In The Doghouse

Never was there a lovelier day in Equestria. Sunlight gently fluttered down from the sky, gracing the land with an everlasting, comforting warmth, like the touch of a familiar blanket or the tenderness of a mother’s caress. The dome of the sky was clear and blue, with nary a cloud to be seen anywhere. Birds chirped and bees buzzed, whilst animals played with one another. Everything was perfect. With just one exception, of course.

Twilight Sparkle was missing.

Canterlot was in an uproar. Guards hurried about in the streets, checking through alleys and questioning ponies on the whereabouts of Equestria’s hero and media darling. Flyers with her face were passed around, the words “Have you seen this mare?” written at the top. Ponies that had never known the unicorn were concerned. Only a few days earlier there had been a thwarted invasion by the changelings, and now one of the most important ponies in the nation had vanished. It couldn’t be a coincidence, thought the populace. Those bugs had spirited her away during the wedding reception to get retribution.

Shining Armor sat at his desk, furiously reading over the reports that had just recently come in. So far there was no sign of Twilight. No trace of her had been found in Canterlot, and the guards that had scoured Ponyville had turned up empty hooved. Right now a platoon of guards had set up shop in the Everfree ruins and was preparing their search with the help of Zecora. All companies, even to the farthest reaches of the nation had been alerted, and all were helping the search. Members of the Border Guard near the south had combined efforts with the buffalo to search the badlands, a known hiding place for changelings.

Twilight’s friends hadn’t thought much of it when she was missing at breakfast. They assumed she was just sleeping in late; it had been a rather stressful few days. But then she hadn’t turned up for lunch, so her room was checked and found to be empty. It appeared to haven’t even been slept in. Guards were told to keep a lookout for her, and Rainbow Dash had flown above the city, making passes and buzzing crowds to find her friend. All libraries and museums were checked, schools were scrutinized, but no sign.

The Captain of the Royal guard had been alerted after two days had passed, when he was in the middle of his honeymoon. Cadence had just put on some socks and her special saddle when a guard had knocked on their hotel room door and informed them of the situation. And so Shining Armor had raced from the hotel and into a waiting chariot, leaving a worried wife behind.

That had been two days ago, and Shining hadn’t slept since. Worry had filled his mind and clouded his thoughts. Every time he closed his eyes he could see his baby sister, trapped in a dungeon somewhere, wrapped up in chains, begging her brother to come save her. And he would. By Celestia’s teats he would. Then he would take her home to Canterlot and never let her leave ever again.

Normally Shining wouldn’t have thought that, but stress and lack of sleep do strange things to the mind.

The door to his office opened with a creek, and Shining lifted his head to spy a Royal Guard, a unicorn with a white coat. All lower ranking soldiers were made to wear enchanted armor that kept their coat a shade of brilliant white. It promoted unity and was a pleasing aesthetic to the princess.

“Sir,” he said, giving a salute to the captain. “We’ve captured a changeling.”

Had Shining Armor been drinking anything he would have done a spit take. “What!” he exclaimed. “Where? Were there any others with it? What does it know about Twily?”

“It was found outside Hoofington. No other changelings were reported in the area, though guards and a local militia are still searching. It’s been brought in for questioning, though I don’t know how useful it will be,” the guard replied.

“Why is that, soldier? Is it injured in some way?” the captain asked.

The guard shook his head. “Negative sir. It isn’t a full grown changeling.”

Shining cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Well, sir, it’s a foal.”

***

Changeling drone 7483B sat on the uncomfortable chair of the interrogation room, hind legs dangling above the floor, kicking them back and forth. Tan, bland walls made up the room, with the exception of the door and a one way mirror to his left. A wooden table sat in front of him, and it was so tall that his head barely peeked over the top. He was a young changeling, only eight years old, and he still had yet for his wings to come in. Wide blue eyes gazed curiously at his prison. It was quite unlike changeling rooms. It was too bright, for one, and no pods hung from the ceiling. Instead of it being hot and dry, like a hive should be, the air was a pleasant seventy degrees. 7483B hummed a tune to himself, wondering when a pony would come in. He had liked the mare that found him. She had screamed really loud and fainted. 7483B giggled to himself. She was funny.

The door to the room opened and a horned pony came in. Unicorns, he thought they were called. This one didn’t look like the others. Sure, he was white, but his fur was unkempt and his blue mane was sticking out in places. Deep purple bags hung under his eyes, which were red from lack of sleep. He wore a red uniform that had obviously seen better days. Wrinkles had marred the surface and a coffee stain ran the length of the right sleeve. He pulled the opposite seat back and set down a stack of papers in front of him, straightening them out.

