//------------------------------// // XV. A Lavender Alicorn // Story: Twilight's Dollhouse // by Kaidan //------------------------------// Are my legs still there? I need to move them, I have to move them. No, they can’t move, they’re not there. It’s so cold, did they fall off? I need to twitch, kick, something! Lyra felt the familiar cycle of despair, until it finally peaked. She let the numbness claim her and her mind drifted into oblivion. No fear nor hope, no conscious thought at all. The nothingness consumed her and offered a respite until Twilight found her. The door opened up and Lyra didn’t want to risk getting her hopes up. She had only barely fallen into a trance and surely would panic if she started to think. Is that—no, don’t think. . . A purple face came down and said something, but Lyra hadn’t been listening. It’s Twilight! I’m saved! Her hoof reached in, pushing Lyra’s cup back into the far corner of the freezer, before the door shut. What? No! NO! Twilight, please! Lyra thrashed with all her might, not moving an inch. All she accomplished was causing her fears to increase tenfold. I’m not moving, why aren’t I moving? I can’t see my legs—oh Celestia, they’re gone! I can’t move them, I’m as good as dead! “Here you are, Luna. Some ice for your orange juice,” Twilight said. Luna watched as Twilight levitated the ice into her drink. “Thank you, but you need not serve me. I could have gotten it myself.” “Heh, it’s no problem. I better go clean the refrigerator now, it looked horrible in there.” Luna looked up from the orange juice in her hooves. Twilight had offered them breakfast, but they had declined in favor of the oats they had brought with their rations. “Very well. You’re ready to investigate the remaining houses then? A few household chores can surely wait.” Twilight headed back towards the sink where her offering of breakfast lay, waiting to be cleaned. “Oh I insist; I can’t just leave my house a mess.” “She’s seemed distracted all morning,” Echo whispered. “Stick to the plan.” Luna glared at him. “And I really must take a shower. I don’t see why I can’t just meet you at Pinkie’s in an hour.” Twilight trotted back out of the kitchen levitating her own glass of orange juice. “All this rush—it’s not like the evidence is going anywhere.” “Sorry, Twilight, but you had all night. The investigation begins now, with or without you.” Damn it. “Alright.” Twilight drank her orange juice and levitated her saddlebags on. “Let’s get started, I’ll lock up after you two.” She gestured them outside. Once they had walked out, Twilight glanced back at the freezer and wiped a tear from her cheek. “Let’s hurry up and get this over with.” She closed the door behind her and stepped out into the morning sun. “I couldn’t agree with you more.” Luna met Echo’s curious gaze. “I’m feeling a bit queasy,” she whispered. Echo was about to reply when Twilight trotted up. “Alright, let’s go to Sugarcube Corner first and spread out from there,” she said. Without waiting, Twilight headed for Pinkie’s house. “Very well,” Luna stated. She nodded to Noctis who was waiting across the street before her and Echo left. Twilight walked briskly down the road. Of all the crime scenes, Pinkie’s was likely to have the most evidence. Fortunately, with the absence of the cakes and the amount of overturned furniture it would be easy to pass off as a robbery. If that worked, it’d be downhill for the rest of the day. If it didn’t, then Twilight would know it was time to implement the final solution for Luna: a recursive spell she had discovered in a forbidden tome, that would shift to overcome any attempt at a counter spell. If she was able to cast it properly, as she had to re-write several illegible pages. “She sure is in a hurry,” Luna said. “Yes, we’ll have some evidence soon enough, either from Noctis or the crime scenes,” Echo replied. Two Lunar Guard snapped to attention in front of Sugarcube corner. “No pony has been near the house in the night, princess.” The guard offered a salute to Luna. “At ease. Twilight, you may proceed inside,” Luna said. Twilight walked through the door and waited for them to come inside. The house was quiet and the normally busy kitchen was empty. To their right was the room the fight had occurred in. “It looks like they’ve been robbed.” She pointed to the room. Echo went in first, surveying the damage. There were some