Of Crumbled Dreams and Midnight Skies

Dear Princess Celestia,

When you first sent me to Ponyville, I didn't know anything about friendship. I met somepony tonight who was having the same problem - your sister, Princess Luna! She taught me that one of the best things you can do with friendship is to give it to others, and help them find it themselves! And I'm happy to report that all of Ponyville has learned that even though somepony seems a little intimidating, even scary, when you offer them your friendship, you'll discover a whole new pony underneath. And even if my Star Swirl the Bearded costume didn't go over, this still turned out to be the best Nightmare Night ever!

Your most faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Celestia smiled and folded the scroll with her magic, humming gently. She placed the scroll back in its respective place, and pulled another one out with her magic. This was her favorite pastime, when she found herself up on late nights, with all of her royal duties accomplished. She would sit down on her huge lounging chair with a cup of tea, and read her students friendship reports.

Celestia levitated the silky scroll to her in her golden magic, unraveled it. 'Ohhh an old one!' She thought to herself, giggling like a little filly.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am happy to report that the dragon has departed our fair country, and that it was my good friend Fluttershy who convinced him to go. This adventure has taught me to never lose faith in your friends. They can be an amazing source of strength, and can help you overcome even your greatest fears.

Always your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

The Regal Princess arose from puffy chair, and walked to her report shelf, and slipped the last report in carefully. She sauntered over to her bed, and levitated off her royal attire. First her shoes, then her necklace and crown. She stretched her neck, emitting a loud popping noise, and sat on her rump on the bed. She sighed and rubbed her temples as she contemplated her day previous.

Like always, the hours now long in the past were filled with ranting nobles and 'Royal Paperwork'. Today the snotty nobles had requested better whether for Canterlot, insisting that their health was far superior in importance than the needs of other around them. Other than that, the Day Court had been rather dull. Ever since her sister, Princess Luna, had arrived, the amount of ponies visiting her had become less frequent. And this irritated the Sun Princess.

Luna was a caring, kind, ruler of Equestria, and she deserved to be treated as such. She nearly exploded in anger when ponies would spit at her in disgust, and turn their backs whenever she was within their presence. But the sun Alicorn could do no such thing.

Days dwindled by, and Luna became more antisocial. She reverted to speaking in the old Equestrian voice, even though she had been practicing modern speech for a good chunk of time. Not only did this damper the mood around the castle, it required a load of more work for Celestia, as Luna refused to fulfill her duties as a princess. 'We shall not be a Princess if we cannot be treated as such!' She would scream at Celestia, storming off in tears. Luna would also insist that no pony cared for her.

Celestia tried to assure her that she has many friends. And within that group, the Elements of Harmony themselves. Luna had told Celestia that they were not true friends, and that she wouldn't understand, storming off again. But Celestia did know, she felt Luna's pain, and she hated it. Celestaia saddened immensely by Luna's antisocial motives, and she resorted to playing matchmaker with her. Celestia soon found however, it wasn't as much as Luna's social skills that were the problem, but rather ponies fearing her.

Celestia tried everything, but nothing seemed to work out. The mournful Alicorn simply told Luna that she would always be her friend. But this just made problems worse.

Celestia sighed, retracting her hooves from her temples. She pivoted her body, rolling into her bed. Using her hooves, not magic, she gently pulled the gleaming, golden covers over her bare body. Sometimes it was good to use ones hooves instead of magic.

The princess stared at the roof for awhile, her mind drifting off about the wonders of the universe. Celestia shifted in her bed, yawning, and turned on her night side light. She then proceeded to reach into her drawer, and pull out her favorite book, Of Crumbled Dreams and Midnight Skies. It was a good book, describing the loneliness of a pure blue pony, and the adventures that follow....

Midnight Shadow hastened down the street, glancing behind herself, worryingly. She picked up her pace as she heard hoof-steps somewhere in the distance. The moonlight mare was on her way back to her home, a cozy residence located on the edges of Canterlot. She muffled her hoof-steps, hiding the loud clopping sound from her hooves striking the pavement. After a few moments, Midnight couldn't hear the unkown ponies steps anymore. She slid into the shadows, mimicking the hue perfectly, concealing herself away. Her ears rose, and she listened hard for any signs of the predator stalking her on the streets. She heaved a sit of relief after a few minutes, satisfied with her safety. She stepped into the streetlamp light, and was about to continue her trek home, when she heard a rustling sound behind her. Her blood ran cold, and she spun around. Standing before her was a coal black pony with deep, crimson eyes. He stared at her for a second, and the dark mare slowly, ever so slowly, crept back. Her rump landed with a soft thous against the wall, she was trapped. The predators horn egnited in an deep, black glow. A large staff with a curved blade on the top floated from the ponies side. Midnight let out a soft "eep!" As the mysterious pony lifted his blade. She begged for mercy as he slowly...slowly brought the blade to full potential. Her eyes widened in shock, his grip on the staff tightened, and he swung the blade violently. The blade came inches from her head, and she closed her eyes.....

