Twilight Sparkle, Frazzle Spark, and Sharp Wing all stared at Night Mist in stupefied silence at his stated plan.
"That is so inappropriate I don't even know where to begin," Sharp Wing said finally.
"Disturbing really," contributed Frazzle Spark.
"Maybe you should get sompony else to do that. Preferably a filly," suggested Twilight Sparkle.
"I realize how bizarre my plan sounds, believe me. But the fact the potion only works at night is very strange and I feel it deserves further investigation." Night Mist explained.
"Then let me do it. I'll watch Princess Celestia while she sleeps and report whatever I see to you." offered Twilight Sparkle.
"I would prefer to do it myself. If you miss something important I might not find out why she keeps becoming sick."
"I'll get Rarity to do it then. She's very observant."
"That still won't cut it. This is something I need to be one hundred percent sure of. I'm very grateful for all you've done so far, but I have to insist on doing the investigation personally now. Having a witness reporting to me is not as reliable as being there in pony."
"Alright fine," Twilight Sparkle relented, "In that case I'll tell the guards to let you into her chambers."
"Actually, I don't want you to do that either."
"What!? Are you serious!? Do you really think you can sneak past royal guards?!" Twilight whispered loudly.
"Try to understand; whoever is causing Princess Celestia's condition, assuming it is being caused by anypony, is most likely closely associated with her or the castle. It could be a guard, one of the wizards, or even a servant. The more ponies know about this stake-out the more likely the culprit will too, and that would be bad."
"Should I at least tell Princess Celestia you're going to be spending the night in her room?"
Night Mist's heart nearly stopped at the thought of Princess Celestia discovering him hiding in her chambers.
"Um, yes, yes you should tell her. But be sure not to tell anypony else okay?"
"I'm not going to lie, it would be extremely funny if you didn't tell her and she caught you," Sharp Wing laughed.
"I can explain! Don't send me to the moon!" giggled Frazzle Spark.
Sharp Wing and Frazzle Spark might have felt bad about their taste in humor if it hadn't been too dark for them to see the color drain from the faces of both Night Mist and Twilight Sparkle.
"Right," Night Mist said with a nervous laugh, "We will most certainly be telling the princess about the plan. Worst case scenario some of the guards might know about it too."
"I'm going to go tell her about it right now," Twilight Sparkle said numbly before she departed from the room.
Frazzle Spark's horn glowed red and then orange in order to light all the candles in the room again.
"So I guess we're going to buy a whole lot of coffee for you?" asked Sharp Wing.
Night Mist didn't hesitate to get revenge on his friends for embarrassing him in front of Twilight Sparkle.
"Or enough for all of us, in case you two want to help me watch the beautiful and gorgeous ruler of Equestria as she sleeps," he suggested slyly.
Now that the room was lit Night Mist had the satisfaction of seeing his friends blush.
"No that's okay, I'm sure you can handle it on your own," Sharp Wing muttered.
"I'm gonna go order thirty cups of coffee," squeaked Frazzle Spark as he quickly walked out of the room.
Night Mist went out another door as Sharp Wing followed Frazzle Spark out. He was spared from dwelling on the outward appearance of Princess Celestia by observing his surroundings. He stood on the marble floors in the main hall of the castle. The scent of food fit for royalty lingered in the air, causing his stomach to rumble. It was dinner time, which meant everypony in the castle would be eating, including Princess Celestia. Now would be the ideal time to find her bedroom and find a good hiding spot for the stake-out.
As he ascended the stairs at the end of the hallway he wondered what he would do if he ran into royal guards. Frazzle Spark had said he was the most famous detective in Equestria. Perhaps that might help in convincing them to let him pass? Maybe as a backup plan, sneaking past them would be preferable.
To his surprise, Night Mist found that he was the only one around. Ahead of him were the doors to the tower where Princess Celestia's personal chambers would be. Could the guards all be eating as well? If so, he would have to point out the lapse in security to the princess. Granted, guarding the bedroom when she wasn't there might be overkill, but in her condition it would be far too easy for an assassin to wait in her bedroom for her return.
