Chapter 2: Regal Rendezvous
Midnight walked through the castle doors of Canterlot castle with a small frown visible on her face. Her brow furrowed in thought as she contemplated over the events of the morning.
"How could I have not seen this coming... There's no way he wants to be a pony... There has to be a way to switch him back. There just has to."
Midnight glanced out of one of the windows to find the rising sun basking the land in its warm, springtime radiance. She couldn't help but feel a hint of relief at how soft and serene the outside world appeared to be. It was almost as if it the land itself was trying to reassure her that everything would be alright.
Midnight was so transfixed on the outside world, that she completely forgot that she was walking, and her hooves came to a screeching halt as she walked straight into another pony. Midnight staggered back and fell to her haunches as her forelegs came up and she clasped her hooves over her muzzle.
"Oof... Sorry about that. You okaaa......" Midnight trailed off as her eyes fixated on the pony she bumped into.
"I'm quite alright, Midnight. Are you okay? You bumped your muzzle into my chest pretty hard there." Celestia answered, more than enough warmth emanating from her voice to remind Midnight that she wasn't upset in the slightest.
"Princess!" Midnight exclaimed, a smile forming on her face as she quickly rose to her hooves.
"How are you, dear?" Celestia asked with a motherly smile adorning her face.
Midnight's happy mood instantly shifted, and her excitement faltered for a moment before she caught herself and smiled again. Her slip did not go unnoticed by the solar diarch staring at her with a mix of friendliness and concern.
"Oh, you know. Things have been alright. Just a little bit of this and that, hehehehe... How about you?" Midnight awkwardly answered with a disturbingly fake smile.
Celestia's warm face quickly turned to a frown.
"Clearly something is troubling you, Midnight. Would I be correct in assuming that it has something to do with David?" She asked, her magenta eyes already scanning Midnight's face for the tell-tale signs of deception.
Midnight let out a long sigh and hung her head low.
"I'm terrible at lying, aren't I?" She asked.
"Let's just say that that wasn't your best work." Celestia replied with a half smile.
"Well... Yeah... It is about David."
"Hmm... Come with me. Let us discuss this in my private chambers. Tell me, Midnight, do you like tea?" Celestia asked, already turning on her hooves and heading down the hall.
"Oh, um... yes." Midnight answered as she trotted after the alabaster alicorn.
"Excellent. What kind?"
"Uh... just some green tea would be nice." Midnight answered, her voice lacking in certainty.
"A simple tea, but a classic. You know, you can tell a lot about a pony simply based on how they like their tea, Midnight." Celestia recalled as she rounded the corner and approached her private bedchambers.
"I, uh... yes?" Midnight awkwardly replied as the doorway was opened and she was led inside.
The brilliant yellow and white coloring of Celestia's room immediately caught Midnight's eye, and the sun-kissed balcony upon which Celestia rose the sun that morning glistened in that very same gorgeous yellow light as she entered the room. Celestia's massive bed, at least three times the size of any ordinary pony's, stood tall and proud in the center of the room, catching most of the early morning sun rays as they penetrated the stained glass windows lining the wall.
As Midnight marveled over the majesty of her bedroom, Celestia suppressed a small giggle and set about writing a request for tea to the kitchens. With a quick flare of light from her horn, the letter was on its way to the chef. Celestia returned her attention to Midnight to find her still observing her room with a slack-jawed expression.
"Now, Midnight, there's no need to stare, I promise the room won't bite." Celestia teased.
"Oh, uh... ahem. Right, sorry." Midnight replied after snapping out of her trance.
She quickly walked further into the room and followed Celestia as she walked over to a table sitting just outside under the morning sun. The princess effortlessly pulled a chair out for Midnight and herself, and once Midnight was seated, she took her own seat directly across from her.
"Now, why don't you tell me about this problem with David. I'm assuming that it isn't a massive issue, considering that you would've sent a letter if that were the case, and I found you wondering through the castle instead of rushing to the throne room to find me." Celestia recounted.
Midnight let out a heavy sigh.
"Well... He's just having a hard time adjusting. He can't seem to get a hold of his magic and grab things with his hooves, and the frustration has really been getting to him. I want to help him, but he's gotten so stubborn lately. He keeps trying to do things on his own, and when he fails, he gets angry and I just feel worse each and every time." Midnight explained, her voice carried a dour tone to it, and caused a small frown to appear on Celestia's face.
"Hmm. Well, certainly that can't be all. We knew it would take him quite some time to adjust to his new form, and he's trying to learn a motor skill that simply wasn't present in his body as a human. It would honestly be quite shocking if he could function like an adult pony after less than half a year." Celestia replied with a dismissive wave of her hoof.
