Then Eris sneezed again, her body dispersing into a burst of bubbles, Midnight growling, “Alright, this is ridiculous!”
Then Shining Armor noticed Eris appearing from under the bed, and asked, “How did you contract this flu, to begin with?”
“Inadequate hoof and claw washing?” Eris answered while wiping away her mucus from Shining Armor’s barrier with spray and a rag.
“Well I’m sure somewhere in these books is a remedy or spell that can cure your illness,” Midnight stated as he levitated a few books and started looking in the library copy of ‘Super Naturals’ but couldn’t find anything on the Blue Flu.
“There is one way...” Eris brought up with a sneaky look.
“And you didn’t bring this up earlier why?” Shining Armor raised his brow, Eris shrugging.
“Slipped my mind!” Eris waved her talon, creating an image as she explained, “On a hill, at the very edge of Equestria, grows a magic flower rare and valued. If you pick the flower as it drops its petals at sunset you can brew it into a tea that will knock the blue flu right out of my system!”
“And you didn’t think to go get this flower the moment you realized you were sick because…?” Midnight pressed, Eris twisting her talon through her mane.
“Oh you couldn’t expect me to travel so far in my condition,” She wrapped the blanket around herself, shivering. “I wouldn’t be able to so much as pluck a petal upon arrival!”
The two princes shared a disgruntled look before Midnight asked, “So where exactly are Shining Armor and I supposed to go?”
Eris Flashed to their side, dressed like a tacky tourist and a map in her paw and talons as she cleared her throat, “Well! You want to head north, and make absolutely certain you take this left turn at Albuquer- Oh, you know what?" - She span about, the clothes vanishing and the map rolling itself up before it popped like a bubble - "I’ll just guide you along the way, don’t want to make mistakes, now do we?”
“Didn’t you just say you’re in ‘no condition’ to travel?” Shining Armor reminded, Eris Flashing between the two princes.
“I’m not! But… I’m sure we can… work something out,” Eris smirked as she already had something in mind.
Eris loved nothing like traveling in luxury as she laid about on an over-the-top golden chariot pulled by the two princes as they flew o’er Equestria. Unknown to her however, Midnight had cast a ‘light as a feather’ spell on the chariot so pulling it was no problem in the physical sense while it was infuriating in the emotional sense.
Midnight frowned indignantly, Shining Armor saying, “Relax, at least nopony can see us.”
“And why would they? We’ve reached the Ends of Equestria,” Eris spoke up and they came down for a landing.
The land around certainly seemed to have a ‘ends of the earth’ feel, due to how isolated and inhospitable it looked, with plateaus, natural pillars of rock, and few plants. Eris pointed to a hill ahead, “You’ll find the flower at the tippy top of that hill!”
Sighing, the two friends made their way up the hill, Midnight apologizing, “I’m really sorry about all this, Shining. I just wanted for us to enjoy catching up and having a nice day.”
“It’s not your fault,” Shining Armor assured as they got to the top They saw what was apparently a tree trunk but nothing else. “Is this really where Eris said the flower was? Cuz’ I don’t see anything here but this tree-”
*FLOP*
Midnight looked and was confused to see something purple covering Shining Armor and levitated off of him, leading them both to look up and wouldn’t you know it, there was the flower.
“Huh, how’d we miss that?” Midnight wondered aloud.
“C’mon, if we hurry we can still have some time together,” Shining Armor flapped up, Midnight following, and the two princes concentrated. Their auras enveloped the gigantic flower, and with careful concentration, they easily uprooted it, leaving a big dark hole where the flower’s base had been. Wiping his brow, Midnight flapped over to Shining Armor, saying, “One we get this flower and Eris back home, all of our troubles will-”
“What in Faust's name?!” Shining Armor looked down, as both stallions heard a rumbling coming from underground, and to their bewilderment something arose from the hole!
It was humongous with a purple serpentine body, a pink head with read hair, and as it arched its head towards them, its eyes, beady and black like a dolls eyes, narrowed in contempt… before opening it’s triple-hinged mouth, black wormy tongues flailing, roaring angrily as Midnight shouted, “A Tatzelwurm!!!”
“Look out!” Shining Armor shouted and the two stallions took evasive actions as the wurm tried to snap them up but they flew upwards, not noticing the Tatzelwurm recede into its hole.. before launching itself skyward after them!
