Wow, 2 for 2! think I got a good stride going, getting these last 2 chapters out only a week from each other. I'm gonna try to keep this up, or maybe get them out sooner if possible. Anyways, I had a lot of fun writing this first half of this chapter. hope y'all enjoy it!

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Chapter 14

  Flying Solo

“HA! THAT'S YOU, NIGHTY?!” Pinkie rolled on the floor in a fit of laughter, unable to control herself as she looked up at the portrait. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash hover in front of the picture, seeming to scrutinize it deeply. Applejack rooted through some scrolls on the floor with Twilight still sitting on her haunches, mouth agape at the incredible works of art before her.

“Midnight... you... I...” Twilight struggled for the right words, now feeling more astonished than frustrated with the young stallion. “You did all this since... this morning?”

“No, deary, he did all this since about half past noon. Now, I'm not really one to brag, as you know, but I give credit to my teaching method for this.” Rarity giggled, trotting around the room and examining the many works before her. “I demonstrated to him my sewing and designing methods, and how magic could make it all just so much easier. And after a few gentle nudge in the right direction, our young friend made a breakthrough! A few hours later, and Midnight turned the entire room into a regular art gallery!”

“And that's not all!” Midnight said, bounding over to a pile of scrolls on the floor, lifting and unrolling several with his magic. “Songs! Dozens and dozens of songs from my world. I racked my brain and wrote down as many songs as I think ponies would like as possible. Princess Celestia, I'm donating them as a gift to Equestria! It's the least I can do for all the kindness you and your subjects have shown me since I arrived.” Pinkie jumped up and gave him a hug, bouncing in place.

“That's so incredibly, super-de-duper nice of you, Nighty! OHH! I gotta see if you have any good songs I could use at any my parties! Well... if I could, Princess?” Pinkie looked towards Celestia, who gave her a grin and a nod, prompting the party mare to dive into the pile, head first.

“I must say, dear Midnight. I am very impressed. Such detail... so many colors.” Luna mused looking over the painting of Midnight's human self. She artist strolled up beside her, ears down and nervous.

“You... don't think I'm some sort of weird, freaky monster now, do you?” Luna turned in shock, then gave the pegacorn a tight hug. The rest of the ponies present stopped and stared for a moment at the princesses curious action.

“Absolutely not, Midnight! You're still the same amazing you that we've all come to know over these last few days. Simply showing us your human self this way changes nothing.” The stallion breathed a sigh of relief, bringing a foreleg up and returning the hug to Luna. One by one, the other mares in the room turned their eyes to Celestia, standing expressionless and silent behind the two as they showed their affection. The sun goddess cleared her throat, Midnight and Luna releasing each other as they realized they may had just shown more than the appropriate about of affection towards one another.

“Um... hey, ladies? Maybe we should give Midnight and Luna some privacy. You know, so they can... discuss... things.” Twilight, now snapped back to coherence, recognizing the seldom seen expression on Celestia's face as one of deep annoyance. Without much resistance at all, the Elements made their way out of the room one by one. Dash had scooped up Fluttershy from the air and jetted out of the room. Rarity left with a little coaxing from Twilight. Pinkie finally popped her head up from the large pile of song scrolls, looking around at the emptying room.

“Hey, where are we going, girls?” Applejack walked around her, grabbing Pinkie's tail in her teeth and dragging her backwards out of the room.

“C'mon, sugarcube. I'll explain back in our rooms.” Pinkie nodded, then quickly scooped up several scrolls in her forelegs before they were all out of reach.

“OK. Bye, Nighty! See ya later!” Pinkie craned her neck as she disappeared around the corner, leaving Midnight, Luna and a very angry looking immortal, all-powerful, ethereal sun goddess in the room alone.

“Sister, I-I just-”

“Stop, Luna. You can leave the room, as well. Midnight and I have some things to discuss.” Celestia's words froze Midnight's blood in his vanes. Luna just looked back and forth for a moment between Midnight and her sister. With a sad look, Luna turned and headed the doors, silently mouthing the words, 'I'm sorry' as she exited the room. As soon as she was clear of the doorway, the double doors slammed shut, leaving the pegacorn and alicorn alone in the room. The sun goddess simply sat before Midnight, who was trying his best to keep from visibly trembling.

