Farewell to the Moon

Celestia surveyed the reports on her desk, her expression exhausted. She went to take a drink of her tea only to grimace when she discovered it was ice cold. She set the tea back down and focused on her reports. All the scrolls, letters, and papers on her desk were related to the incident near Ponyville, as there had been similar incidents all over Equestria. The sisters had determined that the moon had somehow been fragmented when it had entered the atmosphere.

Needless to say, the princesses had been very busy the past few weeks going all over the region, lifting the lunar fragments back into their rightful place of the sky. Between them, the sisters had recovered almost three quarters of the former Equestrian moon. Luna had looked into it and determined that whoever had managed to seize control from her had also broken the moon apart and slowed down the individual fragments, preventing them from ripping through Equestria. The largest pieces had caused some substantial damage, destroying everything within several hundred miles. Ponyville had been one such area, structures being affected even so far from the site of impact. Not many ponies had died, but quite a few had been injured from the massive shockwave.

The first thing she had made sure of was that her student and her friends were safe. Twilight and the others were being treated for lunar dust exposure along with other who were affected from being in close proximity of the crash sites. While she had been unable to take time to check on Twilight, Spike was sending her a letter every few days to keep her informed of her condition. Breathing a deep sigh, Celestia laid her head down on her desk for several moments. She stared at a scroll for a good five minutes before noticing that it was different than the many ones she already had on her desk. Lifting the scroll with her magic and opening it, she lifted it to eye level and began reading its contents.

To Her Majesty,

Last night, a situation arose. There was an earth pony here who had been admitted for lunar dust exposure. As we were treating the colt, he had a seizure and fell unconscious. While we were checking to make sure he was in fact all right, we saw something that we knew was impossible. His cutie mark had changed. When he had arrived, it was a silver sword signifying he was most likely a guard somewhere. However, his cutie mark now has a black crescent moon inlaid with the sword. We could not get a name out of him and he was becoming increasingly agitated and we were forced to sedate him.

When we checked on him a few hours later, his coat was darkening. He had been a light brown but it had changed to a slate gray color, while his mane was losing its color, gradually turning white. I don’t know what you make of this, Your Majesty, but nothing I know makes a pony change colors naturally. We still have him here at the hospital and are currently running tests to see if we can determine the cause.

Sincerely,

Doctor Crescendo

Celestia laid down the scroll, her mind full of worry. There was several theories running through her mind, each as outlandish as the next. Maybe the moon fragments had crashed hard enough into Equestria that long hidden magic in the ground had been released? Maybe the dust from the lunar surface caused a mutation? Maybe…

The princess shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She knew there was some sinister magic related to the moon. It had been apparent from some creatures that when exposed to lunar rays, they had changed. Her own sister had somehow been affected- wait. No, that couldn’t be it. Nightmare Moon was born because of other reasons, not from the moon itself. She looked at the letter again. Changing colors. That had to be something important, but what was it exactly? Could lunar magic do that? Maybe. Celestia decided to put the letter aside for now and focus on the other reports.

She was still sifting through the reports when the door opened quietly, and hardly spared a glance to Luna, who had just returned from another part of Equestria. “How’d it go?” She asked her younger sister, who even after being cleared of blame, looked distraught. “How extensive was the damage?”

“It crushed the entire town.” Luna replied quietly, looking at her hooves. “There were no survivors.” Celestia remained silent for a time.

“Did you remove the fragment so that they can look for survivors?”

“Sister, the entire town is a crater.” Luna snapped, her eyes flashing in anger. “And I have to live with the fact that I failed to protect the night.” Celestia rose and walked around the desk, sitting next to her sister. She wrapped her forelegs around her and squeezed.

“It's not your fault. You know this-”

“It IS my fault, though.” Luna responded, her entire body shaking softly. “I should have been able to sense it wasn’t under my control. If I had realized it before it was too late, I would have been able to stop it!”

“You don’t know that.” Celestia said gently, stroking her sister’s mane. “There’s no point worrying about what-if’s when we need to worry about what is.”

“But-”

“No buts.” Celestia stated firmly, cutting off Luna. “The ponies of Equestria need us to be strong for them in this time of need. It gives them hope as long as we appear to be strong.”

