He ran through the woods, hostiles to the far right but not far enough away they couldn’t fire mana-bolts! Remembering his training, he kept his ears and horn sharp, listening and feeling the fast approaching mystic projectiles and timing when to act based on his instincts.

Dodging, weaving, ducking, jumping, flipping, sliding, but never once slowing down! That parkour freegalloping trainer from Prance had taught him well.

As he distanced himself from the enemy, he reached up with his wing, touching the telepathy jewel on his helmet, “Blaze to Sentry, requesting rendezvous coordinates, do you copy?”

“Midnight, you lost again?!” responded his call over the telepathy jewel, tuned to broadcast and receive telepathic communication only by the other jewels they’d been mystically-linked to.
“I oughta tell your old mane to work on your sense of direction.”

“Then I’ll tell him to add working on your aim to the to-do list, Flash,” Midnight retorted with a smirk as he kept running, the mana-bolts continued to light up the sky above the canopy of the woods.
“If you’d knocked out my dad’s lookout with your longbow, I wouldn’t have had to break rank from the rest of our team and engage his guys hoof-to-hoof.”

A distant explosion behind gave Midnight a moment to pause and look back, and was relieved to see nopony was pursuing him.

“From where I’m flying, I’m getting the perspective you came out on top?” called Flash over the telepathy jewel.

“Once all is said and done, maybe I’ll give you the blow-by-blow,” chuckled Midnight as he started walking but keeping his guard up, a wing ready with a shadow blade, and his horn lit with a stunning spell ready to launch.
“What’s your position?”

“About a half a klick west from the site where the flag of your dad’s team is. Funny how ‘Capture the Flag’ makes for good training,” Flash responded before smugly challenging, “Think you can find it, o fearless leader?”

“Oh worry not about lil’ ol’ me, Sentry,” Midnight bantered, “my skills in navigation are- AUGH!!!”

Midnight felt a blast of power hit him like a runaway wagon as he was slammed up against the trunk of a tree! Something kept him pinned there, and as he shook off the rush of what just happened, he vaguely saw a figure before his world went bright green!

“Ugghhhh…” Midnight groaned as his mind lifted from the fog of unconsciousness… and he gritted his teeth and groaned in pain from his forelegs, which felt as though they were being pulled apart!

Awareness fully set in as he realized he was hanging by his forelegs, which were encased around the hooves and fetlocks in bands of metal and holding him suspended in a dark and dreary room!

He looked around and saw more – His armor and helmet were gone, his wings pinned to his barrel by some tightened tarp, his hind legs chained together, and when he tried to cast a spell, he cried out in more pain as a magical feedback pulsed into his head, and he realized somehow his magic must’ve been nullified. He was more careful and realized there was an inhibitor ring on his horn!

Grunting and groaning as he tried to shake himself loose, the eerie glow of luminous fungi giving this shadowy room a hopeless air, and as he struggled, he heard footsteps but couldn’t turn around to see who it was!

“Piece of advice? Get comfortable,” spoke a voice distinctly female, soft yet oozing with malice!

Its owner walked around so that she stood in front of Midnight but the hooded robe she wore completely concealed her appearance!
“You’re going to be here a while…”

She reached up not with a hoof but with claws! One of them reaching outward while the rest curled into a fist and as the pointing claw got too close for comfort, Midnight grunted as he pulled his head back, trying to avoid it, unable to hold back a whimper as that claw glowed a menacing green… but it didn’t spare him from feeling it, along with a burning agony, scrape him along the cheekbone right below his right eye!

“You know, alicorn or not,” the figure spoke softly and with the subtlest of condescension, as she looked with pride upon her handiwork on her… guest. She’d bled him, beaten him, burned him, hardly left a single part of his body unmarked with her cruelty, “your defiance is quite impressive! In fact, little mouse…

“I’m getting the feeling that whatever I may do to you, you’ll never squeak… am I right?”

Bleeding, stinging, aching, agonizing, hating! Midnight bore his fangs glaring his predatory eyes, the pupils narrowing into slits and glowing a harsh turquoise with the promise of blood at his torturer, which only succeeded in earning her soft yet infuriating laughter.

