//------------------------------// // 242. The Loss of Faith - Part 23 // Story: Blaze the Pony Tale // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// The battle raging outside the city, at the foot of Mount Canterhorn, had long become worse than a nightmare. War. War never changes... thought the shadowy prince as he gazed around the battle. From the battles before the disappearance of the Crystal Empire to the war happening in this moment with the changelings, all such conflicts shared in common a few simple facts, no pony – No sane being with the capacity for thought! – lived through war as they were prior. For war was but a game that never really had winners, only the broken, the bruised, and the blood soaking the ground from the senseless carnage bred from greed, hatred, and fear. War did not create glorious victors – It left behind survivors scarred in mind and body. Grounded by a broken wing, Sombra was beheading into a downed cyclops-changeling covered in a mixture of blood from friend and foe. “This is getting relentless…” Sombra heaved between heavy breaths, his mana almost entirely gone. At this point, he was running on fumes. If this battle continued that he would be completely spent before seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. “Don't give up, Your Majesty!” encouraged one of his flanking guards as he began wielding a changeling spear that he picked up along the way. He held it bravely in his leader’s defense while giving Sombra a smirk, tired, afraid, but still blazing with hope. “I won't…” replied Sombra before stamping his hoof to summon giant splintering spikes of crystal around the two of them, killing a few surrounding changelings while the rest barely managed to back away in time. They continued to hold off the onslaught of changelings, striking them down one after the other, shouting battle cries and curses at the bugs. Duke Firestorm, however, you could say he was like a colt in a candy store as he was now jumping from changeling to changeling. Each changeling he landed in front of, found its throat slashed before they could blink and were too busy choking on their own blood as Firestorm moved on to the next victim. That was till he got to Commander Thorn who was barking orders to the other changelings from his chariot… when Firestorm jumped over the front of the chariot surprising the commander. “Who do you think you are?” Thorn asked as he the pony before him grinned. The veteran slashed the chains connecting Thorn’s brainwashed earth ponies to his chariot, and the freed ponies, spurred by survival instincts ran for their lives, to Thorn’s fury. “Oh, just a messenger,” the Duke grinned with the thrill of battle as he brought down both of his swords onto the changeling commander, who just barely managed to defend with sword of his own. “And what would that be?!” Thorn snarled as he pulled his blade back and launched a bit of gew, sticking both of Firestorm's swords together. Firestorm didn't stop however as his horn began to light up and used his glued swords as a distraction by tossing them up in the air, Thorn foolishly allowing his eyes to stray up at the thrown weapons. Firestorm didn’t hesitate to exploit the distraction and dashed up close to wrap his prosthetic talons right onto Thorn's throat. “From Equestria, with love,” Firestorm gibed before he invoked a spell that turned the natural electrical pulses that the brain made into a powerful shock through his claws. Enough to painfully shock Commander Thorn, but not enough to kill him. The changeling commander was rendered dazed for a moment, but that wasn't long enough and the changeling whipped his sword up ready to strike a killing blow. Then it happened. It started with the first few changelings on the edge of the battlefield closest to Canterlot. A feeling at first, almost like a breath of fresh air. Then a flash of magic that rippled through all of the bugs’ eyes that if anypony saw it from a distance it would look like the sea of changelings glinted for a second. This continued to the larger monstrous changelings that were left standing. The blade dropped from the changeling commander’s grasp, much to the Duke's relief as he went ‘phew’ (He wasn't sure how he was going to explain it to his wife that he died in combat). It was a few moments before Thorn looked at the Duke, “It seems that this is over…” “What do you mean this is over?” Firestorm and Thorn both looked to see Sombra approaching, soldiers on both sides parting before him. “Our Queen has been defeated,” Thorn declared in a neutral tone, which caused Sombra, the Duke, and the remaining guards in earshot to gape at the changeling commander in shock. “But don't think this is over, ponies!” In a flash of green magic Thorn disappeared before the sky began to fill with formations of changelings who immediately began