//------------------------------//
// Bittersweet Truth 
// Story: Lunar Lights 
// by BlackRoseRaven 
//------------------------------//

Chapter Eleven: Bittersweet Truth
~BlackRoseRaven

Twilight looked moodily at Luna as she looked at her pointedly, and then the violet unicorn sighed and rolled her eyes, saying distastefully: “You’re asking a lot, you know. And while I… do admit, I don’t… well… entirely mind when you and Scrivener… well…”
Twilight stuttered to a halt, then she cleared her throat embarrassedly before saying flatly through her blush: “I’m both honored and a little horrified.”
“Good.” Luna said comfortably, then she glanced towards the window as Sammy scratched at it from outside, peering in at them through his blue-flame eyes. “And oh, be quiet, little beast. For all his grumpiness, Scrivener Blooms does not mind nearly as much as he puts forwards. He is simply a little more… reserved than I am about his desires. I simply do not feel the need or urge to repress them. Now get thee hence or I shall seal thee in a pot for the next few hours.”
Sammy huffed at her grouchily through the window, then dropped away from it, and Luna rolled her eyes before she returned her gaze to Twilight, saying in a more-serious voice: “But… ‘tis only a theoretical question for now, Twilight. Both myself and Scrivener Blooms will… see someone about these problems, perhaps Zecora with her vast knowledge of all ailments and potions for every problem, and if… there is a problem of some sort with me, as I fear there is…”
Luna stopped, softening a little as she glanced down and murmured quietly: “’Tis funny. I can move the moon, Twilight. I can even move the sun, although not with the grace of my sister Celestia… and yet, imagine, to have all this power, to be unable to have a child of mine own. ‘Twould be bitter irony… one that thou understand, does thy not? How it could make me feel so powerless, for all mine power. A foal is the ultimate expression of love and trust… and to not be able to share that with my daydreamer…”
She shook her head a bit as Twilight gazed at her softly, and then she cleared her throat and looked up, saying firmly: “Enough whining though, there is work to be done. I assume thou hast been studying Celestia’s scrolls and books of magic of the old?”
And now Twilight grimaced a little, saying nervously: “I… I have been, Luna, but… she gave me some very, very serious stuff. I… I didn’t think magic like this existed outside of horror stories and fantasy novels… and to be able to use things like this in real life, to… to be able to paralyze a pony with a single word, or to… to even kill…”
“Magic is like any other tool, Twilight… it can be used as a grim weapon of destruction, a shield of protection, a hammer that builds and constructs… or even simply put on display like a showy, elegant blade, such as Trixie uses it for.” Luna smiled a little, and Twilight nodded apprehensively before the female reached up and touched her shoulder as she leaned forwards and kissed her forehead, murmuring softly: “Mine sister and I would not trust thee with these skills if thou didst not possess such a strength in thee, and a knowledge of right and wrong most infallible. Thou even saved Pinkamena, Twilight… inside thee is a magic greater than my sister’s blessings or my own darker arts. In some fantastic way, thou has mastered the ability to find peace and accordance with anyone who has even but a smidgen of emotion in their veins… anything that feels, thou art able to negotiate and make a bond with. ‘Tis… truly enviable.”
She stopped, then smiled a little, saying quietly: “Head out to the front yard, Twilight, and we practice thy arts. As our faithful target is not here, I shall fetch some simple stands for thee to blast.”
“Alright Luna. Thanks.” Twilight smiled awkwardly at her, looking warmly at the winged unicorn despite the blush still on her face, and Luna winked at her before she turned and headed towards the back door, slipping out into the yard and then making a face at Sammy as he bounced around, chirping loudly.
She finally rolled her eyes with a sigh, saying irritably to the little creature as she walked down the dirt path: “Oh, thou art more of a prude than my sister. ‘Tis what ponies do when they care for one-another. Thou would truly be horrified of just what occurrences occurred in my time, little creature… back then, ‘twas more shocking if a noble did not have at least one mistress and a wife, instead of the other way around.”
Sammy huffed at this, and Luna rolled her eyes as she opened the door, deciding to ignore him… and then glancing up at the easel and softening visibly at the sight of it. She smiled faintly, touching the underside of her muzzle as she looked at the words: ‘I love you’ written in blocky letters over the canvas, with an awkwardly-drawn heart at the bottom.
She smiled, lingering… and then Sammy chirped at her, and Luna glared down at him as the skeleton cocked his head and seemed to grin cheerfully, snapping immediately: “Tell anyone of what thou just saw and it’s off with thy head!”
But Samael only chirped at her in response, and Luna glared moodily at him before her horn glowed as she returned her eyes to the shed’s interior, brushing the easel aside to grasp several small straw ponies on sticks with telekinesis, the three straw shapes glowing quietly as she muttered: “Thou truly art a noisome little wretch. Come along then, thou might as well join us.”
