Chapter six: Wings, the Doctor, and first Kiss
Midnight left the classroom, slinging his saddlebags onto his back, and walked slowly down the lane. He'd wanted to know about the creation of the Changelings, but he didn't think it was like that. He thought that they had been a lost race that had been recently discovered by Equestrians, or that they were some kind of race that had been transformed from another by evolution. But created by his mother, then rejected by Equestrians? That had been something he wasn't prepared for.
He was so lost in thought about the day's lesson that he didn't even notice walking toward the hospital, but he snapped out of his thoughts when his nose bumped into the hospital sign. He blinked, then shook his head to clear it. He stared at the hospital, finally seeing a familiar rainbow mare walking out of the doors and toward him.
“Rainbow! How are you?” Midnight said, his voice betraying a bit of worry.
“I'm fine, kid,” Rainbow replied, throwing a wing over him and guiding him toward the hospital doors. “Scoot's still the same, though. The doctors don't know when she'll wake up. She lost a lot of blood and her body needs to rebuild itself.” They passed the nurse's desk and strode down the hallway. They turned a corner and Midnight saw an open door halfway down the hallway. He could hear the soft hum of somepony in the room and it sounded like they were singing. He caught sight of the nametag to one side of the door which read “Scootaloo, Pegasus mare.”
As he stepped into the room, he recognized the familiar sound of Sweetie Belle and he spied her sitting in one corner, her attention focused on the orange mare lying in the bed with tubes and machines surrounding her. Rainbow followed him into the room, pushing open the door wider and causing it to creak.
The sound made Sweetie Belle jump and gasp in surprise as her concentration broke. Rainbow Dash took a seat in one of the chairs at the foot of Scootaloo's bed, while he took a seat beside her. He had to smile when he caught sight of a small, stuffed Rainbow Dash that lay to one side of Scootaloo.
“Please,” he said, looking at her, “don't let me stop you from singing.”
Sweetie Belle looked at him, shocked. “I-I wasn't singing,” she said, glancing at Rainbow for help.
“She wasn't, I could hear that much from the hall,” Rainbow chimed in, “she was humming something. It was soft and gentle, like a lullaby. What was it, Sweetie Belle?”
Sweetie Belle started to fiddle with her hooves, staring down at the floor. “Um, it was a song,” she said, “a song Scootaloo wrote. I only put it to music.”
“Can we hear it?” Midnight asked, but Sweetie Belle shook her head quickly.
“Oh no!” she said hastily, “I'd never have the nerve to sing in front of ponies. I only sing when I know there's nopony listening.”
“Sweetie Belle,” the two ponies looked at Rainbow, “I'm not going to ask you to do something if you don't want to, but I would like to hear it. Especially if Scootaloo wrote it.”
Sweetie Belle took a deep breath, then nodded. Her horn glowed a light green as a violin and keyboard materialized above her head. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. Her horn sparked and the instruments started to play, a soft and gentle melody echoing through the room. She opened her eyes as she opened her mouth to start when she realized that Midnight and Rainbow were both looking at her. She gave a squeak, and the music stopped as the instruments vanished.
“I'm sorry,” she said, “it's kind of embarrassing to know ponies are watching me.”
Midnight reached out and took her hoof in both of his, pulling her attention to himself. “I know it's hard,” he said, “but I can try and take away your nervousness, if you want.” She nodded, and he leaned forward until his horn was touching hers. He reached inside himself and drew some of his magic into his horn. He breathed soft and low, letting his breaths calm him, then he gathered up some courage and directed it into his magic. He guided his magic out of his horn and into Sweetie Belle's. She gasped, then he felt their magic pool above their horns. As he held himself there, the familiar violin and keyboard music came like a soft breeze. He opened his eyes and glanced at Sweetie Belle, who had her eyes closed, then over to Rainbow who sat there with her mouth slightly open. He felt a bit of apprehension and caution from the mare and he nodded slightly, careful not to break his connection with Sweetie Belle.
They sat there for a minute or so as the chords of music played overhead, calming each pony in the room. Then Sweetie Belle took a deep breath and began to sing.
Through the long and lonely nights
To the dark and stormy days
From the mountains to the prairies
For every word I say
No matter what the trouble
No matter what's at stake
Even if the problem doubles
And I'm not sure what to make
I'll have you.
I see you flying over mountains
Leaving obstacles at bay
Living life without your worries
No matter what's at stake
You're my all, my everything
Exactly what I want to be
One day I'll fly over mountains
One day I'll reach my peak
And I'll have you.
Soaring through the sky with birds
In the soft embrace of clouds
With my wings stretched to the sun
The silence roaring loud.
In my mind, I'm clearly there
Reaching out to you.
Then I open up my eyes
And I swear that I flew.
And I had you.
When night is almost over
To find reality
My wings cannot be yours
Until I dream.
I can fly beside you
Together we can soar.
And just until I awake
I'm alone no more!
(Sisters at Heart (TheDashDub ft. feather)
Sweetie Belle took a breath as the song started to wind down when they heard somepony else join in.
“For I have you.”
Everypony in the room snapped their head around to look at the bedridden mare, only to gasp in surprise as Scootaloo's magenta eyes looked back at them, tears running down her cheeks.
“Hi, everypony,” she said softly.
“Scootaloo!” the two mares and one colt cried in relief and surprise. They all got up and huddled around her bed, smiling down at her.
“How are you feeling, kiddo?” Rainbow asked.