to fly away. Even the larger monstrous changeling-hybrids took their leave. As quickly as they had come, all of them were gone. The Equestrian leaders all looked perplexed, confused by this sudden turn of events, as the remaining forces came and gathered around Sombra. “Sire?” Sombra turned to see an earth pony guard walk up out of the crowd of soldiers, his eyes tired and hopeful as he asked, “Did… we…?” “Yes, my brave little ponies,” Sombra answered with a deep sigh of relief. “We have won!” As soon as those words left his lips, everypony cheered as loud as they could. The cheers spread to every soldier still breathing, they were so loud that some of the ponies still around the outskirts of Canterlot could hear them... barely. “Our work is not yet over, ponies, we need to collect the fallen.” Sombra announced said as the relief gave way to sorrow. He knew, the coming days, weeks, maybe even months! It was going to be a hard and painful period. The burying those they lost, and everything else afterwards. In the hours that followed the conclusion of the battle, all cheers for victory and triumph over their deceitful foes had soured by the overwhelming pain of loss. It was estimated from the undertakers that hundreds of soldiers had fallen, with at least a dozen or so Wonderbolts having been shot down as well. The changeling corpses were so numerous they were simply gathered up and burned in a pyre outside of the city. Perhaps it seemed a bit heartless, but given their enemy's collective nature, it was likely what they would have wanted. All able-bodied soldiers had helped their brothers-in-arms to the medical base past the castle gates, and the atmosphere there was heartbreaking. All too few soldiers had only received mere scratches and bruises from their enemy while the majority had been more deeply wounded. Several had been poisoned by the changelings’ Bug Bombs and were unable to move on their own. An unlucky number of troops caught in the blasts had died from massive overdoses of the disabling nerve agent, or had been unable to defend themselves when their cowardly enemies had decided to dispatch them while they were disabled. A number of citizens had been hurt too by the few changelings that managed to bypass the defending forces, and breached the city walls, where they’d tried to round up citizens as prisoners. But Celestia, Applejack, Big Mac, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Cheese Sandwich had sent them screaming for their lives.  Thankfully, no citizens had lost their lives, and were being treated for wounds or poison at Canterlot General Hospital – No one dared to bring the wounded citizens to the medical base where so many guards and Wonderbolts were clearly suffering. And how those brave souls were suffering… Cadance, Duchess Miracle Cure, and the rest of the medical staff had their work cut out for them. But one among them had truly come through. Despite everything she had said… despite the odds, the raging battle around them, and the supplies running low in just the first hour, he had done it. He had saved them all. Steady Hoof pulled off his surgical gloves from his front hooves, the poor pieces of rubber drenched in blood. Every last soldier, civilian, and civil servant who had come to him alive, had left alive. Or, at the very least, they were resting and recovering from their surgeries. That wasn’t to say that many of his patients didn’t pay a price, as a hooful of limbs without owners and the odd ruined eyeball or two leftover from his work indicated. But anyone who had survived the battle, no matter how badly injured, had been brought back from near death by the skillful scalpel of the surgeon. “And that’s that…” he muttered, dumping the gloves in a wastebasket stuffed with surgical paper, blood, and chunks of flesh, “didn’t even lose one. Thank you for your contributions, Princess and Duchess.” Cadance and Miracle Cure didn’t bother to acknowledge him, as they were still angry with him over the various “unethical” decisions the surgeon had made over the course of the battle. Things like… knocking out a soldier with a swing of his hooves when he refused treatment before civilians despite his small intestine threatening to poke out of a wound on his belly. Other possible breaches of the Oath accompanied it, a fine example being the use of the changeling’s own poison in controlled doses to destroy necrotic tissue before it could take entire limbs. Using a laughing potion when the anesthesia ran out… any other day and a doctor would lose his license to practice over such things. Yet to the mares’ surprise, he acted as if he hadn’t done a thing, “I believe your healing magic won the day. I didn’t have sufficient supplies, and I know I improvised way too often to compensate… think we would have lost some if you didn’t clean up behind me.” “If