//------------------------------// // 226. The Loss of Faith - Part 9 // Story: Blaze the Pony Tale // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// The train arrived shortly after 1 o’clock, and an escort of guards met Twilight and her friends at the station. They were taken straight to the castle, and received by Luna, Cadance, and Sombra. Seeing her sister-in-law brought a smile to Twilight’s face that she hurried forward, appearances be damned, and the two of them smiled before… “Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” It brought smiles to Spike and the others to see Twilight’s spirits lifted as they approached as well, and Sombra welcomed them, “It is good to see you all, my friends, in light of recent… tensions.” “Hiya Prince Sombra!” Cheese bounced forward to shake Sombra’s hoof, much to the dark gray alicorn’s bewilderment. “We’re doing great, are you doing great? You look great, but are you doing great, is the question-” “Cheese Sandwich!” Blueblood hurried forward and levitated the party pony away before facing Sombra and rigidly apologizing, “Please excuse Cheese Sandwich, Your Majesty. That was verily inappropri-” Sombra raised a hoof, causing Blueblood to flinch into silence. “Blueblood, you needn’t be so formal. After all, seeing as how I’m married to your aunt, I guess that would make me…” Sombra made a hesitant smile and it suddenly got awkward as Blueblood saw where Sombra was going with this. He quickly cleared his throat, “That said, I… would actually like to get to know you a little. For instance, your aunt has spoken quite highly of you and the fact that you are a talented airship designer came up.” “Oh, well…” Blueblood rubbed the back of his head with his hoof, a little embarrassed but flattered all the same. “I did design all current airships produced by my company, New Heights Avionics.” Chuckling, Sombra gestured Blueblood to follow him, “Tell me more. The technological developments in today’s world have piqued my interests… nephew.” Following his uncle by marriage, Blueblood suddenly felt like a colt again, and it felt good. Cadance caught the smile on her Bluey’s face and it made her happy as she looked at Twilight and the rest of her friends. “Like Sombra said, it’s good to see you all-” “Indeed!” Luna cut in, her demeanor imperious, “Twilight Sparkle! My sister awaits you in her personal chambers.” Luna pointed up the stairs in the entry hall, towards the east wing, Twilight was apprehensive. Some part of her was begging to leave, to leave things as they are, to leave well enough alone. But she knew that was impossible now. But then a glaring question crossed her mind. “Where is… where is Midnight?” asked Twilight, and almost immediately, Luna and Cadance shared troubled looks. “I-is he alright? Did something happen?” Luna and Cadance both were unsure of what to say but Cadance decided to answer, knowing it would be better coming from her. “Twilight, um…? Midnight and Celestia. They… kind of had a falling out.” “Fallin’ out?” Applejack echoed as she stood with the others, all looking on in concern and confusion. “They had a fight `r sumpin’?” “It’s complicated,” Luna answered cryptically and sounding perhaps the slightest bitter. “Very complicated…” Looking from Luna to her old foal-sitter, Twilight was starting to worry that Cadance explained, “Right now, Midnight isn’t here. In fact, you all missed him and Shining Armor about an hour ago.” “Missed them?!” “Shining Armor?” “Where’d they go?” “What’s going on?” Twilight agreed with those questions, her pleading eyes on Candance, who went on. “Things have… Well, they’re not good right now, everypony. Short and to the point, there was an attack, a bad one. And ponies died.” The others shared troubled looks and whispers while Twilight stayed silent, her look urging Cadance to go on. “As far as we know, there was only survivor. She reported the incident to the closest authorities she could find and the news reached all the way here to Canterlot. Two things about this incident are troubling: “One, the attack was on an Energem Mine, its location secured and classified.” “What’s an Energem mine?” Pinkie asked. “Energems, my dear Pinkie,” Rarity answered, “are rare and extremely valuable precious stones that naturally host mana, the energy that composes magic. “There are a variety of Energems and they likewise yield a variety of magical properties. High-grade energems are often used as… batteries, for lack of a more eloquent term, to fuel technologies, such as power grids for the larger cities of Equestria.” All eyes gaped at Rarity, who appeared to have been channeling Twilight just now. “What? I make it my business to be well informed on precious stones,” Rarity beamed, causing a few chuckles among her friends. “Alright, so an energem mine was attacked,” Spike gathered, “what’s the big whoop?” “The big whoop, Spike, is that every precaution and measure was taken to protect the mine and its location,” Cadance reminded. “But it’s the second thing about the attack that truly has us on edge… The attackers were changelings!” *GASP* The collective gasps were bad enough but then Twilight put two and two together as she realized in fear, “Wait… Don’t tell me- Cadance, don’t tell me