7. A Dazzling Conflict! - Epilogue
Midnight groaned as his mind stumbled its way out of foggy unconsciousness.
“Shh! He’s waking up!”
“Don’t push me, Tia!”
“Huh?”
Midnight’s eyes edged open and he found himself looking at two little fillies, one white with a pink mane, eyes a pale magenta, a horn, and looked about Sweetie Belle’s age. The other was grayish blue, her mane a similar but brighter shade, her eyes cyan, she also had a horn, and looked younger. But then he gawked as he saw tiny little wings on their backs and he knew at once who they were.
“Hi! I’m Tia, this is my little sister Woona!”
“What’s your name, mistew?” asked Woona in a slightly babyish voice.
“Uh… My name is Midnight,” he answered, stunned at the sight of these two fillies and still comprehending the ponies he knew, the two they were gonna grow up to be.
“I told her that already,” Tia said all smart-alecky, “but she wanted to hear it from you. See Woona, I told you I was right. You really should listen to me more.”
“How did we weawwy know unwess he towd us?!” Woona fussed. “You awen’t awways wight, Tia!”
“Well Mister Star Swirl told us, he’s our teacher!” Tia griped, and Midnight couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Star Swirl said you’re a great magician, almost as good as him! But… you don’t have your mark of destiny!”
“Neithew do we,” Woona moaned sadly as she looked at her blank flank.
“Hey, don’t be so glum,” Midnight smiled encouragingly, the two fillies looking up at him. “A… mark of destiny represents just a single part of yourself. It’s not the one thing that shows how special you are!”
“What do you mean?” Tia asked, her sister just as curious.
“Everypony wants to stand out from the herd in some way,” Midnight explained, “to show everyone something that makes them special! But it’s not always a mark on your flank, sometimes it’s what you do, how you act, or even what you feel. I have a bunch of friends who I love very much and they all stand out by being who they are, not what’s on their flanks! One of them, my brother, usually doesn’t say much because he lets his actions speak for themselves! But he is one of the smartest ponies I know, and then there’s my… special somepony.”
The sisters gasped as Tia asked, “You have a special somepony?”
“I do, and I love her more than anything in the world,” Midnight said with a smile and a bit of a blush.
“And time and time again, she has done incredible things, shown herself to be a great leader, and probably knows every book on magic ever written!”
“What’s hew name?” Woona asked.
“I think that’s enough, girls.”
They all startled and saw Star Swirl, who was giving Midnight a look as he said, “Go up to the dining room, girls. Dinner’s warm and ready.”
“Ok!” the girls hurried up the stairs and once they were gone, the two unicorns regarded each other.
“…How long was I out?” Midnight asked.
“Almost five hours,” Star Swirl answered. “Though you’re lucky you woke up in this world at all, what with the stunt you pulled!”
“Banishing them to another dimension was unnecessary,” Midnight debated with furrowed brows, “I only destroyed what gave them their power.”
“And created some kind of magical backlash,” Star Swirl added. “My spell, the Sirens’ pendants, and your magic destroying them caused some kind of anomaly. It rendered you unconscious, so I had to carry your sorry plot back here.”
“What about the Sirens?” Midnight asked.
“I am unsure,” Star Swirl sighed. “Once it all calmed down, there was no sign of them other than the shattered remains of their pendants, which I have insured will never again see the light of day… Perhaps I was hasty in what I’d intended, but remember Midnight for you said so yourself! They were threatening the very future of Equestria! The fact you’re still here, I can only guess that the timeline remains intact for the most part. But you still may very well have caused a ripple effect, and there’s no telling how that may affect your future!”
“Sorry…” Midnight looked towards the stairs and said, “I see you succeeded with my suggestion.”
“I take it you already know who they are,” Star Swirl presumed.
“I do,” Midnight sat up and stretched out some aches, “and I am still finding it odd to see them as fillies!”
“Resist telling me more, I’d rather see it unfold,” Star Swirl insisted, Midnight nodding when a cheeky smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth.
“Ok, but be sure to stock up on cake and teach them to use the royal ‘We’.”
Star Swirl gave him a confused look, “Why?”
“Can’t tell you, might affect the future,” Midnight remarked smugly, and chuckling at Star Swirl’s scowl.
