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// Chapter Two: The Journey 
// Story: Tales of Midnight: The Colony 
// by NA_SolarEclipse 
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	My oh-so-kind guard escort was silent as they led me through the streets of the Marble city, I guess you could consider it a capital for the unicorns. The occasional chatter of the ponies we crossed by reminded me that every one of them saw me as a criminal. Much to be expected though, I was one after all. I didn’t even try my hoof at talking to the guards, they wouldn’t even acknowledge me aside from kicking me in the gut for not trotting fast enough. They lit the way in the dropping light of the late evening. 
“We’re taking you to the harbor prisoner. Hopefully that’ll be the last we ever have to see of scum like you.” The dark green rear guard pony actually spoke to me. So they could talk after all. “Who tries to murder their own ruler?” Under his helmet, I could see nothing but hate in his brown eyes. 
“Well, me apparently.” Neither of them found that funny. Figures. “So where is this Colony anyway?” No answer. Right then, more of this walking in silence thing. Fun times. 
At the edge of the horizon, just next to the setting sun, I saw the harbor. Since unicorns couldn’t fly around like those arrogant Pegasus, we had to ship our things around by boat because those lousy earth ponies keep all of the land routes to themselves. Of course there was teleportation, but it wasn’t as reliable as we’d like it to be for some things. So boats it was for the time being. 
“Ow!” An insistent kick from the rear guard brought me out of my thoughts. “Fine, I’ll speed it up a bit.” I trotted just a bit quicker to keep up pace with the lead guard. I didn’t want any more of that, so I stayed the pace until we got to the harbor. 




The sun finally fell below the horizon as we arrived at the harbor. The waves crashed up against the stone docks and walls, sending sprays of sea mist into the darkening evening. It would have been pretty if it were not for the circumstance of my being here. 
“Hold.” The lead guard barked to me and the rear guard. He turned his armored head back and forth a few times before turning to the rear guard altogether. “Where is the boat?”
“Oh no. Darn. Looks like you guys are gonna have to let me go then. We can come back another day I suppose.” I feigned frustration as well as I could. “I guess we’ll have to go back then.” 
“Quiet whelp!” Yet another sharp kick in the gut. Any more of those and he would crack a rib or something important. I guess they weren’t at all in the mood for jokes of any form. 
“How are we supposed to ship off this refuse if there isn’t a boat for her to fester on?” The rear guard certainly had a vocabulary and wasn’t afraid to use it. 
“What are you two brutes doing here?” An on looking pony trotted over and gave the two guards and myself a look over. “What is this all about?” He asked. In the darkness, I could make out his light blue coat, brown mane, and green eyes. If only just barely. 
The lead guard turned to the newcomer with a sour look on his face. “We need to transport this prisoner. However, it appears that no boat was prepared. Figures, Clover and her antics are never thought ahead.” 
“Well that seems like a personal problem sirs, if your business is concluded I ask that you leave.” Well this chap wasn’t all to open for conversation at all. 
“Their business is here Warner.” All heads turned to the lavender mare illuminated by her own purple light spell. “These two are in need of transport for this prisoner. To my knowledge, you have a vessel that would fare well enough to do the job. I do believe that you can relinquish its use if royalty demanded it so.” 
The guards turned back to Warner. “Well, I do have a ship. But it’s not for transporting prisoners and ruffians like that. I ship spell books and supplies, not ponies and prisoners. I don’t think this falls under my responsibility.” Warner somehow had the ability to not trip over his words when talking to some pony as high up as even Cover the Clever. It was a bit impressive.  
Clover nodded at this. “Well you do have a point, but would a sizable advance from the Princess herself convince you otherwise? I’m sure she would understand given the circumstances.”
Warner paused. “Depends madam, how much of an advance are we talking about here?” 
“You wouldn’t have to ship supplies for the months to come until the next cycle begins, living comfortably in the Platinum palace with everything you could ever want.” That made even the guards widen their gaze at Clover. That wasn’t the sort of thing that you offered to just any pony. Though, I hardly doubted I was worth that much. Even given the circumstances.
“I accept your offer Clover.” Warner replied quickly, as if it was an offer that would end soon. “I’ll go ahead and take this prisoner wherever it is she is going to need to go. Just let me get some things in order first.” With that Warner made his way over to the only ship in port. My lovely escort and Clover followed over to the boarding platform. Warner disappeared into the ship’s cabin while we waited on the platform. 
“You, leave us. Your duty is done for now. We thank you.” Clover dismissed the rear guard as soon as we were idle. “And you, stay on board the ship. You will make sure this one doesn’t try to escape. But first I would have a few words with this traitor.” The red lead guard nodded and climbed aboard the ship, leaving me and Clover alone at the platform. 
“Clover, what exactly is this colony? Why didn’t you just have me killed?” I asked quickly. 
