The Moros Project

Chapters

Chapter 1: A Star Beneath Stone
Chapter 2: Statues of Chaos and Greed
Chapter 3: A Little Patience

Chapter 1: A Star Beneath Stone

Today is an important day in Human history. A day that will be remembered for decades to come, and some will ask why. Most will tell them simply:

We have created a God from a Man.

But I will tell them:

We have drawn the Devil from a Man.

January 24th, 2015

I closed the door of my car, locking it behind me. It was a cold night, here in the Catskills, but all in all it felt like a good night for what we were doing here. I slipped my hands into my jacket pockets, trying to shake off the cold that had settled in with the falling snow.

In front of me, past the rest of the small parking lot, was a gray office building. Two stories tall, about as big as your standard country office space. This was Star Laboratories. Well, Eastern Star Laboratories. Or Dempy Electronics to people from out of town.

I made my way across the asphalt to the building, rushing to warmth. Max was on post tonight, so thankfully I wouldn’t have to pull my card out, and by extension, my hands from their warm pockets. New York winters are rather cold, especially this time of year. But, as expected, this warm comfort came at a price. The price was Max talking. I groaned internally as I approached the booth and the cheery looking guard leaned out the window.

Sorta pudgy, generally smiling, usually with a moustache if he felt like it. Max, the host of my personal hell.

“You’re in late tonight, Rich. Hope you aren’t too late for the hot chocolate in the cafeteria. It’s much better than last year’s!”

He sounded genuinely concerned that I might not get any hot chocolate, which was a little irritating. I shook my head, trying to shake off my memory of the last winter celebration Star Laboratories forced on us. The hot chocolate was always terrible, mainly because of funding. Everything came down to the funding here, not that there was a shortage, but at least there was a local coffee shop most stopped at before coming in.

“Well I certainly wouldn’t want to miss that.” I said with a hint of annoyance. “I would also not like to deviate any further from my schedule. So, if you would be so kind as to unlock the door?” I managed from beneath my scarf.

Max laughed a little and did that little pointing thing, like the one when you’re chastising someone for telling a bad, yet funny, joke.

Sad thing was, I wasn’t very funny.

The door clicked, and I walked inside, giving Max one last nod before getting out of sight, and into the relative warmth of the offices. I headed straight for the elevator that would take me to the main floors of the facility. I did say this was a bit of a secret, black sharpie, red tape kind of place, right? You know, like Area 51 or Black Mesa. Except we were real, smarter, non-government, and successful.

The show floors, those being the ground floor and 2nd floor, were modeled to look like your standard, rather cheap office building. Yellow carpet, bland cream walls and cheap, uncomfortable furniture really sold the crappy office look. The fact that it was in the middle of nowhere was supported by the small town nearby and the cheapness of the property. In truth, the small town was completely owned by Star Labs, I even had my own house there, supplied by Star Labs, of course. Well, half a house, but still.

Yet, to my family, I worked in some dingy little office building, for a less than successful tech company. The wonders of lies and half-truths. Though, I have to say, I’ve earned my place here. Not every person gets to do groundbreaking technical research on what everyone else still considers speculative or theoretical.

Star Laboratories has a motto: “You never know who will build the future.” And I have to say, the people here took that to heart. The fact that I’m barely out of University attests to the fact that these people will hire just about anyone, given the possibility that you’re a prodigy or an expert in a given field. They also have this probability machine that checks people out and tries to guess where they will be going in the future. Like, how your life may be and what you could attribute to society. But it’s rather old now, having been built in the late eighties.

It had said Steven Hawking would amount to little, which made the whole thing sort of worthless as a prophecy machine.

With a ding, the elevator doors opened. I stepped inside the rickety box, also from the eighties probably, punching in my code and glancing at the floor buttons. Of which there are ninety eight listed in the elevator.

Not that we only have ninety-eight basement levels here, that’s a low number compared to how many we actually have. The whole elevator was actually a trap. If you don’t input the right code, followed by the right level selection, then the elevator simulates a journey down for a few minutes or so, then it “breaks” and we have a crew dressed up as firemen “rescue” you from our trap and send you right back out the door, and into local custody. Only one person ever made it through though, some poor pizza kid from the next town over as the result of a prank.

I think he works in the kitchens now, pretty decent considering the fates of those who enter deliberately.

My code, which I won’t be telling you, used all 98 floor buttons. Pretty easy to remember, at least after I drilled it into my head over the course of a very long night. I punched in my 98 floor code and, with a lurch, the old elevator began to move. After only about ten seconds, tops, it stopped, opening up to the top level of the facility: floor 1. It was a small room, and much more modern.

Plush blue carpets and white walls with a long couch along one side surrounded by smaller seats of greater comfort. Landscape and abstract paintings covered the walls like some psychopath was ready to drag red strings across them. On the far side of the room, several clear glass tubes extended up from the floor, small cylinders sat inside, bobbing slightly. Those were the pneumatic lifts to the lower levels. The first floor was a waiting area for guests, and stray pizza men, so it was a bit more comfortable than the labs below.

On the wall opposite the couch was a desk, covered in tacky artwork and nonsense motivational posters, where Max sat, acting like he was reading a newspaper. Always the ever watchful.

You see, Max is one of two AI mainframes we use here, Max takes care of security and staff welfare, while TIM keeps an eye on experiments and records. Sometimes they switch jobs, to keep things fresh for the staff. But Max can be a little… annoying? Yeah that’s the right word. Not the word I want to use, but close enough.

Max was made to interact with us here at the lab, make us feel more comfortable or whatever. So that meant he liked to talk. A lot. Even when you didn’t want him to. Oh, and his name isn’t an acronym, it’s just Max. TIM’s name is an acronym though, and it stands for “Technical Instrument Machine”, real creative, I know. The techies down in level 264 really outdid themselves with him though. The perfect lab assistant. Decades more advanced than Siri or even IBM’s Watson.

Anyway, Max was on guard today and he loves to use the holographic projectors and android units. Makes him something physical, more than just a voice in the intercom.

He’s supposed to just follow a simple set of instructions: scan cards and either accept or decline the owners entry. Max didn’t have to see your card, seeing as he knew everyone by name, face, and your complete genetic makeup, but he always wanted to talk! It’s not like he had to do that or anything, it was just his programming telling him to converse to make people more comfortable. I personally found it to be grating instead of comfortable.

“Hey Rich!” The AI shouted, waving me to the desk. I followed, trying to no meet the android’s eyes. “Heading down to floor 19 or down to Mr. Mount’s offices? Maybe the cafeteria for some hot chocolate?”

It’s like I was just an outlier or something, the only one who didn’t appreciate his overly-happy, overly-talkative personality.

“If you’d like, I could send one of the mobile units down to fetch a cup for you before you begin the experiment!” He smiled like he was offering me a blue ribbon. “Calm the nerves and whatnot.”

“No thanks Max. I’ll be just fine without it. Besides, no liquids” I lied to him, fidgeting with my keycard in my pocket. “I should be going.”

With that I forced a smile in the android’s direction and rushed away from the booth before he could try to get me the hot chocolate again. I don’t even like hot chocolate when it’s made “right”! It just tastes like warm water to me.

I stepped into the lift, the futuristic pod bobbing on the pressurized air just beneath it. The doors closed automatically and, with a quick wave from Max’s security android, I began my descent into the compound.

“Dr. Hane is waiting for you in test chamber 19, Dr. Gregori.” A monotone voice spoke out of the ceiling.

Dr. Gregori is me, by the way. Richard Kingson Gregori. Or, Rich, if you were Max.

That infernal AI would be the death of formality, I’m sure of it. But thankfully, the one talking over the intercom to me was TIM, who was far more bearable.

“Of course, TIM. Do I have any other messages?”

“You have two messages, one from Mr. Mount concerning your personal project, and one from your mother who wants to know if you’ll be home for your sister’s birthday.”

I nodded, pulling an A.S.S. out of the wall of the tube. No, you read that correctly. We normally just call them Assistants, or Assistant Gloves. The acronym stood for Active Service Screen, but I’m pretty sure most of the people down in the 200 levels were just sleep deprived when they name these things.

I will not be calling the Assistant by the terrible acronym again, so don’t try and make me.

The Assistant was a glove that extended down to your elbow, meant to be worn under a lab coat where the circuits would be kept out of harm’s way. The gloves display a series of holographic screens you navigate using your thumb and fingers, so it’s not a touch screen. But then again, it’s not hands free either. Assistants were just convenient. Some administrators on-site took two from the lift so they could get twice the work done, all by flicking your fingers around.

The way their creator, Dr. Maria Stein, described them was “something akin to how a magician works magic, twiddle your fingers and control the screens!” The magic analogy hadn’t won her any points, but the tech was pretty damn refined. Still, she hated it when her gloves were referred to as the Power Glove 2.0. as made by Nintendo. So, she retaliated with the acronym.

Still, I go with sleep deprivation.

I turned my hand palm up, the display appearing in front of me as the elevator slowed to a stop, doors swooshing open to floor 19. Barely looking past the slightly translucent green screens, I stepped out into the hallway, walking the familiar path to my office. The first few floors were dedicated to speculative sciences, just theory work. Those floors also held the administrative personnel, because they couldn’t be bothered to go down to floor 300 when they were asked to do so. But, starting on floor 10, the real work started.

Clean blue walls, chalk colored ceilings, stark white tiled floors, and a checkerboard of various offices, labs, and testing chambers. Truly, where theories were tested. At least, the grounded ones. Stuff like time travel, dimensional gateways, and new musical instruments were on floors 50-199. Levels 200-299 were filled with tech development, testing, and probable mass production. Floor 300 was reserved for the utilization of new technologies and ideas, such as what corporation would be tricked into “discovering” something, or which notableinventor had to be brought into Star Laboratories to keep dangerous tech out of civilian markets.

“Messages, messages…” I muttered to myself, flicking through my Assistant’s screens as I entered my office. Honestly, I never went below floor 150, where the cafeteria was. Smallest floor, but sometimes the best as well.

My office was quaint. To keep us happy, or at least content, we were authorized to make changes to our office space. Dr. Markus Lee’s office looked like something out of gothic horror, Dr. Henry Mosen’s looked like a billion cats had moved in, thanks to all the pictures. My office was simple compared to theirs though. A nice oak desk, comfortable chair, and an old bookshelf covered with dusty books I didn’t really read.

I pulled off my coat and scarf, throwing them onto the back of my chair. Slipping into my white lab coat, specially made to be durable and resistant to damage that could occur in a lab; Acids, cuts, tears, some radiation, high velocity impacts, and even ink stains. Truly very useful, just not machine washable.

I fell into my chair, still scrolling through the database. I didn’t really want to look at the messages, they were awfully pressing considering who sent them, but that just stressed me out. It stressed me out more than the impending test I had volunteered for, all the way across the floor.

I opened my email, considering which to open first, before deciding on my mother’s question, which would be easier to answer. It was short, and to the point, which suited my mother perfectly. TIM had basically read me the message.

Richard,

Will you be at your sister’s birthday on the 30th?

Love,

Mom

Seriously though, my dad had tried to get her to be more relaxed in her ways, but she had refused and held fast. She slowly turned my dad to her ways, but he still spoke more than she ever did.

I typed out a quick confirmation, my fingers swatting the air wildly as I typed. Honestly, if these Assistants ever became mainstream, people would look ridiculous scratching the air above their palm.

Hitting send, I was taken back to my inbox where the message from Mr. Mount waited. I hesitated a moment, knowing it was about my personal project.

Mr. Luthor Mount was my direct superior, I reported to him at every turn in my research, no matter how small. Everyone on floor 19 reported to him, and he, in turn, reported to the director of floors 10-19, and she would report to the director of floors 2-100, then so on and so forth. Unfortunately for us on level 19, Mr. Mount called every project on our floor, “personal projects”. So, I had an idea what this was going to be about.

I hesitated for a moment before opening the email.

Dr. Gregori,

I wanted to thank you on behalf of Star Laboratories for your continued efforts to build the future, for volunteering when no one else could be bothered to. The Moros Project will be another step towards a brighter future for mankind, a step you are personally taking.

Your pet project has gained steady headway this past year, and I wanted to personally congratulate you as you took the first steps towards preservation of the Human race as we venture on towards the stars. Unfortunately, I will not be in attendance for the first trial run, so forgive me. I had urgent matters to attend to with our Sea Star branch, some important discovery they want to announce. Great strides often take place the world over, so I want to wish you luck today as your trials shift into Human tests.

I’m still surprised you volunteered at all, but it was your personal project to begin with, so it is fitting you get to be the first to experience it. Though given that temporal preservation was an idea that hadn’t gained any headway since the ninties, I wouldn’t be surprised if some kinks must be ironed out in the years to come.

Again, I wish you luck. I will see you tomorrow, hopefully with great news that with speed up projects in Star Laboratories across the globe!

Luthor Mount

I let out a breath I’d been holding. Mr. Mount could always be counted upon to subvert expectations. The last email had been an explosive outburst at the thought of a human trial so early in the testing phases. He’d only calmed once we agreed to non-human trials beforehand, which were all complete now.

So, Mr. Mount wouldn’t be at the test. That was a blessing and a curse. It wouldn’t be as stressful, Mr. Mount tended to be a bit overbearing and talkative during tests and trials. Heck, this just meant my team would be able to work without anyone breathing down their backs, that in and of itself was a relief. On the other hand, that meant Director Esther Gin would be in attendance, and she was less than a blessing.

