Fool Moon, Part 18 (Red Harvest)

>Not this memory. Anything but this memory.
>You watched you, the wolf-you, advance on the screaming memory-image of your mother.
>You watched detached, an observer, a prisoner in your own body.
>Just like you had when this memory had actually happened.
>Celestia floats next to you, trapped as you are, imprisoned in a cage formed of rage and hunger.
"Get us out of here."
>"I need to see this, Anonymous."
"Celestia, you don't understand. You need to get us out."
>You feel, more than see, her shaking her head.
>"I have to understand what you are."
"You don't get it, Celestia. You're waking it up. You're putting it back together. Get us out, before i-"
>A piercing screech distracts you, and you shiver at the sight of your poor mother drunkenly crawling out of the bed, trying to get away from it...from you.
>The wolf lifts a finger, and casually stabs into her leg, pinning her to the floor.
>Her screams rise in volume.
"Celestia, please. Don't watch this. Get us out!"
>You feel Celestia's shock and horror.
>"I...I can't. I have to s-”
>Her voice cuts out as the wolf lunges, pushing your mother's head into the floor as it rips out her throat.
>The taste of blood fills your mouth, as you knew it would, as you remembered it.
>You closed your eyes as the wolf began to pull her apart, slowly, methodically, eating her heart and her lungs and...
>And you tasted all of it. That thing made you taste every bite. Taste how delicious it was.
>You feel Celestia scream next to you as the taste, as the memory, makes it's way over to her as well.
>You feel a third presence, the wolf, the dark half, rise in your shared memory.
>It is awake.


>You can see it out of the corner of your mind's eye, a seething ball of rage and evil in the vague shadow of a wolf.
>Celestia recoils at its appearance, her screams dying off into fearful whimpers.
>It does not speak to either of you, but you can hear its demands, as clear as day.
>It demands that you watch.
>You have already seen what it has to show you.
>You have already tasted the blood and the meat.
>You lived these memories.
>Celestia has not.
>The dark half takes you on a grand journey, from that first, bloody slaughter, that matricide that marked the birth of the animal, to the rest.
>It shows you the night you changed, drunk in a tavern, and ate everyone in the establishment.
>It showed you the night you tried to hide in a forest, and ended up devouring a camp full of woodsmen.
>It shows you perhaps your darkest night. The night you happened upon an orphanage...
>Celestia's jaw drops.
>You taste it all. The meat and the blood and the fear.
>It comes to you fresh on your lips, on your tongue. The smell of prey in flight, the sound of their hearts beating in fear, the taste of their meat and their blood.
>The dark joy you felt at causing their suffering.
>The inhuman transformation of your thoughts, the fearful alien nature of the animal half.
>You and Celestia watch, feel, smell, and taste it all.
>Eventually, the hellish ride stops, leaving you, Celestia, and the tattered remains of the dark half in the flat plain of your mind.
"I told you. I TOLD you to take us out! I-"
>"Be silent!"
>Celestia whirls on you, her breathing ragged.
>As she turns, the wolf-thing jumps at her.


>Celestia screams again, and the wolf-shadow bursts apart into tatters on impact.
>The sun goddess shivers as the pieces of shadow slide away from her, reforming into that limping shadow.
>It roars at her, and you threaten it with a yell and a brandished mental knife.
>It starts to circle, and you get between it, still holding the knife.
"Celestia, please. I need you to get your shit together. And get us the fuck out of my head."
>"I can still taste it..."
"Celestia?"
>"It was awful, Anonymous. But it tasted so...it's still on my tongue!"
>You hear spitting noises behind you.
"Celestia, get it together!"
>The dark half growls at you, circling. It's too weak to speak, not to her, but you can hear it.
>SHE. WAY OUT. THROUGH HER. BE FREE. SHE IS THE SUN. THROUGH HER I WILL RULE THE MOON.
>It snarls at you, and you lash out with the knife, driving it back.
>"THAT'S what you deal with every night, Anonymous? THAT is your life here? As that thing? How can you stand it? How are you not mad?"
>The wolf-thing snorts.
>YOU HAVE. YOUR ANCHOR.
>You smirk at the thing.
"Damn right I do, beastie."
>Celestia looks up at you in confusion as your mind-scape flashes with her face. Her purple mane, her sapphire eyes, her smile.
>SHE DIES. FIRST.
>You look back at the animal as Celestia gets back to her hooves.
"Celestia, get us out. I don't know what its thinking, but that thing is cunning."
>"I...of cour-"
>Her horn glows, and several things happen at once.
>The wolf leaps again.
>Your knife lashes out, cutting a strip of dark flesh away.
>It crashes into Celestia, and everything goes mad.
>Outside, where Luna and Rarity wait, Celestia begins to growl.

