//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: The Question 
// Story: Shattered Harmony Part 1 - A Fallen Star 
// by Phazon_Corrupted_Unicorn 
//------------------------------//

Midnight Star blinked against the light that shone in between the navy blue curtains hanging over the windows, then he sat up and yawned. He stretched his muscles, letting his wings flutter in the slight breeze. He glanced around and smiled as he caught sight of his mother. She was busy, facing the TV and playing a game. Midnight Star didn't know what game it was, and he didn't care, it just gave him a great opportunity.
He quietly stood up on the bed, then inched toward the edge closest to the unsuspecting mare. He paused at the edge and watched her for a second, then smiled as he crouched down on the bed and slithered off the edge. He crept closer and closer to his mother and he afforded himself a glance at the TV, catching sight of a blocky world.
Minecraft, he thought, then grinned again. This gave him a great idea for a scare. He crept up behind his mother, as close as he dared, then he slowly inhaled a huge breath.
Princess Luna sat there, with a mouse and keyboard in her magical grasp, staring intently at the TV screen where she was busy mining away several dozen blocks below the surface. Her nerves were on end, she had a full inventory of diamonds, redstone, gold, iron, and coal and she was heading for one more diamond ore that sat securely in a wall. She pressed a key and her avatar moved right up to the block and she went to click her mouse to start mining the precious ore.
Then her fur stood on end as she sensed somepony behind her. She paused the game and started to turn around. She had barely turned her muzzle away from the screen when she heard it. A low, steady hiss came from behind her and she leaped into the air in fright, opening her mouth as she soared through the air.

On the other side of the castle, in the throne room, Princess Celestia's ears perked up as she heard somepony scream bloody murder. She looked up at the sun and smiled a knowing smile.
“Serves you right, sister. Best not get involved with your games when you've got a colt to watch,” she said, then chuckled to herself.

Back in Princess Luna's chambers, she finally landed on the ground, her mane a mess of tangles and knots from the fright. Her eyes wide, she glanced hurriedly around as she tried to find the intruder. She caught sight of a familiar colt, one rolling on the ground and laughing so hard that he was grasping his stomach in pain as he struggled for breath.
She stood there for several minutes as her heart slowed and returned to normal and Midnight Star got his breath back.
“That...gasp....was....gasp...hilarious!” Midnight Star struggled to say, a smile never leaving his muzzle.
Princess Luna looked down at him with a frown on her muzzle, but it quickly turned into a smile and she laughed as she realized the situation.
We wonder how he would enjoy the company of the Elements of Loyalty and Laughter, she wondered then blinked as she felt a paw step on her tail. She glanced down, only to see a blur dart away with a hurried “Try and catch me!”. She smiled, then hopped onto their bed and sat there as she scanned the room. She caught sight of a familiar, dark blue, flank and she popped off a small, magical shot from her horn. It flew toward the small Alicorn, but missed as Midnight Star saw it out of the corner of his eye and leaped away.
Princess Luna watched him and measured his trajectory, then shot off another blast. This one was deflected by a smaller blast that rocketed from Midnight Star's horn. The two blasts hit each other and bounced upward, finally exploding in bursts of dark blue and green fireworks. Princess Luna turned her attention back to her colt, only to find that he'd vanished. She'd barely caught sight of another green shot come at her from her right flank before she replied with a blast of her own.
Midnight Star grinned as he watched his mother sitting on their bed. A plan formed in his mind and he reached within himself and pulled on a bit of his magic. He was about to attempt something that he'd only done a few times. Once he had the requisite magic, he darted out from behind the bookshelf that he'd been using as a cover, drawing his mother's attention.
Just as Midnight Star had planned, his mother fired another blast of magic, aiming a little ahead of where he was. He released the magic, vanishing from sight with a burst of green flame, then reappeared behind his mother, on the bed. He reached out a hoof to touch her tail when his hoof was stopped by an invisible sphere that rippled dark blue at the contact.
He tilted his head in wonder as Princess Luna turned around and watched him. He pressed both hooves up against the sphere and found it to be as solid as the stone castle around him. He pounded on it then glanced up at his mother, who bore a familiar look on her face. A look that Midnight Star knew very well, it was the look she gave him when she started his lessons. This had been the routine for his whole life, all five years of it. He would wake up and they would start the day by playing a small game, each time he would get more nimble and quick, then his mother would start his lessons, building off of the things he'd learned.