cupcakes in the trash, frosting spread on the floor, and a table on it’s side. A plank of wood had been torn from a chair in the room, and several decorations had been knocked to the ground. The window shutters were closed, and broken glass was scattered on the floor. It looked like the glass had been hastily swept under the nearby dresser. “Where are the Cakes?” Luna asked. “They moved out. It was just Pinkie. Somepony must have robbed the house, or worse, once she was all alone,” Twilight explained. “It wasn’t a robbery,” Echo said. Twilight glared at him, and he continued. “A robber wouldn’t have thrown the cupcakes away. From the frosting on the floor, it looks like they were on the table during the struggle. Now, they’re in that trash can. Also, the glass over here seems to have been swept away. It is possible some blood remains on the glass or wood..” Twilight fought the twitching in her eyelid, managing to maintain her composure. “Interesting, well let’s go check the rest of the house.” Luna headed upstairs and Twilight waited for Echo. “You go ahead,” he said. “I’m not finished here.” Twilight shot him another look of contempt before leaving him. She got the feeling he was much smarter than the so called “Princess of the Night.” She caught up with Luna and lead her into the master bedroom. Before leaving, Twilight had hastily visited each room in the house. She had flung their clothes and blankets all over the floor, and overturned furniture. “It does look like they were robbed, if all the rooms are overturned like this,” Luna said. “Yeah. Say, has Echo seemed a little odd to you?” Twilight asked. “How so?” Twilight walked down to the next room and looked inside at the crib laying on it’s side. “He seems a little—well, tribalist. He’s always giving me odd looks and I could swear I’ve heard him mutter a few things.” Luna smiled. “Not everything is as it appears. The Sarosians have long hated unicorns. They were the primary ones to hunt them down and exterminate them after Nightmare Moon was banished. It was brutal, their magic helping eliminate 95% of the race. It was a near genocide, one that not even Celestia would admit. She had it purged from records and now the few Sarosian’s left serve Luna.” Twilight raised an eyebrow in interest. That was certainly passionate of her, and it did answer her question. Echo was very likely going to try and prove it was her out of tribalism, and Luna would not be an impartial judge. She clearly had feelings for Echo, if not their entire race. The odds were beginning to stack against her. With her primary co-investigator and guard acting so odd, and the Lunar Guard with a millennia-old score to settle against unicorns, it wasn’t looking good. Twilight considered her options. Luna had an expiration date, and if she tried to arrest her with so many guards around she would succeed. She would have to use her trust against her, and take her and Echo out at the same time. Or, she could abandon ship and flee at full strength, and risk having two princesses hunting her down. Maybe I’m over-reacting, they still have no proof. Nothing but the doll. Damn, why couldn’t Silver have done something useful instead of tortuing my friends? As soon as Luna scans that doll I’m finished. Twilight made up her mind. By the end of the day they’d have a saddlebag full of evidence including a receptionist doll. She would have to make her move tonight at dinner. Noctis eventually gave up on subtlety. Twilight had the library locked down tight, so he flew up to the attic and used his voice to shatter the glass. The shriek was at the exact frequency needed to create resonance and shatter the glass. To any passerby, it would sound like someone had been singing a particularly high note. Noctis made his way through the dusty attic and downstairs. His first stop was the bedroom that belonged to Twilight. Judging by it’s size and the small dollhouse on the stand, it must be her room. There was even a small Smarty Pants doll in a corner, covered in cobwebs. He went over to the nearby trunk and tried to open it, but it was locked. He quickly peeked into the closet and a few of the dresser drawers. There were the standard clothes one would expect to find, as well as some questionable items such as bit gags. Exiting the room brought him to the next bedroom. It was filled with torn up comic books and a few posters with Dragons