Farewell to the Moon

by Zaki

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Adventure
Length: 18725

Lunar collision results in a new order of ponies arising from the ashes of the old.

The moon is shattered by an unknown entity and the princesses are unable to stop the pieces from raining down on the land , the world finds itself on the brink of another era as the long hidden magic on the lunar surface is released, binding itself to the races of Equestria. The world's balance of power begins to shift and waver as other powerful groups begin to arise.

But who caused the shatter in the first place? Who is going to even attempt to discover who did it?

Verity, the unicorn with a broken horn and a shady past? Crescent, the son of a Lunar Guard and a Royal Guard? Nyx, the changeling who was rejected from her own family? Or will it be Nova, the local detective of Canterlot?

This story's direction will be dictated by the readers. Choose wisely, because other characters may not survive on your choices.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-10-04 08:50:15 UTC

Prologue

It was another soft quiet night in Ponyville, calm and serene with the occasional pony on a midnight walk through the sleeping town, hoof steps clopping softly throughout the streets. The massive tree library was still lit up on the inside, the unicorn who lived inside was doing her usual nighttime studying.

“Twilight?”

The purple unicorn gave no indication that she had heard. Spike sighed, and continued cleaning up the other books. He glanced at Owlicious, who was on his perch watching Twilight continue her reading, the quill she held ensconced in her magic occasionally making a note on the parchment that sat beside her.

“Twilight?” Spike asked again, not fully expecting her to answer.

“What is it, Spike?” She replied, sparing him a quick glance before returning to her book. He glanced at the notes she was making, it looked like some complicated chart involving the cycles of the moon, though he didn’t dare ask what it was for. It was late and he was afraid she would go on a long tangent about it, eventually forgetting what they were talking about in the first place.

“I just wanted you to know that I finished putting those books on magical theory away and that I was going to head up to bed. It's getting pretty late.”

“Oh, alright.” She stood up and with a burst of purple magic, Twilight rolled up the parchment and floated the book back to join the other volumes on lunar movements.

“Why are you even reading those books?” Spike asked, as she followed him upstairs,  the seven thick volumes floating behind her.  “I mean, the moon doesn’t move by itself. That‘s Princess Luna‘s job.”

“I know, Spike.” She replied with a smile. “It's still interesting to read the works of other ponies who had different theories on how the moon moved.”

Spike shrugged. “I guess so. I just don’t see what you like about those old books.”

Twilight allowed herself a soft smile, shaking her head as she passed Spike, heading towards the balcony to look up at the sky. The moon looked even bigger tonight, which had been worrying her. The moon had been growing steadily larger each night, almost as if it were falling towards Ponyville. She had never seen anything like it, not even in storybooks and old fables, although there was a brief section on how the moon appeared to be various sizes in different regions of Equestria.

Even now, Twilight could have sworn that it was growing larger. She hadn’t sent a message to Princess Celestia, thinking she was stressing herself out over something that didn’t exist. The real reason she had been researching lunar cycles was trying to determine what caused the moon to appear larger over the course of a few weeks. But now… she was starting to feel real worry over the matter.

I’ll send a letter to the princess first thing in the morning, Twilight decided, walking over to the telescope that had been being used to monitor the moon’s progress over the past week. She peered into the eyepiece and was shocked at how much detail she could see on the lunar surface. The telescope wasn’t amazingly powerful, but it was still able to see individual rocks on the surface at this point.

As Twilight pulled away from the telescope,  she felt the ground begin to tremble. It was soft at first and began growing progressively more violentat an alarming rate. “What in the name of Celestia?” She muttered, looking around for the disturbance, expecting another stampede of bunnies. She peered over the edge of the balcony, almost being shaken off due to the tremors. There was nothing but other sleepy ponies emerging from their houses to investigate the source of the rumbling earth.

Twilight could hear Pinkie Pie yelling, “Oooh, is this a pajama party?! Why wasn’t I told?! Why haven’t we done this before?!” She was bouncing around, oblivious to the tremors that were shaking Ponyville apart. The dim moonlight suddenly grew much brighter, almost as bright as daylight, causing ponies to yell and cover their faces. Twilight turned to look at the moon and squinted, her eyes instinctively widening in horror. The lunar surface was glowing orange which could only mean one thing: the moon was actually falling. And it was headed right towards Ponyville.

“Oh no…” Twilight whispered, entranced by the glowing surface, floating books thudding to the ground.

     * * *

Celestia woke with a start at the castle shaking violently, almost as if it were under attack. She bolted out of bed, and was on her balcony in an instant, her eyes scanning for the problem. What she wasn’t expecting was to see what looked like the moon embedded in the earth on the horizon, no longer in the sky.

“Guards!” She commanded, and they were there instantly, their expressions unreadable. “I need you to investigate… that right away. And find Princess Luna. I need to see her immediately!”  The two guards nodded once, and took off, disappearing quickly. Celestia felt her stomach tighten in worry. The moon, or whatever that thing was, wouldn’t just fall out of the night sky for no reason. Luna was the one in charge of the moon, and it was her duty to guard the night. A rustling of wings informed her that one of her guards had already returned.

“Yes?” She asked, not turning around. “I’m assuming you have found Luna?”

“We have.” He replied, his expression bordering indifference. “She was found down in the gardens, in hysterics. She is claiming that she lost control of the moon and couldn’t regain power over it.”

“So the moon crashed into Equestria?” Celestia felt her mind begin to race. Lunar dust was highly toxic and if the moon had actually crashed, millions and millions of dust particles would be entering the atmosphere of Equestria. Thousands of pony lives were at risk now. “Where did the moon hit?”

“A few miles away from Ponyville. The city is devastated but there are survivors. It seems that the shockwave mostly destroyed building. The survivors are being evacuated right now, and are being brought to Canterlot on trains.”

“I want all of the residents away from the site as soon as possible. The dust from the moon is very dangerous to breathe, so you’ll need to hurry.” Celestia ordered, spreading her wings. “I must speak with my sister.”

     *   *    *

Twilight coughed, her entire body was hurting and it hurt to breathe. She felt herself being carried, and opened  her eyes, but everything was crimson tinted. She closed her eyes again, trying to calm her heart. She heard someone calling her name and she tried to answer weakly, her voice rasping slightly.

“Twilight!” She heard Rainbow Dash calling her name as if from far away and she opened one of her eyes weakly, the image of her friend swimming in front of her. “Are you ok?” Her voice was echoing and shifting wildly all over the place.

“What happened…?” She managed to whisper, Rainbow having to lean in to hear her.

“The moon crashed outside of Ponyville.” Rainbow replied, her voice shaking. “I was over the Everfree forest when I saw it. The shockwave was huge! It knocked me out of the sky even though I was really far away, but… Twilight?”

The two stallions carrying Twilight managed to get her to the train and laid her in a bed where others were helping ponies with varying degrees of injuries. Rainbow Dash paced nervously, keeping an attentive eye on Twilight. Her breathing was a bit irregular and her mane was black in some areas, but she seemed to be alright.

Rainbow heard coughing followed by several ponies entering the compartment. It was Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. Pinkie’s mane was down and flat, much like the time when Rainbow had seen her act insane. She was supporting Fluttershy, who was silently weeping.

“Are you guys alright?” Dash asked, trying to keep her voice even. “I didn’t know if you guys had been hurt.”

“We’re fine.” Rarity replied, wiping her brow. “Although I can’t say the same for the rest of the town, it's completely devastated.”

“Yeah, Sweet Apple Acres got hit pretty hard too.” Applejack coughed, her hat singed in several places. “Poor old Granny Smith is with them doctor ponies. Her old heart ain‘t what it used to be.”

“What’s wrong with Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked, as ponies outside began yelling for the train to move. The doors on the outside of the train were closed and an all clear shout was given.

The others shifted uncomfortably. “The animals… They didn’t make it.”  Fluttershy buried her face into Pinkie’s mane and sobbed harder than ever, her whole body shaking. Pinkie wrapped her legs around Fluttershy, still not saying a word.

“How’s Twilight?” Applejack asked, walking over to the unicorn. “She alright?”

“I don’t know.” Rainbow Dash admitted, her worry showing on her face. “They pulled her out from under the balcony, but they said she didn’t have any serious injuries. I’m guessing she protected herself with magic.”

“What happened?” Rarity asked, to no one in particular. Everyone shared an uneasy glance, unable to answer.

* *    *

“What happened?!” Celestia demanded, her voice filled with fury. Luna looked horrible, her mane wasn’t waving with magic like it usually did, instead it hung lank around her neck. She was crying, but managed to still look her sister in the face.

“I..I lost control.” She whispered. “It’s never happened before. I-It felt like someone else was controlling the moon. I tried my hardest to stop it, b-but it didn’t even slow down.”

She broke down into hysterics again, sobbing into her hooves. Celestia didn’t know how to even respond to that, her mind reeling at the thought of Luna being unable to even to stop the moon from falling into Equestria. There would have to be someone incredibly powerful out there who could manipulate the moon, let alone wrest control from one of the Princesses.

