• Published 12th Dec 2013
  • 634 Views, 365 Comments

Birthday Wish 2: Friends Never Fail - Midnight Spawn



After gathering quite a few people to fight alongside me in "Birthday Wish", this sequel presents a way for each of them to go to Equestria themselves. However, it is soon discovered that their work isn't finished.

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The Journey

Please read the author's notes at the end before reading this! Thank you :)

James stood as tall as he could muster in his colt form. Despite his efforts, he looked small and pathetic next to the massive giant that loomed over him.

The beast had no arms, but it stood on two legs and was covered in scales from head to foot. Its teeth were so large, they hung out of his mouth, and his roar could be heard from Ponyville to Cloudsdale.

James had to take a step back from the giant that stood taller than the buildings. He had only just gotten back here... but he came with a purpose. And he wasn't going to back out now.

Twilight stood near him, refusing to flee with the rest of the town. "Are you crazy?! You can't fight that!" She shouted to James over the howling winds. James looked at her and smiled. He would do anything for her... his teacher, his friend... even this.

"I'm not going to fight it," James called back, "I'm going to lead it away."

"But..." Twilight glanced between the beast and her tiny friend. "James, that's suicide! We'll find another way."

"Luna and Celestia's combined magic didn't work... the Elements of Harmony couldn't even pierce its scales! The only thing we can do is lead it away from Ponyville, Twilight. Perhaps the trees of the Everfree Forest will slow it down."

"James, stop right there. Luna didn't bring you back here to throw your life away!"

"...But it is why I came," James' mane blew in the wind, and Twilight could tell by his face he was serious. "We can't fight it, so this is the only other option. It's your own fault for living in such a place that's always being attacked by monsters!"

Twilight found no humor in his sarcasm. She looked up at the creature once more. It was ignoring the tiny pests for now and was content to roar at the buildings and step on a few houses. "Then I'm coming with you," she spoke so softly, she almost wasn't heard over the storm.

"Then we'll both be at risk. I can't let you--"

"James, you have tiny legs, and I can fly. Besides, the way that thing is built, I can tell it's a fast runner. You'll need me," Twilight put her hoof down. She held her gaze on James until he finally sighed. When he nodded his head, she didn't know whether to shout for joy or in fear...

"Okay, let's do this!" James shouted as Twilight hovered above him.

Suddenly,

"CHAAAAAARGE!" Rainbow Dash flew in at a brake-neck speed and crashed into the beast head-on! Time seemed to slow as her kick knocked the creature off its feet and sent it crashing toward the ground. Even as it fell, confusion shown on its face as it hit the ground from the rapid assault. Rainbow Dash slowed herself to land roughly on the ground beside it. When the dust settled, she shouted a quick, "Awww yea!" and pumped her hoof toward the sky. "Which of you want to help me take out the trash?"

"Rainbow Dash, your supposed to be escorting the ponies out of Ponyville!" Twilight called to her.

"Well, I already did that, and believe me, you want me on the front lines," she stated as she hovered over to the two ponies. Once she got there, she spun around when she heard the beast getting back up. Sooner than expected, it was standing tall again and roaring in fury at the blue pegasus. "C'mon, James! Put 'em up and let's do this!" Crouching down, Rainbow Dash pushed off and flew straight for it again.

"Rainbow Dash, lead it over this way!" James called as he climbed atop Twilight, "All right, Twilight, let's take it back to the forest where it will hopefully stay for good."

"Right," Twilight answered as she lifted him off the ground. Rainbow Dash flew in dizzying circles around the monster as it tried to catch the speedy pony. Once she had its attention, Rainbow Dash followed after her two other friends toward the forest. Twilight looked back to see it could run a LOT faster than it looked. "How does it move those huge legs so quickly?! We'll never make it!"

James kept his eyes on the forest. It wasn't too far. They'd make it.

Rainbow Dash occasionally flew back to renew the beast's fury and give Twilight a chance to get further ahead. Maybe the plan would work after all...

I wonder... I wonder if they're still posting... James thought as he checked the story he had been writing. He had started it looking for help and advice and ended it by saying he was going to sacrifice himself to save Equestria. Yep. They're still posting... Many were commending his courage... many were insisting he stop. But somepony had to lure this thing away and keep it away from ponyville.I'm sorry guys... He had to get Rainbow Dash and Twilight out of here--that's why he had done this in the first place! To keep everypony else out of danger! What happens when they reach the forest, huh? He couldn't let them sacrifice themselves just because he was stupid enough to do it.