Sure, she would sit silently in the observation booth, waiting out the exhaustive tests to the equipment, then finally the test, which would be a measly 10 minutes long. Her silence meant we wouldn’t know what she’d report to upper management. And, while I was sure we’d be allowed to continue our work, there was always that nagging voice trying to tell me we’d get dismissed, shut down, and placed into different projects.

Sorry Dr. Lintz, I don’t care about making better tasting de-hydrated food. Even if you’re trying to send it through interdimensional space to preserve nutrients.

I looked at the message again before closing my fist, the Assistant glove going into sleep mode. If I sat here any longer, I’d be late for the preliminary analysis of the mainframe we were using, as well as the long checklist we had to go through before we could even test-fire the equipment. Once we tested the hardware, we had to do the same checklist again so we could be sure everything was operating within acceptable parameters.

Then I would step into the chamber.

Shivering slightly at the thought, I stood from my comfy chair and left my office.

Project Moros: my project since I started working at Eastern Star Laboratories. It had taken a bit of work to drag the idea up from the 100’s levels and into the upper levels, but it had been worth the effort. Started in the late 60’s, Project Moros’s parent project, Chronos, was all about time manipulation and how to get the time stream to work in our favor.

Headed by the founder of Star Laboratories, Stanford Mann, Project Chronos was supposed to open the fabric of time to allow instantiations travel between events in the future, and the past. Early tests of the tech leveled some of the Rockies out west, and the project was scrapped, mainly due to the untimely death of Mr. Mann. Later projects like Urðr, Aion, and DeLorean had tried to work the fabric of time in various ways, all failing.

Well aside from Project DeLorean, which saw some slight success in slowing the flow of time. It was from the data they gathered, and the tech they used, that I built my project on top of. Named after Moros, the Greek deity of, essentially, doom. My project wasn’t so much about doom as it was about stopping doom. Stopping a lot of things, really. Like the movement of molecules.

Project Moros has a simple headline for those that are new to the project or were hearing about it in a shareholder’s meeting: Project Moros would stop time. And, if the not-dead test subjects: some mice, fruit, bees, and a bird; were anything to go off of, we had succeeded.

It was the application of this process, temporal preservation, that had the higher-ups excited. Imagine pausing people for their long trip to a distant planet, or placing people into safe suspended animation who were sick or dying thanks to an unknown or uncurable disease. Even past that, important persons could be placed in stasis until they were needed again, or people could simply wait out issues, though I personally didn’t care for that application.

It was going to be revolutionary, and my name won’t even be on the tin.

I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my lab coat, walking quickly through the empty halls. Most everyone was back in town, Donville if you were wondering, asleep, almost asleep, or out for a night on the town. Yet here I was, deep beneath the mountains trying to find the pause button on the remote of the world. Also, yes, the movie Click has been mentioned several times in my lab. It was also banned from serious discussions.

It was well known that whatever you made while under the umbrella of Star Labs would not be credited towards you for at least a decade, then someone would “find” documentation that would credit you with an earlier finding. Still a far way away from real credit, since the initial credit for the breakthrough would go to someone else on earth. Just cover stories to keep Star Labs a secret.

But hey, at least I don’t have to worry about money.

I stepped into the red wing, walking briskly towards the door at the far end. To put it simply, the red wing was where floor 19 did their real work. This was where our test chamber was.

Stepping through the main door, ignoring a comment from Max, I took in the activity of the control room.

Ahead of me was a window peering out into the chamber, and in front of the window, working a series of instruments, were two of my crew: Dr. Maria Hane and Flint Queens. Flint was an intern, but at least he was respectively diligent in his work. Dr. Hane oversaw him, seeing as she had the most experience with the equipment they were using. Dr. Hane had been brought up from the lower levels the year before to lend her experience from Project DeLorean.

A better helper I couldn’t have asked for.

Dr. Hane turned to me, giving a quick hello with her hand, flicking up her Assistant, and turning the display towards me. Ah, they’d begun the checks without me.

“We’ve gone over the power requirements, as well as points 2-17. We’re still checking the main and secondary arrays, although Jeremy said he would be getting to that after pulling up the primary mainframe, if the arrays still weren’t checked.” She intoned, pointing to the various tasks held out towards me.

I slid my hand from my pocket, pulling up my Assistant display and flicking over to the checklist. I read through most of the list, asking for confirmations and readouts. This was only the first run through, though I was happy to see they started without me. Inclement weather really was a bitch this time of year, and I didn’t want to get behind schedule. I flicked to the next page and frowned.

“And how about Dr. Porter? Is he running through the secondary systems diagnostics?” I asked, moving to the larger doctor’s list of procedures. None were checked, but that was only because the old man refused to use Assistants like the rest of us. Instead relying on paper and pen.

It wasn’t a bad thing, not really. It just didn’t work with the rest of us. Seriously, at least use an Ipad.

“I believe he’s in maintenance now, if you want an update on that.” Dr. Hane intoned, while closing her fist and turning off her Assistant.

I nodded, flicking over to Dr. Tenmond’s, or Jeremy’s, checklist, watching as one of the boxes lit up with a checkmark. I wouldn’t need to check on him yet. So, Dr. Porter’s update came first.

“Thank you Dr. Hane, Mr. Queens. Keep me posted if any issues come up.”

Dr. Hane nodded, turning back to the screens displayed on the consoles under the window. I heard Mr. Queens grunt in appreciation as he kept going over the failsafe protocols. I could leave them to this for now.

The door to the left chamber was still opened, all sorts of wires and heavy equipment whirring away behind the soundproofing. Not that said soundproofing was doing anything, what with the door wide open.

I stepped inside the maintenance wing, closing the door behind me. I flicked up my Assistant’s light mode, walking further in. These areas were always brightly lit, but some of the machines cast shadows despite the lighting.

“Dr. Porter? I could use an update if you have any.” I called out through the noise filled room.

Farther ahead, I saw a hand stick out from behind the secondary array. “Right over here, Richard. Just finishing up the secondary array checkup.”

I quickened my step to the far end, watching as Dr. porter stepped out from behind the array, dusting himself as he met me half way.

“I’d say she passes inspection, a definite perfect score as usual.” Dr. Porter was a much jollier man than my other assistants, and sometimes it really wasn’t necessary. It was annoying on most days to be constantly berated by someone who was just so anti-pessimism.

Though, for once in my life, I could use the optimism from the fat, happy Doctor.

“Alright, Good to hear. Your checklist…” I held out my hand for his list, and he gave a quick nod, passing over his notepad. Scribbled across the surface were his tasks, and checkmarks next to them. I pulled up my Assistant display and quickly updated his list on the databanks.

Passing Dr. Porter his notes, I flicked back through the checklist. Only thing left was the dry run, then back through the checklist, then the first test could begin. I took a deep breath in, then out, walking back to the control room with Dr. Porter in tow. I stopped just before the door when Dr. Porter cleared his throat.

“If you need,” He started, “we can perform the dry run ourselves. I’d get that you’re probably rather… stressed about this whole test.” He said, as I turned to him, my brow raised. This seemed to startle the older gentleman, as he immediately began correcting himself, but I raised my hand and managed to silence him.

“Thank you for your concern, Dr. Porter, but I’ll be just fine.” I gave a smile, or at least a grin. “Nothing calms my nerves more than making sure that what I’m nervous about is under my control.”

That seemed to satisfy him, so I turned back to the door and entered the main room. But I’ll be honest, my answer didn’t appease me. I knew my part in this, what I’d be doing as I was… paused. I would be counting, down from 10 while watching a stopwatch. Still, knowing what to do, and doing it are two very different things. I took another breath as I took note of the new presence in the control room.

Dr. Hane, Dr. Tenmond, and Mr. Queens were waiting at the control panel, noting down the final readouts. Dr. Tenmond turned to me with a small nod. “Everything’s ready, Dr. Gregori. Give the say and we’ll prepare for the dry test.”

Mr. Queens moved out of the way as I stepped up to the control panel, looking at the readouts myself. All perfectly acceptable, well within range. Still, we wouldn’t know until we had it running.

I cleared my throat.

“TIM, see that our overhead is noted on our status for the dry run and request permission to commence the dry test.”

“Request acknowledged… permission granted by overhead: Director Esther Gin.”

“All right then.” I said, tapping the control panel’s main screen. “Let’s begin the dry run.”

700 miles off the coast of Perth, Australia

Luthor Mount did not want to be here.

Not that he had a choice in the matter though. As part of the primary board between the various Star Labs he was required to attend tests of this magnitude. Still, he would have rather been around East Star Labs to watch the Moros Project’s first test. It was probably going to be one of the biggest projects under his umbrella for the foreseeable future, and his attendance would have been appreciated, he was sure of it.

At the very least it would be better than standing here.

Luthor smiled anyway, shaking the hand of yet another director of high technology as he entered the main room ahead. That one was from the Empire Star branch, located somewhere in Italy. But he didn’t know where. Honestly, Luthor wasn’t that concerned with what went on in other branches, as long as they didn’t interfere with the branch, he was a part of.

There were a few branches in the US, namely East, Bay, and Arch, as well as a few in Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. There was only one branch in the entirety of South America, the Amazon Star branch. Luthor shook another director’s hand, apparently from the Dynasty Star branch in China.

Currently, he was in the uppermost section of the Sea Star branch, located near Australia somewhere. Head honchos, respected directors, and gilded scientists from branches the world over were in attendance, suggesting something far larger and grander than anything since the Irribellum Gate in the 60s. And that had been instantaneous transport invented by the previous Head Director, Stanford Mann.

So, whatever this announcement was, it was big.

Luthor shook another hand, belonging to a Ms. Brown from the Jack Star branch. How did she even get invited, Luthor mused. Jack Star was basically the gutter where unused or borderline useless ideas went to die. Still, Luthor greeted her cordially, as was his job here. One of many board members lined up to shake hands of the apparently important members of Star labs.

It was a real up-scale shindig: tuxedos, dresses, crystal champaign, hors d’oeuvres, and even soft classical music drifted in from a live band. Really, just borderline tasteless. On stage a small band played using a set of instruments he’d never seen before. Behind the stage, giving clear view of the adjacent chamber, was a window overlooking an underwater test site, which leaned further on to the scientific purpose of this formal gathering.

So, it was at least nice for the people who didn’t have to stand in line, sitting and snacking, instead of shaking hands with “important” people.

At least, that’s how it was until the line stood straighter as the final guest approached.

Finally, Luthor thought, extending a hand and a much more genuine smile.

“Good to see you Mount, any idea what this is about?”

Shaking Luthor’s hand in a bear grip was the current Head Director, Timothy Berners-Leewere. A bear of a man, standing head and shoulders above most of the crowd. Despite graying hair, his eyes were lit up with calm passion befitting someone far younger than himself. Dr. Berners-Leewere, or Dr. Tim as he preferred, had been chosen directly by Stanford Mann, by name.

Luthor shrugged, trying to match the man’s giant smile. “I was hoping I could ask you, to be honest. You don’t know?”

Dr. Tim released Luthor’s hand, allowing the floor director to flex his fingers. “No, I don’t know.” The Head Director said. “Apparently, it’s something joint between Jack Star and Sea Star, though the specifics are lost on me.” He steered Luthor out of the line of hand-shakers, walking the two of them into the main foyer where the men and women, whose hands Luthor had been shaking, milled about while talking about various projects and snacking on the food provided.

“I gave them an ultimatum.” Dr. Timothy began again, waving to some other faces in the crowd. “Either they hand over all the data they have on this secret project of theirs, or I take it by force and shut one of them down for good.” He shook another attendee’s hand with a smile, despite his current conversation.

Luthor had already taken a drink from a passing waiter, now holding a small glass of red wine. “So, they decided to just give you all the information in person, with every other person of import?” Luthor asked, taking a sip. To this, Dr. Timothy’s smile turned a more genuine, if it were possible.

“They requested it, and they have been talking up this project to me, though I shouldn’t tell you the details until they’ve announced what they wish.” He swiped a mug of what might have been chilled beer from a passing waiter, slamming it down, and handing back the now empty mug to the startled man.

Dr. Timothy waited for the waiter to shuffle off before continuing. “I figure that either this whole ordeal will make them both laughing stocks, get them locked up for the rest of their lives, or will bring both of the branches great prestige and some long-overdue respect.” He shook another hand, exchanging brief pleasantries for a moment.

Dr. Timothy waved them off, with a genuine laugh at a terrible joke, before returning his attention to Luthor. “And hell, there aren’t many events like this within our little confederation of sciences, it might encourage a bit more comradery, no matter the outcome.” Dr. Tim held his poker face for a moment before it collapsed under a deep, but reserved, laugh. Luthor joined him, setting his near-empty glass of wine on an adjacent table.

“I doubt that, Tim.” Luthor managed, choosing a seat at a table nearest to the front of the chamber. “The day Star Labs starts working as one, is the day only one exists!” Dr. Tim pulled out a seat as well, still chuckling, peering out at the various attendees who were also choosing seats. He called over another beer, trying, and failing, to return to his earlier poker face.

They sat there for a moment, quiet laughter drawing attention from only the nearest of tables. Head Director Tim was known as a jovial man, so this wasn’t exactly a surprise. Still, some expected better behavior from the man who, essentially, kept all the branches from fracturing off into smaller enclaves.

