Twinken looked around, unsure of where he was until the disorientation cleared up and he saw he was in the throne room. When had he come here?
“Twinken, come on, bro, focus, we have a lot to do today and I need your help.”
Twinken jerked up, just now noticing that Midnight was standing in front of the throne, a scroll in his hooves and three impatient looking stallions in front of him. Deciding to ignore how he arrived in the throne room for the moment, Twinken nodded and quickly trotted over to his brother. It was clear to him that Midnight needed him. Forget those rich snobs from earlier; he knew he wasn’t some hindrance.
The young colt stood beside his brother and took the scroll from him. After doing so however, he noticed the three stallions glaring at him, as though disgusted he was even there. Their stares made him feel uneasy, but one glance at Midnight’s comforting smile and he felt better. Whoever these stallions were, they could think whatever they wanted about him. As long as he had his brother, their opinion didn’t matter one bit.
“Okay, Twinken, I’ve just been discussing some new reforms to the tax code and #$%* *%&&# !@*^”
Twinken blinked and looked at his brother. Huh?
“Uh, Midnight, I think I must be sleepy or something. What was that last part?”
Midnight rolled his eyes but started again.
“I said %*#( !@&&* )(8$. Okay?”
Twinken blinked again. What?
Seeing the confusion on his brother’s face Midnight just facehooved and gave an irritated sigh.
“Look, it’s all on that scroll in front of you, just give it a quick look over, we need to get started here.”
Sensing his brother’s irritation growing, Twinken hurried to comply. He quickly broke the binding on the scroll and unrolled it, only to stall.
‘&$#% **^! ~)*&^^% ^#*&@((@ (9366#*^%’
The whole thing was just gibberish. Just symbols and numbers randomly written all over the thing. He looked up at Midnight helplessly, hoping to see mirth on his face and a chuckle at the joke he just pulled. Instead he just looked extremely annoyed that Twinken still had no idea what was going on. He raised his hooves to his temples and gave them a rub, gritting his eyes closed in frustration.
“Twinken, this is very simple stuff here. If you can’t follow along then I think it’s best you just let me handle this whole thing. Obviously you aren’t up to the task of being my assistant. I’ll just flag down a staff member and get them to help me. I think you should go.”
Then, without a shred of remorse or even a scrap of care, Midnight turned back to the stallion in front of him, completely ignoring the crushed and heartbroken expression that crossed Twinken’s face.
“Gentlecolts, I think we should continue this in the private chambers while my ‘little brother’ heads off and leaves us to our business. Please follow me.”
The stallions nodded, all looking extremely pleased that Twinken had just been dismissed. They each gave the young unicorn another glare before following after Midnight, who led them out of the room without so much as twitching his head in Twinken’s direction.
“W-Wait Midnight! Please, I can help! Just give me another chance!”
Twinken’s cries went unheard as the prince left the room, the stallions following behind. The young colt just sat still, tears welling into his eyes. How could Midnight do that to him? Didn’t he care? Did Twinken mean nothing to him?
Was he just useless?
Mocking laughter filled the air as Twinken turned to find that the throne, had disappeared behind him and instead hosted a podium where Silver Striker and Golden Glitters stood proudly above, pointing at him as the laughed and laughed. The sneers on their faces tore into Twinken even more as the cruel laughter echoed around the room.
“Stop it! Stop laughing at me!” Twinken cried, the tears sliding down his cheeks and the pain in his heart rapidly growing.
The laughter just seemed to grow louder at his protests, the sneers growing wider and the hatred and disgust in their eyes burning into him even more.
“I said STOP IT!!”
“Why should they?”
“They’re just laughing at your mistake.”
“You should know the truth by now.”
Twinken gasped and looked to his side to see the dark smirks of his oldest tormentors. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon just stood there smugly, seeming to delight in the cruel laughter that continued to grow and echo around the room, a tempest of mockery and shame.
