//------------------------------// // Case #8: Sicknesses // Story: Judge Luna // by Aegis Shield //------------------------------// Judge Luna Case #8 -- Sicknesses Princesses Luna and Celestia sat in the White Room, a dining room just for the two of them. A long and intricate table was between them, with the sisters sitting at either end. Sharing a long meal (Luna’s dinner and Celestia’s breakfast) was something they always tried to do whenever possible. Their idle conversation halted, however, when a scroll burst into existence on Celestia’s morning paper. “Ah, something from Twilight Sparkle,” the white alicorn smiled pleasantly, sipping her hot tea. Lighting her horn, she lifted it up and broke the seal. “Dear Princess Celestia,” she read aloud. Luna chewed quietly as she spoke. She did like to hear from the purple mare and her friends. “Today I learned that sometimes you need to just back off and do as you’re told by others. Rarity is still in the hospital,” the sun princess’ face fell into a worried expression. “—and the doctors are not sure what is wrong with her. She can barely lift a cotton swab with her magic, and she’s really pale and sweaty. I tried to research some healing magic to come to her room and help, but Nurse Redheart got mad and threw me out. I really shouldn’t try to practice magical medicine without a license. I might’ve ended up doing more harm than good. She was right. I’ll keep you up to date when anything changes. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.” “Something has been ailing Rarity?” Luna asked. “Yes, Twilight has been writing to me about it for some weeks now. Apparently the poor thing has been overworking herself, and she just collapsed one day.” Celestia shook her head with pity. “And to hear that her magic is so weak, how odd…” she trailed off to reread the letter again. “Being a seamstress, her magic is much more precise and powerful than an average unicorn, I can’t imagine what’s holding her down…” Luna nodded mutely, reaching for a fresh-peeled orange with her magic. Her horn flickered a few times, and the fruit wiggled. But, it refused to come to her. She frowned, straining herself a bit. Celestia’s eyes flicked up and she quickly stopped. Pretending to be distracted, Luna fiddled with her tableware. When her sister went back to her poring over the letter, Luna strained again. Her magic was… impotent. Panic rising in her eyes, she wiped her mouth quickly and rose. “W-well I am off to bed, sister, I must still sleep away my own illness.” “Luna? Is your magic okay?” Celestia said sharply, looking up from the letter. “Ohhh-hoho yes, sister!” Luna lied, not wanting to worry her. “I am off to bed. I’m so tired! Could you lower the moon for me thank you goodnight!” she was out the door with that run-on sentence. Celestia considered for a time, then sighed. Lighting her horn, she helped the moon the rest of the way down from the sky. Pink and oranges began to touch the horizon, signaling the coming dawn. Folding her wings regally, she finished her tea as she considered Twilight Sparkle’s letter. “Your majesty?” a squire stuck his head sheepishly into the royal dining hall. “Come in, don’t be afraid.” She told the colt with the bandanna around his neck. “You have a message for me?” she asked pleasantly, rolling up the letter and hiding it in her morning paper. “Yes ma’am!” he saluted after he’d been allowed past the solar guards in the doorway. He galloped energetically up beside her, presenting her with a silvery scroll. “From the Crystal Empire! Sent via pegasus!” “Thank you.” Celestia took it and undid the snowflake seal. It was from Princess Cadance. “Thank you,” Celestia said again. Plucking a blueberry muffin off the breakfast table, she offered it to the little messenger and then sent him on his way. Jittery little thing, those soldiers better not have been sneaking him caffeine again to make him run faster. Setting her face in a neutral from when she was alone, Celestia scanned the letter. Dear Cellie, Shining Armor has taken ill. He seems exhausted all the time, and he collapsed today during PT (Physical Training) in front of his entire platoon. I’ve put a royal mandate down so he won’t leave our apartment, but I’m not sure what else to do with him. The poor thing just sits and watches TV all day, getting sicker and sicker. I’ve had him examined by the Crystal Empire’s best doctors, but, well, there’s nothing. He’s just wasting away. I don’t know what to do! What do you think? ~Cadance Celestia frowned more deeply. Another sick unicorn, with no explanation. Not to mention symptoms very similar to Luna’s. Even if her baby sister tried to hide it, she could tell her magic was getting weaker. Whatever was affecting Rarity and Shining Armor was affecting Luna as well. Was it some plague? A unicorn plague? Such a thing was unheard of. Viruses were not magical in nature, they would not infect just one pony species and not the other two. If Luna was any example, other pegasi should have been molting and other earth ponies should have been feeling weak. The solar diarch rose, taking her two letters with her and folding them under her wing. “Lion Heart. Sun Stomp,” she addressed the two waiting guards. They snapped to attention as she exited the dining room into the corridor. “I have instructions for both of