Chapter 5 - Finding The Nocti Lunarum
Jason groaned, his everything hurt. Ironblood had been most kind to start helping him relearn how to fight with the added weight. He still was not back to the point he had been at before, but he had gotten to a spot that he deemed passable. If passable involved getting beaten by Ironblood within three minutes.
The other reason Jason was so sore is that his wings were extremely similar in structure to the gryphons. Ironblood, the good friend he was, insisted that he help Jason learn how to use his new appendages. He had yet to even leave the ground, as the exercises that he had to do involved simply strengthening the muscles. While it made sense, it left his wings feeling like dead weight after every session, which was daily, sometimes bi-daily.
“Again!” Ironblood cried out, and Jason cringed. He took a deep breath and raised his sword, keeping the blade extended at a forty degree angle. Again, Jason took another calming breath and waited for the first strike to come. Ironblood lunged in, aiming for his feet. With a hop and a reflexive flap of his wings, Jason went three feet into the air without any effort, retaliating with a strike aimed at the neck of his friend.
The sharp clang of metal crashing with metal sounded out as Ironblood changed his low sweeping strike into an upwards arc, intercepting Jason’s blade. With the added momentum of his drop, rather than deflecting the sword, it slid along Ironblood’s and struck the gryphon’s talons gripping it, causing him to drop his sword and let out a surprised cry.
Shaking his claws, Ironblood began to laugh. “Well done, Jason. Now you see what I mean by fighting with your wings, hey?” The feelings returned, and he picked the sword up from the ground and walked to Jason’s side. “What say we call it a day, huh?”
Jason just smiled, relief flooding through him. “I was hoping you’d say that about, oh…” he looked up to gauge the time based off the sun, “an hour or two ago. Let’s head in, I’m ready for a shower and then a nap.”
They both shared laughter as they walked back to Ironblood’s room, practice swords wrapped in cloth once more. Along the way, something impacted with Jason’s head, soaking it and his shoulders. A tittering laugh reached his ears, and he was surprised to see Philomena flying about above him.
“The heck was that for, Philomena?” Jason asked, Ironblood still chuckling at him. She warbled a few sounds as she landed on his shoulder, nipping a few strands of his hair. He sighed and turned to Ironblood. “Sorry, seems I gotta head straight to my room. Next time I’ll get that drink with you.” he held his bundled sword out, and once it was taken Jason headed off for his room.
“So, what exactly is going on now?” Jason asked as he turned down the hall leading to his room. Philomena warbled a little bit and nipped on his ear at the end, causing him to playfully bat at her. “Wait, you didn't have a reason?" he entered his room, closing the door behind him and turning his head to look her in the eyes. "So, why'd you pull me out of what was going to be me getting a taste of some gryphon brew? I was kinda looking forward to that."
Jason reached to the bottom of the shirt, undoing the buttons that held it in place. Rarity had come through, and quickly, when he explained the continued need for some shirts that fit even with his wings. She had come up with a wide array of them that had a strip for the back that allowed for his wings. Sure, the small batch of skin between his wings was bare, but it was not that large and did not bother him that much. A button was found on either side of his waist, keeping the strip secured to the front part of the shirt. Simple, but very usable.
He pulled the shirt over his head, tossing the sweat-soaked garment into the dirty pile as Philomena let out a squawk of protest as she took to the air. “Get over it, you’re the one who pulled me away for nothing, apparently.” he quipped, sticking his tongue out at her. She continued to lightly harass him as he went about cleaning up, until he hopped into the shower.
Stepping out of the shower, he quickly got dressed, peering in the mirror before heading out. The amber color of his eyes still felt odd to him, although Ironblood was rapidly making him appreciate his wings, if he hated him for it at times. Exiting the bathroom, Jason could not help but chuckle as Philomena immediately used his shoulder as a perch.
Quietly, she warbled and chirped into his ear, causing his eyes to widen. “Wait… I’d heard that she’d taken to the archives, but I thought it was her normal thing. She’s sleeping in the archives, though?”