Luna grumbled to herself, making her way back towards the cottage, then carefully slipping around a hidden side path hidden in the shadows between cliff and cabin, the straw ponies floating along behind her and Sammy bouncing along at the rear. She emerged to see Twilight already at work, her eyes closed and horn glowing… and Luna paused to watch with interest as the unicorn arched her back with her teeth grit, horn growing brighter as in front of her, vines steadily twisted upwards out of the ground and wrapped together, forming slowly into a writhing, pulsing shape of a pony standing on its rear legs, the vines and plant life growing, transforming, warping… until it fell on all fours, green light glowing out between the vines from inside the plant golem as emerald light filled its sockets, the creature standing silently as Twilight wheezed and dropped flat on her stomach.
“Most impressive.” Luna murmured, and Twilight blushed embarrassedly as she looked over her shoulder, the straw ponies floating past to set themselves quietly up at the end of the yard before Luna approached the pony made of vines and pulsing plants, studying it curiously. “Yes, sister used to create these when we needed to send messages back and forth… or to check for traps or ambush, among their other uses. Thy magic power improves in leap and bounds, and ‘twas not inconsiderable to begin with, Twilight Sparkle. More and more, I find myself impressed with thy ever-growing abilities… perhaps one day thou will be greater than even Celestia at her finest.”
“Thank you, Luna… coming from you, that means a lot.” Twilight murmured, picking herself up and blushing a little as she smiled quietly, studying the plant golem as it stared back at her, seeming both intelligent and yet distant. “I don’t think it’ll last very long, though… I tried to hold back a little, not put too much power into the spell so I didn’t fatigue myself.”
“Then let us make use of what little time this creature has.” Luna said thoughtfully, looking towards Twilight. “I wish to see if thou can control it, as well as create it. And more importantly, how strong thy control over such is… for a talented or plain-willful unicorn can sometimes steal the control away.”
Twilight nodded, then she straightened and bowed her head forwards, eyes flashing as her horn glowed… and immediately, the golem cantered in a wide circle around the two as Luna laughed and nodded. “Excellent! Thou truly has been studying Celestia’s books… then let us move right into seeing how strong thy direction is.”
Luna grinned… and for twenty minutes she and Twilight faced each other, their horns glowing, Twilight grimacing and trembling, sweat rolling down her body as she concentrated and pushed with all her might to control the golem as Luna pushed back, grinning widely, eyes blazing with confidence and starlight mane and tail whisking around her. The golem, meanwhile, ran back and forth from one end of the field to the other, stuttering in mid-movement sometimes as the two wills wrestled… before Luna’s eyes flashed and she suddenly dropped her control, looking up sharply and running towards the bridge as she shouted: “Scrivy? Scrivy!”
Twilight winced and fell forwards on her face, and the golem charged dumbly into the cabin wall before collapsing backwards and laying prone as the unicorn slowly picked herself up, looking towards Luna as the winged unicorn nervously pawed against the ground, breathing a little hard as her ephemeral mane snapped backwards… and then she gritted her teeth and Twilight looked up in shock as a battered Scrivener and Trixie stepped out of the trees and began to cross the bridge, Luna seizing the former in a tight hug for a moment before she stepped back as Trixie strode tiredly past and dropped flat on her stomach with a wheeze, Twilight running quickly over to the group. “Daydreamer, what has happened to thee?”
“We were at the nursery, and the Bitterweaver nest seemed empty… I didn’t think it was weird at first, but usually there’s one or two around, right? Anyway, next thing I know, as I’m putting a second mandrake away, Trixie rambles something… and I look up, and there were centipedes as big as the great pythons charging at us.” Scrivener grimaced after a moment, shaking his head slowly before Luna reached up and quietly touched beneath a large cut in his shoulder, looking at him worriedly. “It’s… it’s nothing, don’t worry. Must have been when I threw myself against one of the boulders at the top of the incline… but Trixie and I pushed that down on the nasty little things and it took care of them. Most of them, anyway… she threw one of your bright flares at them and one of them tried to eat it and that didn’t end so well for him. I’m… very glad I had her help.”
Scrivy smiled a little over at the pale-blue unicorn, who smiled tiredly back at him as Twilight helped her back to her hooves, and the normally-boisterous female said quietly: “Well, I am glad you were there too, Scrivener Blooms. I mean… Trixie could… not have done so well without… your help.”
She stopped, looking lame, and Twilight looked up in concern at the frown on Luna’s face, her head lowering as the female said slowly: “Is that… unusual? I mean, there’s all sorts of creatures in the Everfree Forest…”
“Yes, truly, but ‘tis rare to see any insect attain even half that size in these days… ‘tis another effect of the spread of darkness across Equestria, I fear.” Luna murmured, lowering her head and shaking it slowly. “The shadows influence growth in even their most vile and lowest of servants… breeding monsters foul and awful. Twilight, Trixie, we shall heretofore redouble our training and our efforts. We shall begin with basic offensive magic after I heal Scrivener Blooms.”
“I’m fine, Luna, really…” Scrivy began, and then he winced at the glare she gave him before nodding with a grumble, then adding awkwardly: “I only got two mandrakes…”
“Then I shall blame Trixie for not retrieving the third in time, but be thankful that both of thee have returned alive from such a foul event… and Trixie, again it seems I owe thee some share of gratitude for the aid thou hast provided my husband.” Luna halted, looking down at the pale-blue unicorn softly, and Trixie smiled a little before Luna glanced at Twilight. “Instruct her in the simple ‘Bolt’ spell. I shall return shortly.”