"AAHHH!" Rainbow Dash screamed as she was knocked from her momentum. Both James and Twilight looked back to see their friend falling a nose-dive toward the ground where she landed and rolled. When she could stand again, she realized her wing was pretty beat up. Seems she had gotten a little too close to that thing...

Rainbow Dash heard a roar louder and closer than before. When she looked up, her ears drooped at the beast's open jaws above her.

"Rainbow Dash!" James leaped off Twilight and landed with a thud. Still familiar with using magic, he focused and cast a spell that drew the beast's attention. This spell was a kind of taunt that made the target angry and drew it it to attack the caster--a spell he never thought he'd ever be using. The beast looked over at the brown unicorn and growled. After a short roar, he took off after him.

"James!" Twilight saw it catching up to the slow-running pony. She only had one chance... it wasn't perfected, but she had to try! Biting her lip, the purple pony concentrated and cast the haste magic she had tried--and failed--to cast before. As before, it started to work fine... until she found she couldn't stop it.

James felt himself moving faster and faster until he was moving at the same speed as the giant. The forest was getting closer, but he couldn't slow down. "Twilight!" he called back as his tiny legs carried him closer to the dark area.

The shadows passed over him as he entered the dangerous land. The beast was right behind him and knocking down trees in his path. James swerved side-to-side as he tried to dodge the trees until he thought he was deep enough. At that moment, he used his magic to pull a bunch of tangled vines down right where the beast's face would be. He crashed right into them and stumbled from the unexpected barrier. Unable to slow down, his feet flew out from under him and he fell on his back.

James took this time to turn around and head back to the entrance from a different route. Eventually, sunshine hit his face and he found himself out in the open again! But when he tried to stop, he couldn't...

Suddenly, the beast emerged from the forest behind him and roared as he stomped the ground. The earth shook as he started moving toward James once more. "No no no, this is back towards ponyville!" James said to himself. The creature was catching up as James felt the spell wearing off.

Before he could formulate another plan, a bright flash of light covered the skies and down floated a pony he didn't recognize.

He floated down slowly and stopped before he touched the ground. His hoofs levitated above the earth and a sound wave shot out from around him. The wave launched both James and the beast a few feet off the ground before they dropped back to earth. James landed on his rump and watched the mysterious pony stare at the massive giant before him.

The pony smirked. "Hello beasty," he taunted. Then he called to James without turning around, "James, stand back... this is going to get messy..."

The beast watched his new opponent and roared once again in fury. Annoyed now by so many ponies, he charged straight for the unicorn. The pony just stood there, levitating above the ground as the giant ran towards him. Right before the beast reached him, he teleported behind it and turned to face its back. The beast skidded to a halt as the pony ran and shot up the back of it before launching itself up and off its head. The beast looked up just in time to see the mysterious unicorn twisting its body around and throwing a massive energy blast into the monster's face.

With a shout, the caster launched the magic ball and saw it hit its target and explode into nothing. He landed and quickly glanced to see the beast was shaking it off and not hurt at all. James ran up beside him "Okay, so you know who I am. Can I get the name of the pony who saved my butt?" James asked, occasionally looking back up at the monster.

"Well, first off, I'm not really a pony, but I'll tell you about that later," the stranger looked at James and smiled, "You can call me Blazer."

"Not a...?" The beast let out a roar and saliva dripped from its teeth. It was clear it was going to enjoy eating them and having free access to the town. "Okay," James decided, "Don't you go disappearing after this fight, but let's finish this first!"

"Right!" Blazer said, lifting off the ground once more, "Let's go, James!"

Is he standing on... light? Where have I seen that before? Deciding to figure all that out later, James joined Blazer in running toward the enemy. Blazer seemed more to glide than to run, but somehow the tiny pony was able to keep up to him. As they ran, flashes of light beamed to their sides. What the...?

"Chaaaarge!" the shout grew louder as more ponies joined in. From both sides of James, ponies started appearing, running with them toward the beast. There was another unicorn, a brown earth pony, and... wait, that flash of light didn't leave anypony...