“Erhem, yes.” A voice began, amplified through the room. Voices hushed, and the lights dimmed as the band members shuffled off stage, the music stopping abruptly. “I would like to welcome you all to our most momentous announcement.”

A woman stepped out onto the stage, a wide smiling face scanning the crowd. Luthor recognized her as the Lead Director of Sea Star, Dr. Tracy Orens. Some polite applause followed her as she moved towards the center of the stage.

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, I’m not one to sit here and mince words over how great it is to have you all here, and how wonderful it is to have our Head Director, Doctor Timothy Berners-Leewere, in attendance!”

She motioned up to where the Head Director sat, and a light followed her gesture. Dr. Timothy stood politely, smiling and waving to a generous round of applause. The light left him as he returned to his seat, eyes trained on the speaking Sea Star Director.

“No, we are here to show our latest discovery, our latest invention, our latest breakthrough. So, join me in applause as I invite Dr. Denver Clove to the stage!” Dr. Orens initiated the applause as Dr. Clove stepped out onto the stage, moving to stand beside the Lead Director. He raised a hand for silence, before talking.

“Firstly, on behalf of both Jack Star and Sea Star, I thank you for attending this evening.” His voice echoed around the room.

Nobody had been told beforehand that Jack Star was involved, though none would have even thought to anticipate it. Luthor leaned back in his seat, sipping what was left of his wine as Dr. Clove continued. If Dr. Timothy hadn’t mentioned their participation, Luthor might have been surprised.

“What we have been working on for the past several years, admittedly in secret, is hands down one of the most important projects currently being researched on this good Earth. Or, perhaps, the most important.” He paced on the stage, moving between the two sides of the window.

“Sixty five years ago, our organization was founded by Stanford Mann.” A projector lit up the wall above the window, showing a picture of Mr. Mann in the 50’s. Graying hair, but a stern expression set onto a boney frame. Not exactly a stellar example of humanity. “A visionary, Mr. Mann led our research teams forward into the future.” He stopped a moment, glancing up at Dr. Timothy before continuing.

“Mr. Mann led the way towards the discovery of, and wide usage of, transistor computer technology, matter teleportation, mass communication, and space exploration.” With each mention, pictures popped up to the earliest prototypes next to modern consumer models if there were any. “With his visions, his time, and his genius, he pulled people together from all over the world to make these distant dreams a reality.” The picture changed again, this time to a room full of scientists, with Mr. Mann in the center sitting down.

Dr. Clove paused again, due to a small round of applause. He cleared his throat as he continued his thought.

“Of course, these discoveries were made by a man who knew what he wanted, and had cleared his mind of doubt, worry, and distraction to achieve these remarkable feats of technology.” He hesitated a moment as the projector shut down, then continued. “According to his own research, Mr. Mann cleared himself of doubt, worry, distraction and a myriad of other disruptive emotions not just figuratively, but literally.”

Luthor sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Of course, it was this idea again. Around the chamber small conversations had started up, murmurs rippling across the gathered directors and scientists. Dr. Clove and Dr. Orens exchanged looks, maybe rethinking their decision.

Luthor looked over to Dr. Tim, intent on seeing the Head Director’s reaction to what was obviously coming.

Dr. Tim looked calm, almost expectant. Not even the slightest hint of surprise. Luthor stared a moment longer before returning his gaze to the stage.

Could they have done it?

Dr. Clove cleared his throat once again, calling most of the attention back to himself, though some remained focused on their plates and glasses, already finished with what he had to say.

“You may already be writing what I’m about to say as foolish, or downright idiotic, but I implore you to listen as Doctor, and Lead Director of Sea Star, Tracy Orens has.” The two on stage exchanged a brief glance before Dr. Clove turned back to the audience.

“Simply put, Mr. Mann tampered with his very soul.”

Immediately, scientists began standing up, some shouting down at Dr. Clove, some filing silently towards the exit. Others merely sat back, waiting to see the fallout. Dr. Clove shouted for silence, so he could continue, to no avail. He looked back at Dr. Orens, who offered a supportive, but ultimately unhelpful, smile.

More people stood to leave, but still, Luthor watched Dr. Timothy. He could practically see the gears turning in the Head Director’s head, deciding whether or not to act, but even then, how to act in this situation? Dr. Clove was talking about souls!

This had been a matter of debate over the past 30 years since Mr. Mann died in the Rocky Mountain Star facility explosion. His journals, both scientific and personal, had made numerous references to his own soul, wishing he could work it as he once did. Some wrote it off as a passing reference to his old age, maybe even to trying to have a love life, but others took it as proof that the soul could be worked like anything else in the body.

Of course, this meant admitting that something which couldn’t be observed existed without any evidence supporting it. Something that, most researchers and directors decided, was metaphysical. But that didn’t stop the odd project from opening the case up again, like it had apparently had now.

Dr. Clove waited only a few more moments before continuing his speech, though he was largely ignored by the crowd. He stopped, unheard, glaring around at nothing in particular, a scowl on his face. Dr. Orens had stopped smiling, instead standing with her hands behind her back, staring at the floor.

“Can we have silence please.”

Most of the conversations stopped as Dr. Timothy spoke. He had gotten out of his chair, now looking around at the various attendees. “Have a modicum of respect for your fellow scientist. You would be better off hearing out a fool than interrupting a scientist.” With that he returned to his seat, looking down at Dr. Clove and Dr. Orens.

“Please, doctors, continue.”

Dr. Clove nodded in thanks to Dr. Timothy, but his eyes betrayed his notice of the disapproving insult. The head Director gave no reply and instead simply stared up at the man. Waiting.

Dr. Clove cleared his throat, looking at the now attentive crowd.

“Thank you, Head Director. Now, as I was saying; Mr. Mann tampered with his very own soul at some point in his life. Now, we have no way of knowing how he did so, only that he did succeed. So, our first step was to see if there even WAS a soul to tamper with.”

He waved at the window behind him, which lit up the submerged chamber behind it.

“Now, what we found is that there is no way, with current technology, to actually observe the soul through our natural senses. Nor could we find it with even our most sensitive equipment.” He once again motioned to the chamber, where, towards the center, a man swam down. Wearing only a pair of boxers and an oxygen mask leading up to the top of the chamber somewhere. He gave a thumbs up.

Dr. Orens returned the thumbs up, looking up at the attendees. “The man in the test chamber is a volunteer by the name John Lance. He is an upper technician here at Sea Star who worked on the project with Doctor Clove and the rest of Project Man.”

A slight murmur went out at the name of the Project. Luthor had to think a moment before he recognized the code-name. It was a project formerly known as Project Tiamat, which tried to influence human behavior by submersing the body in water, bringing the subject near death, then shocking the living hell out of them. Nothing came of it, aside from a few corpses, so it was scrapped until some scientists at Bay Star tried to use it to prove souls existed, calling it Project Man.

And now, apparently, the project was back up. Luthor shifted in his seat uncomfortably. There was a very good chance that this Dr. Lance would not make it out of that chamber alive. He stole another glance at Dr. Tim, who sill looked largely unshaken, though he did seem thrown off by Dr. Lance in the test chamber. This must have been where they stopped telling him about the project.

“I shouldn’t tell you the details until they’ve announced what they wish.” Dr. Timothy had said, Luthor mused. Looks like they didn’t tell you enough.

“Now.” Dr. Clove picked back up, silencing the audience. “I said we couldn’t see nor measure the soul, however” He motioned back to Dr. Lance in the test chamber. “we can see its effects on a person and the area round it. The procedure is quite simple, really.” Dr. Clove moved to the side of the window, out of the way.

“First, the subject is submerged in salt water, preferable pulled up from lower depths. After some time in the talk, the subject’s oxygen is replaced by fluocarbon to allow for the subject to breath while still being encompassed entirely within liquids.”

Dr. Clove motioned to the window again, two long poles extending towards Dr. Lance in the water. He pulled various smaller wires to himself from the poles, fixing them at various points on his body. Dr. Clove continued talking as he did this.

“Dr. Lance is now placing these wires at various pressure points across his body, similar to some uses of electro therapy. Once firmly in place, we will apply an increasingly strong electric current through the water and the wires. We will steadily increase the wattage until the subject is unconscious. After that, the current is adjusted until the subject’s vitals are stabilized.”

Dr. Lance’s body floated in the water, too far away to see his eyes, but close enough to see the twitching of his arms and legs. Luthor turned his eyes away. While Dr. Clove was clearly in control of the test, Mr. Mount was not a huge fan of live testing.

He instead turned his eyes to his watch, checking the time. Across the globe, Dr. Gregori was testing his own breakthrough, which Luthor would have much preferred to have watched. No messing with the human body in any way proven to be potentially fatal. No man in a fish tank getting electrocuted. He watched the seconds pass on his watch, listening to the low murmurs across the crowd as the test continued.

“Now,” Dr. Clove spoke up, Luthor turning his attention back to the window, despite hesitation. “The final step in this process is the easiest, at least in application. We activate a series of-” He didn’t get to finish his thought as bright white light ripped through the window into the chamber. The audience screamed, people rushing to get out of the room as something clearly began to go wrong.

“Shut it down!” Luthor barely heard of the shouts and footsteps of other people running out of the room, as well as a loud thrumming echoing off the walls of the chamber.

“Shut down the variant emitters! Now!” Someone was shouting. Luthor covered his eyes, the bright light still pouring through despite his efforts to block it out.

A terrible, cackling laugh rippled across the room. The wort part was the pure glee pouring out of the voice. Luthor fell back as the light poured through him, barely having a moment to let out even a whimper before the light was gone. The room was silent, only the distant sound of breaking stone, steel sliding against steel, and splashes of water echoed through the room.

Luthor sat awkwardly on the ground, eyes covered by his hands. Beneath his tuxedo was stone, his eyes closed shut forever in a cover of stone.

Dr. Timothy was standing at his seat, an arm over his eyes, another over his head. Beneath his coat was stone, a scowl of pain etched forever on his face.

Resting at the bottom of the tank that had emitted the terrible light, the gleeful laighter, was Dr. Lance. Wires dug into stone, his face contorted in pain despite the deep sleep he had been in.

Silence reigned in the Sea Star Laboratories as stone stared at what had been done.

Stone eyes were all that was left to watch Humanity crumble.

“Alright, preparation for human trial: 1 of the Moros Project is comnplete.” Dr. Hane spoke over the speakers, reading from my guidelines. “Are you ready, Doctor Gregori?”

Dr. Hane was up in the control booth, next to her stood Director Gin. She said notheing, as expected. But a flicker of excitement slipped through and into her eyes, no doubt at the promise of the experiment. I cleared my mind, flexing my jaw.

“Yes, Doctor Hane. Proceed when ready.”

I shouldn’t be worried, I thought, pulling up my Assistant’s stopwatch feature, setting it for 10 seconds. I shouldn’t be worried, I’ve counted before, and that’s all this was, counting. I held out my hand in front of me, pulling the stopwatch to the main screen.

I heard the primary emitter array spool up, the soft hum whirring above me. I focused on my timer as I flicked it on. The secondary emitters below me began humming as well, sending vibrations up my feet as I began counting, closing my eyes.

10.

The emitter will encase your body in a protective bubble,

This bubble contains the variant emissions,

Which work to-

“Now let’s go, I don’t want anymore fighting.” Cheerilee said as she walked away from the statue of the draconequus. This field trip had been going well up and till the cutie mark crusader, such an adorable name, had gotten into their little fight. Still, wanting to keep the mood as “fun field trip” rather than “stuffy classwork”, so Cheerilee let her students talk amongst themselves for the moment as they walked to the next section of the sculpture garden.

“I guess what they say about Discord was right though,” Cheerilee said to herself, soft enough to not be heard by the chattering foals. “Really brings out the chaos, even if it’s just a sculpture of him.”

Cheerilee stopped in front of another statue, turning to her students as they wandered closer to their teacher.

“Now, this is another interesting statue here in the gardens, what do you notice about this one?” She looked over her shoulder at the statue. It was an odd one for the garden, but the craftsmanship was exquisite to the point where it had to go in the garden, if not a museum.

Snails was the first to speak up this time. “Is it a minotaur?” Beside him Snips spoke up excitedly. “It has fingers! Just like a minotaur!” They grinned at each other, then at Cheerilee, who smiled at their enthusiasm.

“Well, you’re right about the fingers, but look at the head, and the legs.” Cheerilee waved back to the statue, pointing to the head and legs as she spoke. “No horns, and no hooves!”

She smiled to her students, continuing her brief lesson. “This creature also wears clothing, unlike the minotaurs. But that was a good guess!” Cheerilee cleared her throat, turning back towards the statue.

“This statue was made to look like the mythical humans, who harnessed wind, lightning, and sunlight to rule the world!” She chuckled at the her classes nervous looks, aside from the crusaders, who were looking at the ground, or the trees, or the heges. She would have to dedicate a day to reading the Legend of the Humans to the fillies, if only to ease their worries, and maybe spark a little interest.

“Don’t worry, they are just myths after all. Now, on to the next statue!.” Cheerilee sang as she led the fillies off towards the next statue, planning the next few days of her curriculum. She’d have to reschedule the trip to Fluttershy’s cottage, or the visit to the library.

Cheerilee frowned, walking past the next statue. Which pony would handle the disappointment better?

The class followed their teacher away from the human statue, excitedly pointing out the unmentioned statue of a heroic pony.