and Wonderbolts on them. This was likely her assistant’s room. Noctis had heard she lived with a dragon, which begged one question: Where is he? Surely Luna and Echo have asked Twilight about it already. I’ll make sure to remind them, just in case. Now, back to the search for evidence. He found a filly’s saddlebags in the corner as well as a porcelain doll, hairbrush, and silver mirror. The bed looked like it had been used recently, but there was nothing else of interest in the room. He checked the closet, finding an old, beat up wooden dollhouse. Judging by all the toys, this wasn’t the dragon’s room but belonged to a little filly. Heading downstairs he got a strange feeling when he looked towards a certain bookshelf. Each time he glanced at it, his eyes ended up resting elsewhere. It was as if he could not look particularly at a certain bookshelf. Noctis wasn’t even sure if it was there, since he couldn’t look directly at it. Recalling his training from basic, he looked away towards the window and turned his head. Out of the corner of one eye, he slowly peeked towards the illusion. He was rewarded with the sight of an ordinary looking bookshelf. Noctis sighed, another interesting footnote in his investigation. Locating a hidden door would have been just the kind of break he needed to get promoted. He headed into the kitchen, upset at his utter failure. If there was some evil lair in this library, he had failed to find it. He looked around, wondering where the glasses were so he could get a drink. He reached up to where he thought they’d be, revealing a mostly empty cabinet with a measuring glass. Noctis tried the next cabinet over, which had plenty of glasses, and almost shut the door. He opened the cabinet on his right. It was about one foot deep. He looked in the cabinet on his left. It was two feet deep. Noctis brought a nearby chair over and climbed up, putting the measuring cup on the counter. The wooden cabinet was smaller on the inside than it should have been. He tapped lightly on it, and was rewarded with a faint hollow sound. It appeared to be a false backing. The cabinet had a lip, and it looked like he needed to just push in the false backing a little to turn it and pull it out. He pushed in the bottom with both hooves until he heard a click. A cloud of yellow dust shot out into his face. Noctis flinched, falling back onto the ground and trying to brush the substance off. After a moment in shock, he began to laugh. Probably just a little dust, but I better get some water to wash this off. He started to head for the sink and noticed it was burning his eyes and face. He decided to grab some baking soda, just incase he needed to neutralize some sort of acid on his face. Wait, acid? Powder? Noctis froze. Several conflicting thoughts ran through his head. If that was a booby trap I could have seconds to live. What to do first? Induce vomiting? Neutralize the acid? Water? He ran to the sink and started flushing his eyes out. His throat and lungs were also burning now, and the contact with the water intensified the burning on his skin. He rubbed at his face again, trying to get rid of the powder. The entire room seemed to be smelling like garlic, and now his forelegs were burning. All manner of training he had received to be in the Lunar guard was failing him. No race on Equestria would dare use a chemical attack. How am I supposed to fix this? His watery eyes were obscuring his vision and he soon felt the urge to cough. Blood splattered into the sink and poured down into the drain. He could feel large blisters forming all over his face and forelegs, and his breathing was becoming labored. Noctis knew then what the powder was, and knew he would be lucky to last more than another minute. He turned around from the sink, and stood up proud. This is the proof Luna needs. When she gets back and finds me, she can arrest that bitch. He saluted the empty kitchen. “Even in death, I still serve.” He collapsed on the ground, blood dripping out of his eyes, nose, and ears. “I don’t know what you hope to find at Colgate’s house. Given the evidence at the dental office, she likely was abducted or killed there,” Twilight said. The three ponies walked up to an eggshell white house near the edge of town. Colgate lived alone there and for some reason Echo had been determined to visit it. “Not all clues are found at the scenes of a