Seeing things in an unusual light
~~~~~~Midnight’s POV~~~~
“The western hive was kind enough to accept me into their hive hind while still retaining my free will. Their culture is actually based on Equestria, a land full of ponies with thee different types but have rules so that one need not be afraid of another. The land of Equestria doesn’t even know changelings exist and with the way the other three hives acts they wish to keep it that way,” I explained.
“I have read every book the changelings have about Equestria and they say that two powerful alicorns rule over the land. There are legends about two deities that defend Equestria when the land comes under attack and that those two are the true rulers. Noling believes this because how can somepony rule if they are never accepted and they can’t be accepted if they are never seen,” I continued.
“Aside from the legends and the rulers, the three types of pony are classified as unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. Unicorns posses the ability to perform magic, pegasi have magic that allows them to interact with the clouds, and earth ponies have magic that allows faster healing. Changelings can copy any type of pony including their alicorn leaders. This hive however has laws protecting the ponies,” I paused for air.
“It’s illegal to capture ponies and take their place. It’s illegal to steal emotions from anypony however if they give you emotions and they are unaware you are a changeling then it is legal. If you receive love from somepony then you have one month to reveal that you are a changeling or face life in prison. There is only one thing that earns you the death sentence, an outright invasion of any other nation for no reason. Pretty simple laws for an entire hive and there are rarely anyling that breaks our laws. Our hive contains nearly thirty thousand changelings, only about five hundred are currently in Equestria,” I finished.
“Nicely explained, Midnight. You will have our answer within the hour,” the Queen said.
“Thank you, your majesty,” I said as I bowed before leaving.
“So how did you do?” Grazy asked as I reached the doorway. Grazy has become my best friend since I joined their hive nearly a year ago.
“I think I did pretty well but the next hour is gonna be torture,” I explained.
“Usually you need to be a part of the hive for two years before you can take the Equestrian Exam. How did you manage to take it so early anyway?” she asked sarcastically.
“I have no idea,” I replied sarcastically.
“You only saved the hive like once a week,” she said obviously missing the sarcasm in my voice.
“Maybe like once a month but it was never anything big,” I said honestly missing the big deal.
“The Ursa Major that nearly destroyed the hive before you appeared and stopped it was pretty big,” she retorted. I stopped in my tracks since I had honestly forgotten about that one.
“I don’t remember that but I thought the solution to the Para sprite problem was ingenious,” I replied.
“How did you know music would do that?” she asked with a curious look in her eyes.
‘Midnight to the throne room, your test has been scored,’ someling said through the hive mind.
“I’m not sure it was just like instinct,” was the only answer she got as I vanished from view. I silently reappeared in the throne room where both the King and Queen were waiting for me.
“Midnight Shine if you are allowed to enter Equestria do you promise to not only obey their laws but also return to the hive in case you are needed?” King Drocov asked professionally.
“I promise to obey Equestrian laws and return to the western hive immediately should the need arise,” I replied with my rehearsed answer.
“Very well then I shall approve of you moving to Equestria while following both our laws and theirs,” he said looking earnestly happy for me. The only thing between me and Equestria is Queen Phoenix.
“If you could do anything what would you wish to do in Equestria?” she asked catching a little off guard.
“If they would allow it, I would like to create new magic,” I answered.
“Why would you do that?” she asked allowing me to elaborate.
“We know so little about magic as it is, I would love the opportunity to expand what we can do with magic. Maybe even create magic that can be used by everypony instead of just the unicorns. Everypony has innate magic but think of the possibly. If we could expand not only our understanding of magic but also expand the understanding of the ponies,” I said getting a little caught up in my speech.
“A little excited are you?” she asked. I merely blushed and bowed as she continued, “With enthusiasm like that. I know you will do wonders to help the ponies so I also give you permission to leave for Equestria. You may leave tomorrow but if you take too long the trip will become dangerous so you only have until midday tomorrow to leave the hive.”
“I thank you both for this opportunity,” I said with enthusiasm as I bowed before leaving.
~~~~~~17 hours later~~~~~
Being about five hours into my flight to Equestria I landed near a small cottage near the edge of Equestria. It looked like an ordinary house that was barely big enough to have one pony living inside. I knew that the Equestrian border is still about a twenty minute flight from the cottage. I put on a disquse and knocked as my curiosity had gotten the better of me however it seemed nopony was home.
I waited for a few minutes knocking every couple of seconds but still no reply from inside so I took off again. Once in the air I noticed a small shed that I was pretty sure wasn’t there before so again I landed and knocked. I could hear some voices inside but couldn’t make out what they were saying before the shed started fading away. I chalked that up to some kind of magic and continued my journey.
Nearly an hour later I started memorizing everything about the land below because I was positive it was Equestria. The age of the small country showed as small villages started to appear more frequently the closer I got to the castle. From the number of buildings I could guess that the country was around three hundred years old and lacked some of changeling technology.