“We’ll worry about blame later.” Celestia told her, embracing her sibling. “Right now, the most important thing is putting the moon back where it belongs.”

Luna nodded dumbly, sniffing. Her eyes were bloodshot and watery but when she spoke, her voice was steady. “I’ll need your help to  raise the moon and put it back.” Celestia nodded, spreading her wings. Luna clambered uneasily to her feet, trying to calm her hiccups. She followed her big sister into the sky, headed towards the moon.

We'll set this right, Celestia thought. Then we'll find the one responsible.

* * *

In the darkness, a figure watched the two princesses fly towards the moon. They didn’t see him, nor did he wish them to. The plan had gone off without a hitch, even with Luna’s magic trying to stop the moon. His Master’s wishes were coming to fruition and soon Equestria would know his name.

Chapter 1: Crescent

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."

Chapter 2: Muffins

Far from Canterlot, in a dark and cursed place where nopony dared go if they wished to live, other inhabitants were reacting to the incident with the Equestrian moon. The Queen of the Changelings paced her chamber, her thoughts on her horde, her children. They were already weakened from being denied food from Canterlot, and the moon crashing didn’t help matters much either.

Chrysalis sighed, her hoof steps echoing off the dimly lit chamber. After such a time in Canterlot, so full of comforts, the chamber now seemed abysmally bleak in comparison. That familiar anger begin to return over  that infernal unicorn who had figured out she wasn’t the real Cadence - the mere thought of the purple unicorn causing her horn to light up with unstable magic. She stomped her hoof and forced herself to relax, taking deep slow breaths to calm herself. Closing her eyes, she brought up the old memory of her former lover. Oh, how long ago that had been, and she could just lose herself in his eyes before-

The sound of hoof steps yanked her out of her nostalgia, and Chrysalis quickly composed herself for her returning scouts.

As she opened her eyes, three changelings entered the chamber, all disguised as various ponies. The changeling on the left was in the form of a tan stallion with a basket on his flank and the one in the middle was disguised as a bright yellow Pegasus with a lightning bolt for her cutie mark. Chrysalis felt a scowl appear at that last changeling, who was prancing happily around the room, humming something contentedly. Her eyes were closed in happiness, the magenta mane bouncing around in her wake, her yellowish-white coat gleaming in the dim light.

Chrysalis stomped her foreleg on the ground, scaring the prancing changeling back into position. The three changelings stood at attention, rigid and unmoving. She smirked at them and gestured for the three of them to begin their reports. As she settled herself into her throne, the first scout began, and she listened attentively as he described the situation in Manehatten,

Everything was beginning to devolve into chaos, ponies with abilities fighting with each other and the rule of the Equestrian government. It was dangerous to walk the streets at night now that so many ponies possessed abilities. There were a few intellectuals who were proposing theories that the dark moon magic had been released from the crash into Equestria, and had somehow bound itself to the denizens.

This isn’t good, Chrysalis thought. If the ponies are busy fighting each other, then what will I sustain my horde upon?

A few moments passed before a sound interrupted her thoughts. She looked up and saw that the same prancing changeling from before was eating a muffin. Her two siblings were staring at her with horror, but her eyes were closed in pleasure, chewing happily. Chrysalis stood up and  growled at her. “What are you doing?”

The changeling looked startled and tried to answer. “M'eatin uh maffin.”

Chrysalis’s gaze alone was enough to cause any normal being to want to curl up and die. The changeling she had her gaze fixed upon at the moment, however, seemed oblivious  Stuffing the entire muffin in her mouth, she grinned at her Queen through a full mouth, crumbs dropping onto the floor. Swallowing with difficulty, she spoke again.

“I was eating a muffin!” She smiled, her fangs gleaming. The disguised forms of the other two wavered and disappeared as they backed away from the other. Chrysalis paid no heed, looming over the pale mare. Her grin faded a little at the severity of the look from her Queen.

“Where did you get this muffin from?” Chrysalis’ tone was deathly quiet yet managed to echo through the small cavern. “Who gave it to you?”

The changeling paused for a moment, putting a hoof up to her mouth. “She was a grey pegasus, and very nice. Oh, I know!”

With a burst of green flame, she shifted to a perfect replica of the grey pony, with yellow eyes looking in different directions. “This is what she looked like!”

Chrysalis groaned, holding her face in her hoof. Her patience was running thin extremely quick this week on this particular changeling. This one had been a first hand victim of the psychotic pink pony who had been in charge of the decorations at the wedding - her antics had defied all logic of the pony world. Chrysalis shook her head, putting all immediate little problems aside.

“Forget the muffin giving pony!” She snapped, the grey pony flinching. “I want your report on the Canterlot situation.”

“Oh, ok.” She sat down and took a deep breath. “The princesses are busy dealing with the moon fragments, and there are ponies beginning to show signs of special abilities. The first case reported was of an earth pony named Crescent. He was in the hospital being treated for dust exposure but halfway through the second night, he just disappeared with a nurse in tow. I looked into it and it turns out his family lives in a manor on the edge of the city but I didn’t have time to investigate the building completely. The city still seems to be under strict guard but I was able to get in pretty easily along with the refugees. The problem is that once you are in the hospital, the nurse ponies start looking up your information.”

Chrysalis blinked, impressed with the knowledge given to her.  The changeling looked pleased with her- itself, Chrysalis corrected mentally.  This particular changeling always seemed to have a semblance of sentience when compared to the other drones under her control, and Chrysalis on more than one occasion had to strengthen her telepathic hold on her.

“Anything else I should know of?” Chrysalis asked, examining her hoof. More chewing brought her attention to the childish changeling. She had somehow produced more muffins and was eating them again.

“Tos ponees tat ‘ere ah eh-”

“Swallow before you address your Queen!!” Chrysalis yelled, her temper instantly fanned back into an inferno. She found herself on her feet and inches away from the source of her anger. The changeling swallowed, her form wavering in fear, and she tried to smile but stopped at the look received.

“Um… the Elements of Harmony are in Canterlot…” She murmured, sinking lower at the piercing glare of the Changeling Queen.

“Are they now…?” Chrysalis asked, turning away and walking towards her throne deep in thought. “Interesting…”

Hiding a grin, the mischievous changeling pulled out her last muffin and was about to take a bite before a burst of green magic turned it to ash. She froze, on the verge of tears, and bent down to examine the small pile of ash.  As she was about to sift through the pitiful pile for any hope of a surviving morsel, a blackened hoof scattered it everywhere.

“Focus, you fool!” Chrysalis growled at her, the changeling squealing and hiding under her hooves. She felt her eye twitch at the effort of not hitting her, but she managed to restrain herself before taking a deep breath. The Queen looked at the other two changelings who had assumed their natural forms, and back at the cowering pony changeling. Chrysalis sighed and looked at the two others once more.

“I need you two to investigate Canterlot and find where the Elements of Harmony are being held.” Chrysalis ignored the changeling who looked up from under her hooves as her Queen addressed her siblings. “If we can capture at least one and learn everything about them, we will be able to infiltrate the castle again, and perhaps take Celestia once more. Time is of the essence because even though Shining Armor’s love is still strong inside me for now, it is growing weaker with each passing moment. Therefore, if we can imitate the Elements of Harmony, we can feed off their love for each other. It won’t be as strong as normal love, but it will suffice for the time being.”

She stomped her hoof again. “Go and hurry.”

The two changelings nodded and shifted to pegasi before turning to leave. The changeling on the floor made to follow before Chrysalis’ voice stopped her. “Wait, little one.”

Looking fearfully over her shoulder, the changeling flinched as Chrysalis came closer. She covered her face again as her Queen raised her foreleg. The next thing she knew, the changeling found herself in a tight embrace, the queen stroking the transformed creature’s mane.

“You’ve been around those ponies too long.” Chrysalis murmured, her tone almost motherly. “All the energy has changed you. Especially being exposed to that pink one.”

The changeling’s mind instantly flashed back to the battle with the Elements of Harmony, when she and her siblings had transformed to fight them, but had been surprised by their tenacity. She herself had stood face to face with the pink pony. After being told repeatedly to mimic her form, the changeling had  simply given in to shut her up, only to be blasted aside moments later by the same pony, who was using her unicorn friend to fire magic at the horde. The changeling had been hit hard and had remained unconscious for the rest of the invasion, which she found later had failed.

The changeling snuggled closer to Chrysalis, enjoying the embrace of her Queen. Chrysalis pressed her horn to the changelings head and a soft green glow issued from it, bathing her in a green aura. The changeling pulled away and hissed, rubbing its head with its hooves from the strange sensation. The Queen watched with worry, it had been many years since she had cast that particular spell. She used it only very rarely, the last time being nearly three centuries ago.

Every so often, there were changelings who became too pony-like for the horde, and began to disrupt the activities that were needed to survive. While it would have been easier to eliminate the weak link, Chrysalis saw the entire horde as her children, and couldn’t bring herself to end the existence of even one of them.