“What are you two doing here?” Twinken cringed, backing away from them and the two colts on the podium above him.
The young fillies just stared him down, the smug grins not leaving their faces for a second.
“We’re here to pound the truth into your skull, Twinken.” Silver Spoon said giving her pigtailed hair a flip and raising her nose snobbishly in the air .
“You know the truth but you just keep ignoring it. We’ve tried and tried to drill it into your head but you just wouldn’t listen,” Diamond Tiara squinted at him darkly, like she could pierce right through him.
“What… what are you talking about…” Twinken said, splaying his ears down and covering them with his hooves as the mocking laughed blared around, so loud now he could barely think.
Silver Spoon spoke again, and despite the laughter and his attempts to block it out, he could hear her plain as day. “You know, Twinken. You’ve always known, but today just proved it.”
“You deny it and deny it, always trying to reassure yourself it’s not true, but deep down you know the truth. Admit it, Twinken, admit what you know in your heart is true.”
Around him the laughter was so loud his ears were ringing in pain. Silver Striker and Golden Glitters above started to grow, becoming twice his height, then four times, then brushing against the ceiling in seconds, the mocking laughter blaring out so loud it burned!
“Aagh! It hurts… please stop… please!” Twinken cried backing up away from the giants and from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon who continued to smirk at him, not moving a step.
“Admit it, Twinken! Admit the truth!” Silver Spoon screamed, her voice cutting through the laughter with ease and an insane grin crossing her muzzle.
“It won’t stop, Twinken! Not now, not ever! Admit what you know is true!” Diamond Tiara cackled, her eyes manic and bloodshot, filling Twinken with horror.
The gigantic colts behind them started to advance, their mocking laughter piercing and burning through their sharp dragon-like teeth!
Twinken couldn’t stand it anymore. He turned and fled, running as fast as his young legs could take him. He burst through the throne doors into and endless hallway. As he ran, ripples seemed to spread from his hooves and over the walls. With every ripple, the stones turned dark and old, torches burst into life, the flames crackle and spitting. All the windows seemed to explode and the sky outside turned dark, with lightning crackling through the air and monstrous howls echoing through the night. Suddenly the throne room doors behind him exploded and the gigantic colts barrelled towards him, their laughter blaring at him as they advanced.
“There’s no use running, Twinken! You know the truth!” a ghostly apparition of Silver Spoon floated alongside him.
“Admit it! Admit what you know is true!” a ghostly Diamond Tiara appeared on his other side, her face the picture of insanity.
Twinken ran and ran, but the hallway just seemed to go on forever, and the giants smashing through the walls behind him were getting closer and closer.
“ALRIGHT! I ADMIT IT! I’M USELESS OK?!? I’M USELESS! LEAVE ME ALONE!” Twinken screamed, his eyes bursting over with tears as he ran for his life.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon joined in the laughter at his admission, circling him around and around. The laughter was unbearable, it burned him to his core.
Suddenly the floor gave way and Twinken screamed as he fell through blackness. As he fell, the laughter turned into chanting around him, the voices of his tormentors refuses to leave.
USELESS - WORTHLESS - PATHETIC - NOTHING
The chants echoed over and over, worse the laughter, so loud that even his own screams couldn’t silence them. Below him Twinken could see flames, burning and sparking, waiting to reduce him to ashes. Standing amongst them was his brother.
Midnight’s wings were spread and his eyes glowing red.
“You are worthless, Twinken! I am a Prince! An Element of Harmony! A defender of the realm! I don’t need a whiny, clumsy, good-for-nothing colt like you! Now BURN!”
The flames grew around him as Midnight coldly turned his back on the young colt and vanished like a wisp of smoke. The chanting grew louder and louder, piercing, screaming, burning through his soul!
Twinken closed his eyes as the flames rapidly approached him. He could feel their heat and he gave a final scream…
“ENOUGH!”
Suddenly, there was nothing. No heat, no chanting, no laughter.
Just silence.
