//------------------------------// // Knock! // Story: Music of the Night // by CharlieOist //------------------------------// Knock! Knock! Knock! Twilight mumbled in her sleep, “Spike, could you get that?” She turned over, pulling the covers over her head. Knock! Knock! Knock! Twilight’s eyes flew open. The moon was high in the sky outside; telling her it was at least 12:00 at night. Spike wasn’t in his bed by the stairs, and she remembered that he had stayed at Rarity’s that night after a long day of gem hunting. Twilight groaned, dragging herself out of bed. Knock! Knock! Knock! “I’m coming!” Twilight called out. She stretched, getting the kinks out of her back, before walking to the stairs. Knock! Knock! Knock! “I said I’m-!” It was at this moment that Twilight’s hooves decided to stop cooperating. One hoof went forward, while another stayed put, tripping her up. With a cry, she fell down the stairs, a loud thud accompanying her arrival at the bottom. With a groan, she forced herself to stand, wobbling a little and checked herself to make sure nothing had been seriously damaged in her fall. Satisfied that she had suffered nothing worse than a few bruises (She had long ago enchanted the stairs to prevent severe injury, after a similar incident had occurred in her investigation into the Pinkie Sense, when she had fallen into the new Apple family cellar, resulting in both her front hooves being broken.) She walked to the door, which had been oddly silent over the past few moments. She opened it just in time for a black-and-red blur to rush past, crashing into a bookcase. The books on said bookcase shook from the impact, seem to hang in the air for a moment, as though contemplating whether to fall or not, then, seeming to have come to a conclusion, fell onto the body laying dazed on the floor, covering it in a pile of books. Twilight stood, stunned for a moment, then rushed over. “Ohmygoshohmygoshmohmygosh-areyoualrighthereletmehelpyouupwhatwereyouthinkingI-“she stopped mid-sentence when she heard a groan from under the pile. She hurriedly picked up the pile with her telekinesis, floating them around the room, subconsciously organizing them and putting them back as they had been before they had taken an impromptu vacation from their original places. The unicorn, she now saw, groaned and sat up. “That’s the last time I try that…” he muttered, before turning to look her in the eye. He grinned sheepishly,” Sorry, I thought you were in trouble. I heard a loud thud, and I’ve heard that you’re usually up past now, so when no one answered…” ` Twilight held up a hoof, “I understand that. What I DON’T understand is why you were knocking on my door at twelve o’clock at night!” The unicorn look confused for a moment, then smiled. “Ah, yes, I suppose that WOULD be the first question I asked somepony. And it’s two-thirty a.m., not twelve.” Twilight wondered how the unicorn could know something like that without a clock nearby to tell him, but quickly dismissed it in light of having more pressing questions. "Oh, but where are my manners? I-“ at this, a hat appeared on top of the unicorn’s head, which he then pulled off as he bowed, “am Royal Night Court Musician Nightsong Redtail.” Twilight giggled at Nightsong’s antics. She held out her hoof, which he took and kissed, as though this were a fairy tale, and not reality. She smiled, “I am Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s Faithful Student, and Librarian at Golden Oak’s Library. Pleased to meet you.” “The pleasure is all mine.” The unicorn stood once more, grinning, as the top hat vanished. “So you are the famous Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia spoke highly of you.” He frowned as he looked around the library. “I had expected to meet with another pony first, though. Your assistant, Spike. I was told he always answers the door?” Twilight giggled again,”Spike is a baby dragon, and he’s not here at the moment. He had to help another of my friends, Rarity, gather gems for a new dress.” As she spoke, she studied her strange, late night visitor. He had a black cloak on, fastened at the front by a silver crescent moon. His coat (or what she could see of it) was black, and he had a red mane. She had, at first, thought his eyes were brown, but, on closer inspection, discovered they were of the deepest red she had ever seen. He gave off an aura of power, not nearly as much as hers, but enough to make her suspect this pony was no mere musician. Nightsong raised his eyebrow. “A baby dragon? My, my, what….interesting company you keep, Ms. Sparkle.” His face became serious. “I was told by Princess Celestia herself that you could help me. I seek a guide to Castle Everfree, and was told that you and your friends would be my best option to get there safely.” It was Twilight’s turn to raise a brow at the unicorn stallion. “Everfree Castle? That’s a dangerous place to go. I can’t imagine why anypony would want to go there.” That wasn’t necessarily true. She had been back several times after the Nightmare Moon incident, seeking to learn more about the place. Each time, however, she had had to cut her visits short. The castle reeked of evil magic, and she had been unable to bear it very long. She had eventually stopped going. “I am prepared to pay well.” His horn lit up with a blood red glow. From under his cloak floated a large bag of bits. He floated it over to her desk, setting it down gently so as to not disturb anything on it. “5,000 bits even.” Twilight was surprised, but managed to hide it before it showed. “That’s no small sum. I would have to talk with my friends, but I’m sure they’d all be happy to accompany us.” The black unicorn smiled. “Excellent! I shall be staying at the inn down the road.” He began trotting towards the doorway. “Oh, and you may wish to bring camping gear. I don’t know how long we’ll be there, but I don’t expect it to take less than two days.” Twilight felt fear surge through her for a moment, but steeled herself against it. 5,000 bits was a lot of money, and while she didn’t need it (She had a Royal Credit that she could access at the bank that covered what she needed) her friends weren’t as lucky, and besides, it would give her a chance to study the ruins with others, and for a longer period than she would ever be able to on her own. Still, there was one thing that bothered her. “Neither of the princesses mentioned a new Night Court Musician.” Nightsong stopped and turned his head back to her. “Maybe it slipped their minds.” And with that, he walked off, vanishing into the night. Twilight turned back inside after closing the door after her mysterious visitor. There was no way she would be able to get back to sleep tonight after all that excitement. With a resigned sigh, she set about creating a checklist for the upcoming trip.