The Crusaders hoped they wouldn’t have to worry about remembering any of the details of that one. Especially with the new homework dumped on their heads. Still, she had to admit the statues were memorable, even the human one.

That statue was just about 6 feet tall, from its feet to its head. It held it’s arm outstretched, hand open expectantly, its eyes closed. It wore a wide, billowing coat, and under that, a plain, buttoned shirt. Pants leading to small shoes covered its legs and feet, a look mostly unseen in equestria. The whole statue was crafted from a single slab of dark stone before even the time of Celestia, but was found even longer before that by a dragon kingdom in the east.

Some called the statue Concentration and likened it to humanity’s spell weaving ability. Others called it Payment in reference to the human’s legendary capacity for greed. Some simply called it Humanity, but they just too lazy to think of a good name.

Nobody stopped at the statue for long, most found the face unsettling, like it was waiting. Waiting for something to come, to hit it or knock it down. It looked scared, its emotions forever revealed within intricate stonework. Truly a masterpiece.

And yet…

Author's Note

Hello and welcome to my first story here, though I've been a reader for some time.

I've had this story as a concept, and a poorly written first chapter, since 2013, and late the other night I was looking sadly at stories on here that would never finish, and thought to myself "darn that sucks". I sat there thinking about how I write, when I write, and how much I've written before I remembered my preliminary chapter for this story, once called a Star in a Cave.

I went and found it (thanks google drive) and read through the early high school, unfinished monstrosity that I somehow called a first chapter. So, in a burst of random inspiration, I spent a whole night and part of a morning writing this first chapter, and conceptualizing future ones as well.

I hope you enjoy this story as it trickles out over the course of the next year or so!

Chapter 2: Statues of Chaos and Greed

The crack spread across Discord’s stone head as he began to work away at his prison, not that he’d ever use the word work for something HE was doing. Work was too constraining. So, no, he wasn’t working at it. He was… getting rid of it! Or maybe you could say he was convincing it to sod off. Although, he really didn’t have any care to think about this little issue of vocabulary, to get out of his own statue he had to focus, at least a little.

The ponies who had been talking about Discord wandered off and away from his statue, the three little fillies that had brought him such joy only moments ago had their heads hung low, already dreading their punishment for spreading a little chaos in the world.

Really quite detestable form from that teacher. But then, all teachers were just killjoys anyway.

Discord felt bad for the little fillies, but more importantly, he would personally thank them once that crack spread out from just his head! He chuckled to himself, the crack spreading as he worked his magic through the new seams in the stonework. Oh, the feeling! Movement! Flexibility! A breath of fresh air! Oh thank the primordial seas for little fillies like those three!

He felt like he’d been trapped as a statue for eons, when it had only been, what? A thousand or so years? But thankfully those Princesses had a little spat at some point, and the spell weakened ever so slightly after Celestia had won. Discord had tried to force his way out of the spell cast by the Princesses but found that Celestia still had some elements under her favor.

So, for however long since then, Discord had been silently fuming, scheming, and dreaming about his eventual escape from the monotonous prison he was trapped in.

But then, oh ho ho, but then, those pesky elements had chosen new bearers to wield them! Oh it was an exciting feeling to have those constant magical restraints removed from his prison. He’d set to work immediately, pushing against the rock that encased him, but found himself… weaker than he was last time he was out.

Too much peace and order in the world, he blamed. Well, Discord’s plans would change that! A dash of havoc, a smidgen of worry, a whole ton of chaos! Oh, he was getting giddy just thinking about it.

But, even then, he still had to escape, and it wasn’t as easy going as Discord would have liked. Or, it wasn’t going well until that class had rolled in, causing a little storm of chaos Discord found absolutely refreshing, and oh so filling! During the past few centuries in the stupid garden he’d only been visited by stuffy nobility, some ever orderly gardeners, and rarely by Celestia, although last week she had been joined by Luna.

He’d stopped pushing at the walls of his prison when they showed up. Wasn’t Luna on the moon or something? Bah, no matter. She was more a mare after Discord’s own heart if she had to be banished all the way to the moon! Or maybe she wasn’t, Discord didn’t really know.

Being stuck in a rock doesn’t really help you keep up with the current going ons in the world.

But still, he knew enough, exactly enough. Just as much as he would’ve cared to have known had he been out of this prison a hundred years ago! Discord grumbled half-heartedly to himself, startling a bird off his head as hairline fractures began snaking across his body.

It was now or never!

Discord howled as he let his power out, the sound of magic whistling through the cracks in the statue like some filly’s first recorder. It raised in pitch as more cracks ran across the statue, a disco pattern of light flickering through the gaps in stone as his howl turned to laughter.

And one by one, stone shards fell away from his body. In one last push, the statue exploded, pebbles raining down from the sky. Discord rose into the air, laughing in triumph at his newfound freedom.

“At last! Fresh air! Freedom! Oh, how I have missed this feeling!” Discord spiraled into the air, turning into a bird briefly, then a leaf, then a boulder with wings. All the while laughing giddily.

Relinquishing his wings, he fell back to the earth, smashing through a statue of some pony who probably wasn’t even real anyway. An arm extending from the large rock, Discord snapped his rocky fingers. Little bits of marble from the broken statue re-assembled themselves, this time in the shape of Discord, standing in triumph where his own prison once stood.

Discord laughed as he reverted to his draconequus form, slinking across the garden like a snake. Where he moved various plants from all over the world grew, making a veritable forest of insanity. “Lets see those gardeners trim a palm tree!” Discord chuckled, patting the side of a new, and rather impressive, tropical tree. There were also cacti, seaweed, some moss, several types of weeping willows, and a pear tree. Discord even grew a large pine tree, complete with a layer of snow.

He laughed again, growing smaller and sitting on the head of a nearby statue, the only one still sitting in the sun. Clapping his hands, a bright green lawn chair appeared on the statue’s head, complete with a bright red, floral pattern umbrella. Discord sat back with a newly-created cup of mish-mash, his own recipe. Adjusting a set of sunglasses on his face, he moved a layer of clouds away from the sky, clearing up a larger ray of sunshine.

“Now this, this is how to live.” He said to himself, sipping from his glass. As he sipped, the mish mash rose and it began overflowing immediately. He tossed it over his shoulder with a snort of laughter, conjuring up some mirrors for a quick tan.

“You wouldn’t believe how pale one gets when your stuck in stone for a thousand years, ey statue?” As he said that his body turned a shade of golden brown, from his eyes to his horns, to his various appendages and even his tail. Discord snapped again, bringing life to the statue, making it agree with him.

He waited a moment, before lowering his shades a bit. “That’s where you say ‘oh yes Discord, but you don’t wanna burn!’ then I light on fire. So, let’s try that again!” Discord supposed he was a bit rusty, maybe he’d made some random statue elsewhere come to life to say that. He laughed at the thought of confusing some random pony, so maybe it was a small blessing.

Discord snapped a second time, raising his shades back up to his face, bringing the statue to life this time.

Or… maybe not. Discord stood up, his chair and umbrella snapping onto themselves until they vanished with a pop. Tossing his shades off, along with four other pairs of glasses he had hidden below them, Discord lowered himself head-level with the statue, squinting.

“I don’t appreciate your lack of cooperation, statue, though I enjoy how unexpected this whole issue is. Tell you what,” he continued, talking to the statue as he paced in front of it’s face, “I’ll forget this ever happened IF you say what I want you to. Deal?”

He grew back to full size, grabbing the statue’s outstretched hand, shaking the whole statue vigorously as they “agreed”. As he did so, a memory wormed its way into his thoughts, causing him to stop.

Wait a minute…

Discord stopped shaking the statue, bringing it closer for a quick scrutinizing. It looked… familiar. Now why was that… oh! A human!

He set the statue back on its pedestal, looming over it with a magnifying glass. The last time Discord had seen a human, namely a stone human, he’d been… well it had to have been when he forced the ponies to move the sun and moon that first time! Yes, that had to have been the time. Though, the statues back then had no clothes, those were destroyed by age, while this one’s clothes were part of the stonework itself.

Looked identical to all those statues the humans had built, though it had one of those coats on, some of the humans he’d first seen had been wearing those. Of course, even those humans were statues. It was honestly surprising that even one of those humans survived Discord’s experimentation with a world of chaos! Discord smiled fondly, remembering those times. Truly the best of times.

It was only after the ponies got those “Elements of Harmony” that he’d been knocked off his chaotic throne. Then he’d come back! Then knocked back down. Then Discord came back again, this time with renewed vigor! Then stone statue.

Now he was back again!

Still though, Discord thought as he pulled a stethoscope out of the air, pressing it against the statue’s chest. He listened for a moment, smoothing out his goatee. Pulling off the stethoscope and tossing it behind him, he pulled a little rubber hammer from out behind him, raising it above his head.

“Now to check for reflexes!” Discord chortled, swinging the rubber mallet down full force on the statue’s head, only to stop mere millimeters away to tap it lightly. Cracks spread out over the dark statue’s head, stopping just below the closed eyes.

“Of course, I would expect you to remain here for further treatment, no strenuous activities for whatever reason, you understand?” Discord said, wiggling his finger at the statue’s face. He put his arm over the statue’s shoulder, gesturing out at the horizon with a large smile.

“We’ll have you right as rain in no time at all!” With a snap of his fingers, and a small laugh at his own joke, Discord summoned a small storm cloud over the statue’s head, rain already pouring heavily. Discord stepped back, admiring his handiwork, before frowning.

He closed an eye, extending his hands, or rather his claw and paw, and making a window through his digits. He stuck a tongue out, then another, feigning deep thought. He snapped his fingers, straightening up. “Eureka, of course!”

Clapping his hands, the cloud turned a violent shade of pink, raining down chocolate instead of rainwater.

“Now, that is a raincloud that people could really enjoy. And by people, I mean me! So long human, I’m off to better the world!” With a quick wave, he spiraled off into the distance, vanishing with a burst of bubbles.

The statue stood silent, as statues do, chocolate pouring across the cracks on its head and down the body, pooling in its outstretched hand. It was a few hours later that two gardeners would arrive to find their wonderful statue garden missing a statue, filled with random plants, and with a damaged statue covered in chocolate. The two ponies gawked at the scene.

“W-where’s the victory statue? Where’d these plants come from? What in Celestia’s name is going on here?” The older pony spoke shakily, staring blankly at her once beautiful garden. Her assistant stood silent, shaking his head at the palm tree that had popped up in the sunflower bed.

Behind the two of them, a statue loomed, hooking them it it’s arms and pulling them close. The startled ponies shouted in alarm as the statue’s face broke out in a massive smile.

“How ‘bout you take some time to admire my handiwork! Really an upgrade if you ask me.” The statue of Discord said, smiling through cracked teeth. The stallion screamed in shock, passing out immediately. The statue laughed as the other gardener simply stood stiff in Discord’s embrace, unable to think or move. Just too much to process.

“If you sleep, you’re going to miss all the fun!” The statue chastised as it straightened up, dropping the ponies to the ground. It raised its mismatched stone hands above its head, laughing all the while.

“Truly a spectacle of chaos!” His laughter echoed off the statues, loud and filled with a gleeful malice. “I won’t be knocked down again!”

“I still cannot believe you just left Discord’s statue to sit in the garden, Celie.” Luna said after taking a sip of her tea, watching her sister shift through a pile of paperwork at the table, where she was supposed to be eating instead of working. “It was irresponsible of you to just let him sit outside, where any pony could get to him, or vice versa.”

Celestia didn’t seem to hear, reading through and signing another document with a flourish. She did nod her head though, showing she clearly heard Luna, just wasn’t paying attention to what her sister was saying. Celestia still hadn’t touched her salad, and Luna was getting irritated at her sister’s continued efforts to ignore what Luna had to say.

Luna smacked the table with her hoof, making Celestia’s current signature slide up and off the paper as she jumped at the sudden clattering of porcelain and forks on the table. She looked up from the paper to Luna, sighing, as she wiped the ink away before it dried, leaving a dark smudge on the paper. “That was for the Duke of Shoeburn, Luna. They only just started recovering from the flood, then with Discord’s escape-”

Luna cut off Celestia’s attempt to turn the conversation, staring intently at her sister.

“If the elements had not selected new bearers when they had, we might not have been able to contain him again!” Luna gestured out the window where a few teams of pegasai were still scrubbing the clouds clean of sugar. “We should be thankful the Elements were able to stop him this quickly! I doubt they would have let you or I wield them as we did before, even if someone like Discord was wreaking havoc as he was.”

Celestia smiled tiredly, re-signing the letter. “Oh, hush Luna. I can understand why you’re upset about Discord’s statue staying outside instead of under the castle, but I believe the Elements would have let us wield them if a crisis like Discord was running rampant.” Celestia returned her feather to the inkwell, moving the letter to her stack of signed papers.

She smiled brightly towards her sister who still looked serious, but Luna did not return Celestia’s smile when she continued talking. “Nevertheless, if Discord had been released before the new bearers were chosen, or-”

“Stop doubting yourself and the Elements, Luna.” Celestia stood up, picking up her plate in her magic as she did so, walking over to sit next to her sister. “You’ve lost yourself in situations that aren’t ever going to happen, seeing as they’ve already had a chance to happen, and did not.” She smiled at Luna, who smiled slightly, returning her attention to her plate.

“I guess I am just working myself up, but the matter still remains that Discord was out from under our watch while in the statue garden.” She paused to take a bite of her salad before continuing her thought. “We need to keep an eye on him this time.” Luna took another bite, her fork hovering in the air over the plate. “We don’t want a repeat of this situation, right?”

Celestia nodded, picking up her own fork with magic, letting Luna continue planning aloud. “I think we should move him to the catacombs, lay down some wards in his cell to keep him in his new statue, as well as under our tabs.”

Celestia ate her salad, nodding to her sister’s plans. “I had planned on returning him to the cellars as well, but we can have some mages from the Arcanum set up potent containment wards, as well as some surveillance runes to make sure we have tabs on the chaos spirit.”

She activated her magic, pulling another parchment from the stack where she had been sitting, sliding her ink and pen as well.

“Unfortunately, Discord’s new cell will have to wait. This is a letter from Free Wind, Mayor of Manehattan.” She set it in front of her sister, turning to take a sip of tea.

Luna read the letter, initially huffing at Celestia’s attempts to once again change the subject. Instead she found herself reading, frowning at the news. “To think Discord was able to turn the two rivers into undrinkable sludge in only a day. If the Elements had not acted as swiftly as they did, I’m sure the world would be in complete disarray within the week.”

Luna returned the letter to Celestia’s stack of papers. “I take it you already requested mages from Canterlot to help fix the damages in the city?” Celestia nodded, patting the rest of the stack with her hoof.

“To Manehattan, Cloudsdale, Shoeburn, and Phillydelphia among others. I’ve sent out more mages than I think we actually have, or at least more than are volunteering. I’ve even sent some to the Griffon Kingdoms, since Discord hit their borders as well.” She pulled out another letter, staring at it. “We also received condolences from the Dogland Republic, followed by further requests for our human artifacts.” She shook her head as she moved that letter to her “nothing to sign” pile.

Celestia took a halfhearted bite of her salad, pulling more papers from the stack, but not reading them. “Of course, once their dignitary sends word about the statue Discord damaged, we’ll have Dogs on our doorstep campaigning for new legislature to defend what human relics we have.” She ended her thought with another sip of tea, pushing away her unfinished meal. She wasn’t really hungry anyway. “And, of course, they’ll probably just ask to take the statue again. They don’t seem to understand you can’t just give away a gift from a dragon. And I don’t understand their almost religious fascination with those ancient myths.” Celestia finished with a grumble, and another sip of tea.

Luna smiled. “I believe I was one of those “ancient myths” until a few months ago. And, from some of the letters I’ve received, some still don’t believe I’m real.” The two of them shared a small chuckle at the expense of those who still thought Nightmare Moon, and by extent Princess Luna, was simply the shadowy shape on the moon.

Celestia finished off her tea, pouring more into her cup as she lifted up her pen to sign a few more forms. Despite Discord’s chaos being a problem, some ponies just kept trivial issues ticking as if nothing had changed. Bureaucracy at its finest.

Luna watched out the window as the pegasai moved from cloud to cloud, nearly done with the leftover cotton candy clouds near the castle. Most of the garish pink clouds had simply disappeared once the Elements of Harmony blasted Discord back to stone. Unfortunately, some of Discord’s tricks still lingered.

She sipped her tea as Celestia signed a few more papers next to her, the two of them enjoying a moment of peace and quiet.

“’When Discord reigned, the world was dark. The oceans churned, the sky fell upwards. The land upheaved, the animals were twisted. When at last chaos settled, it changed again into something new and grotesque.’” Celestia recited from memory as she signed another form. “’Those who lived, lived alone. None who saw the face of chaos lived to tell the tale. The primordial sea bubbled and boiled, threatening to return the world to its endless depths.’” Celestia paused a moment, dipping her pen back in its inkwell.

Luna interjected before Celestia could continue her recitation. “Celi, I know Star Swirl’s writings on the time before the Elements were formed. I translated them, after all.”

Celestia glanced at Luna, smiling as she clarified herself. “What I’m trying to get at is that we should not be dwelling on Discord’s attempts to throw the world into chaos, and instead focus on how we better the world as it is today.” She took another sip of tea as she signed another form.

“Everyone is working hard to return things back to normal, and if we keep reminding them of what-ifs and could’ve-beens, the peace will shatter, and Discord will win anyway.”

Luna nodded, finishing off her salad. “Of course.” She stood up, taking her tea with her. “Though I do hope we are able to do so quickly. I’d like to see a month go by without something massive shaking apart Equestria.”

She walked off towards the door, before stopping and turning back to her sister, a worried look on her face.

“Is the world falling into peril every few months considered normal since my banishment?”

Celestia laughed, dropping her pen back in it’s inkwell. Luna’s concerned stare at Celestia made it difficult for the mare to reply.

“Of course not! I think I would have stepped down long ago if I was always as stressed as I am when these crises occur.” She covered up the last of her laughter with a drink of her tea, finishing it off.

Luna looked less worried, but still had some lingering doubts. “Very well then. I must go raise the Moon, sister. I’ll be off to the dreamlands shortly thereafter, so if you need me…” She let her thoughts trail off as her sister nodded, having already returned to her various letters and forms.

“Be sure to hold night court though, Luna. You can’t keep avoiding that part of your responsibilities.” Celestia waited for her sister’s response, instead she only heard the door close as her Luna left the dining room.

She sighed, pushing some of the papers away as she let her head rest on the table. It had been a long few months, what with her sister returning, new elements being chosen, Twilight’s shenanigans in Ponyville, the Gala, then Discord’s return. Maybe Luna had been onto something after all.

Taking a few more seconds to gather her composure, she stood up with her papers and pen. Celestia opened the side door, stepping through to the stairwell that led up to her and her sister’s wing of the castle.

“Marble? Please have a pot of Chamomile brought to my chambers as soon as you can.” From a door to her side, a unicorn, Marble Cake, appeared and bowed to the princess.

“Should I have anything else brought up, my Princess?” She smiled as Celestia stopped a moment, thinking. “Velvet has made some fresh vanilla cakes, if you’d like to have some.” Celestia sighed, a smile betraying her thoughts.

“If Velvet has made some, I shouldn’t let them go to waste. Only one though, with the tea, Miss Marble.” Celestia nodded politely to the young unicorn before climbing the steps. Marble bowed again, slipping back into the kitchen to get a busser to clear the dining room. Celestia, meanwhile, chuckled as she climbed the steps to her and her sister’s wing.

Celestia’s new head chef already knew her tastes, it seemed.

Gilded Hammer, or just Gild muttered a quick curse under his breath, looking back at the photograph of the statue Greed he’d been tasked to repair.

First, the picture of Greed was horrible, really. Somepony must have moved as it was taken and knocked the whole image into a slight blur. That, combined with the grain from the age of the film, meant that his efforts to see what the statue had looked like before Discord had cracked it, then poured chocolate on it for a day, had been entirely fruitless.

If the statue had been any other piece of artwork in the garden, Gild would have already fixed it up and sent it back to the castle. Heck, he already finished the replacement for the Victory statue in the garden, which Discord had shattered and replaced with a statue of himself. Honestly, the nerve.

Gild had taken the entirety of yesterday to chisel out the new statue, which he dubbed Order, trying his hardest to ignore the other statue in his workshop.

It was hardly his favorite, that Greed statue. It was a human statue, like the ones the Dogs had him make for their embassy in Canterlot. Gild didn’t care for the Dog’s fascination with humans, it just didn’t sit well with him. But, its craftsmanship was far better than nearly every statue Flint had ever seen or created. He admired it from that angle at least.

Gild had originally drafted up plans to replace the statue entirely, his design including the new Elements of Harmony and their recent victory over Discord. But, his plans had been shot down by Princess Celestia. The statue had been a gift from the Dragon Lord, Oromanidoranitrius (or something as lengthy, Gild hadn’t bothered to remember), and you don’t simply discard a gift from a dragon, unless you want a war with the fire-breathing clans.

So, Gild had to fix the human statue.

He didn’t doubt he could at least patch the head, but sometimes the fractures run deeper, and those were harder to patch up. Flint didn’t even like patchwork, there was no art in it. But, he was the Royal Sculptor, though he did prefer a chunk of marble to a lump of clay. That was his cutie-mark after all. A block of stone.

The statue was simple, two legs covered in cloth leading to a torso, also covered in cloth. From its torso hung a coat that looked like someone had simply painted fabric with that weird dark gray stone the statue was carved from. One of its arms was held out, like it was asking for a bunch of bits, hence the name Gild called the statue: Greed. Its eyes were closed, and its head was weird. All flat, no muzzle or even a beak to break up the monotony. It only had this tiny nose in the center of its face.

The cracks started at the top, fractures leading down to its closed eyes. Flakes of dried chocolate were still stuck in some of the deeper crevices. Funny, almost made it look like the statue had hair, but at the same time, was rather disgusting.

“Well, that is a place to start though.” Gild muttered to himself. He lifted a hose in his magic, something he mainly used for cleanup of stone dust, but it would get the job done. A burst of water, and he set to work cleaning it off.

Aiming it at Greed’s head, Gild took out some frustration on the statue. It’s not like it chose to be cracked and covered in chocolate, but it was Gild who was stuck cleaning up the mess. Discord was to blame, but he was already in stone.

That was a thought, Gild mused. Maybe he could convince the Princesses to coat Discord in something… maybe tar? Oh, or maybe honey? Maybe they could just dump the statue into a tarpit and be done with it altogether. He sighed, turning up the water. The princesses would never agree to that, no matter how well he did on his statues.

Much better, Gild thought, looking at the lack of chocolate in the cracks. Or no, mostly gone. He got closer, angling the nozzle at the stubborn bits. He checked it again and frowned. Still there.

He hovered the nozzle closer, grabbing a stool from a corner of the workshop in his magic as he did so. Setting it down at the foot of the statue, he moved the hose back, now scowling. Just a stubborn chunk deeper in the crack, taunting him.

Pressing the hose against the head, his scowl deepened. He wasn’t about to be beaten by some piece of chocolate, he was Gilded Hammer! Renowned artist, with statues the world over! And he was stuck repairing this stupid statue! He yelled, throwing the hose to the side, glaring into the crack.

It. Was. Still. There.

Glaring at the accursed chocolate, he moved a pair of tweezers from his work desk, hovering them over the crack. “If you can’t be washed out, you will be pulled out!” Gild shouted, jabbing at the chocolate with his tweezers. Squeezing them tight, he pulled as hard as he could with his tweezers.

It didn’t even budge.

Gild, now incredibly fuming, stepped down from his stool and threw the tweezers at the now open door to his workshop, causing the pony standing in the doorway to hop back.

“Gild! I knew you were upset but watch it!” Said the mare, Moonlight. She was his boss, though they were technically equals if you were talking titles.

Gild collected himself somewhat, turning off the water from the leaking hose. He shuffled from hoof to hoof, looking at his shop which was now sopping wet and smelled somewhere between chalk and chocolate.

“Ah, Moonlight! I didn’t hear you come in.” He said, trying to save a little face, but the mare simply gave him a sideways look.

“What can I do for you? I’m quite busy with this order from the princess, you know…” He finished, forcing a smile. On the inside Gild was still seething, but it wouldn’t do to take it out on the Royal Gardener.

Moonlight smirked, walking up and examining the statue. “What’s got you in such a fit, Gild? Looks like you’ve cleaned it off, if a tad bit aggressively.” She stepped up on the step, looking over the damage.

Gild stepped over to the gardener, clearing his throat. “There’s still a bit of chocolate wedged in a crack. I was trying to get it out with the tweezers before you came in, although it was being a bit tough.”

Moonlight laughed, finding the offending chocolate. She waved he hoof at Gild. “Hand me the tweezers, I’ll give it a pull so you can get on with the repairs.” Gild muttered under his breath about not needing assistance while handing her the tweezers from the door.

She stuck the tweezers in the crack, angling her hoof to pinch the chunk. Pulling quick, it didn’t budge.

“Huh, you weren’t kidding.” Moonlight grunted, giving a few tugs. She braced her hoof against the statue’s shoulder, trying to pull the chocolate out. “It... really… is... stuck!” She grunted as she struggled with the chocolate.

Gild scoffed, looking back at his workstation, already tidying it up with his magic. Not that he’d be saving any more face, but he preferred a tidy workplace.

“Of course it is, I wouldn’t have been as frustra- Moonlight, be careful!” He interrupted himself, looking back at the Royal Gardener, who was shaking the statue, herself, and her stool.

“I think I… almost…” She muttered, ignoring Gild’s warning. The stool slipped on the wet floor, Moonlight losing her grip on the statue and tweezers, falling to the floor with a resounding thud.

“Oooh...” She hissed, moving up onto her haunches, Gild walking up to her with a smug, but concerned, look on his face. He offered her a hoof.

“Oh tan it, statue stallion.” She grumbled, accepting his help in standing. They both chuckled at her expense.

“Did you get it out though?” Gild asked her. She simply shook her head, but before she could speak, the statue crashed to the stone floor with a resounding crack.

Moonlight smiled sheepishly as Gild swore, moving to check the damages. “Oh damn it, I didn’t think it was going to topple.” She rose to her hooves, cracking her neck. “You can fix it though, right? If not… well.” She laughed nervously, glancing over at Gild, expecting an angry response from the stallion.

“Gild?” She asked, concerned.

“Moonlight… what in Tartarus, is this.” Gild said, his voice… trembling?

