//------------------------------// // The case of Mr. Lucem part 2 // Story: The cases of Mystery Mare // by Mystery Mare42 //------------------------------// "Have you ever heard of a Silver Shield in the city before?" Mr. Lucem asked me as I was looking out the window. I didn’t respond at first as I was watching the scenery change. My mind kept thinking on who this demon pony was, he said I was smart enough to figure it out but could I? I finally answered after a minute with a shake of my head. "No." "Crescent Moon?" He looked towards me. I kept looking out the window and shook my head once more, repeating the answer I gave him before. “No” Mr. Lucem watched as the train entered the station of Manehatten, life bustling just like in Ponyville as ponies, griffins and the like climbed onto the train as he stood "Come on, we need to see Miss Thursday about finding out who these ponies are" He held a hoof to me to help me up while wearing a warm smile. I take his hoof and nodded. “I’m sure Madam Thursday can find them.” "And if she doesnt?" He asked pulling me up, letting me pass him as he nodded to two griffons who stared at them. "Then we know they are not real." I thought about what the demon pony had said to me. "I think we should look up Gaia, whoever she is." "Why? I think it was just a name in passing" He said walking forward "This town gets louder every time I come here" He stated just staring around. "You get use to the sound." I said as I walked looking at the ground mostly. "I think we should look her up because he mentioned the name to me." I left out the part where the demon pony said that Mr. Lucem was the avatar of Gaia. He sighed and nodded walking next to me "Why did he mention her to you?" He looked confused at me and looked forward smiling "Library by the way?" I bite my lip slightly, not really wanting to lie to him but I didn't want the demon pony's threat to become reality. "He just did. The library is past the news building, close by the fruit stand." He nods and walks behind me, following me. It took us a few minutes to get to the Library which was larger than the modern home, filled to the brim with thousands of books, most likely on all subjects. I been there plenty of times before for past cases and school work, it was always a good place to go to help me gather knowledge on something or to do some homework. I walk right in and look around on the bookshelves trying to find something that can help us on this case.Mr. Lucem followed me in looking at the sections, seeing there was fiction and non-fiction. He chose fiction and walked through that section, finding one on pony Greek mythology. I look over to him. “Find anything interesting?” He answers after a few seconds "The gods: Tartarus, Eros, Chaos and...Gaia!" "Grab that one." I tell him and walk over to the table. He does and walks to the table "You read" He said, pushing it to me. I nodded,opening the book and started reading to myself first. He looked at her and waited for her to finish "So, what does it say about Gaia?" "Gaia was the great mother of all: the primal Greek Mother Goddess; creator and giver of birth to the Earth and all the Universe; the heavenly gods, the Titans, and the Giants were born to her. The gods reigning over their classical pantheon were born from her union with Uranus the sky, while the sea-gods were born from her union with Pontus the sea" I said not looking up from the book. He nods listening to every word, Gaia was the god of life but why did the creature call him Gaia if she was female "Whats her gender?" He asks. “Female.” I answered. He nods again and looks over the book "Has this solved anything?" "Just that she is part of a myth." I replied. Really? After what we have seen you still think that?" He asked me. "No I don't but myths are born from the truth." I said with a nod. Mr. Lucem nodded as well "So, we are following a lead on a sickle with next to no information and a myth name aimed to me...buck this is hard" he rubbed his temple. "It is." I said. I look in the book again reading about the Titans. "So, we know he means these gods with little giveaways, but why Gaia, what does it mean" He asks me. "Hmm..not sure but I have found something about a sickle." I said as I was reading. "Whats it say?" he looked over my shoulder, trying to read and listen as I read the words to him. "Well a sickle is a symbol to the titan Cronus." I tell him pointing to the page on the titian. "We already knew that from what i said earlier" he stated "Isnt there anything on say...avatars?" I nodded remembering how earlier he spoke of Cronus but had no clue how he knew it. "You have a look." I pass him the book. "The gods are in three sections: Immortals which