LEGEND OF THE GODDESSES
Web City, 552 years ago
Queen Okapiopteryx swooped down onto the street, meeting with an adult okapi wearing the vestments of her high priest: a bright red robe with golden trim and a high, orange collar.
"High Priest Aballastor, well met this day," she said, inclining her head. "Come, we should be on our way."
They stood just outside of their nation's temple, a monolithic structure over a thousand feet tall. It lay at the exact center of Web City, which Okapiopteryx had had built at the exact center of the continent, a bustling city in the shape of a flawless spider's web, the epitome of geometric perfection.
"Yes, it's good that we meet this night," the priest agreed. "My most devoted acolyte," he added, indicating a small gazelle wearing the simple gray-and-teal robe worn by higher-ranking priests of Okapiopteryx.
"It's not night, dear Aballastor," the queen said in amusement. "You should be trying a little more."
He shrugged. "Your most devoted servant is what I am, but I can't ad-lib for a flying damn. Uh, your teachings I don't wish to… burn? But I have grown too old to learn."
She smiled at him. "No one is ever too old to learn, take it from me. But now's not the time. Come into the temple, there's something you must see."
The three of them walked into the temple, which had red clay tile floors, with the yellowish savannah grass growing between the tiles, and traditional masks and decorations from the nation's tribal past all over the walls.
Okapiopteryx addressed the young gazelle, who was taller than she but more petite. "What is your name, child?"
"'Lookshi' is what I am styled," she replied, beaming.
She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Hrmm… spell it?"
"L-U-C-G-S-I," the gazelle replied.
Okapiopteryx stared blankly. "…Are you certain?"
"Would I lie?"
She shrugged. "And how long are you apprenticed to Aballastor?"
"Going on six months or more," Lucgsi said brightly.
"And have you had any trouble speaking in verse?"
"Mm, it could have gone a whole lot worse," she said modestly. "Might I have a word away from the unruly mob?"
"Certainly," the queen said in surprise.
Lucgsi boldly ushered the queen to a corner of the temple and whispered, "Aballastor's terrible, can I have his job?"
Okapiopteryx laughed. "He's not terrible. He's flighty and not terribly smart, but what some lack in perfect discipline, they make up in heart. It's said that any in the kingdom can become high priest, and I want that to be the truth, at least."
She and Lucgsi returned to the company of the curious Aballastor. "Come," said the queen, abruptly dropping her smile. "There has been some sort of breach, of a secret far too dark to teach."
"Ah, a secret. That's got some allure," Aballastor said enthusiastically. "What is this exciting secret's… na-ture?"
Okapiopteryx waved her hoof dismissively. "I'll tell you away from the ears of others, later. Come, let's ride the elevator."
The three of them stood on a stone slab, which rapidly flew up a small and narrow shaft, taking them to the highest level of the temple.
On this level, they traversed a very short corridor, at the end of which were a pair of thick doors, guarded by a muscular, red-striped antelope and a massive cape buffalo.
"Your Majesty," said the antelope, a bongo, bowing down. "Have you solved the case?"
"Not even close, I fear," she said bitterly. "Explain, once again, what happened here."
"Uh, we still don't know, Your Highness," said the buffalo. "We came in here… right?"
"Right," said the bongo.
"And we looked in, and one of the legs was gone!"
"Gone. Disappeared. There's no way anybody could have taken it."
"Ooh!" Aballastor said excitedly. "A very mysterious plot is growing."
"It's not so mysterious… you guards, keep going," Okapiopteryx said contemptuously. "Let me ask you again, to be sure you recall: you're certain no one entered the vault at all?"
"Well… there was that pony," the buffalo said dubiously.
"Yeah!" the bongo said, smiling. "Very strange-looking guy, even for a pony. He wore a cloak and had a sword belted around his waist… I thought he seemed sneaky at first, but then we got to know him! He was so nice!"
"He was a good guy," the buffalo agreed.
"He sweet-talked us into opening the vault," said the bongo with a vacant grin, "and he went in there, and then he left."
Okapiopteryx rolled her eyes. "One more piece of clarification I beg: there's absolutely no way he could have taken the leg?"