Blueblood's perspective
"Rarity is your...sister?
>You stare down at the little filly in astonishment. The filthy urchin must have fallen at least fifty feet, yet she didn't appear to be harmed. A truly garish amount of...that must strawberry jam...coated her mouth.
>She glares up at you defiantly, with marvelously fearful red eyes.
>"You heard me! I know all about you, Blueblood! Rarity told me you're a jerk! And I know you did something with her! The guards told me so!"
>Those voicecracks were admittedly adorable.
>You'd have to talk to your guards about their lack of discretion.
>You reach out a hoof to the filly, and Razor growls.
>You glare at him.
"Please, Razor, contain yourself. It's only a little filly, looking for her sister. Now, I didn't quite catch your name, but if you come with me, I promise to take you to your sister."
>She eyes your hoof warily, and you widen your smile.
>"You're lying."
>You frown, annoyed. She wanted this to be hard, so be it.
"That's a rude accusation, little miss. Guards, take this filly into custody, for her own safety, of course."
>You withdraw your hoof, frowning at the little filly, and the guards move in.
>You turn around, your mouth already open to ask Amethyst Star a question, when you hear it.
>Hissing. Screams. A sickening crack.
>You turn around, in a state of shock, as Sparkler opens her mouth and begins a scream of her own.
"What the..."
>Two guards lie dead behind you, one with his neck twisted all the way around, the other missing his neck entirely.
>The filly is already running towards you, little hooves pattering on the ground as she charges.
>Razor roars a challenge, charging into the filly's path.



>The two collide solidly, and to your shock, Razor slides back a step.
>The green pony seems just as shocked.
>"How in Smaug's flame can y-"
>The filly hisses and hammers a hoof into Razor's leg, causing the green pony to roar in agony.
>His hoof slams into her face, sending her little form sprawling.
>Razor stumbles, lifting his forehoof and hissing in pain.
"Razor. Razor, she's getting back up."
>The green pony keeps his eyes on the filly.
>"I can see that, Blueblood."
"She should be dead. Even with the spell on you, her neck should have..."
>"I KNOW, Blueblood. This thing is not alive."
>The filly looks up from her spot on the floor, eyes burning in rage.
>"Sparkler. Remove the spell. Change me back."
>The filly rolls onto her hooves, hissing and popping her neck.
>Then she begins to advance, hooves scrambling on the floor as she charges at Razor again.
>You gulp.
"Sparkler, remove the spell."
>The filly leaps at Razor.
>"SPARKLER!"
>A bolt of amethyst magic flies out, slamming into the filly's chest and wrapping her up in a ball of glowing energy.
>Razor exhales, a long, hissing breath before backing away. Amethyst Star, her face wrapped up in a mask of concentration, advances, her horn glowing.
"What is it? Some form of changeling? Something out of Tartarus?"
>You advance cautiously, hanging back behind Razor.
>The filly, trapped in a magic bubble, hisses and screams, slamming on the magical protection with her hooves.
"None of that, dear. Just stay put."
>She rears back her head, jaws distending like a snake, and lets out a long, low hiss.
"What the..."
>Something slams into the marble floor next to the two dead guards.


