//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Live Bait // Story: The Legend of Midnight Hour // by Stratocaster //------------------------------// Chapter 12: Live Bait High Noon “Noon! Noon, please wake up! Noon!” Noon stirred from unconsciousness on the cold surface. The last thing he remembered was being dragged out of bed and gagged by a Workhorse. He was taken outside to where the same had happened to Andromeda and Cassiopeia. He tried to fight off the three robots that held them, but immediately one of them knocked him on the head and he went out like a light. Now he had no idea what he was waking up to. He heard Andromeda’s voice calling him and sure enough, he opened his eyes and saw her standing right by him. She put her hoof on his shoulder in concern. Noon widened his eyes to see that he was lying on crude cot nothing but a brick-like mattress. He looked around with a grunt and surveyed the dark metal walls surrounding him on three sides with a sink and toilet on one. The one side that didn’t have wall had metal bars which indicated that he was in some sort of cell. He struggled to sit up as Andromeda helped him. He ten saw Cassiopeia standing on the floor staring worriedly at him. “Wh- ah- where are we?” he asked in a tired voice. “I don’t know,” answered Andromeda. “Cassie and I were blindfolded and gagged on the way here.” “Noon, I’m scared.” Cassiopeia whimpered. “I don’t want the Workhorses to hurt us.” “Wait, the Workhorses,” he muttered shaking his head. “Oh no.” Just then, the three ponies heard calm devious laughter coming from outside the cell. Noon got up, his head pounding, and walked up to the bars. The room outside was a large hall that was also dark and metallic. It didn’t offer much of anything different other than more jail cells which were all empty. Somewhere in the distance he could hear various sounds of machines clanging and sparking and he even saw a few flashes down the hall. The laughing was heard again and a shadow crossed the wall at the other end of the corridor. The shadow was a hideous jagged form in the general shape of a pony. But it was no pony; he revealed himself again. The dreaded Locust entered the cellblock staring menacingly at the ponies. He walked down to their cell with a fanged smile. “So, how do you like my little outpost here?” he taunted. “Locust, what is this all about?” demanded Noon. “You’re so eager to know, High Noon,” replied Locust. “Why don’t you take the time to absorb your surroundings?” “I’ve seen enough. I want to know what we’re doing here.” “Why did you only take us?” asked Andromeda. “Isn’t it obvious, Andromeda?” he answered. “You three are the ponies that he cares about the most.” “Midnight? Wait, you’re using us as bait for him aren’t you?” gasped Andromeda. “Very keen of you my dear, I’m impressed.” “But why didn’t you take Marigold, Fry or Takeoff?” asked Noon. “They’re Midnight’s friends too.” “Oh please, I’m sure he wouldn’t give much care for those three if I took them.” “That’s not true,” rebutted Andromeda. “Midnight is a loyal friend and he would never abandon us!” “Oh really? Then why wasn’t he there for you, Andromeda?” She paused surprised. “I…I don’t…” “Of course you don’t know. You don’t know that your trusted friend decided leave you vulnerable when he knows he has my machines after him. The whole reason I didn’t take him instead was that he was nowhere to be found. That’s very trusting if you ask me.” Andromeda looked away and quivered her lip. Noon banged against the bars. “Shut up you bug!” he growled. “Midnight would never neglect us! You’re sick for making him risk his life just to save us!” “I’ll be surprised if he’ll even show up. If he does somehow, I have some plans for him that I am very anxious to get on with. But I’ll try not to get my hopes up.” “You keep your slimy appendages off my brother you creep!” “Hmm, I liked you better when you were asleep.” “Midnight will be here you dummy!” scolded Cassiopeia with slight hesitation. “He’s going to save us and beat you!” “Are you so sure about that, little filly? Because we’re in the middle of the Crystal Mountains; the winds here blow faster than anywhere else in Equestria. If Midnight does decide to rescue you, he’ll freeze to death for sure.” Locust then lifted Cassiopeia’s chin and feigned sympathy. “And the only pony who could have stopped me and saved you three will be gone forever. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before.” “You scumbag!” exclaimed Noon. “You’re going to pay for this!” “You should probably get some rest. That bump on your head will need some healing. For now, enjoy your stay.” He walked off chuckling to himself. Noon seethed with anger at the changeling, but his anger ceased when he saw Andromeda sitting and facing the back corner. She appeared to be weeping silently as she buried her face in her hooves. He walked over and put his hoof around her shoulders. “What if he’s right?” she said with a sniffle. “What if Midnight doesn’t make it? I know he couldn’t have left me back at the cabin, I know he’ll come for us. But what if he’s out there in the snow right now? He must be so cold. He must be thinking about us. I just wish I could be with him.” “I’m sure wherever he is, he’s doing just fine.” Noon calmed her. “Don’t worry, Andromeda,” said