Though this one was a new one. He'd mostly focused on levitation and he was getting the hang of teleportation, thought he could only teleport short distances. But to stop his hooves without doing anything about it, this idea intrigued him. He furrowed his brow, then slammed his hooves against the sphere. The only thing this accomplished was a large ripple of dark blue magic across the sphere's surface.
“This is your lesson,” Midnight Star turned his attention to his mother as she started to speak, “most mages will utilize what you see here, a magical shield that runs off one's internal magical storage. Each shield has a specific weakness, as it is impossible to guard against every type of magical or physical attack. Thus, your challenge today is to find it's weakness and shatter the shield.” She held out a hoof and three, small orbs of energy appeared and started to orbit around the shield. “My shield's weakness,” she stated, “is one of these three energies.” She motioned to the three orbs, then smiled at Midnight Star. He sat back on the bed and reached inward.
He was quite apt at using raw energy, but utilizing specific energies had taken him several weeks to learn. By the end of it, he had been tired, his coat singed, and the room in shambles, but he'd managed to conjure spheres of fire, electricity, and wind. His mother had told him that those three energies were enough for now, but that they would return to elemental manipulation at a later date.
As he delved into his magical reserves, he felt the familiar touch of his two wells of magic. One of them had grown larger each day, though he didn't know how to access it. He'd asked his mother and she had told him that many mages had only one well, and that having two wells made him special. The second well diminished as he'd practiced and used his magic and it was this one that he reached for. He grasped several spheres of it and pulled them up. As he pulled out of his well, he saw five orbs manifest themselves out of thin air and orbit around his horn.
He reached out into the air, down into the earth beneath his hooves, and up into the clouds, reaching for the elements with which he'd become familiar. His brow furrowed as he concentrated, pulling each element down into a different orb, turning each one a different color.
He sat there, sweating but proud of himself as he watched three of the orbs turn red, gray, and purple respectively. Then he turned his attention to his mother who had been watching him. He grasped the red orb in a hoof, then threw it forward and slammed it against the shield. He watched as it impacted the shield, then dissipated with no effect to the shield.
He growled slightly, but smiled as he figured that the first element he tried probably wouldn't be the answer. He took the other two elements each in a hoof, then slammed both of them against the shield. He watched as they rippled across the shield, then he heard the satisfying crack of a magic spell weakening. He watched as a large crack appeared beneath his hooves and he had a small idea. He spun around and raised his back hooves and kicked as hard as he could. He smiled as he heard the shield shatter and pieces of it fall onto the bed around him, the magic tinkling as it fell.
He turned around to look up at his mother, who was smiling down at him.
“Well done, quite unusual for you to use brute force, but it worked after discovering the weakness of the shield,” Princess Luna stated, nodding and smiling. She opened her mouth to say more, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. She glanced at the door, before her horn glowed dark blue and the door swung inward, revealing a pure white Unicorn with a blonde mane and tail, his light blue eyes half shrouded by his eyelids.
“Prince Blueblood,” Princess Luna stated, smiling, “what brings you here?”
Prince Blueblood trotted into the room, his steps graceful. He caught sight of Midnight Star and smiled, then turned back to Princess Luna.
“Princess Luna, Princess Celestia requests you to come to the planning room. She would like to talk to you about the Grand Galloping Gala this year. It is her wish that you attend the Gala and she wishes for your input into the preparations,” he stated, his voice haughty. Midnight Star raised an eyebrow at the tone as he felt something radiate from the Prince, something salty and slightly bitter.
“Very well,” Princess Luna stated and walked toward the door, then she turned back to look at Prince Blueblood, “would you mind watching Midnight Star?” she asked, pausing for just a moment as he nodded.
“Of course, Princess. It would be my honor,” he replied, then watched the doors close behind the Princess of the Night as she left the room. He turned to look at Midnight Star sitting on the bed, looking at him with curiosity and a bit of dislike. He trotted up to the bed and sat down on it. Midnight slid backward until he was out of hoof's reach.