>You all jump in surprise as more things begin slamming into the Royal courtyard.
>It reminds you of the changeling invasion, winged things dropping from the sky and forming craters.
>Hisses start up from all around you.
>The first thing gets out of the pit.
>It was a guard, once. You recognize him, Stalwart Shield or Storm Cloud might have been his name.
>He was white-feathered, like most of Celestia's guards, with grey eyes and a perpetual frown.
>His neck was a ruin, blood dripping from an ugly rip in a steady flow.
>Two fangs curved over his lips, and his mouth was warped into a hissing snarl.
>More of them rise from the craters, fanged corpse-guards, all with bite marks and ripped throats.
>You all back away, slowly being encircled by the monstrous guards.
>You glance at Amethyst Star, at the still-shrieking filly in the magical globe.
"Sparkler."
>"Lord?"
"Put. The filly. Down. Very, very, slowly."
>Sparkler obeys, lowering the magic globe until it's touching the dirt, and then dispersing.
>The filly leaps out, hissing and roaring, before circling to glare at you.
>Time to turn on the charm, Blueblood.
"Now, little miss, I'm sure we can come to a reasonable agreement. I can take you to your...'sister,' and you can call off your guards."
>The filly hisses again, but stops circling, her eyes focused on your neck.
"Please, little miss. You can trust me to be honest."
>She stops hissing and puts a hoof to her chin, thinking.
>"Hmmm. Storm Shield?"
>The dead guard pauses.
>"Yes, Mistress?"
>"Are you thirsty?"
>"Yes, Mistress."
>She frowns at you.
>"Well it wouldn't be polite of me to let you starve. Not when we've got a nice plump liar here."

 Anonymous' Perspective
"Celestia! Celestia what the fuck are you doing!?"
>It wrapped around her face like a freakish snake, paws slammed onto the sides of her head, eyes staring into hers, it's snout pressed to hers.
>Her breathing sped up, her eyes staring unblinking into the eyes of the monster that lived in your head.
"For fuck's sake, Celestia, let me in!"
>You pound on a shield of white magic, an orb seperating Celestia from the rest of your mind.
>And you, to be more precise.
>That thing, that monstrous animal, stared into the eyes of Celestia, and you heard it as it whispered.
>LET ME IN. LET ME IN. YOU ARE STRONG. NOT WEAK, LIKE THIS THING. SAVE HIM, AND FREE ME. WE WILL FIGHT, YOU AND I. FIGHT AND CLASH AND KILL AND DIE. YOU WILL RULE THE DAY, AND I THE NIGHT. IT WILL BE GLORIOUS. LET ME IN. LET ME IN, LITTLE PONY.
>Celestia stops breathing.
>Her eyes snap over to the thing on her face.
>"Let go of me."
>NO. LET ME I-"
>"I said let go."
>The wolf snarls, and Celestia's eyes widen, the purple orbs vanishing into orbs of brilliant white.
>"I AM CELESTIA THE UNDIMMED SUN. I AM THE VANQUISHER OF DISCORD THE TRICKSTER, THE FIRE THAT CLEANSED THE WINDIGOS, THE MARE-WHO-BROKE-SMAUG-FIRSTHATCHED. RELEASE ME."
>White light flares out of the Princess, and you recoil in pain as fire blazes through your mind, burning you and the dark half.
>The wolf-thing howls as its hurled into the dirt next to you, the both of you baking under Celestia's rage.
>The Princess walks over to you, her eyes and body glowing.
>"I HAVE MADE MY DECISION, ANONYMOUS. WILL YOU ACCEPT MY JUDGEMENT?"


