//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - Spirits of Stone // Story: Moon and Stars // by keelekingfisher //------------------------------// “The artificers of Canterlot were attacked last night.” Celestia said, rubbing her tired eyes. “A trio of dragons descended from the north unto them.” “My…” Luna whispered, shaking her head. “Are they all alright?” “They will live. Where were you, though? You swore to protect our ponies from the beasts of the night, sister.” “We and our Guard were attending to the ponies of Underdale - they have been menaced by timber wolves for many nights now. If we had known of the dragons, of course we would have gone to Canterlot.” Celestia gave a heavy sigh. “Yes, we know. We wish that we could defend them in some way, is all.” Luna crossed the simple table to wrap her forehooves reassuringly around her long-worrying sister. “Tia, it is you who secures the day. You are the one who sows fields and builds nations. It was you who brought all kinds of ponies together to begin with!” After a long few moments, Celestia hugged her back. “Yes. You are right, Luna. And we know that you do all that you can to defend our ponies from the night. Thank you.” Listlessly, Luna fidgeted with the quill in her field of navy blue magic. She’d just signed the last of the letters of thanks for those who’d attended this year’s Grand Galloping Gala (Twilight and Spike, despite being extended an invitation, hadn’t attended. It would’ve been nice to have seen them, but she wasn’t upset - if Luna had the option to skip it, she would’ve), but she knew that more papers were coming. It had been a very long night, and the morning was creeping on now. Based on the stack of papers and files that Raven levitated into the room, it was going to be a fairly long day, too. “I’m sorry, Princess, but I think that this is the last of it.” She laid the little stack on Luna’s writing desk. “Thank you, Raven.” “Would you like anything else, my Princess?” “A pot of coffee, if you wouldn’t mind. And then I think that your time is your own, Raven. Thank you.” “Your majesty.” She bowed and departed the tower, leaving Luna to levitate the first of the documents.  Proposal for Further Expansion of the Southeast Canterlot Shelf Luna groaned; this wasn’t the sort of document that she could just skim over and then sign. This was sensitive and important. Yes, it would’ve come through the office of the Royal Architect already, who’d have ensured that the proposed construction was safe. But that was an entirely different thing to determining if it was a good idea, which was now her job.  She tried to read the first line of the proposal three times before giving up. She set it down in the middle of her desk, returned the quill back to its ink pot, and opened both of her students’ journals. No more communication from Sunset - their last exchange of notes had been five nights ago, when Sunset was just about to depart into one of the central Zebrican jungles in search of some rare alchemical ingredient. Sunset seemed quite confident that she’d be unharmed, but she still preferred to travel light, and so would’ve left her journal at the local village. Twilight, on the other hand, had written just that night, and Luna was yet to properly read it. That would provide her the little stimulus she needed. And so, as she lit her horn to coax the sun into completing its dawn, she opened the journal and read. Dear Princess Luna, (always so formal! Especially compared to Sunset, who never even gave her any sort of greeting. Just differences in the ways that they were raised, presumably) I hope that you had a good time at the Grand Galloping Gala! I’m sorry that Spike and I couldn’t attend - I’d promised to help some of my friends here with a project. One of Fluttershy’s animals had gotten sick, so we all went into the Everfree to meet a zebra alchemist who lives there. She’s very kind! My Zebrican still isn’t very good, but her Equestrian is excellent, so we got by well. The Everfree is definitely still dangerous, so I think the others felt better having my magic along. I think I’ve managed to translate that old spellbook you sent me (it’s in a very strange dialect of Old Equestrian - I think perhaps from the far north?) and it’s a fascinating book of graviturgical spells. I’ll need a little more time to completely break down the spellcraft, but already they’re fascinating. I wonder if techniques like this were used in the initial construction of the Canterlot Shelf? The next time I’m in the city, do you think it’d be possible for me to get a close-up look at the oldest sections of it? If this is the magic used, this could help us to crack the secrets of the ancient artificers! I understand if it’s not possible for me to examine the Shelf, and I’ll need more time to finish my translations anyway, but I’m really fascinated by these spells! Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle (and her number one assistant, Spike!) Luna smiled as she finished reading the letter, and finished coaxing the sun above the eastern horizon. Ever curious, young Twilight. Once her statue was complete, the plaque would read the Scholar. It was the only title that would fit the bookish young unicorn, after all. Luna would write a letter requesting permission for Twilight to examine the oldest parts of the Shelf before retiring for the day, she decided. But first, this proposal. So she pulled the file close enough to read with her hooves, using her magic to open the large window at her back to hear the birds singing in the new dawn, and read the first line for the fourth time. ...Were those raised voices coming from the window? Standing from her desk, she walked over to the window, laying one forehoof on the sill as she leaned out. Yes, raised voices. Not celebratory, nor angry, but afraid? Panicked? “Your coffee, my Princess.” She glanced back to watch Raven placing the pot on her desk. “Is something the matter, your majesty?” “You hear that too, don’t you?” Raven cocked her head curiously for a few moments, before she could distinguish the raised voices from the birdsong. “Shouting?” “Yes. It sounds like it’s coming from the Statue Garden.” “I’m sure the grounds Guard will be going to investigate now.” “Hm.” Luna agreed, although she glanced back at her desk sceptically. “I’m going to go and investigate for a moment. Just to make sure that nobody’s in danger.” “Of course, your majesty. Would you like me to deal with the paperwork while you do?” “No, my dear Raven, your time is your own. I’m sure I’ll be back in a moment.” She flashed the unicorn a smile, before she stepped out of her window, spreading her wings to glide gently down into the gardens. She could see a little crowd of technicolour ponies gathered around the entrance of the Statue Garden. A couple raised hooves to point at her as she descended at their back, the two Guardsponies trying to keep the peace looking cautiously relieved. “My dear ponies,” she said, gentle yet loud, causing them all to stop their commotion. “Whatever is the matter? Surely there is nothing so- oh.” Her eyes drifted up to that ancient, iconic sculpture. The Tribes United, that beautiful work depicting the four pony exemplars of their peoples, an unmistakable piece of the castle’s image, now completely changed. The stone ponies were gone. Only an empty pedestal stood in the Garden’s entrance. “Could somepony have simply taken them away?” “Impossible, Princess.” Shining Armour informed Luna. “Each of the statues weighs almost a ton. If somebody had simply taken them, they absolutely would’ve been heard or seen in this part of the city.” Yes, of course. That would’ve required either a display of magical energy beyond any one unicorn, or some sort of industrial equipment. There’s no way that either of those would’ve gone unnoticed in the midst of the capital, even when most ponies were sleeping. If nothing else, she dearly hoped that her Night Guard wouldn’t be foolish enough to miss something so blatant. “What other possibilities are there?” She rubbed her eyes with her hooves - she’d been awake for far too long. “It’s not impossible that they’ve been teleported away, but that’d require someone of at least my sister’s magical strength, perhaps even more. Perhaps an adult dragon could’ve made off with it, but again, I don’t see that it could've gone unseen either.” Luna stood from her desk, pacing idly. Her old leg wound began to ache again, probably from the fatigue, and she forced herself to stifle a yawn. “Forget the how. Why? There’s no way that anybody could believe the Tribes United vanishing could’ve gone unnoticed. This must have been a message. So what’s the message?” Shining Armour nodded sagely. “You’re probably right, your majesty. I’ll have your people check all of the castle’s mail right away, we may have received a ransom note.” "What if this is a distraction?” “Pardon me, Princess?” “Think about it, of course we’re going to be preoccupied with the theft of the Tribes United, while half the Royal Guard are fretting over this, whoever it is could be stealing something else.” Slowly, Shining Armour nodded his agreement. “That would make sense. I’ll have the Guard on the street right away, asking everyone what they’ve seen. Is there anything else, your majesty?” There were probably things she’d want the Guard to do. But right now, she couldn’t think of any. “To be honest with you, Shining, I’d quite like to go to bed, it’s been quite the day so far. I trust you to manage this investigation while I rest.” “Of course, your highness.” He stood and bowed low. “I’ll do everything in my power to investigate this disappearance. We’ll get the Tribes home.” “I know that we will.” She smiled softly as he left her study, and yawned as he trotted down the stairs of her tower. Yes, she needed to rest. But first, one more little task. She opened the journal to the page she’d read just earlier. My dearest Twilight, I would like you to come to Canterlot as soon as you are able, but I am afraid it is not for a simple research expedition… “Here’s your tea, Twilight.” “Thank you, Princess.” They were taking tea in Luna’s personal parlour, a dark, comfortable room in the midst of her tower that was reserved for private meetings with those ponies she cared for the most. She could tell that Twilight was perturbed - she had heard of the unusual event that had occurred last night, had seen the pedestal that had held the Tribes United, and had now been invited for a light meal and some tea with her mentor. She was champing at the bit to work on her