"What, him?" the bongo said in absolute surprise. "Noooo, no way, he was too nice of a guy!"
"He was a good guy," the buffalo said again.
"All right, so he can't have committed the theft," the queen said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Did he have anything with him when he left?"
"Yeah, big old sack slung over his shoulder," the buffalo said absently.
"He didn't have it when he arrived, I remember."
"But totally not the leg."
"Not the leg, nooooo," the bongo agreed.
"No, not a chance. He was a good guy."
Okapiopteryx sighed and turned to her two priests in exasperation.
"…I don't get it," Aballastor said blankly.
"So, this 'good guy', as you proclaim him to be," Okapiopteryx said softly. "Tell me, what kind of pony was he?"
"Ahh…" the bongo said thoughtfully. "He was one of those, um… a unicorn."
Lucgsi gasped. "They're under some kind of magic spell!" she said sharply.
"Can you save them?" Aballastor said in concern.
"I know no magic," Okapiopteryx replied.
"…Aw, hell," said Aballastor.
Okapiopteryx opened the doors to the chamber and beckoned the two priests to join her.
"How eerie," Lucgsi said nervously, glancing over her shoulder. "They think this unicorn's guilt preposterous. It doesn't even occur to them he's responsible, even though it's so obvious."
"I'm not happy to think that he's running astray," Okapiopteryx agreed. "I don't see how any could stand in his way."
"What do you mean, when you speak of 'legs', my queen?" Aballastor inquired.
"Web City's best-kept secret, my dear high priest. This chamber is home to the legs of the Beast."
She pressed a panel on the far wall, and four doors opened in the four corners of the room, pedestals sliding forward. On three of the pedestals were spider-like legs made of flaky, pale gray stone; long, thin and multi-jointed with blunt hooks instead of feet. The fourth pedestal was empty.
"Two hundred years back, a cult arose somehow; venerating past evil deities, hoping to destroy those who exist now," she explained. "They were all over the world, and in secret they carried, out their plans—and found out where these legs were buried: in the four corners of this continent. One would hope they'd be there forever, but the cults found them, and hoped to put the Beast back together."
"They're fossils!" Aballastor remarked.
Okapiopteryx waited for him to finish. He shrugged and grinned awkwardly, having nothing to offer.
"The Old Gods long predate the world, and have seen eons upon eons unfurled," Okapiopteryx explained. "They chopped up the Beast for crimes he performed, thirteen ages past when the world lived in storm. Millions of years pass, yet the Beast's mind still churns, and there's no way to be sure he will never return. I defeated the cult and collected these parts, and put them here, even though I know in my heart, that it's dangerous to put so many pieces of him so near, but there's no place more secure than my city's center, right here. Or so I thought. It would seem… it is not."
"This isn't good," Aballastor said hesitantly, "but the question begs: how dangerous can they be? They're only legs."
"So it would appear, but they have a power that bewitches the mind," said the queen solemnly. "Not unlike the power we witnessed outside."
Lucgsi winced. "So what now?"
"I don't know what can be done," Okapiopteryx answered, "apart from be thankful the thief took only one. The question remains why this pony did so… and if he returned, how would we ever know?"
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Just outside the city, a dirty and disheveled unicorn staggered up a hill, tearing off his flimsy black cloak. He had a long, sharp horn, black fur coated in a layer of dust, a filthy mane that may have once been white, and almond-shaped, stark white eyes.
"I can't believe I did it," he wheezed.
He drew his sword, his magical grip around it sputtering and blanking out occasionally, never dropping it but never holding it stable either. "You've done it, Vorpal Blade," he said raggedly to his reflection in the blade. "You finally learned a real spell, and what a spell it is! Took you long enough, mate. You're pushing fifty. And now…"
He rolled his shoulder, dropping the sack across his back to the ground, where the massive leg popped out, balancing itself like an archway.
"All the time in the world to learn even more spells!" he went on gleefully. "And forget the new spells—think of all the possibilities of the one you just learned… hmm, what's that? What's this vision I see of my future? Skulking around in the shadows and returning home to piles and piles of money? I like it!"
