FINALLY! Sorry for the long wait. It's been a hell of a couple of weeks, but I'm back on my writing schedule. I gotta play around with the character tags now, so I'll leave you to the story. Hope you like it. ENJOY!

Chapter 12

Abridged Trictionary

The beams of yellow sunlight trickled in through the billowing curtain of the room, shining rays of early morning on Midnight as he rolled about in his bed. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open, squinting in the brightness of the room.

“No crazy mares booming through the door to get me up this time. My goodness, is something wrong?” he joked with himself, taking the peaceful moment to stretch and stand up, shaking his mane out of his eyes. He took a step before noticing a strange sensation on his backside. He turned and laughed to himself, realizing what it was. “Oh, man... I had arms or legs fall asleep on my, but never a tail before.” He was barely able to shake his tail in it's current state. In a few moments, the pins and needles feeling dissipated and his control of his tail returned to normal. Looking back at his wagging strands of red fluff, he couldn't help but wonder about his wings, still folded against himself, still not under his control.

“They moved a little when I was with Luna last night...” he thought, grinning to himself as he remembered the pride he felt, the two of them just laying together, enjoying the pleasure of each others company. Suddenly, his wings twitched, independently of his conscious control. He jumped at the sight, quickly trying to force his will on them to continue, but with no such luck.

“Damn it. I hope whoever is teaching me flying today is patient. Otherwise, this is gonna be a long, long day.”

===

“I can't do it, Rainbow Dash! I-I-I just c-c-can't!” The yellow pegasus whimpered as she was shoved down the hallway towards Midnight's room. From behind her, Rainbow huffed and panted as she pressed her head against her friends rump, surprised at the amazing strength her timid companion had when it came to her fight-or-flight response.

“Uuggh! C'mon, Fluttershy! You've met him the other day! What... what's the problem, here? You didn't have any, UGH! Any problem before...” she strained out from behind her friend.

“T-that was different! That was before I knew he could toss another pony around like a sack of flour! W-what if we don't teach him good enough, or he gets angry with us, o-or... oh, my!” Fluttershy's limbs suddenly locked all together, curling her up into a tight ball of yellow and pink on the floor, causing Rainbow to trip over her. The cyan pegasus stood up and moved back over to her friend, lowering herself to the floor and nuzzling her friend's cheek.

“Alright, Fluttershy. Just listen. He's our friend, alright? He didn't just start that fight with Blueblood for fun. He did it because of the lousy way that jerk was treating Luna. WE didn't do ANYTHING to him. And besides that, he needs us. Do you really want him to spend the rest of his time in Equestria with those wings of his just folded up at his sides?” The thought played around in Fluttershy's mind for a moment. She was by no stretch of the imagination the best flier in the world. But she definitely would miss her own wings if she couldn't use them anymore. The thought of Midnight never being able to use his wings at all slowly replaced the fear she felt with a quiet sadness at the thought.

“You're right, Rainbow. I'm sorry. I'll... I'll do it.” She stood up and gulped down her fears. Taking a deep breath to center herself. “I'm ready. Let's go teach Midnight how to use his wings.”

“THAT'S the spirit!” Rainbow gave her a healthy slap on the back with a hoof, almost knocking her over. Together, the two pegasi continued down the hall to meet their student for the day.

===

“Sister? Sister, are you in here?” Luna carefully poked her head into Celestia's room, searching for the sun regent. She found her, laying down on the bed, quietly reading from book from her private collection, a drained look on her face. Luna entered the room and approached her ragged-looking sister. “Tia, you look terrible. I thought you were still just a little drowsy from the night when you raised the sun this morning. Are you feeling alright?” she asked.

“Oh... I'm fine, Luna. It's just that... I had a little trouble sleeping last night, is all. How about you? The same?” she said, not looking up from her book. Truthfully, she didn't have to. She could sense the greater power gently drifting from her sister, a side effect of the newly enhanced form. But that wasn't the main trouble on her mind. She felt like asking just what the buck she was thinking last night, confiding in Midnight. She felt like exploding, telling her foalish little sister just how unbecoming of a princess her actions were. She felt like cutting her down and berating her for ever, EVER considering inviting a HUMAN into her bed to be a good idea. Celestia felt like doing all this, but the chipper, positively radiant look on her little sisters face quickly made those urges fade away. Instead, Celestia just gave the tip of her hoof a slight lick, and turned the page.

“No, actually. I dare say, it was one of the best night's sleep I've had in ages. Quite literally, ages.” The moon goddess giggled, completely unsuspecting of her sister's spying last night. Celestia only groaned as she stood up and craned her neck, examining her little sister.

“I think I just may have slept in the wrong position, is all. This will pass. Come, let's go address the gallery. Some of the audience waiting have been holding on for our attention for days, now. I believe there's even a delegation from the diamond dog city of Agatha there.”

“Oh, goodie! I haven't seen a diamond dog since before I was on the moon. Tell me, Tia; have they changed much, are are they still a mostly tribal race?” Luna mused. Celestia gave her a sideways glance, a little shocked at her newly found attitude. She couldn't remember the last time her little sister actually seemed in a 'good' mood. And where did the 'oh, goodie' come from?

“They still have many tribes in their culture, but are starting to come up to speed with pony, and even griffon cultural standards.” Luna's demeanor had changed, piratically over night. Was the human-pony the reason for this? If he was, maybe she would have to re-examine the way she looked at him from now on. “But I have to ask; what brought on the new form? You've been strong enough to change into this more ethereal form of yourself for a while now, so what prompted you to actually do it?” she asked, joining her sister as they both headed out of the room.  Luna only giggled as she remembered the night before.

