The Hour of Midnight (Part II)
“Oh, no…” Rainbow choked out, her eyes scanning the streets below her as she came in for a landing. As her hooves touched down, a wind that was unnaturally cold for this time of year washed over her, howling ominously through the otherwise silent streets and making her shudder. She looked around at the sight before her, dread filling her heart at what she saw.
“Twilight… what happened to you?”
There were bodies everywhere. Ponies of all races and ages were scattered limply all along the street, their faces frozen in terror and shock, many with their hooves cradling their heads or throats as if they had been strangled. A few lunar guards could be seen among them, their armor dented and broken in places.
The wind howled again, and Rainbow couldn’t help but think of a ghost crying from the grave in anger and grief over an unfair, untimely end.
Moving slowly, Rainbow approached one of the bodies. As she drew nearer, her terror at what she was seeing as alleviated, albeit only somewhat. These ponies were breathing. They were alive.
“But what happened to them?” Rainbow asked under her breath a moment later before looking down the street. It didn’t take a genius to deduce that, with the way the bodies were scattered, they formed a trail. A trail that would lead Rainbow directly to the mare that had done this to them.
She swallowed heavily, a chilling sensation running up and down her spine. The air was almost tugging at her skin and her instincts were wailing at her to turn tail and flee lest she join these ponies in whatever grim fate Twilight had visited upon them. But despite her fear, Rainbow set her jaw and set off down the street, keeping her ears perked and listening for anything that might be a threat.
She couldn’t help but cringe as she walked, seeing no small number of foals mixed in with the other bodies. Entire families were huddled together on the ground, making it clear that, whatever Twilight was doing to them, she wasn’t discriminating.
A quiet groan came from farther ahead. Alarmed, Rainbow looked forwards and spotted a pegasus stallion hauling himself up from the ground, a hoof on his head and a distant look in his eyes. “Wha… I… what happened?” he mumbled before slumping against the wall of a nearby building.
“Hey!” Rainbow called out, relieved at seeing somepony wake up. Their condition wasn’t permanent, then. She quickly cantered up to him, not even registering that he bowed to her. “Hey, you, are you alright? And what happened out here?”
“You’re highness, I…” the stallion leaned back in surprise from the urgency in her voice. He cleared his throat after a moment, seemingly collecting himself, and spoke again.”W-well, I, uh, I was doing my rounds over the city to make sure the weather for tonight was on schedule. No stray clouds or whatever. Then I heard this commotion down below, and I… I flew down to have a look, see if somepony needed help. And then…”
Rainbow’s ears slowly drooped when the stallion fell totally silent. She took a step forward and tried to give him an encouraging smile. “And then… what? What happened?” she prodded hopefully.
The stallion rubbed at his temple and shook his head. “I… I don’t know, your highness. I just… I flew down, and next thing I knew, I was waking up here…” he groaned, slumping against the wall and letting out a long, tired sigh. “Ow, my head… it’s killing me…”
Rainbow wilted. This didn’t bode well. How was she supposed to stop Twilight if her victims didn’t even remember what she did to them? She cleared her throat after a few seconds before speaking again. “Okay, fine, but what about Twilight? Did you see her pass through here?”
The pony blinked in confusion. “Twilight? Who’s that?”
Rainbow paused for a second. That was strange. She thought everypony knew who Twilight was, seeing as she and Rainbow had practically grown up together; not to mention their shared role in saving Equestria from Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, and King Sombra. “Er, Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. You know, my foalhood friend, wielder of the Element of Magic, amnesiac alicorn?” she spelled out, rolling her hoof for emphasis.
The pegasus flinched back, his muzzle scrunching up. He looked around after a moment, and his composure rapidly began to deteriorate with fear when he spotted all the bodies. “Wha… w-what are you talking about?” he asked shakily, pressing himself against the wall. “There are only three alicorns: Cadance, Celestia, and Luna. Who’s Twilight?”