“Midnight... how are you?” Celestia asked with a grin. Across the room on the night stand, a tea kettle on a serving tray began to whistle, causing the stallion to jump. Surrounded by a white aura, the kettle poured it's contents into a delicate tea cup, which in return floated over to the princess. “Oh, don't mind that, dear Midnight. I can control the sun. Heating a kettle from across the room is literally nothing for me.” Midnight looked at her, his fear increasing slightly. “Anyway, how are you sleeping?”

“Oh... I've... been sleeping... well. And, um... you?” he asked, not sure what to say or how to respond. Celestia let out a soft giggle, taking a sip from the floating cup.

“Oh, pretty well. Last night was very restful, but the night before that, I had a bad dream.” Midnight calmed down a little more, starting to relax. This was a bit strange, but not so bad.

“Oh. I'm sorry to hear that, Princess.”

“Yes, yes. A bad dream like that one we spoke of in the hallway the other night. Outside of Luna's room. You remember; the dream that only seeing my little sister could help me get over?”

“Oh, yeah. I remem-”

Midnight could feel his heart just... stop. She knew... oh, sweet, merciful God in heaven above, she knew. His eyes popped wide open as his blood ran cold. She knew, and this was it.

“Mmm-hmm.” Celestia hummed in positive response, taking another sip from her teacup. “I needed to see my sister like I did that night. But when I went to visit her, I found that she already had a guest. Why... just imagine my surprise.” All the while, the princess remained calm and unreadable, gingerly sipping her tea as Midnight began to sweat. As he began to feel dizzy, the stallion had to forcible make himself breath again. Unsure if it would even make a difference now, he opened his mouth to respond.

“Well, p-p-princess... I just.... I mean, I... um...”

“Yes... dear Midnight?”

“Princess Celestia, I-I-I swear, on my honor, that I-”

“Oh, stop! Just stop, before you even begin to try to convince me of anything.” Midnight shrunk down where he sat. Celestia placed the cup on the floor, sighing as she rubbed her temple, a familiar throbbing just below the surface. She walked over next to Midnight, laying down before him and gesturing for him to do the same. He quickly plopped down, never taking his shaky eyes off of her.

“Midnight, I'm going to speak to you in a very real, straight-forward way. If I believed for even one second that there was any real threat from you towards myself, my sister or any of my ponies, I would have had you whisked away to the deepest , darkest part of our dungeons the moment you woke up. I finally have my sister back after a thousand years, and Equestria is currently experiencing it's longest stretch of peace ever. So believe me, I would do anything to defend that.” Celestia spoke to him in a tone he had yet to hear her use since hi stay in the palace. Straight-forward was right; the princess, thought coming across as a little cold, made perfect sense. She was, after all, in charge of the safety of countless lives under her care.

“So... you perceived me as a... threat?” he asked, strangely feeling less threatened as they continued.

“A potential threat, yes. You have to understand, though. You said it yourself; you're not a creature native to Equestria. You're a human, somehow manifested in the body of a pony. I have ways of knowing if a being in my presence is telling the truth, and I know you are.”

“But then, why allow me anywhere near Luna? If you thought I might turn on you and be dangerous, why did you allow her to help me?” Celestia let out a long sigh, staring into Midnight's eyes, her gaze reaching down into his very being.

“Because in helping you, I saw that Luna found a way to help herself. She was always a quiet soul. Even thousands of years ago, she kept to herself. Only when the influence of Nightmare Moon came upon her did she even stop talking to me. When she finally did return, she was sad, of course, but she still talked to me. Recently, she had been more and more recluse. I once again feared that the dark, lonely feelings that transformed her before might once again steal her from me. Then... you showed up. You were an unknown. Somepony that knew nothing about her past sins. I believe that by helping you, she found something inside herself that she had lost. But more than that... I believe Luna had found a friend.” Midnight leaned back, Celestia's expression turning from stern resolve to one of a calm peace. The tense, driven look in her eye was gone, replaced by warmth and kindness.

“So... I really did all that for her?” Midnight asked, feeling his heart rise.

“Yes, you did. She even challenged my authority over you. When you had your duel with Prince Blueblood, I thought you were finally showing your true colors. I decided to keep you sequestered in your room until we could figure out what to do with you. But Luna pleaded with me, begged me, in fact, to forgive you. Her wish was so sincere, I had little choice but to adhere to it.” Midnight opened his mouth to speak, but Celestia raised a hoof, silencing him before he could start. “Don't worry. She explained the entire ordeal. You're not in trouble. In fact... the lengths at which you went to defend my sister show me that... she means a great deal to you, as well.” Midnight blushed, turning away slightly from the princess.