“Oh, nothing, really. I just feel the time may be right to... start showing myself again.”

===

A wrapping on the door to his bedchamber brought Midnight back to the task currently at hoof. Trotting over to the door, he opened it and was greeted by the smiling face of his new cyan pegasus friend.

“Rainbow! You're gonna be my flight teacher today?! Aw, this is gonna be fun, I can tell.” he said, moving to allow her into the room. She trotted in, then gave a slight hop into the air, moving into a gentle hover just off the ground.

“Hiya, rookie! Are you ready to soar into the wild blue yonder?” She did a quick loop, flourishing her wings in a grand fashion as she gently lowered herself back to the ground. Midnight nodded with enthusiasm at the display, feeling almost giddy at the idea. “Excellent! Then we're gonna do all we can to get your ground-bound flank airborne! Right, Fluttershy?” Rainbow turned to the doorway, but found it empty. She put her hoof to her face and let out a groan, trotting out the door into the hallway.

“We? Rainbow, you're not the only one training me?” Midnight asked, walking to the door and peeking his head around the edge. He quickly moved back as Rainbow Dash backed into the room, dragging a quivering, whining, yellow and pink ball of fluff behind her.

“Nope. Here's your other teacher, Fluttershy. She may look a little timid, but trust me; if you wind up crashing on your first couple tries, you'll want her around.” From under the fluffy pink mane, Midnight noticed a single, beautiful sky-blue eye peeking through, only to quickly disappear again when it's gaze met his own.

“A LITTLE timid? She's acting like I'm gonna EAT her or something. Um... Miss Fluttershy? You... you can come out, now. I'd kinda like to, ya know, get that flying lesson... maybe?” he said, only to have her squeak and shimmy backwards toward the open door. Rainbow noticed this and quickly gave it a backwards buck, slamming it shut, the sound finally causing Fluttershy to jump up with a scream and quickly fly to the other side of the room, hiding behind Midnight's bed. “Wow...” Midnight said to Dash. “... she really IS afraid of me.”

“Well, yes. It's kinda from that whole fight with Blueblood thing. She thinks you'll not be happy with our teachings and get mad or something.” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. She learned to quickly dismiss Fluttershy's sheepish ways, but was surprised by the look Midnight gave her. It seemed to be a one of total shock and sadness.

“But, I... I... Oh, boy...” The young stallion stuttered his words before quickly trotting over to the front of the bed. He moved around to the side of the bed, facing the frightened young mare, still curled up in her defensive ball. He laid down before her, hind legs tucked underneath himself with forelegs extended before him. He lowered his head to match Fluttershy's gaze from behind her mane, trying to give her the most gentle look he could.

“Miss Fluttershy, could you please come out, now? I'm sorry what I did in my fight with Prince Blueblood scared you, but it kinda had to be done. He was treating poor Princess Luna so badly that I just had to stop him. I only did what I did to defend her, not because I like to fight or hurt anypony. Please, Miss Fluttershy? Don't be afraid of me. I really want to learn to fly, and I could really use your help.” He extended a forehoof, just close enough for her to touch with her own. The yellow pegasus turned her gaze toward him again, letting more of her face show as he spoke to her. “Please, forgive me for frightening you. I'm sorry, and I promise I would never, ever do anything to hurt you or any of your friends. Please, can I have another chance to show you I'm a nice stallion, and not somepony to be afraid of?”

Rainbow's jaw dropped at what happened next. Fluttershy tilted her head, moving her mane to the side to face Midnight. Then, reached her foreleg forward, touching her hoof to Midnight's. The young stallion rose back to his hooves, helping Fluttershy up as he went.

“I'm sorry I was scared at first, Midnight. I-I-I'm usually not that bad around every new pony I meet. I was just, well... I was a little frightened by the fight with Prince Blueblood, and judged you too quickly. I'm sorry. I won't do that again.” Fluttershy sat up next to the bed, and finally gave him a smile. “And you don't have to call me 'Miss.' All my friends just call me Fluttershy. So, you can, too.”

“I will, now. Thanks. So, you and Rainbow are gonna teach me how to fly today?” he asked, his wings giving a slight twitch at the thought. The cyan pegasus snapped herself out of her fog and trotted next to her timid friend, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

“We sure are, rookie! By the time we're done, you'll be fit to join any weather team in Equestria. But first things first; lets see what we got to work with here. Midnight, let's see you spread those wings!” The stallion's expression dropped as he let out a nervous chuckle. The two mares looked at each other, confused.

“Well, the thing of it is, ladies... I can't move my wings.” he said, feeling pretty embarrassed. Rainbow shook her head in disbelief as Fluttershy covered her mouth with her forehooves.

“WHAT?! B-but what about that move you did when you gave Blueblood a leg sweep with your wings?! You weren’t TRYING to do that?” Rainbow asked.

“No, it just sorta... happened. Like, on instinct. I've been trying to move them all this time since I arrived on Equestria, but I just can't. At least not on purpose. Humans only have four limbs, not six. I just wish they'd move for me when I wanted them to, already.” Midnight shook his head, feeling helpless as he explained his plight. Suddenly, a smile grew across Dash's face. A wicked, playful smile.