Before Rainbow could begin to answer, a collection of panicking shrieks echoed from down the street, sending a chill down her spine. She turned to look, her ears picking out the location before she turned back to the pegasus and frowned at him. “Find somewhere to hide until this blows over,” she ordered simply before turning and taking off down the street at a gallop.
As she ran, Rainbow recounted everything she knew, desperately trying to come up with a plan of action. “That pegasus back there didn’t know who Twilight was,” she thought to herself, her brow furrowing. “Which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. She’s kinda a household name like me. Maybe he was a shut-in or something, but I doubt it. The whole weather organization charts were done by Twilight this year. No way he doesn’t know who she is…”
She slowed to a brisk canter once she was around the corner from the screams and was quick to put herself against the wall nearest the commotion. She took a slow, deep breath, and then leaned over to get a look at what was happening.
Her heart froze.
Twilight Sparkle stood in the middle of the street, surrounded by a ring of bodies and clutching a white pegasus filly in her magic. The filly was kicking and screaming frantically, tears running down her cheeks and one of her hooves reaching for a mare on the ground nearby; her mother, probably.
Rainbow watched, frozen in horror when she saw Twilight’s magic burrow into the child’s head, making her cries all the louder. A few seconds passed before Twilight withdrew the tendril and an orb of light. She scrutinized it for a second, her expression thoughtful. “Hmmm… met me and Rainbow for a short time when her mother took her on a vacation to Ponyville. Asked me about books and what it was like living with a Princess. Adorable, but limited…” she mused before the light flowed into her eyes and vanished from view.
Rainbow stifled a frightened whimper and ducked back around the corner, out of sight. “Is she… is she stealing their memories?” she thought to herself after a moment, her hoof rising up to the side of her head reflexively. If Twilight was stealing the memories of others, it might explain why the pegasus from earlier hadn’t had any idea who she was…
“I know you’re there, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight’s voice suddenly cut through the silence, making Rainbow gasp. Twilight’s words were absolutely dripping with venom and malice, although there was also a small hint of amusement. “Come out here before I drag you out.”
Rainbow, for a moment, contemplated trying to fly away. She unfolded her wings to test the pain, wincing and sucking in a sharp breath through tightly clenched teeth when the joint at the base flared up in disagreement. “Darnit, I can’t fly away, and she has magic,” she thought. It dawned on her that, no matter what, she was committed now.
Taking a deep breath, Rainbow slowly stepped out from around the corner to find Twilight looking back at her with a cold, even almost murderous, glare.
“Do you make a habit of spying on me, too?” she asked accusingly, her wings twitching angrily at her sides. “Or is that a new low you’ve stooped to?”
Rainbow gulped, struggling to muster her courage. “Twi… what are you doing?” she finally managed to ask, her eyes drifting slowly over the field of bodies scattered before her.
Twilight scoffed and looked around at her handiwork, clearly unimpressed by the ponies around her. “What does it look like?” she asked snidely. “I’m taking back what’s mine. What you denied me.”
Rainbow took a slow step forward, tensing to run at a moment’s notice. “By stealing memories?” she asked dubiously. “Twilight-”
“Do not call me that!” Twilight suddenly snapped, her eyes flaring with magic. A gust of wind erupted from where she stood, carrying enough strength to send Rainbow sliding back several feet along the ground before she was able to brace herself against it. She threw a hoof up over her face to shield herself, the sound of a tornado roaring in her ears for a moment before the winds abated.
Slowly, she lowered her hoof back down to the ground, taking on a placating tone of voice. “Okay, not-Twilight,” she agreed hesitantly. “So… what do you want me to call you?”
‘Twilight’ paused for a moment, tilting her head to one side. “What do I want you to call me…? Hmmm… I hadn’t thought about it,” she mused to herself, slowly turning in place and tapping a hoof to her chin. “A name, a name… how about…”
In the distance, the bell of a clock tower began to ring, its low tone reverberating over the city and rattling Rainbow to her core. Twelve strikes in total came, announcing the arrival of midnight. In the silence that followed, the alicorn’s lips curled up into a pleased smile. She turned back to Rainbow and slowly unfurled her wings.