“Fine, smartflank, I’ll see to it. By the way, while you were asleep, one of your books started vibrating and flashing, the one with a red crystal mark on it.”
The instant those words left star Swirl’s mouth, Midnight zipped up to him, saying, “Show me!”
Midnight looked at his two-way journal, still vibrating and flashing, and was in shock at what it meant!
I’d hoped but…Can it really be?!
The journal vibrated and the red crystal mark flashed on the coffee table, and Midnight knew it wouldn’t stop until he turned to the page with the reply. His horn flared, beckoning the pages to turn and he gasped as his eyes fell upon the response.
‘Dear Midnight Blaze,
I have been made aware of your absence but did not find your message until the morning after the night you vanished. Rest assured, my loyal apprentice, this was meant to be. You have begun a journey like none before, you will face many a peril, witness many events historical and personal, meet many individuals, be they ally or enemy.
But you are a Guardian of Harmony, you represent the Element of Faith, you are my apprentice, and I have faith you will return home to us!
…Because as I write this message, the pony who you will become stands beside me. I have no doubts this Midnight I have spoken with is you, who you are meant to become, who you will be. But only after you have travailed the very history of Equestria!
But take heed. You will visit events in time where you may find the temptation to change it. Under no circumstances may you interfere with such events, and as your master I expressly forbid you to prevent my becoming the Unicorn whose Heart is as Black as Night.
For better or worse, events such as these must remain untouched though I will not deny I wish it could be otherwise. Yet so very often, Midnight Blaze, is the road to hell paved with good intentions.
I will do as you ask and say nothing to your friends of your situation, for you will see them again one day, and you will be able to tell them all that you endured for yourself.
Do not doubt our bond as master and apprentice and doubt not these two-way journals. Should ever you need advice, I am here to guide you.
And Midnight? I have seen what you will become, and could not be prouder if you were my own son.
Good luck, Midnight Blaze, and have faith.
Sincerely,
Prince Sombra’
Midnight wiped the tears away, his faith rewarded, and mentally kicked himself in the plot for having ever doubted. Now, he had a connection to the present, a guide, and a promise he would make it back, for according to his master, he already had! So there was no way he would fail!
As the sun began to lower, Star Swirl invited Midnight to dinner and the two unicorns sat with the fillies at the dining table, enjoying a dinner of freshly baked bread and butter, mashed potatoes, peas, and apple cider, the non-alcoholic kind for the girls and a light-alcoholic kind for the adults.
“Girls, I expect at least half of those peas gone from your plates before you go to bed.”
“Aw!” both fillies whined, Woona protesting, “But Staw Swiwl! Peas awe yucky!”
“Now, now, girls, listen to your teacher,” Midnight said but the moment Star Swirl was looking, he winked at the girls and they perked. Midnight muttered a spell that made the peas vanish one by one every time Star Swirl wasn’t looking.
“Anyway, what’s ol’ uncle Star Swirl teaching you girls?”
“He’s teaching us magic, and a bunch of stuff we have to know to be good rulers,” Tia answered, Woona adding, “A wot of it is bowing, but we wanna be th’ best pwincesses we can be fow evwypony!”
“That’s nice an’ all but can you do cool stuff?” Midnight asked, the girls looking at him curiously, “Can you… touch the tip of your snoot with your tongue?”
Almost at once, the girls were both sticking their tongues out and trying to touch the tips of their little noses, their eyes scrunching with effort, Star Swirl just keeping to his meal.
“I can’t do it!” Tia pouted, Woona whining, “Neithew can I!”
“Well no big, I can’t either,” chuckled Midnight, finding the sights of these adorable fillies struggling over so silly a task, having completely divorced from the awareness of whom they would grow up to be.
“Also, I wanna ask… Do either of you have a special somepony yet?”
“Ach! No!” Woona blew a raspberry, Tia adding, “Yeah, boys are icky!”
“Ya mean icky like this?” Midnight leaned one way and ripped such a fart that Star Swirl gaped at him, the girls all giggling, “Eeeewwww!”
“For Goddess’ sakes, Midnight Blaze!” snapped Star Swirl, “Manners!”
“What? It’s a compliment!” Midnight shrugged with a smile.
