Royal Afillyation (Book 2)
Chapter 1: The Story Begins
I awake to a loud knocking on the door. I rub the sleep from my eyes as I answer the door. “May I help you?” I ask opening the door. Two stallion guards are standing there.
“We are here to see Princess Twilight,” one of them says in a gruff voice. The scar over his eye drew my attention for a moment.
“She is sleeping upstairs. May I take a message?” I ask looking at them.
“We are here to see the princess, move out of the way peasant!” he says raising his voice.
“It's ok Midnight. I know these gentlecolts,” Twilight says coming to the door. “Commander Steelhooves? What brings you here?” Twilight asks as I back away from the door.
“Princess Celestia has sent us to ensure your safe travel back to Canterlot,” he says with a bow.
“Why does she want me back in Canterlot?” Twilight asks, confused.
“She feels that, with recent events, you are not safe,” he says glaring at me. I start making faces at him as Twilight continues to talk.
“I am under well enough company to handle any threat that may come,” Twilight says. I stick my tongue out at the commander, making him even angrier. This makes me chuckle. He snarls as he takes a step forward. “Easy there Commander, this stallion saved my life,” she says looking at me.
“My pardon then Princess,” he says taking a step back. I decide to be nice and leave them alone. I walk over to the room where Callie is sleeping.
I knock on the door to see if she was awake. Hearing a groan I open the door. “May I come in?” I ask, poking my head in. With no response, I walk in and nudge her with my nose. “Time to wake up Callie,” I say nudging her again.
“But mommy, I don't wanna get up,” she says groggily, rolling over. It makes me chuckle. I pull the blankets away and nudge her again, this time she opens her eyes. “Midnight? Is that you?” she asks rubbing her eyes.
“Good morning sleepy head,” I say with a smile. She slowly gets out of bed. We walk out to find Twilight still talking to the commander, but inside of the library this time.
The commander clears his throat. “My apologies Midnight. I had not known you had been through so much,” he says.
“Apology accepted. I am sorry for making faces at you,” I say with a smile. I extend a hoof out and he shakes it. “We should get together some time and swap war stories,” I say pointing to my scared ear. It has a lovely nick out of it, which I smile thinking about. “I'm sure you have your fair share to tell,” I say with a nod. He nods back, and continues with what he was saying.
“I am sure you are in good company Princess, but I have orders. Princess Celestia told me to bring you back,” he says standing up straight.
“But I...” Twilight starts to say.
I interrupt, “Would you like to accompany me as I see Miss Callie back to Canterlot?” I ask her. “That way you can ask Princess Celestia yourself,” I say with a grin. I see the twinkle in her eye that says everything. “Lead the way Commander,” I say opening the door. Callie grabs her saddle bags and we all walk to the train station together.
Spike comes running up behind. “I'm sorry Spike, I forgot you were still sleeping,” Twilight says.
“It's alright. Where is everypony going?” he asks.
“We are going to Canterlot. Princess Celestia has requested that I return,” Twilight says.
“Oh, and Midnight is coming as well?” he asks, looking at me.
“Yes, I am escorting the Princess and Callie to Canterlot,” I say with a smile. “Care to join us?” I ask.
“You bet! Of course I want to come!” Spike says excitedly.
We all arrive at the station and the train is already waiting for us. We board the passenger car and it takes off. “This is more than a little fishy,” I say rubbing my chin.
“I'll go see the conductor,” Commander Steelhooves says. He walks to the end of the car and tries to open the door, but it wont budge. “It's locked!” he exclaims.
“May I try?” I ask.
He moves out of the way and says, “Be my guest.”
I charge up my horn and use magic to unlock it from the other side. “Simple lock spell,” I say with a smile. I walk into the other car to make sure that it is safe. I motion to the others to follow. We move from car to car until we reach the engine. I use my magic to open the door. I see a strange looking being shoveling coal into the engine.
“Discord?!” Twilight asks, angered to see him.
“Why hello there Princess. Isn't it a wonderful day?” he asks, his yellow and red eyes shift to me.
“Oh, it's you my old friend. How are you?” he asks with a smile. I bare my teeth and ready my magic. “Such hostility! Why, there is no need. I have been graciously reformed by Fluttershy you see,” he says with a twisted smile.
