“What are the changelings planning?!”
“I don’t know, I-”
“How long before their next attack?”
“I don’t know that either, but-”
“What information have you leaked to the rest of your filthy kind?!”
“Please! I swear to you!”
Thorax was chained in a cell in the dungeons, several guards standing outside the cell, while a harsh and blinding light was kept aimed at the poor changeling, emitted from a magical device that nullified magic upon the subject its light was shined upon. For all Prince Sombra and Princess Luna knew, the tick would do anything or appear as anything to trick them while they carried out the interrogation.
“I am not here to cause any harm!” Thorax swore with a pleading voice. “I don’t serve the queen anymore!”
“Of course you don’t,” Luna narrowed her eyes at Thorax, “because your queen is dead!”
“What?! But that- …That can’t be!” Thorax stuttered, unable to wrap his mind around that grim statement.
“Until early this morning, Chrysalis has been our… guest, you might say,” Sombra brought up with a stern tilt of his head while raising his hoof towards the ceiling.
“But when we “asked nicely” that she share information with us concerning her soldiers’ attack on our mine, she chose to take the coward’s way out rather than comply. A shame… for her and you.”
“In other words, with Chryalis deceased, clearly your hive has new leadership, changeling!” Luna glared, Thorax cringing at the harshness of her tone. “So you’re going to tell us all that you know about your hive’s activities, their troop movements, anypony whose identities they’ve usurped and are posing as, whatever we can use against them! Or so help me…
“Your stay here in this lovely establishment can be as… unpleasant as it was for your queen!”
“But I don’t know anything!” Thorax insisted, scared out of his mind. “I’m not even working for the hive!”
“Don’t lie to us, insect!” Sombra growled, his eyes taking on a familiar greenish hue and purple miasma flowing out the corners of his eyes, “My apprentice, Midnight, along with Shining Armor and their team led an expedition to the mines to learn more information. They risked their lives – Some of them gave their lives! – to bring back intel that told us the changelings have a spy here in Canterlot!
“And here you are…”
“N-NO!! I’m not a spy!” Thorax begged, “I-I know you have no real reason to believe me, but please! I didn’t come to Canterlot to cause any harm!”
“Liar… LIAR!!! I have had it with your falsehoods!” Sombra lost it as he smashed the anti-magic lamp beaming at Thorax away and pinned the changeling painfully against the back wall of the cell, making him cry out in fear, helpless as he watched Sombra raise his hoof… and shadowy energy collected around it to form dark claws that he aimed right at Thorax’s face.
“Tell us what we want to know RIGHT NOW, or Goddess help me I will tear off your wings like the miserable little fly you are!”
Thorax cried out in terror, scrunching his eyes shut, but Luna saw this was getting out of hoof, and pulled her brother-in-law out of the cell, Thorax slumping to the floor and curling up in terror.
“Brother!” Luna admonished the dark gray alicorn, “Hasn’t what already happened with Chrysalis taught you anything?!”
“I wasn’t serious!” snarled Sombra, the dark magic in his eyes fading, “But the only way he’s ever going to talk is if we scare it out of him.”
“You looked like you were about to claw his eyes out!” Luna poked Sombra in the chest with her hoof, “And your own eyes looked all-too-similar as they were when you were the tyrant the Whisperer made you into!”
That observation caused Sombra to pause as he realized… he had felt that familiar rush that was dark magic, a dangerous power fueled by the worst side of themselves everypony has within. Shame washed away his frustration as he took a moment. Taking a deep breath, he calmed down, “I am… sorry, Luna. But this is becoming tiresome! This creature is our only lead on what the changelings are up to and it keeps trying to sell this ‘means no harm’ façade!”
“…Perhaps we should have a word with Spike,” Luna proposed with a gentle voice, “he spent time with this creature and it is clear he was aware of its true identity. While I would never suspect Spike to turn traitor, it is more likely the creature won him over with lies and there is a chance it told Spike something that could turn out to be useful.”