crime.” “Still, we’ve been running all over town all day and found nothing. Meanwhile, your main suspect is sitting in a hotel room having a staring contest with your guards. Let’s just send Trixie to trial. The fact no one has vanished while she’s been captured seems proof enough for me.” Luna flashed a glare at Twilight, shaking her head and grunting in disbelief. “I’m sure you’d like that. First mind reading, now skirting Equestrian law—” Luna was interrupted by Echo. “Don’t be too harsh, princess, she hasn’t done anything wrong,” he explained. Twilight glanced between the two. “You two have seemed a little off all day. Are you alright?” They shot each other a glance. “I’m fine—simply exhausted. I am not used to being awake in the day,” Luna said. “Probably why I’m feeling a tad queasy.” Twilight smiled at that last remark. “Well, then why don’t we hurry up and head back for some rest? It’s been a long day.” Echo pushed open the door and walked inside. The house was immaculately clean and they split up to begin searching in. Twilight walked circles around the bottom floor, impatiently huffing and muttering under her breath. Luna spent most of her time closely examining things with her hooves. Twilight still suspected she was up to something. Luna almost seemed to be taking orders from her guard. Echo had headed upstairs. He had been discretely collecting evidence all day. Given what Trixie said, there should be some teeth here somewhere. They would prove Bon Bon was killed before the explosion, or at least her teeth were removed first. He began looking through all the drawers and the closet in the bedroom. There were no teeth anywhere in sight. Walking over to the bed an odd thought occurred to him. If I were a dentist, would I believe in the tooth fairy? Surely she didn’t. . . Echo lifted up the pillow and saw a small box resting between the mattress and the headboard of the bed. He opened it up and saw several teeth showing some scorch marks. Jackpot. Echo slid the box into his saddlebag. Now he had the proof he needed to convince Celestia. He just needed to consult with Luna and Noctis before closing the net. “You done in here?” Twilight asked. Echo spun around and then marched out of the room. “Yeah, nothing here.” After passing her he formed a small grin. “Let’s get back home and get some sleep. I have a feeling we could all use it,” Luna offered. The trio headed downstairs and out the door. Throughout town, the Lunar Guard had been patrolling and guarding the scenes of the disappearances. Many of the remaining towns ponies finally had the courage to walk around again. Derpy had resumed her mail route, swooping down to chat. “Hey, Twilight. Isn’t it great to have the guard in town?” “Yeah, it sure is,” Twilight said. She fought the urge to roll her eyes, lest Derpy think she was mocking her. “I’ve got lots of mail for you. I was feelin’ kinda sick and then with all the stuff going on, I just didn’t want to start the mail route again.” “As long as you’ve started it now. I can’t cover for you with Mayor Mare anymore.” Derpy frowned and looked away. “Sorry, I just don’t know what went wrong. I started vomiting out of nowhere. Can I make it up to you?” “Just stop by my house and drop off my mail later. I’m sure one of Zecora’s books will help me brew a good remedy for your nausea,” Twilight said. She turned left to head down towards the library, leaving Derpy hovering behind her and Luna. “Okay, thanks!” Derpy flew off to deliver the rest of the mail. Echo noticed a mare walking several fillies down the street. “Why are so many fillies out in the evening? I told the guards to spread word of the curfew.” “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. “My name is Cheerilee. The parents who haven’t moved out want their kids to continue going to school. I escort every single one home in the evening, and keep a written log.” “Be that as it may, Miss Cheerilee, school is hereby canceled,” Luna said. “Until you hear otherwise, the children should stay with their parents.” “B-but princess—” “No buts,” Twilight interrupted. “Why don’t you and Mayor Mare stop by tomorrow morning and we can discuss this over breakfast.” Cheerilee looked between the two princesses, then down at the ground. “All right.” The party continued their walk towards the library. Excellent, keeping up the facade. Luna doesn’t suspect a thing. It’s too bad