Midnight and Shining Armor have gone to the mine!!” “Shining Armor volunteered to lead an expedition to the mine in the hopes of uncovering answers,” Luna responded. “He asked Midnight to accompany him, and Midnight obliged.” “I don’t like it anymore than you do, Twilight,” Cadance walked up to Twilight and hugged her with her wings, holding her close like she did when her sister-in-law had been a filly. Cadance shuddered, Twilight could feel her old foal-sitter’s worry was as great as her own, and she heard it in her voice as Cadance said, “In fact… I’m scared! Scared of what they might encounter, of what could happen!” Cadance broke the hug and stepped back but this time her face wore a smile that was hopeful, “But I believe in them. I believe that they are both capable and skilled protectors and as dangerous as it might be, I believe they will come home soon, safe and sound. Because that’s the best I can hope for in this situation.”  Cadance’s words did scare Twilight just a bit but they had the intended effect of alleviating her heart of the worry she was feeling, giving her hope as well. At that moment, Luna cleared her throat. “As I said before, Twilight. My sister awaits you in her chambers.” “Alright, I’m going,” Twilight made for the stairs and Spike moved to follow, only for Luna to bar his way with her wing. “Wha- Hey!” Spike protested while giving Luna an indignant look. “My apologies, Spike,” Luna’s tone was inarguable, her eyes narrow, “But my sister would speak with Twilight, alone...” Spike looked worriedly at Twilight, but she smiled encouragingly at him. “It’s okay, Spike. I’ll see you in a little while.” “In the meantime, everypony,” Cadance announced to the others, “how `bout we, um… Oh! I know, I have some films we could watch in the castle’s private home-theater!” “Ooh! I’ll make the popcorn!” “I’ll get the cola!” The others looked to Twilight, who nodded and said, “Go on. I’ll catch up with you all later.” “Twilight…?” Spike had a bad feeling, but Fluttershy placed a wing on his shoulder. “I’m sure things will be okay, Spike,” she assured him, “Twilight’s just going to talk things out with Princess Celestia.” “Let’s watch a Daring Do movie!” “Forget it, I wanna check out that new Power Ponies/Bronco Busters crossover flick that just came out!”   “Why not tha’ biographical on Buffalo Bull an’ Calamity Mane?” Spike ignored the choosy bickering and looked to Twilight again, who smiled as if there were no big deal. “I’ll be okay! Go enjoy a show, Spike.” Seeing the brave face Twilight was putting on, Spike tried to do the same with a hesitant smile, forcing as much encouragement as he could into it. “Come, Twilight,” Luna stepped past her up the stairs, “I will accompany you.” Twilight looked one more time at Spike, who gave her a thumb’s up, and she smiled while thinking, Sometimes I wish I could give thumbs’ up to my friends. She found herself standing before the doors to Princess Celestia’s private chambers, Luna to the side. Twilight was hesitant and almost raised her hoof to knock. “She is expecting you,” Luna dissuaded her. “Just go in when you’re ready.” Twilight looked at Luna and in the Moon Princess she saw fear and worry. “I’ll leave you to it, then.” Luna started going down the hall when- “Luna!” She stopped and peered over her shoulder to Twilight, concerned as she asked, “…What happened between your sister and Midnight?” Luna furrowed her brows, obviously bitter about something, but then her face softened as she hesitantly met Twilight’s eye with a sigh. “That’s for you and her to talk about… But Twilight?” Luna turned to face her completely, with crestfallen eyes, “I don’t imagine for a moment that your discussion will be easy, but… Please. Try not to judge her too harshly.” And she left it at that as Luna turned and walked away, leaving a nervous Twilight to look up at the doors again. Her heart was starting to beat a little faster so she took a deep breath while using Cadance’s calming technique though it hardly helped. No turning back. She opened the doors and took in the familiar sight of her old teacher’s bedroom. Although it apparently had been enlarged with just enough extra-dimensional space and the original bed was replaced with a bigger one, presumably for Celestia and her husband Sombra. There was a wardrobe with Sombra’s red crystal cluster cutie-mark on it, as well as a desk with a crystal lamp. And on the walls were dozens of framed pictures. Twilight saw some that made her smile and remember. The day she was accepted into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and became Celestia’s personal protégé, Celestia bestowing Shining Armor with the rank of Captain of the Royal Guard and Twilight and their parents there beaming with pride for her brother, Twilight honoring Twilight, her friends, and Midnight.   The Past Midnight!   