Ah, Captain Armor, just the stallion I was hoping to see. I've got good news for you, sir."

He smiled at the lieutenant and then glanced at the pegasus. "So I've heard. Was actually coming to get the after-action report, and then see how Jason and Philomena are doing. After all, it was her signal that let us finally wrap this up."

The lieutenant smiled, then turned to the pegasus, who was still quietly standing by. "Dismissed, Sergeant. Please have your report finished and submitted within the next two hours if you can." He waited for her to depart, then turned to Shining. "So, Captain, what would you like to know? I've got all the details up here," he knocked lightly on his head, "and it's pretty straightforward. It seems by the time they mobilized and tracked Philomena down, the conflict was already over."

Shining took a seat at the lieutenant's desk as he continued talking. "The cave was one of many inside the Everfree, it was far enough away for Night Shade to remain unknown while also being close enough to Canterlot to access her hidden safehouses. The location was thoroughly trapped, although Philomena appeared to have disarmed them all after triggering the first one, from what the scouts could tell. The only item that was salvageable was one of the devices used to collect phoenix ashes."

He let out a whistle. "I'm certain that thoroughly pissed her off. Had it been recently used?" Shining waited for confirmation before speaking again. "Yeah, that would definitely do it... Can I assume that they're both safe?"

"Yes, although both were unconscious, they appeared in good condition." the lieutenant chuckled slightly, shaking his head. "It would seem that their slightly large stature gave the sergeant a small issue carrying them out, at least until she recalled that unicorns could levitate. Some ponies, makes you wonder how they got through, eh?

"They were both taken straight to the castle's infirmary, so you'll be able to find them both once you're done here. What else, hmm..." he trailed off and brought a hoof to his chin. "Ah, yes. They brought the device back for study, hopefully its origin will be revealed with a bit of research. Additionally, they also secured some vials that were left from the disarmed traps; those will be carefully analyzed before their destruction to see if they're anything new. The rest was nothing but ashes and rubble"

Shining nodded again, a smile on his face. "Thanks for filling me in. Sounds like Philomena really did a number on the place. Seems like I'll finally be able to get back home soon." he stood up, extending his hoof towards the stallion across the table. "Thanks for the information, Lieutenant. I wish you luck in the future."

He took Shining's hoof with his own, firmly returning the hoofshake. "You too, Captain. Good luck up north." Turning, Shining left the office, his next destination clear in his mind.





Philomena groaned as consciousness slowly returned to her. The last thing she had recalled was clutching tightly at the container containing– "Jay!" she yelled as she bolted into a sitting position in an instant.

"Relax, my friend, he's asleep right now and well." A gentle voice reached her ears and Philomena turned. She widely smiled as she saw Celestia, who moved to wrap two hooves around her in a hug. She returned the embrace, enjoying the warmth and comfort of it.

She sighed, leaning into the shared hug. "It was bad, Tia. She'd already killed my Jay, and had his ashes in one of those vile containers. I'm glad to hear he's fine..." she trailed off, a wry smile forming on her face. "Did he reincarnate as a phoenix, or as his old self, if I might ask?"

Celestia laughed, breaking their embrace. "I see where your priorities lay, Philomena. I suppose I can say that..." she trailed off, a glint of humor in her eyes, "you'll see soon enough. He's resting, for some reason he was a bit weak when he arrived here."

Philomena nodded, more to herself than Celestia. "It makes sense, really, especially if that whorse had used any of his ashes in her vile concoctions." She shuddered slightly, thinking back to the cavern. "It was a rather ingenious, if not hideous, setup that she had. However, for all of her knowledge, it did her little good once I got to her." Philomena grinned, a look that spoke of satisfaction. "She will kill no more phoenixes, and if she had any, her research should have been destroyed in the blaze that happened."

Nodding, Celestia stood up. "Indeed, I've been told that according to the preliminary reports, the only items recoverable were some vials of mysterious concoctions and that dreaded object. Everything else was either buried in rock and earth or turned to ash. I must say, you really did a number on the place." She frowned for a moment, mind adrift towards a neglected though. "I only hope that this was indeed the last link of the chain and that we may put this cult behind us."