Scootaloo didn't answer right away, but stretched her forehooves. “I feel alright, what happened?” she asked.
Everypony's face fell. “You tried to commit suicide, Scoot,” Sweetie Belle said.
“Luckily Midnight saved you,” Rainbow stated with a sigh of relief and a glance of gratitude toward the colt standing next to her.
“Luckily?” Scootaloo asked softly, “luckily? Luck would have allowed me to die.” They all gasped in surprise.
“But why would you want to leave your friends?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Scootaloo shook her head. “I don't want to leave you guys,” she said, “but the teasing from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon was getting too much. Remember back when the Equestrian Games were being held in the Crystal Empire?” The two mares nodded, while Midnight was confused. “They picked on me for being a flightless Pegasus. They're still at it today, even though it's been several years since then. When am I ever going to be able to fly!? When can I spread my wings and soar up into the sky?”
Rainbow bowed her head. “Kiddo,” she said slowly, “there's something I need to tell you. It's about your wings.”
Scootaloo looked at her idol, then rolled over onto her side. “You mention my wings,” she said, “they've been itching to be stretched. Do you think we could go outside? I'd like to get out of this bed as soon as I can.”
Rainbow nodded, then walked out of the room to find a doctor. She returned a few minutes later with the doctor that Midnight had met when he'd brought Scootaloo to the hospital last night. He picked up Scootaloo's chart from its position at the foot of her bed and checked it. He glanced at the monitors around the bed, then wrote a few things down on the chart.
“I don't know how,” he said, shaking his head, “but it seems like you're healing faster than we thought. I suppose a bit of fresh air won't hurt. Just make sure that she's back in bed in an hour or so. We don't want her overexerting herself.” This last part was said to Rainbow, who nodded. The doctor walked out into the hall to fetch a wheelchair. He wheeled it into the room, then helped Rainbow place Scootaloo into it. He stepped aside as Rainbow pushed Scootaloo out the door, past the nurse's station, and out the front doors to the hospital.
Scootaloo sighed in relief as she took a whiff of the fresh air outside the hospital. She rubbed her forelegs, scratching at the bandage on her chest. She leaned forward and let her wings flare out from behind her. Midnight had seen her wings before, small in comparison to Rainbow's, but now something seemed different about them. He couldn't quite put his hoof on it, though. He started to walk around Scoot's wheelchair, but froze when the light of the sun passed close to the edge of her wings. He moved closer to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.
There, illuminated by the light of the sun, was what looked like the outline of Changeling wings. The light green gossamer outlines shimmered in the light, gently reflecting the light into tiny rainbows along the ground. He reached out a hoof and brushed the outline on Scootaloo's left side. He felt the slightest touch of gossamer before the wing twitched and Scootaloo turned to look at him.
“What is it?” she asked. He stared at his hoof, then at her wings. “Is something wrong with my wings?” she asked him, turning around to try and catch sight of her wings. Rainbow watched this go on, remembering why she'd wanted to talk to her.
“Scootaloo,” she said, haltingly.
“Rainbow,” Midnight said, motioning for her to step over to his side, “come here and tell me what you see.” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sat there, stunned at the request. Rainbow moved over to where Midnight was standing, who directed Scootaloo to face forward and spread her wings. As she did so, the sunlight of the fading day glistened off the outline of Scootaloo's wings again, throwing rainbows onto the observers.
“What is that?” Rainbow breathed as she poked the outlines with her hooves.
“What's what? Rainbow, what's wrong with my wings?” Scootaloo said, impatiently. She tried to twist around to see what they were both looking at, but was forced forward by Rainbow.
“Just hold on, kid,” Rainbow replied, then turned to look at Midnight. “They look kind of like yours,” she said, and he nodded, “but that's impossible. She's a Pegasus, not a Changeling.”
“I know,” Midnight said, “this is curious. I'll have to speak with Shimmer Scales, she might know more about it.”
“Who's Shimmer Scales?” asked Scootaloo, “some sort of wing expert?”
“Scootaloo, please just hold on and sit still,” Midnight said, then he put his chin on a hoof and sat back to think. How is it, he thought, that she has Changeling wings? I don't sense any Changelings nearby. Could this be an effect of my magic? I tried to save her life by pouring as much magic into her as I could. Did that somehow fix her wings, too?
“What are you talking about?” Scootaloo said, glancing back at Midnight, “I don't have Changeling wings. And what do you mean, 'an effect of your magic'? What kind of magic did you use? And you keep saying Changeling, aren't they the race that attacked Canterlot? Why would you be able to detect Changelings nearby?”
Midnight froze in his train of thought and stared at Scootaloo. Can she? he thought, then shook his head, no, that's impossible. She can't read my mind. She's neither a Changeling nor a Unicorn. She's a Pegasus.
“And what does me being a Pegasus have anything to do about it?” Scootaloo wheeled her chair around and glared at him, “I'm not reading your mind because you said that loud and clear.” She looked at Rainbow and Sweetie Belle, who stared back at her with surprise on their faces. “You heard him talk about how my wings being the way they are were an effect of his magic, didn't you?” she asked, only to receive shakes of their head. She looked from Rainbow to Sweetie Belle, then to Midnight behind her. She sat there, stunned. “But, that's impossible,” she whispered, “I'm no Unicorn. I can't read minds.”
“I know that,” Midnight said, “but why you're able to do it, in lieu of being one, I don't know. But we're getting sidetracked.” He stared
at Scootaloo's wings, rubbing his hoof along the gossamer outline of them. She twitched her wings and chuckled under her breath.