However, she didn’t answer as quickly as I would have liked. “The Colony is… a different approach to justice. Some crimes are of the egregious nature, such as yours, but do not call for the death sentence. Such criminals are simply too expensive to incarcerate, so we just send them somewhere else. That somewhere else came to be known as the Colony.”
That didn’t answer much. “Why did you change the ruling? I would have just been killed and justice would have been served. Isn’t that what the court is all about? Justice?”
“No, you were right Midnight.”
I blinked a few times, just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. “I was what now?”
“You were right Midnight. I knew about your from the beginning. It was a secret to every pony, except me. Sure others were suspicious, but none of them really knew about what your intention was. No pony would even think of killing the Princess. It’s the ultimate crime against the crown after all.” She paused again, sniffling just a bit. “You were right Midnight. Just for a moment, when you thought all the cards were on the table, I felt like I could make a difference. I thought that change was possible.”
“It could have been Clover. All you needed to do was disappear, and none of this would have happened.” I pleaded her, as if begging could change everything back to a week ago when she first talked to me. “We could have changed things for the better for all unicorns.”
Clover nodded again. “Indeed. It could have been Midnight. But that’s not how things are. You don’t know what it’s like to rule though. You don’t know the kind of stress involved. I didn’t think you could handle it, and I didn’t want to usher in a fool to the throne. I know better.” It crushed me how badly I wanted to tell her how things were going to be, but I couldn’t rat out the Gold family. Not now. This was my fall. “It’s true that things could be different, but the fact is that they aren’t. You are still a criminal for what you tried to do, but you don’t deserve to be put to death either. That’s why I am sending you to the Colony. It’s a fate worse than death, but I know better than to think that you will die there. You are crafty, smart, and resourceful. You know how to put things into place. I don’t think that the Colony will kill you, but I know that it will test you. Don’t you see? I’m giving you another chance at life Midnight.”
The weight of her choice hit me hard as I realized her point. “What’s gonna happen to me Clover? What am I supposed to do?”
Clover turned around and started cantering back toward the Marble city. “You make those choices and you answer those questions Midnight. It’s your life, and I’m giving it back to you.” She turned back to look at me one last time. “But I can never see you here again. You will never be able to return to the way things were. You were raised in hate and fear of the Crown, so you will never live under it again. Good luck Midnight. I know you will make the right choices.” With that, she turned her back to me for the last time and trotted out of sight. 
I sat there and contemplated for a moment what I was just told. It may have been my nature, but I wanted nothing more than to defy her. I wanted to run back to her and prove just how wrong she was and take the crown myself. But I couldn’t do that, not now. It was too late. 
“Hey you there, prisoner. Get your sorry ass on this boat before I have to break your bones and drag what’s left onboard.” The guard yelled over the side of the boat, ever the polite one. 
Warner was suddenly right beside me. When did he get there? “He is right, come on now. Let’s get you onboard and underway hmm?” 
The way his voice seemed to just flow into my ears was so sweet, but I wasn’t in the mood for sweet. “Fine whatever. You even know where you’re going?” I asked bitterly as I climbed up the platform onboard the ship. 
Warner followed me every step of the way. “Of course I do. Been around these seas my whole life lass. I know just about everything there is to know about ‘em. Been around the zebra lands this Colony is supposed to be on plenty a times.” How did he suddenly know where we were going? Must have been the guard. “I’ll just drop your fine criminal butt off on that forsaken place, and enjoy the high life when I get back.” Well he certainly was a charmer and honest to boot. Great, one of those.
“Good, I don’t want to go and get killed before we arrive at this place that is intended to kill me. How long exactly is the journey going to be?” Now onboard, I could see the ship wasn’t very big at all in the darkness. There was room for the main mast, the cabin, some standing room, the bow platform and that was just about it. How exactly did this thing ship large quantities of supplies? 
Warner joined me and the guard on board. “Well that’s a good question lass. I’m not exactly an expert on nautical nonsense and arrival times, and compensating for the weather? Oh no.” I gave the blue stallion a wide eyed look, nearly dropping my glasses. “Oh look at that face. Priceless. No, I’m kiddin’ ya lass. Should take no longer than three days, arriving on the dawn of the third day. I was raised on the seas, and she is my life. I know her backwards and forwards, and I’m not talking about her personally you pervert.” 
I couldn’t help but blush a little. “I didn’t think… what do you mean by that?”
“Ha-ha! Oh, sailing with you is going to be a blast lass I can already tell. Just as long as you stay onboard, I don’t think we’ll be havin’ any problems.” Warner climbed the stairs up above the cabin to the ship’s wheel. “Alrighty then kiddos! Settin’ sail for the Colony!” With a glow from Warner’s horn, several ropes untied and the sails unfurled. The wheel spun around as he simply laughed at his magic work. It was a bit frightening. “Please keep all hooves and tails onboard the Silver Sapphire at all times, as she can be a bit of a kicker! Don’t be afraid to beg her to stop though, even though she won’t. Come on now! Let’s go!” I gave the guard a pleading look, but he simply gave me the same sour gaze that he always did.