The one that she met in Ponyville, the one who never got his cutie-mark, the one who died trying to go home. She reached up to that photo, her heart aching as she wondered, How much of you is left…? Stepping back from the walled picture, Twilight felt her hoof knock something aside, and she looked, surprised to see Celestia’s royal wares carelessly strewn about. Her golden hoof-slippers, her regalia, even her crown! She followed their trail and looked to see the doors were open to the balcony outside and through the gossamer curtains she could make out the shape of her teacher. Gulping, Twilight approached, mentally pushing the curtains aside and she was surprised yet again! There she was, Celestia moping on the balcony rail almost like a pouting filly, but it was her mane! No longer an ethereal pastel rainbow shroud flowing in a non-existent wind, it hung limp, opaque instead of shimmery, and slightly bedraggled. Twilight raised a hoof and was about to say something yet she didn’t know what to say! She felt like an intruder, like she’d walked in on a group of mourners. She began to fidget, trying to think of what to do, what to say, should she even say anything? She was expected, after all, but- “Hello, Twilight…” “Eep!” Twilight flinched as Celestia stood up and turned to face her. Never had Twilight seen somepony who’d looked so defeated. “Um… Hello, Princess!” Twilight squeaked out, unable to say what was on her mind as she looked upon Celestia. Her eyes were red from crying, her fanciful eyelashes were out of place, her coat was a little mussed and stained from tears, her feathers were ruffled, and the way her hair hung like moth-eaten curtains framing her face, Twilight also realized that Celestia was afraid! “I- Uh…!” Twilight didn’t even know where to start. “You have questions,” Celestia sighed as she gestured Twilight inside. Twilight backed up so that Celestia could walk in and she watched as Celestia lit her horn and conjured a table, cushions to sit on, and a pot of tea with a couple teacups. She even included cream and sugar. She invited Twilight to sit with her, and once they’d settled and both had their tea… “Princess Celestia, I… I don’t even know what to ask,” Twilight spoke, her voice a tad shuddery and worried about saying the wrong thing. “Or where to start! Midnight, this-this Brotherhood, and… and your signatures on those papers! How… how could you ever condone such actions?! How could you even allow Midnight to make an organization that takes the law into its own hooves?!” “…Twilight, Midnight did not create the Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods,” Celestia responded with a heavy heart. “I did.” That shook Twilight to the core, as she struggled to find the words, “Wh-  I don’- Why?!” “…Because Equestria needs individuals like the Evening Hoods,” Celestia’s demeanor changed. It made Twilight wary, as Celestia stood up and levitated her crown, looking at it but not really looking at it. “My mane wasn’t always this soft and gentle colored rainbow, you know. It used to be just pink, that sort of pink you see when the sun’s rays begin to peer over the horizon. But then the Whisperer happened, and my sister fell victim to its lies. “Not truly her fault however, given how poor of a sister I was to Luna in those days. The history books will tell you that when Nightmare Moon appeared, I acted quickly and wielded the Elements of Harmony to thwart her plans to plunge the world into eternal night. But you see, Twilight, history is written – or unwritten – by the victors…” “…What do you mean?” Twilight was mystified. “I did not immediately resort to the elements to stop my corrupted sister. I tried to reach her, to convince her to stop her madness on her own! My hopes of trying to reach my sister allowed her to subject the world to months of darkness. All the world, enwrapped in a cold and black embrace, every pony, every creature, blinded to the dangers that like to hide in the dark. “Only after Star Swirl made me realize the mounting casualties did it finally get through to me the harsh and bitter reality: My nation, my subjects, were in danger, and as Princess I had to put them before my own wants… I faced Nightmare Moon in battle, hoping I could overpower her and stop her myself. “But I held back… Despite what her envy and the Whisperer had turned her into, she was still my little sister! And her choices had also been the result of my own vanity… Nightmare Moon struck a critical blow, sending me crashing into the Castle of the Two Sisters. It was then I saw them and as Nightmare Moon was fast approaching to finish me off, my duty and perhaps even my own self-preservation finally overwhelmed my emotions and hopes to save my sister… and I used the Elements of Harmony to stop her. “But instead of purifying her of the evil that had taken her, I had condemned my sister to a thousand years of imprisonment. For even though she had been transformed into a force of evil, she had still been connected to the Elements! My wielding their powers against another connected to them created a disharmony in their magic, and as if the elements themselves were punishing me as much as they did her, they imprisoned her instead of setting her free… And if that weren’t enough, as if adding insult to injury, my mane was colored the way it is today. “A constant reminder of my failure…” That reminder curtained Celestia’s face, preventing Twilight from seeing her teacher’s expression but feeling her sorrow. “But… what does this have to do with Midnight? And the Brotherhood?” “It planted the seeds of what would become the Brotherhood," responded