(Re)Birth Through Fire

Chapters

Chapter 1 - A Long, Long Time Ago
Chapter 2 - First Impressions Are Not Good Impressions
Chapter 3 - Lost Innocence
Chapter 4 - Calm Before A Storm
Chapter 5 - Finding The Nocti Lunarum
Chapter 6 - Crashing the Ritual of the Night
Arc One - Epilogue
Chapter 7 - A New Perspective
Chapter 9 - The Darkest Hour Never Comes in the Night
Chapter 10 - Aftermath and an Arrival
Interlude
Chapter 11 - A Return To Normalcy
Prologue - Going Down in a Burning Ring of Fire
Chapter 8 - Philomena's Time in the Spotlight

Chapter 1 - A Long, Long Time Ago

"So, Jason..." Celestia began, hesitation in her voice as she eyed the human, if he still was one, that sat next to her. They had stopped in his room first as requested, allowing him to clothe himself once more. He had managed to get on a pair of pants, but none of his shirts fit him due to his new wings. Jason had awkwardly shrugged before resting his hand on her shoulder, and then she had teleported the three of them into her study where they now were. "I would assume that this isn't the first time that... that has happened?"

Jason sighed, resting his head in his hands, his wings twitching some as Philomena sat on the armrest next to him. "No, although," he poked at his wings and pointed to his face, "all of this is new. I think she," he pointed at Philomena, "is somehow responsible for the new additions. It's the only thing that makes sense." Jason paused, raising his head back up and reaching over to pet Philomena.

"So," he began at last, "I've been around for awhile. I don't really remember just how long, honestly. I started out on Earth, though, like I told you and Twilight. That part was no lie, although it has since been at least a thousand years since I last saw it." Celestia raised an eyebrow at him in surprise. "Before you ask, I only know that I recall the 'Eternal Night' as your history books put it. Twilight informed me that was a thousand years ago, so it makes sense."

"I see..." Celestia raised a hoof to her chin, pursing her lips in thought. "Would you mind starting from the very beginning then?" Jason wearily smiled before launching into his story.

The young man looked over his gathered tools, preparing for a foray into the forest. Spring had come, and with it the game animals were once more beginning to appear. As the eldest son, it fell to Jason to see to his family having something other than their stored food from winter as they moved forward with planting the fields.

He picked up his bow, stringing it and testing its tension. Satisfied with the twang that rang out from the string as he plucked it, he unstrung it and carefully put it inside a leather holder, a dozen good arrows within it as well. Jason grabbed the skinning knife, testing its edge with his thumbnail.

One by one, he ran through his tools, ensuring that they were all in good shape. Once finished, he carefully bundled everything together, strapping it to his back, knife at his side. Jason stepped out into the cool morning air, his eyes on his brothers already in the field, preparing for this year's harvest. His father approached him, a tall and burly man with a full beard.

"Jason, m'son. Off to the hunt?" he asked, slapping him on the back of his shoulder. Without budging, Jason merely smiled at his father.

"Yes, I am. I hope to be back within two days, father, with meat aplenty for us all." Jason clasped hands with his father, a hearty and strong grip held during the brief embrace.

"Good luck, m'son." he said, walking off shortly after to attend to the fields again. Jason smiled, walking towards the forest that he hoped to find game within. He stepped underneath the canopy, the majority of the sunlight blocked by the dense foliage. Stepping quietly about, Jason began looking for any signs of animals, something to put him on the trail of his first kill of the year.

An hour later, Jason inwardly let out a sigh of relief. He had stumbled upon the tracks of what appeared to be a small, hoofed creature, most likely a deer at first glance. He took note of the direction and depth of the tracks, following them with a calculated haste as he tracked it. Noticing where it had stopped for a small period of time, the tracks that departed the area were much more fresh, giving him great hope.

Jason strung his bow, knowing it was only a matter of minutes before he found his quarry. He set it back on his shoulder, picking up the tracking once more as he came to a small clearing. Within said clearing, a good sized buck grazed, bringing a smile to his face as he reached back slowly for an arrow. Raising the bow, he drew it back without a sound, looking down the shaft of the projectile.

As he slowed his breathing in preparation for the shot, his attention was solely focused on the buck, the arrow lined for its jugular. Jason's breath paused, and his fingers came off the string, sending death at the buck. As the arrow struck true, a flash of light quickly overwhelmed the clearing. In its wake, the buck lay on the ground, the arrow deeply embedded in its throat as it lay on the ground, dying. Jason was nowhere to be seen.

He could not clearly recall how much time had passed. The only thing that Jason was able to recall was darkness, his surroundings completely devoid of light. Additionally, he recalled voices in the dark, although the words escaped his memory. The two mingled together for what could have been mere seconds, or an eternity. Jason was unsure of just how long they lasted, the only thing that came to mind was that it could only be the work of the Devil. His first fully conscious thoughts were coming to within a forest, one much different than the one he had recalled being near home. As Jason looked around in confusion, a voice reached his ears, the very ground shaking from it.

"I WILL DEFEAT THEE, NIGHTMARE MOON! THOU SHALT SULLY MY SISTER NO MORE!" the voice spoke, sending tremors through his body as he panicked and took off in a rush. Jason lost track of just how long he had been running for, and he nearly collapsed in exhaustion once he finally stopped.

"Wait a moment," Celestia began, shock on her face. "That was me who said that during my final confrontation with Nightmare Moon. If you heard that, you were no more than a mile away from me at the time."

"Huh," Jason said, scratching at his neck. "To think, I was that close to you, then. It only took what, nearly a thousand years to actually meet the holder of that voice." He chuckled, taking a sip of water, looking at his reflection within the nearby mirror and sighing.

"The next bit of what I can recall... there was a lot of pain. I was unaware of my change until a few days later, when I was out scavenging for supplies. Once I had taken stock, I realized that the only thing left on my body was my tunic, and even then it was thoroughly stained with blood. I'd..."

Jason grinned, the sound of running water finally greeting his ears. He had been searching for something larger than a brook so that he could clean himself up. Luckily, there were many edible fruits within this odd forest, and sustenance had been easy to come by because of that.

He set down a stick that had made for a good, makeshift spear and waded into the shallow stream. It was only a few feet across and a foot or two deep at most, but it was more than enough to finally clean himself. The dried blood in his tunic was less than pleasant, and he had already fended off very odd, wolf-like creatures in the time since coming to.

He waded into the water, enjoying the cooling sensation and the feeling of the pebbles underneath his feet. The last few days had been increasingly warm, as if it were in the middle of the growing season. Wind tickled his chest, running its way through the open area provided by the stream as he dunked his tunic into the water, watching the water start to run red with the caked blood.

Washing his tunic, Jason’s mind drifted to some of this place’s oddities, both environmentally and his own body. As a child, he had foolishly played with his father’s skinning knife, slicing his palm wide open. The ensuing scar had been bold, even though it had happened more than a decade ago. That scar was now gone, as was every other spot, blemish, and mark that had come about from his life.

He held up the tunic, closely examining the remaining blood spots before dunking it again. Jason then drifted to the forest itself, and how wrong it all seemed. For starters, the sun went from being on the horizon to high in the sky on his first day here, when he had ran from the voice and the ensuing sound of a battle.

A roar interrupted his thoughts, further proving just how odd this place was. A creature bounded into his sight, a massive beast composed of a variety of exotic animals, and a mouth filled with death. Jason dropped his tunic, splashing water everywhere as he grabbed for his makeshift spear and held his ground. The creature hissed, sizing him up before swiping a claw the size of his head at him.

Jason leapt back, keeping his makeshift spear close to him. His eyes widened as the paw left a noticeable indent in the ground, realizing that all it would take is one hit to put him down. As another paw came towards him, he jumped in behind it, spear outreached for its face. The spear buried itself in the shoulder of the beast, wrenching itself from his grip as it leapt backwards. Jason never even saw the tail coming from the side, which caught him in the side of his left leg, piercing clean through the tissue and breaking the bone.

Excruciating pain filled his senses as he crumpled to the ground, tears and pain causing his vision to blur. A numbness spread from the wound as the blood rapidly left his body, and moments later another swipe from the beast caused his vision to go dark as he died.

With a gasp, he feebly twitched, stirring as something around him shifted. Jason was thoroughly surprised at the lack of pain, initially thinking that perhaps he had gone to Heaven, even though it was the work of the Devil that had brought him wherever here was.

He felt a lot of fine dust against bare skin as he used his hands to prop himself up. Almost immediately he realized that something was different. He was still near the stream, as the running water reached his ears, but all around him was ash and scorched earth. The only sign of the beast was blood and broken branches were it looked as if it had ran off in a panic.

Coughing, he dusted as much ash off himself as possible, noticing the fact that he was now stark naked. Walking to the stream, he began washing the ash off, thoroughly confused as to what had just happened. His gaze lingered a moment longer on the circle of earth that was now devoid of any life before turning to the water, where looking within gaze him another shock.

In the rippling reflection provided by the stream, the face that stared back at him was much too young to be his. Although still covered in a fine coating of soot, all of the lines and ridges that had been earned from his time toiling on his father’s farm were simply gone.

Celestia hummed, interrupting Jason’s narration. “So, you don’t recall anything about what happened, to cause this, it just… happened?” She pursed her lips in thought, looking at Philomena as she worked through the pieces in her mind.

Jason nodded, fidgeting around in his seat some more, still unable to get comfortable. “Yeah, one moment I was back home hunting for my family, then here I was. It was a wild surprise to come to alive and naked, completely unharmed and a lot younger.” He paused, a slight frown on his face. “Usually I don’t change my appearance at all, though. I have no idea where these came from…” Jason glared at Philomena. “From what little bit I’ve looked up since coming here, I think her kind has something to do with it, but I honestly don’t know what.”

“Oh, that explains it,” Celestia began, “now I understand why you spent so much time in the archives. You could’ve asked myself, Luna or even Twilight for aid… we would’ve been more than happy to assist you.” She turned her focus towards Philomena, who was enjoying herself by harassing Jason’s wings. “As for the basis of these powers being similar to a phoenix, I believe I do have a method of identifying that.”

Jason scrunched his brows, not very pleased at the thought. “Let me guess, you have to use a spell on me? Bleh…” He went quiet for a few moments, thinking. “Fine. I don’t like it, but maybe getting an answer to this after so long… I’ve only been able to find limited notes on phoenixes, even with your archives. It just doesn’t seem like something that has been explored much.”

Celestia nodded, her horn glowing softly. “There isn’t. At one point when they were much more numerous, phoenixes were looked into by those attempting to strive for immortality, among many other methods.” Jason felt a tingling sensation as her spell went off, the sensation of needles filling his skin. “However, the research was quickly suspended and made illegal. Not only did the native population become dangerously low, anypony who attempted to instill the essence of a phoenix, or even an iota of their magic, died a violent and painful death. Their magic wasn’t compatible with other Equestrian-native species.”

Jason merely nodded, attempting to block out the sensation that any magic used on him brought forth. It felt like he was being poked and prodded everywhere at once, even underneath his clothing. “I see…” he muttered. “How would one kill something that’s supposed to rebirth themselves at death? Doesn’t that sound rather… hard?”

“Well, one would think so, but if you destroy a creature’s magic, you destroy what they are. Everything and everypony has an internal pool of magic that is unique to them. Remove that, and you remove an essential part of their life and they inevitably die.” Celestia finished her spell, an odd expression coming to her face. “Jason. Going from what little you’ve told us of your home and how magic was mostly a non-existent force, I can postulate what happened.”

Jason patiently waited, simply nodding his head for Celestia to continue. “Whatever brought you here, my guess is that you had no internal magic. They managed to instill a large portion of a phoenix’s natural reservoir into you. That explains the rebirth, and it looks like it has recently gotten stronger, more developed.” She looked at Philomena, “It also explains why Philomena has taken such an attachment to you like none other. Even though externally you’re different, internally… the two of you are very much similar. I would also postulate that close proximity with her has helped to develop your own magic, which may explain your changes.”

“Huh. All of that makes a lot of sense. Shame that it took so long to find out, though…” Jason said before laughing. “Poor Twilight, I can only imagine her reaction when she finds this out. I left my past vague on purpose, it really didn’t seem to matter much to me, not anymore. Knowing her, she’d probably want to spend hours talking with me again now.”

Celestia shared a laugh with him at the thought of her student turned-princess. “Be careful what you wish for, Jason, for she is going to be visiting soon.” She hummed, summoning a fresh pot of tea to the table and getting a cup. “Now, do you mind sharing with me how exactly you managed to go one thousand years without gaining my notice? I’d received whispers in the shadows at best about some random creature who would show up at times, but the details were always vague, at best.”

Jason scratched at the back of his neck, a hesitant look on his face. “Well… I suppose I can tell you a few things. I spent a lot of time wandering, somehow managing to find myself in more than a few situations where I tried to do some good…” Jason launched into another account of his past, Celestia listening on in silence.

Jason pulled himself to his feet, eating a carrot that he had plucked from a nearby field. The forest he was currently calling home made for a good refuge, and the thick canopy ensured none of the ponies that lived in the nearby village could easily find him. He was on the way back from a quick raid on their crops, only taking enough for a few days. While the small game was plentiful, Jason liked a change from meat.

Walking up to a particularly large tree, Jason ducked into a small hole created from the mass of branches low to the ground, crawling into a small enclosure created by the branches. While cramped, it provided the perfect cover to sleep in and store a few things. Carefully placing the variety of vegetables into a small hollow covered by cloth, Jason lay down, watching the last of the sunlight filtering through the canopy above.

Just as his mind is drifting into the edge of sleep, voices nearby wake him. “So, the village over yonder… their inn is supposed to have a safebox buried underneath it containing a small mountain of bits. Everypony should be asleep one hour after sunset. I’ll leave the backdoor to the inn unlocked for you. Now, do you have what I asked for?”

Jason quietly listened in, now awake and alert. This was not the first time he had ended up around such activities, and although dying did hurt, he almost felt obligated to do what he could to prevent such things from happening. The voices continued on as he quietly listened.

“Good, good. Now, I need to make myself scarce. A small place like this will probably suspect that I was involved since I’ve only been there for a short time. Just remember what I said. One hour past sunset. Any earlier and you’ll risk ponies still being awake.”

Jason heard the soft sound of hooves on grass walk off, while the individuals that were paying for the information hang out nearby. The sounds of wings rustling reached his ears, telling him that those gathered outside are either pegasus or gryphons. Slowly, he crawls out of the confines of his enclosure, looking at the surrounding area.

Clawed feet greeted his eyes, meaning that the future offenders are gryphons for certain. By the time Jason had encountered his first gryphons, he had long since stopped being surprised at the oddities of the world, and accepted the odd creature as surely as the sun’s existence. He slowly counted, coming up with three pairs of legs, and mentally cursed. He clutched at the makeshift metal knife, knowing that it wasn’t going to be enough; but he still had to try.

He waited until it appeared as if all three had their backs to him. Quietly, he slunk the rest of the way out, inwardly cringing every time he made a noise. Luckily, the idle chatter the bandits were involved in drowned out the few sounds made during his exit. Jason slowly made his way to the closest of the three, knife tightly grasped in his grip.

With a cry, the other two jumped back in alarm as he grabbed the head of the third and mercilessly cut the blade against their throat. Dropping the gryphon, Jason took up a ready stance, blade in hand, as the two gryphons drew short swords of their own.

“What in Tartarus are you?” one of the gryphons asked, eyes wide as the life left the body of their comrade. Without a word, Jason advanced on them, careful to try and keep his target in front of the other.

The gryphons were immediately aware of what he was attempting to do, and although incapable of flying due to the low canopy, they split to either side in a move to flank Jason. Letting out a curse, he quickly struck out at the one to his left, exposing his back for a moment as his blow was blocked. A sting on his shoulder caused him to jerk forward, the blade barely breaking the skin.

Coming out of the block, the gryphon took the initiative, grinning as much as one can with a beak when the smell of Jason’s blood reached his nostrils. With a wide swing, he made a sweep at Jason’s gut, who deftly stepped back, only to feel a blade miss his head by inches.

Pivoting on the balls of his feet, Jason spun in a one hundred and eighty degree turn, swinging out at the gryphon previously at his back. Taking him by surprise, he struck a glancing blow, bloodying the gryphon’s chest. With a cry of fury, the wounded gryphon retaliated, claws digging into his forearm.

Jason’s eyes watered as his arm is partially shredded, the claws making quick work of his flesh. Gritting his teeth, he dug his sword into the gryphon’s gut, ending it with a vicious twist. Jason watched the eyes go wide, then the life quickly fled from them.

While Jason was occupied, the remaining gryphon saw his opportunity to strike, digging his blade into him with one claw, while the other buried itself into the shallow wound in Jason’s shoulder.

Nearly blinded by pain and aware of his impending death, Jason did his best to fall back into his attack, gripping him with his one good hand. He felt the gryphon taking a sadistic pleasure in his death, lending him a sense of relief even as the last of his consciousness fled.

Jason came to, something he was highly familiar with, with blackened earth greeting his sight and ash covering his body. However, as he propped himself back up, what he saw stunned him. Blackened trunks met his eyes, the immediate area devoid of the color green. But, the immediate forest was not the only casualty. Black smoke was visible on the horizon, already well off into the distance. A quick glance showed that where fields and a village stood, a leveled, smoldering heap was all that remained.

Sighing, Jason brushed the ash off as best as possible, before setting off in a random direction towards the next place to temporarily call home.

“Do you know when and where this was?” Celestia asks, almost accusingly. She realizes her tone moments later, softening her look and smiling. “Sorry, but do you recall the name of this village, and when?”

Jason shakes his head. “No, I purposely stayed on the fringes. That was one of my larger failures, I only learned to fight by doing, and it was still early on. I did later hear that no one had died, though, if that helps place it. It was near a forest, and the terrain was pretty flat. Plus, I have no idea how long had passed. Sometimes after I die my return is nearly instant, othertimes it seems like years have passed.”

Celestia’s brow creases as she thinks on the matter. “Ah ha! Yes, I recall now. I received a report on the small village of Plainsborough in the year…” She drifted off into thought for a moment once more. “One Hundred and Thirty-Four C. R. It was odd, as a forest fire started from an unknown source, but the inhabitants had enough time to pack essential items and leave well ahead of the flames.” Celestia shook her head a little bit.

“Yeah, that was the only good thing about it. For awhile, I thought that I was responsible for their deaths… I have no qualms at taking the life of one who has ill intentions, but innocents…” He trailed off, a pained look entering his eyes. “I try to live by tenets that, even though I no longer believe in the reason behind them, they still are worth following.”

“I see…” Celestia spoke comfortingly, a sad look in her eyes. One that spoke of her understanding his pain from experience. “I’m guessing that there are other circumstances like this one that happened during your travels?”

Jason nodded, sipping at his water. “Yeah. That one I told you about was the worst. Most times I was able to either help prevent something before it happened, or I was too late.” He shrugged. “I did my best to stay away though. The worst part about it all, though?” Celestia leaned in as he moved his head forward, as if wanting to tell her a secret. “Getting new clothes. It’s such a pain in the ass incinerating my clothing every time I die. It sucks, no way around it.”

Celestia looked at him incredulously before breaking out into laughter, Philomena’s tittering caws joining in as well as Jason smiled. “Well,” she began, once her laughter was under control, “so long as you’re here, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about either…” Celestia trailed off, her face taking a grim expression.

“That assassin… it’s the first one in many, many years. I haven’t been called the Sun Tyrant in a long time as well. It’s a name that was branded to me by the supporters of Nightmare Moon. I knew that there were still pockets, but they had been silent for some time. It’s… not good that they would so openly and brazenly attempt such an act.”

Celestia got up and surprised Jason with a hug, wrapping her hooves around him, even as tears began to leak from her face. “I thank you for stepping in, even though you knew you would ultimately be fine. To say I was concerned is an… understatement. Even knowing what I do now, I would rather you not risk your life even though you will simply come back to us.”

Jason simply returned her hug, even more acutely aware of his new wings as Celestia’s fur rubbed against the feathers, an odd tickling-like sensation coming from them. He suppressed the urge to laugh as they hugged, two friends seeking a moment of solace with each other.

All too soon the moment was over, Celestia pausing as she ruffled the feathers on his wing. “I’ll have to teach you to use those, once I find some time.” She settled back down on the sofa. “So, what brought you to Canterlot? For working so hard to avoid the larger population centers, you came to one of the largest at a time of rather high security.”

He grinned, shuffling in his seat and finishing off his water. “Well, I’d actually managed to go for awhile without dying; really nice feeling by the way, really nice. I was staying with some minotaurs, rather interesting individuals, minotaurs… when the morning that was supposed to come, didn’t. I left towards Equestria once more, where whispered words of Nightmare Moon lingered in the air...

Author's Note

Well, I was going to put this up tomorrow, but... no real point in delaying. This is unedited, I just finished this all of... thirty seconds ago as I write this Author's Note. I tried something different with the narrative explanation Jason is giving Celestia. Rather than an info dump with a lot of dialogue, I kept it in the same perspective, just italicized it. I think it works, but we'll see.

Hopefully you all enjoy this, I may start on the third chapter next. The plan is to sort of fill in the gaps to the present time over the next few chapters, and then move the story forward from there. Hmm, I think that's all for now. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Also, thanks for the Favorites, Votes, Views and Follows! And thanks for bringing this to the Feature Box as well!

Chapter 2 - First Impressions Are Not Good Impressions

“Sister!” Luna barged in, interrupting Jason, “Are you okay? We heard word of an attack from the guards, but–” she paused, noticing Jason’s new appearance. “It would seem they were not exaggerating due to stress… what in Tartarus happened?”

Jason suppressed a shudder at her arrival, fear briefly surging through him as he forced the emotion down. For an unknown reason, he was afraid of Luna, even though he knew her to be a mostly quiet individual. “Uh, hi, Luna. How’s it going?” he waved, smiling as if nothing were wrong.

“How am I?” she barks, her tone implying a lack of sanity on his part. “I am woken up in the middle of my rest and informed that not only as an assassin attacked my sister, but they killed my friend. Then, my friend supposedly caught on fire, and from there things just get even worse! So, how do you think I am doing, Jason?” her anger subsides as she notices the glance Celestia is giving her. “I am sorry, but I am indeed glad to see you both well and… unharmed.” she hesitates at the end, looking at Jason’s wings and hair.

Jason merely points at Philomena, keeping his eyes fixed on Luna. “Her fault. It’s a long story, but basically… I’ve been here a thousand years, anytime I die I’m reborn, and birdbrains over here apparently influenced some magic in me and this,” he motioned with his hands to the changes, “happened as a result.”

Celestia motioned for Luna to sit down. “Sister, take a seat please. Jason is in the middle of explaining some of what he recalls, and we were just getting to what brought him here a few years ago.”

Luna takes a seat, opting to recline on a chair across from Jason, causing him to have to force down another shudder of fear. “You mean when you found him, weapon in hand, watching me with Philomena on his shoulder?”

Jason just cringed, recalling that specific moment with acute clarity. “Yeah… that day. As I was telling your sister, I was on my way back…”

The sun was low on the horizon as Jason took in the sight before him. This was the closest he had ever been to the place, and now that details could be made out, he could not help but be amazed. The castle that seemed impossibly perched on the mountain gleamed in the waning sunlight, its spires and towers catching the light and reflecting it, and the town surrounding the castle also was rather majestic. Vaguely recalling a fairytale from his childhood, it seemed like a place that belonged within one.

The whispered words had spoken of a sister to the ruler of Equestria, who had recently returned. Although supposedly ‘redeemed’ in the eyes of the ruler, many ponies and other species alike claimed that she was still evil, simply fooling everyone as she bided her time. Much like in the past, Jason could not help but find himself drawn to such events.

After a few short hours night was upon him, and Jason began walking up the path carved into the mountainside to the city. Nighttime was the same everywhere; the regular ponies went to sleep and the guard came out to play. He had a few close calls, but managed to go unseen as he quietly entered the streets.

Keeping to the shadows and suppressing the fear that came with the darkness, he moved closer to the castle. The streets were mostly empty, only the passing guard or random pony hustling to an unknown location broke the silence. The size of the city made Jason uneasy, this was easily the largest settlement of any kind he had been within.

Two guards were posted outside the entrance, both attentive with their focus towards the street. Looking around just barely out of their sight, he tried to locate another way in. His eyes rapidly scanned the surroundings, taking note of the gate’s high fence serving as a wall to an interior courtyard. The other sides were surrounded by actual walls of a rather high height, if Jason had to guess they were easily three times his height.

Not noticing a way inside, he settled on a diversion. Picking up a small handful of pebbles, he took careful aim at the furthest guard, carefully letting a small stone loose. It went a far wide, hitting the metal fence with a sharp clang. Both heads turned towards the noise as Jason threw another pebble, this one striking off the guard’s helmet. Repressing a snicker, he watched as they both looked around in confusion.

It only took Jason three more stones to get one of the guards to leave his post, leaving his fellow-in-arms alone. Luckily, both were earth ponies, so he did not have to worry about being spotted by them from the sky or via spell.

Watching the head of the guard bob back and forth as he walked further away from the gate, Jason rushed forward and hit the guard on the helmet, hard. A clear ringing sound rang from the strike as the guard dropped to the ground, out cold. Jason hurried inside, shaking his hand to regain some of the feeling in it.

“Hah!” Luna exclaimed, a hoof raised in the air as she interrupted Jason’s narrative. “I recall those two guards! I do believe they attempted to claim that an invisible monster knocked him unconscious. Nopony truly knew what had distracted his partner, but come to find out it was mere pebbles?” she laughed uncontrollably.

“Yes, well, one can presume they would rather claim that something big and bad knocked them out rather than having to say ‘Sir, I was tricked into abandoning my post while my partner got knocked unconscious by an unknown entity that later turned out to be a rather harmless human.’” Jason snorted, shaking a little as he contained laughter. “Yeah, I’m sure that went over really well with Shining Armor.”

“Indeed. I do find it odd though, you said that whispered words of my sister still being… it is what drew you here?” he nodded his head, “And you truly had no plan? Surprising.”

Jason couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Yeah, even with all that time behind me, sometimes I forgot the simplest of things.” his expression turned dour, “At least this time it didn’t end with my death… those were the worst.”

Luna nodded her head, having a brief understanding of his circumstances now. “I could imagine as much. When Celestia had to banish us, I still felt it even though Nightmare Moon was the one still in control. It was unimaginably painful…” Luna trailed off, lost in thought. Shaking her head, she sadly smiled. “Sorry, I still find myself lost in the past on occasion.”

Celestia joined in Luna’s sad smile, equally pained at the reminder of that time. She turned to Jason and asked him a question. “So, if you had no idea where my sister was going to be, how did you manage to find her?”

Jason let out a short laugh, leaning back as he did so. “Pure luck, really. You see, when I got inside…”

As he entered the foyer, he couldn’t help but be further amazed at just how decorative and expensive everything looked. One could purchase a village with just one decorative pillar within these halls it looked like to him. Without an idea of where to go from this point, Jason randomly wandered through the halls.