“That is true…” Sombra considered the idea before sighing, “So now what?”
“Celestia is beginning to lower the sun,” Luna brought up, “and perhaps we’ll have more success tomorrow after a good night’s rest.”
“…Is there a chance you could infiltrate the changeling’s dreams and learn anything?” suggested Sombra.
“Alas, I am only able to freely enter the dreams of ponies, Brother,” Luna shook her head no. “I can enter other creatures’ dreams but only if their subconscious allow me access. Forcing my way into their sleeping minds can damage their psyches, and after what happened today with Chrysalis I will not resort to that method.”
Sighing as he saw they were being left with fewer options, Sombra said, “I will speak with Spike, soon. But would you mind assuring Twilight and their friends that he’s not in trouble?
“I swear, the moment word reached them that Spike had been detained, several of them were on my back with complaints, especially from Rarity.”
“Of course, but Brother,” Luna placed a wing on Sombra’s shoulder in an almost intimate gesture.
“Just… don’t be hard on him. While Spike is clearly an excellent and steadfast assistant to Twilight, he is still after all a child.”
She then proceeded to leave the dungeons, leaving Sombra to regard Thorax with distaste. But as Sombra looked upon the disheartened changeling, he saw not a monster but one who seemed to have lost hope. No, it was an act. It had to be.
Sombra had lowered his guard once before an adversary, and he had sworn never again. Snorting in derision, he followed after Luna, whispering to the guards to maintain their vigilance.
The Dream Realm was ever a place of wonder unpredictable. Typically, it was like a shimmering void of stars where each star represented a sleeping mind, but with the proper knowledge and will, as she applied it, the scenario changed into a seemingly never-ending hall of doors. Upon each door was a pony’s cutie-mark, except for several here and there, representing how those younger ponies had yet to find that special talent they had and how it made them unique.
Luna could traverse these halls of dreams as quickly as a star flying across the night sky, though she was patient and allowed the doors to pass her by at a slower but constant pace, her awareness reaching to each door, sensing any that might lead to a pony dreaming something that was truly troubling to them.
Contrary to popular belief, Luna did not step into the dreams of every pony who was having a nightmare. Rather, if she sensed the dream was bad enough, she would first peer into it and observe the scenario and how the dreamer was experiencing it.
If the dreamer’s sleeping mind was under severe-enough stress only then would Luna interfere and help the dreamer. Nightmares of more common fears or problems minor Luna didn’t usually bother with, not because she was cruel, but she learned long ago that bad dreams were not necessarily a bad thing.
Rather, bad dreams put into pictures fears, anxieties, and problems a pony was having that could not be put into words. If a pony was truly willing, they could overcome these troubles besieging their resting minds and find them not so daunting in the waking world.
The sight of her little ponies walking taller after having found the courage to face their fears in their dreams and being better able to face their problems in the real world, it never ceased to make Luna’s heart swell with pride, like a proud mother.
After having been gone for a thousand years, Luna had returned surprised to see the watching over of dreams had actually been taken over by her lunar ponies of the Shetland Isles. No small feat since Dream-Walking was the rarest of all the Lunar Ponies’ gifts bestowed upon them by their Mother of the Night. When she’d been freed of the Nightmare, Luna had chosen to avoid the public eye by visiting her Lunar Ponies to see what had become of them after she was banished.
She could not have been prouder.
The Lunar Ponies had flourished and developed their own cultural identity and way of life. Their lunar earth ponies developed special crops and flowers that thrived on moonlight rather than sunlight, the lunar unicorns made cosmic art of stars and nebulas, their lunar pegasi fierce and devoted protectors the Shetland Isles, all led by a grand matriarch who was served by the mysterious Lunobi warriors. They had welcomed Luna like she’d never left.
But as much as she’d enjoyed living among them, her duties and her sister eventually recalled her back to the mainland, and she began her efforts of being a part of the nation’s leadership once more. Several lunar ponies insisted on accompanying her as her bodyguards, and they became the start of the Lunar Guard.
