//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Magic Lessons Begin // Story: Sins of the Father // by Robobrony //------------------------------// Chapter 9: Magic lessons It has reached around mid-day since Midnight Star left Baltimare and was currently traveling along the road north towards Hoofington. He still had a long way to go before he reaches the city, from there, the northern cold wasteland that surrounds the Crystal Empire. “Come on Star, THINK, there must be some way to try and connect to dad. OK, he keeps talking about strength. Maybe I can get him to teach me some magic, make him think that I want to be strong like him.” Midnight now had a plan. He looked to his shadow that was currently his own. “Hey dad,” His shadow then gained his father’s eyes and looked at him. “I was thinking, since you don’t like to act the hero, maybe you could teach me some magic and help me get strong like you. That way, I can be the hero if more trouble comes our way. I know you may not like the idea of me acting like a hero either, but it’s your own fault for teaching me such things when you were good.” One of Sombra’s eyes raised in a sort of 'I’m not sure about that’ look. “So, you wish to be strong, you’re right, I don’t like the idea of you acting the hero, but I certainly don’t see the point in me acting a hero either. But if it is strength you desire, I suppose I can help you. Stop and eat, then we will begin your training. If you are going to rule beside me, I want you strong so no pony will dare threaten you.” Midnight looked straight ahead with a smirk. “Gotcha.He still thinks that he can change my mind and join him, but I got him.” “All right then.” Midnight found a spot off the side of the road to stop and eat for a moment. After lunch, Midnight stood up and faced his shadow. “OK dad, I’m ready for my training to begin, but no dark magic, that will corrupt me and I want to stay who I am.” Midnight’s shadow formed into a black silhouette of Sombra and stood next to him. “HMM, very well, but do not think this will be easy, I intend to turn you yet and I will make you a strong unicorn. Our first lesson will be a simple magic bolt, all you need do is focus your magic into your horn and let it build up. Then, once you feel you have sufficient magic in it, release it in a powerful blast. Try and blast that big rock over there.” Sombra pointed his shadow hoof to a rock on the left. It was really more like a boulder. “Once you are able to destroy a rock of that size, we will move on to the next part of your training. The point of these will be to push you to your limit and beyond. Once there, you will push further, that is the key to strength.” Midnight faced the boulder and began as he was instructed. He focused his magic in his horn and let it build up a bit, then released it. The grey bolt of magic flew through the air and struck the rock. But all it did was leave a small scorch mark. “How was that dad?” He knew it wasn’t good, but he hoped that maybe it would draw his father’s good side out a bit with that question.” “Tch, is that the best you can do, come on, I know you can do better than that, try again and this time, give it everything you got. DON’T disappoint me son.” Midnight then looked back at the boulder and focused his magic in his horn again. He let it build up more this time and let loose. This time he left a much bigger scorch mark on the boulder, but it left Midnight feeling exhausted. “How…..was…..that…..dad?” He panted. “You really are weak, that bolt nearly exhausted all your magic reserve, we’ll have to stop for now until you can build your magic back up and try again.” Sombra then faded back to the ground. “Let us move on, we will continue this training session at night fall.” Midnight Star then just gathered his things and continued on down the road. “I’m sorry I’m so weak dad, but that is why I asked you for this, I want to be strong, since that’s what you seem to respect.” “Strength is everything my son, the strong take advantage of the weak. Those who are weak become victims of the strong, if you are weak, then you will become a victim yourself, and I will not have my son become a victim. I will make you strong Star.” “But not all those who are strong are evil dad, look at the princesses, they are strong and they do not take advantage of others, they use their strength to protect their subjects.” “They are cowards despite their strength, they sit on their thrones and let their guards do their dirty work for them. There is more than one form of weakness son. The princesses display the other form of weakness. They prefer to let others do their work for them while they sit on their thrones and do nothing. I am strong AND I am not afraid to get my hooves dirty.” Sombra informed Midnight. Instead of continuing the debate, Midnight realized that he would never be able to convince his father with just words. So he let it go for now and continued on. The sun was now setting over the horizon, casting beautiful shades of yellow and orange over the skies and on the clouds. Princess Luna was getting ready to raise the moon for the night. The sun fell down and the sky grew dark to make way for the stars. Luna rose to the sky with her horn ablaze as she brought forth the moon to take its place in the sky. Her task complete, Luna floated back to the ground to join her other friends who watched in amazement at her task. “Princess Luna, I never get tired of seeing that.” Twilight complimented. Luna smiled at Twilight as she responded. “Thank you Twilight, I do take pride in my duties.” “That there was some sight yer majesty.” Applejack then complimented. “Thank you as well dear Applejack.” Luna smiled at her as well. “I don’t see why I can’t just fly ahead and catch up to Midnight and talk to him and get him to come to us.” Rainbow complained. She knew she could catch up to him in no time and felt frustrated that she was being held back by the others. “Because dear, we don’t know the full story of what’s going on with him. Sure Luna pointed out that he may be possessed by his father’s spirit but we don’t know for sure.” Rarity informed. “Rarity is right Rainbow, we don’t know what he’ll do if one of us approaches him.” Twilight said. “Um, excuse me.” Fluttershy spoke up in her usual quiet tone, no pony heard her. “So what, you think I can’t handle myself if he decides to try and attack me.” Rainbow defended. “I didn’t say that Rainbow, but there is no telling what he is capable of right now.” Twilight fought back. “Excuse me, um please.” Fluttershy tried again, a little louder, but she still went unnoticed. “Twi's right Rainbow, there’s no tellin what he’s capable of or what he’ll do if’n we try ta approach him, it’s best that we do this together ta try and help him.” Applejack informed. Rainbow then flew up to Applejack and got in her face while hovering. “OH COME ON! He’s our friend, he’d never hurt us!” “Excuse me please, um I don’t mean to interrupt but…” Fluttershy tried again. “SILENCE” Luna shouted in her royal canterlot voice to get every ponies attention. “I am sorry every pony but arguing will not solve anything, we must approach him together. Also, I believe Fluttershy has something to say. Fluttershy, what is on your mind?” Every pony and dragon now had their eyes on Fluttershy. She recoiled a bit at the attention as she tried to hide behind her mane. “Well, um, you see, I was just wondering, if he is possessed by his father, and features of his father show when Sombra is in control, why did Sombra save that mare in Baltimare? It just seems strange to me. If you don’t mind me saying.” The group began to contemplate what she said. Pinkie then started bouncing, thinking she had the answer. “OOH, OOH, I KNOW! Maybe Sombra has decided to be good now and is trying to be a hero.” The girls and Spike just gave her a confused expression. “What?” “Sorry to disagree Pinkie, but I seriously doubt that.” Twilight said. “That is a good point Fluttershy, that is most curious. Why did Sombra commit such an act, if it was Sombra.” Luna agreed. Spike then decided to try and add something. “Maybe Midnight is able to use dark magic and used it to save that mare.” “Spike, Midnight knows what would happen to him if he used dark magic, there’s no way he would.” Twilight argued. “I’m afraid all this discussing about our friend, will not get us any answers, only raise more questions and make us worry more about him. For now, let us turn in for the night and try to cover more ground in the morning so we can try to catch up to him.” Luna said as she addressed the group. Before they headed off to their tents for the night, Twilight then had a thought. “Princess, I just remembered something, couldn’t you enter his dreams and talk to him while he sleeps tonight? That way we’ll know what’s going on.” Luna smiled big as realization struck her. “Of course, how could I have forgotten one of my abilities as princess of the night?! Twilight Sparkle, you are indeed a most brilliant student of my sister.” Twilight blushed at the compliment. “Thank you Luna.” “Very well, tonight, I will try and speak with Midnight Star while he sleeps to try and figure out what is going on. Good night my little ponies.” The group then retired to their tents and slept. Some time, before their little discussion, Midnight was going through his father’s magic training. He had been at it for nearly three hours now. “Not bad, I can see your bolts getting stronger and you are not tiring as easily, but you still have yet to be able to destroy anything.” “Thanks…..dad…..can we…….stop for the night now…….I’m tired.” Midnight panted, feeling exhausted again. “Very well, you have made decent progress today, get your sleep for tonight, tomorrow morning, we will pick this up after your breakfast.” “Thanks….dad.” Midnight then crawled into a tent he purchased at the market back in Baltimare, laid his head down, and fell asleep. Midnight soon found himself floating through the air. “Wh-what, what is this? Where am I? DAD, IS THIS YOUR DOING?” He was floating through what could only be described as a starry sky. All around him were bright shining stars. He received no answer from his father. “Ok, what is going on here?” Soon, the moon appeared before him, full and glowing white. “What the hay.” He squinted his eyes as the moon was letting off a bright white glow. A figure then emerged from the Moon. “Dad, is that you?” A voice responded from the figure. “Midnight Star, I have come to speak with you?” Midnight recognized that voice. “Princess Luna, is that you?” Luna then made herself visible before Midnight. “Midnight Star, it is good to see you, I am most pleased I was able to find you like this.” Luna was smiling bright as she looked upon Midnight. “Midnight, please tell me why you left Ponyville, you have us all worried sick about you.” “LUNA, what are you doing here, you shouldn’t be here, you have to go, it isn’t safe for you.” Midnight tried to get her to leave. Luna took on a stern look. “Midnight star, I am not going anywhere until I get a straight answer from you. Why did you leave, why did you abandon your friends?” Luna’s look softened to a somber one. “Please Midnight, tell me, me and the others are very worried about you, we are trying to catch up to you to help you.” Midnight tried to keep his bold face. “I already told you, I am done with you all, stop following me and go back to where you came from, we are not friends.” Saying this was killing him inside. He was so touched that the girls and Luna were trying to find him. “Midnight, if this has something to do with the other presence within you, you need not fear, it is unable to enter your mind, I can sense it.” Midnight took on a look of surprise. “YOU………you know about it? But how, I never mentioned anything about it.” Luna gave a sad smile as she looked at him. “Midnight Star, when I tried to stop you and looked in your eyes, I saw something dark within you. I know there is something inside you that is evil. Please tell me what is going on. Tell us all.” With that, the others appeared. Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike all appeared behind Luna. “What…..but……how are you all here, this doesn’t make any sense.” Midnight was even more shocked to see them. Twilight was the first to approach. “Midnight, we’re your friends, we just want to help you however we can. We care about you. Why don’t you want to be our friend anymore?” Midnight was starting to get teary eyed at seeing them here. “I…I don’t. I CAN’T TELL YOU!” He shouted to them all. “PLEASE JUST GO, it isn’t safe for you all!” Luna came closer. “Midnight, as I said, if this has something to do with the other presence within you, you need not worry, it does not have access to your mind, we are alone here, it cannot hear us or interfere, now please, tell us what is going on.” Hearing this, he couldn’t hold back any more. “GIRLS, SPIKE! I’m so sorry, I….I just couldn’t tell you before, he…he threatened all of you if I said anything. I just couldn’t tell you.” He ran to the girls and started a group hug with tears in his eyes. Spike joined in as well. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed you all, you are the only friends I’ve ever had.” They all had smiles on their faces as they hugged, glad to be briefly reunited with their friend. After a moment, Midnight calmed down and broke from the hug. “Ok, I’m ready to tell you what was going on.” Twilight spoke up first. “Whatever is going on, I just know we can help.” Rainbow was next. “Yeah, just tell us what’s going on.” Pinkie chimed in next. “I just know we can do something.” Rarity was next. “Dear, we will always have your back.” FLuttershy came next. “You can always count on us, no matter what.” Applejack came next. “We’ll be by yer side through thick n’ thin.” Midnight smiled with a few stray tears in his eyes as he looked over his frineds. “Thank you, it is such a relief to finally be able to tell you about this.” They all stood before Midnight, Luna then came around and joined the girls and Spike. Midnight took in a deep breath and exhaled. “Sombra has returned.” He paused for a moment to let it sink in. “Before his body was destroyed, he cast a spell that allowed his soul to enter another body, my body. So now, I am stuck with the spirit of my father inside me, but he has a plan to get his body back. His horn survived the destruction and he has a spell that will allow him to use it to rebuild his old body so he can get out of mine. During this travel, I am trying to get his good side out and get him to fight the darkness.” Luna cut in. “Wait, so you believe there is a way to save him?” “I have to believe, I have to believe that somewhere inside that dark personality is my father, the one who loved me and raised me. I just know that he’s still in there somewhere, and I will do whatever I can to get him back.” The girls smiled as they knew what they could do. Twilight decided to inform Midnight of what was in their possession. “Midnight Star, I believe we can help with that, we have the elements of harmony with us. I just know that with their power, we can purge your father of the darkness.” “Really, you have the elements with you? THAT’S FANTASTIC, with their power, my father can finally be freed from the darkness!” Rarity then chimed in. “So then where is your father’s horn?” “Yeah, how does he know where it is?” Pinkie asked. “Somehow, he’s able to sense its location, he said it’s somewhere in the frozen north near the Crystal Empire. I have to keep moving forward so my dad doesn’t get suspicious but hopefully, I might be able to slow down my pace so you can all catch up to us and you’ll be able to use the elements on him once he’s back in his body. Also, I’m trying to bring out his good side by acting as my magic teacher. I convinced him to think that I want to be strong like him.” “Well all right then, sounds like we got ourselves a plan.” Applejack called out. “Don’t worry Midnight, we’ll be ready for our part.” Fluttershy said. Twilight then had a thought. “We will need time to get them ready and launch their power.” “I can handle that, with the training my father is giving me, maybe I can stall him and give you all time to use the elements.” Midnight suggested. “I just know we can save my father together. I can’t thank you all enough for this. And Luna.” Midnight turned his attention to the night princess. Luna met Midnight’s gaze. “Yes Midnight Star.” “I’m sorry about our date getting cancelled, maybe when this is all over, you and me can try again.” He asked with hope in his voice. Luna smiled at him. “I would like that very much Midnight. I’m afraid our time together is about done though, the morning is approaching.” “WHAT, NO, it can’t be already!” Midnight was upset at this. “Can’t we just spend a little more time together? I don’t want to have to leave you all again.” Twilight came forward to comfort him. “Relax Star, we’ll see each other again, I promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” The girls all repeated the actions of a Pinkie promise. “What was that?” Midnight asked in confusion. Pinkie then hopped forward to explain. “It’s a Pinkie promise silly, when a Pinkie promise is made, you don’t break it.” Midnight smiled. “All right then. I’ll see you all sometime again. I’m looking forward to it.” They all waved good bye to each other as Luna, the girls and Spike all started to move away and disappear, leaving midnight alone to awaken to the morning sun. His eyes blinked open and gave a yawn as he crawled out of his tent, he looked to the morning sun and thought to himself. “I promise to do whatever it takes to fix this mess, cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Midnight had to hold back a chuckle so as not to draw attention from his dad. Another day has dawned with renewed hope in Midnight’s heart.