Philomena sang her confirmation, and Jason sighed. “None of her friends have approached her yet?” he asked with raised brows, and she quickly replied. “Oh, so you want me to try to head it off before her friends have to intervene… Uugh. Good thing for you she’ll hopefully remember to take it easy. If she’s pissed at me, well… she might just forget the part where I told her if I die I go up in flames. Don’t need her angry at me for burning down part of the archives, too.”
She let out a song-like laugh even as Jason buried his head in his hands. “It’s a real shame I lost my faith so long ago. I could really use some of it right now…” Jason left his room, heading towards the royal archives. The sunlight filtered through the glass in the corridor, the sun high in the sky.
As Jason turned a corner, he collided with a pony, and both of them went down in a pile. Philomena took to the air at impact, letting out a quick tittering whistle. “Oh, who… hello, Jason.” Luna spoke, once she had gained her bearings. After untangling herself from him, she offered a hoof, which he took after only a moment’s hesitation.
“Sorry about that, Luna.” Jason apologized as he straightened out his clothes. “Mind was wandering, anything to distract myself right now…” he sighed, a slightly troubled look on Luna’s face as he did so.
“May we ask what is on your mind, Jason? While I am glad that I am no longer the center of your fear, it is most troubling to see you so…” Luna trailed off, unable to find the right word.
He just sighed as Philomena resettled back on his shoulder. “Well, you see, Twilight…” a look of understanding came to her face, “yeah. That’s my problem right now. Philomena claims she’s sinking into one of her moods and thinks I should try and head it off. Problem is, I’m part of the problem.” he shook his head slightly, before perking up as a look came into his eyes. “You wouldn’t happen to have any ideas, would you?”
“Perhaps…” Luna began as she pursed her lips in thought. “I have seen very little of her while dreamwalking, she appears to be getting very little sleep right now.” her face fell, “What little I have seen has been mostly centered around the life she was forced to take and the two fallen guards. But, that would explain the small thing I was not able to explain at first.”
Jason patiently waited for Luna to continue, hoping that she had some useful advice. “While some of her ire may be focused at you, as her duress brought out feelings that might have otherwise remained deeply buried, the majority of it derives from the attack. Try talking with her more, underneath everything she is simply a hurt and confused mare, and rather vulnerable at that.”
He groaned and buried his face in his hands. “Luna. That doesn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know…” Jason raised his head, meeting her eyes. “Still, I’m hoping that she doesn’t, oh, you know… blast me on sight. That’d be a great way to start things out.”
Luna laughed, a small smile gracing her face. “I’m certain that you will be just fine, Jason. Simply be who you are; Twilight’s friend.” Luna turned, the tired look returning to her face. “Now, I must go and get a nap, although my sister and I require little sleep, these last three days have been trying. Good luck, Jason.”
Jason waved goodbye to Luna, then turned and began walking towards the archives once more. A few sounds came from Philomena, which caused Jason to sigh. “Yeah, nag away. Go on, I know you want to.” he said, and she unleashed on him.
Nearly a minute later, Philomena went quiet, and Jason took that as an opportunity to finally respond. “...you’ve got a point there, I’ll admit. But seriously, what else can I do?” he paused outside the entrance to the archives. “Well, wish me luck. I’m going in.”
He entered the archives, and Philomena opted to remain on his shoulder. A quick walk to the desk showed the same attendant as last time, although she had a worried look on her face. “Which wing?” he asked, not bothering to specify.
She understood exactly who Jason was referring to, letting out a small sigh of relief. “Starswirl’s Wing, now. She’s been in there for twenty hours, at least. Based on what I was told when I showed up for work this morning, anyways. Good luck, it’s that way.” she spoke, pointing towards the wing in question.
