> The Story of Midnight Stargazer > by MidnightStargazer > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue: Young Ages and the Present > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Ages The sun came up as usuall.The animals, and all the citiczens of Tracto woke up to a beautifull morning.The streets of the town, were slowly began to be filled with people beggining to do their daily routines.Some of the shops were already open, even before the land began to be basked in sunlight.The reason for this, was that many shopkeepers needed to prepare for the new, and returning customers.There were a wide variety of merchants in the village, but of course, this was naturall, because that was the reason why the town was so popular between people who loved shopping.Aside from separate stores, there was the „Big Market”, as the locals called it, which atracted even more travelers, from all over Equestria. Next to the Market, there stood a line of rather elegant houses.Mostly, these residences were made for the people who lived a bit above the regular economical group of citiczens. The locals knew, that these houses were made for those few succesfull tradesmans, who were native to the town.In one of them, lived the Stargazer family. The family was well known for their prosperous businesses, all around Equestria.They had their own shop, next to the house they lived in, so it wasn’t hard to open at early mornings.Their main merchandises were expensive appareals, valuable goods, and even magical items.If anyone needed something high quality, whether it is some kind of an equipment, or rare gems, they already knew, where should they look for them.There were always a lot of people in the shop, trieing to find all sorts of things. That is why, despite his age, the younger son of the owner, Midnight, had to work there, as an assistant for the customers.Midnight had dark green eyes, with a little bit of a jellowish/golden tint in them, dark blue fur, and gloomy brown mane.He was a curious little unicorn, who always enjoyed the company of new people, whether the person was local, or a traveler.He always tried to deliver the best first impression as possible, and because of this, the shop was a nice and friendly place to drop into. When the costumers spoke about their journeys, adventures, or where they came from, he always was astonished, how many great places there were on the land.Thanks to the good reputation of the shop, there was always a wide variety of folks, passing by the family business, even people from the farest reaches of the land, like zebras, or griffons. When Midnight first saw a griffon, he was very excited about a different species, mainly because he grew up only around his own kind.Zebras on the other hand, did not really drew much attention in him, because they almost were identical to ponies.He loved being in the store, it did not really was a job for him, rather another free time activity. He also really enjoyed being out in the open, this attitude helped to strengthen his life goal, to be an adventurer.All those stories, and strange wonders he could be a part of, that was his dream.In his free time, aside from being in the shop, and out in the open, he loved to read about old histories, and also to study from Magic Encyclopedias.Of course, at that age, he was just curious about all these topics, he didn’t really took them seriously.That was, until he turned 13. Present Days A few years later, by the time he was in his teenage years, Midnight became even more curious about the world which surrounded him.He still worked at the family shop, but he wasn’t that excited, and interested in it anymore, as he was before. He grew old, being in the same building and town, for all these years, he finally wanted to get out of the ordinary, and be elswhere.In those years, the situation of the Town, was not the same, the people became more rude, the amount of robberies increased, and because of this, the village lost it’s former fame, and became just a shadow of it’s former self. The family’s life was more difficult than ever, suffered from a number of problems, because of the town.A lot less people came to the shop, a lot of products were gone to waste, and Midnight became very confused, and angry about this. ”How come, a village like this, can go to the edge of tearing itself apart?”- he asked this question from himself nearly every day. His father hoped, one day, Midnight will be the owner of the shop, but in this situation, he did not know how long the business will last on his own hoof. On one day, all this came to it’s final point. It was 8 in the morning, and Midnight was already up.He seemed tired, but that didn’t really steal his mood, because this was a very special day for him. He trotted to the window, and took a glance at the street. "Ah, the same sight every day.A miserable little street, full of dirt….junk… and people who I hate, or who I didn’t even met with in my entire life..Just great.”