“All right, changeling, I’m going to skip all the other questions and cut to the chase.” He leaned across the table, glaring down at the tiny equine. “Where is Twilight Sparkle?”

7483B didn’t say anything, just continued to stare at the captain.

“Well?” Shining Armor asked.

“Mama Chrysalis says I’m not allowed to talk to strange ponies,” the changeling said.

Anger turned to confusion, and Shining raised a questioning eyebrow. “What?”

“Mama Chrysalis says I’m not allowed to talk to strange ponies,” the drone repeated. “And rule number one of the hive is ‘Always listen to Mama Chrysalis.’”

Shining recovered from his confusion and placed a hoof on his chest. “Well I’m not a strange pony, so you can talk to me.”

“You are too a strange pony,” 7483B replied.

“No I’m not.”

“Yes you are.”

“Why do you think I’m a strange pony?”

“Cause you look like you’re homeless. Smell like it, too.”

The captain turned his eyes downwards, gazing at his filthy uniform and matted fur. Lifting a foreleg he stuck his nose into the pit and gave a sniff. He recoiled and nearly gagged at the smell, letting out a few coughs.

“Okay,” he said. “I can see your point. Would you talk to a pony that isn’t strange?”

The changeling nodded. Sighing, Shining Armor stood up, picking up the papers and walking out of the room, softly closing the door behind him. A second later an adjacent door leading to the room behind the mirror opened, and out walked Princess Celestia in all her regal glory. A multicolored mane billowed and flowed with the push of solar winds, pure, alabaster fur sparkled and shimmered. Her regalia, colored gold with a chest piece set with a purple gem in the center, shone like perfection. Shoes of solid gold clicked surprisingly gently against the stone floor. No emotion was shone on her face.

Shining Armor gulped. “I’m sorry, your majesty,” he said a bit guiltily, “but the changeling is right. I do look like a homeless pony, and I just can’t deal with an interrogation right now. I’m tired, hungry, and in need of a shower.” The stallion hung his head, waiting for a reprimand from his sovereign.

Instead she gave a sad smile. “It is quite fine, Captain. You’ve worked yourself to the bone, and you deserve a break. Don’t worry, we’ll find Twilight soon enough.”

“What about the changeling, Ma’am?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take over the interrogation myself, though I doubt we’ll learn anything that important. I’ll probably put him in a guest room after this is all over. He didn’t take part in the invasion as far as we can tell, and he’s still technically a foal,” said Celestia.

Shining Armor gave a stiff, formal bow. “Thank you, Princess.”

“You are dismissed, Captain.” Shining gave another bow and turned, plodding down the hallway, every bone in his body a weary wreck. Celestia gazed sadly at him before putting a big, happy smile on her face. She opened the door to the interrogation room and stepped inside, saying in a cheerful voice “Hello, little changeling. My name is Princess Celestia. What’s yours?”

***

Located in the eastern wing of the castle were a group of guest rooms, around fifty in total. They were made specifically for important guests, and each one featured a bed big enough for three ponies and a full master bathroom. One of these rooms was occupied by five morose mares and one despondent baby dragon. All six sat in different areas of the room. Spike and Rarity were on the bed, the fashionista running a comforting hoof over his spines while he sat with his head lowered, not even able to muster the energy to look up. Pinkie Pie faced a corner of the room, her once poofy mane hanging flat and limp around her like a clump of wet noodles. She let out the occasional sniffle. Fluttershy was in a plush, green chair, eyes directed at her hooves, apparently finding them to be very interesting. Applejack was near the window, blankly observing the towering spirals and buildings of Canterlot. Rainbow Dash was in another chair, changing positions every minute. Lying down on her stomach, then sitting on her haunches, then on her back.

Applejack turned and gave the pegasus a smoldering glare. “RD, will ya quit fidgeting around so much. Yer acting like a hyperactive filly in math class.”

Rainbow Dash let out a groan and spread her wings, hovering a few feet above the floor. “We shouldn’t be sitting here! We should be out there, searching for Twilight. I can’t just laze around and wait for somepony to send word,” the multicolored mare said, voice filled with agitation.

Applejack’s glare softened. The farmer walked over to her friend and set a hoof on her shoulder. “Ah know what yer feeling, Sugarcube, but there ain’t much we can do. None of us have any know-how about tracking ponies that vanished without a trace. We’d only hold ‘em up.”

Rainbow snorted and flew a bit higher. “I don’t get you, Applejack. It’s like you don’t even care.”

“What did you just say?”