I can’t capture them, I need to be seen having normal dealings with them. Twilight took to the air, flying gently towards the library. Her hooves were aching from the long day marching around town. And I hope this comes to an end soon, with all these guards around I won’t get any work done. I’ll get them all eventually. “Well,” Twilight said, “want to come in for tea?” “A generous offer, I have much to discuss with Luna, so we decline,” Echo said. Luna glanced down at the guard who had spoken for her. “Yes, we do,” Luna added. “Very well, I’ll see you two in the morn—” Twilight stopped when she rounded the last corner to the library. “Why do I have guards posted at my front door?” Luna frowned and shot a glance at Echo. They had posted them to cover for Noctis during his investigation of Twilight’s home. Why are they still here? “You’re a high priority target. The guards shall remain posted at your door until the investigation is over,” Luna said. “It is royal law that a princess must be accompanied by two guards at all times.” “And yet you’ve had one this whole time,” Twilight spat. “I don’t want your guards or your laws.” “You don’t have a choice, Twilight Sparkle. You will obey the law,” Echo said. The two princesses looked at him with fire in their eyes, yet he stood his ground. “Fine,” Twilight said. “As long as they don’t burst in while I'm trying to take a bath.” She stomped up the steps and through the door into the library, unlocking and relocking the door in a blur. “Guards, let nopony in or out without logging it,” Echo ordered. They saluted and returned to attention. “Come, Luna,” Echo said. eight thousand nine hundred and ninety seven. . . eight thousand nine hundred ninety eight. . . eight thousand nine hund—hundred—eight thousand. . . Lyra could feel her insides churning against the cold. She’d been here too long, Twilight must be dead. She was going to spend the rest of her unnatural life in an ice cube. It was too much to bear. She struggled to the point of pain, cursing her body that seemed content to feel only the negative emotions. She still couldn’t move a hair’s width in any direction. I quit. It was a simple command in her brain. Lyra didn’t want to suffer anymore, surrendering herself back into oblivion. Once they had trotted away from the library, Luna spoke up. “For a moment there, I thought you were going to blow our cover.” “She’s not stupid, she already knows we suspect her,” Echo said. “Besides, while she is busy with that, I have gathered the evidence I will need to convince Celestia.” “What did you find?” Luna asked. Echo walked ahead, nearing the hotel. “Once we’re inside.” They proceeded upstairs and entered their room. What they saw was a shock. Trixie and the guard they had left were frozen still, staring at each other. “What the hay?” Luna said. She walked over and saw them barely moving, and neither would break eye contact. “I demand to know what’s going on!” The guard began to tremble, not wanting to disobey an order. The hints of a smile crept onto Trixie’s face as she fought to stay at attention. Echo burst out laughing, drawing a confused look from Luna. “What is this madness,” she said. The guard blinked, before deflating in defeat. “Hah! Trixie wins again! Now you owe me 50 bits. Trixie never loses a staring contest!,” she said. “Damn,” Dusk said. “Sorry, Princess, we uh—I placed a friendly wager or three.” Luna chuckled gently realizing her guard had been playing a foal’s game to pass the time.. “Very well. Now, Echo, what evidence did we get today?’ “Let’s see,” Echo said. He took a seat at the table and began pulling evidence out of the saddlebags. He was soon joined by Trixie, Luna, and Dusk. “The teeth you mentioned, Trixie, from Colgate.” “You found them?” Trixie asked. “Yes, and they do show signs of fire damage. I’m not a dentist, but I believe if Bon Bon were at the explosion, more of her would have survived including her mandible. It is highly likely these teeth were planted. Otherwise, why were no teeth from Lyra found either?” Trixie smiled and bounced in her chair. “Oh this is great news—now you know I’m telling the truth!” “Calm down, Trixie,” Luna said sternly. Echo continued on. “We also have some pink and lavender hairs from Sugarcube Corner, a bloody glass fragment, and the circumstantial evidence that it did not look like a robbery. Fluttershy’s cottage was abandoned