Luna gently nudged Scrivener with her muzzle, and he smiled a little before falling into pace beside her, the two heading to the cottage… and even after they returned, Scrivener patched up by magic and cloth bandages, there was a quiet tension in the air as Luna spent her time deep in thought, her mane pulsing with starlight as she gave short commands every now and then, working both Twilight and Trixie to the bone.
The two left in the late afternoon after a short rest, both exhausted and worn-down… and then Luna quietly but firmly nudged Scrivener into the den to lay down with him, closing her eyes as they curled up together and he murmured: “You were hard on them today. Very hard… which means something’s really worrying you, huh?”
“Yes, Scrivener Blooms. Now come, we go to speak with Nightmare Moon together, if I can manage this.” Luna said quietly, and Scrivy glanced up in surprise as the female’s horn began to glow with a blue aura, her mane flickering gently against him as she smiled a little and curled their bodies tighter. “We are connected after all… the same blood runs in our veins. I like to think that on some level… perhaps we connect even at the soul.”
She closed her eyes as Scrivener closed his own, breathing softly… and a moment later, he felt a strange humming sensation pass through his mind, a buzz filling his ears before his eyes snapped open… and he looked dumbly back and forth in surprise as he realized he was standing beside Luna on top of an ancient stone monolith of some kind, that was lit from above by the light of the ivory moon.
And across from them, Nightmare Moon stood on a slightly-raised dais, marble statutes of Centurions – leather-winged, sharp-toothed Pegasus ponies – stood to either side of the platform, posed on their hind legs, with heavy bowls balanced in their front hooves filled with blue flames that swirled and twisted. The two ponies gazed up at her as she looked back down, then leaned forwards with a sultry smile, saying quietly: “This is a delightful surprise, Luna… you brought your handsome husband to visit me.”
She stepped down from the platform, walking slowly forwards, moving with a strange sinuousness despite her size as her own darkly-lit mane floated and flicked around her, leaning down and nuzzling along the side of Scrivy’s neck as he winced a bit, but couldn’t deny the attraction he felt all the same as he bit his lower lip nervously… then Nightmare Moon laughed as she circled slowly around the two, Luna glaring at her almost-jealously as she slid a little closer to Scrivy before saying curtly: “Thou art part of me, Nightmare Moon, but all the same thou art also comprised of shards of darkness from an outside source, from an ancient and wicked thing, kin to the darkness that threatens us once more. My memories of the old days are not all clear… yet not so faulty that I forget thy stygian origin.”
“And you wish to know what information I have on this rising shadow… if it is truly a second coming of the great darkness that Equestria itself was born from, and is fated to return to.” Nightmare Moon paused, saying meditatively: “My answer… is perhaps. I don’t wish to lie to you, Luna… or to you, handsome Scrivener Blooms… so I cannot tell you for sure. Because my senses are limited to what you see and feel, Luna, even if I can sort the information more accurately than your conscious mind, and my instincts are a little more attuned and intuitive.
“But… it’s nothing to be afraid of. Nothing any of us have to be afraid of… it’s merely another part of life’s great cycle, and we ourselves are all creatures safe from the grasp of most shadows.” Nightmare Moon smiled at this as she circled back in front of them, licking her lips slowly as she looked down into Scrivy’s eyes. “Do you have a question for me, my handsome husband?”
Luna narrowed her eyes slowly at this, but Scrivener met the tall, dark creature’s eyes fearlessly, smiling a little before he asked quietly: “Why did you include me in that, Nightmare Moon? I’m not like you or Luna… powerful or even able to take care of myself all that well.”
“Because after so much time with us… after being with Luna in the ways you have, marrying her, loving her, admiring her, wanting to be like her… and like me… you have been tainted.” Nightmare Moon reached up and lovingly stroked under his muzzle with her hoof, murmuring: “You have come to represent everything we so desire… and we know there would be others like you, if they would only give us a chance. Twilight is so close to being blessed with our darkness too… even if she is already marked clearly by Celestia’s light.”
She grimaced at this, leaning back a bit, then returned her eyes to Scrivener Blooms, murmuring softly: “We will not let harm come to you, worry not. Luna and I both need you… for reasons different and the same. But Luna, back to your worries… there is one thing I can tell you, one thing I can confirm, and it’s that the Velites are only a symptom. They are charging towards Canterlot, hellbent on revenge, overeager because they feel the darkness all around them. More importantly, what I am saying is that killing them will solve nothing, little Luna… even though I know you’ll do it anyway. You love to kill, even the already-dead, don’t you? Even more than I do, perhaps…”
Nightmare Moon gave her a smile that was sultry and dark, and Luna gritted her teeth before the creature threw her head back and laughed. “Demons, spirits, tame monsters becoming malicious and ponies who will one more learn to fear the darkness… in a way, we hate it, but it’s a fitting revenge upon their heads for how they treated us, how they never loved our night! But then they will learn that the worst monsters walk arrogantly in the daylight, and that their saviors and heroes slink through the shadows beneath the moon… then we will laugh in their faces when they are saved by the thing they blindly detest!”