- said Midnight to himself, while he put his hoofes on the window’s ledge. He regulary spoke in himself, he did not have many friends at that time, this wasn’t the same, when he was younger, but being in the shop for half of the day, didn’t really allow for him to be with his classmates, or with the people he knew from the shop.But he was fine about this, after the town became what it is, he grew tired of people, and he did not really trust anyone, except his parents. "I should probably get going,”- he said, while he picked up his saddlebag -"I have quiet a journey ahead of me.” His room was in the loft of the house, so he had a nice look ont he street, which now became a pile of garbage.The room itself wasn’t that big, it had the things which were nessecary , like a finely crafted bed, and a desk.All of the furnitures were from the town, and was bought way before, when the town was actually nice to live in.Things like the pictures on the wall, and the carpet were all from highly skilled professionals. "Okay, I think have everything which is nessecary, I guess only the food remains.Jeez, this bag sure is gonna be heavy, I did not pack my whole room in..”- complained Midnight, while he checked if everything he wanted is in his bag. He packed things like his favourite book called: "Misteries of Magic, and Ancient Spells Volume 1, written by Starswirl the Bearded „ , a map of the region they lived in, some clothes, like his old cloak witha hood on it, just in case if it’s going to rain, and other usefull equipment. When he closed his bag, and was about to leave the room, he took a final gaze around the room. "Everything is in place, I cleaned up as mother said, I organized everything for the coming week, do I need to do anything? I think no.”- stated Midnight, closing his eyes, while looking proudly. Meanwhile, the opposite neighbour just opened his window, with a face, which cannot be more tired than an Ursa Major, waking up from it’s winter hibernation.When Midnight opened his eyes, the other pony in the window took a pretty confused glance on Midnight, while he did his speech for himself.Midnight looked awkwardly on him and slowly walked to the window, keeping his last expression, and looking straight at the stallion.He then, gently grabbed the pair of windows, and shut them in.The pony in the window stood in place, not moving a muscle, and just watched Midnight, doing the whole process. "SWEET CELESTIA, WHY IS EVERYPONY SO WEIRD THESE DAYS!??”- shouted, Midnight, while his door was still wide open. "Is everything alright dear? Why are you shouting?”- asked, Midnight’s mother. "EEEH… YES! Everything is perfectly fine!I just had a peacefull conversation with myself, that’s all, hahaha, It's not like I'm mad or anything!”- replied, Midnight who was already in an awkward situation, but this just doubled it. > Chapter:1 Saying our Goodbyes > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Midnight finally was out of the rather awkward situations he got into, he once again, had a quick look around his room, checking if everything is in place. „Okay...everything looks fine...wait...i think something is missing..”-said Midnight, while looking in his saddlebag. „My purse! Of course!”-he said. *Well, I don’t really have that much money to worry about it, but still*-he thought to himself. He finally left his room, closing his door behind. Upon leaving his room, a strange feeling struck his mind.He is going out of town...for the first time, he will finally visit some other place, other than his own village. In his entire life, he dreamed of going on adventures, and long journeys, just as in the stories he heard from the costumers who came in to their shop. He originally wanted this to happen much earlier, but as the town’s reputation decreased, it’s security was next. His parents rarely allowed Midnight to go far from their home, especially at night, despite he really admired it. But in time, as Midnight got older, his comprehension also matured, so he accepted the fact, that this town, is not the same as it used to be. After he left his room, he started to trot down, and looked around the hallway, which separated his room, with the living room downstairs. He observed a large painting, which hung on the nearest wall, next to the stairs.It portrayed a beautifull mare, with a redish/fiery mane, and white coat, jumping off from a cliff to an ocean. His dad bought this particular picture, when Midnight was still a baby.He asked about it a lot of times, but he just told him, he bought it from a traveling merchant, who just happened to wander in their shop, to ask about directions. He continoued to walk down the stairs, until he reached the living room, where his mother quickly appeared in front of him, and at the same moment it was just as quick as it began, she was in the kitchen now. „Oh you are finally awake!”-said his mother. „Yeah, yeah I organised everything, my room is clear, and I am ready to go!”