we weren’t at war, I’d have you arrested,” snarled Miracle Cure, “your methods are insane, doctor!” “Hey, buck off!” cried a nearby mare, attending to her well-bandaged husband, a firefighter laid out on one of the cots, “If it wasn’t for his help, my husband would have died!” “Don’t speak to the duchess like that,” said Steady Hoof plainly, glancing over her shoulder to address the angry mare. Returning his attention, he maintained his facial expression of stone when talking to Miracle Cure, “There’s something you need to know, both of you.” “What is it?” Cadance huffed, “Don’t you think you should be happy, Steady? You’ve saved so many lives today, and Canterlot will be thankful to you!” The master surgeon raised his voice but kept his tone steady, “Canterlot will be thankful to me? You realize that’s where I’m going with this, right?” “What do you mean, Steady Hoof?” demanded Miracle Cure as the patients around them lifted their heads to listen in on the argument. “All of these ponies around you, the ones who did not make it to my tables,” he explained, firmly yet politely, “suffer because of your games. They suffer because Equestria keeps refusing to look at its situation with an open eye. Maybe this time we finally will come to our senses.” “How dare you…” Cadance’s voice was low but it threatened she would not be trifled with. “Princess, let me finish,” demanded the doctor, scowling, “I’m sure both of you are aware of the incident concerning me and the filly crushed by the runaway carriage, correct?” “Correct.” Steady Hoof inhaled sharply, and made sure he made eye contact with most of the patients in the room. What he was about to say would likely decide his fate… but this truth was long overdue. “I didn’t actually save that filly’s life… technically.” “What are you talking about?” chuckled Miracle Cure nervously, avoiding eye contact, “You were all over the news, you brought that little child back from a horrifying pulp to a pony again! It… it’s why we trusted you even when you were so harsh today.” He shut his eyes and lowered his head, “You must accept my apology, but...” There was silence for a few moments, and Cadance felt her heart race, an idea as to what the doctor might say popped into her mind, and she was terrified of it being confirmed. “The filly was dead long before she got to the table. It wasn’t counted as such because the other doctors never took her pulse, tried to feel her breath, or anything else that might result in an official declaration of death,” he explained solemnly, “but I knew her vitals were gone.” “You… you didn’t!” Cadance stuttered, her legs buckling. “I did,” he answered, “I made use of necromancy and spent hours of surgery fixing her body afterwards.” Several ponies nearby gasped, and Miracle Cure felt tears coming to her eyes. “Oh… Steady...” The doctor hung his head, “Without the spell needed to fix her smashed brain tissue, there was no hope. I felt her still warm body, but saw no life. As usual, after shutting her eyes I exited the surgery room to tell her parents the truth… but I couldn’t do it. I’m supposed to, as a doctor, be able to tell others when they’ve lost a loved one… but I couldn’t do it. This was their only foal, and they were both such young parents.” Cadance felt empty on the inside, “And that’s why… you act the way you do...” “Yes… after I used the forbidden magic, things seemed fine,” he answered, “but I knew something was wrong after I took the living foal out to see her parents. They were happy, thrilled, overjoyed… so were my peers, but I… felt nothing.” “The use of Necromancy comes at a cost,” Cadance explained to the patients, who looked a little confused. “It is a forbidden magic that disrespects the dead, and so the necromancer pays for its use by becoming dead inside – They lose their ability to sympathize, to consider or even care about another’s well being.” After a few moments, Steady Hoof looked around, and continued with a shrug, “I’ve never felt happy since then, or much of anything else, and to me the only thing to live for now is to keep as many pulses going as possible. Of course, after this you’ll probably try me for that crime, and all the things I did today.” “Doctor, I... I can help you!” Miracle Cure pleaded her old student, realizing how wrong she was of him, “Please!” “Look, the point is… even though I lost my feelings, I learned quickly that Equestria has many troubles that go ignored thanks to you crown-wearers,” he said angrily, “all you do is pacify the public, letting them know things are good thanks to Harmony, while crime and war continue to build up. Then something like this happens, and ponies like myself are the ones who clean up the mess.” Noticing he didn’t get a comeback from the princess, he finished his thought, “That is why I do what I do. To make sure your subjects do not