“Well, they're real enough,” Rainbow said, “Pegasi wings are very sensitive to the touch. They need to be in order to sense and read any change in the atmosphere.”
“But why does she have them? Why are they gossamer?” Midnight asked, then turned back to head into the hospital. When asked where he was going, he merely answered, “to get permission for some experimentation.” He stepped through the doors, leaving the others to sit and wait, only to return after a few minutes. “The doctor said that if anything wrong happens, I'm to teleport Scootaloo back here immediately.” The three mares nodded, then Rainbow wheeled Scootaloo down the hill.
“Where are we heading?” she asked Midnight, who was leading the way.
“To a hill outside of Ponyville,” he replied, “I've got questions and that should help come up with some answers.”
It didn't take them long before they arrived at hill Midnight wanted and they all ascended to the top where they could look over the whole town. Rainbow put on Scootaloo's brakes, then stepped beside her as the four of them watched the sun set. It didn't go too far down before Midnight turned to Scootaloo.
“How do your wings feel?” he asked.
“They feel fine, almost like I need to stretch them,” she replied.
“And here's where experimentation comes in,” he said, holding out a hoof. She took it and he helped her out of the chair. She fluttered her wings softly, stretching and flapping them a few times. “Now then,” he said, spreading his own wings, “what I want you to do is fly.”
“Midnight, I've never flown before,” Scootaloo replied, hesitant.
“Well, then now's a good a time as any,” he replied, flapping his wings and propelling himself in to the air, “practice flapping your wings, that should give you enough lift to get off the ground at least.”
Scootaloo spread her wings wide. Midnight noted the fading light making the gossamer edges of her wings show up more predominantly. Sweetie Belle gasped as she stared at Scootaloo's wings.
“Scootaloo,” she breathed, “your wings, they're beautiful!”
Scootaloo looked over her shoulder, blinking in surprise as she saw what the others had seen. She flapped them experimentally. “Those are mine?” she asked, still staring at them, “I can feel them, feel the way the wind blows over them.”
She flapped her wings several more times, each time the smile on her face grew larger as she felt her body float up into the air a few feet. She tilted forward and flapped hard, sending herself shooting off into the early evening sky. The three ponies watched as she soared above the ground, her purple mane flowing behind her. Rainbow leaped into the air and raced after her. Midnight glanced back at Sweetie Belle, who stared after her friend with a look of surprise and joy, then followed Rainbow.
Midnight soared through the sky as the moon began to rise. He saw Scootaloo and Rainbow flying around. Sometimes Scootaloo would dip down as her wings became uncoordinated in their flight, but she would quickly regain her balance. Rainbow flew beside her, her forelegs spread out in front of her, ready to move in case Scootaloo fell toward the earth. Midnight caught up to them in time to see the widest smile on Scoot's face that he'd ever seen.
“This is amazing!” she shouted to the sky, spreading her hooves and flipping onto her back, “is this what it feels like all the time?” Rainbow nodded, then Midnight recognized the familiar thoughtful look on her face. They flew around for quite some time, until the moon had fully risen above the horizon and bathed the landscape in gorgeous, blue light. Rainbow motioned to Scoot and Midnight to land and they did, Scoot reluctantly, next to Sweetie Belle who sat with her mouth open wide in surprise. She squeed and hugged Scoot.
“That was amazing, Scoot!” she said, pulling away, “you can actually fly!”
“Yeah,” Scoot said, staring up at the sky, “for a long time I'd dreamed of what it would be like to fly, but now I know.”
“Yep,” Rainbow said, nodding her head. Then she pulled a set of papers from her saddlebags slung over Scoot's wheelchair, along with a quill and ink, “and it's got me thinking. I've been meaning to do this for some time. I know it's hard to live on your own, I know how hard it is to stand up to bullies,” Scoot looked down as a tear fell from her eye, “but I also know how important it is to have somepony watching over you.” Rainbow unfurled the papers and laid them out in front of Scoot, placing the ink and quill next to them on the ground. Scoot blinked away the tears and began to read them. With each word, her eyes grew wider until she looked up at Rainbow as she finished reading.
“Are these what I think they are?” she whispered. Rainbow nodded with a grin.
“You bet they are,” she said, “adoption papers. I knew your parents, I was there for the accident. I was the one who watched the police take you into the orphanage. And now I'm going to be here for when you need me.”
Tears fell freely from Scoot's eyes, running down her cheeks in small rivets and falling onto the ground. “Thank you,” she whispered, “thank you.” She wrapped her hooves around Rainbow's midsection and cried into her coat as Rainbow rubbed her back in between her wings.
“I've already signed them,” Rainbow said softly, “and Twilight's authorized them. First thing she did as a Princess. They're just waiting on you.”
They sat there for a few minutes, Scoot holding onto Rainbow and Rainbow stroking Scoot's mane, before Scoot pulled back and turned to the papers on the ground. She picked up the quill in her mouth and, dipping it into the inkwell, scribbled her name underneath Rainbow's. When she was finished, Rainbow rolled them up and slipped a ribbon with a star emblazoned seal on it, then put everything back into her saddlebags.
Midnight smiled, then turned to head home, pushing the wheelchair behind him with his magic. He was interrupted by Rainbow, who soared next to him.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“I'm going to return the wheelchair and inform the doctors that Scootaloo has been adopted and is under the custody of the Element of Loyalty, healthy and happy,” he said. He continued to walk a little bit more before being swept up into a hug by Rainbow.