“Wait, you know each other?” Twilight asks.
“Oh yes, I followed him for a spell while on his, quote on quote, 'journey' to find himself. Oh that brings back memories,” he says reminiscing.
“I thought I banished you to a distant land,” I say with a snarl.
“It turns out that that land was here, but you see, I was turned to stone for over a thousand years. Things like this happen you know?” he says with a chuckle. I stand up straight and look him in the eyes. “My, how you have grown,” he says.
“Um Discord? You know we are going the wrong way?” Twilight ask looking out the window.
“Oh, silly me,” he says. He snaps his fingers and the train flips around. “So sorry about that,” he says with a smile. “We should arrive in Canterlot shortly,” he says chuckling.
We all head back to the next car. “I still don't trust that snake,” I say, glaring back in his direction.
“He is better than what he used to be. He still likes to pull pranks, but for the most part he has changed,“ Twilight says, shaking her head.
“I still think he is up to no good,” I say. My nerves are not eased until we arrive safely in Canterlot.
“I'll see you at the castle. Twilight, Commander,” I say nodding my head. Callie and I walk down the road side by side.
“Thank you for taking care of me,” she says with a smile.
“My pleasure, Callie,” I say. We reach her apartment sooner than I thought. “I suppose this is where we part ways,” I say looking at her.
“I guess so,” she says with a sad face.
“Thank you for everything Callie, I couldn't have done it without you,” I say with a smile. She wraps her legs around my neck and quickly kisses my cheek.
“I hope to see you again soon,” she says.
“I'm... I'm sure you will,” I say with a smile, blushing heavily. I start walking down the road, not getting very far before I turn my head to see if she was still there. To my dismay, she was gone.
Not letting it detour me from what I actually came here for, I continue to the castle. I see that the guard has been at least doubled since the last I was here. All of these eyes watching me is making me feel uncomfortable. I have this overwhelming feeling that I am lost. I stop and ask a guard, “Can you give me directions to the castle? I have an audience with Princess Celestia.”
“Keep following this road until it hits the gate. Can't miss it,” he says with barely a blink.
“Thank you,” I say as I keep walking. I eventually arrive at the courtyard, but this doesn't put my mind at ease. There are even more guards here then there were outside. I finally make it to the main hall doors. I take a deep breath, and then push the doors open slightly.
I see Princess Luna walking toward me as I enter. “Hello there. I hear that you have found what you have been looking for,” she says with a smile.
“I did indeed Princess, with many thanks to Twilight and her friends,” I say smiling back.
“Midnight Galaxy, it suits you well,” she says with a nod as she walks past me. I continue toward Princess Celestia and Twilight.
“We were wondering when you were going to make it here,” Twilight says with a smile.
“Greetings Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight. Any news on Victor?” I ask.
“I'm afraid he is gone, but that is why I want Twilight to stay here. It is very dangerous to be elsewhere during a time like this,”
“He won't bother any of you ponies, he's after me..”
“Which is why I am asking you to stay as well Midnight,” Princess Celestia says interrupting me.
“I have much I wish to speak with you about,” Celestia say standing up. She walks over to me and asks, “Would you mind telling me your story?”
“If that is what you wish, your Majesty,” I say with a bow.
“Twilight, you may do as you wish here in Canterlot. I will speak to you again soon,” Princess Celestia says giving Twilight a hug. “Come with me,” Celestia says with a smile. I follow her through a side hallway that turns here and there. We eventually come to a staircase that spirals up. We make it to the top of the stair, which open up into a domed room with a glass ceiling. “This is my private room, no one will disturb us here,” she says laying down on a plush mat. I am still in awe with the view from the tower.
“I'm sorry, it is just so beautiful from here,” I say laying down in front of her. She chuckles at my comment.
“I had this build so I could come up here and mourn my sisters banishment. It is the one place that I could come and be alone,” she says looking up at the sky.
“It must have been hard for you to banish your own sister,” I say with sympathy.
“It was a sad time indeed, but something that I had to do,” she lets out a sigh before continuing, “But now thanks to Twilight and her friends we are together once more.” She looks at me with curiosity in her eyes. “Now, I wish to hear your story,” she says with a smile.
“What would you like to know Princess?” I ask.