Jason followed the hoof, quickly making his way to the archway dividing the wing. Opening the door, his jaw almost dropped as he took in the scene before him. Spike was on the ground just randomly lying there, asleep from the sound of the snores that ripped from his mouth. Books were scattered everywhere, covering nearly every surface imaginable. All of the desks had been pushed together into one massive surface, which Twilight was currently frantically pacing around. Books and parchment hung in the air, Twilight’s eyes darting back and forth between them frantically.
“No, there’s no solid evidence to suggest anything there, but then again I did find that there was the potential for a connection between them and this object here. But that device here ended up leading to a dead end. gotta find something, somewhere, I’m missing…” Jason’s jaw dropped as he became convinced that Twilight had utterly lost it. Philomena quietly took to the air, settling on the top of a bookcase.
He gulped and started walking towards her. “Twilight?” he called, not yet raising his voice. She continued on in her crazed ramblings, speaking at a rate that would make Pinkie proud. He kept walking, nearly yelling this time. “Twilight!”
Her words immediately cut off as she jumped and turned to face him. Staring at him with wide, bloodshot eyes, she rapidly advanced on him. “You!” she exclaimed, a crazed look in her eye, “What are you doing here, hmm? Come to torment me some more?”
As Twilight got closer and closer, Jason gulped as he kneeled down to bring him down to her eye level. “Twilight… relax. Calm down.” he started, trying to be as unalarming as possible. “You’re not thinking straight, just look at this mess you’ve made… not even Spike was able to keep up.”
Twilight stopped within mere inches of his face, that crazed glint still in her eyes. “This is not a mess, this is valid, organized research! And what would you know, you moron?” Jason had no idea what to do, and settled on simply wrapping his arms around her neck, dragging her close to her even as her wings flared out.
“Relax, I’m here to help, Twilight… a certain someone told me they were concerned for you, and so I came here to see what I could do.” he quietly whispered into her ears. He let out an internal sigh of relief as he felt the tension slowly bleed from her. “Three days with nearly no rest… I know that you’re concerned, but there are others helping, too. Celestia herself is doing her part.”
He pulled back and looked at her closely. Now that he had interrupted her frantic research, her exhaustion was evident. Deep bags were underneath her bloodshot eyes, her shoulders slumped, her hooves shook as the last three days impacted her in a moment. “J-jason…” she groaned slightly, then almost tipped over from her tiredness. “So tired.”
Jason moved to support Twilight before she could topple over, one arm wrapped around her side as she leaned into him. “Jeez…” snoring reached his ears, and he quietly groaned. Carefully, he began to lift her up in his arms. “Let’s get you in a proper bed.”
Gently, he managed to get Twilight secured in his hold, then moved next to Spike. Being careful not to get stabbed by his spines, Jason nudged him in the side until he woke up.
Spike blinked a few times, then set his sight on Jason, and Twilight within his arms. “Jason… she finally drop on her own, or did you do something?” he quietly asked, hopping to his feet.
Jason shook his head. “All that I did was stop her for a moment. Was hoping to talk to her, but she’s in no state to do that. Want to lead the way to her room? She needs the sleep.” Philomena left her perch on the bookcase, opting to perch atop his head.
The two of them left the wing, and before closing the door Jason took a look at the state of it and cringed. As they passed by the front desk, he stopped a moment and went to talk to the attendant.
“Well, I’ll be taking her” he nodded his head towards Twilight, “off your hands for a few, hopefully a day or so.” the attendant widely smiled her thanks. “But, uh… you may want help, a lot of it, before you go into the Starswirl Wing.”
“Wait… what?” she muttered, eyes going wide. “It can’t be that bad, can it?”
Jason just shook his head. “Honestly… take what you think it could be, and then multiply it by ten. That might cover the low end of things. Maybe.” he turned around and followed Spike out, leaving a speechless attendant in their wake.
They entered Twilight’s room and Jason carefully set her down in the bed. Once he had her out of him arms and safely on the covers, he let out a sigh and shook his hands to return the feeling in them. A stray thought entered his mind, and he motioned to Spike.