Celestia, "For you see, Twilight, in the years after I had banished my sister, I barely held on. Were it not for Star Swirl being there to help me, I would have broken and faltered in my royal duties. But time eventually caught up with Star Swirl… for even an archmage as gifted and wise as he could not delay the inevitable. His time came. And I was alone… “It had been almost a hundred years after my sister’s imprisonment, and then to lose Star Swirl, my mentor, the closest thing I’d ever had to a father, the last family I had left! I fell into a state of mourning, perhaps the deepest and most painful depression I’d ever felt in my life. So, I trusted the day-to-day duties of running the nation to my closest advisors. To insure they’d have the proper authority, I established the Aristocracy, its members Dukes and Duchesses, each charged to oversee specific matters and concerns. But during that period when I was so wrapped up in my pain and grievances, things in Equestria took a turn for the worse… “Crime. Corruption… the seeds that grow into the worst enemy any nation can have, those within its borders.” Those words struck a chord as Twilight remembered the lecture he gave to Twinken’s class. “The greedy and the crooked took advantage of my lack of vigilance during my depression,” Celestia went on, the bitter memories running through her mind. “A crime wave swept the nation like a devastating oil spill, slowly but ever so surely. Bandits, corrupt lords and authorities, crime of all kinds attacked Equestria like a cancer. The Aristocracy finally got through to me and showed me how grave the situation was becoming. Social order and security was almost non-existent, nopony felt safe anywhere. It was exactly what I needed to help me out of my funk. “I took a proactive approach, trying my best first to heal the wounds before attacking the disease. But corruption can go deeper than you realize, Twilight. My courts and judicial systems became ineffective in holding criminals accountable. Bribery and blackmail reached even the most honorable of ponies. Evidence was made illicit, witnesses threatened into silence, keepers of law bribed to look the other way… “Back then, it was much harder to run this country. No trains or airships for faster transportation, messages delivered via pegasus mail, which made those couriers vulnerable to attack during their deliveries, too many cities and towns to send adequate forces to help enforce the law and keep the peace! For as many as the E. U. P. amounted, they were still outnumbered by the criminal element… and outmaneuvered. “The Aristocracy begged me to establish martial law, to take a more militaristic approach, but I knew that to resort to iron hoofed tactics would only worsen the situation. I had come to realize that while we stood by our honor the enemy we were fighting was not limited to such virtues. In fact, they preyed upon it, they used our honor against us! “Taking the measures the Aristocracy advocated would lead me down a path similar to what Sombra had taken when he fell victim to the Whisperer, and I realized doing things the honorable way, the legal way, were not enough. And so… “ When Celestia stalled, apparently trying to find the right words, Twilight asked, “Is that when you decided to make a group that acted outside the law?” “The Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods was always meant to be a force of good, unseen protectors that watch from the shadows in order to keep alive the light of hope,” Celestia sighed with a nod. “Since enforcing the law in a legitimate manner wasn’t enough, I chose to found an organization to enforce the law by acting outside the law. My first move was finding the right pony to lead this unconventional form of law enforcement. I needed somepony with honor but also a willingness to make hard choices and be content to act in a gray area. I turned my attention to the Shetland Isles, the home of the Lunar Ponies. I discovered them about ten years after I had imprisoned their Mother of the Night, and I cannot tell you the time and effort it took for me to earn their trust. “I approached them under cover of darkness and met with their matriarch. I spoke with her at length, discussing the fragile state of my nation, told her of my idea of a covert organization that would enforce the law without being limited by it, and I begged her… I got down on my belly and I begged her, for somepony among her Lunobi warriors to lead this organization of mine. “She must’ve thought I was sincere, and perhaps even liked the fact that the Princess of the Sun was begging at her hooves. But she obliged with my request, and introduced me to her nephew, Red Ryder. Red was a proud and dignified warrior, skilled in combat, and a master of moving about unseen, talented in misdirection, using discretion, and a keen mind as well. Among the finest Lunobi in the Shetlands. He was exactly what I needed! “With his aunt’s blessing, we returned to Equestria, where my first orders for Red was to recruit individuals he felt could be of great use to the Brotherhood. He gathered some extraordinary individuals, not just ponies but also zebras, minotaurs, even griffons and dogs. Once he’d assembled a sufficient number of members, I