//------------------------------// // 16. Escape from the Facet Rule - Part 2 // Story: BPT: A Midnight Stroll through Time // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// Eventually, Midnight found the remains of a house far enough away from the citadel. He’d even used a sensor spell to ascertain if anypony was nearby. Satisfied that nopony was, he slipped off his bags and lowered his hood, sighing in relief that for the moment he was safe, and not a minute too soon as the sun was starting to go down. Looking around the crystal house, he was surprised to see the furniture was crystal as well. The tables, the chairs, even the sofa, which was covered with what appeared to be a fleece covering to make it soft. But a lot of it was broken, the chairs askew, the windows shattered and letting in a terrible draft. Midnight was glad his cloak was magically warded to protect him from the cold, and it was just as well. Lighting a fire would’ve been practically the same as lighting up a beacon and shouting ‘I’m here, come rearrange my internal organs!’ Even so, he risked candlelight and brought out the two-way journal. After all, who better to ask about avoiding Sombra than Sombra himself? 'Master! I have found myself in a dangerous situation. After leaving Scorpan, I time-jumped and when I let go of the magic I found myself in the middle of the Crystal Empire, after you were taken by evil! Master… I know it wasn’t truly your fault, but the horrors I’ve seen so far… It took all my self-control to not involve myself and lend aid to the crystal ponies, and I promised you I would not change your past, as you demanded. I am awaiting the moon to rise and once I’ve absorbed more energy from its glow, I will leave immediate-' All of a sudden! The journal vibrated and glowed and Midnight was shocked to see letters appearing in glowing red, and he realized! Master is replying me back! 'Midnight Blaze! You will not leave the empire! I am giving you a mission.' A mission?! Midnight was aghast and responded. 'Mission!? Master, what are you talking about? You made me swear not to get involved or change anything!' 'You are due an explanation, my apprentice… All those centuries ago, after Luna tricked me into betraying my sweet Celestia and she broke off our relationship, I was filled with such emotional turmoil. Rage, hate, heartbreak, loss… I couldn’t bear to be near Celestia after our relationship ended thence. So I went my own way, taking only a red scarf Celestia had knitted for me, my one keepsake of my true love. I wandered Equestria, trying to find my place in the world, and saw many things, good and bad… I saw a lot of bad, especially for earth ponies. Understand, Midnight, back then, even after the unification of the tribes, tribal racism persisted here and there, as it still does in the present. Recently in my royal duties, I was met with a politician unicorn who wanted me to pass a law that favored unicorns but was unfair to earth ponies and pegasi! I was all but compelled to send her to prison. Anyway, back then, earth ponies were the bottom of the heap, seen useful only as farmers and laborers. I never knew my real parents as a foal but I was taken in by earth ponies who I loved dearly. So, I used my talents as a crystal mage to create a place of refuge for all earth ponies, in honor of my adoptive family. Over time, my refuge grew, and my earth ponies were constantly exposed to my crystal magic. In just a few short years, the magic of my empire, along with my magnum opus, the Crystal Heart, changed the earth ponies into the first crystal ponies. During this time, my subjects revered and honored me for giving them a home, for protecting them from Discord once the trickster came to power, and the crystal ponies convinced me to become their king. I was hesitant to accept a crown but when Celestia came to me, offering to make an alliance between my empire and her kingdom, I refused, out of resentment and wounded pride. I regretted my decision ever since then, up until Celestia accepted my marriage proposal. During that time, I had been trying to move on from Celestia, to focus on my duties to my empire, and during that time I became close to one of my crystal ponies. Her name was Autumn Wheat. She was the overseer of the empire’s farmers, bright, compassionate, and a hard-worker. As an overseer, she was a part of my council back then, and although I tried to keep our relationship professional… I found myself drawn to her. In time, we grew close, and I found myself falling in love with her yet my old hurts made me hesitant. Then everything went wrong when I began to dabble into dark magic. Understand, Midnight. Because of what I’d gone through and my foolish curiosity, I was especially vulnerable to the Whisperer. It tricked me into giving a form close enough to corporeal, and it took a delight in using my image. It was able to steal the crystal heart and without it my empire was at risk. I braved the tundra to track the Whisperer down and reclaim what was mine but Autumn followed me. The fact that she had braved the cold as I had for the sole reason of her concern for me… I would not be swayed from my goal but to assure her I’d come back, I gave her my scarf, the one Celestia had given me. Alas, my promise was fulfilled but not as my true self. It was my greatest failure, my apprentice… The Whisperer overshadowed my sanity and I became the Unicorn whose Heart was as Black as Night!' Midnight had read attentively, enthralled by his master’s past. When Sombra’s story stopped, he took it as a hint to respond. '…But Master, what does all this have to do with this… mission you have for me?' 'I have spent much of my time going over the history of Equestria, Midnight. I especially read the history Celestia kept of the Crystal Empire. It was Autumn Wheat who was able to warn the Sisters of my tyranny and spur them into action to put a stop to my madness. But Celestia had an interesting note about Autumn’s warning. Autumn said she did not escape the Crystal Empire on her own. She was rescued. By a blue unicorn without a mark.' As soon as he read that, Midnight felt his sense of the world shake! This can’t be true! I saved Autumn Wheat from the tyrant Sombra?! The cogs of Midnight’s mind began to grind and pound in effort to make sense of what he’d just learned. If it was indeed Midnight who helped this crystal pony escape, then that meant, …I’m living a temporal paradox! He’d read of temporal paradoxes, and thought them to be virtually impossible. At least that was what he thought until that night Twilight had gone crazy with worry for the future when she thought her future self came to warn her of an impending disaster. When it turned out there had been none, she’d tried to go back and tell her past self there was nothing to worry about, only to realize the future self she’d been met with had been trying to do what she had just tried – To tell her past self not to worry about the future. Her attempt to change the past had only preserved the timeline! But the implications surrounding Midnight’s situation, this out-of-nowhere news that he (well, most likely he) had been the one to help Autumn Wheat escape the empire to warn the Sisters of King Sombra…! “Ergh! My brain hurts…!” Midnight groaned when he saw Sombra had written him a little more. 'Hard to wrap your head around, I’m certain. Midnight, I understand the risk I am asking you to take but you should surely realize by now, the risk of inaction is far greater! I have no doubts Autumn Wheat meant you as the pony who helped her, and being as you are there, you simply must act and help Autumn escape my former self and escort her safely to the Sisters so she can warn them of my past self’s tyranny. Please, Midnight…' Groaning in frustration and knowing his master was next-to-absolutely right, he took up his quill and wrote in query. 'What do I do?'