Chapter 3 "Nocturne"
Chapter 3
“Nocturne”
Nocturne? Who now? I watched as the Princess climbed onto the bed and pressed her muzzle to my cheek. I was being nuzzled by royalty!
I tried to speak but what came out was, “Mmphkrmrmph!”
“We know. We are glad to see you again as well, Nocturne!” Luna exclaimed. “We cannot believe it’s really you!”
I can’t believe it’s me either, but that’s a different story. I stiffened as Luna pressed her angular head into my neck. This is not good at all. I have to get the point across that I’m not this Nocturne.
“Why do you not embrace me, Nocturne?” Luna asked, then she looked at me. “Oh, that would explain it.”
Her horn glowed, and the gag came out of my mouth.“Your Highness, I’m-“
She covered my mouth with a hoof. “No need to be so formal, Nocturne, We have told you many times to call us Luna.”
She removed her hoof and I spoke frantically, “I wouldn’t know anything about that!”
“Are you unwell, Nocturne?” Luna asked, with a raised eyebrow. “What are you speaking of?”
“I should be asking you that question, You- I mean, Luna” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not Nocturne!”
Luna’s turquoise eyes turned from disbelief to a slow rising anger. I’m in trouble…
Suddenly I was lifted by her magic, and slammed down onto my back, on the bed. She pinned me down with one hoof, her nose inches away from mine. “You are an impostor then! Our Lunar Stallions wouldn’t have brought you here like this if you came here legitimately! Who are you?”
“I’m Detective Private Eye!” I said, frantically. “Your crazy Lunar Stallions knocked me out and tied me up here!”
“We will see if you are lying!” Her horn glowed a bright cyan as she touched my horn.
Suddenly I saw my life literally flashing before my eyes, I saw myself as a foal in my dad’s forelegs. I saw myself defending Potso after he was wrongly accused of stealing food at the picnic. Moongale singing at the school play, Tailspin being born, Larksong and I kissing for the first time, Twilight and I sleeping next to each other at her brother’s house. All my cases solved, and unsolved…
When it was over Luna’s fury had subsided, and she looked at me with sympathy. “Forgive us. We had to know if you were being truthful.”
“What did you do exactly?” I asked. “Did you just read my mind?”
“Not your mind, ” Luna explained, her horn glowing again as I felt the ropes go lax on my legs, “just your memories. We know it was a breach of privacy but we had to make sure you were not simply an assassin, trying to slay us.”
I wiggled out of the ropes and I felt the collar around my neck unlock. I pulled the inhibiter ring off my horn with my newly freed hooves. I looked up at Luna and bowed my head. “Please forgive me for intruding, Your Highness.”
“We wish to know what you are doing here,” Luna demanded, looking down at me. “We did not see that in your memories.”
“Couldn’t you just look into my head again and find that memory?” I asked, with my head still bowed.
“We could, but looking up a specific memory is like finding a needle in a haystack,” she replied. “We can see you are an honest stallion. So, why are you in our chambers?”
The Lunar Stallions didn’t remove my trench coat so everything was still there for me to show. I pulled out the strange medallion and held it up to her. “This was found on the body of a dead solar guard, are you aware of its origins?”
Luna’s eyes went wide and she looked at me. “That belongs to the Cult of the Blood Moon, a cult that worshipped…” she replied softly, hanging her head in shame, “us.”
“You mean Nightmare Moon,” I asked, looking at her.
“No,” she answered, shaking her head. “We are not a separate entity from Nightmare Moon, Detective. She is part of us, or she was, until your friend Twilight Sparkle defeated us.”
I tried not to figure out the specifics of this whole evil side business. I decided to move on. “Is it true that worshipers drank your blood?”
“Tis true,” she replied, nodding. “They did drink of our blood and the blood of others, back when we were Nightmare Moon.”
“To gain immortality?” I asked, blinking at her.
“Yes,” she answered. “Though, we have little memory as to how it came about. Nightmare Moon was active most of the time in our dealings with the cult. We are not sure about the specifics as to what happened.”
“How do you not remember this?” I asked, curiously. “Are you asleep or something when Nightmare Moon is active?”
“In a way,” Luna explained. “When we changed into Nightmare Moon we went into a stasis almost. It has been a while since that has happened though.”
“How does Nocturne fit into all of this? Judging by the way you reacted to me, he must have been somepony special.”