suffer for your disgraces. Now… if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be taking my leave. I suppose after today, with my secret out, I won’t be returning to the practice.” Turning around and walking away from the field hospital, Fluttershy stopped him, standing in front of the doctor. He looked down at the timid mare, blinking yet refusing to say any more words. “I want you to know that… you did the right thing,” she said, “and I’m really thankful for your sacrifice, doctor. Do you really have to go?” “You know the rules, Mrs. Fluttershy,” he answered, “I’m lucky I’m not being carted off for this right this second. I must leave Canterlot as soon as possible before the fires die down and they set a warrant on me.” “Steady,” called out Princess Cadance, “you can leave if you want… but you’re free to go. I won’t have a case opened on you. I understand why you’re mad with us, and I think despite the law… it was your decision to commit necromancy to save three lives. The life of the foal of course, but also the fact that you prevented her parents’ lives from being ruined by the loss of their daughter.” “Is this pity, Princess Cadance?” he growled, “I don’t want it.” “Please, I can cure you!” she begged, hoping he’d stay, “Come back to the castle like you usually do, I’ll do whatever it takes to undo the damage to your psyche.” “And I’ll help too!” said Miracle Cure, “My entire House will! I swear on my honor as a practitioner of medicine, I won’t stop until I find a way to make you as you were!” Between Fluttershy blocking him, and the eyes of his smiling, happy patients following his every move… the surgeon felt something at the back of his heart. He felt his brain process something, perhaps even a smidgen of emotion. Could it be the ponies present were helping to heal his own wounds? Steady Hoof sighed, “All right. I’ll let you try.” The duchess ran up, bawling her eyes out, and embraced the doctor in the biggest, warmest hug he’d ever had. Fluttershy smiled at them, knowing he’d done the right thing, and winked at the very surprised Cadance sitting near the patients, who also approved. “There, all better...” In the hospital wing of Canterlot Castle, Twilight looked upon her Midnight, lying in bed. Thorax returned with help from the castle staff, who all scrambled to get everypony in the throne room taken care of. Twilight and Shining Armor were both immediately given treatment for their wounds and any poison they might have been infected with by Chrysalis’s gew. All the ponies who’d been freed from the Pods by Thorax were identified as the workers and security guards from the energem mine, including Heat Wave, one of the guards who had accompanied Midnight and Shining Armor for the expedition to the mine. To the doctors’ surprising reliefs, the ponies who’d been placed in the Pods had come out relatively healthy, aside from some major reality checks. When they’d began to wake up, some of them turned hostile and demanded to know what was going on, asking questions that didn’t make sense, and after calming them down, they were told that whatever happy and perfect experiences they’d been having before had been a cruel lie. Unfortunately, this led to a few psychotic episodes, denial, and heartbreak, and after hearing the reports, Twilight was even more afraid for Midnight. She’d been given the best care, both with modern medicine and magical healing, that before long she was back on her hooves, her bruises and cuts now minor and patched up, and her system had been cleared of poison. Shining Armor had been a little worse off, but his acid burns would heal in good time, and the doctors were confident his fur would grow back where the acid had burned him. They’d both been given sufficient mana transfusions from their parents, as their mana reserves were dangerously low and their thaumaturgical systems would have worked themselves overtime to replace the expended mana both alicorns had used up fighting Chrysalis, and the brother and sister would have been bedridden for days afterwards. To aid in the restoration of their magic, both had been given doctor’s orders to eat sizable lunches, so that some of the extra food in their bellies would be converted into magical energy. Thorax was personally seen to be Duchess Miracle Cure at Princess Celestia’s request, and Miracle had gleefully jumped at the chance to treat a changeling (despite all that happened) and learn a thing or two about their biology. As for Chrysalis… Celestia, Luna, Sombra, and even Thorax examined the queen, imprisoned in her own twisted and doubtlessly monstrous fantasy, a victim of her own creation. After discussing it at length, they’d agreed to leave her in there, where she could do no more harm. After all, executing her would simply allow Chrysalis to be reborn and free to continue conspiring against