you.” “Yes, your Highness?” they said in unison. “Send spies to the top ten Equestrian food companies. Wide staples like alfalfa and grain. Tell them to look for any negligence and to check for toxins. I want them undercover, nothing in the open.” Celestia said. “Also, do the same for Equestria’s three main waterways. I’d like samples of those as well.” Both stallions nodded as she spoke. “In addition, have the royal kitchens scrubbed down and the pantries restocked. Throw everything currently there out and burn it,” her voice was a bit more authoritative than normal, which turned their ears submissively back. “Close the palace to all public tours for the next two weeks. Non-employees are not allowed in during the day unless they are on official business.” “What about at night, Princess?” Sun Stomp asked. “Princess Luna—” “Princess Luna is very sick, and until I find out what is making her that way, we are on high alert.” Celestia interrupted. Both soldiers looked startled. If anything, Princess Celestia was eternally patient and never interrupted anypony. To see her break into somepony else’s sentence meant it was dire indeed. “You have your orders, gentlecolts.” The ivory princess turned, heading the opposite way down the hall. Luna was sick, and she clearly had a further stage of whatever Shining Armor and Rarity had. She only prayed Twilight Sparkle would not catch it as well. But, at the forefront there was Luna. Celestia would not allow her sister’s pride to blind her anymore. She would have to step in and sort this out herself. Spreading her wings, Celestia lit her horn and burst into sparks, teleporting away. =-=-=-= Steel Wing paced in front of Princess Luna’s bedroom door, back and forth. The stress had really been getting to him lately. Luna had been connecting case files and writing messages that she’d found hidden in the numbers. She’d also doubled up her guards at all times. She really was expecting an assassination attempt, the poor deluded thing. A mare came along pushing a cart of bathwater, humming to herself. She jerked to a halt when she found herself menaced by half a dozen Lunar Stallions. “Well boys, there’s usually only two of you,” she chuckled nervously. “But if you want to fight over the two biscuits I brought, you certainly can.” Her eyes darted back and forth while they stared at her with their intense golden eyes. A few lips curled, revealing the sharp canine teeth that Lunar Stallions tended to have. While Celestia’s guard armor made ponies white and strong, Luna’s guard armor made them ashy and vicious. “We’ll take the cart from here, thank you,” Steel Wing jostled a couple of Lunar Stallions to one side so they didn’t try to pat the poor maid down or something. “Princess Luna is still sick, there’s more ponies on edge than normal.” He offered an apologetic smile. The maid shrugged, giving one of the soldiers a silver platter, and giving Steel Wing the cart. Then she turned to go. While Steel Wing gently turned the cart around to take it inside, the other five Lunar Stallions leaned menacingly over the silver platter. They placed it on the ground like it might be a bomb, and lifted the lid. Sure enough, two biscuits loaded down with fine jelly. All five of them promptly bashed heads trying to take one. Steel Wing fought a laugh, rolling his eyes as he pushed his burden into the royal bedroom. “Who goes there?” Luna said from her bed. “The herbal bathwater you ordered, your Majesty.” Steel Wing stopped to bow. Lifting the afghan off the cart, he revealed a series of steaming buckets. Checking them for colored poisons or anything of the sort, he found them okay. “How are you feeling?” he lowered his voice a bit while the stallions in the hall played rock-paper-scissors for the biscuits they’d been given. Luna grumbled audibly, but gave no answer. She always bathed and dried herself before bed. “Could you fetch my tub? The one in the bathroom is too big, there’s another in the closet.” She gestured a bit. Steel Wing obeyed. Normally this would be a maid’s work, but with his Princess’ paranoia growing she would only see soldiers anymore. It was kind of sad, really, that only the clank of protective armor brought her comfort anymore. He only wished, truly wished, she would get better soon. Going into the walk-in closet he fished out the tub. Rolling it along (for no maid could mare-handle it onto her back), he put it near the bed and applied the breaks so it didn’t roll away. Going to the buckets of herbal water, he poured them in one after another. The tub was two-thirds full, steaming nicely. Luna removed her regalia and crown, setting them on her vanity. Stepping gingerly out of her horse-shoes, she stood there on the other side of the tub. The Princess and the guard stared at each other. His eyes stared at her rather widely, for he’d never seen her Majesty without her crown and effects on. She was so beautiful… his wings sagged to the floor on either side of himself, as though brought limp by the very sight of her. “Will thou watch me bathe, then?” she quirked an eyebrow. Steel Wing jerked around like he’d been slapped, “S-sorry! I’ll be in the hall if you need anything Princess!” He marched away like there was a stick up his butt, red in the cheeks. His wings dragged noisily upon the floor until he hurriedly fixed them back to his