Morning Meir Mysteries: Case 2: A Fright On Nightmare Night

by XombieSlayr

Chapter 13: "The Most Generous Of Souls."

Chapter 13: "The Most Generous Of Souls."

"To my subjects, I am a Queen. To my faithful, I am there Goddess. To my children, I am there mother. But it is who I am to you, that truly matters to me. For I wish to be all these things to everyone. And so much more."

- The Goddess

(Main Street Cafe 10:15 am)

We sat together at the small table in the cafe, sipping tea, enjoying cucumber sandwiches and generally just enjoying ourselves. It was a great relief to actually not have to worry about anything for once. After we were done, Dr. Pensipony withdrew a folder from her bag, with details on St. John's Cemetery. It was the oldest cemetery in Nawlans, as old as the town itself. And of course all the graves were above ground, as the soil was too loose for burials.

One particular detail though, caught my eye. A photo of one of the family crypts in the cemetery. Magnus was seen clearly carved into the stone above the entrance.

"Magnus.....!" My eyes grew wide. "That's Carlsen's last name!" I exclaimed. I had not forgotten the young chess playing colt who I had beaten at his own game in McClophlins.

"Do you think he knows anything about The Cartel?" Pensipony asked.

"His brother does. Crash was a runner for them." I explained."Maybe he was visiting his family's crypt, and the Cartel found him that way." I suggested. "We should head over there and see what we can find. If we run into the cartel we can hide behind the crypts."

"Or kick their flanks." Pensipony suggested casually.

"Um...or that. That works too, I guess."

St. John's Cemetery (10:32 am, Northern Quarter)

As we walked through the great iron gates of St. John's Cemetery, I saw that it was surprisingly foggy, and unsurprisingly creepy. The place gave me chills as we walked along the crypts, looking for any sign of the cartel. Pensipony stayed close to my side as we didn't dare get lost in here.

Fog rolled over the ground and swirled around our hooves as we walked. To my chagrin, my mind wandered back to all those stories I would hear about cemeteries. About how ponies would feel like they were being watched, or see ghosts among the crypts. Hearing strange noises, and sometimes...they would never leave the place at all.

I shook the thoughts from my head as we finally found something of interest. A large statue of the legendary figure, Mage Meadowbrook, the famous sorceress and healer from Hayseed Swap, which was also in Nawlans, stood proudly amongst the fog.
Her friendly smile and gentle demeanor brought a sense of relief to me as we continued past her. She must've been put here to protect the crypts and deliver a sense of peace to mourners. It worked for me, so I figured it worked for anypony. Upon getting a better look at her, I saw there were strange symbols written with chalk, that had been drawn onto the base of Mage's statue, lined up into several columns. But as I tried looking at them, I heard Pensipony's voice beside me.

"Meir?" Pensipony asked, tapping me on the shoulder.

"Huh?"

"Over there."

She pointed to a large stone crypt which bore the name Magnus, above its doors. Doors which were mysteriously open. "Well...that can only mean trouble."

Pensipony nodded. "Yep. Let's get going then." And she walked down into the crypt, with a casual stroll.

"H-hey! Wait up!" I called, trotting after her.

Magnus Family Crypt (10:57 am)

As we closed the door behind us, we suddenly found ourselves in complete darkness. "Damn it!" Pensipony exclaimed. "You'd think there'd be a light in here."

I called out into the darkness. "Hello? Is anyone here?" But from the blackness there was no reply.

"I didn't hear anything."

"That doesn't mean there's nopony there." I explained.

"That's....a very creepy thought, Meir."

"Sorry."

I heard Pensipony feel around the right wall. "There's got to be light down here somewhere."

"Hang on." I felt around on the left wall, and found a small switch. Pushing it down, a skylight opened up on the ceiling with the sound of stone against stone. Light poured into the room, as we looked around. There was no one else here, to our relief.

A row of mausoleums was in front of us, each one built into the wall. We went over and began reading the names on the wall, looking for some connection to The Cartel. It wasn't till we saw the one right in the middle, that we stopped and stared at it. The name had been hastily scratched off and a strange symbol was drawn on it in red chalk: A series of four crosses dotting the corners of a large square. I remembered seeing it in one of Miss Fortune's books. It meant "Union." Seemed like the perfect thing for The Cartel.

I gripped the handle, praying to Celestia that I wasn't about to see a dead guy in here. Pensipony nodded for me to go ahead, as I pulled it open.

What we saw inside made my heart stop.

Karosta. She laid there in the drawer, her eyes closed. I was too shaken to process if she was dead or not. "No...." I whimpered. Pensipony came up and looked in at her. "Chief?...can you...can you hear me?" she asked, her voice a little unsteady. She reached in and tapped Karosta on the shoulder.

The next thing I knew, was Karosta's hoof clocking Pensipony right in her muzzle as she fell back clutching her nose.
Karosta sat up in the drawer. "Pensipony? That you?" she asked, looking over at Pensipony surprised.