Twinken slowly opened his eyes as he felt land under his hooves. However all around him was nothing but blackness. There was nothing beneath him, and yet he could stand. As he looked around in confusion, a blinding light burst into view in front of him. The young colt squinted as he saw a form approaching him through the light, wings spread out and a feeling of warmth and love started to flow through him.
“You are dreaming, young colt. A dream of darkness and pain. But they shall not bother you any further, for you are now under my protection. I am the guardian of the dreamscape and I will protect you, my child.”
The light faded as the figure pulled Twinken close and wrapped him in a hug. The warmth and love was so strong, that for a moment, it felt as though nothing in the world could ever hurt him. After a moment, the figure pulled away and Twinken got a look at his savior.
“Princess Luna!”
“Be still, young Twinken, I am here.”
“But, I- Wait… did you say ‘dream’?” Twinken asked, puzzled not only by Luna’s appearance but his mind started to rise out of the current of cacophony that so easily swept up anyone in their sleep.
“I am the Princess of the Night,” Luna confirmed with a smile and a little dramatic flair. “Therefore it is my duty to watch over my little ponies as they dream. I sensed the fear and darkness overwhelming you and came to help you.”
Princess Luna gave the colt a look over, as though seeing through him to the troubles on his heart. She gave him a smile of compassion and understanding and raised her hoof. As she did so, the darkness around them receded, now showing them to be standing on a hill beneath a starry night sky.
“The nightmare you were having was strong indeed, young Twinken. Please, let me help you. Tell me, what dark thoughts weigh upon you that haunt you so?”
For a moment, Twinken wasn’t sure. The feelings of uselessness and inadequacy plagued him, but they felt like his burden to bear. However one looked at the warm smiling face of the princess before him, and Twinken spoke.
“I… I’ve just been feeling really badly for a while now, Princess, and today seemed to confirm it for me. I grew up in an orphanage. Around me, lots of young colts and fillies all got adopted except me. I thought ‘was something wrong with me?’ ‘Why does nopony want me?’ And then, one day, Midnight came. He loved me and accepted me and adopted me as his brother. I was so happy. Then Midnight kept saving the day and becoming an alicorn prince, and I just felt… I just felt so small next to him.
“He was this big hero, and I was just a little unicorn colt he took in. I just… I just feel so useless. He goes out saving the day and helping ponies and being this big royal prince, and I’m just… just his little brother. The little colt who can’t do anything. I just… I love my brother, so much and I want to help him… I want to feel useful, like I matter. But I keep messing up. Just today these colts and filly showed me that, beside Midnight, I don’t belong. He’s the big hero, and I’m… I’m nothing…”
Twinken hadn’t realized he was crying as he spoke, or noticed as his voice wavered. But he was fully aware of the warm hug that wrapped around him as he finished his tale. Luna held him close, letting him know how much she cared.
“Twinken, I too, know the feelings of being useless and inferior compared to an older sibling. I know it far better than most. Celestia was always the big hero, the alicorn savior that everypony loved, while I went unappreciated and ignored. But what I had forgotten in my grief and rage, and what you have forgotten as well, is that these feelings, they are unnecessary. Just like Celestia with me, Midnight loves you. He didn’t adopt you and take you in as some sort of joke. You aren’t just some novelty he keeps around. He loves you, with all his heart.”
The Princess leaned down so she could look right into Twinken’s eyes and be sure he understood her words clearly.
“Regardless of what the so-called “noble ponies” think or say about you, for an unfortunate number of them are in no way noble. Regardless of what anypony says about you. Regardless of the doubts and insecurities that dwell within you and weigh you down. Regardless of everything, remember this. To Midnight, and to all the ponies that love you, including myself, you will always be needed.
“Being ‘needed’ doesn’t always mean for something big or important, like looking over tax protocols or new bills. Sometimes all that’s needed of you is to be yourself, to be there for those you care about, and give them all the support you can offer and show them that you care. Even the smallest gesture of kindness can make a world of difference.”
Twinken stared back at Luna, seeing the truth in her eyes, the complete certainty she was right.
“Are… are you sure, Princess?” he asked hesitantly, rubbing his shoulder and looking away in nervousness, as though she was about to tell him that all her words had just been a lie.
“Yes, young Twinken. I am completely sure. But do not simply take my words for it. Let us see what your brother has to say.”
Raising her horn to the stars, Luna cast a spell high into the sky. The stars above twinkling for a moment, before the all started to fall in a beautiful meteor shower. Within moments, the stars dropped to the ground, little balls of twinkling light, forming a ring around the two ponies. The glow surrounding them grew brighter, and a vacuuming affect surrounding Twinken. He and Luna slowly started ascending into the sky, rowing fast and faster. Twinken watched as the ground grew further away until he could see the whole planet below him, as the darkness of the night sky surrounded him. The two flew up and up until another circle of light appeared before them and they flew straight through it.
The light was so bright that for a moment, everything was white. Then a door opening sound flickered into the young colts ears and he looked around to see that he and Luna had just exited a door in a new place. All around them the sky, the ground, everything was a pleasant luminescent bright blue, with sparkling white light glowing and flowing about.
Standing side by side, as though they were in an invisible hallway that seemed to stretch on forever, was hundreds and hundreds of doors, almost each and everyone of them displaying a cutie mark. He turned to the door that he and Luna had just exited, only to find it bore no cutie mark on it. Yet he could feel this door, as though it was a part of him, and he understood.
This door was a doorway into his subconscious, into his dreams. Whereas the others must have been doors into the dreams of other ponies. He looked about seeing, a gift mark, a star mark, a treble clef mark. Dozens and dozens of marks.
“Come, young colt, I think it is time I showed you Midnight’s dreams.”
The alicorn started to float down the hallway, and Twinken, felt himself following along. He passed door after door, seeing some he recognized, and others he didn’t Until finally they arrived at a door with the cutie mark of a pale bluish-white crescent moon on its back facing upwards, almost enveloping a star of the same color surrounded by pure-white twinkles. The door to Midnight’s dreams.
Luna opened the doorway and gestured for Twinken to look within. Twinken, still feeling completely surreal in this dream world, nodded and complied. Within Twinken saw his brother sitting at a desk, surrounded by darkness, and the desktop covered with papers, one stack on one side, several more on the floor around him. Midnight looked tired, bored out of his skull, but the sigh he made was sad and lonely.
Twinken felt his heart tug him towards his brother and almost stepped through the door into Midnight’s dream when...
“Hey, Midnight, are you still stuck doing paperwork? I was hoping to practice some more magic with you.”
Twinken looked on in surprise as he saw himself walk into the scene, a smile wide on the dream-Twinken’s face and an aura of joy.
Midnight looked up and smiled as a bright warmth filled up his face.
“For you, Twinken, absolutely. With all these dumb royal duties I have, I don’t get to spend as much time with you as I wish I could.”
Twinken listened as the dream version of himself replied, “Don’t worry, big brother, I know being a prince comes with a lot of responsibilities and that a lot of ponies count on you.”
Midnight however shook his head and pulled the dream-Twinken into his arms.
“I know I have responsibilities Twinken, but that doesn’t matter to me. You’re my brother and you should always come first.”
He looked down at the little colt in his forelegs, a warm smile on his muzzle.
“It doesn’t matter to me, what royal duties I have or what responsibilities I’m given. You matter to me more than any of it. I love you, little brother.”
“I love you too, big brother.” Dream-Twinken said and the two gave each other a warm nuzzle.
Seeing it, Twinken couldn’t help but smile and even felt a few tears well up in his eyes, for even though it was a dream of himself he could feel his brother’s love.
“Do you see now, young colt? Regardless of what the fools of Canterlot think, to your brother, you matter immensely, and you always will. It is a lesson I learned far too late.” Princess Luna wrapped the young colt in her wing and pulled him close to her side in a sign of affection.