-he declared, proudly looking at his mom. Her face looked happy as well, she looked at his son, and the times when he was just a little colt came in to her mind, she could not believe he grew up so fast. She blushed a little bit, and placed her hoof on his back, while stroking his coat. „But you should at least have some breakfast, why would you rush?” she asked, in a motherly tone. „Okay,but would you stop that please?” he said „It’s embarrassing..” while backing off a little from his mother. „He-he, why are you so silly? I just love you!” she giggled on this,while she trotted to the kitchen. „Just sit down, and I will make something for you!” she got some ingredients out to one of the cupboards, and started making a delicious looking sandwich. She always knew what Midnight liked, he thought this was something related to being a mother, it was like a sixth sense for her. While sitting at the table, Midnight stared at one direction, more precisely at the window, which was open for a reason, and he had a clear view at the street outside.He stayed like that for a while. „What are you staring at sweetie?” she asked „Is there somepony at the window?” „No no, I just...I am just so excited about the coming days,” he started to eat the meal her mother made for him. „You will surely have a good time, you are just like your father,” she stated „He also started tradesmanship as a traveling merchant.” she packed away the things she needed before to their place. *she sat down next to Midnight* „When I met him, he was just about to settle down, and we decided to build our home here,” she put her hoof to her cheek „Ah, those were the days...” „Umm Mom, would you cut the whole nostalgia thing out?” he said after he finished eating „I heard it about a hundred times already,” After finishing breakfast, Midnight quickly stood up from the table, and trotted to the entrance door. „I don’t even get a little hug from you?” she walked up in front of Midnight. „Well, sure I guess, whatever...” he walked closer and gave a quick hug to her. His mother stood there, her face gone from happy to a more distressed one while the hug lasted. He then, proceeded out of the house, only to be stopped again. „Be sure to say goodbye to your dad too!” she shouted. „Okay, of course, just stop shouting, I don’t really want to entertain other ponies anymore” he rolled his eyes on this, and walked to their shop’s entrance. His Mother slowly closed the door behind herself, but she turned around, only to have a last look at his beloved, now grown up son.She knew, she won’t be able to see him for a while, or more. Midnight heard the door closing, while he looked at the store. „Finally,” he thought in himself. The shop’s outside,didn’t look really different from their home’s, it also had a wooden structure, but it had a sign, hanging next to the entrance. Midnight then proceeded to the store, only to open the door to his dad, who fell back with a couple of boxes falling to the ground. „Oh dad are you okay?” he said while he opened his eyes wide in shock „Auch!?!” he heard only this from his dad „Son, could you pay more attention to what are you doing? I nearly broke my back here.” he let out another another groan in pain His dad was always kind and careing when he was younger.Because of the time they spent together in the shop, it kind of helped to develop a strong relationship between them. As the city’s qualities gone down, and less people came into the village, the less costumers gone in the shop.This caused a lot of stress, and arguaments inside the family. His dad also became a bit bad tempered, and sometimes rude, Midnight knew, it was not intentionall, it’s just because the ways the business goes right now. „Sorry dad, i did not mean it, I just wanted to say goodbye to you! Here, let me help!” he said, while providing a helping hoof to his father, who laied on the floor, with a box on his head. He stood up, and removed the box from his head. „YEAH YEAH SURE...JUST LET ME GET ALL THESE BUCKING THINGS BACK TO THEIR BOXES ALREADY!” he said, and kind of yelled this to his son, while starting to pack things back to their palces. „I NEED TO DELIVER THESE IN TIME, BUT I WON’T BE ABLE TO ARRIVE AS PLANNED...Thanks to you...” Altho Midnight know he didn’t mean all of this, but when he heard all these disgracefull words, he felt sad in his heart.He sort of got over it in time, and learnt how to keep his face still, and not to show his true emotions.But...this was a regular thing between them.He would get yelled on, for every little possible thing he did wrong. Midnight stood next to his dad, while he packed the final piece of goods in the crate, and said. „...Could I at least help you carrying the boxes out?” „No...you can’t...” and with this last sentence, he bursted out of the shop, and smashing the door in front of Midnight. The force, which he used to close the door...next to the anger which was in the air, struck Midnight deeply. „He did not even say goodbye...or a simple hello...” he thought in himself He sometimes wondered, what caused all this bad behavior.He saw families who were happy.The thing which made him feel bad, was when he saw a colt of his age, playing with it’s dad. Why can’t he be like them?What is the difference?He asked these questions from himself a lot of times. After getting back to reality, he shook his head a little bit, to snap back. He looked around the shop’s interior, observed the layout of the goods and the furnitures.It seemed his dad made some adjustments lately.A line of armor pieces took place on one of the longer shelves, above, and under them, were magically imbued jewelries, and different equipment.These were the main attractions of the shop, there weren’t many magic shops in the region, if there were