The Castle of Dreams

Chapter 3

“Ever since the Crystal Heart vanished,” Shining Armor explained as they braved the cold, “a bunch of dark storm clouds have overshadowed the Empire! Nopony was able to do anything about it, so Cadance called upon Prince Pollo for help!”

“But why would Cadance need that guy?” complained Midnight as he walked alongside Shining Armor. “She’s a princess, for pony’s sake!”

“The situation’s worse than you think, Midnight,” Shining Armor continued. “After Cadance used the Crystal Heart to vanquish Sombra before, her magic was bonded to it. Since it’s been stolen, her power is weakened! What little magic she has left she’s been using to try and keep the Crystal Ponies’ hope alive. I sent for Prince Pollo at her request to help.”

“Midnight? This Prince Pollo guy – Ah take y’all got a history?” assumed Big McIntosh, put off by Midnight’s behavior.

“Don’t get me started… You’ll find out when we get there,” sighed Midnight in a touchy manner.

Starfyre and Thunderlane shared a private chuckle, the red Pegasus pony saying, “Three bits on this Pollo guy that he pulls something on the know-it-all!”

“You’re on,” giggled Thunderlane.

“Huh, such foalish behavior,” muttered Bravissimo to Forester, who simply nodded.

“So what is it that’s so bad that Cadance had you call in tall, not-so-bright, and bothersome?” asked Midnight, genuinely curious but no less aggravated.

“The clouds were so thick and dark they blocked out the sun, and every time somepony fell asleep in the darkness, they’d have nightmares and couldn’t wake up,” Shining Armor answered morbidly.

That one got everypony’s attention.

“Cadance asked Pollo to use his power to create a smaller temporary sun to keep the darkness away. It’s the only way to be able to sleep without being subject to waking nightmares.”

“How bad are the nightmares?” asked Forester fearfully.

The look in Shining Armor’s eyes answered that question, as the rest of the stallions looked at each other.

“Come on,” Shining Armor urged. “The longer we’re out here the more we’re at risk.”

“Whattya mean?” Big McIntosh asked.

“I mean… some of the Crystal Ponies tried to leave,” Shining Armor answered ominously. “None of them made it to the train station.”

“W-Where’d they go?” asked a shivering Forester.

“I tried to get one of my friends to stay,” Shining Armor explained. “His name was Long Jump. He ran, I chased him, trying to convince him to come back to the empire… There was this massive shroud of blackness. He was scared out of his mind. He ran blindly into it. I used a wind spell to try and blow it away. It didn’t at first, but then the haze crept off and dispersed, like it was alive! Long Jump had vanished… Gone like dust in the wind.”

“I’m sorry, Shining Armor,” Midnight said sadly. “But who knows? Maybe the ponies that disappeared are still alive, we just have to have hope.”

“Yeah, and whatever this Sombra guy has up his sleeve,” Starfyre boasted, “we’ll kick his flankhole clear outta Equestria!”

Suddenly, a fearsome moan sounded over the blistering cold winds!

“Wh- ! What was that?!” Forester started to freak.

“No…!” whispered Shining Armor before shouting, “We have to get to the Empire – Now!”

Suddenly, a black haze erupted from the snow, a pair of burning red eyes glaring down at the stallions.

“Run! Everypony, run!” shouted Midnight.

“You heard him! On the double, men! On the double!” agreed Bravissimo.

All the stallions ran (except for Starfyre and Thunderlane who flew) as the darkness pursued them like a tidal wave.

“We’re almost there!” shouted Shining Armor, as the Crystal Empire came into view. “Don’t look back!”

But in his heart, Midnight felt a terror of that evil behind them. A terror so vibrant he just couldn’t stop himself as he looked back. Those eyes! Those horrible red eyes were glaring right at him, hungrily, as the fear overrode his senses, and he froze, tripping over a rock and tumbling across the snow.

Shining Armor noticed and shouted, “Midnight!”

The darkness descended towards Midnight, who, despite the fear, screamed as he surged his magic into his horn and unleashed it.

The darkness roared in fury as Midnight’s magic blasted it, yet it reformed and extended tendrils of blackness to pull the blue unicorn into its smothering embrace. Midnight was frozen, and weakened from his failed attack, helpless.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the darkness to take him when he felt himself lift off the ground and flung through the air. The last thing he saw was Shining Armor as he stood alone before the fury of the darkness.

An endless void of stars and mist, a few constellations here and there.

Where am I…?

He looked around, unsure of what he was seeing.

Shining Armor! Big Mac! Starfyre? Forester!

None of his friends answered. He was alone.

Cold icy fear slowly started to tighten its wicked grip onto Midnight’s heart when he saw something.

