Five days later
"Look who it is, if it isn't Princess Midnight, now appearing as an alicorn, out of her cave from spider slaying and dust removing," spouted Pinkie Pie.
"Why do say slaying Pinkie?" asked Mr. Cake.
"Why because they were Spike sized spiders of course." replied Pinkie Pie.
"Spike... Sized... Spp-ppiders." Mrs. Cake mumbled
"Yep" responded Pinkie cheerful as ever.
"Pinkie, since I am new to the town, I could use some help and I could not think of anypony better to help me host a party of sorts." interrupted Midnight.
"Certainly, however I must ask what kind of party is this." asked Pinkie
“Well I need to. Entertain three Phillies for about an hour and enough to entertain three alicorns, two pegasi, one unicorn, two earth ponies and a dragon for about the same time, oh, and a zebra. This somewhat of a truth revealed party, in about five days, Twilight will give you the invitation." responded Midnight quickly.
"You know what I got this, just finish the rest of your stuff you need in Ponyville” replied Pinkie.
“Thanks Pinkie” responded Midnight, she then left.
At the Golden Oak Library, Twilight was beginning to worry that there was no recorded history of a Princess other Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and herself. Then suddenly there was a knock at the door and Spike was there before Twilight even had the chance to turn around.
“Oh, hi Princess Midnight. The library is closed right now. Now if you excuse me, I need to get ready to move to the castle.” said Twilight nervous that the princess might discover that she was looking through the history right around the time she lived.
“I’m just here to check out a few books, unless it is closed to Princesses in need of some knowledge. Especially since you technically no longer live here. Oh and if you’re looking for me in the history books, good luck, I don’t think I am in more than the trading manifests of the Rich family, and even then I think they burned down the old house of Filthy’s grandfather. I am just here for a copy of “Changelings: a Guide to Recognizing them Amongst Friends” and a copy of “Supernaturals”” responded Midnight ignoring the fact the library was closed.
“Fine, I guess,” responded Twilight, “Here you go, anything else?”
“As a matter of fact, yes,” replied Midnight, “This is for you and your friends, this one is to be sent to Celestia, and this one is to be given to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The letters are all the same just with different names at the top.”
“Fine, but why the Cutie Mark Crusaders?” asked Twilight curious at why three little Phillies would be invited to a party in the middle of the Everfree Forest.
“All will be explained there, whether a few of you like it or not,” responded Midnight.
Another five days later, outside Princess Midnight’s Cave House
“Thank you for coming early Zecora and Pinkie Pie, I greatly appreciate your help, I know I could not do this alone.”
“No problem” they replied in Unison.
“However, why did you request I bring all these ingredients?” asked Zecora.
“All in time, all in time.” responded Midnight.
“Whoa, what is with these Crystals, they glow, you know Rarity will have a heyday if she sees one.”
“Yes, I know but even I could not remove those crystals, a thousand years ago so I guess she have to learn her lesson that those don’t move or shatter or snap or stop glowing for that matter,” replied Midnight.
“Ah, here we are my ballroom, please set up, a sink is in the room just over there.” Said Midnight as she pointed to the far wall, “If you need anything just ask the air in front of you I’ll her yah.”
So Pinkie and Zecora got to work setting up not only party decorations, but a cauldron set of Zecora’s and started a fire under it.
“Very well the rest should be arriving soon.”
Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and Fluttershy arrived not moments later and were led into the ballroom.
Not shortly after that AJ and Applebloom with Rarity and Sweetie Bell in tow by their tails as neither of them wanted to go in showed up. Rarity nearly flattened Applejack when she spotted the glowing crystals. She tried removing them with magic, then asked Applejack to buck it. That went over with a heck of a bruise. That was until Midnight convinced them it was basically impossible. The one time she did manage to break one an explosion blasted a small crater in her living room.
Then before long Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo showed up riding scooters, something that had taken Scootaloo a long time to convince Rainbow to try.
The party went on like a usual Pinkie Pie party went until Midnight finally stopped the music and asked Zecora to start a brew.