investigation, but Luna knew Twilight would work herself to the bone unless offered a few quiet moments like this, and she certainly didn’t want her burned out. “Take as much cake as you want, Spike. How was the train ride here?” “It was alright, Princess.” She gave Spike a slightly concerned look as he tore into a slice of red velvet and ruby cake with incredible enthusiasm, before turning back to her mentor. “I had to cancel a dinner with the girls, but I’m sure that they understand.” That made Luna feel a little rotten - Twilight had suddenly made such close friends, it felt cruel to pull her away from them. “I’m sure that you’ll be back with them before you know it.” She could see that her student was itching to move on, so she decided to turn back to business. “Now, have you found anything interesting in your initial investigation?” “Well,” a long list emerged from a saddlebag in a mulberry aura. Trust Twilight to already be so organised. “I found a few interesting things. That modified finding spell I’ve been working on indicated trace amounts of unicorn magic in the immediate area, but that could be just because it’s so close to the castle. There’s no tracks near the statue, but the grass there’s probably just sprung up.” Yes, the grass in the castle’s grounds was specifically bred to spring back up after being walked on, to keep the lawns looking pristine. “And, based on the damage to the plinth, I don’t think the statues were cut away, but pulled away.” “Pulled away. By levitation?” “That would be my guess, Princess. It probably would’ve taken a team of unicorns to carry them all, but it seems more likely than using a crane or anything.” “Do you have any other theories?” “Well, they could’ve been teleported. It’d be very tricky, but if there were several unicorns working together, they could probably teleport them to the edge of the city, where they’d be much easier to deal with. Or perhaps several unicorns spaced throughout the city to teleport them in a sort of relay. Maybe a large flying creature, such as a dragon or a roc, could’ve moved them, but I really think that would’ve been noticed. A large team of pegasi could’ve done something similar, but it would’ve needed to be a very large group, and I’m sure that the Night Guard would’ve seen them.” Luna crossed her forelegs thoughtfully - it appeared that Twilight’s conclusions were much the same as her own. For this to have happened, it would’ve required a great deal of magical skill and expertise.  “What about what Pinkie said, Twi?” Spike asked, crumbs around his mouth. “She was only joking, Spike.” Luna raised an eyebrow, and Twilight elaborated further. “Pinkie Pie said that it wasn’t like they would’ve just got up and walked away. Then she said that could’ve happened, but she was only joking.” Luna smiled, before returning to her thoughts. “Your majesty!” The Captain barged into the parlour, one of very few ponies who could do so without being on the receiving end of the Royal Canterlot Voice. “We’ve surveyed the castle grounds, and there are over a dozen other statues missing!” Frowning deeply, Luna took the scroll that he held in her own magic, and read down it quickly. The twin guardsmare statues by the northwest gate, a bust of Starswirl the Bearded, the statue of Clover the Clever from the library, the miniature dragon, the wendigo reliefs, a statue of the Princess herself… “Some of these have vanished from within the castle!” She exclaimed, rolling the note again. “Have you found any clues near any of them?” “No, Princess. It’s just like the Tribes United, the statues themselves are gone, with nothing else there.” “Twilight,” Luna instructed. “Follow your brother to the library. Check the site of Clover the Clever’s statue with your spells, and see if you notice anything off elsewhere in the library.” “Right away, Princess! Come on, Spike.” She lifted Spike onto her back, and the trio trotted out of Luna’s parlour. Luna, for her part, held her head in her forehooves, and read over the list again. Yes, the how was important, but the most burning question for her was the why? Many of the missing artworks were ancient and priceless, but they would be impossible to sell without attracting undue attention. Was it to send a message? If there was any obvious message here, Luna would be a lot more confident to consider this idea. But at this point, if it was a message, it was a very poorly communicated one. Had there been anything else taken? There were a great many paintings and tapestries within the castle, perhaps one of them had been taken, too. But again, how? None were of similar scale to the Tribes United, but a number of the missing statues had been taken from within the walls of the castle. There were blind spots in the Guard’s patrol routes, certainly, but every entrance and exit was watched carefully. Unless the Guard were in on it? Well, certainly not with Shining Armour’s knowing. And she personally selected the Night Guard, there was no way that any of them would betray her trust without her realising that something was up. So again, this appeared to be impossible without teleportation. “Unless,” Luna muttered almost unconsciously. “They haven’t left the castle?” Hesitantly, she stood, and made to leave her parlour. There were many old nooks and