What is that…?

The mist slowly but surely cleared as a moon appeared with a gentle glow, and basking in its calming light was a castle! Midnight didn’t recognize it, it didn’t match any castle in the books on them he’d read.

It looked to be made of marble and obsidian, with curtain walls, stained-glass windows, some windows shaped into five-point stars. The towers were so tall Midnight could just barely see the tops. It was a sight of such splendor it even outmatched the beautiful architecture of Canterlot and had a resplendent design that rivaled, if not outshined, the castle of the Crystal Empire.

But what really drew Midnight’s attention was ring of stars orbiting the main tower. They were enthralling, each glowing a distinctive color however similar it was to another. He sensed something about them, something familiar, a feeling he’d felt for as long as he could remember.

Ugh! What is it?! It feels like it’s right there in front of me yet why can’t I recognize it?

Shaking his head, Midnight decided to get a closer look and galloped towards the castle. Drawing closer, he noticed something he had not earlier. Here and there were statues of ponies, situated like gargoyles, each of them in expressing horror, fear, all of them shimmering like… like…

Crystal! Midnight realized in horror.

But there was one statue that didn’t shimmer like the others. In fact, it was the only statue of a unicorn, a unicorn he recognized!

Shining Armor…?! Midnight whispered in horror.

The statue of Shining Armor showed the unicorn warrior in a position where he was holding up his forelegs, as if trying to shield himself, standing on his hindlegs, his eyes scrunched. But the cutie-mark on his flank was unmistakable.

W-what’s that doing here?! Midnight whispered in horror, a horror that suddenly intensified as a familiar feel of dread overcame him.

It’s here! Celestia’s mane! It’s here!

The moon suddenly vanished into blackness as shadowy smoke flowed out the windows, and the portcullis rose up. Midnight looked ahead, preparing a spell in his horn, as a pair of red eyes slowly flared in the darkness, and he heard heavy hoofsteps slowly approaching.

Then, a voice called out, a voice so horrifying it made a dragon’s roar sound like a puppy’s yap.

Midnight Blaze… You are mine!!!

The voice was horrible yet it felt familiar. Scared as he was, Midnight stood his ground, prepared to fight, when the Unicorn whose Heart was as Black as Night stepped out of the shadows. He was just as he appeared in the history books! Taller than any unicorn but not quite as tall as Princess Celestia. His coat dark gray like ashes, his mane swept back yet ominously handsome, black like obsidian, his tail was similar, he wore a red cape like a king, that covered his flank, hiding his cutie-mark, and silver armor covering his forelegs, neck, and a crown with three horn-like points. His horn, unlike regular unicorns, was curved and smooth, gray at the base, like his coat, but faded to a hateful red at the point.

His eyes blazing red with hate were furrowed and focused on Midnight, a cruel sneer stretched across his face, revealing a pair of fangs he licked with his tongue. His hooves leaving behind black-flaming hoofprints with step.

What do you want?! Midnight demanded, doing his best to keep his composure.

Many things, Sombra answered, but right now, you’re on the top of my list!

Sombra launched himself at Midnight, who gasped in fear, releasing the spell he’d prepared as he fell over onto his back. The spell hit Sombra square in the face, and he reared back as the spell hurt his eyes. Scrambling to his hooves, Midnight turned around and ran, Sombra’s enraged screaming urging his every step to get him as far away as possible.

As he ran, he heard a voice.

Midnight!

But it wasn’t Sombra. The voice was concerned, worried.

Come on, buddy! Wake up!

Wake up? What did that mean? Midnight wondered.

Midnight, for pony’s sake, wake up!!!!!!!

“BLAUGH!!!!” Midnight yelled, as he bolted up, holding his aching ear.

“Midnight!”

He found himself being glomped, as Big Mac pulled him into a lung-collapsing hug.

“Yer alright, haystack!”

“Mac! C-can’t… breathe!” Midnight choked.

“Oh, sorry `bout that, pardner!” apologized Big McIntosh sheepishly as he let go and hoisted the unicorn onto his hooves.

“Step back, gents, give him some air,” urged the voice of Bravissimo.

Midnight took in his surroundings, chief among them were the worried faces of his friends. But he then noticed they were all in a bright and beautiful room! Everything was made of crystal, the bed he’d apparently been on looked like it was made of clouds, and sunlight streamed in from a nearby crystal-paned door, which led out to a balcony. The rising sun heralding a new morning.

“A-are we in…?”

“That’s right, know-it-all!” laughed Starfyre, “Welcome to the Crystal Empire!”