Cassiopeia. “Midnight will be safe and so will we.” Andromeda turned with tear filled eyes and hugged them both. They all prepared themselves for a long wait and kept Midnight in their thoughts. Midnight Hour It was unbearable. The cold howling wind blasted his face with a stinging bite. He could feel ice forming on the ends of his mane and coat. The swirling snow surrounded him limiting his range of vision to only about several feet in front of him. Nonetheless, Midnight pressed on. Since he departed his friends, he had been trudging a good three hours across the snowy plain in the general direction that Kodiak had been following. Every now and then, he expected to feel a change in slope indicating that he had reached the Crystal Mountains. But the ice field seemed endless. He looked back sometimes to see his tracks in the snow which would disappear in the blizzard. He decided to hold off on the food inside his saddlebag, figuring he would have to save it for Noon, Andromeda and Cassiopeia. Slowly but surely, he forced himself to continue through the blizzard still with no sign of salvation ahead. Eventually, after relentless hiking and grunting, Midnight collapsed and fell over on his front burying his face in the snow. He panted with wheezing breath, as he simply could not find the energy to keep going. The snowfall was beginning to pile up on him and he knew he would be buried completely soon. At that moment, it felt like this was the end. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry…I’m so sorry.” Midnight sadly whispered to nopony; he closed his eyes and waited to be entirely frozen. Then, he heard it. An eerie screech came from high above. He slowly opened his eyes and peered upward. He thought he was hallucinating when he saw a small red and yellow light circling above him. The screech he heard sounded like that of an eagle’s. Soon, the flying light descended and landed right in front of Midnight. He really thought he was going mad when he made out a large bird sitting in front of his face; especially since it appeared to be covered in flames. The bird gave him an acknowledging chirp and stuck out its leg. There was a roll of parchment paper tied to it. Midnight gathered whatever strength he had left to untie the parchment and unfurl it. He read to himself. “Dear Midnight Hour, this is Philomena. She is my pet phoenix whom I have taken care of for many years. Let her fire warm you and her light guide you through the cold. Locust must be stopped. I have complete trust in you. Yours faithfully, Princess Celestia.” He looked back up at the bird. It was true, it was a bona fide phoenix staring right at him and melting the snow beneath it. The warmth emanating from the bird told him that he was not delirious. But then he looked back at the letter. “How did she know?” he asked himself. Midnight’s delusions and grandeur came back when he gazed randomly up at the sky and envisioned Princess Celestia smiling down on him as sweetly as ever. Then he imagined the same for Noon, then Cassiopeia, then Andromeda. Tears welled up in his eyes and he gritted his teeth. “I will find you!” Struggling with all his might, he groaned loudly and steadily stood up on his hooves once again. He exhaled heavily trying to pump blood throughout his system. Once regaining his strength, he extended a hoof to Philomena and the flaming bird simply chirped, fluttered up and perched on his back. Immediately, Midnight’s body became overwhelmed with heat from the phoenix. He finally felt warm and reinvigorated enough to charge through the blizzard. With a huff, he galloped off into the white, Philomena warming his every muscle along the way. He had never run further or longer than any other point in his life. He carried on for what seemed like a little more than an hour all while galloping nonstop. Eventually, faint triangular outlines manifested in the distance. Midnight knew he was getting close to the Crystal Mountains. Then, he finally stopped when Philomena gave an urgent squawk. He panted while looking around for what might have spooked her. An unidentified pony silhouette up ahead caught him by surprise. It was stalking toward him at a slow walk. Midnight strained his eyes to see it clearly. Sure enough, the machine came into view. The hydraulic whirring of its legs broke the sound of the howling wind. Its visor with the thin horizontal red line stared blankly at him as it stopped and paused. Familiar to this sight, Midnight decided to tell the Workhorse off. “Hey, you’re in my way. If you don’t have anything better to do than stand around, why don’t you go tell your master that I’m coming for him?” As expected, the Workhorse just stared back. Then, it reared up into attack position and charged the green changeling magic within its horn. Without hesitation, Midnight bowed his head and quickly fired a burst of raw magic from his own horn. Before the Workhorse could fire, it obliterated leaving a pile of metal scrap which was encased in the snowfall. After taking in the victory, Midnight looked ahead to where the machine was coming from. In the distance, there was a single mountain jutting out from the range. Near the top of the peak, barely noticeable, there sat a gray building that looked somewhat like a fortress. At last, Midnight became elated at this sight of civilization. But he knew who exactly was responsible for the mysterious structure. A knot caught in his throat at the thought of numerous Workhorses waiting for him with Locust. Then he remembered the reason he set off on his own in the first place. The vision of his dream mare came back. “ANDROMEDA!” he yelled at the top of his lungs in determination and galloped forth. High Noon Time had elapsed. It had been a couple hours after Locust revealed himself to the trio. It was still late at night and Noon, Andromeda, and Cassiopeia wanted sleep. Andromeda and her sister shared the one cot while Noon sacrificed comfort and slept sitting awkwardly on the toilet. He tried to get some rest laying his head on the back of the toilet but found himself feeling ridiculous. When it soon felt like he was finally going to fall asleep, he snapped awake hearing some quiet murmuring. He looked at the cot and saw Cassiopeia tossing and turning next to her sleeping sister. It seemed to Noon that she was having a nightmare. Sympathetically, he got up from the commode and went over to wake up the stirring filly. “Cassie, Cassie, wake up. Are you alright?” he whispered as not to wake Andromeda. Cassiopeia quickly opened her eyes. “Oh Noon, it was so scary! I was running through Fillydelphia and there were Workhorses everywhere! They just kept chasing me and chasing me and there was nopony else around to help me!” Noon lightly patted her as she cried. “It was just a dream, Cassie,” he shushed. “The Workhorses won’t get you.” “But what if Locust does something to us before Midnight comes? Or what if he keeps us in here forever?” “I promise that won’t happen. My bro has never let me down before. Of course I don’t know why he wasn’t at the cabin to help us, but I’m sure he had a good reason. He’s always been a busy pony.” “I hope he comes soon.” “I do too, Cassie. But for now, why don’t you go back to sleep?” “I’m afraid to. If I go to sleep, the Workhorses will be there. If I stay awake, I’m afraid they’ll still come and get me.” Noon paused to think about Cassiopeia’s conundrum. Despite the situation, he was desperately tired and didn’t know how to get the paranoid filly to sleep. Then it came to him and he smiled at her. “Here, let me show you something.” He said. “When I was your age, I had trouble falling asleep a lot. Then, Midnight showed me this wicked spell that I could use whenever I went to bed.” “Really? What is it?” “Take a look.” Noon bowed his head and focused the magic in his horn. He opened up a portal in front of Cassiopeia for her to see. In the portal, she saw a gorgeous white sand beach at nighttime, with blue tropical waves gently crashing against it. Cassiopeia gasped in amazement. Then, a harp appeared on the sand and began playing itself. The soothing tones of its strings resonated with the hush of the waves. To complete the scene, a wooden fence sprang up on the beach and a sheep skipped by jumping over it. Sure enough, it was followed by more sheep, one by one hopping over the fence. “Wow!” lit up Cassiopeia. “If this spell doesn’t get you to sleep, nothing will.” Noon replied. “Thank you so much Noon, you’re just as amazing as Midnight.” “Oh I don’t know about that; I’m pretty sure he’s better at magic. Sweet dreams, Cassie.” “Good night, Noon.” She hugged him and lay back down. She drifted off to sleep at last after staring at the dreamscape. Noon sat backwards on the toilet again and dozed off as well. Somehow, in the cold clammy cell, he actually managed to get a good night’s rest. He had one of the best dreams he would ever come to recall. It began with Marigold being tied to a chair with Locust and his Workhorses surrounding her. She screamed in horror as they stepped closer and closer to the innocent earth mare. Suddenly, a wall collapsed letting in bright light. Standing at the hole in the wall was the dashing, daring, heroic, muscular High Noon in a gold tunic and red cape. Marigold was ecstatic to see him as he smiled a charming grin. Locust ordered his robots to attack but Noon was well prepared. Effortlessly he unleashed an array of lightning magic instantly stopping the Workhorses in their tracks and causing them to explode. Noon then peered over to see the weasel Locust running off frightened. In one fell swoop, Noon charged after the changeling, tackled him to the ground and encased him in a magic barrier immobilizing him entirely. The victorious unicorn then turned to his damsel in distress. He untied Marigold and lifted her on her back with his buff fore hooves. She grasped his head and smiled gratefully. “Oh Noon, you’re my hero!” she cheered. “I just couldn’t stand to be away from you, Marigold.” He said in a deep suave tone. The two closed their eyes and puckered their lips. But then a third voice was heard from nowhere interrupting the dramatic kiss. “Noon, wake up! Noon!” In an instant, the real Noon opened his eyes and found himself pressing his lips against the toilet he sat on. He nearly gagged and jumped over to the sink to wash his mouth out. After his abrupt wakeup, he looked to see that Andromeda was the voice calling to him. She stood alert next to her little sister. “Noon, I hear something.” She told him. He turned off the faucet to listen carefully. There was some distant clopping against the metal floor echoing far down the cellblock. “It’s Locust,” quivered Cassiopeia. “He’s come back to do something horrible to us!” “It’ll be okay, Cassie,” said Andromeda. “Maybe he’s just going to give us food.” Noon listened to the echoing steps stalk closer and closer. He squeezed his head out between the bars expecting to see Locust walking down from his right. But it seemed that the changeling lord was keeping close to the wall being obscured by shadow. Noon glared impatiently as the figure came closer than ever. “If you’re going to torture us then at least show your ugly face!” he called out. The figure stepped out of the shadow and revealed itself to be a smiling dark blue unicorn with a neat black mane. He was dressed in a thick winter coat with an overstuffed saddlebag on his back. His blue coat seemed to have turned paler from the frigid onslaught of snow outside. He looked at his twin brother with relieved purple eyes. “I’m guessing you don’t want to be saved then?” joked Midnight. “Midnight?!” exclaimed Noon. “MIDNIGHT!” cheered Cassiopeia back to her normal jumping self. She sucked in her breath and strained as she slipped through the bars of the cell to hug her hero. “You mean you could have escaped this whole time?!” blurted Noon. Midnight returned Andromeda’s tight hug; he was still shivering from the brutal cold and seemed to be elated to feel the filly’s embrace. He then separated and turned back to Noon. “We all found you three were missing back at the cabin.” He said. “We met a mountain pony who flew us up near the Crystal Mountains. But we ran out of fuel and I decided to set off on my own across the tundra to save you guys. I wasn’t going to wait another minute.” Noon smiled back. “You are one crazy pony, bro. It’s good to see you again.” The twins grabbed each other’s hooves in a brotherly grip and hugged between the bars. Then Midnight pulled away to look at his dream mare. Andromeda simply stared smiling at him with tears welling up in her silver eyes. Without speaking, she wrapped her fore hooves around his shoulders and held him tight. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you.” He whispered trembling and tearing up as well. “I swear to Celestia I’ll never let you out of my sight again.” “I knew you’d come.” Andromeda replied while rubbing his back. “You feel so cold.” “The thought of you kept me going.” She looked in his watering eyes and kissed him on the cheek; he blushed feverishly. The tearful reunion was unfortunately interrupted by a familiar chilling cackle. “Midnight, I’m glad you could join us!” mocked Locust. “We were getting worried that you’d never show up. I have some very special plans for you.” “I hope those plans include kicking your flank.” Midnight retorted. “I suppose you would like to let your friends out wouldn’t you? I’m afraid they’ll have to wait. But for now, it seems that this young little fighter will be happy to join in our games.” Cassiopeia stepped in front of Midnight trying to shield him. “Midnight’s going to save us you monster!” she scolded. ‘And he’s going to stop you for good!” “Yes, yes, so I’ve heard.” Locust rolled his slit eyes. “You know, you’ve been quite the little chatter box. You should probably keep quiet if you don’t want to get hurt.” He leaned down to stick his face in hers. But she only responded by hocking spit in his eye. The changeling reeled back with a terrifying hiss covering his eye in agony. “You little pest!” Locust raised his hoof above his head grimacing at Cassiopeia. But before he could bring down the striking blow to her, his hoof was stopped in midair by Midnight’s. The unicorn was returning Locust’s glare and even flared his nostrils with vengeance. “You will not touch her!” he bellowed. Midnight revved up his magic and aimed his horn pointblank at Locust. He blasted a gigantic beam straight at him shrouding him in white light. When the magic ceased, Locust was nowhere to be seen. Then, a mysterious black wisp floated in from above and grew in size on the floor. The wisp quickly took form and Locust appeared again smiling and unscathed. “You thought you could destroy me like my machines?” he growled. “I am too powerful for you, Midnight! You are no match for the changeling race! And now you will pay dearly for ever entering here.” As if on cue, a group of Workhorses marched up behind their creator. More surrounded Midnight on all sides backing him into the bars of the cell. Cassiopeia grasped his leg in fear. “There’s nowhere you can hide, Midnight Hour.” Locust continued. “If I can’t find you, they will!” Just then, a loud screech resonated down through the cell block. Everypony including the Workhorses looked up to see a bright flame flying in through the corridor. Philomena had arrived. The ravenous Workhorses jumped up trying to stomp down the fiery bird but Philomena managed to swerve by their metallic hooves. The phoenix flew toward Midnight and circled him and the other three ponies, even swooping cleanly through the bars. Suddenly, a bright ring began to form around the group and rose into a wall of fire. They could still hear Locust outside the ring. “What’s going on?! Where did they go?! Get outside immediately and find them!” The ponies looked in confusion at the flames and braced themselves for whatever would happen next.