Stepping out of the bedroom and into the sitting room, Jason turned to Spike. “Hey, how are you holding up? I mean, Twilight’s having a hard time of things after the attack, how about you?” he took a seat on the couch with Spike.
“Meh.” Spike said, shrugging his shoulders. “Honestly, I’m a dragon, man. Apparently I’m some super smart breed or something, it’s why I was able to go live with Twilight when I was so young.” he started clicking his claws together in a steady rhythm. “Honestly, Celestia told me early on I was probably going to have to do something to protect Twilight one day. I’m just surprised it took this long.”
Jason was surprised at Spike’s outlook on things. “So… you’re not even phased at all that you torched a pony, the very folks you’ve been living with for your entire life?” he asked with both brows raised.
“Nope. Nopony, or anyone, messes with Twilight.” he shuddered slightly, “Honestly, the only thing I’m concerned about is what happens once she pulls herself together enough to realize I torched a lot of her books.” he shook his head.
They both laughed at Spike’s remark. “So, you’re more concerned about her books you torched than the pony? I can see why, I still remember when I mishandled that book…” Jason shuddered this time as Spike laughed at him. “Hey now, I was jumping at shadows for a week after that!”
Spike slapped his knee a few times before catching his breath. “Hey, I’d even warned you about that, you only have yourself to blame.” he paused a moment, then sneezed. “Sorry. Using my dragonfyre really stings. Still, to get back on the point, I’m a dragon, dude. I have to hold myself back when some moron tries to hit on Twilight, dragon instincts. I’d gladly torch anypony who tries to harm her. No remorse, no reason to have any.”
Philomena let out a series of cries, Jason nodding his head in return. Spike looked at them both with a raised brow. “Care to fill me in?” he asked.
“Well, Philomena reminded me that I was being a moron, something she seems to enjoy doing on a frequent basis.” he let out a small chuckle as she nipped at his ear. “Basically, I was thinking of you as a pony and not a dragon. I really don’t recall much anymore, but where I’m from…” Jason trailed off, a far-off look in his eyes for a moment. “Dragons were the embodiment of… death, greed… something like that. No real surprise I guess that you could hurt or kill someone who threatened your family without feeling remorse for it.”
Spike nodded in agreement, and a sigh escaped his lips. “Yeah. Basically, that.” he turned around and glared at Jason, looking him in the eyes. “I also found out about her confession, and you need to be really careful. She’s really good at clinging on even after something is beyond hope… you recall the Pinkie Sense investigation she tried?” he backed off from Jason slightly, still keeping eye contact.
“Yeah, I recall that… she got way out of control. You’re saying that…” Jason trailed off, having to suppress a shudder of fear from the look in Spike’s eyes.
“Yes. Don’t do anything to lead her on.” he smiled, holding his clawed hand out to Jason. “Now that I’ve done my brotherly duty, thanks a lot, Jason. I know you talked with her about her issues, she’ll need you around as a friend. Just, be careful, please?”
He took Spike’s hand and shook it, a smile returning to his face. “I will, Spike. I will.”
Celestia let out a massive sigh of frustration after setting down the last of the new reports in the massive stack that had been on her desk. For three days now Blend and her associates had been scrying nearly non-stop, and even with their work it seemed that they were no closer to a member of the Nocti Lunarum than they had been at the start of their intensive search.
She massaged her temples, slumping back into her chair, sipping therapeutically at her tea. The stack of papers floated into the air, tightly compressing against each other as Celestia forced them into an enclosed area along with the rest of the recent intelligence reports. Thinking, she recalled what little the others had managed to turn up in their endeavors.
Twilight had been in the royal archives nearly the entire time of the last three days. She only left to eat and use the bathroom, at night one could find her partially asleep. Spike, now recovered from using his dragonfyre, was doing his best to keep up with her, but the pace at which she was going through texts looking for clues and answers was phenomenal. Even then, though, Twilight had yet to find anything of value.