The changeling paused its frantic movements and looked at Chrysalis with wonder. She hugged the young changeling once more, feeling emotions of this creature slowly stirring to life. It was afraid of being free. All its life had been to serve her Queen, and now she had no purpose.

“I’m sorry.” Chrysalis whispered, releasing the free changeling. “But you have become too much like the ponies for me to allow you to remain with us.” The changeling shook her head, recalling very little of her Horde memories. All she had was her own. She looked at Chrysalis, her pony form shaking with fear and uncertainty.

The Queen placed her hoof on the changeling’s head. “You have your freedom to do as you please and to pursue all the muffins you want.“ The changeling’s eyes lit up at that, and the shakes faded. “The only I have left to give you is a name.” Chrysalis pondered names, few of them appropriate. After a few moments, she smiled and spoke once more. “Ophelia.”

A tilt of her head in confusion, as the changeling repeated the name in her mind. Ophelia? Yes, she liked that.  “Ophelia…” She murmured, her voice surprisingly soft for a changeling.

Chrysalis smiled sadly. “Go. Enjoy the world and be free. You don’t belong with the Horde anymore.”

She gently nudged Ophelia, who took a few steps away before looking back at her former Queen. Chrysalis smiled again and gestured towards the exit. The changeling glanced at the door, before running back and hugging the Queen around the middle one last time. With one final look, Ophelia ran from the chamber.

Listening to her freed child run and take flight, Chrysalis focused on removing her memory of this place as she flew off towards Canterlot. Ophelia couldn’t remember the Changeling Queen’s plans for Canterlot, or how she had gotten the information.

When the aura of Ophelia finally vanished from the Hive, Chrysalis felt a sigh escape her. It was always difficult to lose a child.

* * *

Ophelia felt pure joy in her heart. She was free to do whatever she wanted now! But… what was she going to do? The only thing she knew was hiding her form and blending with ponies.

Maybe… she could ask friendly ponies what she could do with her life? Surely somepony could point her in the right direction?

She nodded at that, her form shifting unconsciously to a white pegasus with a light red mane. After a few moments of pondering, Ophelia shifted her cutie mark to resemble a puzzle piece. That would suit her for now. At least until she found where she belonged in this world.

*Author's notes!*

Apologies for the delay but there will be TWO more chapters released the following days. I hope you accept this as an apology for the one month hiatus.

My editor ended up stabbing herself in the hand and was unable to write her chapter up for a very long time. Again, my sincerest apologies. I know it seems slow at the moment but things will begin to pick up soon, I promise!

Cheers.

Zaki

Chapter 3: Unravel

Crescent watched their old butler, Regal, effortlessly pull the nurse pony onto his back before making to leave the ballroom. Crescent’s sister glanced at him, putting a hoof on his shoulder.

“It’s going to be okay, big brother.” Amethyst said, her magenta eyes full of sadness. Her voice shook a bit as she spoke. “We’ll get through this.”

“So many have died already.” Crescent replied, his voice flat and emotionless. He watched Regal’s disappearing form before speaking again. “And I just added to that number.”

“Crescent.” His sister said, grabbing his muzzle with her hoof. “You’re still alive, and that is what is important at the moment. That also means you must have changed like the rest of us.”

“Changed..?”

“Yes, changed.” Amethyst sat back for a moment and sighed, brushing her mane out of her face.. “Father has a few ideas on what happened, and he hasn’t told us what he thinks. You know the way Regal is, so he’s already shared his theory. A few days after the moon crashed into Equestria, we all got tremendously ill. You were traveling at the time and didn’t return to Equestria till a few days ago so when you became ill, they put you in the hospital, am I right?”

Crescent looked at her with a raised eyebrow, his eyes betraying nothing. “That’s right… And you’re saying you might know the reason I look the way I do now?”

Amethyst began to walk in the direction their butler had headed. “Regal can explain it far better than I can.”

Crescent walked in silence, his thoughts turning inward. Why had he drank the nurse's blood? Why had he enjoyed it? It was barbaric, something from a nightmare. It was a tale told by ponies to scare their children into behaving. But why had something from myth and legend resemble his condition?

Amethyst pushed open the garden door and followed the hoof prints of Regal out where the rosebushes were scarce. There were three graves dug and two were already filled with fresh dirt. Crescent looked at the third, and felt the guilt wrench at his heart.

“Because of the sickness,” his sister explain. “We’ve been given permission to bury our own loved ones because of how many have died. I don’t think father will mind us burying her as well.”

She nodded to Regal, who began to lower the nurse, who was now wrapped in a white sheet, into the grave, being careful not to bump her on the way down.

“No.”

Amethyst and Regal both looked at Crescent in surprise. “What?”

“Don’t bury her here.” Crescent replied, his voice shaking. “It was my fault she died and she needs to be returned to her family. Regal, I need you to take her back to the hospital and leave her there in my room, but you can’t be seen. Can you do that?”

“Of course, sir.” Regal bowed his head, his spectacles glinting in the moonlight. He picked up the nurse again, slung her on his back, and with a low bow, vanished into the night.

“What’s wrong with you?!” She snapped, hitting his shoulder hard. He barely felt the impact and glanced at her, puzzled.

“I don’t understand…”

“Why would you return her body? Now all of the ponies there will think you killed somepony you didn’t know and everypony will be looking for you. You’ll be a wanted pony!”

“At the very least, my conscience will be clearer. I couldn’t let a fellow pony just be lost in a back garden.” He raised his head and stared at the moon, his yellow eyes reflecting the image. “Who in our family died?”

Amethyst hesitated before answering. “Ruby and Mother.”

It hurt to hear that. On the outside, he didn’t show a reaction due to his years of emotional control, but on the inside, it felt like something had been torn out. He glanced at his younger sister and without being prompted, she sat next to him and embraced him. They sat like that for awhile, observing the stars.

“Come on.” She said softly in his ear. Her breath tickled and he flicked his ear in annoyance. “You need to eat.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to…” He muttered, following her inside and into their extravagant kitchen. Observing it with keen distaste, Crescent glanced over all the unnecessary bits being spent on trivialities and comforts. He preferred things to be simple and functioning, rather than to show off how much money he had. The only thing that usually showed his rich background was the way he spoke.

“Crescent, you need to eat something.” Amethyst murmured, pushing a bowl of hot soup towards him. He shoved the bowl away, eyes flashing in anger.

“You said something about abilities?” He asked, fighting the urge to vomit from the smell of the carrot soup. Taking a deep breath, Crescent tried to grasp at the knowledge being offered to him in order to ignore his present condition.

“Well, Regal thinks that the moon has, or had, ancient magic inside of it, sealed away when the ponies of old raised it for the first time. So when whoever caused the moon to crash into Equestria, the impact made all that magic break free, and let itself out to attach to all of the ponies here in this land.”

“That’s it?” He asked, standing up. “That’s his brilliant theory?”

“It’s not much, sir. But, it’s better than nothing.” A voice edged with wisdom carried its way into the room as the old butler entered. Crescent noticed that after all these years, Regal still had that smooth arrogance about him when he spoke.

“As for the reports beginning to pour into the castle of the princesses, it’d be safe to assume that your own abilities, Master Crescent, are not that far out of the ordinary.”

“Reports?” Crescent glanced at his sister, who looked just as surprised. The old butler smiled, stepping closer.

“Your father may be retired from the Royal Guard, young sir, but I assure you he still has many connections to them. Apparently, your own abilities manifesting was just the first documented here in Canterlot, but not the first throughout Equestria. The whole royal message service is a bit out of control at the moment so letters are taking longer than normal to reach Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”

“Wait…” Crescent spoke, raising a hoof. “Documented? Do you mean my coat and mane changing colors?”

“No, sir. That is only a part of it.” Regal adjusted his bowtie and glasses before continuing. “The actual report is that you vanished without a trace, so you are also capable of teleportation, which is unheard of in earth ponies.”

Crescent looked down at his hooves, thinking furiously. Teleportation? Drinking blood? What does this mean? he thought, a headache beginning to form.

“Master Crescent, you have had a very stressing night, I do believe you need some sleep.”

“No, he doesn’t.” A deep voice said clearly, snuffing out the words of the elderly butler. A silvery-white stallion, bigger than Crescent, entered the room, the cutie mark of a shield on his flank. Amethyst seemed to shrink behind her brother, his presence immediately silencing the two siblings, and Crescent felt that old anger beginning to appear.

“Where have you been? A disaster like this strikes and it takes you three weeks to return home?! Do you not even care that our family has been hit so hard?!” Silver Shield demanded, although retired, his old guard intimidation tone came forward, scaring Amethyst and angering Crescent further. “After all this time, I would expect you to have grown up a little.”

“I’ve been away, I didn’t even hear about the moon until a few days ago when I got back to Equestria.” Crescent snapped, his tone harsher than he meant to use. “I don’t know why I bothered, seeing as you haven’t changed from when I left.”

“You will not speak to me that way!”

“My mother is dead, as well as my brother, and you want to lecture me on not being around and on proper etiquette? You care about our family more than the rest of Equestria? We are lucky so many of us are still alive! Some of the cities were entirely destroyed and you are so hung up on your damn pride that you can’t accept that I’m back and it’s not because of you!”

