Chapter 21: The Last Day
At the Inn of the Prancing Pony
Chapter 21: The Last Day
Early the next morning, Midnight quietly descended down to the main floor of the Inn, to partake in breakfast. Just like with lunch and dinner, a buffet was laid out, and ponies were circulating and eating.
There were many more of them than the previous day, and most of the new arrivals still wore mud-stained cloaks and other signs that they had very recently arrived.
All this served as a powerful reminder to Midnight of the note posted on every door upstairs: the convention would begin that night, at midnight. She shivered a bit before picking up a plate in her magic.
Later, as she was walking past the booths with her breakfast, she saw Chestnut leaning into the booth that Winter Harvest and her sister were in earlier. As she watched, Winter’s foreleg reached out and grabbed Chestnut’s in the complex hoofshake she had used earlier on Midnight. Interestingly, Chestnut seemed to recognize and complete the intricate maneuver.
Sitting at a table by himself was a mountain of an earth pony. Midnight recognized him as the victor of the jousting tournament. He seemed to be waiting patiently, his empty plate sitting before him.
She took up her plate and briskly trotted over to the stallion.
“By any chance, is this seat open? It’s a bit crowded in here.”
“Hmm?” the white and blonde stallion asked. “Oh, probably. Looks like my companions from Maneport are going to be delayed.” He didn’t quite look and sound like a muscular version of Prince Blueblood, but he wasn’t that far off, either.
She nodded and sat, eating a few bites before holding out her hoof.
“Midnight Sparkle. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“Torn Deck, of the Maneport Decks,” said the stallion, taking the hoof and kissing it lightly. “It is an honor to meet one of your lineage.”
Being a typical unicorn, Midnight wasn’t even aware that earth ponies had an aristocracy, much less the names of the families comprising it. After all, the earth ponies in the vicinity of Horn’s Reach were decidedly anti-noble in sentiment.
“Well...” She smiled shyly. “You flatter me, I hadn’t thought my name would carry weight here. I’m afraid I don’t recognize your name. But I will commit it to memory.”
“Oh, we Decks are not all that powerful,” Torn said with an easy smile. “My father’s the Chief of Police, after all.”
Midnight thought she recognized that accent.
“I hope you had an easier trip coming to the Inn than I had,” he confessed to her. “I was simply plagued with thieves! Unfortunately, I blamed my staff, and managed to sack them all before even getting half-way through the Everfree, and still the stealing continued! The only valuable I have left is this miniature portrait.” He opened the locket which was hanging around his neck, to show an ivory profile of a proud mare. “My dear Mama,” he said with a smile. “She ordered it made special for the occasion. Threatened to beat me senseless if I lost it.”
“It’s...she’s beautiful. I’m glad it made it through. As far as my own trip...” Midnight sighed. “I nearly lost one of my companions to some lizardlike creatures. That was just one of the difficult barriers I encountered, among less than kind adventurers, and cockatrices.”
“Oh, that’s horrible!” the earth pony exclaimed. “I didn’t lose anypony of value.”
“Refill,” said the strangely familiar orange pony in kitchen stripes as she quickly strode past the table.
“Re...wait, of value? So, it’s not just unicorns who tend to rank others as inferior?” She asked curiously, without any attempt at insult.
Torn Deck drew himself up proudly. “The plebeians of all three breeds may struggle and fight with one another over their petty differences, but you and I know that we as a class are their natural superiors, and their rulers. I dream of the day when the aristocracies of all kinds can tell the peoples of Equestria what to do, and what to think—together in peace. Even griffon and dragon nobles can join into the natural order—I’m not prejudiced.”
Midnight ate another piece of her food, though she had to struggle to appear calm. She then slowly stood. “Torn, a week ago...less than even that, I would agree with you. I’d even laugh at the idea of an earth pony nobility. Now...I genuinely hope that you choke on the locket you’re no longer wearing and die alone. Have a good day, Torn.”
“I...you…” he reached up to his neck, which was now bare. “Must I be plagued by thievery here, of all places?! Is there no justice in the world? Constable! I demand the services of a constable at once!”
Midnight smiled, and walked away.
Midnight worked industriously through the late morning and afternoon, so industriously that she received several complaints for the smells that were escaping from her room. Finally, she finished the two cloaks (and one hat) that she had promised.
She had to ask around a bit to discover which room Winter Harvest and her sister were staying at. She knocked, and Copper Plate answered the door.
“Winter! We’ve got presents!” Copper exclaimed happily.
Winter pushed lightly past her sister, and took their cloaks from Midnight. “Thank you so much,” she said. “I feel a lot better about accepting these, now that Chestnut has vouched for you.”
“Oh?” Midnight raised an eyebrow, and smiled. “I’m glad to know that I’ve made new friends, then.”
“We’ve got provisional memberships and everything!” blurted Copper.
Winter turned and “accidentally” struck her lightly upside the head with a hoof. “Hush now,” she said. Turning back to Midnight, she said, “Thanks again—we’ll report what happens as soon as possible, well...assuming that we are able.”
“This cloak looks awesome!” Copper said, trying hers on. “I’m sure it’ll work great!”
“Excellent! You’ll notice that the metal is blank. Mine has runes on it, but I’m not sure if they will make a difference. It’s all an experiment.”
“An experiment...in Super Science!” Copper exclaimed. “I’ve started drawing all of our adventures, with pictures and talking and...I think it will be something completely new! I’ve put all my theories in there—secret origins and unexpected powers, and villains in mountaintop lairs!”