actually any besides their own. „Hah...” he let out a quiet sight „Well then, i can only say goodbye to the shop in person.” he said in the empty room „Goodbye then...I hope dad will change while i won’t be around.” This place was special to him, he literally grew up here.He watched it get bigger and nicer.They always made some additions or modifications to the structure, there was something new to see every year. After taking his leave, he stepped out the shop, and locked the door.He hid the key to a regular palce, next to the little mat, in front of the entrance door. He turned around, to find his dad somwhere, but he wasn’t there. He already left in a hurry, and probably in anger. > Out of Town > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Out of Town Midnight was trotting down on the alleyway, in which their house was located, the street was filled with trash, the ground was not from a solid material, much like out of something like dirt, but it was all rocky and there were a lot of smaller holes scattered all over the road. As he was passing by the local stores, he took a last sight at all the buildings, and then passed along them.He saw a lot of familiar faces while he moved along the street, for some of them, he yelled a simple „Hello” or „Good morning!” , but only a few actually heard, or wanted to hear it, and reply to it. Altho, he did not gave it too much attention, this happened many times in the past. As he approached the road which lead out of town, he had to go through the market district. The market was usually very loud in the morning, most ponies had a tendency to get up early and head straight to the market to buy food and what they needed.Well, mostly elder ponies had this habbit, and most of the citiczens in town were in fact old.It was always loud in that area, shouts and argues were heard randomly from all over the place. When Midnight reached the end of the Market, he then came to hear a loud noise behind him. A stallion was shouting at another stallion, they were talking something about stealing or things like that, he did not hear it clearly enough to understand. He did not care nonetheless, he made his way to the town gates. This particular town was surrounded by walls, made out of thick and strong wood.The walls were as high as a house, and Guards always patrolled up and down, especially at night. Tracto was mainly a trading city, so protection was nessecarry and a main priority, in order for traders to be able to come here, and keep themselves and their goods safe. Sadly, the walls got old in time, and there were also a lot less guards patrolling the streets.Either there weren’t enough fresh recruits, or the officals in charge, didn’t care much for the well being of the city anymore. As Midnight approached the City entrance, a familiar face greeted him. It was Tenebrous Shield.He was a town guard, but he was in service long before Midnight was born, but through their shop in the city, he met with Shield when he was just a young colt. Midnight and his father sometimes had to greet a few of the traders who carried more valuable goods than others, mainly because they signed a contract early on so we had to be at their side, just in case if some street thieves started to make sudden ideas. When Midnight proceeded to walk through the gates, he nodded to the few guards standing by the walls, and he stepped closer to Shield. He had short dark hair, and a little beard to go with it, and he was a pegasus.His guard uniform was similar to the ones they use in the capital city.He personally took great care of his armour, it was part of his philosophy of guards as he told him sometimes. „Well, if it isn’t my boy, Midnight, what a pleasent suprise.Planning on going out for a while aren’t we?”-he said in a friendly voice, of course, this was all natural. From all the ponies the town housed, Midnight saw Shield mostly as an idol, a pony who he can look up to.Despite he was much older then Midnight, they shared a lot of time together.He sometimes shown Midnight some of the training he got when he entered the Guardsponies.Midnight never was an agressive type, he always preferred to be a rather calm, and open minded personality, but this did not stop him from learinin a few defensive moves, in case of emergency. „Yeah, I am going to visit some of the neighbouring towns a little.” „And when are you going to be back?I would have something to show you, I think you would like it a lot.”-said Shield while he looked at Midnight „Umm, I don’t know, it won’t be much long...why? What is it? Another one of your old relics from the griffin kingdom or what?...hehe „-he said laughing quietly at his own sentence. „Well, not exactelly, but something you would actually appriciate...”-he sighted “Okay okay, once I am back, you can show it to me.” With that, he rushed out of the town. Shield wanted to talk a bit more, but as he saw his young friend trotting out, he didn’t bother to stop him. *Ah, these young ones are so fast these days.” With that, he got back to his guard post. When Midnight got out of the city, he stopped for a second, looked back if Shield was watching him or not, then he started to follow the road which he did not know where will it lead him.