Luna didn’t say anything, instead sniffing and nodding in agreement. She stood up and was on the verge of leaving when Celestia spoke. “When you get back, I’ll be away for awhile. There was another fragment reported far north, and there is something else I want to investigate. So tonight you’ll have the castle to yourself.”

“Of course, dear sister.” Luna replied, continuing on her way. Celestia watched her sister exit the room before she walked out onto the balcony and surveyed the horizon. She instinctively glanced in Ponyville’s direction. The largest shard had landed there, which was she mistook for the entirety of the moon in her panic. Even landing so far away, the shard had been able to cause damage in Canterlot. Not so fierce as it was in the small pony town, but it was still enough to warrant near panic. She closed her eyes in concentration, her horn glowing as she began lowering the sun towards the horizon, whilst upon the other tower, Luna raised the fractured moon. She had placed countless spells on the moon, making sure it would stay under her power from now on. Celestia had added spells as well to make absolutely sure that the same situation wouldn’t happen again.

The damage had been done, however, and even though everything was being fixed, there were ponies that were blaming the princesses. Celestia watched as the sun disappeared completely; Luna’s moon was rising to replace it. She couldn’t help but sigh at the sight of it - there was still a sizeable chunk gone that was very visible, even without a telescope. It would have looked absolutely ridiculous, looking like somepony had taken a bite out of it, if the situation hadn't been so dire.

Spreading her wings, the princess took flight, heading towards the Canterlot hospital first. The evening wind was light, the trees rustling gently in the night breeze, and everything seemed peaceful after the incident. As she flew closer towards her destination, Celestia heard yelling and a burst of flame lit up an alley for a moment.

She turned her head and looked at the alley that had been full of light a moment ago, seeing a few colts running in different directions, laughing their flanks off. They were probably just playing with a few fireworks, so she smiled and put it out of her mind. Landing in front of the hospital, Celestia folded her wings against her body and approached the entrance. She walked up to the reception desk and hid a smile at the look of panic that came over the mare’s face.

“Um.. C-can I help you, your M-majesty?” She stammered, trying to sound respectful. Celestia offered a small smile in return.

“I received a report about somepony you checked in last night. The report stated that an earth pony was changing colors?”

“Oh, it's about him, is it?” She glanced down at her clipboard, scanning pony names. “He should be on the sixth floor, room thirteen.”

“Thank you very much.” Celestia walked out the front doors and simply flew up to the floor where they had several entrances for pegasi. As soon as she reentered the building, Celestia could see the hospital in its evening activities. It was fairly quiet, even though the rooms were most likely filled with ponies exposed to the toxic dust.

She counted the numbers as she went by before reaching number thirteen. As she was about to knock gently, a voice inside spoke quietly. “Come in.”

Surprised, Celestia opened the door gently and stepped inside. She closed the door with her magic and looked at the colt, who was looking out the window. His mane was silvery white, almost snow colored while his coat was a dark ash grey. “Well met, your Majesty.” He glanced over his shoulder at her, before returning his gaze outside.

“Well met…?”

“My name isn’t important, your Highness.” She found herself trying to understand his appearance. If she didn’t know any better, Celestia would have taken him for a mare the way he was built. His body was built like a female pegasus, lithe and strong, although he was lacking wings. A quick glance at his cutie mark proved the report correct. A sword and a crescent moon.

“Do you know why I’m here?” Celestia asked, remembering why she had come. The colt sighed, turning his eyes on her. They were a bit disturbing, in her opinion - a bright golden hue, the color almost like the sun, but that wasn’t what bothered her. It was the cold look of a methodical predator that resided there, unnatural in the face of a pony.

“I’m sure you have your reasons. Although, I can’t say I don’t have suspicions as to why you decided to visit me.” He grinned, his teeth an eerie white, though Celestia was unfazed. She had suspicions of her own - the only beings that could change their colors at will were changelings, but she was in no mood for that kind of mischief right now.

“Tell me your name, please.” Celestia replied, her tone serious. Her horn glowed briefly, illuminating the room. The colt’s grin disappeared and turned into a look of apprehension. She took a step towards him, focusing until she released her spell towards him, the light washing over his form. Watching intently, she waited for the spell to finish. It was designed to force changelings to reveal their true form, while normal ponies would be unharmed.