“What do we say after that?” Star Swirl all but demanded.
“Oh wait, it’s supposed to come from the attic, not the basement,” Midnight cracked, the girls laughing harder.
Star Swirl leaned forward, his eyes narrowed as he said with a dangerous tone, “Three strikes and you're history, kiddo...”
“Alright, alright, I was getting to it!” Midnight leaned forward with an upturned snoot, his eyes closed, as he muttered, “Pardon.”
“Hmph! Well, since you’re all getting along so well,” Star Swirl started collecting the dishes, “you can be the one to put them to bed while I clean up here.”
“Aw, Staw Swiwew!” whined Woona, Tia pouting, “But we’re not” – she paused before yawning – “a bit sleepy!”
“Girls… listen to your teacher,” Midnight said in the best parental voice he could muster but snuck them a wink that gave them hope.
“Let’s get you bathed and if you’re good I’ll even tell you a bedtime story!”
“Yay!” the girls cheered as they ran up the stairs to the bathroom, Midnight smiling warmly after them.
“Thank you.”
He turned to look at Star Swirl, who was scrubbing the dishes clean with mana, working some kind of spell for cleaning.
“That’s honestly the most cheerful they’ve been as of late. Ever since I took them under my tutelage a year ago, I’ve found it hard…”
“It’s because they are still children,” Midnight answered understandingly, “and you are training them to shoulder Equestria and everypony in it.”
“And I must prepare them as quickly as I can,” Star Swirl continued, “For soon, I will have to present them before the Tribal Council, before the current leaders of Equestria. I must also prepare them, learn them in the dance of politics, and enlighten them of those who would try to sway them into making the wrong decisions. I have been strict, but you are right. They are still children and I must see to it they are happy as they learn, to keep them happy until the moment they must grow up to face the world as we see it matured and enlightened.”
“Be a good teacher, but, also… try to be something of a father to them,” encouraged Midnight before he followed the stairs up, leaving Star Swirl to ponder.
Bath time turned out to be an experience Midnight would have mixed feelings about when he became a father. He had to be careful in making the soap didn’t get in Tia and Woona’s eyes, made sure they washed behind their ears, and made them clean their private areas as he was too uncomfortable doing it himself.
Then Tia started a splash fight and Midnight tried to break it up, only to end up having an impromptu bath himself, that he imitated Rarity by saying, ‘It. Is…. ON!’
The bath room knew war that night, as splashes, bubbles, and bath toys filled the air until it ended with Star Swirl barging in, yelling about the waterfall streaming down the stairs. Midnight calmed the wizard down and promised to but the girls to bed. He levitated them up, toweled them dry despite their squirming complaints, and marched them up to their room.
To his surprise, there was only one bed, because the sisters were more comfortable sleeping together and snuggling up. It made them feel safe, knowing they were right next to each other. Midnight was also surprised by the big bookcase taking up one wall, crammed with books on magic, the arts, sciences, and histories. Although the two bottom shelves did have several storybooks and books on stuff fillies would be interested in, like flowers, animals, and fairytales.
There was toy chest set at the foot of the bed, and a foal’s table covered with drawings, notes, and miscellaneous objects, like a couple jewels, a pinecone, a rock that had quartz inside, a few quills, one broken, an almost empty inkwell, a magnifying glass, and a book with a flower pressed into it.
“This is a very nice room,” Midnight chuckled as the girls climbed into bed and started bouncing on it.
“Stowy time, story time!” the girls chanted, Midnight laughing as he sat next to the bed, only for Woona to say, “No, get in bed with us, Midnight!”
“Yeah, you should be comfortable,” Tia added.
“Well…” Midnight was hesitant but he couldn’t say no to those pleading little eyes and gently got into bed with them, the girls snuggling up to him and looking at him expectantly.
“Ok, lemme think…”
Midnight told the girls story after story of his adventures (and misadventures) with his friends and family. He told them of the time they got pranked by Poison Joke and how he wound in in an enlarged Big Macintosh’s belly, he told them of the pretty dresses and wonderful suits Rarity made for them, the pranks Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie once played on everypony, how he became a big brother to Twinken, but all the while he made sure never to mention the girls as the adults they would become, nor of the Elements of Harmony or all the bad guys they faced.