He looked up into the sky and went quiet. "I wonder if that would be a very fulfilling life… after all I've been through…"
He shrugged and brushed off the notion. "Ahhhh, who cares if it's not? I'm going to live forever! If that ends up being a waste of a lifetime I'll just try to do better for my next lifetime!" He laughed maniacally, so hard that he wiped himself out and had to catch his breath. As he was trying to recover, he looked at the leg in surprise.
"My dear Beast! There's no need for your mental insinuations. I want you and your power more than anything. Oh, but don't think to ensnare me. Your insidious whispers mean nothing. My mind has already been through too much. I mean, just look at me, standing here, talking to myself, as if I didn't understand what was going on and needed to explain it to myself EVEN THOUGH I'M THE ONE DOING THE EXPLAINING! Hee hee!
"Let me tell you something, there's no worse sensation than being just sane enough to know that you're not sane. So… yeah. It's time."
He pulled the leg close to his body, and all the fossilized bits flaked away a little bit at a time, the stone being replaced by shaggy black fur. In seconds, the leg was very much alive.
Fascinated, Vorpal Blade rotated the leg and examined the stump, where it would attach to the body. Warm blood was appearing out of nowhere to enter the veins, and disappearing as it exited.
"Remarkable," he whispered. He looked down at his sword again. "I wonder, should I sharpen my sword at all? …Nah. Time. There's no time. Don't I want to do this quickly? Of course I do."
He levitated the sword off the ground, causing him to promptly lose his connection to the magic holding up the leg. It dropped to the ground unceremoniously, and he laughed at his mistake. "Well, I have all the time in the world to figure out levitation," he said. His levity didn't last long, and he grumbled to himself ashamedly, "Stupid… most basic… I'd just like to be normal…"
He swung the sword at his right front leg. It broke through his flesh but was stopped by his bone.
"Augh!" he squealed, nearly swooning from the agony. "Should've sharpened it…" He shook his head to clear it. "I started this… I'm finishing iiiiit!"
He continued hacking and chopping into his leg, over and over again, not always succeeding at hitting the spot where he had previously made progress, but his concentration was absolute, not stopping until his leg plopped down to the ground.
He stood in a puddle of his gushing blood, drying almost instantly in the hot sand and sun, making the dry grass even crustier than it was already. He stumbled, woozy, staring and blinking, not quite remembering what was happening.
"Oh, of course," he finally mumbled with a mild chuckle. He attempted to pick up the Beast's leg, but his magic fizzled again. A jolt of fear pierced his less-than-lucid mind as he continued losing blood.
The leg itself bent then straightened, walking itself over to him like an inchworm. Reaching him, it twirled around on its hook-foot, and jammed its stump into his shoulder.
Vorpal Blade cried out in pain as the leg fused to his body. With a horrible churning sound, the leg's outline blurred and transformed into that of a pony. It was seamless and undetectable, as if his old leg had never gone.
The pony lifted his very bloody sword blade effortlessly, clearing the blood away without a conscious thought so he could see his reflection. He found himself a pinnacle of physical perfection—no longer filthy but pristine, his white mane smooth and spiky, his once-crooked back perfectly straight.
"Don't I look suave?" he said smugly. "Yes, Beast, my mind is indeed so much clearer. You still can't tempt me." He winked at his reflection. "No being who's wise would trust you. I can see how you drive most of your hosts mad enough that they'd think it's a good idea, but you can't do that to me. I've spent far too long fighting my own mind to have any trouble fighting yours."
He gazed up at the top of the hill. "So… eternal life and a spell that even without the Beast's power can strip somepony's mind clean of any thought I don't want them to have! Whatever shall I do with this amazing opportunity?"
He awaited a response. "Oh, don't be absurd," he chided. "Torture? Brain damage? That's not my style. I don't see the way it benefits me."
He started walking up the hill. "Oh, poor Beast, you're spoiled. So accustomed to your magic doing everything for you that you don't know how temptation actually works. I'm going to ignore you now. Don't be surprised if I never speak to you again."
He winked at his reflection once more before sheathing his sword. Now at the top of the hill, he turned to face Web City in all its splendor.
"If I stole a leg of the Beast from the heart of Web City…" he mused, "why, I could steal just about anything! In fact, what a way to set up a fund for my next lifetime! I'll steal… everything."