“I can make this but I must ask before this goes amiss, how might I procure a scale of changeling for the last step of this potion.” asked Zecora.
“Scale of what?” questioned Rarity.
“Changeling” replied Zecora.
“That was rhetorical question.” responded Rarity disgusted.
“A good question, and one I shall answer now. If you could all step back, this takes some doing.” replied Midnight.
All watched in awe as before their eyes the guardian of the tree of Harmony went from alicorn to a Changeling.
Then all hell broke loose as Celestia and Twilight began sending blasts of magic at Midnight, AJ and Rainbow Dash charged forward and Rarity screamed and took the CMC and hid them.
Only Fluttershy, Zecora and Luna stood there, although for three different reasons.
All these attacks were in vain as Midnight’s special magic was in shield spells.
Luna had seen the Princess before and she knew why, she also realized nothing was getting through the shield, unless…
“Fluttershy, you would usually be screaming in fright or hiding behind the nearest curtain now but why aren’t you?” asked Luna.
“It is because I knew the whole time, and see no reason to fear her or get mad at her especially since that shield is holding despite the beating it is taking.” responded Fluttershy.
“Would you mind coming with me to inside that shield?” asked Luna.
“Sure, I guess.” replied Fluttershy.
So the two ponies sent walking around their rampaging friends and to the back side of the shield where they merely walked on through.
“Wait, stop firing for a bit,” shouted Rainbow Dash, “I think Fluttershy and Luna are in the shield with her.”
So the firing stopped.
“Fluttershy, my dear, and sister how in my name did you get in there?” asked Celestia.
“We walked in, Sister.” replied Luna, “I recognized this shield spell as an intention shield, plus since this spell was cast by my shield spell mentor, I am going to assume that it also gets stronger the more you blast and kick it.”
“Shield spell mentor?” asked Celestia.
“Yes, every new moon at around your midnight during my banishment, I was visited by an image of a black alicorn with a flame for a mane and a tail. She taught me how to disguise myself and cast a variety of different shields.”
“And how come I never heard of these stories and never had a visit?”
“I didn’t think it was worth sharing and I don’t know why she never shared the knowledge with you.”
“I am just in here at the request of Luna,” piped Fluttershy, “besides none of you even gave Midnight a chance to explain herself before you just attacked.”
“Fine, but I recommend she keeps that shield up if she doesn’t want to get knocked into next week.” replied Celestia.
“Where shall I start, maybe the beginning. I was just a small changeling, slightly smaller than Sweetie Bell…” began Midnight.
“Leave my sister out of this!” screamed Rarity.
“Anyway, I had just witnessed a fight between a changeling horde and a lone farmer. The changelings won of course, but not without injuries, they took the farmer’s recent harvest and left him bleeding. As they disappeared I notice one changeling had broken a wing and leg, so being kind I escorted him to a cave and began to start healing him. After he left, I went to the farmer as an alicorn philly and went to healing him as well, but when I was halfway done the changeling I had just healed came back to kill the farmer. I felt an obligation to protect life, all life. I cast my first shield spell and prevented that farmer from dying that day. However when I arrived at my home I was rejected and before long my mother came and found me in my room…
“Mother?” asked Fluttershy.
“Not in the same way as you would define mother but, it was the closest word. Most changelings are male, I was the first female ever born, my “mother”, Queen Chrysalis, banished me after seeing my flank bearing a shield, a cutie mark, not something found in changelings. Pinkie, can I get some punch, my throat is getting dry from all this talking.”
“I suppose, just as long you don’t disguise yourself as somepony I love.” responded Pinkie.