After a few minutes of having to duck into an empty storeroom and what looked to be a dining room to avoid patrols, Jason realized just how stupid this idea was. He still had a good idea of the layout of the castle that he had already been through, but without a notion of where he needed to go, he was thoroughly lost.

Just as he was prepared to backtrack his steps and leave, he heard a few guards coming around the corner. “They didn’t get a good look at the intruder, but we’ve got guards combing the corridors in case whoever it was slipped in. I swear, told the Captain they weren’t ready for the gate posting yet..” a male voice trailed off as he listened in from within a storage closet.

A second voice chimed in, this one a female. “Yeah, greenhorns. D’ya know where Nightmare Moon is at right now? She could be behind it.” the sound of a hoof ringing off a helmet rang in the air.

“How many times do we need to say it? You will refer to her as Princess Luna! Do you really want to go up before the Captain and have to explain yourself? Because I certainly don’t.” a pause happened, and then the speaker continued. “Besides, Princess Luna is currently in her garden last I heard, the one just down the hall. Now c’mon, we have to continue searching.”

The clopping of hooves reached Jason’s ears as he processed this new information. With a destination now in mind, he slowly eased out of the closet, checking the halls for any ponies that might be on the lookout. It came as no surprise to him that his entrance had not gone without notice, although it seemed to be a relatively small response, as this was only the third patrol he had avoided so far.

Setting off towards the location the guard had specified, Jason also thought on what had been said. Much like the words had said, this Princess Celestia’s sister had indeed returned, although she was apparently being called Princess Luna rather than Nightmare Moon. Which one she was though, that is what mattered the most. After all, if she truly were redeemed, then there was no point to his actions.

Quietly, he came into the hallway, a gentle breeze denoting an open area ahead blew past him. The light wind ruffled his clothes as he inched forward, staying as close to the wall as possible. Walking into the moonlight, a dark figure lay ahead, sitting at the edge of a pool of water. As she lifted her head, Jason realized it had to be her; the wings and horn gave it away.

He quickly turned his gaze to focus on the sudden weight that had settled on his shoulder, doing his best to not make a sound. Even in the darkness, the bright mix of reds and oranges swirled together was readily apparent to him as two beady eyes met him. Although the eyes of an avian, they were filled with intelligence, and Jason couldn’t help but gulp.

Strangely, he found a sort of understanding with this brightly colored bird, who after a moment, simply remained on his shoulder, closing its wings tightly to its side as it perched on Jason’s shoulder. Weapon in hand, he turned back to look at her, and his eye caught hers.

Numerous things happened in the next instance. Jason’s eyes met Luna’s, and he went rigid in fear. Fragmented memories of a time he thought long since buried returned, a darkness that had lasted what felt an eternity. The embodiment of the night ponified dredged these memories up to the surface of his mind, causing him to have a massive panic attack. His muscles all locked in place, his mouth partway open in shock, and Jason went completely unresponsive.

Luna opened her mouth, but before she could utter a word, Celestia’s reverberating voice reached her ears. “Sister! There is an intruder within the cast–” her words cut off as she noticed Jason, immediately reacting by surrounding him within a nimbus of magic.

“...and that’s that. Not my best moment.” Jason finished, thinking back on that night. For some reason, even after over two years of therapy, Luna instilled a fear deep within him. At least he was finally to the point to where he could be within the same room as her.

“Indeed, I remember how quickly Celestia bundled you up, even with Philomena resting on your shoulder. She was rather overbearing for quite some time after my return.” she chuckled at Celestia’s expense, who in turn pretended to be offended and stuck up her muzzle.

“Indeed I was… there, I admitted it, are you happy?” Celestia grunted at Luna, who simply replied by sticking her tongue out at her sister. “But, I think the only thing that truly saved you from immediate harm, Jason, was that Philomena was so accepting of you from the start. It’s readily clear why now, but until that point she was hostile at worst, and ignored others at best.” Celestia finished, glaring mockingly at the offending avian.

Jason laughed, giving yet more attention to Philomena. “Yeah, it does make sense. We’re going to have to get Twilight here as soon as possible, though. She’d probably be able to get to the bottom of what’s going on…” he trailed off, thoughts once more turning grim. “You’ve got an assassin to interrogate, Celestia. There’ll be more time for me to recount stuff later, but that really should be taken care of.”

Celestia and Luna both grew grim at his words. “Indeed…” Luna began, a sigh escaping from her lips, “I knew that the Cult of the Nocti Lunarum,” her face twisted with a rather large amount of disgust, “was still active, as Celestia had them tracked since Nightmare Moon’s banishment. However, if they are openly attacking my sister, then who knows what else they many have planned.”

“Luna, they also used Night’s Bane.” Luna whistled at Celestia’s words. “Indeed, it’s no easy feat to acquire or grow the necessary ingredients for me. That amount of resources scares me, as the latest intel reports on them showed only a hoof-full of ponies, and none with enough influence or wealth to acquire the poison either way.” Celestia said, a weight within her voice.

“Go, sister. Interrogate the vermin… I’m afraid my methods are no longer considered to be legal, and I have no interest in bantering with him.” Luna quietly spoke, a smoldering rage hidden within the depth of her words. Celestia nodded before getting up and walking to Jason.

“We’ll talk more later. Knowing some of this may help us get you past your issues, as well as expose more…” she looked at him with a slightly hurt expression. “I truly wish you would’ve trusted us both with this information sooner, Jason. Take care.” She quickly hugged him before doing the same with Luna, then walked out the door.

“So,” Luna began, sitting on the edge of her seat, “mind filling me in on what I missed?”

Celestia walked next to Shining Armor, who had just finished compiling reports of the sweep of the castle. “Princess, there were no other ponies or any other species found within the castle and the immediate area. After looking through the prisoner’s belongings, the only weapon was the dagger that reportedly struck Jason.” he frowned as he recounted the next segment. “However, it was consumed apparently when Jason… burst into fire and reincarnated?”

“Yes, that did indeed happen, Shining.” Celestia sighed in relief. “I’m glad that you agreed to be the acting Captain until Captain Stone returns. This… event that has happened, having you in charge of the guard lets me rest a bit easier.” she spoke softly as they descended into an area of the castle that smelled of the earth. Before he could offer up a rebuttal, Celestia continued. “I know, the initial attack went unnoticed and the only one to act in time was Jason. However, now that you know that there is a valid threat, I know that you are the best choice to be in charge of Luna and I’s safety.”

Shining simply sighed as they entered in the little used cell block that was buried deep into the mountain underneath the main barracks. Two guards posted at the entrance saluted them as they arrived. “Princess, Prin– sorry, Captain Armor, the prisoner is secured in the third cell.” he reported to them, holding a sharp salute while remaining at attention.

“At easy, Sergeant, and thank you. The princess and I have it from here.” Shining spoke, causing the soldier to open the door for them. Celestia couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at the guard’s slip-up with Shining’s title.

“If this is just the beginning, I might just have to stick around… Oh man, Cadance is not going to like that.” Shining groaned as they entered the cell block.

“Something tells me she’d be more cross with you if something were to happen to her aunt though, don’t you?” Celestia stopped with the chatter as they came up to the cell containing the assassin. Taking a moment to compose herself, she used her magic to open up the door, walking in with Shining on his heels.

The prisoner was shackled spread eagle against the back wall, each limb secured with magically fortified metal buckles. A grade-AAA ring inhibitor was firmly locked on his horn, and his mouth gagged to prevent anything from being said. That, coupled with the most secure location within Equestria for prisoners, made for a complete and thorough prison.

Celestia simply stood there, examining him. She noted that his handling had been less than good, which came as no surprise to her. After all, the fool had made an attempt on her life, she was probably lucky that he was conscious still. His grey mane blended in nearly seamlessly with his coat, his mark that of a dagger with a drop of liquid on its tip.

“So.” she simply stated, authority carried in her voice. “You thought that you could simply walk into my court, disrupt my ponies’ time to bring their grievances to me, and then make an attempt on my life? Utterly egotistical of you, and utterly moronic.” she leaned in close to his face, noticing the burning hatred in his yellow eyes. “What. Was. Your. Purpose?”

The assassin simply laughed, a muffled sound coming through the gag in his mouth. Once it ended, Shining removed the gag, leveling a spear at the unicorn’s neck. “Our Princess asked you a question, cretin. Now, your name,” he brought the spear tip to touch the neck of the stallion, “and your purpose.”

“The Nocti Lunarum have no need for names, and our purpose is clear. Death to the Sun Tyrant so that Her Radiant Majesty of the Night can reclaim Her rightful place as the sole ruler of our country and lead us into glory!” he loudly exclaimed, his complete belief and fanaticism to Nightmare Moon showing in his words as every reference to her sounded like a deity. Shining replied by slapping the assassin’s face with the flat side of the spear’s blade, unamused by the rhetoric spouted.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. You got the hots for Nightmare Moon who, might I remind you, is gone!” Shining exclaimed, noting the increase of anger at his words at his denial of Nightmare Moon’s existence. Celestia simply watched, a passive expression on her face as Shining worked on getting details from the prisoner.

“You. Are. Wrong! She exists even now, waiting to take back the vessel that is rightly hers. And when she does…” he madly laughed, tossing his head back as far as the restraints allowed. “I am merely the vanguard, the first of many who plan to see your Precious Princesses gone so that the Queen may take Her place once more!”

Celestia motioned to Shining Armor, erecting a barrier blocking sounds between them and the prisoner. “I must write a letter to your sister. As the newest Princess of Equestria, she and her friends are highly exposed in Ponyville, even with the current guards posted there. And the fact that more will try… these will be trying days ahead.”

Shining sighed. “Indeed, it looks like I’ll be sending that letter to Cady after all… She’d kill me herself, if I left anything for her, if Twily came to harm. I don’t know how much we’ll be able to get out of him, he’s pretty deep in their indoctrination.”

She nodded, dropping the barrier a moment later as they both walked back to the prisoner. Celestia got in his face, a wad of spit ejecting from his mouth stopped in the air as it hit a barrier. “Now, my little pony, you will tell me your name at the very least.” she spoke, the very air growing heavy as the weight of her words settled on his mind.

He did his best to resist, however not many could hold out when Celestia skirted magics she had sworn off. This was because violating one’s free will was a line that she refused to cross, however in this instance she was willing to bend it. “S-silent Step.” slowly ripped its way from his mouth, the entire time his teeth were gritted.

“Good. That wasn’t so hard, now was it?” Celestia mockingly asked as Shining took a step forward. With a nod, she left him to finish the interrogation as she attended to other duties.

Celestia walked as far as the posted guards, who quickly snapped to attention once more and saluted her, before disappearing in a flash of magic as she teleported directly to her study. Surprisingly enough, Luna and Jason were both engaged in discussion, although they stopped as she appeared in their midst.

“Celestia, what is it?” Luna asked as both her and Jason stood up and walked over to her desk, where she was quickly pulling out quill, ink and parchment.

“It’s not good, Luna. It’s not going to be an isolated incident; plus I’m not the only target.” Celestia began quickly scribbling, writing a letter to her pupil. Luna’s eyes widened at the same time as Jason’s, both realizing who she meant.

“No…” Luna breathlessly said, alarmed. Jason began running for the door, although Luna caught him within her magic. Turning to him, even as he attempted to break out of her magic, she spoke. “Jason. As noble as rushing off to Twilight may be, my sister can get notice to her through Spike much, much quicker than you could possibly get there yourself.” she eyed his wings and recalled his somewhat lopsided run. “Besides, as you are now, the best you would be is a shield.”

Jason deflated even as Luna released him from her magic, understanding the point she made. As he began to pace back and forth in frustration, Celestia finished with her letter, not even bothering to sign it with her full signature, before sending it off.

“There. Let us hope that nothing has happened yet, and that I’m simply overreacting.”

In the town of Ponyville, two guards stood watch outside the entrance of the Golden Acres Library. Both kept watchful eyes for the shadows cast by the pale moonlight, their duty to ensure the safety of the newest Princess of Equestria who resided within.

A lone figure slowly approached, the late hour causing the two guards to believe something was amiss. As the pony came closer, one guard called out a challenge. Ignoring it, they simply continued walking, their path taking them straight for the front door.

“Go alert her, I’ll handle this.” The unicorn guard spoke to his companion, a pegasus. Turning his attention towards the pony, who was now no more than twenty paces away, he challenged the figure. “Halt! Identify yourself and come no closer, otherwise I will have no choice but to detain you!”

A laugh greeted the guards words, which caused him to charge his spell. As he went to release it, the figure abruptly shifted, moving forward so quickly the guard was unable to track it. A blade leaving its sheath rang out in the still night, a blade that cut cleanly through the guard’s neck.

The figure paused a moment to wipe his blade off as the lights within the library turned on, and a flash of green became visible inside. Maniacally grinning, he walked towards the front door.

Author's Note

Welp... I hadn't quite planned on taking it in that direction, but... hey, why not? So, now we have some basic facts, as well as a 'villain' group to antagonize our characters. As always, if you find any errors feel free to ~~beat me over the head with them~~ point them out. I hope that you enjoy this latest installment.

And, also of note, this is the last chapter in a row. I need to give some other projects some attention now. At my current pace, I'd give it roughly a week tops before the next chapter, though.

Chapter 3 - Lost Innocence

NOTE: Dark Tag has now been applied as a precaution This chapter should be as dark as things get. No gore tag.

Twilight,

Important. Gather friends at library, guards on the way. Ensure guards are with you at all times. Will explain once at castle.

Celestia

Twilight’s eyes quickly scanned the contents of the letter, widening at the brevity of it. As she went to put it down, the door burst open, revealing the pegasus guard that was assigned to her front door that evening.

He saluted, quickly throwing up his hoof before setting it right back down, turning to face the door he had just barreled through. “Princess, potential threat outside. Please, remain here and be prepared for anything.” he spoke quickly, conviction in his words. As soon as he finished his statement, he ran right back out the door, leaving a confused Twilight and Spike behind.

After a moment, Twilight, against the guard’s advice, rushed off after him. “Spike, c’mon!” she ran down the hall, taking the stairs in one go as she used her wings to aid in her descent. The sight she saw chilled her blood.

A dark stallion was chuckling, standing over the still form of the pegasus guard, wiping a red liquid from his blade on the guard’s coat. His eyes turned up, noticing her. “Oh, so the prey comes to me… how convenient.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she reflexively charged a stun spell, trembling at the turn of events. Spike huffed down the stairs as she unleashed it, a bright, violet aura that quickly zoomed towards the mysterious assailant. His eyes narrowed and focused on the incoming beam, rolling to the side last second, causing it to detonate harmlessly against the wall. The resulting bang shook the walls, toppling books to the library floor.

“Who are you and why are you doing this?” Twilight cried out, still trembling as she held her ground at the base of the stairs, Spike right behind her. She levitated the downed guard out of the way even as she charged another spell. The stallion moved forward in a blur, closing the distance between them in a near instant.

His blade bounced off an invisible barrier that briefly shimmered lavender, causing Twilight to cringe slightly at the feedback from the shield. Spike pushed his way forward, an angry look in his eyes. “You may simply call me Noctus.” the stallion taunted, stepping back with a grin.

“Twi… I’m sorry.” Spike said before deeply inhaling. Moments later a jet of bright orange flames leapt from his mouth, consuming objects in its path. While the enchantments laid onto the bookshelves and the floors kept the inferno from consuming them, those books that had already fallen to the ground were turned to ashes within seconds.

A strangled scream tore its way through the air as the flames petered out from Spike’s mouth with a wheeze. Scents mingled in the air, the overriding one making Twilight sick to her stomach. She had only smelled it once before, at a restaurant that catered to carnivores; that of seared meat. As the scattered ashes of the burned books fell to the ground, the smoke began to clear.

Spike rested his claws on his knees, bent over and tired. Twilight simply stared slack-jawed before forcing her focus to where she had last seen the assassin. What she saw left her revolted and scared at the same time. Charred flesh streaked down his side, the cloak and hairs on much of his body gone. Somehow, he was still standing, although on three legs, and had a mad look in his eyes as his horn charged with a spell.

Twilight simply reacted, recalling a spell she had once asked Luna about. Celestia, forgive me… Before he could release his magic, a dark sword shot out from her horn, impaling his neck. Spike simply hugged her as the last bit of air escaped from the assailant’s mouth, his body keeling over.

The sounds of fighting had not gone unnoticed. Rarity ran through the front door of the library, dignity and looks the last thing on her mind as she took in the scene before her. She had been beyond alarmed at the body of the stallion laying outside the entrance, and the scene inside was even worse.

Twilight was standing over the body of another guard, frantically running magic through him. Forgotten was the body of a stallion, flesh charred along one side and lying in a pool of his own blood, eyes glazed over in death. Spike was next to Twilight, even as she was furiously casting magic.

“No! You can’t die! You can’t!” she sobbed, collapsing on the ground as Spike did his best to support her. Rarity hesitated a moment herself before rushing forward.

“Twilight, darling… Are you okay?” She carefully dodged charred paper and ash as she rapidly moved to Twilight’s side, helping Spike lift her up. Now on her hooves, Rarity and Spike carefully made their way to the kitchen, keeping Twilight supported between them. She was completely unresponsive, shudders wracking her frame every few seconds.

“Can you watch her, Rarity? I need to get a letter to Celestia.” Spike quietly said as they set Twilight down in a chair. Her hooves shot out and wrapped around him, causing him to let out a sigh. “Upstairs, her bedroom. Desk to the left of the bed, top drawer. Inkwell, quill and parchment please.”

As Rarity charged off with simply a nod, Spike squirmed in Twilight’s grasp, wrapping his arms around her neck and quietly whispering to her. He recalled a specific remark Celestia had made shortly after Twilight’s coronation.

Spike… as you are no doubt aware, with Twilight’s new position, there may come a time when you have to aid in her defense should she be targeted. Dragonfyre… it’s a potent weapon, and should stop anything that threatens her.

Spike sighed as the clop of hooves reached his ears, causing him to twist in Twilight’s hooves again as Rarity came back into sight. As the materials settled onto the table’s surface, Spike picked up the quill and quickly scribbled out a note, not even bothering to roll it up as he sent it moments later.

Wheezing, Spike fell back into Twilight’s hooves as Rarity rooted through the cabinets, looking for some tea. Settling on some herbal tea, she quickly prepared the kettle as she walked to Twilight’s side.

“Twilight,” she began, still not getting a response from her, “darling… you need to say something. We need to know how you’re doing.” Rarity gently rested her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, causing her to slowly turn her head.

As their eyes met, Rarity read a deep sorrow contained within, sorrow mingled with pain and shock. As the kettle began boiling, Rarity deftly used her magic to steep the tea even as she encased Twilight in a hug, being mindful of Spike between them.

A pegasus in light armor rushed into the room a minute later, skipping the customary salute as he took in the scene before him. “Princess, the premises are currently being secured… what the buck happened here?”

Spike spoke up, still wrapped up within her hooves. “We had the guard…Frequency, I think, rush in and notify us about a potential threat outside. Twilight rushed downstairs in time to see a stallion, well…” he trailed off, an uncomfortable expression on his face. “There was some exchange of magic before I torched him, and Twilight had to stop him before he could cast anything else.”

The guard nodded at Spike’s tale, eyes constantly scanning the surroundings. Another pegasus walked up, nodding to the first. “Well, the premises are secured, it seems the only assailant is the one currently on the floor. We’ve dispatched guards to retrieve the other Elements, and carriages should arrive within the next half hour.” he paused, ignoring the glare Rarity was giving him. “We’ll remain outside until the carriages arrive… I assume it’s okay to send your friends through?”

Rarity’s expression softened, and with a nod the guard turned and left the room. She set down the cup of tea in front of Twilight as Spike wormed his way out of her grasp at last. “Twilight… you need to drink this.” he spoke quietly, working to get some response out of her.

After a few moments of nothing more than a few blinks, Spike sighed. “Twilight! You’ll be tardy if you don’t start drinking this!” he belted out to the best of his ability, voice still raw from the earlier flames. Twilight barely started, her wings slightly rustling as she shook once more.

Celestia paced in her study, having foregone hoof-writing in favor for magical dictation as she prepared for multiple potential scenarios. Jason and Luna simply looked on, both anxious as well as they awaited word from Twilight. A flash of green interrupted them all as Celestia caught the single sheet of parchment.

They both knew it contained dire information as Celestia’s expression fell through the floor, her wings quivering at her side further telling her emotions.

“Sister? What is it, did something happen?” Luna asked, jumping to her hooves and rushing over as Jason sighed, Philomena squawking as he disturbed her perch on his lap as he stood. She picked the paper from Celestia’s hooves, her eyes widening even as she let out a small sigh of relief.

Attacked, guards killed. Had to use fire, but Twilight finished him off so he couldn’t get off a spell. She’s in a bad way.

Spike

Celestia let out a sigh of her own, leaning into her sister. “It would seem our warning was a bit too late, and as a result Twilight has lost more than her innocence in the process… I was dreading the day this would come; I’d hoped it would be much, much later in the future.” Jason placed a hand on her shoulder, offering the best smile he could muster.

“Celestia, while it may be true that this is going to be hard on her… you should know better than I how resilient she is.” he said, offering words of comfort. “It may take some time, but just like my own issues, they can slowly be worked through. And she doesn’t have hundreds of years of them, just this one instance.” Jason smiled humorously, eliciting a dry chuckle from Celestia and a slight frown from Luna.

“While that may be true, Jason, this is still a dire issue. Twilight’s innocence is something that was never taken lightly, and without it…” Luna trailed off, a small amount of discomfort in her words.

“Relax, Lu… Jason has a good point.” Celestia said, putting her full weight back on her hooves again. “So long as she had her friends with her, she’ll come through it, like always. She has too…”

The chariots touched down at the castle grounds to a group of ponies anxiously awaiting their arrival. Of all the ponies in the group, Shining Armor was the first one who made it to the carriage’s door, opening it up and sticking his head inside even as the wheels had barely came to a stop.

“Twilight?!” he cried, sighing loudly as he took in her apparently unharmed state. “Oh, thank goodness… I was so worried about you when Celestia told me what happened…” he supported her as she slowly hobbled out of the carriage, her friends out and by her side within moments. She stood on shaky legs, a far off look within her eyes. Jason waded through the group, offering muted greetings as he kneeled in front of her.

“Twilight?” he quietly spoke, ignoring the gasps that came as everypony around him noticed his wings and hair. He quietly gazed into her pained eyes with an understanding deep within his, and she slowly responded to him.

“J-jason? W-what…” she slowly stuttered, causing him to gently rest a finger on her lips. He carefully picked her up in his arms, hugging her tightly to his body.

Guards escorted the group back inside, the mass of ponies centered around Jason and Twilight. Spike rode on Celestia’s back, the entire time quietly talking to her of the events that occurred at the library. Everypony questioned Jason as they walked through the halls before finally coming to Celestia’s study, where more furniture had been brought in to accommodate everypony.

Jason was the first to enter behind Celestia, taking the edge of a sofa as he gently lowered Twilight down next to him. She gave him a look of thanks, too tired to even speak as she laid her head down on his lap with a sigh. Once everypony was gathered in the room, the doors closed, guards posted outside and inside.

“Everypony… recent events that have transpired today require that we keep everypony here at the castle, where we can best guard you.” Celestia began, passing out drinks. “This morning, an assassin from the cult known as Nocti Lunarum made an attempt on my life. He was using Night’s Bane,” Rarity gasped at the poison’s name, “and it’s only thanks to Jason that I was unharmed. He took the blade himself rather than let it strike me.”

“Darling,” Rarity began, “am I correct in assuming that your… new look is a result of this, somehow? There’s no way that you should be alive if it truly was Night’s Bane. From what I recall, it has a kill time of thirty seconds to two minutes.”

Jason sadly chuckled as Philomena perched atop his head, peering down at him. “It is, somewhat anyways. I did indeed die, although something in me… brings me back.” he simply stated, then spoke again to head off any further questions. “It’s a long story, and one best saved until after Celestia is done filling us in.” Jason calmly stated, attentively watching Twilight.

“Indeed. After speaking at length to Jason about his… abilities, Shining Armor and myself interrogated the assassin, where we learned a few startling things. Firstly, it is a cult that is attempting to bring back the Nightmare that once possessed Luna.” The mare in question and Jason both shivered at the same time as Celestia continued. “Secondly, their targets include myself, Twilight, and potentially Cadance and anypony linked to us. However, Cadance is literally an empire away, so she should be safe. Last, and the most worrying, these are only the first attempts they’ll try.” she finished, setting down her tea and forcing her visage to reflect a calm and collected leader rather than the slightly panicked mare she was, her vision locked on Twilight.

“So…” Applejack drawled out, “what Ah’m getting from this is that it’s bad news all around, then?” Celestia nodded as she looked around the room. “What exactly are we supposed to do in the meantime? Ah don’t know ‘bout you, but someponies” her eyes briefly darted to Rainbow Dash, “can’t just sit around. If’n we can help in some way, that’s what Ah’d like to do.”

Celestia pursed her lips in thought for a moment. “...I don’t know, Applejack. This group means serious business, and all of you, as the Bearers to the Elements, are extremely important to Equestria. If even one of you were to be severely injured, or worse…” she trailed off, a dark look in her eyes, “it could very well spell doom for Equestria in the future.”

Of all ponies, it was Fluttershy who spoke up next. “Umm, Princess…” she hesitantly began, before finding her confidence, “If they’re after you, Twilight, and maybe even us, well… I’d think it would be best if we did what we could to help. Even if it’s something as simple as digging through books, or,” she looked directly at Twilight, “being there for our friends. We can’t just idly sit by.”

Luna spoke next, her voice amazingly quiet, yet filled with authority. “Very good point, Fluttershy. Just know that my sister is currently thinking with the safety of everypony involved.” she stood up and began pacing around the edge of the room, thinking. “Currently, not much is known of this group. Celestia had been keeping tabs on them, but it seems as if they have slipped out from underneath her spy’s hooves.” Celestia offered up a short protest, “Fine, underneath her informant’s hooves. Between their use of Night’s Bane, and the fact that two assassins are simply the tip of the iceberg, there is much to be uncovered.”

“Still,” Pinkie interjected, slightly swaying in place on her spot on a couch, “if we can do something to keep these meanies from hurting our best friend Twilight again, we’ll do anything. I do mean, anything.” Everypony, Jason and Philomena included, couldn’t help but shudder at the emphasis Pinkie placed on her last word.

Jason looked on in concern at Twilight, noting how not once throughout the discussion so far had she spoken up, or even asked him about the wings. “Celestia…” he quietly spoke, everypony’s attention focusing on him. “Do you mind if I go on a walk with Twilight to… talk about things?”

Celestia went to object at first, then slowly nodded her head. “Yes… I think that’s a good idea.” she directed her head towards the two guards posted inside. “Sergeant, please ensure that a small contingent follows them but have them keep their distance.”