>You stare up at the burning, furious goddess, stammering and recoiling from the heat she emits.
"I...I..."
>She leans closer, eyes still glowing that furious white.
>"YOU ARE HOST TO A MONSTER, ANONYMOUS. WILD, UNCONTROLLABLE, UNDYING. A THREAT CAPABLE OF SPREADING ITS INFECTION ACROSS MY LAND, TURNING MY PRECIOUS PONIES INTO RAVENING BEASTS. YOU ARE A MURDERER SEVEN TIMES SEVEN TIMES OVER, A SHAMELESS THIEF, A LIAR, AND A FOOL."
>She scowls, a look so full of contempt and hatred that you feel it sear your soul even as it sears your mind.
>"WERE I TWO THOUSAND YEARS YOUNGER, I WOULD INCINERATE YOU AND SCATTER YOUR ASHES TO THE FOUR WINDS FOR THE THREAT YOU POSE."
>You close your eyes as the heat intensifies, and you hear the dark half whimper from it's curled up position next to you.
>Celestia's scowl drops, and her eyes change, the purple reappearing.
>"But I am not that mare. I have lived among my ponies for longer than even they remember, Anonymous. I have seen much blood, much death. I have caused more than I am comfortable with."
"But you just said..."
>She holds up a gold-shod hoof.
>"I know what I said. You hold a monster. You are a thief. These things are true. But you do not wish to be what you are. You have sought a potion to cure your affliction. You love, Anonymous. And you are loved."
>She smiles.
>"That is enough. I will not banish you, or execute you, as Blueblood wishes I might do. I will forgive you your crimes, Anonymous. A royal pardon."
"I. Princess, that's amazin-"
>"Do not misunderstand me, Anonymous. If you hurt one of my ponies, if you let that beast of yours gain control, I WILL make you regret it."
>You gulp.



>She smiles at you, her face going from unchained force of nature to stern goddess to loving matron in a matter of moments.
>"I don't mean to scare you, Anonymous."
>The dark half whimpers again.
>"I do mean to scare IT."
>She winks at you, and you climb slowly to your feet.
"Celestia."
>"All my subjects call me Princess, if you please."
>You hold your hands up.
"Okay. Princess. Sorry. So you're not going to burn me to a crisp?"
>She shakes her head, laughing.
>"No, Anonymous. Rarity was right. That thing, whatever it is, was certainly out of your control. You are innocent of its crimes."
"Well that's a relief."
>"But not innocent of robbing the Riches."


"Uh."
>"But you DID pay them back."
"Right!"
>"Only when Rarity suggested it."
"Uh."
>"According to my student, Rarity is quite skilled at judging a pony's character. So yes, I will pardon you, Anonymous. I cannot sway the minds of my ponies, but I will tell them the truth. You are no villain."
"Thank you, Princess. Really, thank you. I thought, at first, when it showed you all the things it did, that first night..."
>"Do not mention it. Please. I have never tasted meat before. It was a rather unpleasant experience."
"Right, horses, sorry."
>She gives you an odd look before trotting over.
>"I wouldn't use that descriptive around certain mares, Anonymous. Now, let us leave."
>Her horn begins to glow.
>"Oh, and one more thing, Anonymous. Concerning Rarity."
"Sure, what?"
>"She is one of Twilight Sparkle's dear friends. If you break her heart, I'll break your spine."
"What?"
>Your protest vanishes as everything goes black.

Blueblood's perspective

>Hisses fill the night as you and your allies retreat.
>Razor bats aside another one of the hissing, emaciated guards, roaring as he heaves the thing away from him in his efforts to make a path to the door.
"We have to reach Celestia! Sparkler, open the door!"
>Her horn sparks as she struggles to force the royal doors open.
>Undead guards descend upon you, hissing and screaming and biting, a storm of monsters in the form of stallions.
>Your guards are the first to fall, dragged away by their brethren and knocked to the floor, before being...
>You don't want to think about it.
>The filly, that accursed abomination that claims sisterhood to Rarity, watches the carnage, frowning.
>You draw your head back as one of the things lunges for your throat, hissing.
>You draw a rock off the ground with your magic and pound it's head in. You wished you had the sense to keep a weapon at hoof.
"How's the door coming, Sparkler!?"
>"Slowly, my Lord!"
"It would be appreciated if you sped that u-"
>Your world turns upside down, and pain blossoms on your cheek.
>You hear Razor roar again, begging Sparkler to relieve the spell on him so that he may drive these things away.
>The accursed fool would ruin...everything...
>Your vision gets a little foggy as you spot the filly looming over you.
>"You hurt her, didn't you?"
"What?"
>"That's why you lied to me. You did something to her and Anon. You KILLED HER, DIDN'T YOU?"
"I...never...never touched her..."
>"LIAR!"
>She opens her mouth, hissing, and Sparkler's screams and Razor's roars die down in your ears as the filly bites your neck.
>And begins to drink.

