//------------------------------// // The New Colt In Town // Story: Living Elements of Harmony: Neo Elements // by Intellect Stretcher //------------------------------// “Uh… hi,” the colt stood back up on his hoofs and used his magic to pick up the saddlebag and book he had with him. “Sorry, about that; I should’ve been watching where I was going,” he seemed to not have minded the collision made by the three ponies not moments ago. The two mares got back up. Pinkie Pie kept here wide eye surprise face, while Twilight seemed to have come to terms with the situation and wore a welcoming smile. Twilight was the first of the two mares to speak. “Actually it’s us who should apologize. At least one of us should have been looking at where we were going,” she gestured her hoof to address both her and Pinkie. But the gray colt begged to differ. “Thank you for the kind gesture, but the fault falls upon me. I should have known better than to try to read while trying to walk,” he gave guilty expression as he looked back at his saddlebag containing the book he was just reading. Twilight raised her eyebrows and gave a look of interest. “Reading huh?” she thought, “Well anyway, you must be new here, am I right?” of course she knew she was right; she knew everypony in town as much as Pinkie by now, and she had never seen this pony before. The colt looks back up at the two ponies in front of him. “Yes, you are right. My name’s Midnight Shine, pleasure to meet you.” “The pleasure’s all mine, I’m Twilight Sparkle.” The two exchange smiles before Midnight Shine turns to the pink earth pony next to them. The whole time she had the same surprised look on her face. Midnight wondered if she was alright. “Uh, hi. What’s your name?” he spoke with a welcoming smile hoping for the best. However he wasn’t expecting the reaction he got next… Immediately after the words leave the colt's mouth, Pinkie suddenly gasped an incredible amount of air as she jumped up and floated in midair for a few moments. Then after the long drawn out gasp she bolted at high speeds to the opposite direction that the colt was facing. Midnight quickly turned back to see where the mare went, but the only trace of her left were the leaves being blown to the general direction in which the sudden gust of air traveled. And of course, he was left very confused. “Eh w-what the… was it something I said?” he turned back to Twilight hoping she could at least give a clue to what happen. Twilight was giggled, “Don’t worry about her; she did the exact same thing when I first came here.” her giggling seemed to work on reassuring Midnight. “Oh o-okay then,” he tried not to think much of that pink mare; he knew that they’ll eventually be introduced at some point. So for now he focuses on the purple mare standing in front of him. “Well since I’m new here and I have nothing else to do,” Twilight stopped her giggling to listen, “mind giving me a tour of the town?” Twilight’s smile doubled in size. “Well I find it to be my sincere pleasure to do so,” in her head Twilight was patting herself on the back for doing such a good job being formal with the greeting. But then she noticed that Midnight started to giggle. “No need to be so formal,” he said, “just cuz I’m from Canterlot doesn’t mean I’m like those nobles,” his muffled laughter was fully silenced when it was followed by a sudden gasp of surprise. “You’re from Canterlot?” The colt started to smile, “Correct!” “That’s such an unusual coincidence! So am I!” The colt raised his eyebrows, “Really, well that is a surprising coincidence.” They both exchanged a few giggles before Twilight felt like saving this for a later time. She started to walk toward where she was heading before bumping into this new pony, the spa. “Well anyway why don’t I start the tour of the town?” she gestured her head to tell Midnight to follow her. “Alright; we can talk as we walk,” he started walk aside her, “so where do we start?” “Well right now I’m supposed to meet one of my friends for a weekly get-together at the spa. I’m sure Rarity will like you,” Twilight spoke in a very exciting tone. She can only imagine everypony’s reaction to a new colt in town. “A spa ay... hmm…” he looked like he was thinking thoroughly, and then came to a conclusion, “sure,” he shrugged, “why not?” he started to smile again. “After all I could use some time to relax.” “Great!” Twilight said, her excitement still bearing on her smile. “So tell me about your friend Rarity,” he seemed curious in his tone. “Well, she’s a very generous pony and is well known throughout Equestria for being a great fashionista. But she can be a bit of a… drama queen at times,” she seemed to hesitate saying the last part, in fear of somepony overhearing. “Well, that’s really