“Midnight…Midnight, can you hear me?”
The words sounded distant, and echoed in the young boys mind. Like something you’d hear in a waking dream. Even if he could fully process the words being spoken, his mind was focused on other things. All he could focus on were newly returned memories, of the lies and deception. Everything he’d lost, his family, his friends, his humanity. It all came back to him. Midnight, no, Tristan could not tell if the ache in his head was from the impact of his botched spell, or if it was from the flooding of his old memories.
“She lied to me…”
“Midnight, are you alright? Midnight?”
“SHE lied to me.”
“Midnight!”
“She manipulated me! Took advantage of my amnesia!”
“MIDNIGHT!”
The sound of the purple mare shouting roused the colt from his thoughts. He blinked a few times, before raising his head to look his teacher in her eyes. He could see worry and concern.
“She lied to me too.”
“Midnight, can you hear me?”
“Yeah,” said the Prince, raising a hoof to his head. “I…I-my head hurts.”
“Uh oh, you might have a concussion,” said Twilight, her voice full of concern. Midnight tried to stand up, but stumbled back onto the floor.
“Careful, don’t try to move!” said the Princess as she laid the colt back down. “Here, I’m going to check my books for a medical scanning spell. I know where to look, I should be able to find it quickly, just give me a minute. And do NOT fall asleep.”
“Yeah…sure.” As Twilight went to go search her books for the spell in question, Tristan was left alone with his thoughts. His mind drifted back to his current situation. He remembered fighting Luna and Celestia, only to have it backfire on him, robbing him of his memory. Luna had taken advantage of this, and took it as an opportunity to come in, and be portrayed as the perfect loving mother. This information left a sick, horrible feeling in his gut. It was clear she would leave no line uncrossed, in her attempts to win his love. So what was he to do?
The thought of continuing to pretend Luna was his mother made him sick. It wasn’t just that he hated her, which he did. But he was also…scared of her. She was powerful, and she had proven that she was willing to do anything to make him love her as his mother. Just how far would she go? Would she try to brainwash him? Re-inflict amnesia?
Tristan decided he couldn’t live in that castle anymore, not with that crazy mare there. He needed a way out, a way back home, or at least away from his ‘Mother’, away from Equestria. The sound of clopping hooves growing louder roused him from his thoughts. He looked up to see Twilight with a book in her magical grasp. She stopped a foot away from him, and lowered the book.
“Ok, this scan spell should let me know if anything is physically wrong with you. Just lie still; it’ll only take a few seconds.
“Ok,” replied the colt. Twilight set the book down on the floor, and lit her horn. A second later, Tristan felt his body experience a warm tingling sensation. He felt this for a good five seconds, before it died down. Twilight relaxed afterwards, letting out a sigh of relief.
“Well according to this spell, everything is perfectly normal. Just a little bruise, and some dizziness, but other than that, everything’s fine. If you still have a headache by the time you go to sleep, let somepony know.”
“Will do,” replied the colt. He got up from his sitting position, and stood on his hooves.
“We probably shouldn’t do anymore magic right now, you’re probably magically exhausted. Do you still want to go flying with Rainbow Dash?” Tristan thought about this for a moment. Honestly, he didn’t want to be around these ponies anymore. Luna may have orchestrated this deception, but they had gone along with it. And right now, he needed some time to think. So he suppressed his emotions, and kept himself surprisingly calm.
“N-no, I kind of want to just go home,” said the Prince after some contemplation.
“Alright, I’ll send a message to the castle to send some guards to pick you up.” said Twilight as she made her way out of the room, to her study. “You know, you came very close to teleporting. You should feel proud!” Tristan followed her with his eyes, until she left the room.
‘Teleporting…’ this gave Tristan an idea! The spell that had brought him here was basically a teleportation spell. Maybe if he searched the library for books involving teleportation, he’d eventually find a spell that could send him home! With Twilight out of the room, he rushed over to the bookshelves, and started scanning the tomes with his eyes. As he started searching, he recalled the first conversation he had with the ponies. They said that in order to bring him here, they needed the power of four Alicorns.
This meant that even if he could find the spell, he wouldn’t have the magical strength to perform it. What was he to do? There was no way Luna or Celestia would help him go home. He didn’t know if that pink Alicorn would help, and he also wasn’t sure about Twilight. He had a feeling she was slightly indifferent to the situation, but she wouldn’t dare go against Luna’s wishes.
Tristan needed more magical power. But how would he come across it? Wait a second…memories once again returned to Tristan, he remembered just what caused his memory loss. The Alicorn Amulet! If he had that, maybe he’d have the power to return home! But where could it be?