One of its tongues reached out and ensnared Shining Armor’s fetlock, “Midnight! Help!”
Gasping, Midnight willed the shadows under his wings to extend and solidify into blades as he shouted, “Get your slimy tongue off my best friend!”
He came down, spinning like a saw-blade in a flurry of blue and black, slicing clean through the wurm’s tongue, making it scream as it thudded back onto the ground before trying again with its other tongues. As Midnight shook away the dizziness, he didn’t notice getting caught by the wurm’s tongues until it was too late!
“Help!”
“Un-tongue my best friend, you cur!” Shining Armor fired a blazing beam of magenta at the wurm, making it shudder and squeal as it let go of Midnight.
He sighed in relief as he flapped over to Shining Armor, “Thanks!”
“Don’t thank me yet!”Shining Armor pointed with his hoof as the Tatzelwurm launched itself at them, both stallions nodding to each other before grasping the others hoof and charging to meet the wurm as they spiraled into a flurrying bram of turquoise and magenta!
*KER-VWWT!!!*
The Tatzelwurm screeched pitifully as it slunk back into its burrow, Shining Armor furrowing his brows sternly as he levitated some nearby boulders to plug the hole, and the two stallions landed as the adrenaline wore off.
“Are you okay?” Midnight asked.
“Are you kidding?! That was… kinda awesome!” Shining Armor smiled, much to Midnight’s surprise. “Honestly? It felt like old times, back when we were colts!”
Smiling in relief to hear that, Midnight declared, “Then let’s get Eris and this flower back to Ponyville, make that tea, and we’ll finally get back to our brony-time together!”
They levitated the flower again and started flapping down back to where they’d left Eris when they heard…
“To the ends of Equestria! To face dire peril! And he did it for me, all for me!”
No longer blue, Eris was so busy happy-dancing she didn’t notice the two angry alicorns glaring daggers at her until they were right in front of her, making her ‘eep’!
Midnight got all up in her face, his eyes blazing white hot with fury, “YOU! Were… FAKING?!?!?!”
“Pretty good acting, right?” Eris admitted shamelessly, “And wait till you hear my rea- GUP!”
Eris gurked as she felt a telekinetic pressure around her throat as Midnight whispered ominously, “Explain, Eris! Quickly…”
“Well I was in my thinking tree,” Eris wheezed when a purple tree grew right under her, its sudden appearance startling Midnight into releasing Eris.
“That’s where I do all my deep thinking, mind you.”
She Flashed the tree away, “Anyway, I thought to myself I thought ‘Eris, your friend Midnight says that he’s your buddy yet he never writes, never calls’-”
“I don’t even know where you-”
*ZIP*
Midnight growled as he became the victim of the ‘zip-it’ spell while Eris went on.
“Now that he’s a prince maybe he thinks he’s too good for you…”
Unzipping his lip with his tail, Midnight snapped, “I have never considered myself-”
“But how was I to know for certain that I remain friends truly with one of Equestria’s VIPs, that’s short for ‘very important ponies’, “ Eris continued, Midnight trying to say, “I am not-”
“By seeing if he’d go to the ends of Equestria, all for me! And you did, literally!” Eris shook Midnight’s hoof. “Kudos to you, Nighty, for passing my own friendship test! Twilight would be so proud of you!”
Midnight snatched his hoof away, giving Eris the mother of all stink eyes, Eris saying, “Why the stink eye? Twilight likes passing tests, so why don’t you? C’mon, sugar, don’t tell me you’re iffy cause my little test got in the way of your catching up with your old pal, Shiny, is it? Prevented y’all from focusing on your friendship?”
Midnight was on the verge of casting the most powerful spell he knew in retaliation for every word and manner Eris deliberately conveyed to shamelessly rub him the wrong way-
“It wasn’t a big deal,” Shining Armor said pleasantly.
“Say what?!” Midnight gaped at Shining Armor
"Again, say what?!" echoed an equally stumped Eris.
“Spending the day hanging out at the ‘Ogres & Oubliettes’ convention would’ve been nice and all,” Shining Armor shrugged. “But after all this excitement and the thrill of fighting that wurm?! It was just the thing I’ve been needing as of late!”
“Really?” Midnight smiled, Shining Armor nodding.
“Being an emperor and a captain and a prince is challenging an’ all but… it’s not as… thrilling as the adventure we had today. I enjoy a good adventure now and then! Facing all these challenges today, especially with you, Midnight, was just what I needed and a perfect reminder of how great it is having you for a friend.”
