1. The Harmonic Origin - Part 1
“Mmm…”
In the middle of a vast field of grass beneath a cloudy sky did stir a sapphire blue unicorn unmarked. As he came to, he took in his surroundings and saw the grass around him had been burned away, and some of his belongings lay strewn about.
“Where am I…?” He struggled to his hooves like a newborn colt, feeling oddly weak as he explored his memories, noting particulars.
His name was Midnight Blaze, he embodied the Element of Faith, he was a Guardian of Harmony, he lived in Ponyville with his adoptive family, he had an adoptive little brother named Twinken, and he was in love with a most beautiful unicorn mare named Twilight Sparkle. They had been together through thick and thin, were friends with the most amazing ponies, they had overcome fierce adversaries, solved mind-boggling problems, and had learned together the Magic of Friendship.
Shaking off the wooziness as he felt his second wind, Midnight looked around, and saw only long fields of grass, distant mountains, and a forest in one direction. Nothing looked familiar, for he did not see Canterlot or the mountain upon which it was built. The weather was breezy and a tad chilly, and there wasn’t a soul in sight.
“Is this Equestria…?” he wondered aloud before noting the objects around him. He was relieved to see his saddlebags were here, so at least he wouldn’t have to carry these things in his aura.
He levitated them up and strapped them on before taking inventory! Midnight was relieved to see the two-way journal with his master, Prince Sombra! He tucked it into his left bag and looked to see his pega-goggles! He’d be able to fly. Then he noticed something glowing dim as an ember. He approached and levitated it to eye-level to see it was his invention!
The star-cut gem-like stone composed of three spells crystalized into material form, glittering like opal, but then he sensed a mild distortion, a magic woven into its make-up that wasn’t there when he’d completed it!
Before he could contemplate further, he felt a breeze and something blown against his fetlock. He looked down and gasped!
It was a photograph, one he’d had pinned to the bulletin board in his workshop, a photo he would look at every time he was there.
It was a picture of him and the gang after they’d defeated Nightmare Moon and restored her to Princess Luna.
He held it up and saw himself as he sat to Twilight’s right, Fluttershy crouched in front of them both, Rarity and Pinkie Pie to Midnight’s right, while Applejack and Big Mac stood to Twilight’s left. Above Twilight was Rainbow Dash, and above Midnight was Thunderlane.
All of them smiling happily at the camera, the very picture they’d taken together after they’d become friends.
Just seeing it, this picture of his best friends in the entire world, his brother and sister, his special somepony, made Midnight feel an odd mixture of happiness that in a way they were still with him and the sadness that in reality he was alone. He tucked the stone and photo into his right bag and strapped on his goggles before giving them a tap with his hoof.
He felt the pegasus magic envelop him in a flash of light that sounded like the crack of lightning, and instantly, he felt the absence of his horn and the familiar sensation of wings.
Lowering his front, his wings raised, Midnight leapt up and with a mighty flap he took to the air, and rose high so as to better survey his surroundings. Peering down, he saw the spot of charred grass where he had awoken and around that were miles of grasslands, rippling like an ocean. In the distance, he saw high hills and mountains, and in another direction was a forest lush and green. But then he saw something at the edge of the forest, his current pegasus eyes enabling him to see further than he could in his unicorn form.
It looks like… a tower?
As there wasn’t a soul in sight and no sign of civilization anywhere else, Midnight briefly dove and flew in the direction of the apparent tower. Flying to his destination took almost no time at all, and as he got closer, he confirmed his destination to be a tower indeed.
It stood high, even dwarfing the tree line of the forest behind it. It was composed of mottled stone, with one side coated by a curtain of soft green moss with purple blooms here and there. The top of the tower was a steeple, with a belfry and a spire upon which flew a flag of blue outlined gold.
Beneath the steeple was a balcony and there appeared to be a telescope of sorts peering over the stone railing. Along the tower’s height were windows here and there, one had an arch-frame, another was a circle, a third was a bay window, and there was one that looked like stained-glass though the cloudy overcast made it difficult to see what the stained-glass displayed. On each side of the tower were pipes poking out and spewing smoke, so Midnight assumed they were chimneys of sorts.
Hanging from the tower was a long banner of royal blue, outlined gold but emblazoned with a symbol of two stars and a swirly pattern, right above a wooden door, framed with iron, a heavy doorknocker forged into the face of a lion, a ring of metal hanging from its mouth. The door handle was brass and weathered, and as the chill of evening began to fall, Midnight realized he needed a place to stay, and hopefully the owner of this tower would be kind enough to let him stay if only for the night.
Taking a deep breath and reverting to his unicorn form, Midnight replaced his goggles into his saddlebag and concentrated upon the knocker. It clanged against the door three times in steady rhythm, and awaited a response, as was the custom common courtesy demanded.
No sound indicated anyone coming, and as the moments turned to minutes, Midnight furrowed his brows as his impatience blew his manners out the window. He concentrated on the knocker again and rammed it numerously and rapidly before ending it with a most punctuated clang!
“OK, ok, I’m coming! Keep your shorts on!”
The voice sounded irritated, as were the hoofsteps approaching the door from the inside, and for a moment Midnight was afraid he’d made a mistake because of his rudeness. Because the door opened and standing before him was a unicorn stallion, his coat bluish-gray, his mane short but wavy, colored coffee brown with streaks of silver, his narrowed eyes aquamarine, and he wore a robe of royal blue patterned with stars and moons. His age was difficult to guess. He wasn’t young but he wasn’t old either, and he had a full beard colored the same as his mane.
