The Castle of Dreams

MLP Friendship is Adventure

The Castle of Dreams

Chapter 1

By the will of Princess Celestia did the sun rise over Equestria, heralding a bright shiny morning and a new day. In Ponyville, everypony was already beginning to wake up, getting up and about. Shopkeepers were opening up for the day, mares were kissing their foals and sending them off to school, the Pegasus ponies clearing the sky to make way for the dawn.

In the Library, Twilight Sparkle was busy rearranging the books as Spike kept a checklist.

“So Spike, what’s next?”

“Hmm, next section is… Pony Genealogy,” he replied when the door opened and in walked Twilight’s good friend, Midnight Blaze.

A unicorn stallion with turquoise eyes, a sapphire blue coat, his mane was short and swept back in a style between formal and casual, black at the roots, the rest a gorgeous dark blue while his tail was mostly aside from a streak of dark blue visible on either side. He wore saddle-bags, one had some kind of antique sticking out of it, the other contained a book.

His cutie-mark was a cyanish-white crescent moon on its back with a five-point star in the crux, surrounded by five white twinkles. Midnight and Twilight had been friends since they’d met as foals back in Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Like her, Midnight was a studious and skilled magician, and had moved to Ponyville sometime ago and opened his own shop after he and his own friends became the Spirits of Adventure and prevented Endless Winter.

“Good morning, Twilight, Spike,” he greeted, “come to return the book I borrowed.”

“Thanks, Midnight,” Twilight said, taking the book and placing it in the “Returned Books” compartment as Midnight moved it towards her from his saddlebag.

“What’re you doing?” Midnight asked, noticing the levitated ring of books orbiting overhead.

“Just the weekly rearrangement,” Twilight answered, “to make sure everything’s in its proper place.”

“Wouldja like some help?” asked Midnight, taking off his saddlebags. “I have some errands today but I got time to kill.”

“Sure! We’re just about to straighten out the Pony Genealogy Section,” Twilight answered.

In no time at all, all the books had been rearranged in their proper sections.

“Thanks for your help, Midnight, usually that takes a while.”

“No problem, though it’s no wonder considering how many books you often read at any given time,” Midnight chuckled, “but I hope you don’t mind if I check out another.”

“Go ahead,” Spike said, “I’ll just get the records.”

Not too long later, Midnight was on his way, taking a shortcut through the marketplace, to run some errands, looking through his library book.

Hmm, this book on the Crystal Empire is very interesting, he thought. The Crystal Ponies certainly have a rich culture. Maybe I’ll visit someday.

At the marketplace, Midnight bought a few snacks before heading to the Mayor’s to deliver the antique she’d requested him to appraise. Leaving Town Hall, he bumped into his good friend, Bravissimo, a unicorn stallion with a coat as black and shiny as obsidian whereas his combed-back mane and well-kept tail were marble white, gleaming from mane-spray so not a hair stuck out of place. His eyes were a gorgeous purple and his cutie-mark a pair of spotlights.  He was the stage director of the Ponyville Theatre, as well as one of the Spirits of Adventure, embodying the Spirit of Confidence.

“Ah, Midnight, what brings you here?”

“Hello, Bravissimo, just dropping off something for a client,” Midnight greeted.

“At Town Hall? Said client wouldn’t happen to be the mayor, would it?” asked Bravissimo, a brow raised in intrigue.

“Can’t tell you that.”

“Why ever not?”

“I gotta protect my clients’ anonymity," Midnight replied while thinking to himself, and you and Rarity have an unappealing interest in gossip.

“Well, either way, I’m here to talk with the mayor about another performance I’m putting together," Bravissimo stated though his mood deflated a bit.

“I hope it’s better than the last one you cooked up,” quipped Midnight with a raised brow, chuckling at the memory of it.

“If that imbecile Ditzy Doo hadn’t messed up…!” muttered Bravissimo through his gritting teeth as he shoved past Midnight who just laughed, “Well, at least Doctor Whooves was in the opera-house, ha-ha-ha!”

To himself, Midnight thought, Wonder when Ditzy and the Doc will officially tie the knot? They already have a daughter, and last time I saw Ditzy, their daughter, little Dinky, can surely expect to become a big sister soon.

Putting those thoughts aside, Midnight headed off for his next destination: Sweet Apple acres. On the way there, he was surprised to see his good friend, Thunderlane, another Spirit of Adventure, embodying Wonder. While he worked mostly as one of the weatherponies, Thunderlane often volunteered as a part-time gym teacher and coach for the foals at Ponyville Schoolhouse (partly because it allowed him to keep an eye on his little brother, Rumble). A pegasus pony, he had a dark gray coat with a blue-silver mane in a mohawk –like style, his cutie mark was a storm cloud with a lightning bolt. At the moment, he was leading some of his students on a brisk trot as he yelled with a smile, “Proud to live in Ponyville!”

