Chapter 7: Outro
The next morning, Applebloom headed to the shop. She hadn’t heard from Morning Star since the incident the day before. After the he caused the scene, she wasn’t sure about anything, like if she still had a job or anything. What was certain was that Applebloom was worried about him.
When she arrived, she saw Morning Star outside of the shop, hammering a sign to the door.
“Mr. Morning Star?” she neared him.
“Ah, Applebloom. No need to be here today. I’m done with Tchort’s Trinkets. I’m giving up on having a shop here,” his voice was detached and depressed.
“What? Why? I thought you wanted to do this?” Applebloom asked.
“I’ve had nothing but bad luck since I got here. Even the curses failed to cause pandemonium. All I want to do is cause mayhem and destruction, is that so much to ask?”
The filly shrugged, “Maybe? You seem to really want that a lot.”
Morning Star sighed as he paused in putting the sign up, “I don’t know what I really want anymore. I’m the Prince of Darkness, the corrupter of souls, the biggest Chicago Cubs fan, and the one to begin Armageddon, yet I can’t even cause some destruction on a planet that doesn’t even understand exactly how evil I am.”
“What’cha gonna do now?” Applebloom asked.
“Not sure. Maybe go back home, reconnect with my dad and brother? It has been quite some time and I should apologize. Perhaps it’s not too late,” Morning Star thought aloud as he finished nailing the sign.
“That’s a nice thing ta do, Mr. Morning Star,” Applebloom smiled to him. She then looked in through the window, seeing that the entire building was empty, “Hey, how’d you get the whole store empty so fast?”
“Oh, that? Just a little black magic,” the stallion flicked his wrist as if he was a magician of some sort.
“I don’t get it, then why did ya hire me if ya could have done all of that yerself?” Applebloom asked as she looked back to Morning Star.
“I guess I just like commanding others to do my bidding?” he joked.
Applebloom thought for a moment, “Maybe you wanted a friend?”
“Excuse me?” Morning Star looked at the filly.
“Ah think we all need friends, Mr. Morning Star, and maybe ya never had somepony ta be one,” she explained.
He snorted with a laugh, “Me? Wanting a friend? Dear Applebloom, just as every cop is a criminal and all the sinners are saints, I’m Lucifer, the master of deception and evil. I don’t need a buddy.”
“Have you ever had one?”
This got Morning Star to think. “Um….well….” he started, “There was that weird Crowley fellow, but he was more of an obsessive weirdo than anything else. He’d never leave me alone. I mean, he claimed he communicated with me, which never happened and then things just got weird….”
“Mr. Morning Star?”
“Right, sorry….well, I guess I never really had one,” he admitted. He looked down at his own hooves, “I….never had a real friend.”
Applebloom raised a hoof up to give a comforting touch to one of his front limbs, “You’ve gotta friend in me. Ah’d be happy ta be yer friend, Mr. Morning Star.”
“You….would?”
The little filly smiled happily and nodded, “Of course!”
Morning Star didn’t believe it, “Even though you know who….you know what I am?”
She nodded again, “Mhm, a true, true friend helps a friend in need, and ah wanna help you!”
A smirk appeared on the stallion’s face. Then he started to laugh a warm, hearty laugh.
Applebloom’s face turned sour, “It’s not funny!”
“I’m not laughing at you, or what you said. It actually reminded me of something my brother once said. About how there’s no greater love than one individual laying down their own life for their friends. Maybe my baby brother was right all along,” Morning Star still had a smile on his face, “So many wasted opportunities. So sad now that I think about it. All this time alone.”
“You don’t gonna trot alone. Not anymore,” Applebloom smiled warmly.
Morning Star wrapped his limbs around the filly, “Thank you, Applebloom. Thank you for being my first friend.”
“It’s mah pleasure, Mr. Morning Star. Granny Smith always told me that nopony should be without a friend.”
-----
Later that evening, Applebloom returned home for dinner. Around the table was her family; Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Applejack.
“So, how was yer day, Applebloom? Anything fun and exciting at yer job?” Applejack asked.
“Ah don’t have a job anymore, but ah do have a new friend.”
END