“Start at the beginning and tell me everything,” she says with eagerness.
“I was born to Pink Stardust as an alicorn. I do not know my fathers name,” I frown at this but continue my story. “My mother named my Midnight Galaxy just before where I was born was attacked. The next thing I know, I wake up laying next to a crystal clear pond with no pony insight. I was so frightened and so scared that I didn't leave that pond for a few days. I laid there staring into the clear waters and watched the fish, waiting. I wondered who I was and where I came from. I found a piece of cloth large enough to cover my body and tied it around my neck. I was only a little foal and had no one to go to. This is where I began my search for my name,” I say looking up into the sky. “I walked through the thick forest trying to find anypony who might have an answer. It wasn't long until I needed to find food,” I say.
“That is when I stumbled upon a rainbow colored apple. It was by far the best apple I have ever tasted,” I say reminiscing the flavor. “Anyway, I had to figure out how to defend myself in the hostile environment that makes up this world. I learned some basic spells like levitation, teleportation, and so on. The further away I went from the pond the more bleak the situation seemed to become. I eventually found my way out of the forest, but that is where things began to get interesting. It seems I was on top of some kind f mountain. The land lay out before me was like a canvas, a barren wasteland. I squint to try and see something, anything, but to no avail. There wasn't a bump on the horizon,” I pause for a moment to see her reaction. She looks absolutely fascinated in what I have to say. I take a deep breath and continue.
“I make my way cross the barren plane, a land that time had forgotten about, and left to decay. I head north in hopes to find a town, or even a road. I traveled for many days and nights, only finding a little water here and there. Food was even a harder thing to find. I eventually stumble upon a large dragon skeleton, the bones bleached white from the sun. I learned quickly that this world was not a nice place, after traveling the barren wastes I eventually found a port. The bustling crowd didn't care for little foals like myself. I found out quickly that bits were everything and if I wanted to eat something I had to come up with some, or steal food. I figured out quickly that it wasn't your every day port, these were all pirates. I did my best to hide in the shadows, but even there they were found. I found a stale loaf of bread in the trash of an old tavern. Tucking under my cape I decided that it was best that I leave that place as soon as I could. Fortunately I hadn't run into any trouble. I began to head west along the coast. I could see that if I continued to follow it I would eventually head north once again,” I pause for a moment to see if Celestia was still paying attention. Her wide eyes told me enough, so I continue.
“Several days pass as I walk along the sandy shore. I eventually found another port, this one for The East Pony Trading Company. The moment I walked into the small town I could feel every eye watching me. I ran into a sailor pony, which knocked me over.
'A little foal like you can get lost in a place like this. Where are your parents?' he asked me. I started to back away, not knowing how to answer the question. 'Don' be frightened little one. My name is Carl. I'll take you to the port master, maybe he had seen your parents,' the sailor said to me. He led me up a large flight of stairs to where the port master was. The port master was very busy, his desk full of papers and I could hear him yelling at somepony in another language. 'Port master, sir?' Carl asks. The gray pony that was yelling stops and turned to him.
'Carl! My old friend. Long time no see. What can old Fred do for ya?' he says with an excited smile.
'We have a lost foal here,' he says pointing at me. I try to hide under my cloak.
'A shy one have ya. Let's have a look at ya,' Fred says moving around from behind his desk. 'Don't be shy, I have a few little ones of my own. I know how I would feel if one of them went missing. Now, can you tell me your name?' he asks looking down at me. He lays down beside me to make me more comfortable.
I sake my head and look down at the floor. 'I... I don't have a name,' I say.
'Don't have a name? By the great seas, what ever do you mean laddy?' he asks in shock.
'I don't have a name. That's why I am here. I want to figure out who I am,' I say as I fall t the floor.
'Poor lad, yar not even from 'ere, are ya?' Carl asks me. I shake my head.
'We haven't had any strange reports come in from any of our passenger ships,' Fred stands up and rubs his chin. 'I'm sorry kid, but we can't really help you find ya parents. I wish you luck on your journey though. Carl, take him to the quartermaster and tell him to give this young one some supplies. Courtesy of old Captain Fred,' he says with a smile.
'Thank you mister,' I say as Carl walks out the door with me. I can hear him continue to yell at somepony in another language.