“I don't like you,” Midnight Star stated, glaring at the Prince, “you feel funny.”
Prince Blueblood smiled, then he seemed to change. His features became softer and the next time he spoke his voice was calm. Midnight Star could feel him change. Instead of the bitter feeling radiating from the Prince, this time he felt something sweet, almost like sugar. It reminded him of his mother.
“I'm sorry,” Prince Blueblood stated, “I'm used to dealing with petty nobles and it takes me some time to release that facet of mine when I'm in private or with the Princesses.”
Midnight looked at him questioningly, “you work with my mother?” he asked. Prince Blueblood nodded, smiling.
“I work close with all the Princesses of Equestria, as well as the nobles.”
“So, you're not my father,” Midnight stated, “but you're a Prince. Does that mean that you're married to Princess Celestia?”
Prince Blueblood laughed, a lighthearted chuckle. “Oh heaven's no!” he replied, “the title 'Prince' is given to influential and trustworthy ponies. I'm merely the head of one of the most powerful houses in Canterlot. I've spent years working with the nobles in court and have a good relationship with many of them, though even I have my enemies. The Princesses trust me to work out the minor details so they only have to worry about the larger details of running a country. I'm given enough power to solve the majority of the issues that nobles bring to court, and I am given the right to call private meetings with the Princesses to address any issues that warrant their attention.”
Midnight Star had moved closer to the Prince as he was talking, his eyes wide and ears attentive as he spoke.
“There are others,” Prince Blueblood continued, “that are as influential and trustworthy as I, but many of them have refused the title of 'Prince'. Fancy Pants is another, well-known pony, though he did accept the knighting.”
“So,” Midnight interrupted, “why do you act like you do?”
Prince Blueblood smiled at the question. “There are many nobles that see themselves as being more capable of running the country,” he said, “they act arrogant, and look down on anypony that doesn't. Many of them don't like that I'm so familiar with the Princesses and so they try and find any way to remove me from my position so that somepony more,” he inhaled with a hiss, “willing to see their positions. So I act arrogant, toward all except the Princesses. They don't take kindly to arrogance and thus they leave me to take care of the nobles.”
“But,” Midnight Star asked, “why be arrogant? Wouldn't being a friend to them be better?”
Prince Blueblood smiled at the colt, “I've come to learn one very important lesson. Ponies will never see what is right in front of them if they don't expect it. If the reality in front of them does not match the reality they have in their mind, they will ignore everything that doesn't match. That's why I act arrogant, it is because the nobles expect it.”
Midnight Star nodded in understanding, and they spent the next several hours discussing the finer points of court and the lives of many nobles that Prince Blueblood knew. Lunch came, arriving with cucumber sandwiches and orange juice, finishing off with a bite of cupcakes, then they turned their attention to Midnight Star's studies. He'd been reading several books from the Canterlot Library about the dozen or so races that lived in and around Equestria. A few of the races he'd been most interested in were Zebras, Dragons, and a strange race called Changelings of which there was almost no mention of them in many of the history books. It seemed that they had kept to themselves for a very long time.
Midnight Star levitated one of the borrowed library books over to him, resting it on the bed in front of him. He flipped open the cover and started to read. This book had the most about Changelings that he'd ever seen and he'd read it several times, but each time he finished it he had more questions than when he started. For one, the book never mentioned the start of the Changeling race. Ponies were easy to trace back to the beginning, but Changelings just seemed to appear from nowhere.
He frowned as he read, having dozens of questions but none of them ever answered. He was startled out of his train of thought by a loud crash and he looked up to see Prince Blueblood standing to one side looking sheepish as he stood in the middle of a collapsed tower of books.
“Sorry,” he apologized and his horn alighted with magic as he started to stack the books. Midnight Star just smiled and, his own horn glowing with green magic, he helped as he levitated the dozens of books back into an organized tower, now more sturdy. As he finished he noticed the Prince looking at him with a look of bewilderment on his face, a wave of curiosity flowing outward from him.
“That,” Prince Blueblood stated, “is quite an unusual color of magic you have there.”
Midnight Star just nodded, “that's the color that I've always had it, ever since the day I started to first use magic.”