BANG

Celestia awoke, still stunned from the dazed dream she had just experienced. Using her nose she pushed the book off her muzzle, and cautiously sat upright in her bed. Under the giant golden door, she saw a flickering light, and heard a faint roaring sound in the folds of her ears. She stood up, and conjured a large textbook with her magic, ready to strike. Using her hoof, she gently pushed the door open, and peered inside the foyer. The Alicorn gasped in shock when she noticed her chambers current state.

There was a hole in her roof, fire still gaping on the edges. Large support beams stood half fallen, or strung across the room. Things inside rose violently with deep orange flames. The windows had been shattered, leaving dangerous shards of stained glass strewn across the room. The most intriguing attribute, however, was the large crater and various metal items dotted in the center of the room. Surroundeding the crater were her favorite curtains, laying burnt and charred at the foot of the hole. Kind of ironic, how a Sun Princesses items displaying the sun in its full glory, lay buring a a heap near at hear hooves. Celestia carefully picked her way through the mess and neared the edge of the hole.

Dotting inside the hole, were various assortments ranging from burning wood to small toiletries. But, in the middle of the burning crater, stood a lone figure that made her blood run cold. A long, but skinny creature with two arms and weird looking hind legs lay face down in the pit. The creature had a VERY short cut mane on top of his head, a hue of dark brown in color. The being wore a strange assortment of clothes, one that Celestia had never seen before.

Near the creature sat a small sack, overflowing with various items she had never seen before.  Using her magic, she cleared the debris around the hole, and extinguished the fire. The room grew dark as the flames resided, forcing Celestia to cast a light spell. The blue orb light her entire room, sparring no detail.

She edged over to the creature, and nudged its side with her hoof. After getting no response, she picked the capture up with her magic, and walked over to the door. Right before she opened the door, she noticed that the being was bleeding heavily from gashes in its head, neck and legs. Celestia almost gagged at the sheer amount of blood forming at her feet. Celestia panicked, and plowed through the door. Se stepped out into the hallway, but quickly light up her horn and teleported to the Royal Hospital.

The brown coated nurse looked up in surprise, and cringed at the creature, and the amount of blood on it. The nurse was about to question Celestia, when she was interrupted.

"Nurse! Get this creature on life support immediately! Make sure it doesn't die!" The Alicorn said, quickly floating the hairless ape over to a gurney.

"Y-yes Princess!" The panicked nurse replied, clearly frightended. She hooked the patient up to the board, and attached him to a monitoring system. The monitor beeped once, and went static. The nurse silently cursed to herself, and pushed the gurney down the hallway quickly. Celestia followed with haste. She wanted this creature alive, it had some questions to answer.

The nurse burst into Room 108 and levitated the patient over to a bed. The nurse raced over to a door, "Doctor Stich, come in here immediately! Bring a monitor and an IV, stat!" She yelled and raced over to the bed. She laced his wounds with a strange liquid, and patched them up with heavy wrap. The door slammed open as an earth pony doctor rushed in. Without a word, he set the patient on the heart monitor and clicked it to life. It emitted a beep, and continued.

The doctor rushed out and returned with a bag standing on a large pedestal. The doctor looked over to the nurse, "Blood Type?" He asked impatiently. The nurse retracted a syreninge and yelled over, "O!". The doctor grabbed a large vile of O type blood and poured it into the bag. He then entered various tubes into the creatures body. He clicked a button with his hoof, and the blood began to flow throughout the tubes. The heart monitor emitted another beep, and eventually steadied. The doctor scribbled something on a clip board, and trotted over to Celestia.

"Here are a list of injuries. The creature will need to go into emergency surgery, if it is to live." He said, and hooved her the clipboard.

Punctured Lungs, Heavy internal bleeding, broken legs, dislocated shoulder, heavy blood loss, brain trauma. Read the clipboard. Celestia cringed and gave the clipboard back to the doctor. She sighed and rubbed her temples again. "Just make sure it lives," She ordered, "I will be in the lobby if you need me." The doctor nodded and rushed over to the bed, and rolled it out the door. The princess sighed deeply, and trotted out the opposing door. Celestia stalked through the halls, surprising nurses and doctors alike. She went into the lobby and sat down on a chair. It was a little small for comfort, but it would have to do.

'Today as, interesting....' She thought to herself. She teleported a letter to her, and scribbled on it furiously,

Dearest Luna,

Earlier today a strange creature fell through my roof, interrupting my sleep. You might've heard the noise, for it left a large crater in my floor. I ask you to ask the Royal Engineers to fix my chambers as soon as possible. When that is done, please come to the Royal Hospital immediately.

Eagerly awaiting you,

Celestia

The sun princess rolled up the short letter, and planted her personal seal onto it. With a puff of ancient magic, the scroll was sent on its way to her nighttime sister.

Celestia tried to stay awake, but eventually nodded off, and fell asleep.