The Gear & The Gestalt

"I bear the weight of everything. Every gaze, every comment, every action from when I was controlled by chains to when I was controlled by grief to now that I'm controlled by my own mind. I never learned to live with myself; I never learned to live with their faces and their eyes; I never learned to live with my own thoughts." - Midnight

”Don’t you think if the world had that many heroes, it would’ve been saved by now? It’s like they care only about material the title brings instead of any sense of finality. I swear you this, I will be the last hero.” - Serenity

"It wouldn't be a story without a conflict." The tan pony broke a tender silence set between the two aging stallions. A sly smirk rested on his lips as his eyes pierced past his acquaintance, back to that frozen city off in the distance.

"Not everything has to be so grand." The purple pegasus chuckled beneath a breath. His gaze was flat and forward past the other, wandering upon cresting hills in the distance.

"You know it doesn-"

"I know." The pegasus interrupted. "I've just had far too much trouble for this lifetime. I could do with a peaceful tale."

The tan pony simply nodded, regaining his slick smirk before continuing. "Well, this here is a nice breather, wouldn't you say?"

"I would, though I was referring to a complete one, hm? One could hope for a happy ending." The pegasus shook his head, standing and stretching his wings. Giving them a flap before resting them once again on his sides.

"You could, or you could act with a reason." The tan stallion stood, his eyes set on the pegasus.

"When have we ever needed a reason?" The pegasi's pale eye looked over to the other stallion.

The tan stallion took a drink from his flask, narrowing his glare towards the pegasus. "Plenty of times."

"Then you're already a better pony than me."

"Everyone has a justification, Midnight."

"Not always a good one..." Ended the pegasus, his face turned harsh and his gaze broke from the other stallion as the silence between them grew. Uneasy wind took the weight between them. Their gazes keeping forward between the dusk and the dawn.

"I know that..." Mumbled the tan pony. "We all do. But It doesn't excuse us from what it brings on."

"... I know. I was lost back then." Midnight's harsh gaze softened, moving back south towards the dunes. "Wandering the hills and the dunes looking for somepony that didn't even exist then." The pegasus kicked the ground in front of him, blowing up a small cloud of dust that flew off with the breeze. "I never forgot it either." He turned to look at the tan pony, the pony's face bore weight till he noticed Midnight's gaze, switching away to something less distant. "I was never justified, Serenity. And yet now I have something meaningful to build."

"And I've got the world in my hoof, don't I?" He replied starkly. "I've lost too, in a story I'd rather rewrite. But I can't either." The frozen city sat obscured behind the full-coated stallion. "Everytime—and I know you feel it too—everytime, the thoughts are always the same. They're..." Serenity released a heavy labored breath. His eyes pacing back to the north, back to that frozen city. "... I saw the universe in his eyes."

"I saw the universe in his eyes..." Midnight repeated, looking out towards the rocky mesas past Serenity. "How is that so... fitting?" He asked to himself.

"Fitting?" Serenity scoffed with a growing glare.

"To my own tale, I guess." Midnight kept an empty gaze ahead, past the other.

The glare softened to his gaze. "Then we have more to share."

"I think we always will." Midnight muttered.

Silence hung between them as they took in a moment of somber, both sitting back down and looking ahead, away from the other. The air felt empty, hung up like two crooked frames.

Serenity took a breath with the wind and looked back at the pegasus. "What about now? Still wearing those old chains?"

Midnight looked back at him, nodding softly as he spoke. "In a way. But, I'm also free somewhat. Free from the worries of here and now."

"You even care about the world around you then?"

"I do. More now than years ago. I've just found something with that kind of power. The kind to put you at ease."

"Like an artifact?" Serenity raised an eyebrow.

"No, nothing material. Something with a stronger..." Midnight's voice trailed, unable to find the right word, only to give something good enough. "... meaning?"

"Way to be vague." Serenity scoffed, rolling his eyes slightly.

"Its hard not to be." Midnight chuckled, letting it sit in the air for a moment. "I don't really know the words to describe it. I was never taught until I was much older. But what about your old bonds?"

Serenity contemplates, his face subtly twitching at his thoughts until they landed on something suitable, something distant. "I've moved past them, it was a long time ago now. No use in wasting away over something you can't change."

Midnight could see the layers of Serenity, but he couldn't see past them. "I think we both know we'll never leave it behind us. Not until we reach that final sunset."

"And I thought I was supposed to be the poetic one."

Midnight shrugs. "You are. I'm not one for writing things down. But it's still a part of us now."

Silence sat between them again, the wind calming between them as they both enjoyed the moment of peace. It was bliss. It was serene even if only for a moment. The sun was falling, and soon night would lay between them.

Midnight opened his mouth. "I guess this is a good enough goodbye."

"That's it, huh? Where would you be going next?"

"Home, I suppose. It's getting late anyways, Hearth's Warming is almost here after all. We should probably spend it well. Might be the last. Might see each other one last time."

"What do you mean by that?" Serenity gave a curious look.

"We'll find out together, probably. We both don't have that long. And it's chaos out there, remember?"

"Well why not take one last trip then? It'd be a hell of a bookend."

"Zerif was always a sucker for a good story. But, no, I couldn't. I've a filly to look after. Stable Dwellers, yknow?"

Serenity chuckled, looking out into the growing dusk towards Stalliongrad. "Funny. I had to look after a Blue once."

They took the time to pack their things and swap supplies. During which, Midnight took a moment to write a note, which he gave to Serenity as they parted, telling him that it should help in a dark moment.

"Serenity, should we meet again, I'd like for you to meet Mekanika. She has been a light in my life like no other, and she was what I was referring to earlier. I don't know who you are with, if any, but you should tell them you love them one more time. I still struggle everyday, I can only imagine what can be seen through your eyes—eye—your vision, but know you're not alone anymore, even if we are never going to meet again."
"Happy Hearth's Warming, Serenity." - Midnight

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