Moonlight stepped around the statue, following Gild’s stare. She almost immediately stopped, stepping back slightly. No wonder he wasn’t responding.

The head had cracked open, completely, right down to the neck of the statue. But instead of just missing, it was like a shell had cracked open, revealing a pale face, with chocolate-brown hair. Its eyes were closed, not like it was asleep though. More like it was waiting for something, expectantly...

Just like the statue had been, but no longer stone.

“I-I’m going to get the guards.” Moonlight stammered. “You explain to them, because I’m taking this right to the princesses.” She didn’t wait for his reply, which was just an endless stammering of questions directed at no one. All about what was in that statue.

It was… disturbing. For so many reasons. But it also wasn’t exactly disturbing, per say. More curious, or intriguing. But at the same time, they’d had the statue for years, centuries even, and had somehow never noticed it’s secret. That unsettled Celestia, leading to her disturbed demeanor.

It was late, and Celestia was awake long before she would be raising the sun, still Luna had insisted on this urgent meeting. She stared at what had once been a statue, still getting used to the revealed interior of what had once been called by her and her sister as The Human. To think a dragon had given it to them as a peace offering…

When she had been awoken, then notified of the discovery by her guards, then her Royal Gardener, then her Royal Sculptor (though he was a stuttering mess), She’d ordered the rest of the stone “shell” removed from the Human, before having it transferred to the throne room where she and her sister, along with Moonlight and one of Luna’s Nightmages, Crescent Moon, were now scrutinizing it.

Luna had sent Gilded to retire for the evening, making it an order due to his endless stuttering and muttering in confusion.

Even without the dark stone that had covered its surface, it looked nearly the same. It stood rather tall, almost as tall as Celestia. It wore a long white coat, and under that a blue and red plaid shirt. The pants were jean, a dark blue, leading down to brown shoes. On its right hand was a black glove, still held out in front of the Human expectantly.

The Human was as still as a statue and didn’t show any signs of damage despite the Royal Sculptor’s hap hazardous way of removing the stone shell. Despite Gilded Hammer’s chisel hitting through the stone numerous times, there wasn’t even a scratch on the Human.

“Sister, Discord was the one to crack the statue… could he have known?” Luna asked, squinting at the closed face of the Human. “Or could he have simply brought this statue to life with his chaos magic?”

“It’s unlikely, Princess Luna.” Crescent Moon said, stepping up to the Human and Luna.

“Everything Discord brought to life, including some of the garden statues, returned to normal after he was defeated.” He adjusted his glasses before continuing. “My current thought on the matter is that he simply revealed him to us.”

Luna glanced at the Nightmage, though it was Celestia that spoke next.

“I would have to agree with Crescent, Discord wouldn’t have been this patient, especially since it was one of the first things he did once he got out.” She stepped up next to her sister. “He also probably would have given it proper life, or at least movement.”

Celestia’s horn glowed for a moment, her eyes closed. “I can sense that the Human is alive, quite fine in fact. Discord never had a talent for creating life, and I doubt he could have re-created it to this level.” She opened her eyes, looking at the gathered ponies. “He is trapped in something, the Human. A barrier that might just be keeping him like this. We’ll need to break that barrier if we hope to learn anything past speculation.”

Luna frowned, looking to Moonlight, who was swaying on her hooves, nearly asleep. “Miss Moonlight,” Luna began, startling the earth pony awake. “you are dismissed, please ask the Nightguard outside to fetch what Human relics we have and send them to the Canterlot Arcanum.” Luna smiled softly. “And do try and get some rest.”

Moonlight nodded, then stood up and bowed before the princesses, taking her exit. Crescent huffed, staring at the statue.

“I’ll gather some Human centric colleagues and check up on some other ponies that might know a thing or two on them. I should head back to my office to begin gathering information and assembling a team to look into this.” He turned to the princesses and bowed. “With your leave, I shall get to work.”

Luna nodded, and the old stallion trotted out the main doors of the throne room, giving a final bow before exiting. The two sisters turned back to the statue, enjoying the momentary pause. They weren’t finished though.

Luna sighed as she continued the conversation, looking at her sister. “You sense the energies, yes?”

Celestia nodded, hoof tapping nervously since the Nightmage left the throne room. “Chaos magic, but very different from Discord’s.”

Luna nodded, her horn glowing as she reached out her magical senses to the Human.

“The difference is subtle, but it feels like a deeper form of chaos, like Discord used to use before we turned him to stone.” Luna said, voice grave. “We know so little of humans, could they have been creatures of chaos, like Discord?”

Celestia moved over to Luna, sitting down with her near the statue. “As I said before, Chaos magic can’t create, or even sustain, life. Discord is an enigma with a soul, but this one in front of us is… defined. Within the realm of order.”

They stared at the statue a moment longer, before Celestia sighed. “I think I have an idea on how we could free the Human from the barrier, but we’ll have to run it through the Arcanum to see what they can do about it.”

Luna nodded in agreement. “One of us, or the elements, will have to be on hand to contain the chaos energy. Or maybe some magic circles…” Her head had already lowered in thought as Celestia stifled a yawn.

“Well Luna, move the statue when you have finished. I must be off to bed if I want to be able to raise the sun in the morning.” With that Celestia stood up, walking out of the throne room as Luna was lost in her thoughts.

Luna didn’t even notice her sister leave, designing the make-up of the magic circles they would need to contain the chaos magic. Silver would be the best medium, maybe lapis lazuli dust for the runes. This would be a useful test in her designs for containing Discord’s statue, and the Arcanum would be obligated to help, to refine her designs.

The night princess stood from the floor, leaving the throne room. She ordered the Human moved to the tower vault, her guards saluting and stepping into the throne room. Luna didn’t stay to see them work, she had some planning to do.

Author's Note

Well here is chapter two, thanks for reading it!

A quick something about a schedule. My uploading schedule will be once a week, every week, unless I say otherwise. So expect chapter 3 between this upcoming Sunday, and the following Saturday. I also try not to upload after 7pm EST, but that will probably have to change, thanks to work.

I should also clarify my usage of MLP in the story. I stopped really paying attention to MLP after the whole Sombra thing in the Crystal Empire, though I have a bit of knowledge on what's happened since then.

Stuff like Starswirl being IN the show I didn't know about till I stumbled on it in the wiki. I don't really intend to watch the show, since the story takes place just after Discord's reveal but if I have to watch later seasons I will. Everything I know past Alicorn Sparkle is from fanfictions across the web.

So, yeah.

I finally have a job, so I may have to change the upload schedule sometimes if I can't write/review/re-write/edit/re-read chapters fast enough.

Hope you stick around, we're just getting started!

Chapter 3: A Little Patience

It took a long slow sip of its drink, eyes closed as it let the liquid sit in its mouth, before swallowing. It sighed in contentment, resting the ancient cup back on its saucer, the soft clatter of ceramics echoing away into the distance of the ether which surrounded them both. A vast emptiness lit and shaded by only itself.

It would not have to wait much longer, its patience paying out in full. It had been a long wait; many millennia had passed simply reaching this moment. It had been forced to play the long game, but soon its turn would begin.

All it took,

Was a little,

Patience.

Canterlot was quiet this morning, Twilight mused, as she stepped out of her parent’s house, taking a long breath of the fresh mountain air. It wasn’t very often she travelled to Canterlot, especially with a library of her own to take care of, but she always made sure to spend time with her parents before dealing with business.

Well, if time permitted.

This morning though, she had a mission from the princesses. Well, one facet of her mission was this morning. She just had to go to the train station to meet her friends, but it’s not like that wasn’t important!

After Discord’s chaotic rampage earlier that week; Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Spike, and Pinkie Pie had returned to Ponyville to try and fix up some of the damage Discord had wrought on their home. Twilight stayed behind in Canterlot though, working with the Princesses to undo some of the damage in the city and to make sure her family was alright.

Her friends hadn’t been back in Ponyville for even two days before Twilight sent them letters asking them to come back to Canterlot on ‘Element business’. Their responses were quick, aside from Rainbow, and they had hopped on the first train to Canterlot earlier that morning. Spike decided to stay behind in Ponyville to, ‘hold down the fort’ as he put it.

He just relished a bit of alone time, Twilight had guessed, him and his comics.

Twilight smiled, walking quickly through the wide streets, a few business ponies giving her quick nods or tired smiles as she passed them by. It was early, even for Twilight, but she was in a good mood. Apparently, Celestia and Luna had made a discovery, one that they were keeping secret until they knew more. Twilight had guessed that it had something to do with Discord; so, when Celestia and Luna had exchanged glances, Twilight was cautiously happy to assume she was correct.

She was just giddy with excitement, and a little worry, after that little revelation, so much so that she’d been up later than she should have been, reading up on Chaos-Theory and Applications of Chaos Magic in the Royal Archives.

She had had every intention of staying through the night in the Library, so she could continue researching through the morning, but Luna had ushered her out, while not so subtly suggesting that Twilight go home and get some rest. After all, her friends would be in the city come morning. Twilight tried to argue, but had eventually relented against Luna’s sound reasoning, and went home for the evening.

It had been nice though, she decided. Nice to be home for a while, sleep in her old room, and see her parents’ tired faces after being awoken by their daughter’s early breakfast. They’d eaten together, Twilight talking about her time in Ponyville, her friends, though leaving out the Element’s recent showdown with Discord.

A rather nice morning, all things considered.

In the distance, the sun struggled to rise into view. Celestia had probably only been up a few minutes, judging by the lazy struggle the sun had with the horizon. She had a lot to do that morning, Celestia had told Twilight, before she could meet with the Elements to discuss why they were called back to Canterlot.

“This isn’t something they have to rush for, Twilight.” Celestia had said. “We’ll talk about this in the Crystal lounge after I’ve gone through the agenda for the morning.”

Twilight had, of course, urged her friends to hurry anyway. Can’t keep the princesses waiting, even if those same princesses ask you to slow down! Twilight was just too excited to go slowly! Well, excited might not have been the right feeling, trepidation mixed with excitement would work better to describe her mood.

She still wasn’t entirely used to being one of the fabled Elements, the ancient magic used to bring Harmony to the world and turn Discord to stone. Celestia herself had used the Elements, as had Luna! They’d been used on countless foes that threatened Equestria: Discord, Nightmare Moon, and even Lord Tirek!

It had been… oh, a year or so since Twilight and her friends had been given the mantle of Elements of Harmony, freeing Luna from Nightmare Moon in the process. Despite her time being the Element of Magic since then, she knew very little about what they did, where they came from, or even how they worked. She only knew that it was their bond of friendship that let them use their power.

But what about her unanswered questions? Where did they come from? How did they work? Who else had used them? Why were they so strong? Why six? Could one pony wield them? Could more than six wield them? Why did friendship bond them? How, why, when, who… too many questions!

Despite her attempts to find the answers to these questions, and many more, they continued to elude her. Still, it was ultimately a side project she could work on in between the various events that tended to crop up in Ponyville from time to time.

That and her lessons on magic and friendship, of course.

Speaking of which. Twilight thought, seeing the Friendship Express pull into the station up ahead. She sped up, trying to catch a glimpse of her friends as the regular commuters shuffled out of the train. It wasn’t long before she caught sight of Rainbow’s bright mane in the crowd.

“Rainbow! Over here!” She shouted, waving one of her hooves.

Rainbow’s head shot up, looking around for Twilight. After spotting her, Rainbow said something behind her before half-running, half-flying over to Twilight.

“What’s the sitch’, your letter said this was urgent!” Despite the bags under her eyes, she scanned the area around the two of them as the rest of their friends worked their way through the crowd to join them.

“The princesses are still keeping that a secret,” Twilight returned, pulling Rainbow into a hug, despite the mare’s protests. “we’ll be meeting with them later today to talk about it.”

Rainbow pushed herself out of the hug as the others approached the two of them. Twilight noted they looked tired, moreso than when they had left Canterlot earlier that week. Rainbow looked at Twilight, frowning.

“So, what you actually mean is we’re super early, and could have actually slept in?”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘early’?” Rarity said, stifling a yawn. “Twilight, please tell me you didn’t rush us up here this early for nothing. I missed at least four hours of sleep this morning, in fact we all did.” She pouted, leaning against her luggage, which was surprisingly minimal; only four cases.

Twilight smiled sheepishly, noting that only Pinkie was alert and smiling, shouting hello at all the too-tired ponies that passed by her; but, even she had bags under her eyes.

Applejack let out an exasperated sigh, sitting hard on the street. “At least tell me we can sleep at the castle. We’ve been fixin’ up the farm since Discord’s shenanigans, and I’m done tired.”

Twilight nodded, a pang of guilt hitting her as she realized her friends’ states. They all had bags under their eyes; Rainbow’s wings were unkempt, Applejack’s hat was backwards, Rarity’s hair looked like she had only spent an hour on it, Fluttershy was swaying on her hooves, and Pinkie wasn’t even hopping in place as she greeted the business ponies.

She really should have let them take the 9 o’clock train.

“I’m sorry,” She began, smiling apologetically. “I got a bit ahead of myself. The princesses wanted to let us in on something they’ve found.” She lowered her voice a bit, leaning towards her friends. “It involves the Elements, so it must be important!”

Rarity sighed away a yawn, while Fluttershy simply nodded and continued to blink tiredly.