spoke with them, told them exactly what they were signing up, what it would mean to wear the Hood. “The Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods was to be a force of good that operates using questionable methods, some would be seen as wrong but the ends would justify the means. They would bring hope to the nation while instilling fear into those who threaten it from the inside. Those who use dishonorable means to twist law and bend it into working in their favor, disgracing law and what it stands for as a whole. “They performed admirably. They followed the code Red had established, to bring down the corrupt, to thwart crime, and they never overstepped their bounds. Yes, they had to take lives every now and then but they saved countless more doing what they did. And Red… he waged war against the malaise that poisoned Equestria! He toppled lords and crime bosses, destroyed the empires they built with crime and murder as their tools. Red brought hope and helped pave the way to a better future for this nation. But as the years wore on, I began to see something else in Red… He was getting older, slower! If he carried on, the obligation would likely have killed him. I also noticed how living two different lives for the Hoods began to wear them down and affect those close to them. Thankfully, they did exactly what I’d hoped they’d do: They stopped crime dead in its tracks, no more did criminals and corrupt figures of authority oppress the citizens, and the traditional law enforcements and courts were able to keep the peace. “I commended Red and his Hoods for all that they’d done, and then released them from their service, deciding the Brotherhood was no longer necessary. They were free to return to their normal lives and devote themselves to their own dreams and their loved ones. Red however warned me… Greed and hate and envy don’t just go away. They cool but continue to simmer until finally the fires of corruption find more wood to burn.” “So then… what happened after that?” asked Twilight, enthralled by the story. “Red was right,” Celestia sighed with a morose shrug. “For a time, Equestria enjoyed the peace the Brotherhood had worked so hard to rebuild. But as the decades passed, the greedy and corrupt began to forget of the hooded protectors who watch from the shadows, waiting to strike down the criminal element and punish the guilty. “Criminal activity spiked and I chose to act just as quickly by reforming a new generation of the Brotherhood. In just a few years, they did their predecessors proud, and again crime had all but stopped. But again, I released the new Hoods from service so they could return to their normal lives. And again… crime back so the Brotherhood came back.” “This… sounds like it became a cycle,” Twilight commented. “That’s exactly what it became, Twilight,” Celestia nodded. “We are sentient creatures with the gift of Free Will, a gift that is sadly abused by the selfish and immoral. Crime continued, and I kept bringing in new generations of the Brotherhood, but that came to an end in the mid-Seventh Century since Nightmare Moon’s defeat. “Like the criminals and monsters they hunted, the Brotherhood was forced to adapt and evolve with each new generation. A branch of the Brotherhood established a base of operations in Trottingham just as they entered their Industrial Era when the steam engine was invented, along with many more technological wonders. That was both a bright and dark time for Trottingham… On one hoof, they were paving the way for a techno revolution that would be the building blocks of something amazing for all of Equestria. On the other however, the criminal element became especially prevalent in Trottingham, particularly in the slums an alleyways of the Graypaddock district. But it was around that time when occurred the darkest chapter of the Brotherhood’s history…” Twilight hung on every word, for as questionable as it all sounded, the history behind the Brotherhood, she couldn’t help but find it so fascinating. But the look on Celestia’s face forewarned her that this part of the story was going to be hard to hear. “The Evening Hoods always stood by a code in how they carry out their covert operations of spying, gathering intelligence, rescuing those in danger, and yes, Twilight, in assassination. But no system is perfect, and in time it can fall into decay. And it was so that an Evening Hood lost her way… She gave into her anger and hatred and perverted everything she had been taught and what the Brotherhood stood for by going on a killing spree. While all records of this incident were sealed, the murders were so prolific they are remembered to this day. “You would know them as the murders committed by Beck the Tramper.” Twilight was blown! She’d read of the grisly tales of Beck the Tramper, a serial killer who’d targeted stallions of ill repute, particularly studs who used and abused mares. “You mean to tell me… one of the most horrifying murderers in Equestria history, she- She was a Hood?!” “The mare who became known as Beck the Tramper twisted the code of the Brotherhood to suit her own vengeful desires, excusing her atrocities by hiding behind the Brotherhood’s purpose in enforcing the law in ways the legitimate law