“Thank you,” she said, and Midnight felt gratitude flow from the mare, “take all that you need. You deserve it. Thank you for healing Scootaloo. Thank you for finding her in the graveyard. Thank you for healing her wings. Doctors said that she'd never fly, but you made that possible. I'm proud to count you as one of my best friends, one that I'll stand by through thick and thin.” She released him, setting him back down on the ground after a few minutes of him pulling on the gratitude and filling his Emotion Font.
He smiled as he turned to walk away. “No problem,” he said, “I'd do it again, and more, for my friends.” He strode away from the hill, leaving the three mares hugging and smiling.
He walked back to the hospital and stowed the wheelchair next to the door. He turned away, only to see a gray stallion waving to get his attention. He walked over to the stallion, curious.
“Wonderful!” the stallion stated, “now come on!” He ran around the corner of the building, then peeked his head around it. “Well, come on!” he said.
“Who are you, and where are we going?” Midnight said, walking slowly toward the strange stallion.
The stallion sighed and stepped out from the corner. “I'm the Doctor,” he said, “and the fate of Equestria rests on you coming with me. We need to go get her!”
Midnight raised an eyebrow. “Her?” he asked.
“Yes, her,” the Doctor said, “now, we need to go! Time is running out!” He ran around the corner and Midnight walked around it just to see a large, blue box about twice his height with a light on top. The Doctor was fiddling with something in his hooves and as Midnight drew closer one side of the box popped open and the Doctor ran inside, then turned and looked back at him. “Come on! We don't have much time! Well,” he said, “technically we do because this is a time machine, but we want to give her the most time to get ready!”
“What are you talking about?” Midnight demanded, stopping outside the box.
“Listen,” the Doctor said, reaching out a hoof and grabbing Midnight, pulling him into the box, “Odium's coming and there's little we can do to stop him. But with her, we can. The only thing is we need to get her back here otherwise Equestria won't have a chance.” He ran over to the center console and began flipping levers, leaving Midnight to fall to the floor as he looked around.
“It's,” he started to say as he took in the size of the room. From what he could figure, it shouldn't fit inside the tiny box that he'd seen outside.
“Yes?” the Doctor said as he poked his head from behind the central column.
“Smaller on the outside,” Midnight finished.
The Doctor shrugged. “I guess that's one way to say it,” he said. He pulled another lever, then turned back to Midnight, “hold on!” He slammed his hoof down on a button and the entire room rumbled while a sound like somepony was dragging a metal object across a cello string echoed through the room. Midnight scrambled to grab hold of one of the rails around the room and closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn't get sick.
The rumbling went on for several minutes, then stopped. Midnight heard somepony clap their hooves together. “Ah, wonderful!” he heard the Doctor say, “I've got hands again! You know how hard it is to do anything with hooves? It's much easier to do anything with hands and fingers. Though I suspect that Unicorn mare with the lyre butt tattoo would love to see this.”
Midnight opened his eyes to see five, small appendages poking out from his hooves. He cried out and scrambled backward, waving his hooves away from him. He looked down only to see himself wearing a shirt with a silver crescent moon lying down with a star centered between the two points.
“Oh yeah, that's right!” the Doctor said, himself dressed in a leather jacket and black pants with an hourglass pin on his lapel. He strode over and held out a hoof to help Midnight up. “Hands are wonderful. I suspect this is your first time seeing fingers. Don't worry, you'll get used to them. But of course you won't have much time to get used to them before they're gone again. So no worries, come on!”
Midnight reached out his hoof (hand?) and pulled himself up with the Doctor's help. He stumbled to the door as the Doctor led the way. He pushed open the door and bright sunlight shone in, momentarily blinding Midnight. He blinked his eyes and waited until his eyes got used to the light, then followed the Doctor out, stumbling ever so often as he got more used to only walking on his hind legs. The Doctor turned and locked the door, then strode away.
Midnight walked after him, his strides getting longer as he grew more confident with walking until he was running to catch up to the Doctor. He looked around and saw many, large buildings. They reminded him of Canterlot and he saw many others like him and the Doctor walking around with bags on their back. He glanced at the Doctor. “Where are we?” he asked.
“Well,” the Doctor said, “we're a few thousand years into the future, on what humans call Earth. It's all kind of difficult to explain. But the one pony, or person here, that we're looking for is located in that building right there.” He pointed toward one of the large buildings that looked like it had dozens of doors on one side. They both walked over to it and inside, pushing open one of the doors. They located a staircase and started to climb. Midnight noticed signs with numbers on them and he figured that they indicated what floor they were on.
They finally stopped climbing when they'd reached the sixth floor and he followed the Doctor out and down the hall. They stopped before a door with the numbers 689 on it and the Doctor smiled at the number.
“Here we are,” he said and he raised a hand and knocked a few times.
“Just hold on!” a mare's voice came from inside, “I'm coming!”
They had to wait a few seconds before the door opened and a mare stood there. She had a fiery orange and red mane that came down to her lower back and wore an orange shirt with a purple jacket over it. She wore red pants with a sun the same colors as her mane embroidered on either side. She raised an eyebrow and slouched against the doorframe.
“Well,” she said as she looked the two of them up and down, “Princess Celestia finally wants me back?”
“Actually, I'm not here because of Celestia, I'm here because of Luna,” the Doctor said, “it's a matter of national security. Actually, world security when we think about it.”