As Tristan thought about this, he also searched the bookshelves. He found books of all kinds, some about history, some about nature, and others about Magic. There were books of all kinds. And this was only the first shelf. Completing his search of that first shelf, Tristan then moved to the next one.
About half way down, he spotted something of interest. The book he found was called; Advanced Magic, Theory and Practice. Perhaps this one would have the answers he seeked. He could worry about the amulet later, after he had the spell. He was about to take the book, when he heard the clip clop of Twilight returning. Startled, he fast walked away from the shelf, more towards the spot were he was when Twilight left.
“Alright Midnight, I sent a message to your Aunt, and she’s sending some ponies to pick you up.”
“Ok,” replied Tristan.
“They’ll be here soon. In the meantime, do you want something to eat?” Tristan was about to say that he wasn’t hungry, when his stomach interrupted him, with a growl. Twilight chuckled in response.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Is a daffodil sandwich Ok?” questioned the Princess as she turned and started making her way towards the kitchen.
“Yeah, thanks,” replied the colt. When Twilight was out of sight, Tristan’s eyes returned to the book. He had a good feeling that was the book he needed. But Twilight would surely notice if it was missing, and even if she didn’t, she’d definitely notice him trying to sneak it out with him. He could ask to borrow it, but he hadn’t learned any previous magic that was that advanced, so it would be suspicious that he’d want to jump strait to that high a level.
So, he couldn’t get the book out of the library. But maybe the library at Canterlot castle would have it, and he could get it from there. It was a bigger, more public library, and it would probably arouse less suspicion. It was decided that that was the path he’d take. And after he found the book, he’d look for the amulet. And then he’d go home.
Tristan finished his sandwich, using his hoof to wipe off the crumbs. Twilight was also finished with hers, and she proceeded to place both plates in the sink.
“Thanks for lunch Twilight,” said the Prince.
“You’re welcome,” replied the purple mare. Just then, the sound of the door being knocked on could be heard. Twilight and Tristan’s ears perked up, and Twilight started making her way towards the front of the library.
“That must be your escort,” said Twilight as she walked past Tristan. The colt got off of his chair, and followed. Twilight then opened the door, to reveal two white Pegasus guards.
“Good day Princess Twilight,” greeted one of the guards.
“Hello, here to pick up Midnight?” The guards nodded in response. Twilight turned to see the prince making his way towards the door. She then turned back to face the guards. “Make sure he doesn’t fall asleep. I didn’t detect a concussion when I scanned him, but he said he had a headache, so don’t let him fall asleep in the carriage. If he still has a headache by bed time, have him checked by a doctor.”
“Of course your highness,” replied the other guard. Tristan now stood next to Twilight, and looked between her and the guards.
“Well Midnight, I’ll see you for your next lesson. Feel better, Ok?” said Twilight.
“Yeah sure. Thanks, I’ll see you later,” said the colt, who then made his way out the door, towards the chariot. As the pegasi strapped themselves in, Twilight waved goodbye to the colt, and he returned the gesture. The guards then started galloping forward, taking off into the sky, and heading towards Canterlot.
Tristan didn’t need to be told twice not to go to sleep. It was the furthest thing from his mind. All that he was focusing on now was his plan. When he returned to the castle, Luna would most likely be extremely worried about him. He’d deal with that, and pretend he still had amnesia. Then, when she left him alone, he’d go to the library, get the book that he needed. The difficult part would be finding out where the Alicorn Amulet was located. It had to be somewhere in the castle, locked in a vault or something. He’d find it. He wouldn’t rest until he did.
After about an hour of flying, the castle came into view. Tristan’s stomach lurched, and he felt a mix of nervousness and excitement. He was nervicited. This was it. Either he’d make it home, or…or…well to be honest, he didn’t know for sure what the alternative was. The truth would be out then, Luna would know he no longer had amnesia. And if something went wrong, he had no idea what would happen next. Maybe she’d brainwash him, or something else equally terrible. The colt took in a breath, steeling his resolve. It wasn’t going to come to that. He was going to succeed. He was going to go home.
The chariot touched down on the green grass of the Canterlot gardens. Tristan saw Luna standing there, and saw a concerned expression on her face as soon as he saw her. When the chariot came to a stop, she was already almost on him. He hopped off the vehicle, and was instantly embraced in a tight hug.
“Oh Midnight, are you Ok? I heard you had an accident!” exclaimed the worried mother. Midnight’s head was pressed against her barrel, concealing his expression.