It was with some concern that her thoughts drifted to the next area. Twilight’s mental health, or potential lack thereof. Only Celestia, Twilight, Jason and Philomena were aware of the kiss and subsequent conversation between those two, and that added on top of the harsh truths of reality that Twilight had recently had to face… Celestia was rightly concerned that she was on the verge of a complete breakdown. But, so long as she was occupied in the archives, Twilight did not have to think on any of that, only making it worse in the long run.
Shining Armor’s further interrogation of the assassin had yielded few results as well. Most times, if he even bothered to open his mouth, it was to simply spew insults and talk about how The Nightmare was the one true ruler of Equestria, and that Celestia was a Sun Tyrant, and all false princesses would die before the Queen. Absolutely nothing useful had come about from it.
Even Luna had taken to dreamwalking, looking for the very thing that she feared with every bit of her being. Celestia had told her that she did not need to do so, but Luna had wanted to assist in any way she could. The only thing that her dreamwalking had resulted in was a lot of very well-rested individuals, as nary a nightmare had survived the last three nights. However, she had yet to encounter anything that could give them a clue.
The doors burst open to reveal Blend, her mane mussed and a light sheen of sweat on her flanks, as if she had ran all the way there. “Princess! We have something!” she cried out, skidding to a halt inside the room.
Celestia stood up, quickly coming to her side. “What news, Blend? You couldn’t have picked a better time to come to me with something, every other avenue has yielded naught so far.” she said, gathering her regalia and slipping it on.
Blend paused for a moment, collecting herself. “Yes, we found something most definitely connected to Nocti Lunarum. Three hours ago, a unicorn noble by the name of Gilded Gleam purchased an odd variety of antique oddities. On their own, it meant nothing, but after looking into his recent past, the items combined can be used to prepare an ancient magic ritual.” she charged her horn, a small scroll popping into existence next to her, which she carefully unfurled on the table.
Celestia’s eyes widened in shock, her composure shattered. “This is… No! We cannot allow this to pass!” she rushed to a large sun emblem on her wall, charging a spell. “Have you told anypony else about this yet?”
Blend shook her head. “This was my first stop, I knew that you would want to know of this before anypony else.” she watched in amazement as a spell more complex than the one on The Cave’s door was slowly unraveled by Celestia, revealing a hollow in the wall beneath the emblem. “Our scryers are looking into those closely associated with Gilded, and we’ve assigned ponies to trawl through records related to him. I would say in no more than three hours, we’ll begin really piecing together a solid network.”
“This is the key piece we’ve been looking for, Blend, very well done.” Celestia pulled out a cloth-wrapped bundle from the hollow, setting it down as she dived back in. “A noble in my own city…” she muttered under her breath angrily, “I’ve given them way too much leeway, it seems. Such a pain.”
“Princess?” Blend asked, causing Celestia to pull her attention back to the other pony in the room. “Do you have any orders or things you’d like accomplished in the meantime? It looks like this ritual is their end goal, if it’s successful…” she trailed off, shuddering as the implications ran through her mind.
“For now, continue orchestrating the search and identifying the network of ponies and others involved. I’ll see to the preparations and notification of the guard, as well as additional measures. As soon as we have all of the information, we’ll make our move.” she pulled out another bundled object, unwrapping it to reveal a large, gleaming golden sword that shimmered in her magical grasp. “They will surrender, or they will fall. There is no other option we will give them.”
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Says chapter 3.
Whatever happened to that?
Anyways, keep the pone pone coming! Love it.
3215752
This story is the first one that's really sparked something in me, call it a muse, creativity, whatever you want. It's the only thing I can think of, so it's what I'm writing. While I do eventually need to give my other stories some attention, especially Fallen From The Light. However, I'm striking while the iron is hot.
I'm sure no one is complaining though.
And then Twilight got kidnapped, and Past Sins happened.