Anonymous' Perspective
>You come to life with a gasp, clutching your chest and wheezing.
>"ANONYMOUS!"
>You grunt as a white missle slams into your chest, wrapping a pair of hooves around your neck.
"Nice to see you too, marshmallow."
>She slaps you, and you grunt as the hoof slams into your face.
>"You had me worried sick! The Princess and I were left watching you while Princess Celestia read your mind, and then the Princess started...growling. Princess Luna was furious. She thought you'd..."
>Rarity trails off as two sets of hooves make their way over to you.
>"We thought that you attempted to destroy our sister's mind. You are fortunate that Miss Rarity was here to speak in your defense."
>Luna eyes you coolly as you sit up and Rarity slides her hooves from around your neck.
>You smile at Rarity, ignoring the blue alicorn.
"Hell, I'm fortunate for a lot of things involvin' Rarity. This just adds to the list."
>Rarity smiles at you, and you hear a polite cough from Princess Celestia.
>"Yes, well. I have already announced my decision to Anonymous."
>Rarity glances at the Princess fearfully, and you chuckle at her reaction.
>"I have decided to grant a royal par-"
>Celestia pauses, her ear flicking as she looks to the door.
>Luna does the same, her eyes narrowing.
>"What in Tartarus..."
>The Princesses horns glow, and the doors burst open.
>Into a scene from nightmare.
>Winged pegasus ponies, fanged and hissing, leap and pile on other guards, biting at them.
>A massive green earth pony hurls the things away from him, while a pink unicorn bats at them with spells.
>Blueblood lies behind them, bleeding on the floor, with something on his neck...
>"Sweetie Belle?"


>It all comes back in a flash.
>The blood, Fluttershy's cottage, the dark half's whispers to you about the filly.
>And those terrible red eyes.
>Sweetie Belle pulls free of Blueblood's neck with a gasp, blood running from her teeth.
>She opens her mouth, you assume for another hiss, before her eyes land on Rarity.
>She freezes, fear filling her eyes as she realizes what she's doing, and who she's doing it in front of.
>"R...Rarity? You're okay? The necklace said...he was..."
>She trails off, looking down at Blueblood.
>Celestia walks forward, flaring her wings in anger. Light pours off her like heat from a flame.
>"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?"
>Sweetie Belle and the fallen guards all snap around to stare at her as she speaks. Then they begin to scream.
>Smoke coils upward from their fur, and they cover their eyes with their hooves and back away.
>Celestia stops, confused, as the guards and Sweetie get to their hooves and flee, leaping away from the bodies of Blueblood's personal guard and Blueblood himself.
>In mere moments, all that remains is Blueblood, the bodies of six guards, and two gasping ponies, the purple mare and the green brute.
>Rarity, for her part, is speechless, her eyes widened in shock.
>Blueblood coughs.
>The massive green pony moves over and helps Blueblood staggers to his feet, one hoof pressed to the wound in his neck.
>His eyes are bloodshot, and he points one furious hoof at you and Rarity.
>"YOU. This is YOUR fault. Your sister..."
>He coughs, staggering towards you two and the two royal mares.
>"Your sister is a monster. Just like..."
>He trails off and points to you.
>"I'm...I'm going to hunt her down. I'm going to kill your...Sweetie Belle."