“I said that you don’t even care! Twilight could be hurt, and you’re just sitting here, acting like nothing’s wrong. You’re supposed to be her friend!” the mare shouted.

“How dare you say that! Ah am Twilight’s friend, and Ah’m concerned about her as much as you are.”

“If you’re concerned, why aren’t you searching for her?”

“Cause Ah don’t have nothing to contribute to the search. Besides, Ah’ll need to leave here in a few days anyway. Big Mac and Granny Smith can’t run the farm by themselves.”

“That’s your excuse? Your farm? I’m sure your stupid apples can last a week or two without you around,” Rainbow snarled.

“Why you-“

“Stop!”

Their arguing was cut off by a pleading cry. Spike was shaking, tears falling down his face. He gripped the blanket on the bed, his claws tearing at the fabric. “Stop fighting. Please.”

Instantly both ponies stopped, the words stuck in their throats. Guilty looks replaced their rage, and the two turned their eyes to the floor. Rarity pulled the tiny dragon into a hug, softly whispering to him. Spike buried his face into the crook of her neck, sobbing into her white fur. Silence filled the room.

Timidly Rainbow Dash spoke up. “I’m sorry, AJ. I shouldn’t have said those things. I’m just so worried about her.”

Applejack wrapped both forelegs around the prismatic mare. “We’re all worried. Ah know how ya feel, but we shouldn’t fight.”

The six friends returned to their silent brooding, only broken by the light sobbing of Spike. A few minutes passed and Spike quieted down, untangling himself from Rarity. He lifted his head, staring his crush in the eyes.

“What if it’s our fault?” he asked.

“What do you mean, Spikey-wikey?”

The dragon wiped his eye with a claw. “Think about it. When Twilight accused the imposter of being evil, we turned on her. Everypony just turned on her and didn’t give her a chance; her friends, her brother, and Princess Celestia. I can’t imagine how Twilight felt.”

Everypony in the room felt like an icepick had been driven into their hearts. Was it their fault? Did Twilight, their best friend, feel so hurt by their actions that she fled without telling them?

“I don’t think that’s it, Spike,” Rarity said. “We hurt her, yes, but she recovered and didn’t show any sadness. While we’re guilty, and we do owe her a proper apology, let me tell you, she was ecstatic during the wedding. Twilight sang and danced and drank with the rest of us.”

“Rarity’s right, Spike.” Fluttershy said, ever so quietly. “I don’t think that’s the reason.”

“You don’t know Twilight like I do. She doesn’t ever want anypony to feel like she’s a burden.  Instead of getting help when she’s upset or hurt, she’d always brush it off and bottle it up. What if this was the final straw?”

During Spike’s sentence Pinkie had made her way from the corner. A squeak issued from the bed as she sat down on it. “I think Spike may be right. Look at how we’ve treated her. When Discord got loose she had to deal with him alone. Remember when her report to Celestia was late? Unlike real friends we brushed her off and didn’t help her. We didn’t care, not really. Maybe she stayed and put on the wedding because she wanted her brother and Cadence to be happy, but she left because she didn’t want to be hurt.”

Fluttershy started crying, warm tears welling up in her clear, blue eyes. “We’re t-terrible friends,” she choked out between sobs, hugging herself and curling up into a quacking yellow and pink ball. The others joined in, all six crying over their missing friend. Emotions had been stirred up over the past several days, and this newest revelations was just the bitter icing on the cake.

“If that is the reason Twilight is missing,” Rarity said, blowing her nose into a flowery handkerchief, “Then we’ll find her and apologize. And if she’s missing for some other reason, we’ll apologize all the same. Once this is all over we’ll be the best friends we can possibly be for Twilight.”

“Yer right about that, Rarity. Ah just hope that Twilight’s safe, wherever she is.”

***

Blackness like no other filled the void. All light was gone, smothered away by the tepid dark. It was almost living, like a giant, undulating mass; thick, like the muck found at the bottom of an old well. Nothing but dark. Then, a light. A tiny spark, infinitesimal in comparison, lit itself briefly and died. Another, this one brighter, longer lived. And another. Soon sparks and orbs of light grew more and more numerous, untold numbers of colors and hues cascading and mixing into a kaleidoscope of brilliance. All at once they were solid, a trusty, unyielding island of light in the sea of void, soon filled with shadow, but of a different shade than the blackness. Lighter, it held a definite shape. Out from the light it stepped, tall and beautiful. An alicorn, coat of night blue, mane of twinkling stars, writhing like a snake. Vestments of blue armor, stamped with a crescent moon in the center were what it wore; the head topped with a black crown forged from sky iron more than a millennia ago. It was Princess Luna, ruler of the night.