“Princess Luna?” the mare looked around, then stepped aside, “you'd better come in and tell me what this is all about.” She waved them in and, as they stepped inside, she shut the door. She walked over to the couch and sat down, motioning for them to take seats. “So,” she began, “I know who you are, Doctor. You make yourself quite a familiar face, though I remember seeing you in a different regen. But who's the kid?”
“I'm Midnight Star, personal protegé of Princess Luna,” Midnight said, sitting down on a rather comfortable chair.
“Hmm, I was wondering when Princess Luna would take a student,” the mare said, “I always did like the night. I hope she does a better job of managing the stars than Celestia ever did. Sorry, I'm Sunset Shimmer, by the way.”
“Wonderful,” the Doctor said, he had taken up a spot by the door, leaning against the wall, “We've got the right girl. Now if you'll come with me we'll get you back to Equestria. There's not much time and you'll need every second.”
“Wait a second,” Sunset said, “I can't just go waltzing back into Equestria! The portal's closed for another ten moons, and I'm half a country away from it!” Then it hit her. “Wait a minute,” she said, “if the portal's closed for another ten moons, how did you get here?”
The Doctor snapped his fingers and grinned. “That's the thing,” he said, “you must not know too much about me, otherwise you wouldn't have to ask that question. But I'll explain on the way. Now come on, time's wasting!” He moved to the door and flung it open, turning back to look at the two of them. “And by the way, I'm pretty sure you'll be fine once you get back there. I've got a friend that has an inside connection to Princess Twilight.”
Sunset looked at Midnight, then she stood up and walked into the other room. Midnight heard her moving clothes around and, after a few minutes, she walked back out with a pack on her back. She moved over to the counter and grabbed a pen and paper. She started to scribble something on it when she was stopped by the Doctor putting a hand on top of her's.
“Don't worry about leaving a note,” he said, “they won't even know you're gone.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow, then set the pen down. She walked over to the door as Midnight joined her, then they both walked out with the Doctor. She turned around and locked the door, then they all three walked down the hallway and turned the corner.
No sooner had they turned the corner then Sunset Shimmer strode around the corner at the other end of the building. She wore the Element of Magic on her head proudly and bore a small jewel embedded into her forehead. She pulled out her key and put it in the lock, turning it and letting herself in. She threw her backpack onto the seat that Midnight had just vacated, then slumped down on the couch.
“It's been thousands of years since I've been back here,” she said, “I'm tired and I haven't had a good shower in just as long a time. I can see why Luna hated the moon.” She stood up and pulled off her jacket, revealing several scars on her arms of varying sizes and lengths. She stretched, then locked the door and walked into the other room, closing it behind her.
----------*----------*----------*----------
Sunset and Midnight followed the Doctor down the stairs and out of the building, heading back to his blue box. They turned the corner and the Doctor opened up the box, stepping inside. The other two followed and Midnight shut the door behind them. The Doctor was busy with the central console, flipping levers and pushing buttons.
“So,” Sunset said, pulling the Doctor's attention to her, “what's going on that you need me back in Equestria? And how are we going to get there in this box?” The Doctor raised an eyebrow, her reaction was unexpected, but he shrug it off. She came from a planet of magical, pastel, talking ponies.
“Time machine,” he said simply, “we can go anywhere, anytime. Want to see the end of the world? I can take you. But another time, right now we've got to get you back to Equestria. Here goes nothing!” He pulled a lever and the rumbling and grinding echoed through the room again. Midnight closed his eyes and grabbed hold of a rail, only to open his eyes a few minutes later to see his familiar hooves. He glanced over to Sunset who now was a Unicorn pony with a yellow coat. Her tail and mane were the same orange and red as her mane had been and her flank bore her cutie mark of a sun with the same colors. She pulled out a cloak and threw it over her, her sea green eyes the only recognizable indication of the mare underneath. She took a deep breath, then nodded.
“Alright, Doctor,” she said, “I'm ready to face my fate.”
“Wonderful,” the Doctor said as he strode between the two of them and pushed open the door. Midnight could see the sun peaking through the mountain valley as Princess Twilight's castle glistened in the morning light. The Doctor put a hoof to his chin and said, “I guess I was a little off. We're twelve hours off the mark. Into the future, so not to worry about running into your past selves. Or rather, Midnight's past self as Sunset doesn't exist right now. Well, she does now, but not then.”
Midnight walked past the blabbering Doctor and out into the street they'd arrived at. He turned back to Sunset and motioned for her to step out. She did so, cautiously. She didn't know how much Twilight's friends would know of her, especially since she'd met her human friends, not her pony friends. She squinted into the morning sun as she stared, awestruck, at the crystal structure that was the center of the skyline, its crystal spire throwing rainbows throughout the town.
“Thanks Doctor, for bringing me back here,” she said as she turned to look at him.
“Not a problem,” he said, pushing himself upright from where he was leaning against his blue box, “now if you don't mind, I've got a few more things to do before Odium comes. So I've got to get moving. Ponies to save, history to make, that sort of things.” And with that, he turned and walked back into the blue box, shutting the door behind him. The two ponies watched as the blue box whirled and slowly vanished from sight. Midnight looked at Sunset, who took a deep breath and looked back at him.
“Let's do this,” she said, letting out her breath in a sigh. And with that, they began to walk down the street, heading for the crystal castle.
A few seconds into the walk Midnight piped up. “Sunset?” he asked, and the mare tilted her head to show that she was listening,
“what was that world that you were in?”