no big deal in my opinion. Everypony has their weaknesses; in fact it’s a natural law. So I don’t really care for the bad; I’m only interested in the good.” Twilight slightly raised her eyebrow. “Huh, a reader and an intellectual?” she thought. She shifted her eyes to look at Midnight but kept her head facing forward. The colt, not noticing he was being stared at, kept walking next to Twilight and was facing forward. The further they walked the more Twilight’s mind started to think about something. “… I wonder if there’s anything else we have in common…” She turned her head slightly so that her eyes can be able to see more of the colt. “… what does his cutie mark look like…?” her eyes started to slowly travel down to the colt’s side leading to his flank. Just in time before Twilight can get a clear view of Midnight’s cutie mark, she was stopped. “Eh, Twilight,” Midnight spoke to try to get Twilight’s attention and even stopped walking. Twilight in response almost frantically brought her sight back to the colt’s eyes and turned her head to face him as well. A feel of unease swept Twilight’s body; she was afraid that if Midnight did in fact notice her staring at him, would he take it the wrong way. Did he even notice? Midnight lifted his hoof up to point at something and then spoke. “Is this it?” Twilight turned her head forward to follow where the hoof was pointing. She realized that they were standing in front of the spa. She felt a sense of calming relief started to form in her chest and moved onward to the rest of her. “Oh, yeah this is it,” trying to ignore what happened, she tried to put the smile she had before back on. She was glad that her possibly uncomfortable stares weren’t noticed. “Well let’s go in then,” he walked forward to the door and opened it with his magic then went to the side of it and bowed his head and a bit of his upper-body before speaking. “After you.” Twilight’s first reaction was a giggle, “Who’s being formal now?” she said with a playful tone. Midnight didn’t look up to respond, but instead put up a smile that was visible even through his bangs while leaning like that. “It’s more of a gesture of kindness and respect rather than one of formality, Twilight,” he kept his smile and stance in place, waiting for the mare to acknowledge his action. Twilight’s face started to form a light blush whilst she moved forward to the door. Of course she’d had the door opened for her before, but in no way close to this manner. In fact, she used to think of this as being a romantic gesture. “Well either way, thank you,” she said as she went ahead inside. Midnight waited for Twilight to be all the way inside before going in as well and closing the door behind him. When they both were a few feet inside, they were welcomed by the attendants standing behind the counter. “Welcome Miss Sparkle,” she said. “Hello Lotus. I’m here for the weekly appointment today.” “Yes we know, Rarity came in and informed us,” Lotus looked at the clipboard she was holding before continuing to speak. “She also told us to escort you to her when you do arrive.” She put down the clipboard and went around coming out from the counter. “I’am not sure about your friend though.” She said as she finally acknowledged Midnight’s presence and even looked right at him. Twilight moved in to explain. “Oh, this is Midnight Shine,” she said, meanwhile Midnight waved a hoof to Lotus, “he’s new here and I’m certain Rarity won’t mind having to pay for him.” “Mmm, I suppose so; she was originally planning on having Miss Fluttershy too after all. Well then you’ll find Rarity at the end of that hall to the left.” She did a hoof gesture to give more detail on where to go. “Thank you, Lotus.” Twilight said and then started to follow Lotus’s direction. As they were going past each other, Lotus suddenly raised a hoof in front of Midnight’s path. “I’m sorry but you can’t go with that saddlebag. However I can keep eye on it while you’re here.” “Uh oh, okay.” He levitated the saddlebag off of him and into Lotus’s hoofs. “And don’t worry it’ll be in good hoofs.” She said while she started to walk back to the counter. “Alright then, I’ll be back for it later.” And with that Midnight went to catch up to Twilight. A little bit of walking later Twilight and Midnight reached the white mare they were looking for. She was lying on her back on top of a leaning chair. She was wearing a mud mask and cucumber slices on her face, while having Aloe work on massaging her shoulders. Twilight quickly tried to inform Rarity that she arrived, “Rarity, I made it here.” Rarity seemed slightly surprised by the sudden voice, but quickly got past that and continued the conversation. “Twilight where have you been?” she spoke while still being blinded by the