Silver remained silent as Crescent continued. “When I found out what happened, I came for my family. My sister, my brother, and my mother were the reason I returned. Not you.”

After that, the kitchen was silent for a few minutes, Regal looking back and forth between the two stallions. Silver sighed and leaned on the counter, suddenly seeming much older. “Your mother died because she refused to leave the house. I tried to convince her to go and get treated but she wanted to stay and die in her home. Your brother… your brother killed himself out of fear that the world was ending, nothing more. All that’s left is the three of us, and I can’t let old grudges remain if we are to stay together.”

Crescent’s eyes narrowed at his answer and he didn’t answer. Why the sudden change in mood? Silver sensed his hesitation and looked at his eldest son.

“Son, please. I can’t be left here alone. Please grant an old stallion this?”

Glancing at his sister, Crescent motioned towards the door. Amethyst nodded and walked out followed shortly by Regal, who looked worried at the expressions on their faces. As soon as the door closed, Silver spoke up.

“You can’t blame me for every-”

“I’m taking Amethyst far away from here. She needs to be safe from all the madness that is sure to descend upon this land.” Crescent cut him off. “I need to make sure she’s safe and I’m sure you’ll be called out of retirement to help restore order.”

Silver sat back on his haunches, his eyes closed. “You have no idea how the balance of power is changing because of this magic. Your sister can move things without touching them, Regal can disappear faster than a shadow, and I heard you can traverse great distances in less than a moment.”

Crescent scowled. “I’m not interested in using whatever gifts fate has given me. I‘m just concerned with Amethyst’s safety.”

Silver chuckled. “You always were soft and didn‘t care for what you given from at birth. You were a miserable excuse for a son.”

“Your opinion doesn’t change the fact that Amethyst is not staying here.” Crescent thought he saw something flicker across his fathers face before it was quelled. It had been so quick… Maybe he had imagined it, but for a second, it had seemed like there was a demon glaring across the kitchen.

“I’ll say it one time: you and Amethyst are staying in this building.”

“You can’t force us to stay. If you’ll recall, the last time we fought, I left you bleeding on the ballroom floor.” Crescent growled at his father, who was smiling faintly. “We’re leaving Equestria, tonight.”

“You’re not even curious what kind of power I gained?” His father had grown deathly quiet and had stood up again. His eyes were glowing faintly, and he was smirking in a self satisfied way. “Or are you afraid of what you might find?”

“I could care less.” Crescent went to walk past him when a blow from behind sent him flying through the kitchen door. The wood splinters fell around him as he rolled to a stop, his back aching from the blow. Groaning, he pushed himself back to his feet as Silver stepped through the wreckage into the ballroom. His father was still wearing that disgusting smirk.

“You’re still just a foal to me. Now, with this power granted to me, I shall help reshape Equestria as it should be.”

Crescent glanced up where Amethyst and Regal were gazing over the railing in shock. He shrugged and shifted his attention back to his father. Faint silvery white tendrils of magic were swirling lazily around Silver, his eyes glowing brightly.

“Do you feel so confident now, child?” Silver hissed, the wreckage shifting slightly.

Crescent felt only confusion. He hadn’t challenged his father! True, his father was arrogant and quick to anger but this change was far too drastic even for him. What was this sudden shift in mood?

“Father, I don’t know what you think I meant, but I have no intention of fighting you. I‘m not here to stop whatever plans you have for the fate of Equestria. Amethyst and I have to get away from here.” Crescent said tentatively. His father paused, the energy settling down slowly. Breathing a sigh of relief, he took a step towards him. “You just need to accept that this is for our safety. For all of us.”

“Amethyst stays here.” The magic tendrils reformed and the aura grew larger than before. An almost manic look appeared on Silver’s face. Crescent gulped, backing up. “She’s essential to the future of Equestria.”

“Father, snap out of it!” Amethyst yelled, moving to descend the stairs, though she was stopped by their butler. Silver looked at her, his eyes full of fury. “There’s no reason for any of this!”

“He’s not taking you from me. I lost your mother and brother because of my carelessness, but I’m figuring out how to control it. It won’t be long before everypony kneels at our family’s feet.” Silver turned his attention back to Crescent. “You will either leave here without Amethyst, or I will end your existence, my son.”

“You’d kill your own son? Over trying to ensure her safety?!” Crescent yelled, completely lost at his father’s behavior. “And what are you talking about with Ruby and my mother? Your carelessness?”

Silver’s face contorted into something terrifying and a lash of energy surged forth at him. Crescent didn’t have time to think, only to act. He dove to the side, rolling out of the way. The magical lash still cut deep into his back leg, severing the tendon almost dropping Crescent to his belly. He glanced back and briefly examined the crimson gash, blood running down his leg.

“Stop this!” Amethyst cried, trying to break free from Regal’s grip. The old butler had to restrain her to keep her from going downstairs. She was putting up a good fight to escape, but Crescent didn’t want her getting hurt.

“Father…” Crescent forced himself to his feet again, the wound on his leg knitting itself back together but he felt his stomach rumble slightly, telling him he was hungry. “Please stop this.”

“There are no words left.” Silver replied coldly, the wisps of energy dancing wildly. “Unless you leave, you will either die, or have to kill me.”

Crescent looked back up at Amethyst. “You remember where Midnight is?”

She stopped her fighting, and looked at him with fear in her eyes. “Y-yes…”

“Go get her, please.” Amethyst hesitated and nodded, turning and going back up the stairs. Regal watched from his position as the two stallions faced each other.  Crescent looked back at his father, who was glowering. “I’m sure you’ll spare me a few moments before she returns?”

“Seems like a fair last request.” Silver began to walk to the right, his eyes meeting Crescent’s.

“What were you talking about, carelessness?” Crescent was thinking furiously, trying to find a way to end this without violence. “What did you mean?”

Silver laughed, the sound echoing. “They were a mere means to an end. They had a sizable amount of magic attached to them, but I wanted it. So I tore it free from their bodies and added it to my own. Unfortunately, this same magic was also keeping them alive.”

“You what?!”  Crescent stopped his own pacing, his mind in shock. “You…killed them?”

“Unintentionally.” Silver spoke without emotion, his blue eyes on his son’s golden yellow ones. “I don’t care if you approve or not; you’ll be dead soon and it won’t matter.”

Crescent stared in disbelief at the stallion in front of him. The same stallion who had once served Princess Celestia was now acting like he was a God, and that other ponies lives were nothing more than a sacrifice to increase his own power.

But you’re no better… he thought. You killed that nurse and drank her blood… Does this make me the same as him? No, it was accidental. His was all in the name of gain. We’re not the same…I may not be innocent but I’m no demon…

Crescent looked up as Amethyst came running down the stairs, a long object floating alongside her. She was stopped by Regal, but tossed it down to her brother over the railing. As it descended towards him, Crescent caught it and examined the sword he held. He drew the blade and examined the steel for a moment before tossing the sheath away. Leaning the long handle against his shoulder and wrapping the same foreleg around it , Crescent felt a part of him click back into place and let a slow breath escape him.

“Regal, please get Amethyst out of here. You know where to go. I’ll be there after I’m done here.”

“Of course, Master Crescent.” Regal went to grab Amethyst, but she shook herself free. She looked at her brother, her magenta colored eyes meeting his.

“Promise me you’ll come for me?”

Crescent nodded, his eyes calm. “Of course.”

Before he even turned back, he heard the rush of oncoming energy and reacted instinctively, keeping the blade in his grip. While most ponies had preferred carrying a blade with their mouth, he had practiced a rather unorthodox method of wielding it using with his actual forelegs. The only problem with this method was the way it was gripped, and so he had to move in an entire different way than before to keep the blade from hitting the ground.

His father laughed at his movements before Crescent was back on all three legs, the other holding the flat of the blade against his shoulder.. As the lashes of energy continued in ever increasing form, Crescent felt as if the waves of energy were getting slower and instead of dodging them, he instead focused on getting within striking distance to end this battle .

Silver’s eyes flashed with fear as Crescent jumped over a particularly low burst of energy and used the momentum from the jump to turn the movement into a strike. Growling, he aimed a web of energy where it was absolutely impossible to dodge. This time, he launched them as fast as he could, wanting to end this game. He grinned, already savoring his victory.

Crescent saw the web racing towards him and his eyes focused on the floor behind Silver. Desire to be there flooded his being, and suddenly the pressure he felt before was there again. But this time, it wasn’t as painful, or even annoying. It vanished almost instantly and he noticed he was back on the ground. Turning his head, he saw the magical web slice through the air he had just occupied.

As his father turned, Crescent slashed. The blade sliced through the muscles in his back legs as easily if they weren’t there, and brought him instantly to his knees. Silver cried out in pain, the magical aura flaring wildly before dissipating. Silver looked up at his son, who was looking down at him with a mixture of pity and revulsion.

“I should probably kill you for what you’ve done. What you might do. What you plan to do.” Crescent said, crimson tears running silently down his blade. “I have to know. For the short while it lasted… was it worth it? The power?”