Equestria. When Luna wondered how long they could keep the queen in her own Pod, Thorax revealed the Pod had the same sustaining properties as a regular changeling cocoon – It was designed to preserve the occupant for long periods of time, so worrying about keeping Chrysalis alive was more-or-less alleviated. Finally, they decided to put Chrysalis, pod an’ all, back in the same cell where she’d kept her before. She would be checked on periodically to make sure she was healthy and contained, even if her prison was built up of the queen’s own twisted desires. Wherever Chrysalis thought she was, it was too good for her. Midnight however had yet to wake up. It had been two days since the battle, and everypony was still dealing with the aftermath. Funeral services were held for all the fallen soldiers, wives were left widows and children without fathers, parents had lost sons, siblings had lost brothers, nothing would ever be the same. And perhaps none of it would have been possible had it not been for Aurora Boreala. The disgraced mare had been stripped of her titles, privileges, and despite the rest of the Aristocratic Council demanding her head Celestia had declared Aurora’s trial would be postponed until further notice. Until then, Aurora was confined to a cell in the castle dungeons. It was one of the nicer and more comfortable cells so Aurora would have more pleasant visits from her children, who had been taken in as wards of the crown. Whether or not she’d intended any of this to happen, Aurora had been the catalyst – Her petty and disgraceful tribalistic views of unicorn supremacy, along with her love of power, had driven her to betray her country, her fellow pony, and most of all herself in revealing classified information had been the spark to light the fuse, whether or not she’d known the unicorns she’d spoken to had really been changeling spies. The House of Pallas would forever live with this mark of shame, and Aurora’s actions would weigh down on her son and daughter, and all those who came after. The intents might not have been so monstrous but the motivations… The inability to truly accept earth ponies and pegasi as equals, the refusal to give up the power and influence her House had enjoyed for centuries, the petty and deluded desire to stir up trouble and move in to act as though she would have been the solution to the problems? It seemed small an inconsequential when you first think about it, but then you’re awed by how the foolish and self-serving depravities of one pony could result in so much blood. It was disgusting, despicable, and the more Twilight thought about it, the more she realized how right Midnight had been to say she wasn’t as educated as she thought she was. Looking upon him, connected a heart-monitor and an IV drip, having been placed in a restful dreamless slumber courtesy of Luna, Twilight could only hope that he would wake up and be alright, that they would be alright. Like the others, Midnight had come out of the pod relatively healthy – It was the haphazard exertion of his body and magic that had rendered him unconscious once the storm had finally calmed and Chrysalis was imprisoned for good. Twinken had volunteered to donate some of his mana for a transfusion, and to be on the safe side they’d also given Midnight an IV drip filled with an elixir rich with nutrients. But what had Midnight experienced in that pod? Twilight could only imagine, a fantasy where you had everything your heart desires. She couldn’t begin to wonder what Midnight had thought he’d had, and what he very well might consider to have lost. “Oh Midnight… I’ve been so foolish,” whispered Twilight morosely, looking upon Midnight from his bedside. “I judged you before I understood you, I said such insensitive things, and all this time you’ve only done what you had to, to protect Equestria and help others, and how it’s all cost you…” She couldn’t help but begin to shed tears. “Losing so many of the friends and family you care about, having to immerse yourself into the depravities of what ponykind is capable of, and now all of this… Selfish, petty… greedy, loathsome…! “Oh, Midnight!” Twilight leaned down, burying her face into her forelegs on the edge of Midnight’s bed as she sobbed, “You were right! How could you not be…? I was a child looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses, seeing good where there are only disingenuous, deceitful… self-serving scoundrels who take advantage of good will and-and…” She sighed and sobbed all at once, “How can I possibly be a leader of this nation when I don’t know the bad as well as the good, or-or how much of the good is really bad, and- Ohh! I don’t deserve to be a princess!!” She sobbed into her forelegs, feeling like a failure as a leader, as a friend, and perhaps even as a special somepony… when she felt a hoof gently stroke