~~The house was quiet. The silence was almost painful.Patiently, Moondancer waited while Sunset Shimmer poured him a fresh cup of tea. The teapot trembled in the grip of her magic, and her eyes were brimming with tears. Starlight Glimmer neatly leaned over to take the teapot from her wife. She wrapped gentle, comforting hooves around Sunset, and the golden unicorn immediately turned and buried her face against Starlight's chest. The silence returned.Over in the corner, Chakra Blossom sat holding his own cup of tea. It'd grown cold long ago, but he stared down into the still, sweet-smelling liquid, transfixed by his reflection. His eyes were misty.The air was choked with a fog of thick, crushing grief. The loss was too fresh, like a wound still bleeding.Anxiety gnawed at Moondancer's belly. He'd come to Midnight's home under the guise of expressing his grief and consoling her mothers, but really he'd hoped to tactfully sniff out hints about what Starlight and Sunset reallymost importantly, whether they'd be able to trace their daughter's fate back to him. At first, he'd been confident in his probing abilities, but now, taking in the tear-stained, utterly distraught faces of two mothers in mourning...well, it was sparking something far too much likein Moondancer's gut. This would be more difficult than he'd anticipated, but heto press forward. Moondancer cleared his throat."I...came as soon as I heard."Starlight's eyes numbly slid up to meet his gaze. "...Thank you." She coughed awkwardly, attempting to summon a mask of professionalism. "We're grateful, dear." She said finally. "We...know you and Morning Glory were close.""She was like a sister to me." Moondancer explained, smiling sweetly. "Not by blood of course. I always tried to guide her, to make use of her incredible talents...I always considered Morning Glory to be my little sister, but I suspect she sawas a nagging, overprotective nuisance." He chuckled."Nonsense, dear." Starlight made a feeble attempt at an assuring smile. "I'm sure Morning Glory appreciated all you did for her. We certainly did." She looked down at her hooves, and her voice grew distant. "....I remember so clearly the day she was born. Holding this teeny thing in my hooves for the first time... just the sweetest, most perfect little ball of pink fluff..." Her eyes began to glitter again, and she bit her lip."...She was our sunshine." Sunset said quietly, sagging against her wife. "....I just don't know who could have done it." Sunset whispered. "I...I can't fathom who could have hated our daughter so much." She bit her lip, ears slicking back in pain. "We managed to transport the statue back home without damaging it, but Twilight.....T-Twilight said-" Sunset's breathing hitched. Starlight glanced up at her, and quickly reached to hold her hoof. Sunset sucked in a deep breath, trying to choke down a tidal wave of emotion. Moondancer waited carefully, ears pricked, heart stuck in his throat."...Princess Twilight ran so many tests. She stayed up all night." Sunset finally breathed, looking Moondancer in the eye. "But every test yielded the same result. It appears as though something managed to strip away Morning's verymind, magic, and soul. The crystal statue is all we managed to recover. Poor Bertramto leave her side, but the fact is, the statue has no soul inside. Twilight says that for all....f-for all intents and purposes...o-our filly is d-dea-" Sunset couldn't finish, leaning forward to bury her face in her hooves. She began to weep now, loud, broken sobs that racked her whole body. Shame settled in Moondancer's stomach like a heavy stone, and he fidgeted uncomfortably.Starlight finished, gritting her teeth. Though she shut her eyes, a few boiling tears still managed to squeeze through. "If...i-if that's....i-if something, sometook our daughter away, I...." Her horn began to glow, and air became charged with her magic. "I-I'll....there won't be aof Equestria they'll be able to hide fromI'llhim, I-I'll tear him to bloody pieces, I'll-" Like Sunset, she too broke suddenly, crumpling into a weak, sobbing mess."OhMoondancer reached out to touch her shoulder, comforting and gentle. "Ah...there, there, dear. Please, you shouldn't work yourself up like this. I assure you, there ismonster to be hunted down-please, assuming foul play will only cause you unnecessary stress." He said kindly. "If theresome wicked beast lurking about, stealing away magic in the dead of night, surely there would've been reports of it from all across Equestria? Andit would've been hunted down by now?" He swallowed, letting his ears droop in sorrow. "...Although it's difficult to accept...I believe that what happened to Morning Glory may have been, ah...self-inflicted."Starlight's eyes went wide, and she exchanged quick, terrified glances with Sunset. "W-what are you saying? You