Rainbow shrugged, yawning in unison with Rarity. “If there’s beds, I’ll be there.” The other Elements nodded in agreement, aside from Pinkie who was busy waving at passersby. Honestly, nothing could keep that mare down.

Twilight cleared her throat, looking up at the castle. “All right then, let’s get you all up to the castle, and off to bed then!” She really should have thought about her friends and listened to Celestia. She’d have to make it up to them, and that first step was to get them to bed!

First, she thought, pulling a leaf of paper from her saddlebags, she should make a note: this was, after all, another lesson in friendship. She scribbled quickly on the parchment as she began leading her friends through the early morning streets of Canterlot.

Be considerate of a friend’s sleep schedule…

Chief Diplomat Ruby walked stiffly down the hall of the Dogland Republic’s embassy, her face finely tuned to a passive glare, though her tail being ramrod straight betrayed her carefully maintained expression. She was angry.

First, she’d been turned away by the museum curator. The insufferable pony wouldn’t be high enough up the chain to tell her what she needed to know, though the blatant rejection had stung all the same.

Then, the Guards escorting the Human relics from the Equestrian Museum of Natural History to the Arcanum wouldn’t even look at her, despite her position.

And if that wasn’t enough, her formal request to meet with the Republic’s diplomatic liaison at the castle had been rejected within an hour of sending it out. She couldn’t even get near Canterlot Castle to barge into Crisp Paper’s office and demand the answers to her questions. She understood why she couldn’t do that, security was still on high alert from Discord’s return, but that didn’t sate her frustrated anger.

Why, after centuries of hording those relics to collect dust in some old museums and sit in admittedly well-maintained gardens, were the Equestrian Princesses moving them? She’d been requesting most of those artifacts, and other relics, since she’d been sent by Duke Tremolite to oversee the embassy. So far, she’d only managed to retrieve three minor trinkets in the 5 years she’d been stationed there: a paltry amount.

The ponies knew how much the Republic and the other Diamond Duchies revered those artifacts. Surely, they should tell the representatives of those concerned nations why the relics they hold so dear are being moved? And why, once again, they weren’t safe in the paws of good dogs that would take care of them?

Ruby swung the door to her office open, stepping inside and slamming the door closed with enough force enough to rattle the shelves of books, scrolls, and various ornaments. She stalked her way across the room to the low counter behind her desk. Fishing out a small cup and a bottle of rum, she quickly poured herself a glass and took a deep swig from the bottle.

“E-excuse me, Miss Ruby?”

Ruby choked on the rum, quickly corking the bottle and stuffing it back into the drawer it had come from before spinning around to the young pup she hadn’t noticed in the corner of her office. Her assistant, Garnet.

Garnet tugged at the collar of his shirt, looking uncomfortable. That was normal for him though, Ruby considered, taking the glass she had previously poured for herself and taking a seat at her desk. Ruby cleared her throat, waving garnet over.

Garnet took a quick breath before approaching her desk.

“I have those documents you wanted from Mr. Druzy, the ones about the artifacts the ponies had that y-you were looking into personally?” He cleared his throat, gingerly holding out a pawful of manila folders. Ruby snatched them from him, flicking them open.

“Thank you, Garnet. That will be all.” Ruby said, taking a sip of her rum as she flicked through the folders, scanning for any important relics that had been moved around in the past few days. Which was all of them, honestly, but there were some that she had had her eyes on for some time, so she wanted to keep track of as many as possible.

A lingering presence persisted in her office, and she slowly peered up from the documents to see Garnet standing in front of her desk, seemingly having an internal battle up and till she looked up.

Ruby sighed. “Was there something else, Garnet?” She offered, tapping one of her pads on the glass of rum.

Garnet nodded.

A moment passed.

“And… that would be?” Ruby offered impatiently.

He swallowed. “Ri-right. Sorry ma’am.”

Garnet pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket, reading it as he spoke. “Chief Diplomat Ruby of the Dogland Republic, representative in standing for Duke Tremolite of the Dogland Republic, Second Seat on the Council of the Diamond Duchies. You are hereby cordially requested to a-attend a statement made by the Diarchs; Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, tomorrow evening at 6 PM. This will be regarding the state of affairs of Equestria and the current plans for recovery and perseverance in these trying times.”

Garnet’s paw clenched the paper as he looked back to Ruby. “A herald came while you were out, so I wrote it down for you, ma’am.” He gingerly placed the slightly crinkled piece of parchment on her desk, before taking an interest in the carpet.

Ruby nodded, rubbing her brow and thinking back to the rum sitting behind her in the drawer. Another press conference. Oh joy.

“Thank you, Garnet. Please send a message to Crisp Paper that I will be in attendance.” She said, before pausing. “Also add a note that I would like to talk with her about the current going-ons with the Human artifacts they’re moving.”

“O-of course ma’am. Right away!” Garnet gave a curt bow before shuffling his way out of her office to prepare the message. As soon as he had closed the door, Ruby downed the rum in her glass.

Garnet was a good dog; an exceptional clerk and one of the best assistants she’d ever had. He just happened to have the spine of a rubber chicken.

Picking up one of the folders Garnet had brought, Ruby leafed through it, her eyes lingering on various relics. The petrified remains of a Human throne, a near complete set of Human dice, several sculptures of Humans, among other items of rarity and value. Her eyes lingered briefly upon the Revered Orb, one of the artifacts most desired by the Dogland Republic, if not all of dog kind.

She flipped through a few more pages, a perplexed expression slowly growing on her face. She flipped through a few more pages in the other folders, searching for a particular artifact. She double and triple checked the papers. It wasn’t listed. Garnet was nothing if not thorough, so these documents had to contain the records of all the Human artifacts Equestria had their grubby little paws on.

Hooves, Ruby corrected. In their grubby little hooves.

Either way, one was missing. The most well-preserved statue of a Human, named Humanity. She scratched her head, pulling up the image of the statue in the garden in her mind. Why wasn’t it listed?

Ruby went for another swig of her rum, only to be met with her emptied glass. She grumbled under her breath, but her mood had turned. One missing document, the key to the answers she sought.

She smiled, sitting back in her chair. Now, she thought, where did you go?

Celestia absent mindedly stirred her coffee with her magic, her attention turned to a stack of documents that needed the attention more than the much-needed drink. It was her fourth cup of coffee that day, and she should probably be drinking it.

The clock on the wall ticked on, counting the seconds as they passed.

She continued to stare at the form, re-reading the same line for the umpteenth time in a row, before resigning defeat with a quiet sigh. She sat back in the heavily cushioned chair, levitating the spoon out of her coffee and setting it aside before she took a quick drink of the, apparently, now cold beverage.

She sighed again.

She took another sip, checking the clock. Quarter to two. She’d be meeting with the Elements within the next hour. Though she had intended to talk with them earlier in the morning, a certain student of hers hadn’t listened to reason and decided to get them on the train before the crack of dawn. It was quite the surprise to have Twilight deliver a friendship lesson letter in person though, despite the time her mistake cost them both.

The elements were asleep in their designated hall of the castle now, out like a light since they arrived much earlier that morning. Celestia had briefly admonished Twilight for not heeding her earlier warning, but what’s done is done and at least she learned something important from her mistake.

Celestia had sent her to bed as soon as she was sure Twilight had understood the lesson, with little argument from Twilight.

Unfortunately, for the Princess, this meant that she was drawn into a few extra hours of her royal duties as opposed to bringing the elements up to speed on what they had discovered just a few nights ago. Mostly confirming her speech for the morrow’s statement of current affairs, as well as confirming minor budgets going forward. Nothing interesting, and she had been having difficulty getting through the bland forms and documents since she’d begun working through them.

She also took the time to approve Gilded Hammer’s new sculpture, both to ease the poor stallion’s heart and replace the Human statue. It would be hard to keep a cover story once the Diamond Duchies, and the ever-persistent Dogland Republic, caught wind that the various Human artifacts Equestria had collected over the years were being moved.

Celestia took another sip of coffee.

Of course, there was still the relief efforts around Equestria; the damages caused by Discord’s escapades weren’t just going to disappear like his creations. From the rivers turned to sludge in Manehatten, to Elksberry’s numerous new sinkholes. He did a lot of damage all over Equestria in a short amount of time.

Though, it wasn’t as bad as the last time he was free… Celestia considered, taking another sip of coffee. She was right though; the damages were nothing compared to what Discord had done to the world during his first rampage.

An entire lake to the northwest, containing more freshwater than had ever been collected in one place, was thrown into space due to Discord’s lack of care towards gravity. The vast swaths of forest further west of Equestria turned into an only recently hospitable desert because Discord wanted a place to get a tan. Not to mention one of the planets in the sky vanishing without a trace because he didn’t like how it was looking at him.

An unvoluntary shiver ran along Celestia’s spine. Yes, he could have been much worse; it wasn’t a matter of worry at the moment though. He was contained, and their focus should be on recovery. Celestia took another sip of her cold coffee.

The clock on the wall chimed, and she glanced up at it. Two o’clock. Celestia blinked. She’d been spacing out, it seemed. She set her coffee down, neatly stacking the various documents and papers she’d been attempting to read into the ‘To Do’ bin. She would have to get to them later.

The Princess took a moment to collect herself, adjusting her posture and expression into the ever-present air of regal grace she had slowly honed over the past thousand years. It was important to keep face, even if she was merely moving about within the castle. It had become expected of her over the centuries to maintain such a composure of unwavering regality that she could almost do it without thinking.

Almost.

She opened the doors, acknowledging the bows of the Solar guards with a brief nod. She made her way down the hall, various castle staff stopping to bow, or bowing as quickly as possible. It all depended on how long they’d worked there, how important their tasks were, or just how much time they’d spent in her or Luna’s presence.

Celestia would have, long ago, requested that nopony bow to her, insisted that she did this for them, not the other way around, but over time she grew to learn how much fielty was too much for her, and how little her ponies expected to give to her. It was a wide margin, one too wide in the eyes of other rulers who often criticized her, but it was one that had worked well for her over the millennia.

It wasn’t a long walk to the Crystal Lounge, not even half the length of the castle, but it did allow Celestia to wake up a little bit. She didn’t need the six in there to worry about her, after all.

The guards at the door bowed before opening the doors to the lounge itself, Celestia stepping inside. Already inside were the elements; Twilight was going through the notes she must have made last night in the Royal Archives, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were enjoying some treats from the kitchen, Applejack and Fluttershy were eating an actual lunch, while Rarity was adjusting herself in a mirror with a brush and comb.

Celestia smiled kindly as they noticed her enter the room. “I’m glad to see you’re all rested, I hope your rooms were comfortable.”

Pinkie was the first to speak, holding a cupcake out to Celestia and proceeding to bounce in place.

“Oh, it was FANTASTIC! The bed was so comfy, and so big, it was like sleeping on a cloud! Well maybe not a cloud, those are wet, and I can’t do that. At least not without Twilight’s help, but even then, the bed I had was SOOOOOO much more comfortable, so I think I really get the expression now even though clouds aren’t very comfy, well they are, but the bed was MORE comfortable than any-“

“I am glad you enjoyed your room Pinkie,” Celestia interrupted, accepting the cupcake from the energetic mare and sitting at the small table in the room. “I thought you might enjoy the bed.” Pinkie’s mouth clamped shut and she nodded vigorously, still smiling. The girls and Celestia chuckled before Rarity spoke up.

“The rooms are fantastic; I think we can agree on that.” She nodded, the others giving quick affirmatives and nodding. “But Twilight said this was important-”

“Super important,” Dash interrupted. “enough to get us out of bed and on a train at three in the morning to get here at five in the morning!” She cast a leery glance at Twilight, who rubbed her foreleg bashfully.

Dash gave a long sigh, reeling in her attitude somewhat. “Alright, I got to sleep on the super-bed, so I guess we’re fine.” Twilight stepped over and gave Dash a quick hug. Dash smirked, returning the hug. “Yeah yeah, just know I’ll still be getting back at you for this.”

The two of them separated, Twilight returning Dash’s leery gaze. “Wait, I thought you said we were fine?”

Applajack cleared her throat, looking at the princess and pulling Rainbow and Twilight back on track. “So, uh, anyway. You called us here on ‘Element Business’, sooo…” She trailed off as the others waited for her to finish. “What do ya need us for?” She finished.

The Princess nodded, taking a bite of the cupcake she had been given. She really needed the sugar after all.

“Firstly,” Celestia said after the bite. “how much do all of you know about Humans?”

Twilight flicked through her notes, muttering to herself about studying the wrong thing. Rarity and Rainbow simply shrugged. Surprisingly, Fluttershy was the first to speak.

“Well, they were around along time ago, but aren’t anymore. Right?” She said, barely meeting Celestia’s gaze as she finished. Celestia nodded and Fluttershy let out a small breath she’d been holding.

“They disappeared long before Luna or I were born. In fact, they were gone before even the Elks came and went, some ten thousand years ago.” She took another bit of cupcake, levitating herself some tea from the cart. “They’re one of our world’s greatest mysteries. We have a scattering of artifacts left over from their era, but nothing substantial.”

Twilight raised her hoof, so Celestia paused to let her student speak.

“Right, Starswirl mentioned them in his eleventh thesis. He mentioned that they were creatures of such high magical prowess that even their most simple spells would be impossible for anypony today to cast. He also theorized that they had transcended physical reality using their most powerful spells, leaving the world to us.”