“I’m just supposed to make sure you get to your destination without finding your way off the ship. Talk to me and you lose a leg prisoner.” He growled at me, almost menacingly. Alright then no talking to that guy, just weird Warner. This was going to be such the blast, I could already tell. Waves, crazy sailors, guard dogs, all on the way to some place meant to be worse than death. What more could a girl want? If Warner didn’t kill me, I’m sure the guard would. Then again, might just jump off anyway. 





That night, I slept in the hull upon the wet wooden flooring. Fitting for me I suppose. That wasn’t the bad part though, the bad part was what I woke up to. I flittered my eyes open to see the smiling face of a certain blue stallion right in my face. “Hallo there.” He whispered very quietly. 
“AHH! What the blazes?! Why are you down here you freak?!” I yelled as I jumped up and backed away against the wall. 
The whole time, his sorry ass was laughing like a maniac. “Ha-ha! I knew you’d be fun to mess with lass. Rise and shine! It’s day one of our lovely little cruise to Death Island. How are you feelin’ so far hmm?” 
“A little invaded personally. Why are you down here? Aren’t you supposed to be up at the wheel steering this stupid thing?” I fumbled around a bit, getting a bearing of my surroundings. It was a lot darker at night. “Where am I?” 
“Well, you see I thought it would be fun to tell you that there was a brig. Because you thought that you’d be like a prisoner or something silly like that like ‘urrgghh woe is me as I don’t deserve to live’ but I had a better idea! What if there is no brig and instead it’s just where I keep my supplies? And then I thought that was stupid, so I just put you in the back of the hull like the molasses and other barrels. So here you are! Happy first day to you and stuff!” Warner smiled at me as I took in my surroundings and regarded the various barrels around me. 
I was suddenly wishing they just burned me at the steak. This pony was going to be the death of me. “You moved me around while I was asleep?” Warner nodded a few times, still a smile on his face. “Do you have any idea how creepy that is? Ugh! Honestly!” I stormed off in the direction past Warner, toward the exit of the hull. Hoof steps behind me told me that Warner was close behind me. 
After the climb above deck, I saw that the guard had almost not moved from his post next to the main mast. He simply regarded me and Warner with the same sour look he always had. The sun shined brightly down on the boat, as if reflecting how bright Warner seemed to feel. “Ah! I see that your friend there doesn’t too much like the idea of sleeping huh? Well that’s okay.” Warner chirped as he pranced in past of the guard and looked back at me and him. 
The guard just snorted at him and looked ahead again. I moved from the hull entrance over to the side of the ship, looking over the side. The dark blue wave lapped at the sides of the ship, turning into that salty spray that I had seen earlier at the docks the previous night. “Oh no Mr. Guard horse! I think She’s gonna jump!” I looked back at the dramatic look on Warner’s face in absolute disgust. The guard wasn’t too impressed either. 
“I wasn’t going to jump, just haven’t been on a boat before and I wanted to know what it was like to look over the side.” I defended indignantly. 
Warner rolled his green eyes. “And what did you expect to see lass? A sea monster?” I gave him an unimpressed look. “Oh no. Those are to the south and north where the griffons roost. It’s the smell that draws them from the depths, and on the third full moon of every month… they strike unsuspecting ships unexpectantly!” Warner bared his teeth in a fake attempt at being scary, even if he wasn’t when he was trying. When he wasn’t on the other hoof, it was a bit scary. 
I didn’t know whether or not to take this stallion seriously. He was more experienced at this sailing thing, but certainly there was a joke or two in that. I just rolled my eyes back at the mysterious Warner and cantered over to the stairs leading up to the wheel. “So how is it exactly that you keep this thing going the right way?” I asked as I reached the wheel.
“Oh that? It’s no big deal. I just hoist the sails, straiten the rudder, pull up the anchor, check the wind direction, keep everything in order, and make sure that there isn’t any approaching pirates or such. For most ships, it would be a four or five pony job. But me? I can do it all by myself. It’s what being a captain is all about lass.” He finished his listing with probably the most modest of statements. One of those kind of guys. 
“How’d you learn to do all this exactly? It’s a lot to think about at the same time isn’t it?” Even if he was being arrogant, I couldn’t help but think that it was all a difficult job to do. 