A gentle knock at the door pulled their attention towards it. Philomena nodded, to which Celestia spoke. "Come in." Shining opened the door, a smile on his face.

"Good afternoon, Princess, Philomena," he focused his attention on the latter with a large smile, "I believe I owe you an immense debt of gratitude. After spending some time with Twilight, I'll be able to go home to Cadance, finally." Shining did a half-bow, a large grin on his face the entire time.

Philomena laughed, holding a hand to her mouth. "What can I say, Shining Armor? It doesn't matter who, if they mess with my Jay then I will ruin their day, week, or in the extreme cases their life. No one will deprive me of what is mine, ever." she spoke confidently, a glint within her eye that he missed.

Shining gulped slightly, looking over to Celestia for a moment before returning his focus back to Philomena. "Oh, um... Jason truly stands no chance, does he? I mean, I've seen Cady get assertive before, but... wow." he breathlessly spoke, a large amount of concern for his friend welling up within.

The air was tense for all of a few seconds before being broken by yet more of Philomena's laughter. "Relax, Shining. Jay is not a possession of mine, but I will go to any length to give retribution to those who intend him harm." she warmly smiled as she talked, working to reassure him that it was simply a joke.

"Oh, uh, I knew that," he attempted to recover, rubbing at the back of his head with a hoof. Celestia joined in with the laughter this time, causing him to groan. He waited for them to finish, leveling his gaze at Philomena. "So, if you don't mind, was there anything worth noting before you turned the place to ash? It sounds like she was the last cultist, but I want to leave Stone with as much information as possible."

Philomena nodded as she cradled her chin in a palm. "Hmm, let me think..." she muttered under her breath, eyes unfocused as she gazed nowhere in particular. "I didn't see anything of interest as far as potential information, the fire occurred pretty quickly. However, something your engineers might like is a device she had on her hoof.

"It was a device made of metal that wrapped around the leg near the hoof. It was loaded with poisoned projectiles, and it seemed to take no effort for her to shoot them. She simply raised her hoof and then looked down its length before she did something to release them. Figure they may like that bit."

Shining nodded, mentally taking notes on the particulars of the device. "Poisoned?" he asked, brows raised.

She nodded in reply, a grim look on her face. "Yes. Some sort of paralytic. I would also assume it caused my death as well, but I lost consciousness before truly finding out if I was merely out cold or if I had died, since I didn't come to until being here." she finished with a sigh that escaped her mouth. "Now, you said Jay was here as well? I'd really like to see him."

Celestia nodded, finally speaking up once more. "Yes, he's just in the next room. Can you stand up, Philomena? It sounded as if both of you were weaker than usual, and him moreso than normal." She watched as, slowly, Philomena got out of the bed and stood on her feet without aid. While she seemed shaky at first, with a determined grin she kept her balance as she began walking.

"Yeah, that one was a doozy. I feel a little weaker than normal, but not too bad. Nothing a good day's rest won't take care of, anyways." she looked down at her drab hospital attire as she spoke, gagging slightly. "While my tastes may not be as refined as Rarity's, I'll need to get out of these as soon as I see Jay. They're pretty ugly."

Shining and Celestia both laughed as they slowly exited the room, making the very short walk to Jason's room. Philomena entered first, immediately going to his side. She looked at his sleeping body as his chest gradually rose and fell as he breathed. His skin was paler than normal, and he had a general look of illness to him, but other than that he was fine to her eyes.

She rested her hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him. "Jay. It's time to wake up, Jay." she softly spoke, head close to his ear. While her voice had the desired effect of waking him up, the manner of how he awoke caused them all to jump. He screamed, sitting upright and grasping tightly at his chest. Philomena immediately wrapped her arms around him, her wings instinctively encircling him slightly. "Shh, it's okay, Jay."

Jason wrapped his hands around her sides, hugging her tightly to him. "That was... awful. I feel just as much, too..." he muttered, letting his head rest on her shoulder. Shining and Celestia entered his vision as he did so, and his frown immediately turned to a smile of happiness. "Hey, you two. So, did you get her? Also, how long has it been?"