Prince Blueblood nodded, “it's just I've never seen any other Unicorn have that particular shade of magic. Except for one that I met during the wedding of Princess Cadence and Captain, now Prince, Shining Armor.”
Midnight Star would have asked several questions that were bouncing around in his head if he hadn't felt something very familiar. A wave of warmth washed over him and he leaped off the bed and bounded toward the door.
“Mother!” he cried as he reached the doors just as they swung open and Princess Luna strode into the room. She smiled down at him, bouncing around her hooves, then up at Prince Blueblood.
“I do hope that he hasn't been a hoofful?” she asked. Prince Blueblood smiled and laughed a little.
“Perish the thought,” he said, waving a hoof, “in fact, I would say that he's given me a few things to think about for several weeks.” He strode to the door and moved to leave, but not before he shot a warm smile to Midnight Star, now hugging Princess Luna's barrel and beaming with joy. The colt was so happy that he almost seemed to glow. Prince Blueblood turned away and trotted down the hallway, heading back to his room and the stack of paperwork that he'd avoided.
Princess Luna turned to look at Midnight Star and grinned at him. He looked up and grinned back. She closed the doors, then moved to the bed and slumped down on it. Her hoof tapped a book and she raised her head to look at it, only to smile as she recognized it.
“Been studying up on Changelings?” she asked, looking over at Midnight who was rolling around in her ethereal mane. He perked up when he heard the word 'Changeling' and nodded.
“Yeah, but there's not much in the library about it,” he stated, his face falling.
“I'm afraid you won't find much about Changelings in the library,” Princess Luna replied, “you'd have to talk to those who know them.”
“And who would you suggest I ask?” Midnight Star questioned, but before Princess Luna could answer, a knock echoed through the room and the soft voice of one of the servants sounded through the door.
“Princess Luna, Midnight Star, dinner is ready in the small dining room. Princess Celestia is there waiting.” Midnight Star heard the light clopping as the servant walked away from the room, then Princess Luna stood up from the bed.
“Well, let's not make my sister wait,” she motioned for Midnight Star to hop onto her back and hold on. She moved to the open window and the wide balcony beyond. As they approached the edge of the stone balcony, Midnight Star couldn't help but look over one side and peer down into the city below.
Though he was several stories above the city streets, he could still pick out the dozens of ponies all heading home from their days of work. He felt a single beat of sadness, a feeling he'd long learned, radiate from beneath him as Princess Luna looked down on the ponies below. She unfurled her wings, then thrust them down and launched into the air. Midnight Star gave a yelp and grabbed onto his mother's mane with both hooves. He watched all the ponies below them as they soared over the city, slowly looping back around to the castle. Then he heard a familiar tune, one that his mother always sang, quietly to herself, as they floated over the city.


Now the hour has come at last, the soft and fading light
Has crossed the western horizon and has bidden us goodnight.
And what a lovely night it is, to walk the moonlit fields
To see the softer shades that are, by starlight, now revealed.

So why is it that now when all is quiet and at rest,
When candles glow and all the world is at it's very best,
The ponies of Equestria should lock themselves away,
To shun the moon and wait instead for sister's sunny day?
(The moon rises by PonyPhonic)


Midnight Star sighed into Princess Luna's mane, he could feel the sorrow that flowed off her and he felt a stab of pain in his heart at the words. He closed his eyes and tried to force the pain away when he felt them slow and heard the soft metallic clang of his mother's slippers land on the marble balcony. He blinked in surprise, he didn't think that they had been in the air that long, but as he looked around he saw that they were walking down the large hallway that ended at the small dining room.
He hopped off Princess Luna's back as they reached the tall, golden doors. Each one was engraved with the emblem of the sun, with the moon partially blocked by it. Princess Luna wrapped the entire pair of doors with her night blue magic and pushed them open, revealing a room about the same size as their room. The only piece of furniture within was a long table, made of a rich wood and edged with gold. Cushions were placed along each side, each one embossed with a golden sun. Midnight Star glanced at his mother as her face twisted into a look of pained dislike at the sight of the cushions for a heartbeat, then changed back to her normal stone face.