are Tartarus, Gaia, Chaos and Eros, Titans which were the children of Gaia and uranus and the titan Cronus's offspring which are gods known as Zeus and his brothers, hades and poseidon and then the gods children known as demi-gods or deities" he read aloud. "So anything about avatars?" I ask watching him read. "Nothing, but thats more personal and these are myths, we don't even know if its real" he said "But they had immense power and a long life line, they possibly could get bored." "Yeah maybe an avatar is like a character they become." I said looking at him. "Hmmm, I think it might be for them to live a life as a mortal" He looked at the book. I nodded remembering the conclusion I came to earlier about Gaia and Mr. Lucem when I was speaking with the demon pony. I remembered what Mr. Lucem had said in his story when he first encountered the stallion. "Didn't you say that when you first met that stallion that he said something like choosing your avatar more wisely like he did. Maybe that stallion is an avatar to some god." He looked to her and thought on it "Your right, and that red stallion on the walk to the station...it wasn't just any pony, it was him before starting this game" he sighed...things were coming together but were also so far apart "But which Immortal would he be, he can't be Eros because he had no love, not Gaia because he isn't trying to preserve life, so that leaves Chaos and Tartarus." I knew that from the story he told me of when this all started the red stallion was somepony he had seen when this whole mess happened. I wondered if he could change forms if so that would explain why he was a black stallion now. "Yeah its definably not Gaia. I already know who that one is." I said that mumbling. "So out of those last two, who could he more closely be?" He remembered his first encounter "Tartarus" there was conviction in his voice "He showed me the death of two ponies...definitely the god of death" He smiled. "Okay so we now know who he is. Now where could the sickle be." I asked. He keeps reading "I-it doesn't say" Mr. Lucem was beginning to worry as all the library blacked out. "Hmmm is there a power outage? Did somepony turn off all the lanterns." I said as soon as the lights went out. Small whispers and light touchings glide across our hoofs like ghosts touching them, leaving an icy feeling wherever they touched and then, nothing but darkness "I don't like this..." Mr. Lucem’s words echoed even if they didn't before. "Yeah neither do I sir." I said looking around trying to see.The world faded and re-appeared as we stood on a cloud surface, feeling soft as if we were outside, the blue sky and sun above us but the ground was what it felt like, clouds."What in the name of Celestia happen....Am I standing on a cloud!" I said noticing the ground was like a cloud. In front of us stood a godly figure, her mane was a light pink, her body white as her mane flowed in a non existent wind. She was an alicorn and radiated love of her but yet she looked angered "Dear sister, we must talk" She stared straight at Mr.Lucem. He looked shocked and confused "Sister?" The goddess nearly tripped as she walked "You don't know?" Mr.Lucem shook his head as she spoke the words again, this time not as a question "You don't know...this just got harder" She stood before them and a light love feeling filled our bodies. It felt very strange to feel this feeling inside me. I looked at the goddess. “You have a lot of explaining to do, just so you know Ma’am. “ "Child, my explaining starts when this all ends" She didn't say it in annoyance only understanding and love "Let me introduce myself...my name is Eros" She smiled and kissed both of our heads heads, pushing the feeling of love into both of us. As I normally hated being called a child, I couldn’t stay mad at the goddess long enough because as soon as she kissed my head the warm feeling of love made me smile brightly. Mr. Lucem smiled a warm smile towards the goddess. She smiles in turn, seeing us both happy but the smile turns sour as she made Mr. Lucem go unconscious "How does he not know...?" She sounded as if she spoke to no pony but yet still aimed it at me. I looked at her. “He just doesn't.” "Probably our-...my brothers doing" She sighed. "Don't trust Tartarus, he wants that sickle to do something and it won't be good...what he's planning I don’t know but...don't trust him" She walked towards me. "Why follow him?" she sat before her. I sat down. "Because Mr. Lucem brought me a case and I'm always up for a mystery." She nods "I thought as much...but he sprouted everything on you in the beginning, why follow him when even I thought it was nonsense?" "I did it to help him and I guess to me it made