“Call me Midnight,” she said with finality. “Midnight Sparkle. Pleased to meet you, your highness.”
Rainbow nodded slowly, trembling internally at the name. “Okay… okay, Midnight,” she started, once more taking a step forward. “Listen to me. I get that you’re upset with me, and you have every right to be. But this… these ponies didn’t do anything to you. They’re innocent!”
Midnight scowled, her horn sparking dangerously. “So what?” she asked bitterly, her teeth showing and glimmering in the glow of her magic. “Just about everypony I’ve met tonight has known something about me, a lot of which I didn’t. For instance: did you know that I used to frequent a donut shop a few blocks away from here when I was a filly? I went there every other Sunday with my family until I was twelve. Did you know that? Because I didn’t!”
“Midnight, please,” Rainbow begged, taking another step forward. “I know, I know you’re mad, but this is wrong. Just… I’m begging you. Give back the memories you’ve stolen, and come back to the castle with me. We can sit down, we can talk this out, and I can tell you whatever you want to know.”
Midnight barked out a short, incredulous laugh. She shook her head in disbelief. “You expect me to go anywhere with you?” she snorted before her eyes narrowed. “You had your chance. It was two years long. And you wasted it. No, I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Midnight…”
“Besides,” Midnight flicked her mane and turned to glare down the street, her wings twitching with anticipation. “I couldn’t give these memories back even if I wanted to. I didn’t come up with a reversal spell. They’re mine now.”
Rainbow shriveled and backed up a few paces. “No…” she choked out.
Midnight smirked back at her. “Oh, yes. I am not letting any of this slip away again.”
“But think of all the ponies you’re stealing from!” Rainbow pressed desperately.
That gave Midnight pause for a moment. She eyed Rainbow curiously, a thoughtful frown on her face. “What are you talking about?”
Rainbow took a deep breath before speaking. She chose her words with exceptional care, not eager to upset the unstable creature before her. “Midnight, think about it… Maybe you’ll learn everything there is to know about yourself, but you’ll be alone in that if you keep this up. How many ponies will completely forget about you?”
Midnight blinked, uncertainty flashing behind her eyes.
Gaining confidence, Rainbow pressed the topic. “I know you. And I know that you do not want to be alone like that. Not after all of the time you’ve spent with me, with our friends, with your family. If this goes too far, then the only pony to remember you will be you… and I know you don’t want that. So, please… just…” she gestured vaguely back towards the castle. “Stop. Stop and come back with me. Nopony else needs to forget, tonight.”
Midnight deflated a little bit, actually seeming to consider the notion. For a brief moment, Rainbow managed to put on a small smile. She dared to hope that maybe, just maybe, she could get through to her yet.
But those hopes were dashed when Midnight scowled and lifted her head in defiance. “That’s a price I’ll just have to pay,” she decided with finality.
Rainbow deflated. “Midnight, no…”
Midnight jerked her head to one side, glaring spitefully at one of the nearby bodies. “And I might have to pay it sooner, rather than later. All of these ponies know so dreadfully little about me…”
Rainbow’s heart skipped a beat at the implication.
Midnight sighed and looked out over the street ahead of her with disdain. Then, with a heavy sigh, she lowered her head and closed her eyes in regret. “I had hoped to save them for later, maybe even spare them if it could be helped but… well, I guess there’s nothing else for it.”
“Who?” Rainbow asked desperately, her heart hammering at her ribs. She took an anxious step forward. “Midnight, who are you talking about?!”
Midnight didn’t look at her. “Who else? My parents, of course.”
“What?!” Rainbow shouted, her entire body tensing up. “Twilight, how can you even think of something like that?!”
Midnight glared back at her, eyes pulsing with magic again. “It’s Midnight!” she snapped impatiently, her horn sparking to life.
Rainbow opened her mouth to apologize, only for the words to die in her throat as a cyan glow enveloped her body. She let out a strangled cry as she was forcefully hauled across the street and thrown to the ground at Midnight’s hooves. She grunted on impact and quickly went to roll to her hooves. She was stopped before she could when Midnight stomped down between her shoulder blades, eliciting a cry of pain from her and pinning her to the ground.