cucumbers on her eyes, not realizing there’s someone new present. “I’ve been waiting so long that I thought I was going to be alone here.” here tone seemed only half as whinny as usual for some reason. “Well, you see…” she turned her head to face Midnight. Both of them seemed excited for this, especially Twilight. “… I got a little sidetracked.” she gently pushed Midnight forward, telling him to go in and introduce himself. “Well what happened? What do you mean by sidetra-” Rarity took off one of the cucumbers on her eyes to be able to see her friend. But instead saw a stallion she never saw before in front of her. “… o-oh h-h-hello.” Rarity didn’t know what to say, her eyes were widened and her jaw dropped. She was in complete awe in the colt’s presence; his athletic form, the intricate coloration of his mane, and his eyes, were all very engrossing. “You must be Rarity, I’m I right?” The colt’s smile and tone made it so Rarity slow involuntarily nods to his question. He knelt down to do an almost bowing motion before continuing to speak. “My name is Midnight Shine; and may I say, it is a grand honor to meet the famous and beautiful Rarity.” He took Rarity’s right hoof and held it in his own hoof to lightly and gently kiss the top of it. "I've heard a lot about you," he added. At that point Twilight was trying her hardest to suppress herself from laughing out, Aloe doing the same thing behind Rarity. Meanwhile Rarity’s mud mask hid her very heavy blushing and she still remained speechless. The moment was so unanticipated for her that she was not sure of what to do. Luckily Twilight stepped in before there was an acquired silence. “Alright Casanova, I think that’s enough.” she said between giggles. Midnight started to get back up to stand next to Twilight and facing Rarity. “Alright, I guess so.” he too also started to break a few chuckles. “Was that also a gesture of kindness too?” she teased. “Yes, but also one of formality as well.” he answered. The two broke into another round of giggles. Meanwhile Rarity tried to get her composure back. “S-so you’re new here, am I right?” she asked trying to forget what happened just a moment ago. Midnight and Twilight stopped with their snickers, and Midnight went to answer the question. “Yes, I came here from Canterlot this very day.” Rarity’s eyes widened triple in size and a smile grew on her that stretched across her face. “C-canterlot!?” Twilight stepped back a little; she knew what will probably happen. “Here we go” she thought. “Aloe!” said Rarity; the mareseuse instantly reacted and stood ready to follow Rarity’s orders. Meanwhile Rarity got up from her seat and went to the sink to try to remove her mud mask. “See if you can add Midnight Shine to my list of guest, and I’ll be responsible for payment.” “Yes, miss Rarity,” Aloe then left the room to get what was needed. “Oh you’re too kind,” announced Midnight, “but I’m willing to pay here.” When Rarity removed her mask revealing her true face, she turned her head back to the stallion and gave a serious look. “So that’s what she looks like...” Midnight thought. “Oh, but I insist. You are new here and you deserve a free welcoming day at the spa. I won’t take no for an answer.” “Well… since you insist, then I guess I have no choice but to except it.” Rarity’s eyes lit, “Great then let’s get started!” Aloe came back with two spa robes and went toward Twilight and Midnight. “Put these on please,” she said as she handed them each their own robe. “Thank you,” Twilight and Midnight spoke at the same time. They both start to put on their robes and Rarity stood there waiting for them to finish, so they can start. ----- Midnight lets out sighs and groans of bliss as the maresuse worked on his tight back muscles. Rarity lay in the table next to him receiving the same treatment, and Twilight was in the hot bath on the other side of the room. The three have taken this moment to enjoy themselves while they can, staying in silence and let the moment sink in. However, Rarity felt like this would be the best time to be able to get to know the new stallion. “So what made you decide to move here in Ponyville, Midnight Shine?” “Uh, basically just a change in scenery. I just felt like I wanted something different. And I heard a lot of good things about Ponyville, and here I’am.” “Do you have any friends back in Canterlot?” “Well… not really,” he let his head hung and looked down, “the truth is... I was a very arrogant pony when I was young, I didn’t really feel like I needed anypony else. That’s actually why I came here; I wanted to start a new and make some good friends,” his sentimental tone seemed to have easily reached Rarity’s sensitive side. “Oh, well… I can ensure you that you have indeed made a friend