Realization struck as he saw the group grow nearer to the beast. "My team!" A few of them looked over at him, and one of them nodded his head once. There wasn't any time for introductions, though, because when they reached the towering giant, they split apart and ran around it as if they had a plan. James just picked a direction and went with it, but the others moved as one unit. "For Equestria!!!"

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Night Heart was awakened by yet another bad dream. He rose with a start and just sat in his bed, the events of the dream playing in his mind. He had dreamed that he was meditating as usual one day, when suddenly, he felt the temperature change drastically. Looking out the window, his dream self had seen a light slowly moving from the moon to earth.

At first, he had gotten excited, because he had read about this before! But he soon realized it wasn't a light that was falling... it was the moon itself. He had awoken just before it hit the earth.

Now sitting in his bed, he hoped it didn't mean anything. But a dream of that detail? That only happens before the events play themselves out in real life somehow... What could it mean? I guess it could mean Nightmare Moon is going to abuse Luna's power and come here to earth, he thought.

Or it meant the moon was actually going to fall.

Ugh, this is what he gets for finally trying to get some sleep. Rising up, he head towards the door and made his way outside. It really was too cold for a walk, but sometimes that's what it took to clear his head. Normally, he would just meditate, but after that dream, he didn't want to while the moon was up.

He actually started to feel a little better as he paced. His thoughts turned to James and how he had said they would one day go with him to Equestria. The fool... now what? He just forgets everything and says he's going to kill himself? What about us? What about his family? How does he think Sarah's supposed to take this?!

And what about James? His friend, dead. No, he can't be! This is James we're talking about--he's alive, I'm sure of it! Tomorrow, I'll try again to contact Sarah. I hope she's doing all right... sure hope he left some clue with her about what exactly he's going to do...

Wait, was that...? Night Heart looked to the side and raised his eyebrows. He thought he had seen...

Yes. That was definitively a pony. Here. But not just any pony.

"Luna!" Night Heart ran toward the princess. She was standing tall and smiling at him. "Princess Luna, you're here!"

"Yes, we have need of your help. My sister and I knew if any trouble were to arise, there would be no better choice than thee to help us."

"I have so many questions! Why didn't you contact us sooner? Where is--wait, what kind of trouble? Does it have to do with James?"

"Sadly, it does. He thinks there is no way to beat the giant that threatens our citizens' town, but he did not count on us taking you there."

The words soaked in, and Night Heart felt relief rush through him. Of course, he knew that was why she was there, but actually hearing her say it gave him hope. He stayed calmer than he thought he would in this situation, and told her, "I'm ready now. What about the others?"

"They are on their way. Brave Night Heart, close your eyes. Unless it is your wish to be blind."

Night Heart closed his eyes, knowing the next thing he would see was Equestria. He saw the flash through his eyelids and felt himself moving quickly through the air. Faster and faster, but he heard no wind as he would expect. He just knew he was moving.

Deciding he could open his eyes now, he slowly let one eyelid open. He saw nothing. There was pitch blackness. When he opened both eyes, he still couldn't see anything, but he thought he heard voices.

"Who else is here?" he heard one voice say, "I can't see a thing!"

"Neither can I. Cleverbuild?"

"Here!"

Cleverbuild? "Guys!" Night Heart called out.

"Night Heart! It's me, Cleverbuild. Glad you could join the party!"

"This," Luna spoke to them, "is not going to be a party. We have faced these giants before. Their scales are thick, but a well-placed shot of magic should be enough to slay the beast. You will need to aim for their mouths, as their insides are especially vulnerable. When we are done, thou wilst get a true welcome to our fair land. Many of the ponies are eager to meet you! Fair thee ready?"

"Yea! The Rebel Alliance is always ready! Right guys?"

There was a shout of agreement, but Night Heart was more concerned about how bumpy the ride was getting. He was still moving, but he felt himself swaying off-course.

"Here is the plan," Luna began, but Night heart didn't get to hear it as he was pulled away by an outside force. Something powerful pulled him out of the path he was taking and dragged him to places unknown.

He saw a light ahead and was thrust into it, causing him to shield his eyes.

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When he awoke, Night Heart could tell he was different. Ugh... Equestria! he remembered and tried to stand up. He noted that without even thinking, he had stood upon four legs instead of two. He was a pony! He was an earth pony in Equestria!