She gave a small smile as she spoke, “that was the human world. I'd gotten there by way of a magical mirror. It was located in the Canterlot throne room, but is now located within the collections room in the Crystal Empire. I had been banished there, due to my desire to gain power.” Her voice developed a faraway tone as she spoke. “I spent a lot of time there, going to school in Canterlot High, where I had taken to running for the most popular positions in the school in order to maintain my status and power. I stole the Element of Magic from Princess Twilight during one of her trips to the Crystal Empire, then used it to become a horrible monster and enslave the entire school. I had hoped that I would be able to return to Equestria and take my place as the most powerful Unicorns in the world. But I was stopped when Twilight came through the portal in search of her Element. She made friends in the human world as she had in this world. They banded together and showed me the true power of friendship and how I'd regarded it as weakness and useless, but that it was truly the greatest power in the world. Since then, I have moved on from High School and I was, or will be,” she chuckled at the thought of being in the past, “going to college.”
Midnight listened as she told her story and before they knew it, they were standing in front of the crystal castle, a giant star carved into the crystal doors. Sunset froze as she stared up at the large structure, then down to the doors.
“Well,” she said as she raised a hoof, “I guess there's no use standing here. My punishment isn't going to get any better or worse.” She rapped her hoof on the doors three times, sending echoes through the entire castle. They waited a few minutes, then they glanced at each other. “I'll try again,” she said as she raised her hoof to knock.
Just before her hoof made contact with the crystal, the doors swung open and Pinkie Pie bounced into view from behind them.
“Oh my gosh!” she said as she saw who it was, “your highness! What an honor. But really I should go wake up Twilight, or should I be calling her Princess? She hates it when I call her that because she says that her friends should never call her by that title, only royalty.” She looked at Sunset, then gasped. “Oh my gosh! A new friend! I don't believe we've met and I only have a few party supplies with me!” She pulled out a stack of party ribbons and threw them into the air. “I guess that will have to do, but I do need to leave and prepare you a proper party!” And with that, she vanished, darting past them and down the street and leaving behind a cloud-shaped pony.
Midnight and Sunset stared after the hyperactive mare, then at each other. “It's nice to see that she's the same in either world,” Sunset said before moving into the castle and down the hall, Midnight walking beside her. They strode down the finely decorated hall, their hooffalls softened by the elegant rug that ran down the center. They ended at another set of double doors, this one carved with the six Elements. They paused for a second before bracing themselves on the doors and pushing.
The doors swung open to reveal a throne room with a six pointed star taking up the center of the room with six thrones, each one sitting at a point, in a circle around it. Currently one throne was filled and Sunset froze as she recognized the familiar form of Twilight Sparkle. She was talking to Discord who had wound his way around her throne and she bore a slightly irritated look on her face.
“All I'm saying is to let me have a small period during the day where I can spread a bit of chaos, that's all,” Discord was saying, rubbing the bottom of Twilight's chin with his lion paw.
“And all I'm saying is that if I let you, you could potentially eliminate any and all counterspells that I could come up with,” Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, “it's far too dangerous for me to let you.”
“Well, then I'm going to need some way to release my inner chaos!” Discord said as he rose up in a dramatic pose. Then the two ponies at the entrance caught his eye. “Oh, what do we have here?” he asked as he slithered across the floor and stopped a hoof away from them. “Oh Twilie!” he said over his shoulder, “looks like you have visitors!”
Midnight watched Twilight's horn flash purple as her body flashed the same color, smoothing out her mane and calming her nerves. She smiled at Midnight.
“Good morning, your highness,” she said with a smile on her face, “what a pleasure to see you.” Then her smile vanished as she caught sight of the pony next to him. “Is that who I think it is?” she asked in a low voice.
Sunset took a breath, then her horn glowed and she pushed back her hood, revealing her mane and head to Twilight.
“What are you doing here?” Twilight said, threateningly, “you can't get a hold of the the Elements anymore. They've been given back to the Tree of Harmony and they can't be taken back.”
“I,” Sunset started to say, but her voice was dry with nerves. Discord snapped his fingers and a glass of water appeared in front of the mare who grabbed it with her magic and took a gulp, smiling at the God of Chaos in thanks, then she turned her attention back to the Alicorn glaring at her, “I've come back to pay for my crimes toward Equestria.” She bowed low to the ground, avoiding Twilight's gaze.
“Equestria doesn't have hangings or executions anymore, though it seems a bit of a shame,” Twilight said, her face dark, “for the crimes you've committed. Stealing the Element of Magic, attempting to take over another planet for the purpose of invading Equestria, Stealing from royalty, and returning after banishment. There seems to be quite a stack against you, Sunset. And, as Princess of Equestria, I have the right to carry out any punishment I see fit. I could sentence you to lifetime in a dungeon, or banish you to the Everfree Forest, setting up wards to keep you in, or even delivering you to the Changelings to be drained dry of any emotion.” Twilight didn't notice Midnight stiffen and glare at her at the mention of the last punishment.
“My dear Twilight,” Discord said, a smirk on his face and a twinkle in his eye, “is that really something a Princess should be thinking about? Particularly a Princess of Friendship? It seems to me that Sunset here merely suffered from an absence of friends. If I remember right, so did you at one time in your life, am I right?” Twilight turned her glare toward him and he chuckled, then continued, “besides, didn't you say once that the fate of Equestria did rely on you making friends?”