“Does it really show, that much?” the stallion asked, timidly. Celestia stretched her foreleg out, touching her hoof to his.                                                                  

“Midnight, she responds to you and your affection in a way she just cannot for me. She's finally learning to participate with other ponies again, and she's learning how to live again. As much as it pains me to say it... I was... wrong about you.” Celestia nearly choked on the words as they left her throat. This being... this HUMAN... was saving her sister. He cared for her. He truly cared, and she... cared for him, too. “I'm... sorry, Midnight. I was suspicious of you based on what you were, rather than WHO you were, and that was wrong of me. I just hope this doesn't change you opinion of me TOO much...” The young stallion grinned and breathed a sigh of relief, now realizing that he was no longer in danger of being banished to some far-off planet or celestial body.

“No, Princess. I understand. You were just trying to be a good leader, and a good big sister. And you are right, unfortunately... there are a lot of nasty humans where I come from.” The stallion looked away, ears flattening to his head. “If the tables were turned, and you found yourself in human form on my world, claiming to be a pony, you'd be locked up for being crazy. That's kind of what I expected here. But I do mean it when I say that I owe you and Princess Luna my life. And I mean it now when I say that I fully intend to pay you back for your kindness someday.” For the first time, Celestia gave a sincere smiled to the young stallion. He stood up and moved closer, the two ponies joining in a genuine embrace. A moment passed, the two let go, standing as they began to make their way to the door.

“So... that dream you had the other night? It was about the banishment, wasn't it?” Midnight asked. Celestia hung her head, confirming the pegacorn's intuition. “She's not mad, you know. And it wasn't your fault.”

“I know Midnight. It's just that it still hurts a little to think of all that time lost. But thank you. It's good to hear that from somepony other than Luna every now and again.” She reached the door and turned, once again facing him. “Anything else, young Midnight?” The stallion grinned, rubbing a hoof against the back of his head, looking a bit nervous.

“Well, heh. Just, if you could, tell Blueblood I'm sorry for beating him up. I'd hate to have an angry God walking around, bearing a grudge against me.” Celestia looked at him, confused. Suddenly, she covered her mouth with a hoof to stifle a growing chuckle.

“My dear Midnight, Prince Blueblood isn't a God by any means. Why, he has trouble getting himself dressed in the morning!” the alicorn laughed.

“But... but isn't he your nephew? I mean I though...”

“Midnight, Luna and I are the only sisters each other has, and neither one of us has any children. Oh, my... I guess I can let you in on the little secret.” Celestia sat down before him once more, making sure the door behind them was closed.

“About three hundred years ago, I commissioned the creation of the Royal Canterlot Halls of Higher Learning. It was a school to teach complex crafts and skills to ponies who found their destinies required further study. The very first graduating class had a unicorn student that was very interested in writing a book detailing the daily running of Equestria. In particular, this student had developed a very particular interest in me.” Celestia blushed, prompting a grin from Midnight. “His name was Inkwell, and for more than a month, he was my shadow. He followed my time in Court, hearing arguments by various ponies on so many things. He learned my daily routine, my meals... he was the first pony in centuries I even spoke to about Luna. Needless to say, we became close friends. And then, since we were friends, we became...” the princess giggled to herself. “... something more. Eventually, as all ponies must do, he grew old. We never married. He simply wouldn't hear of it. He thought he was more valuable to Equestria as a diplomat or representative than a king. And when he finally passed away...” Celestia felt a hoof on her shoulder, fighting back the single tear forming in her eye.

“He was a great stallion. However, many others in his family were not. I never clarified our relationship to the public, mostly to protect him. But his relatives took advantage of our relationship, using it to declare themselves favored by the princess. Thus, they started calling themselves royalty, giving themselves titles of princes and princesses. Out of respect towards Inkwell, I never denounced them.”

“So... Blueblood is a decedent of Inkwell? THAT’S why you put up with him?” Celestia nodded as Midnight’s jaw dropped. To think, that arrogant jerk was a blood relative of a stallion sweet and noble enough to be worthy of a princess.