“Oh, I think I know a way to help you out, alright. Fluttershy, what do pegasi moms and dads do when their foals are flittering?” the cyan mare asked her friend.

“Flittering? What's that, now?” asked Midnight. Fluttershy turned to him and answered.

“Oh. Flittering is when a pegasus foal just starts to use their wings. They flap them so quickly sometimes, they actually buzz. It's pretty cute. But when a foal is doing that, they don't have very good control over their wings because the nerves and muscles aren't responding very well from never being used. So, pegasus parents will often-” Fluttershy stopped mid-sentence and turned bright red. “Rainbow Dash? No! I know what you have in mind, and I won't do it! I-I-I can't do that! H-he's a grown stallion! I j-j-just can't!” she stuttered out, backing away from them both. Rainbow followed her, snickering.

“Oh, come on, Fluttershy! You're the only pony who can do this the right way. Remember, you told me you foal-sat your cousin and did it for her. I'd be more likely to hurt him than you would. You gotta do it! Otherwise, he might NEVER fly!” Fluttershy stopped as the heard this, the thought only now crossing her mind. She looked over at the young stallion and gave a heavy sigh.

“Oh, alright. I'll do it.” Fluttershy turned to Midnight, still red. “Um, c-could you maybe lay down on the floor and relax so I can... well, do what I have to do?” The gray stallion did as he was told, albeit a little apprehensively. Fluttershy circled behind him and approached as Rainbow giggled. Facing the balcony doors with the sun shining in, he lay on his belly, waiting for whatever came next.

“Alright, ladies. You're the fliers, so I'll trust yoooOOOOHHH GOD!” Fluttershy had gently sat down on his rump, reaching down and rubbing his back at the base of both wings. Sudden bolts of energy shot down his back, both shocking him and instantly relaxing him at the same time. His head slumped forward onto his outstretched forelegs as the yellow mare went to work.

“Just t-take it easy, Midnight. Trust me. I know what I'm doing. Just lay there and try to relax.” Fluttershy assured him as she started working over his wings. She started with the left, gently massaging around the base with one hoof as she extended it out with the other. When her hoof reached the tip of his wing, she slowly worked her hoof near it's base up towards her other hoof, paying special attention to it's margin and carpal joints. She released the tip of his left wing when both her hooves were at the tip and moved to do the same process tot the right wing, taking her time with all the same areas she did before. Beneath her, Midnight was miles away from the rest of the world, a dopey grin on his face with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. The last thing he noticed was losing all feeling in his back legs before he stopped caring. There were no words to describe this. Fluttershy was now running her hooves through the primary and secondary feathers of both fully-extended wings at the same time, almost playing them like a pair of big, red harps. The stallion groaned as Fluttershy took each of his wing joints between her hooves, massaging in a circular motion on each. Finally, when the entire process was done, the timid mare stood up off the drained pegacorn, allowing him to slowly float back to reality.

“Well, rookie, how ya feeling? Think you could give controlling those wings a shot, now?” Rainbow asked, leaning down right in Midnight's face. He shook his head, waking up from massage-induced daze to slowly rise to his hooves. He looked back at his wings, actually able to FEEL them for the first time. The breeze from the open window flowing through his feathers gave him a slight chill. As he turned he felt himself unconsciously keeping them balanced. With the minimal of effort, he found he could rotate them in their sockets, bringing them up and down at will.

“They.. they actually work! I can't believe it!” he said, hopping around the room. Though still a little red with blush, Fluttershy smiled from her place next to her cyan friend. Rainbow, however, snickered under her breath, trying to hide it with her hoof. “Alright, ladies! I'm ready! When can we really start this flying practice? I'm ready to go!” Dash walked up next to him and pulled one of his wings down, only to have it spring up rigid, right back into place.

“Just as soon as your wing boner goes down, big guy!” Dash lost all composure, falling over and rolling on the floor laughing hysterically. Midnight only looked at her confused as Fluttershy whimpered under her breath, a new shade of red covering her face.

“Oh, d-d-dear. I just knew that was going to happen...”

===

Luna trotted away from the large dining room, having just finished her breakfast. Celestia didn't join her for this, having retreated back to her bed chambers just after raising the sun. This was very unlike the sun regent, and her little sister was eager to speak with her and find out what was wrong. Nothing serious, she hoped. The two were due to have their first joint audience with the royal gallery today, and she didn't want to miss this for anything.

“Tia? Sister, are you in here? It's almost time to start the audience. There's already a line of ponies and other creatures waiting to speak with us.” Luna spoke into the open door of Celestia's room. When nopony answered, Luna nosed her way in, finding her older sister sitting up on her bed, head resting on her hooves. She trotted up to her, surprised to find her in this sad looking state.

“Celestia, are you alright? Are you feeling sick, Tia?” Luna asked, placing a hoof on her sister's shoulder. The white mare put on a fake smile and shook her head, trying to reassure her little sister.

“Yes, Luna. Thank you. I'm just a little tired, that's all. I had a rough nights sleep. I just couldn't get comfortable.” she lied through her smile. She wanted to tell her that she saw her and Midnight holding each other last night. She wanted to scold her for being so foalish and falling for his smooth talk and kind words. She wanted to scream at her for stupidly allowing that disgusting human-pony thing in bed with her last night. But instead, she just stretched her neck and stood up off the bed. Celestia leaned in and pulled her little sister close in a tight, sweet embrace. “Thank you for being concerned, little sis, but I'll be better after a cup of coffee.”