already, and that you will continue doing so while in Ponyville.” Midnight looked up with a smile of relief and gratitude, “Thank you, Rarity.” While Rarity and Midnight talk about personal things, Twilight enjoys her time taking her hot bath. She’s normally so busy and hectic that she rarely ever gets time to relax. She lowers herself and gets herself deeper into the water. She stops with her nostrils and snout just above the water to be able to breathe. She closes her eyes to get the feel of calmness as she sat on the bottom of the pool and leaned her back against its wall. She steadily breathes to prepare herself for a smooth transition into calming and quite bliss. With her last exhale she found herself in the stage in synthetic delight, and she intended to stay like that for as long as she can… Unless of course if she was to somehow be interrupted… “Pttttsss! Twilight!” Twilight almost involuntary gasped and jolted in surprise to the sudden loud whisper that intruded her walls of pure silence and hitting directly outside her lobes. With involuntary inhale she forced in large amounts of warm water into both her mouth and nostrils, and started to choke on it. She frantically brought her upper body back up to the surface so she can cough out the water from her mouth and nose. When she was nearly done she turned her eyes to meet the new voice. From the large bowl that held many sponges came the full upper half of a certain pink mare. “What the! Pinkie!? What are you doing here?” Twilight said between coughs and gags. Pinkie, who became aware of her current action, explained. “Oh, soo sorry if I scared you Twi, but I came here because I needed to get some insight on the new pony,” judging by the tone, Pinkie wanted to speak as loud as she usually does, but it trying her hardest to keep a lower whisper. “What for?” “Well duh! For the party I’m going to throw him today, silly!” “Oh right that.” Twilight started to lay down on the tub again. “So what can you tell me about him?” “His name is-” that was all Twilight can get out before Pinkie went ahead and covered her mouth with her right hoof. “No! Don’t spoil his name for me, please. I want to find that out when I meet him.” The earth pony took her hoof from the unicorn’s mouth so that Twilight can restart what she was going to say. “Okay no name then,” Twilight reloaded her tone before speaking, “well, he’s very nice, funny, and smart. And he’s even from Canterlot; just like me!” While the information was interesting, that wasn’t what Pinkie wanted to hear. “Mmkay, but I mean what does he like; what is he into. You know so I have an idea for what kind of party to throw!” “Well why don’t you just do the same thing you did for me? You know with the regular surprise, decorations, and food.” Pinkie felt that she needed to get her point across. “That one was just a basic substitution party because I had no way of getting any information on you at the time. But this time I have a pony on the inside who can tell me about the new pony in town. And that way I’m able to know if I’m able to throw… ANY kind of party.” Her emphasis, hoof gestures, and facial expressions seemed to have brought the point to Twilight. “O-oh… well uh…” Twilight didn’t want to disappoint her ecstatic friend, but she had nothing to say about that. She thought of something that was at least a decent response, but when she opened her mouth to speak, she was cut off. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Twilight and Pinkie gain identical shocked looks on their faces. They both looked right to where the sudden voice came from. As it turns out the new subject was Midnight Shine who was standing right next to the bowl of sponges where Pinkie came from. Pinkie jolted frantically and almost fell off of the bowl, and Twilight’s jolts were followed by several large waves forming in the pool. The thought that is racing through both Pinkie and Twilight’s heads is “How did I not notice him until now?” and despite that and their wild reaction, they both tried to come to terms with the situation. Pinkie was the first to have gotten her usually happy composure back and the first to speak. “Well hi there!” Her positive attitude seemed to have influenced the stallion greatly, for his countenance turned from solemn and emotionless to positive and jolly. “Hello! You’re the same pony I didn’t really meet earlier this afternoon, so you want to try to introduce ourselves?” Midnight’s tone seemed in partnership with his facial expression. “Alright! I’m Pinkie Pie, but you can call me Pinkie or Pinkie Pie!” “Well it’s nice to meet you Pinkie Pie! I’m Midnight Shine, but you can call me Midnight or Shine.” Twilight sat there and watched the greetings from the two ponies. She tried not to get involved unless she was asked to; she wanted to let them get to know each other while they were able to. Midnight continued to speak. “So what exactly was it that you two were talking about?” “I came here to ask Twilight what kind of welcome surprise party I should throw you; it was supposed to be secret.” Pinkie looked slightly disappointed. “Well I can still act surprised.” Pinkie’s expression lit back up to her usual cheerfulness. “Really? Do you Pinkie promise?” while she spoke, Pinkie crossed her left hoof over her chest and over her eye to represent the gesture of a Pinkie promise. “Cross my heart and hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye!” Midnight recited with ease and even had no problem with the hoof press into his opened eye. This pleased the pink pony very much. “Goody! Then can you answer my questions?” “Sure.” “Hurray!” At this point Twilight had stopped listening and tried to go back to trying to relax again. ----- “That was nice.” Midnight sighed as he and Twilight walk away from the Spa. “It sure was relaxing.” Twilight sighed back. “And I’m glad that Lotus handed me my saddlebag while we were ready to leave, or else I would’ve forgotten it and left it there.” Midnight said as he sighed in relief and looked back at the bag hanging of his side. “Well, I’m glad Rarity and Pinkie Pie have taken a liking to you.” Twilight said changing the subject. “I agree, it’s always nice to make a friend when you get the chance. I just can’t wait to see what Pinkie has in store for my party. After all I did tell her that I’m fine with parties that can get a bit crazy.” Twilight tried to make sure Midnight didn’t notice her wince and blush in nervousness as she too was wondering the same thing he was. What Pinkie will do for her parties is inconceivable to even her. Midnight continued to speak. “So where exactly are we going now?” “Well right now I have to go to Sweet Apple Acres for some fresh apples…” Midnight noticed Twilight’s giddy expression, and went to address it. “Will I meet anypony else there?” “Yup, Applejack will definitely give you a warm welcome to Ponyville.” “Applejack ay… what’s she like?” “She’s an honest hardworking farm pony, and she always shows respect to everypony. But while her sense of honor is strong, sometimes it can make her a bit stubborn at times.” “Hmm, well I can’t wait to see her for myself.” “Sweet Apple acres is pretty close, we’ll be there in no time.” The two continue their walk to Sweet Apple acres in total silence coming from the both of them. Before Sweet Apple Acres was visible in the distance, and also after they left town and into forest area, Midnight suddenly stopped… “Wait…” Twilight stopped when he spoke the word, but wasn’t sure why. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Do you hear that…?” he spoke quietly enough that his tone was almost at whisper level. Twilight was confused, “Huh? What are you talking about? I don’t hear anything.” For the first few moments Midnight didn’t respond. He just stood there blankly staring at the ground; carefully trying to hear. Meanwhile Twilight wasn’t sure what will happen next. “Uh… Midni-” she stopped talking when she noticed Midnight’s left ear suddenly twitch. As if it just heard something in the distance. Instantly he frantically turned his head to the left and bolted out running into the forest and toward the sound he heard. “H-hey where are you going?!” Twilight shouted. The lack of response from the stallion and the sight of him slowly becoming lost in the forest, gave Twilight no choice but to chase after him. “Uggh! I know I’m going to regret this!” she started to run after him. While Twilight struggled to keep up and made sure not to run into anything, Midnight was doing it with ease as if he knew exactly where to go. As they both ran Twilight slowly started to fall behind, and the whole time she was wondering why she’s even doing this. However be that as it may, she still for some reason felt like she needed to follow him. She really couldn’t have even explained it to herself. Eventually Twilight was so far behind that she lost sight of him, but she still ran to try to catch up to him. Midnight wasn’t really paying attention to the mare chasing after him; in fact he didn’t seem to have noticed her. He was focusing on trying to figure out where exactly the sound was coming from, so much so that he even didn’t notice that the strap on his saddlebag had torn and fell off. But that didn’t matter because he knew he was getting closer to the source of the sound. “It’s close… I can feel it…” He thought, “Ah, it’s right around…” he suddenly turned his whole body to face the right as he ran. “Here!” he leaped over a large bush that stood in front of him and his