According to Rhino, we are about two hours away from Ponyville, so we decide to take a quick rest. I set the bat mare on the ground under a tree. Rhino and I sit and talk for a while about various topics, my past, predictions about the rest of our lives, things like that. As we talk, the mare starts to come to.
"Ugh... What happened?" She asks groggily.
"You crashed in front of us, passed out, and we carried you with us." I explain. "It looked as if Ponyville was your destination also, so we figured that you wouldn't mind if we brought you closer than you were. What happened to you anyway?" I ask.
"Well..." She pauses, and seems to think about it. "I can't remember..." She says sadly.
"Hey, it's alright. We have plenty of time for you to remember. We're probably gonna rest here for a while, anyway." Rhino reassures her. "Do you at least remember your name?"
"Yes, I do. Midnight. Midnight Shroud. Nice to meet you..." She trails off, silently questioning for Rhino's name.
"Rhino. and this is my half-brother Blaze." He sticks his hoof out to shake, but she bumps it instead. "Heh..."
"Nice to meet ya'." I stick my hoof out preparing for the bump, but she actually shakes it. "Um... Okay then..."
"I like to mix it up sometimes. Keeps ya' on your guard." Midnight clarifies after her random little display. I don't know what it is about her, but she seems to have a type of mental defense up.
"Hm... Interesting..." I say under my breath.
"What was that?" She asks, a little too quickly for my taste. "Did you say something?"
"Hm... Yes, I did. You're very perceptive. I said that you're interesting."
"Interesting in good or bad way?" She asks, confused.
I think of how to word my response for a moment and say, "A good way. I meant that you're able to maintain a calm, serious demeanor when being relaxed at the same time. It gives you a good image." I compliment her.
"Well, what do you expect from a royal guard of the night? I have to be act serious all the time and it's just natural now." She says, surprising both me and Rhino.
"You're a Royal Guard? Under Luna, no less? Blaze, why do we know so many ponies in the Guard?" He asks me and looks at the ground, shaking his head.
I chuckle and respond, "Because the Princesses are trying to get us to join." I joke. "But seriously, I have no idea."
"Who else do you know that's in the Guard?" Midnight asks us.
"Atomic Vortex. He's one of our closest friends." Rhino responds. I don't know why, but I have a feeling Rhino is gonna be a lot closer to this mare than me.
"Atom?! The one who's dating the famous singer?!" She asks incredulously.
"The one and only. Why? Do you know him? And he's dating who?!" I ask.
"Of course I know him! He's Shining Armor's right hoof stallion! And he's dating Sapphire... Justice. Wait, are you two related?" Midnight finishes with a question.
"She's my sister... that I thought was dead. Atom has a lot of explaining to do when we come back to Canterlot." I say, a little bit angry.
"Well, let's head off to Ponyville now." Rhino says, getting up and stretching. "We still need a place to stay tonight. You're welcome to stay with us tonight, Midnight."
"Woah, woah, woah! Rhino. We just met her. How do you know we can trust her in our house while we're asleep?" I question him.
"If I wanted to do something, I would have by now." Midnight speaks up.
"I guess... Fine, you can stay with us. But, Rhino, next time ask me before you make decisions that involve both of us. Okay?" I make ask to make sure we don't get random strangers in our house.
"Alright, fine." He replies, back to his plain old self.
"Good." And with that, we set off again for Ponyville, making conversation as we walk.
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Perspective Switch: Sapphire Justice
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"I realize that we need to leave, just give me a moment. For Celestia sake, Atom, you are so impatient." I say.
"Well, I'm excited to go. My two best friends are moving to Ponyville, and I want to beat them there!" Atom says, very excitedly.
I sigh, "Fine. I'm ready, let's go." Outside the door, I ask Atom: "They wouldn't happen to be my brother and Rhino, is it?"
"Yep! Does he even know about you, though?" He asks.
"I think... He saw the poster I put in the park, so he should know." I say to him, a hint of doubt in my voice.
"Mhmm..." He mumbles.
"Whatever. Let's just go." I say, leading him out of the hotel. It takes 1 hour to walk from the hotel to the train station. We get on, and make it to Ponyville in thirty minutes.
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End of Perspective Switch
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"We're here!" I say happily as we walk through Ponyville's outskirts. The town has a small, quaint feel to it. Probably one of those towns where all the ponies know each other. "This is nice. An amazing change of scenery, if you ask me."
"I think you're right, Blaze. I'm excited to meet whoever owns that gingerbread house over there." Rhino says, drooling over the oversized pastry.
"Let's go to town hall, first. We still need to buy our house." I say, eager to unpack.
"Right. But we don't know where it is..." Rhino brings this little snippet of information to my attention.
"I do. Follow me." Midnight responds placidly. "I've been here before. It's such a nice little town."
"Okay." As we walk, I ask Midnight: "Hey, do you remember what happened to you yet? When you fell, I mean."
"Oh! Yeah, I do! I was flying with three other ponies from my Guard unit. We go into an argument, and they pushed me down and kept flying. They all wanted me gone, anyway, because I'm the captain of the unit. A lot of ponies want that job. So they tried to get rid of me. Despicable. I was gonna quit, anyway."
"Why quit if you're good at it?" Rhino asks, confused as I am.
"Just because I'm good at it, doesn't mean I like it. I barely have any friends outside of you two and Atom, so I want to quit. I want to live my life the way I want to, not the way they want me too." She says with a bit of resentment.
"I guess that's a good enough reason." I gasp loudly and say, "Oh dear Celestia! I can speak with my real accent here! Yes!" I say, already using my Fillydelphia accent. "But I won't change the words that I speak. I can't even remember Fillydephian slang."
"You're Fillydelphian? Oh, yeah, you're mom. Well, before she... ya know..." I kinda become a little sad when he says this.
"It's fine. I've come to terms with it. No amount of sadness will bring them back, anyway. But It still hurts." I say sadly.
"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to you're mom?" Midnight asks reluctantly, but curiously.
I sigh, "My parents died in a house fire years ago. I started living with Rhino a week after. His family officially adopted me back then. But now, I found my sister and I'm going to meet her."
"Oh... I'm so sorry for you're losses..." She says sadly. "We're here..."
I sigh, "Let's do this."
"Right." Rhino responds. We walk into town hall, and see a sophisticated-looking mare sitting at a desk. She must be the mayor.
"Can I help you?" She asks politely.
"We would like a house. One close to town square, please." I say to her, describing the desired location.
"Of course! We have one next to Sugarcube Corner, if you're interested." She says happily.
"The gigantic gingerbread house?! We'll take it!" Rhino says, his mouth watering.
"Actually, I agree. That sounds convenient..." I say, thinking of the rumors I heard about Sugarcube Corner.
"Good choice, boys, I would agree too. That place serves a variety of foods, so that makes it a desirable location. Also, you have to meet the mare who works there. She's awesome." Midnight explains with a grin.
"Hm... So it's not just a bakery... Cool! We'll take it!" I say.
The mayor digs into her desk for the key, and hoofs it to me. "That'll be eighty bits."
I hoof her the bits and say, "Thanks! I hope to see you around!"
As we turn to leave, the mayor says: "But of course! Also, there is a town meeting tomorrow concerning the concert in a few days. That's all! Have a nice evening!"
We walk out the door... to see our best friend, Atom, standing with... My sister?!
"Atom?! And Sapphire?!" I yell.
"Uh... Hi bro..." Sapphire says.
And right then, I pass out from the surprise of Atom and Sapphire standing in front of me.