enforcement could not,” Celestia nodded, remembering that terrible time. “But really, she was an emotionally scarred pony who should never have been taken into the fold when she should have gotten help to overcome her demons. The leader of the Brotherhood at that time, a very headstrong but brilliant-minded pegasus mare named Eagle Flight, tracked the rogue Hood down. Like me before her, Flight tried to bring her wayward sister Hood back to the light, and like me she failed… Flight was forced to slay the mare who is remembered to this day as Beck the Tramper, but that bleak and horrific chapter in the Brotherhood’s history was too much. In order to protect the Brotherhood, I forced the Trottingham authorities not to reveal the murderer’s identity, and I decided to abolish the Brotherhood entirely.” “But then… how is it Midnight leads the Brotherhood now?” Twilight asked. Celestia fell silent for a few long moments, having dreaded this part of the story, but knowing the time was now, even if it was ill timed. “…Midnight has suffered, Twilight. Suffered more than most ponies alive, done more for this nation than any guard today has ever done in their entire careers,” Celestia explained, her head hung with guilt. “And I contributed to his suffering… As you know, after Midnight became an alicorn as a ten year-old colt, he regained his memories of his past life. The complicated details aside, I knew that in order to preserve history, as Midnight knew it, things had to be ready for the circle to be complete. I made everypony but his parents and Shining Armor forget of Midnight’s existence and hid him and his parents away on a country estate where he spent the next five years studying and training to prepare him for whatever roles he would play in the future.   “But that isolation made them vulnerable! An assailant captured Midnight and one of the colts his father had chosen to train alongside him, a colt Midnight had befriended and come to love like a brother. The assailant tortured them and Midnight’s friend, a good-hearted pegasus, Flash Sentry, was murdered before his very eyes… As if that weren’t enough, the assailant attacked Midnight and his family in the estate where they were living, and she cast the curse that sent Faerie Tail into a dreamless sleep from which we cannot awaken her. Midnight’s father, Ignitus called to me for help, and we brought the family back to Canterlot in secret. Despite my best mages and scholars and doctors, nopony could come up with a solution to Faerie Tail’s condition. So, Ignitus left his sons in my care to track down the monster who had cursed his wife and the mother of his sons, and we haven’t heard from him ever since. “Without his father there, and his mother invalid, Midnight felt lost. He dove into his training like a mad pony, as if determined to immerse himself so deep that the pain would wash away. It didn’t. It became even worse when one night I came to Midnight’s room in the castle and found his brother’s cradle empty!” “…That must have been when he took Twinken to Ponyville,” Twilight realized aloud. “So that Twinken would be there at the orphanage, where Midnight’s Past Self would meet him!” “Yes…” Celestia began to shed tears. “That was exactly the explanation he gave me when I almost had a panic-attack. But that night broke him, Twilight… He no longer cared about training, about himself, he only cared that his family was broken up! And he hated himself for attributing to it by giving up his brother to preserve the timeline… For days that stretched into weeks, he secluded himself in his room, staring out the window for hours on end, he hardly slept, barely ate, and a few times I heard him wake up screaming from nightmares… “I just couldn’t take it anymore! I had to do something, something that would rouse Midnight out of his own depression, having been there myself! I thought it over and decided he needed a purpose, something to give him fulfillment, and although I was hesitant when it crossed my mind, I chose to talk to him and I ‘mentioned’ the Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods. My talk didn’t exactly lift his spirits but my ‘casual comment’ had the intended effect. I laid a few simple clues that led Midnight to discovering the secret history of the Brotherhood. He came to me, curious about it, we spoke at length about the Brotherhood, and I told him everything I just told you in regards to the organization. Including the bloodstained pages of its history where Beck the Tramper was concerned. “Midnight offered to lead a new generation of the Brotherhood to carry out in secret what was expected of him as a future alicorn prince. This gave him something to live for after having had what was most dear to him taken, and for several years he led his agents well and did his predecessors proud.” “…Did his predecessors proud?” Celestia’s exuberance quickly deflated in response to Twilight’s echoing of her words. She timidly turned to look at Twilight, the look on her former pupil’s face was incredulous and upset, “Are you kidding me?! Princess Celestia! This- this… secret police… vigilante group… While I don’t condone it I can understand why you created it, but- You… you manipulated Midnight!” “Twilight, that’s