//------------------------------// // The Rock Star // Story: Hereafter Ponies & the Magic of Friendship // by Julian San Miguel //------------------------------// Sweetie Belle was inside Carousel Boutique when Midnight Errant burst in through the front door. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every—” She recognized him. “Oh! H-hello, I, I— Wait, are you alright—?” “Quick! Lock the doors!” Sweetie Belle did so as Midnight went and closed the curtains. “What happened?” she said. “What’s going on?” Midnight began tapping on a gray medallion that was pinned to a loose, yellow sash around his neck. “A large number of ponies found out that I was going to the Gala, and they each tried to get invited as my plus-one. I tried to get away, but I ended up being chased all over Ponyville.” Sweetie Belle gasped. “The Gala? You going to the Great Galloping Gala!?” She shrunk under his glare. “I, I mean, uh… W-What are you doing with that thing around your neck?” “This is a beckoning amulet. I’m using it to transmit my location to Clover and Featherdew using Smores code. Is Rarity here by any chance?” “No, why?” “I’m looking for a special gem to use in an enchantment. I was hoping that she would know where to find one.” “Well, my sister might be able to help you with that, but she won’t be back for a while.” “Ah, shoot. I really needed that gem.” “B-but you could ask Maud Pie instead! She has a doctorate in rock studies. She lives just outside of town.” Sweetie Belle started shuffling her hooves. “I could take you to her if you’d like?” “Oh, I wouldn’t want to bother you—” “It’s no bother at all,” she said, smiling. There was a knock at the door. “Sweetie Belle? Why is the door locked?” Waving a hoof to get her attention, Midnight nodded at the door before turning invisible. After looking around wide eyed for a bit, Sweetie Belle opened it. Apple Bloom walked inside, an enchanted bracelet around her hoof. “Midnight? Are you in here?” She jumped as he reappeared. “Oh, ponyfeathers! You almost scared the apples outta me!” “Why do you have that?” Midnight said. “Did Clover give it to you?” “Eeyup. We were runnin’ the apple stand when this bracelet started glowin’. He thought I’d have a hard time there without any help, and he had a whole lot of chores to do at home, so he sent me here instead.” Sweetie Belle raised a brow. “Oh? Are you saying you didn’t yank his ear a little?” “Alright, so maybe I didn’t wanna haul the cart back home all by myself, and maybe Clover owed me a favor. Besides, I wasn’t goin’ to miss this, whatever this is.” Scootaloo burst into the boutique, the same bracelet in hoof. “MidnightI’mHereI—! Oh. Hey, everypony!” “Let me guess… Featherdew sent you?” “Well, yeah. I was hanging at her place when her parents showed up. I guess she forgot to tell you about it, so she asked me to fill in for her. Then just as I was heading over to the library, this bracelet started blinking in Smores code. I thought it was an emergency, so I flew over as fast as I could.” Midnight shook his head. “It wasn’t really that bad, but I felt better with some backup.” Eyes narrowing, he tapped his chin. I really need a better amulet… “Why?” Apple Bloom said. “What happened?” “A bunch of ponies wanted to go with him to the Great Galloping Gala,” Sweetie Belle said, “and they chased him around town.” “Why would anypony want to go to some boring old dance?” Scootaloo said. “Oh! Are you plannin’ on inviting anypony? Sweetie Belle here is available.” Said pony gasped. “Apple Bloom!” “Sorry, but I’ve already invited Spike to the Gala. Anyway, are you two sure you want to come with me? I just need talk to Maud Pie about some rocks, and that’s not something most ponies would get excited over.” “That’s alright,” Apple Bloom said. “Being a prince’s bodyguard is all the excitement I need. I bet I could even do a better job than Clover.” “I just want Featherdew to owe me one.” Scootaloo shrugged. “And I have nothing better to do, so…” “Well, alright, if you say so. Just please don’t call me a prince.” Exiting the boutique, the group found themselves surrounded by a mob of mares with one or two stallions here and there. “Would you like any help with your gardening?” “I’ll wash your dishes!” Apple Bloom stepped forward. “Now see here, y’all—!” “Have I ever told you how much I love your mane?” “I have a cartload of extra carrots!” Scootaloo stood by her. “Hey! Calm down, everypony—!” “I’ll paint your cart—!” “CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE.” The crowd flinched at the sound of Midnight’s magically enhanced voice. “AS FLATTERING AS THIS MAY BE, WE HAVE ALREADY INVITED OUR NUMBER ONE ASSISTANT TO THE GRAND GALLOPING GALA. NOW, KINDLY DISPERSE THE AREA. YOU LOT ARE DISRUPTING LOCAL BUSINESSES.” That said, the Queen’s protégé teleported the group inside and locked the door. Midnight then turned to a bewildered Sweetie Belle. “Oh! Sorry. Does this place have a backdoor?” Midnight and the Crusaders walked up a trail to a hill near a wooded area adjacent to Ponyville. “So your club helps little