her mane. “…You’re wrong.” Gasping, Twilight looked up to see Midnight, awake with a tired but warm smile on his place, and she grasped his hoof between hers, feeling her heart soar to see him smile again, “Midnight! Oh! You’re… you’re okay! I-I-I thought that- You- The Pod and- Wait… “Did you just hear everything I said?!” “Twi…” Midnight raised his free hoof, took a deep breath as he placed it over his chest, and Twilight realized what he was telling her, and did the same, the both of them exhaling, using Cadance’s calming technique. It helped, and then Midnight gently pulled Twilight closer… pressing his lips to hers, surprising her but quickly melting into it. Her heart fluttered as she felt him press his hoof against her cheek, the warmth of his touch matched the love she felt for him, and when they parted, they gazed deeply into each other’s eyes, smiling softly, so happy to see each other again. It was as if the disagreement they’d had back at the library in Ponyville never happened. But then… Twilight looked away, shamefully, worrying Midnight. “Midnight, I’m sorry! I’m so-so-sorry…” she sniffled, half-expecting Midnight to say something but he didn’t. For a horrid moment, she feared he was angry, but then she saw something in his eyes and realized he wanted to hear what she had to say, not to judge, but to understand. She took a deep breath, and spoke her mind. “I… I know everything- Celestia told me everything. About.... the Brotherhood, how it all began, how you came to lead it, and… All that you’ve ever done was to protect Equestria and make sure those who were victimized got justice, that those who acted out of their own self-interests without regard to who they hurt were brought to justice. “While I still don’t condone the ways and methods of the Brotherhood, I can understand it.” “Is that all?” Midnight sensed it wasn’t. “…No,” sighed Twilight and she went on. “I’ve realized how in the dark I’ve been, blinded by idealism and adulation of my mentor, and… thinking better of others when I was really underestimating the lows to which they can stoop. “We were betrayed, Midnight, by Duchess Aurora Boreala of House Pallas.” “Ugh, her?” Midnight slumped into his pillow, his tone surprising Twilight. “Well… I’m not entirely surprised, but I was actually suspecting the Duke of Commerce and Business.” “Yeah, well…” Twilight went on, “Aurora leaked the information of the mine, but she didn’t know she was telling the information to changelings, so…” Twilight shook her head, wanting to sympathize conflicting with her disgust, “She dishonored her duties out of the pettiest of reasons! It-it’s just… If things had been different, if-if she hadn’t leaked the information to changelings, then maybe…! “URGGGHHH!!!” Twilight tousled her mane while scratching her head as she aggravated her puzzler to make sense of this conundrum, Midnight reaching over to place his hoof on her shoulder. She looked at him, seeing his concern, and she sighed. “Midnight, I… I’ve known that ponies can be, well, mean, bullying, teasing, but… Those dossiers you showed me, and Duchess Aurora’s crimes, they… “You were right! I was looking at Equestria like a child. I acted like a child, I mean… the things I said to you- They weren’t fair! And I- YAH!” Suddenly, Twilight felt herself get magically pulled onto the bed, and then felt Midnight’s strong forelegs and even his wings wrap tightly around her, and then his chin rest on top of her head. His embrace was so strong and tight it was almost uncomfortable, but… it felt right. It felt safe. It was the physical feeling of being loved. “We both said things we regret,” Midnight said softly, continuing to hold his Twilight, “and we both wish we could have done things differently. I can’t tell you how many things in my life I wish could have been different… and I got to experience how things could have been different.” Twilight gasped and wriggled to look up at Midnight, seeing a mix of confusion and pain in his eyes, and realizing what he was saying. “I thought I was… I thought things were different, until I woke up and saw you hurt and Chrysalis standing there.” “The pod she had you placed in,” Twilight brought up, “she said it makes the occupant live some kind of fantasy where they have everything their hearts desire.” “I see…” Midnight wasn’t sure how to say this but he felt like he needed to get it off his chest. “Well, this… fantasy I was in? You and I we… we never became alicorns, or royalty for that matter.” Twilight sat there on the bed as Midnight explained everything, basically pouring his heart’s desire out to her. How they’d never become alicorn monarchs, making their lives so much simpler, how his family had never been broken up, his friend Flash was never murdered, and… that he and Twilight were married with a daughter. That last part had shocked