Warner laughed once more with his annoying giggle. “Well you see, I was born at sea lass. It’s kind of what I do. When my mother and father died, I took up their place in the shipping industry. I had a crew to start out with, but they were lazy as rocks. So, I started to just do some of their jobs for them, because they weren’t following my orders. Wasn’t long before I was able to keep the whole ship running without their help, and that day I got my mark.” I gazed at the sailing ship on his flank. Fitting enough. “I found that since I don’t have to pay any crew but myself, I get along just fine. Sleep on my ship, transport spells and supplies for the crown, and never have to answer to any pony but myself. It’s really a great business to be in when you don’t have to worry about mutiny or lazy ponies.” Warner puffed out his chest, trying to look like a regal pony or something. “I’m kind of glad that I am where I am, would hate to be living in the city like every pony else.”
I looked back at my own life. Maybe I was exactly where I needed to be too. Was there such a thing as destiny? No, if I was born where I was destined to be I’d still be in the Marble city for some reason or another. I doubted a fake princess would have a place anywhere in the world. 
“How about you lass? What’s your pretty black tiara supposed to be about or whatever?” Warner of course had to break me from my thoughts. 
“I um… don’t worry about it. I just… fix tiaras that are broken and stuff like that. Yeah! That’s it. Fix tiaras.” Even I wasn’t convinced by my words, and neither was Warner. 
“I doubt that a tiara repair pony would end up being a criminal worthy of going to the Colony lass. How about you try being a bit honest this time hmm?”  
I didn’t want to look at his joy filled face. I didn’t want to ruin his good mood or shatter his view of me if he had one. But if I didn’t tell him, I’m sure the guard would eventually. “I’m not a tiara repair pony. I’m an assassin. Well, a failed assassin. Ever since I was born, I was raised with one purpose.” I paused a moment, trying to come to terms with myself. “I was supposed to kill the Princess. I tried to, and failed. Clover the Clever found me out and sentenced me to the Colony for my crimes.” I dared not look at Warner’s face, I didn’t want to see how he reacted. “Would have worked, but I was a fool and got caught.” I stared at the floor boards, avoiding Warner’s gaze as best as I could. Hoof steps told me that he was moving away from me. 
“Really now? That’s an interesting claim there lass. Failed assassin hmm?” I dared a look at the blue stallion whom I could expect was now looking out at sea. “Not the worst I’ve hear about, but still pretty despicable. Would you care to answer why lass?” I looked up at his words and he turned to look me in the eye. I was too late to advert his gaze. 
“I was born to do it Warner. I was supposed to be the one to bring about the turning of the age. And I blew it.” 
“Now who told you to do it hmm? Family? You can’t go doing everything some pony like family says lass. We’ve been stuck in a veritable dark age with the Pegasus and earth ponies for the past few hundred years because no pony wants to think different from the way that things are. By doing what others think you’re supposed to do, you end up being like every pony else in the world that just wants to hate and mistrust each other.” He cantered over to me, still holding my gaze. “Only you can decide what you’re supposed to do lass. Understand? If I did what my parents thought I was supposed to do, I’d be some two bit bard or some kind of servant to high royalty. I didn’t want that at all, so I took my own path and took over my late family’s ship. Look at me now; got enough money to keep myself happy, I do something I enjoy, and I have plenty of time to do what I want. I broke the mold my parents made for me and I’m doing great lass. Why don’t you do the same?” 
Warner, the random sailor that I never knew about, was giving me better advice to live by that any of the Gold family ever did. All they ever wanted was for me to fulfill my purpose for their whims. I never thought about what I wanted. Was I simply being a tool for their own ends? 
I felt… good. 
In the event of my life completely turning around at the words of this kind sailor, I was happy. It was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, and for once I didn’t have to impress on any pony. I was no longer living on the expectation of succeeding for my ‘family’, and I was never going to be under the rule of the Platinum crown either. I was on my own terms at last. 
I couldn’t help myself. In my wash of feelings and thought, I hugged Warner. It was the best way I could show him that I was at least grateful for his words. I was on the verge of crying and would have stayed there if this stupid, sweet sailor pony didn’t hug me back. For the first time since I was a foal, I cried. I hadn’t cried when I was sure I was going to die. I hadn’t cried at that old mare’s funeral. But here, because of some almost complete stranger, I was crying like a foal. 
“Whoa there lass, no need to get all sentimental on me now.” Warner huffed, pulling away from my hug. “I’m not that kind of fellow. Go find some pony else’s shoulder to cry on yeah?” I gave him a sad, tearful look and that bastard smiled. “Nah, I’m just kiddin’ with ya. Even grown ponies cry from time to time now right?” He pulled me back into a warm hug, and I felt so much better. 
“Warner, thank you.” I whispered almost to myself.
But he had heard. “Don’t mention it lass, no really don’t. I got a name to hold up yeah?” After a good few more moments, I finally let go of him and looked off towards the horizon. It was already afternoon. Either this little moment was much longer than it seemed, or I woke up way too late. “Now, I say that we all sit down for a nice meal. All this mopin’ and feelings stuff have got me starving. Shall we lass?” Warner gave me a smile, and for once I returned it. 
