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// Ch.12 Forrest Tour & Dinner Plans.  
// Story: Sage of Harmony (Season 1) 
// by Eon Seb 
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	Velvet was close to losing her mind in the past hour. She had seen 4 of the deadliest beasts ever recorded, much more closely than she had ever wanted. Now she was watching her daughter - her organized, neat-freak over-reactive daughter- stare down a Chimera (and she was winning)! "Now what reason do you have for trying to give us heart attacks?"  Midnight was not in a good mood. She had just had to prove to several of the older creatures (who should really know better) why she was the Harmony appointed caretaker of the forest. While the title did not mean much in the long term (the forest was basically self regulating with the tree to temper it's growth), her main job was to make sure that the native animals/monsters stayed where they belonged. She'd had run ins with this chimera before when she helped the tree add the fire swamp to its territory. She had thought that the problem had been handled. So what prompted this?
The tiger and snake looked a bit sheepish, the goat had no such reservations "Bah. We were trying to scare those fillies out of here" the girls and Velvet looked at her in confusion "The number of times those girls have come in here to do something stupid could give us an ulcer. We only saw you once we jumped out. Sorry." Velvet felt the need to clean out her ears. this creature was her daughter's friend!?
Midnight could only shake her head. "That's why I'm with them; to teach them about the forest and help prevent things like that from happening. Now, if they do something like that again, let me know and I will handle it. Okay?" All three heads nodded before the chimera headed back into the deeper parts of the forest. "Well that was fun. The only thing left to warn you about would be the Ursas, but you should already know how bad those are thanks to Snips and Snails. Any questions?"
Velvet had been asking questions the entire time. The amount of knowledge her child had gathered was staggering, she knew the migration habits of the timber wolves the average sleep schedule for a hydra, the weak points of a cragadiile and the preferred diet of a Manticore, along with knowing where they would be, and how they would act during different times of day. As much as she did not want to admit it, her little girl had finally grown up she was both elated and sadden by this realization. Cadence was enjoying watching her old charge shine. It was obvious she had found both her talent and her passion here. It may have been a little scary to her, but Cadence knew her friend had found her place in the world and she could not be happier for Midnight. The girls were of one mind when they agreed to never come to the forest alone again. They had seen hydras angry manticores, hungry cragodiles, and a timber wolf the size of a house. Spectrum had taken her list of ideas and shredded them.
That afternoon, Velvet and Cadence left for Canterlot with smiles on their faces and joy in their hearts. They had come to see a missing young one and found a full grown mare. Midnight sat enjoying her evening tea. Despite some bumps along the way , it had been a fun day. Just as they were getting ready for bed Spike burped out a scroll . After carefully opening it, Midnight had a need to sit down .

Letter

Dear Twilight 'Midnight' Sparkle

We Princess Luna cordially invite you to dine with us at The Golden Dragon for dinner this Saturday. Please respond ASAP for all relevant details.

Midnight read the letter again. It was still short, honest and to the point. She blinked once, twice, and proceeded to faint, instantly entering the world of dreams. "PRINCESS!?"

Nightmare appeared a few moments later, rubbing her ear "Yes?" She paused when she looked at Midnight's face her expression was neutral, but her eyes held pure panic. "What's wrong?"
Midnight took a calming breath "did you just send me a letter, inviting me to dinner?"
Nightmare was a little confused "Yes. Was there a problem with it?" Inside she was worried "What did I do wrong? Was it to formal, not formal enough what?"
Midnight sighed "Good. That clears that up. So, you want to go to dinner with me, is this just a normal dinner or-" Here she blushed " Will it be something more?" Midnight just looked at the Princess awaiting her response. When she saw the wide eyed expression on Nightmares face she back paddled "I'm sorry. I still need to work on not jumping to conclusions"
"Like a Princess would ever want to date you, the weird little wild pony?"
Nightmare started when she heard that and realized that her shock may have cost her, she had to be honest "I, I wanted this to be a potential date, but did not what you to feel obligated. I want to get to know you and for you to know me, not as a Princess but as a pony." There she had said her piece.
Midnight looked at her for a moment before she seemed to explode "YES!" She seemed to realize how she sounded "I mean, yes, I would love to have dinner with you this Saturday, Nightmare." Here she paused "Can we go over some of the details to make sure we are both on the same page?"
Nightmare was smiling so big you could use her teeth as a piano "Yes, yes we can Midnight."