A faint blush came to Luna’s cheeks, and she ran a hoof across the bed. “We are sorry to have mistaken you for a lover of ancient past.” She smiled at me slowly. “You bear a striking resemblance to him.”
“Wouldn’t he be dead by now though?” I asked.
Luna shook her head. “No, we remember that Nocturne was one of the first to drink of our blood. He must have become immortal. That is why we believed you to be him.”
This Nocturne guy must have been a member of the cult. A pretty high ranking member if Luna held him in such high regard. “What was Nocturne like?”
“He was a proud member of the original Lunar Stallions, before my banishment,” Luna replied, wistfully. “He was brave, and strong with a strong sense of justice. He was our most loyal follower, and we quickly developed feelings for him.”
“He sounds like a great stallion” I said, smiling a little.
“He was, although he seemed reluctant to get close to us at first. I suppose we must’ve intimated him,” she said, with a faint blush, “but soon we became close. Our last memories before our banishment were of being together with Nocturne.”
“Do you recognize this at all?” I asked, pulling out the crescent moon necklace. “I found it near the body."
“Tis odd” Luna said, tapping her hoof on her chin. “That looks like one of the necklaces that Marigold would make for our lunar stallions.”
“Who was Marigold?” I asked.
“She was a Lunar Mare,” she explained. “Originally, she was wanted to be a solar guard, but back then she didn’t get far because of her gender. The Lunar Stallions sort of adopted her as one of their own. She was kind, and very pretty. We all loved her like a little sister.”
“So, she made these necklaces for them?” I asked, looking at the crescent moon.
“Her hobby was making jewelry,” Luna reminisced, with a small smile. “She was the pony that made my regalia.” She gestured to the black regalia on her chest.
The Lunar Stallions that joined the cult probably kept their necklaces. Now that I think about it, the culprit did bear a striking resemblance to me. Maybe that was Nocturne…
“I also found an old book next to the body” I said, pulling out the book. “Did this belong to Nocturne, by any chance?”
Luna nodded. “That was his diary.”
“All the pages are blank,” I pointed out.
“It’s a magical diary," she explained. "You write a question in it and the diary will bring up the answer, as if it were the pony it belonged to.”
I made a mental note to try that when I got back. I slipped the evidence back into my trench coat, and bowed my head before Luna. “Thank you for your time, Your Highness.”
Luna smiled, “You need not address me with such formality, Detective. Please call me Luna.”
“Very well, Luna.” I said, with a smile. “I will continue to investigate this matter.”
“Also, please forgive my Lunar Stallions for tying you up,” Luna said, with a blush of embarrassment. “They are as loyal as German Shepherds, and simply wished to protect me.”
I nodded; I guess I couldn’t argue against loyalty. Though, I would’ve preferred if they simply escorted me, rather than tying me up like an offering.
As I walked out of Luna’s room, I experienced an odd feeling of guilt. I wonder if this Nocturne holds the answers I’m looking for?
________________________________________________________
“Well, how did it go?” Twilight asked, as we rode the train back to Ponyville.
“I learned that I, apparently, resemble an old lover of Luna’s, Nocturne,” I replied, shaking my head. “That, and it seems that he was the one in charge of the cult.”
“I’m too tired to think about it anymore,” Twilight said, yawning widely. “We’ve been up all day and night; I’m hoping to get some sleep.”
I smiled as she leaned against me, and put her head on my shoulder. Her breathing was slow and rhythmic. I nuzzled her on the head and a smile came to her face.
“Sleep well, my Twilight,” I said, kissing her on the head softly.
She’s beautiful, so beautiful, and brilliant…
I know, she’s something else…
Shame she doesn’t let you act on your love for her…
What are talking about?
You know you want her…
She said she’s not-
She just doesn’t know what she’s missing; you've just got to show her how wonderful it can be…
I shook my head, odd how the voice appeared again. I looked over at Twilight as she leaned against me. She did look beautiful; I found my eyes wandering down her body and down to her flank…
Come on Private, get a hold of yourself!
I decided to distract myself and pulled out Nocturne’s diary. I opened it to the first page. Luna said you just had to write in it? Well, let’s try it.
I levitated out a pen and started writing
“Hello, my name is Private Phelps Eye. Who are you?”
When I finished writing words formed themselves from below my writings.
Hello Private, my name is Nocturne.
This is Nocturne’s diary! Now I can ask the stallion directly.
I wrote again, “Do you know anything about the Cult of the Blood Moon?”
