The moon was rising in the distance and a small fire was happily crackling before the doorway of the stone structure.
I used my fang to pierce the thick hide of the red fruit before putting it between my hooves to pull it fully open to reveal the sweet tasting insides and passing it over to Dee, “Here.”
“Thanks,” she said and discarded her already empty one to the side, pulling the new one close as I opened a new one for myself as well.
Not sure what they were, but neither of us had seemed to have a bad reaction to them after we tried them a couple of hours ago, so we figured they were safe enough to eat. They tasted sweet and a bit like sugary grapes.
“How’s your horn feeling?” Dee asked and raised her head from her fruit, ears flicking towards the forest at the sound of a howl far in the distance.
“Aches badly,” I admitted and glanced up at it, “I don’t think there is anything permanently broken, but it doesn't feel better than this morning either. I think my magic is out of commission until I get somepony to look at it.”
Or at least I really, really, really hope so because if the pain is permanent, I’m going looking for an Ursa to break it off.
Dee nodded and glanced up against the moon, “Think you can find everypony?”
“As long as they are asleep,” I reassured her, “And Midnight knows that and she’ll know I’ll try to make contact. If she’s in a place where she safely can, she’ll be asleep. Speaking of which,” I said and pushed my fruit away, “I think it may be late enough to give it a try.”
Dee nodded, “I take the first guard,” she said and shifted a bit to look out towards the forest below.
“I’ll tell you when I know anything,” I said and scooted a bit further from the fire, doing my best to get comfortable on the cool stone and putting my head down on my hooves.
“Here,” Dee said and her shirt slid over in a bundle to me.
“...Thanks,” I admitted and bundled it up, putting my head down on the soft fabric. I may have some pride, but there are limits to what I might complain about.
I closed my eyes and tried my best to relax, feeling the slight wind from the doorway bringing along the warmth from the fire, the scent of smoke and jungle. The cool stone beneath me.
I did my best to ignore the sacrificial altar a meter and a half from my left, but it still took awhile for me to finally drift off to sleep but in the end I found myself in the dream realm once more.
Shifting the dreams around, I found that Luna was awake still, likely organizing our rescue, especially as Celestia and Twilight were all awake too. Sunset too.
But Midnight was asleep.
I quickly rearranged the dream portals by physical position from me. Some were alone, but most were gathered in small groups of two or three, hopefully with some still awake and keeping watch.
Midnight was with the biggest group some fifteen kilometers almost directly north of our position. Fifteen kilometers!?
Seriously!? Sure, we walked all day, but we hardly moved very fast and couldn’t have gone that far.
She teleported us over a dozen kilometers!?
Damn, Midnight. I could do maybe a hundred meters and that’s if it was open air and I had time to focus on it. I so have the wrong cutiemark. Can I switch for hers?
I stepped up to her dream portal and touched my horn to it, walking through into a nightmare of running through a dark jungle.
I didn’t bother with anything fancy, I just tapped my hoof and canceled it, replacing it with a bright forest clearing.
Midnight skidded to a halt and she looked at me in surprise before she relaxed, “Thank Celestia! You’re alright!”
I nodded, “I’m fine,” I said and moved up to give her a quick hug, “What happened?”
Midnight shook her head and hugged back tightly for a long moment before she sat down and sighed, “When the… thing..”
“I call it a rexosaurus.”
She shook her head, “When the rexosaurus resisted my spell and when you collapsed,” she explained, “I...I just needed to get everypony out, nothing we had could touch it. So I… I panicked and just teleported everypony away.”
I nodded, “I figured something like that,” I admitted, “You’re at the campsite now?”
Midnight nodded, “I teleported back this morning and checked. It’s gone, but I couldn’t find everypony. Are they…”
“I’m detecting just over a hundred asleep,” I said gently, “I don’t know about the rest. Moon Dancer? Amber?”
“Moon Dancer was still awake when I went to sleep,” Midnight explained, “Tempest is fine too.”
“I know,” I agreed, not mentioning I noticed that Tempest's position had been very close to Midnight, “And Amber? Swift?”
