//------------------------------// // The Beast And The Monster (Part 2) // Story: Under A Silver Moon // by Danger Beans //------------------------------// Beneath the ground they lay, scattered about like fallen toys. The skeletons of children, smiling without lips, staring without eyes. Unnaturally warped and contorted, their frail bodies had been twisted and broken when they had been buried, and now only their bones remained as testament to their suffering, withered and bleached by time. They were all so small. Most of them would have been too young to even bear marks on their flanks, and to die at that age . . . “Should I fetch Word Smith and your other halves?” Discord asked. “Yes-No! I-I don’t know.” Luna pulled her gaze away from the bones. “I need to think. Please, release your spell, Discord.” Discord motioned with his arm, and the ground below returned to blessed solidity. Luna hastily made her way to the stairs; Discord followed her silently. How would she even begin to go about a matter such as this? The bones—the victims—would have to be exhumed, and after that examined. She would have to summon Word Smith here and consult with him upon the legalities of such action. And after? Luna did not know what would happen after. She could not think that far ahead. She closed her eyes, and saw empty staring sockets. Up the stairs, through the kitchen; by the time her hooves touched upon the polished tile of the atrium, she was nearly at a gallop. She could not drive the images of those bones from her mind. The entire manor suddenly felt dirty, wrong. “Luna, stop,” Discord called from behind her. “We need to talk about this.” “Yes,” Luna said, nodding breathlessly. “I just need—I require a moment to collect myself.” She closed her eyes, willed frail skeletons from her mind’s eye, and spoke the names. “Wolf, Snow, Worm, Flower, Milk, Harvest, Blue, Thunder, Blood, Hunter, Cold, Night,” she said in quick unison and exhaled. She took another breath and repeated the names. “Wolf, Snow, Worm, Flower, Milk, Strawberry, Thunder, Blood, Hunter, Cold, Night.” “Luna . . . what are you doing?” “I am trying to calm myself,” Luna said. “Luna, you’re trembling.” “I . . . am aware, Discord,” Luna said through gritted teeth. “Luna, you don’t need to be getting so upset about this, those bones are—” “UPSET!” Luna boomed in the Royal Voice. “THERE IS A MASS GRAVE BELOW OUR HOOVES AND YOU THINK THAT I AM UPSET?” Luna slammed a hoof into the floor; the marble tile cracked like eggshell. “They were children, Discord,” she hissed. “Foals not yet old enough to earn their marks, and somepony murdered them.” Luna brought herself up until her gaze was even with Discord’s, and spoke in a whisper. “There are no words, in this language or any other, which can convey the full weight of my fury.” Discord did not move. “Luna,” he said slowly, placing a talon on her shoulder. “Those bones are ancient. Whoever murdered those foals, for whatever purpose, they’re long dead now. It’s no use dwelling on it.” Luna released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “You are correct, Discord, but I-I . . . argh! Just—talk about something asinine! I need a moment to not think,” Luna said, sitting down heavily on the floor. Discord smiled. “Now that I can do.” He placed a paw on his chin and stroked his beard for a moment, and then clapped. “I recently accompanied Fluttershy to see the a butterfly migration,” he said cheerily. “She usually has her friend Rainbow Flash escort her there, but she cancelled last minute. I can’t imagine why.” “Oh,” Luna said. “How was it?” Discord threw his arms up and stuck his tongue out in disgust. “Oh, the migration was horrible! The last time I can remember being that bored was when Harmony was still alive. I mean, they’re butterflies. Once you’ve seen one congealing mass of the things you’ve seen them all. But we did have a picnic afterwards, which was very nice. At least, it was until she started talking about butterflies.” Discord rolled his eyes and continued. “How they turn from fat little caterpillars into cocoons, how they eat, what they eat, how they impact the ecosystem—blah, blah, blah. And then she started talking about fireflies, which was slightly more interesting, albeit in a macabre sort of way. I always thought that those little lights on their butts were for attracting mates, but no, they’re actually for attracting food. They wiggle their glowing butts around until some other fly comes in for a looksee, then they grab ‘em and fill ‘em full of acid. And then once said fly’s organs are all nice and acidized, they set down and have a nice carcass full of insect consommé.. For the first time in the history of our friendship, I found myself urgently wishing that Fluttershy would stop talking. I swear, she made me want to put fly paper on every square inch of my house. And I live in another dimension!” “Once, long ago, Celestia took me to see a procession of wandering pines,” Luna said. “I remember how enthralled she was and I, for all the life in my veins, could not fathom what she