“I see thou art in no mood for talking calmly, Nightmare Moon. Let us leave, Scrivener Blooms.” Luna said moodily, and Scrivy grimaced a bit… then winced when Nightmare Moon stepped forwards, licking slowly up his throat before she firmly kissed him for a few moments, Luna gritting her teeth as a shiver rolled through her body, Scrivy wincing even as his mouth moved in return against hers… and Nightmare Moon drew slowly back after a few long moment, licking her lips almost greedily.
“You kissed me back. Yes… delightful.” Nightmare Moon whispered, and then she stepped slowly backwards, her eyes becoming glowing white lamps in the shadows, her mane brightly shining as the light vanished from around them, the only thing visible for a few long moments the Nightmare’s starlight mane and the ivory lanterns of her eyes as she said softly: “Don’t worry, little Scrivener Blooms. One day, Luna will understand the only path to her salvation lays in the abyss… and then there will only be Nightmare Moon…”
“Silence!” Luna shouted… and reality trembled around them before Luna and Scrivener both threw themselves to their hooves, panting and grimacing as they looked back and forth. They were back in the den, standing on top of their bedding, facing the fireplace… and then Luna trembled and looked up at Scrivy as he looked back at her, before she stepped towards him and buried her face against the side of his neck as he hugged her fiercely.
There was no need for words as they curled tightly together… and slowly, bit-by-bit, Luna calmed before she straightened and muttered: “I am nothing but a wrecked vessel today, Scrivener Blooms. And Nightmare Moon… well, my hopes were both met and dashed at once. She reacts well to thy presence… but all too well, showing off and… aggressively seeking…”
She shook her head, then laughed a little as she looked at him, rubbing at one of her cheeks with a grimace. “All too well I see the resemblance, though, in her actions and my own oft-immodest behaviors. Still, she has confirmed my already-voiced worries… but what truly concerns me now is that we have yet to actually see a Velite for our own selves. In years’ past, they were not creatures of great stealth or slyness… but perhaps the ages spent in the tunnels deep under the earth have allowed them to modify their wicked behaviors.”
Scrivy grimaced a little at this thought, nodding slowly as he gazed at her quietly… and Luna gave him a faint smile in return, saying quietly: “Well, in spite of whatever may come, we shall deal with it as events occur.”
The male nodded to her slowly… and the two settled quietly back down in the den, slowly relaxing in each other’s company as they pressed together for comfort, worried for the dark days ahead, but determined to force their way through and make the best of what they had, together.

Time passed: Twilight and Trixie both trained hard under Luna’s instruction, Trixie grimacing and working harder than she likely ever had in her entire life as she worked on basic applications of offensive spells, and Twilight gritting her teeth, using ancient magic with incredible effect, to the point that even in her grim mood Luna couldn’t help but be impressed. Not that Twilight was around for the entire week to train: three days she spent in Canterlot under Celestia’s tutelage before returning to Ponyville, and showing up the next day with Trixie and several new, powerful spells in her repertoire.
Although Twilight had not escaped the events of the days before without cost: with her refusal to have the wounds magically-healed, the narrow, slanted t-shaped wounds across her face had become thin red scars: almost invisible from a distance or to the unobservant eye, but all too clear to those who looked for long at Twilight’s face. Yet still she stood proudly, and Luna and Scrivener both admired her for it, the latter understanding all too well how difficult it must be for her.
Twilight was obviously tired, and yet all the same she somehow kept herself going despite everything, muttering about how she was trying to balance studying and training and reporting to Celestia and helping Ponyville and even helping with Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s wedding. Luna had awkwardly told her that she could take a few days off, but Twilight had refused, saying quietly that it was too important to learn these skills as soon as possible… but then smiling faintly at the concerned look on the faces of the other ponies, even Trixie, and promising to take the two days before the wedding off.
And yet now Luna and Scrivener were making their way through Ponyville, after receiving a frantic letter from Twilight asking for their help: Trixie was gone. In the middle of the night, some of her things had been packed up, and she had snuck quietly out and vanished, wagon and all… and Luna grumbled to herself as they approached the library, the female saying in a disgusted voice: “If that coward has up and abandoned us out of terror, or worse, left to use the ancient magic in some fantasy show, I swear that I shall make my own magic cloak from her hide and feast upon her insides like the great dark wolf Skoll!”
“Insides really are delicious.” said a mild voice, and Luna and Scrivener glanced with surprise to the side to see Pinkamena looking amusedly at them beside Rarity, a sandwich in her hoof dripping with crimson fluid that wasn’t ketchup as the unicorn looked at her with a wince of horror and disgust. “I told you that no one can be trusted, I always knew it.”
“Pinkie, please… have a little courtesy!” Rarity scolded, then winced at the look that Pinkamena shot her, adding nervously: “I mean… Pinkamena, I’m sorry. It’s a little difficult to tell sometimes, even if you… have the prettier hair?”