not why I-” Celestia tried to explain but Twilight cut her off. “Any good intentions you might have had are irrelevant! You took advantage of an emotionally damaged teenager and made him the leader of a band of killers!” “No, Twilight…” Celestia dreaded to reveal this truth, unsure whether it would make it sound better or worse, but Twilight had to know. “The agents of Midnight’s Brotherhood, they don’t kill for any reason except if someone is in immediate danger or in self-defense.” “But- But the dossiers!” Twilight didn’t understand what Celestia was saying. “The criminals labeled ‘eliminated’, all of them with your signature!” “Criminals, murderers, the most dangerous individuals who bribe and blackmail the courts and authorities in order to bend the law in their favor,” sighed Celestia bitterly, “they lie, they steal, they threaten, they kill. There is nothing they won’t do to, no low to which they won’t stoop, and such individuals can reach so far and deep that it would surprise you. “I never sanction these assassinations lightly, Twilight, and they are always a last resort…” “But you just said that no one in the Brotherhood carries out assassinations,” Twilight pointed out. “I said the agents of Midnight’s Brotherhood do not kill unless they are defending someone or themselves,” Celestia corrected. She let those words sink in as Twilight puzzled the meaning behind them… when her eyes slowly peered up at Celestia as she began to suspect the truth. And so with a heavy heart, Celestia confirmed the truth, “It’s Midnight, Twilight... Midnight is the sole assassin in his generation of the Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods.” “…Why?!” Twilight asked, her voice shuddery and horrified, “What- I don’t- I… don’t understand!” “I told you, Twilight,” Celestia’s face was now streaming with tears. “Midnight has suffered. But he has also sacrificed… “When Midnight and I first discussed his formation of a new Brotherhood, he told me… that he alone would carry out any missions that involved assassination. When I asked why, he said because he didn’t want the agents he would lead to live with blood on their hooves.” This bittersweet truth shook Twilight to her core. It was selfless and at the same time so damaging! “He said that he would never ask his agents to do what he would not be unwilling to do himself, but he could never ask this of them. He chose to bear that burden alone… and it has worn him down.” “Worn him down…?” Twilight was afraid to ask. “We… we had an argument this morning,” Celestia held her face in her hooves, “about so many things! I was unfair to him, I’d taken him for granted, saddled him with all the hard choices, and- And- Oh Twilight…!” Never had Twilight seen her teacher like this, this low, this torn up, and yet Twilight felt so conflicted, in wanting to sympathize contrasting with a budding resentment. Compassion warring with judgment. She sighed and conjured a tissue, levitating it out for Celestia and clearing her throat.  Lowering her hooves, Celestia noticed the tissue. As well as the mixed-up expression on Twilight’s face. Grateful either way, she accepted the gesture. *SNORT/HONK* Twilight shrank back in disgust of the dripping thing as Celestia levitated it back… only for Twilight to incinerate it with a spell. “I wore him down, Twilight," Celestia went on, Twilight looking her teacher with trepidation, "I hurt him...  It was something I vowed never to happen. “What do you mean by... you vowed?”  Twilight asks, her eyes fluttering with curiosity. “You know about…” The princess of the sun choked up a little, “Sunset Shimmer.” “Yes. Midnight told us about her. How she was bullied, then she made a big mistake. When she made that mistake…  she was...” Twilight spoke hesitantly, her voice soft with concern. “After she… Well, after what happened..." Celestia sniffled as the memories brought back those old aches in her heart, “After her incident… Oh Twilight! The news took the story and what they did with it, I just-!!  I… I…. I should have capped the media!" “Capped the media?”  echoed Twilight, her eyes narrowed at the idea of hiding more information. “Yes, Twilight," Celestia nodded as she took a napkin on the table and dabbed her tears. "I understand you don’t like the idea of holding information back, but it would have been better. The media took the story, and blew it out of proportion. The things they called her, a traumatized little filly who'd been so terrified she unknowingly sparked a magic surge that went so wrong... Monster. Killer. Demon... “I've had many students over the centuries, Twilight, but not all of them found their way like you did...  I felt responsible for what became of Sunset. For years after she ran away, I've wondered how I could have done things differently.  To this day, even with all of my resources, I have no idea what became of her. I don’t know where she is or if she is even alive. “After what happened, what she did... I swore to do better. To protect my students better, even if I had to resort to underhooved methods. I didn’t take on another student for about ten years.  Until shortly after that Summer Celebration.  Where Midnight became an Alicorn and then you earned your cutie-mark and I made you my personal student.  