found so enticing about a parade of walking trees.” Discord snickered. “Your sister always did have the strangest fascination with fauna. During my tenure as a garden decoration, she’d visit me at least once every week, and without fail, sooner or later she’d wander onto the topic of plants. I remember that for nearly a century she wanted to build houses out of oak trees. Can you imagine?” “Discord, I . . . I am not the best at—I mean to say that I—When I divide myself, my mental fortitude is split equally with my magical and physical strength,” Luna said quickly. “I must apologize for my outburst. It was unwarranted.” “Don’t worry about it, Luna. I find it refreshing. Most of you ponies just hold everything in until you pop like brightly colored balloons. Nothing wrong with letting off a little steam every now and again. I do it all the time.” Discord whistled, and a jet of white steam surged from his mouth. “So, we’re feeling better, I take it?” Luna found that she was smiling, despite herself. “Marginally. Thank you, Discord.” “I live to serve,” Discord said, breaking into a deep bow. “But you decided to investigate a murder in three pieces why, exactly?” “The first few nights after the crime is committed are the most crucial to an investigation,” Luna explained. “Before the perpetrator gathers their wits and covers their tracks. I divided to expedite matters. I was not expecting to find anything of this magnitude.” “All right,” Discord said. “So what’s the plan?” Luna took a slow breath, and focused on putting her thoughts to her tongue. Her mouth and throat felt terribly dry. “The . . . the remains, they will need to be examined to determine their causes of death.” She paused for a moment, and then continued more steadily. “We will need to know how long they have been buried.” Discord crossed his arms over his chest and took a seat in the air. “Oh, that’s a given. What I meant was how exactly we go about doing that. This isn’t something that Celestia’s going to be able to keep quiet. Not to mention what do we tell your sister? She’s not going to like hearing that we’ve gone from one murder to a hundred in two hours.” He smiled grimly. “I’d hate to think what this’ll do to Equestria’s murder ratio.” Luna opened her mouth to respond and promptly closed it. A hundred murders, she thought. A hundred little children murdered, dismembered and left to rot beneath the ground. “We are not going to tell Celestia,” she said at last. Discord blinked. “We’re not?” “No, we are not. Not immediately, at least.” Luna shuffled her wings uncomfortably. “I . . . I do not want her to see them.” Discord went still. When he spoke again, his voice was softer. “Sure thing, Luna. What do we do then?” Luna closed her eyes, and willed the empty stares away from her thoughts. “I am . . . I am not in a fit state to make decisions. I need time to clear my head. I will need Agent Smith’s advice before we do anything; my grasp on Equestria’s current legalese is still quite tenuous. Find him and my other selves, tell them what you have found, and bring them here. I will await your return.” “Alone?” Discord looked displeased at the notion. “No, not alone.” Luna pointed her head in the direction of the doorway. “My guards are just outside.” “Yeah . . . no,” Discord said, crossing his arms. “Call me crazy, but I’m not leaving you alone in a murder house with nopony but a couple of Equestria’s finest for company.” He paused for a moment, and then snapped his fingers. Luna felt the scarf he had given her tingle with his chaotic magic. “There,” he said smugly. “If you need me, just say my name three times, and I’ll be back here before you can say ‘one-eyed-one-horned-flying-purple-pony-eater.’” Luna eyes the scarf warily. “Thank you, Discord. I appreciate your . . . concern for my safety.” “Oh, puh-leez, princess, I’m not worried about you. I just don’t want your sister to give me that Look of hers when she finds out I left you alone.” Discord shuddered. “It always makes me feel so guilty.” The draconequus clapped twice and his body began to fade from view. “See you soon, luny toon,” he said, and disappeared completely. Silence swept in with a zealous indignation after having been shoved aside for so long, and quickly filled up every space with its burdensome weight. They would have had nightmares before they died, would they not? You could have saved them if only you had not succumbed to your pettiness. Luna decided that she needed to go outside for some fresh air. When Luna opened the front door, her two pegasi were standing next to the fountain, still tethered to the chariot. They were conversing, and looked slightly startled by her sudden appearance, but quickly regained their composure and bowed. “Princess Luna,” they said in unison. “At ease,” Luna replied, inclining her head to the pair. Rook Nest and Cloud Sweep, both privates and relatively new to the Dusk Guard, but they would suffice for now. “How long has each of you served in the Royal Guard?” The question took them by surprise; they looked at each other, then back at her. “I was in the Dawn Guard for a year and three months and I’ve been in the Dusk Guard for nine,” the one on the right—Cloud Sweep—said. “I’ve been here six months,” the other one—Rook Nest—said sheepishly. Luna lit her horn and conjured a piece of parchment. “Private Cloud Sweep,” she said. “This is a Writ of Dusk. It will temporarily confer unto you all the powers and privileges of my station. Do you understand the significance of this, Private?” “I . . . I am afraid not, Princess.” “It means that, until dawn, you are the most powerful pony in Equestria, underneath only my sister and I.” Luna offered the writ to Cloud Sweep, “Do not lose it.” The private looked at the scroll like it was the proffered hoof of Death, but he grasped it nonetheless. “Now, Private, listen closely: you are to take this into town, and locate the chief magistrate. I assume that this manor falls within the borders of the Horsemouth Township; I want you to find the deed and title for this manor and the surrounding property. Once that is done, I want you to search for any other lands or properties in the surrounding area that are held under the owner’s name. Any structures or sites outside the main property. Once you have a list of all the owner’s holdings in Horsemouth, you are to return to me. Am I understood?” “Uh . . . yes?” “Good. You are dismissed.” Cloud Sweep stood there hesitantly for a moment, then unhitched himself from the chariot and jumped into the air. Luna watched him go. Nothing she had said to him had been true; she could not write a writ of dusk, as no such document existed, but half of making ponies believe you had power was believing you had power yourself, and she felt confident that he would have no problems. Once he was out of sight, Luna turned her attention to Rook Nest. The young stallion looked even more nervous than Cloud Sweep had. Luna pointed to the manor doors with a hoof. “Private, I am going to take a quick survey of the surrounding area. Whilst I am away, go into the manor and look for anything out of the ordinary.” The private raised his hoof. It took Luna a moment to realize he was trying to ask her a question. “Yes, Private?” “Um, what exactly do you mean by ‘out of the ordinary?’ ” Luna stared at the private, and took a slow breath. “Private?” “Yes, Princess?” “What do you think ‘out of the ordinary’ means?” “Well, I, uh, I’d say it means something unusual,” Private Rook Nest said lamely. Luna smiled. “Very good, Private. Now, you will go through those doors, and if you see anything ‘unusual’ such as a collection of severed heads, or a giant penis hanging from the ceiling, make a note of it, and report it to me upon my return.” The private’s cheeks colored brightly. “Y-yes, Princess. Right away.” “Good. You are dismissed.” Rook Nest trotted into the mansion as briskly as possible without breaking into a run, and then Luna was alone at last. Had she been too hard on him? Perhaps, but foals could not learn to fly unless they were pushed off their cloud. Luna kicked off the ground and flew upwards into the night sky. She had always felt better when she was flying. In the air the world was simpler, easier to understand. Especially now, when the world below was so different, so . . . needlessly complex. There were so many ponies with so many issues and opinions and arguments and ideas of how the world was supposed to be. Long ago, she had been like them; she had thought that she knew what it would take to set the world to rights. But unlike them, she had possessed the power to actually do it. Just a few words, and everything would be so much better. Luna had thought her little ponies as clouds: pliable, soft, easily herded. How wrong she had been. How foolish. Ponies were not clouds to be moved and placed at whim. They were like children, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, hopes, dreams, and nightmares. Above her, the sky was covered with dark roiling clouds as far as she Luna could see, gliding across the sky like beasts of legend. Luna passed through them easily, despite their heavy moisture, and perched atop them. The stars were dark still, and so too was her moon, but she did was not here to stargaze. “Father Cosmos,” she spoke, staring up at the sky. “Help me through this trial; please lend me your strength in this, my time of need.” It was a simple prayer. The last time Luna had tried to pray had been before her fall from grace. She had looked up at the sky with desperate tears in her eyes, and managed only two words: ‘Help me.’ No answer had come then, and no answer came now. In truth, she no longer expected one. Like most early earth pony architecture, Oakenhoof Manor was very square. All straight lines and sharp angles in perfect symmetry. Completely unlike the curved, elegant style which unicorns were so fond of. Earth ponies were simple and straightforward creatures, and consequently all that they created was as simple as they themselves were. This carried the added benefit of making hidden rooms very difficult to hide within earth pony structures. Luna had little doubt that the house was exactly as it appeared. The rooms were too spacious, the walls too thin. Nevertheless, Luna circled the manor twice before she went back inside, if only to clear her head. Just when Luna re-entered the mansion, she was surprised to hear yelling. Luna ran towards the the noise, leading her to the library entrance, and threw open the doors and found Private Rook Nest being pursued by a swarm of . . . books? Before Luna, the entire library had gone mad: every shelf was stripped bare, and every volume appeared to be flapping through the air, frenzily pursuing the frazzled private. “Private!” Rook Nest saw her, and relief flooded his features. “Princess Luna! Oh, thank Celestia!” He banked towards her. The swarm of hostile literature did the same. Luna scowled and lit her horn; she recognized this as an anti-thieving spell commonly used in private libraries. The Royal Library in Canterlot used a similar variant. It would not be difficult to deal with, however, the spell was only supposed to activate in the occasion that someone tried to remove a book from the library or damaged a book in some way. We are going to have a talk about proper search protocol, Private. Luna waited until Rook Nest was safely behind her, then fired a spell into the flying mass of books; instantly, they ceased their aggressive behavior, and began to flutter idly about the room. “Wow!” Luna turned back to find the Private behind her, looking up at her in awe. “That was amazing, Princess.” “What did you do!?” Luna demanded. The Private looked shocked. “Nothing! I swear! I just came in here and all the books started attacking me!” “The spell would not have activated without provocation, Private.” “You have to believe me, Princess,” the private said, backpedaling. “I just came opened the doors, took a look around, and then everything went to Tartarus. I never touched anything. It’s obviously Discord who’s responsible for this!” “Discord?—Discord is not here, Private.” This seemed to take Rook Nest aback. “He’s not?” “No. He went to Canterlot for at my behest for aid.” “B-b-but, he was laughing! I heard him!” Luna froze. “That is impossible,” she said slowly. “I watched Discord depart with mine own eyes.” “But—but I swear I heard it! Somepony was laughing when the books attacked me! I swear!” The private’s words were cut off by an keening screech. Every book in the library was suddenly swirling together in a frenzied cyclone of paper and pressed woodpulp; they were screeching madly as their pages ripped free from their books and gathered at the center of the cyclone, while the spines and covers swarmed together towards the edges. And then, as quickly as it had began, the cyclone slowed and the mass of books began to coalesce. The covers fused together over the pages, forming a tall, brown pyramid of concentric rings. Almost like a child’s ring toss game, or a coiled— “Private,” Luna said, “make your way back to the entryway. Slowly.” Private Rook Nest gave her a stricken look. “What? Why?” “Just do as I say, Private.” Luna slowly moved backwards, never letting the pyramid leave her gaze. Private Rook did the same. In front of them, the mound of fused books remained, motionless, gleaming in the candlelight as nothing made from pulped wood should ever glimmer. There is no way, Luna thought. No way she could be correct. The amount of energy it would take to expand and transmute that much matter would be colossal. Only a magicorn of tremendous ability would be able to perform such a feat. A magicorn on par with Light Line the Brave, Starswirl the Bearded, or Clover the Clever. Then the pyramid moved, slowly, silently, and Luna knew she had been right. Coiled in front of them was a colossal snake. From atop the coils rose the snake’s head, larger than an eight-horse carriage. Two eyes, each black as ink, were carved into each side of its head, giving no indication of where its gaze fell, but Luna knew that it was looking at them. “Princess Luna,” came Rook’s frightened whisper from behind her. “What is that?” “We have been caught in a trap, Private,” Luna said calmly. The serpent opened its mouth—revealing mounds of paper teeth still spotted with ink as they transmuted into stark white fangs, each as large as her hoof—and gasped excitedly, almost longingly. “Wha-what do you mean ‘a trap?!?’ Who—” “Quiet!” Luna snapped. “Private, Do you remember the way?” Rook nodded weakly. “The exit’s . . . right behind us.” “Yes. Listen closely, Private. Before you is a golem, they are animated constructs made from earthen materials transmuted into flesh. It can not be killed, only felled temporarily. To fight would be folly. When the serpent attacks, I will hold its attention; whilst I do, make your way through the exit and to the front entrance of the house. Stay grounded and close to the walls, beneath its notice. Once you are through the doors, do not stop until you are outside. Do you understand?” “How do you know it will attack us?” Private Rook asked in a frightened whisper. And it was at that very moment, the snake struck.