As the two of us got down from the wheel platform, the guard gave us both his usual sour look. “What were you two up to hmm? I demand to know why you two were whispering. Do you have some secret?” I rolled my eyes at the red armored guard. “I am in a position to have you both brought to justice if you don’t answer.” 
Warner laughed a bit at the guard’s empty threat. “What? Can’t a guy and a gal get to know each other ya blithering buffoon? We were just talking about how much we loved the way this boat swayed oh so slowly from side to side when it’s moving. Don’t you just love it?” Even the guard could tell that Warner was lying, but was too distracted by an apparently nauseous stomach to do anything about it. “Well then! We are going to have a bite to eat now. You are welcome to join us if you can get that wad out of your arse.” I couldn’t help but giggle a little at that. 
The guard made several attempts at words, but said nothing in the end. He just gave Warner a sour look. Warner turned towards the cabin, where I could suspect we would be eating. A glow from Warner’s horn and a swung door later, and I was happy to be right. I followed the light blue sailor pony inside with much a lighter heart. Hoof steps behind me told me that the guard would indeed be joining us, or at least coming in to watch and make sure that I wasn’t going to make a break for it out one of the windows. 
The Cabin of the Silver Sapphire was a bit more elegant than the rest of the ship. The table, literally bolted to the floor boards, was of a round tasteful design. There were several chandeliers hanging from the walls, all of them lit.  There was a door off to the right side with white tiling, the kitchen obviously, and a door at the back of the room where I could suspect was Warner’s quarters. It was nice. 
“Alrighty! I don’t really know what kind of foolishness they have been serving you two up in your marble palace calling a delicacy, but I am going to show you how a real king eats! I’ll just be a moment to actually cook up the beast.” With a wink, Warner disappeared into the white tiled kitchen. 
I looked around at the simple green table cloth and porcelain plates on the round table. They weren’t polished, but they were clean enough if you didn’t mind some dust on your dishes. Some bent forks and spoons lay upon napkins, and clouded drinking glasses were stacked in a glass paned cabinet off to the side hugging a wall. I would worry about it falling over, but it too was bolted to the floor. 
“He better not come out here with an actual beast, though it wouldn’t surprise me if he ate meat. That’ll make a pony go crazy, like him.” The guard growled from next to the door.
I gave the sour pony a smug look. “Oh come on now, I think that was more of an expression really. Eating meat is forbidden in the Marble city, and he is from the Marble city. Isn’t he?” 
The guard rolled his eyes and waved a hoof around. “No. ‘Born on the seas’ wasn’t he?” The guard’s attempt at emulating Warner’s voice was a bit humorous, but I wasn’t laughing. “He’s crazy prisoner. If he doesn’t run us into a reef or cliff, I’d be absolutely shocked.” 
“I have a name you know. It’s Midnight Star if you didn’t know!” I barked at the guard pony, emulating his sour tone. 
“I have one too. But it’s not like any pony cares. All you and every pony else sees me as is an extension of the law. They don’t see me for who I am! Do you think I like being seen as a tool?” As aggressive as they were, his words touched me. They sounded a lot like I felt not too long ago. “Why am I even talking to you prisoner? You aren’t worth any pony’s time. Clover the Clever made a mistake changing the ruling on your case.” And the hint of warm feeling for this pony was gone. 
“Well, maybe ponies don’t see anything but your armor because that’s exactly how you act. Maybe if you were a bit nicer to others, they’d see you as more than just a spear at their necks.”
The guard pony cantered over to me and stared down at me. I had to turn my neck up just to meet his eyes. “Don’t. Talk. To. Me. Prisoner. Or I swear. I’m breaking you myself.” There was a growl to his voice that legitimately frightened me.
“Hey now there you two!” Warner’s voice broke the tense felling of the moment. “Can’t a pony cook a meal for you two without ya tryin’ to kill each other?” The guard pony backed away from me slightly at Warner’s words. “Alright that’s better. Food’s almost ready. Go ahead and sit down or whatever.” Warner again disappeared behind the wall leading to the kitchen. I kept my eyes trained on the guard pony as he stomped over to where he was going to eat. I was suddenly wishing he didn’t come in here at all. I took a spot on the opposite end of the table, leaving as much room as possible between the two of us. 
We sat in silence for the next few minutes until Warner came back with three plate of colorful things. “Alrighty then you two! This is food fit for a king!” Warner put one of the plates down in front of me. “I’ve been eating this since I was just a wee lad. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.” After giving the guard his share and sitting down close to me, he started eating without using any of the bent silverware around him. It was a bit grotesque. 
“Um, Warner, what is this exactly?” I asked tentatively, using a levitation spell to poke it with a particularly bent fork. In response, the pile of colorful stuff hissed and steam or some other kind of gas poured out from the hole. “I don’t think food is supposed to still be alive when you serve it.”