Silver snarled at him, all civility abandoned. He tried to push himself up before the cold steel was pressed against his throat. Crescent’s eyes narrowed, the handle in his teeth muffling his next statement: “Answer me.”

“Power is always worth it.” Silver spat, the words slightly muffled from the pressure on his throat. Crescent growled and raised the blade. The white stallion’s eyes shone with defiance at the action.

“Power for the sake of power is never worth it.”

Chapter 4: Verity

Fourteen months after the Lunar Incident...

With a soft sigh, a unicorn mare used her magic to close the book in front of her, floating it back up on the shelf where it belonged. In the city outside her office, Verity could hear an alarm going off, summoning help from any nearby heroes that could spare the time.

Heroes... The thought caused her to look out the window, before shutting it to muffle the noise and going to prepare for bed. As she normally did, Verity paused, examining herself in the mirror in her room. Her mane and tail were a deep brown, carefully braided, while her coat was a pale green. A single, curled, golden question mark rested on her flank as her cutie mark, and her horn... Broken. Not that it impaired her basic magic, but it served as a constant reminder of the past.

   *            *             *

Emerald eyes fluttered open, taking their time to get used to the bright light in the white room. A twitch of her ears and a tilt of her head at a noise brought to her attention the fact she could move. That was new. First her head moved, surveying the room she was in, full of foreign instruments and devices. Then her neck, and shoulders. The motions seemed smooth, natural, but completely brand new.

After several moments, she stumbled to her hooves, wobbling like a newborn filly. One step lead to another, and after nearly getting tangled in the soft blanket she had been wrapped in, the unicorn was walking, slowly gaining confidence at the motions. Once the novelty of moving around had worn off was when she started to notice other things. Colors drew her attention, contrasting with the otherwise monochrome décor. A flashing light in particular was amusing, disappearing and reappearing randomly.

Her reflection in a polished, curved piece of metal caused her to halt, tilting her head this way and that when she realized the form mimicked her movements. She pressed her nose up close, nearly going cross-eyed in an attempt to see it, but smelled nothing that hinted of another pony. Pulling away once more, she stuck out her tongue, examining the distorted image.

Bored of that, she walked back towards where she had woken up. There was only the small bed and blanket, though there were others arranged at even intervals. She was alone, though. Were there others? That thought nearly startled her. Others. There had to be others, somewhere. Should she go find them?

"Ah, you're awake, Gilded Knight." Her ears perked up again, turning her attention to the source of the voice that halted her train of thought. An earth pony stood there, coat white and eyes a cold blue behind his glasses. "Follow me."

At his words, the young mare trotted along behind the stallion without much difficulty. His words, though she had understood them, had her thinking again. Could she speak like that? How did a pony manage it? He lead her to another room, where there were others her age - two other mares and three young stallions - and they all lacked a cutie mark. They stared at Gilded Knight, curious at the last member of their group, until an older mare stomped once with a foreleg to get their attention.

"Now that you are all here, your training may commence." Her voice was sharp, demanding they listen. And listen they did, as she took charge of their schooling. Gilded Knight and her siblings would spend hours on end in the otherwise empty room, listening to Amber Shine.

The first weeks were spent drilling into their minds how to read and write, though it seemed more like forgotten skills than something they didn't already know. After that, they added mathematics into their studies, though Gilded Knight didn't care much for that. History and legends of Equestria was incorporated after a month, and she found herself reading the tales of heroes and villains even after Shine had dismissed them for the day. Spells and combat training followed, a tough pegasus stallion taking over for what Shine couldn't teach them there.  And finally... games. Most notably, chess, though they were taught a variety of other strategy games to sharpen their wits.

"Knight!" A sudden cry drew her attention, and Gilded Knight's eyes snapped up from the pages of her book. In front of her stood her unicorn sister, Ebony Wraith, red eyes bright and cheerful. "Rook and Runner want to race, gonna to join us?"

"Ms. Shine asked me to finish this book before class tomorrow..."

"Aww, she always gives you extra work! Come on, just one little race?"

"I can't, maybe after I finish, though!" But Ebony's ears drooped a little as she nodded, trotting off to leave her sister alone. Only moments later did Knight watch her siblings race through the same room, the pegasus teasing the earth pony and the unicorn as he gained the lead. With a sigh, Knight went back to reading, promising herself that next time, she would join in.

* * *

Verity shook her head, settling down into bed. Had she ever joined in the fun? Every chance she had, their teacher and guardian had stepped in, assigning her more work or sending her for more practice. Spells were drilled into her head, offensive and defensive, and she hadn't quite understood why at the time. What was wrong with her tonight, dwelling on these things?

Burying her face into her pillow, the unicorn sighed. It would bring nightmares, and now she didn't want to sleep. She didn't want to think. Verity just wanted peace, and with the distant chaos, that seemed unlikely.

* * *

Armor was fitted to her lithe form, and Gilded Knight shifted uneasily. Out of her siblings, she was the only one there, and it made her feel unnaturally lonely. For the past several months, they had spent nearly all their time together, as they were trained and raised. But their schooling was over, they had been told, and now it was time for them to get to work.

Once the belts had been tightened, Knight was nudged through a door and down a hallway. She had been told where to go, what to do, but momentary panic froze her hooves in place. Only when she recalled he would be angry if kept waiting did she slowly make her way towards the door. A knock was responded to with a cold “Enter,” and after gathering her nerves, she followed the order.

There stood her master in the shadows, the large black alicorn shrouded in his power, with one of her siblings on either side of him. The twin earth ponies wore armor that seemed heavier than her own, one black and one white, and they both watched her in silence. Knight bowed low to him, and he nodded slightly, her fear and nervousness melting away.

“Gilded Knight. You alone out of your siblings will be a hero for Equestria. It is my will that you aid in protecting the cities from those who seek chaos, and report to me your experiences. Do you accept the duty you were destined for?”

“Yes, my Master.” She lowered her head, answering without thinking. It was almost instinctual, the desire to obey his commands.

“Very well. Tonight shall be your first night of this duty. Be careful.” Another bow to him, and she was dismissed. In hindsight, it seemed almost silly for her to be afraid of their Master. After all, he had granted them this life.

   * * *

“No, no, no...!”

Nearly falling from bed, Verity refused to let her thoughts go farther than that night. Instead, she focused on little things for the time being. Getting a glass of water, finding a snack. Brushing out her mane again. Deciding which book to read. Anything at all she could do to avoid the memories, and sleep. Out of sheer curiosity, the unicorn began to research any spells that would alter memories themselves, though her book selection was limited. Perhaps when it was open, she would have to make her way to the library.

Several hours later, though, she couldn't help it when she passed out on the book she was reading, exhausted...

* * *

A sharp cry of surprise escaped Gilded Knight as the burst of magic knocked her back, scorching her armor. Digging her hooves in, she braced herself and recovered, horn already glowing with her counterspell. Her attacker gave a smug smirk, which quickly disappeared as the white orb of energy enveloped him. His wings failed him and he fell to the ground, struggling to get back on his hooves. Another blast kept him down, though, and Knight made sure he stayed pinned as he was arrested.

A sigh escaped her, and she began to walk away, aiming to find another battle. A filly bounded up to her, though, brown eyes wide with fear and admiration – the unicorn recognized her as one of those that had been threatened by the rogue pegasus.

“Miss Gilded Knight! That was amazing! Thank you!” Her voice squeaked, and Knight gave a soft chuckle.

“That's what heroes are for, little one. Now go on, it's getting late.” She responded, nudging the filly towards her mother with a grin, watching the little pony trot off. Hearing her question her mother with “can I be a hero when I grow up?”, Knight's smile faded and she felt something twist in her chest – what was that emotion? Why did it hurt? Shaking her head slightly as if to clear her thoughts, she summoned her magic and leapt from the street, glowing wings supporting her as she drifted upwards. After several moments, she decided on a roof to land on, trotting gently along.

Her thoughts were distracting, so she attempted to focus on listening for more alarms, or cries for help. The night was usually full of them, but had been slowly dwindling as of late. Heroes must have been growing in number, while the destructive ponies were steadily being contained. Perhaps her Master would send her elsewhere for a short while.

"There you are!" A call startled her, and Knight spun around to find another pegasus - this one navy in color, with sharp, pale blue eyes. Recognizing him as another hero, she relaxed, giving him a smile.

"Ace, sorry. I was side-tracked and completely forgot."

"Aww, no worries, Knight! There was a rather nasty fight I got caught up with downtown." He dropped to the roof next to her, trotting along as she began to continue her walk. "So, just a rumor, but I hear there's a hide-out of villainous ponies somewhere around Canterlot."

“A... hide-out?” Her helm helped hide her confusion and worry – if such a thing existed, that would make their duty somewhat more difficult. Who knew how many enemies could be hiding there, working together? If there were to be a coordinated attack by those with chaotic intent, the city would suffer more damage than it already had. The only saving grace so far was the fact that the heroes outnumbered the destructive ponies and could often intervene quickly.