Soon, Tia and Woona were happily sleeping and so snuggled up against Midnight that any attempt to get out of bed would disturb them. But he didn’t mind, rather he found it nice and adorable, and felt comfortable himself as sleep took him away into its resting bosom.
Through the crack of the nearly-closed door, Star Swirl smiled at what he was seeing and turned out the lights. As he made his way towards his own bedroom, he smiled happily that for once he’d get a good night’s sleep without his students bothering him.
Even so, the grumpy unicorn smiled, as the mental picture of Midnight, Tia, and Woona remained clear in his mind as he closed his bedroom door.
The next morning, Midnight treated everypony to a breakfast of apple flapjacks and cheesed scrambled eggs.
The girls loved them, and star Swirl was reluctant to eat the scrambled eggs, having never heard of them. But once he sampled them, he demanded more and Midnight almost used Star Swirl’s entire stock of eggs to satisfy him.
But once breakfast was over, Star Swirl gave Tia and Woona a study session, much to their chagrin but Midnight saw it in Star Swirl’s eyes. He wanted a word.
As the girls were upstairs, groaning in boredom of the books Star Swirl had told them to read through, Star Swirl and Midnight sat in the sitting room.
“I take you still plan to leave once the full moon rises,” he gathered.
“I have to,” Midnight confirmed with a sad smile, those two little fillies upstairs having grown on him.
“I can’t just go the timeline bit by bit, recovering as much magic in between each jump, spending too much for so little. I’m hoping that the full moon will give me a boost to go further, but I still plan to be careful about it.”
“As you should be,” Star Swirl agreed. “However, I think, even without the full moon, you could’ve gone further than you actually did. It sounded to me that, the moment you felt that pain at the base of your horn and in your stomach you panicked by releasing the magic.”
Midnight nodded.
“Well, I believe if you’d bared the pain somewhat, you would likely have gone a little further than five years,” Star Swirl suggested.
“Midnight, what you are doing could take you quite a while, you might even find yourself back in your old time but older than you were when you were whisked into the past. What I am saying is, the harder you try, the quicker you’ll get home to the time where you belong. I am not saying you should recklessly expend your magic all willy-nilly! In a goal such as this, caution is a must. Even so, for the things we want, we must try harder and not give into fear the moment it begins to look edgy.”
“You’re right…” Midnight realized he had chickened out the moment the pain started. If he did that every time he used the Time Stone, he might wind up middle-aged himself by the time he got back to the present. He had to be brave and have faith in himself, even if that meant grunting through some pain to get further along the timeline with every jump.
“Thanks for the pep talk, Star Swirl, I needed it. And while we’re on the topic, just remember what I said. Be patient with the girls and they’ll grow up to be great princesses one day.”
“I said resist telling me too much,” Star Swirl smiled with a raised brow.
“Just one more thing,” Midnight sounded serious that Star Swirl listened attentively as the blue unicorn spoke.
“There may come a time when the girls will need what we discovered from that fallen star. Have you kept an eye on it?”
“…It has grown taller and more magnificent,” Star Swirl’s tone was in awe. “It beholds a magic unlike anything I’ve ever known. I took a sample but did nothing to damage it. The sample is composed of a crystal-like substance yet it also seems to be a blend of wood, from an actual tree! I wish I could study it further but I don’t dare… it’s… just too sacred. I’ve been planning to take the girls to see it soon.”
“That is good,” Midnight sighed. Then his ears drooped as he began to grow sad. “I… I’m not gonna look forward to saying goodbye, but…”
His eyes widened as he suddenly realized something!
“What is it?” Star Swirl asked.
“Tia…!” he whispered. “I first met her when she was grown up, but… she never mentioned meeting me, here while she’s still a filly!”
“Perhaps you have already begun to change history, Midnight,” Star Swirl said, “it was unavoidable.”
“I don’t know…” Midnight revered and respected Princess Celestia, but he’d seen her in ways Twilight had never considered, and he knew Celestia had kept a fair number of secrets.
Once, in distant memory, he was from another world and was not originally a pony. He’d died in that world and Celestia told him when they met face-to-face that she’d brought his wayward soul to Equestria, and somehow he’d assumed the form of a pony.