She stepped out, hooves making no sound in the nothingness. It almost moved away, like it feared her, though it had no reason to. She tilted her head upward, a stern, knowing look piercing the dark. Ears twitched; sounds could be heard. Voices, a multitude of voices. Thousands, chattering away, speaking of old things, ancient happening and moments of history long gone. Voices, high and low, old and new, learned and ignorant, powerful and weak. Languages that no longer existed, voices that were mere grunts, all memory of speech and self, gone. And the screaming, always the screaming; shrieking and cursing and calling for death. Always there.

Luna seemed confident, though it was a façade. It was unwise to be here, even for her. Shadow scrying was dangerous. Things existed between the veils of the world and in the hidden places; they were what you ran from in your nightmares, the kinds of creatures that passed in your field of vision, but vanished when you faced them.

Her horn lit, not with the dark blue of normal magic, but with a sickly, monstrous black. Once blue eyes turned purple, ghastly power leaking from the sides of her eyes like wisps of smoke. Prodding with the dark magic she searched, beseeching the shadows for something. The shadow of Twilight Sparkle.

Time passed, maybe minutes, maybe hours. There was no way of knowing how long she would stay in the shadows. Luna began to grow frustrated, face taught and muscles tense. It was worrisome that she had not located Twilight’s shadow. Her magic was great, greater than any other unicorn to ever live, and the light of that magic would cast an even larger shadow. Either something was blocking her shadow, which was very unlikely, or Twilight was no longer in the world.

Luna continued, exhausting herself, draining her reserves of magic. It was a cruel reality, to be sure. Luna liked the unicorn, cared for her, after she had defeated Nightmare Moon and set Luna free. The princess was keen on teaching Twilight the secrets of shadow magic, but it didn’t seem likely.

The alicorn snuffed out her horn and turned, walking back to the gate of light. She gave one last look at the shadows, hoping to see some sign that Twilight was out there, but there was none. Crossing the threshold, the light vanished, leaving darkness behind.

Luna awoke, pulling her head from the scrying basin, blinking at the candlelight, the single burning wick a sun to her eyes after the journey. A silver basin sat before her, placed on a stone pedestal. Within the basin was not water, nor quicksilver, nor another common scrying fluid. Liquid shadow, a viscous, terrible thing, had been pulled and distilled from the gates of Tartarus, a process that took a year and a day. Poured into a consecrated container, one could send their astral form into the shadow world, provided they used the right protections.

With a burst of telekinesis the curtains were pulled back, revealing the soft, orange glow of a sunset. The orb had settled just on the horizon, behind the green hills dotted with trees and far off mountains. Luna had come from the trance just in time. Power flowed into the alicorn’s veins. It was simple to move the sun and moon, really. Sympathetic magic reached to the moon, gripping it, the cold of the celestial body sending a shiver down her spine. Her horn heaved as the moon came up, crawling up the opposite horizon like a spider on a web. Stars burst from the sky, twinkling almost cheekily, like laughing, mischievous children. The sun sank, and the night was born.

Luna crossed the stone floor and gripped the door handle, unusual trepidation weighing her down. Telling Celestia would kill the poor mare.

“Luna! I felt your magic as soon as you touched the moon. What have you discovered about Twilight?”

In the hallway, face lit up with hope, was Celestia. Luna dreaded what would come next.

“I am most sorry, dear sister. I spent nearly all of my magic, searched as deep as I could, but there was no sign of your student.” Luna lowered her head, ears folded back. “Please forgive me.”

All hope was dashed, and it looked as if Celestia had been struck. Her entire body seemed to deflate. Eyes lost their luster, mane and coat became dull. Celestia had virtually aged several years.

“It is not your fault, Luna,” said Celestia, walked over and giving a comforting nuzzle to the blue mare. “I don’t doubt your abilities, and if you couldn’t find a glimpse of her shadow, then I don’t blame you.

“I do blame myself, though. I should have trusted Twilight, listened to her concerns about Cadence. I noticed how strange my niece was acting, but I didn’t see it as odd. And then, after Twilight saves Cadence and helps stop the invasion, she’s stolen right out from under my bucking nose!”

Celestia’s voice increased to a near shout. Her entire body trembled, and then she collapsed, falling to the floor like a discarded doll. Tears, large and wet cascaded down her face. Luna closed the distance quickly, wrapping her wings around her sister.

“It shall be all right, Celestia. We’ll find her. Mark my words, we’ll find her.”

***

Within the walls of the Castle Gardens, a mocking laughter drifted on the wind.