with no attempt to feed or let the animals out of the house. Vinyl’s house showed signs of struggle—” Echo slammed a hoof on the table, causing the other ponies to flinch. “What is it?” Luna asked. “Damn it! There was the doll from the dentist in here. I didn’t have a chance to examine it. All the dental tools had been sterilized—it was our only hope of linking Twilight to that crime scene.” “Relax, you’ve still got your trump card,” Dusk said. He motioned over to Trixie. “Um yes. . . about that. I’m not so sure I want to be the bait anymore,” Trixie said. “You’ll be perfectly fine,” Echo consoled. He rubbed a hoof on her shoulder in a friendly gesture. “I’ll protect you.” “Wait,” Luna asked. “Noctis was to break into Twilight’s house and he’s not back. We may need to take more direct action to force Twilight’s hoof at this point. If Noctis didn’t report, it means he’s captured or dead, and our hand is reveal—” Luna stopped to cough, and nearly vomited. Her mane seemed to flicker for a moment. “What’s going on?” Trixie asked, a hint of panic in her voice. Echo smiled warmly. “It’s okay, Trixie, the disguise has been taxing. I’ll explain the next step to you while my loyal guard gets some rest,” he said. Twilight knew as soon as she stepped in the house something was wrong. The guards had been posted at her door not to protect her library, but to control her. Clearly Luna was onto her. She headed directly into the kitchen to free Lyra, and her fears were confirmed. In a pile of his own fluids lay a dead Lunar Guard. She looked at the cabinet where her poisons were stored. The dumb pony had triggered the booby trap. The false backing in the cabinet had to be lifted with magic, not pushed in. Now she knew Luna was onto her and the disappearance of a guard pony would not go unnoticed. Twilight twitched involuntarily before firing up her horn. She leaned over and focused her energy on him. Slowly she triggered a chain reaction: the water molecules throughout his body vibrated in response to her black magic, separating into hydrogen and oxygen. A magical spark caused the body to spontaneously combust. She then controlled the reaction until he had incinerated himself completely. It had become second nature to her ever since mastering black magic. Offensive spells now seemed simple in comparison. The blood was expunged from the wood floor, and broken into it’s base components—iron, sulfur, carbon—and Twilight turned to the freezer. She flung the door open, and levitated Lyra out. She took the cup to the sink and began running hot water over it, using her magic to evenly and quickly disperse the ice. “Come on, Lyra, hang in there,” Twilight said. Tears began to roll down her cheek as her mind turned to her loss, her failures, of the past. “I can’t lose you too, not now. Anypony but you. . .” The ice continued to thaw and slipped out of the glass. Twilight felt her heartbeat speed up, just as it had when she found Cadance. This was a pony she loved and that loved her, and all she could picture was having to bury her. “Hurry up!” she spat at the thawing ice. Finally it was thin enough she used a flash of magic to evaporate the last inch of ice. She levitated Lyra onto the counter and began to surround her in her magic. “Please, Lyra.” Lyra finally felt at peace. All her pain had left and she was floating through a vast nothingness. It was serene, a place where not even the cold could reach her. She began to hear voices in the darkness, calling out to her. A warmth began to radiate from her, and Lyra struggled to get away from it. She didn’t want to wake up back in the ice. She was finally at peace. “Lyra, please,” the voice cried. “I can’t lose you.” Lyra looked around the darkness for the voice. It was fading from black to brown, and the familiar sensation of cool air across her skin reached her. For a moment, she remembered what it was like to be alive. “Lyra?” Twilight asked. She saw the doll begin to twitch as the brittle plastic returned to room temperature. “Lyra!” Twilight ran up to her room, flinging open the trunk she recalled Silver locking Mac in, and hovered them both to her bed. She got in the covers and pulled Mac against her chest, sandwiching the cold Lyra between them. “What’s goin’ on?” Mac asked. “It’s Lyra—We have to warm her up. She’ll be okay.” Twilight smiled and rocked back and forth gently in the bed. “I