But as she sifted through the dreams of her little ponies, one instantly demanded her attention the moment she sensed it!
She looked upon it and saw the cutie-mark of a crescent moon facing up, almost enclosing a five-point star surrounded by five twinkles!
Midnight! Luna was overjoyed, for here was undeniable proof that their lost prince was not dead! She reached out to open the door-
AUGH!! Luna jerked her hoof back, having felt an awful stinging pain that left a lingering numbness in her fetlock. She gaped at the door to Midnight’s dream, shocked, for never in all her time she’d watched over the dreams of her little ponies had she denied like this!
What is the meaning of this…!?
More carefully this time, Luna reached out with her hoof as well as her magic to probe the door to Midnight’s dream. But again, even at the barest touch, Luna’s hoof was stung, this time not so painfully, while her magic felt like a body of water meeting a dam.
Curious… most curious.
Morning came and everypony had arrived for breakfast in the dining table, including Night Light and Velvet. They’d arrived yesterday evening, not long after Thorax was captured and Spike detained. They weren’t happy to hear about Spike, but were so relieved to see Shining Armor was alright and were concerned with Twilight’s emotional state. Entering the entry hall, they’d found the picture they’d given Spike and taken it to Twilight themselves, and were glad to see it had helped.
A little.
Her parents were also glad to catch up with their children’s friends this fine morning as everypony settled for breakfast and some servants brought in a fine spread.
Seeing this calm and pleasant atmosphere, Luna was reluctant to bring up what she had discovered and ruin everypony’s morning. But she knew this could not wait and it was better to do it now while everypony was together.
Just rip off the bandage, I believe the saying goes, Luna thought before she declared, “Take heart, my friends! I have good news!”
All eyes and ears turned to Luna as she explained, “Midnight is not dead! Last night, as I stood vigil over the dreams of Equestria, I found Midnight’s dream!”
“Midnight…?!” Twilight held her hoof over her heart, Cadance and Velvet hugging her as Velvet gently shushed so Luna could continue.
“Alas, my friends, there was some… problem.”
“Whattya mean, Your Highness?” Soarin asked first, “You just said Midnight’s alive, so…”
He drawled, not quite sure what to ask, so Luna stated, “Although I found the door to Midnight’s dream, I could not enter it. Never once in all my years of Dream-Walking and watching over the dreams of my little ponies has this ever happened to me before.”
“Dream-Walking? You mean… how you enter ponies’ dreams, do you, Your Majesty?” Night Light asked, intrigued by the concept.
“Indeed, good professor. Dream-Walking is a magical power I discovered sometime after I received my cutie-mark over a thousand years ago,” Luna cast a spell of illusion to provide visual aids to her explanation.
“As some of you may be aware, I am the patroness and creator of the Lunar Ponies, who regard me as their Mother of the Night. In the first century of the reign shared by my sister and I, I looked upon our kingdom and was disheartened to see colts and fillies in suffering. Foals who had lost their families or been abandoned, ran away from all manner of troubles, yet had no one to turn to for love and guidance.
“Meanwhile, I had become bitter to the ponies we ruled over for favoring my sister over me, as envy began to poison my heart. But it became worse when I learned that… I cannot have children.”
Everypony but Celestia and Sombra looked upon Luna with deep sympathy, while Sombra looked away with guilt.
“Denied love from my subjects and the joy of having my own children, I sought to solve both problems at once, as well as the problems of these lost and wayward foals. Over a period of weeks, I spirited away no less than fifty colts and fillies to an archipelago out in the Glistening Eastern Sea. This archipelago is known today as the Shetland Isles. It was there, after gathering all these foals, that I worked magic unlike any I had ever cast before or since. A ritual that allowed me to take in the gentle guiding glow of the moon, as well as my own essence, and share it with all these little ponies.