As she did so, the dream Midnight was having changed. The dark and dreary office Midnight had been sitting in morphed into his bedroom, where Twilight Sparkle now lay across his bed, wearing some sultry socks that almost completely covered her legs.
“So Midnight, I’ve been a naughty little filly. What are you going to do with me?” She purred sliding a hoof over her side sensually.
As the Midnight in the dream gave a sexy growl and wiggled his brows at the dream-Twilight, Princess Luna quickly slammed the door shut.
“Uh-heh heh. I think we’re done with Midnight’s dream for the moment.” She stuttered, her cheeks now glowing red.
Twinken was reddening too, as Luna then cleared her throat.
“I can feel your anxiety has left you, Twinken. I am glad I was able to help you feel better.”
“I do, and thank you, Princess Luna,” Twinken smiled at the princess but felt like he was missing something.
“Does something still trouble you, young one?” Luna inquired, wondering if she’d missed something as well.
“It’s nothing big, it’s…” Twinken thought about it before explaining. “When I was helping Midnight, I got hungry and so he had a guard take me to get lunch. On our way out of the throne room, we met three ponies who wanted to speak with Midnight, and their children. One of them was a filly named… Piani, Piani Coca, and...”
“And…?” Luna pressed.
“She said some bad things about her father, a musician, I think, named Boli Coca,” Twinken answered. “Before I fell asleep, I thought about Piani and was thinking ‘Doesn’t she realize how lucky she is to have a dad? To have a parent who loves her?’ I mean, I grew up in an orphanage, and I love my brother, I do! But I’ve always wondered how great it would be, to have a dad and a mom!
“I just… Well, I get parents can be embarrassing, but… Piani should thank her lucky stars to have a father.”
“Hmm, perhaps we should look into that,” Luna suggested, and almost at once, the hall of dreams they stood in moved, doors zipping past them like a blur and almost as quickly as it began the hall came to an abrupt stop!
Twinken was confused, when Luna looked to a door that had no mark. Recalling the door to his own dreams didn’t have a mark either, Twinken assumed this door led to Piani’s dreams and it being blank meant she too didn’t have a cutie-mark either.
Luna tapped the door with her horn and it swung open.
Looking through it, they saw Piani, wearing a pretty emerald green dress, standing on a stage before an audience of featureless ponies, and she was playing a piano, the melody of a classical piece sounding.
Luna appeared to gaze hard at Piani’s dream and then spoke.
“Piani is like you, Twinken.”
“Huh?” Twinken looked at Luna in confusion as the princess continued to gaze upon the filly and her dream.
“She too grew up in an orphanage. She never knew her birth parents and was often alone in school. One day, her class went on a field trip to the Canterlot Opera House, where she saw a musician perform, and became inspired to become a classical musician.
“She wound up being adopted by Boli Coca, and at first it was a close and loving bond. But as she grew older, she learned her adoptive father preferred more lively kinds of music and thought classical was boring…”
As if responding to Luna’s narrative, Twinken saw the dream take a different direction.
“C’mon, Sweetheart!”
Piani’s dream self startled, hitting a sour note, and she gawked at the front row, and there was Boli Coca. He was gazing up at Piani with a mischievous smile and saying, “Play something big and loud!”
“Father…!” Piani whisper-shouted but was cut off by a not-so-subtle cough and she looked up towards a box-seat.
Twinken saw in the box-seat were three ponies. He only recognized Octavia Melody but the other two were unknown to him.
“Frederick Horseshoepin and Parish Nandermane,” Luna spoke up, having noticed the confused look on Twinken’s face. “They, along with Octavia Melody, are Piani’s idols in classical music. In her dream, they are critics, and she is desperate to impress them.”
“Come on, Piani!”
Piani and Twinken looked to the wing of the stage and there was another Boli Coca, dressed as a stagehoof.