Warner looked up from his half eaten pile of blue, green, and red. Without wiping his mouth off or anything. “Oh this? This is boiled sea cabbage and sea weed and…umm…what else was it? Oh yeah! Sea lilies.” He continued his gabbling of the colorful mush as soon as he was done talking. 
I looked at the colorful pile of what was apparently all plants. “Right, just sea food. This is what sailors and stuff eat all the time. No big deal. Just, seafood.” I gathered my wits and took a forkful of it out of the pile. “No big…deal.” I held my breath and stuffed the steaming stuff into my mouth, trying not to gag. 
But I didn’t need to. I chewed on the mush for a bit, trying not to be grossed out at the texture. And to my surprise, it was delicious. I swallowed the stuff and gave the still steaming pile of plants another look. Warner was looking at me expectantly, a huge smile on his face. “Um, it’s not terrible. It has a….unique flavor.” I stammered over my words, trying to avoid saying how much I hated the texture.
“See now? Told ya you’d love it!” Warner chirped, looking down to the other end of the table at the guard pony. “How about you? What do you think?” I continued eating the tasty mush while sharing a look down at the guard pony. 
He was not impressed though. “I’m not eating this. You could have poisoned it or something. Though, by the look of it you may not have had to. I wouldn’t be surprised if she keeled over dead from this crap.”
Warner looked slightly hurt by the guard’s words. “Oh well, can’t win ‘em all over. Anyway! I think that we should all get to know each other better yeah? How’s that sound?” Well, his mood was certainly contagious. I couldn’t help but smile. 
“That does sound good, I could deal with knowing more about this sailor pony that is in this trip for the money. Furthermore, I’d like to know about this guard pony at the end of the table. I want to have a name to call him, because I’m getting right sick of just calling him by his job.” While the guard pony gave me the stale sour look, I just smiled back at him while chewing on more delicious sea mush. 
“Yeah sour pony, why don’t you at least tell us your name now. It’s been a little less than a day together, and I hate having unknowns aboard my ship for too long.” Warner turned his head to me again. “That goes for you too lass, I’m gettin’ a bit tired of callin’ you lass.” 
I shrugged lightly. “Sure thing, I’m Midnight Star. Born into the Gold family with the intent to murder Princess Platinum. I like long walks through town, love being caught in the rain by myself, and…. Oh! My favorite thing to do is plan other’s downfalls so that I can usurp your authority.” I ended my forthcoming speech with a winning smile. Warner saw the mirth in the whole explanation, but the guard pony didn’t. 
“Oh now see? Now I feel better having young Midnight Star aboard my ship then. Little dark at the end there but hey, can’t be picky now yeah? What about you sour puss?” Warner looked down at the guard, batting his eyes like a filly would do to her crush. The guard was not pleased, still giving the sour frown I was familiar with. “Alright then my turn!” Warner shrugged with a smile. “When my parents died at the hooves of marauding pirates, I saved the day with the remaining crew and took over my parent’s ship. Though I started out with that same crew working for me, I found that it was quite easier just to do the job myself. So, I fired those lazy bastards and now I work the ship myself. Been doing that ever since, shipping out spells and supplies to those that need ‘em.” Warner finished with a satisfied nod to himself. “I may sound like a hero, I know, but I’m not. Just a hard working sailor earning an honest living. I think at least. Some of those spells aren’t exactly what I’d call safe, but that’s not my quarrel!” Warner again looked down to the guard at the end of the table. “Now either I make you tell us what your name is now, or we can just keep calling you sour puss. Which would you prefer?” I couldn’t help but share Warner’s smile.
The guard kept up on his sour look, but finally caved to pressure. Either that, or he was just too tired to argue with Warner about it anymore. “My name is Sharpe.” He growled, still looking sour as a lemon. 
“Oh come on now lad you and I both know that name is as fake as an entertainer. Now what’s your real name? Hmm?” Warner wasn’t going to let this go.
“It really is Sharpe you fool!” Alright then, some pony was getting a little offended. “I was named that by my father. Like him, I was born to be a guard pony. I was raised with the intent of protecting the Princess and her laws. I never got to have close friends growing up because I was too busy being drilled with laws, bulking up to enforcing them, and being shut out from the normal world.” There was an anger to his voice that was not just for show. He really was angry about this. “I would have killed for a life of my own choosing. There’s-” Sharpe stopped for a moment, realizing that he had gotten carried away. “There’s nothing else you need to know whelps. I’m done talking.” Sharpe then busied himself with eating the mush before him, still looking as sour as ever. 
Warner gave this information a knowing nod. “Seems that you two have a bit more in common than you thought.” He looked to me then to Sharpe, compelling the two of us to share a glance for a moment.