“That was the night I turned these foals into the first generation of the Lunar Ponies. However, my duties in Equestria left me little time to spend with them, though I always spent at least one week a month among my lunar ponies. I taught them to use their new gifts and gave them the tools they would need to build a new life on the Shetlands. They have done well for themselves and I am proud to call them my Children of the Night.”
“But… what does this have to do with Dream-Walking and Midnight?” Shining Armor asked, back on his feet but under doctor’s orders to take it easy while his bandaged wounds continued to heal.
“As you know, Midnight was sent back over a thousand years and travelled through time in an effort to get back home,” Luna went on, “and he was there! I did not see him but I later learned that Midnight was there the night I turned my adopted foals into the first Lunar Ponies. Midnight was affected by the ritual too, and developed some of the gifts of my Lunar magic. And as it turns out, my lunar ponies’ bloodlines extended to a few ponies of the mainland, and Midnight inherited that bloodline in his new life and regained is lunar pony powers once he became an alicorn and unlocked his memories of his past life.
“When I turned these foals into the first Lunar Ponies, I shared with them my talents and unique abilities. The powers to draw strength and energy from the moon, to control gravity, bend shadows to their will, and unleash a scream of power, along with a predatory nature that sharpened their senses, increased their strength, and gave them a taste for meat. But with only a few of them, ten out of the fifty to be exact, did I bestow the power of Dream-Walking.
“The reason I gave only a few among them this power is because Dream-Walking, while it can be used for good so too can it be used for terrible evil. It is not merely the power to enter ponies’ dreams, it is the power to trespass in their minds, learn their secrets. Worse yet, malignant Dream-Walkers can twist ponies’ dreams and damage their minds, and even render them insane… It is for that reason, even among the Lunar Ponies, Dream-Walking is one of the rarest of magical gifts- Nay, not a gift, but a privilege that is not to be abused. Any Lunar Ponies who discover they have been born with this power are immediately subject to training to become guardians of dreams, and disciplined so they do not come to abuse this power, to respect it and what it means to have it.
“Even I, the Princess of the Night, must take caution when Dream-Walking for I can do just as much harm to a pony’s sleeping mind as their own nightmares and fears can to me. I am able to freely enter the dreams of sleeping ponies, but as I said, never before has a pony’s dream ever denied me access. While I have found proof that Midnight is alive, this new development leaves me no less worried about his current status.”
Everypony shared looks and murmurings, troubled by what Luna was saying, until Celestia asked, “So then, my sister, have you any thoughts on how this can be overcome? Some way you can enter Midnight’s dream?”
“Under normal circumstances, my sister, I am able to freely enter anypony’s dreams,” Luna elaborated, “but these are clearly abnormal circumstances. Whatever has been done to Midnight, his mind is closed off from unwanted observers, and before you ask, no, I cannot resort to force.
“Even attempting to force my way into Midnight’s dreams could cause irreversible damage to his psyche.”
…
…
…
The silence that befell the dining room in response to Luna’s words and news was confusingly bittersweet. Especially for Twilight. She stood up from the table, her face obscured by her mane hanging like a curtain from her head hanging low, as she said, “I… I need to be alone.”
Everypony watched her leave, some of them, her parents, Pinkie, Cheese, Fluttershy, whimpering at how sad their friend was, and once Twilight was gone, Celestia stood up and hesitantly said, “Please, everypony. Finish your breakfasts and we can convene at a later time to discuss our next courses of action. I will… check upon Twilight.”
And once the Princess of the Sun had left, several pairs of eyes full of contempt directed their attentions to Sombra, and he gazed back uncomfortable to see they belonged to Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Thunderlane, and even Blueblood and Velvet.
“I know you disapprove but Spike’s actions cannot simply be overlooked,” Sombra maintained where he stood on the matter. “While I don’t think for a moment his intentions were ill, they are irrelevant next to the fact that he knowingly aided and abetted a changeling spy in our midst rather than turn it in. He will not be charged with anything but he must at the very least explain himself better than simply stating his misguided beliefs that this changeling is not a threat.
