By a Cold Winter's Gale
The air was still and cold one fateful evening in Canterlot. The streets lay barren and snow-covered as a single alicorn mare quietly flapped her wings. She sought to run a late night errand, and didn't care to have any interruptions. A deafening silence hung in the air, cut only by the creaking of the rusty cemetery gate. A brilliant white magic glossed over it, bringing it slowly to a close.
"Infernal thing," Midnight Requiem said. "I must commission the royal technician to have it properly oiled." The Princess of the Night flew quietly through the graves. Although she only gave them a passing glance, Midnight Requiem couldn't help but think of the sheer amount of them. She felt a sudden chill up her spine.
"Brr, it's rather cold," she said, shivering. "I wish Solar Storm was here. He would warm me up." Midnight Requiem thought about her brother. He was most assuredly asleep in the castle at this late hour. With these fond thoughts in mind, she continued flying toward her goal. As her wings flapped against the brisk, oppressive air, her mind happened to wander. Again, she realized that she was surrounded by scores of ponies whose mortal vessels lay discarded in the ground, their sous long gone to Heaven. She stopped for a moment on the cold earth, if for nothing more than to regain her stamina and gather her thoughts. A few minutes later, she resumed her flight, her hooves colder than she'd have preferred.
Eventually, she reached the massive monuments of the Equestrian monarchs that had come and gone before her. The unholy quadrangle, as it had come to be known. To the north there was Princess Celestia, former Princess of the day and protector of Equestria. To the east lie Princess Luna, former Princess of the night and guardian of dreams. To the south was Princess Cadence, Princess of love and ruler of the Crystal Empire. And finally, to the west there was Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship and ambassador to all. Midnight Requiem used her brilliant white magic to manifest four bouquets of flowers, placing each one at the feet of the monuments. Again, she looked up to the stone likenesses of her family. She was about to turn and leave the royal cemetery, when something peculiar caught her eye. Fastened to Luna’s monument was an envelope. It was adorned with the royal lunar seal, unbroken. The front side of the envelope was bare, save three words; To my successor. This made Midnight Requiem rather unnerved, causing her to instinctually look around the cemetery. It was deserted, except for her. With irrational caution, Midnight Requiem broke the wax seal and opened the envelope. Inside was a piece of parchment, surprisingly unscathed by the snow. Opening the folded paper, she read the message aloud:
Dearest Midnight Requiem,
I’m certain you’re very confused right now, but you mustn’t fear. In death I must ask of you one more favor. There is something from my past I fear may come back to haunt you. To ensure this surprise doesn’t ensnare you, you must embark on an epic quest to uncover a mystery hidden away by father time. An ancient secret that was once my greatest achievement, but in time became my biggest shame. Should you complete this task, you would put to rest a demon from my past, and alleviate the burden for yourself. If you accept this challenge, turn this paper over.
Best of Luck,
Princess Luna
Initially skeptical of this odd predicament, Midnight Requiem recounted another posthumous errand her great aunt Twilight had done, several hundred years prior to her death. Midnight Requiem turned the parchment over, and was reasonably surprised to see words on what was previously a blank page. They were arranged in a quatrain with an ABAB rhyme scheme. She read the words to herself.
Return to the portal of our domain
Its message will you heed
A harbinger to our demon’s slain
My blessing and God’s speed
“Our domain?” Midnight Requiem pondered. “And some portal? Let me think about this a moment…” She took into account Princess Luna’s curious syntax. After the padding was stripped away she was able to assess the real clue, contained within select lines of the poem. A few minutes of quiet contemplation later, and she had solved the riddle. “Initially, I thought she was speaking in Old Equestrian, as she was wont to do.” Midnight Requiem said to herself. “But I realized the domain mentioned belonged to Luna and myself.” She turned away from the massive monument. “Our domain is the realm of dreams, and the portal is my bed.” She smiled to herself and turned to face the monument once again. “If this puzzle is in any way indicative of the rest of them, I’m sure this will be- AAHH!”
Midnight Requiem jumped at the sight of the monument. The giant statue of Luna at the top was staring down at her. As if that wasn’t bad enough, not a second later, it spoke to her.
THE PUZZELS WILL GET PROGRESSIVELY HARDER
Midnight Requiem cowered in fear behind her wings. The statue bore Luna’s glowing eyes and her voice of the legion.
MAKE HASTE, MIDNIGHT REQUIEM. DO NOT FALTER IN THE SLIGHTEST.
As if she weren’t already startled enough, Midnight Requiem turned around and saw that the other monuments were gazing at her as well. They didn’t speak, but their judging stone eyes bore holes through her soul. She took off at a full gallop through the rows of graves. Her white magic ripped the rusty gate off its hinges as she sped out and back through the frozen streets. Midnight Requiem didn’t stop running until she reached the castle. Only then were her nerves the slightest bit calmer. Even so, she made her way back to her room at a hurried pace. Once inside, she locked the door and took a moment to catch her breath.
“I’m never going back there again.” She said. “From now on I’ll send my servants with the flowers.” Midnight Requiem went over to her bed and began searching for her clue. “I’m going to have to pay for that gate now,” she lamented. She found the envelope tucked away inside her pillowcase after a minute or two of searching. Expecting another scare, she used her magic to open the envelope several feet away from her. Inside was an unassuming letter, and nothing more. Midnight Requiem unfolded it with eyes shut tight. After deducing that it was in fact, a normal piece of paper, she began to read through it.
Dearest Midnight Requiem,
I apologize for startling you at the graveyard. But I need you to understand that there are fears you will have to face that are much more real and ferocious than the illusions you witnessed. I commend you on your riddle-solving ability, however I’d advise you to heed my advice at the cemetery. The riddles will only get harder from here on out. Know that if you turn this paper over, there is no turning back.
Sincerely,
Princess Luna
Midnight Requiem thought about Luna’s words for a moment. Luna indicated that there were very dire circumstances afoot, yet she knew not of any discourse in the kingdom. Midnight requiem considered this potential threat from Luna’s past, but could not fathom any logical answers.
“Regardless, my interest is piqued,” she said aloud. With that, she turned the paper over.
Perhaps you should inspect the stained glass windows...