After receiving a cup and taking a swig, Midnight continued, “Pinkie, I may be able to disguise myself but as I no longer forcefully feed on love and have a hard time changing anyway, it would do me no good, not to mention you know I am a changeling. I was taken in by the farmer I cared for, of course, I was disguised, and he was the first pony who loved me. A few months later, a larger changeling swarm invaded and I was unable to protect him, he told me to run and sacrificed himself to let me escape. I ran and ran stopping only to drink. Then I arrived in the wildest forest I had ever come across and just ran right into it. Finding a tree growing in a cave wasn’t the craziest thing I had seen but it was fairly small. Some form of insect was swarming it and I felt that I had to protect it. So casting a shield around it I began squashing these pests who swarmed the tree, turns out they were baby Draconeqi. Suddenly the tree grew now to about half its current height. So I expanded my shield spell to encompass the whole tree. I began to feel something take root in my mind. After seven years of guarding it from all matter of creatures. I heard what some may call a voice in my head. It told me to remove the shield and let the tree protect itself. So I did. It modified my cutie mark as I was now connected to the Elements of Harmony and was my duty to protect them from all who know of them. Celestia knows the rest.”
“You still have yet to tell of Luna’s lessons.” said Celestia.
“So I haven't. My power waxes and wanes with the cycles of the moon being strongest around the new moon and being at its apex at midnight of a new moon. I contacted her on the moon to teach her about the Elements, and about shields and disguises. This was Luna and not Nightmare Moon, because she reverted to her normal form while banished, out of sorrow.” Responded Midnight.
“I don’t mean to be rude but what was the potion for?” asked Zecora.
“And what was the point of bring our sisters here.” asked Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack simultaneously.
“How do you think I know so much about all of you? I had to find a way to see into the current times without touching the wielders of the Elements directly. The CMC offered that opportunity, what I didn’t realize until recently that my magic had some unforeseen affects. Mainly being they are unable to get their cutie marks, which is the changeling part showing through. That potion is designed to cure that magical ailment.” replied Midnight.
“So are you telling us that the whole reason we don’t have our cutie marks, is because you were spying on my sis’s friends through us?” questioned Applebloom.
“Yes, although I didn’t know it until 6 days ago, when I was browsing through how to recognize a changeling.” replied Midnight, “Sorry.”
“So can ya’ll forgive me for hiding my true self from you? I was still living in the past where I would have been killed on sight, which kinda did just happen.” asked Midnight.
“I don’t think the CMC will forgive you, but I guess, you were just hiding for discriminatory actions against you. I think with such a rejection filled past, you kinda predict that something was bound to happen.” replied Applejack.
“How could we not forgive her, for all we know here magical influence may have created the CMC by delaying our cutie marks for so long,” cut in Scootaloo.
“I guess I understand, but why did you not reveal the changeling part in the first place?” asked Celestia.
Midnight just sat there dumbstruck that Celestia would even ask such a thing.
Twilight cut in, “Uh, Princess might it be because of exactly what we did when she first revealed she was a changeling?”
“Sorry, I must dozed for a while at that last part,” replied Celestia.
“Sorry, but I am missing the final ingredient for this potion.” Zecora stated as she was stirring the potion she had been brewing for the last few minutes.
“Of course.” Said Midnight before turning her neck and ripping out a scale on her right side, “Here you go.”
“Thank you, it is done, but question, what is it supposed to smell like?” said Zecora.
“Same thing it tastes like.” Replied Midnight.
“Which is?” asked Zecora.
“Whatever the drinker wants it to be,” replied Midnight laughing “that’s the beauty of it containing scale of changeling.”
“Apple Pie”
“Chocolate Milkshake”
“Waffles”
“Does this potion reveal their cutie marks or just remove the magic blocking them from being revealed?” questioned Twilight, curious for knowledge as always.
“It merely removes the magic.” replied Midnight.
“Does that mean the party is over?” asked Pinkie Pie
“Yep, but I’ll defiantly attend any you invite me to Pinkie.” replied Midnight.
“Speaking of parties, the Gala is coming up and I want all adults here to attend. Sorry CMC, maybe in a few years. You, Midnight shall attend as a changeling. Whether you or my subjects like it or not.”
“Does this include me, Princess?” asked Zecora.
“Yes, you shall, I shall send tickets in a few days. I guess that means you’ll need to prepare clothing and transport but I shall leave that to you.” replied Celestia.