“All of you have helped protect Equestria at least once from threats just as serious as what we face now. If you cannot accept that I am trying to do the same, then perhaps it would be better for you to return to Ponyville.”
Sombra stood up from the dining table, about to leave when Rainbow Dash zipped over to get up in his face, “No offense, Your Majesty, but that’s a load of horseapples!”
“Rainbow Dash!” Luna glared a stink-eye at the rainbow-maned pegasus, “That is absolutely-”
Sombra raised a wing, telling Luna to calm down and his expression was unreadable but it seemed to goad Rainbow Dash into saying her piece.
“I mean- Yeah, Spike messed up and maybe he was… Well, I don’t wanna say ‘dumb’-”
“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity would not stand for her Spikey-Wikey to be insulted like that. “Don’t you dare speak of Spike in that manner-”
“Would you- SHUSH! I will handle this…!” Rainbow hissed at her before taking a breath and trying again with Sombra, “What I’m trying to say is, Spike is a friend who you can always rely on to come through when you need him. He’s Twilight’s Number One Assistant, for pete’s sake!
“He’s made mistakes before but he always makes up for them too! So, maybe he didn’t handle things right with the changeling but he still deserves a chance to explain things.”
“Prince Sombra, Your Highness,” Night Light spoke up, eyes turning to the professor as he went over to stand by with his wife and placed his foreleg around her shoulders.
“Allow us to speak with Spike. Understandably, he must be… afraid or angry, and we would probably have better success in talking with him.”
“And even if you don’t agree, no guards you have will keep us away from our boy…” Velvet gave Sombra the glare that only a mother could give that sends such a chill up one’s spine.
“I’ve never seen her like this,” Cadance whispered to Shining Armor.
He shuddered and whispered back, “Ooh! I have…”
“Hmm, very well,” Sombra sighed, figuring they’d speak with Spike whether he said no or not. Besides, he felt he’d done enough already. “Speak with Spike, but two guards will be standing by. This is not a punishment, more of a precaution in case Spike acts in haste. In the meantime, I must look to castle security. As for the rest of you, as I said before, I encourage you to remain on castle grounds and never go anywhere alone. When it comes to changelings there’s never just one. For all we know, this spy’s brethren are already conspiring to liberate him.”
The Castle Gardens were the envy of earth pony gardeners across Equestria. There were plenty of famous gardens in several cities, but none could match the simplistic and beautiful splendor of the flowerbeds, the koi ponds, the lily pads, the cherry blossoms, the gazebo, not arranged and grown into elaborate displays and complicated designs. But rather tended and cared for in a calm and natural way, mostly by the groundskeeper, ol’ Hayseed Greenhooves, who loved to whistle while he worked.
Sitting on the garden bench, Twilight took in these familiar sights and smells, recalling simpler times, happier times, when she was a little filly studying and practicing spells while encouraged by her teacher who she loved like a second mother. She could see it happening right before her eyes, the warmth of nostalgia swelling in her heart so much it was almost painful.
She could see herself standing there in one of the garden clearings, concentrating her mana to her horn as she attempted a spell to raise a sphere of water from the pond. All she got was a splash in the face, and almost cried, upset and frustrated. Had it not been for her teacher, watching patiently and encouragingly from the picnic blanket under the shade of a plum tree, stepping out to give the little filly a motherly hug and calming her while wiping her tears, she was certain she’d have had a fit. With the right words and guidance, Celestia gave Twilight the confidence to try again and this time she succeeded in raising a sphere of water, with the radius of a chariot wheel, out of the pond, and see it had a couple fish swimming in it.
The way her teacher had smiled and clapped her hooves, Twilight had felt so happy.
How different would it have been, if time had not been involved, if Midnight had never become an alicorn? How would she and he have grown up together? Would they have stayed close like she was to her brother? Or would her perfectionist dedication to being the best student she could possibly be to her mentor have driven a wedge between them?
