//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 // Story: I am NOT a Pony // by Synthetic Soul //------------------------------// Midnight slept peacefully in his soft, warm bed. Slowly, as the sun began to rise into the sky, the rays of sunlight shined through his window, casting its rays on his eyes. Slowly, he opened his eyes, waking up for the day. He removed his covers, stretching and yawning, while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Once he did that, he crawled out of bed, and hopped onto the floor, ready to start the day. It had been a few days since his return to Canterlot, and for the most part, he had been ‘Readjusting’ well. He was learning his way around the castle, and learning about what it meant to be a prince of Equestria. And Midnight could defiantly say that being a prince had its advantages. Servants would provide him what he needed, and ponies would bow to him wherever he went. It made him feel…special. He had been eagerly waiting for this day. Today was the first day that he would be going to Ponyville to ‘continue’ his lessons. He was excited to learn about magic. His mother also told him that after his lessons with Twilight, he would be given his first flying lesson. All in all, today was going to be a good day. Midnight made his way towards the door to his room, and opened it, stepping into the hall. There standing in front of him was a guard standing at attention. “Good morning your highness,” greeted the guard. “Good morning,” replied the Alicorn colt. “Shall I escort you the dinning room for breakfast?” “Actually, I think I know the way now. Is it ok for me to head there myself?” “Of course your highness.” Midnight nodded his head, and then trotted his way towards the dining room. As he walked, he saw various castle staff bow towards him as he walked, which he would return with a nod. As he walked, his mind drifted to a few days before, when he had overheard the conversation between his mother, and Blueblood. ‘You will make sure not to say a word about this to my son. Are we clear?’ He wondered just what that was about. What was so important that he wasn’t to hear about it? Suddenly, Midnight felt a feeling in his stomach. It didn’t feel quite like anger, more like a sense of anxiousness, and a bit of annoyance. What were they keeping from him? He stopped walking for a moment, and sat down in the hallway, staring at the floor. After staring for a few moments, he closed his eyes, and shook his head. What ever it was, it must be for the best. His mother wouldn’t keep something important from him unless it was for the best. Without his memory, she was just about all he had. Midnight stood back up, and continued his journey towards the dining room. During his walk, his mind drifted once again, this time, to his father. He had not seen, or heard anything about the stallion, yet he must have one. He decided that he would ask his mother about it the next chance he had. Finally, he came to the dining room door. Two guards stood on either side. Seeing the prince approach, they stood to the side, opening the door for the colt. “Thank you,” greeted the prince. Heading into the dining room, the colt saw his mother, his aunt, and his cousin, all sitting the table. The two mares greeted him with smiles, while Bluebloods eyes widened, before he quickly turned his attention to his breakfast. “Good morning everypony,” said Midnight. Celestia and Luna returned their greetings, while Blueblood simply muttered his. Midnight took his place the table, next to his mother. She used her wing to hug him, and kissed him on the forehead. A waiter trotted up to Midnight, ready to take his order. The colt requested cereal, and pancakes, to which the waiter complied with, and then left to fulfill his order. While waiting, a conversation was started. “So, Midnight, are you excited to begin your lessons today?” questioned Celestia. “Yes, I really am!” “That’s good. You’ll be learning from the best.” Midnight smiled, and then turned his head to see the waiter trotting up to him with his breakfast. The waiter set the plate down in front of the princess, bowed, and left. Midnight smelled the food, before taking a bite. He closed his eyes, savoring the taste. After taking a few bites, the colt turned his head towards his mother, who was nearly finished with her food. “By the way, who’s going to be teaching me to fly?” “One of Twilights friends will be helping you get into the air. Her names Rainbow Dash, and she’s the fastest