BPT: A Midnight Stroll through Time

by Wolven5

9. The Children of the Night - Part 2

Night was falling, ponies had hours ago brought in their foals, locked their doors and windows, and members of the Royal Guard patrolled the slowly darkening streets. Midnight pulled his cloak tighter, not out of the evening chill but rather for comfort as the coming darkness instilled into him the primordial fear of it.

Every sane being feared darkness on some level, however minor or significant. Foals so very often feared the darkness until they grew older and realized it was not the darkness itself that so set their hearts at unease but rather what might be lurking inside it. Even the most tested warriors or educated scholars would feel a twinge of fear, however brief, when the light was gone and their sight could not serve them.

Midnight stood upon a water tower of stone and mortar, designed to resemble a watchtower, only a lack of a flag betraying its ruse. From his vantage point did Midnight have the perfect watch over the Everfree Orphanage.

Earlier today, a little after procuring his room, Midnight decided to carry out an investigation of his own, and had gone to the orphanage matron, who was at her wit’s end. He had seen the little colts n’ fillies in her charge and had noticed the beds were only half full. After a gentle interrogation, he was near-certain the matron had nothing to do with the foals going missing, especially after he examined the orphanage. A spell revealed magic had left a lingering flicker of mana, and when he examined it he had been surprised to sense the mana came from an omega-level spellcaster!

In his sessions with Twilight, Midnight had learned there were five levels of magical power among unicorns.

The first was Delta, the lowest power-level in unicorns, these being unicorns whose magic was limited to basic telekinesis and illumination, and could only perform one act of magic at once, and the one or two spells they could learn were limited, relating to their special talents.

The next was Gamma, unicorns who could handle multiple acts of magic simultaneously, like drawing a circle with one pencil and drawing triangle with a second. They had more magic than Deltas, but not much, able to learn three or four spells that weren’t limited to something relating to their special talents.

Betas were rare, such unicorns gifted with uncommon potentials of magic, and with a wider range of spells they could master, including the art of conjuration, to summon objects out of thin air.

Alphas were unicorns such as Star Swirl the Bearded, Twilight Sparkle, Sombra before his ascension, even Midnight himself, their powers and potentials easily marking them as would-be archmages, as Star Swirl had.

But the mana Midnight had discovered came from the magic of an omega-class magic user, and the Omega level was exclusive to alicorns. Alicorn magic was so powerful and virtually limitless that they alone possessed such power as raising and lowering the sun and moon unaided, as Celestia had done for a thousand years.

Such mana as Midnight discovered meant there were only two suspects as to whom could be behind the disappearances of these foals, and Midnight knew at once who it was, as he recalled the conversation he once shared with Princess Celestia before she charged him the mission of capturing King Sombra.

Princess Luna’s proposal to form a new colony after the defeat of Discord, a proposal Celestia forbade. Luna had undergone the venture anyway, and according to what Celestia had told him, these foals Luna had spirited away grew up to be the first lunar ponies. But he couldn’t remember when Celestia had learned of their existence!

A familiar rush of power made Midnight gasp as he looked to see the sun had long set and the moon glorified the night sky with its gentle guiding light. As his power was revitalized, Midnight became conflicted. If these foals going missing were truly the work of Princess Luna, did he have the right to interfere? These foals supposedly grew up to become first lunar ponies, but he had no knowledge of how that happened or when they were discovered!

But then he wondered, why was Luna taking these foals? The matron mentioned to him that about seven of her little ponies had disappeared, and that spoke to Luna’s motives. Was she only taking orphans? But from the rumors he’d heard, other foals had gone missing as well. If Luna was kidnapping foals from their families, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing!

But then, perhaps that’s what he really had to do! The moon was full, his power was energized, he could leave at any moment and carry on with his journey through time. The temptation was so enticing yet his moral compass overrode it.

He had to be certain of what Luna was doing.

He did not have long to wait as he began to hear a gentle voice carried by an unnatural nightly breeze.
Come little children...

Almost at once, lights, whatever and wherever their source, flickered out. The lampposts’ candles were extinguished yet made no smoke, the lights shinging through the windows of the locals went out in the blink of an eye, and the voice drifted out like a creeping fog.

He could hear it, and he could feel it. This voice and the song it sang was enchanted, laced with a bewitchment to fog the minds of those who heard it with sleepiness. It suddenly made sense, as to why nopony ever saw anything. The source of this bewitching lullaby made sure none were awake to fulfill the role of witness.

Thankfully, Midnight’s cloak was warded against such magicks. Star Swirl and he had laced with protective wards before he had left him and Tia and Woona. Having experienced the effects of the Sirens’ voices, Midnight wanted to be prepared for such events and Star Swirl had obliged his request to help him.

The cloak was imbued with Midnight and Star Swirl’s magic, working in concert and taking in the light of the moon just as did its wearer. Midnight could hear the voice and though it did sound like a gentle lull, he did not feel its eldritch effects as did the locals so evidently around him.

Soon however, the voice grew louder and Midnight looked to the village square, as his suspicions were confirmed. Standing near the square fountain stood Princess Luna, singing a very familiar song. A song he had danced to at the Galloping Gala, that night when he first began to notice his love for Twilight Sparkle.

He was curious as to what Luna was doing here but he easily conjectured, as he noticed her attention to the orphanage ahead of her.

He was not kept waiting, as before long he watched as three fillies, one earth pony, one pegasus, the third unicorn, enveloped in silvery auras, floated out a window above the orphanage door frame.

He watched as Luna took flight and soared straight up, peering down upon the village as her vocalizing voice called to foals here and there. Midnight saw a little white unicorn filly with a pink mane float out her bedroom window, a gray earth pony colt with a messy alabaster mane and tail rise out of his squalor of rags beneath a bridge, and in no time at all more and more colts and fillies rose from the village to join the Princess of the Night.

Midnight lowered his hood and slapped on his goggles, assuming his pegasus form. He had to follow them.

He flew up after them all, making sure to stay a fair distance so as not to be seen, his cloak billowing in the wind as they rose above the clouds, passing by mountains of cumulus clouds, with true mountain peaks just stabbing through here and there.

All the while, the foals never looked afraid or distressed. Rather they looked mystified and happy as they soared the clouds after their princess, evidently as the white unicorn filly with a pink mane floated over Luna’s head, and Midnight watched as Luna nuzzled the little one with a smile that made her seem motherly, before letting the filly go to float along after her, as she continued to lead them into the night sky.

Equestria just passed by far beneath them, and it was evident Luna was leading them all in selenic parade to somewhere far away. But never once did anypony talk, not to complain, not to protest, not to whine.

For that matter, Midnight found himself surprised after few hours when he realized he was not at all feeling tired! His first thoughts for an explanation suggested the full moon, but somehow, as he looked on at Luna ahead, within his very soul, he wondered, Perhaps it’s something more…

Comments

[Mr_Moon]

So excited

[SageBrony07]

This may not end up so well. Great chapter. Good luck with the next one. I do still think the theory I proposed to you is correct, but it is with Twinken not Midnight.

[Wolven5]

5386902 No. Luna is not the biological mother of Midnight or Twinken. They are biological brothers, but they are not related by blood to Luna

[SageBrony07]

5387539 Okay

First: WHAT!!!!!!!!

Second: Thanks for responding. That's what I love, an author that responds. I can't wait to see what happens with Children of the Night. After that we need, the Crystal Empire, Sunset Shimmer, Tirek, Ascension of Princess Cadence, how Shinning met Midnight, and other things.

[bailey136]

tha you midnight blaze5 for use of the children of the nigth song

[APS]

try this one instead of the broken linked video