The more he thought about it, the more he became certain there was more to what Celestia had told him.
“Midnight?”
Star Swirl’s worried tone snapped him out of his puzzling and Midnight said, “It’s nothing… Well, my friend, there’s still plenty of time before tonight. Would it be alright if… I spent it with the girls?”
Star Swirl was hesitant, wanting the girls to continue their studies, but as Midnight said, he had to be an encouraging teacher, not a strict taskmaster, and these would-be princesses were still fillies, and deserved to romp and play from time to time.
“Girls!” he called out, “Come on downstairs!”
All throughout the day, it was happy. Midnight played with Tia and Woona and sometimes even got Star Swirl to join in. They played tag, hide & seek, Star Swirl insisted on a few rounds of chess, and when he wasn’t around, Midnight took a devious delight in teaching the girls some spells.
They tested one of them where Woona cast it on Star Swirl’s favorite chair, and when the wizard sat in it to read, a loud and droning fart sound resonated through the tower, causing Midnight, Tia, and Woona to fall over in gut-bursting laughter, and they even went as far as using a dye spell to turn Star Swirl’s hat pink. Needless to say, Star Swirl was not amused.
But all too soon the sun had set and as the night sky fell upon them, Midnight felt it as they all stood outside the tower. The full moon rose slowly, and Midnight felt its power revitalizing him. Like a gentle trickle of warm water at first before it enfolded him like a nice hot shower, soothing sore muscles and washing away the sweat of effort, and he felt the magic inside him brighten with every deep breath.
Star Swirl, Tia and Woona watched in awe as Midnight began to glow a gentle radiance like the moon itself.
Star Swirl was mystified, feeling it as much as he was seeing it. Midnight was soaking in the moonlight like a sponge, his magic energy would have been blinding if they could actually see it were it not contained within this blue unicorn.
Then Midnight turned to face them, sadly whispering, “It is time.”
Star Swirl levitated Midnight’s cloak and saddlebags to him, and he accepted them, quickly putting them on when the girls walked up to him, eyes teary.
“Pwease don’ go, Midnight!” cried Woona, Tia sniffling, “We don’t want you to!”
Midnight felt his heart ache and wished he could tell them otherwise, but he hunkered down and gently rubbed their heads.
“I’m so sorry, my little ponies. But I have friends and family who miss me, just as I miss them so very much. That’s why I have to go, to get back to them. And I have a special somepony waiting for me, and I have a little brother who needs me! Just as you girls need each other. Tia, Woona, take care of each other, and always do your best. I have no doubts you’re both gonna grow up to be wonderful princesses for all the little ponies of Equestria. And this isn’t goodbye! You’ll see me again, maybe not anytime soon. But you will.”
“Pwomise?” Woona asked.
Midnight chuckled as he said, “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”
The rhyme made the little princesses giggle, but the sad frowns came back, as they reached up to hug Midnight, and he hugged them back. He felt his heart hurt more when they whispered to him, “We wuv you…”
Midnight struggled to hold in the tears as he let them go and smiled. He stood up, giving a nodding smile to Star Swirl, who obliged in kind, before turning around. As he walked away, he couldn’t help but hear Tia sniffle harder, Woona whispering, “Don’ cwy, Tia, he pwomised!”
He didn’t dare turn around to look at them one more time. He felt that if he did, he might not find the will to leave. He furrowed his brows as his horn flared, his magic channeling into the Time Stone. It shined with life as the time bubble surrounded midnight once more, Star Swirl and the sisters watching as Midnight slowly rose up in the bubble, the wind and power in motion around them, the magic intensifying…!
And in a Wink of light, he was gone!
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I think you overloaded my cute meter on this one. Tia and "Woona" were adorable
Cuteness overload I died form my heart being pierced with overwhelming cuteness written there. Great chapter and Iook forward to the next one.
That was both awesome and adorable. I can't wait for his next adventure
Urrrrgh...can't...stand...the...cuteness
Why do you two sisters have to be so cute
Can't wait for more of this. Also, will you be continuing into season 4 after this with your other fic ?
5372698 Of kors! This is just a detour to answer a few questions
5373196 Sweet! I did not want that to end :)