Winter smiled apologetically. “She had a bit too much dessert from the lunch buffet.”
Midnight shrugged her cloak back on, and sat back to look at them, a bit of hope burning in her. “Well, good luck,” she said. “Both with the experiment, and with your drawing thing.”
Copper saluted. “Aye-aye!”
# # #
Chestnut accepted her hat with a grateful nod and little else.
Afterwards, Midnight made one last trip to the stable, to see Celestia. The late autumn sun was swiftly setting, making the short trip between buildings unexpectedly treacherous. Once on the second floor of the stable, she had to walk around several other ponies, of all classes and breeds, as they hustled and bustled in the halls and in the open-doored rooms. It was a strong contrast with the stand-alone ponies of the Inn.
“Hope? Are you home?” She asked, knocking on her door.
The door opened, and Hope pulled her into a fierce hug. “You are so brave for doing this,” Celestia whispered into her ear. “I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”
“Just make sure that I come back if the cloak doesn’t work,” she said, hugging Hope in return.
“It’s a promise,” Celestia told her. She held her at arm’s length. “Be strong,” she told her. “Be true and most of all, be clever.”
“Well, just a few hours left...” She smiled. “I think I can be clever for at least that long.”
Celestia hugged her again. “I do not know what place you might end up in if worst comes to worse, but I hope that it is warmed by the sun.”
“I hope that it’s warm, with lots of books.”
Celestia laughed.
Midnight sat alone in the middle of her room, a single candle burning before her. Her namesake hour was fast approaching.
Again and again, she reviewed her preparations, trying to find flaws, or means to improve her defenses against the god magic that was coming for her.
She looked down at her record sheet, at the side that non-adventurers were not allowed to see, the side that no pen or pencil could mark. She honestly thought that the intelligence score could be a little higher. The low wisdom score, on the other hoof...that one was probably right.
With a sigh, she allowed her eyes to wander...until they stopped on the blank rectangle labeled “Player Name”.
“I wonder…?” she asked herself. “Could it be that easy?”
She got up, and walked out the door. One of the maids was walking by with a cart.
“Excuse me!” she called out. “Might I be able to make a special request of the kitchen?”
Luckily for her, they were able to fulfil her request in time, but only just.
Midnight Sparkle sat in the middle of her room, a single candle burning before her, illuminating her record sheet. Her cloak was tucked tight around her. She had nearly fallen asleep when she realized that it had begun to spark.
The unicorn looked wildly around her, and gave a gasp as the shadows suddenly rushed inwards...
Hope sat alone in her room, looking at the far wall, looking in her mind’s eye through that wall, and through all of the other walls that separated her from Midnight.
“Be safe,” she pleaded silently. “Oh, please, be safe. That matters so much more to me right now than any victory against my foes, no matter how significant.”
She waited silently after that, feeling the stars wheeling above her. Luna’s stars, now impelled by a committee of unicorns.
One of them was Midnight’s sister, she remembered.
Midnight. It was midnight!
Celestia rose to her hooves. “Midnigh—!” she tried to cry out, when she was suddenly struck by the compulsion to sleep.
“No!” she cried, certain that she had been discovered once more. “No, I will not...let you...I must protect...Ah!”
It was no use. The compulsion could not be resisted. Celestia dropped deep into slumber. She felt herself falling, falling, falling…
...And then she landed. She looked down at herself, and then she looked around her. “No!” she exclaimed incredulously. “This...this is impossible!”
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The author wonders if now would be the best time to take a three week vacation... vgy.me/ests9C.png
5160997 No.
Midnight made Celestia her player? I thought for a second she was going to make herself her player, but choosing Celestia was just ingenious. Whatever Intelligence score she was unhappy with doesn't do her justice!
Haha! Wonderful!
5161137
Oh no, we can't have that--that would be too easy. Thank you for pointing out that plot hole, which has been suitably plugged--the front side of the record sheet now can only be written on by the player.
5161137
Interesting. Not sure how that would even work or if Midnight would understand the implications.
5161670
Ugh. Seriously. Do try to limit the retroactive changes, eh?
5161767
Yes, I know. But I wrote the next chapter a week ago, and Celestia certainly didn't end up as Midnight's player, so I didn't want a giant complaint that I was misleading you when that came out. I didn't realize what I wrote could have been read in that way until Doppler Effect pointed it out.
5160928
You might be getting confused with "fewmet"? But that's not exclusive to dragons.
What about erasing or blotting the Player Name box, to prevent anything to be written there?
5161888
Now I'm sad. I was hoping that that had happened.
5162866
Wait, are you telling me that my Eighth Grade History teacher lied to me? The horror!
Alright, replaced with a different off-color reference.
5164377
Nope. But my readers tell me that I have the freaky ability to snatch up references to works I've never consciously been exposed to.
Has Celestia turned into Hope Spring miniature on a gridded map?! Or worse...hexes?!
Damn, tell it like it is, Midnight.
Not just science, but Super Science!
The Twilight stamp of approval!
And suddenly I remembered anew how really damn creepy this is. Imagine sitting in the room, watching the clock tick down, knowing that you are about to be possessed by something you potentially have no defense against.
Oh my god, did she just make Celestia her Player??
I love it so very much. Here's hoping Celestia remembers to snack responsibly.
Edit: Wait, never mind, based on the comments I interpreted that incorrectly. Darn.