Jason quietly got up, picking Twilight up once more as he reassured everypony in the room. “Don’t worry, we’ll be back soon. Hopefully with a certain pony feeling much better.” he quietly exited the room as Celestia and the other Elements began to argue as to their usefulness.

Quietly, he walked through the corridors with a specific location in mind. Twilight looked at him curiously, almost overriding the other emotions contained within her eyes. Jason gently smiled in return, no words exchanged between them.

A slight breeze signaled his destination was near, and he passed underneath an archway to come out into a small interior courtyard, a pool of water in its middle. Walking up to its edge, he carefully sat down, Twilight still in his lap, and sighed.

“So…” he quietly began, eyes roving around noticing the guards perched on the rooftop, “talk to me, Twi. I’m all ears.” As if he had spoken the magical words, a dam burst, tears streaming from her eyes as she buried her head within his chest. He simply held her close, arms around her neck, comfortingly stroking a hand through her mane.

They remained like that for some time, the tears pouring out as Twilight’s soul cried for itself, and her lost innocence. For nearly twenty years, she had been Celestia’s pupil, able to pursue magic and its application without worrying about any consequences. Today, however, the blinds that had been in front of her had been pulled away, and the harsh truth had come and made itself known.

The tears slowly dried up, soft hiccups replacing the sobs. Jason gently patted her on the back, knowing just how to comfort his friend. She looked up, thanks evident in her expression before she even spoke. “Thanks, Jason…”

He smiled, internally sighing in relief. “So, my therapist… Guess it’s my turn to play doctor, no?” she let out a forced chuckle at his poor joke, slowly getting out of his lap and laying down to his side.

Twilight let out a long sigh, not truly knowing where to start at. “I believe, as my own therapist told me, it’s best if you just ‘pick a place and go from there.’ I have a really smart one, you know?” Jason spoke, getting another chuckle, this one not forced, from Twilight.

Her mouth opened as the words began pouring out. “It’s just… I never though…” she began, still uncertain where to start. Taking a deep breath she tried again. “I never thought about what being Celestia’s pupil, a princess, what it truly meant. I always say the positive sides, but I willingly put blinders on as to what could happen to me because of it. I mean, even as just her pupil, I was a pretty tempting target. And now, as a princess, I’m even more of one.” she angrily snorted. “How could I’ve been so bl–” Jason cut her off.

“No, Twilight. You can’t blame yourself, and you know it. Although you might’ve ignored what might happen, the fact that it did… you can’t lay that at your own hooves.” he quietly, but strongly remarked, then went quiet so that she could continue.

“Still, Jason… I should’ve realized that getting marriage proposals from stallions I’d’ve never known wasn’t the worst thing about being a princess. Now, two… not one, but two guards are dead for me. I didn’t even know them that well, I almost acted as if they weren’t even there before tonight!” her anger continued to build as Jason placed a hand on her shoulder. Twilight let out a long sigh and then took another deep breath. “Now, though, I’ve also killed a pony. It’s… the first time that I’ve had to do it. I recognized the spell he was charging, even after being burned by Spike’s Dragonfyre, he was capable of magic. I had no choice, if that spell had gotten off, it would’ve potentially leveled the library… I had no choice..” she trailed off, a far-off look entering her eyes again.

Jason quickly hugged her, forcing her to focus on him rather than her thoughts. “Twilight… everypony at some point in their lives has a crisis of faith, no matter what that faith is…” he trailed off, briefly dwelling on his own crisis of faith all those years ago he endured, “You can get past it, though. You have Celestia and Luna who both know exactly what you’re going through. I also understand it somewhat…”

He released his hug, simply staring into her eyes. Twilight briefly blushed before surging her muzzle forward, fiercely kissing him, her tongue playing against his lips. Jason was shocked and simply sat there, their lips locked together as one. Moments later he reactively leaned into it, emotions running high with both parties.

They both separated, somewhat breathless, and awkwardly looked at each other. “So,” Twilight began, turning away slightly, “you said you understood what I was going through… how so?” she asked, attempting to ignore their kiss.

Acting to her wishes, Jason ignored the previous action, at least for the moment, and obliged her question. “Well, would you believe me if I said I’ve been wandering Equestria for the last thousand years or so?” he lightly chuckled as Twilight looked back at him, shock written on her face.

“No way…” Twilight said, disbelief in her voice, causing Jason to laugh this time.

“Yup, you see…”

Author's Note

Dark tag now added to play it safe. I don't plan on going darker, or into any more details than I did in this chapter, but... it's kind of a needed precaution. For those concerned about events not focusing on Jason, don't worry... They will be, and more of them will come to light as time goes on. Also, we'll be seeing more things focused around him from this point on. Hopefully, you all enjoy this, and the tag addition isn't a put-off.

This is also what happens when you wake up early before work and are feeling particularly inspired. Man, I need some ice cream after writing this. Poor Twilight... I feel kinda dirty now. Also, this is unedited... Had a small amount of insomnia and woke up early, so written from 1am - 4am. Now, time to get ready for work and get started on a chapter of another story.

Chapter 4 - Calm Before A Storm

Jason sat down in the chair in his room, letting out a sigh that Philomena mirrored. "You too, huh?" Jason thought back on how upon their return, he and Twilight had been informed that it was simply 'too late' to continue any discussion. The fact that half of the ponies in the room appeared to be asleep supported that statement. He had turned right on out of the room, leaving Twilight to talk with Celestia.

He moved around in the chair, causing Philomena to squawk in alarm. "Yeah, yeah, Philo, I know. But, you try to find a comfortable position when you suddenly sprout a pair of wings." he mockingly glared at her, raising an eyebrow and trying to look as comical as possible. "I'm blaming you for this, you know that? Everything was just perfectly fine, I'd even gone almost ten years without dying this time, then..... poof, wings and this ridiculous hair." Jason remarked, grabbing a lock of the hair and brushing it out of his eyes.

Philomena chuckled in her own way, a warbling sound that was nearly musical in nature. "Oh, yeah, go ahead and laugh it up. You probably got a kick out of Twilight kissing me too, didn't you?" she laughed some more at him, causing him to eventually join in.

As their laughter died down, he couldn't help but let out a sigh, shifting again in his chair. Philomena flapped her wings a few times, moving from the back of the chair to Jason's leg, staring up at him expectantly. "Oh, so now you want to play therapist, too?" he rolled his eyes, "I swear, everypony... and everyone, thinks they're a doctor these days, jeez."

She simply squawked once, the melodic sound filling the air. "Okay, I get it. It was... weird, having a pony kiss me. Never had it happen, even with how long I've been wandering around for..." he trailed off, closing his eyes and carefully leaning back, mashing his wings between the chair and his back. "I mean, sure, I kinda reacted and returned the kiss for all of a second, but..."

Philomena squawked again, hopping to his bed and warbling out a few notes. "You want what now?" he asked, an eyebrow raised. She warbled out a few notes, seemingly pointing at the bed and making a few motions. "Oh, I see... I don't see why not."

Jason walked over to bed and laid down, carefully feeling out the new muscles and spreading his wings to their full span. Looking over his shoulder, he couldn't help but admit that it was pretty cool seeing his wings in such a state. While he stood at six feet, his wingspan appeared to be nearly double that. Philomena cawed gently before hopping onto his back, carefully running her beak through his feathers.

His nerves relaxed as she began to preen his wings, causing him to let out a sigh. She paused a moment to let out another warble, to which he just chuckled. "Heh, why should I bother learning how to do this myself when you can do it for me, Philo?" she indignantly squawked, causing him to break into laughter. "Sure, and the next time you mess with Celestia's cake, don't come running to my room for sanctuary. Gotta give to get, birdbrain."

Jason simply laid there, his eyes drifting closed as he splayed his other limbs out, sinking into the bed. A peck against his back forced him into awareness again, followed by a series of squawks and warbles. "Wha– oh... you wanna hear more?" she nodded her head, causing him to chuckle. "I suppose I can, after all you're doing that awesome thing... preening, that's it."

He sighed in comfort as Philomena went back to work. "Well, putting aside the awkwardness of it all, I just... don't know. I see her as a sister almost, I mean she helped me get up to speed on the modern day things here. Don't have to wander anymore, and so long as I don't piss off Celestia I've got a permanent home here. Even then, it's just..." he grabbed a pillow and shoved it under his head, squirming around slightly, "I can't quite put a word to it. I'll have to talk to her about it, and soon, ya'know?"

Philomena squawked and warbled out a mixture of sounds, Jason nodding his agreement. "Yeah... now, don't mind me if I go to sleep, it has been a long day. Plus, as you probably know, the whole rebirth thing. Really takes it out of you." a yawned ripped its way from his mouth as he closed his eyes, letting the sweet embrace of sleep carry him away.

Jason was within the forest, ready to strike at the deer. First meat, this early? However, as he felt the tension ease from the string as he released the arrow, he felt himself yanked, falling through the very ground. Panic immediately set in, his mind unable to believe what he was feeling. He hit the ground, hard, nothing visible to him. Everywhere he turned his head, darkness greeted his vision.

He was manhandled as if he were a mere babe, and his back was brought up against something cold and unyielding. Surely this was the work of the Devil, testing his faith in God. After all, nothing else could make sense, nothing. Jason soon found himself secured to a wall, or something else flat, the only thing he knew for certain was that he was still in a standing position, his feet barely reaching the ground. Letting his body go slack, the restraints perfectly supported his weight, distributing it evenly.

He quickly lost all semblance of time. Was it seconds he spent locked up, or hours? Maybe even days? Nothing made sense to him, and the darkness that refused to dispel no matter how many times he prayed began to cast doubts within his mind.

Every so often, screams would reach his ears, the faintest echo of them all that remained. That, and the voice. Cold, uncaring, emotionless. Every time he heard it, the very life drained from him, leaving Jason shivering and praying harder for salvation. He struggled against the bonds, unable to even budge them one bit.

Figures began to slowly emerge from the darkness, a small spotlight illuminating each one. Jason began to panic, trying to rip his way from the bonds tightly holding him, but he was unable to do so.

“It’s your fault…” A small colt spoke, his voice carrying an echoing quality behind it. “If you had been faster getting there… I would still be alive.” he spoke, haunting Jason as his mind vividly recalled the details. Bandits holding the colt hostage, the bodies of his parents laying still nearby. Red painting the grass and the carriage laying on its side, Jason pleaded with the ruthless ponies before him. Laughter, mocking the naked diamond dog, before a single slice of the blade. “I would’ve still been there, and so would they…” he raised his head in a taunting laugh, revealing the red smile across his throat as the light expanded to include the colt’s parents before fading to black.

Jason shuddered, the memory fresh in his mind as another failure stepped forward, this one a gryphon, barely an adult from the looks of things, who stared at him with her wide, unseeing milky eyes. “You!” she accused, pointing a taloned claw in his direction, even without her sight. “You took it all away from me! My parents were simply trying to make a living to support me, their chick, who’d been born blind! You killed them in cold blood!”

He was nearly seizing, once more recalling the memory in question. It was a cool autumn day, and Jason was out hunting for small game. Voices drew him to a pair of gryphons holding something small, and his vision went red. He had died dozens of times that he could recall to the feathered monsters, each one brutal and uncaring. The only satisfaction he ever got was that as he died, they were within his grasp, the flames he knew coming would end up charring them to their bones. Jason refused to wait for these to do something first, having decided that preventing it was justified. They hadn’t even know what had come down upon them as he cut them down where they stood. Only after the red had cleared, and he saw what they were holding did he realize his error.

The chick that had grown up, and he had later on encountered. She had been shunned and ostracized by all, living in destitution as there had been no one else in her life besides her parents. Those whom he had taken from her. “It’s your fault…” her voice said, even as she faded from view, just like the colt.

They continued to torment him, one after the other, each one accusing him for his actions, or lack thereof. It was either that he was too slow, too late, it was not enough, too much… nothing was ever good enough for them.

Even his reasoning behind the actions were not left alone. The would-be bandits that resulted in crops and a village destroyed, the livelihoods of an entire community gone in an instant. He had killed a supposedly innocent pony, only to later hear that a child trafficking ring had been cracked wide open as a result. Every action that had gone the way not intended weighed heavily on his fragile mind, beating him down further and further.

The entire time, Jason was forced to remain there, immobilized, unable to even cover his ears to muffle the words. Even screaming refused to drown out the voices; everything proved to be a lesson in futility.

Relief came at long last, the darkness slowly yielding to a new arrival. A figure whose coat and wings were of a blue hue and a horn was included amongst its prominent features. "Begone, nightmares, may you not harm our friend!" she spoke firm and loudly, the mist receding almost like ink running across the ground as it withdrew. Growling, Luna forced a bit more power into the dream, rays of sunlight shining out and striking segments of the ink, causing it to vaporize with a wail.

"I apologize that I could not arrive sooner... that mist is most foul, and that you are having nightmares again... I wish that a more permanent solution could be found. Now, sleep well, Jason, and we shall see you in the morning, all too early I'm afraid."

The dream shifted, vibrant hues of colors shining down from a radiant sun as Jason lay in the grass, soaking up the sun's rays. Closing his eyes, his mind once more drifted off into the deeper sweet embrace of sleep, his mind now guarded by the Princess of the Night, yet lingering on the shadows.

Jason awoke with a start, nearly falling out of bed as consciousness rapidly returned to him. He vividly recalled the nightmare, and even though Luna had interceded, it lingered on the edge of his mind. A tired squawk reached his ears, causing him to move his head to focus on Philomena, perched on the bed’s headboard. “Yeah, another nightmare, Philomena…” he muttered, taking deep, calming breaths.

He began with one of the exercises that Twilight and Celestia both had claimed would do him good after such a vivid nightmare. Feeling the soft bed underneath his splayed limbs, he let his mind drift to how he met his friends, something which even now gave him a small surge of warmth.

Celestia had been an interesting pony to befriend, if only because of how they had met. Holding a weapon in one hand while trespassing in their home staring at her sister. Of all things, it had been Philomena's presence that had saved him. Her quick acceptance of him stirred Celestia's curiosity of this strange creature who was locked within a state of extreme fear at the sight of Luna.

From that first encounter a friendship had quickly arisen. Celestia had quickly linked his fear of Luna to his frequent nightmares and a fear of extremely dark locations. Although odd in her eyes, she had quickly come up with a plan to help Jason get past his fears through therapy. While he had considered it an extremely odd notion, Celestia claimed that friendship was one such facet of his therapy that would go a long way in helping to 'cure' him, as she had phrased it.

Thus, Jason met Twilight for the first time. A wide-eyed young mare who had saved the very object of his irrational fears from something called The Nightmare just a few months prior. She was still learning friendship herself it turned out, and it was with much hesitation on his part that he went to the small town of Ponyville for a few months and lived with Twilight.

She was an interesting pony, as Jason had quickly learned. Quick to ask a question concerning anything, and always over-enthusiastic over learning new subjects, Twilight had made herself an expert on therapy to further aid him. It took her all of two days to read and research the material on it, and she picked up right where Celestia had left off.

Jason thought back on his time spent living in Ponyville and could not help but smile. Shuffling around, he carefully rolled around to sit up in the bed as he continued his train of thought. When he had first been introduced to her friends, Twilight had somehow not realized how bad a surprise party would go over. As they had entered the library, her five friends had popped up out of nowhere and caused him to turn around and run, as he had done many, many times in the past.

Things had slowly improved from there, and he had also gotten the chance to meet all of her friends under better circumstances. Just as they were with Twilight, they came to be his friends as well, a concept that he came to better understand and appreciate. She had made surprising headway into his wide array of issues, and although she had not gotten Jason completely over them, he was much more capable of blending in with what passed for normal here. Although, Ponyville was a far cry from normal, as he had learned.

He chuckled as Philomena landed on his shoulder. Absentmindedly he gently scratched at her neck, mood finally starting to turn upwards. He came back to Canterlot after six months with Twilight, and finally spoke his first words with Luna. She had been somewhat hurt at first, thinking that like everyone else at the time he was afraid of her for who she used to be. Once Luna had understood that his fear came from something deeper in him, she was able to move past it. Although even now he still repressed a small amount of fear at her sight, she had helped him a lot.

And then there was Philomena, who was not only a load of trouble, but just as much of a best friend as Celestia had proven to be. He had been able to understand her sounds as words, and she had proven to be just as intelligent as the ponies, if not moreso than a large majority of them. Even then, she took a somewhat whimsical approach to life, as proven by her high amount of pranks that she executed on the castle staff. For whatever reason, she spared Jason from her pranks; although often times she ran to his room shortly after she had finished with one.

Philomena and Celestia were definitely two individuals who had impacted his long life in a very short time. Now smiling widely, he stood up and stretched, every limb reaching out as far as possible. He took note at how the sunlight beamed through his wings, which filtered the light into coming out looking almost like fire.

He walked over to the dresser and started grabbing clothes for his normal morning routine. As he grabbed the shirt, he paused, looking over his shoulder a moment. He set the shirt back down in its place with a shrug before moving to the bathroom. "Remind me to ask Rarity for some new shirts, none of those are going to fit ever again..."

Jason quickly ran through getting ready for the day, very thankful that when it came to his shower the feathers seemed to repel the water. It was an interesting experience to him, trying to dry the area between his shoulder blades, but with a little bit of thinking he managed to not take too long. As he left the room, Philomena flew over and circled around his head, causing him to playfully bat at her. She settled down atop his head as he walked to the dining room.

It seemed that he was one of the last to make it to the table, the majority of the seat filled with tired occupants. The mood at the table was somber, it appeared that the majority of them were still dwelling heavily upon the revelations and events from the prior night. Jason gave a small wave as he took a seat next to Celestia, who for once also looked to be somewhat exhausted. Luna's presence surprised Jason, as she typically stayed up through the night and was typically asleep once the moon went below the horizon.

"Good morning, everypony," Celestia quietly greeted as Rarity entered, the last of the group to do so. "Please, take your time and enjoy breakfast, for afterwards we'll be starting our research into finding out where Nocti Lunarum is and the extent of their reach. The sooner we can discover this, the quicker we can remove them."

Trays of food carted around by servers made their way around the room, the room mostly quiet throughout the meal. Jason leaned over to Celestia, whispering a question. "Did Twilight tell you about what she did last night?"

Celestia quietly leaned over, her mouth inches from his ear. "Yes... would you like to discuss it after breakfast?" she asked, her words barely audible to him. Jason nodded in reply, then turned back to his food. The rest of the meal passed just as quietly, ending when Celestia stood up from her seat.

"Everypony... please follow Shining Armor to the conference room we'll be using to coordinate our research and efforts from. I'll be along shortly, I have a few other details that need seeing too first." she firmly stated, motioning with a subtle nod to Jason to have him follow her. Everyone at the table got up and followed Shining out of the room, leaving just Celestia, Jason and Philomena. She held out her hoof to Jason. "I'll teleport us to my study. As much as I love walking around the castle, best not to waste too much time."

Jason grasped her hoof, Philomena tightly attached to his shoulder. With a flash, they reappeared in her study, and he swayed before grabbing the edge of a sofa. "Uuugh. I'll never get used to that..." he trailed off, straightening himself as Celestia walked to her desk. "So, while I think it helped a little bit last night, Twilight decided to kiss me." Jason stated uncomfortably.

"Yes," Celestia began, looking through a stack of papers on her desk, "she told me about everything last night, including that. We also talked for awhile about what you suggested. I have a feeling it's going to take her some time to come to terms with everything, I just hope she doesn't avoid it by getting wrapped up in other things..."

Jason nodded, even though Celestia wasn't looking his way. "Yeah, it's going to take her awhile. She's smart, so she's gonna find some way around it. But," he paused, carefully picking his words, "she can't try to use me, or anyone for that matter, as an outlet. Personal feelings of mine aside, if she were to try and use a relationship to get past this, it would only end badly... or so you told me when addressing my issues."

Celestia locked her eyes on his, a sad smile on her face. "Very true. I don't think she'll get involved with anyone, but if she'd kissed anyone else..." she trailed off as Jason gave a small nod. "You need to go find Twilight, tell her those words you told me when I asked you about it. She needs to know it, I think."

Jason stood up, sighing as he stretched. "Yeah. Knowing her, she'll be at the archives." he walked towards the door, pausing as he noticed Philomena still on the sofa's back. "You coming, Philomena?" she let out a quick squawk, shaking her head. "Okay, see you two later then."

As the door closed, Celestia let out a held breath. "It was so much easier when she was just a filly, wide-eyed and asking all about magic." Philomena warbled briefly, causing Celestia to chuckle. "Very true, but still, sometimes I wish that I could pause time. And before you nag, you know it's the same for any of us immortals."

Philomena flew over and perched on Celestia's desk, letting out a series of sounds as she did so. "Yes, she has grown into a wonderful young mare, I know. I'm very proud of her, although she does have some trying times ahead." Celestia pulled one paper from the stack, critically eying it. A thought entered her mind, causing her to fixate her gaze on Philomena. "Did you know about Jason?"

A melodic whistle sounded out, quick and concise. Celestia raised an eyebrow at her friend, slight disappointment written on her face. "You had an idea? This entire time, Philomena, and you didn't think to ask me about it? I could've scanned him and found out that he had phoenix magic within him a long time ago..." she trailed off, waiting for a reply.

Philomena did not wait long before coming back with a series of short and clipped squawks. "I see..." Celestia replied, turning her focus back to the papers, "still, it would've shed a lot of light on some of his issues. If I'd known that he was a thousand and twenty instead of twenty, I could've better approached treating his problems." a few squawks sounded out, causing Celestia to sigh. "You know what I mean, I don't think even he knows how old he is exactly, but that's not the point!"

Celestia paused, taking a moment to compose herself as Philomena started warbling in laughter. "You... I swear, you and your pranks. Was it really necessary to do that?" More laughter rang out and Celestia just sighed again. "I'll admit it's more than intriguing that he has magic nearly identical to your own within him. I wonder what else it might bring in the future?"

Philomena took to the air, singing a short bar of a melodic tune. "Oh? I see, now that's interesting. I suppose only time can answer that question, though. As they say, anything is possible."

Jason entered the royal archives, looking around. It really was an impressive part of the castle, Celestia had once told him that it contained upwards of a million texts, and after having spent some time in just one of the many wings, he was inclined to take her word about that. He walked to the desk and looked at the attendant on duty.

"Excuse me, m'am. Is Twilight Sparkle here?" he politely asked, a small smile on his face which she immediately returned.

"Yes, she just got here. Believe she said she'd be in..." she trailed off, scrunching her brows in thought. After a few seconds she let out a small exclamation. "Ah, yes! The Clover Wing is where you'll find her at. Good luck!"

Jason thanked her before looking at the wall, a plaque identifying the various wings and instructions on how to get there. Running his finger down the list, he stopped it on the Clover Wing, then read the directions. Setting off, it took him a minute or two to get to the archway and door that served as a wing divider.

Slowly opening the door, the scent of the air changed slightly, the older tomes lending a smell of age that was not associated with the newer books found in the main section. "Twilight?" he called out, having decided that it would be quicker to find her this way than by trying to go aisle by aisle.

After no reply, he slowly walked through the wing, trying to find the cluster of tables that every wing included. As he turned out of one aisle, he located them and groaned. Twilight sat at one of the tables, at least two dozens tomes on its surface scattered about. Surprisingly, Jason did not see Spike with her. "Twilight." he said again, but was still not heard.

He walked up to the table, pulling her chair back slowly. The only thing he managed to accomplish was Twilight was now standing and reading rather than sitting and reading. Jason sighed, putting himself between her and the book.

"Oh!" she jumped, then looked at who it was. "Sorry, Jason, you scared me. What are you doing here?"

"Twilight, we need to talk..." Jason started, looking somewhat uncomfortable as he fidgeted in place. "How are you doing?"

She fidgeted in place for a few moments, before walking over to another chair and sitting down, pulling out one for Jason to sit in. "Well, honestly... not that good." she sighed, resting her head on the table. "I mean, I had a long talk with Celestia last night after talking with you, and it makes sense, but still..."

Jason rested his hand on her shoulder. "I know, it's something that going to take time. I know you'll be able to get through it, though. You're pretty tough, even though you're rather neurotic." she swatted at his hand when he finished, causing him to chuckle. "Now, that's the Twilight I recall."

The two of them stared at each other for a few moments, an awkward silence between them. "So..." Twilight began, blushing slightly as she turned her head to the side slightly. "that kiss last night..."

Jason gently grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. "My personal feelings on the matter aside for now, Twilight... was that a one time thing for you, or was there something more behind it?" he asked softly. Twilight blushed in response, causing him to inwardly curse.

"I... don't think it was meant to be a one-time thing, Jason." she timidly replied, the words barely escaping from between her lips. "You've always been a great friend, and it just seemed like a good time..."

She was pulled into a hug, Jason patting her on the back gently. "Twilight, I'm sorry, but no. To begin with, a relationship started because you experienced something truly devastating... Celestia herself told me such a thing wasn't a good idea." he paused, pulling back and sadly smiling at her.

"Let me tell you something that only two or three others know, Twilight." Jason began, retaking his seat next to her. "I see you as a great friend, Celestia and the others too. Of them all, you and Celestia are probably the closest pony friends I have. But, I can't see ponies as anything else, I'm just not attracted to you all like that, Twilight." he finished, leaning forward in his chair and resting his hands on the table.

"...I see." Twilight finally said after a very long period of silence. She was turned away from Jason, looking towards the ground. "Is there any chance you might change your mind in the future?" she asked, a small amount of hope within her voice.

Jason simply shook his head before talking. "No, Twilight... it's nothing against you personally, I promise. Heck, you ponies are wonderful to hug, you're very soft and comfortable. However, I've just never found myself attracted to a pony, period. Otherwise, Celestia might've beaten you to it." he paused as he thought back on that very awkward moment. "Would you like to talk about it, Twilight?"

She shook her head. "I think I'd like it if you left me alone for awhile, Jason. Please?" she asked, almost begging at the end it sounded like to him. Jason quickly stood up and tucked in the chair before starting to walk away.

"Remember, Twilight... I'll always be your friend though. No matter what." Twilight listened for the sound of the wing's door closing before lowering her head the rest of the way as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Jason walked into the wing reserved for the visiting diplomats, both short and long term visitors. Taking a turn down a hall, he made his way to the gryphon’s section, looking for one in particular. He knocked on one of the doors, calling out as he did so. “Hey, Ironblood, you there? It’s Jason.”

A few moments later, the door opened, Ironblood already walking further into the room. “Come on in, man. What brings you b–" he stopped as Jason entered his sight, “Woah. Dude. What in Tartarus happened to you?”

Jason chuckled as he closed the door behind him. “You heard about the assassination attempt on Celestia?” he waited until Ironblood nodded before continuing. “Well, I kinda took the hit meant for her. Ya see…” Jason launched into a quick rundown of recent events, as well as briefly touching on his ability to reincarnate after dying.