Twilight, as she realized that this meant Midnight loved her enough that he wanted to marry her, to have children with her, but she also saw a bitter sadness when he’d mentioned the daughter they’d had in his fantasy. When Midnight was done, he sat there, not able to look Twilight in the eye, almost looking like a stallion who had lost everything. “…But Midnight, you- You know, none of it was real!” Twilight tried to assuage his heartache. “It was practically a dream!” “…No, Twi,” Midnight responded with a voice shaky with hurt, “I didn’t wake up from some dream… I woke up from a life. A life that had everything I ever wanted, a life that never happened, a life that was a cruel and horrible lie…” Twilight pulled Midnight into a hug, which comforted him, and she felt him shake a little as he cried softly, and she whispered, “This would never have happened if… if it weren’t for ponies like Aurora Boreala, ponies who only think of themselves and don’t spare a thought about what their actions could do to others-” “Stop, Twi.” Midnight gently pushed her back, confusing her, as he looked her in the eye, and said, “Please… Learn from mistakes, whether they’re your own or others, but don’t make my mistake.” “Your mistakes?” Twilight didn’t understand. “Twi, I formed a new Brotherhood out of a desire to do good,” Midnight explained before he sighed, his shoulders slumping with shame, “at least… that’s how I saw it at first. But as I lived in the shadows, I began to lose sight of the light, and soon I only saw darkness… I’ve led the Brotherhood for over eight years and I can’t begin to tell you the horrors I’ve witnessed! Seen the evils of what even the common being, not just ponies, is capable of, and the pain such beings have left behind in their wake. “I became so disgusted and afraid that I lost sight of why I reformed the Brotherhood and soon I became corrupted in my own way. Before long, I didn’t care as much as serving justice as I did about punishing the guilty. I realized too late what I was capable of, and it scared me… If it hadn’t been for one thing, I… would have lost my way forever.” “And… what was it that helped you?” asked Twilight, not liking what she was hearing. Hesitantly, Midnight looked her in the eye, and said but one word. “You.” She couldn’t help but place her hoof over her heart, and listened as Midnight said, “As wicked and awful as some ponies, griffons, minotaurs, and other creatures have shown themselves to be, Twilight, I’ve done my share of things that I’m not proud of…  and when I felt so lost and alone, like there was nothing but darkness all around me, somehow I would think of you, and I would remember. “I would remember what it would mean to lose sight of things, what it would mean to give up, that to lose faith was to lose all possibility of my dream.” “And what dream is that?” Twilight felt some of her doubt fade by the warm and tender smile on Midnight’s face as he leaned over. “Let me show you, the source of my faith.” He gently touched his horn to hers… and she gasped! Instantly, her mind was flooded with the rich, warm, beautiful experiences Midnight had seen. A future together... their foals, the happiness and joy they shared as a couple in an Equestria not plagued with war or organized crime. How their in-laws all lived together in one big, happy household, where they had never been bothered by the troubles and tribulations of being royalty with duties far beyond what a young adult should have to face. It was as close to paradise as it could get... and even though the vision lasted only a fleeting moment, Twilight felt tears come to her eyes as she felt her heart swell with desire for the beautiful future her partner envisioned for them. “Midnight!” Twilight felt her heart swell so much it hurt, as she looked at him, his sad but hopeful smile mirroring her own though she began to shed a tear. “Wha… what was that?!” “A possibility,” Midnight answered, pulling Twilight close to him so that they were leaning against each other, her resting her head on his shoulder and him resting his on top of hers. “I have carried the vision of this singular possibility for a long time, from my old life into my current one, and it has always been this one possibility that has helped to prevent me from going astray and losing faith in all that is good and bright in this world.” “I… That was…” As heartbreakingly beautiful as the vision had been, Twilight’s sense of logic and eyes for details warred with her emotions as she then brought up, “Hold on… In that vision… you and I were unicorns, not alicorns!” “That’s because I was a unicorn the first time I had that vision, Twi,” Midnight replied, Twilight feeling him shrug, “and if I hadn’t had that vision when I did… Midnight Terror would have won.” Twilight shuddered with realization and at the very mention of that name – Midnight Terror… A dark and twisted monstrous version of Midnight who’d had none of his redeeming qualities and was possibly the most wicked and despicable evil she and her friends had ever encountered. “I can remember…” Midnight spoke softly, Twilight listened with rapt attention, “an Equestria broken and lifeless, shreds and glimmers of memories floating around me… and then he was there! He attacked me, he wanted to destroy me, and he came close. Very close… But then as he gloated over my beaten body, I had a regret when I realized that if I died then and there I would have died without ever telling you that I love you.” Twilight gasped as she remembered Midnight – The Midnight she met in Ponyville – telling her this exact same thing! “And when I realized that, I found the will to not give in,” Midnight went on, “because I would be damned to Tartarus if I never told you how much you mean to me… and that was when I had the vision I just shared with you… “Of you and me, as husband and wife, a beautiful daughter as sweet and studious as her mother, and you fat with our second foal, and everything feels so… right!” “Midnight…” Twilight reached up and pulled down his chin, to give him another warm and tender kiss, and when she stopped, she then realized something! “Wait… in the vision, our daughter! Her name, what was her name?!” “I don’t know, Twily,” Midnight gave her a sad smile and tears welled up in his eyes again. “That’s the part of the vision that has troubled me the most… I’m sorry.” “Wha- Why? Midnight, I…” Twilight didn’t understand the sorrowful look on Midnight’s face. “What I showed you, it’s not the future set in stone,” explained Midnight, his eyes lowered, “and… I don’t want you to feel like you’re obli-” Twilight placed her hoof on his lips and gave him a look unreadable, “What you showed me just now, Midnight Blaze… I don’t want for it to be a possibility. I want it to be our future!” Those turquoise eyes of his widened with realization of what Twilight was saying, “But for it to be our future, we have to make it so, and we make it so by being honest and open with each other. No more secrets, no more holding things back. No more lying by omission. “When Shining Armor told us what happened to you, I almost lost my mind! The thought of never seeing you again, and all the things we said before you left… It all but crushed my heart, and it was the thought that I might have lost you I realized how much you mean to me. “I’m not sure if… I’m ready to be a mother just yet. But as long as you’re there, there is nothing I won’t face to see that vision come true.” Midnight gave this beautiful princess before him a hard look as he thought, No more secrets, huh…? Taking a deep breath, he then said, “When I feel up to it, there’s somewhere I want to take you.” “For what?” Twilight asked. “To lay all the cards on the table, “Midnight answered cryptically before saying, “But right now, there’s somepony I have to talk to. Can you find Twinken for me?” Twilight nodded with a smile before giving her stallion another tender kiss. She got off the bed and made for the door, stopping to look at him, seeing him look troubled by the talk he owed to Twinken, which was long overdue. “Like I said,” she spoke, earning his attention, “no more secrets, no more holding things back, and be sincere when you tell him the whole story. He loves you, and he wants to understand.” “I know…” Midnight nodded sagely. “I love you,” Twilight reminded him, causing Midnight to smile appreciatively at her. “I love you too,” he would never tire of that beautiful smile of hers, and watched her leave to find Twinken. Deep in the Everfree Forest, withing the cave where stood the Tree of Harmony, in front of it the mysterious chest. Shaped like a six-sided pyramid with a flat top, the upper panels sporting keyholes, below them were five of the new Elements of Harmony: Unity, Trust, Music, Sincerity, and Devotion. At the foot of the plant upon which the chest rested, laying on the dirt was the dull and lifeless Element of Faith… except deep within its facets, a tiny soft and gentle glow, like an ember, that slowly but surely grew brighter and brighter before it shook one way, shivered the other, and then somehow stood up on its own! Magic coursed through the gem, a strength forgotten returning anew, as the jewel slowly levitated into the air until it aligned with the empty slot in the chest it had previously occupied. It slowly rotated as it found its way back into the chest where it belonged, and a blinding light filled the cave! And as quickly as it had began it was over, and the Element of Faith rested in the chest, alongside the other new Elements, now shaped like a crescent moon facing upwards, with designs around its slot’s panel reflecting the cutie-mark of the pony who represented it. Faith had been restored!