As the light faded, Celestia took in the pony's appearance. He was the same as ever, looking as if he was on the verge of rage. He scowled at her and she noticed that two of his teeth were slightly elongated. “What is-”

“Get out.” He whispered at her, his tone deathly calm. The colt turned away, his silvery white mane swishing behind him. “I’m not a changeling. All you had to do is ask.”

Celestia watched him for another moment, before turning to leave. She knew she shouldn’t have done that, but it was too soon after Queen Chrysalis to not have suspicions about those ponies who changed without explanation. She’d be keeping an eye on him. As she walked out, Celestia was bumped into by a hurrying nurse. The mare didn’t even spare a glance at her, so she followed the nurse as she ran towards where another colt was being brought in on a stretcher. The colt was covered in terrible burns, the flesh charred, mostly along his face and shoulder. The princess covered her nose as he was brought past, the smell of burnt flesh causing other ponies to retch. Celestia turned to the nearest nurse, who was frantically scribbling on her clipboard. “What happened to that colt?”

“We’re not sure. We found him an alley not too far in this condition. Somepony probably did this to him and dumped him. There are trace amounts of magic, but I’m willing to bet it was some unicorn who attacked him.” Celestia thought back to her flight over. She could have sworn she hadn’t seen any unicorns run out of there. She put the matter out of her head for now.

“I need to you to keep an eye on the earth pony in room thirteen.”

“Mr. Crescent?” The nurse asked, her mane slightly unkempt. Jotting another note on her clipboard, she nodded. “I’ll make sure to do that.”

“Wait, you know his name?” Celestia questioned, stopping her. “What is his name?”

“All he gave us was Crescent.” She blushed slightly. “He can be very... charismatic when he’s not sulking.”

“Thank you, and I am terribly sorry, but I have one more question. Do you know where I might find Twilight Sparkle?”

“She’s in room eight.” The nurse pointed, gesturing with the pen held in her magic. “She’s been having some problems with her treatment. Her body was strained when she protected herself from the fall from her balcony, and she's having trouble healing.”

“Thank you.” Celestia replied, turning towards the room.

* * *

Crescent listened to the princess leave, his ears pricking up at the sound of the door closing softly. He glanced over his shoulder, to make sure he was alone. The thirst in his throat hadn’t subsided but had lessened quite a bit, so he picked up his glass of water and downed it, the water soothing his throat temporarily before the burning returned.

“What in the name Tartarus is going on?” He muttered, examining his reflection in the mirror. His normal tan coat was now a dark ash, and his mane... Growling, he kicked the mirror causing it to shatter. The glass fell to the ground in large shards, breaking apart further, his fragmented reflection staring back at him. The door flew open, and the doctor was there with two nurses.

“Mr. Crescent, are you alright?” The doctor had that overly friendly tone again. Crescent watched the nurse who was levitating a syringe.

“I’m calm.” Crescent stated, his voice even and calm. “I just… lost my temper.” He sat down and looked down at his hooves. “It's just I don’t know what’s going on anymore. What do you expect me to do? The world is falling apart. The moon crashes into the world, everypony gets poisoned, and now my mane has changed colors. What do you expect of me?!!”

The nurse flinched at his outburst, her magic wavering, and Doctor Crescendo placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Mr. Crescent, we’re just going to give you a little something to calm you down.”

“Don’t bucking touch me.” Crescent stood back up, his tone harsh. The nurse with the syringe tried to edge closer to him. The doctor took a step forward, his voice reassuring and fatherly.

“Come on, Crescent. It’ll help you sleep.” He said, slowly approaching his patient. “It's going to be alright.”

“You can go to-” His retort was cut off as the syringe was pushed into his neck. The earth pony jerked back, the needle yanked out of the nurse’s grasp. The doctor and her took a step back in fear at his sudden change in his temperament, though prepared to restrain him if neccessary.  “Celestia damn you.” He growled, wishing more than anything that he was home. The other nurse steadied him, trying to guide him into the bed.

Then, suddenly, there was a terrible feeling of being crushed. It was blacker than night, he couldn’t see anything. His entire body was being squeezed, he couldn’t breathe, but he could still feel the nurse's foreleg on his own. Then it was over, and he was laying on his house floor, panting. There was some blood spilling out of his mouth, but he felt fine otherwise. He heard a groan and he raised his head, gazing at the nurse. She was missing patches of her skin, as cleanly as if they were cut out with a scalpel, so he rolled over and tried to crawl over to her, to be sure she was alright.