“Woah, that's something else... We'd been appraised about the assassin, obviously, but to find that out about you..." Ironblood whistled, lightly shaking his head. "It's something that’s long since been thought impossible."

"That's about as much as what Celestia told me. Apparently, she believes I came from a magic-null world, or something like that. She mentioned that the few ponies who'd tried it basically went," he mocked an explosion with his hands, "boom. It was only because I had no internal magic that it worked. Even then, it didn't go crazy till I spent time around Philomena. More magical lingo that I didn't fully understand."

Ironblood nodded, grabbing two wrapped bundles from the closet. "Practice fields?" he asked, passing one of the bundles to Jason, who accepted it with a nod. As they walked to the fields, he spoke once more. "It wasn't just ponies who tried it... not one of the better moments in the Gryphon Empire's history."

Jason merely nodded his head, prompting to Ironblood to continue. "The ponies were the first to examine it, after it became obvious that neither of their princesses aged. In a craze to find a secret to immortality, they pursued the most obvious connection they saw beyond their own species... the phoenixes. Their princesses put a stop to that pretty quickly though, due to the danger to both the phoenixes and their ponies." he stopped to take a break as they walked through the castle corridors.

"Oh, so you're a warrior and historian? Please, do continue." Jason said, a small smirk on his face as he laughed.

"As always, my remark is that one is best served by being well versed." Ironblood quipped. "The gryphons at the time had a clan system, where the heads all ruled a council and went off majority votes in regards to the Empire's actions. At first, they were content to accept Princess Celestia's word as to why they should leave the phoenixes alone. After all, a large majority of their population lay within the lands claimed by the Empire.

"However, around the time that Luna and Celestia began clearing the remnants of the Discord Era from Equestria, the clan heads at the time, at least the majority of them, became restless and fearful. For some reason, they equated age to power. They began to hunt the phoenixes, killing the few gryphons who lived near or with them who protested." They passed through a tall arch, the distant sound of metal clanging against metal starting to reach their ears.

"That's something I don't get." Jason spoke, scratching at his head. "From what I've learned, you can't kill a phoenix unless you drain their magic. Just killing them doesn't do anything."

They entered into the practice field, numerous sparring rings and shooting ranges greeted their eyes. They walked over to an empty ring, removing the covers from their bundles, revealing two blunted practice swords. "The magic of a phoenix is in their ashes. It's a short time window, but if their ashes end up in an enclosed area too small for them, well... you block their rebirth. Use up or scatter too much of their ashes, and they can't come back." Ironblood swung his sword once or twice, before setting its tip into the dirt, leaning on it.

Jason whistled, brows raised at Ironblood's words. "Wow... that's nuts. Suppose I should careful of cramped spaces, huh?" he too rested his sword within the dirt while they finished talking. "That explains why there aren't many phoenixes around. I'd asked Celestia about them since Philomena wouldn't talk about it, but all that she said is that something happened, and a lot of them simply disappeared."

"Sadly, yes. It's just one of the many poor marks the old Empire left for us. There were many atrocities committed that were considered justified underneath the council's rule. It's a good thing that we're a tad more civilized now, I must say." Ironblood chuckled, pulling his sword from the dirt and slowly raising it. "Instead of just swinging our weapons about, now we can swing our weapons about and also learn things on top of it." he chuckled, Jason joining in.

"Well, now that the history lesson is over, time to get on with the swordplay?" Jason asked, a large grin on his face on he brought his sword up in front of him. Making a point to ignore the stares of the guards who had yet to see Jason after the assassination attempt, Ironblood nodded, and they crossed swords before taking three paces back apiece.

They slowly circled one another, feet shuffling along the ground as they attempted to see who would go for the first strike. Jason made the first move, swinging his sword towards Ironblood's shoulder. With just a subtle move of his wrist, Ironblood deflected the strike, countering with a short chop of his own.

Jason, still recovering from his initial strike, stumbled as he went to move back, taking the blow on his sword arm. A tingling sensation ran through it as the latent magic within the weapon activated, causing his arm to go numb as he dropped his own sword.

"Ah, I see the problem." Ironblood said, offering his hand to Jason. "Your wings, it would be absurd to think you are used to fighting with new weight on your body. So, rather than sparring, we'll work on getting you used to fighting with your wings today. Your swordwork isn't affected by it, but any movement, everything that relies on you being light on your feet... you'll just stumble like you did there."

Jason sighed and picked up his sword from the dirt, then turned his attention to his friend, listening closely to every word. This is going to be a long one…

Celestia teleported from her study into one of the most secure locations of the castle. The Royal Guard operated out of a specific building in the city itself, but a few of the more specialized groups operated out of the castle. One of these groups is what brought Celestia down here.

She paused before a heavy iron door, the edges glowing, alternating the colors of the rainbow. Her horn lit with its golden glow, creating a dot of tangible magic that was centered on the door. It moved about in a certain pattern, deactivating magical spells and tripping tumblers that kept the door secured from intruders.

After thirty seconds, the last of the tumblers clicked into place, and Celestia walked through the door into a small and narrow hall. As she passed the threshold, the door closed shut once more, its safeguards reengaged. At the end of the small hall was another door, this one she simply pushed open.

A network of rooms lay before her, set in the confines of the Crystal Caverns underneath the city. The crystals served to both block outside magic while also amplifying the magic used within, and because of that fact this was the prime location for scrying. A unicorn walked up to her, her coat tan and mane a sandy blonde, and saluted her.

“Welcome to The Caves, Princess. What brings you by today?” she greeted Celestia, a slight smile on her face.

Celestia returned her salute, and they both dropped them. “I’m certain you and your team are aware of the situation, Blend. We need to find that cult and wipe them from the face of Equestria… nay, Equus itself. I can’t accept anything less after they attacked Twilight, I want them destroyed.”

Blend dropped her smile and adopted a look that spoke of pure professionalism as she escorted Celestia to the War Table. It was here that the Spymaster identified, tracked, and assessed threats to Equestria and its citizens as well as specific threats to royalty and high profile targets such as the Elements of Harmony. Blend walked to the control panel of the War Table, bringing up the display of the Nocti Lunarum.

“Princess, this is the current data available on them, including finances, key players, and locations. We’re going to perform an in depth scry on them in,” she looked to the clock on the wall, “thirty-two minutes. We’ll be using three times the normal participants to boost the results, and hopefully we’ll gleam at least a few new names. From there, the minions can tear apart their lives with more specific spells and find new information from that.”

Celestia nodded her head, happy with the answer. “That is sufficient to me, Blend. As always, thank you for the work you do here. It’s highly crucial we uncover new information, in our laxness they have expanded further than we could’ve imagined.” she snorted in anger as she subconsciously pawed at floor with her left forehoof.

“We will find them, and we will end them. On my sun, I so swear.”

Author's Note

Woah, wutdafuq... A chapter in the 6000s. Been awhile since I did that. So, here we have a few things. Some more development of the characters, Jason in particular. After all, he's the focus. Also have some plot stuff, some filler and exposition, and quite a bit of bouncing around. Hopefully it's to your liking, everyone.

And of course, that moment when you've already dumped on a character, and you just add to it. I feel kinda dirty for doing that to Twilight. Poor girl. Now, time to go shower and hopefully feel clean afterwards.

As always, love to hear any constructive criticism you might have.

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.”

Author's Note

This was originally only the first half of a chapter. Seeing how the second half is going to be as long, I made the decision to split it. Oh gods, this chapter was fun to write, and the next one even moreso. MORE ACTION! Also, figured that since I've dumped so hard on Twilight, I at least needed to help her recover some. It'll be one of the running plotlines, now.

You know what's fun? Writing a character that has no written dialogue (Philomena) yet interacts and is understood by a small number of individuals in the story. Really fun, those one-sided conversations.

See you all tomorrow with another chapter, most likely. Really love this story. Romance interest is coming around the corner, too. I think you all will like it.

Chapter 6 - Crashing the Ritual of the Night

Celestia and Shining Armor sat in front of a smaller version of the war table that was down in The Caves. Its projection was showing numerous threads running from Gilded Gleam to known associates and members of the Nocti Lunarum, and they simply stared at the chart.

"This is... bad. How were we deceived to this degree?" Celestia quietly asked, examining some of the ponies listed. Gleam was the only noble connected so far, but there were numerous individuals who wielded some influence in other areas, such as the performing arts. Even a few Royal Guard members were tagged and clearly identified as cultists.

Shining shook his head. "Actually... this makes sense." he paced around, looking at some of the members. "When I took over from the last captain, recall how poorly things were? It's not a far cry to believe that during that period, other areas of the military were affected, making it much easier for these cultists to infiltrate the ranks."

She frowned, clearly unhappy with the state of things. "Still, this is far worse than any intell we had on them, and to have hidden from Blend and her scrying for so long..." Celestia used her magic to mess with a control crystal on the table, and the image shifted to a list of assets shared between the cultists. "Just looking at these numbers, they have enough funds to take control of one of the border towns, easily. What's of a higher concern is the large amount of bits that have been transferred out of their accounts in recent weeks. Even two assassins wouldn't cost nearly that much..."

He put a hoof up to his chin, thinking. "Princess, can you bring it back up to the connections again?" he asked, and once she did so he closely looked at everypony listed. "Hmm, yes. These guards here just took leave. Gilded had the items purchased delivered to his mansion in the Whitetail Woods near Ponyville." he continued to look through the list, slowly connecting them all to the noble's house.

"Whatever it is, it's going to happen soon, and take place at Gilded's manion. There's no other explanation for this many coincidences." Shining confidently stated, taking a seat on one of the sofas in the room.

Celestia sighed, joining him a moment later. "It would seem so. From what Blend showed of their supposed intentions, it bodes ill for us. It would appear they nearly have every element required to do the ritual, and if that happened we would be hard pressed to take back the day."

"Do you want the guard mobilized and prepared to move out on your word, Princess?" Shining asked, pointing towards the door. He looked at her expectantly as she appeared to be considering her options.

"Captain, I'd like for you to carefully select a small contingent to accompany us to the mansion. I believe that Luna and myself will be taking care of this directly, so I don't think we'll need too many guards. Plus, we need the element of surprise, best not to tip anypony off if it can be helped." she paused, humming a moment. "Consider it an exercise of small scale mobility."

Shining smirked, nodding. "I love it. I'll pick out a select few and get things ready. I'd say that I'll have them ready to move out within no more than twelve hours from now." she nodded, and he left the room, leaving Celestia to her thoughts.

Using her magic, she levitated the cloth wrapped bundle she had removed from her personal vault. It had been a long time since it had seen the light of day, but something deep within told her that it was time for it to come out once more. Not only that, but she had the perfect pony, or in this instance person, in mind as for who should wield it.

Celestia grabbed the bundle, bringing it with her as she left the room. "Just a few more hours..." she muttered underneath her breath as she quickly cast a spell that would locate Jason. Once completed, she took off at a brisk pace, making it clear to any who saw her that she had a specific destination in mind. It only took her a few minutes to come to his bedroom door, upon which she firmly knocked.

"Come on in, it's open" he called out, his voice slightly muffled through the door. Celestia entered the room and took in Jason, who was currently on the floor of his room, doing wing-ups with a precision that spoke volumes of his quick progression in such a short time.

"Most impressive." Celestia spoke, startling Jason who was in the process of coming up. Losing his focus, his left wing folded and he fell a few inches to the floor. She simply laughed, Philomena joining in, as she offered a hoof to help him up.

"Hey now, that's not much sport. Let's all laugh at the poor guy who got caught off guard by Celestia simply walking into his room, yeah. Such a wonderful thing to do. Bleh." he scrunched his face in mock disgust, simply eliciting more laughter from the other two occupants in the room.

"Sorry to intrude, Jason, but I wanted a moment of your time," she began, before turning to face Philomena. "And you, how have you been? I swear, you seem to be spending almost all of your time with Jason now, I'd appreciate it if you spent time with me other than stealing my cakes, dear friend." Philomena let out a squawk, and Jason couldn't help but chuckle.

"As if anypony would be dumb enough to mess with Celestia's cake, her infamous love of them is widely know, birdbrain." Jason endearingly said to her before turning to Celestia. "It's no problem, always a pleasure to see my friend. Has anyone caught you up on Twilight yet? he inquired.

Celestia shook her head. "Nay, last I heard she was on a rampage in the Royal Archives. I've learned that coming between her and books is a surefire way to accidentally trigger a spell in your direction." she let out a short laugh. "but, that's not what's brought me by. I wanted to borrow you for a... friendly activity."

Jason's eyebrows raised at her. "Well, I know I'm going to sound dumb asking this, but after having to deal with Twilight, I just want to make sure. you're not implying anything, are you? Cause you know, you're a great friend and all, but it's only that." he quickly stated, inwardly praying that he was right.

A booming laugh reached his ears. "Oh, Jason, never change dear friend. No, what brings me by is an entirely different matter. I've heard that Ironblood has been giving you official training in the art of the sword, and I was wondering if you might humor me with a spar. I'm most curious to see how you are performing, as Ironblood is no slouch."

He looked at her in confusion. "You... want to spar? With me? Wouldn't you get more out of sparring with Ironblood? I mean, from what he's told me, even with all the time he spends researching history he's still considered one of the top hundred or so warriors within the Gryphon Empire. I think you'd get more out of sparring him, not me." he stammered out, somewhat caught off guard by Celestia's request.

She shook her head. "While that may be true, sparring Ironblood gives me no indication of where you stand in your capabilities. We are soon to storm this cult, and if you want to be of any assistance as more than a shield, it would be best for me to test you now." she simply stated, a calm and calculating look in her eyes.

Jason slowly nodded, looking around for his shirt to put it back on. "I see. That does make sense, and I would love to repay the group that tried killing two of my closest friends." he tossed up his hands in frustration after a quick look refused to have his shirt come up. "Count me in. I'm guessing you decided that now would be a good time to head there?"

Celestia nodded, already heading for the door as Philomena settled on her back. "Yes, I'm truly curious as to see what you've managed to retain from his teachings, plus," she stared at his wings for a moment, "the wings add a new depth to fighting that I'm certain he has already begun teaching you."

Jason, after being unable to find his shirt, simply shrugged and followed Celestia out of his room. "Yeah, he's already shown me that. We haven't really done much with flight, but I've got well over a dozen exercises dedicated solely to my wings now. It's pretty brutal stuff, to be honest, but will be worth it." he grinned as he thought of his first accidental use of them. "Managed to get a good hit in on old Iron when I accidentally used them when I jumped, he tried blocking a blow that had all of my weight behind it."

They both chuckled as they continued navigating the corridors. "Very nice. It's very fortunate that we have such capable gryphons here on permanent post as diplomats. Your wing structure is too different from ours to properly teach you; the only other possible teacher would be Philomena, and well... there wouldn't be much hope for you then." she laughed at the thought, causing Philomena to let out a string of sounds that caused Jason to laugh.

"And I thought that I had my moments of profanity, Philo. I'll have to remember that one for later, I think it's the first time I've really heard you go off like that." she sounded a few more times, causing Jason to laugh even harder. "Oh, no. I'm not promising to never repeat that again, who knows when I might have use of it?"

Celestia, now ignored, simply walked alongside Jason as she inwardly groaned. "Phoenixes..." she muttered underneath her breath, drawing their attention. "are most wondrous creatures!" she lamely finished, this time all three of them laughing together as they entered the training field.

Philomena flew off to perch on a wooden post next to the circle that Celestia and Jason entered. Using her magic, Celestia conjured two practice swords made entirely of mana, causing them to have a slightly transparent golden color to them. She levitated one over to Jason, who accepted it and experimentally swung it around a few times.

"I'm guessing these simply stun on a hit?" he asked, bringing the sword to a stop after being satisfied with its balance.

"Yes, no physical injuries will result, just like other enchanted practice weapons. These won't even leave bruises like the other swords would. I figured you might appreciate that." she laughed, at which Jason simply grimaced slightly.

As Celestia swung her sword within magic a few times, Jason's expression fell. "Oh man, I'm so totally screwed..." he muttered, another peal of laughter ringing out from Celestia as Philomena simply warbled an affirmative. "Well, no time like the present." Jason stated, raising his sword into a basic guard.

"Very well. We'll go until the first strike. To warn you now, I'll be starting off very basic, and then slowly ramping things up from there. It's the best way for me to judge your skill level." she stated, raising her sword up into a guard as well.

They both walked to the center of the ring, touching swords. After they took three paces back, they began by slowly circling each other. Unlike the first session with Ironblood after gaining wings, Jason felt confident on his feet now, his former hindrance now an aid.

Celestia made the first move, bringing her sword in for a quick chop to his midsection. True to sparring rules, she kept the sword closely in front of her and moved with it, so that Jason had a chance to strike her should he slip past her guard. He replied by simply moving his sword, which caused sparks to fly as the two blades of magic met.

Pushing back, Jason resumed his guard for a moment before going on the offense, launching into a series of sweeping strikes. The first one was aimed low in an attempt to force her guard to drop. Celestia's blade dropped down, causing his sword to glance off. Without losing any of the momentum from the first strike, he brought it around into a strike aimed at her head.

Like before, Celestia made it look so easy and simply moved her sword just enough to deflect the blow. Jason finished his series of strikes with a jab to her torso, and found his blade in the dirt moments later when Celestia forcefully dropped hers. He barely had time to lift hop back as she took the offensive, a quick strike to his calf scoring, causing his left leg to go numb.

"Not bad..." she began, looking him up and down as she evaluated him. "Your form is solid, you're already used to the new center of gravity your wings provide... there's a surprisingly large amount of force behind your strikes as well." Celestia stepped back, raising her sword back to a guard position as the last bit of feeling returned to Jason's leg.

"I swear, Celestia, sometimes you have odd ways of showing your friendliness." Jason joked, bringing his sword back up. Without a word, he launched into a thrust, aiming for the center of Celestia's chestplate. With a quick flap of her wings, she hopped to the side, causing him to strike at air. He quickly recovered, pulling his sword back and blocked an overhead strike from her, causing her blade to drop to the ground to his left.

Jason crouched for a moment before releasing as much energy as he could from his bent knees, a flap of his wings adding the the height climbed. Now well over four feet in the air, he made a downward strike aimed for Celestia's horn. She recognized his target at the last second, a subtle twist of her head removing it from the sword's path as she brought her sword in its place. He landed heavily on his feet, nearly stumbling. Celestia took advantage of this and hit him in the side, the numbing sensation shocking him.

"I thought Ironblood was one tough nut to crack, but you..." Jason muttered, looking up to Celestia. "How long have you been training with a sword, Celestia? It's not what one thinks of when they think of, well, you know." he stated, curiosity deep within his tone.

Celestia laughed, fully understanding what he had referred to. "Indeed. Ask my little ponies what they think of their oh-so beloved Princess, and they all think poise, grace, kindness..." she laughed, a hint of sadness hidden within. "Luna and I used to get into quite a bit of trouble when we were helping to make Equestria safe. I became very proficient with the sword, while Luna's weapon of choice was the lance."

Jason brushed the dirt from his sides, and Celestia aided him with a quick spell that, after its passing, caused him to look as if he'd just came from the shower. Philomena flew over to land on his shoulder, pecking at a lock of his hair. "That's pretty interesting. We've never really talked much about the older times, but after things calm down with this cult, I think I'd like to learn as much as you'd be willing to share."

She smiled, motioning with a wing to follow her back inside. "Indeed, and the same applies to you. Now that I know just how old you are, I would love to hear everything to remember," at the pain that entered his expression, Celestia simply smiled at him. "Even the bad, should you decide to share. After all, it'll also go a long way to helping you heal."

As they walked inside, they bumped into Shining Armor. "Oh, Princess, Jason..." he started, giving each of them a quick nod. "I've already got the thirty guardsponies that'll be going with us, managed to run into my old group and they hopped on board before I even told them what the mission was. Also, I just received word from Blend. It's done, and we've got intel that scared her, badly. I'm gathering everypony up right now and having them all meet us in the room with the war table."

Celestia nodded, thinking. "Thank you, Captain. Please, round everypony up. Jason and I will be there shortly ourselves, I just have one thing I'd like to talk to him about first." she stated, and Shining left in a hurry to gather everyone else.

"Something to talk to me about?" Jason asked, an eyebrow raised questioningly. Celestia simply motioned for him to follow her, and they took off, winding through corridors. After three or four minutes, they came to a room out of the way of everything. Celestia looked around before quickly ducking inside, Jason quick on her hooves.

Sunlight filtered into the slightly dusty room as he turned to face her. "Okay, so what's up, Celestia? I don't recall this area of the castle..." he trailed off, looking around the room.

"No, you wouldn't. This is a very infrequently used section of it, so it sees very little traffic. Now, a to why I brought you here," Celestia summoned the cloth-wrapped bundle from earlier, "I have something that I would like to let you use. Consider it a gift for saving my life, Jason." she slowly began to undo the straps holding the cloth in place. "Over time, as you might imagine, my sister and I have found numerous artefacts and other objects. Some we locked away, others we repurposed and used... quite a number of them have passed through our hooves."

The ties were discarded, and the cloth fell to the ground. Jason's breath caught in his throat as he looked at the sword, eyes wide as could be. A sword within a scabbard lay in the air, which Celestia slowly levitated over to him.

"A blade made of starmetal, which comes from Luna's dead stars. A real pain to forge, but Philomena here helped in its forging." Jason slowly removed the blade from its scabbard, the entire construct of the blade a gleaming polished silver streaked with black.

"It's... warm." he commented, carefully looking at the blade. A small ruby was inset in the hilt, and as he looked at it he noticed a fire swirling around within it.

"Yes, it's warm. It's due to the properties of Philomena's flames. She helped me forge it, oh..." she trailed off, her eyes picking up a far-off look as she sifted through her memories, "seven hundred years ago or so? The ruby is what provides the warmth, and the edges never require sharpening. Because of the material and how it was forged, nothing short of something as powerful as Luna or myself could even dare to scratch the blade, let alone break the sword."

Jason simply looked at it in awe, slowly waving it around effortlessly. "Wow, that's... amazing. And the balance, weight... everything about it is perfect." his expression filled with resolve. "Now I have a proper weapon to protect my friends with... thank you, Celestia." Jason hugged her tightly around the neck after sheathing the sword.

She returned the embrace, lightly nuzzling his cheek. "It's no problem at all, Jason. You saved my life, and something tells me you'll put it to a good use." she paused as they broke their hug, a slight blush on her face. "It's name, although it wasn't my first choice, is Flame Seeker." she pointed her hoof at Philomena. "Blame her for the name, all her fault, I swear."

Jason laughed, scooping Philomena off of Celestia's back and hugging her tightly to his chest. "Oh, relax, Philomena, you know I wouldn't hurt you, ever. I don't know if you had a hand in this, but thank you regardless. It really is a nice piece of work."

He laughed as, when he let her go, she flew up and decided to settle on his head, making a point to lightly scratch at his scalp with her claws. "Oh, Celestia," he began after a thought entered his mind. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but what about you? Isn't this something you'd use?"

Celestia wryly smiled, a mischievous look in her eyes. "Oh, I have my own weapon. A sword forged from sunbeams."

"Sunbeams?" Jason asked incredulously with both eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Yes, sunbeams. It involves my connection to the sun, and from there I can create solid, permanent constructs from that. It took quite some time, but I crafted a sword that I am most proud of, even if all that it has done for the last half millennia is collect dust." she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them once more. "Now, let us get going, I'm certain by now Shining has gathered everypony. And oh, here." Celestia summoned a belt for Jason to fasten the sheath to.

The two of them hurried to the room where everyone else was indeed already gathered. Even Blend was present, and the especially grim look on her face worried Celestia. "Princess," Blend began, "we have intel that says the ritual is going down tonight..."

"Everypony." Celestia began, her mood thoroughly ruined by Blend's new intel. "As you all may be aware, we recently had a breakthrough in regards to the Nocti Lunarum. For those who are unaware, Blend here," she pointed with a hoof, "is in charge of gathering and verifying intel and other credible threats to Equestria. Thanks to her, we finally have our network."

Celestia activated the table, the network of associates coming up into view. "Through their work, they discovered that the noble, Golden Gleam, was a member. From there, this is the network of associates that are all members as well. Tonight, they plan to go through with what was referred to as The Ritual of the Night."

At these words, Luna loudly gasped, her anger surging forth in an instant. "THEY DARE?!" her voice boomed out, shaking everyone in the room as they cringed. Luna noticed the effect her voice had and immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, everyone, however... this ritual is what brought forth Nightmare Moon. The Nightmare, that's her name. The ritual is designed to invoke her presence, pulling her from whatever plane of existence she calls home. The Elements of Harmony banished her back there, but she can cross back over if summoned..."

"Indeed, it's exactly as Luna said. Although I attempted to remove all traces of the ritual, it would seem that some did manage to slip through the cracks. So, we leave for Gleam's mansion within the next half hour." she turned to Shining. "Captain, you and your men's roles will be to secure the perimeter and exterior of the mansion. Additionally, you'll be keeping your sister and her friends safe. In case the worst does come to pass, we'll need them together in order to immediately respond to The Nightmare's presence."

"But–" Twilight began before being cut off by Celestia.

"Twilight, I would spare you fighting as much as possible..." her face dropped, sadness evident within the faintest hint of a smile. "As such, I'd rather you stay with your brother at the perimeter. If they should summon The Nightmare, you and your friends will play a crucial role once more." she turned to Jason. "And you... my friend, I ask that you keep Twilight safe."

"Princess," Blend interjected, walking up to her. "I have four Archmages and myself ready for deployment."

Celestia nodded. "Good, thank you. Here's the rest of the plan. Luna and I, along with Blend and her associates, will enter the mansion as Shining and his guards set up a perimeter to ensure nopony escapes." she looked to Shining, "As much as it may pain me to say, I authorize you to use lethal force should they decide to resist rather than surrender. Your and your guard's lives come before theirs. I don't want anypony risking harm to themselves because they're trying to subdue any of these heinous traitors."

"We'll assemble in the Eastern Courtyard. That is out of the way enough so as to not arouse suspicion. We'll fly to our destination, flying just over the treetops as to avoid attention. We'll be setting down roughly two miles away from the mansion, going the rest of the way on hoof. I'll see everypony in thirty minutes at the courtyard. Please ensure you have everything ready."

The carriages all flew low, skirting over the tips of the trees. Their destination loomed closer, and the mood in the air was so thick that one could touch it. Jason sighed again, fidgeting with the sword at his side. The warmth of it was a feeling he welcomed, it resonated with something deep within him that he could not explain. Philomena had even come along, and was currently resting on his shoulder as usual.

"I can't believe I'm having to stay at the perimeter..." Twilight grumbled from her spot next to Jason. "I should be able to go in and repay them for trying to kill me." Jason gently rested a hand on her shoulder, offering an encouraging smile.

"Twilight, I can understand where you're coming from, but Celestia made a very good point. Should they succeed, our friends and you need to be together and ready to use your elements. Can't do that very well if you're engaged in combat, right?" he said, attempting to console her anger. He muttered much lower underneath his breath next, "Besides, fighting is the last thing you need to worry about."