Twilight thought this over for a few minutes, each one ticking by was like an eternity for Sunset as she sat there and fidgeted under the Alicorn's glare. Then Twilight cleared her throat. “Sunset Shimmer,” she said in an authoritative voice, “for the crimes that you have committed against Equestria and the planet to which you were banished, I hereby sentence you to three years—”
Sunset bowed lower and whimpered. Midnight froze in fear. He'd just met her and now she was going to be banished again. “Twilight wait!” he said, but was silenced by the thud of her hoof on her throne.
“I sentence you to three years as my student.”
Sunset's head shot up like she'd been pricked with a needle. “What?” she said.
“Three years as my student,” Twilight said again, “it seems that with your return, you have need of a teacher and, as Princess Celestia and Luna are busy and Princess Cadence is managing the Crystal Empire, it falls to me to take you on. It is only fitting,” she said with a giggle, “how else can I spread the magic of friendship across Equestria if I can't even spread it within Ponyville? Your tutelage starts right now.” Twilight rose and stepped off her throne and headed toward Sunset who stood frozen in shock. She smiled at the mare, which caused her to blink in surprise. “Come on,” Twilight said, “let's get you settled, then we can begin your studies.”
Midnight and Discord watched the two mares walk out, the doors closing behind them. He looked up at Discord hovering in the air. “Did you know?” he asked.
Discord looked down at him, an eyebrow raised. “Now, what makes you think I knew that the Doctor was going to take you to get her?”
Midnight smirked. “Because I never said anything about the Doctor,” he said. Discord burst out laughing.
“You're right!” he said, “I knew what was going to happen. I know what IS going to happen. And let me tell you, we win.” He snapped his fingers and vanished.
Midnight shook his head at the God of Chaos then, opening the doors, he walked out of the castle and down the lane. He looked up to see the familiar trail of Rainbow Dash, this time followed by a purple trail leading to Scootaloo, soaring above Ponyville. He smiled at the sight, then kept walking. He caught sight of his mother's chariot hovering over the town and He spread his wings, flapping them and flying up to his mother, landing in the chariot beside her. She had a map spread out before her on the large floor with grid lines marked out. She was muttering to herself, but stopped as she saw him sit down.
“Hello Midnight,” she said, still looking at the map.
“Problem, mother?” he asked.
“Just a bit of rezoning issues,” she replied, “I'm trying to figure out where your home would best go. There is a certain flow that
these little towns have.”
“Home?” he asked, raising an eyebrow, “I'm not heading back to Canterlot?”
Princess Luna turned her attention to him, looking him in the eye. “Princess Cadence is hunting you much more diligent than I expected,” she said, “it would be safer being here within Princess Twilight's realm. She can protect you. Princess Cadence was out of bounds when she attacked you in Canterlot. Each Princess has a main town or city where their castle lies, it is there that they have direct jurisdiction.”
Midnight nodded, showing he understood and was grateful for that. He didn't want to meet Princess Cadence for a long time. He turned his attention back to the map on the floor. Plots of land were marked out with ink, writing identifying the owners of them. He could see that the town was somewhat chaotic, though he supposed that Discord might have had something to do with that. But, as he studied the map, he found a few pieces of land attracting his attention.
One was near the boundaries of the Everfree Forest. Another was in the middle of a large field, with a few trees surrounding it. And a third was located in the center of town, though this piece of land had a dark blotch on it. He gestured to it with a hoof. “What's that?” he asked.
“That is where the Books and Branches Library used to be located,” Princess Luna stated, “we are planning to place a memorial statue there.” Midnight nodded, then proceeded to point out the two other pieces of land that had caught his eye. Princess Luna looked over the plot of land near the Everfree Forest, shaking her head. “I won't let you build there,” she said, “there are dangerous monsters there, and the only thing of interest in there is our old castle.” With that said, they decided on the large piece of land in the clearing. Then Princess Luna drew out another, large piece of paper and dipped a quill in an inkwell. She turned to look at him. “Now to decide what you want your house to look like,” she smiled at him.
They spent the next few hours jotting down ideas and plans, sometimes throwing out whole designs, until Midnight smiled down at the blueprints spread out before them. His house would be two stories tall, with an observatory in the center. The entire house would be roughly square, with the middle section poking out. There would be a library, an alchemist lab, even a forge located in the basement. Princess smiled at him, then rolled up the paper and slid it into a tube.
“I'll visit a few construction crews, to see when they can begin,” she said. Then she spread one wing and pulled him close to her side. He blinked in surprise, then wrapped a hoof around her, hugging her. He smiled at the familiar warmth of her side as they stayed like that for several minutes, then he felt her wing lift off him. “I'd better get back to Canterlot if I want to have this done by tonight,” she said. He nodded and thanked her, then spread his wings and glided down to the ground. He turned to look at the chariot as it turned around and flew off toward Canterlot, vanishing after a few seconds.
He turned to walk back to Fluttershy's cottage, he wanted to let her know where he'd been, when he ran right into something warm, soft, and yellow. He fell backward, blinking in surprise.
“Ah!” a familiar voice cried out in surprise, “Ah'm sorry!” He looked up to see Apple Bloom looking down at him in shock. She reached out a hoof and he took it, pulling himself up.
“Sorry,” he said as he dusted himself off, “wasn't looking where I was going.”
“Nope, it was mah fault,” Apple Bloom said, “Ah shoulda been watchin' out for yah.” She yelped in surprise as she realized what she'd just said, a light blush forming on her cheeks. She quickly shook her head, then looked up at the sky. “Ah saw ya come down from Princess Luna's chariot. Talkin' with yer mom?” she asked.