“Don't worry, it's only a rumor!” He laughed, more to calm the mare than anything. “Even if it's true, they won't last long!”

“I suppose so... Just in case, be careful? To be ambushed...” Worry was clear in her words, as the pair leapt gracefully to the next structure, and the emotion itself was concerning. Her Master had often ordered she didn't get too close to other ponies, but Knight couldn't help it. She wanted -  no, needed – to be close.

“Trust me, if I find this hide-out, I'm bringing you with me! You have no choice!”

“Wh-what?! That's not fair!” But they were laughing as they paused, both looking to the damaged moon in silence for a moment.

“How about a race, to the far tower?”

“A race?”

“Yeah! Come on, it'll be fun!” She hesitated, looking over her shoulder. A burst of magic from one of the lower streets prevented her from answering, and instead she sighed.

“Maybe later, looks we have more trouble.” With that, the ponies were off, for another long night of fighting those that would disturb the peace.

Chapter 5: First Move

As the sunlight found its way into the unicorn’s apartment, Verity groaned and shifted her head on the slightly damp book, wrinkling the pages while trying to escape being woken up and squeeze in a few more moments of sleep. After a few minutes, she gave up and stumbled to her feet, closing the book with a quick snap. She heard the mail slot clatter, announcing potential work for the detective. It was the only job that she found fulfilling when compared to her old employer - sleuthing kept her mind occupied and she actually enjoyed finding out about other ponies through her investigations.

Stifling a yawn, Verity rubbed her eyes and levitated the book she had used as a pillow back to the shelf it belonged, before she pushed her wild mane out of her face. Scooping up the letters with magic, she glanced at them briefly before she tossed them at the messy table, electing to take a shower first. As she turned away from the door, another fell through the slot silently.

She simply stood in the shower for several minutes, the hot water woke her up far better than the sunlight had. As the water streamed down from her mane, she contemplated her day. There was the library she wanted to visit, cases to investigate, and groceries to get. Verity caught herself mumbling what she had to do and chuckled.

Turning off the water, Verity climbed out of the shower and levitated a towel to dry her mane off. As soon as her mane was dry and brushed, she quickly manipulated it into its customary braid. She then turned her attention to her tail and repeated the process. Looking at her reflection, she shrugged and stepped back into the messy office, heading towards the kitchen.

Opening the cabinet, Verity blinked at the empty shelves. Maybe it had been a few more days than she had thought? Since when was she almost completely out of food? She shook her head and began opening other cabinets to see what she had to survive on. A box of battered cereal and a small bag of crackers was all she had left.

“Damn,” she muttered, scrutinizing her messy apartment. She headed towards the small stack of letters and began rifling through them for a job she could easily do in a day.

“Murder… Foalnapping… Thieves… Murder…” She listed them out loud as she read them, not one of them striking her interest – such typical jobs in the current age, and she knew they would take more than a day to complete properly. With a soft growl of exasperation, she tossed them aside and leaned against the table. Her emerald eyes looked down at the lone letter sitting by the door and after a moment of hesitation, the letter was scooped up in an aura of magic. Verity examined the letter closely, noting the insignia of the sun and the moon on the paper. The princesses were contacting her..?! How did they even manage to get the letter there?

Almost reluctantly, she broke the wax seal and began reading the letter inside.

Dear Ms. Verity,

We apologize for contacting you in such a manner. Usually matters that happen within our city are handled by the Royal Guard. However, as of late, they have been exceedingly busy dealing with rogue ponies. Therefore, we have been reaching out to detective ponies such as yourself to see if they would help with the matter that has arisen in our own castle.

As you may or may not know, our nephew Prince Blueblood was murdered a week ago. While he may not have been as popular with our subjects as he wished, my sister and I were trying to help him change his personality so that he was more likeable by the general public. Unfortunately, it appears he may have made some enemies due to his manner.

He was found dead in his study, appearing to be asleep until he was attempted to be woken. Prince Blueblood was found to be drained of blood and with a black rose next to him. This has been a trend that has been rapidly surfacing around Equestria and we have yet to determine who is behind this. We are offering substantial payment for investigation and apprehension of the culprit. Please understand that the Royal Guard is far too busy to offer any real assistance unless the need is dire.

Regards,

Princess Luna

P.S. There has been also been a massive theft of muffins as of late from the kitchens. We would greatly appreciate it if you would also look into this matter as well.

Verity blinked and reread the letter. Muffin theft came off as the weirdest request she had ever received. “What kind of pony would waste time stealing muffins??”

* * *

A week prior to Luna’s letter…

Crescent glanced outside, the moon having finally been restored to its full glory, the silvery white body reflecting in his eyes. He leaned back in his seat and sighed softly, the carriage bumping softly as they came to a stop in front of the Canterlot Castle. He clambered out of the carriage and nodded at his driver, who inclined his head in return. He waited till the carriage had gotten a good distance away before turning to face the castle.

The guards stood stock still as he approached. They remained so until he was within speaking distance before they addressed him. “What is your business here?”

“I’m here to see Prince Blueblood.” Crescent replied with a slight dip of his head. The guards nodded and one began walking towards the entrance – they had been informed by the prince himself there would be a visitor. As he followed the stallion, Crescent glanced at the gate where another guard had already taken the former’s post. Times had definitely changed for Equestria.

Following the guard into the castle, he made mental note of each door he passed. As he was beginning to doubt he’d remember the turns and steps needed to return to the exit, the guard stopped in front of a door and lifted a hoof to knock. After a few moments, a voice answered. “Come in.”

The guard nodded curtly to Crescent before turning down the hall, his hoof steps echoing softly. Crescent pushed the door open, his cloak rustling gently. The Prince stood at the other end of the room, gazing out the window at the city..

“I’m glad you agreed to meet with me. I expect you’ve had your hands full these past few months?“ Blueblood glanced over his shoulder at Crescent. “Oh… forgive me. I was expecting somepony… older. I assumed Silver would be here himself.”

Crescent smiled slightly, pushing the door shut behind him. “My father retired a few months back. The task has fallen to me to continue his ideas for Equestria.”

“Ah, so you’re Crescent? Your father mentioned you once. Something along the lines of a son who had rebelled against everything he was taught and still managed to make him proud at his indomitable will?”

“That sounds like my father.“ Crescent answered, his eyes narrowing at the Prince’s statement. The look on his face dissuaded the Prince from pursuing the subject. “Now I assume there’s a reason you contacted me directly?”

“Straight to business, ah?” Blueblood smirked, turning to his desk. “Well, if you checked the letter, I listed a few of the details.”

“I may have skimmed it.” Crescent replied, walking over to inspect the books sitting on the shelf. “I get quite a few letters from ponies all over, all trying to contact my father to help with his ideas of a new Equestria.”

Blueblood watched the grey stallion’s back, his expression calculating. “Your father simply wanted to unite Equestria with the ponies who had abilities over those who do not.”

Crescent turned in his direction, one golden eye meeting Blueblood’s own. “Let us be real here. My father wanted those without abilities to be under our control. They are weak, pathetic, and truly worthless to the new generation that has arisen from the ashes of the old. True, the old regime is still in place, but it's only a matter of time before everything is under your control.”

Blueblood felt a cold smile before he responded. “And what about your own opinions? Do you agree with your father’s goal to help me?.”

“My thoughts on this?” Crescent turned all of his attention to Blueblood, his cloak rustling gently at the movement. “Do you want my help, or do you just want to waste time talking?”

“You misunderstand, Crescent.” Blueblood replied, levitating several scrolls towards the earth pony. “I’m just curious as to why somepony who hated their father is now continuing his work.”

Crescent approached the desk, his eyes on the scrolls. “There’s no need to worry yourself with it, I have my reasons. Now, may I have the name of your associates?”

Blueblood hesitated and floated them towards the grey stallion who placed them in his saddlebags. “You’ll find all the names of the ponies who are contributing towards reshaping Equestria. The lot of them are old fools, but nonetheless, I need their support if I am going to succeed.”

A low chuckle grabbed his attention, causing him to look up at Crescent. “You want to overthrow the Princesses so that you may assume the throne yourself?”

“I thought that would be obvious, yes.” Blueblood replied, a confused expression on his face. “Do you have a weak memory?”

“No, no… I just wanted to confirm this with your own words.” Crescent fished out a scroll, secured with a black ribbon and tossed it onto the desk. Blueblood glanced at the scroll and at the other pony before lifting it. Pulling the ribbon free, a stack of pictures fell out as the scroll fell open. As he lifted them up, there were images of ponies twisted and covered in injuries, laying in the mud in chains or bound in some way. Blueblood scowled and looked up at Crescent, his face hidden in shadow.

“What is this?” Blueblood demanded, his eyes full of fury and barely concealed fear. “Where did you get these?!”

“Is this the Equestria you have in mind?” Crescent replied quietly. “Slaves? Treated as nothing more than objects?”

“I don’t know what you’re-”

“That’s what the others said. Right before I decided to tear the knowledge out of them.” Crescent cut him off, taking a step forward.