“I’m fine mom,” said the colt, with a grimace. The very act of calling her “mom” sickened him, and almost had a bitter taste on his tongue. He fought it, and quickly hid his distaste. Luna extended her forearms, so that she could look her child in the eyes.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I kinda have a headache, but that’s all.”
“Princess Twilight said that if he still has it by the time he must go to bed, to have him checked out by a doctor,” said one of the royal chariot drivers.
“Thank you, I will keep that in mind. You are dismissed.” The guards nodded, and then left the two Alicorns alone. Luna turned back to face her son. “Don’t worry, I’ll spend the day with you, to make sure you’re alright.” An alarm went off in Tristan’s head. This would be very detrimental to his plans.
“That’s Ok mom, it’s just a little headache. I can handle it; I’m a big pony. I know you have work to do.”
“Are you sure?” questioned the lunar diarchic with concern.
“Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll just wander around the castle for a while, and keep myself entertained.”
“Well…alright, but make SURE you don’t fall asleep. And let somepony know if you need anything. If you need me, just call.”
“Sure thing.”
Luna gave her son another hug. “I heard you almost teleported. I’m proud of you, that’s very complex magic!”
“Thanks mom.”
The two broke their hug, and Luna then kissed him on the forehead. The two then went their separate ways. Tristan started walking towards the direction of the library, and as soon as he was sure that Luna was gone, he released a shudder he had been holding in. He was surprised at how well he was able to hold in his true feelings, and play pretend. He would’ve made a great actor.
The Prince made his way through the castle, navigating through the halls, past the guards, and maids and various other castle staff, until he finally reached a large open doorway. He could see that past the front desk, were rows of shelves, stretching farther than he could see.
‘Perfect,’ thought the colt. He started trotting into the room, and stopped in front of the circular desk. Behind it sat an aging light grey earth pony, with a white mane. He was wearing a sweater, with a white under shirt, and a black tie. He wore a pair of spectacles, and his mane was combed back and to the side. He was currently reading something written on some sheets of paper, and didn’t seem to notice the colt. Tristan cleared his throat, which roused the pony’s attention. He looked up from what he’d been reading, somewhat annoyed, until he saw who was interrupting him.
“Oh, ah, Prince Midnight! I’m sorry your highness, I didn’t see you there,” said the stallion.
“That’s ok, Mr.…?”
“Oh, it seems we’ve never been properly acquainted,” said the librarian, as he made his way out of the desk, and towards the colt. His voice was polite, though with a faint touch of the upper class. He extended a hoof to Tristan, who took it and turn, and shook. “My name is Bookworm. I am the librarian here at Canterlot Castle.”
“Nice to meet you,” replied the Prince.
“So, your highness, what brings you to my library?”
“I’m just here to browse around,” replied Tristan. That seemed like the least suspicious motive.
“Oh, well are you searching for anything in particular?”
“Not really.”
“Oh, well, if you need my assistance, just let me know.”
“Sure. Thank you,” replied the colt. Bookworm nodded, and returned to his post, and Tristan made his way past the desk, towards the shelves. As he walked, he saw a couple of other ponies browsing as well, though they didn’t seem to notice him. He turned his attention to the books, searching for the title he had seen in Twilight’s library. He saw that the books were arranged by genre, so he searched for the educational section.
After about five minutes of searching, Tristan’s mind was starting to lose attention, and beginning to mindlessly scan the titles. But just as he was about to finish searching the shelf he was on, he stopped. His attention was caught by a particular tome. Advanced Magic, Theory and Practice. That was it! Tristan used his magic to bring down the book, and he looked at the cover. The book looked a bit old, but still in good shape. He set the book down, and opened it. It was a thick book, so Tristan went to the glossary to search for particular chapters. After some searching, he found what he was looking for, Chapter 9. He flipped to the chapter, and started reading the first sentence.
“Teleportation is a very complicated spell, but is also held as one of the utmost contributive spells, which holds a wide array of uses, such as transportation, and even has its use in combat. Teleporting can be performed on one’s self, others, or objects. Teleporting can range from just a few feet, to traversing miles at a time. In the very most advanced cases it can be used to traverse continents.
There has been rumor of this kind of magic being used to teleport to other worlds, though the idea has yet to be proven anything other than a concept. If such magic were possible, it would only be achievable through the highest of levels of magic. It stands to reason that the performance of the spell would be reserved for the Alicorns, or beings of equivalent magical ability.”
“This is what I need!” thought the colt, as he stopped reading. He had what he needed. He’d take the book back to his room, and finish reading there. Then, he’d find the amulet
Tristan tucked the book under his wing, and made his way back to the front of the library. He placed the tome on the desk, which caught Bookworms attention.
“Ah, your highness, found what you were looking for?”