storage rooms within the castle, some even hidden from clear view behind false walls. If she were to commit a crime so brazen, she could see the logic behind hiding away the take until the heat died down. Yes, the more she thought on it, the more it made sense. She set off at a trot in the direction of the library, planning to instruct Shining Armour to have every storage area in the castle searched, and to get her student for some investigations of their own. Side by side, Twilight and Luna walked through the narrow, stone passageways deep below Canterlot castle, their hoofsteps echoing and the magical light of Twilight’s horn making their shadows flicker in the purple light. “I had no idea that there were so many tunnels down here!” Spike exclaimed from Luna’s back, studying a doodle that someone had carved into the stone many centuries before. “Some of them were already here once we built the castle.” Luna explained. “Ancient mine shafts and natural caves. We strengthened and expanded them once we built this place, as well as having many tunnels run through the structure of the Shelf.” “So what’s the purpose of this tunnel?” Twilight asked. “I haven’t seen any rooms for a long while.” “This is an escape tunnel.” That seemed quite logical to Twilight; they had, after all, entered it through a reinforced door accessed by poking the eye of a portrait of Abacus of Hayseed. “It emerges at the Guard post on the far side of the mountain. But there are a few emergency storerooms along its length.” Much closer to its entrance than its exit, mercifully - they’d already walked over a mile. “But couldn’t you just fly away if anything happened, Princess?” “I could, yes, but the servants and workers aren’t so lucky, Spike. Besides, I’m not the sort of mare to run away from danger.” Truthfully, she had used this tunnel for an escape, once: many a century back, Canterlot had come under attack by a small army of griffons. Most of the Royal Guard was still stationed in Everfree at that point, so new the castle was, so they had overrun the city quickly, and encircled the castle. Luna could have simply fought her way through them all, but she was always reluctant to practise violence on thinking beings. So she and her staff had journeyed through this tunnel, and spent a few days regrouping, before returning to the city to negotiate. (It had, in the end, been settled without bloodshed - Luna’s sister had promised the griffons a diplomatic favour before she left, and it had been completely forgotten with her leaving. Griffons, however, do not forget such things, and had been angered when the ponies’ promise hadn’t been kept. After some monetary apologies, the slight had been quickly forgiven.) “I had no idea that tunnels like this even existed.” Twilight remarked. “I keep them a secret so that, if we are attacked, they will not be compromised. Nobody other than me knows the location of them all, but many of my high-ranking staff know of some.” Paranoid? Perhaps. But much of Luna’s psyche still dwelled in an ancient time, when malice and monsters were much more commonplace, and when ‘better safe than sorry’ was practically the royal motto. “But if they are secret, how would someone have stored the stolen statues in them?” “Well, it’s certainly not impossible that someone has stumbled into one. Perhaps they saw one of the Guard inspecting it. Perhaps they happened to hit the switch on Abacus’ portrait by accident. Indeed, perhaps they found the far side of it, it is certainly less well-hidden.” “Is that the storeroom?” Spike asked, pointing ahead to a dust-coated tapestry that hung from the right wall. “It is indeed, Spike.” Each escape tunnel held one or two such storerooms, packed with food, water, and supplies, placed under a spell of stasis to ensure that they would last as long as needed. Indeed, many of them were stocked with food harvested when the castle was still being built, which was still perfectly edible - albeit a little stale. “Do you hear that?” Twilight whispered as they approached the tapestry. Luna paused in her walk, holding her breath and cocking her head. Yes, she did hear it, faint voices coming from behind the tapestry. Holding a hoof to keep Twilight back, and lifting Spike onto the unicorn’s back with her magic, she stepped out of her shoes to keep closer, ears raised and straining to hear the intruders’ words, muffled by the heavy, ancient fabric. “Got any threes?” “Go fish.” “Any aces?” They were playing? These intruders, these thieves, had enough hubris to play around like schoolfoals in what was supposed to be Luna’s sanctum? She felt a swell of indignant fury, and inhaled deeply to project her voice with the ancient techniques. “Thieves!” She bellowed in the Royal Canterlot Voice as she pushed the tapestry aside with a forehoof. But the rest of her anger died in her throat when she saw a dozen statues staring at her. Around a low, round table sat a half-dozen ponies. The four oversized ones from the Tribes United, plus the statue of Clover the Clever from the library and a pegasus stallion who usually decorated the roof of the east wing. They all, somehow, held delicate cards in their stone hoofs. Around the rest of the large storeroom were so many other sculptures, from the two-dimensional wendigo decals dancing on the back wall, to the bodyless bust of Starswirl the Bearded, reading a book that someone else must have propped up in front of him, to a basalt statue of the Princess herself, sat the same way that she did when she told a story. Luna had been mentally preparing herself for a rant. A great explosion of frustration and anger to be directed at the thieves who had violated the sanctity of her ancient home and stolen many of the priceless artifacts. She had not been preparing for this. So the speech (which she was sure would’ve been one of her best, of a variety that she didn’t get to practise much any more, filled with fire and brimstone and righteous indignation) emerged from her mouth as a sort of “Abuwagawhat?”, which was significantly less impressive and dignified.  “Well, the jig’s up now, folks!” The oversized unicorn exclaimed, hurling their cards into the air like confetti. Many of the other statues groaned and chattered in response. “It was fun while it lasted, but the Princess is here to boot us all back outside." “Abah?” Luna asked, still attempting to regain control of her ability to speak. “We’re very sorry, Princess.” The thestral member of the Tribes United offered with a soft voice. Her spear appeared to be attached to her foreleg like an extra limb. “This is amazing!” Twilight enthused as she entered the storeroom, gazing wide-eyed like a foal in a sweet shop. “You really did just get up and walk off! Oh my goodness, Clover the Clever! Your work on magical theory revolutionised spellcasting, even today! Is Starswirl the Bearded here?” “What,” Luna said in a low voice that carried over the hubbub, quieting the chatter. “Happened?” Not dramatic enough, but a little speech that served its purpose. “We got fed up.” The thestral explained. Luna merely stared at her and blinked until she elaborated further. “Standing around for a thousand years. Not doing anything in particular. It makes you very stiff.” “You got bored of being a statue?” “Have you ever tried it?” Clover the Clever asked. “It’s very dull.” “So we decided to have a walk. Play some games. Just get off the plinth. It’s been very therapeutic. We’re all really grateful for the suggestion.” Luna sputtered and stumbled over her words for a few moments, before finally getting another question out. “Well, will you go back?” The statues all shared a look for a moment, before giving a number of vaguely assenting murmurs. “We probably should.” The thestral said. “We’re sorry if we caused you any trouble. He just made it sound so very nice, and we really thought that we needed a break.” Listlessly, the statues began to move, lifting odd pieces of furniture back to the edges of the large room and restoring the large stacks of supplies to their original condition. “Princess, don’t you think that this is sad?” Twilight whispered. “Them being stuck in place all the time. Could we try to make things better for them?” “They can’t even move their eyes!” Spike noted. “They’d have to watch the same tree every day forever!” “W-Well,” Luna stuttered, before clearing her throat. “If it truly is such an unpleasant duty for you all, we could come to some sort of arrangement.” Some part of Luna’s mind was screaming at her that this was completely ridiculous, clearly statutes can’t think, they can’t be bored! And yet, the way that they all looked at her with a tentative hope now, she had to do something. “Say, once a year, we give you all permission to leave your stations and have a day off.” “Oh thank you, Princess!” The thestral enthused as the others celebrated. “We really don’t mind it most of the time, but it’d be wonderful to blow off some steam now and then!” “I wonder if they’d be willing to answer some of my questions when they do next get a day off?” Twilight asked, as Luna watched the statues sorting the room. This can’t be, Luna kept telling herself. Statues can’t be alive, can they? I’ve lived among statues for an immortal’s lifetime, and I’ve never had the slightest indication that they are thinking, feeling beings. This must be some sort of illusion, or some kind of animation spell. And yet Twilight’s spells showed no sign of exceptional unicorn magic near the pedestal. Had they really just… walked away? “One more question,” Luna asked the Thestral as she dusted her hooves, struggling with her spear. “You said that ‘he’ made this sound so nice. Who is he?” “Oh, the other statue!” “Which other statue?” Some niggling thought in the back of Luna’s head said that this was a very bad omen. She felt that there was something else she ought to be doing. Some action that she should’ve been spurred to by this event. “You know, he didn’t say his name. But he was a funny-looking fellow, and said that he came from down south. Very nice and friendly, if he was a bit strange. He said that we all just deserved a break.” No. “Twilight Sparkle!” Luna boomed, making everypony in the room start. “Get a Guard to escort you to the Royal Vault! There is a round, stone sculpture there! Take it, and get on a chariot to Ponyville immediately!” “P-Princess? What’s going on?” “I fear that a terrible danger has returned to Equestria,” the Princess said as she left into the long escape tunnel, preparing to break into a gallop. “And I need you to help me make this land safe again!”