The ivory unicorn gave a bright, lame smile, her blue eyes fluttering, her vibrant-purple, corkscrewed mane and tail flicking as Pinkamena looked at her dourly from beneath her own straight-hanging, dull-pink mane. Upon Rarity’s flank was a cutie mark of three shining blue gemstones, and she was beautiful and slender… and her love of neatness and ladylike behavior showed through as she winced back a bit when Pinkie Pie slowly bit into her sandwich, a bit of blood sliding along her chin.
“Where did thou get meat from, Pinkamena? I do hope all the foals of Ponyville are intact.” Luna said mildly, and Pinkamena grinned widely at her, showing off her sharp, bloodstained teeth. “Thou art fiercely disgusting.”
“And you’re just irritating.” she retorted moodily, then she shoved the last of the sandwich into her mouth and chewed with relish, swallowing loudly and then licking slowly at her hoof before she reached out and grabbed Rarity’s mane, leaning down and wiping her mouth on it as Rarity gave a shriek of disgust and yanked away too little, too late. “Thanks, babe.”
Rarity snarled at her, grinding her teeth slowly before she took a forced breath… and her eye twitched before she straightened suddenly and smiled almost placidly, saying calmly: “It’s no problem. Now come, Twilight asked you and I to help find Trixie… although I don’t have any idea why.”
“Boring.” Pinkamena rolled her eyes, then sat down and held up a hoof even as the door opened and Twilight emerged with a frown, grinning nastily… and then the pink horse’s mane and tail fluffed up as the color returned to her body before her features slowly turned an ugly greenish shade and she scampered around the side of the enormous tree, then vomited loudly.
Twilight winced, then glanced at Rarity, who was trying not to look at her stained mane… but the violet unicorn only narrowed her eyes slightly, and Rarity’s mane took on a dull glow for a moment before the stains and crumbs vanished from it, and the ivory unicorn released a sigh of relief, saying immediately: “Oh Twilight, you’re an absolute lifesaver! You just have to teach me that spell, darling, it would save me so much time and let me stay so much neater when I don’t have my fashion kit in easy access!”
“Head on in, I’ll go tend to Pinkie Pie. Let me guess, Pinkamena was eating meat again?” It was more a statement than a question, however, and when Luna gave an awkward smile, Twilight only sighed grouchily and muttered: “Spike can fill you in on what I’ve found so far.”
The others nodded, the three ponies walking inside to find Fluttershy was already present, leaning curiously over a map of  Ponyville, as Spike stood with his claws on his hips and an imperious look on his face as he said clearly: “There you all are, we’re about to start assigning quadrants and parameters and-”
“Spike, just tell them what’s going on!” Twilight shouted from outside, and Spike slumped a little before childishly raising his claws and making a face as he imitated whining in Twilight’s voice. “And don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing in there!”
The dragon winced at this as Luna snorted in amusement and Scrivy smiled a little, and then the young reptile cleared his throat before he pointed at the map, saying quickly: “Now, see, at first me and Twilight thought Trixie just got cold hooves and ran away. But then things got a little weird, because Applejack and Rainbow Dash stopped by and said they found her wagon on the side of the road and brought it back into Ponyville with them, since Trixie was nowhere in sight.
“But her wagon looked pretty ransacked, and AJ said there had been stuff all over the road… and since none of us really ever knew what Trixie kept in there, anything could be missing or maybe everything is all there still.” Spike paused, then he looked up as Pinkie Pie and Twilight entered the room, the pink pony still looking a little ill, her tongue hanging out of her muzzle and her eyes half-shut as Twilight smiled awkwardly.
She walked up to the other side of the map, sitting next to Spike and taking up the story as he gestured towards her. “Another thing I noticed is that Trixie left her hat here. I know that seems like a small thing, but considering how she is about her whole ‘style and fashion…’”
“’Tis perhaps a sign of something else. Perhaps she was lured outside, perhaps she was scared into fleeing.” Luna murmured, looking down with a frown and nodding slowly, and then she looked at the map and asked curiously: “I see thou hast illustrated the path thou expects Trixie to have proceeded in… but what, pray tell, does the blue circle represent?”
Twilight smiled a little at this, straightening and saying quietly: “It’s the area I want us to search, for any signs of Trixie… there must be a clue or something there. I’ve been trying to use Trixie’s horn spell, but it’s a little more difficult then I’d expected it to be… she must have been working on learning how to fine-tune it for years. The problem isn’t detecting a unicorn’s horn, but that every time I use it, I detect every unicorn in Ponyville, and it jams everything up. Trixie must have developed a way to search in specific directions or even for specific unicorns that she never bothered to share, and I haven’t had the time to really practice and figure it out yet.”
Luna nodded slowly, then she said quietly: “Then we shall hunt for her the old fashioned way, and hope that this is neither some great foolish stunt, nor because of some awful happenstance. Allow Scrivener Blooms and I to search ahead, both of us are more practiced in tracking and can act as the vanguard, whilst thou can organize thy friends into a search party. ‘Twill not be difficult, I assure thee, to find the direction she travelled in from the road… but from there on, our problems will increase.”