“Heh-heh-heh, I figured as much,” she then waved a claw forward and from out of the darkness stepped two large figures, dragging a third between them.

As they stepped into the soft glow of the fungi, Midnight saw them to be Diamond Dogs, and the weight they were dragging was, “…Flash?!”

Flash Sentry was in bad shape! His helmet was gone, one of his wings had been mangled, he’d been stripped of his armor to reveal he was bleeding from several bite marks and was covered with awful bruises. Flash was barely breathing, but appeared to have been beaten unconscious.

The mutts growled as they went to the other side of the room before fastening manacles onto Flash’s fetlocks and pulling chains to suspend him off the floor, like Midnight, only he hung limp like a ragdoll.

“What have you done to him?!” Midnight’s gaze shifted nervously between flash and the robed figure.

“Oh not much… yet!” the figure raised her threatening claw while emphasizing that last word. “Just tell me what I want to know! Or… well, you’re a smart colt! I’m fairly certain you can imagine what becomes of poor Flash otherwise.”

“I don’t know anything about these stones you speak of!” Midnight said, his voice insistent.

But apparently, the figure was not so easily convinced, hissing with irritation as she stepped ominously towards Flash.

“No…” Midnight begged but could only watch as the figure scraped her claws along the wall, sparks flying as they were sharpened, glinting in the faint light. Midnight’s heart began to pound, his eyes brimming with tears!
“Please!!”

“FLAAASSSHHH!!!!!!” Midnight screamed with despair, his shock frozen on his face… as he saw the blood splattering the walls and flowing from his friend’s neck.

So devastated he was, looking upon his murdered friend, that he didn’t even acknowledge the figure reaching towards his face with her claws dripping with Flash’s blood-

An explosion, mana-bolts zooming in, striking down the Diamond Dogs while the figure snarled in vexation and fled. Out of the dust and smoke came Shining Armor and Midnight’s father, Ignitus!

They hurried over, blasting the restraints on Midnight, and both of them putting one of his forelegs over their shoulders as they carried him off to safety. Midnight sobbed and despaired, never having felt so helpless as he cried.
“I couldn’t save him! I COULDN’T SAVE MY FRIEND!!!”

“HUGGHAUGH!” Midnight bolted up, yelping as he fell over and onto his back, and hearing a familiar chuckle. Groaning, sat up onto his haunches, rubbing a sore spot as he opened his eyes and gasped in relief, “Flash?! Wh-wha- What’s… the matter?”

“Well, you tell me, pal,” Flash Sentry stood there, a pegasus with a coat a soft orange, like the rays of the sunrise, his mane a crazy two-toned brilliant blue, his eyes blue like a cornflower, his cutie-mark a two-toned blue shield with a lightning bolt. His chuckles were conflicting with the concern in his eyes.
“I came here, looking for you and found you sleeping on your work table and you looked like you were having a bad one!”

“It- I…Midnight peered over his shoulders and sighed in relief to see no wings, he was his regular unicorn self. Why the Tartartus he’d dream he was an alicorn was beyond him!
“Ugh, I;m fine, I… just need-”

“To get out of this cluttered shop of yours, horn head!” Flash offered a hoof, and when Midnight accepted it his friend helped him up onto all four of his own.
“Seriously, Blaze, these all-nighters you’re doing just to work on your merchandise, it isn’t healthy!”

“Hey, it puts bread on the table,” Midnight protested, crossing his forelegs like a colt, “besides, I’ve got a family to keep well and fed.”

“Speaking of, the missus won’t be as forgiving as me…!” Flash sing-songed warningly, causing Midnight to go ‘EEP!’

Flash found himself alone in his best friend’s workshop, having a chuckle at his expense, “Heh heh heh, if I weren’t so married to my music I’d go and find myself a lovely mare to settle down with.”

He stepped out of the workshop into the part of the store where Midnight had all his merchandise shelved. Magical items, tools, potions, baubles, jewels, toys, novelties, books, relics, ingredients, almost anything relating to magic you’d find it by looking here. He stepped out of the shop and peered up at it, a fine establishment, resembling an observatory because of the large telescope, built within a tower fit for a wizard, a large sign hung over the doorway of the gray and blue colored building, and it read ‘Into the Mystic’.

