//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Midnight's Shadow: The Bog Witch // by Ponibius //------------------------------// Now that the demon Daggoth had been banished back to whatever foul hole from whence he had crawled, I journeyed back to Mossy Banks’ home. All the time, I never allowed Sunny or Gloom to leave my side. Knowing the fools, they would somehow manage to get themselves killed if I let them out of my sight for but a moment. Not that they did not nearly die repeatedly all along the trip; Gloom’s inability to tell the difference between a vine and a snake was of particular irritation, and Sunny’s lack of knowledge of herbcraft resulted in an unfortunate encounter with poison ivy. Still, I did manage to get them to safety alive and only suffering mild damage from the various toxins afflicting them. Considering what I was forced to deal with, I considered that a victory. Unfortunately, I was still covered in mud and muck. That in addition to the many indignities I had been forced to suffer did not improve my mood. Defeating Daggoth had improved my mood a bit, but it did not change the fact that I was still in the accursed bog. Archmagus Mossy Banks was sitting on his porch and was working his way through a bag of sunflower seeds. I instructed the fools, in the most simple and straightforward way I could manage, to stay where they were before approaching the Archmagus. He raised an eyebrow as I dropped a large chest on the porch, my breath coming in short gasps. “Magus, I am surprised to see thee back so soon,” he said. “What news dost thou bring?” I grunted. “I have banished an elder demon and saved two fools from certain death.” Under my breath, I growled, “Not that they gave me any credit for it.” Mossy Banks chewed on some more sunflower seeds before replying. “Sounds like thou hast quite the story. Thou better give me the full of it, then.” He flicked a hoof at a chair. “Have a seat, I will fetch some cider shortly. It seems thou couldst use a drink.” I pulled up a chair as the Archmagus gave instructions to a servant. “I warn you, 'tis not a pleasant tale.” “I am an archmagus, and have seen a great many unpleasant things in my days besides,” Mossy Banks said. “Do not spare me.” I took a deep breath, and unleashed a long, and spirited retelling of all the indignities, idiocy, inconveniences, ill-bred imbeciles, indecency, ignorance, and irritations I had been forced to endure. By the time I was done, my breaths were coming in long gasps. Mossy Banks stroked his long beard as he contemplated my tale. “Thou hast been through quite the difficult ordeal the past few days. Admittedly, I had not expected things to become quite so ... onerous.” “How could you not expect it when we were in that foulest and most horrible of climes, a veritable swamp of mud, muck, and evil?!” I all but screamed. The corner of the Archmagus’ mouth quirked. “So I take it thou hast not learned of the wonder and majesty of the bog, then?” “‘Wonder’? ‘Majesty’?!” I spat incredulously. “I loathe this damnable swamp far more than I e'er thought possible, and I truly despised swamplands before e'er setting foot in this place! Were it possible, I would burn this entire swamp to the waterline, drain all the water from it, and then burn it once more!” Mossy Banks shrugged. “That is thine opinion. This is my home, and until the end of my days, it always will be. Admittedly, the bog is not for everypony.” He glanced the way of the fools. “And I daresay, some ponies should probably avoid it.” I slammed a hoof against the porch. “No sane pony could love this place!” The Archmagus grinned. “Art thou saying I am insane?” I grimaced as I found myself accidentally insulting the Archmagus. My mind thought quickly about how to correct my course. “No, but your preference for swampland seems so to me.” “I see.” He sat back in his chair. “Though I would say the same about Canterlot. Never could stand the stuffy ponies of that place. Present company excluded.” I tilted my head to the side. “But Canterlot is not dirty.” The Archmagus rubbed his brow as he shook his head. “In any event, I can give thee some good news: thy time in my bog is coming to an end.” “I ... I may leave?” Hearing that was such a great relief, that I worried that it might not really be true. This trip had been nothing but a source of misery for me. “Thou hast completed the task I have given thee, so yes,” Mossy Banks scooped another mouthful of seeds into his mouth. “Thou didst banish the daemon, and with him gone ‘twill be a far easier task to continue my work of purging the bog of corruption.” A huge, relieved smile spread across my face. “That is good to hear, Archmagus. Even if I must be honest, the spirit in question was not a particularly powerful or impressive daemon.” “It still needed to be dealt with,” Mossy said. “And thy saving of those two is—” He stopped speaking when the chest moved a couple of inches as something bumped inside of it. “And I take it that is our dear revenant?” “That is so.” I frowned down at the chest. “It has been quite stubborn about staying dead.” The Archmagus grunted as he stood up. “Then it seems we have one more task to complete before thy departure.” I sighed, my skin crawling as I looked at the filth covering me. “And I have a feeling this will take quite some time.” Some days later, I finally got to return home. As predicted, finally finishing off the revenant proved to be a difficult task, but finish it we did. Getting to visit the public baths was a great relief to me, and I nearly felt normal again when I returned to the