Hoof falls perked her ears and she turned to see Celestia, looking at her hesitant but hopeful.
The questioning look on the white alicorn’s face, her eyes moving from Twilight to the spot on the bench beside her, translated perfectly to Twilight. She scooted over, which Celestia translated as permission to sit down.
…
…
…
The silence was uncomfortably awkward, but both princesses knew that at some point they would need to patch things up, they had to start somewhere, and probably the sooner the better. Twilight opened her mouth but Celestia beat her to it, “My, my, what… beautiful plum blossoms we have this year.
“I must have seen blossoms in bloom countless times and yet… There’s just something about them that fills me with wonder and a sense of hope. Like a sunrise, heralding a new day full of possibility, and then setting to make way for the rest of night. Those soft rays of dusk and dawn like blossom petals in their own way. But it’s the blossoms themselves that have this effect on me, even more than the sun.”
Twilight was hesitant but she peered at her old teacher, seeing Celestia gazing at those blossoms as though she were lost in a daydream. She then sighed, relaxing her long neck before saying, “Twilight… Forgive me if I am affront but… Since we are both here, I feel there is a conversation we should have. One that I’m afraid we cannot avoid any longer.”
Twilight’s ears sank as she responded, “You’re right… Princess Celestia, I- I don’t know… what to feel right now! I-”
She felt a wing drape around her and she looked up at her old teacher, who smiled softly, “Take your time, there is no need to rush.”
“We don’t know that…” Twilight said but listened, doing Cadance’s old calming technique before continuing. “After what your sister told us, I- I don’t know whether to be happy or sad! I mean, I’m happy to hear Midnight isn’t… But… What Luna said? I just feel so scared for him right now!”
“I feel the same way,” Celestia agreed, this discovery of her sister’s weighing on her heart. “Midnight is alive, but what has become of him? What have the changelings done to him? I can’t answer these questions right now, my old student, but I can promise you this – Whatever it takes, we are going to get him back.”
The reassuring words helped, as Twilight leaned into Celestia, who hugged her close, listening as Twilight said, “I can’t lose him, Celestia! He- I… The last time we talked was when he revealed… you know. I called him a killer! And the last thing he said to me… it hurt, but he was right to say it to me!”
Celestia’s heart hurt to see Twilight look up to her, just as she did when she was a filly, tears shedding and begging for a solution, something to put her heart at ease.
“I want him back, I need him back! I love him…”
Celestia wiped her old student’s tears away then she perked with an idea and giggled, “Do you remember a certain event, Twilight?”
“Wha-?” Twilight took a shuddery moment to calm herself, as she looked at Celestia,” I… I don’t understand.”
“Two years after I took you on as my student,” Celestia explained, “a certain… April Foals Day?”
Twilight furrowed her brows as she puzzled Celestia’s words and then remembered with a shake in her shoulders as she remembered in a shivering voice, “The Bouncy Ball Incident! Ooh-hoo-hoo…”
“Yes. That April Foals Day, I decided to come to my school and surprise my students with a party,” Celestia reminisced, “but when I got to my office, I found something truly odd – A ceramic bowl had been set upon the middle of my desktop and bouncing up and down on it was a ball!
“It bounced but it stayed on the bowl, bouncing at a constant pace like a metronome. I knew at a glance it was magic, but I could never have foreseen the catastrophe that followed when I touched it… I reached out with my hoof to catch it, but the moment the ball made contact with my hoof, it bounced away, as though it were avoiding capture!
“Then, the ball bounced faster and faster, ricocheting around my office, like one of those pinball machines, and making such a mess! I tried to catch it again, but this with telekinesis. That was a mistake… The moment my telekinetic aura tried to enshroud it, the ball suddenly started targeting me! Oh-ho-ho, Twilight, it was becoming increasingly irritating! The ball was bouncing so fast and moving so unpredictably I couldn’t follow it and it always got me, in the face, on the back of the head, even on my rump!”