By now he had climbed the stairs and was now entering the bedroom. It was dark, but Night Mist could make out the queen sized bed with curtains, a night stand, a book case, a door that must have led to the bathroom, and a larger one that most likely revealed a balcony. Surely he had over-estimated the issue of guards. No sooner than that thought had crossed his mind he was abruptly encased in a pink magic bubble and lifted up into the air.
"I can explain! Don't send me to the moon!" he said frantically.
"Save your breath. I know why you're here," growled a voice from somewhere in the room.
Night Mist felt his breath catch in his throat. It was a stallion's voice that had spoken, not Princess Celestia's.
Night Mist spun around in his spherical prison to face his captor. What he found instead was a platoon of royal guards. One of them, a solidly build white unicorn with a dark blue mane was using his horn to magically suspend Night Mist in the air.
"You're going to pay for whatever you've been doing to the Princess." snarled the unicorn.
Night Mist breathed a sigh of relief. It was a trap for a culprit, not a detective.
"Shining Armor, the captain of the royal guard, it's in honor to meet you in pony. I had no idea your magical force fields were as good at capturing as they are at protecting," Night Mist greeted his captor coolly.
"Save your flattery, it will get you nowhere. If you don't tell me how to undo what you've done to our princess you'll find my force fields are even better at squeezing then protecting and capturing," Shining Armor shot back just as smoothly.
Night Mist didn't let the threat faze him. All he had to do was explain himself and everything would be okay.
"Sorry to disappoint you gentlecolts, but you've got the wrong stallion. I'm a detective you see. I'm investigating the cause of our beloved Princess's disease. And, I might add, squeezing me to a pulp would do both me and her no good whatsoever," Night Mist retorted evenly.
"Oh really? If you're one of the good guys as you say, why did you beg me not to send you to the moon a moment ago?" questioned Shining Armor with a raised brow.
Night Mist made a mental note to kill Sharp Wing and Frazzle Spark for making him edgy about entering Princess Celestia's chambers. If there was one thing he hated it was losing his cool in front of others. It certainly wasn't helping his case right now.
"To be frank, I was a tad nervous about entering the private chambers of Princess Celestia. I neglected to tell her I would be investigating in here," he explained.
"Well that's rather convenient. If I were to ask Princess Celestia about you would she even know who you are?"
"Actually, your sister Twilight Sparkle is telling her about me as we speak. She can vouch for my authenticity as a detective."
"In that case, would you have any objection to my colts guarding you while I go ask her?"
"Not at all, just be discreet though. I'm trying to keep my investigation a secret from the majority of the castle residents."
Shining Armor stared down his captive. Night Mist held his gaze. Without another word Shining Armor briskly left the room. Still encased in the force field, Night Mist turned his attention to the guards.
"I would like you all to be discreet about this as well. The more ponies know about my investigation the more likely the culprit will too."
The guards glanced at each other; as if unsure they should be talking to the prisoner.
"If Shining Armor says you're telling the truth then we'll keep quiet," one of them said.
After Night Mist waited in the force field for what seemed like forever, Shining Armor returned to lower Night Mist to the ground and set him free.
"My sister seems to trust you, so I guess I do too," he informed Night Mist.
"I'm glad we've come to an understanding. It was clever of you to set a trap while everypony else was eating dinner by the way."
"It was worth a shot. If you need any help with your investigation just let me know."
Shining Armor turned to address his guards.
"Return to your posts. I'm granting the detective full access to the castle, so don't prevent him from entering any room."
"Thank you," said Night Mist with a courteous nod.
Within a minute he was alone in the bedroom. After poking around a bit he discovered that the bookcase was heavy and solid enough for him to climb on top of. From the top of the bookcase he had a pegasus' eye view of the room. Now all he had to do was get some dinner, retrieve his coffee, come back, and wait.