“Well, I found this, which piqued my interest.” The librarian took the book and observed it.
“Hm… Advanced Magic, Theory and Practice? That seems a little advanced for you, doesn’t it?” questioned the stallion.
“Oh, well I saw it as I was browsing and it looked interesting. I probably can’t understand most of it yet, but I thought it would be interesting to read up on some of the spells that I’ll be able to perform someday.”
“Ah! Well then, feel free to return this whenever you finish it, just don’t forget!” said the librarian as he handed the book to the Prince after he had taken record of it.
“Sure. Thanks!” replied the Prince as he put the book under his wing, and started making his way back out of the library and towards his room. The colt prince kept the book tucked under his wing, so as to hide it as best he could from any passersby. There was very little traffic on his way to his room, and five minutes later, he was in his room, alone with the book. After closing the door, he set the book down, and opened it to the desired chapter, and began reading.
It was now a couple hours after the Alicorn prince’s departure, and Twilight was now heavily engrossed in one of her books. It was a new one that she had ordered, which had arrived a day ago. She had been hoping for time to read it, and now the perfect opportunity had arrived, even if she wished it had been under different circumstances.
Spike was gone for the day, leaving Twilight alone, with just her reading. She wished she had more times like this, but being the Element of Magic, a Princess, AND a tutor had taken up quite a bit of her time. It was nice to have an unexpected variance in her schedule to just relax.
Twilight just turned the page of her book, when the sound of knocking on wood could be heard. The Alicorns ears perked up, and she set the book down. She got up from where she was sitting, and made her way to the front door. She opened it, to reveal none other than Rainbow Dash.
“Hey Twilight!” greeted the Pegasus.
“Oh, hello Rainbow, what brings you by?” Confused, Rainbow cocked her head to the side.
“Uh, I’m here to pick up Midnight for his flying lesson, same as usual.”
“Oh, right! I’m sorry Rainbow, I forgot to tell you! Midnight had a little accident with our magic lesson and hit his head. He went home. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, it completely slipped my mind,” said Twilight regretfully.
“Oh, that’s ok Twilight. Is he Ok?”
“Yes, he has a little bit of a headache, but other than that, he’s A-Okay!”
“Did you take him to a doctor or something?”
“Oh no, I performed a check up myself. I used a medical scanning spell on him,” said Twilight closing her eyes with a hint of pride.
“Oh, cool. So he’s good then?”
“Yep, my spell didn’t detect any serious problems. Everything’s as it should be!”
“Yeah, well, you know, except his memory.” Twilight’s eyes opened immediately to reveal dilated pupils.
“W…what did you say?” stuttered the princess.
“Uh, nothing, just that he still hasn’t gotten his memory back,” replied Rainbow, not sure what had just unnerved Twilight.
“Oh no…this isn’t good!” exclaimed Twilight as she turned and dashed into the library. Rainbow Dash followed her inside, looking a bit confused.
“What’s wrong?” questioned the prismatic mare.
“That’s just it! Nothings wrong!”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“No! Don’t you see, NOTHINGS wrong! If Midnight still had amnesia, my spell would’ve detected it! Don’t you see? He’s gotten his memory back!” As the new information sunk its way into Rainbow’s head, she too got a worried look on her face.
“That-that’s not good is it?”
“No Rainbow, it’s not! If he remembers everything, it means he remembers who he is, and how angry he is at Princess Luna! He might try something to get home, or make some sort of action against his mother! I need to let her now!” Twilight ran upstairs, into her study, and rapidly started searching for quills and parchment. Rainbow followed her quickly by air, floating in the air behind Twilight.
“So, what do we do?” asked Rainbow.
“I need to write a letter, but I can’t send it without Spike! Can you go find him?”
“Yeah, sure, do you know where he is?”
“No, I don’t! He said he was going to be out all day, he could be anywhere in Ponyville!”
“Well, I am the fastest Pegasus in Equestria, I’m sure I can find him in no time!”
“All right, you do that, while I write up the letter.” Rainbow saluted, and then dashed off out of the library to chase down the dragon. Twilight pulled up a piece of parchment, and dipped her quill, and began writing.
“I just hope we aren’t too late…”
Tristan shut the book, and stood up, stretching his limbs. He had finished reading the spell. It used a lot of big words, but he believed he grasped the basic concept. It was like normal teleporting, just a bit different. He had to think of the location he wanted to go, but because it was a different world, it required an additional action. What he basically had to do was draw in the energy from the core of his world, and pull it into his horn. This required magic, as well as an image of the energy being drawn in his mind. But drawing in the magic was the issue; it required advanced skill and power. That meant it was time for stage two.