It was still a beautiful country that had street lights burning with some type of ground coal unlike the magically charged lights back at the hive. It was actually the Queen that created a way for the posts to hold magic that was used at night to light the streets a few years ago. The houses were mainly made of wood or stone but there was still the occasional cloud house.
I landed inside a small cluster of trees just outside the castle while still wearing my Pegasus disguise. I performed a quick check before changing into a unicorn. Unlike the previous Pegasus that had a light grey coat and dark grey mane, my unicorn disguise has a light blue coat and an almost black mane. Then again I had the unicorn disguise before I left the hive and the Pegasus disguise was a spur of the moment concept.
I looked back and noticed my cutie mark was unchanged from my changeling form. It depicts a few small stars around a glowing horn signifying my passion for magic. I was finally ready to appear before the Equestrian Princess Celestia to begin my exam to become an Equestrian citizen.
Seeing things in an unusual light
~~~~1,015 years later~~~~
At dusk, Luna did what she always did this time of year. She went out to the gardens to see her favorite statue; it was a monument to a very brave pony that gave his life so they could turn Discord to stone. His sacrifice only bought them seconds but it was all the time her and her sister, Celestia, had needed. Although it had been so long that she couldn’t remember how long it had been she always remembered the date. The only way that she could reward him now was to always be there on this day, the day of Discord’s defeat.
Celestia watched with sadness as Luna stared at the statue, while she knew that nothing she said could help her younger sibling. She knew that while she always showed respect and gratitude for the pony, it went much deeper for Luna. She remembered how that stallion, Midnight, had asked her permission to date Luna the night that Discord appeared. It would be a secret she would keep for the rest of eternity since she knew how it would only make Luna feel worse. She never forgot that night…
~~~about 1,000 years ago~ ~Celestia’s POV~~~
“What?” I asked surprised and confused at his sudden and awkward question.
“Do you think your sister likes me?” he repeated.
“I find it hard to believe otherwise but why not ask her? Are you afraid?” I asked teasing him a little at the end.
“I wanted to know if you would be okay with me dating your sister?” he asked back causing my expression to become even more amused. It was obvious the two liked each other but I could never resist making fun of him, just a little.
“Oh, I don’t know,” I joked and with my simple answer his expression went from curious to almost depressed. When I noticed I revised my answer to, “Let me sleep on it.”
“Of course,” he said looking sad but his eyes were brimming with hope. Before I could say anything else he left and that was the last time we spoke.
Later that night as I was thinking on how my little joke had gotten Midnight so down, I noticed something unusual. It was a pink cloud inside the castle raining chocolate milk but it looked like the cloud had a bite taken out of it. I looked around and noticed more clouds but only some of them had bites taken out of them. One trail went to my sister’s room while the other was leading towards the throne room.
I took off as fast as I could to follow the trail to the end but it didn’t end in the throne room but over in the castle gardens. I noticed two figures but the one definitely stood out, it looked like a cross between everything I’ve ever seen jumbled together. This made me realize that it was the same being that we had to stop before we obtained the throne, his name was Discord. The other figure was a unicorn that was firing spell after spell at the annoyed Discord, I assumed that was Midnight.
I hit Discord with my strongest spell but it barely fazed him while the unicorn was keeping him on the defensive. Suddenly the sides of the unicorn twitched and I noticed that it was an alicorn so obviously my sister, Luna, but where she learned those spells I had no idea.
Midnight’s POV
I knew time was of the essence as I raced my way through the castle for the Elements of Harmony. As soon as I saw Discord I immediately confronted him using a spell that will keep him in the castle gardens. The only way the spell would end is either when my magic ran dry or he finds another way loose. Luckily Luna showed up to help keep him at bay until I’d returned I used his clouds to create a trail leading to him.
My stomach was still a little queasy from eating all that cotton candy so quickly but hopefully it was worth it. I finally made it to the Elemental Vault as I always called it and seeing as I made the enchantment on the vault itself I think that should be its official name. Without wasting any time I opened the vault and grabbed the Elements inside with my magic before running back to the battle. Thoughts of me, as the hero, finally asking Luna out crossed my mind but I remained focused on the task at hoof.
I finally reached the gardens where Luna and Celestia were holding Discord off and without a word I tossed the sisters the box and we switched rules. They charged up the Elements while I used some newly discovered spells to keep him here and on the defensive. Just as everything seemed perfect and Discord would be defeated again one of my untested spells blew up in my face sending me backwards.
Discord sized this final moment to attack Celestia and Luna before they could unleash the power of the Elements. As soon as it happened my body reacted and I teleported between his attack and Celestia and Luna causing me to take his attack head on. I received only two things as a reward, Discords face going from cocky and hopeful to downright embarrassment causing me to feel even better about myself.