flier in all of Equestria,” answered Luna. “Wow, cool!” said Midnight. The rest of the meal passed with the group, minus Blueblood making small talk. Once breakfast was finished, Celestia gave her goodbyes, and left to start her duties. Blueblood excused himself; to go do whatever it is that he does, leaving Luna to escort Midnight to the carriage that would take him to Ponyville. The mother and son left the castle, trotting into the grounds outside. They made their way towards a golden chariot with two pegasi guards hooked up to it. “Alright honey, these two guards will take you to Ponyville, where you will meet with Twilight.” “You’re not coming?” “I’m sorry, but I can’t. I have duties to attend to. But, I will be here when you return. Then we can talk all about what you have learned.” “Well…alright!” said Midnight, cheering up. Luna gave him a kiss on the forehead, before the guards started their trotting, taking off into the air, heading for Ponyville. The chariot touched down in Ponyville, right in front of Ponyville Library. Midnight stepped off, thanking the guards, who then took off into the air, returning to Canterlot. Midnight walked up to the front door of the tree house, and knocked. After a few moments, he heard the pitter patter of feet, walking up to the door. The door was opened by a creature that the young colt didn’t recognize. It was a purple-scaled bipedal lizard, with green frills. One thing the prince noticed about the creature, was that the moment he saw him, his face appeared to show discontent, if not down right anger. “Oh…it’s you,” said the creature. Midnight reeled back a little. Something about this creature seemed familiar. The way he stood on two legs, had arms, and digits at the end of his arms had a sense of familiarity, prodding at something at the back of his mind, something he couldn’t quite reach. He decided to push it to the back of his mind for the moment. “Oh, um, hi. My name is Midnight,” greeted the Alicorn. “Oh yeah…hey, I’m Spike.” “Nice to meet you. If you don’t mind me asking, just what are you?” “I’m a dragon.” “Wow cool!” “So I’ve heard,” said Spike, lightening up a bit. “Uh, come on in, and I’ll get Twilight,” said Spike, holding the door open for Midnight, who trotted in. Once he was in, Spike closed the door behind him. “Hold on a moment, I’ll go get her.” Midnight nodded, as Spike headed up the stairs. A few seconds later, Twilight trotted down the steps, greeting the prince. “Oh, um, hello Midnight! How are you today?” questioned Twilight. Midnight took noticed that she seemed a little…nervous? As if picking up on this, Twilight’s demeanor changed, and she perked up. “Hello, Ms. Twilight. I’m doing fine.” “Oh, you don’t need to call me Ms. Just Twilight is fine.” “Oh, alright.” Twilight led the colt towards the couch, with a coffee table sitting in front of it, and in front of that was a seat cushion. Midnight took a seat on the couch, while Twilight sat on the cushion. “So…before we begin, do want anything to eat or drink?” questioned Twilight. “No, I’m good,” replied the colt. “Alright then. So tell me, do you remember anything about magic?” “Not really,” replied the colt, sounding a bit downtrodden. “The only magic I can really do is levitation magic. That’s about it. Was…was I any good at magic before I lost my memory?” “Oh, um, yes, y-you were learning. And don’t worry, I’m sure that soon, you’ll be casting all sorts of spells!” “You really think so?” “Of course,” said Twilight, smiling, which Midnight returned. “Alright, let’s get started.” Twilight levitated a spell book over, and set it on the table. It was time to begin. The lesson had begun with basic magic instruction. Over the coarse of the lesson, Twilight had explained the foundations of magic, how it operated, and how it was channeled. There was offensive, defensive magic, as well as miscellaneous, which was used for things like teleportation, telekinesis, and such. Then there was Dark Magic, a topic they didn’t get into. In fact, Twilight made sure not to even mention it. The lesson focused on miscellaneous magic, starting with the easier stuff, such as transmogrification, and teleportation. Twilight had levitated an apple onto the table, and explained the basics of how to turn it red. It would take a while before he was strong enough to attempt turning it into something else; after all, she hadn’t done it until she moved to Ponyville. Of course, she knew he had a vast amount of magical potential, as shown by him turning