You and Midnight... even then, when you were just foals, you two had a special bond.”  Celestia smiled at those fond memories, Twilight couldn't help cracking a reminiscent smile of her own. “So I made myself a vow, Twilight. That I would do everything in my power, that you two would be able to return to each other safe and sound, and that your friendship would be untainted from any heartache.  But I wasn’t able to keep it Twilight.” The princess’s voice softened to a sorrowful whisper at the last words.  “I failed you… “You know all about how Midnight has suffered: his mother being cursed, his father leaving, and then having to leave his brother at the orphanage…  He suffered so much.  I failed him… He was hurt so badly. So badly that I feared he would lose his way, Twilight. I thought the best way to help him was to give him a purpose, so I introduced him to the Brotherhood. And... it worked, Twilight. He regained his resolve, his strength of heart, I... I thought everything was alright.” Twilight listened as Celestia sobbed, “It took what happened today for me to see just how much he has suffered. Not only from those tragedies, but also from me! What I did to him!”  “I still don’t understand though, Princess,” Twilight began to ask, her voice turning hard, “Why didn’t you tell me, about all this sooner? About the Brotherhood, about Midnight, about everything!? I’m not a child, Princess Celestia! Why didn’t you tell ME!?!” Twilight’s tone had become all but condemning. “...I didn’t want you to see just how much Midnight had suffered," Celestia responded shamefully, knowing it was no excuse, "You were always a curious filly, Twilight... I remember how one time you were assigned to give a two-page report on the Starswirl’s second law of magic." Celestia smiled at the memory was bittersweet in this moment, "You turned in a hundred-page report on that law throughout all known history.” "Stop delaying," Twilight demanded. “Twilight..." Celestia looked Twilight in the eye, "Had I told you any of these crimes, committed by these horrible ponies, could you honestly tell me you wouldn’t have looked into these crimes… or about how they stopped? Or how easily they were solved?” “Well, no, I…  I can’t tell you I wouldn’t have looked into them,” Twilight admitted, her eyes wandering as she pondered the scenario. “I feared that you would have found out," Celestia went on, "That you would have seen just how much… he was hurt. That the sweet colt that played with you and your brother was hurt and wasn’t the same anymore.” Her voice grew thicker with heartbreak and guilt as Celestia sobbed with heaving breaths, “I failed him, Twilight! I- I… I guess on some level I always knew that I had failed the both of you, that- That I failed my vow!  And-and I… I just didn’t want you to see it… So I hid everything from you. I guess… I just…. I didn’t want…  I just don’t know anymore-hore-hore…! “I didn’t want to admit to myself, Twilight, that-that I failed you. I failed you…  Both of you….  Even worse than when I failed Sunset...!!” Twilight didn’t know what to make of it, that her teacher had manipulated Midnight into this tangled business of spying and killing, stating it had been for his benefit when it seemed only to benefit the masses and Celestia herself, making Midnight and Twilight herself her excuse. "But why did you still keep me in the dark?!” Twilight demanded to know, her eyes brimming with tears of frustration. “Even when I became a princess! I need to know everything about our ponies, and what they are dealing with…  So why did you still keep all of this a secret from me?!”  Celestia hesitated to answer but forced herself to explain, “Because you just got Midnight back!  Oh Twilight….  It was as if everything was just fine, as though… As though I had kept my vow…  It felt like it had been back when you two were the same little colt and filly that played together… from before I hid Midnight away. You two were so happy! And… and you were safe, and I felt as if I had kept my vow. I felt everything was perfect, that everything was the way it should be! You two were together, Midnight was leading the Brotherhood, protecting Equestria and thwarting the Equestrian crime world. Everything was just fine. “…Until today, I never realized just how much I’d failed both of you until today! How much hurt I’d caused, and every time something went wrong, I-” The Princess of the Sun paused as she tried to calm herself, taking shuddery deep breaths, before finally, she admitted, “Something went wrong, and when it happened, I yelled at Midnight and laid all of the blame on him! It was unfair and selfish and-and I… Then when he told me that he told you everything, the feeling of failure that I was fighting for so long.  It grew worse and worse, until… It was only when someone I loved so dearly told me, that he wished that… that he’d never been reborn, that I realized how much I… that I…”  Twilight looked on as she realized what Celestia was telling her, as the white alicorn sobbed into her hooves, no longer able to meet her old student’s gaze. Twilight looked up from her. She stood up, never said a word, and left the room, leaving Celestia feeling lower than she’d ever felt before.