• Published 16th Oct 2014
  • 9,153 Views, 207 Comments

The Midnight Dance - CartoonNerd12



An MLP fairy tale comes to life when six princesses fight for love.

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Chapter 18

There was a huge thump from where the hydra landed and from that thump, Fancy Pants felt it and so did Discord as he got knocked out from his comfort spot.

"What in the…?!" he looked over to Fancy, who could only shrug at him. Then, they heard cheering in the distance and it became louder as two pegasi landed down with a dragon and earth pony.

"Did you see the way it just…boom!" Soarin' laughed.

"And that it waggled after it couldn't get up!" chuckled Cheese.

"I still can't believe we did that!" Spike jumped off Flash, "The way we wrapped those vines around him! It was just… Wow!"

"Believe it, we beat a giant monster from eating us!"

Discord cleared his throat to get their attention, "And pray tell, what was this monster that tried to eat you?"

After a bit of heroic storytelling, Discord concluded, "Well, from the sound of it, you boys just encountered a hydra."

"Hydra?!" all four said.

"But those things aren't supposed to exist!" pointed Flash.

"Oh, they're very real and I'm sure your marefriend has read several on the subject, but you did alright on your own."

"Well… I couldn't have done it without Spike."

"Aw, gee… I just did what you told me to do and besides, you saved my life! So, things might have worked out differently if you didn't…"

"By the way," Cheese faced Soarin', "Thanks for saving my life!"

"Hey, it's no biggie. That's what Wonderbolts and…" he rubbed his neck, "…friends do…"

Cheese's grin widened and asked, "We're… friends?"

"Sure, I mean, our girls are sisters, after all. So if anything's going to happen, we might as well be."

"Oh, my gosh! That didn't occur to me! We're going to be related if we marry the princesses!" his grin spread further at the thought.

"Whoa, there!" Flash came up to him, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I've only known Twilight for a couple of weeks! Just because I have strong feelings for her doesn't mean she feels the same way about me!"

"I beg to differ!" Discord put his hands on the stallion's shoulders, "But I've seen the way she looks at you! She like, likes you!"

He blushes, "You… you really think so?"

The other guys nodded their heads.

With a determined look across his face, Flash trotted ahead, "We better go or else we'll never get there!"

Fancy whispered, "Or most likely, he wants to get there to see if it was true…"

"Nevertheless," gestured Discord, "we need to go, now…"

They traveled the rest of afternoon. From a distance, they saw the queen's sun lowering. The guys were slowly losing their energy. Spike's eyes were drooping and Soarin' was lowering to the ground as his wings were not able to carry him much longer. Fancy and Cheese's hooves were hurting and Discord and Flash, while still having a look of earnest, were getting bags under their eyes.

Spike couldn't keep up much longer and eventually fell from exhaustion.

Cheese looked back to see Spike's condition, "Uh oh. Dragon down…" he picked him up to put him on his back.

"Maybe…" Soarin' yawned, "We should stop here for the night. We gotta be close by now, aren't we?"

"I'm going to have to agree. We must be almost there." said Fancy.

"Yeah, almost, but not enough…" Discord grumbled.

"Come on, Discord. You know we can't keep this up…" Flash said, "We need to rest. Even you…"

Discord looked down at his tired company. He couldn't deny it: Flash spoke the truth, and even he needed his beauty sleep to keep his magical energy up. He thought, Just hang in there, Fluttershy… I promise I'll be there as soon as I can… One more day; that's all it's going to take and you'll be back in my arms before you know it… He turned back to them, "Alright… we'll stop, but I want to be back on the road first thing in the morning! We'll just eat breakfast on the go."

"Deal…" the colts said while Spike snored away.

They had finished up setting up camp right as Luna was raising the moon and the night sky had set in. Spike had woken up just in time for Discord to be cooking dinner on a campfire. After a delicious meal, Cheese took out a flashlight and put the light over his face looking creepy.

"You know what this needs…?" he asked in an eerie tone.

"No, Cheese," Discord said in an exasperated voice, knowing exactly what he was getting at, "What does this dull camp site need?"

Doing a whooshing sound, he jumped on the log, "Ghost stories!"