saved her. Luna be damned, at least I saved one pony.” Lyra could feel warmth returning to her, and as her limbs warmed up she regained the strength and flexibility to move them. She still felt as though she could not speak but a familiar scent of lilacs reached her nose. She managed a weak smile and knew she was safe, that her friend Twilight hadn’t forgotten about her. Just as Lyra would never forget about her. “Y’all sure it’ll be okay? Silver seemed upset and ah heard other ponies in the house,” Mac said. “Look, Twilight, if it’s time to give up ah’ll put in a good word for ya!” “No, Mac, it’s not time. Luna thinks she is two steps ahead, but she isn’t. I know she knows. no, everything will go my way this time! I poisoned her, and I’m moving the dollhouse tonight. The next time I meet her,” Twilight grinned, watching her best friend recover, “will be the last.” Twilight felt Lyra begin to shiver, a sign that the pony’s conscious mind was recovering and trying to assert it’s old habits from life into the plastic shell. “It’s okay, Lyra, I’m here for you.” “Hang on Echo,” Luna said. The bat winged pony was on the floor writhing in agony. “Heh, l-looks like y-you were r-right to use me as a d-decoy,” Echo sputtered. “No! You didn’t eat or drink anything, did you?” Luna asked. She stood over the dying pony in her hotel room. Dusk was off to the side, Trixie watching in horror from her bed. “J-just the t-tea, but T-trixie had s-some too.” “Trixie?” Luna asked. “Well I do feel nauseous,” Trixie said. “I h-hate to say I told y-you so but l-looks like I w-won’t have another chance,” Echo muttered. “I t-told you s-she had it in h-her to kill.” “Yes, my love, you did. . .” Luna said. “Hold still, I can save you.” “No!” Echo cried out. “S-save your energy to c-capture T-twilight. H-healing magic is t-too d-draining.” “I’m your princess! I cast the illusion and let you take my place to fool Twilight! I—” Luna slumped down on the floor. “I killed you. My cowardice killed you.” “Majesty,” Dusk said. “You are the ruler of this nation. Now more than ever you have to do what is necessary to protect the crown. Any of us would gladly die for you.” “No. . . I have the power of eternal life. I can save the ponies I love,” Luna said. She began to charge her horn and aimed at Echo. “Dusk,” Echo whispered. The nearby guard emitted a screech to interfere with Luna’s magic. “L-luna, as a m-mortal you knew I’d die. W-what we had, I e-enjoyed it. Remember—I was always loyal to you—princess of the n-night.” Echo’s eyes rolled back into his head. Dusk lay himself prostrate before her. “Your majesty, forgive me.” Luna sat still, letting two tears fall to the ground. They glistened as they landed on Echo and slowly absorbed into his dark fur. “He was as faithful a guard as I could have hoped for. No, he was right, I could not save him. But, I can save Trixie.” Luna turned to face her and lit up her horn, channeling her magic to neutralize the damage that was being done on a cellular level by the poison. The source seemed to come from multiple points, mostly in her stomach. It was a faint, but lethal, radiation. Her magic slowly searched out and contained the toxin. She quickly identified and began to neutralize the polonium. It was a fairly harmless substance, releasing alpha radiation that could barely penetrate skin. Yet, inside a pony’s stomach, it could cause lethal damage as it was absorbed throughout the body. Luna found herself wiping sweat from her brow and feeling a slight ache in her horn. Bits of the polonium had spread into Trixie’s blood, though luckily, it seemed she had gotten a smaller dose. Had she tried it on Echo to purge his entire body of it, she would have needed rest. Trixie was placed in a deep sleep by Luna. “Come, Dusk, assemble the guard.” Luna’s mane stopped sparkling as every star trapped in it blinked out of existence. A black shadow fell over her, plunging the room into darkness. The only colors left visible on her body were midnight blue and black. With her magical reserves partially spent on Trixie, she steeled her resolve to tap the only other source available to her. A sickening malice began to radiate as she tapped an ancient store of magic that had nearly cost Luna her life a millenia ago. She was no longer the fallen princess; this time her fury would be used to uphold Celestia’s law. “We have a murderer to apprehend.”