foals find their cutie marks?” he said. “Yeah!” Scootaloo said. “We even hold a day camp to help them find their special talents.” “Is that what a cutie mark is? What a pony is good at? I always thought that they were a mark of somepony’s destiny.” “It could be,” Apple Bloom said. “It could also be how a pony sees themselves or their place in the world.” Midnight hummed. “So your cutie marks would represent your commitment to helping others find themselves. I can relate to that.” “What about you, Midnight?” Sweetie Belle said. “How did you earn your cutie mark?” “Well, my mom used to tell me stories about her life as a young filly, especially about the days she spent with Celestia and Luna. Now, as a young colt, we lived in Canterlot Castle with the Queen, and I’ve always wondered what became of her sister.” Scootaloo leaned in. “So you found out about the Mare in the Moon and decided become the prince of legend?” “Not a prince; but yes, I did find out. However, I didn’t think I had anything to do with it at the time. But then I got abducted by the Queen of the Changelings.” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo gasped. Apple Bloom frowned. “She did? Wasn’t she supposed to be nice and all?” “Not Princess Ocellus!” Scootaloo said. “He meant the bad changeling: Queen Chrysalis!” “Why did she go after you?” Sweetie Belle said. “You were just a foal!” “She was using me to get back at my mother for thwarting her invasion of Canterlot,” Midnight said. “Feeding on the Princess of Love was a bonus, I think.” “Oh, now I remember!” Apple Bloom said. “Wasn’t that when your ma got her wings?” “Yes, and it was also the day my parents got married.” “Wait, wait,” Scootaloo said, “we’re getting off track here. What happened? How were you saved?” “My parents saved me; but I was cocooned by Chrysalis, so I only heard about it after I was saved. But when I woke up, I could almost feel how relived my parents were.” His ears drooped. “That was the first time I’ve ever seen Celestia cry. It was from then on that I poured myself into learning everything I could about magic.” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “I can’t imagine what that must have felt like…” “But how did you get your cutie mark?” Apple Bloom said. “Well, a while after that, my parents decided to enroll me in Queen Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. However, I still had to pass an entrance exam, so after the written and the practical portions of the exam were over with, I was told to hatch a dragon egg.” Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “Spike?! That’s how you got your cutie mark?” “Isn’t that the one where you’re supposed to fail?” Apple Bloom said. Midnight eyed her. “How do you know that?” “Several years ago,” Sweetie Belle said, “when we were just a trio of blank flanks, we asked a few ponies how they earned their cutie marks. One of them told us how that test made her appreciate the value of failure.” Midnight blinked. “Was her name Twilight Sparkle?” The ladies looked at him, eyes wide. “Yeah!” Apple Bloom said. “How’d you know that?” Midnight shrugged. “Lucky guess.” Ugh… I really am the Twilight… “Anyway, not only did I manage to hatch an ancient dragon egg, but I nearly blew up the entire auditorium.” “Why?” Scootaloo said. “What happened?” “Well, I tried so hard to hatch the egg that I had a mana surge. It was so unstable that only Queen Celestia was able to snap me out of it. And that’s the story of how Spike was born, and how I got my cutie mark.” “So what was it that made you follow the legend?” Sweetie Belle said. “Was it because of your cutie mark or in spite of it.” “I thought it was a call to adventure, but now I’m not so sure. Or maybe it doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, whether its destiny or identity, I made my choice, and I’m happy with it.” Walking through the wooded area adjacent to Ponyville, the group came upon a wooden mailbox in front of a stone walkway leading to a large hole in the ground. “Is this where Maud Pie lives?” Midnight said. “Yes, indeed-ee~!” Midnight jumped as he came face-to-face with Pinkie’s face. “Oh my stars!” “Hi, everypony!” Pinkie Pie said, rummaging through her mane. “I was just dropping Spike off with Maud. I didn’t know you liked rocks, Midnight.” “O-oh well, it’s just tha—” Pinkie stuffed a muffin down his muzzle. “Spike told me you didn’t have much to eat this morning, so I brought you muffins because you seemed like a nutty kind of pony; but I wasn’t sure if I should go with apple nut or cinnamon; but then I remembered that you went to the Apple family reunion just after you came to town, so I’m sure you‘ve had enough apple treats to last you until tomorrow; but then, since it isn’t breakfast anymore and it’s not quite lunch, I thought having some banana nut muffins would be the perfect thing to have for brunch!” Midnight went to take another bite out of his muffin, but it had mysteriously disappeared, inside his stomach. “Aw… Well, thank you, Pinkie Pi—” Muffin deployed, Pinkie Pie grinned. “Don’t