Rainbow struggled for a moment before going rigid when Midnight leaned down to snarl into her ear. “As for how I could think of it…” the fallen alicorn continued. “It’s simple. They were the ponies to bring me into the world. They’ve known me longer than anypony else. Their memories will have plenty of stories for me.”
Rainbow cried out when Midnight suddenly drew back and kicked her in the side. The blow carried incredibly strength, sending her rolling across the street and into one of the bodies with a grunt. She groaned in pain, her world spinning and one hoof drifting to the sore spot on her chest before she looked up to Midnight.
The alicorn glared down her nose at Rainbow, her lips curled into a disgusted scowl. She then looked off to one side, a thoughtful look coming over her. “Then again, as I understand it, they didn’t get to see me nearly as much after I went on to be Celestia’s prized pupil...” she mused before starting down the street at a leisurely trot.
“Midnight, no! Please!” Rainbow called after her breathlessly, forcing herself to her hooves. She wobbled and stumbled to one side before finding her balance. She had to end this, and she had to end this now!
Midnight kept going, ignoring Rainbow’s cries. “So, then, if I don’t learn much from them, I guess I could go and pay Celestia and Luna a visit. I’m sure those two can fill in any gaps…”
Rainbow’s blood heated up at the threat on her family. “MIDNIGHT!” Rainbow screamed in desperation and anger, moving to follow her. Midnight didn’t even look when she released a pulse of magic from her horn, stopping Rainbow in her tracks. “Gah! MIDNIGHT, STOP!”
“Of course, then I moved to Ponyville and stopped seeing Celestia very much… so I suppose Ponyville is my next stop after I’m done here. Fluttershy knew me the longest, did she not?”
Rainbow’s pupils dilated, and she inhaled sharply at the mentioning of Fluttershy’s name. In her mind, she could see the timid pegasus cowering among the destroyed remnants of her home, weeping and screaming as Midnight loomed over her with her horn glowing. So vivid was the image that Rainbow could hear Fluttershy’s whimpers…
“Of course she did,” Midnight continued almost casually. “But I like her. I’ll go to her last.”
That was the last straw. Before Rainbow could stop herself, her mouth opened, and she screamed at the top of her lungs.
“TAKE MINE!”
The words echoed up and down the street the moment they were uttered, casting everything around them into silence. Rainbow’s blood slowly began to run cold as the realization of what she had just said dawned on her. She held completely still, held her breath and watched as Midnight came to an abrupt stop up ahead.
The silence seemed to drag on forever before finally, Midnight turned around to stare at Rainbow with wide eyes and a hanging jaw.
“...What?”
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Oh Twilight, if you do this the guilt will cripple you.
Hopefully, if this does happen, Twi will remember that she did finish that failsafe spell a while back.
Will Rainbow’s memories be enough to stop Midnight? Will Sacrificing her memories come at a price for the Pegasus other than losing her memories of her dear friend/lover? How will this be resolved!?
An amazing/suspenseful/dramatic chapter! Great performances by our two leads!
Now that's...a price. She takes whatever memories anyone has of her....and keeps them. Midnight will remember everything about her old life at the cost of everyone forgetting about her. And for Rainbow to be that desperate to offer up her own...and this is only part 2.
I wonder if the memories she takes are just the bare facts, so to speak, or if they include the emotional contexts, as well? And if so, if all the pain and fear and love in Rainbow's memories will be enough to do anything for Midnight? And I also wonder if it's occurred to her that what she's doing isn't really getting the pre-amnesia Twilight back, but simply...drawing an outline, as it were, of how everypony else saw her? Does she intend to ''fill in the blanks,'' when it's all said and done? Or does she even care, anymore?
Well. I'm stopping here. Rainbow has become so badly written at this point and is unregognizable beyond just having the same face.
Adios.
9976188
You're right, let's forget about all the events, characterization, and traumas that leads to this particular moment.