Tristan made his way to the door of his room, and opened it. He stepped outside, and saw no other ponies in the hallway. Closing the door behind him, he began walking. Finding out where the amulet was located would be a challenge. He had no idea where important things were kept. In order to find out, he’d need to ask somepony, but without alerting anypony to his plan. That was going to be complicated.
As the former human made his way down the hall, he recalled hearing about the Elements of Harmony. They were those powerful artifacts that Twilight and her friends wielded. They were no doubt located somewhere secure; perhaps the amulet was near, or even in the same place. He could work with this. He could pretend to be interested about them, and thus find out where they were located.
A look of determination came to his face. He had his plan, now he needed to put it into action. Nearing the end of a hallway, he stopped before crossing into the adjacent hallway. He stood still and listened. After about a minute, he could hear the steady clip clopping of hooves. He listened, as they got closer. He positioned himself, waiting. As soon as it sounded like the pony was about to turn the corner, Tristan started trotting forward. As planned he collided with the pony, and fell on his rear. The pony was a guard, just as he had hoped. The pony looked surprised, then looked down to see the Prince.
“Oh, Prince Midnight, my apologies, I did not see you!” said the stallion, helping the colt up.
“Oh, that’s ok. Sorry, I wasn’t looking were I was going.”
“That’s perfectly alright your highness.” The stallion was about to leave, when Tristan stopped him.
“Oh, wait a second, I’m actually glad I bumped into you! I’m looking for something, do you think you could help me?”
“What is it you are searching for my liege?”
“Liege? That’s a new one,” thought the colt. “Well, I remember hearing about these things called the Elements of Harmony, and how they were supposed to be held here in the castle. I wanted to check them out, see what they looked like. Do you know where they are?” The guard looked a little uncomfortable at the question.
“Well, we aren’t really supposed to speak of it. It’s classified.”
“I just want to look at them, I’ll even get my mother or aunt to accompany me. Please?”
“Well…ok. The Princesses keep them in the throne rooms vault. But the vault can not be unlocked by anypony except the two princesses.”
“Thanks, I’ll go try to find one of them!” The former human nodded his thanks to the guard, and the two went their separate ways. A smile grew on the colts face. “Mom, dad…I’ll see you soon!”
Celestia sat in her room, sipping on a cup of tea, while doing her paperwork. It was one of the most boring parts of the job as princess, but it had to be done. She was just glad that she had Luna to share the workload. The princess levitated the cup to her lips, and took a sip, before setting it down on its saucer, and signed her signature on a document, before setting it off to the side, and replacing it with another.
Celestia was about to start reading the scroll, when sparks materialized in the air before her. She caught the newly appeared scroll in her magic, before it fell. “Oh good, a distraction!” A smile came to her face, as she opened the scroll, and began reading. Her smile fell as she read.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I have urgent news! Earlier today, when Midnight and I were practicing magic, we had an incident. I scanned him to make sure he was injury
free, and the spell said he was fine. It was only much later that I realized that the spell didn’t detect anything wrong with him! That means that his
amnesia is gone! I thought it urgent, considering what he tried to do last time, and felt I needed to tell you. I am deeply sorry that I let such an
important matter like this slip my mind! I think you should find Midnight and Luna before something bad happens!
-Sincerely Twilight Sparkle
Celestia lowered the letter, and placed it on her desk, letting the news sink in.
“Oh goodness…. I new something like this was going to happen!” Celestia got up from her desk, and dashed for the door. She had to find Luna, Midnight, or both as soon as possible. Remembering all this information was surely going to spark some heavy emotion in her nephew. Last time he froze Discord in stone, and used the Alicorn Amulet to challenge her and Luna. If something bad happened it would be on her hooves as well as Luna’s. Celestia ran out the door, and into the hallway.
“Luna should be in her room,” thought the princess. Celestia stopped her running, and lit her horn, deciding that would be a quicker coarse of action. In a flash, the Solar Princess appeared in her sister’s room. This surprised Luna, who was currently working on paperwork of her own. She turned her head to see her freshly materialized sister.
“Tia? What are you doing here?” she questioned.
“Luna…something’s happened.”
“Walk normally, don’t draw attention to yourself,” thought Tristan as he made his way through the halls, to the throne room. He remembered the exact location of the throne room. It was where this whole mess started. It was where it would end. As he made his way through the halls, ponies would all bow to him. He’d nod in response, but did not decrease his pace.
Soon enough, his trek came to an end, when he found himself in front of the double doors that served as the entrance to the throne room. Two armored stallions stood in front of it, one a unicorn, the other a Pegasus. When the colt stopped in front of them, the two guards turned their attention to their prince.