“Actually, yeah,” Midnight replied, a smile on his face, “we were talking about my new house!”
“New house? But Ah thought ya lived with Fluttershy?” she asked.
“I do,” he said, “but Mother thinks that I should have my own home. We were talking about where it would be built, as well as what was going to be in it.”
“Oh, what's it gunna look like?” Apple Bloom asked.
Midnight pictured his house in his head, then the map of Ponyville came to him in his mind and he smiled. “I'll do better than that,” he said, “I'll show you where it's going to be!” He took off running down the lane, the map in his head showing the direction he needed to head in order to arrive at the clearing. He heard the thundering of Apple Bloom's hooves behind him, slowly catching up to him. He smirked to himself, he didn't want to make it too easy for her to follow him, and poured on the energy. His hooves kicking up dust clouds as he pounded down the lane and, as he came around the final bend, he heard Apple Bloom almost upon him. He pulled on his magic and threw it into his hooves, making them glow slightly with green light and he couldn't feel the ground any more. He also found that he could run faster and he tapped into his magic to refresh his body, giving him more energy.
He finally screeched to a halt in the center of the clearing and he turned around, just in time to see Apple Bloom plow into him and send the two of them rolling for several hooves. When they finally stopped, he found himself resting on the grass, almost muzzle to muzzle with Apple Bloom, her orange eyes staring right into his own. He blinked in surprise at the position he was in, only to freeze as Apple Bloom closed the gap between their muzzles and envelop his mouth with hers. He felt what must have been her tongue poking his lips and he opened them in surprise, letting it poke inside his mouth. He squirmed in discomfort as she moved her tongue to feel every corner of his mouth.
Then he was hit by it. A wave, more potent than anything he'd felt before. It washed over him, flowing into his Emotion Font like a blast of water into a cup. He moaned with joy as he felt his Font fill fuller than he'd ever felt it. Whatever this feeling was, it was more powerful than even the love he'd felt from his mother. He relaxed into the kiss as Apple Bloom ran her hooves down his body, ruffling his fur as they went. Finally, she pulled away and allowed Midnight to gasp for breath, but it was quickly taken away again as she leaned forward and wrapped her mouth around his horn. The sensations that flowed from his horn into his mind almost made him melt. He babbled incoherently as she sucked on it, running her tongue along the tiny curves that ran up and down his horn. He felt something well up inside him, something that grew the more Apple Bloom licked.
He was left gasping for breath as she pulled off, then lifted herself up and he caught a whiff of apples mixed with vanilla. He didn't have much time to think about it before he saw a lasso loop around Apple Bloom's body and pull her off him. He rolled over and picked himself up as he saw Apple Bloom squirm in the grass nearby and Applejack tying her hooves together. She finished and turned to him with an apologetic look on her face. Apple Bloom squirmed and let out pained moans, only to have Applejack turn back to her.
“Ya'll shouldn't 'av run away, Apple Bloom,” she said, “Ya'll know it's yer first time and it ain't fair to choose a colt for it either.” She turned back to Midnight. “She didn't do anythin' to ya, did she?” she asked him. He just sat there, huffing, as she looked him over. She moved closer to him, then tilted his head down with her hooves. “Hmm,” she said, “your horn's got bits of apple on it, and yer breath smells like apples as well. Ah'd say she kissed ya, a bit more than that Ah reckon, then went for yer horn, right?”
Midnight nodded. “But why? Why all of a sudden? I know she likes me, but I didn't know she was so forward,” he asked.
Applejack rubbed the back of her head and blushed. “Ah,” she said, her face flushing even more red until it matched her cutie mark in color, “Ah reckon ya'll better ask yer mother about tha'.” She turned away and hefted the struggling Apple Bloom onto her back. Apple Bloom glanced back at him standing there and Midnight caught sight of a tear running down her cheek, falling onto the ground as regret washed over him. He sat there for a few minutes, watching the two mares walk down the path and head toward a large, red building poking above the surrounding trees.
“What just happened?” he asked, stunned.
Stats
Page generated in 0.018 seconds
Total duration
904 users online
1,040,556 hits today, 2,439,861 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Did Discord have anything to do with this chapter? It's so... random.
Still a fun read.
5077815
A bit. He has a lot to do with the entire story.
5077922
It's just... suddenly the Doctor, as in Doctor Who, shows up. Then we go to Canterlot High of Equestria Girls, pick up Shimmer, pop back to Ponyville, mention something about preventing end of the world as we know it (as if there's anything less for the Doctor to do), and finally Twilight on Shimmer as her own student rather than banish her back to CH. Whew! And we thought TV soap operas were conveluted.
5082157
It's not CH, they actually went into the future, past CH when Sunset is in college. I had hoped that I'd shown this, but it seems that I didn't. The entire story happens several years after the fourth season, so everypony has been aged a few years, including Sunset. And next chapter will start to slow down. I'm running out of exciting scenes to write, so there won't be as much.
Or maybe I should just post smaller chapters....
5082348
My bad, I used CH as an overall metaphor for the "world where all the ponies are mirrored as humanoids and the last time Twilight was there, everything took place on Canterlot High school grounds". Quite a mouthful so I just refer to it as Canterlot High or "CH".
5086475
You're fine. I realize that I didn't actually state in the story that Sunset was in college, so it's all good.