"That's true... but it just hurts to see him struggle so much... I want him to be happy, and as much as I love him and want him to stay in my life... I still wonder if I did the right thing..." Midnight explained, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
Celestia brought her hoof across the table and gently rubbed Midnight's foreleg.
"Now Midnight, you mustn't say things like that. Even David agrees that you made the right decision. It's simply a difficult time in his life at the moment. Changing one's species is not something that many creatures have to go through... and while I certainly understand that David did not have any inclination to become a pony at the time... there was no other choice. You can't blame yourself for that. Nopony knew what our magic was doing to him. If we had known, we could have worked to prevent this situation, but it simply wasn't possible. Please don't forget that." Celestia explained, using her warm, motherly tone she had perfected over the centuries.
"I know... you're right, it's just..." Midnight trailed off.
Celestia tilted her head to the side, "What is it, Midnight? You can tell me. I promise."
"It's just.. this morning, there was an accident. Nothing serious or anything, David just dropped a bowl and it broke... and I know that it's not a big deal and I can easily afford another one, but the look in his eyes... I just... I don't think I've ever seen him that utterly defeated since..." She trailed off.
"I understand, Midnight. That was a particularly difficult time for the both of you-" Celestia began to respond.
"No, that's not it. We've made a lot of progress in dealing with that... What hit me was what he said, or rather, how he said it... He said that he wished he was still human... and he said it was such a cold, dead voice that I hardly recognized him for a second. It was like for that one moment, the David I fell in love with was gone and dead... and a pony-shaped husk was all that we got back." Midnight spoke, through shaky and shallow breaths.
Celestia's brow furrowed at this news, and her heart ached for the mare across from her. She couldn't help but notice the crestfallen appearance of her features, and how her eyes didn't seem to shine like they usually did. She brought her other hoof over to Midnight's and gently reminded her that she was still there.
"Listen to me, Midnight. The human you love is alive and well. He is simply having a hard time at the moment, but he is still there, and he loves you just as much as you remember. You know just as well as any other mare your age that a relationship isn't always going to be perfect. There will be rough patches ahead that you will have no way to prepare for, and it will take both of you committing everything to each other to make it work, but the beauty of a relationship is that it is all worth it. Every fight, every hardship, and every day that you feel like things aren't going the way they should are tests that you must overcome together. It won't always be easy, and there will be times when you feel like he doesn't understand how much pain he's putting you through, but you have to remember that he loves you, and he's going through just as much pain as you are." Celestia explained, a warm smile on her face the whole time.
There were a few moments of complete silence between the two mares as Midnight processed Celestia's words. Her gaze fell to the table, and for just a moment, the grainy wood pattern became the most interesting thing in the world to her. That moment passed almost as quickly as it came, and in it's place, she found herself chuckling slightly.
"Heh... you sure you aren't Princess Cadence in disguise?" Midnight asked with a trace of a smile.
"I only speak from personal experience, Midnight." Celestia replied.
"Then... what should I do? I mean, just this morning he looked like the saddest version of himself I've ever seen... and I don't know how to make him feel better..."
"I think that the simplest solution is just for you to be there for him. Nothing more, nothing less. Regrettably, his current situation isn't something that we can help him with very much. Perhaps you should tell him that it will merely take time and that it will get easier as he moves forward." Celestia explained.
"That's just it though... I've been by his side almost constantly since he changed, and no matter what I try to do to help him, it just doesn't seem to work. He just gets frustrated and shuts down. I'm starting to think that the only way to fix this would be to make him human again..." Midnight replied.
Celestia cocked her head to the side. "And then we'd have the same situation with Equestrian magic killing him again, wouldn't we?"
"Well, no... I mean... Just something temporary. Something that would let him switch back every once in a while, just so that he could have that little shred of what he was before. I just want to give him something to stop the misery he's been going through for the last few months..." Midnight trailed off.
Celestia's brow furrowed, and she pursed her lips. After a few moments of deep thought, she found the right words, and spoke again.
"Midnight, I understand what you're asking for, and while there is a possibility of such a device existing, I'm afraid it would be terribly dangerous and experimental. That's not even accounting for the acute possibility of his body rejecting the transformation back to human and killing him."
"I know... I know... But if there's even a possibility of a device like that existing, don't I owe it to him to try to find it? Don't I owe it to him to give him back that choice? Isn't that what you do for the ponies you love?" Midnight asked, a sad frown on her face.
Celestia bit her lip. She knew that trying to convince Midnight, once she had an idea in her head, was like trying to paddle upriver with a paper oar - A fleeting endeavor at best.
"Midnight, please be careful if you're going to follow this path. I care deeply about you and David, and if something were to happen to either of you because of this choice, then I could never forgive myself." Celestia pleaded.