“Proud to live in Ponyville!” echoed his class as they all briskly trotted in his wake.

“Always, ponies, go for the kill!” Thunderlane added, and there was an inexplicable sound of a record-scratch as everypony skidded to a halt, giving him a questionable look. He looked back at them, laughing, “I’m just kiddin’!”

“Hey Thunder,” greeted Midnight as he approached, “hello, kids.”

“Midnight! How ya doin’?”

“Dandy, just on my way to see Big McIntosh,” Midnight replied, “what’s going on?”

“Oh, once a week or so, I like to take the class out on a quick jog,” Thunderlane said with a smile, “build up their lil’ muscles for the games and sports we play. Cheerilee doesn’t mind so long as we don’t take too long.”

“Well, I gotta go, I’ll tell Mac you said hi,” Midnight said as he trotted off and chuckled when he heard the Pegasus yell to his class, “Now everypony drop and gimme twenty!”

The following groans and whines made Midnight feel a little sorry for them, but he knew Thunder had their interested at heart.

Continuing on, Midnight was almost to the outskirts of Ponyville when he noticed a yellow streak in the sky. Chuckling to himself he continued on and was not surprised to see a green earth-pony with a green and brown mane, a pinecone cutie-mark, and amber-yellow eyes, holding what appeared to be a stopwatch.

"Hey Forester! What's up? Besides Starfyre, that is."

The earth-pony almost leapt out of his fur when he'd heard Midnight and looked to see him.

"Oh! Midnight, it's only you..."

Shy and timid, Forester was another good friend of Midnight's, and smelled of fresh dirt and flowers, which made sense because of his job as a gardener at the Ponyville Greenhouse, and the care he put into raising the herbs and flowers reflected well his Spirit of Adventure, Empathy. As Midnight approached, Forester said, "Starfyre... asked me to time a new trick for him."

"And by ask, you mean he dragged you out here so you could time his "awesomeness"," Midnight corrected with a knowing smirk.

Forester shrugged, only to leap unrealistically high as somepony shouted, "Forester, dude! You're supposed to be keeping time of my new trick!"

"Star, knock it off," Midnight intervened, seeing Forester clutching a tree branch above and shivering. "You know how high-strung poor Forester is."

"Aw, he's fine," Starfyre dismissed. Another member of Ponyville Weather patrol and a recently recruited trainee for the Wonderbolts, Starfyre was an impressive Pegasus stallion, sporting a coat that was yellow like a harsh ray of sunlight, a wild mane and tail flaming orange at the roots with the rest a burning blue, like the most intense tongue of flame, his ruby eyes gleamed with determination, his cutie-mark a lick of flame shaped like a Pegasus wing.

The overall impression of him made his Spirit of Adventure obvious – Bravery.

"Maybe you could time me - I'm planning to challenge Rainbow Dash to another race soon, but I wanna be at the top of my game beforehoof."

"Sorry, bud, I'm already on my way to see Big McIntosh," Midnight apologized as he continued on his way. "Keep practicing though! Rainbow Dash could certainly use a bruise on her ego, she's been getting kinda braggy lately."

"Will do!" promised Starfyre as he then tried to coax Forester out of the tree.

Sweet Apple Acres  was located on the far side of town, a great place, and home of Midnight’s closest Ponyville friend,  Big McIntosh (aside from Twilight). He saw him just resting on the fence, like he always does when he’s either done with his chores or taking a break, chewing on a sprig of wheat.

Big McIntosh was an earth pony stallion with no equal, in all of Ponyville, in both size and muscle. He had a light apple-red coat with a short and wavy ginger orange mane while his tail was kept short. His cutie-mark was a green apple sliced in half, the same green as his eyes narrowed in a tranquil manner. Ordinarily he’d be wearing his work collar around his neck but the sight of it resting against the fence by him told Midnight Big Mac was taking a break.

Midnight approached and leaned onto the fence next to the big earth pony, saying, “Enjoying the scenery?”

“Eeyup. Just takin’ a rest ‘fore Ah get back ta’ work,” replied Big McIntosh as he looked at his ranch. Seeing the barn, the fields of apple trees, his house, and the forest surrounding the other side. Bathed in the late-morning sun, it was a splendor of natural bounty and beauty. His own little kingdom, kept running by the sweat of his brow and the strength of his back, and the Honor of his Spirit of Adventure.

For a while, they just stood there, enjoying the fresh air and each other’s company.