Pensipony was outraged. "Of course it's me you psychopath! What the hell's the matter with you!?" she yelled, still clutching her muzzle.

"Jeez, sorry. I thought you were that nutjob who put me in here!" Karosta explained, climbing out of the drawer

I looked at her. "Wait...what nutjob?" I asked.

Before Karosta could answer, all the light in the room suddenly vanished as the skylight shut with a loud bang. From the darkness I saw a torch be lit and I instantly recognized the face it illuminated.

My eyes grew wide. "Carlsen?"

Carlsen Magnus's shocked face stared back at me from the light. "Meir? What-What the hell are you ponies doing in my family tomb!?" He yelled, his eyes flaring.

I was about to apologize, when Karosta suddenly shouted out. "Hey! That's him! He's the one that trapped me in here!!" she yelled, pointing her hoof directly at Carlsen.

We froze in place, as I turned to look at Carlsen, I saw surprise in his face. "W-What!? I never did anything to you! You broke into my family's tomb, you idiot!" He yelled back at her. But I saw it in his eyes. He was lying.

"It...It's you..."

Carlsen gave me a look like he hadn't heard me. "What? What are you talking about?"

"It's you. You're the one! The one behind those murders! IT WAS YOU!" I accused him, shouting angrily.

"ARE YOU INSANE?! WHY WOULD I BE BEHIND ALL THIS?!" He shouted back, trying to talk his way out of it, but No. He wasn't getting away this time.

"At the bar, YOU told us where to find Crash! But when we got there, we never found anypony!" I accused him. "And then when we got back, you were nowhere to be seen! You left Crash there to take the fall and...dear Celestia...Y-you tried to kill your own brother to keep him from telling us the truth..."

Carlsen looked at me angrily, as he looked towards Pensipony for support. But her eyes were full of nothing but hatred, as well as Karosta's. He began sweating. "Y-you...you can't prove any of that!"

Karosta stepped forward, looking like she was about to tackle Carlsen into the wall. "Oh yeah? Well, I'm pretty sure a testimony from the Celestia-damned Chief of Police will suffice!!" she shouted at him, making him back up towards the entrance.

Carlsen backed up towards the wall as we moved towards him. I stepped forward. "I want to know why....why do all this?"

"I didn't-

"Stop. Lying to me." I warned him. "The truth. NOW!"

Carlsen looked worried for but another minute, then he looked down at his feet. For a minute he said nothing. Then I heard him say. "You want the truth?...fine."

He looked up at us, dark rings under his eyes as he smiled evilly at us. "Because this city, this stupid ,happy, worthless cesspool, took everything from me. My family, Our manor...Heheheh, EVERYTHING!!" He screamed suddenly.

We backed away from him as he started walking forward, his hooves swinging at his sides. "Our business? Heh, bought up by that bitch and her ilk!!" He yelled pointing at Pensipony, who looked unphased, even now.

"Our family? All moved away, when my parents died in a fire. The police? Didn't do anything." he muttered to himself.

"But what about your brother? What about Crash? "I asked.

"Crash? He's worthless. Could never do anything right. You really should have just let him die...."

I stared at him in a mix of terror and shock. My heart was beating out of my chest as he just looked down at the floor, and began giggling to himself. "You....you're completely insane." I said softly.

"AND YOU!!" He screamed pointing at me, making me fall backwards onto the floor. "I had ONE thing left in this world. One thing I cared about....my record." He narrowed his eyes at me. "No one....not ever, has ever beaten me at chess....no one. Not. A. Single. One. But then....you had to come along. You just had to be the smartest pony in the world! YOU JUST HAD TO BEAT ME DIDN'T YOU?!" He yelled, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose at an angle.

Pensipony was enraged. "You sick minded little insect....this is about your pathetic chess record? You really are a sore loser aren't you?" she mocked angrily.

"SHUT UP!!" Carlsen yelled withdrawing a large needle from his jacket. We watched as he giggled to himself, as he rolled up his sleeve, revealing an elaborate Voodoo tattoo on his arm, and stabbed the needle directly into one of the designs of the tattoo, spraying blood onto the floor.

As we reeled back, we watched as the tattoo began to glow red, and the sound of moving stone could be heard all around us. Looking around I felt pure terror pierce my brain as we watched in horror as the drawers of the mausoleums began falling open and the dead, rotting corpses of their occupants spilled out onto the floor and began shuffling towards us.

My eyes darted around the room as I saw more and more of them, groaning and shuffling towards us on barely workable legs. My breath caught in my throat as I kept looking around, trying to find a way out. But we were trapped. I couldn't think, I couldn't speak.

Dead hooves closed in on us, as Karosta and Pensipony were pinned down by the zombies. I watched from the ground as they swarmed around me, reaching for my throat.