Philomena reluctantly pulled back, a wry smile on her face. "It's only been a few hours, Jay. I made sure she regretted violating you in such a way. Needless to say, there was nothing left for those two to have to deal with."

He let out a small whistle as he stared into her emerald orbs. "Somehow... I expected nothing less. Call it a hunch." Jason hugged Celestia as she got within reach, who returned his embrace with a gentle nuzzle of his cheek.

"When we saw Philomena's flash, and then how she took off after that pegasus, and I knew of your flights, well... I was more than concerned. It warms my heart to see you alive and well, Jason." she softly spoke, a quality and sincerity to her voice that filled him with warmth.

Jason chuckled, jokingly scratching her behind one of her ears as he pulled away. "Look at who you're talking to, Celestia! Nothing can kill me!" he paused a moment as he scrunched his brows in thought. "Well, nothing permanently, anyways. So long as I have Philomena to save my ass in the rare chance that something like this happens again." 

He could not help but shudder as his thoughts drifted to the last things he remembered before his prior death. "Yeah. Definitely not something I want to experience again. I was thinking at least days had passed, really glad to see that's not the case."

Shining laughed loudly as Jason nearly jumped. "As if she would allow you to be gone for so long." he humorously said, not bothering to imply exactly who he meant by the words she. "Trust me, from my time with Cadance, I can tell you that she'd probably start looking for you if you were gone for an hour."

Celestia laughed with Shining at Jason, who merely blushed. He looked to Philomena for support and instead saw a smug grin plastered on her face. "One hour, Shining? You overestimate me!" she claimed, sounding shocked. "Thirty minutes, tops, before I'd start hunting for Jay. At most."

Jason's blush intensified as his eyes met hers again. Celestia calmed down the quickest, speaking up. "Jason, Philomena, in case you two are interested, Twilight has arrived back in the castle. She's currently with her friends, but I'm certain they'd all like to see you two..." she paused and looked between them. "If she lets you out of her grasp long enough, that is."

He skipped a groan and instead just buried his head in his hands. A hand was placed on his shoulder, causing him to look up at Philomena. "Well," Celestia began, motioning to Shining, "it's nice to see you two are well. Shining and myself are going to go say hello to Twilight now, so we hope to see you there. Just go to the front desk, they have the papers for you two to sign for release."

They left the room, leaving Philomena and Jason alone. As soon as the door closed, Philomena latched herself onto Jason, smothering his lips in a kiss. Shocked for all of a moment, he quickly and vigorously returned it, his arms wrapping around her. Their embrace lasted for what seemed like an eternity to the other, a deep connection coming to realization at last between them.

Slowly, their lips parted from each other and they grinned, looking somewhat intoxicated in doing so. "Wow..." he muttered as he moved one hand from around her and raised his fingers to his lips. She giggled as his fingers came to rest on his lips as if to confirm what had just happened.

"Better believe it, Jay. And," she paused, a content smile on her face, "there's much more where that came from, I promise you that. I've been waiting awhile to do it, too." She carefully set herself down on his bed, not moving her arms from around him, and ended up sitting as she nearly straddled him.

"I can say it was worth the wait, Philomena. That was... amazing. As you know, I've never really gotten this close to anyone, well... ever, really." He smiled, sinking his head to rest on her shoulder again as he contentedly sighed.

"I know, Jay." she quietly spoke, mirroring his sigh. "I myself have been alone for well over a millennia as well. But now, we have each other." Philomena broke into uncontrollable laughter a few moments later, sending vibrations through his body. "I just realized how ridiculous that sounded, Jay! It sounded like something from one of those novels Twilight Sparkle was already reading during her time within the castle before Ponyville."

Jason shared in her laughter this time, trying to find his words. "Oh, wow... She read those while Celestia's student?" he trailed off, recalling what Celestia had said. "Speaking of, she's back. I think we should go say hello, right?"

Philomena laughed, untangling their arms and hopping down from the hospital bed. "I have a better idea, first. A large part of it involves checking ourselves out, and then getting changed into our better clothes."