The two alicorns left the bed chambers together and proceeded to the throne room, ready to hear the day's events and hold court over the gallery. As they approached the main doors, however, they were distracted by a commotion coming down the hall towards them. A commotion of several royal guards, trying to prevent an irritated young griffon from going down the hall.

“Ma'am, you're going to have to wait and meet with them in order like everypony else.”

“Forget that, you royal lackey! The Princesses are gonna wanna hear what I have to say, I promise you that!”

“But protocol says that-”

“SCREW YOUR PROTOCOL! I need to see the-OOF!” The female griffon stopped, having bumped right into Celestia, the princess gazing down on her with a mixture of confusion and annoyance. Quickly, the griffon bowed her head, in a sign of respect to the two rulers.

“M-my apologizes, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. But is it imperative that I speak with you immediately about a grave matter that concerns both our countries.” The guards behind her stood ready, waiting for any indication from their princess to remove this interruption. Celestia just gave them a smile and a nod, sending them on their way. She then turned to the griffon, still sitting upright and proper, waiting for her response. I a moment, Celestia recognized the griffon as the same she met in gallery the day before.

“I believe I met you earlier, did I not? You're the messenger from Althera. Lady... Gilda, I believe?” The griffon nodded and smiled in response. It was only then that Celestia noticed the sling wrapped around the young griffon's wing.

“Yes, your highness. Lady Gilda, of the house Grizelda. I need to speak with you about a matter that concerns the safety of BOTH our countries.” Celestia and Luna looked around the hall, making sure there were no other creatures around. Extending a wing, Celestia guided Gilda to an entryway to an adjacent room, Luna following behind. Once in the archway, the two alicorns blocked in Gilda from the view off any other passers by.

“Alright, Lady Gilda, what is this urgent matter that requires our attention?” Luna asked. Gilda took a breath and concentrated, trying hard to remember every detail of her account.

“The other day, when I was in your court, I delivered a message from the Court of Althera. You were to contact the Council about a series of events the Council wanted to speak with you about. However, it seems that the problem is moving to your kingdom, as well.” She turned to present her injured wing to the two princesses, continuing her story. “On our way back to Althera, my fellow traveler and I spotted an object heading towards Canterlot over the Everfree Forest; a large fireball that seemed to move on it's own, as if intelligent. I sent my companion ahead to safety, while in followed the object. I quickly lost sight of it, until it turned and ambushed me in a cloud bank. I barely survived the fall to the ground. But that' not the worst of it, I'm afraid.” The two sisters looked at each other with concern, as if everything she had told them already wasn't enough.

“What could possible be worse than what you've already told us? A monstrous fireball is roaming the skies over Equestria and attacking creatures it comes across. How could it get worse?” Luna asked. Immediately, she was sorry she did.

“Because, Princesses, that same fireball had attacked several Althera mithril refineries and stolen toms of ore. Also... that fireball wears horseshoes.” The two alicorns recoiled in shock, Gilda's stare calm and serious. “The Althera Council believes that Equestria is sending pony special forces into our lands on raid missions. I must admit, I believed it too, until the attacking ponies came after me. If they're not your solders, miladies, than Canterlot is in some serious trouble.”

===

After several minutes, and more than a few outbursts of laughter from Rainbow Dash, Midnight's wings had finally gone down. Fluttershy continued to sit in silence as the stallion exercised his wings, stretching them out and bringing them back in, rotating them in their sockets, expanding and collapsing his feathers in different ways. Midnight finally noticed the distant look on Fluttershy's face, and moved over to speak with her. He took a seat in front of her and leaned down to catch her eyes.

“Hey, Shy. Are you still kinda embarrassed?” She only responded with a quick nod. “I wish you wouldn't be. Not only did that wing massage work, it also felt really nice. Twilight mentioned you're a caregiver, or something. A nurse, right?” He remembered what Twilight said about her caring for animals. He purposely gave the wrong description just to get her to start speaking again. To his surprise, it actually worked.

“W-well, I care for animals. I guess I'm more like a veterinarian than a doctor or a nurse that takes care of ponies.” Midnight smiled, coaxing a slight smile from the mare.

“Well, if you ever want to start taking care of ponies, I think massage therapy is the place to start. But I'll let it up to you if you ever want to tell anypony else about what you did for me today. Seriously, the care and professionalism you showed while doing something that made you feel a little uncomfortable, just to help me out, really speaks volumes about your dedication to your craft. You  should feel proud of yourself, Fluttershy. I really can't thank you enough.” The pegasus slowly started to stand up a little straighter after hearing his words, a bright smile forming at the sound of the praise.

“But as for you,” Midnight said, turning and pointing a hoof accusingly at Rainbow Dash. “ a WING BONER?! Really?! How could you play a prank on me like that?! Like I'm not embarrassed enough just not know how to control my wings! Or use magic. Or have to walk around without one of those cutie-marks!” Dash just giggled once more, trotting over and placing a hoof on Midnight's shoulder.

“Alright, alright. Maybe it was a little much, but c'mon! I wouldn't prank ya if I didn't like ya! And besides, your wings look like they work just fine now.” The stallion continued to give her his best serious face, forelegs crossed in an attempt to look very angry, but failing miserably. He turned his nose up and away from the cyan mare, but not without cracking a smile first. “Tell ya what, rookie; I'll personally teach you a Rainbow Dash, patten pending, all original stunt flying trick to make it up to ya. Still mad at me, now?” She was actually starting to sound concerned. Midnight couldn't keep up the act any longer.

