//------------------------------// // Phantom Photobomb (T) // Story: My Little Investigations: Marehunter // by Metool Bard //------------------------------// December 14, 11:33 AM Canterlot Castle Royal Observatory *** "Ooh, wow~! I gotta say, I really like what Princess Luna did with the place." I really have to agree with Spike here. While most of Canterlot Castle has remained unchanged since I was studying magic as Princess Celestia's personal student, I haven't exactly been to the Royal Observatory since my astronomy exam back when I was a filly. Seeing it again now, well, it's obvious that Princess Luna has added a lot of her personal touches. There were no torches on the spiral staircase leading up the tower, but instead luminescent crystals that shimmered like stars. At least, I think they were crystals; it's very hard to tell. Walking up the stairs felt like very much like ascending into the heavens on a clear night. It's quite breathtaking, actually. "I suggest you keep your voice down, Mr. The Dragon," Kibitz whispered brusquely. "Princess Luna might still be asleep, and she has no mercy for anypony who wakes her up." "I don't think we have to worry too much about that, Kibitz," I said. "For one, I've seen Princess Luna active during the day plenty of times. She's probably out and about right now. Secondly, if what you say is true, why did the Royal Guard bother to turn her bedchamber into a makeshift darkroom in the first place?" Kibitz cleared his throat. "I-I cannot say, Your Highness. Still, better safe than sorry." Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. "Considering we're conducting an important investigation here, I think we can risk dealing with the wrath of a groggy Luna, don't you?" Kibitz had no response to that. We continued up the stairwell in silence until we reached the door leading into Luna's bedchamber. I gave the door a light tap. "Hello?" I called out. The door creaked open. Much to my surprise, Princess Luna herself poked her head out. Despite Kibitz's fears, she actually looked quite happy to see us. "Ah, Twilight," she said pleasantly. "I see you got my message. Please, come in." Before I could ask what she meant, she opened the door all the way and invited us inside. I took a cursory look around to see if everything was in order. All windows and light sources covered so that no light could damage the photos: Check. Trays of the appropriate chemicals set up nice and neatly: Check. Photos themselves hung up to dry on a clothesline and over a drip pan: Check. Huh. For a makeshift darkroom, it actually isn't half bad. Especially considering that the Royal Guard is probably not trained to handle something like this. "Um, good morning to you, Your Highness," said Kibitz, wiping some sweat from his brow with his handkerchief. "I, do hope the Royal Guard didn't disturb you too badly." "Not at all, not at all," said Luna. "In fact, I was the one who set up this area." I gave Luna a quizzical look. "Really? Celestia and Holy Lance never said anything about that." "Well, nopony in the Royal Guard knows that much about photography, so I had to supervise," Luna explained. "That being said, they did do most of the work." "Ah, I see," I said with a nod. Truth be told, I wasn't expecting Luna to be involved in this process at all. Not because she's a princess or anything; that's not really an excuse in this day and age. However, she was banished to the moon for a thousand years after becoming Nightmare Moon and trying to overthrow her own sister. After she returned to normal, she had trouble adjusting to modern pony society. At least, that's what I had gathered from one particular Nightmare Night when I helped her win the respect of her subjects. But, that was a long time ago, too. I'm sure she's come a long way since then. She must have if she's able to supervise a delicate procedure that wasn't around at the time when she was banished. "I wasn't aware you knew all that much about photography yourself, Princess Luna," said Shining Armor. Luna shrugged. "When you have your picture taken enough times, you get curious," she said simply. "Anyway, what matters is that the photographs that Ms. Photo Finish took at the Gala last night have been fully developed. Here." Using her magic, she delicately took five photographs from the clothesline and set them daintily on the table next to the chemical pans. As Kibitz drew back the curtains, the rest of us gathered around for a closer look. Just as I thought, all five of the photos were of Coco Pommel standing in the East Garden. Looking at them now, I can see why Photo Finish chose her to be her next model. Instead of proud and dynamic like most fashion models, Coco's poses could only be described as sheepish and timid. It's very reminiscent of Photo Finish's previous work with Fluttershy, actually. At this point, I'm guessing this kind of thing is Photo