sense." I said with a shrug. She sighs "Nothing about demons make sense, come on, you know the truth" she smiled down at me. "So what if demons don't make sense they are just another mystery then." I said to her. "But you never follow blindly into a mystery, you want to solve it, why follow blindly into myth when true mysteries lay beyond him?" She held me in her wing. I move to get out of her wing. "Please don't do that." I said sounding cold. "He's my friend and he wanted my help so I am giving it to him. Also you don't know me so stop sounding as if you know what I do when I'm on my cases." She rolls her eyes "Child I’ve watched your race grow for millions of years, I helped in creating this universe with...Gaia" She looked to Mr. Lucem "I watched as the titans they created became monster and after them we created you" She smiled down at me. "And I've watched my sister with you, and when you don't exist in time or space its easy to watch somepony’s life as days pass" Once again her smile was warm. I look away from her. “Don’t call me child.” “But that is what you are, barely above the understanding of reality, so much younger than us immortals...you are a child as through our eyes we shape your world, guiding you" She smiles "I am compassion itself, giving love to the world, but yet you deny me when there is no choice but to accept, why?"Again, no anger raised, just her tender voice talking soothingly. "I have my reason you don't need to know Miss Eros. Are you going to wake Mr. Lucem up yet?" I fix my black ribbon that always kept my mane neat. She sighs "Gaia if only you were here..." She said it in mutter but loud enough to hear. "You could help her break the shell" Turning to Mr. Lucem she smiled "You know, Gaia was the second of us to create an avatar, chaos plays in his avatar...Discord I think" Turning back to me "Keep him safe, whatever Tartarus is doing...after he will aim for him and try to kill him" The goddess sighed. I chuckle hearing Discord's name remembering all the trouble I have heard he caused back when he was evil. I look at Miss Eros. "I promise I will make sure he is safe." She pulled me closer and hugged me, pushing more love into my body "And dont forget, friendship is a love as well" She said sweet and loving holding me close. "Pushing him away will destroy him more than you can imagine" Letting me go she smiled and kissed my forehead, the world disappearing and reappearing back in the library. I smiled nodding as she finished speaking,my body felt as if it was filled up with the warmth feeling of love. When I noticed we were back in the library I looked over to Mr. Lucem. He was asleep but he quickly woke up."I must have fallen asleep while reading the book, what happened?" He rubbed his eyes once again. I realized that he didn’t remember what happened so I smiled not really sure if I should tell him at the moment.. "It was nothing." He nods and looks at the book, realizing it had been replaced by a small piece of paper, upon closer examination it was a map. I thought to myself thinking that Miss Eros had left us the map to guide us to the sickle. I look at it. “A map.” "Where did it come from?"Mr. Lucem rubbed his head, feeling a headache. "Must have fell out of the book." I said making something up. I really was not ready for any questions. "But...wheres the book?" He said looking around. I shrugged. "Back on the shelf maybe" "How did it get there?" he asked looked over, not seeing the book. "The librarian could have took it when we both fell asleep." I said making something up. He stared at me, again I could tell he knew I was hiding something but he let it slide "Okay, so where does it say to go?" "I don't know, read that map. "I replied He picks it up and its just a plain piece of paper then words started appearing "North to find the sickle lost, hidden in plain sight, find the keys that will forever cross, hidden beneath cold, littered with traps stay careful, do not go alone, for the mystery you seek is not too far, for one to grab alone" "Hmm that is some riddle. "I said after hearing him read it. He nods "So we go north, to the Crystal Empire" he said "This shouldn't be too hard." "Okay to the Crystal Empire." I said with a nod. Mr. Lucem began walking to the door and smiles "Its gonna be really cold" "Yeah we will be needing some coats and scarves. I know where we can get some." I followed him but then he let me take the lead. I figured I would go head to my old apartment. "Take the lead then Miss Mystery" He said as he now followed me. "It's Miss M..." I shook my head to myself letting him call me Mystery. I remembered what Eros said about me letting him in and not pushing him away. "Nevermind Mystery is fine."