The carriages descended through a hole in the canopy some three miles out from the mansion. Everypony quickly disembarked, the pegasi quickly concealing their rides with branches and foliage. No magic was used, as it was possible that a unicorn could pick up the feel of anything cast within this distance. It was highly unlikely, but it was a chance nopony was willing to take.

Stretching his cramped limbs, Jason quickly got ready for the upcoming fight. Although he was not a fan of it, something inside of him looked forward to the next encounter, a part of himself that had not been awake in years opening its eyes. Grinning, he took off after Shining and the guards, easily keeping pace with them.

The somber mood was untarnished, not a single pony spoke during the march towards the mansion. Every expression was that of grim determination, everypony worked towards steeling themselves for what was to come. Blend and her four companions took up the rear, each one a unicorn and highly skilled archmages. The total cultist count that they had uncovered was somewhere in the thirties, but Luna and Celestia along with the archmages easily outweighed that. Add to that Shining and his guards that would be waiting outside, and it was nearly a guarantee that it would be a short event.

The mansion became visible in the distance, and Celestia called for a halt. Pulling out her weapon, Jason couldn't help but be amazed by its beauty and grace. It was a yellow the color of the sun, and every bit as radiant. His eyes caught Luna's weapon, and it too was as equally impressive, if for different reasons. A lance, black as the night, hung in the air next to her, its surface dotted with markings that looked to be stars. It was an impressive weapon, and Jason had to remember to keep his jaw from dropping to the ground.

"Okay, everypony. You all have your instructions." she turned to Luna. "What sort of entry do you think, sister?"

As they got closer, a manic grin came to Luna's face. "I say, sister, for their attempt at bring that back, we got with my method... brute force." she held back a laugh, but kept the massive grin that managed to scare one or two of the newer guards in the ground.

Celestia sadly shook her head. "Very well then. On mark, we begin." she raised her head, focused on the doors now just a few hundred feet away, the last of the sunlight streaming through the clearing.

"Three." The guards began spreading out to circle the mansion. Jason flexed his muscles, ready to go inside and cut down any who stood in his way, if he could have his way.

"Two." Luna's horn began to faintly flicker. Twilight and her friends all took up a spot with Shining Armor, their location for the duration of this fight.

"One." The very forest itself seemed to go silent for a moment, as if it understood what was about to come. Not even a breath could be heard.

"Mark."

One moment the doors to the mansion stood, secured and hinged. The next, they blasted open as Luna cast her spell, her sister, Blend and the mages and her all disappearing insides within moments as they breached the mansion. Jason let out a whistle at the display of magic, thoroughly impressed at Luna's approach.

"Oh, why can't I be doing anything!" Twilight exclaimed after only a minute, itching to dash inside and assist in any way she could. Spike was atop her back, and he buried his face in his claws at her anxiousness.

"Twilight, I'm sure that they've got everything under control. There's no need to–" Jason spoke, turning to see a rapidly diminishing purple pony. "Crap." he turned to Shining Armor even as he began running towards the mansion. "I'll keep her safe, you keep the rest of them here!"

Philomena flew alongside him as he quickly chased Twilight, and Spike, inside the mansion. He caught a flash of purple turning into a room as he entered into a massive foyer and quickly took off after it. Skidding to a halt, he nearly collided with a barrier that Twilight had erected.

"This is why you listen to the ponies who know what they're doing!" Jason hollered out as three magical bolts impacted the shield. Lowering it, Twilight used the spell that she had hesitated with less than a week ago, summoning a ring of magic and sending it flying towards the closest of the three unicorns.

Jason rapidly closed the distance, drawing Flame Seeker as he did so. With a swing, it cleaved straight through the unicorn's horn, a small amount of magic spurting from the severed appendage. He simply stared at the sword for a moment, as he had not felt any resistance during the swing.

He was brought out of the moment as he saw a red blur overhead, flames spewing from it as it struck the last of the three casters. Jason stared as Philomena made short work of the unicorn, now having a new level of respect for the small phoenix. He turned to the side and saw the last caster down. Out of the three unicorns, only one was left alive, and from what Jason knew, the one left wouldn't be able to do anything.

Twilight rapidly dashed away, causing Jason to curse as he took off after her once more.

Luna blasted another set of doors, entering the room to reveal a massive open area underneath the mansion. In the center of this underground area was a massive circle carved into the rock, which made Luna's eyes go wide with alarm as she took it in. "This is it!"

Oddly, not a single pony was within their sights. During their descent, the group of seven had made short work of nearly twenty ponies, but that left quite a few still unaccounted for. As Celestia walked closer to the circle, she let out a massive sigh of relief. "They haven't even started it from the look of things." she turned to Luna, "The honors are all yours."

Celestia erected a barrier around herself and the mages as Luna charged a spell. Seconds later, the entire subterranean area become an inferno, the rock melting and settling, erasing every trace of the carving that had been present before. Everything else was consumed in the heat, turned to ashes within moments.

Cutting the power to her spell, she finished it off by summoning water and flooding the area. A loud hiss rang out as she did so, steam rising into the air. "It's done." Luna said, turning to Celestia.

"Good. Now, let's finish clearing the mansion. Hopefully we come across Gilded soon."

Jason turned the corner and once more nearly put his face into one of Twilight's shields. She had managed to run into a large group of cultists, and among them Gilded's face clearly stuck out. "You impertinent pups, you've ruined everything! How dare you?!" he huffed out, his golden face nearly turning purple.

He turned to Twilight and quietly whispered, letting Golden's ensuing rant drown out his voice to all but them. "Twilight... I'll take care of Golden. Spike, open up with your breath the moment Twilight drops her shields... Twilight, you do your magic thing."

Jason waited for Twilight to find the right moment to drop the shield. As she did so, Spike immediately called upon his dragonfyre, setting two of the cultists aflame, their screams mingled with the sickening popping and crackling sounds that came with intense heat. Jason rushed for Golden, who immediately called up a spell and sent it at him.

He had no chance to dodge, as it was released at a nearly point blank range. The fireball impacted him square in the chest, causing him to stumble. His shirt was immediately consumed in fire, but he was otherwise unharmed. "You're that phoenix bastard I heard about!" Gilded cried out in anger.

Bringing his word up, Jason blocked a block that came at him from the back, forcing him to expose his back to Gilded for the time. The two blades met, and he deflected the sword to the side. While he had cleanly severed the unicorn's horn without resistance, it seemed that metal held up much better, as he did nothing more than possibly chip his opponent's blade.

Spike wheezed, tired from using his dragonfyre. He groaned before setting off after one of the gathered ponies, his claws at the ready. A stray bolt of magic hit his scales, which subsequently deflected to the side. He let out an internal sigh of relief for being a dragon once more before jumping onto an earth pony, pressing his claws to their neck as he cried for them to submit.

Twilight charged up another chakra, preparing to send it at the closest moving target to her. She cried in rage, a feral, primal sound, and unleashed the magic disk. It met with a shield, the two objects shattering at the same time, both casters staggering slightly. Twilight growled, sending another two constructs at the caster, who was still recovering and stood no chance.

Jason did his best to remove himself from in between Gilded and the other unicorn, but their continued assault had him doing everything he could to keep from being overwhelmed. "Philomena!" he cried, hoping for her intervention. Moments later he got his reprise as she came streaking in, immolated in her fire, landing on the back of the pony at his back. Within seconds he was screaming and Jason was able to focus solely on Gilded.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Twilight standing over the body of cultist, launching bolt after bolt of magic into its still form as she screamed in rage. He also saw the pony coming up on her back with a weapon, and he called to her. "Twilight!"

Blinded by her rage, she did not hear Jason calling for her, and with a curse he rushed across the room, once more leaving his back turned to Gilded. "Let's see you recover from this, you bastard," Gilded muttered, launching a very unique spell.

Multiple things occurred within the next moment. Twilight, still blinded by rage, had yet to see the pony about to stab her in the side. Jason ran at full speed into the path of the blade destined for Twilight. A spell left Gilded's horn, a smirk on his face. Philomena was in a dive, putting herself between Jason and the spell. Spike had the earth pony unconscious and was now running for the pony attacking Twilight, about to leap onto their back. The other door to the room blasted open in a shower of splinters.

Jason felt something thrusted into his side as he took the blow meant for Twilight, who looked up as he called her name once more. "Twilight!" she took in his injured state as the screams of the pony who had stabbed Jason reached her ears. Spike, now on their back, dug his claws deeply into the pony who had just impaled his friend.

A bright flash went off as Philomena collided with the spell meant for Jason, causing her to drop to the floor as if dead weight. Through the now splintered door, Luna charged in, rage on her face as she took in Gilded. Within a second, she cast another spell which resulted in him dropping to the floor unconscious.

The turmoil died within seconds after that. The first sound was Jason weakly coughing as he fought to remain standing. Stumbling, he tripped over something on the floor and fell to the ground. Forcing himself to a seated position, he saw that it had been Philomena's still body that had tripped him, and he picked her body up and held her in his arms.

Luna looked at Twilight, shocked. The lavender mare was splattered with red, a great sadness in her eyes as the last of the rage fled from them. Twilight simply stood there even as Spike hopped down from the unconscious pony and walked to her side. Luna took in the sight of Jason on the ground, and Philomena in his grasp.

"Luna, what is–" Celestia began, before the carnage of the room met her eyes. "Twilight! Jason!" she cried out, rushing into the room as the mages filed in behind her. She took in Twilight's state and used her magic to clean her coat, leaving it spotless within moments, then turned her attention towards her phoenix friends.

"She's... cold?" Jason asked, even as his vision began to blur from the pain mixed with blood loss. he held on to Philomena, staring at her body in confusion. "Isn't she supposed to, well, go up in flames?" he asked, and Celestia walked over.

With a quick spell, she shivered. "How could they..." tears began to fall from her eyes. "Jason. Whatever she was hit with, it completely drained her internal magic."

He looked at her confused. "But, didn't you say, t-that..." she nodded, and anger filled his eyes, blotting out the pain. "I refuse to believe that!" he coughed, blood coming from his mouth. "How c-can I give her s-some of mine?"

Celestia's eyes widened in shock as something so obvious had escaped her mind. She thought, quickly, before coming up with a solution. "Jason... when you reincarnate... make sure she's as close to you as possible. That'll make it work." she muttered, speaking the next part so softly sound barely escaped past her lips, "I hope..."

Luna was busy attempting to get through to Twilight, who was currently in shock. The bright flash of fire pulled everyone's attention to it, even breaking Twilight out of her stupor. Jason's body was rapidly consumed by flames, and Celestia erected a barrier around him to keep the flames from spreading inside the house.

As the ash settled to the ground, Celestia used a quick spell to remove it and reveal who lay underneath it. Laying on the floor, a young woman was curled up. Her hair and wings were the color of fire, a mix of bright reds and deep oranges. She was curled protectively around a larger than normal phoenix, who lay tucked into her chest, both of her arms tightly around it.

"Oh my..."

Author's Note

How ya like THAT plot twist?

Arc One - Epilogue

A veritable mountain of paperwork loomed on the desk in front of Celestia, causing her to drop her head onto its wooden surface with a loud thump. “I hate paperwork…”

“Princess, did you not remember that you would have to fill all of this out should you get personally involved in any military action?” Blend comically asked, taking a small amount of personal pleasure at Celestia’s plight.

“It should be illegal for me to have to deal with this much paper just because I got involved…” she sighed, picking up the first page and looking at it closely. “I mean, this is ridiculous. This paperwork has a table of contents section… that covers the first seven pages!” she hummed, slowly flipping through the first few. Her eyes fell on a page and caused her eyes to widen in shock. “This claims I must sign my name three hundred and twenty-seven times! Preposterous!”

Laughter rang out from Blend, who had nearly collapsed at the sheer absurdity of it all. “P-princess, if you think that is bad, your sister has even more paperwork than you do. It will go by quicker if you just pony up and get started already.”

As Celestia picked up the first of many papers, her mind couldn’t help but drift back towards the strike on Gilded Gleams’s mansion, and just how much it had impacted everypony’s lives.

Twilight sat on a couch, eyes closed as she let out a long sigh. “Cadance…” her mane was unkempt, eyes bloodshot, and deep bags were underneath them. Cadance had to force down the urge to run to her side and just hug Twilight. She was here as a patient, not her sister, sadly.

“Twilight, you need to talk to me, otherwise I can’t help you with anything…” she sadly said, trying to keep from fiddling with her hooves as she kept her gaze level on her sister. Celestia had come to her out of desperation, not wanting to have it known that the newest princess had literally had a mental break. After being told what exactly had happened, she had immediately accepted her aunt’s request.

Cadance sighed as Twilight continued without saying a word. At least, when she had her episode, Jason had been there to protect her. He had managed to save Celestia before, too. Although she had not met him more than two or three times, she felt that they all owed him a great deal of debt for keeping two of her family members safe. She nearly jumped as Twilight finally began talking.

“Well, I guess it all started with that night at the library…”

Spike struggled with a large stack of papers, finally inside Luna’s room. Thankfully, she quickly relieved him of them, gasping them within her magic and settling them down on the table. “Curse this blasted bureaucracy! Before my banishment, such an event would simply have been met with feast and revelry, not mountains and mountains of paperwork!”

He chuckled, failing to suppress a laugh as Luna began to tear into the latest stack of paperwork. Spike’s mood fell as his mind drifted to Twilight, who he already missed. He had wanted to go with her, but Celestia had convinced him that it would be best for it to just be her and Cadance in the Crystal Empire for a little while. Even Shining was still in Canterlot, having remained behind to help mop up any lingering elements of the cultists.

“So, Luna, why all the paperwork?” he asked, trying to tear his mind from the depressing thoughts.

“Apparently,” she began, more than a little ire in her tone as she continued tearing through the papers, “underneath Tia’s newer government, anytime we get involved we have to justify ourselves. US! Justify our actions? Bah! Waste of time is what it is. I should be helping Captain Armor finish mopping up those idiots, not here dealing with paperwork.”

Luna continued her ranting, pointing at each page as she finished it. “This worthless one is explaining why I went on a military venture. This one is…” Spike listened to the useless information as Luna rambled on, slamming each piece of completed paper on the desk, one after the next.

Shining Armor sighed as he looked over the latest report. They had identified thirty seven cultists from the initial search prior to their assault on the mansion. The after-action report listed thirty six ponies in all, of which only four had been taken alive. With one still at large, he had been coordinating the search effort for them.

Standing up, he walked over to the balcony of his room that overlooked much of Canterlot city. He felt a longing to be reunited with Cadance. While Captain Stone had returned from his time off, he had deferred resuming his post until this matter was resolved, leaving Shining the acting Captain. Somewhere out there was the one pony who kept him from returning home, and he was going to find them.

As the sun was rising, he thought of Twilight, his precious little sister. She had been put through so much in such a short time, and had never had any sort of training to deal with it. While, thanks to his years in the guard, Shining slept just fine after taking down criminals, what his sister went through tore at his heart.

“Take care, Twily…”

A figure stirred in the bed, wings and arms splayed out. With a yawn, she slowly opened her eyes, taking in the rising sun, visible from the balcony. Carefully, she watched her arms as she took in the sight of the phoenix laying on the bed next to her. She reached out and tenderly picked him up.

His eyes slowly opened, a small squawk of discontent coming from him. “Jay, wake up, lazy.” he made some more noises, causing her cheeks to flush crimson. “Were you always that colorful with your language? Seriously, Jay, just because you’re stuck as a phoenix for a little bit of time, it’s not the end of the world.”

He just glared at her, but remained content to stay in her arms. “You know Celestia is looking into what exactly happened. The only thing she was able to figure out is that you transferred most of your magic to me when you saved my life…” she smiled and simply hugged him tighter, “and that it may just be a matter of time until you can reincarnate back to how you were.”

Jason let out a series of angry sounds, causing Philomena to laugh, an almost musical quality to it. “Relax, Jay, just look at it this way. You get to see how I’ve experienced things for awhile, yes?”

END OF ARC ONE

Author's Note

And here's the end of the first segment of this story. The large majority of the second arc is already planned out, and I'll be starting it tonight at work. Now, I've made it obvious who is who, and I hope you all enjoyed the first segment. I know that I could have clarified who was who, but it was more enjoyable to have the suspense, even if it only was for a little bit.

Moving forward, things will be shifting to more of the Slice of Life view for a little bit. I do have a plan for making Jason human-esque once more. Trust me. Until then, though, I plan to have some fun with this story.

Ciao!

Chapter 7 - A New Perspective

The first rays of sunlight filtered through the windows, striking Jason in the face. The moment that the first of the rays struck him, he was immediately awake and alert. It was another new part of this foreign body, from sunrise to sunset he felt alert, never getting tired. However, the moment that the sun went down below the horizon, the day's exhaustion would set in and hit him all at once. While he had been wandering, he had felt somewhat vitalized by the sunlight, but never to this degree.

He carefully got to his feet on the bed, as that was another thing he refused to give up. The large form of Philomena was next to him, curled up on her side and facing him. He inwardly smiled as he looked at his best friend, closely looking at her.

Philomena's long, luxurious hair that was a violent mixture of reds, oranges and yellows as if it were fire haphazardly fell down her back, most of it caught on one of her folded wings, which looked very similar to how Jason's had been. The only difference was that they were slightly smaller, more lithe, all a part of her being female, Jason presumed. As he looked at her, a pair of bright emerald eyes slowly opened, meeting his beady amber ones.

"Ah, Jay..." she mumbled, tiredness slowly leaving her, "good morning." Philomena brought a hand to his head, gently scratching at the top of it. He could not help but to lean into her gentle caress, something inside of him enjoying the contact. "Were you staring at me again?"

Jason squawked out a word of protest, comically waving his wings as if they were hands. She laughed and pulled her hand back. "Admit it, you lech. You were examining this new body, weren't you?" she winked at him, one of the first habits she had picked up on, even before she was fully steady on her feet.

Philomena let out another peal of laughter as he continued attempting to protest, her voice like music. Her singing as a phoenix had been nearly heavenly, but now it was the sound of angels, if Jason still believed in such things. "Oh, I see. Now that I have a body like a female of your kind, you find me attractive, do you not?" she teased him, knowing full well that for at least the next month he was unable to do anything about it.

He continued attempting to deny her accusations, although inside he had to admit that she was extremely appealing to his eyes, even while stuck within this avian form. Her hair was the perfect contrast to her pale skin, which was amazingly smooth. Her eyes captivated his, and Jason was sure that he could spend hours staring into them, if given the chance. Physically, she was gorgeous in his eyes, and he had long since come to love her personality and character from the time they had spent together. Being one of two or three individuals able to understand the phoenix's natural language had greatly aided that.

She stood up and walked to the new dresser that had been brought into Jason's room. Rarity had been more than happy to ply her trade for Philomena, and after a rather lengthy and thoroughly embarrassing discussion with her about the concept of why she should wear clothes, Philomena took Rarity up on her offer. Right now she was wearing a nightgown that was a blend of reds and oranges, it was very fitting sleep attire for her.

Jason averted his eyes as he heard it hit the ground, the sounds of Philomena rustling through her drawers reached his ears. He could not wait until he was human once more, and luckily Celestia claimed to have crucial information for them both this morning.

"Jay, are you ready to go see Tia?" Philomena asked, holding out her hands with a large smile. Hesitating for just a moment, Jason carefully extended his wings and took to the air, looking more like a bird drunk on Celestia's hidden preserves more than anything else. She carefully caught him as she moved a leg backwards to brace herself. He was just large enough that he couldn't perch on her shoulder, and even if he had been the right size, the constant moving motion would more than likely have him falling to the ground within moments.

Philomena left their room, closing the door behind her as she headed to a small dining room. It was just going to be Celestia at breakfast with them, as the news she claimed to have was rather personal. Just four days ago they had returned from the mansion, and the day after that Celestia had performed a large battery of tests to see what had caused their mix up.

Opening the door, Celestia was already present and waiting on them. Platters adorned a small table meant for a half dozen occupants, and with a wave of a hoof she pointed out their chairs. "Please, take a seat, my friends. I hope that the morning finds you well?"

Jason squawked a few times, sounding rather irritated in the process. Philomena held out her arms and he attempted to fly, managing to glide to the wooden surface meant for his use. She giggled as he continued making sounds, a slight blush coming to her cheeks shortly after he finished. "Oh, my... Jay, that language! I thought I'd asked you not to use it anymore, remember?" she asked, barely chiding him as she took her seat beside him.

He bickered with her, looking rather comical as he waved his wings around as if they were arms. After nearly a minute of watching him and Philomena exchange words, Celestia broke out into laughter. They both looked at her, and after composing herself she began talking. "Oh my, excuse me. It's just that you two reminded me very much of a similar pair I know... a certain married couple I should say..." she trailed off, thoroughly enjoying this moment.

Philomena and Jason both looked at each other wide-eyed, then at Celestia, then once more at each other before they both broke out into sounds vehemently denying it. Once more, laughter rang from Celestia who simply shook her head. "I'll have to bring Cadance over at some point, but for now I believe we have a different matter to listen to..."

Celestia waited for both of them to go quiet, filling her plate with food in the meantime. "So," she began once she was certain she had their attention, "it would seem that I've learned a few things from this. First, I need to perform another spell on you, Jason... with your permission?"

It only took a moment before Jason nodded, muscles tensing in preparation for the spell he knew was coming. Celestia's horn lit with a golden aura as she cast her spell, goosebumps running across his skin. The sensation lasted for only a few seconds, ending as she brought her head back up.

"Thank you, Jason. Now, in your case, I have a theory as to why you're now a phoenix. As you recall, I mentioned that someone had shoved phoenix magic into your inner core, and that Philomena then helped this core to develop. It would seem that, while closely resembling a phoenix's magical essence, yours is fundamentally different due to your human heritage.

"Now," she continued as she took a quick moment to nip at a muffin, "what this means is that, when you gave Philomena your magic in a bid to save her life, two things happened. First, you expelled much of your magic, including most of what was unique as a result of your human heritage. Secondly, this magic infused Philomena, essentially bringing her back to life."

She waited a few moments, letting them both comprehend exactly what she was saying before continuing. "Now, in regards to you, Jason, here's the good news. That magic is simply drained, which is why you reincarnated as a phoenix, albeit slightly larger than normal. Your size was influenced by that human element, making you larger than an average phoenix. Thanks to that spell, I'd say you could reincarnate into your former form within a month or two at the longest."

Jason let out a few noises, discontent heavy in them. "Well, at least it's only a matter of time, Jay. Look at it this way... you get to spend some time solely dedicated to learning about the phoenix side of yourself. It's been neglected all your life, so now is a really good time to focus just on it." Philomena chided him, a gentle smile on her face. She turned to Celestia with a question of her own. "And me, Tia? Is this my new form, or will I, too, eventually end up my former self?"

A look of uncertainty crossed Celestia's face. "Philomena, my dear friend... I'm uncertain if this is good or bad news to you, but," she paused, hesitant to deliver the news. "That is indeed your new body. When Jason infused you with magic to save your life, you were completely drained. I don't know if you recall, but your body had gone cold..." Celestia shivered as she remembered that moment where she thought Philomena had truly died,

"Jason's magic, all aspects of it, was transferred to you. Including the unique elements that came from his human part. The only way I imagine you'd be able to become a true phoenix again would be to somehow drain that one facet, and then reincarnate. Even then, given time it would simply regenerate itself and your next reincarnation would be right back to the body you are in currently." she finished, the look of uncertainty still plastered on her face.

Philomena put her fears to rest as she launched up from the chair and wrapped Celestia's neck in a massive hug. "Thank you for confirming it, Tia, my friend." she said, then quietly whispered something into her ear that Jason was unable to hear. After a few more moments, Philomena broke the hug and returned to her seat sporting a large smile.

Celestia likewise shared her smile, although a small glint was contained within her eyes. "So, Jason... I have a question for you." she began, rubbing her front hooves together. "Jay, is it?"

Breakfast had long since passed, and currently Jason and Philomena were in an open courtyard garden, lying on the ground. They had originally come out here to work on Jason's flying skills, but the warmth of the day had lured them into taking a small nap in the late morning sun.

Jason currently laid on Philomena's stomach, resting on her sundress that Rarity had expertly crafted. She was lying in the grass, her wings providing all the cushion she needed as he rested on top of her. "I must say, Jay... this is an experience I think that I rather enjoy."

He quietly chirped a few words, voicing his content. Philomena laughed, gently running a hand through one of his wings. "Yes, I suppose that using me as a pillow is something that you would enjoy, being a male, yes?" he abruptly sounded out a mixture of chirps and squawks, causing her to laugh even harder. "Jay, you are too easy to tease." she paused a moment as her expression turned thoughtful.

"This... human body, it is something that I had begun to wonder what it would be like, Jay. Since only Celestia, Luna and yourself could understand what I was saying when I was an avian, my curiosity continued to grow the longer I spent with you." he warbled out a question, "Well, I grew up around ponies and saw how they lived and interacted, and although I wished that all of them could understand me, I was thought what it might be like to put myself in their... hooves?

"However, you were something new. Going back as far as I know of, humans never existed here. You could even say I had a fascination with it when I first met you and found out that you could understand me. While a part of me deep down understood that it was only because of the phoenix magic within you, I let myself rule out that possibility and think that you truly could understand me because of what you were. It was quite the thrill, I must say. And, I got a wonderful friend from it."

Jason felt her shift around as she attempted to get into a sitting position without disturbing him. Her arms wrapped around him in a hug, keeping him close to her body as she sat up. "I know that you're probably looking forward to becoming human... ish again, but for now, let's work on getting you more acquainted with flight, hmm?" she asked, and he cawed his agreement.

She set him down on the ground, and he extended both of his wings, carefully looking at the individual feathers. Jason knew that, more than likely, Philomena would end up pointing out a few that he missed, but each time he preened fewer and fewer feathers were missed. It felt odd having to use his mouth for this, or more accurately his beak, but the concept would still end up carrying over to his wings once he was human once more, so he needed to work on it.

Philomena carefully watched him as he preened, judging him all the while. As he finished, she slowly clapped, another thing that had quickly amused her. "Very well done, Jay. You caught every out of place feather, although you did end up messing with about a dozen you didn't need to. Still, better to do too much than not enough." she extended her wings, closing her eyes briefly as she felt the gentle breeze rustle her feathers.

Looking back down at him, she asked him a question. "Now, ready to continue from where we left off? You can fly, but it's barely passable right now, and you're liable to truly hurt yourself if you did it unsupervised."

He warbled and squawked, attempting to protest her words, which only caused her to laugh. "For three days, it's not bad, but it is the truth, Jay. Now, go on ahead, try to fly up. I'll be right behind you."