The two stallions gave each other a smirk and bro-hoof, Eris pouting as her real aim for this whole façade was blown out of the water.
“We might not hang together as often as we used to,” Shining Armor said to his old friend, “but I know I can always count on you to be there when I need you, and watch over my Twily, just as he’s here for you, Eris!”
“All this sweetness is gonna rot out my teeth...” Eris muttered when a rumbling startled them and hey all jumped back as the Tatzelwurm erupted from the ground, Eris shrieking as she leapt into Midnight's forelegs, “What in Tartarus?!”
The Tatzelwurm then did something none of them saw coming-
*AH-CHOO*
Shining Armor and Midnight smiled, that his barrier had protected the but Eris was not so lucky, as her head had been sticking out of the barrier. Evident by her turning green and polka-dotted.
At Fluttershy’s cottage, Midnight was writing in the friendship journal, “‘While my visit with Shining Armor got a little side-tracked, I learned that in the end that even the wildest day can help bring good friends together through the experience’. Wouldn’t you agree, Eris…?”
Midnight took a shameless delight in seeing Eris inside a magenta bubble that Shining Armor had set around her so she wouldn’t infect anypony with whatever bug the Tatzelwurm gave her.
“Yeah, yeah…” Eris snrrrk’d her stuffy nose, Applejack and Blueblood approaching, both of them no longer under the fake blue flu Eris had infected them with.
“Ah don’ wanna go sayin’ ya got what you deserved-” Applejack started sternly, only for Blueblood to interrupted.
“Well I have no qualms in doing so… YOU GOT WHAT YOU DESERVED YOU HAVOC-WREAKING HARLOT!”
“Now, now, she’s learned her lesson,” Fluttershy gently scolded before putting her hoof through the hole in the barrier, the inside of which covered her hoof with a protective layer as she gently massaged Eris’ shoulder.
“Isn’t that right, my little patient?”
“Thank Faust you’re back from your trip, Fluttershy,” Eris coughed, “you being here makes me feel lots better.”
Midnight, Blueblood, and Soarin all rolled their eyes when Eris said, “But might your ol’ auntie Eris trouble y’all for just one little favor?”
“NO!!!”
“What?!” Eris pouted before smirking, “I was just gonna ask for a tiny glass… of water.”
The rest of the day flowed by rather quickly. Midnight and Shining managed to sneak in a short visit to the convention before it closed and Twilight returned from her trip. She was very surprised after learning about Eris' actions, but she was none the less pleased to know that her brother and her boyfriend had had a fun day while she caught up with Cadance. Shining Armour said his goodbyes to Midnight and Twilight before he headed off back home to his wife, leaving young couple to discuss their respective day's in more detail before heading to their homes to end the day.
A few hours later however, as the sun had well set and most ponies were deep asleep, Midnight was up and about.
He had an appointment to keep.
He made sure not to wake his little brother before gently fluttering down from his bedroom window and venturing out into the Apple Orchards. Most ponies would have a hard time seeing through the darkness, but Midnight's eyes retained their lunar pony heritage - This darkness might as well have been a dimly-lit room.
A pony stood underneath one of the trees, a black hooded cloak wrapped around them to hide their identity from any unwanted observers. However Midnight knew who he was, and prepared himself accordingly.
"I'm here for the report, Tranquil. I apologize for my curtness earlier, but you know I dislike discussing Brotherhood business out in the open, especially not in a crowded area and in front of Shining Armour. We are a secret that few ponies know and we need to stay that way, at least until the target is found and captured."
The hooded figured moved closer, enabling Midnight to see his face. His rich purple mane, mustache and goatee, long with his dark blue coat, already concealed him well in the darkness, but his cloak was more then just a disguise. Only Tranquil Skies' turquoise eyes were heavily visible, almost shimmering in the moonlight. The hoods prevented non-members from seeing into the shadow of the hood while the actual members could see the faces hidden in them. Despite the covert style of meeting, Tranquil appeared as calm and relaxed as ever, a loose smile on his face and his eye lids drooped. He appeared as though nothing in the world could faze him.
"I apologize again, my Prince, but I needed to ensure I had your attention, as we finally have some information for you."
Immediately Midnight moved close, a determined glare on his muzzle.
"What have you learned?"