Blueblood opened his mouth to call for his guards when a hoof slammed into his throat, staggering him before he was knocked down. Shaking off the impact, the Prince prepared to summon his magic to defend himself when he felt a hoof press against his throat. He looked up at Crescent who had the detached look of someone who was fulfilling an unpleasant task and scowled.

“Let me up or I’ll call-”

“It doesn’t matter to me.” Crescent replied quietly. “I know about your little slave organization, and all about your plans. You are going to give me everything of yours that relates to this. All of it.”

Blueblood bit back a retort, his horn lighting up as he levitated multiple scrolls onto the desk in a neat stack. Crescent glanced at the pile of scrolls briefly before turning his attention back to Blueblood. The prince let loose a bolt of energy into Crescent’s face, knocking him back.

Blueblood scrambled to his feet and ran for the door, stumbling slightly. Just before he reached the door, he slammed into the grey stallion, who had materialized in front of his exit. As he stumbled back, the only thing Blueblood could see in the dim light was crimson bone and uncanny white teeth grinning at him. The flesh was slowly knitting itself back together, and the prince felt his mind go blank in panic.

Crescent’s jaw popped audibly as it reattached itself and he spoke softly.

“You shouldn’t have done that…”

* * *

Crescent closed the door behind him and wiped his muzzle clean. As he began to walk out, his thoughts turned towards the future. When he had investigated his father’s office, Crescent had found a long list of pony names that he had heard of. He had chosen to investigate and had found that the names of all the associates was a network of ponies who were trying to overthrow the current regime of Celestia and Luna.

At first he had tried to expose them to the public and show what they were trying to accomplish. His attempts were successful for the most part, but his new enemies had tried to have him silenced. The public hadn’t even recognized what had happened due to the pure chaos that had broken out.

Eventually, he had given up on that approach and simply decided to eliminate them in return. While in his heart, he knew there had to be a different way, one did not spring to mind even after all this time. Crescent did not wish to be caught, and he took great care to remove the evidence of the conspirators so that when they were discovered, the public images of his victims wouldn’t be destroyed. Most of the ponies involved were prominent beings in society who had respectable reputations. He had cleared over half the list before he had managed to get to Blueblood in the first place.

The prince had been near the top of the list, but with Blueblood being royalty, it had kept him from getting access into Canterlot castle. A stroke of luck had occurred when Crescent had been contacted directly from Blueblood, allowing him to get inside and-

Lost in his thoughts, he never saw the purple unicorn until he had almost walked into her. She yelped in surprise and stumbled back, the stack of books she was levitating almost falling to the floor. He moved to the side as she regained control over the spell, books quickly straightening up.

“I’m sorry to have scared you, I was just caught up in my thoughts.” Crescent offered, mentally kicking himself for falling into a lapse of concentration.

“It's alright.” Twilight replied, one hoof on her chest, wincing as her heart raced. “I should have been paying more attention as well. Too many books and you start to forget where you are.”

“Very true.” Crescent smiled politely at her. “If you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be.”

“Oh, alright.” She replied, her lungs still hurting from the scare. Breathing had been more difficult since the Incident. She watched him as he headed down the hallway, her expression full of confusion. If he was a visitor, what was he doing in that section of the castle..?

The halls had twisted him around, and he knew he was lost. His wandering thoughts had prevented him from returning the way he had been led in. Turning and heading past the kitchens, Crescent heard a loud bang followed by a string of cursing. He paused for a moment and looked at the door as it shook.

“Damn it!!” He heard a mare snap followed by more crashing. The door flew open and a pony came staggering out with saddlebags that were stuffed full of muffins. She froze in her tracks when Crescent gave her a quizzical look. Her magenta mane was a sharp contrast to her pale yellow coat, her cutie mark barely visible. He leaned to the side to see it more clearly - it resembled a puzzle piece from what he could make of it.

“Oh buck…” The mare murmured, taking a step back. “Please don’t tell anypony?” Crescent stared. She looked at him imploringly, her eyes wide and begging. She kind of reminded him of Amethyst…

“You’re stealing from the princessess’ kitchens?”

“No! They didn’t have any ponies’ name on them!” She snapped at him, clutching her saddlebags closer.

“Do you work here?” Crescent asked, looking around to see if the unicorn had come to investigate. Thankfully, nopony seemed to notice something was amiss.

“Well… no. I don’t have a job.” The mare scuffed her hoof on the floor. “I’m just hungry…”

“How’d you get in here?”

“I changed into one of the guards and came in…” She replied almost sheepishly, adjusting her bags and looking guilty. His ears perked up at that. A changeling?

“Tell you what, I’ll get you and your muffins out of here.” Crescent said, thinking quickly. He hadn't wanted to teleport out, it would have helped if the guards had seen him coming and going, but it couldn't be avoided. “If, when we get out of here, you tell me your name and what you’re doing in Canterlot.”

“Okey dokey!” She exclaimed before being hushed by the grey stallion. He placed a hoof on her shoulder and closed his eyes. The next moment, they were gone.

* * *

Present day…

Verity chewed her cereal thoughtfully as she looked back over the letter. If it had indeed been a week, then she would have very little to go on apart from whatever they had managed to investigate. Either way, she couldn’t refuse a job that could get her the bits needed to pay rent and buy food. Especially considering who had made the request in the first place. And the princesses were kind ponies - supposedly - perhaps she could ask they pay reasonable expenses while she worked on the case.

Finishing the stale cereal, the unicorn found her saddlebags and gathered what she needed. A notebook, quill, the letter... nodding to herself, Verity set off for the castle, keeping an eye on the towers as they got closer.

Food was a reasonable expense, right?

Chapter 6: Convergent

Verity looked up at the castle with a hint of apprehension, her tail flicking nervously. It was much bigger than from the view of her apartment. She swallowed her fear and continued towards the gate. The two stallions stood there remained motionless even when she reached them, as unmoving as a statue. The mare suspected that they would remain so unless otherwise ordered.

“Excuse me, but I was sent a letter from Princess Luna about the murder that occurred…“  Levitating the letter out, she showed it to them.  She was startled when the stallions moved suddenly, the gate opening swiftly. They nodded curtly at her before resuming their motionless guard. Frowning, she spoke again.

“Is there anypony in particular I should talk to?” She asked them, not expecting a response. The two of them looked at each other before the one on the left spoke.

“Well, Princess Celestia is attending to important matters, organizing the clearing and treatment of affected areas from the lunar dust. Princess Luna is most likely awaiting your arrival in the library. If you’d wait a moment, we will have somepony take you to her.”

“That’ll be fine.” As she crossed through the gate, the golden metal closed behind her with a soft clink. Verity chanced a glance behind her as she reached the entryway, the two stallions carefully observing their surroundings. Turning to enter, she fell and nearly yelped as she ran into another guard, this one a pegasus. His expression remained impassive at her fright, not offering an apology. She brushed herself off and stood, adjusting her saddlebags.  He set off without a word, the mare falling in step behind him.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before they reached a large door, the stallion pushing it open. He motioned her aside, his expression as unreadable as ever. The unicorn stepped through, not thanking him for taking the time to show her the way. As the door closed softly, Verity examined the large library where she could hear soft conversation from behind the shelves.

Taking her time, the curious unicorn stopped to lift up a scroll in her magic to read. After a few seconds of close examination, she berated herself for her lapse in concentration. Reluctantly, she replaced the scroll and continued towards the voices.

You have a job to do, Verity! There will be time for reading later.

When she turned the corner, Verity spotted the lunar princess speaking with a lavender unicorn. The pair of them seemed to be in the middle of a lesson. The unicorn had her eyes closed in concentration, several different objects levitating in a magical aura. Princess Luna spotted her and immediately was on her feet, approaching Verity. She quickly backed up, trying to maintain her distance from the princess. Remembering what she had been taught, she dropped into a bow.

“How did you get in here?” Luna’s voice was louder than was needed, but not unkind. The purple unicorn opened her eyes in surprise, the tomes she was levitating dropping to the ground with a resounding thud. Luna ignored the sound, waiting for Verity’s response.

“Well?”

“Y-you sent me a letter this morning? About the investigation?” Verity glanced up, trying to ascertain whether it was safe or not to stand. The princess looked confused for a moment, thinking before brightening.

“Oh, of course! We sent it last night but lately it has been so busy, we lose track of things. Please come and sit with us.” Luna motioned towards the table where the other mare was restacking the tomes, looking resentful that her lesson had been interrupted.

“Thank you, your Highness.” As she approached the table, the lavender unicorn’s eyes widened. Verity didn’t understand her reaction to her presence until she pointed a hoof at her horn.

“What happened to your horn?” Her tone was horrified, her expression distressed. Luna also glanced at her horn, confusion and pity on her face. Verity glanced up at the broken horn, unfazed. She tried not to think about it too much; it reminded her of her past.

“It happened a long time ago. Trust me, it doesn’t hurt or affect my magic.” To emphasize her point, she levitated the tomes off the table and spun them in a circle over their heads.  Replacing them neatly, Verity smiled at the still bewildered unicorn.