“Afraid so. I probably should denounce him, but it would ruin the business affairs of his entire family, wiping them out. He’s annoying, but not THAT annoying. Not yet, at least. Well, if you’ll excuse me, Midnight, I have to get back to some important matters of state. Oh, Luna?” Celestia opened on of the doors to the bedroom, allowing Luna to stumble in, almost losing her balance. “Did you get everything? I know it’s hard to hear through a closed door, even with your ear pressed to it.” The night princess giggled nervously, straightening herself as she blushed at being caught so easily.

“Tia! You... you knew I was there?” Celestia giggled at her little sister as she left the room.

“Of course, Luna. I knew you couldn’t help but be worried about him. But don’t worry. We’re done here. Midnight could tell you all about our talk later. Right now, you and I need to make some preparation.” Luna got her bearings and joined her big sister in the hall, pausing for a moment as Midnight followed. “Midnight, I would like for you to practice your flying and magic for the rest of the night. You know your own limits, so exercise caution when doing so. We don’t want to see you hurt now, do we, little sister?” The sun goddess gave Luna a wink and a grin, causing her to smile, ear to ear, signifying her knowing and acceptance of the special bond between the two.

“Alright, sister. Midnight, I’ll see if we can talk later, alright? Good luck practicing, alright? I’ll see you soon.” Luna bound over to Midnight and gave him a quick nuzzle and hug, whispering in his ear. “And I’m looking forward to our outing tomorrow...” With a quick peck on the cheek, Luna returned to her sister’s side, the two trotting down the hallway.

“I hope I’m making the right choice.” Celestia thought as she trotted next to her sister, a bright smile on the younger mare’s face. The moon goddess had a pep in her step that the sun regent had hardly ever seen, and it was in no small part due to Midnight. This human-pony may have started out as an uninvited guest in their lives, but had turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Luna had taken quite a shine to him, and in turn, grew herself, as both a mare and a princess. “He truly seems to care for her. And he never yet shown any aggression towards anypony. Well, Blueblood doesn’t count. Everypony want’s to deck him at least once.” The princess giggled internally at the thought. Perhaps she truly had misjudged the poor fellow. Perhaps, just maybe, she could learn to call this being, Midnight, a friend as well.

Finding himself alone in the hall once again, the young stallion decided to take the good advice, and practice his newly acquired skills. These power taught to him by the Elements were amazing, far beyond anything he had ever imagined, or even hoped for. Luna was right; he really SHOULD work on developing these new skills. “Alright, Midnight,” he said to himself, turning back to his bedroom and looking through the open balcony doors. “... time to put this horn and these wings to the test.”

===

From her position above the open balcony doors, Tumbler could hear everything. The overconfident prissy unicorn coaching the clueless pegacorn in the ways of magic, ethereal theory, focusing tricks. It was pathetic. She had half a mind to drop down in the room and take them both out. This observation assignment from Master was SOOOOO boring!!!

The highlight of the morning came when Midnight had his breakthrough. At least there was something to look at, now. With the invisibility spell that Master taught her firmly in place, she dropped down on the balcony and entered the room. There were so many scrolls and ink bottles and paint cans flying about that she thanked her lucky stars that she took a few years of dance class early on in life. Otherwise, the outline of a mare covered in paint floating in the room might have bred some difficult questions, to say the least. If only that time in dance class wasn’t marred by the memory of being out shined by... HER! No, Tumbler had to focus. Navigating the mess around her was top priority. And she had a job to do.

The jester mare sat in the corner, stock still as Celestia poured her heart out to Midnight, explaining herself and admitting her feelings over the last few days. This was seriously juicy stuff, and master would be pleased to get this report, for sure! When they finished, the two left the room, leaving her alone. Quickly, Tumbler rooted through the nearest plie of scrolls, hoping to find something, ANYTHING of interest that might make her report to Master more interesting. She turned, looking up at the large painting of Midnight’s human form hanging on the wall.

“Hideous... that handsome young stallion used to look like, THAT? That’s just... ew.” she thought with a shudder. She took another look around the room in despair. There was just too much to go through. She wouldn’t find anything to interest her master in this mess. The mare began walking to the balcony to leave the way she came in, when she heard something behind her that froze her in place.