“Yeah, yeah. Alright, Dash. Help me fly and throw in a cool trick, and we're even.”

“So, we cool?” Dash said, presenting a hoof. Midnight bumped his hoof to hers in response.

“Yeah, we cool. So... what's first?” At those words, Rainbow's demeanor changed drastically. A sudden, serious look came over her, eyes narrowing as she stomped a hoof on the floor.

“First's things first, rookie! Ya can't fly if you're ground-bound. The first thing we do is teach you a good hover. Fluttershy! Show this tender-wing a classic hover!” Fluttershy snapped to attention, spreading her wings and gracefully lifting off the floor, hovering a few feet off the ground. Dash quickly joined her, going into a slight rotation around Midnight. “I'm gonna try to teach you as slow as I can without treating you like a little foal, but we have a lot of ground to cover. Or... sky, in this case. I won't treat you like a baby, but at the same time, I don't expect you to be as good as me in a day's time. I am, after all, Equestria's Best Young Flier, a former member of the Junior Speedster's Academy,  and the fastest pegasus inn the world.”

“And so modest, too.” Midnight said with a smirk, starting to gently flap his wings, feeling the air press against and pass over each feather. He could already feel a little... lighter. Surprisingly enough, once they started working, he was able to see just how powerful these wings really were.

“Oh, no, Midnight. Rainbow is telling the truth. She really IS all those things. Why, she can even perform the Sonic Rainboom. Nopony has EVER done that before, and she managed to do it twice.” The quiet pegasus landed in front of him, pausing with her wings outstretched, posing. “Here, follow my lead.” She started flapping her wings as if in slow motion, making sure to talk each delicate movement through. “You want to make sure your primary and secondary feathers are both unfurled as you bring both wings down. Try to pull them in a bit on the upward turn, to lessen drag and give you a bigger downward thrust.” The stallion followed suit, a little surprised at the Fluttershy's technical knowledge of the mechanics of flight. But sure enough, after a few minutes of practice, he began to feel the results. Little by little, Midnight could feel his body rise.

“Shy, Rainbow... I think I feel something! I... I think I'm doing it!” He could barely contain himself as his flank began to rise. Slowly, the hooves of his forelegs rose up off the ground as well. He continued the steady, powerful flaps of his wings, rising ever so slowly and shakily off the ground. Dash landed next to Fluttershy in front of him, watching in amazement at the young stallion's quick progress. “Girls, I'm doing it! This is amazing! I can't believe I'm off the ground!” He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of being suspended in the air. He was doing it! The happy feeling inside Midnight swelled until he thought he would start crying.

“Um, Midnight? Hello?” Dash said, still a little shocked at how quickly he had caught on to their instruction. The charcoal-gray pony didn't notice the slight shift he had inadvertently put on his hover, sending him drifting backwards from the center of the room. “Midnight, HELLO! Equestria to rookie!” He didn't hear her attempts to warn him. Caught in the joy of learning to use his wings. Midnight had failed to notice he was moving, let alone where he was headed. By the time Fluttershy and Rainbow realized where he was going, it was too late. The young stallion felt a stone guard rail against the back of his hind legs before he lost concentration. He opened his eyes to see the balcony doors in front of him, with two very scared looking pegasi running towards him. He looked down, only finding open air between him and the ground hundreds of feet below. In a sudden panic, Midnight's wings snapped back at his sides, sending him into a quick free-fall.

“Fluttershy, let's go!” Rainbow burst from the balcony doors, moving immediately into a dive. Fluttershy was left in the wake of a rainbow-streak of color as she followed behind her friend, flying as quickly as she could. Far below them, Midnight flailed against the rush of wind below him, his tail and mane blowing upward as he fell backwards towards the ground. He saw the streak of color jet of colors jet from the balcony he fell from, just making out the shape of a mare in the center as it approached him at high speeds. He looked back, watching the ground come closer and closer, willing his wings to open as he approached. They flew open, but between his inexperience and the close proximity to the ground, it wasn't enough to stop his fall. He gritted his teeth and prepared for impact, when a sudden blur of blue and gold filled his vision. The next thing he felt was two pair of strong legs, holding him up by his forelegs, the ground quickly shrinking away as he flew upwards once again.

“Whoa there, big guy! Just take it easy, now. You're safe.” The soothing voice of a mare rang above the whooshing of the wind in his ears. Looking down once again, Midnight could see they were descending to the top of a patrol wall. He stretched his legs as the pony holding him let him go. Midnight turned to his savior, shaking off the bad experience.

“Wow... guess I should watch which way I hover. Thanks a lot, guys. You saved my flank!” He stretched out his wings, looking over his two heroes. They reached up and removed the goggles they were wearing, moving them up to their foreheads. Their blue and gold uniforms shined in the sun, lightening embroidered around their hooves. From high above him, Midnight heard a loud, joyful squeal, coming in to land.

“Oh! My! Celestia!!! I can't believe it! Midnight, these are the Wonderbolts! Soarin' and Spitfire!” Rainbow Dash landed almost hard enough to crack the stone wall. She immediately stood next to Midnight, throwing a foreleg over his shoulder and bringing him into a tight hug. Fluttershy landed a moment later, out of breath from trying to keep up with Dash. “Wow! You guys are the best! Thanks so much for helping my friend here!” The two suited ponies looked at her for a moment before Spitfire recognized her.