One of the servants led the six stallions to the throneroom, where, to Midnight’s shock and fury, sitting on the throne was, not Princess Cadance, as he’d expected, but a tall alicorn pony, with a coat of sunshine gold, and a long and wavy cream-colored mane and tail. His eyes were amber, his cutie-mark was a stylized solar eclipse.

“What the hay are you doing, sitting in Princess Cadance’s throne?!” snapped Midnight with such fury, his friends all flinched in surprise.

“Blaze buddy! Long time no see,” greeted the alicorn in a welcoming yet aloof manner with a casual wave of his wing.

“Don’t you ‘Blaze buddy’ me, Apollomino!” Midnight seethed as he walked towards the prince in a challenging way.

“How dare you sit in the throne of the Crystal Princess?! Where is Cadance, anyway? I need to speak with her!”

Prince Pollo shifted uncomfortably in the throne, a look on his face telling Midnight something dire had occurred.

“W-what’s wrong” Midnight asked, then looked to his friends, all of them looking sullen as well. “What happened to Princess Cadance?!”

“Haystack…” Big Max began to talk.

“Let me explain,” Pollo insisted as he came down the throne and approached Mdnight.

“Princess Cadance fell unconscious not long after you all arrived here yesterday, Midnight.”

“Y-yesterday?!” gasped Midnight. “I’ve been asleep for a whole day?!”

Suddenly, Midnight remembered.

“Shining Armor! Where is he?! He was with us and-”

Pollo looked down, crestfallen.

“Shining Armor vanished without a trace after you all came here. Just like all the others that tried to leave.”

“No…” Midnight whispered. “It’s my fault…!”

“Midnight, that’s not true!” Forester assured, but Midnight insisted.

“If I hadn’t froze up! If I hadn’t looked back!” despaired Midnight when he felt a whirl of magic spin him around and then force him onto his hooves, facing Pollo.

“Get ahold of yourself, stallion!” yelled Pollo, earning everypony’s attention. “Shining Armor sacrificed himself to protect you, to make sure you’d get your job done! And right now, your job is to find and recover the Crystal Heart! Got it?!”

Midnight was blown away for a few seconds but gathered himself with a confirming nod.

“Alright, Pollo. What’s the situation here?”

Pollo took a deep breath and began to explain.

“When Shining Armor… disappeared, Princess Cadance sensed it. Her heart was crushed, and in her weakened state… She just fell unconscious. But before she did, she said ‘Tell the Knights of Adventure to have hope… that everything will be alright.’ So, with Princess Cadance unable to carry out her duties, it’s up to me to keep out the darkness. And let me tell you, Midnight…”

Suddenly, Pollo winced, and the sun outside flickered, dimming for a few seconds when Pollo took a breath, grunted, and the light stabilized, brightening up again.

“Keeping the darkness out to protect the empire is really taking its toll on me,” Pollo went on, a bead of sweat going down his face.

“Honestly, guys, I don’t know how much longer I can keep that temporary sun out there alit. You guys have got to find the Crystal Heart.”

Midnight was surprised by Pollo’s behavior. He’d certainly changed since they were colts. He saluted as he promised, “We won’t let you down.”

Then Pollo chuckled mischievously as he pulled Midnight close and gave him a noogie.

“Same ol’ Midnight!”

“Apollomino!” Midnight snapped indignantly as he teleported out of Pollo’s embrace and over to his friends, who were all chuckling under their breaths but zipped their lips when Midnight gave them all a death-glare. He sighed and looked to Pollo, asking, “Where do we start?”

“The Castle Guard will get you started, “Pollo answered, “They’re waiting for you outside the throneroom. I have to stay here, conserve my strength so I can keep the light alive. But be careful, everypony. The Crystal Ponies are losing hope, now that Cadance is out.”

The head of the Castle Guard, a Crystal Pony stallion named Ivory, led the Knights of Adventure to the courtyard of the Crystal Heart.

“This is where the Crystal Heart would always be placed,” Ivory explained, “It takes in the love and hope of all the Crystal Ponies in the empire, and feeds that power through the castle. In doing so, it spreads the light of love and hope throughout Equestria. After Princess Cadance vanquished Sombra, she placed it back here in its rightful place and ordered a security force to protect it twenty-four-seven.”

“So if the Heart was guarded at all times,” Bravissimo asked, “how was it stolen?”

Ivory sighed as he answered, “The guards who could tell us that… are in no shape to tell us.”

“Y-you mean…?” Forester shivered.

“They’re suffering waking nightmares,” Midnight realized. “Sombra must’ve lured them to sleep then inflicted upon them nightmares from which they couldn’t wake up. But that leaves the question, Sombra no longer has a physical body, so how did he steal the Heart?”

“That has us just as perplexed, Sir Midnight,” Ivory admitted.