Flash looked around, and took in the happy peaceful life that was Ponyville. In fact, it was so happy and peaceful, Midnight had apparently been unable to help but sing about it!

Morning in Ponyville glitters! Ponyville mornings so bright…!

And I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that everything here is alright!

There’s Doctor Whooves keeping the time, Auntie Spice is serving some pizza pie!

Ol’ Ponyville, a unique thrill
A slice of paradise where all get their fill

Midnight happily danced a little jig, several passerby joining in on the merriment as he danced along his way.

Morning in Ponyville glitters! Ponyville mornings so bright!

And I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that everything here is al-

“Rainbow Dash!” Midnight shook himself dry, hearing Rainbow Dash cracking up on the little raincloud she had under her.
“What’s the big idea?!”

“Aw, just helping you wake up from all that sleep dancing and singing,” cracked Rainbow, heaving as she caught her breath but guffawed a little more.
“Seriously, Midnight?! That was sooooo corny-hee-hee-hee-hee…!!!”

Midnight glared at the rainbow-maned pegasus… only to slowly crack his own smile, her laughter infecting him with mirth and jolly-hearted foolishness until he was laughing it up with her, the two of them a regular pair of hyenas, and several passerby were having some good-natured cases of the giggles too.

So happy, so peaceful, that calming feeling that there wasn’t a thing wrong in the world, it helped wash away any odd anxiety Midnight felt from his bad dream.

Both Midnight and Rainbow stifled their giggles and looked to see Flash headed their way, “I don’t know if anypony could’ve handled another verse.”

“Flash, you wound me!” Midnight mock-wept, “I would think a promising guitarist would have an ear for such soul-lifting music.”

“You want soul-lifting? I’ll give you soul-lifting!” Flash lifted his tail and blew a raspberry with a goofy look on his face.

“Careful, Sentry, your face might freeze up and stay that way,” Midnight ribbed, “though perhaps it would be an improvement on that ugly mug of yours.”

Midnight, Flash, and Rainbow looked down the way to see a big canary yellow earth pony stallion with a jolliness to his adorkably chubby belly, an unkempt yet likable manestyle of two toned brown, his cutie-mark was a teddy bear, with one paw holding a paintbrush, and a quill in the other. Most distinguishing about him were the faint golden-brown stripes on his rotund backside, a physical trait of his zebra ancestry.

He came over and pulled all three of them despite their protests into a back-crushing hug as he laughed, “It’s too early and happy in the morning to get into it now!”

“Bright Side, let… go!” Rainbow squirmed free of the big teddy bear in pony’s skin. Shaking off the bro-hug she’d been pulled into, she said, “You know we love you, big guy, but honestly! The hugs?”

“What can I say?” Bright shrugged while still keeping Midnight and Flash in strangle hold, blissfully unaware that they were turning the shades of blue and orange they weren’t supposed to be.
“I’m a hugger and I love keeping my buddies close!”

“WHOA!” Bright fell over, making a loud THUD sound, as he found his forelegs empty of a Midnight and a Flash, the two of them having been teleported out of the big earth pony’s grasp as they began to gasp.

“Th-thanks for that, Blaze…” panted Flash.
“But it wasn’t me!” Midnight had recognized the energy behind that teleporting and he cringed to hear…

“Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo…!” Rainbow stifled a chuckle, “Somepony’s in the doghouse now!”

The four of them looked down the lane to see Twilight coming their way, sparkles of mana fading from her horn, showing she’d been the one to liberate Midnight and Flash from Bright’s huggy assault.

“Uh, morning, Twily!” Midnight smiled nervously. “You, uh… having a good one?”

“As well as can be,” Twilight had a scary smile on her face, “Although… it would have been even better if a certain husband of mine was in bed with me when I woke up.”

“Dear, can’t we discuss this back home in the library-” Midnight tried to beg, only for somepony to shout:

All eyes peered around Twilight and coming up behind her was a sweet and adorable unicorn filly, her coat a shiny black like her father’s mane while she had the multi-shaded purple, blue, and magenta mane of her mother, she looked her green eyes at her father with a look that would darn-near break your heart, “I woke up and went to get you and Mommy but you weren’t there! You promised to make pancakes for breakfast today…!”