The mental image of a ball bouncing Celestia and her being unable to stop it made Twilight crack a smile, as her old teacher went on.
“So since physical force wasn’t helping, I tried to dispel whatever magic was causing the ball to behave this way. That was when the actual nightmare of that experience began to grow worse. My counterspell didn’t help; in fact, it literally multiplied the problem!”
“You mean…?” Twilight remembered as Celestia confirmed it.
“Yes! Instead of undoing whatever spells had ensorcelled the ball, my counterspell caused the ball to multiply every time it impacted while bouncing! The mess in my office was getting worse and there wasn’t much room to move or hide behind anything, especially since the balls were growing numbers. So I made the mistake of stepping out into the hallway, where several students and staff were walking.
“Before I could warn them, they tried to catch the balls themselves and became targets too, and like me they tried counterspells on the balls, and multiplied the problem even further! As my patience was finally running short, I decided to try and destroy the balls. Oh… The results will haunt me for the rest of my days.”
“I remember that!” Twilight shared Celestia’s feelings, as she’d heard the fiasco going on that day and she and her class ran out to see what was going on.
“When you tried to destroy them, the balls had some strange reaction and… they exploded!”
“They didn’t just explode, Twilight,” Celestia shook her head with a weary smile. “They erupted with random magical effects. Oh! The effects were random and varied, there were stink bombs, explosions of slime, bubbles that popped into a slippery fluid, confetti, firecrackers, some of those magical effects turned ponies too close into little animals or made them look or act silly – It was absolute pandemonium!”
“My mane was turned into one of those rainbow clown wigs!” Twilight laughed, remembering how upset she’d been and had been torn between cutting it or hoping it would be temporary.
“Eventually, I had no choice but to evacuate the school,” Celestia wiped the tears of her own laughter from her eyes. “Thankfully, none of the balls followed anypony outside and remained in the building. But all through the day, they continued to bounce endlessly, and it seems the magical explosions caused some of them to explode or multiply as well.
“Until finally, it ended. The balls all popped out of existence, silence befell the school, and I got my first clue to the culprit behind the whole thing when I aw the time when it stopped.”
“What time was it?” Twilight couldn’t remember. She and the students had been sent home.
Celestia barely kept herself contained as she said, “Midnight.”
The look on Twilight’s face, aghast and mortified, was priceless! It was enough for Celestia to loose it, and keel over in barking laughter! Never had Twilight seen her mentor act this way, rather similar to Rainbow or Pinkie whenever they’d pulled some pranks. It was… actually really nice to see her this way, as the shock of wore off and the absurdity and hilarity set in, that Twilight couldn’t help but join in on the laughter and fell over onto her side, laughing alongside Princess Celestia.
It was a bit before the two princesses finally calmed down and regained control of themselves, as they stood up, fits of giggles working out of their systems as they sat back down on the bench.
Taking a deep breath, Celestia finished the story, “I found out later that Midnight had been watching the whole thing from a rooftop across the street. The little stinker had been right there, with a bag of popcorn, a colt cola, and a telescope, laughing his head off while everypony was scrambling about, trying to overcome his wicked prank.”
Twilight’s giggles got worked up again but she remembered something and forced herself to calm down, “Wait a minute, heh-heh! Two years after I… After I became your student! Then… that means Midnight was about twelve and an alicorn at the time.”
“He was,” Celestia nodded, “and to this day I still can’t figure out how he did it! I confronted Midnight about it, but he claimed no responsibility. I knew he did it, though, I could see it on his smug giggling face.
“Looking back however, I soon saw and regard to this day his diabolical trick as a work of art, a construction of enchantment so well done and so villainously clever I can’t help but regard Midnight as possibly the most creative and skilled Enchanter I’ve ever taught. His creation exceeded any work of enchantment I’d ever done by miles.