“I know. And if we don’t find her tonight, then we probably won’t.” Twilight shook her head slowly, and Luna frowned at this before she said quietly: “The Pegasus ponies have scheduled a downpour for tomorrow. It was originally scheduled for Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s wedding day, but Rainbow pulled some strings and had it moved. But they aren’t going to change it again, even for this.”
“Then there is no time to lose. Come, Scrivy, let us make our way quickly out.” Luna jumped to her hooves, then she paused, saying quietly: “We shall find some trace of her Twilight, worry not. And we shall not rest until we discover what has happened here.”
The violet unicorn smiled faintly at this as the other ponies looked up worriedly… and then Scrivener and Luna both quickly made their way out before they picked up a quick pace, running side-by-side through Ponyville as other ponies stared at them and pointed after them, murmuring worriedly to one-another as Scrivener asked with a grimace: “Do you really think…”
“Nay, Scrivy, ask not that question. For now, focus thyself on remembering what I taught thee of tracking and the wilds whilst I do my best to remember what Sleipnir told and taught me in turn.” Luna grimaced, muttering: “Truly, mine brother beloved was far more useful than Celestia in many a fashion. Then again, were Celestia here, she would merely burn the entirety of the land around us to ashes to unveil all its secrets.”
“I can always tell when you’re actually worried about someone because you talk about Celestia destroying everything. It’s very endearing.” Scrivener said dryly, looking ahead, his mane blowing back and the wind in his eyes before he wrinkled his muzzle. “Also, I just realized you haven’t given me my glasses back yet. That might make it a little harder.”
“Thou needs them not.” Luna said stubbornly, and Scrivy couldn’t help but roll his eyes before he frowned and skidded to a halt just in front of the gates leading out of Ponyville, and Luna glanced in surprise over her shoulder before she slowed her pace and circled back to look down at what had caught the male’s eye, and her own widened slightly as she murmured: “And I think thou just proved my point, although ‘tis grim.”
A bit of ripped, filthy purple cloak lay in a muddy rut clearly left from a wooden wheel… and since they could see that while the wagon had been brought back, it was parked ten feet away next to the fencing. Trixie’s cape had obviously caught beneath the wheel and been torn, but even if she had been pulling and wearing the cape loose, there was no way the cape could have caught beneath the wheel. “’Tis difficult to tell, with how trafficked Ponyville is by equine of all shape and size… but perhaps, Scrivener Blooms, Trixie was walking alongside the wagon, not before it. ‘Tis difficult to say for sure, but it is possible that is how the cloak would catch beneath the wheel to be crushed down into the rut… and if we study the ground on this side of the wheel-marks, it seems as if there are hoof-prints parallel to the travel.”
Scrivener nodded after a moment, then he said quietly: “I know you don’t like to, Luna, but…”
“I shall take to the air, and thou shall follow the path on hoof, ‘tis a good idea.” Luna smiled a little at him, nodding after a moment and saying quietly: “Nay, this situation grows more cryptic and serious, and for that I can push my simple dislike aside, even for Trixie. ‘Tis sad to admit, but I have grown a little fond of her obnoxious attitude and ever-confident smile.”
“Yeah. I know what you mean. I’ll call you if I find anything.” Scrivener said quietly, and Luna nodded to him before she spread her wings, flapping them once before leaping upwards and flying into the air, Scrivener gazing up after her as she shot easily skywards before the male resumed running down the path, grimacing a little as he followed the shallow marks left by the heavy wheels in the soft road.
The tracks came to a halt only a hundred feet out of Ponyville, and Scrivy glanced back and forth at the rolling fields and grasses before he studied the marks on the ground thoughtfully. They were deep and muddy and reeked of rot, as if something heavy and wet and… perhaps dead… had been sitting there for a long time… and the male shook his head slowly, then walked towards the side of the road and surveyed the tall grasses with a frown, looking musingly towards a few dead trees in the distance before he turned around and strode to the other side of the path, as Luna flew high overhead in a widening spiral.
He could almost feel her emotions, even distant as they were from one another… and the male laughed a little, glancing up towards her as he stepped onto the dusty shoulder… and then glanced down as something crunched beneath his hoof. Slowly, he drew it back… then frowned, a chill running through his body as he scooped up a cracked, yellowed bone, ugly symbols carved all along its length that almost seemed to burn with their own unnatural essence, the male giving a grimace before he looked up and concentrated.
Luna blinked and straightened in midair, no longer feeling the strange numbness that took her over when she flew alone, but instead a burning in her horn as it gave a faint pulse… and the female arched her back and dropped into a steep dive, shooting down towards the ground before she caught herself at the last moment with a grunt and a hard upwards twist of her body, landing neatly on her hooves next to Scrivener as he held the bone up to her… and she cursed under her breath, muttering darkly: “’Tis undoubtedly from a Velite. They have taken her, and I do not know if there is anything we can do. We must try and find her posthaste.”