“Oh, hello there. When did you come in?” From the doorway, Midnight reentered the room, finding a black and red suited unicorn in his room, standing at the far end. “Miss... are you alright?” The jester quickly turned, perching herself on one hind leg, the other recoiled back in a striking position while her forelegs were held high above her head. Midnight, through across the room, pulled back and partially hid behind the door. “Whoa, Nelly! Sorry to scare you like that, but it’s not everyday that a clown appears out of nowhere in your bedroom.”

“Hey, I’m not a clown! I’m a jester. There’s a big difference, you know.” the mare said, dropping back down on all four legs. This was a problem; she was to remain unseen, and hadn’t counted on him returning to the room. She expected him to follow Luna and Celestia, but now, her mission was compromised. She would have to think fast to keep from having her true purpose discovered. “I’m... sorry. I was trying to pull off a new trick, when I fell out of the window in the room above yours. I managed to catch the balcony on my way down. I’ll leave now.” she said in her most forlorn sounding voice she could muster, trying to make her way to the doors.

“What?! No, hold on a minute. Just sit down. Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself? Do you need to see the palace doctors or anything?” Midnight, asked, guiding away from the door and back to the bed. Tumbler thought for a moment if it would just be easier to knock him out and make her get away, but decided to air on the side of caution, instead.

“N-no, I’m fine, really. Hey, I think I heard of you; Midnight, right? You’re the stallion that Princess Luna found the other night, crash-landed in the garden, right?”Tumbler asked, knowing full well who he was.

“Heheh. Yep, that’s me. Sorry, I didn’t catch your name, Miss...?”

“Tumbler. Just Tumbler, no ‘Miss,’ thanks. But hey, you’re something of a celebrity around the palace now, you know. All the guards think you’re just awesome for trouncing BLueblood the way you did. Really put that pompous jerk in his place.” Midnight tried not to smile too much at this. But at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a little bad. Seems the Prince just wasn’t liked by ANYpony.

“Yeah, well... I’m usually not that easily irritated. Just had a bad day that day, that’s all.”  Tumbler noticed the way he shied away from the talk about violence, a little surprised. He seemed so GOOD at it, from what she saw. Maybe he just didn’t like to fight. It was then that Tumbler got an idea. A wickedly, wildly sinister idea. An idea that would make her Master proud...

“Hey, Midnight, is it true what ponies are saying about you and Princess Luna? I’ve heard some interesting stories.” she said, grinning behind her mask. The young stallions eyes went wide and a lump formed in his throat.

“W-wh-what? What are ponies saying about me and Luna?” he asked, trying not to sound panicked. It was one thing to maybe fall for a pretty mare while he was on this world; they were all nice to him, and he had to admit, they were all pretty cute, too. But if his origins got out and it was known that Luna was falling for him, it could make some serious political trouble for her.

“Oh, nothing. Just that you’re going to go out together through Canterlot tomorrow. The guards are all talking about it, and how they’ll have to escort you two around the city. Apparently, they think it’s a big pain. It’ll be a lot of extra work for them. Unless...” she said, placing a hoof to her chin, as if pondering something.

“Unless...?”

“Unless, you and Luna go out together alone, just the two of you!” Tumbler hopped up from the bed, forelegs high in the air. “She’s a super-de-duper powerful alicorn! She could EASILY cast some spell on the two of you to make you both look different. You could go out and have a great time, without bothering any guards!” Tumbler hopped around the room, trying to make her idea sound like the best idea in the world, playing as thought she was really excited. Her smile behind her mask stretched from ear to ear when she saw Midnight’s face.

“Yeah... YEAH! That’s a BRILLIANT idea! We could go in disguise, and nopony else will be the wiser! We could go to a restaurant, or maybe catch a show, or go through the marketplace...  I’ll have a real, honest-to-goodness DATE with Luna!” The ideas raced through Midnight’s head, the possibilities already making him want to run out and take Luna to town right now.

“Hold on there, lover boy. Have you even BEEN to town, yet? I mean, since you’re new to Canterlot, and all.” He was playing right into her plan. She only had to string him along just a little bit more. ‘Come on, human-pony,’ she thought. ‘just follow my lead...’

“Midnight, maybe you should, you know, scout out the city a bit? You want to know where you’re going to take the Princess, right?”  Midnight’s face it up, then quickly changed to a more serious look.

“Ahh... no can do, