Midnight’s Tail
Part 5 - Follow the Yellow Brick Road
***
Midnight walked through the streets dejectedly. Frontpage had disappeared in a flash, Peachy had been nabbed by the weather patrol and Cobalt had been offered apprentice-ship in half a dozen different earth-pony professions. He, on the other hand, had been ordered to school.
“We can’t have,” an official but friendly-sounding mayoral pony had said when he’d tried to get out of it, “a unicorn who doesn’t know how to be a unicorn. Besides, your group is the first to Ponyville and we haven’t quite got up to speed yet.”
He had followed the crowd of eager and not-so-eager schoolfoals. The tide led to a chirpy-looking buildng with a bell-tower and rows of shuttered windows, currently open to let in the warm spring morning. He stepped up the wide wooden steps and through the open door. There was a simple small hallway where he noted collections of school bags - pannier sacks - as well as raincoats, hats and boots. He felt, for the first time in a while, naked.
There was a door, he knocked on it gingerly with a hoof. To his dismay it swung easily open and he stood there swishing his tail nervously as every pair of eyes turned his way.
“And just what time do you call thi- ah,” the teacher-pony harrumphed and arranged her expression, “you must be...let me see...ah yes, Miss Midnight.”
“Mister,” coughed Midnight, to amused giggles and titters from the crowd of children.
“Ah yes,” said the teacher, adjusting spectacles, “modern times and all. Come in, come in. Class, I want you to welcome an addition to our fold, Mister Midnight Shadow. I’m Cheerilee by the way,” she called to him, before turning back to the class, “he’ll be staying with us and attending class for orientation - hooves up who knows what that is...”
They had sent him to school not to learn about Equestria as such, although basics like reading their script, geography and history would come in handy, but to learn how to be a unicorn. He was sat in the middle near the back, there were creaks behind him as foals tried to see around his bulk. He could barely sit in the chair. He was an adult! How come a stuffy teacher-pony in a pair of spectacles could make him feel like he was five again? He looked at the purple earth-pony with three flowers on her flank. Earth ponies might not have any obvious magic, he thought, but teachers certainly have something.
“Alright class, let’s try our hooves at some art. Pencils everypony!” intoned the teacher. Midnight lifted the pulpit lid with trepidation. There appeared to be a good deal of supplies underneath. He awkwardly took a sheet of paper and lipped a pencil. With dismay he noticed that all the foals had already starting sketching. He picked the pencil up in his teeth, it was tougher than an earth pencil but otherwise identical. He idly wondered how they made them - the paper was more like a scroll than the flat, uniform sheets he remembered so he suspected they were hoof-made.
He looked up, “Umm, what am I supposed to draw?” he ignored the giggles.
“How about for today you draw a self-portrait.” Cheerilee replied with a small smile.
Midnight’s heart sank. He put the tip of the pencil to the paper and dragged it across the parchment, after a few more he had made a passable pony-shape. He’d managed four legs, a head and a tail before he realised that he’d not drawn a human. He was feeling quite pleased with himself...until he looked about at the other childrens’ efforts. One in particular made him blush, his stick-figure of a roughly pony-shape was infantile at best, whereas almost right next to him was a light blue unicorn with the cutie-mark of a colour-mixing pallette, concentrating intently, her horn glowing as coloured chalk and pencils flew through the air and she sketched an amazingly detailed picture of the classroom. His heart sank again as she competently drew not only the entire class but also himself, with barely a glance for reference.
Cheerilee was trotting happily around the class nodding and encouraging; before he could stop her she took a long look at his picture, “Oh, that’s rather good for a first attempt! I think that deserves a gold star!”
He almost died when she rummaged around in a bag around her neck and brought out, yes, a sticky gold star which she affixed to it.
“Have you thought about using your magic?” she asked gently, Midnight shook his head, “well you should try!”
The teacher went back to her desk and he put the pencil down. He stared at it for a while and then closed his eyes.
Be the pencil, he thought to himself, feel it lifting into the air. Size matters not, and besides, it’s only a teeny little pencil...push it, lift it, feel it rising...do, or do not, there is no try...
“Mister Midnight, that’s quite enough of that!” said the teacher, knocking her table with her hoof impatiently, “I meant use your magic to draw, not float around the room like a balloon!”
“Huh?” he opened his eyes, his concentration broke and he dropped two feet back down the floor with a clatter, whereupon he fell off the chair. More giggling. He sighed, this wasn’t going well...
The bell rang for recess, and the tide of eager young foals swept him along with them into the schoolyard where he was swamped with questions,
“Is it true humans eat ponies? Do you still eat ponies?”
“I heard humans can fly, but none of the pictures I’ve seen had wings...”
“Dancer says you’ve got something wrong with you cos-”
“Strawberry Surprise! Hush!” an adult pony stemmed the tide, chastising one of the foals, “I’ll tell your mother on you if you talk like that, it’s not true and you know it, he’s just not been a pony for long! Even if he does have special needs...”
Midnight hung his head at renewed giggling.
“That’s not fair!” said a stubborn little voice, a pudgy little blue-green unicorn with a pair of scissors as his cutie-mark said, “That’s nothing to laugh at! We’re all special, he’s extra special since he’s a human! Only he’s a pony! But he used to be a human! A-a-and now he’s not!”
“Yeah you used ta be a human! That’s so cool!” said another voice, an orangey-brown unicorn with a distinct green mane said.
Midnight noticed that little guy had a snail as a cutie mark, “They really do come in all shapes and sizes, huh?” he said to himself.
“Uh-huh we do! Us unicorns gotta stick together, bro!” said the one he was going to call Snails - at least until he found out what the unicorn’s real name was.
“And you’re the coolest! I can’t manage anything like you did! Make me fly!”
“No me!”
Midnight smiled and closed his eyes, and concentrated like he had before. When he opened them, both unicorns were floating around in the breeze kicking their legs and whooping like loons.
“Mister Midnight,” said a familiar voice, and he cringed, dropping both unicorns to the floor in a heap, “you put Snips and Snails down this inst-” the teacher narrowed her eyes, “don’t think I didn’t see that! We do not levitate our classmates, even if they asked for it. Inside you three! Break’s over!”
Second period started just as painful as the first. It turned out he couldn’t read. Or write. Equestrian script was cursive, somewhat rune-like, and even though he could understand their speech, writing it was another matter. Cheerilee had intervened when she realised what the problem was, and had rapidly started drawing on the chalkboard a passable imitation of English, “Midnight speaks the way we do, but the written language is another talent - he might not know how to write in Equestrian, but he is quite capable of reading and writing his own language...now where was it...”
She brought out an old, beaten book; it was hard-bound and very old with faded print but gorgeous coloured drawings, these seemed to be made by hand.
“The Brothers Grimm,” said Midnight, and gently turned the pages with a hoof, as lightly as possible. He started reading ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and was several sentences down when he stopped and looked up, the foals were all craning their necks to see.
“I think story time is in order, perhaps?” said the teacher, and pointed with a hoof to the back of the classroom. In moments, with the scraping of chairs and pulpits, the foals had cleared enough room in the corner for him to recline on some well-placed cushions and them to arrange themselves around him. Some, especially Snips and Snails, snuggled up to him. Others kept their distance, attempting to appear aloof. Everypony listened. He realised it felt pretty good.
He was just finished when the lunch-bell went and the tide of youthful energy incarnate on hooves dragged him out the door. He was halfway out of town following three young fillies who were talking incessantly about their adventures trying to find their cutie-marks when he spotted Cobalt coming the other way. It was then he realized he had absolutely no idea where he was going.
“Hey Midnight,” said Cobalt, ears perking up, “how’s your day been?”
“Just don’t ask. What’ve you been up to?”
“Trying my hooves at apple-bucking. I don’t think it’s for me, but the Apple family sure has some great cooking.”
One of the three, a yellow earth-pony with a bright red mane turned to the dark blue unicorn, “y’are comin’ to brunch ain’tcha?”
“I...er...I...”
The little earth pony looked up with the hugest, most sorrowful eyes he had ever seen. It was no good. Whatever plans he thought he’d had were toast, “yeah, sure, why not, if you’ll have me.”
There was bouncing. There was yelling. There were whoops of joy. Somehow they dragged him all the way to a farmhouse in the middle of what seemed to be an apple orchard, where a large table was being set by an orange earth-pony with a blond mane and a cowboy hat. He racked his brains, and came up with a name, “Let me guess,” he said, and the pony stopped short and looked at him, “you’re Applejack? Twilight sends her regards.”
“Well sirree that’s a fine howdy-do. If’n you don’t have the edge on me mister.”
“Midnight,” said Midnight, “a few days ago I was human, I think I met your friends at the Ponification Centre in my old home town.”
The pony whooped and leapt on him, taking his hoof and shaking it until he thought it would come off, “well if’n ma li’l sister Applebloom and her friends have taken a shine to ya, and Twilight herself sent you our way then y’all are right in my book. Staying for lunch?”
“I...yes. Yes I am, before I head back to school.”
“School?” Applejack tried to hide a smirk behind a hoof, but wasn’t very good at it.
Midnight smiled too, “Don’t laugh, I’m learning a lot. I think. Mostly about how I don’t like school...”
Heading back to school was about the hardest thing he’d ever done. He’d been given apple pie, apple fritters, apple chutney, apple surprise - it wasn’t much of a surprise, it did have apples in it after all - apple sundae, apple smoothie and apple supreme. He was full. He was stuffed. He was quite sure that under his coat could be seen bulging apple-shapes in his belly. The last thing on his mind was school, but he had made it. Some history, some geography...he tried to pay attention but it was getting rather difficult.
“Psst!” said a voice. He blinked, it was a light pink earth pony with a light purple and white mane and tail. She had a note in her mouth. She indicated it as best as she could with her eyes. He looked away, on the other side of him was a dark grey pony with a silver mane, she too was nodding urgently towards the note. Midnight sighed and rolled his eyes. He took the note in his mouth from the side of the table and went to pass it across.
“Mister Midnight,” came a familiar voice. Again. He cringed. Again.
“I don’t know how things are usually done where you come from,” Cheerilee continued, “but around here we do not pass notes around. You are passing a note, I take it?”
“Er...no, I mean yes...I mean no...I mean...er...which is the right answer?”
“A big unicorn like you? Come on then, bring it here, let’s see what couldn’t wait...”
He nervously walked up to the front and gingerly put the note on Cheerilee’s table.
She opened it with her hooves, “this note...appears to be blank.”
He blushed hotly as he heard giggles behind him of “Blank flank!” and Cheerilee sighed, “The corner. Back there. Go. I think you need a timeout.”
Midnight hung his head so low it scraped the polished wooden floor. He finally slumped onto the cushions he’d so recently been using to tell a story from and he stared at the wall. This hadn’t entirely been how he’d seen his first day in Equestria going. He rested his head on his forehooves and yawned, he wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve it and he was pretty sure it was one big joke. He yawned again...at least the timeouts were comfier in Equestria. He closed his eyes.
***
“Wake up sleepy head,”
Midnight opened his eyes with a start. Somepony had covered him with a light blanket. It had kittens and ducks on it. He’d been sleeping...in class. He did his best to bury his face in his hooves. It had worked better with fingers, and a face rather than a muzzle.
“Oh don’t give me that, you were exhausted. I could tell when you started snoring.”
“Snoring? Oh please tell me I didn’t...”
“You did!” Cheerilee laughed, “But I let you sleep it off. I’ve finished marking today’s work by our older fillies and colts, so it’s time for me to head home. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”
Midnight looked puzzled for a moment as he struggled to his hooves, “I’m not sure where to go to. I don’t have anywhere.”
Cheerilee thought for a moment, “I suppose you could try the library. Twilight lives there normally, but she’s touring the Conversion Bureaus as they start up.”
“Oh, oh I couldn’t...”
“It’s quite a large library you know, with more than one guest room. I think the chance to study on your own time would do you good.”
Midnight headed over to the library in the waning afternoon sunlight, he was about to knock on the door when he remembered it was probably empty. They didn’t seem to have locks in Equestria, so he wasn’t surprised when the door swung open. He poked his nose in and looked around. Books. Lots and lots of books, all neatly organized by subject and author. Not only that, but scrolls, though these were stacked differently. He stepped in and opened the curtains with his teeth on a draw-string. Sunlight flooded the room and he took a deep breath, so much condensed knowledge in one place. Back home, his computer systems had held many times this library’s worth in raw information, but knowledge wasn’t only measured in bits and bytes. He took a couple of books out, one by one. They were often written by hand - well, hoof and mouth or by magic, he reasoned - painstakingly collected and collated. He realized something else, too. He was home.
***
There was a thump somewhere up above him. Midnight looked up, only now realizing that the afternoon sun was setting and several hours had gone by. He’d found some references on the Equestrian language and was making copious notes going through some simple children’s stories on amazing similarities. He’d been told to study, after all, he reckoned, and there didn’t seem to be any library card system...but that noise, what had it been? Midnight got up and headed up the wide stairs around the inside of the trunk of the tree to the second floor, and was surprised to see a large winged shape coming the other way.
“Luna!” he said, loud in the confines of the otherwise-empty library. She must have landed on some balcony and trotted in. He wondered idly if she was here to see him or on some other errand.
“I see you found your way to the books, you’re as bad as Twilight Sparkle. You’ve been here all day, haven’t you?”
“You sent me to school!” Midnight stamped a hoof and shook his head in denial.
Luna laughed, “You went? Then tell me, my little scholar, what did you learn at school today?”
Midnight thought, “You know what? Children are the same everywhere, so are adults. Things aren’t so different in Equestria after all, even though ponies seem to take things easier. I think I like it.”
Luna smiled, “Was that such a hard lesson?”
“What am I, your special student?”
Luna sniffed, “If my big sister can have a prized pupil, I think I’m allowed the liberty if I so choose.”
The words rang in his ears and he blinked, what was he supposed to say to that? “I...I’m honoured. If that’s what you mean.”
“I hadn’t intended it, but I think I shall rub my sister’s face in it occasionally. Let us make it official. I, Princess Luna, designate you, Midnight Shadow, as my special student.”
“But what am I studying?” Midnight blurted, ears splaying back in shock.
“Magic - no, hear me out, you are not a great mage...yet...but you do provide a unique viewpoint, a bridge between worlds. I want you to keep your ears and eyes open and report to me regularly on the differences and similarities between your old world and Equestria, your new one. It will give you an opportunity to work on that atrocious hoofwriting of yours.”
“But...but...I...how do you know I’d even be good at it?”
“Two reasons, silly pony. One, you’ve just spent several hours researching folk tales...”
“You mean reading children’s stories!”
“Hush, I know what I mean, and secondly...take a look.” She pointed with a wing. Midnight whirled and looked behind him, Luna giggled, “no, right there.”
Midnight looked. He stared, he gaped in disbelief. He hadn’t even felt it! “My...is that my cutie mark?”
“That, or we have some very mischievous elves with tiny little paintbrushes.”
“Elves?” said Midnight, eyes wide.
“Relax! It was a joke! We don’t have elves! There’s no such thing.”
“So...I have a cutie mark? I have a cutie mark! I got my cutie mark!”
He did. It was a scroll, curled at both ends with ink blots covering it, and a feather quill and what appeared to be an inkwell. He turned around and around trying to get a better look, with Luna giggling behind a hoof as he did so.
She put a hoof on his shoulder to calm him, “I’ll bet you’ve forgotten to eat.”
There was an answering rumble from his stomach, and Midnight blushed, “I guess I did kind of get carried away.”
“Well then that settles it! Time for a celebratory dinner. On me.”
“That reminds me! I don’t have any money! I mean I can eat grass I guess but it’s not like I have any pockets and I don’t think they take Credits here anyway...and I’d given those away at the Bureau...and...”
Luna smiled again, leading Midnight out of the library, “I think a small allowance is in order, student.” in answer to her own statement she levitated a small cloth bag out of a pack strapped tightly around her neck so that it didn’t get in the way of her wings, and dropped it in front of the startled unicorn. He poked it with a hoof, it jingled.
“There are enough bits in there for a month or so...I think...our treasury hands these things out to me and I don’t really know what to do with them all so you might as well put them to good use. However, our first stop needs to be Carousel Boutique, Rarity’s shop, for a bag or two for you. Her cousin Elusive’s looking after it whilst she’s accompanying Twilight. He’s not such a good designer, but he can work the colour co-ordination.”
***
The pannier bags and neck-satchel were an unnatural weight on his body so soon after learning to be without clothing, but he was sure he’d get used them. He followed Luna like a little lost puppy, he knew he’d look silly going to school the next day with his books, but he would have fun. They stopped at a small cafe and Luna picked the table. She was just ordering for them when there was a cry of, “LOOK OUT BELOW!” and a yellow-orange streak of colour once again dropped from the skies. Peachy Punch barely managed to pull up in time and she landed with such a thump that it rattled the teacups.
She shook herself before getting up and wobbling towards Midnight and Luna, “Oh hi! Hey guys...I...uh...I mean...good evening Your Majesty.” Peachy turned to Midnight and hissed, “What the hell! You don’t just invite yourself to tea with the princess!”
“I’ll have you know, my good mare, I invited him. I think I’m allowed to have dinner with my special student.”
Midnight blushed and stammered as Peachy looked agog at the unicorn, “I...kind of got a job.”
“That’s wicked!” said Peachy, giving Midnight a congratulatory hoof in the ribs. Midnight smiled weakly and coughed a thanks.
“Come, sit down, it’s so rarely I get to have a quiet meal and I do so hate having breakfast alone.” said Princess Luna, indicating the table and chairs, “I’ve restricted access to Ponyville whilst orientation is happening so all those fussy officials are kept out. Whilst my big sister Celestia is off hob-nobbing in the human world I’m left to keep Equestria running smoothly.”
Princess Luna smirked as Peachy took a seat, “I’ve also designated Ponyville as my temporary base of operations. I can see why she rolls her eyes every time the Chancellors start up their wind-bagging...”
Luna was a master at smalltalk and soon the trio were laughing and joking as if they’d been friends forever. She even invited Cobalt and Frontpage when Peachy and Midnight spotted them wandering through the square, which was rapidly filling up with ponies out to enjoy the warm evening, though she did warn the latter than if any of their chatting got printed in ‘Equestria Daily’ that she’d be re-upholstering her throne soon after.
Frontpage smiled, “Your highness, the first rule of a newspaper hack is to protect your sources, and the second is to know when to keep things off the record.”
The dinner, though it was more a breakfast for the princess, finished with friendly laughter and chatting before Luna excused herself, citing her royal duties with a mischievous grin. Curious, the four followed her to the center of the square where she closed her eyes and spread her wings. An ethereal light chased around her small, lithe body before growing and illuminating the entire area. All the ponies stopped and watched in rapt attention as she suddenly lifted her head and opened her mouth as if singing a song that only she could hear. The world seemed to shift. As the countryside grew brighter, so bright that his own body and all the onlookers were thrown into stark blue relief Midnight realised that their princess was raising the moon. He stamped his hooves in appreciation with the rest, soon the entire square was reverberating with the spontaneous cheering. Luna stopped once this monumental task was complete and smiled once at her new pupil and friends, fondly, before taking to the skies.
Midnight watched her go. As far as first days in a new world went, this one had to be hard to beat. He turned and bid his friends farewell before heading home with a smile.
***