Jason extended his wings, feelings the air currents around him before leaping into the air with a flurry of flaps. Awkwardly, he slowly took to the sky, drifting heavily side to side as he slowly ascended. He could hear Philomena below him, who upon unfurling her wings for the first time in her new body had taken almost no time at all to adjust. She truly was a natural in the air, and Jason aspired to be able to fly like her, given time.

As his mind drifted, his body's natural instincts came to the forefront, smoothing out his unsteady flight as he began to ascend without the drift. He was shaken from his thoughts as Philomena tickled his belly, causing him to resume his awkward flying.

Philomena laughed, remaining just underneath him the entire time they flew. He felt the air flowing through and over his feathers, and it was a feeling like none other. Jason now understood the attraction that those who could fly had for the sky, even though he was barely sustaining his flight, it was a massive thrill.

They stayed low, flying in the vicinity of the courtyard for the next half hour. Philomena landed, almost toppling over as her legs slightly buckled. Jason fared no better, hitting the ground and rolling. After they recovered, Jason and Philomena met each others eyes, both breaking into laughter moments later.

She straightened her hair, dusting dirt off of her crumpled dress. Jason squawked a few noises, causing her to laugh again. “Yes, Rarity would throw a fit if she saw me right now, wouldn’t she?” she paused a moment, thinking, “I think it would be nice, if, once Twilight is back, we go see her friends with her, yes? I’d like to talk with Fluttershy when she doesn’t think I’m sick…”

He looked at her questioningly, comically scratching at his head with a wing. Philomena looked at him, then let out a short peal of laughter. “Well, you see…” she recounted her time underneath Fluttershy’s care, occasional peals of laughter ringing out from them at various points in her story.

Philomena wrapped up recounting the events, laying on the ground much like before they had started flying. Jason laid next to her head, sprawled on his back and eyes closed. She turned to the side he was on, looking at him with mirth in her eyes. Slowly, she brought both of her hands to his sides, then brought all of her fingers to attack his sides.

He tried jumping up, but being on his back left him truly vulnerable to her seeking fingers. Although a phoenix, he still retained his ticklish spots, which Philomena relentlessly abused. She began laughing as he squirmed in place, a steady stream of sounds streaming from his mouth.

After a minute or two she finally relented, a wide smile on her face as she looked over him, patiently waiting for Jason to recover. “Jay,” she spoke once he seemed to have caught his breath, “it would seem to be lunch time… would you like to go get something?”

The day was nearing its end, and dinner was rapidly approaching. Philomena and Jason met up with Celestia, Luna and Shining Armor for dinner. When they walked in, Shining was complaining. “This one cultist is still eluding the guards. The information Blend provided details her as Night Shade, a pegasus alchemist. She has no social connections, doesn’t have a large financial base… there’s no reason she should be eluding us so easily. We’ve raided her house and store, and are looking for more locations she may use, but it’s turned up nothing…” he let out a massive sigh.

Luna turned to him, resting a hoof on his shoulder. “Nephew, while I understand your frustration and know that this matter is keeping you from Cadance, please, have patience.” she let a slightly manic grin come to her face. “And, if it takes too long to find her, once located, I would love to apprehend her for you.”

They shared laughter as Celestia greeted Philomena and Jason. “Good evening, you two. How are you doing?” Both gave their own greeting as they took their places.

“Jay and I are doing good, Tia. We went for a flight earlier in the day, and although a slow learner,” he voiced his discontent with her word usage, causing all but Shining to laugh, “it shouldn’t take too long for him to fly as if he were meant for it. Don’t expect him to be dive-bombing your cakes… yet.”

Philomena grinned as Celestia sputtered, her cheeks turning red. Shining looked over to Jason, a wry grin on his face. “I gotta ask… why does she call you Jay, Jay?”

“Captain Armor,” Philomena began, looking at him with an equally wry grin, “have you heard some of the tales of my pranks?” she calmly asked, waiting on his answer.

He slowly nodded, bringing a hoof underneath his chin. “Twilight,” a pained look reached his eyes for a moment, “told me how you took one of her books once, and how she chased you for an hour trying to get it back. Her and those Daring Do books… Plus, she’s told me… other things that you’ve done.”

She grinned even wider. “You should ask Tia all about what I did to her cakes on numerous occasions… but now that I’ve got these,” she stuck out both of her hands, wriggling all of her fingers, “the possibilities are nearly endless... do you understand what I’m getting at?”

Shining gulped as he slowly nodded. “Most excellent!” she wrapped an arm around Jason, catching him off guard. “Only I am allowed to call him Jay, and you don’t need to know why.” Philomena smiled as Jason continued to struggle slightly in her grasp, giving up after a moment and tossing a wing into the air.

Everypony laughed, and dinner came out at last. Jason let out a few sounds to Philomena, who turned to Celestia. “Jay would like to know, how is Twilight doing? The last we heard she was going to spend time with Cadance, yes?”

Shining’s face fell as he spoke first. “I got word from her earlier, things with Twily are… going slow. She’s making headway, but Twilight’s been shaken badly by everything. Plus, Cadance has apparently found out that Twilight blames herself for your injury, Even though she knows that, although it was fatal, you would not truly die from it. It seems that her emotional side is thoroughly drowning out her logical side…” he just sighed and began picking at his food.

Celestia stepped in, a hopeful smile on her face. “I believe that Cadance will make good headway with her, though… Twilight’s logic will help her overcome this as if it were any other difficulty she has faced before. Cadance’s counseling plus her friend’s visits will go a long way. Is that sufficient for you, Jason?”

He nodded his head, turning his attention to his own dinner. The mood now spoiled, everyone ate in silence together, the only sound that of the utensils Philomena still slightly fumbled with. One by one, everyone excused themselves once done, Shining first and then Luna.

“You two… take care, and I’ll see you tomorrow. I’d enjoy spending some time after Day Court with you both.” Celestia said, a small smile on her face. Philomena nodded her agreement, then Celestia left the room.

Jason and Philomena were back in their room, the moon just starting its ascent into the sky. She sighed, leaning on the balcony as she looked at it. “Jay…” he turned his head, resting on the rails next to her. “I know that it frustrates you, but are you at least enjoying yourself?”

He let out a series of sounds, first sounding frustrated, angry even, before they mellowed out into resignation. She reach over and laid a hand on the rail next to him. “Well, yes… I can understand why it isn’t enjoyable not being able to talk to everyone and that you can’t do things that you did before, but at least it’s only for a month or two. I’ll admit, things have changed a lot for the both of us recently, hasn’t it?”

Philomena let out a large sigh, turning to face him. “I’ll admit, it has long been a dream of mine to experience life as other than an avian, able to openly communicate with others for once. Celestia had once looked into a spell to do so, but for whatever reason, it didn’t work.” he questioned her, and she raised an eyebrow.

“Well, that could explain it. Her magic always has felt… slick? Perhaps the spell does work, it just can’t take hold with us, the magic conflicts. Very good point.” Philomena turned back towards the night sky, humming a few notes.

Philomena opened her mouth, music spilling forth as she began to sing an aria, the sound so beautiful, so enchanting, that the very air seemed to come alive. Jason slowly flew into the air, hovering around her as she closed her eyes and sang from her soul.

Time lost its meaning as the notes continued pouring forth, the words inconsequential to the melodic sounds that filled the air. Jason’s worries and concerns melted away underneath the gentle caress of Philomena’s smooth, dulcet tones. She held out her hands and he landed in them as she began to walk inside.

Finishing her song, she simply smiled. Jason let out a series of awed sounds, bringing a slight blush to her cheeks. “Thank you, Jay. I have always prided myself on my singing, and I wanted to see how it fared in this new body. I would say that it is most agreeable.”

She set him down on the bed, moving to the dresser to change into her nightgown. Once more Jason turned away in respect, only moving as he felt her weight settle onto the bed. She pulled the covers up over herself, running her hand through Jason’s wings.

“Good night, Jay.”

Author's Note

This is very... new territory for me. As far as I know, there is no precedence for Philomena outside of her prankster personality that most folks seem to show her with, and as far as I know, there's not a single story that has portrayed her with the ability to speak. Some points, to me, feel touch and go as I work on establishing her character.

And yes, confirming it now. Philomena IS the romantic interest. As of now, no word on whether or not polygamy might come up in the future, for those who still want to see Twilight or Celestia with Jason. If it comes up and can work, I'll consider it. All I'll say on the matter.

This month will pass by over the next two chapters or so. Hopefully you liked this chapter, and I'll see you all with the next chapter.

EDIT - The comment about polygamy is simply to head off anyone from asking. It doesn't mean anything else, one way OR the other.

Chapter 9 - The Darkest Hour Never Comes in the Night

Moments before sunrise saw Jason perched on the balcony rail, eyes closed and wings slightly extended. The first rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon, casting their warmth upon him. As he opened his eyes, his gaze lingered on the rising sun for a moment before he turned, flying back inside.

He flew through the open balcony doors and landed on the stand next to the bed. Jason looked over at Philomena's still sleeping form, a serene smile on her face. She had been instrumental in helping him get through these last seven weeks. Although he still did not completely enjoy being stuck as a phoenix, she had shown him why he could not hate it. Learning how to fly had gone a long way with that.

It was a feeling that was unlike any other he had experienced in his many lives. The freedom flight brought with it; the ability to go up, down, anywhere you could imagine, was a rush. Philomena had been a wonderful teacher, putting him at a skill level that would have taken over a year to learn without such guidance. Even though Philomena and most pegasi could still fly circles around him, it was enough in Jason's mind.

Jason dwelled further on how she had helped him since his arrival to Canterlot. The most obvious one that came to mind was how she kept Celestia from frying him on the spot. With what he knew know, Jason was not sure if he could reincarnate after the sun itself fried him. In the months following that first encounter, she had become his first true friend in a long time.

As he looked back on it, he chuckled quietly, as he had been quite pathetic at first. It was to be expected, truthfully, as he had spent lifetimes wandering around without any place to call home with no care for his own life. To say that he had been depressed would be akin to claiming that the changelings had caught Canterlot with its pants down. Philomena had known just when to invite him along on a prank, sing one of her songs, or just talk to help him out of his constant funks.

After the swap, it seemed that she was still helping him on a near daily basis, as the drastic changes brought back his depression. She seemed to be able to read his mood as if it were her own mind and always acted accordingly. It was odd, only having her, Celestia and Luna capable of understanding his words, and it made him feel trapped to a degree. Philomena had been able to keep his mind off of that fact and instead focused on such things as flying.

The newest development had not been completely unwelcome either. For the last seven weeks, she had been relentless in her taunting and teasing, all of it directed towards him. Jason had a nagging feeling that she was looking forward to him reincarnating as a human just as much as he was, if her signals and words were to be believed. It seemed that she had come to see him in a new light since he saved her life, and since her change he had to admit that she was highly attractive physically too.

Twin emerald pools slowly opened and met his eyes, pulling him from his thoughts as Philomena laughed. "Someone is lost in some good thoughts I think." She tossed the covers back and stuck her tongue out at him, hopping out of bed a moment later. Jason flapped his wings and launched himself into her chest, wrapping his wings around her.

She returned the embrace briefly, carefully setting him down on top of her dresser as she began rummaging through her clothes. He squawked questioningly, which caused her to pause for a moment and raise her eyebrows at him. "Jay, you know that Tia doesn't think it's time yet. I know you're impatient, but there's not much that you can do about your magic regenerating that slowly." Jason made a few more noises, sounding rather annoyed. "Yes, but as much as I'd love for you to be human again, if she says it's a good idea to wait, then..." she paused a moment, thinking as her hands went back to sifting through her drawers.

"Just be patient." she said as she pulled out the last garments needed for her shower. "It won't be too much longer, just relax, Jay... if that's even possible for you." Philomena smirked at him before turning and disappearing into the bathroom. The sound of running water reached his ears moments later, and he flew down to the bed to wait for her.

The water turned off, and moments later Jason heard a hiss of steam. That was something else he found interesting, although Philomena had claimed that he would have to wait before learning it himself. Apparently, given time Jason could learn how to call upon his magic and basically set himself on fire. It would be nice to be able to do that to dry off after a shower or getting soaked.

Philomena walked out of the bathroom and began to make her way to breakfast, Jason taking to the air and following just behind her. After only a minute they ran into Shining Armor, who was walking with pep in his step.

"Someone appears to be in a good mood this morning for once." Philomena noted, greeting Shining. Jason squawked quickly in agreement, and the stallion simply beamed the widest smile he had at them.

"It seems that we found the last of the safe houses in Canterlot last night, and there's only one more location. Of course, it's in the Everfree, but..." he widely grinned, "it's just a matter of time now. I can almost go back home, spend some time with Cadance, and all will be great!"

"That's wonderful news! I know that it's been giving Tia some concern lately, not to mention Luna's reaction to it." Philomena stated, a small smile on her face. "Not only that, but you'll be able to see your sister too, yes? It sounds like things are improving for you."

A wry smile danced across Shining's face as he turned to reply. "Yup, that's the gist of it. And Luna's not concerned so much as hoping that once we capture the cultist, she'll get a chance to be alone with her..." He shuddered, hair raising slightly. "I never want to be the attention of her anger... ever. That's something mighty scary, even moreso than one of Twily's surges."

Jason suppressed a shudder at the thought of Luna angry. For a moment, a flash of that cold, uncaring voice entered his mind again, a memory from the distant past surging to the front once more. He wobbled in the air as Philomena was replying to Shining. "She does have a way with those who cross her, yes. Really, I think she just wants to try and figure out why those idiots thought it was a good idea to try and summon an eldritch abomination back to Equus. Sure, it's a weaker one, but doesn't make it any less of a bad idea."

Shining simply raised a brow in her direction as she rambled on. "Oh, right, you've only been around for twenty years or so. They were a common occurrence in the Discordian Era. Really big, bad magical monsters that were hard, if not downright impossible, to kill. Usually the best one could do is mortally wound it and banish it back to its plane. The Nightmare was actually one of the weakest ones. Pretty easy to deal with, but still a massive pain. Better to try and prevent her return than to have to deal with putting her back into her cage."

"Okay, then... I'm just going to go and take care of these reports now." he said, slowly inching away from Philomena before taking off down a side corridor.

"Was it something I said?" she asked innocently, laughter filling the air as they let loose, walking the last bit to the private room they had started using with Celestia for breakfast. It had been an odd morning a few weeks ago when Philomena and Jason had gone on a walk with Celestia along for company.

It was early in the afternoon, and Celestia had called Day Court to a close earlier than normal to spend time with Philomena and Jason. They had picked out one of Celestia's private gardens located in the rear of the castle to spend their time in, and were currently seated at a small pavilion located within.

Jason rested on the wooden bench, Celestia laying on it with her head partially in Philomena's lap. "I must say, this is quite comfortable," she commented as she lifted her head a little bit, giving Philomena a small grin.

"I suppose that I can understand the attraction behind it," she replied, one hand on Jason and the other running through the soft strands of Celestia's mane. "I must say, this does feel odd. I'd always imagined that it would almost be like smoke, almost no substance behind it, but now that I've actually taken the time to run these fingers through it," she wiggled all of her fingers in front of Celestia's face, eliciting a giggle, "it's just like any other mane. Silly magic."

Celestia let the power behind her mane wane, gravity pulling the strands down as a solid hue of pink filled them. "Indeed. Luna actually came up with the spell a long time ago, it's become second nature for us both to keep it up." Jason let out a slightly strangled sound, shuffling closer to get a good look at her mane. He carefully ran his beak through it, letting some of the strands brush against his face.

Philomena giggled, then got their attention. "Jay, Tia has something to tell you." Jason looked at her first, confused, then shifted his focus to Celestia. After a few moments of silence, he squawked.

She sighed before talking. "Well, Jason, as you know Philomena and I have known each other for a long time. Our friendship goes back to before Nightmare Moon, back when Luna and I had just defeated Discord. She is basically a sister to me at this point... she helped me get through the low points during Luna's banishment. Nothing can really come between us, however she brought up something that was a very good point."

Celestia fixed her gaze onto Jason, never wavering as she started speaking. "During the short time my sister and I have known you, you've managed to become an amazingly close friend to me, and even with your fear, I believe Luna would count you as a friend too. Now that I know you're immortal, well..." she trailed off, a small smile coming to her face.

Jason listened intently to her words, squawking his thanks at how she saw him. "It's important for us to stick together. As you know, the world moves by without consideration for anyone, and it's truly visible to those of us who have been around for such a long time. I'd love to extend the same relationship that I share with Philomena to you. As long as you decide to stick around," she glanced at Philomena with a smirk, "consider yourself family, just as Luna and I shall consider you as such."

Celestia beamed widely at him, Philomena resting a hand on him. He opened and closed his beak, unable to even utter a noise of shock. Finally, he responded by carefully walking to her head and holding out his wings, doing his best to give her a hug around her neck. Philomena giggled, wrapping her arms around both of them, eliciting sounds of surprise.

"Aww, one big happy family!" she sang, letting them both wriggle out of her grasp. Jason indignantly squawked a few times, staring at Philomena. "Oh, don't worry, I plan for you being more than family, Jay."

Celestia nearly fell from the bench in laughter as Jason squawked and backpedalled, tripping over his feet and landing in a heap on the ground. She met his gaze as he shakily stood up, fluffing his feathers. "Oh, Jason. I know Philomena all too well. Just give up now, you don't stand a chance."

Jason shook his head to clear his mind as they walking into the room, Celestia already present. "good morning, you two. Doing well today?" she asked as they took a seat.

"Oh, you know. The usual. Like, Jay being impatient as always for example." Philomena replied, grinning at him as she did so. He replied with a series of sounds and comically crossing his wings, eliciting a chuckle from Celestia.

"I see, that's good to hear. I do have some news you both might be interested in. Twilight is on her way back today with all of her friends. So, expect one of Pinkie's parties tonight." Celestia spoke, levitating pancakes onto Philomena's plate.

Jason made a few noises, all directed towards Celestia. In return, she frowned slightly, brows furrowed in thought. "...I don't think so, Jason. Cadance told me that she seemed to have moved past that and realized that the feelings were only founded from the high emotions at the time."

He sounded out a reply, seemingly satisfied with her words. Smiling, she returned her attention back to her breakfast, inwardly chuckling at the sight of Philomena devouring her pancakes.

"So, anymore fallout from that pompous ass' downfall?" Philomena asked as she set down an empty glass. "I figure that with how stupid these so-called nobles are, they're probably still giving you grief."

Celestia sighed, setting down her cup of tea. "Yes, they're still bickering over the supposed power gap his absence left in their structure." She snorted, resisting the urge to slam her hoof down on the table. "Power structure, pft. I only keep humoring them because they mostly serve a purpose. Luna has been trying to talk me into removing them, and her idea is sounding better by the day..."

He fell over onto his side laughing as Philomena snorted. "That means that they'd have to get real jobs. I think you should take Luna's side, Tia."

The laughter continued for a short time, bringing their breakfast to an end as a bell chimed the hour. Celestia stood up with a sigh, looking towards the door. "Well, sadly I've got to go start court. Take care, you two."

Philomena quickly embraced her before she left, then turned to Jason. "Go on with your flight, I'll be in the skies in a few, okay? I want to see something real quick."

Jason followed her as far as their room, heading straight for the balcony and to the air. He found a thermal and let it carry him high into the sky, causing Canterlot to quickly shrink in his vision. With a few flaps of his wings, he passed through a cloud in the sky, leaving a small trail of moisture in his wake. Moments later, a large body slammed into him, knocking him unconscious.

Philomena entered the bedroom, pausing a moment to watch Jason head out the balcony. Smiling to herself, she rummaged through one of the dressers and checked to ensure a package was still safe and secure. Satisfied, she set it back in its place and piled clothes back on top of it, then closed the drawer.

She took her time walking to the balcony, enjoying the gentle breeze wafting in from outside. The warm rays of the sun struck her face, drawing out a smile as she spread her wings wide. With a mighty leap, she took to the air, looking for Jason in the sky.

Climbing higher, she noticed a lone pegasus flying high in the sky as her eyes roamed around. Just as her eyes moved off the dark pony, she caught a glimpse of oranges and reds sticking out of a package at the pegasus' side. Her eyes narrowed and followed the path the pony was taking, which led straight into the Everfree forest.

Philomena called upon her magic, creating a signal that she had decided on with Shining Armor and Celestia shortly after the mansion. A giant flash filled the sky, visible to all even in the light of day. She took off after the pegasus, who had the advantage of being slightly faster than her.

The chase took her into the Everfree, the thick canopy obscuring the ground from her sight. Every minute took the pony further and further away, and Philomena hoped that she would soon set down, otherwise she risked losing her trail.

Luckily, only a few minutes later saw her target drop below the canopy. It took her a few minutes to catch up, a small reservoir of water creating the only hole in the dense foliage. Philomena dropped to the ground, looking for any obvious signs of recent passage in the underbrush.

Finding what she was looking for, Philomena slowly tracked the hoofsteps that were in the soft earth. The sun's light was heavily filtered through the dense canopy, providing the illusion that it was dusk or dawn, rather than late morning. As much as she wanted to rush forward, she took her time, making certain to not lose the tracks.

As the ground started to become firmer, the tracks became harder for her to track. By the time they were nearly invisible, she found herself at the entrance to a small cave. Cautiously she entered, the light barely illuminating the first few feet. She paused, a faint light illuminating the surrounding area as the leading feathers of her wings went up in flames.

Shadows created from the illumination seemingly danced upon the floor and walls, lending an almost otherworldly ambience to the cave. Philomena looked around and noticed that there was only one possible path and began at a steady walk, eyes constantly darting around.

The cave narrowed as she continued deeper, wide enough for a pegasus to fly in, but too narrow for her to spread her wings and fly. The ceiling was well above her head, the light barely reaching it. As she continued forward, she felt something snag on her foot just above the ankle, and heard a popping sound as it gave way.

From the ceiling a few small objects fell, which were shown to be vials filled with some type of dark liquid. Philomena managed to catch one of them, but with the sound of shattering glass the remaining ones crashed against the rocky floor. Immediately following, the liquid exposed to the air began to turn into a thick cloud of fog that rapidly filled the narrow pathway.

Philomena coughed, the air thickening and becoming harder to breathe with every passing second. A hand moved to her throat as the coughing turned to choking, and out of reflex her wings wrapped protectively around herself. At the edge of her mind she took notice at how the fire appeared to burn the noxious fog away, and she tried focusing on lighting the rest of her wings on fire while fighting for breath.

The flames expanded slowly as she fell to her knees, the air beginning to thin out once more. She remained on her knees for a few minutes as her breathing slowly returned to normal; the majority of the fog now gone. She got back up on her feet and kept one hand on the wall as she continued deeper into the cave.

She walked deeper into the cave, avoiding another two tripwires along the way. With her heightened sense of cautiousness, as well as the added illumination, she was able to notice the traps before triggering them. However, since Philomena hoped that the guard would be shortly behind her, she took the time to carefully disarm them, each time coming away with two or three vials filled with mysterious mixtures. After three such traps, the cave opened up into what appeared to be a roughly circular chamber.

Still alert, Philomena flew a foot off the ground in an attempt to avoid any ground based traps. She examined the edges of the room first, once more finding only one passage that led deeper. In the center of this room was a large object made of obsidian. She closely examined it and gasped.

It was circular in shape, a basin that sloped downwards as it got to the center of the circle. At the center was a hole that she could barely fit her hand in, which funneled down beneath it. Looking below the contraption, she saw where a container could rest underneath it. The sole purpose of this object was as simple as it was cruel. It was designed to catch and contain the ashes of phoenixes.

Philomena hesitantly reached out and touched the end of the funnel, her fingers coming away with fresh ash. She barely suppressed a snarl of rage before taking off flying, her destination whatever lay deeper within. Very few thoughts were present within her mind, only Jason's safety and the fact that whoever did this would die being those.

This pathway was not booby trapped, and soon light became visible up ahead. Philomena still had the presence of mind to extinguish her flames, although she kept the magic near the surface in case she needed it quickly. Slowly she walked forward, rounding the last bend in the path to come upon an odd sight.

Someone had converted this next massive area into a combination of home and workplace. Alcoves were carved into the wall, various vials and containers contained within them. Tables lined the walls as well, alchemic equipment and what appeared to be tinker's tools on the surfaces. A cot rested in one corner, and a cauldron was on the opposite side of the room. All told,

Philomena's eyes narrowed with lethal intent as she saw the dark pegasus from earlier standing over a boiling cauldron. Next to it was a large container filled with ashes, and she put two and two together. With a scream of rage she stormed into the room, aiming for the smaller pony.

Night Shade's head perked up at the outburst, giving her enough time to fly out of Philomena's way. "Oh, what have we here?" she asked, her head tilted sideways in partial confusion. "an unwanted guest, and one who made it through all of my traps. Oh, what a pain."

Philomena carefully kept her distance as she noticed light glint off of something on Shade's forehoof. Shade immediately turned to an alcove and grabbed a vial, then lobbed it at Philomena. As soon as it was airborne, her hoof raised and she sighted along it, a slight clicking sound emanating from the device.

A small dart shot out from it, meeting the vial in midair just next to Philomena, who had sidestepped out of the object's path. As they collided, a small explosion resulted, knocking her to the ground as she was caught by surprise. Fire painlessly licked at her skin, sticking to it but causing no harm.

"Oh, so you're like him, too? Oh, this is too good, it means once I kill you I'll have more material to research with!" she exclaimed giddily as Philomena slowly got back to her feet. "It's truly interesting. Phoenix magic combined with an otherworldly, magical-null presence? Who knows what sort of breakthroughs could be made!"

Philomena snarled, her face twisted in anger. "You won't get the chance to, bitch. I'm going to end you right here and now." She rushed and closed the distance between them, throwing a punch to Shade's jaw, which soundly connected with a thwack. Shade flipped once in the air before righting herself, an angry look on her face.

She raised her hoof as she steadied her flight, three clinks sounding out alongside three accompanying projectiles. Philomena ducked in alarm, one missing her, but the other two striking her. One lodged itself in her shoulder, the other in her left wing and she winced in pain. Her left hung uselessly at her side, all feeling lost in it.

Growling, she used her magic to cause a bright flash, temporarily disorienting Shade long enough to close the distance between them again. She grabbed onto her left wing shaft and twisted it hard, a snapping sound reaching her ears as Shade dropped to the ground. Philomena leapt back as a hoof swept towards her, her numbed hand hitting against something in her pocket.

She quickly reached in, grabbing the vial she had grabbed from the first trap. Grinning, she tossed it hard with her right hand at Shade, her throw a little high. It skimmed the top of her head, smashing into an alcove crammed with other containers and flasks.

Philomena was tossed back as an explosion rocked the cave, a deep rumbling sound reverberating through the chamber. The ground began to shake as the flames moved to the nearby table. Philomena felt more of her body gradually going numb even as she took pleasure in watching Shade become engulfed in fire.

Stumbling as the ground continued shaking, she carefully grabbed the glass container filled with ashes, stumbling towards the exit. After only three steps, however, part of the ceiling collapsed, burying Shade’s burning body and half of the room and knocking Philomena to the ground. She landed hard, the wind knocked from her lungs, and she lay on the ground with the container close to her chest.