“Oh! Hey, Rainbow Dash. And hey! I know you. Fluttershy, the model. This here stallion is with you, huh? He should REALLY watch out around the palace, especially the spires and over the courtyards. There's some wicked downdrafts around here.” Soarin' chuckled and looked at Midnight.

“Yeah, big guy. And try to keep those wings open when you're hit with one. No offense, but I haven't had my wings snap shut since I was just learning to fly.” He laughed again, but slowed as his eyes ran over the young stallion before him, stopping completely as his eyes ran over his flank. “Hey, wait a minute... you're the Blank Knight! You're Midnight Blaze!” Soarin' took Midnight's hoof and shook it vigorously, shaking him whole frame. “Oh, man! I love this guy! Hey, Midnight, could you sigh my flight suit? Spitfire, this is the stallion from the paper! Remember, I showed you that article this morning?” Fluttershy, Rainbow and Midnight just looked at each other in shock.

“W-wait? You... read about me in the paper? And 'Blank Knight?' How...” The name came back to him like a lightening bolt. That was the name Pinkie Pie had given to him when she was introducing him and Blueblood before their fight.

“Mr. Soarin', are you sure it's Midnight you read about in the paper? A-and what paper is it in?” Fluttershy asked.

“Equestria Daily, of course! It was above the fold, too! Everypony know about your duel with that stuck-up snob. I can't tell ya how many times I wanted to buck that jerk in the nose!” Midnight gave his best fake smile as a dozen questions ran through his mind. Did somepony go out and tell the whole world about him? If they did, did they mention that he really wasn't a pony?

“Um... wow. T-that's cool. I'm in the paper... great. Um... what did it say about me, exactly?” Spitfire grinned and put a hoof on her teammate's shoulder, pulling him back from Midnight.

“Well, it said that a pegacorn stallion was found in the Royal Gardens after the Gala, and that he lost all his memory. So, just by seeing that little  I take it you forgot how to fly, too, huh?” she guessed.

“Yeah, and I can't use magic, either.” Midnight said, tapping his horn. “And I... lost my cutie-mark, so I don't even know what my special talent was. But the Princesses are helping me out a lot. They even invited Rainbow Dash and the rest of the Elements of Harmony to come and help me regain my memory. In fact, RD and Fluttershy here were teaching me how to fly again. It's embarrassing to say, but I kinda... hovered out of the window and fell.” He blushed a little, ashamed to admit the error. He was surprised when his confession drew only a smile and a nod from Soarin'.

“Well, that stinks. But with Rainbow helping you, you'll be back up and flapping in no time at all. She's one of the world's top fliers, ya know.” Dash almost fell over at Soarins' comment, but opted out for a quiet 'squee!' instead.

“Yeah, she is.” Spitfire added. “In fact, she's one of our top recruiting prospects. With her track record, the Wonderbolts can't wait to get her on board.” Midnight noticed another squeak from behind him, coming from the cyan mare. He gave a sideways glance back at Fluttershy, noticing her hoof on her speedster friend's shoulder, keeping her calm. Suddenly, a delightfully wicked idea entered Midnight's mind. Obviously, Rainbow loved these two ponies and these 'Wonderbolts' they belonged to. He stepped forward, offering a hoof to Soarin'.

“Well, anyways, thank you two, again. I'd have been a pancake right now if it weren't for your fancy flying back there.” Soarin' shook his hoof and Midnight offered it to Spitfire, who returned the gesture as well. “But, hey. I feel like a bothersome fan-colt even asking this but... could you guys fly with us for a little while, yet? I think the more quick pegasi around, the better my chances of surviving this flying lesson are. That is, if you're not busy.” The two stunt fliers looked at each other and smiled, giving each other a nod.

“Sure thing, buddy! I figure the pony who kicks Blueblood's flank has earned himself a lesson from the Wonderbolts. How about you, Rainbow Dash? Do you mind if we sit in on your lesson and lend a hoof?” Spitfire asked Rainbow, now holding back the loudest squeal of her life. She quickly took in a breath and tried to act as calm as possible in her answer.

“Yeah... sure.” She managed to quickly blurt out. Midnight, Fluttershy, Soarin' and Spitfire started walking across the top of the patrol wall away from Rainbow, going into small talk about different tricks and moves that they've done. Dash only stood there, stunned at Midnight's bold move and lack of fear when speaking with the amazing stunt fliers that she loved so much. The gray pegacorn looked over his shoulder, sticking his tongue out at Dash and giving her a wink. She quickly snapped back to reality, realizing what he had done.

“You little... that was the wing boner, wasn't it?” she thought. The four continued on, stretching their wings and talking as Dash trotted after them. “Heheheh. I think I like this rookie more by the minute.”

===

Hours rolled by, and Twilight was still in her balloon. Still floating high above the Royal Garden. Still floating back and forth in the strong gusts of wind, trying to find the residual magical energies in the air where Midnight had punched through the other night. On the ground, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie kept the tether crank holding the balloon secure, making sure Twilight didn't blow away.

“Raise the balloon another few meters! I think I feel something!” Twilight shouted down, drawing a sigh from all of her friends below.

“Dangit, that's the hundredth time she 'felt something' since sunup. Ain't she ever gonna just give up and admit this is somethin' she can't explain?” Applejack grumbled from below her Stetson. Rarity nickered delicately, shaking her mane and tail free as her horn glowed, releasing a little more of the rope from the tether holding the balloon with a turn of the crank, sending it up another few meters. Applejack braced her front hooves against the handle of the crank, holding it as Rarity re-latched the tether.