Just for a moment, I held Sharpe’s gaze and he didn’t give me the absolute worst look imaginable. He then looked down at his mush, ignoring that the moment had ever happened. “One thing I’ve got to know though Midnight.” Warner brought my attention back to his green eyes. “Why do you wear those glasses? You hardly look through them. In fact, I see you actively turning your head down to see past them.” 
I honestly forgot my glasses were there most of the time. “Oh these? I just have them for reading.” I smiled at the light blue sailor pony, swallowing the last bit of mush on my plate. It surprised me, I thought I’d hate the stuff.
Warner gave me an unbelieving smirk. “Oh come on Midnight, you’re too young for reading glasses. Reading glasses are for old mares and foals going blind. You’ve got to have a better story than that.” 
I was taken aback by his words, clearly he thought I was lying. “Well, I do need them. I guess you’re right though, I am a bit young for them. I didn’t think that any pony really thought about them very much. But there is a reason I need them to read. When I was young, my parents tried a ‘seeing in the dark’ spell on me so that I could sneak around the palace and other places at night or in the dark. I could just use an illumination spell, but they wanted me to be able to avoid detection though. Long study short, I learned it perfectly. Whenever I would use it, I could really see in the dark just fine without any lighting. There was a downside to it though. After I was done with the night vision and the spell wore off, my normal vision suffered more and more. Eventually it got to the point that I couldn’t read writing in front of me without glasses. The night vision spell made me farsighted to an extent. I can see normal things just fine, but I need help reading things up close.” I shivered a little, the rest of the story always gave me chills. “Turns out, the ‘seeing in the dark’ spell I had learned was actually black magic; kind of illegal for citizen practice. Black magic, to my understanding, always has a tradeoff. It may give you a certain advantage, like being able to see in the dark and not alert others by doing so, but it takes something away at the same time.”
“So, the farsightedness is the tradeoff?” Warner asked, giving me a look that told me how much he was trying to wrap his head around what I was saying. 
“I wish that was so. The farsightedness isn’t what I unknowingly traded away. That was just from me using it so much when I was young. My eyes just didn’t develop the way they should have I guess. No, what I traded away was knowledge and use of illumination spells in general.” Warner blinked a few times. In one ear, out the other. I sighed, frustrated I had to spell it out. “I can’t use or learn a regular illumination spell Warner. No matter how much I try or study, I cannot perform the normal and simple illumination spell that most unicorns learn at a young age.” 
Warner blinked a few more times. “So, black magic huh?” He looked down at Sharpe, still eating the mush but listening in on our gabbing, then back to me. “Well, that’s a bit strange. Didn’t think that black magic really got out much in the Marble city. How exactly did your parents get their hooves on something like black magic Midnight?” 
I thought hard on that. “I don’t remember in the slightest Warner.” I shook my head side to side slowly. I couldn’t figure out what exactly I was feeling, either sad or disappointed. A mix of both perhaps? Oh well. “I was too young, I really can’t remember.” I gave him a confused look. “Why do you ask?”
Warner stared at me for a moment, tapping his hoof on the table a few times. “I don’t know for sure, just that I’ve shipped my share of magic. I would say that I would be the one responsible for your eyes, but that’s too far back I think. I only started this shipping spells stuff seven years ago.” 
I narrowed my eyes at Warner dangerously. “Wait Warner, do you ship black magic around?” 
Warner just shrugged. “I don’t know, not like I read them or anything. I just transport them.” I gave him same sour look that Sharpe gave me for the entirety of the day. “What? Am I supposed to care what things ponies need moved around?” 
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Yes Warner, you should! Do you know how many ponies could have been harmed or killed because of your callous disregard for what you’re moving around the world? Honestly!” I made an effort to actively ignore Warner’s eyes. 
“Oh come on now Midnight, you can’t be that mad about this. You didn’t seem to care about the spells I transported when they were just spells. Aren’t some spells just as deadly as black magic?” Now he was just trying to justify himself. If that wasn’t proof that he knew more than he was letting on, I didn’t know what was. “Why is this such a big deal for you?” He asked sheepishly. 
“Because, black magic is dangerous Warner. If something like a night vision spell can make me need glasses to read and unable to use basic magic, think about what more dangerous spells could do. And that’s not even taking the actual spell into consideration.” I got up from my seat and pushed my empty plate forward. “Where do you keep these spell books anyway?” 
Warner stayed sitting, but held a concerned look. “Midnight, just drop it alright. If there was any damage done, it’s been done. I don’t think that getting angry about it is going to make any difference. Let’s just forget this yeah? It’s getting late and I’m tired. I’m sure you can show yourself to the hull again Midnight, and Sharpe you can sleep wherever. Goodnight.” With that, Warner got up and retired to the back door. I waited a few moments listening for activity in his room, but I couldn’t hear anything. 