“Good evening your highness. Is there something we can do for you?” questioned the Pegasus.
“Yes, I wanted to go into the throne room,” replied the former human.
“The throne room is empty, your aunt and mother are somewhere else in the castle,” said the unicorn.
“Yeah, I know, I wanted to just look around in there. I haven’t really gotten a good look at the stained glass windows yet, or the throne.”
“Well, I suppose that is all right,” said the unicorn again. The two ponies stepped to the side, and the unicorn used his magic to open the doors.
“Thanks,” said the colt, as he made his way into the throne room. The doors were partially shut behind him, leaving him with a decent amount of privacy. He calmly trotted into the room, and started searching for anything that could be a vault.
He didn’t see anything on the walls of the room, but he did see the throne at the end of the hall. Aside from that the room was basically empty. If the vault was anywhere, it was probably near there. Tristan galloped towards the throne, and saw something behind it. Moving around the throne, he saw a structure lying behind it. It was looked like a wall, with an emblem of the sun with a hole in it, with six circles surrounding it.
“That must be it…” he thought. He made his way to it, and looked at the hole in the emblem. It looked like the keyhole. The guard said only the princesses could unlock it. That meant it probably didn’t rely on a regular key. Then what would open it? Maybe…maybe it needed a horn to unlock it? But it probably couldn’t be just any horn. Was it deep enough that only a long horn could hit a button or something to unlock it? No, that would mean anyone could just stick a long rod inside, and poke it. It probably required some sort of magic pulse to open it. If that was the case, he would never be able to unlock it. But maybe he could break the lock with a strong enough magic pulse? He did after all turn Discord to stone.
Tristan saw that the keyhole was quite a bit taller than him. Luckily, he had some basic flying skills. Using his wings, he ascended into the air, and floated there. Once he was at the right height, he moved forward, and stuck his horn into the lock. As expected, his horn wasn’t long enough. “Alright. I need to put as much magic into this as I can.”
Tristan concentrated, and started using his magic. He used all his might, but when he opened his eyes, he saw that nothing was happening. Shutting his eyes again, he put even more effort into it. His horn sizzled, and he opened his eyes to see the lock faintly glowing, but not opening. He tried again with no success. He tried again, and again, but could never get enough energy. “This is going to take awhile…”
Luna galloped as fast as she could through the halls of the castle, searching for her son. If it was true he had his memory back, that meant he probably wouldn’t respond to her calling him out. So, she and Celestia had decided to split up, and ask the various castle staff if they had seen him. Luna was currently running down the hall, towards her son’s room. As soon as she reached it, she flung the doors opened, and rushed inside. At first glance the room was empty. She searched the room further, looking under the bed, in the closet and the bathroom, but he wasn’t there.
Crossing Midnights room off the mental checklist, Luna ran out of the room and down the halls. As she ran, she saw a maid walking towards her. Luna ran in desperation up to the maid, who looked surprised to see the Princess in such a state. Wasting no time, Luna questioned the pony.
“Have you seen Midnight anywhere?” questioned the princess.
“No, your highness, I haven’t. Is something wrong?”
“No time!” said Luna as she rushed past the mare. She ran down the hall, and turned the corner. She saw two guards trotting down the hall. Luan ran up to them, and asked them if they’d seen her son. The first guard shook his head, but the other responded verbally.
“Well, I saw him a while ago. He said that he wanted to see the Elements of Harmony and asked where they were. I told him they were in the throne room, but I also told him only you or your sister could open the vault that they’re kept in. He said he’d find you, and ask you to open it so he could see them.”
“The vault? What could he possibly want with the vault?” questioned the Princess internally. It didn’t matter right now; she knew where he was now. Luna thanked the guards, and ran back down the hall. She ran as fast as she could, heading towards the throne room.
Halfway down the hallway, Luna recalled that teleporting would be a much faster method of reaching her son. Lighting her horn, as she continued running, she vanished in an instant.
Materializing in the throne room, Luna dashed as fast as she could to where the vault was. Rounding the throne, she saw her young son, floating in the air, his horn sticking into the keyhole that would unlock the vault.
“Midnight!”
Tristan had been at this for a good few minutes. He’d try to put as much effort into opening the vault as possible, but he could never get it. His wings were getting tired. He hadn’t built up any muscle endurance, or at least not as much as he needed. He was starting to get frustrated. He needed to get this thing open, and NOW. Perhaps he needed a break, a few minutes to recharge. He was about to when he heard the clopping of hooves rapidly approaching.