A few minutes later awareness returned to her, sight and sound the first. Her eyes focused on the fire raging within the chamber, consuming anything flammable and then some. The back half was buried under rubble, a hoof sticking out from underneath it bringing a sense of justice to her mind. As she went to move her right hand to prop herself up, it buckled under her weight and her vision swam.

Spots filled her vision and she stopped moving, realizing that she was unable to feel over half of her body. She tried moving again, but was only able to manipulate her right arm from the elbow down and her legs. Philomena curled up around Jason’s ashes and let out a sigh, realizing that escape was impossible until this poison either passed or it killed her and she reincarnated.

Slowly, the numbness consumed the rest of her senses, her vision fading to black. The last one to go was her hearing, the crackling of the flames slowly faded into nothing. The last breath left her lungs, then nothing.

Author's Note

This chapter was... rough to get out. Took two days to write it, yeesh. So, I don't think this is up to my typical standards, expect it to get whacked hard when the editing catches up.

And on that note, I've started editing (well, others have been commenting and I've been fixing) the story starting from the beginning. No plot changes* are being made, it's all grammar and structure issues more than anything being addressed. So, the most recent chapter marked (R) in the title is where the progress currently is.

* In the prior chapter, I was trying to thoroughly establish the relationship between Philomena and Celestia. The topic was that of Celestia having feelings for Jason. Looking back now, that topic is kind of a red herring, as introducing any ponies, or others, into the relationship that will be between Philomena and Jason... cheapens it. Expect to see a notice of it changing in the future. Just the topic, not the scene. Sorry folks, this is an official 'No polygamy' notice. Well, not sorry really, as it would only hurt the story in my mind.

Chapter 10 - Aftermath and an Arrival

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!"

Author's Note

...and then they had sex! I mean, uh, they helped each other 'recover...' Yeah, y'all ain't buying that one bit.

So, milestone for the story. This breaks 50,000 words. This month was also the pony version of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo as it's more commonly called) which was a challenge of 50,000+ words within a one month period on a new story. Also, this brings the updates across my stories to 80,000 or so with FIMFiction's count for the month. Yay?

Also, new avatar and short bio. Gotta love quotes.

...Bang.

Interlude

Jason held out his hand to Philomena, who took it as they walked out to the balcony. Just out of the shower and clothed once more, they opened the doors and took in the crisp evening air, the last vestiges of the sun's light illuminating the vast landscape within their sight. The mountainside gave way to rolling hills and valleys, and in the distance the humble town of Ponyville was visible. The rays of light cast a light red tint to everything as it began its slow trek below the horizon.

He slowly let go of her hand as he rested both of them on the balcony, taking in another deep breath and smiling as he looked over the landscape. "That was... something else, Philomena. I never thought something like this would ever really happen, y'know?" he spoke, melancholy underlying his words.

She came up behind him, being careful of his wings as she wrapped him in a hug from behind. "Tell me about it, Jay. For nearly two-thousand years I stayed by Celestia's side, and while Luna was... gone, I felt obligated to stay near her rather than continuing to search for others of my kind. Time hasn't been good to them, after all." she quietly spoke, nestling herself into his back. "...but still, I'd say it's all worth this, here and now."

"...I'd say so as well, Philo." Jason stated after letting silence dominate for a few moments. He carefully removed her hands from around him and then turned around, taking both of her hands in his. "A lot has changed in just the last few years, I feel... free, almost. That sounds kind of silly, though." he chuckled, squeezing her hands tighter. "Although I disliked it, spending time as a phoenix was... enlightening?"

Philomena laughed her musical sound and then leaned up to plant a quick kiss on his mouth. "Enlightening? That's an odd way to put it, Jay. You sure it wasn't me saying that I'd finally found someone worth spending some quality time with, hmm?" she sighed, leaning into him. "When you first showed up, I had felt... something about you that just seemed right. Then, we got to spend all that time together, pranking, talking, anything really... and then things happened.

"You ended up having a phoenix's magic within you, and then I died in that mansion..." Jason wrapped his hands around her, pulling Philomena tight to him as she shivered slightly. "you saved my life, and Celestia said that we were... unique. A start of something new. I'd already known you as a great friend, it really wasn't that large of a leap, was it, Jay?"

He smiled reassuringly at her, lightly pecking her on the forehead. "Yeah, it has been a bit crazy lately, and no... it wasn't. The whole being a bird bit got in the way of things, though." Philomena lightly bit his shoulder, then looked up and glared slightly, causing him to laugh. "Hey, even if it had been seven months instead of weeks, I still wouldn't have liked it completely." He stuck his tongue out at her childishly. "Still, we were able to spend plenty of time together, and learning to fly was amazing."

"And it was very enjoyable teaching you, Jay. Even if you were a slow learner," she quipped. She sighed and wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes and resting her head on Jason's shoulder. "At least now we can go on proper dates, and have other days like this one, right? Cause... that was amazing."

Jason laughed, sending reverberations through Philomena. "Yeah, that was. Gotta thank Celestia too, otherwise who knows who might've heard us... You're pretty damn loud!" He tightened his embrace before she could move to hit him in retaliation. "Nope, none of that now."

She struggled for only a few moments before relaxing again, opening her eyes and piercing him with that emerald gaze. "...just remember who wears the pants in this relationship, Jay."

He looked down quizzically, a confused look on his face. "Uh, I do at the moment it appears. You're the one wearing a skirt."

Philomena laughed, looking at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "So, Rarity really liked the skirts, who was I to tell her otherwise? But remember who it is that comes up with all of those pranks... you don't want to be on the receiving end for once, do you?"

They both laughed, Jason loosening his embrace and passionately kissing her. She leaned into it, returning the kiss with equal fervor. It was not until they needed breath that their lips parted, a radiant glow surrounding them. "...I think I'd rather keep giving you a place to come back to after you pull a prank on someone else."

Jason sighed, looking at the horizon in time to see the last pinch of yellow dip below the horizon, the moon and accompanying stars filling the night sky. "Shall we head back in? It's going to be a busy day tomorrow, between Twilight, her friends, and who knows what else." She nodded in response as a small yawn ripped itself from her throat. Philomena let out a surprised squeak as Jason leaned down slightly and picked her up in his arms; one supporting behind her knees and the other her back, being mindful of her wings the entire time.

He took one last look at the rising moon, a smile on his face as he turned to Philomena. Their eyes met, and he impulsively locked lips with her one more time, slowly walking inside while doing so. Jason gently set her down on the bed, removing his shirt before taking a spot next to her.

"Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, but even then... No matter what it brings, we'll be able to tackle it. Together."

Author's Note

Breaking the unwritten rule of no pictures in the story body, had to show the first picture of a few that I'll be getting over the next few months of Philomena and Jason. Art is by BillieW over on DeviantArt, fair prices for what I believe to be good quality artwork. Image is located here if it doesn't load in the text. When I get home later, I'll reduce its size to make it easier to load for those on cellular devices.

I've been talking it somewhat easy lately, but will probably get back to the writing grind soon. Still thoroughly fascinated with this story. Hopefully you enjoy the short interlude here, hopefully by now it's somewhat obvious their relation changed, and in a somewhat believable fashion, after the incident at the mansion. I'll still be fillings things in, but the dots should all be there now.

Hopefully I'll have another full length chapter for y'all in a few days to a week or so. Have a good one, folks!

Chapter 11 - A Return To Normalcy

A gentle prodding woke Jason from his slumber, causing him to blearily open his eyes. A vivid green framed by reds and oranges met his gaze, and it slowly focused into Philomena's face. "Morning, Jay. Time to wake up." she quietly said, a large smile on her face as she leaned in and pecked him on the lips.

Jason inwardly smiled as he quickly sat up and wrapped his arms around her, causing her to let out a quick gasp as he pulled her in for a longer kiss. Sometime later they parted, both breathless. "Now I could get used to waking up like that..." he trailed off, a gentle smile on his face as he hugged her tightly.

Philomena let out a musical peal of laughter, resting her head in the crook of his neck as she sighed. "While I'll admit that I could spend the rest of the morning like this, I believe there are ponies below who would like to say hello, Jay." She pulled back and hopped off the bed. Jason looked to the balcony, surprised at just how much light was already showing.

"What time is it?" he asked, somewhat surprised that he had slept in. He took her offered hand as he got out of the bed, draping one wing over her back as they walked to the bathroom to run through the morning's necessities.

"It's a little bit after eleven already, Jay. I've been up for awhile, but you needed your rest," she merrily laughed, leaning into him slightly as they entered the bathroom. "Tia has already stopped by, she gave me a rather thorough chiding for not letting you rest... I told her to stuff it though." They both laughed this time as they split from each other.

Jason let out a sigh as he ran his hand over his toothbrush before picking it and the toothpaste up. "Gotta say... I think I missed brushing my teeth. The small things, y'know?" Philomena punched him in the shoulder as he grinned, smearing the toothpaste out and then setting it on the counter. A thought entered his mind, causing his grin to falter and become a frown. "Twilight's back, isn't she... I really hope she isn't attracted to me anymore, I'd rather not have things get–"

Philomena cut him off with her hand covering his mouth, as well as a fierce glare. "Relax, Jay. First and foremost, she's your friend, and she's been through a rough spot. Focus on that first, okay? Leave any romance related stuff to me, understand?" He mutely nodded his head in reply, and as she removed her hand he promptly replaced it with the toothbrush.

The rest of the preparations went by quickly, a few choice words and a pinch of flirting passing between Jason and Philomena in the process. Gently closing the bedroom door behind them, they walked hand in hand through the castle's corridors to the dining room for lunch.

As they entered the room, silence fell over the collected ponies. Jason's eyes locked with Twilight's, who was seated next to Celestia, and he couldn't help but smile and wave at her. Moments later, he was bowled over, purple filling his vision and Philomena's laughter greeting his ears.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Jason! I'm really glad that you're back to yourself, it was all my fault, I–" he found his bearing and silenced Twilight by gently clamping his hand down on her mouth. After a few moments, he wrapped his hands around her neck in a hug, one hand gently massaging her shoulder.

"It's fine, Twilight. What's more important is that you seem to be doing well. I can take hits, y'know?" Twilight hesitantly chuckled as he removed his arms and carefully stood back up. After shooting Philomena a quick glance, he focused back on Twilight who was at his side, head raised slightly to meet his eyes. "I'm really sorry that you had to go through all of that, Twilight... welcome back."

She smiled at him and Philomena, gesturing with a hoof towards the table. "Come and join us for lunch, you two. There's nothing better than a meal with all of one's friends there, you know?" They followed her to the table, Jason taking the seat opposite Celestia, Philomena to his side.

Celestia smiled, looking them both over. "Good afternoon, you two. I am glad to see you looking better, Jason, although I believe I had told someone..." she trailed off, raising a brow at Philomena, "to see that you were properly rested."

Jason laughed as he filled his plate. "I think that she did just that, Celestia. She made certain that the only thing on my mind was rest, and that I was ready for it." Philomena snickered at his side, their wings extending just enough to allow the leading edges to brush against one another.

"Well, you were already more than prepared for some rest, Jason... I hadn't quite meant for her to further you along to that point," she continued, her expression unreadable, "still, I suppose it had some merit to it." Celestia turned to Philomena, a wide grin plastered on her face. "So tell me, old friend, how was it?"

Juice spurted out of Twilight's mouth, and catcalls emanated from Rainbow Dash and Applejack as Philomena let out a large grin. Using her hands, she turned his head and stole Jason's mouth for a moment, letting her lips linger over his in a passionate kiss. As she pulled back, she replied to Celestia's question in as innocent a tone as she could muster. "Why, I'd say that it was everything I'd expected and then some, Tia... jealous?"

Before anyone could respond, Pinkie randomly left her chair, appearing on the table between Jason and Philomena without disturbing a single item. "You know what this calls for! One congratulations on getting laid party, coming up!" Jason's eyes began to water as he held his sides in laughter.

Twilight just shook her head as Fluttershy looked on slightly mortified at the scene before her. "Oh, Pinkie..." she muttered underneath her breath, glad to once more be reunited with all of her friends. The laughter slowly died down as Pinkie produced a cake and with a single swipe of her hoof cleared a space in the middle of the table. She reverently lowered the cake into the now empty spot, setting it down.

A knife surrounded with a light blue aura was grabbed from the air by Pinkie, who promptly began cutting the cake with it. Defying all logic, small plates flew from her hooves, each one landing before an occupant at the table in one piece, looking as if it had been carefully walked the entire way to their settings.

"Thanks, Pinkie," Jason said, ignoring his lunch in favor of the sweet treat before him. A thought strayed into his mind, and grinning at Philomena he took a small amount of the cake onto his fork and brought it to her lips. She smiled, sensuously removing it from the utensil, licking the stray frosting off her lips.

"Woah nelly..." Applejack breathlessly uttered, eyes open in shock. She shook her head a moment as she watched the two lovebirds exchange cake via their forks, a small smile making its way to her face. "I'd say they've done fallen for each other pretty darn quick and hard."

"Truthfully, it is an amazing thing, is it not, Applejack?" Rarity asked, the sight before her stirring up faint urges of her own dreams and hopes. She couldn't help but smile at the romanticism before her, even if it brought pangs of pain to her own heart. "To be able to connect with somepony so closely, to know them... it truly is a beautiful thing... Oh, that gives me some ideas!" she quietly exclaimed, garnishing some laughter from Applejack and Rainbow.

Twilight motioned to them as they finished off the last of the cake. "So, I take it you two..." she trailed off, a faint blush on her cheeks.

Philomena gently nodded as she peered over Jason at Twilight. "Yeah, Twilight. If you want, we can talk about it later, girl to girl." she gently said, winking at the end. She smiled as Twilight slowly nodded her head before returning her focus to the plate of food before her. Philomena quietly whispered into his ear before he could say anything. "Don't concern yourself about it, Jason, remember what I said... I promise I'll take care of it, okay?"

He gently nodded, picking back up his meal where he had left off before Pinkie's interruption with the cake. Everyone basked in the company of each other as they cheerily ate lunch, the time slowly slipping by in idle chatter.

Celestia rose from her chair some time later, everyone's plates long since emptied and removed. She leaned over Twilight, gently nuzzling her face. "It's good to have you back in Canterlot, Twilight... if you ever need somepony to talk to, my ears are open." she quietly whispered before raising her head and addressing everyone else. "Good day to everyone, I hope to see you all at dinner. Until then, take care."

After Celestia made her exit, everyone else slowly began to get up from the table. Applejack and Rainbow muttered something about a friendly competition before waving goodbye to their friends. Fluttershy remarked about going to see the animals in the gardens, giving Twilight a surprisingly massive hug before fluttering off.

"Philomena, darling, do you mind if I borrow Jason from you for a few? I've got a few ideas for some clothing that I need him for." Rarity politely asked, and Jason missed the wink she gave her at the end. Philomena smiled and gave a quick nod.

"Sure, go on ahead, Rarity, I'll only need him later tonight. He's all yours until then." she laughed as Jason's face turned bright red, and then turned to Twilight. "Twilight, would you like to take a walk? We can also talk about... stuff as well."

Twilight looked around for Pinkie, but found her nowhere in sight. She focused on Philomena's kind eyes and nodded. "Sure, that's fine with me..." she trailed off as she closely examined the former phoenix, noting just how similar to Jason she now looked. "You really have changed a lot, Philomena."

She held the door open for Twilight as the entered the hallways, a small peal of laughter ringing from her mouth. "Not as much as you might think. Just because outside I look different, I'm definitely still me." she nudged Twilight as they walked, turning down a hall towards a small garden. "It really is interesting though, I will say that." Philomena extended her hands towards Twilight, wiggling her fingers.

"Mmm, fingers..." Twilight said, realizing her words a moment later. She furiously blushed, which only further intensified as Philomena laughed again. "What?" she began, attempting to defend her words, "Jason gave me a massage at one point, and his fingers... They can really get into the muscles a lot better than any hooves I've ever felt!"

Philomena let her hand drop to Twilight's shoulder as they walked out into the small garden, her fingers gently digging into the muscles. She sighed at the touch, her shoulders relaxing slightly as she followed Philomena to a small cushioned bench.

"Take a seat, Twilight." she said, patting the cushion next to her as she sat down herself. After a few moments of silence, she looked down, locking eyes with Twilight. "So, how are you doing? I know we really haven't had a chance to talk, and I'm more than willing to lend my ears if you'd like." she quietly remarked with a gentle smile.

Twilight's composure cracked as she let out a sigh, resting her head on her forehooves. "I mean, I'm back in Canterlot now, but... some things feel like they'll never be the same." she frowned a moment, raising her head back up. "This is really weird, you know that? Last time I saw you, things were..." she trailed off, head dropping once more.

Philomena reached out, gently running her fingers through Twilight's mane. "Yeah, a lot of things changed at the mansion. Some for better, some for worse, and some just... changed." Twilight shivered, leaning into her touch. "So, take your time, but I'd like to hear as much as you're willing to tell."

After a few moments of silence, she quietly began talking. "I just... didn't think one simply change would bring about so many more. Plus, the attack at the library..." she paused, tears slowly streaming from her eyes as she remembered that night. "I never realized just what it meant to become an alicorn, a princess... I just thought that it was another task from Celestia, something else she wanted me to enjoy and learn about. But ponies that I barely even knew, dying for me? It was... hard. I still remember the guard I tried to save, but I couldn't do anything for them. Not a single thing... I was so powerless, for the first time that I could recall."

She quietly listened as Twilight continued to expose her fears, her weaknesses, keeping her hand on Twilight's shoulder as a constant reminder of the support promised from her. The sun's position slowly moved above them, a small reminder of the passing of time that they both ignored.

"...and then Jason," Twilight said, letting out a drawn-out sigh as her thoughts turned to him. "Well, I thought that he had shown some interest in me, when he was just trying to help." she wryly smiled, meeting Philomena's eyes with her own. "I suppose that was my own fault for misinterpreting his actions that night."

"So, what do you think of him now, Twilight?" Philomena cautiously asked, keeping a smile on her face.

Twilight raised a hoof to her chin, brows scrunching in thought. She hesitantly began speaking after nearly a minute of silence had passed between them. "I'm not really sure... Romance was something that I'd never really given thought to before him, I was always focused on my friends and books too much. But, he made me stop and think about that unknown aspect of myself, and for that... I think that I might still feel something for him, but exactly what it is... I really don't know, Philomena." she hummed a little bit, biting her tongue in further thought. "Maybe, if I had the chance and time, I could see if there was something there, but..." she awkwardly trailed off, nodding her head towards Philomena.

"It's actually rather funny, isn't it?" Twilight asked her, breaking Philomena from her thoughts of how to reply. She looked at Twilight with her head slightly tilted, a confused look in her eyes. "Well, when I was young, I'd always come and visit you and spill out all of my troubles and worries... funny that the whole time you knew exactly what I was saying." An idea hit her hard, and she locked eyes with Philomena. "Now, you didn't happen to tell Celestia any of what I told you, did you? She always seemed to know what was wrong at the time, so..."

Philomena laughed, shaking her head as she grinned. "Nope, I didn't tell her anything. I figured that you were coming to me so that no one else could find out, so who was I to go running off to Tia? I just think she cared about you enough to realize what it was that was bugging you anytime you were feeling down." Philomena chuckled, her smile slowly slipping as her mind returned to Twilight's prior words. "I suppose that it is kind of funny, seeing that you're doing the exact same thing once more. Just know that I'll always be around to lend an ear... it's very important for us who live as long as we do."

Twilight sighed, leaning into her as she did so. "That's basically what Cadance told me... I'm lucky enough that Shiny will also be there, but still, how I learned it," her eyes scrunched up, and then she briefly shook her head. "No need to dwell on that though, at least that's what she told me."

"You'll find that time becomes rather subjective as more of it passes... don't worry though, I'll make sure you stay nice and grounded." Philomena grinned, catching Twilight off balance as she nudged her. Peals of laughter rang out as Twlight's wings flared out to keep her balance and prevent her from falling off the bench.

Philomena's laughter slowly petered out as Twilight fixated her with a glare, doing her best to keep a straight expression against the mirth she was staring down. She finally stopped laughing, the edges of her mouth tightening slightly as she looked at Twilight. "As far as Jason goes, well... right now you know that I can't, won't share him. I know you ponies have your herds and such, but the largest part of my mind is just screaming at me to dig my claws," she paused, looking down at her hands, "fingers in as tightly as possible and to never let go." Twilight's expression fell slightly, although she held a look of understanding in her eyes. Before she could get a word in, however, Philomena raised a single finger. "However, if for whatever reason you still think the same and can't move past him in the future... and I'm talking years here, mind you, then I might be inclined to possible share him a little bit." She grinned as Twilight jumped into her, forehooves finding their way around her neck.

"Now, I'm not trying to lead you on, you really do need to try and find yourself somepony or someone, Twilight." Philomena's voice was slightly muffled from the mane filling her vision. "Plus, I still have to train him anyways."

Twilight moved back, completely baffled. "...train? What do you mean by that?" Philomena leaned in closely and began whispering into her ears. Her confusion gave way to a small amount of understanding, which then yielded to embarrassment as she pushed Philomena back with her hooves. "Too much information! I didn't want to know that!" Philomena's laughter rang loud and clear through the crisp afternoon air.

Author's Note

This is just the first part of the chapter, this one scene ran much longer than I thought it did, and given how long it's been since I've updated this story, I felt okay putting out a 3.1k word chapter. Hopefully my rustiness doesn't show itself too badly here, there was a lot of deleting done while writing this.

Hopefully this also puts to rest the whole Twilight romance bit folks might've been holding out for. Sorry guys, but nothing, at least not in this story.

As always, I look forward to hearing your comments and thoughts. Till next update, which will pick up with Jason and Rarity, ciao for now!

Prologue - Going Down in a Burning Ring of Fire

A tolling bell signaled the hour, eleven crisp rings echoing throughout the large chambers. Princess Celestia was currently holding yet another session of Day Court, her best friend standing next to her. A rather imposing figure himself, standing at a solid six feet in height; Jason absently looked on, boredom evident in his hazel eyes as he ran a hand through his short black hair.

"I still don't see why you feel the need to deal with some of this stuff," he grumbled under his breath to her, "I mean, seriously? 'Oh Great and Powerful Princess, even though this document clearly shows my property lines, I demand that I be able to annex my neighbor's land... Oh, what's that? Am I envious of his highly profitable gem mine? Why no, your highness, I simply want the land because...'"

Celestia could not help but chuckle, covering it with a hoof as the next petitioner stepped forward. "You know very well why I do this, Jason. Still, I'll admit it's highly tempting at times to establish some sort of procedure to handle those specific cases you just mentioned." She briefly looked down at the Day Court’s scheduled petitioner list. "At least today, it would seem no nobles plan on attending."

Jason just snorted, sitting down and leaning back into the seat next to Celestia's. "Still, this seems like a massive waste of time. I dunno why you want me to sit through a few of these with you; I see nothing to gain from doing so."

"What if I said I merely enjoyed the break in monotony and your scathing sarcasm after some of these more... enthusiastic petitioners, hrm?" She focused her attention away from him, looking at the approaching pony.

With a sigh, Jason did his best to focus on the next case. Celestia had forced him to attend her court once a week, claiming that it would help to supplement his still limited knowledge on how things operated in Equestria. He couldn't help but sigh once more, letting his attention drift to the crowd.

Jason smirked as he noticed his partner-in-crime lazily floating about near the ceiling, flying in small circles over the gathered crowd. Philomena was a fun friend, having taken a liking to the human quickly after their first meeting. With a gentle caw, she descended to land on one of the chair’s armrests, fluffing her wings for a moment before looking at him.

Reaching out, he ran a finger underneath her chin, gently scratching it while moving to offer his lap to her. They had a natural understanding of each other, and more than once Celestia had nearly locked them both in cages following the aftermath of some of their collaborations.

Unnoticed amongst the crowd, a unicorn stallion joined the masses, a dark travel cloak covering his entire body, leaving just his face visible. Mulling about the other ponies, he slowly walked towards the throne, his gaze never once leaving Celestia. When an opening in the crowd made itself known, he deftly slipped between the ponies and advanced further.

Nopony noticed this behavior as Celestia's petitioner continued to drone on, attempting to explain why the inclusion of Princess Twilight Sparkle should necessitate the extension of dusk and dawn in an effort to give the newest princess her own time of day. It took a few minutes before the petitioner wrapped their speech up, patiently awaiting Celestia's reply.

"Thank you for your input. Jason," she turned and inwardly scowled, noticing that all of his attention was focused on Philomena, "what do you think of this idea?"

"Oh, it's uh," he scrambled as Philomena let out a humorous caw, "a wonderful idea?" Jason merely shrugged his shoulders as Celestia glared death at him before turning back to the petitioner and clearing her throat.

"While I understand the position you are coming from, and your most eloquent manner of putting forth your idea, I will have to say that we won't be changing the length of dusk or dawn." She raised a hoof before the petitioner could offer a rebuttal. "The day and night cycle are too important to adjust, even for something as monumental as a new Princess of Equestria. Have a good day."

With only a small huff, she walked out, Jason quietly snickering to himself as Celestia turned to look at him. "I make you sit through these to learn, something that is hard to do when Philomena is taking your attention." She turned to the bird, who pretended to hide under a wing. Celestia sighed as she scolded her. "Philomena, you know that it's important Jason learn these things. Besides... the less time you two have to collude together, the safer this castle is."

Philomena let out a caw of laughter that was abruptly cut short, as she was launched from Jason's lap. "Death to the Sun Tyrant!" a pony yelled out, a small dagger flying through the air, propelled by magic. Before anypony else could react, Jason had already shoved Celestia out of her chair and took her place in the projectile’s path, even as guards began to dogpile the would-be assassin.

"What is the meaning of–" Celestia heard a wheeze next to her as she pulled herself to her hooves. "Jason!" She ignored the guards in favor of going to her friend, who lay on the ground, a dagger embedded in his gut.

Coughing, Jason cringed as he moved slightly, the pain staggering. "C-Celestia..." he managed to pass between his lips even as he felt his body start to go numb. "Poison."

The guards had the unicorn subdued, an inhibitor locked firmly around his horn as his hooves were shackled together. Furious, Celestia rounded on him. "What did you use? What poison?"

The unknown stallion sadly laughed, "Night's Bane, he has no chance. I was hoping to get you, Tyrant, but I suppose your monkey assistant will have to do. It's a da–" One of the guards silenced him with the butt of his spear to the assassin's gut, knocking the wind from his lungs.

Celestia turned her attention back towards Jason as the guards finished clearing out the room. She gently propped him up with her forehooves, removing the dagger and doing her best to heal the wound, even though she knew it was futile.

"S-Stop..." Jason muttered, also aware of the futility. Night's Bane was a potent poison that ignored magic and quickly circulated throughout the body, paralyzing the victim before shutting down their body. It was simply a matter of time before his end, time that could be counted in minutes.