“Knock `em dead!”
“Would you be-” Piani protested.
“Is there a problem, Miss Coca?” Octavia spoke up in a sharp judgemental tone.
“Uh- No, ma’am!” Piani began to sweat.
“Then complete your piece,” Octavia all but demanded.
Twinken could see this dream was taking an unsavory turn for Piani, as she forced herself to concentrate on her piece and continued to play.
But then she heard some laughing and they both looked up to the critics and saw a third Boli Coca laughing with them.
“Daddy!” Piani shouted, “What are you-”
“Miss Coca! We have no interest in being here unless you play your piece! Now play!” Octavia snapped but then smiled at Boli next to her. “Now, Mr. Coca, say that joke about the alpaca from Peru again?”
They laughed again and Piani lost her temper, “DADDY!”
Unfortunately she slammed her hooves so hard on the keys of her piano that she heard and felt something break, and the audience gasped while Piani felt like her heart was in a vice.
“We came here, as a favor to your father, to listen to your piece,” Octavia said with a warning rise of her voice. “If you’re just intending to waste our time, then perhaps we needn’t bother with you again!”
Piani was whining in fretful worry, when…
“You can do it, honey!”
“Show `em what you’re made of!”
“You’re my little girl! I know you can do it!”
“Wow `em!”
Twinken saw the audience had become a crowd of Boli Cocas, all shouting words of encouragement to Piani. But it did nothing to alleviate Piani’s worrying, as the suffocating encouragement from her father on all sides and the judgemental gazes of her idols spiraled into a nightmare. Twinken could see the fear and discomfort on Piani’s face, and felt compelled to go in there and help her, even if he didn’t know how and despite the fact Piani hadn’t exactly been friendly to him before.
“I think we’re done here,” Luna decided, and she closed the door to Piani’s dreams.
“What was her nightmare about, Princess Luna?” Twinken looked up at her, trying to understand what he had just seen.
“Piani Coca, as you just found out, is Boli Coca’s adopted daughter,” Luna explained. “The first two years after he adopted her, Boli and Piani were as close as father and daughter could be, regardless of blood-tie or lack thereof.
“But as she got older, Piani began to notice how different she and her adoptive father were. She liked classical music and sophistication, he liked loud and wild music and enjoyed being himself, even if his ludicrous behavior was frowned upon by stuffy socialites. Not only that, Piani began to feel overshadowed by her father’s celebrity status and his career. She wants to become a greater musician and step out of his shadow and be recognized, and she’s often been embarrassed of him and being associated with him. She has almost forgotten the bond they once shared and her inability to accept her father for who he is while trying to be her own pony has slowly driven a wedge between them.”
“That’s really sad!” Twinken couldn’t imagine something like that happening to him and Midnight.
Sure, he’d felt afraid of losing his brother because of his position and royal responsibilities, and feared being unable to be useful. But this was something else. Piani had allowed her vanity and ambition to blind her to her father’s love and encouragement, and was allowing it to distance her from the stallion who took her in as his daughter.
But as he puzzled, Luna announced, “I’m afraid we’re gonna have to wrap this up, young Twinken. Dawn is approaching and your dreams are over.”
Twinken nodded in understanding before smiling with deep appreciation.
“Thank you so much, Princess Luna, for all that you’ve said and done.”
Luna smiled back at him warmly, “I care about and watch over all my little ponies, Twinken, and I always will. So know that, if ever you have fears and doubts again, that they manifest in your dreams to trouble you more, remember that I won’t be far and will help you when you need it.”
Twinken smiled at her again and was about to say more when he felt dazed and everything blurred into a shadowy view, and he groaned.
“Mmmph…” Twinken’s eyes slowly edged open, and he noticed the slowly-brightening glow of morning, and recalled everything he’d dreamt of.
He sat up, stretching his forelegs and back as he pondered for a few moments, and then smirked in determination.
“Today is gonna be a good day!”