Sharpe snickered at his end of the table. “You two certainly are a sight to watch.” I gave the red pony a glare, but he simply smiled. “You can have your hull or whatever, just don’t ask me to keep you warm.” Sharpe too got up from his spot, but took his leave through the exit we came in through. Leaving me to my thoughts.
Warner certainly was getting rather defensive about the mention of black magic, more importantly near the end there. He didn’t seem to care much before. That was a bit concerning. I walked out the exit as well, no need to stay in an empty room. 
Warner wasn’t lying. When I exited the cabin, the moon was rising on the horizon. It was rather beautiful, but I didn’t feel like marveling at it. I had black magic to search for. I moved quickly to the hull, passing Sharpe sitting down next to the main mast with his eyes closed. I didn’t understand how he could sleep while sitting up. At any rate, I opened the door leading down to the hull but stopped. If he was shipping spell books, they wouldn’t be with molasses and other supplies within the barrels. I closed the doors and turned around. There had to be another storage room or something for spell books somewhere. I gave the front platform a search and easily found a small trapdoor held shut by a latch. “Is it really that easy?” I asked myself as I lifted the latch open with my levitation spell, revealing a small set of stairs that descended into darkness. If only I could use an illumination spell right now. I guess I could use the night vision spell, but I swore I would only use that in emergencies. So, bumbling around in the dark it was. I gave the deck another quick look to make sure neither Sharpe nor Warner was around to see me sneak down, closing the door behind me. 
This supply room was drowned in an inky darkness, but it was broken by a single candle upon a table a few steps from the bottom of the stairs. I crept along in the darkness until I was at the table. Upon it were a few books and papers. Some of the papers were notes on wind direction, others were scribbles that didn’t make any sense. Of the three books that were stacked, one was a water manipulation spell, the other two had something to do with mending sails and other nautical nonsense. Next to the papers were some quills and an inkwell. There was dust on the books, but not on the papers and quills. Maybe Warner just wasn’t organized with his books? 
Suddenly, I felt a cold chill down my spine. I couldn’t help but shiver. I looked around, but no pony was there. When I looked back at the small table the candle flickered in the wind, but there wasn’t any wind around. Then the worst possible thing happened. “Midnight.” A soft voice hissed. It felt like it was right in my ear.
“Warner?” I asked almost hopeful. I would rather be found somewhere I’m not supposed to be by Warner than hear voices like that. “Sharpe?” I didn’t think that it could possibly be him, but it was worth a shot. 
“No, not those fools my dear…..No one here but us.” Every word sent more chills down my spine, I may as well been freezing. “But you can see can’t you? You’re just pretending not to.”
“Who are you? Is any pony there?” I asked in the darkness, almost scared I’d get an answer. 
“We are not a pony my dear, not anymore. Merely….an idea. One that was given form and essence. A purpose. One that can only be fulfilled with your help my dear.” I backed away toward where the exit stairs were. “Midnight, why do you seek to escape from us? We are the closest thing to friends that you have.” 
Okay, really creeped out now. I started my blind climb up the stairs, feeling every step up in hopes of not falling back down to the floorboards. As I got further up, the chill lessened until I got to the top and opened the trapdoor to the light of the moon. I got out of the storage room and shut the door behind me. For a moment I just stood there in the moonlight, waiting for the hissing voice to come back.
After five minutes, I decided it wasn’t coming back and made my way back to the hull doors. Sharpe was now sitting up asleep, it was a bit remarkable. I opened the hull doors and climbed down the stairs to the relatively well lit storage area of many barrels. Near the back was a stack of some hay with a single sheet thrown over it. I guess this is where Warner put me last night, so I laid down on it and collected my thoughts for a moment. Maybe it was best to not go and snoop around for black magic books after all. 
Twenty minutes later, I was calmed down enough to start feeling drowsy. “Midnight.” My eyes shot open and a chill ran down my spine again. I got up and looked around. Did the voice follow me here? “Midnight.” It hissed again. I ran up the stairs to the deck, slamming the hull doors shut.
Poor Sharpe was awoken by my racket. “Hey! Didn’t I tell you not to make any noise prisoner?” 
I gave him a sheepish grin. “No, uh, you just said don’t try to snuggle with you for warmth.” I looked side to side, hoping I wouldn’t find the voice again. 
Sharpe blinked a few times. “Oh yeah.” He again closed his eyes, still looking sour in his sleepiness. “Don’t make noise.” He grumbled. 
I gave the sleepy stallion a nod that he didn’t see and sat on the other side of the main mast. Maybe if I stayed up here the voice wouldn’t come back. Certainly Sharpe’s scary size would scare it away right? 
I stopped trying to lie to myself and just focused on staying alert. I didn’t want to be taken by surprise again by hissing voices lurking in the shadows. I counted every second, trying to stay focused and on guard.
Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes into hours. Not long after two hours, I passed out into the land of sleep.