Discord to stone. That being said, Luna wanted to treat this like his first magic lesson, due to the amnesia. After the magic lessons, which lasted for about 2 hours, Twilight had given Midnight lessons of the basic school curriculum, teaching him about Equestria’s history, such as the unification of the three tribes, the founding of the kingdom, and other stuff like that. Luna had requested two things be omitted from the lesson. #1. Discords reign. She thought remembering him might…trigger him. #2 the banishment of Nightmare Moon. Luna didn’t want him to know about her dark past…not yet anyway. She would tell him, when she felt the time was right. Soon enough, Midnights lessons with Twilight came to an end. A few minutes after the lesson ended, and just as Midnight was getting ready to leave, there was a knocking at the door. “Oh, that must be Rainbow Dash,” said Twilight, as she made her way towards the door, and opened it, revealing a familiar blue Pegasus. “Hi Rainbow Dash,” greeted Twilight. “Hey Twi,” replied Rainbow. “You here for Midnight?” “Uh, yeah, yeah I am.” “Alright, come on in, I’ll get Midnight.” Rainbow stepped into the house, and Twilight shut the door behind her. Twilight then left the room, and after a few moments, she returned with Midnight in tow. “Midnight, you remember Rainbow Dash. She’s going to give you a few lessons to get you back into the air.” “Hello,” greeted Midnight. “Hey kid,” replied Rainbow Dash. “All right, we’ll see you later Twilight,” said Rainbow Dash as the two left the library. “See you later!” said Twilight. Then the two left, to go to their flying lesson. The two went through Ponyville, their destination being an open hill in the outskirts of town. As the two walked, Midnight noticed many of the ponies in town gave him strange looks when they saw him. Some looked at him with awe, and some with a little hint of fear. “Um, Miss Rainbow?” said Midnight. “Hm, yeah?” “Why are they all looking at me funny?” “Oh, uh, well you know, it’s not everyday Royalty visits Ponyville…well, except Twilight.” “But some of them look kind of scared.” The thing was, most of the ponies in town had witnessed, or had heard of the fight between Midnight and his family. But, by request of the princesses, they were asked not to mention it to him. “Don’t mind them kid, the ponies in town can be a bit skittish.” “Oh, well ok.” After walking through town, the two came to their destination. Rainbow flapped her wings, floating in the air, and then landed a couple of feet away from Midnight “Alright kid, as your mom told you, you were able to fly before that accident, so all you need is a few pointers to get you back in the air.” “Sounds good to me,” replied the Prince. “Ok, let’s get started.” The lesson had gone, with a decent amount of success. Rainbow had demonstrated the act of performing slow, yet powerful flaps, to get oneself into the air, instead of bug like buzzing. Midnight was a fast learner, and was doing quite well. By the end of the lesson, he was able to hover in the air for a few second, but actual flight was not yet achieved. The sun was still in the sky, although it would start to set in a few hours. Rainbow walked Midnight through the town, heading towards the library. When they reached it, they saw a familiar golden chariot in front of the tree, with two respective pegasi. Standing next to them, was the lavender princess, Twilight. “How was your lesson?” questioned Twilight, once the two fliers had reached their location. “It was good, I can’t wait to fly!” exclaimed the colt, who turned to face the Pegasus. “Thanks Rainbow Dash!” “No problem kid,” replied the mare. Midnight climbed into the chariot, and said his goodbyes. The pegasi then began their trot, ascending into the sky, leaving Ponyville behind. The two mares waved until he was out of sight. When he was, they lowered their hooves, and sighed. “Twilight?” “Yes Rainbow?” “I have a bad feeling about all this. All this lying to the kid, it doesn’t seem right.” “I know Rainbow. And I have a feeling he will remember the truth eventually. And I don’t think anything good is going to happen when that happens.” “Yeah...well, I better head home, I’ll see you later.” “See you later.” The two hugged, and then Rainbow took off into the sky, heading for her home, leaving Twilight to head back into her tree house. Hopefully she could relax for the rest of the day, but she knew the situation would continue to nip at the back of her mind. Maybe it always would.