“I'm afraid there's no such luck there, darling. You know Twilight; she can't let a mystery go without explaining, either with science or magic. Remember how you told me she went on and on about Pinkie's 'Pinkie Sense?'” the unicorn asked, pointing a hoof to where her pink friend was just standing, finding only empty space. The farmer and fashionesta looked around the area, finding Pinkie high above them on a ledge of a window, looking inside.

“Pinkie Pie! Get down here before you hurt yourself, young lady!” Rarity scolded for about the fiftieth time since they started. With the grace of a dancer, Pinkie leaped down from her perch, landing on her hind legs.

“Sorry, girls. But I have to be constantly on guard. DANGER lurks around every corner of the palace, and I must find it before it strikes!” AJ just sighed and shook her head.

“Pinkie, could you just let it go about that jester mare, already? She probably just came lookin' for a job and went home when she found out they didn't need a court jester, anymore.” Pinkie quickly gave her a very serious stare, her eye almost twitching.

“OR, she's a Spy, sent to the palace to watch us and the princesses while her alien overlord master plots the downfall of Equestria and all of pony-kind in a bid to destroy the world!!!” Pinkie threw her forelegs up in the air, falling backwards as she finished ranting. Her two friends just looked at each other, then back to her. Then, turned their attention back to Twilight.

Rarity sighed, pulling a white bench from across the garden, sitting down as she stared up at her floating friend. “Without Rainbow Dash here, I guess it's up to me to say it. Pinkie Pie, you're so random.”

“What? It could happen... maybe...” Pinkie grumbled, sitting under the shade of a near by tree.

In the basket of the balloon, Twilight looked over the instruments on her small machine, reading the scale behind the glass as it umped back and forth, indicating the level of magical aura in the air. The most frustrating part of this entire morning was that her own powerful magic was setting off the machine at random times, leading her to false reads. She turned to reset the device and tripped slightly over a pile of scrolls and books she had brought. “Of all the times to not have Spike around... Ugh! There has to be a reason behind his arrival. Some event of significance, or a cosmic event or... something!!! I can't give up on this! I know I'll crack this mystery! I'll- AHH!” Twilight recoiled in surprise at a pair of sky blue eyes, framed by a golden helmet peeked over the side of the basket, startling Twilight. “Wh-wh... WHAT?! Sky Shield?! What do you want?!” The guard recoiled a bit, hovering down to where only his eyes were visible over the edge of the basket.

“I'm sorry, Lady Twilight. I was flying by and thought you were talking to me. I didn't mean to surprise you.” Twilight blinked the frustration from her mind and stood up, moving to the edge of the basket. The Royal Guard pegasus held a pair of scrolls in his hooves, the seals broken on both already. “I need to get these to Lady Applejack. Have you seen her?” The purple mare pointed a hoof toward the ground, then returned to her instrument. “Um... thank you, Lady Twilight.” The guard pony quickly turned into a dive for the orange mare below.

“Why, o/` HELLO THERE, SKY! O/`” Rarity said in a sing-songy manner, noticing the handsome stallion floating down towards them. With a slight blush, Sky landed in front of Applejack, giving a respectful bow to each mare before getting to the task at hoof.

“Lady Applejack, I have some news to report about your relations. These just came to us from the Ponyville and Appeloosa train stations. Here you go, ma'am.” He presented the scrolls to AJ, stepping back as she unrolled them both on the ground.

“Why, lookie here! Big Mac and Braeburn are on their ways here! They're coming for the info on the Apple family history I asked Luna for! Seems Caramel rounded up a herd of his friends and is helpin' out around the farm while Mac is here. Heh, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders are supervisin' em! That's rich! And...” AJ's eyes shifted to the other scroll. “Braeburn is coming, too. Should arrive on the same day as Big Mac, and... oh, my! He's bringin' Lil' Strongheart with him! Says she always wanted to see the big city, so he's bringin' her with em'!”

“That sweet little daughter of the buffalo tribe chief? Oh, that's lovely! We haven't seen that little sweetheart in ages! I hope she loves Canterlot just as much as I do.” Rarity chimed. Applejack couldn't hear her, though, too busy hopping for joy.

“YeeHAA! We're finally gonna get our Apple Family Tree made! This is gonna be great!” AJ bucked back on accident, hitting the mechanical tether holding the balloon's rope. The crank spun wildly, releasing Twilight into the strong breeze above. A strong gust shook the balloon, sending Twilight into a spin as it carried her away.

“Ladies?! What's going on?! HELP!!!” Twilight yelled from the balloon, looking over the side as the ground shank away. With none of her friends on the ground being able to fly, Twilight started to panic. “Oh, no! This is not good! Think, Twilight, THINK! You can get yourself out of this...” She shook as a sudden jerk his the balloon, knocking her to floor. To her surprise, the basket steadied, allowing her to rise to her hooves once again. Looking over the side, she could see the reason she had stopped; a grey-coated pony with red wings, pulling the rope of the balloon in his teeth, dragging it back to the ground. From below, Sky Shield was rushing up from where her friends were standing, quickly taking the rope above Midnight and helping drag it down.