Princess Celestia sat at the single cushion that was placed at the head of the table and she looked up as the doors opened. She gave her sister a heart warming grin though, as her eyes found Midnight Star's, the briefest of frowns fell across her face before being replaced with her customary smile. She stood and gestured for the two of them to take their seats on her left and right.
Midnight Star trotted down the right side of the table and took the cushion to Princess Celestia's left, while his mother took the one across from him. The table had already been set out and prepared with several plates of food, ranging from raspberry salads to daisy tarts, with lemonade to drink. Princess Celestia gestured to the table and all three of them started to serve themselves.
Midnight Star lit his horn for a split second before being startled from concentration by a soft pop by his left ear. He looked around and saw that his mother giving him a slight frown, then levitating a scoop of salad onto his plate. He nodded his thanks and he grinned widely as he felt a small pulse of joy come from her. He reached down with a hoof and grasped his fork then, stabbing several leaves of lettuce, popped them into his mouth and chewed.
“You know,” Princess Celestia stated, looking at Princess Luna, “I don't think I've ever seen Midnight Star's magic.”
The statement made Princess Luna choke on her lettuce. She pounded her chest until it cleared, then drank some lemonade to wash it down.
“It is because, dear sister,” she started to say, choosing her words carefully, “he has not yet fully developed the fine manipulation required for levitation.”
Princess Celestia nodded to show that she understood, but Midnight Star felt an aura of slight distrust surround the Princess of the Sun. He blinked as he remembered something.
“That's right!” he said, causing both Princesses to look at him, “I remember a question I wanted to ask. Where do Changelings--”
No sooner had the word 'Changelings' left his mouth than he felt a powerful wave of hatred pushing away from Princess Celestia, one powerful enough to throw him backward and sending him rolling for several hooves. He winced as he stood on shaky hooves and stared, wide-eyed at the two Princesses.
His mother bore a look of sorrow on her face as she looked at him, but what caught his eye was the Princess of the Sun who, just a second ago, had been calm and collected. Her horn sparked with magic and glowed with the brightness of the sun. But what really made him shrink away was her eyes. Before her eyes were loving and kind, but now they burned with an inner fire, fierce and angry.
“We do not speak of such blights in our presence.” Princess Celestia stated, her voice low and angry, “The changelings are a corruption. They have caused Equestria and I nothing but trouble since the day their pitiful existence began. And were we to find any Changeling in our presence, being sent to the moon would be a preferred punishment.”
Midnight Star quivered in fear as Princess Celestia's anger pulsed off of her and embedded each syllable into his mind. He could only stand there for a second longer before dashing to the door and, pulling it open as best as he could, dashed out and down the hallway as fast as his hooves would carry him.
He raced past several guards as he ran as hard as he could. He turned corners and ran through intersections of hallways until a stitch formed in his side and he wheezed. He found a door and leaned against it, pushing it open. Then he fell inward and the door swung shut.
He lay there on the floor, panting and trying to get his breath back, when he heard something in the room move. He glanced up, looking around, and saw two, golden eyes staring at him from the darkness. A cloud moved from in front of the moon and he saw that the figure was a pony, and one of his mother's Night Guard if the bat wings were anything to go by. It looked down at him and it's face softened into a look of concern.
“Why do you run?” it asked, a light voice like a trickling river washed over him.
“Because,” now that he thought about it, telling this Night Guard that he'd been thrown backward by Princess Celestia's anger would make him sound a little crazy. He tried again, “because I got yelled at.”
The Night Guard smiled and nodded. “Anger is a dangerous force, and can push certain ponies around,” she said, smiling down at him.
“I'm not weak!” he stated defiantly as he struggled to his hooves, but wavered as he stood there.
The Night Guard moved forward and steadied him with one of her wings. “I never said that you were weak, I meant that someponies are more than cowed when anger is brought to bear,” she said, “I've felt it more than once.” She moved to the door and pulled it open.
“Wait!” he called and the bat pony turned around to look at him.
“I'm just going to go get Her Majesty, little Prince,” she said as she stepped out and closed the door behind her.
Midnight Star waited for several minutes and found his eyelids growing heavy. He struggled to stay awake, but finally he could not fight it anymore and slumped into deep sleep.