Spike yelped, ducking for cover, "Ther-there won't be any zombies in it, will there?"

"Nah-ah, you're thinking zombie stories! These are true-to-form, honest-to-truth, full ghost stories! So help me, Celestia!"

"Ooh!" Soarin' motioned, "Tell the one about the Olden Pony! That one's my favorite!" Then, he used a hag's voice, "'Who's got my rusty horseshoe?!'" he made a poor evil laugh.

"Wonderful," Discord started crawling into his tent, "you guys go do that and have your little fun, but I'm going to catch some shut-eye, so keep it down or else!"

"Aw, come on, Discord!" Cheese complained, "Join us!"

"No…" he stretched it out, "Thank you…"

"Ah, it's one of those onion things, isn't it?"

The rest of guys looked at him as if he was crazy. They had no idea what he just said.

"What? No! It's one of those 'drop it and leave it alone' things!"

"I know! Let's play a game instead! Everyone, if you want to be something else, what would you pick?"

"What kind of stupid game is that?!" Discord asked in irritation.

"I'll go first to give an example," he cleared his throat, "I would be a superstar like Colt Eastwood!" He put on sunglasses for emphasis.

Discord smacked the pony's face and pulled the glasses away from him, "That's nice… now let's move on to other things, like getting some sleep!"

"What is your deal, dude?" Soarin' signified.

"Yeah, you're not being your usual cheery, bothersome self!" Spike pointed out, "What gives?"

"Nothing! So let's just leave it at that!"

"I think… he's hiding something." Fancy motioned.

That tore it for Discord as he shouted out, "Hiding? Hiding?! Hiding something?! Oh ho, that's an understatement! Of course Discord, the spirit of disharmony and deception, would be hiding something! That's what he is! That's all he'll ever be!" his face was red as he was panting from his rant.

The others looked on in shock and surprise.

He turned away from them, "But why am I telling you this…? You wouldn't understand… no pony ever does… except… for her…" his eyes were big and welling with tears.

They didn't need to ask who 'her' was. Spike went up to him and touched his claw, "That's where you're wrong. I should know…"

Discord did a small scoff, saying under his breath, "Sure, you do…"

"But I do. I'm an orphan. I never knew who my real parents were. I was raised by ponies with no one of my kind to play with… I was different from them. Then, when I learned about the species that I was, I found out I was a midget compared to my dragon brethren. A noble race, and I was nothing like those giants… Sure, I had the girls to keep me happy, but… Still, I wish I could be more than what I was… an outsider…"

Fancy spoke up then, "I grew up in the lower parts of Canterlot, and my family was always looked down by snobs who thought they were better than us… Just because we didn't have power like them didn't mean they were superior to us… I set out to prove them wrong and earned my spot in the royal castle. But even there, I was still looked down upon…"

Soarin' took his turn, "I was teased in school whenever I pretended to be something I was not. I knew then I wanted to be a Wonderbolt for real and set out to work as a water boy. Sure it stank, but at least I got my chance and became what I wanted to be. But remembering the low part of life, I have to make sure I stay on top to never go back…"

Cheese lowered his head, "As a young colt, I was always shy, never got around much and to fitting in not like today. But when I came to Canterlot one fateful day, I saw Pinkie hosting a party. That day, I knew who I was and what I wanted to do. I hoped to impress her, which eventually, I did. But when that proclamation came out, I knew I wouldn't be able to be more than a joke to a princess like her…"

Flash sighed, "I had to work all my life… My father and mother were barely making ends as it was… I wanted to get out of that and showed I could do more. I enrolled into the royal guard and set into training. When I met Twilight, I finally felt my dreams were coming true, only for it to be taken away when I found out she was the princess, knowing I didn't stand a chance with her…" he took a deep breath and proclaimed, "But she proved me wrong… She saw me as more than a guard… Just like Pinkie saw more than a joke, Cheese. Or how Rainbow saw more than a Wonderbolt, Soarin'. And I don't think Rarity ever saw you as a butler, Fancy. Applejack would never see you as an outsider, Spike, but as a companion and loyal friend. As for you, Discord… Fluttershy really knew what she was doing when she set you free from stone… She must've somehow known that by setting you free, she would gain a future with you…"

There was a calm among them until Discord did a soft chuckle, "You, Sir Sentry, are wise beyond your years. What you say makes sense… So… I guess now, you'll want my backstory since you all told yours."