Midnight shook her head, “I couldn’t find her to teleport out but I found her at the camp when we returned. She’s been buzzing from worry, she’ll be so glad to know you’re alright. I don’t know about Swift, I haven’t seen him. You’re alone?”
I stretched my wings and sighed, “I’m with one of the expedition pegasi, Dee Dee. We have taken cover for the night at some temple ruins we found almost fifteen kilometers south of you. We’ll be able to fly back to camp tomorrow now when we know where it is relative to us.”
She nodded and her ears drooped, “A hundred ponies… almost thirty ponies unaccounted for…”
I hugged her again, “I’m sure they are okay,” I told her.
Midnight shook her head, “In this jungle? I...I…” she started before she sighed, “No, Page. I bucked up and this time it’s not just me and Spike. I may have gotten ponies killed with that spell.”
“You did your best, nopony can ever ask more. And if anypony bucked up, it’s me. I wanted this expedition, I pushed for it.”
“But I organized it, I put it together,” Midnight said, shaking her head as she looked at me, “And I bucked up big with my spell. If I had put everypony together instead of spreading out, everypony would still be safe!”
“Midnight,” I said and shook my head, “What you did was amazing all on its own. You teleported almost a hundred and forty ponies out of there in seconds with no warning. Nopony could have possibly done better.”
“I don’t seem to do anything but buck up lately,” Midnight said and shook her head, “...I’m glad you’re safe. Can you tell the others how they get back?”
“Of course,” I said, “But you can’t blame yourself for anything that’s happened, it’s not your fa-”
Midnight shook her head and turned away, the dream dissolving.
I woke up with a jerk, blinking in the darkness and the flickering light of the small fire. What the… I didn’t know Midnight knew enough dream magic to force a wakeup like that!? I mean, I could have stopped it easily, but I didn’t expect her to even try!
Dee looked over to me, “Did you find them?”
“Yeah,” I said and took a deep breath, “I’ll contact the other groups and direct them how to get towards the basecamp,” I told her, “How long was I out?”
“Maybe an hour. It’s been quiet so far. You should go back to sleep.”
I nodded in agreement and put my head back down again, closing my eyes. Let’s see how many I can find, one from each group should be enough.
Good chapter! I'm wondering what's coming next.
It's extremly hard for pure heroes like Twilight/Midnight to accept, that you possibly wasn't able to save everybody, if you wasn't prepared beforehand for this possibility and this is your first time with such not full success. If truly some ponies died in process, then Midnight will be probably haunted by this for long time, as I doubt she will be able to take anti-heroic path of hardening yourself with saying "I did all I could".
Midnight is still on that swirl ride of a Downward Spiral. Yeah she spread out a lot of ponies in seconds of getting scarfed up by that creature but ponies are not always suited for certain scenarios and may fall to predators or other traps. She needs to accept some things and let others go.
Poor Midnight. She just can't seem to catch a break. *Sips Tea*
I'm...very confused. Can Page sense ponies through the Dream Realm? Or do they have to be sleeping first?
If it's the latter...then DUH they're awake! Ponies aren't dumb enough to not stand watch in small groups in an unknown environment!
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I understand what both of you are saying, but lets not overlook the obvious. She panic fired.
What happened was so sudden and unexpected, and with no apparent training to use anything else besides her magic she choose flight, instead of boulder.
Really Page complains about not having her talent, and yet I'm more then positive if he'd not been disposed of by his own magic, the rex would ether be dead or dying.
For the sake of miss midnight's self-esteem, I hope everyone else is at worst just captured, and at best just scattered.
she can only take so much soul-crushing guilt before she does something stupid...
*Me setting up the "Midnight Sparkle transforms Friendship Game Finale style" countdown clock*
Is it gonna happen anytime soon? Most likely not but red flags are RED FLAGS. That guilt of Midnight's and her constant self-berating of her own magic skills for not being good enough? ...If Hiver isn't moving her character development towards this moment, I would be VERY surprised!
Hey Hiver! If you're not considering this, might I make a suggestion of how to get the transformation to happen? Alicorn Amulet from the "Magic Duel" episode
It's almost one am, and I'm just about to start this latest instalment after a 4 day binge (not tonight though, 6 am start).