Again words appeared below it, or should I say word?
Yes.
“Can you tell me?” I asked, on the paper.
No,
Disappointed, I was ready to close the book when words appeared again.
but I can show you.
Say what now?
Let me take you back a millennium ago,
The pages moved by themselves to a later page in the book. I watched with wide eyes as the spine of the page seemed to glow, and a blue mist started to seep out of the book. Suddenly a bright light enveloped my vision, and everything went black…
___________________________________________________________
I opened my eyes and found myself staring in a mirror. I wasn’t my image reflected back in the mirror though. The stallion was big; his coat was the same grey and his mane the same brown. His eyes were a soft brown, though. The pony I was seeing seemed to be fussing with his brown mane, as though he was going on a date or something…
He stopped messing with his mane and smiled at himself. “Thou wilt be fine, Nocturne,” he told himself. “Luna just called to speakest with me. Thou wilt be fine.”
So this was Nocturne! No wonder Luna mistook me for him. He and I look almost exactly alike, except for our eyes and body shape. He was certainly more muscular then I am, probably from years in combat.
He walked over and picked up a strange medallion, etched with a closed eye. He slipped it over his neck and tapped it. The medallion made a sound like the unsheathing of a sword and black armor formed on him. His coat retained its grey color but his mane disappeared under the helmet. He looked back at himself in the mirror. His eyes were now bright yellow and cat like, defiantly a Lunar Stallion. He smiled at himself, and I saw that he had piranha like teeth.
I hated to imagine what he had to use them for.
He didn’t have the bat like wings of his modern counterparts, probably because he wasn't a pegasus, but a unicorn. I guess you can’t change what wasn’t there in the first place.
He walked out, and I saw that we were standing in a barracks of some sort. All around me were Lunar Stallions, clad in similar armor to Nocturne. They were doing the things soldiers usually did while off duty, played cards, talking about this or that, drinking.
One Lunar Stallion waved at Nocturne to get his attention, then spoke to his fellow soldiers. “Look everypony! Nocturne’s trying to look all fair for somepony!”
My host rolled his eyes. “Thou speakest nonsense, Blackstar.”
Another Lunar Stallion pointed at Nocturne. “No, look at his coat! So well groomed. He’s venturing out to see a fair lass!”
I felt my host turn bright red.
Blackstar spoke again, “So, speakest friend! Tell us who ist thy lucky lady!”
“Tis no one,” Nocturne retorted. “I’m merely off to see Princess Luna!”
Nocturne suddenly covered his mouth as he realized he said that out loud. Everypony in the room stopped what they were doing, and stared at him. One, wiry, thin, Lunar Stallion stood up from his card game. “What makest thou think Princess Luna wants to deal with thee?”
Nocturne looked at the ground, I felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him. “She merely wishest to speakest to me.”
“Thou?” the thin stallion asked, with a look of disdain. “Thou art only a cadet! Why wouldst she want to speakest to thee?”
“I don’t know, Nightwind,” Nocturne confessed. “I'm merely answering her summons.”
“Perhaps thou and she art doing more than simply talking battle strategies!” Nightwind accused.
Nocturne’s fury became evident; he growled low like a lion. “Thou darest slander thy Princess?”
Blackstar looked at Nightwind grimly. “Thou shouldn’t have said that, my friend. Nopony ist more loyal to Her Highness than Nocturne."
“I simply wished to make sure he’s not taking advantage of our Princess!” Nightwind muttered, darkly.
“Bastard!” Nocturne cried, as he leaped with terrible ferocity at Nightwind. The two knocked over a card table as they began hitting each other. I felt Nocturne’s pain and pure fury as he wailed on Nightwind.
“Please, stop fighting!” I heard a feminine voice speak up.
Immediately the two stallions stopped fighting and looked up. I saw a beautiful white coated, blond maned, Pegasus mare, with equally beautiful silver eyes. She looked down at both of them with obvious disappointment.
The two stallions got up and dusted themselves off. Nocturne looked at the young mare apologetically. “Sorry Marigold, I shouldst not have lashed out at him.”
Nightwind simply snorted and walked off. Marigold walked up to Nocturne and looked him over, “Thou art not hurt, are thee?”
“I’m fine, Marigold” Nocturne replied, with a smile. “I wast simply trying to defend Princess Luna’s honor.”
She smiled. “Thou shouldest not worry about the other Lunar Stallions; I’ll keep them from starting bad rumors about thee.”