sides with a hoof. Luna smiled playfully at his back, shaking her head when the door shut behind him. Gingerly, she stepped into the bath, laid on her belly and sank in. She moaned, laying her chin on the lip of the tub. A spasm started in her throat, and she tried to quell it with sheer willpower. But she couldn’t. “*COUGH-COUGH-COUGH---glack?! COUGH*-!” Her head whiplashed a bit and she looked in front of herself. There on the tile was a splotch of silvery blood. Alicorn blood. Whimpering a little fearfully, Luna wiped her lip with a washrag and sank further into her bath. She was starting to grow frightened. She wasn’t getting any better. Sighing and laying her cheek on the lip of the tub, the night Princess closed her aching eyes. She was so weak, she felt so weak and she didn’t know why. It didn’t keep her from running the Midnight Court, but… but… it became harder and harder to raise the moon each night. The powder blue of her mane was depressing. She missed her stars and swirling masses of hair. She didn’t even look like a royal alicorn anymore, wings and horn aside. She looked dusty and unremarkable. Trembling a little despite the hot water, she lay there to soak and contemplate. =-=-=-= The Next Night… =-=-=-= It was time. A dark figure swept back and forth, in the caverns of the underdark. Beneath Canterlot, he continued to work his plans. He could see the bags under Luna’s eyes. The miserable half-steps she had to make to mount the dais during the Midnight Court. The Princess looked positively bucking miserably. Turning away from the split-screen of the massive TV, the figure mounted the stairs that curled up and around the massive glass urn. Up and up he went, sweeping past runes to activate them. The container was filled to the brim with the powdered black and silver magic. Luna’s magic. Magic from any unicorn dumb enough to sit in front of a TV for too long. Poor stupid Equestria. “Hahaha!” He finally indulged himself out loud, “Here, have this magic glowing box that tells you stories! Nevermind the power crystals, they’ll just drain your magic dry! Hahaha!” scratching himself in a rude place, the figure swept his grasp over the black powder heaped in front of him. “Time to die, Luna. The whole country is watching!” The figure skewed a few runes to release the containment spell. The urn burst in all directions, sending shards of thick glass and black powder everywhere. The figure walked atop it all like a burnt desert, the hiss of the moving powder all around him. He went back to the massive screen, which was displaying a live feed. A new episode of Judge Luna was airing, and her Majesty was listening to a case right at that very moment. He looked upward at this ceiling, then closed his eyes to focus. The dark matter swirled around him in a slow, lazy tornado. It kissed his fur as he drank in its magic. It soothed him like silky blankets and he swayed back and forth with it. Rearing up, he thrust his limbs skyward, towards the crystal-marred ceiling. The room became engulfed in a black haze of swirling, dark powder. Saturated, the figure become a mist not unlike Nightmare Moon, and zipped out of the chamber like a possessed cloud. =-=-=-= “Cease thy whining, Market Share,” Luna said impatiently. “If you share the cart parking lot with another business and have no contract as to which spots are whose, then you have no case!” she snapped the folder closed in front of herself, setting it to her left. “Steel Wing, fetch her papers and renter’s license,” she gestured, holding the bridge of her muzzle to fight off a headache. “Yes, your Highness.” Steel Wing cantered down the dais stairs, taking the plaintiff’s paperwork. He eyed the camera’s anxiously, unsure of them as he always was. He cocked his head a little as he glanced out the window behind the throne. The stars had suddenly been blotted out by some nasty-looking storm clouds. He didn’t recall any call for heavy weather tonight. Huh. Ah well, not his problem. The Princess was his responsibility, not the sky or the rain. Getting the desired papers, he turned about and reported up to the throne. Luna took them with disinterest, studying them. She wished she had mares like the plaintiff battling for the cure to teat cancer, the stubborn bitch. She looked up again, for her guard’s shadow was still cast over her. “Back to your post, Steel Wing.” She bade, arching an eyebrow at him. He was looking past her, and up at the sky. “What is it?” she turned, looking out and beyond the balcony behind the throne. A great black thunderhead was moving directly towards the palace. Way too fast to be normal. Steel Wing’s wings flopped down from his sides and he shuddered a bit when they touched the floor. “Oh dear,” murmured Luna with a grouchy sigh. “Somepony send a messenger to the storm patrol, we’re not due for weather like that tonight, we’re s-!” Steel Wing stabbed Luna in the breast with a black dagger, sprouted right out of his leg like magic. Time stopped for a few long moments. She turned back about, looking up at him. His expression was glassy, a glazed over sort of ‘not home’ face. She slowly looked down at herself, staring at the fountaining blood as it spilled out all over her front and the throne. Her eyes rolled into her head and she slowly began to fall forward. “S-Steel Wing… why…?” End of Case 8