“Well, uh- Y’see, sweetheart, I…” Midnight looked desperately at his friends, begging for a lifeline but each of them but… Flash was whistling innocently, Rainbow had flown off, saying she had to deliver the raincloud to a gardener, and Bright Side was smugly waving Midnight on to get himself out of this.
“I… was getting ready to take you to see Grandma Faerie and Grandpa Iggy!”

“Gramma and Grampa, really?!” the little filly’s frown was almost instantly turned upside down while Twilight rolled her eyes but smiled wearily.

“Penny, why don’t you… go pack your saddlebags why your daddy and I have a word?” she suggested.

“OK!” Penny nodded before hurrying over to give her daddy a hug, which he returned with a cheek-to-cheek nuzzle.
“Love you, Daddy!”

“I love you too, sweetheart,” Midnight smiled happily as she then hurried off down the lane straight to the library… and then noticed Twilight giving him a look.
“Now, honey, I-I-I know you’re upset, but-”

He yelped in fright as Twilight’s aura enveloped him, and she levitated him closer… to give him a tender kiss and whisper, “What am I gonna do with you…?”

“Love me and bed me because that’s why you wed me?” Midnight attempted with a hesitant smile.

Flash and Bright both snickered at their friend’s situation, when Twilight sighed, “I’ll let your folks know you and Penny are coming. But when you get back, we’re going to have a talk, mister…”

“Whatever you say, dear,” Midnight phew’d in relief as Twilight followed after Penny, and Flash and Bright came over.

“Geez, man, how do you do it?!” Flash laughed.
“What do you expect?” Bright shrugged. “They’re perfect for each other, have been since they were foals!”

It’s true, Midnight thought, remembering the good times, and the journey that had led them to where they were today.

He and Twilight and his best friend Shining Armor grew up together in Canterlot, and when came the time of the Summer Sun Celebration in the fabled City of Unicorns, it had been Twilight’s first time being a part of it. He could still remember the look on Twilight’s face as a little filly when she had witnessed Princess Celestia raise the sun and was thereafter inspired to study magic while Midnight earned his cutie-mark when he stumbled upon a very old book of a long-forgotten magic, the Art of Nocturnia, which detailed powers of magic empowered by the light of the moon and granted dominion over shadows. He found himself to have a knack for the lost art and earned his cutie-mark in it, of a Lunar Eclipse.

Then Twilight had earned her cutie-mark as a magical prodigy and became Princess Celestia’s personal protégé although she took an interest in Midnight and the Art of Nocturnia he had rediscovered. Years passed and with the addition into their family in the form of a young dragon named Spike, Midnight and Twilight flourished under the tutelage of Princess Celestia.

When Nightmare Moon returned, Midnight and Twilight led an unlikely group of ponies to find the lost artifacts known as the Elements of Harmony to stop her. Midnight became the embodiment of the Element of Faith and Twilight the Element of Magic. They stopped Nightmare Moon and from her freed Princess Luna, who happily reunited with her sister.

Having come to love their new friends, Midnight and Twilight and Spike relocated to Ponyville, learning all kinds of lessons in friendship, going on all kinds of adventures, getting into the craziest of situations, and answering the call whenever danger threatened the nation!

They thwarted and even redeemed Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, they thwarted Chrysalis the wicked Queen of the Changelings from invading Canterlot and stealing Shining Armor from his love Princes Cadance, they saved the Crystal Empire and redeemed Sombra, the long-lost flame of Princess Celestia.

Then as things finally seemed to settle, Midnight asked for Twilight’s hoof in marriage and he thought he could never have been happier when she’d said ‘I do’. He was proven wrong when their daughter was born, Penumbra Velvet, but they called her Penny for short.

Then Midnight’s old friends Flash Sentry and Bright Side moved to Ponyville, and to provide for his family Midnight opened his magic shop while Twilight continued running the library.

He watched his Twily head back home, and she peered back at him, smiling sweetly, and he felt his heart swell with joy and pride.

“We’ve come a long way, haven’t we, Twi…?” he said to himself as he then decided to head over to the airfield, hoping Blueblood would give him a discount for tickets.

Blaze the Pony Tale

by Wolven5

230. The Reflection of Faith - Part 1