She reminded me of Twilight almost…
Nocturne nodded. “I’m going to speakest with the Princess now. Thou takest care of thine self, Marigold.”
A faint blush came to the white Pegasus’s cheeks, as she walked off. Funny, I wonder if she cares for Nocturne as more than just a fellow soldier.
__________________________________________________
I found myself standing in front of a pair of double doors. Nocturne let out a sigh and was about to knock on it, when they swung open for him. I saw Luna. She looked the same as she did now, but her clothing was different. She wore significantly more jewelry then she would’ve in modern times.
She smiled upon seeing Nocturne. “Nocturne, we art pleased to see thee.”
“Thou wanted to speakest with me, Princess?” Nocturne asked, his head bowed.
She nodded and gestured for Nocturne to come in. Luna closed the doors behind him, and Nocturne turned to her.
Luna reached out with her hooves and pulled Nocturne into a tender kiss. Nocturne blushed a little, but slowly returned it. They were lovers! Holy crap, Nocturne is kissing the Princess!
Luna stopped kissing him for a moment, and pressed her head into Nocturne’s chest. Nocturne wrapped his forelegs around his princess, a big smile on his face.
“Princess…”
“Yes, my stallion?” Luna asked, as she pressed herself against him.
“I love thee.”
Suddenly light filled my eyes, and we seemed to have left this scene behind…
_____________________________________________________________
I was standing in some kind of forested area. Nightwind was walking beside me, and Luna was in front of us. She looked back at us. “Nocturne, art tho sure 'twas around here?”
“I’m sure, M'lady,” Nocturne, my host, answered with a nod. “The meteorite landed right around here”
The trio stopped at a nearby crater, as Luna’s eyes scanned it. Inside the crater was a small blue stone. It was seeping some kind of blue mist that seemed almost alive. Wait…
Luna walked towards the rock, and the mist suddenly swirled around her. Nocturne and Nightwind tried to jump into the mist, but they were knocked back by a strange force. Nocturne hit a nearby tree after being blasted away and fell unconscious.
When he came to, he looked around, spotting Luna lying on her side nearby. Nocturne ran to Luna and looked her over. “Luna? Luna, art thou all right?!”
Slowly but surely Luna’s eyes opened, only instead of her normal turquoise pony eye, she had reptilian ones.
“We hast never been better, my stallion…”
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Horcrux? Or just a magical diary? Either way, I like it.
I think the voice is getting naughtier....
1505892It is...you'll find out why soon enough...
Yay!
Do...Do I sense a Harry Potter Reference?
1507596Yes you do...there will be several here...
1507599 If Private gets a lightning scar out of this, so help me I will reach through the internet and whack you upside the head!
1507941Not that many references mind you...
Chamber of Secrets reference! Yay!
That's the second HP reference this case.
Good chapter, nice delving into the past, you did a good job on the medieval voices and Princess Luna becoming Nightmare Moon was a pretty good take, instead of the usual "SHE WUZ CURRUPTZED!"
One thing that bugged me though was "Defiantly a Lunar Stallion"
I don't know why, but it always bugs me when people get definitely and defiantly mixed up.
Unless you meant he was a defiant Lunar Stallion of course...
I can tell the voice is going to fuck with Private a lot more, although I have to say this isn't the worst. The worst was probably him telling Private to leave Dinky and go after Glimmer.
1508899 Sorry that was my epic fail
1509186 Hey, we all make mistakes! You're still an amazing editor!
1509971 Aw. Thank you
1510147 No problem! Since you've become editor, I've seen some grammar improvements, and commas where they should be ect.
You guys make an awesome team!
1510168 What can I say? Anything to get that chapter sooner.
They don't have Germany in Equestria. They have Germaney and thus Germane shepherds.
Magic diary and now the origin of nightmare moon is known
1505869 Maybe the diary is why Nocturne is immortal...
you are aware aware that blackstar is the name of an anime character right?
1925092 But it just had to contradict the comics.. or does it? Actualy i think if you think about it, that actualy works.
oh no private, this guy done it, if harry potter taught me anything it told me that magical diarys are always evil
1508899 what was the other one? im a MASSIVE fan of harry potter so i wondering how i could have missed it
So Nocturne is Tom Riddle. OR maybe there'll be a plot twist here, like what you did in your Phantom of the Opera story. I'll read and see.
Reminds me of Tom riddles diary maybe the killer is voldemort