“Don't worry, Twilight! Our 'star pupil' is on the case!” The familiar voice of Rainbow Dash chirped from beside her, the cyan mare having landed beside her. Twilight stuttered as she tried to form a rational thought. She looked over the edge at Midnight, Fluttershy hovering near him. Then, back to Rainbow. Then, back to Midnight.

“HOW IS HE FLYING?!?!” the purple unicorn finally snapped, pointing a hoof over the side as she panted in her friend's face. “A FEW DAYS AGO, HE COULDN'T EVEN WALK RIGHT!!! NOW HE'S FLYING?!?!” Twilight took her friend by the shoulders, shaking her furiously. Rainbow just chuckled and brushed her friend's hooves away gently.

“Yeah, I know, right! This kids a natural! Well, with me and Soarin' and Spitfire helping him since early this morning, he SHOULD be! He won't win any 'Best Fliers' competition anytime soon, but he took to the sky like a duck to water.” Dash hopped out of the basket and hovered next to it the rest of the way down, even helping tie off the rope when they reached the ground. Twilight quickly jumped out, running up to Midnight as he made a shaky landing, amidst various praise from the rest of her friends.

“How can you fly?! HOW?! It just doesn't make sense! I... I need to study you!!! Deeply! I mean, in EVERY detail!” Twilight had a crazed look in her eye, her mane slightly disheveled as her eye twitched. He just laughed, spitting some small fibers from the rope out of his mouth before answering.

“I don't know, Twilight. As soon as I got my wings to work, it just seemed so natural. It felt...” Midnight took a moment to search for the right words. “... it felt right. Like I was supposed to do it, all along. Like I was meant for it. Well, I guess I wouldn't have the wings if I WASN'T meant for it!” Twilight's shoulders slumped as she was flanked on both sides by a pair of blue-suited pegasi.

“Great job, rookie. I think our work here is done.” Soarin' said, patting Midnight on the back. Spitfire bumped her flank to his, making him sway a little.

“I gotta hoof it to ya, big guy; you made a lot of progress today. If you keep it up, you might be good enough to join the team some day.” Rainbow's eyes popped open wide at Spitfire's words to the young stallion. Without missing a beat, Midnight responded.

“Well, only if I can be on the same team as Rainbow Dash, here.” he said, giving her a wink. Thought Midnight couldn't see her face, he heard Rainbow let out a quite squeal of delight.

===

The two alicorns sat alone in the throne room, worry laying heavy on their minds. Gilda had retired to her guest room for the night, the healing potions the court mages had made for her by her side, commissioned by the sisters themselves. They looked over the message from the Griffon kingdom, having paid considerable attention to it for the first time since receiving it.

“They... think we're staging raids on their foundries? How? Or for that matter, who? Who could be so brazen, so powerful as to attack griffons and make off with the materials?” Celestia mused to her sister. Luna only shook her head, racking her brain to try and remember all the native and foreign sentient creatures that might be suspect.

“I'm not sure, Tia. For that matter, what could they be doing with all that mithril? The only possible use of it would be...” The night princess paused, not wanting to say out loud the most obvious use for the metal. “... to make weapons. Like our own Royal Guards use.” Celestia sighed, standing from her throne and walking down the platform to the doors, Luna close behind.

“We have to look into this. This has the potential to become a major international incident. We have to play it very careful here. Please, do not discuss this matter with any other pony besides me. Understand?” Celestia told her sister. It was obvious that she had Midnight in mind. Luna just nodded, closing the door to the court as the two exited into the hallway. They were about to continue the conversation, but the quick approach of a guard prompted the two to postpone the conversation.

“Princess Luna, Princess Celestia!” the guard bowed as he approached, paying his respects. “I'm sorry, my Princesses. But you have one more guest to have audience with. He specially requested meeting with you after every other pony had left, due to his... appearance.” The two sisters looked at each other in surprise. A guest that would appear disturbing to other ponies?

“Um... This is a little unorthodox, but if he truly feels it is necessary, we will meet with him. Where is this pony?” Celestia asked. The guard only shook his head.

“That's the issue, my Princess; this visitor is NOT a pony at all.” The guard trotted down the hall and around the corner. Indistinct mumbles were heard, followed by approaching hoof steps. ONE set of hoof steps. The guard rounded the corner, giving a bow and extending a wing towards the princesses. “The princesses will see you now, sir.”

The figure rounded the corner, the soft padding on the bottom of his feet keeping his footsteps silent. His bipedal figure came into view in the dim light of the hallway, his pointed ears twitched slightly. The his eyes shined as the light passed over his muzzled face, giving him an almost sinister appearance, until the two saw the look of despair on his face. He came to stop before the two alicorns, falling to one knee in reverence. His gray fur was ragged and dirty, looking like it hadn't been well groomed in a long time. His eyes raised to meet the gaze of the Princesses as he announced himself.

“Princess ponies, I come to meet you from the city of Agatha. My name is Rover, and I was picked to speak for all the Diamond Dogs.”

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************

Only one more pony talent to master on the road to being a complete Citizen of Equestria! But with trouble abroad and on the way, Midnight is gonna have to watch his step. Keep reading, champions, cause there's more cameos to come!

On a minor note, the 5 character tag limit is a bit of a bummer, considering I got a whole cast of characters lining up nicely, here. But hey, the mane 6 and the Princesses are represented, so I guess I can live with that. So stay posted and keep an eye out for the next chapter, "Fabulosity 101", the next installment of

STAR CROSSED! Next Chapter: Fabulosity 101 Estimated time remaining: 11 Hours, 32 Minutes