This was it. I'm going to die. I closed my eyes and waited for it to end....but it didn't.

And then I felt...nothing. All the fear and terror was gone.

My mind was blank as I suddenly realized I was....somewhere else.

(Somewhere Else)

"Open your eyes."

"I can't! They're going to kill me!"

"It's okay. Just open your eyes."

I opened them. I wasn't in a tomb. I wasn't in Equestria. I wasn't anywhere I recognized. I stood in a large garden on a balcony, overlooking an endless expanse of green fields and trees. A breeze blew gently on my face, as I looked around.

Then I saw her. Sitting right beside me, looking out at the fields, a calm smile on her face. She was white as snow, and her Vibrant, deep red mane flowed in place behind her, along with her tail. A cutie mark of an ink well and quill adorned her flank. I couldn't stop staring at her. She was breathtaking in every sense.

She looked over at me and chuckled. "Hello, Morning Meir." she greeted me warmly. Her voice was light, beautiful, and put Celestia's to shame with how much power and kindness it exhumed with every word she spoke.

What could I even say? I had no words for this. I don't think anypony did. I struggled to work up a "hello' at least. "I-I....Um, I'm sorry, I...I don't know what to say." I stammered.

"It's okay. You're here now. So now...." She kneeled down and looked into my eyes. Her eyes sparkled like the night sky, despite being as brilliantly blue as an ocean. "we can finally talk face to face."

She wrapped one of her wings around me, as she brought me close to her chest, and hugged me. "And I'm happy to see you're safe."

I felt like a newly born foal, seeing their mother for the first time. "Am...am I dead?" I asked, generally unsure of what had happened or what was happening.

She laughed at that. Even her laugh was beautiful. "No, you are very much still alive, I assure you." she laughed.

"Then how am I....how are you?? Just.....HOW??"

Again she chuckled. "You are here, because you wanted to be." she explained. softly.

"Because I wanted to be?...."

Then I remembered. The dead was closing in around us. I wanted to escape, had to escape, and then....I was here. I looked up at her and smiled. "Um...would you mind if I ask you something?"

She giggled."By all means, ask me anything."

I took a breath and calmed myself. "I was told I was going to learn something. Some way of fighting off evil....but, I'm not sure where to start, and I have no magic or anything so-

"You already know the answer to that."

"Huh??"

"There is still much you don't know. And I'm afraid our time is too short for me to teach you everything. But if you wish to defeat the evil you face now, you only have to remember one thing."

I looked up at her eagerly. "What's that?"

She smiled at me as she said with a great power in her words. "Friendship IS Magic." She said, meeting my eyes again. The smile never left her face. "If you believe in yourself, If you believe in your friends...then there is nothing in this or any world, you cannot accomplish."

My eyes widened as I realized she was completely right. I had done quite a bit, yes, but...I had also had friends to stick by me through it all. And even now, as the living dead was gathering around us, I still had friends there with me. The Goddess was right, I had always figured a way out of these things! And with Karosta and Pensipony's help, I know we could now too.

"I...I know what to do! We can get out of this, I know we can." I looked up at her again and smiled. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. I've got a feeling you've always known that. After all, you ARE The Smartest Pony In The World!" she said happily.

I felt my face redden as it always did. I simply laughed it off, nervously.

"But...

I looked up her again and saw she had a hoof to her chin in thought. "There IS something I can give you. It'll give you a significant edge over your enemies, as well as allow you to protect your friends." she explained.

A brilliant white glow emanated from her horn and a large ink well and pen appeared out of thin air in front of her. I watched as she wrote something down on the parchment. As she finished she suddenly looked slightly guilty. "I know some may consider this cheating, but, I'm a Goddess! And I can do whatever I want." she laughed.

I felt a strange soft warmth on my cutie mark. As I turned to look at it, I was amazed to see my cutie mark had changed. I still had the same cross of pink hearts but I now saw small glowing pink and purple stars were now gathered around it. They never stopped having that soft purple and pink glow to them as they adorned my cutie mark.

I looked at it, absolutely speechless.

Luckily The Goddess explained. "There. Now you can use magic same as any unicorn." she said simply, and with a mischievous smile.

"I CAN WHAT??"

"All you have to do is think of the spell, then picture it in your mind. It's actually a lot easier for you, as you don't need a horn to focus the magic into." she explained.

"......I CAN WHAT???"

The Goddess laughed merrily. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. For now though, I'm afraid it's time for you to go back to your friends. They need you now. So don't let them down." She swept me in for one final hug with her wings. "But don't worry....we will see each other again." she assured me.

I struggled to say words. "Thank you!" I exclaimed suddenly, as I hugged her back.

I felt her hoof pat me lovingly on my back. "You're welcome."

And just like that...I was gone. And in a split second I was back. Back in the crypt, back with my friends, but the dead still lurched closer. And yet, I no longer had any fear. What did have to be afraid of anymore? I knew how we could get out of this.