“How’s that plan fer that school yer hopin’ ta’ open up?” asked Big McIntosh.

“Still saving on bits that I can spare,” Midnight answered, “it’s gonna be quite a while before I can even get started, but someday I’m gonna open my own magic school for unicorns, one where any of them can learn.”

“Ah know yer a bit sore about the one you came from, Midnight. But y’know the Princess ain’t t’ blame.”

“I never did blame Princess Celestia for how her school is run, I blame those snooty office-types for admitting ‘only the most exemplary and promising’. Did I ever tell you about this friend I had who wanted to get in when we were colts?”

“Ah take it he didn’t?”

“Marble Cake, he’s Mr. & Mrs. Cake’s nephew. He wanted to get in but… the examiners’ said he wasn’t “School for Gifted Unicorns”-material. After his rejection I went to see him; he said he was ok but… I could see it as plain as the horn on his head. He was really crestfallen.”

“He th’ reason you decided t’ open yer own school?” Big McIntosh asked.

“Him and other unicorn foals who got rejected,” Midnight admitted. “I decided I wanted to open a school for any unicorn to come and learn magic, because they all deserve a chance. No unicorn should be turned away just because some tightwad examiners think they’re not good enough.”

“Yer a rare kind’a soul, Midnight Blaze,” Big Mac said with a smirk of respect. “Almost makes me wish Ah’d been born a unicorn, so Ah could get in yer school.”

Midnight mused the idea of the big red earth pony with a horn and found the mental image just wasn’t right.

“Do you wish you’d been born a unicorn?”

“Nah, Ah’m an earth pony, Midnight, born an’ bred. Ah ppreciate th’ land beneath mah hooves and the work Ah put into caring for it. Magic’s great, but if it were used fer ev’rythang we wouldn’tppreciate the tasks that involve good n’ honest hard work.”

“No wonder you’re the spirit of honor,” Midnight replied in admiration. “I feel so lucky to have a friend like you.”

“Ah don’t believe in luck, Midnight,” Big McIntosh snorted, “Ah believe wer friends cuz wer s’posed ta’ be. That th’ light inside you brought all six of us together.”

“Never pegged you for a believer in fate, Mac,” Midnight neighed with a smirk.

“Ev’rythang happens fer a reason, Midnight. Big and small.”

So the two friends enjoyed the peace and quiet for a little longer before Big McIntosh said, “Welp, better get back ta’ work.”

“Good talk,” Midnight said before taking his leave. But Big McIntosh's words held a lingering effect on his mind, as Midnight soon started to have another idea for his school.

Maybe its’s not just unicorns who should be able to learn magic…

That night, Midnight had just closed shop to hit the hay. He brushed his teeth, fed his pet wolf, Dreamer, and crawled into bed, and let his dreams take him away.

W-where… am I…?  Midnight looked around, and gasped to see buildings of shattered crystal, a bleak sky overhead, black thorny crystal constructs everywhere, and he was watching it all from a balcony.

Below, he saw… the Crystal Ponies! All of them, looking hopeless, their coats dull, all of them chained and shackled as they bowed their heads… towards Midnight! But worst of all, he saw crystal statues of all his friends. He saw Twilight, Spike, Big McIntosh, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Starfyre, Pinkie Pie, Thunderlane, Bravissimo, Rarity, Forester, Fluttershy, Shining Armor, his sister Eponya, even the Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Florinda, and Prince Polaris. All frozen in crystal as were their faces in horror.

Then, a voice that was not Midnight’s came from his mouth. It was a low, cruel voice, a voice that sounded like something from Midnight’s darkest nightmares.

Bow to me, my Crystal Slaves! Bow before King Sombra reborn!

Midnight cried out in terror as thrashed about, only to find himself on the floor next to his bed, Dreamer at his side, whimpering in concern.

It was- It was just a bad dream! He thought as his heart pounded in his chest.

The next morning however, Midnight found out he hadn’t been the only pony with a bad dream. As he walked through Ponyville, he heard talks, whispers, and the like from everypony.

“That dream last night was horrible…”

“I was about to be eaten by a dragon!”

“I showed up to my meeting in underwear!”

“There was a fire…”

Maybe I should go see Mac, Midnight thought as he headed for Sweet Apple Acres.

There, Midnight found Big Mac sitting on the porch of his house, chewing on a sprig of wheat, looking troubled.

“Howdy Midnight, what’s new?”

“Everypony in town having a nightmare,” Midnight answered.

“Eeyup, heard all about that,” Big McIntosh sighed. “Everypony havin’ a nightmare on th’ same night? Could it mean sumpin’, Midnight?”

“I’m not sure. But the one I had certainly has me scared,” Midnight replied, shuddering as he recalled his bad dream.

Suddenly, an agonizing jolt pulsed through Midnight’s head, as he let out a cry of pain, falling down on his stomach as he placed his hooves on his head.

“Midnight! What’s wrong, haystack?!”

“My head! …I hear… a voice!” Midnight answered through his teeth.

I need your help… The Crystal Empire…

Midnight groaned, opening his eyes as he saw all his friends looking at him, hearing them talk.

“…gonna be alright?” spoke the voice of Fluttershy.

“He jus' collapsed! Said he heard voices,” answered Big McIntosh.

“Look, he’s waking up,” exclaimed Rarity and Bravissimo.

“Ooh… What happened?” Midnight asked sluggishly, as he found himself in a hospital bed.

“You collapsed, buddy,” Starfyre answered, “you’ve been out for hours.”

“Midnight, how are you feeling?” asked Twilight.

“Ugh, lousy,” Midnight replied as in walked Doctor Stable.

“Well, let’s have a look, shall we?” he suggested.

Doctor Stable took Midnight’s temperature, listened to his heart rate, checked his blood-pressure, as well as a few more tests until he said, “Well, Midnight, perhaps stress from the nightmare you had last night, along with hearing how everypony else had one as well, and a little heat simply caused you to pass out.”

“But, Doctor Stable, what about the voices he heard?” Bravissimo asked.

“An’ what about Midnight’s head a‘hurtin’,” Big Mac added.

“More side-effects,” Doctor Stable assured. “I’m sure a little rest and a nice snack will help settle him down. But I’d like to keep him overnight.”

“What?! I don’t have time to stay overnight,” Midnight protested. “I have to get to the Crystal Empire!”

“What?!” everypony all gasped.

“Midnight, why would you need to go to the Crystal Empire?” Twilight asked.

“The voice I heard mentioned it, and it was asking for help,” Midnight replied.

“Well, whether or not this voice was real, Midnight,” Doctor Stable butted in with a firm tone, “you are my patient and under my care, and I say you are staying the night.”

“Doctor’s orders, Midnight,” Applejack agreed apologetically.

“Alright then, everypony, it’s time for you all to go home,” Doctor Stable announced, “you can see Midnight tomorrow.”

“Hey Mac? Could you feed Dreamer for me?” Midnight asked.

“Sure thing, haystack,” Big McIntosh promised as he followed everypony out.

But Twilight looked back and whispered to Midnight, “I’ll send a message to the Princesses, they’ll know what to do.”

Midnight nodded to her and she left while he groaned, hating to be confined. Although he was apprehensive, Midnight’s eyes eventually closed as he fell asleep.

Meanwhile in Canterlot, Princess Celestia was talking with Princess Florinda when in flew a scroll.

“Oh! A message from my faithful student,” exclaimed Princess Celestia as she undid the seal and began to read.

“How is Twilight Sparkle, Your Majesty?” chuckled Princess Florinda but the chuckles died when she noticed a look of worry slowly spread across her teacher’s face.

“Princess Celestia…?”

“Something is wrong in Ponyville,” she answered, “Twilight explains in her message that everypony last night was plagued with nightmares and horrible dreams. Not only that, but your apprentice, Midnight Blaze, collapsed and states he heard a voice that gave him a warning that concerned the Crystal Empire…”

“Nightmares? The Crystal Empire? What could this mean, Your Highness?” asked Princess Florinda in worry.

Before Celestia could answer, the doors to the room flew open and in ran a guard, yelling, “Disaster! The Heart, Your Majesty! The Crystal Heart!”

“Calm yourself,” urged Celestia in a gentle voice enriched by magic, “What is this disaster about the Crystal Heart?”

The magic from her voice becalmed the guard’s heart, as he removed his helmet and bowed, stating, “Your Highnesses, we just received word from Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, the Crystal Heart has vanished without a trace!”

“Princess Celestia, this cannot be coincidence,” cautioned Florinda, looking at her mentor as she nodded with a look of uneasiness.

“Call Midnight Blaze and the rest of the Knights of Adventure to Canterlot,” she instructed. “I want them all here tomorrow morning.”

“It will be done, Your Highness,” Princess Florinda complied before she dismissed the guard and then flashed into a sphere of light that zoomed away, leaving Princess Celestia to dread.

Celestia looked towards one of the stained-glass windows, portraying Spike below the Crystal Heart with Princess Cadance above it, shining with power. Her heart sank as she saw the image of the Crystal Heart fade away, and she thought, I fear a storm is coming, a darkness that will enshroud us all…