Celestia simply held him, ignoring the blood that slowly seeped onto her hooves as the guards solemnly looked on, keeping the room locked down. Philomena cawed sadly as she landed on Jason, nuzzling against his neck.

"Heh, h-hey now. Don't cry," he weakly said, chuckling before violently coughing. He tried to reach out with a hand, but his arm felt like it was made of lead, impossible to move in his rapidly weakening state. Celestia raised a hoof to her face, not even noticing the fact that she had indeed begun crying.

As the seconds ticked by, she noticed something odd. This was not her first time holding somepony, or someone, who was on death's door. However, for some reason as the life slowly fled his body, Jason began to warm up in her hooves. She continued to hold him, comforting him with softly spoken words, even as his temperature passed a point that would have left burns on a normal pony.

Celestia looked on in confusion as he merely smiled, closing his eyes and exhaling for the last time. Philomena flapped her wings, moving to rest herself on a nearby chair and began to sing a calming melody. Celestia rapidly backed away in confusion, alerting her guards who all tightened their grasps on their weapons.

Jason's body began to shine, a bright light filtering through his skin that looked as if it were trying to burst out of him. Seconds later, a massive surge of heat pulsed through the air, causing Celestia's guards to back away in fear as his body violently burst into flames. Celestia and Philomena were the only two capable of remaining in close proximity, the former watching in awe as the latter continued her song.

The flames grew brighter and hotter, incinerating the rug that had been underneath him within seconds as the marble floor began to blacken from the fire. Jason's body was rapidly consumed. As the heat and light died down, a large pile of ash was left in its place.

This whole event lasted for only seconds, although it seemed like forever in everypony's eyes. As the last of the flames magically disappeared, the ashes stirred, a hand reaching out from it. Somepony screamed as the guards finally took action, weapons levied at the unknown even as Philomena took to the air.

"Wait!" Celestia cried out as a groan emanated from the ashes. She focused her magic and a light breeze moved the large pile, revealing an ash coated creature in its wake.

"Impossible..." the assassin muttered, not a single guard moving to silence him this time. "He should be dead!"

With another groan, the figure slowly got into a sitting position, spitting out a mixture of saliva and ash to the side. "J-Jason?" Celestia muttered, a small amount of elation in her voice, as shock and disbelief were evident on her face. Philomena settled down on his shoulder moments later.

Rapidly blinking his eyes, Jason turned and met Celestia's. She noticed that he looked much younger, and his pupils now were like fire, a hot mixture of angry reds and cool oranges all blending together. He tried speaking, but only a rattling cough came from his throat. Trying again, he managed to squeak something out.

"H-hey, Celestia... damn, that smarted," he groaned, before he completely froze, shock in his eyes. A lock of fiery hair fell into one eye, even as a hand slowly reached behind him. Moments later, it came into contact with the leading edge of something, and he cautiously tugged on it to bring it into his view.

Philomena let out a small cackle as feathers greeted his vision, feathers that were quite firmly attached to a wing that he could now feel. His head turned to the bird on his opposite shoulder, a look of confusion greeting Philomena's smug expression. "You... you had something to do with this, didn't you?" She merely took off in flight, a tittering caw erupting from her beak.

"I want you to continue the lockdown, and escort the prisoner to the cells. I'll have a word with him later. Right now, though..." she turned her attention back to Jason, who was still glaring at Philomena, his hand fidgeting with his new appendage. "Jason... what exactly is going on?" Celestia asked, having never witnessed a rebirth outside of the phoenixes. It just wasn't possible, and everypony knew it.

Jason shuffled around, turning to face her. Before saying a word, however, his cheeks suddenly went crimson in embarrassment as he realized something. "Can you get me some clothes, first?" he asked, doing his best to keep as much of himself covered as possible. Although his new wings covered his back and bare buttocks from view, he did not want to expose himself to everypony.

"Shining Armor," Celestia spoke as the stallion entered the room saluted her. "I want you to comb the castle and search for any other would-be assassins. I'll be in my quarters with Jason," she pointed a wing towards him, "attempting to figure out what in Tartarus just happened here."

As he saluted again, Shining immediately turned to the gathered guards. "Soldiers, you heard the Princess!" Celestia drowned him out, focusing on Jason who was still sitting on the floor.

"Jason," she began, using her magic to remove the rest of the ash from his body, "I'll make a stop at your room first for some clothes, and then we'll go and have a lengthy discussion in my study... I believe that is more than fair?"

Jason meekly shrugged as he scratched his scalp with a hand. "I suppose I do have a lot to explain..." Celestia extended a hoof to him which he grasped, and as Philomena landed on his shoulder once more, the trio disappeared in a teleport.

Author's Note

And yet another one! This was a concept that I thought of when reading yet another silly 'Human loves alicorn, human becomes immortal' story. I came up with something that I believe [hope] is truly original as far as 'immortality' goes. Although technically not really immortal, just reincarnation.

The next chapter deals with his entry and early years in Equestria, leading up to meeting the Princesses. Here's to hoping that I can execute this idea properly, it was a load of fun to write!

Revised slightly and re-posted 20 September.

Chapter 8 - Philomena's Time in the Spotlight

Philomena stretched, letting out a massive yawn. Turning, she looked and caught sight of Jason, who as usual was already skulking about spending yet another day as a phoenix. Personally, she was at her wit’s end with dealing with his whining, and had delivered an ultimatum.

“Jay. I’m going to spend today to myself. Get over it, you’ve already spent over half the time Tia estimated it’d take. Seriously, get over it.” he squawked a few times and she walked over and poked him in the chest. “It’s not that bad. Like I’ve said before, I dealt with it for over a thousand years. Another two to three weeks won’t hurt you one bit.”

She got dressed, putting on one of Rarity’s works. She had fallen in love with her dresses, and had a rather nice collection of them now courtesy of her new friend. Philomena had not gotten the chance to head down to Ponyville yet, but with Canterlot being between there and the Crystal Empire, she got to meet a few of Twilight’s friends.

The initial meeting with Fluttershy had been a bit awkward, Philomena thought, a small giggle escaping from her mouth as she recalled the moment.

Philomena was out in the courtyard, giving Jason yet another flying lesson. He was almost to the point where she felt comfortable leaving him to his own devices, at this point it was more a matter of getting time in the air than pointing out the techniques of flight.

“E-excuse me…” a voice said from behind her, and Philomena turned around. She repressed a small shudder of fear at the sight of the pegasus who did not understand what boundaries and personal space meant.

“Hello, Fluttershy. What brings you by the castle today?” she asked, keeping her eyes on Jason who was a few dozen feet in the air above them.

Fluttershy shuffled about on her hooves, partially hiding her face behind her mane. “Well, I just wanted to come and meet you…” she began, an extreme lack of confidence in her words, and almost sounding fearful of the phoenix turned psuedo-human in front of her. “I know that the last time we met, it didn’t go over so well, so…”

Philomena could not help but let out a snort of laughter. ‘Not so well’ well an extreme understatement of how things went last time. Celestia, in her infinite wisdom, had thought the perfect time to have her go visit Ponyville was during her death cycle. Never had a pony gone to such extremes to ‘cure’ her. However, now that she was capable of speaking to Fluttershy, there was no need to let the past interfere with the future.

“I know, Fluttershy,” her face fell at Philomena’s words, who quickly continued speaking, “however, that was indeed some time ago, and it was more Tia’s fault for sending me to your fair town during one of my death cycles. Timing has never been one of her better points, but you didn’t hear that from me.” she finished with a wink to the mare, who could not help but let out a small peal of laughter in return.

“B-but still,” Fluttershy began, this time stuttering from laughter, “it was a really bad impression… I just fret so much when any animal is ill. It hurts for me to see them not feeling their best, you know?”

She simply smiled, nodding as she kneeled down and placed her hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “I do understand. Fear not, for I promise not to hold it against you. After all, how could I become your friend if I let something as small as that stand between us?” she hugged the shy mare, who let out a gently ‘eep’ sound at the embrace.

“Jay, I’m going out for the day, try not to wallow in self-pity all day. Remember, just two or three more weeks.” Philomena nearly sang as she walked out the door, looking forward to day for herself. She had been mostly preoccupied teaching Jason how to fly and get used to being in an avian form for the duration it took for his magic to regenerate.

Now, however, she felt that she could finally have a day to herself. There were a few things that she had been meaning to do, chief among them spend some time with Celestia, something that had been neglected for the last few weeks. There were simply things that one did not talk about in front of males, after all, regardless of what form they may be in.

She nearly danced through the halls as she hummed a tune to herself, heading to breakfast. With her new body came the ability to eat a whole new gamut of foods, and breakfast was, by far, her most favorite meal of the day due to one thing: pancakes. Glorious, wondrous pancakes topped with butter and apple syrup imported directly from Sweet Apple Acres.

Philomena slipped into the dining room and looked at who was already there. A bleary-eyed Luna sat with her face nearly in a bowl of what appeared to be porridge, Shining was examining a report grasped within his magic while holding an apple in his hoof, Blueblood was buried on a cup of coffee, and Celestia was greedily eying a muffin that rested on her plate.

Stealthily coming up behind Blueblood, she set her hand on his shoulder. “Morning, Bluey!” he jumped as Celestia let out a laugh, his coffee spared as she grasped it in her magic. “Why so jumpy?” Philomena teased as she took a seat next to Celestia. He warily stared at her as she gazed back with a wry grin.

“Good morning, Philomena,” Celestia said, a smile on her face as she leaned over and nuzzled her neck in a friendly greeting. She giggled at the softness of the fur on her smooth skin, wrapping her arms around Celestia’s neck in a hug.

“Hey, Tia.” her eyes roamed the table, lighting up as they settled on her target. “Oooh, pancakes!” Philomena began to pile them onto her plate as everypony else continued with their meal. Blueblood warily kept on eye on her the entire time, all the way up until he left the room. She internally giggled, recalling why he was so concerned in her presence.

Two and a half weeks had passed, and Philomena finally had the perfect plan in place. These new appendages, fingers, really aided in her escapades, and the castle had gone too long without one. She grinned again as she carried the heavy pail of milk to the residence wing, smiling at everypony she passed by. Jason was keeping pace in the air next to her, a wry smile on his face.

They had decided on a simple trick, yet one guaranteed to provide great results. Jason would get Blueblood’s attention while Philomena waited in the air overhead the entrance to his room. Blueblood had been waiting a long time to get revenge on him, and now that he was a phoenix he was much less intimidating to the wimpy prince. Once he chased Jason out of his bedroom, Philomena would let the pail loose.

After that, with the prince thoroughly soaked by milk, she planned to use a little bit of flame for some heat, curdling most of the dairy product on the spot. So, not only would his precious coat be soaked through, but he would also smell rather rancid; a most fitting appearance for Blueblood. To further add insult to injury, they had gotten ahold of a basic dye spell that turned the color of the milk in the pail a nice and lovely shade of pink. Nothing could go wrong.

As planned, Jason began raising a ruckus outside his room first thing in the morning. Blueblood loved sleeping in, the lazy slob he was, and so when Jason came screeching in at dawn, it was with much reluctance that he forced himself out of bed to chase him down. Once certain his quarry was engaged, Jason zipped out the door, letting out a tittering, taunting trill.

Blueblood never saw what hit him next. The pail was upturned, and the pink liquid smothered his coat, dripping off him to hit the floor. Steam began to pour from his ears as he let out a most unstallion-like shriek as Philomena casually dropped down next to him.

“Hey, Bluey! Morning, Prince!” she concentrated on her flames, and put them to use. As she had realized just a few days prior, she was still capable of immolating herself, and could do so selectively so as to not destroy her wonderful dresses. She turned her back to him and focused on the leading edges of her wings, hot flames springing up as she concentrated.

The heat of the flames caused the dairy to begin to curdle, drying a large portion of the liquid and ensuring the pink stained his coat. Jason was already long gone, and as the flames died down on her wings, Philomena turned around and waved. “Have a good day, Princey!” she called out, the ensuing screams most likely heard throughout the entire castle grounds.

She chuckled at the recollection of the memory as she finished off the last of her pancakes, letting out a sigh of contentment. Turning, she watched as Luna retired, presumably to get some sleep. Philomena knew that the younger sister was still keeping to her nocturnal cycle, having returned to it a week after the incident at the mansion.

Celestia addressed Shining, and Philomena listened in with interest. “How goes the search for the last cultist, Shining?” she asked, setting down the wrapper of the muffin and hiding a burp with her hoof.

He just sighed and rested his face on his hooves. “Bad. You’d think for being a pegasus, she’d be easy to find. Especially if it’s as we assumed and she had no financial surplus. Night Shade would be forced to ply her trade, which should have some word come about of her. However, we still haven’t found any potential safe houses and as far as we can tell, she’s not actively engaged in her trade. For a pegasus, she’s craftier than I’d care to admit.” he grumbled a bit, then slowly raised his head.

Philomena looked at him questioningly, putting her hand underneath her chin as she examined him. “It’s not just that, is it. Cadance and Twilight, right?” she asked, using her abilities to read a pony’s body language to discern what was troubling him.

“Yes.” he simply stated, raising a mug of coffee to his lips. “Cadance’s latest letter claims that Twilight is making headway, and her friend’s visits have helped immensely, however…” he closed his eyes and cleared his throat, “your constant nagging is admirable, Shiny, but it’s simply an annoyance. Your sister will be healthier when she is ready, and you nagging us both every day isn’t going to speed things up at all. Now, why don’t you go catch that cultist already so that you can get back here and bu–"

A choked cough from Celestia caused Shining to stop imitating his wife’s voice, and he looked up in slight embarrassment. “...I mentioned the line about the cultist, didn’t I?” he questioned, a hint of crimson creeping onto his cheeks.

“Yup!” Philomena exclaimed, offering him no quarter as the blush rapidly spread across his face. She giggled, leaning over to Celestia and whispered loud enough for him to hear. “It sounds like Cadance is missing sex, Tia… I wonder, if he takes too long, do you think she’ll resort to finding some poor palace guard, much like you’ve done in the past?”

Philomena broke down into laughter as both Shining and Celestia let out loud exclamations, both thoroughly embarrassed at her words. She simply smiled in return, mirth filling her eyes. “Did you expect anything else?” she asked, standing up and leaving her empty plate on the table, two speechless ponies left in her wake.

Celestia turned to Shining, hoof raised to her temple. “And here I was hoping I’d get a break now that she can verbally abuse others. Guess not.”

Philomena lay on her stomach in one of the castle’s back gardens, her wings fanned open and catching the sun’s rays. She enjoyed the feeling of the grass on her skin and the warmth of the air above. Propping herself on her elbows, she took in a deep breath of air before hopping up to her feet and brushing off stray strands of grass.

Flexing her wings and knees, she jumped into the air, letting the warm thermals and a few flaps of her wings carry her high into the sky. She lazily glided through the air, drifting from thermal to thermal to stay aloft without once flapping her wings. Canterlot slowly shrunk the higher she ascended, and she watched the sunlight bounce off the spires of the castle.

Idly floating in the air, she noticed a shift in the guards around the castle grounds, namely the pegasi circling one of the inner gardens. Out of curiosity she began to descend, a few of the guards taking notice of her figure and flying off to meet her.

Coming to a stop and carefully hovering, she cheerfully waved at the pegasi. “Heya, what’s up?” she smiled, and one of the guards just groaned slightly.

“Celestia just decided to have her early afternoon tea break outside, against our insistence.” the pegasus said, a look of irritation on her face. “Even with just the one cultist left, we’re not prepared to take any chances, thus the large number of guards. I’d prefer it if you didn’t pull any of your trademark tricks today, Philomena.”

She threw up a salute, her hand coming to her breast in a fist. “Ma'am, yes ma'am!” she quickly spat out before bursting into laughter. After a few moments she regained her composure and refocused on the guard, who now had a look of extreme irritation. She gave the guard a disarming smile. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t do anything that would hinder with Tia’s protection. I’m going to go down and say hi, though.”

Before the guard could offer up a protestation, Philomena folded her wings into a slow dive, the wind rushing past her and filling her ears, ensuring she did not hear anything on her way down. She waved to the guards on her way down, extending her wings as she came closer to the ground.

With a few gentle flaps, she landed on her feet, now much better at landing in her new body. Celestia noticed her presence and waved with a hoof as she sipped at a cup of tea. “Come, Philomena, join me for some tea?” she politely asked, pulling a chair back with her magic.

Philomena walked over to her first and wrapped both of her arms around Celestia’s neck. “Good afternoon, Tia. I believe that I would love to join you for some tea. Maybe I’ll actually sample some for myself today, hm?” she took a seat in the chair, looking at the tray before her.

“So, uh… how does this go exactly?” Philomena asked, a slight flush on her face as Celestia leveled her gaze onto her.

“You’ve spent how many centuries at my side, and watched me have tea how many times?” she asked, disbelief heavy in her tone. Philomena simply shrugged her shoulders as she looked at the various dishes on the tray.

“Hey, just because I followed you around a lot doesn’t mean that I was paying attention to everything.” Philomena stated, sticking her tongue out at Celestia. “I mean, some things do get boring after a year. Most times while you took your tea I ‘terrorized’ your guards, or so they claimed.” she looked up into the sky, seeing all of the circling guards. “Honestly, I think they always overexaggerated my actions.”

Celestia let out a laugh, looking up as well. “Sometimes… perhaps. However, you cannot deny that doing things such as setting yourself on fire and then zooming over their heads is harmless, at least not when you’ve got some of the newer guards to deal with. You were responsible for,” she trailed off, thinking for a moment, “seventy-nine guards requesting dismissal, I believe it was.”

“Eighty-one.” Philomena stated proudly, a smirk on her face. “I think you’re forgetting those brothers who I buzzed while they attempted to peek on you in the shower. While they were dismissed for that, I brought it to your attention. I’d say that counts for me.”

They both shared laughter as their gazes came to rest once more on the china. “Well, I suppose I can let your lack of knowledge pass for now. However, if you expect to share tea with me in the future, I’d suggest remembering this, my friend.” she began to point out the handful of dishes and objects associated with the tea set.

At the end of it all, Philomena nodded. “Okay, I got it. So, what’s this… blend of tea taste like?” she asked, bringing the hot cup to rest underneath her nose as she took in a deep whiff of the tea.

“This particular blend is from one of Twilight’s friends, a zebra named Zecora. It’s a mixture of herbs gathered from the Everfree, and has become a personal favorite of mine.” she noticed the slight hesitation and went to reassure her. “Go on ahead, I believe you’ll truly enjoy this one, Philomena.”

Carefully, she tilted the cup and took a small slurp of the tea. Philomena paused a moment, then took another taste, a content sigh coming from her shortly after. “This Zecora truly knows her stuff… this is amazing!”

Smiling, Celestia took a sip of her own, glad to be able to share such a moment with her longtime friend at last. “I’d always wondered what it would be like, to share such a moment with you at last. I find myself rather content, I think.” she said, a small smile coming to her face as she leaned back into the chair.

“I must agree, this is rather enjoyable,” Philomena began, “the warmth of the sun on my skin, the taste of this wondrous tea, and being by the side of a good friend. Now, if only Jay were here to enjoy it with us.”

Philomena missed the slight cringe Celestia had at his name. “I doubt that you could talk him into such a thing. It’s something stallions typically don’t do.” she let out a laugh. “I believe they mention something about ‘stallion-ness’ and the lack thereof with sitting around and drinking tea. You could always ask Shining Armor about it, I’m certain he could fill you in on the exact specifics.”

She let out a laugh at Celestia’s words. “Who said that I would give Jay a choice?” she smirked. “What I want, I’ll make sure I get. Even if it does take a little bit of persuasion... I’ll make sure it ends my way.”

Celestia sadly chuckled, catching Philomena’s attention. “Tia… what is bothering you?” she plied, concerned for her friend’s well-being. “You know that you are more than welcome to tell me, even though I may now be different our understanding still stands.” she smiled, reaching out and resting her arm on Celestia’s shoulder.

She simply let out a sigh in reply, setting her cup down on the table. “You will think this silly of me, Philomena, but it has been on my mind for some time, and I have no control over it. However, it is concerning Jason…” she trailed off, a look of concern crossing Philomena’s face.

“Jay? What about?” she asked, confusion evident in her voice.

Celestia raised a hood and shook her head. “No, it is nothing negative, so do not be alarmed by it.” Philomena visibly relaxed, although she kept her hand on Celestia’s shoulder. “It’s a simple matter, really, yet complex beyond belief. At first when he came here, you recall how I nearly fried him, if not for your intervention?” she waited for a reply, continuing after the nod of a head. “Well, he quickly became a close friend to me, the enigma that was this mysterious visitor from another world, tight-lipped about his past.”

Philomena looked at her, attempting to figure out where it was Celestia was heading with her words. “What are you…” she trailed off as she received a sad smile, and she could not help but stand up and wrap her arms around Celestia’s neck.

“Thanks you, Philomena. At first, he was a friend, who confided very little to me. The only thing I knew for certain was that he was deathly afraid of Luna… everything else was a mystery, something fun to learn for myself.” a far-off look came into her eyes as she thought about the recent past. “However, there was one thing that was assured. In time, much like the majority of the world, he would pass on like many I’ve known before him. Because of this, I kept him somewhat at hoof’s length from me, even as we became closer and closer friends.”

The dots connected within her head, and she let out a gasp and released Celestia, looking at her with wide eyes. “Tia, you do not mean…” she asked, trailing off at the end. Philomena received a sad smile in return, causing her eyes to further widen.

“Indeed… silly, really. I understand that he does not find us ponies attractive, but I am a mare much like any other, and I found myself attracted to him quite some time ago. I held my tongue more because of the fact that he was mortal, or so I thought. The fact that he did not find us attractive, well… it’s a barrier that could be overcome, given time.” she sighed, and Philomena simply sat next to her, listening with bated breath.

“Once it was shown that he was actually immortal, or the closest thing to it, I was beyond elated. Although I knew of Jason’s preference, I was willing to see if he would work through it with me. And then… my dear, former student Twilight. Oh, I love her like a daughter, but at times her timing is beyond impeccable. She seems to know exactly when and how to interrupt for maximum efficiency.” she dropped head head into her hooves, closing her eyes for a moment.

Philomena let out a wry chuckle. “Yes, she does indeed have that ability to pick the best time to come to you with an issue. What was it…” she snapped her fingers a few times trying to recall something. “Ah, yes… you were just sitting down with that diplomatic mission when her Want-It Need-It episode occurred. Negotiations were set back for some weeks, if I recall.”

Celestia let out a bark of laughter. “Indeed…” her smile rapidly faded away again. “Still, now there’s no point in raising my feelings, as he will most likely have you, unless I’m mistaken?”

She hugged Celestia again, speaking quietly into her ear. “I understand your pain, Tia. Remember that phoenix with that dragon, Spike? He was one of the first males of my species that I had met in such a long time, and even then, he was entirely way too young for me. That was awkward as could be.” she chuckled a moment, a sad sound. “Just remember, as we said years ago… no matter what may come, I see you as a sister, no matter what form we may take or how much time may pass.”

They separated, and Celestia offered her more tea. “Indeed, Philomena. You helped me get through those years alone with Luna, and for that I can never thank you enough. There’ll always be a spot in my heart for you as well.” she warmly smiled, leaning back in her chair. “Still, it doesn’t make it sting any less… one whom you could consider spending a considerable time of what could very well be eternity with is hard to let go of.”

Philomena sagely nodded, sipping her tea. “We’ll see, Tia, we’ll see…” she wryly smiled, a thought coming to mind. “All that I know is that I have no plans for him to get away. None at all.”

Celestia looked over at her, a brow raised. “...Jason stands no chance against you, does he?”

She simply held her smile, a glint coming into her eyes. “Nope. Not at all!”

The day was waning, the sun low in the horizon as Philomena flew through the air towards the balcony of the room she was sharing with Jason. It had been a busy day for her, and she had managed to accomplish much. With some sadness, her mind drifted back to the conversation with Celestia in the afternoon, and she couldn’t help but shake her head a little.

Carefully she landed on the balcony, barely disturbing the curtains as she lightly touched down. “Jay?” she called out, walking inside. Philomena suppressed a round of laughter as she walked in and saw him on the floor, all limbs sprawled out and a light snore coming from him.

She prodded him in the side, causing him to leap up with a flap of his wings. Jason let out a series of sounds, embarrassment the forefront of them all. Philomena replied with open laughter this time, seeking out his sides with her fingers as she often did. “See? This is what happens when you decide to stick around and mope, Jay! you end up asleep on the floor, and then I have no choice but to ‘tickle’ you!” he squawked and tried getting away, still not liking the fact that she had quickly found out that he was ticklish, and that fingers made the best tools for doing so.

Finally getting away from her deadly appendages, he fluttered up into the corner of the room, settling down on one of the curtain rods and letting out indigent sounds of dismay. Again, she laughed, a musical sound that Jason enjoyed hearing, even if it was directed at him.

Jason turned his head as she changed, then flew down to the bed as he heard her getting comfortable. Philomena was sitting down, her back propped against the headboard as he settled into her lap, stress fleeing his body as their eyes met. “So, besides moping around all day, Jay, what else did you manage to do?”

He let out a series of noises, occasionally making exaggerated motions with his wings. She sat and listened, a smile on her face as he recounted the day’s events to her. “I see. So, you managed to spend a nice amount of time in the air today, that’s good. It really is an amazing feeling, is it not?” he nodded his agreement, punctuating it with a squawk. “Maybe we can work on some other phoenix abilities before you go back to this human form, hm?”

They shared a short peal of laughter together as she began running her hands through his feathers. Closing her eyes, she slowly opened her mouth, clear and crystal tones pouring forth. As with every night, she ended with a song, each one wordless, yet seemingly carrying the world’s weight behind it.

The notes were crisp, floating on the air as Jason closed his eyes and swam in them, lightly swaying his head to the rhythm of the music. The playing of her hand on his feathers felt much like the sensation of fingers running through hair; soothing and calming at once. Coupled with the liquid musical sound provided by Philomena, his eyelids quickly grew heavy as he drifted off to sleep.

The last tone was cut as her mouth closed, a smile coming to Philomena’s face. She looked down at Jason’s still form, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest, carefully lifting him up and putting him to her side without disturbing his slumber.

She got comfortable underneath the covers, letting sleep slowly embrace her. “Just a few more weeks, Jay…”

Author's Note

Some time with Philomena in the spotlight. She's fun to work with, truly is. And that prank against Blueblood... I couldn't resist!

If you value your brain cells, don't read too far into the scene with Philomena and Celestia. It is meant to portray their characters. If you hurt your mind trying to decipher some unknown meaning in it... don't say I didn't warn you.

And now, back to writing. Spoiling y'all, I am. With tomorrow being Saturday, I'm almost assured to have another chapter ready. Two twelve hour shifts, Satuday and Sunday, so tons of time to write. Oh boy.