//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: I am NOT a Pony // by Synthetic Soul //------------------------------// Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie found themselves in front of Sugar Cube Corner. "I couldn't find him," said Twilight. "Did you girls have any luck?" "Nopey dopey!" chirped Pinkie. "I was plum outa' luck," said Applejack. "I searched and searched, but I simply could not find him," said Rarity. "Darn it, where could he be?" asked Twilight. "Hey Twilight!" The girls looked up to see Rainbow and Fluttershy flying towards them. The two Pegasi lowered themselves to the ground. As soon as their hooves touched the ground, they trotted over to the other four. "Rainbow, Fluttershy, did you find Midnight?" asked Twilight. "No luck," said Rainbow, while Fluttershy nodded in agreement. "Alright, well then, we better go find the Princesses-" suddenly the group heard a loud explosion. They turned to face the direction that the blast came from. "What in tarnation' was that?" exclaimed Applejack. "It sounded like it came that way!" said Rainbow, while pointing in the direction that the sound came from. "We should go check it out!" said Twilight. "Come on girls!" Then, the six friends galloped towards the explosion. Luna barely had time to erect a magical shield to block the attack. As soon as the energy blast hit the shield, it cracked and shattered like glass. Luna stumbled back. "My son...my own son attacked me!" muttered Luna. "It's the amulet Luna! It's corrupting his mind! We must get the amulet away from him!" exclaimed Celestia. "How do we do that?" asked Luna. "I have no idea!" replied Celestia. The two watched as Midnight spread his wings and gave a powerful flap, shooting him up into the air. When he reached the peak of his ascent, Midnight lit his horn and shot an exercise ball sized ball of fire, heading strait for the two sisters. Purely due to instinct and reaction, Luna launched her own blast of ice towards Midnight. The two blasts connected, causing a loud and bright explosion. "Sister, how does he know these spells? And how is it he's able to fly?" asked Luna. "It's all the amulet Luna! Not only does it increase his power, but it also grants him the knowledge that is stored within it," replied Celestia. Celestia watched as Midnight glided down to the ground, eyes glowing red, a darkness in his eyes. Midnight shot forward like a bullet, aiming strait for Celestia. Celestia erected an energy shield, which Midnight bounced off of like a trampoline. He crashed against a tree, and fell to the ground with a thud. "Oh my goodness, Midnight!" exclaimed Luna as she put a hoof to her mouth. Then she ran towards her son. "Luna, wait!" yelled Celestia. But Luna continued galloping towards Midnight. When she reached him, she kneeled down next to him. She noticed that his eyes where closed. "Midnight, Midnight! Can you hear me?" Suddenly, his eyes shot open, and with a flash of light, he dissapeared. He reappered about ten feet away, standing on all fours. "My.Name.IS.TRISTAN!" screamed Midnight as he shot a blast of magic towards Luna. It struck her in the side, causing her to cry out in pain. Celestia was just about to run to her sisters aid, when she heard her name being called out. She turned to see the elements of harmony running towards her. "Girls!" cried Celestia. The six ponies reached the princess. When they saw Luna and Midnight fighting, a look of panic appeared on their faces. "Princess, what's happened?!" asked Twilight. "Yeah, what was that explosion?" asked Rainbow. "Midnight somehow found and put on the Alicorn Amulet!" said Celestia. "What!" cried the six friends at the same time. "B-but that can't be!" said Twilight. "We hid it away!" "Well, somehow he found it," replied Celestia. "We need your help to remove the amulet." "You can count on us Princess!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. The group, plus Celestia, turned to see Midnight and Luna. Luna had been firing knock out spells in an attempt to render her son unconscious. Midnight on the other hand was attempting to injure Luna, in his attempt to force her to tell him how to get home. The Princess and the mane six gathered behind Luna. She was breathing heavily, clearly becoming tired from the battle. "Princess, are you alright?" asked Rarity. "I...I could...could be better," replied Luna. She took in a deep breath, then spoke again. "But I think I have an idea how to remove the amulet." "What's your idea?" asked Fluttershy. "We need to destroy the necklace part of the amulet. We need to hit him with everything we have." "But Princess, that could really hurt Midnight," said Twilight. "As reluctant as I am to do this, we have to free him from the amulets control. Also, I don't think he will be hurt to bad. He has Alicorn endurance, and the amulet increases that endurance even further. He should be fine." Meanwhile, Midnight was catching his breath, trying to think of a way to overcome his adversaries. 'I need to give this everything I have,' thought Midnight. 'If I break them, they'll tell me how to get home.' With his decision made, he flapped his wings, sending him higher up into the air. Meanwhile, Celestia, Luna, and Twilight where gathered together, their horns glowing. The three of them unleashed a powerful blast of magic, which was a combination of all their efforts. Midnights own blast met with the incoming magic missile. The two blasts met, causing a large explosion. The three Princesses were pushed back by the blast. But Midnight was closer to the blast, and thus he felt the full blast. He felt an incredible heat. The immense power that filled him faded, and he no longer felt the necklace around his neck. The explosion propelled him strait into the everfree forest. When the explosion ended, the Princesses and the elements of harmony opened their eyes to see that Midnight was no longer in front of them. Luna was quick to react. "Midnight!" She galloped forward towards the forest, quickly followed by the others. When they reached the edge of the forest, they saw the Alicorn colt lying in front of a tree. Luna rushed to her son, and picked him up in her hooves. "Midnight! Midnight! Are you alright?" He didn't answer. The others approached Luna with looks of worry on their faces. "Is he alright?" asked Fluttershy. Luna put her ear to Midnights chest. She heard his heart beat, and she removed her head from him. "He is alive. He's just unconscious. Quick, we must take him to the hospital!" Luna levitated her son onto her back, and then the group galloped away, their destination, Ponyville hospital.