“As you may know, this is Twilight Sparkle, our sister’s prized pupil and the Element of Magic.” That was something Verity had heard a bit about and her ears pricked up on that particular bit of information. The princess looked at Verity expectantly.

“My name’s Verity. Now, what is the information you had on the murder of your nephew?”  Levitating her things out, Verity was prepared to start jotting down notes she needed.

The room felt colder even though it was still early morning and Celestia’s sun was shining light on the trio. Luna’s expression became somber and she looked down. Verity shifted uncomfortably as Twilight placed a hoof on Luna’s shoulder before speaking in the princess’s stead.

“Well the information in the letter covered nearly all the information we have. The prince was found dead in his study, drained of blood and a black rose laid at his side. You are the first pony to even agree to listen to us. All the other ponies we contacted refused when we mentioned the black rose.”

Verity’s quill paused at that, hovering over the paper. “Why would they refuse? Did I miss something?”

Luna took a deep breath and spoke up, her eyes calm once more. “If you’ve read the papers at all lately, you’d know about it. There’s a pony out there that has been eliminating ponies of substantial influence, leaving a black rose at their sides. So far we have no suspects on who it is.”

Twilight shifted in her seat. “Actually…”

Luna and Verity looked at her. The lunar princess raised her eyebrow and spoke. “Twilight? Is there something you know that we don’t?”

“The night Blueblood was murdered… I met a pony near the kitchens. I didn’t catch his name but I was wondering why he was around that late if he was a visitor.” Twilight levitated another book onto the table. Verity assumed it held the fellow unicorn’s notes on the matter.

“I spoke with the guards and there indeed had been a stallion that entered the castle but there was no record of him leaving. The strangest part, however, is that nopony knows his name.”

“Why didn’t you share this?” Luna demanded, frustrated. “This is a very important point in solving this string of murders.”

“Sorry, Princess.” Twilight mumbled, her ears lowering. “I didn’t think it was important until you spoke up.”

“What did he look like?” The detective asked, her expression contemplative. “Anything you can recall will help.”

“He was fairly tall but he wasn’t as muscular as most stallions usually are. I actually thought he was a mare until he spoke, the way he looked. His coat was ash grey but his mane was pure white.” She paused for a moment, straining to remember. “He wore a black cloak and jacket so I couldn’t see his cutie mark. The one thing that stands out is his eyes.”

“What color were they?”

“Golden yellow.”

Verity quietly wrote down the provided information while the unicorn took a breath. When Twilight showed the green unicorn her notes, she noticed the golden question mark on her flank. Unable to stop herself, she asked. “What does your cutie mark represent?”

Verity looked down at the question mark and smiled sadly. “I’m not sure. It appeared when I decided to take charge of my life. Maybe my talent lies in finding where I belong?”

Twilight looked skeptical but didn’t respond. As the last of the notes were jotted down, Verity heard the door open and a bunch of ponies talking. The green unicorn turned her head and spotted the group of ponies who had entered the library. There was a small purple dragon with them as well, speaking with a marshmallow white pony.

“Oh hello girls.” Luna smiled at the three ponies who bowed low to the princess. When they stood up, Twilight greeted them as well.

“Nice to see that you’re back, Applejack. Did everything go well in Appleloosa? “

“Braeburn was sure happy to see me and Big Macintosh. Everypony there is alright far as I could tell. Soon as Ponyville as fixed up, the family is gonna help us get our farm back up.”  The cowpony inclined her head towards Verity who had been quietly reviewing her notes. “Who’s that?”

“Oh, this is Verity.” Twilight began to introduce her friends. “Verity these are my friends and fellow Elements of Harmony. This is Applejack, Element of Honesty.”

“Howdy.” She tipped her hat towards the unicorn, who merely nodded in return.  Verity felt their eyes on her and she tried to keep her eyes on them.

“This is Fluttershy, Element of Kindness.” The purple unicorn walked behind the marshmallow pony and pulled the yellow pegasus into view. She whimpered something, her face hidden behind her pink mane. Twilight rolled her eyes before moving on.  Verity could sympathize with Fluttershy, attempting to ignore her instincts to get away from the group in an effort to appear professional.

“Last and not least, this is Rarity-“Twilight began.

“Element of Generosity and I must say, I do love the way your mane looks. The simplicity and elegance is quite lovely against your coat. What is your secret, dear?” The marshmallow pony’s way of speaking made Verity smile uneasily, her shyness beginning to fade.

“Um… I just brush it right when I get out of the shower and braid it myself?”

“Really?” Rarity looked crestfallen. “Is that really all? Well… to each their own I suppose.”

“Oh and this is my assistant, Spike.” Twilight quickly interjected, the purple dragon looked annoyed at being ignored. He merely grunted in response, his tail twitching in annoyance.

“Well, it’s been very nice to meet you all.” Verity said politely, tucking her notepad away. “However, I do have some work that the princess would like me to attend to.”

“Before Twilight takes you to the room, we must speak with these four.” Luna turned her attention back to the group of friends. “You’ll be pleased to know that Ponyville had been cleared of lunar dust and everypony will be able to move back within a week. Everything has been repaired and is back to the way it belongs.”

“Even my fashion boutique?” Rarity spoke up, her eyes lighting up.

The princess chuckled. “Even that.”

Verity felt oddly alone as the group of friends cheered, hugging each other and chattering in excitement. Twilight disengaged herself and motioned for Verity to follow her out. As Verity reached the door, it exploded inwards, knocking the unicorn on her back. The pink pony that was mere inches away from her face grinned widely.

“Hi there! I’m Pinkie Pie! What’s your name?”

Verity’s every instinct told her to run, but she was transfixed by those mildly psychotic eyes staring into her soul. The only thing she could offer was her name.

“I-I’m Verity…”

“Geez, Pinkie.” Another new voice and the pink earth pony was pulled off her. “Let her breathe for ten seconds.”

The two new arrivals stood out in sharp contrast to the rest. The cyan pegasus floating above their heads had a rainbow colored mane and tail while the pink earth pony was bouncing eagerly.

“I’d love to stay and chat, girls but I need to help Verity out with something.” Twilight led her out, the green unicorn putting a hoof to her chest. She smiled sheepishly as she closed the door behind them.

“Sorry about Pinkie. She’s… a bit different.”

Different is an understatement. She’s a sociopath! Verity smiled. “Its fine, I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm. Now where is that study you wanted me to look at?”

Twilight nodded and led her fellow unicorn away from the chattering room, Verity glancing back at the library. She continued after Twilight as the latter led her down a series of turns. Just when the green unicorn began to feel dizzy, her guide paused in front of a pair of oak doors that had a sign that read: Do not enter.

This had to be the place with the way Twilight was looking at the room with apprehension. She waited a few moments before addressing her.

“I’m sure I can manage be myself if you are uncomfortable with this.” Verity offered gently, not wanting to have to deal with a panic attack. Twilight shook her head with a strained smile.

“I’ll be fine. Its just the fact of knowing that a pony killed another pony in that room unsettles me a bit.” She shivered slightly as she pushed the door open.  “Besides, it’ll help to have two unicorns looking for clues we may have missed the first time.”

As soon as Verity stepped into the room, the unicorn felt the faint residual energy from a defensive spell. Twilight glanced at the detective, the expression on her face indicating that she felt it too. The detective levitated her notebook and quill out to start taking notes as she crossed the room to the desk.

“So what can you tell me about Blueblood?” Verity asked, peering into the drawers. She jotted down a few notes.

“Well, he was very self-centered but he apparently cared enough about Equestria to try and unite it under the princesses’ rule.” Twilight replied, peering at the bookshelves, her horn lighting up as she cast various spells around the room. “From all the notes we pulled from his desk, meager as they were, all aimed at bringing the ponies from near and far together so that all of the unrest could be settled peacefully.”

“Meager notes?” Verity asked, noting the sound of disbelief in her voice. “You sound like you don’t believe it.”

“I’ve met him a few times.” Twilight levitated something off the floor and peered at it closely. “He was… to be polite, quite different from Celestia and Luna. Between the two of us, I don’t believe for a second that he ever cared for anybody but himself. “

Verity remained quiet at that as her spells revealed nothing. The only thing that had been revealed was an offensive spell that had been launched from the ground level. As far as she could guess, it was a crude spell launched from instinct rather than with precise control. A glance towards the ceiling revealed nothing, proving her suspicions that the prince had hit his attacker.

“So when you saw the stallion, did he have any wounds on him?” Verity turned back and spied a red smudge on the wooden desk. She leaned closer, eyes narrowing in scrutiny.

“Not from what I could tell.” Twilight asked, looking at the detective. “Why?”

“Because you said Blueblood wasn’t injured and I found traces of a defensive spell.” Verity straightened up, carefully using a spell to pull the blood from wood and place it in a vial. “I’m willing to bet that this is our suspect’s blood.”

*Authors Notes

Sorry about the long wait between chapters. My last computer broke and getting a new one admist all the chaos of school affected more than one person. We are back however and on schedule as we should be. Next chapter will be out soon!