Jason laughed, realizing that both of them were still in hospital gowns. Slowly, he dropped one leg off the bed and then the other, slowly putting weight on them. Once he was satisfied that he would not simply topple over, he stood up completely. "Wow... I really do feel pretty bad compared to the usual."

She frowned a moment and moved to his side, an arm held out to help steady him. "Hmm, if any of your ashes were not collected properly, or any missing period, truthfully, it is a drain on your magic. It's as if a part of you was simply ripped out. Regardless, if you don't feel better in a day or two, then there might be some cause for concern. Until then, you should just need a good night's sleep."

He nodded, and they slowly walked out to the receptionist's desk. After only a brief look of concern from the attendant, Jason and Philomena signed themselves out, exiting into one of the many corridors shortly after. It was just a short walk to their room, and the halls were oddly sparse compared to normal. Philomena chalked it up to the fact that Twilight had just returned, so it was likely that most ponies were gathered somewhere down below greeting her.

They entered their room, both moving to their own dresser. "You use the bathroom, Jay. Wait a few minutes before knocking though, okay?" He nodded his agreement as he pulled out the last of his clothes. Jason walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.





Celestia entered the fray of ponies, specifically on the lookout for one in particular. As her arrival did not go unnoticed, her quarry managed to find her first. "Princess!" Twilight exclaimed, and Celestia lowered herself slightly, hooves embracing the smaller mare as they came together in a hug. "I've missed you so much, Celestia..." she quietly spoke.

"And I too, Twilight... I too." she replied, a small smile on her face as she broke their hug and nuzzled Twilight. "I'm glad that Cadance was able to help you, my thoughts often drifted towards how you were faring. It warms me to see you so outgoing once more."

Twilight's smile dropped slightly, but it still remained on her face, shining and exuberant. "It's helped a bit, but... I don't know if things will ever be exactly the same as before. It just feels like it'd be... wrong, if they did."

"Let me give you a small snippet of wisdom, Twilight... once we've experienced the present, we cannot expect the future to be like the past. It shapes who we are, and even if things are ninety nine point nine nine percent the same, there's still that point oh one percent that has changed. What's important is if you learned from that new experience." Celestia said lovingly, reminded of one of her past lessons with a still young, eager filly.

She laughed, something Celestia welcomed. "Even now, I'm still learning from you it seems." she looked around as if seeking out something in particular. "Celestia, have you seen Jason anywhere? I kinda need to apologize to him, I put him in a very awkward place as a result of, well... yeah." she paused, slightly flushed. "So, do you know where he is.?"

Celestia cast a quick location spell to see if he was on his way yet. Her face flushed, and she turned to Twilight. "Ah, well, he's well at the moment, but... I think he's a bit busy uh... recovering. Yes, recovering!" she said, thoroughly flustered.

Twilight raised a brow at her, disbelief etched on her face. "Recovering?"





The moment Jason closed the bathroom door, Philomena rushed to the main door and opened it. She motioned to the unicorn guard stationed nearby. "Hey, you know a sound dampener spell, right?" she quickly asked, keeping her voice low.

He looked at her oddly before he slowly nodded his head. "Good! I'd recommend casting it on this room. For awhile, truthfully..." she trailed off, a look coming to her eyes. "Even better, cast it, then go find Celestia and tell her Philomena is asking for a favor. Tell her about the spell, and she'll take over for you, I'm certain of it."

She left the dumbfounded guard in the hall, locking the door after she closed it. Rushing to her dresser, she pulled out the box that had been hidden since Rarity had finished making it. Opening it up, she grinned as its contents came into sight.

Philomena quickly glanced over to ensure that the balcony doors were locked as well before she slipped out of her hospital gown, tossing it out of the way. She held up the first piece of lingerie, a lacy bra made from fine, fire red silk, before slipping into it. Chuckling under her breath, she slipped on its partner and then walked to the mirror. She took a moment to admire her form, even opening and closing her wings and striking a few poses, before calling out to Jason.

"Jay, you can come out now!"