“Oh no, someone’s coming!” The clopping stopped after a few seconds, only to be interrupted by a shout.
“Midnight!” The boy’s blood ran cold, and he nearly dropped from the air right there. SHE was here. She knew he remembered. She’d do something to him, that much was for sure. He needed to open this vault NOW!
Desperate, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, he stuck his horn back in the lock, and put absolutely everything he had into it. He felt his horn radiate a large amount of magical energy. The feeling of being caught, and knowing he was out of time fueled him with adrenaline. The feeling put more motivation into him than he had felt since he had met Discord. The colt let out a scream, as he put all the power he could into opening the vault.
Then, Tristan could feel something happening. He opened an eye, and chanced a peak to see the sun emblem glowing, along with six other circles on the door. Removing his horn, he receded from the vault. The glowing continued as the door opened. Slowly, the door creaked open.
As soon as he could, Tristan flung the door opened and dashed inside. Rapidly, he searched for the amulet. This had all been a gamble at this point. If the amulet wasn’t there, he was screwed. It had to be there. It HAD too! He heard Luna’s voice calling him, but he paid her no mind. He shifted through the items in the vault. There were these necklaces with gemstones in them, as well as a tiara, which he dismissed, throwing them out of the vault behind him. He searched for several seconds, finding several other artifacts that he didn’t recognize.
He lifted what appeared to be a staff, and tossed it behind him. When he did, it revealed a familiar blood red gemstone. Picking it up, Tristan saw that it was the amulet he needed. He turned around, with the amulet in hand to see Luna standing right outside of the vault, with wide eyes.
“Midnight DON’T!” He didn’t listen. As quick as he could, he clasped the amulet around his neck. Instantly, a familiar feeling of power coursed through his veins. His eyes glowed red, and with a quick flap of his wings, he shot out of the vault, shooting past Luna, and into the center of the room, where he landed swiftly. Luna turned and followed as fast as she could, racing towards her son.
“MIDNIGHT, TAKE THAT OFF! TAKE IT OFF NOW!”
“NO!” Using his magic, and returned knowledge of the arcane, the colt erected a shield around his body. Luna skidded to a halt in front of it. She ran up to it and started banging on it with her hoof.
“MIDNIGHT STOP! THE AMULET IS TOO DANGEROUS! I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU PLAN TO DO, BUT PLEASE, DON’T DO IT!”
“I’M GOING HOME! AND YOU ARE NOT GOING TO STOP ME!” Sitting down, Tristan closed his eyes, and started to concentrate. He imagined his home planets energy streaming into him. He focused on his home and his family, and started channeling his magic, willing himself to teleport there.
Luna was beyond desperate. Even if he did have the Alicorn Amulet, this was too dangerous. If done improperly, the consequences could be disastrous. Midnight could explode himself, and possibly take the entire wing of the castle with him! With tears in her eyes, Luna backed up from the shield. She had to stop Midnight, not just for his safety, but also for the safety of the other ponies in the castle.
This was not how it was supposed to go. Luna was supposed to earn her son’s love, and then gently reveal his past to him. He would know the truth, but he wouldn’t have the hurt and painful memories attached to them, making it easier for him to accept her as his mother. But she had waited too long. Now if she didn’t put a stop to her son once again, somepony could get hurt!
Luna charged a spell, and shot it at the shield, only for it to bounce off, flying into one of the stained glass windows, shattering it instantly. Realizing that she needed to put more power into it, she charged her horn again, and shot another spell at the shield, though she aimed it so it wouldn’t collide with Midnight. This time, the shield cracked, but didn’t break. She charged another spell of equal strength, and this time it shattered the shield.
Luna shot forward towards her son, in an attempt to get him under control. At that very moment, the former humans eyes opened wide, revealing a hot white glow. A powerful pulse of magic shot forward, pushing Luna back. She skidded backwards, but didn’t lose her footing. She started pushing forward, having to shield her eyes. The energy and light was pushing back at her like a rushing river. She trudged forward, but it felt like she was moving through molasses, she wasn’t moving fast enough. Hot energy propelled into her, but she kept moving forward.
“MIDNIGHT PLEASE STOP! YOU’RE GOING TO HURT YOURSELF! I’LL MAKE THIS ALL UP TO YOU, I’LL FIND A WAY TO MAKE YOU HAPPY AGAIN, JUST PLEASE STOP!” Though Luna used all her vocal power and magic to amplify her voice, she had a feeling her son couldn’t hear it over the rushing magical energy.