think....this might've been anMoondancer nodded grimly. "Unfortunately. Morning Glory was truly your daughter-so very talented at magic. But she's always had her fixation with the dark arts...and it'd always worried me. Growing up, I always tried to guide her onto a less sinister path, but, ah...well, we all know what a headstrong young lady she was." He chuckled, a bit sadly. "She loved her witchcraft. But the fact is, its always been a very volatile, unpredictable branch of magic. It's quite possible that Morning was testing out some new hex, or curse...and something went terribly,wrong."Starlight Glimmer covered her mouth, and her wide eyes filled with tears. Sunset echoed her wife's look of horror. It was clear that they believed Moondancer without question...and they were quickly making the mental connections he'd hoped they would. Clever mares. They'd never discouraged their daughter's love of the dark arts...were they then, to blame for her death?"Bullshit."A deep voice suddenly cut through the air, startling the trio. It was Chakra Blossom, who seemed to be trembling with barely-contained anger. He stood to his hooves, locking eyes with Moondancer."You think Nighty was stupid enough to do this toMidnight Abyss was a damnedChakra growled. "And you'd know that if the two of you were as close as youfriend."Moondancer's mouth opened and closed, like a fish. He'd been taken off guard. "Well, I,"I don't like your tone, Mister Blossom." Starlight Glimmer stepped boldly between the two stallions, guarding Moondancer. "Moony's just as distraught as the rest of us, and thus far, he's provided the only answer to all this that makes any sense. It...it may not be a pleasant answer, but it does make sense." She reached up to wipe at her wet eyes. "Morning Glory was ourOur new beginning, our dawn. Sunset and I...we haven't always made the best choices. Haven't always been the best ponies. We'd always hoped that our daughter would be better than us. We wereproud when her magic developed early...Oh, but then thebusiness started....Our little filly didn't want to wear dresses and study under Princess Celestia, no, she wanted to brew ancient poisons and test out enchantments on cadavers." She sniffled. "Oh, we should haveno good could come of it...""She wasMiss Glim." Chakra reached out a comforting hoof. "I remember, back when we were kids, the first time I agreed to let her test out a potion in my ma's kitchen. It ended up exploding,failure, tookto clean all that salamander slime off the ceiling, but...you know, I think that's the first time I remember hearing her laugh." Chakra smiled then, and it was nostalgic, tinged with sadness.He looked to Starlight, hoping that she too had found comfort in the memory, but the mare took a sudden step back from him."...That'sShe whispered, her eyes going wide, as though she'd just remembered something. "Morning Glory had always been alittle filly. Shetampered with witchcraft before....not untilcame along." She lifted a hoof to her mouth, and her eyes met Chakra's."It wasfault."The atmosphere in the room changed at once. In an instant, Sunset took her place at Starlight's side, and both mares advanced on Chakra, nearly bristling with maternal fury."Whoa, easy,Chakra lifted his hooves, trying to calm them. "Please. Up until not too long ago, Nighty was my friend. I always tried to give her space to beshe appreciated that-hell, she told me herself!"Moondancer was nothing, if not an opportunist. A wicked wildfire was blooming in front of him. He only needed to feed it."I'm sorry to say it, but I always suspected he was a bad influence." Moondancer said, shaking his head. "I always told Morning Glory that nothing good would come of hanging around some deadbeat, good-for-nothing hippie.""What, you think Midnight didn't know I was trash?" Chakra laughed, but it was bitter. His eyes were curiously shiny. "She was smart enough to think for herself, dipshit. She ditched me a while ago. Dumped me as a friend, because I was too mean to somepony I wasto care about. Shethat."Moondancer paused, sensing victory. "...Dear me, Mister Blossom. I don't think you're making the best case for yourself.""It's not aboutChakra countered, looking round at everyone in the room. "It's aboutLook, Iit." He snorted. "Missus Glimmer, Missus Shimmer, you loved your daughter. I get it. And I do mean no offense here-butof you knew Midnight like I knew her. She wasyour smiling little sunshine fluff filly, or whatever the hell you wanted her to be. She was aShe was mean, she was weird, she was creepy, and she'd been that way since the day I met her. She wasSheall this witch stuff, she knew curses and hexes like the back of her hoof. There's no way in hell somegot the better of Midnight Abyss. If she's dead, it's because someoneher." Chakra's voice became a cold, deadly hiss, and he leaned forward, eyes boring into Moondancer's."