"Don't worry, Princess. I won't let anything happen to either of us. It's just... I feel like I have to do this." Midnight firmly replied.
Celestia winced ever so slightly at Midnight's determined tone, and decided to pull out her trump card. "Has David even asked you to consider this? I feel like you might be acting a little rash, Midnight."
That took the wind right out of Midnight's sails.
"Uh... Well... No.. No, he didn't... But I can tell that it's what he wants. If you'd seen him this morning, you'd agree with me... If you'd seen him most mornings, you'd agree with me..." Midnight tried to get some fire back into her spirit, but instead found herself losing steam at an alarming rate.
"I can't tell you how best to handle your relationship, Midnight. I can only offer my guidance wherever possible. If nothing else, then at least consider asking David if this is even what he wants. His answer might surprise you." Celestia replied, the finality of her tone signaling the end of that particular conversation.
Midnight let out a long sigh and her head drooped a little.
"Of course, Princess... You're right. Thank you for listening."
"I will always listen to my subjects and friends, Midnight. Even if you may disagree with me, I still appreciate you considering my advice. I would not give it if I didn't believe it to be true." Celestia responded with a kind smile.
Midnight managed a smile in return before a maid appeared at the table with a golden tray levitating in her magical grasp. On top of the tray were an intricately detailed tea set, fitted with gold trimmings and white silver patterns cascading down to the bottom of each piece. The maid set the tray on the table between them and picked up the teapot with her magical grasp. She filled both Celestia and Midnight's cups before levitating another small cup filled with sugar cubes to the princess.
"Just one, please. Thank you." Celestia instructed.
"Same here, thanks." Midnight followed up.
The maid did as asked and dropped two sugar cubes into the respective cups before giving a small curtsy and heading out without a word.
"They don't say a lot, do they?" Midnight wondered aloud.
"Hmm... Now that you mention it, I do recall that the castle maids rarely speak to me... I'll have to fix that." Celestia decided.
"Uh... you're not gonna... punish them or something, right?" Midnight asked with an awkward laugh.
"Now why does everypony always assume I'm going to do something like that? I'm not a tyrant or something." Celestia replied with an exasperated sigh.
"Hehe, just checking." Midnight chuckled.
Celestia raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Right, let's just enjoy our tea."
"Right."
"Alright, David, now just reach out and grab the weight. Try to really feel it with your hooves." Storm ordered.
David stood in the middle of the open field with two twenty pound dumbbells attached to the mid-length of his outstretched wings. His right foreleg stuck out in an attempt to grab another twenty pound dumbbell with little success. He grunted in exertion as he desperately tried to lift the lone weight sitting in front of him, mocking him. A pained grimace adorned his face, and his cheeks flushed dark red with embarrassment and utter contempt for just how difficult the weight was being.
Finally, after several minutes of aggravated grunting and hateful staring, David gave up and brought his hoof back to the ground. He cursed under his breath and dropped the weights that were resting on his wings before falling to his haunches and pouting.
"Hey, come on now, Davey. We've only been at this for half an hour. It's not gonna come to you just like that. You need to keep at it for a bit." Storm advised while curling eighty five pounds with her wings.
"Easy for you to say. You're not the one who can't even pick up twenty pounds." David said, blowing a stand of his mane out of his eye.
"Davey, you're doing that thing again where you get really pouty and grumpy for no good reason. I've had my entire life to get this strong. You've only had a few months."
"That doesn't change the fact that this feels pointless! It feels like I'll never be able to grab things like you can! It's like trying to teach a fish to walk on land... It just doesn't have the brain for it." David said, his tone conveying utter defeat.
Storm unceremoniously dropped her weights to the ground and walked over to David's side. She stopped right next to him and brought her hoof over his head. After a moment, she brought her hoof down and smacked David on the top of his head with an audible *thump*.
"Ow! What the fuck, Storm? What was that for?" David snarled, bringing a hoof to rub the spot Storm had smacked.
Storm looked at her hoof as if she was bored, and it was infinitely more interesting than anything David had to say, "That was for putting yourself down again. David, you're an amazing stallion who's smart, caring, compassionate, and fun to be around. As such, I'm tired of seeing you down in the dumps all the time and trying to make excuse after excuse as to why you can't pick things up. It just takes patience. You can do it. All you need to do is keep at it and trust me. Can you do that, or do I need to smack you upside the head again?"
"No... I mean... You didn't have to hit me..." He complained.
"Oh stop being such a baby. I barely tapped you. Besides, if I didn't, would you still be complaining about how you couldn't pick up the weight?" Storm asked, pointedly.
David's mouth moved for a few moments but he struggled to find any actual words to say. He struggled to come up with something to say for quite a while before sighing deeply and giving up.
"Sure didn't feel like a little 'tap'..." David grumbled.