destination. But there was something else that happened… At the same time as he did, some other pony leaped through a bush to get to the same place. It was a yellow pegasus who had an instant blush as soon as they both landed several feet away from each other. She seemed to be very shy and even stepped back a bit in slight fear, so it was obvious that Midnight had to be the first to speak. “U-uh, h-hello. Who might you be?” he tried speaking in the smoothest tone possible; the yellow pony seemed to be very timid. “I-I’m u-uh F-flutter… shy...” the pegasus stepped back I bit more as she lowered her already hushed tone, and she looked as if she just wanted to crawl into a big ball. “I-I’m sorry, but can you repeat that again?” Midnight said while still keeping his voice at a soft level. “I-I’m… uh… *muffled squeal*,” she stepped back a bit more and tried to hide her face with her hair. It was clear she was too shy to speak, so Midnight moved on. “Well, you don’t have to tell me your name yet. Why don’t we focus on the reason we came here?” his expression turned from welcoming and kind to serious and somewhat sad before he looked to his left at the ground, luring the mare in front of him to do the same. She looked through her curtain of hair at the ground that held the colt’s attention, and suddenly had her bashfulness replaced with active reactions to the situation. Apparently, both Midnight and the yellow mare were lured in to the forest by the cries for help made by a baby bird that had fallen. “Oh dear! What happened?” she directed all her attention to the possibly wounded hatchling and went to try to tend to it. “I’m not sure, but it’s most likely that this poor bird must’ve fallen from its nest.” “Oh no, Oh no!” the mare held the bird on her hoofs and examined it; the whole time it was wheezing. “There there, everything will be okay,” she really wanted to believe that. After all, the little bird is still so young; its feathers haven’t even gained color yet. She investigates the bird’s condition further. She just noticed something that brought her almost to the edge of tears, as its sight also came with a realization. She gasped, “I-its r-right wing… it’s… b-broken…” she laid it on the ground on a pile of leaves. “Oh, no! what do we do?” “I-” that’s all she could let out before there was an interruption. “Midnight!” The familiar voice surprised Midnight and the yellow pegasus as it was brought to their attention. “Twilight?” they both said. They looked at each other being a bit surprised to hear the name came from each other, but then quickly went back to focusing on the pony that just came running from the bushes. “Finally I caught up! There you are Midnight Shine,” Twilight said between breathes,“why did you… oh Fluttershy what are you doing here?” Fluttershy’s eyes started to water and she turned away to face the ground behind her; she was in no condition to speak. Luckily Midnight noticed this. “Well, the reason why I ran,” Midnight started explaining, “is because me and uh Fluttershy both heard a cry for help coming from an animal in the forest,” he directed Twilight to look at the ground where the wounded and gasping hatchling was rested. “What happened?” Twilight gasped while she visually investigated the bird. Fluttershy answered the question, “It fell from its nest atop one of these trees… and broke its wing…” she was obviously trying not to let out too many tears. “Oh no, but you can fix it right? I’ve seen you fix up other limbs to so many different animals.” “Yes, but I rarely ever see something this broken before, and never have I tended to an animal this young and fragile,” she started to cry a bit more. “There’s nothing I can do!” she was wiping her tears and then turned back to face her friend when she thought of something. “Wait, Twilight can’t you use magic to heal the bird’s broken wing!?” Twilight suddenly had a shocked look on her face and then turned into one of sadness, embarrassment, and almost humiliation. “W-well… actually… I’m almost no good in that kind of medical magic… I-I’m so sorry, but I can’t do anything.” The confession came as a strike to Fluttershy; the most magically talented pony in Equestria can’t do a healing spell that can save a baby bird. Midnight, who had been quiet for a bit, spoke up. “I’m sorry to have to be the one to say this… but… there’s really only one thing we can do…” he seemed very uncomfortable and hesitant to speak. “What is that?” Fluttershy gazed upon the colt with the glistening eyes shedding tears. This only made it harder for him to speak. “Well… since we have no other method of helping this poor bird… we have no choice but to…” he seemed extremely guilty and uncomfortable to speak any further, “… put it out of its misery…”