Finish's motif or something along those lines. I'm not entirely familiar with her work, so I can't really say for certain. "So, what exactly are we looking for, Twi?" asked Spike, scratching his head. "'Cause I don't think I'm seeing it." "According to the aerial schematic we got from the Wonderbolts, the crime scene was just within the camera's field of vision," I explained. "Therefore, we need to find some evidence to that effect." "It might also help if we knew the exact time when these photos were taken," added Shining. "You wouldn't happen to know that, would you, Luna?" "They should be in order from left to right, according to the guards that confiscated Ms. Finish's camera," said Luna. "However, that's all we were able to figure out." That would make sense. Cameras like the one Photo Finish uses don't typically display timestamps. Only more casual models and security cameras do that sort of thing. Nevertheless, Photo Finish did give us a narrow-enough timeframe to work with, so the exact specifics don't matter too much in the grand scheme of things. "Alright, let's each take a photo and see what we can find," I said. "Spike, you start with the earliest one. Then Kibitz, then Shining, then myself, and Luna will look at the latest. If anyone finds anything of significance, just speak up." Shining chuckled. "That's just what I'd expect from you, Twilie. Always so organized and on top of things, no matter what. I'm glad you're the one leading this investigation." I gave Shining a knowing smirk. "Save the flattery for after we solve this mystery, BBBFF," I chided playfully. "Alright, alright," Shining said with a laugh. "I just thought I'd throw that out there, y'know? For those of us who weren't entirely convinced of that yet." I think I know exactly whom he's referring to. Sure enough, Kibitz let out an irritable sigh before muttering something under his breath. I'm guessing it was something about him still finding this to be unorthodox. Well, he can grumble about it all he wants, but it's not going to change anything. The sooner he accepts that a princess is allowed to get her hooves dirty, the better off we'll all be. We each took our designated photo. To the naked eye, mine didn't seem to be all that significant. It was just a shy-looking Coco Pommel wearing a beautiful powder blue ball gown that was like nothing I've ever seen before (I'm assuming that she made it herself in order to promote her own work, which was part of the deal she made with Photo Finish). But as I took a closer look, I noticed a strange anomaly in the background. It appeared to be a wisp of, something or other blowing past and rustling the branches of the trees overhead. It was almost as if part of the night sky had made its way into the foreground. That's the best way I can describe it, anyway. Actually, now that I think about it, I feel like I've seen this wisp somewhere before. I can't quite put my hoof on it, though. Hmm. "I do believe I've found something." My musings were interrupted by Luna holding her photo aloft. "Well, what is it?" I inquired. "Look here," said Luna, laying the photo on the table and pointing with her hoof. "Notice how the model's ears have perked up here? That indicates that she might've heard something." I compared Luna's photo with my own, and I immediately saw her point. In my photo, Coco's ears were folded back, and she was blushing slightly. In Luna's photo, she appeared to be much more alert. Photo Finish must've taken this photo the minute they realized that something was amiss. "I see," I said, tapping my chin. "Anything else?" "Just over here," said Luna, pointing at the far left side of the photograph. "It's hard to make out, but I do believe that white speck might be part of Blueblood's horn. It also seems to be enveloped in some sort of aura." I squinted and took a closer look at the spot Luna indicated. Indeed, there was a slight discoloration in that area of the photo, and it was surrounding a barely visible white speck. It's no stretch of the imagination to say that Photo Finish would miss something this minute while she was taking these pictures. "Well, that's better than me, at least," said Shining. "I didn't find anything out of the ordinary here." "Nor did I," said Kibitz. "Ditto," added Spike. "What about you, Twi?" "Well, that's debatable," I said, laying my photo down. "I saw this wisp over here, just above Coco's head, but I'm not quite sure what it is." Luna leaned in close and gave the photo a long, particular look. After a pregnant pause, she gasped and placed a hoof to her mouth. "I-impossible," she stammered. "Th-that can't be right at all." "What? What is it?" I asked. "That wisp you're referring to," said Luna. "I've seen it before. I-it's the Nightmare Forces." "WHAT?!" Spike let out a roar of surprise as he recoiled from this revelation. I had more or less the same reaction. For those who are