mention it~!” Watching as she bounced away, Midnight and his muffin stood there as the Crusaders passed him by. I have so many questions… Emerging from a gem-studded tunnel underground, Midnight and the Crusaders were in awe as they arrived at an open living-area inside a vast cavern. The area was covered by a large, fabric canopy and outfitted with furniture, hanging lanterns, and gemstones. Beyond it lay a blue river fed by waterfalls surrounded by a bank of lush, green foliage, all lit by a gigantic cluster of multi-colored crystals above, with several smaller ones scattered about. “This never gets old…” Sweetie Belle said. “Hey, down here!” The group spotted Spike as he waved to them from a nearby pier in the river. Beside him stood a bluish-gray Earth pony with a straight, grayish blue-violet mane. Wearing a blue frock that covered her cutie mark and eye shadow that matched her mane, the mare sorted through a large pile of gems. Letting the ladies look around, Midnight walked down some steps toward the duo. “Spike? What are you doing here? What’s all this?” “Well, you ran off before I could tell you that Rarity wasn’t in town. Since you were carrying that amulet with you, I was just going to send you a note, but then I remembered that one of Pinkie’s sisters lived nearby, and she was some kind of rock doctor or something. So I went to Sugarcube Corner to ask Pinkie Pie if I could talk to Maud, but then Pinkie took me here.” “And you must be Maud Pie,” he said. “I‘m Midnight Errant. It’s nice to meet you.” Turning toward him, her expression remained ever so neutral. “Hi.” For a moment, only the waterfalls had anything else to say. “Uh…” Midnight looked at the pile. “So! I’m guessing Spike filled you in on what I’m working on?” “Yes.” “Great! I already have some of what I need like copy quartz and glowpaz, but I’m still missing a gem that can hold a spell matrix.” “You mean like this?” Maud held up a white, heart-shaped crystal. Midnight stepped back. “Whoa. Should you really be holding that? I thought cosmic spectrum was supposed to be dangerous.” “I know what I’m doing. Trust me, I’m a doctor.” Midnight chuckled despite his nerves. “If you saw so—” Maud tossed the gem at Midnight. Eyes wide, he reached out and, after juggling the gem for a bit, he caught it in his hooves. “Careful,” Maud said, still deadpan, “she can sense fear.” Standing still, Midnight stared at the stone. “I-I’m more worried about the magically enhanced, emotional blowback.” “Only if you wear it everyday.” Midnight relaxed. “Oh.” At the sound of a crunch, he turned to find Spike eating one of the gems. “Hey!” “What?” he said. “It’s not as if you’re gonna use them all. Besides, how are you going to carry them? Some of these gems are reactive to mana, so I doubt you could just use telekinesis on them.” “Ah, shoot…” Midnight said. “Maud, do you have a—” She held up a pair of saddlebags. “Oh, thank you.” He lifted it off her hooves and strapped it onto his back. “So! Let’s see what else you found.” Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo arrived at Carousel Boutique, Midnight lagging behind with a stuffed saddlebag. “Thanks for letting us guard you for the day,” Scootaloo said, “even if it was a bit boring.” “Are you sure you don’t wanna come inside?” Apple Bloom said. “That looks a mite heavy.” Midnight moved the saddlebags off a sore spot on his back. “I’m fine, thank you. The library’s not that far from here. I’ll manage.” Sweetie Belle smiled. “Well, don’t blame us if you‘re ambushed by a herd of fangirls.” “Eh, I’m sure they’ve given up by now.” Midnight walked away. “Goodbye, ladies. Don’t forget to return those bracelets.” Sweetie Belle and the other Crusaders waved at him. “Bye, Midnight! Good luck on your friendship amulets~!” “Not calling it that~!” Entering the boutique, Sweetie Belle caught the smirk Apple Bloom was giving her. “What?” “So when are you gonna ask him out?” Scootaloo groaned. “Not this again…” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “I’m actually not that interested anymore.” “What!” her friends said. “But that’s all you’ve ever talked about!” Scootaloo said. “What happened?” “Wasn’t he a nice fella?” Apple Bloom said. “He’s much nicer than I’d thought he’d be, actually.” “That’s just it,” Sweetie Belle said. “Midnight isn’t some Prince Charming — he’s so much better than that. It isn’t fair for me to treat him like somepony he‘s not. That’s why I really want to be his friend and get to know him better.” “So does that mean you’re gonna get rid of all that stuff in your room?” Scootaloo said. “Well… Some of the books I have are really good; and if I take down my posters, I’d have to find new ones to replace them with; and, and I like my plushie — it’s hoof-stitched!” Apple Bloom grinned. “And maybe if he gets to know you better, he might ask you out?” “Maybe…” Sweetie Belle frowned. “Or maybe not. I don’t want to deal with all those fangirls.” Scootaloo snorted. “Said the fangirl.” “It’s complicated!” Sweetie Belle pouted as her friends laughed, but she soon joined in.