tower. Though I did not know why everypony acted so strangely as I walked down Canterlot’s streets. The only thing different about me was that I was wearing Mossy Banks’ wonderful mask. Mayhaps they sensed the dirt and mud that had been covering me? I found Mother, and seeing that she was busy writing at her desk, I stood directly behind her to wait for her to finish her work. ‘Twould not do to interrupt her when she was working when my business was not urgent. A couple minutes later, Mother stopped writing to address me. “Midnight, how was thy journey to the—” She turned around and stopped speaking as her eyes widened. “That is new.” I ran a hoof down the raven mask. “'Tis a gift Archmagus Mossy Banks gave me,” I told her with utmost seriousness. "I love it.” Mother stared at me for several moments. “It suits thee.” I nodded. “I think so as well.” Mother stood and stretched her back. “And how was the rest of thine adventure?” I huffed. “The worst experience of my life, Mother. I do not even wish to describe it, ‘twas so terrible. But I will recount my tale in full so that you will know the full horror of what I experienced.” I told her the entire tale of the mud, dirt, foolish ponies, and indignities I had been forced to endure. By the time I was done, Mother had pulled out a glass and poured herself a drink. “It seems thou wert triumphant, howe’er much thou didst not enjoy the experience.” “Naturally, I dared not return without being able to report success,” I said. “Likely you would have exiled me to the bog if I had done otherwise. That would be intolerable.” Mother sighed and shook her head. “Then ‘tis best thou didst succeed.” “Indeed, for I know not what I would have done.” I hummed to myself as I considered the terrible possibilities. “I think I would have burned down the entire bog and cast indescribable curses upon the land so that ‘twould stand as nothing more than a desolate wasteland in which nothing could live ever again for all time.” “I suspect that would have upset Mossy Banks,” Mother said with a dry smile. I tossed my mane. “'Twould have been an improvement to the bog, I assure you.” “I doubt Mossy would have agreed, and 'tis his bog.” I snorted, still finding it difficult to believe anypony would subject themselves to living in a bog. “Well, I did not annihilate his bog. This time. So the matter is moot.” “So it is.” Mother took a sip of her drink. “Though do be respectful of his swamp should you e'er be forced to return there.” I shivered. “I would beg of thee that thou wouldst never do such a thing to me again. One trip was more than enough.” Mother shrugged. “We go where our duties take us. Equestria is far more important than thy personal preferences.” I rolled my eyes. “So I am aware. You have told me this before, and I have hardly forgotten.” Not wishing to belabor the point, I changed the subject. “And now that I have returned, I can go back to concentrating on discovering what foul schemes the Perfidious Filly has for the world. Have you any progress on the matter in mine absence?” Mother let out a long breath and started straightening her papers. “Aye, there are no schemes of any sort. She is naught but an ordinary child with a slight penchant for mischief.” It took me a moment to believe that I had heard correctly. “That is not true. She is pure evil, I swear it. She must have deceived you.” Mother scoffed at the suggestion. “I think the Archmagus of Canterlot is cannier than a child.” “This is not a normal child.” I stepped up next to her as I pleaded. “She is devious beyond measure. If you would merely examine the evidence I had gathered, you would see that.” Mother ran a hoof through her mane. “I reviewed what thou hast gathered and found no value in it, so I destroyed all of it. I am not in the habit of wasting space, and thou didst waste much.” I took a step back from her. “You ... destroyed it? All my precious boards and evidence?” “I salvaged everything of use, naturally,” Mother said. “Put the materials to better use next time.” I ran to my room to see what damage had been done. The blackboard remained, clean my notes, and I saw some leftover string... but of my great work, there was nothing. I would be starting from scratch. I stared at the damage that had been done, hardly being able to believe mine eyes. Mother came in a minute after me, a frown on her face. “I had hoped that addressing a real problem would put this child from thy mind, Midnight.” “But this is a real problem,” I insisted. Mother sighed and patted my back. “This child is not great or evil. She is a child, creative and impetuous in her mischief. Nothing more. Now let this be the end of it.” “Very well, Mother,” I grumbled. I knew when Mother had made her mind up on a topic, and once she had done so ‘twould be nearly impossible to persuade her otherwise. “I suppose ... I shall find other things to preoccupy me.” “Good,” Mother said. “I will leave thee to settle back in and recover from thy trip. Dinner will be in an hour. I had one of your favorites prepared.” I sighed. “Thank you, Mother, I will be ready for dinner.” Mother nodded and then hugged me. I returned the hug, and she departed to return to her work. I may have been set back in convincing everyone that the Perfidious Filly was evil, but I was not defeated—not yet. My work would need to be continued in secret, but that was manageable. I could bear that burden as long as it kept me out of the bog and away from foolish ponies. The work to save Equestria was not something that could be done in a day, in any event. One day I would show them, I would show them all.