“Thank you, Captain Ivory, you may resume your duties,” Midnight replied with a grateful nod.

Ivory gave a respectful nod, then left.

“Ok, guys,” Midnight announced, “I’m about to do a complex spell, so… don’t move.”

“What’re you gonna-” Thunderlane was about to ask when Big McIntosh stuffed an apple into his mouth to shut him up.

They watched as Midnight furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, and felt a whirl of magic spread throughout the courtyard when all of a sudden it looked like it was night. At first they thought perhaps Pollo’s magic had run out when they saw images at each corner of the courtyard. They looked closer and saw they were images made by magic, showing four crystal ponies clad in armor.

Midnight then opened his eyes and panted a little as he whispered to them, “It’s a spell that makes an illusion of what happened in the past, almost like a replay.”

“This is cool,” Starfyre whispered as he looked around.

The Crystal Heart, or rather an illusion of it, was situated in the center of the courtyard on its pedestal. The stallions watched as the guards stood at their posts, keeping constant vigilance. Nothing unusual happened.

“Ya sure ya did tha’ spell right, haystack?” Big Mac asked.

“It’s among the more complicated spells,” Midnight admitted, “but I know I did it right! Hold on…”

Midnight concentrated again, and the stallions marveled as the events seemed to fast-forward. This went on for a few minutes when Bravissimo exclaimed, “Wait! Go back a little!”

Midnight paused the image and concentrated, reversing the events a little slower, Bravissimo scrunching his eyes, carefully looking at every detail, when he said, “There, stop!”

Midnight released control, and the events continued at a normal pace. They watched as a mist slowly crept into the courtyard, a mist they’d seen before. They watched as it move unnaturally as the mist split off towards the guards.

The mist hugged at their feet as tendrils snaked up towards the guards’ ears. The guards heard something from the look of their faces.

“What’s up with them?” Starfyre wondered aloud.

“Sombra… he’s whispering to them,” Midnight deduced.

“And it looks like he sent them off to dreamland,” Thunderlane pointed out as they saw the images of the guards get drowsy as they lied down, one by one, and were sleeping like foals. All of sudden, they started twitching, sweating, tossing and turning.

“Eh, more like nightmare-land,” commented Bravissimo.

“Ok, that explains how nopony noticed the Heart gettin’ lifted,” Big McIntosh noted, “but how in the hay did he steal th’ goshdarn thang?”

His answer came in the image of a pony walking into the courtyard. Unfortunately, the pony wore a cloak completely concealing them. The stallions couldn’t tell if it was a mare or a stallion, what color he or she was, nothing. They watched as the pony slunk to the pedestal, and everypony watched as the pony span, cloak billowing as for a split-second it covered the Heart, and just like that, it was gone, as the thief rushed out of the courtyard.

“Wait!” Starfyre brayed as he flew after the thief, only to stop as light came back, and instantly, the thief was gone.

“Starfyre, that wasn’t really the thief,” Midnight panted, “it was an illusion showing us what happened.”

“You alright, haystack?” asked Big Mac, putting a concerned hoof on Midnight’s shoulder.

“The spell takes a lot of magic,” Midnight replied, “I won’t be able to use it again for a while. Shame, we would’ve at least known which way the thief went.”

“Why don’t we all take a break? I’ll whip up something for us all to sink our teeth in,” Forester suggested, and everypony agreed.

After a good meal, the stallions met in a counsel room, gathering around the table as Midnight took his place at the head:

[Midnight Blaze]

Prince Apollo needs our help

His magic will not lost forever

I know we can do this

But we need to work together

We must maintain the Light

To set everypony free

We must find the Crystal Heart and solve this mystery

[Starfyre]

I’ll search with a birds’-eye-view

[Bravissimo]

I’ll up morale with a grand stageshow

[Big McIntosh]

Serve sweets, like crystal berries

[Forester]

I’ll plant a garden once I clear the snow

[Midnight Blaze, Big McIntosh, Starfyre, Bravissimo, Thunderlane, and Forester]

Oh we must maintain the Light

To set everypony free

We must find the Crystal Heart and solve this mystery

[Thunderlane]

I’ll sound the crystal flugelhorn to announce that we have saved the day

[Midnight]

To save the Crystal Ponies’ kingdom

I vow we will find a way…!

[Midnight Blaze, Big McIntosh, Starfyre, Bravissimo, Thunderlane, and Forester]

Oh we will maintain the Light

To set everypony free

We will find the Crystal Heart and solve this mystery…!!!

The Knights of Adventure split into two groups:

Bravissimo, Big Mac, and Forester would work to keep up morale and hope with the Crystal Ponies while Midnight, Starfyre, and Thunderlane searched for clues on the thief.