“Well, whattya want?!”
“Um, please forgive my rudeness, sir,” Midnight dipped his head, feeling intimidated as his ears pressed down submissively.
“But I’m kind of lost and have no shelter at the moment. Would you be so kind as to let me stay? Just for the night, of course!”
“I don’t know…” the unicorn narrowed his eyes shrewdly. “You seem to be more interested in disturbing ponies just before they deign to relax with a nice cuppa hot cocoa.”
The very sound of hot cocoa enticed Midnight but he suppressed it as he pleaded, “Please, sir! I apologize for disturbing you and meant no offense! But right now, I’m lost and have nowhere else to go! All I ask is to stay the night, and in the morning I’ll leave as soon as you ask me to.”
Midnight looked hopefully at the stallion, whose look was inscrutable. Growling, he turned to go back inside but said, “Wipe your hooves before you come in.”
Midnight perked happily and did as he was asked before stepping through the threshold. He found himself in a cozy sitting room with a comfortable-looking sofa, a big armchair, a large flat stone served as a makeshift coffee table, a stone fireplace alit made for a pleasant warmth, a flowerpot with purplish-white blooms rested on a windowsill to the right and to the left was a stone staircase ascending along the wall up to the next floor.
“I suppose it’d be rude not to offer you a cup of cocoa, if you want it,” the unicorn grumbled, Midnight instantly replying, “That would be very nice, thank you, sir!”
“Then you can drop your rump on the couch, while I get the pot. Should be ready by now,” the unicorn took the stairs up while Midnight took his offer of the couch.
It was comfortable indeed and he placed his saddlebags on the stone table in front of him as he relaxed, feeling the heat of the fireplace wash over him. But his concerns of where he was returned to nag him.
How did I get here, and where exactly is here?
He searched his memories, particularly what he remembered before waking up in the middle of nowhere.
I’d just completed my time-slowing stone… Nah, that sounds dumb. Time Stone, that sounds better… Ok, so I’d just completed my Time Stone and tested it, and if I remember right, it worked! Then… I felt something familiar, my mind went blank…!
Growling in frustration, he stomped the floor, angrily saying, “What happened after that?!”
“After what?”
Midnight jolted and saw the unicorn stallion return, levitating a tray with a teapot of sorts, two mugs, a small pitcher, and a bowl of what looked like cookies.
“Ok, pardon my outburst, sir,” Midnight apologized as his host placed the tray onto the stone table and sunk into his armchair.
“Just trying to figure out my situation.”
“Agh, don’t speak to me of situations, boy,” the unicorn grumbled, “I have enough of them on my plate, what with the tribes still squabbling.”
“Uh, tribes, sir?” Midnight inquired, not quite understanding.
The unicorn sighed tiresomely but kindly explained, “Ever since the great exoduses of the three tribes to this new land, things have been tense. Despite my apprentice and her new friends, Smart Cookie, and Private Pansy, convincing Princess Platinum, Commander Hurricane, and Chancellor Puddinghead to accept friendship and let go of hatred in the pursuit of unity, things between the tribes continue to teeter upon the edge of a sword.”
Midnight’s eyes widened as he recognized those names, from the history books Twilight had made him read.
Those are five of the six founders of Equestria! And if the apprentice is Clover the Clever, and this is her master…!
Dreading what he was asking, but knowing he must, Midnight asked, “Remind me again, sir, how long has it been since Equestria was founded?”
“Four tiresome years,” the unicorn groaned, “three since the great exoduses from the tribes’ former land to Equestria and thence the tribes continue to bicker! It might not be as bad as it was before but now the debates matter much more than food, weather, and raising the sun and moon!”
“Whattya mean, sir?” Midnight pressed.
“Recently, I attended a summit of the leaders, this time with my old friend, King Bullion in attendance,” the unicorn explained.
“I voiced my idea before the leaders of the tribes that if we were to unite then we must have a leader to rule us as one tribe rather than three but then somepony begged the question, who would lead our three tribes made one? And that is where the problems arose.”
“…Because… each tribe wants one of their own to be that leader,” Midnight deduced, the unicorn giving him an intrigued look.
“Well, at least you have something upstairs other than your horn. Yes, young colt, the question of who will lead Equestria is a matter of grave importance, because whichever pony is bequeathed the burden of the throne will either be an earth pony, a pegasus, or a unicorn, and however sincere or self-serving they turn out to be, the other tribes will protest and claim the pony would favor their own tribe above the rest.”
Midnight’s heart was beginning to pound as he began to suspect the identity of his host, his head telling him to confirm it but his fear making him hesitate.
“Oh, I forgot, sir. My name is Midnight Blaze, and you are?”
“I am called Star Swirl the Bearded,” the unicorn answered and went silent as though awaiting a reaction.
*Thump*
Star Swirl opened his eyes and was surprised, for his guest fainting in front of him after introducing himself was not quite the reaction he’d been expecting.
“Was it something I said?”
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I think starswirl just broke midnight
Interesting take on the story! Starswirl's attitude seems appropriate to a old powerful wizard as well. I love your stories Midnight Blaze! Keep on Writing!
just began to read this (side-)story the moment I read chapter 139: Magical Mystery Cure - Part 4 of MLP: The Story Retold...!
i love the last sentence i couldn't stop laughing