His brony self started to get excited before he told himself to focus on the task at hand. I don't even know where I am! There will be time for celebration later. He looked around. The walls were orange and smelled like something had died inside them. Night Heart raised his hoof to his nose and accidentally hit his lip. Oops! This might take a little getting used to, he thought. Oh yea, and no fingers, so I couldn't really plug my nose if I wanted to.

He looked around, searching for any sign of the others. This definitely wasn't Ponyville! And he didn't think this was where Luna had wanted him to go. Something had pulled him away from the others, and he ended up here. ...wherever he was.

A stirring drew his attention behind him. There, lying on the ground was another pony. A unicorn it looked like. "Oh, thank goodness I'm not the only one! Come on, let's get out of this place--"

Wait, this unicorn had wings... Twilight?! No, this wasn't her. It was... Well, whoever it is, I've got to get her out of here. Taking her hoof in his mouth, Night Heart began dragging her toward what he hoped was an exit. It turned out to be another path that went in crazy zigzag directions. Eventually, it opened up into a big room. A REALLY big room.

Filled with Changelings.

Oh no... he was in a changeling hive. They flew every direction and seemed to all be heading somewhere. He supposed he could follow them since they knew their way around here... but what if they were going to the queen? The queen and ponies weren't exactly on a first-name basis right now. They had promised the Changelings access to James' world and as far as Night Heart knew, they hadn't gotten it yet.

Besides, this might be a different Hive altogether! I could anywhere. If this isn't Queen Chrysalis' hive, I might be on the other side of Equestria!... With nothing to do but hope that wasn't true, Night Heart pulled his pony ally along the path that smelled the least like old swiss cheese.

Aha! A light! Oh thank Celestia! he thought as he moved faster toward it. In a flash, he was outside, heading toward some bushes. Safely behind them, he looked up to see hundreds of Changelings flying around the hive, moving in and out, and just going about their usual business--whatever that was.

Now how am I supposed to get to Ponyville? The others need me! He heard his partner stirring. Making sure they were safe in the bushes, he crouched down and watched her open her eyes. "Eve?"

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Eve slowly opened her eyes, strangely rested and expecting to see the usual roof of her house. But what she saw was blue skies and white clouds.

She was... outside?

No, wait... could it be?

Eve refused to close her eyes just in case this was a dream. Looking to her left, she saw a pony watching her with curious eyes.

A huge smile covered her face as she reached up to hug the complete stranger. "You're a pony! I'm a pony! I mean, who are you? Are we in Ponyville? Oh my gosh I'm in Equestria!!"

Night Heart pulled her just enough off of him so he could breath. "Yes, we're in Equestria, and I'm Night Heart," he said.

"Night Heart?! Yes yes yes! Look, we made it! This is--"

"Yes, it's Equestria, I know, but this isn't Ponyville," Night Heart began. I really wish I could just let her have her moment, but we need to find out where we are. She'll have time for that later when we meet up with the others.

"Where's Pinkie Pie? Where's Twilight?" she looked up at her friend, "Where's James?" she was still smiling, but Night Heart's face suggested everything was not well. "We-we're going to have fun, right? Meet the ponies, live with them, get a thanks from royalty... or is somepony in danger?"

Night Heart sighed. "Well, the good news is, we made it. We're in Equestria along with James and several others. The bad news is..." they both turned to look at the towering hive before them. "...WE'RE the ponies in danger..."

Eve almost passed out, but managed to stay awake. This wasn't a dream. She moved closer to Night Heart and held him.

Don't worry, Eve, I'll protect you no matter what. I'll protect everypony! That's why I'm here--I don't care about myself, I just want to help my friends. Nothing bad will happen to anypony now that I'm here. This I swear on my life. He looked down at the slightly frightened, slightly still excited alicorn. If she has wings AND a horn, then she must be... a princess... his eyebrows rose at the thought. ...But then... what land? A princess of what?

To be continued!

...I hope

Author's Note:

For my friends who stuck with me during "Birthday Wish", I have written this. The YouTube video links are simply for background music and you don't have to play them. My Christmas break is coming up soon, which is when I'll really be able to write, but I wanted to go ahead and get this up since everyone seemed so excited for it. This is a direct sequel, so some things won't make sense to newcomers. You should still be able to follow it, though. I have plans for what I think will happen in this story, but for it to be really good, I'll need to hear from you guys what you think should happen!