3215788
*runs to your house to throw up on your floor for your blasphemy*
Nightmares, man. You just gave me a lot of fuel for them. Uugh. Time to go play some Half-Life 2 and repeatedly suicide as the only way I know of to get back at you.
Heh! Birds are smarter than so many give them credit for. As for dragons, a dragon chooses, nothing else. Though a nice touch with spike here.
3215808
Had some folks inquire about Spike, and the moment was right. Not to mention that I wanted to make him useful.
Useful Spike, slightly an oxy-moron, but I want it nonetheless.
And birds are intelligent, Phoenixes on the other hand... Are they simply birds, or maybe more? It's loads of fun to write, though.
3215859 Haha! So few good spike stories, but glad to see spike being a dragon, good and bad aspects respectively. And those rare few that are, just show him to be amazing. As for birds, having had a neighbor whom was a bird den mother, they are people, flighted snarky, imp-like people, but people none the less.
New chapter! Woo!
Swordplay, I like it! I wonder if after Jason sees Celestia use her sword, he will want to spar...
3215801
And that's the comment of the day. You win a Luna hug.
i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/ultra1437/Memes/Luna_-_did_someone_say_hugs_zps228f7242.png
Edit - For some reason i thought this. For assumedly similar reasoning, i laughed. Uncontrollably.
"You update too often!" said nobody, ever.
It was a great chapter but this story is lacking some certain someponies
Don't you think so?
3215950
Sorry, but they're not primary characters. When they come up, they come up, but their roles are incidental. They'll play in the next chapter, but like I said, more concerned with Jason.
3215906
And true. I plan on writing the next chapter tonight. Lots of action. Yay!
3215882
Yup. With it being an adventure story with plenty of action in the future, wanted to establish that he had some skill with one. Note that Ironblood was schooling him after a few minutes, but it establishes a level of skill.
You ever had a real life one sided conversation. It sucks. How? Muted on Xbox by a friend's friend, Try listening to that for an hour.
3216355
In this instance, the reader is simply unaware of what Philomena is saying. Of the characters in the story, Jason and Celestia can both understand her words. It's a nice challenge and style of writing.
3216369 True, but still, its painful not being able to hear, and quote, probably the funniest joke in the world.
And I still never got to hear it.
i feel so EXSITED
i cant contan it im going to explod its so good and its the 1st book i'v ever been abel to read it two times in a row and not get bored 
3216965
I was sitting there writing, and got to the somewhat emotional part, was slightly delirious, and just tossed my hands up. Houston, we're going in! Bam, made it happen. All so that I coudl solidly clarify what their relationship was. I like hard lines, and it let me set one.
As for that last remark, well... Time shall tell. Next chapter is at 2.9k now, and it should end with a nice revelation for the readers.
hmmm a ritual why do I have this feeling it'll involve phoenix ash.
i think it would be funny if jason gradually turned into a phoenix and then became Philomena's mate.
There we go, that's what I was wondering about for Spike.
Quick question: Does Spike have Peewee in this universe, and if so, what were his interactions with Jason like while Jason was living in Ponyville?
Oh damn celestia means business!
Luna, why don't you just rip through the prisoner's mind like a bat outa' Tartarus?
The only real way this cold fail is if he underwent a memory wipe and only knows his hate for Princess Sunnybutt and his mission. 
Of course I know that would be a story killer and that's what we're here for. Great story!
oh my god, GRIFFONS ARE CANADIAN!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
5851949
I just remembered something really important that concerns me about horse puns in a place called Canada...
First, there's is a place called Whitehorse...
Second, the puns dude. Feel the Punssssssss
5851949
Lol.
8586097
PUNS?! DID SOMEONE SAY PUNS?!?!??!! WHEEEEEEEREEEEEE???!?!?!?!?!?!
3215801
Blasphemy?! How could that be blasphemy?!?!? That was not only one of the fics that introduced me to this site, but it's one of the best fics I have read to date!!!!
3215788
*gasp*