The two finished their attack turning Discord into stone again before they passed out. The only other thing I received for my heroics, I was certain Celestia and Luna wouldn’t die. They were definitely injured but they would live to fight another day. I tried to move towards them when I noticed what Discord’s final attack was meant to do and, with a proud and ecstatic look on my face, I teleported home before my world finally went black.
~~~~Present Day~~~~
Celestia shivered slightly as she remembered that night so long ago, the last time she saw her best friend Midnight. It was nearly a year before a statue of him was placed in the royal gardens but it captured her friend so well that it was worth the wait. Celestia released a huge yawn before deciding to turn in for the night. As she lay down she would’ve never guessed that there was someone as affected by his loss as Luna.
~~~Western Changeling Hive~~~
The last thousand years have been kind to the hive but that changed tonight. Almost noling knew what was approaching them from just beyond the borders but the few that did were very worried. The King just found out that a dozen Ursa Minors and a half dozen Ursa Majors were rampaging towards their hive. He knew that taking the fight to them would be impossible as noling dared enter the Redwood Forest.
“Gather the elders,” King Ironheart told his guard urgently.
“At once, sire,” they replied before hurrying into the depths of the hive.
It had been over a hundred years since the last Ursa attack on the hive. Usually when the Ursa’s came the changelings hid underground or in scattered clouds, however they didn’t have time for this course of action. It had been quite a while since Ursa’s got the drop on changelings but how they defeated it last time was lost to history. One by one the elders entered the room and sat on their cushions before the Queen finally arrived.
“We’re missing an Elder,” Queen Sapphire said before the meeting began.
“Elder Grazy is missing, your majesty,” an elder spoke up.
The Queen whispered something to a guard before the meeting began and with a quick, “Yes, ma’am,” he was gone. The guard rushed to follow his orders and find the missing Elder. She could be so unpredictable but on this night there’s only one place she would be. Inside an old building that was half destroyed by something or another stands a statue, a statue of a changeling hero named Midnight.
“You wanted to see me?” she asked as the guard opened the door.
“Yes the Queen wished to inform you of an Ursa attack, we have about an hour before they get here,” he said quickly despite being out of breath.
“How many total?” she inquired further.
“Eighteen. I’m sorry,” he answered knowing full well that this elder could take on an Ursa by herself.
“Then the hive is lost. We would need his help to hold that many off till an evacuation could be completed but maybe,” she trailed off at the end confusing him but also giving him hope.
“Come on then! You promised to return when we needed you to!” she yells at the statue.
That was how the unnamed changeling stallion spent the next half-hour, listening to her yell at the statue. He remembered something about Elder Grazy doing experiments on the statue but her findings were never posted. Eventually the ground started to shake as the Ursa’s got closer and the hive’s time got shorter. Suddenly Elder Grazy teleported the guard, the statue, and herself to the meeting room to tell them her plan.
“Silence!” Grazy commanded since, as expected, the other elders were arguing over plans.
“Elder Grazy good to finally see you here,” King Ironheart said happy that the other Elders quieted down.
“Time is of the essence so no time to explain. You majesties would you kindly order this statue to return to the hive,” she asked politely and confused everyling but if it could save their hive.
“Officer Midnight Shine of Equestria, I order you to return to the hive under the King’s order!” King Ironheart suddenly ordered through both his speech and the hive mind. At first nothing happened, except for the King feeling foolish, but after a few seconds the stone started to crack.
“Midnight Shine has been dead for nearly a thousand years what makes you think an order will bring him back,” one elder spoke up not noticing the crack.
“I know that your grandmother was his best friend here at the hive but you’ve got to let him go,” another said trying to sound motherly.
“My grandma was more than his best friend! Midnight Shine is my grandfather! I just wanted to meet him,” she finished sadly before she started crying.
Everyling gathered around her for comfort in their final hour causing them all to not notice the statue. After a few minutes Grazy stopped crying for her dearly departed grandfather. However she was the first to notice that the statue was missing causing hope to flair inside of her. Another thing that she noticed was she couldn’t hear the sound of the rampaging Ursas but that sound was replaced by a humming noise.
Once again she teleported herself, along with the others, to the surface where the humming became even more noticeable but she eventually noticed something at the edge of the hive. She was going to use the Pegasus vision all changelings were blessed with to take a closer look when she saw an Ursa overhead. The once rampaging beast was surrounded in a light blue aura floating towards the figure on the edge of the hive.
That day was going to be the worst day for the hive but became one filled with mystery and awe. The statue that had vanished reappeared in the ruins that Midnight once lived and the figure was never identified. Grazy had suspected that it was her grandfather that saved the day once again but noling would know for certain. A few days later, one changeling stepped forward claiming that he’d saved the hive but with no other information the incident went down as a lucky coincidence. However deep within the Redwood Forest lay one very exhausted changeling. It had been nearly a week since he’d taken the Ursas away from the hive but levitating eighteen Ursas then battling them and replacing a statue you broke caused him to still be drained.