Celestia nodded, sipping her tea. Much better than cold coffee. “That is what Starswirld wrote, but even back when he wrote about them, nopony knew much. Most of his theories are based on conjecture and old stories told around fires. We know very little about them, aside from how they looked.”

Celestia waited, taking another bite of pastry. Applejack took the opportunity to say something.

“Accordin’ to some stories, they near destroyed the world too.” She scratched under her hat with a hoof. “They don’t sound like good folk to me, if that’s true.”

Celestia nodded. “There are legends of them as destroyers of the world, sealed away by the ancient Elks. Other myths tell how they were masters of the world, ruling with an iron hoof over the globe. Others say they were aliens that visited us long before written history.” She set down her teacup. “But there is simply no way to know for certain, beyond any reasonable doubt anyway.”

Twilight was staring at her, Celestia noted. She had certainly caught on to what she had been saying, as had Rarity and Fluttershy. She smiled, no small amount of pride filling her grin.

“At least, not until a few nights ago, that is.” She finished, deciding to take a somewhat dramatic sip of her tea.

“You’re kidding? Right? You’re serious!” Twilight said, already pulling out a parchment and scratching furiously at it with a feather pen. Her friends leaned back slightly, aside from Pinkie, who took a large bite of popcorn she had procured from somewhere.

“It has to be something huge, right? Is it a way to translate what letters we’ve found on some of the artifacts in the Museum of Natural History? Oooh, did we finally find some ruins? Or maybe a firsthand account! Did you finally let Airtrap explore that lump of copper at the bottom of the Manehatten bay? Or maybe this has to do with that recent archeological survey near Appleloosa” She squeaked, shocking her out of her spree of excitement, sheepishly shrinking back into her seat.

“Sorry… this is exciting…” She trailed off, writing her thoughts onto the parchment instead. Celestia chuckled at her student’s outburst; it was very much like Twilight to get excited over the possibility of knowing brand new things.

So, Celestia raised a hoof to Twilight. “No need to apologize, my student. It is an exciting prospect.” She gave the rest of them a small smile. “Of course, this matter is more than an academic curiosity. Allow me to fill you in on what has happened.”

She filled them in on what happened the night Gilded Hammer discovered, quite accidentally, the Human locked inside the statue. There were mixed reactions from the six ponies. Applejack and Rainbow Dash seemed curious, but ultimately more caught up with Twilight’s glee at the news. Fluttershy looked sad, muttering under her breath small ‘ooh’s and ‘poor guy’s to hearing that the Human had been trapped in stone this whole time. Rarity looked concerned, clearly trying to think ahead to where Celestia was going with this information.

Pinkie Pie had “borrowed” one of Twilight’s pieces of paper and an extra quill and was currently writing an exhaustive list. Celestia could guess as to what it was about, but she left Pinkie Pie to her machinations.

Twilight was still talking, however.

“I’ve seen that statue, in the garden, to think that there was a living, breathing, well not so much breathing as much as suspended, but either way, a living, suspended Human right there, under my nose all that time, we wouldn’t have ever known about him if..” She continued her run-on sentence, much to Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s continued amusement.

Rarity cleared her throat, Twilight once again sinking into her chair as she became aware that she was rambling. Rarity gave her an apologetic smile. “Sorry dear, but we were called here on ‘Element Business’.” She smiled at Celestia, again apologetically. “So, Princess, why do you need us here exactly?”

Celestia smiled in return. “An excellent point, Rarity.” Rarity blushed, and Celestia smiled inwardly. “It is mine and Luna’s understanding that when we release this Human from his binds, there could be a powerful implosion of Chaos Magic. Only the Elements could be able to contain such a burst.” She finished.

“Wait,” Started Twilight, again. “You’re going to release it?”

Celestia simply nodded. “Luna and I discussed this at length and have decided that to leave this creature suspended would be far too cruel. That only leaves the option of freeing him,” She paused, taking a sip of tea before finishing. “safely, of course.”

Crescent Moon, Luna’s secondary Night Mage, flattened out a roll of parchment, setting a weight at the corner as he began studying the magic circle Luna had devised. At his side was Misty Glen, Celestia’s primary Solar Mage. She had already rolled out the other three scrolls, each with another level of the magic circle they would need to inscribe within the Canterlot Arcanum’s main channeling chamber.

“The Solar guards are unloading the silver wire now,” Misty chimed. “and will be back with the copper by the time we’re ready to begin the second layer.” She looked at the design for the foundation layer Crescent was studying. “We should be ready to inscribe the third layer’s gold by tomorrow afternoon, if you’ll be awake that is.” She added, poking him in the ribs.

His eye twitched slightly, and he gave her a sideways glance. “Are you accounting for your antics, or will we be working on the base layer for the next two days?”

Misty snorted, walking over to the window overlooking the channeling room. A dark basalt chamber, with small pink crystals embedded into the walls for light. The basalt would be able to absorb any access energies from the circle, and the crystal lights wouldn’t interfere with the casting. There was a similar, if smaller, chamber on the other side of the Arcanum, following the same design, though it sat unused currently.

Down below, in the chamber, three Solar Guards were finishing up with their task of unloading the last boxes of silver wire the mages would need for the foundation of Luna’s circle. The silver would need to be slowly secured to the floor with fusion spells into the shape required for the spell. If they worked at a good pace, the binding spell would leave the silver in position even after the spell had faded.

Crescent grumbled under his breath, leaning over the blueprints as he stared at another part of the detailing. Misty returned to the table; eyebrow raised in a silent question. Crescent glanced at her before answering her. “I was wondering when our third would be arriving. She’s already late as it is, and we only have the three of us available to work on this.”

Misty shrugged. “She’ll get here when she gets here.” Misty dismissed, smirking. “Are you upset that you were pulled from the relief effort?”

The stallion gave her a long, dry look, clearly tired of being awake, and maybe of her attempts to raise his spirits. “I had almost left for Fillydelphia when I was pulled back to the throne room for this project. You were halfway to Manehatten, right? I’m more upset over not sleeping than not travelling.”

Misty snickered, patting him on the back. “I’ll ask one of the guards to get you some coffee.”

He looked at her a moment, before nodded and holding his head in his hooves. “Yes, that would be nice. Thank you.”

Misty smiled, though he wasn’t looking, and stepped out of the room, leaving Crescent alone with the diagrams. It was a huge circle, one that would normally be undertaken by a full team of ponies that were currently out and around Equestria trying to undo the damage Discord’s antics had wrought: fields of wheat left in a disarray of chocolate mush, pockets of land left empty as Discord’s creations vanished, an entire block of Fillydelphia simply missing. So many problems, and now they were shorthooved here at the Arcanum for this side project.

He was the last remaining expert on magic circles in Canterlot, so he had been pulled out of his assignment to Fillydelphia, as he was leaving, to work on this. He would have been alone if Celestia hadn’t pulled Misty Glen from the train she had been on, half-way to Manehatten.

Misty was a rather well-rounded mage, well suited for her role as head of the Solar Mages. She’d been trying to keep his spirits up since they had received the blueprints from Luna, but even her boundless kindness couldn’t convince him that they’d be able to complete even the base layer by tomorrow afternoon.

It was feasible, at least, to finish within the week. Their third, Moonstone, was apparently one of the best magic circle crafters before retiring from the Lunar Mages to teach at the Arcanum several years ago, and the fact that she was brought in on this project would go a long way, if she was as good as Princess Celestia said she was.

Misty returned with three mugs held in her magic, moving one over to sit in front of Crescent’s dead stare. Blinking, he accepted the coffee.

“Thank you.” He said, moving a magnifying glass over to get a closer look at the second layer’s copper attunement circles. The base layer was there to channel the magic power between the copper circles and the third layer’s golden rune arrays. The attunement circles would be where the Elements of Harmony would be channeled into the spell and, hopefully, absorb whatever Chaos Magic came from the Human.

Misty approached the table once again, sipping at her coffee. “So,” She started. “how well designed are Luna’s circles?” She flattened out the third layer’s designs, giving them a curious glance as Crescent took a quick drink of coffee.

“Well, they’re ridiculously elegant in their aesthetics, and functionally this will be one of the finest magic circles I’ve had the privilege of working with.” He pointed to a section of the second layer with his magnifying glass, one of the attunement circles. “These alone will take a several hours each since they’re designed to work directly with the Elements of Harmony. They are very intricate.” He sighed, setting down the magnifier and rubbing the tiredness from his eyes.

“The golden runes will take the longest by far, each part of the silver ring will have to be inscribed with the right spells, and the copper circles will need their own separate set of runes inlaid as well. Then the top layer’s lapis dust will need to be imbued into the entirety of the circle, to keep the magic from overflowing into the air and detonating when the spell actualizes.” He took another long sip of coffee before finishing his statement.

“With the three of us, I’d estimate that we’ll be done in a week.”

Misty frowned, looking at the fourth diagram. “Certainly, with Moonstone’s help we could finish in under half the time.” She raised a brow at Crescent. “Celestia holds her in high regard, as do I.”

Crescent shrugged. “A well-made circle takes time, Misty. If we each work perfectly, we could maybe finish a few hours early, but we can’t expect-”

The door to the observation room opened before he finished, two ponies stepping in, laughing at something said in the hall. One was an older mare, dark gray fur and a bright yellow mane informing Crescent that this pony must be Moonstone. The other was a younger mare, with purple fur, and a purple mane with pink highlights. He blinked in recognition. That was Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic.

They were still laughing when Misty stepped up to Moonstone, and surprised Moonstone with a hug. Moonstone’s surprise quickly turned to laughter and she returned the embrace.

“Oh it is good to see you, dear!” Moonstone said, stepping away from the embrace.

“Its great to see you as well, Mrs. Moonstone!” Misty leaned in, whispering loudly. “We could really use your help.”

The two of them chuckled, Crescent raising a brow, sipping at his coffee. They apparently knew each other, so that explained why Misty was so keen to think she’d be instrumental to their project.

Moonstone gestured to Twilight Sparkle. “This is Twilight, she volunteered to help us out with this little circle.”

While Misty and Twilight exchanged pleasantries, Crescent was violently coughing up his coffee, quickly turning away from the diagrams to keep them safe from the spraying coffee.

Little?!

One of the most advanced magic circles designed in the modern age, by Princess Luna herself, and Moonstone would call it little? He was still having a coughing fit when Misty came up beside him, patting him on the back.

“You alright there Crescent? Did the diagrams startle you or something?”

Crescent glared up at her through teary eyes as he heard the other two mares in the room giggle. “No.” He managed. “I’m-” He had another surge of coughs, forcing him to stop talking for a moment.

“I’m fine.” He said, clearing his throat as he stood up straight. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Moonstone, but did you call this project little?”

Moonstone nodded. “You must be Crescent Moon, it’s a pleasure to meet such a talented Lunar Mage.” She gave a small smile. “Indigo is in good hands with a pony like you as his second.”

Crescent closed his mouth. Indigo was, of course, the primary Lunar Mage under Princess Luna. But Moonstone had changed the subject. “I’m sure he is pleased with my work thus far, but-”

“Then we are in good hooves.” She interjected with a smile. Crescent forced a small smile, recognizing that the older mage wasn’t about to let him question her opinion on the circle. She continued with a knowing nod, gesturing to the Element of Magic. “This is Twilight Sparkle, one of my pupils from a few years back. She has volunteered to help us out with this project since we are so shorthooved.”

Crescent nodded, noting that she hadn’t called the project little. Small victories. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Twilight Sparkle. I look forward to working with the Element of Magic herself.” He gave her a quick bow of his head.

Twilight giggled sheepishly. “Its nothing really, happy to help.” Her attention was quickly drawn to the table with the diagrams laid out. She perked up, making her way over to the parchment. “Oh! Are these Princess Luna’s circles?”

Misty and Moonstone followed her to the table, Crescent simply turned back to the diagrams, letting them take a look.

Moonstone lifted one of the parchments, letting out a low whistle. “Princess Luna has outdone herself; these are beautiful!” Twilight merely nodded, taking the magnifying glass from the table and taking a closer look at the intricacies of the magic circle’s layers.

Crescent cleared his throat, pointing at the foundation of the magic circle. “This is where we will begin.” Twilight took a moment to finish looking at the third layer, before turning her attention to Crescent. Moonstone and Misty waited did so as well, letting Crescent take the lead.

“So,” He said. “we’ll want to begin binding the silver within the hour, so we’ll divide it into sections, so the binding spell creates the bonds properly…”

Author's Note

Sooooooo, its been a while. But here it is! Sure, its been sitting in a folder collecting dust at 2000 words for over a year, but I freshened it up, added a couple thousand more, and huzzah! New chapter!

Yay!

Anyway, the reason for the break between uploads, dear reader, is due to many things. I no longer have that night job I mentioned somewhere around when I last uploaded, and now have a far better job that I've been at for the past year. A bit less free time, but far better for my mind.

Another reason is writer's block. Common, but decisive.

The last reason is that the original overarching plot just kind of... didn't hit right for me. So, over the past year I've stepped away and returned several times to see if I could remedy that problem. And, culminating yesterday, I had it all worked out properly! I won't even need to go back to the past two chapters to revise anything, (thankfully I didn't rush through ten chapters without a map) so another plus!

As for a schedule going forward, I'm not going to make one. I'll try for once a month, maybe more if my fingers and brain move fast enough, but I will make no promises that I can't be sure I'll be able to keep

I hope you all are well, and I hope to see you again soon!