"You're not answering my question, Davey." Storm pressed.
David sighed.
"I... I guess..." He admitted.
"And now that you're not complaining about it anymore, you can focus on getting back to actually trying to lift the weights." Storm finished.
David was silent for a moment while he glared at Storm. When it became apparent that she was completely unfazed by his look of utter contempt for her, he sighed, admitting defeat.
"Fine."
"There you go, Davey. I knew you had it in you!" Storm cheered, making David glare at her once more, "Now, come on, if we have to lower the weight, we will, but I want to see you give it your very best effort, deal?"
"Alright, Storm. You've got a deal." David answered, moving to pick up the weights again.
.
.
.
.
.
As the sun finally slunk back behind the horizon for the day, the moon graced the world with its presence and rose to the sky, signaling the passing of day to night. Ponies across the land drifted off to sleep, and the world lapsed into a quiet rest until the next day.
Standing on her balcony, Celestia watched the last rays of sunshine disappear behind the horizon, and she quietly hummed a song to herself as she watched the moon rise to take its place. A few moments later, her sister arrived on the balcony beside her.
"That is a catchy tune, sister. I think I recall hearing it once upon a time." Luna mentioned, smiling at her sister.
"Hmm? Oh yes. I do believe you were there when I heard the song for the first time. It was that night when one of the nobles tried to proposition me-" Celestia began.
"-To marry his son in exchange for his collection of aged cheese, yes. Ahaha! I do remember." Luna finished, holding back boisterous laughter.
"The worst part was that his son was barely a teenager at the time. But yes, it was right after that. The cellist that wanted to play in Canterlot but had no bits to buy a house to stay in. I asked him to play for me, and that was the beginning of the royal orchestra." Celestia reminisced.
"The worst part was that he claimed half of it was sourced directly from the moon!" Luna gleefully corrected.
"Indeed. I still can't believe how many ponies believed him." Celestia reminisced.
"I recall. Those were different times." Luna replied.
"That must have been... eleven hundred years ago. My how the time flies." Celestia mused, her gaze still hanging on the horizon.
"Hmm... You seem like you have something on your mind, sister. What is it?" Luna asked cocking an eyebrow back.
"Well... I'm not so sure either of us should get involved." Celestia replied.
"Perhaps, but as the old saying goes, 'two heads are better than one', are they not? If nothing else, at least tell me so I can help you decide." Luna teased.
"Hehe, right. Well... It's just about David and Midnight. It appears that he's been having a hard time adjusting to being a pony. He cannot seem to control his magic and his quality of life is suffering because of it." Celestia explained.
"I see-"
"However, it is not him that I'm too concerned with. Rather, it is Midnight. Her conscience is riddled with guilt. She came to the castle earlier today, but I'm afraid my advice did not stick, and she's going to go poking around dangerous magic regardless." She continued.
"What advice did you give her?" Luna asked, her curiosity peaked.
"I told her to be honest about her feelings with him and explain that his magic will come to him in time. Unfortunately, she only seems to think that making him human again would solve both their problems. I'm afraid she's going to look into magic and arcane knowledge that is better left unknown."
"I see... What do you want to do?" Luna tilted her head to the side as she observed her sister.
"Hmm... You know as well as I do that trying to dissuade Midnight when her mind is set is nearly impossible, but there might just be one way we can guide her." Celestia thought aloud.
"And what might that be?"
"Do you recall the tale of the Island of Magicae Artes Earumque?" Celestia asked.
"Indeed. I also recall that it is far more than just a tall tale for fillies and colts." Luna replied.
"Then you are aware of the chaos magic residing in the crystal there." Celestia pressed.
"Yes. I don't see how this benefits either of us or Midnight though."
"It does, because Cadence has informed me of a chaos crystal discovery in the Crystal Empire." Celestia replied.
"What!? How? When did it get there?" Luna hastily asked, shock painted all over her face.
"Just yesterday. She sent me a letter detailing it's discovery. Apparently a colt out in the wilderness found it and brought it home, not knowing what it was. His parents quickly brought it to Cadence's attention, and she's taken it to the safest location in the castle." Celestia explained.
"So you think... it can be used to help David and Midnight?" Luna pieced together.
"I'm not sure. There's only one pony I trust to find out if that's the case, however." She replied.
"Twilight?"
"Twilight."
Stats
Page generated in 0.019 seconds
Total duration
900 users online
666,784 hits today, 2,814,898 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
9641161
Much sad
I just now realized something. What do Midnight's parents think of David? Have they even met him or do they not even know about him?
...orrr should I just shut up, smile and move on because we'll see them in the future anyway?
9663842
Perhaps...
9663878
Fine. Shutting up. 
and smiling.
9663960
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised in the not-so-distant future.