Of Magic and Clockwork

by Midnight_Tempest

Chapter 5: Midnight Masquerade

It was only a matter of hours before any pony arrived at the scene of the explosion, though it was unexpected to see the royal guards there. More surprising was that the group was being lead by the Princesses themselves. A most interesting development, but very unexpected. 'This was not foreseen. I never expected that the rulers of Equestria would take an interest in my work. But this may be fortuitous, I have the chance to show them the fruits of my labor and they may repeal that forsaken ancient law.' Before Midnight could even set foot before the Princesses, they left and he was unable to follow them through the heavy overgrowth of the forest. 'They must have returned to Canterlot, and that means I must go there as well. Unfortunately, I don't want to just appear out of nowhere. I need to find transport to the city.'

His only chance of finding transport to Canterlot in any form of expedience, is to go to the closest town. Ponyville. He had never once set hoof in the town, but has watched it from a distance. Just from observations, it seemed like a normal quiet town. So he left the forest, some distance north so not to bring much attention to himself. Entering the town from the forest would be a dead giveaway. It was evening when Midnight finally arrived at the edge of Ponyville. 'This may be more difficult than I anticipated, how am I going to find somepony here that has been to Canter-' "LOT!" Midnight was bowled over by the sudden appearance of a very energetic pink pony.

"Hi, how you doing? Sorry about knocking you down, but I wanted to get your attention and nothing gets a ponies attention like a good tackle. You must be new in town and that means you don't know anyone here, which is sad but you won't have to be sad cause you know me now! I'm Pinkie Pie and to celebrate us becoming friends, I'm going to throw you a party and I'm going to invite everypony in town and your going to have lots of friends. Oh boy this is going to be great!"

"Whoa, wait a moment. Hold up." He picked himself off the ground and brushed himself off. "It's nice to meet you, Pinkie Pie, but I'm very busy at the moment. It's also getting late so a party... might not be a very good idea right now."

"Yeah, your right. We can have the party tomorrow, you won't be busy then and there will be tons of time to play games and eat cake and make friends. Cause that's what a party is about having fun and making friends, lots of friends. Oh yeah, why did you say LOT when I knocked you over? You looking for something? Like a lot of something? Maybe cakes, or shoes. No, hats! Nah, your not even wearing a hat. Books, yeah books! You look like you like books, and lots of em too! Books from all over, even Canterlot!"

"What? Canterlot, you say? Is there a place in town that deals with Canterlot often?" Midnight was now intrigued, he didn't actually expect to find any connection between this town and Canterlot.

"Well, not really. Once in a while the Princesses come down and we have this great big party that lasts all day, with music and games and cake and dancing, its awesome when they come here. But mostly me and my friends send letters to the Princesses, but only when we learn a lesson in friendship. That was how I first met Princess Celestia, when she sent Twilight here! It was the best day ever, I saw her on the street and she said 'Hi' and I went 'GASP!' and I had to hold a party for her cause MM-MPH!"

Midnight had his hoof over Pinkie's mouth, her constant talking was giving him a headache. "So this friend of yours, Twilight, would it be possible for me to meet her? I'm actually quite interested in getting to Canterlot." Pinkie nodded and pointed at a tree in the middle of town. "There? She lives over there?"

"Mm, mph mmphs mmhn..." Midnight took his hoof away from Pinkie's mouth, as it was now very wet from her trying to speak. "No, silly. She lives in the tree, its the town library and she's always studying or reading something in there. It's also where she sends the Princess most of her letters. Now I'm going to go and start on the party decorations, this is going to be so much fun we're gonna have cake and punch and pin the tail on the pony and..." Pinkie blissfully bounced away from Midnight, planning his apparent welcoming party.

"What a strange pony. How can she have so much energy in such a small body." He brushed the last of the dust of his coat and cloak, and cleaned of his hoof in a nearby stream, then made his way to the Ponyville library. When he arrived he was happy to see the lights on inside. "Excellent, she's home." He walked up to the door and knocked.

There was a sudden 'eep!' from inside, followed by some shuffling of papers. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Um, perhaps you can. I am looking for a Miss Twilight, would she be in by any chance?"

"Yes, I'm Twilight. What can I do for you?"

'She sounds nervous, I must interrupted her studying.' "I'm sorry for disturbing you so late, could I come in? There are some questions I need to ask, that only you may be able to answer."

It was silent for a moment. "Yes, you can come in. The door is unlocked."

Midnight smiled and opened the door. "Thank you, again I am sorry for disturbing you..." He closed the door and turned to face his hostess. "But there are some questions I would like... you to answer... about... Canterlot..." His smile was gone and was replaced with a look of worry. He knew from Pinkie that Twilight had ties to Canterlot and the Princesses, but he never expected to see the Princesses in her home. "By Scientia..."

"Oh my goodness! Was that really necessary, Princess?" Twilight was just as surprised as Midnight was at the order.

"As you wish, your Highness, but what of his eye patch. There is clear signs that it covers a very aggressive wound."

"Princess Luna... I have never seen Princess Celestia so angry before, and what are these rumors you speak of? Is there something dark coming?" Twilight could tell that Luna was just as worried as she was, as tears began to swell in her eyes.