unaware, the Nightmare Forces are creatures that live on the moon. They were parasitic creatures, fueling their victim's fears and darker emotions through nightmares until the victim allows them to overtake their body and mind. It is through their manipulations that Princess Luna's jealousy and loneliness spiraled out of control, eventually turning her into Nightmare Moon. But as Luna said, this development is impossible. Many moons ago, the Nightmare Forces latched onto another victim in the form of Rarity. They chose her so that their one weakness, the Elements of Harmony, would be rendered useless. Despite this, they were soundly defeated, and two of the creatures even vowed to change their ways and prevent anything like that from happening again. What are they doing back? "Th-this is most peculiar, to be sure," I said. "I really thought they left us for good after last time." "They did," Luna said darkly. I did a double take. "Wait, huh? How can you be so sure?" "As the Princess of the Night, it is my duty to walk through everypony's dream," said Luna. "If the Nightmare Forces did return, I would've sensed their presence long ago. However, that has not been the case." "Th-then what's the explanation for that?" said Spike, jabbing his claw at the photo. Luna let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know. The magic of the Nightmare Forces is not something that's easily replicated. Only the most powerful practitioners of dark magic could do something like that." Throughout my trials and tribulations, I've come into contact with many a foe that would fit that description. However, most of those foes are either reformed, locked up in Tartarus, or dead. It's very possible that we're dealing with something entirely new. Could it be that Mare-Do-Well's impostor is the reason behind this anomaly? No, that doesn't make sense. Mare-Do-Well's structure was based off of a pegasus, not a unicorn. If the impostor had a different structure, that would be a dead giveaway, now wouldn't it? I suppose she could've been using Pan's Music Code, just like Spitfire and Octavia described. But I don't think Pan has any spells like that in his repertoire. Ugh, it's so confusing! "You alright, Twilie?" asked Shining. "You look a bit pained." I suddenly remembered a special technique Cadence taught me a while back to calm my nerves. In a fluid motion, I placed a hoof to my chest and took a deep breath. As I exhaled, I extended my foreleg. With that exhale, my mind became a bit clearer. "It seems this mystery is far from over," I said. "To find out what really happened in these photographs, we're going to need to talk to Prince Blueblood again and get the full story from him." "Assuming he's not ranting about his accommodations, that is," Spike said sardonically. "After that talking Celestia gave him? I highly doubt it," Shining snickered. "Blueblood might be a stuck-up snob, but he knows better than to get on his aunt's bad side." "Indeed," said Luna. "I've seen Celie scold Blueblood before. It's not a pretty sight, and it's certainly not something he wants if he wishes to recover from this attack." That doesn't necessarily mean he'll be amiable, but I guess it's better than nothing. "Well, I think I know where we should head to next," I said. "Thank you for your help, Luna." "My pleasure," Luna said with a bow. "Kibitz?" "Um, yes?" "If you could, make sure these three photos are returned to Ms. Photo Finish, would you?" Kibitz took a moment to clear his throat. "Uh, of course. Anything you say, Your Highness." I turned to Luna and arched an eyebrow. "Wouldn't you be entirely capable of doing it yourself?" "Well, yes," said Luna with a giggle. "But what's the point of being a princess if you don't have somepony else do things for you?" Okay, I know that Luna isn't that lazy. She does take it upon herself to walk through everypony's dreams, after all; not to mention her countless other duties. As such, I'm guessing that was a joke. At least, I'm hoping it was a joke. "No comment," I said. "I'm just kidding, Twilight," said Luna. "I'm actually intrigued by this supposed return of the Nightmare Forces. I have to look into this. If I discover anything, I'll be sure to let you know." Ah, so that was a joke. That's a relief. "Right. Thanks," I said with a nod. "Good luck with that." "Best of luck to you as well, Twilight," said Luna with a serene smile. "And be sure to keep on your guard." "I will," I said firmly. And with that, we made our way back downstairs. Well, it seems Photo Finish was wrong, at least partially. Some of these photos do contain valuable evidence. The only question is, what do they mean? And I know this might sound a bit pessimistic, but I'm not entirely sure if Blueblood has the answer to that question. I guess there's only one way to find out, I suppose. But considering the mood he's in, I'm not exactly looking forward to it...