"You don't have to." said Spike.

"Oh, but I better or else we wouldn't," He made air quotes, "…'properly bond'. And the funny thing is, it's similar to all your stories. I knew my parents, but only for a short time as huge blizzard came and I lost them… I traveled to the ends of Equestria and found out I wasn't like any of the other creatures that lived there and was treated differently. That's all they ever saw in me: a threat, a monster, a fiend… since no pony appreciated my gifts for chaos. So if ponies were going to think I was a villain, might as well be one… Sombra and Celestia were married by the time I was causing trouble and knew a spell to imprison me. Without a second thought, I was nothing more than a statue being put on display…" he did a small laugh, "So, which one of us has the more tragic story?"

"I say it's a six-way tie." gestured Cheese.

"For once, you're making sense." smiled Soarin'.

Flash said, "You can go sleep now. We won't disturb you."

"Are you kidding?! You can't go to sleep without smores in your belly!" he popped a bag of marshmallows, chocolate bars, and crackers.

"Now you're talking!" Cheese jumped, grabbing a lot of the s'more ingredients and took out a stick for the marshmallows, putting it over the fire.

Spike put his marshmallow on a stick and blew fire to make the mallow all mushy. After a while of eating the treats, he took out the picture he brought with him and said to them, "Think they're okay?"

They looked over to see his picture.

"I'm sure they are…" said Fancy, "Rarity is tougher than she lets on…"

"So is Pinkie…" motioned Cheese.

"Hey, Rainbow doesn't let anything get to her, not even being kidnapped by some creepy crawlies!"

"Twilight is smart and brave. She's fine, I'm sure of it…"

"Fluttershy may look scared, but deep down, she's the bravest pony in Equestria…"

"And Applejack won't be pushed around by some evil queen… She always puts her family's safety before her own…" he embraced the picture frame.

Flash yawned, "Maybe we better get to sleep now, so we can get there at last to see them."

"My thoughts exactly." Fancy moved to his tent.

The others had gone into their tents, saying their good nights, but Cheese stood by the dying fire.

"Pinkie… please be okay…" He looked up to the night sky and found a bright star.

In the dark dungeon, Pinkie stood close to a wall that had a small barred window above her and the girls. She could see her Aunt Luna's clear night sky and saw a star shining brighter than the others. She began singing.

"Somewhere out there… beneath the pale moonlight… Someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight…"

Cheese sang out, "Somewhere out there… Someone's saying a prayer… That we'll find one another… in that big somewhere out there…"

In their tents, the guys couldn't sleep and felt restless as they thought of their girls.

Fancy sang, "And even though I know how very far apart we are… It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star…"

At the same time, the girls were thinking about them, as well. Rarity vocalized, "And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby… It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky!"

All of them sang out, "Somewhere out there!"

Fluttershy sang, "If love can see us through!"

Discord sang, "Love can see us through!"

Rainbow took to singing, "Then we'll be together…"

Soarin' sang, "Together…"

Both pegasi sang, "Somewhere out there… out where dreams come… true…

Flash walked out of his tent and found a lake, seeing the moon's reflection on it, "And even I know how very far apart we are… It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star…"

Twilight looked up to the dungeon window, "And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby… It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky!"

They all sang again, "Somewhere out there!"

Applejack sang out, "If love can see us through!"

Spike sang, "Love can see us through!"

All of them finished, "Then we'll be together! Somewhere out there… Out where dreams come… true…"

Author's Note:

For the end song, I recommend you look up the end credit version of Somewhere Out There for those who have heard the original song from the movie, An American Tail, it just sounds way better and romantic. This is actually an extended version I found on YouTube, all I did was look under Somewhere Out There lyrics and found the same song artists, Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram to go with it. Okay, it's going to take me awhile to get the next chapter up, because one, I have to plan it out and two, I have to finish up school stuff for the end of the semester as that's coming up pretty soon. Till then, bye-bye!