Scrivy nodded and tossed the bone to the ground, and Luna crunched it firmly under her hoof, twisting back and forth with a look of disgust before the two glanced towards the field. Luna frowned a bit, heading down into the grasses, and Scrivener followed after a moment, trusting the female’s instincts and tracking ability… and then Luna gave a short grunt, pointing at several reeds that had been broken, saying quietly: “They have been this way. Come, Scrivener, there is no time to wait for the others!”
Luna sprinted forwards, and Scrivener fell into pace beside her, the two running through the field as he asked sharply: “How would the Velites lure her out, though? How would they get into Ponyville? I thought guards were being posted now at all the gates, and we set up that protective circle…”
“And every defense has a weakness, a flaw. The Velites are not merely evil spirits, so if they truly wished to force their way in, warding runes would do little to stop them… and furthermore, they have dark magic of their own that may have contended to cancel out our enchantments.” Luna replied quickly, and then she looked back and forth before pointing towards a tree in the distance as something beside it moved, shouting: “There!”
The two rushed towards it, Luna gritting her teeth and Scrivener’s eyes narrowing… but as they drew closer, their pace slowed, until they finally came to a halt and looked silently at the shape as it fluttered weakly again, Luna bowing her head and saying bitterly: “We are too late…”
Trixie’s cloak was torn and battered, fluttering quietly as a faint wind blew by, pinned to the tree by an ugly, rusted knife. Blotches of wetness stained the material here and there, and Luna cursed to herself before she stepped forwards… and then her eyes looked sharply upwards, with shock as something launched itself out of the branches of the tree at her with a scream.
She reacted on instinct, her horn taking on a sharp blue glow as she reared back, snapping it upwards… and it tore neatly through an ugly bone, the creature shrieking as it landed awkwardly and lurched backwards, then snarled at her as other beasts leapt from the cover of the branches above and lunged upwards out of the tall grasses like awful phantoms, somehow made all the more terrible by the fact that it all happened in broad daylight, making it all the harder for Scrivener to process even as Luna shouted: “Scrivy, ready thyself!”
They were Velites: awful skeletons of ponies, with terrible, unholy light that glowed out of their sockets of their skulls, their bones white and yellow and splattered here and there with dust and stains of blood, ancient, terrible runes carved throughout the sallow ivory. The teeth in their jaws had been filed and sharpened, and thick webbing now filled the wings of two of the undead Pegasi, while a unicorn’s horn glinted from the skull of a Velite dressed in rags, the pony seeming to leer at them before the Velite that had attempted to dive down on top of Luna screamed and the skeletons lunged forwards all at once.
Luna cursed and reared upwards, horn glowing as it released a powerful shockwave, knocking Scrivy staggering but sending the skeletons crashing backwards as Luna shouted again: “Scrivener Blooms, regain thy senses and fight!”
Scrivy blinked dumbly, picking himself up and straightening slowly before he winced when Luna leapt forwards and tackled the Velite in front of her, simply crushing its ribcage beneath her hooves and sending bone fragments flying in every direction… and then he winced as one of the Velite Pegasi rushed him, ducking beneath it as it dove at him… and then the creature’s wings flapped, and the Velite shot into the air like a ghost, moving with awful ease and speed as it curled around and dove down at him… and this time, Scrivener leapt forwards and dropped down almost as if to stand on his head, bringing his rear legs back and then slamming them outwards as the skeletal Pegasus began to shoot past.
It exploded into chunks of bone that sailed in all directions, and the unicorn Velite snarled at him as a black glow began to grow around its horn… but Luna glared at it as her own horn glowed blue, swinging her horn in a savage slash that tore through another Velite’s skull and sent it down, and then snapping her horn forwards to send a blue fireball shooting into the undead beast before it could cast its spell.
The fireball erupted with a sapphire explosion powerful enough to annihilate the undead unicorn and send the last Velite screeching and crashing backwards, bones and soil flying in all directions as Scrivener winced before he looked dumbly up as Luna grinned and snapped her head backwards… and the sole survivor of the undead mob was yanked into the air with a hiss before Luna lashed her head around, sending it crashing backwards to strike hard into the tree, back cracking loudly and one of the undead creature’s wings snapping off as it gargled before Luna shouted: “Tell me where thou hast taken the unicorn!”
And, to Scrivener’s surprise and horror, the Velite first laughed… then it replied in a rasping, echoing voice: “We have taken the witch… as a present for the goddess. Veliuona has returned! Slay all of us that you want, but she is once more at our head and more powerful than ever… and there is nothing your paltry light can do to stop it!”
“Foolish undead monster, arrogant enough to vex me with attack beneath the light of the sun… I could destroy a thousand of your kind, without thought or regard! Thy ancient bones are brittle, and my horn is strong as ever… and my magic, stronger still!” Luna’s eyes took on a faint white glow as she leaned forwards, hissing: “We are the masters of the night now, and we shall not permit an upstart goddess to take our place… especially not one who mocks life!”
And with that, Luna leapt up and slashed her horn savagely downwards, the Velite’s ribcage exploding into pieces as it shrieked and collapsed into a broken pile… and yet the light still glowed in its sockets for a moment as it hissed mockingly up at her: “Temper, temper, Luna Lightblade… it seems that while we’ve evolved, you’ve stayed the same as ever, an arrogant little brat who-”
Luna stomped firmly down on the skull, crushing it out of existence… and around them, the bones shuddered for a moment before falling still, the female bowing her head forwards and gritting her teeth before Scrivener said mildly: “Lightblade?”