'Carl!' he yells after us. 'Put him on the next ship to The Breach!' he yells out to Carl.
'What is “The Breach”?' I ask looking at the dull orange pony in front of me. 'It's a couple of islands floating in the sky. We ain't sure why, but they're up there,' he says looking at me. 'Silverhoof! We need some supplies, what cha got?' he asks the golden colored pony up on a ladder. He slides down the ladder and walks over to us.
'What cha need 'em for?' he asks with a toothy grin.
'Our little friend here is on a quest,' he says pointing to me. Silverhoof looks at me and then back at Carl.
'He ain't nothin' but a spot. Where's he goin'?' he asks.
'Cap'n Fred said to send him to The Breach,' Carl says.
'Well, if it be orders from the Captain, then so be it,' the golden pony says as he leads us back into the store house.” I stop to rest my voice for a moment.
Princess Celestia takes a deep breath and then speaks. “Your mother must have placed you somewhere in The Echo,” she says rubbing her chin. “Nopony knows what kind of land lies behind the dust veil that obscures that land,” she says. “From what you told me, it seems like a land that can't sustain any form of life,” she says as she pulls out a map and lays it on the floor. “The East Pony Trader shut down nearly a millennia ago. Wait... that would make you over a thousand years old. How can this be?” she says rubbing her hoof on her chin.
“Well, things will seem even stranger when you hear when I met your friend Discord,” I say.
“You met Discord?” she asks astonished.
“Yes, before he came to Equestria. I banished him away from where I was, and it happened to be here,” I say looking at my hooves.
“That would make you at least sixteen hundred years old,” she says in shock.
“Yes, I have seen many years upon this world. Many generations of pony come and go. Many things have changed, yet I stay the same. Our creator has something that I must do, and he will not let me move on until that task is done,” I say standing up. I feel myself beginning to get really ill-tempered. I turn to look at Princess Celestia. “I'm sorry, I... I can not control my emotions right now. So let us call today's story a good start, and continue tomorrow?” I ask, lowering my eyes.
“It's quite alright. We all lose our cool when we are attached to something. I'll have a guard show you to where you will be sleeping tonight,” she says with a knowing smile.
We walk down from the tower together and she calls a guard as soon as we reach the bottom. “Please show Midnight his room for the night,” she says to the stallion in golden armor. He salutes her and leads me down another side hallway. He stops in front of the door and says,
“This is where you will be sleeping tonight. Dinner will be brought around seven o'clock.” He doesn't wait for a response and walks off.
“Strange pony... but... you have seen stranger, Midnight,” I say to myself as I push the door open. Something feels off the moment the door swigs open. I can feel somepony else in the room. “SHOW YOURSELF!” I demand readying my magic.
A large black pegasus walks out of the shadows. “I'm surprised you don't recognize me, but then again, you were very small,” he says in a deep, booming voice. I use my magic to light the candles to illuminate the room. I see now that this was the same pegasus from my memory. His black coat with gray stripes and red mane and tail makes me remember.
“Father?” I ask him. He nods with a broad grin. I can see tears welling up in his eyes. I walk up to him with mixed feelings. “How could you two leave me alone! I was only a foal, and I didn't even know my own name!” I exclaim with tears in my eyes.
“Because we couldn't risk them finding you,” A female voice says from behind me. I quickly turn around and see a pink mare standing there.
“How did you sneak up on me?” I ask surprised.
“Your mother is also known as 'Fleethoof', the quietest pony in the known world,” my father says as he walks around and joins beside my mother.
Only one question crosses my mind. “Why now?” I ask, standing up straight. “Why didn't you find me sooner!” I shout, scaring them.
“The truth is, we couldn't find you,” my father says taking a step forward.
“We searched everywhere, but we were always one step behind you. Eventually we lost you, so we returned here to Equestria to wait. We knew you would eventually come here,” my mother says with a caring, soft voice.
“Who told you that I was here?” I ask with tears in my eyes.
“It was me,” Luna says as she steps in from the hallway. “I know your parents well and they asked me to contact them once you showed up,” she says with a smile.
“This.... This can't be real. I have searched for so long, and here you are,” I say in disbelief. My body starts shaking and I collapse on the floor. Everything quickly grows black and I pass out.