But I just had a hilarious thought, and had to write it down before I forgot.
Page enters a Nightmare for the Princess of Shipping after his latest incident (at the end of Complications).
He can see her in the distance, illuminated by a bright glow from an indeterminate location over head.
It's hard to tell if they are in a cave, or a warehouse, or some sort of secret lair.
In front of the Princess of Food is a large whiteboard, covered in pictures, strings, and speculation.
As Page approaches, he can hear Cadence muttering to herself, almost in tears.
Coming alongside her, he sees himself in the centre of the board, with lines going in all directions to different Mares (and even a Stallion or two), as well as a few other species.
"If the new burn scar is hideous, that destroys seven potential pairings! But it does lead him to Silent Song, and their foals will be gorgeous!
But if it's a handsome scar? That leads him to Rockbreaker the Fierce! But the problem with that line, is that.... if things get too exciting.... she breaks his back legs. And then he doesn't meet Stardust! And if he doesn't meet Stardust, then she never introduces him to Steelheart! And Heart is such a gentle colt....
But what if he gets a Magic Makeover!!! Then all these pairings never HAPPEN!!! And that's not even taking into account what other idiocy he might get up to before breakfast!?
WHY PAGE!!! WHHHHHYYYyyyyyyyyy!"
Blank Page quietly steps backwards out of the portal, and sets it to Dreamless Slumber. This can be added to the 'Not to be remembered under pain of death' Folder....
Edited for Double up of names.
Before trying to chase down the others scattered about, you should've at least let Daring KNOW where Twilight2 was, Page! After all, she's about to be captured by hostile Thestrals before y.... oh, forget it!
Midnight is going to need lost of hugs and support to help get over this.
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Anti hero? Dont think your definition of it is correct.
Also Twilight/ Midnight are powerful but they still are only ponys... They can make mistakes, and she did the best in a lost situation. She should be thankful IF ONLY a few ponys are lost. Rexy pretty sure can chew on more than one uf given a chance...
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Life can be cruel. Hers was pretty mutch sugar and candy all her life. She is kinda spoiled by her destiny. No death or permanent disabled friends...
For the first time ever she experiences life as it can be if one risk his/her health & life.
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Hero complex i guess... She learn to accept or suffers long enough until this lesson is learnd. She is a Alicorn, in time she will accept it. A day? Week? Month? Year? Decades?! Sooner or later...
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A cutting spell or a tree to the head would indeed be useful. Not to forget Midnight never learn not to pull her punches. Pretty sure Twilight would one shot a hole in that Rexy.
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Indeed... Still she need to wake up from her ideal world. A jungle is no kindergarden. Ponys are prey, and predators prey on em.
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That and later a reality check. She lived a spoiled life
( no offense to her ).
-Celestia schooled her personaly
-Canterlot to grow up ( safe as can be )
-Never get to experience / witness permanent injurys or death ( Alicornhood not counting )
Pretty mutch had plot armor before Starlight Glimmer.
Now Midnight finaly experiences life without plot armor for everypony involved...
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Mare get to experience life without plot armor for the first time in her life! Give the mare time to wake up from a lived dream and get to deal with real life.
Barn woke up in the cave that he had taken shelter in the night before. He had discovered, much to his detriment, that the dawn was very disagreeable with him. So much so, that he ended up teleporting back to it.
Once back, he saw, much to his chagrin and disgust, the numerous small denizens of the jungle making short work of the predator he had killed the night before. He worried that they would treat him the same way, but he found he had no strength left to resist his slumber. Uncontrollably falling asleep, his heart had stopped once more.
Now, that night had arrived, he was surprised to find his body had been untouched by the creatures that continued to feast upon the remains of the fearsome predator.
Getting up from where he had laid, he ventured back out into the jungle and the night.
Many mistakes have been made, some more glaring than others. Great chapter.
Few mistakes lore wise in this chapter.
Understandable with how long this one has been going on.
Handicapped magic for the rest of his life!?😭
No durability negation??
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Midnight sure has a problem with wasting effort in wallowing in self pity. There are ponies to safe.
Don't concentrate on the potencial dead, care for the living. Weeping can be done later