Luna glared over her shoulder at him… and then she smiled wryly after a moment, saying quietly: “One day thou will say the wrong thing and I’ll pummel thee as I have not pummeled anything since Discord. But… yes. Luna Lightblade. Does thee take issue with my old name?”
“Only with the fact I’ve never heard it before now.” Scrivy said softly, and then he smiled a little in return before he looked awkwardly down at the broken bones around them, adding lamely: “Sorry you… had to do all the work.”
“Oh, be silent. Thou did not make a complete fool of thyself, Scrivener Blooms, and for thy first confrontation with the living dead apart from when thou chase Samael around when he steals one of thy quills, thou did very well.” Luna halted, then she grimaced a bit and muttered: “Now, step back, and let me see if I remember this old necromancy.”
Scrivener did so, frowning a bit as Luna turned around and rose her head, closing her eyes as her horn glimmered blue… then sparks of black travelled along the length of it before the broken and collapsed bones around them floated slowly into the air, revolving ominously around the base of the dead tree. A moment later, the earth beneath their hooves rumbled before tearing open with a belch of soil, and the stream of ivory bones shot down into the gaping, narrow pit that formed, filling it up before Luna lowered her horn forwards with a grimace and sent a short burst of blue flames into the abyss, which greedily began to devour the remains. “To ensure the undead stay dead… to free the spirits of innocent ponies trapped inside the remains and forced to bend to evil will… and to stop other Velites from harvesting these bones to put themselves back together. They may seem brittle creatures, Scrivener Blooms, but underestimate them not: they are cunning and ruthless, and unless destroyed utterly, they are in the habit of piecing themselves back together from even the most brutal of beatings.”
The male nodded slowly, and then Luna approached and quietly looked him before she sighed softly, her eyes roving towards Trixie’s cloak… and she closed her irises after a moment, murmuring: “Come. We bear bad news back to Ponyville, and Twilight Sparkle.”
With a flick of her head, the knife tore free from the cloak, which fell for a moment… then silently folded itself as it floated over to Luna, draping quietly across her back as Scrivener looked at her quietly and said softly: “It’s not your fault, Luna. You prepared her as much as you could… you and Twilight both did. They must have lured her out somehow…”
“Yes, and had we prepared her more… oh, Scrivener Blooms, I know, I know. ‘Twas an ambush and attack none of us could have expected…” She grimaced a bit, looking down and shaking her head slowly as she muttered: “I do not like this. I like even less that there is a large part of me which only hopes she died swiftly as a tribute to their wicked master… for the Velites often did awful things to the living to draw out their suffering in the past.”
She fell silent as they strode slowly towards the main road, heads lowered… but it was only for a few moments before she gritted her teeth and muttered: “I will not permit this to go on, Scrivener Blooms. I will write to Celestia, ordering her to lend us her aid if I must, and we will hunt the Velite horde down, and crush Veliuona a second time, and this time ensure she never rises up again. We will bring the wrath of sun and moon crashing down upon their heads, and show them no mercy and give no quarter.”
“Yes… but we have other things to tend to as well, Luna. Badly-timed as it is… the wedding of Rainbow Dash and Applejack, and Ponyville will have to be further fortified.” Scrivener said quietly, and Luna glanced up at him consideringly before she smiled a little, making the male tilt his head curiously. “What?”
“Perhaps Twilight Sparkle has rubbed off on thee a little, Scrivener Blooms. Thinking of our friends… reminding me there are duties to the living more than to the sadly-departed, whatever the circumstance.” Luna paused meditatively, then she shook her head and said quietly: “I am not much in the mood for a wedding… but I do not know if it would be better or worse for Rainbow Dash and Applejack to move the day of their commitment. To be sure, I would not wish for it.
“And yes… sad as Trixie’s loss is… we cannot forget about the living. They must be protected, and Ponyville must be fortified and guarded first before I allow thoughts of violent retribution to take hold. ‘Twould be pointless to march to war and kill a thousand Velite, only to return to Ponyville and discover even but one innocent foal led astray and gobbled up by a Phooka.” Luna grumbled to herself all the same, however, lowering her head and cursing quietly under her breath again. “We should have been more careful…”
Scrivener pressed his side gently against the female’s, and Luna sighed a little, shaking her head once more and then giving a faint smile to the male as he gazed softly back at her… and they met Twilight at the gates of Ponyville, smiling, leading her friends forwards… before she staggered to a halt as she saw the expressions on the faces of the two, and then caught sight of the torn purple cloak.
They returned to the library in defeated silence, where Spike and Scarlet Sage both looked up anxiously… and then also fell silent as Twilight carried the cloak in and laid it slowly over her table. She looked at it for the longest time, and then Luna walked forwards and gently touched her shoulder, and Twilight dropped her hooves on the table and head in her limbs and started to cry, and there was nothing anyone could say or do that would offer comfort to the poor purple unicorn.