9976096
That's a very optimistic view of the end XD
9976188
Pro tip: When declaring something is bad, such as a character's writing, it would help with the perception of your post if you were to provide some reasoning and rationale behind your opinion in the form of well-thought-out constructive criticism. Failing to do so can have the unfortunate negative side effect of making you come off as an asshole When it was not your intention.
Obviously I have no intention of changing your mind. Your opinion is yours and carries no more or less tangible weight than anyone else's, and it is not my place to force any points of view upon you. But if you're going to bow out for whatever reason, I would appreciate being told what specifically you are leaving for, so that I can, you know, improve more easily in the future.
Excellent depiction of Rainbow's reaction to Midnight's memory-stealing. Yeah, it was, indeed, appropriately chilling. And Rainbow's being willing to sacrifice her memories after trying to reason with Midnight failed? Yeah, hopefully, it WILL help her remember the "fail-safe spell" one of the other reviewers mentioned.
Again, the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up are all well done in all the right places. I am very definitely going to be looking forward to more of this.
I do not like this...
I thought it was midnight’s goal to get Rainbow’s memories all along, and her threatening others was simply a form of mental torture.
9976300
Perception, my friend. Midnight perceived (through a flawed lens) that Rainbow was greedy with what she knew about her and would never give up the goods, as it were. She's caught off-guard that the pony whom she was certain would never do something just offered to do that very thing.
Shame about Twilight, she's gonna feel bad about this and I've been on her side from the start.
not sure this is the best course...how is her rep ever going to recover from this.
Skijarama, you MAD GENIUS!!!!!
If this is is the way Twilight gets her memories back, then this freaking amazing. Yet, the emotional weight is still present if, as a consequence, now RAINBOW forgets about Twilight. Though, if the commenters are right and this is a failsafe spell, I hope you'll give these two a fricking break and have Twi take Rainbow's memories, then use the failsafe spell to restore them. That's just my opinion. It would be pretty interesting if the roles were reversed and RAINBOW is the amnesiac, but since the story follows RD a lot of the time, that might not happen. I dunno. We'll see.
LOVE THIS STORY!
9976912
Given the seeming divisiveness of these last few chapters for some of the audience, I'm not entirely sure 'genius' is the right word, but thank you all the same. XD
9976918
Some of the best pieces of media were divisive at some point or another. Considering the circumstances, Twilight going bad has technically been foreshadowed since that line from Celestia in Little Glimpses. You've been building to this. The logic is sound, and the way you write brings out you're characters' emotions really well. Sure, there're little hiccups. Some emotions can be overexaggerated. However, when the emotions hit. They HIT.
9976918
oh it does fit... regardless the diisiveness, everything is built masterfully...
so, yes YOU MAD GENIUS!
I am so freaking into this right now! Twilight's fall dovetailing so beautifully with the theme of memory. The impending tragedy of lost love. The entire premise of the story about to be inverted, only with Rainbow Dash as the amnesiac. It's so clever, it's genius.
Rainbow, again with the sacrifice play. Does Twilight awaken to how much Rainbow truly loved her when she absorbs her memories, curing her fall? Only to realize, too late and to her horror, that she can't put Rainbow back the way she was; that what she had with Rainbow, she's lost forever?
This is too good!
9977366
I feel like I'm getting mixed signals from you. XD
At least she's only taking memories of herself, not a complete blank slate. She's not that far gone.
I feel like that'd be more difficult. Especially since Twilight still can't remember half the spells she knew pre-mind wipe.
Eat your heart out, Wallflower Blush.
...somehow I knew this was going to be the outcome.
I tend to agree.
I can't help but want to shout at Midnight about how much of a hypocrite and a liar she is. If she's taking ponies' memories of Twilight Sparkle, Midnight either has no right rejecting the name Twilight Sparkle, or she has no right claiming that they are memories of her. Nobody has any memories of a Midnight Sparkle. How long will Midnight lie to herself about this fact? How long before she acknowledges that she's Twilight and not Midnight? How long before she acknowledges that she's stealing memories that have absolutely nothing to do with Midnight?