....Andlittle prick knows something."Time seemed to slow to a crawl. For a long, agonizing moment, Moondancer was paralyzed against Chakra's glare. Chakra knew. That damned layabout pegasusMoondancer felt the terrified hammer of his own heart, and desperately, he wondered if it'd be better to confess to his crime, confess now, before the two powerful unicorns before him figured out Chakra's words for themselves-The words felt heavy on Moondancer's tongue. "I-I..."In a heartbeat, Starlight Glimmer shoved in front of Moondancer, her eyes blazing like a volcano ready to erupt.She repeated, her voice shaking the walls like thunder. "She bellowed at Chakra,Wide-eyed, Chakra took a step back, blindsided by her venom. Furious and wounded, he struggled to steady himself. "Ma'am, I'm only trying to help." He tried. "I don't know much, but there's one thing I'mof-Midnightthis little jerk." Again, he turned a withering glare upon Moondancer. "I trust that she had a damned good reason to.""Moondancer has been a loyal friend of our family since he was a colt." Starlight said coldly. "It's notcharacter being assessed right now, Mister Blossom. I'drather examine the pegasus right in front of me-the big, lumberingthat claims he knew our own daughter better thandid."Chakra's ears slicked back in anger and hurt. "...You know, I'm starting to think that IHe said darkly. "Some motherswere."Sunset flinched, and Starlight's wrath finally boiled over, her patience at its end.Starlightlouder than Moondancer had ever heard her. She caught Sunset, who'd collapsed again into pained sobbing.Moondancer seized the opportunity. He lit his horn in warning, and took a bold step forward. "Mister Blossom, I believe it's time for you to go."Chakra looked to him, eyes nearly smouldering with hate. He flared his wings wide, as though considering openly attacking the white unicorn-but suddenly seemed to think better of it. Instead, he simply turned and left, slamming the door on his way out.Starlight let out a heavy sigh, slumping against her wife. The fight seemed to have gone out of both mothers."I'm sorry you had to see that, Moony, dear." She apologized numbly, "What a terrible mess everything's becoming..."Moondancer blinked, stunned that everything had clicked into place so smoothly. He hesitated, nearly afraid to believe that somehow, he'd come out victorious. Midnight's parents didn't suspect him. Theyhim. Starlight Glimmer placed a hoof on his back, comforting her daughter's killer."You'll stay for dinner, won't you? You're looking so pale these days..."Moondancer smiled, warm and kind."Oh no, Missus Glimmer, I couldn't impose..."~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With a fond farewell to Sunset and Starlight, Moondancer had departed from Midnight's home. The weight of his traveling cloak felt familiar and warm, and it carefully hid the red-tipped horn tied around his neck. Moondancer trotted through the Everfree Forest, his hooves light with a renewed sense of confidence, a feeling of invincibility. The sun had set, casting the forest in still, eerie darkness, but Moondancer pressed on, unafraid.A voice, faint and irritable, spoke suddenly in his mind."Celestia above." Moondancer drawled, "You'd be so much easier to mourn if you'd just stayMidnight.""They don't suspect a thing. They trust me. And why shouldn't they trust sweet, polite little Moony?" Moondancer sneered, mocking her. "I'm a model pony, after all."Moondancer startled, realizing she was quite right. He'd been speaking aloud to a voice in his head. "....Shut up, Midnight." He whispered, cheeks turning pink.Moondancer's face soured, and he opened his mouth to sneer a response-when quite suddenly, he caught sight of a lone unicorn walking through the forest. He was a thin, young stallion, with a basket of fresh-picked Everfree timber berries slung across his back. The pony was whistling merrily to himself as he skipped along. He hadn't noticed Moondancer yet.Dimly, Moondancer felt the weight of the horn against his chest. A strange, faint hunger began to stir inside him.Moondancer began to slink forward, silently stalking the young unicorn. The pony's hind hoof snagged on a tree root, and some of the berries spilled from his baskets. With a swear, the pony lit his horn, trying to gather up the mess.Poor thing. The woods weren't safe for a pony alone at night.Moondancer licked his dry lips, and the horn at his chest began to glow a dim crimson, encouraging him onward. He'd take this pony. Just the one. Just one more soul....Just to see what would happen. Nopony was around to see. Nopony would miss this young fool.The woods weren't safe for a pony at night.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~so it continuesnextgen characters shown/discussed:, related: