The Castle of Dreams

Chapter 12

Before long, everypony had exited the sanctum when they heard…

“You’re Highnesses! Everypony!”

They looked down the hall and saw General Knighthoof approaching, and it was in that moment Shining Armor felt a need to be elsewhere.

“Uh- Twily?” he nervously asked.

“Go ahead, I’ll distract him,” she invited, and Shining Armor quickly took off before Knighthoof could get closer.

“Where’s the Captain off to?” the old general asked.

“Oh, uh… Shining’s just gonna consult with somepony,” Twilight explained and started leading Knighthoof away.

“So…. What should we do, Princess Celestia?” Bravissimo asked.

“Take a break, my little ponies,” the Princess of the Sun suggested. “For the moment, we’re out of leads. But perhaps a little rest will unveil a new one.”

Shining Armor didn’t stop until he was clear across the other side of the castle, in a long gloomy hall, all the windows curtained.

“I don’t understand, Midnight,” he whispered, holding his hoof over his heart, which fluttered with anxiety that he knew was not his own.

“Why don’t you want your parents to know you’re alright?”

The situation isn’t exactly ideal, my friend.

The answer was in his head but Shining Armor felt as though somepony had been next to him, talking to him!

“Midnight?” Shining Armor looked around but saw he was apparently alone in the hall.

Open one of the curtains, the voice suggested.

Shining Armor looked at the nearest window, and a spark from his horn all but tore the curtain open, revealing that Princess Celestia was already beginning to lower the sun. But it was in that fading twilight, in the very window that Shining Armor saw…

“Midnight Blaze!”

There he was! Standing right there, next to Shining Armor’s reflection. The white unicorn looked to his side but saw nopony was there.

“Are-are you really here?” Shining Armor asked.

In a sense, answered the image of the blue unicorn. My soul currently resides within you, but our spirits remain separate and independent, which is why I can show myself to you in a reflection.

For a few moments, the two friends said nothing until Shining Armor broke the ice.

“How did it come to this, Midnight? And what do we do now?”

I honestly can’t say, Shining, Midnight replied, sounding tired. As far as I know, something like this has never happened before in Equestrian history. Even Star Swirl the Bearded didn’t think it possible for two spirits to inhabit the same body. But I placed my trust in you, and when we took hooves just as Twilight woke you up, I can only guess that somehow I came with you from the Dream Plane and wound up inside you.

“Hmm, I suppose that makes sense,” Shining Armor amended, “but right now, we haven’t got a clue to the whereabouts of the Mirror of Fantasia. If we don’t find it before Sombra, Equestria may very well be doomed.”

And you need the Spell of Retrospection to discover a lead to the clue Star Swirl left behind, I know, Midnight pondered for a moment.

Perhaps it’s possible… Maybe, Shining – Just maybe! – you can cast the spell by channeling my magic.

“But that spell is yours to wield!” Shining Armor debated. “I already wield the Bastion Barrier, and nopony can use more than one spell from the Grimorum Unicorum!”

That is true, but it’s never been said nopony with two spirits inside his body can’t use two spells from the Grimorum! Midnight debated.

I think if you channel my magic, you can act in my place and be able to use the Spell of Retrospection!

Shining considered Midnight’s idea, but then he said, “You didn’t answer my first question – Why don’t you want your parents to know you’re ok?”

Midnight’s image in the window looked away, his ears drooping.

“Midnight…” Shining pleaded. “I think it’s been proven well enough by now – We’re friends! You can tell me anything.”

Midnight sighed, muttering, Maybe if it was just my mother…

“What do you mean? You’re dad’s quite worried about you too,” Shining Armor assured.

…General Knighthoof has not been my dad in a very long time, Shining Armor, Midnight stated.

“What do you mean?” Shining asked.

I’m not saying anything else… until you put on your armor and conceal my cutie-mark on your rump. Midnight stated with a very final tone, looking away from Shining Armor, in a decisively immature and coltish manner.

The white unicorn, exasperated, was about to try and convince Midnight to talk until he noticed ponies of the castle staff were staring at him from the end of the hall.

“Nopony else can see you in the window, can they?” Shining Armor muttered.

Nnope! Midnight smirked, taking a guilty amusement in seeing the faces of the ponies as they gave Shining Armor questionable looks.

Before long, Shining Armor stepped out of the Royal Guard barracks, completely clad in his old armor.

“It feels a little weird wearing my armor while not on duty,” he sighed.

But… considering a psychopathic tyrant is currently trying to conquer all of Equestria… mused Midnight in the reflection from a nearby shield, looking a bit smug.

“Perhaps now you’ll-” Shining Armor started when he heard…

“Captain Armor!”

Shining Armor looked and saw Knighthoof coming down towards the barracks from the castle doors. Instantly, Shining Armor felt Midnight wanted to leave, but the Captain found he didn’t want to avoid his old commanding officer.

Not one word… warned Midnight, before his image in the shield faded.

“Captain, might I inquire as to why you’re not with your unit?” Knighthoof asked, sounding all-business.

“Er, unit, sir?” Shining Armor asked.

“The Knights of Adventure!” Knighthoof facehoofed with a sigh. “As I recall, you accepted the responsibility of leading them until you rescue their original leader. Really, soldier, I thought I taught you better than this.”

“Of course, sir,” Shining Armor straightened up. “I was just… getting my armor, in case we might have to leave for an excursion. Sir.”

Sighing, Knighthoof stepped past Shining Armor into the barracks, taking it all in. The bunkbeds, the lockers, the armory, a few pieces of armor carelessly left out of their proper places.

“…Where did I go wrong, Shining Armor?” he whispered.

“Sir?” Shining Armor asked.

Knighthof looked disheartened as he said, “For so long, generations of my family have served in the Royal Guard, protecting the Princess and Equestria. When I learned of our lineage, that we are descendants of King Sombra… I felt it was my obligation to give everything to the security of our home, and that it must be for those who would come after me…”

“Are you talking about Midnight?” Shining Armor asked.

“Please understand, soldier,” Knighthoof said, sounding apologetic, “the night he was born, I felt as if Princess Celestia had given me the sun and moon, and when his sister and brother came along afterwards, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. But then I realized I was lying to myself… I played with Midnight when he was still a young colt, but really I was preparing him for the Royal Guard, for a lifetime of protecting and serving. Then the two of you became friends and I felt that you and he would be brothers-in-arms once you became junior recruits.”

“I like to think we always were, sir,” Shining Armor corrected.

Knighthoof gave Shining Armor a grateful smile and continued.

“Then, one evening, Midnight told me and his mother that he wanted to enroll into the School for Gifted Unicorns, that he wanted to learn magic and grow up to be a mage. Faerie Tail gave him all her support and encouragement, and I told him ‘Work hard and do your best’… But I didn’t mean a word of it.”

“But why, sir?” Shining Armor asked. “How could you not support Midnight’s choice?”

“Because at the time, I felt as though Midnight was turning his back on what I had always deemed our family’s ancient obligation, something we had long taken as atonement for the crimes of our disgraceful ancestor. Midnight passed the entrance exam with flying colors, but then he soon found himself becoming slowly overwhelmed by the school’s curriculum. He was often tired, bored, and his grades started to slip. I spoke with Faerie Tail and came clean to her about my feelings – I was disappointed in my own son, and it was then I spoke something that has haunted me ever since…”

“What was it?”

“I said to my wife, ‘When that boy gets his head out of the clouds and fails, he’ll see things my way once I induct him in the Royal Guard’.”

“Sir, with all due respect,” Shining Armor frowned, “that’s terrible.”

“…I know,” Knighthoof admitted, sounding ashamed, “and it wasn’t long before I realized that Midnight had heard every word I said. The very next night, he came home and dove into his studies like a stallion on a mission. He barely ever said a word to us, he stopped socializing with others, and always insisted he be left alone because he was always so busy.”

“I remember that,” Shining Armor stated, remembering how he once tried to talk to Midnight after their argument, and Midnight had ignored him.

“I thought Midnight didn’t want to be my friend anymore.”

“I’m sorry,” Knighthoof said, his face maintaining a composure but a tear flowing down his cheek betrayed his true feelings.

“My words caused Midnight to want to prove me wrong. I once overheard him when he was busy with a project, and he said ‘I’ll prove to him I’m no failure, that I can be a better mage than he’s a royal guard’. But I was so stubborn and proud that I refused to apologize… and I paid for it with my relationship to my son.”

“Then Midnight showed all of Equestria what he was really made of,” Shining Armor brought up,” that night, when he raised the Moon!”

“So you know about that,” Knighthoof noted. “I won’t deny that I felt proud of my son when he accomplished a miracle and saved Equestria from being thrown out of balance. It was on that night however that I all but truly lost my son. He earned his cutie-mark and became Princess Florinda’s student. Midnight didn’t speak to me again for years afterwards… and now he really is gone.”

“That’s not true!” Shining Armor insisted. “He’s-”

A sharp pain in Shining Armor’s head made him flinch and interrupted his sentence.

Midnight…! Shining Armor seethed to himself, but regained himself when he noticed the look on Knighthoof.

“Are you alright, Armor?”

“Uh- I was gonna say, sir,” Shining Armor shook off the anxiety got serious, “we’re not giving up! Midnight isn’t lost to us, and we’ll get him his body back. Whatever Sombra might have in store for us, we will overcome it and set everything right.”

Knighthoof snorted and smirked, saying, “You’re just like you were when you first joined the Guard. Even now, Shining Armor, I can see that same hopeful determination in your eyes as when I first did in the eyes of a certain junior recruit.”

The general put his hooves on the shoulders of his old student, saying, “I know you will save my son and Equestria, I expect nothing less from my successor.”

Then, without another word, Knighthoof left the barracks, leaving Shining Armor (physically) alone. He looked into the shield, seeing his reflection, and said, “Y’see? Your father cares for you, and he wants you back.”

It was a moment or two before Midnight’s image appeared in the shield but one look told Shining Armor his friend was not convinced.

Oh yeah, sure, the great General Knighthoof has faith that his successor will save his foolish son and Equestria from the pony whose legacy he’s been running from his entire life.

“Midnight! You…. kinda sound like you’re angry at me,” Shining Armor shied a bit from the shield.

Midnight sighed and gave Shining Armor and apologetic look.

Please understand, Shining… There are reasons my father and I haven’t spoken to each other for a long time. One of them is that he forgets I have a mind of my own.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Shining Armor was genuinely confused.

You heard him, Midnight reminded with a huff. My father has long felt it was our family’ obligation that each generation serve in the Royal Guard just because of our ancestor’s crimes, not that he ever told me about that! And he uses that as an excuse to try and run my life and decide it for me!

“Well, I… guess that is unfair,” Shining Armor took off his helmet and rubbed the back of his head. "But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about you, Midnight! I think on some level, he just wanted what he felt was best for you.”

Don’t you dare take his side, Midnight growled, suddenly giving Shining Armor a glare. Not you, of all ponies!

“Me? Midnight, what’s wrong?”

Oh, for Faust’s sake, Shining! Midnight exasperated. You really are a soldier, blinded by your loyalty to your commanding officer, so caught up in “honor” and “duty” you don’t see my father’s faults!

“What are you talking about, Midnight?!” Shining Armor demanded, starting to become defensive.

Midnight was silent for a few moment before he said, My father didn’t tell you the whole story, Shining Armor… He left out the part concerning you!

“Me?!”

Yes, you! Midnight sighed, sounding forlorn. I did overhear my parents talking, that my father expected me to fail and how he planned to induct me as a junior recruit… But then he said something so hurtful…

“What did he say?” Shining Armor felt his heart beat uncomfortably.

He said… ‘Why couldn’t I have had a son like Shining Armor? Why was I saddled with an irresponsible colt who chases after bedtime stories and hocus pocus?’ Midnight sighed. Do you get it now, Shining Armor? General Knighthoof said he would rather have had you for a son instead of me.

Shining Armor wished he hadn’t heard it. In truth, he had always considered his mentor to be a second father, and had felt nothing but respect and loyalty to him. But now he realized, it was because Knighthoof had all but chosen him over Midnight, all because the mage was not the son the general had wanted.

“Is this why we lost touch after that day?” Shining Armor felt like crawling under a rock. “Were you…”

Jealous? Yes… Midnight admitted. But Shining, I made my choices, my father made his. You are not responsible for any of them. I won’t deny I envied you, for the bond you shared with my father, but in a way I was relieved that he looked away from me, because I was able to pursue my own dreams without him hovering over my shoulder with that disappointing frown.

“But…. I feel like I stole him from you.”

No, Shining. General Knighthoof chose the fulfillment of his pride over the love of his son. Can I ever forgive him? I don’t know, but it does not change the fact that you and I are friends, and I have never stopped valuing our friendship, even after that day when we took different paths.

“Yeah, I…” Shining Armor suddenly realized something. “Midnight? Back in the dream Plane, that letter!”

Without waiting for Midnight’s response, Shining Armor put his helmet back on and grabbed the shield before galloping off towards the Castle Gardens. He found their old hideaway, and looked in the tree after placing the shield next to it.

“Our old toychest, and the stuff inside! It’s all still here! But does that mean…”

Shining Armor found the storybook and out fell…

“The letter!” Shining Armor opened it, and smiled. “So it was real!”

It was.

Shining Armor looked to the shield and saw Midnight giving him an understanding smile.

“But… I don’t understand,” Shining Armor held the letter up so Midnight could see it. “I found this letter in the Dream Plane, but I’ve never seen it before in the waking world. How could I have found something from your past?”

If I had to guess, Midnight mused, you stepped into one of my memories when you came for me in the Dream Plane. Honestly, Shining, I can’t tell you how often I’ve thought of this letter, because I never really forgave myself.

“For what? What could-” Shining Armor suddenly remembered, and felt bad. “Because you broke our promise of entering the guard together.”

It was promise made between the best of friends, Midnight recalled. I chose to be selfish and broke it.

“…Don’t feel bad anymore, Midnight,” Shining Armor put his hoof on the shield, and Midnight reflected the gesture.

“If you had chosen to keep our promise, you would’ve been sad. I would never ask anypony to dedicate themselves to a life that doesn’t bring them happiness or fulfillment. If anypony should feel bad, it’s me. I was the selfish pony, and I said to you something have regretted ever since. I just wish I took the time sooner to say… I’m sorry.”

Midnight smiled and a tear went down his face.

Let’s just forgive and forget, bro.

“Agreed,” Shining Armor said when he noticed Midnight saluting him. Smiling, Shining Armor mirrored the gesture, and they remade their old vow.

“To Equestria I pledge my life, along to everypony! To safeguard al from fear and strife, alongside my best brony!”

To Equestria I pledge my life, along to everypony! To safeguard al from fear and strife, alongside my best brony!

Suddenly, Shining Armor felt a warmth within himself and he gasped as he saw his helmet glow with a blinding light.

“What’s happening?!” he brayed.

I don’t know!

Then the light dimmed, and Shining Armor and Midnight gasped to see…

Shining! …You’re wearing my Helm of Light!