Meanwhile, for Tristan, he was in immense pain. His entire body felt hot, like the hot energy comprising his magic was coursing through his veins. He tried to focus on his home, but it was getting harder and harder to concentrate. He could hear the faint calling of his birth mother, calling for him to stop, trying to convince him of the danger, but he knew she was just trying to deceive him. Besides, he felt that he wouldn’t be able to stop, even if he wanted to. The energy was flowing through him, and he couldn’t stop it.
Then, he started to feel a new sensation. It was like his body was being compressed. The energy was getting overwhelming, and he screamed in pain, no longer to hold it in. He let out a scream of pain, and in an instant, his pain amplified.
Luna had almost reached him. She was pushing as hard as she could, and was about to touch Midnight with her hoof, when she was blasted back once again. It launched her backward, and all she could hear was her sons screaming, and the pulsing of magic. Then, a pulse of white light erupted from her son. It was like a nuclear explosion being triggered, or an imploding star. Luna was launched into the throne, causing it to break as she fell through.
Tristan’s sensations now felt completely numb. He couldn’t see, or hear. His vision was consumed with white, then black. Then, he knew nothing.
Luna felt an intense soreness in her body, particularly her barrel. Her ears where ringing, and when she opened her eyes, she had imprints on them from the intense light. She grit her eyes tight, wincing as she stood up from the wreckage of the throne. When she had gotten to her knees, she looked to her left. There was a huge crater embedded right into the floor of the throne room. “Midnight!” Luna got to her hooves, and climbed over the wreckage, hobbling towards the crater. Luna’s eyes widened as she neared the crater. She looked down to see the crater completely empty, except for charred scorch marks lining the sides.
“No…n-no…. it can’t be…” Tears came to her eyes, and she brought her hoof up to her muzzle. She heard the sound of the doors to the throne room opening, but she didn’t move her gaze from the spot where her son once occupied. He had exploded. He couldn’t handle the magic…he was…he was dead.
“Luna! Luna, what happened?” The lunar princess could hear her sister speaking, but paid it no mind, unable to take her attention away from the spot where her son used to be. She shut her eyes, but the tears flowed rapidly from them anyway. She felt a hoof on her wither, but didn’t react to it at all.
“Luna…where’s Midnight?” questioned Celestia. Luna pointed a shaky hoof to the crater, before breaking down completely, her sobs turning to wails. Celestia’s wide eyes traveled to the spot, before she looked back to her sister.
“Oh…oh no….” Tears came to Celestia as well, but she didn’t break down in the same manner as Luna. She sat next to her sister for a few moments, just stroking her back with her hoof. She shut her eyes, and lowered her head. Then, she felt something squeezing her barrel. She looked down to see her sister hugging her tightly, crying into her fur. Luna was hiccupping, her tears staining both their coats.
“I’m so sorry Luna…I’m so sorry…” others came to see the commotion, guards and castle staff. All stopped when they saw the crater, and all stopped when they saw the princesses, their strong and all knowing leaders, holding each other tightly and crying. Nopony knew what was wrong, but they new that something tragic had happened.
As for the princesses, an intense sorrow gripped their hearts, as well as guilt. Celestia didn’t know exactly what happened, but she knew that Midnight was gone. And it was most likely due to their lying to the colt.
As for Luna, her sorrow and guilt were at an all time high, higher than from her Nightmare moon incident. She knew this was her fault, and that this wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t deceived her son. And now he was gone. Celestia, now feeling an intense sorrow like her sister, broke down even further, and hugged her sister tighter. The two princesses held each other, neither moving from that spot. Eventually, their energy ran dry, and the two fell into an uneasy slumber. They’d awake hours later, having been placed in their beds. Both would wonder what had happened, until the memory of the recent tragedy returned. And then…they’d cry again.
Blackness covered Tristan’s vision. The first sensation to return to him was touch. He felt a cold hard rocklike texture beneath his body. And it was…slimy. The next sensation was hearing. He could hear the sound of buzzing wings, but much bigger than an average insect. He slowly opened his eyes. The room was dark, except for various green glowing, emanating form different objects that he couldn’t make out. He felt a strong headache, and put a hoof to his forehead, while hoisting himself up with the other.
He sat up, feeling dizzy, and exhausted. His head rolled around on his neck as he tried to get his bearings. He could hear the buzzing, it was getting louder and louder. He also heard the clip clopping of hooves. “It’s her!” The colt shot up, ignoring his pain, and looked to the source of the sound, expecting to see Luna, or one of her underlings. But what greeted his vision wasn’t his birth mother, nor was it any sort of creature he’d ever seen before. But it spoke to him, with a feminine voice. One that sounded predatory, and intrigued. A voice with echoes and varying tones, like multiple people speaking at once.
“Now now now…what do we have here?”