What the buck was going on? He thought, the thirst in his throat burning worse than ever as he looked down at her, his head spinning. She tried to speak but her voice was nothing more than a gurgle. “What the hay did I do?” Crescent whispered, his limbs protesting as he tried to move. After a quick glance down, he realized he was missing chunks of his own skin, though the pain was little more than a dull ache. He looked at her wounds, the blood trickling down in a steadily growing pool. The thirst in his throat suddenly became unbearable and he felt this urge to drink something. Anything at all, even- “What is wrong with me?”

“Please…”

“Hold on… I’ll get you help…”  Crescent stumbled to his hooves, as he considered the irony that they had just disappeared from a hospital and she needed one at the moment. He leaned down and tried to pull her onto his back, without success. His limbs gave out right then, and he slipped to his knees next to her, some of her blood splashing further up onto his limbs, head resting against her side as he gathered his strength. He just wanted something to drink, something to eat - it felt as though he were starving, and there was a smell in the air that was making it worse. Crescent turned his head to get up, hearing the nurse sob in pain, her blood smearing on his muzzle, trickling downwards.

When it dribbled into his mouth, he was about to spit it out, until it hit his tongue. It tasted sweeter than anything else had ever had, and he felt something in him stir. Lowering his head next to hers, he began lapping at the puddle of blood, and he couldn't bring himself to stop. All he wanted was more. More of this pony’s blood. When he sat up, he noticed the nurse looking him in the eyes. “Please…” She managed to whisper again, blood bubbling past her lips. Crescent ignored her weak pleas, lost in instinctual desire, leaning down and biting at the wound on her neck. The nurse gasped in pain as blood began to freely flow, and he drank it greedily, only wanting more. He closed his eyes, savoring the taste as it flowed down his throat. She shuddered under him, trying weakly to dislodge him, though he placed his hooves on her and bit her harder. The blood was slowing down considerably, and all she could manage as her life left her was a soft mewling, struggles slowly stopping. He pulled away from her, the blood dripping from his muzzle, panting heavily. It was then he actually looked at the immobile pony under him. She wasn’t moving.

Crescent held his ear to her mouth, listening for a breath. Silence. He looked down at her, his heart thundering in fear. He had killed her. No, not only had he killed her, Crescent had drank her blood, and the thought sickened him. He sat back, looking at her body for some time. This nurse had been helping him, and yet he had just killed her. Killed her by drinking her blood, no less. He shook his head and looked down at his foreleg, where the skin was mending itself at a prodigious rate. After a few moments, the wound had completely healed.

“What the buck…?” He whispered, raising his hoof to eye level. He heard hoof steps and looked up the stairs. His sister stood there, looking down at him a moment before she descended the stairs, watching the body as if waiting for her to run. Crescent waited for her to say something. When she reached the ground floor, she approached him and wrapped him into a tight hug. He stood there confused as she squeezed him tightly.

“I knew you were like the rest of us.”

* * *

The dark figure pushed his knight to another square, moving his opponent's pawn off the board. His opponent said nothing, but grimaced slightly. “I expect everything is proceeding well?” The first one asked, an unfamiliar accent accompanying his words.

“Of course, Master.” The other pony pushed his castle forward, only for it to be immediately captured. He held back a scowl. “Excellent move, sir.”

“Has the testing begun?” The first pony replied, ignoring his companion’s statement. “That is why you’re here, correct?”

“Yes, Master. Our ponies are working on the formula using your blood samples right now. We have already begun mixing it with the lunar magic.” He swallowed, a bead of sweat running down his neck. He moved his knight to counter his opponents castle. “However, there is something else…”

“What is it?” Chess Master asked, leaning forward to better see the board.

“The magic that was released. It has begun manifesting itself in the general population. We had a report of an earth pony named Crescent Blade vanishing from the Canterlot Hospital an hour ago.”

“That’s good.” The Chess Master smiled. “A game played solely by one is a game that is not enjoyed. Keep an eye on that Crescent Blade. See if he manages to become something worthy of note.”

“Very well, Master.” He watched as his Master placed his Queen. “You are not concerned?”

“I have no need to be. Checkmate.”

He felt himself breathe a sigh of relief. “You are quite good at this game. I wonder if you’ll be just as good at your new one.”

“It’s the same pieces and rules, it's simply a matter of finding somepony worthy of playing."