“Of course, I couldn’t prove it was him and I certainly couldn’t reveal him as the culprit at the time. I had to inform my staff and all concerned parents that the culprit behind the incident had been identified and would not get away with it but their name would not be revealed, for their own sake and privacy. But I was so mortified by that incident that for months afterwards the very sight of a bouncy ball…! Ooh…”
The way Celestia shivered, Twilight covered her mouth to quiet her laugh.
“I went as far as to outlaw bouncy balls during April Foals Day, mostly because of the madness I was made to experience, but… also as, I suppose you could almost call it, a homage to the one behind it all.”
“So basically, you honored a sneaky little colt with infamy,” Twilight chuckled at the idea but wanted to hear more.
Celestia shrugged before saying, “The incident was the talk of the school and many in Canterlot for a few years after, and even to this day it is remembered and even respected despite what happened, because like me, students and teachers soon saw what that incident was, a work of art born from the devoted studies of magic and the imagination of a creative young learner.
“It goes to show, Twilight, that something good can come out of something bad, and while I did discipline Midnight by accelerating his studies and training, I saw it as a true sign of his promise and his talents.”
“But why did Midnight do it at all?” asked Twilight. “He was supposed to be in hiding, wasn’t he?”
“Yes, but don’t forget, Twilight,” Celestia raised a forefeather, “Midnight was forced by circumstances to leave behind his life from Canterlot and hide his existence, and he was only ten years old when that happened. Even though he regained the memories of his past life, he was still a child.
“I believe he was… acting out, trying to work out his frustrations from his system. Perhaps even reconnect with the city of his birth, but… I think he also wanted to se you.”
Those words left Twilight speechless as Celestia said more.
“The memories will come back as you are reminded of them, Twilight, just as did the one from that photo your parents showed you. As a filly, you looked up to Shining Armor, Cadance, and Midnight. He watched out for you just as diligently as your brother did, and he always came through for you back then, and I still have faith he will come through for you now. But first, we have to come through for him. We have to find him, and we have to bring him home.”
Twilight shed more tears but determination ignited in her heart as she looked up at Celestia and said, “Then we need to figure out a way for Luna to access Midnight’s dreams. He must be imprisoned somewhere and Luna found his dream while he was asleep!”
“Considering what more Luna told us, Twilight,” Celestia reminded her, “I don’t think it’s that simple. Midnight is a very capable pony, trained and learned in various skills and talents. I am scarce to think it, but I have a feeling that the changelings have Midnight under some sort of spellbound sleep, and their magic is somehow preventing Luna from entering Midnight’s dream.”
“But Luna did imply that Midnight’s dream could be entered,” Twilight brought up when her eyes widened in realization.
“But if not by her… then perhaps another Dream-Walker!”
“There is no guarantee of that, Twilight,” Celestia debated, “and besides, even if the theory has merit, you heard Luna. Dream-Walkers are very rare, and even if she were to summon a Dream-Walker from the Shetlands, it could take days before they arrive. Days that Midnight might not have, that we can’t afford to wait, not while the changelings continue to conspire against us.”
The lavender princess sighed, as she realized the white was right. Even so, she couldn’t get the idea out of her head that a different Dream-Walker could possibly succeed where Luna had failed. But it would have to be a Dream-Walker that has something that Luna doesn’t.
“If I could just figure out what that something is…”
“What was that, dear?”
“Oh! Uh…” Twilight realized she’d said that aloud, and cleared her throat, “I… think I’ll just give it a little more thought.”
“Very well,” Celestia gave Twilight a loving nuzzle, which she returned, before the taller alicorn stood her full height and turned to take her leave, “just remember, take your time and it will come to you.”
“I will,” Twilight nodded, “and Celestia?”
Celestia paused mid-step and looked back, happy to see Twilight smiling at her, “Thanks.”
“Always, Twilight, always,” Celestia smile back before leaving Twilight to work on her theory.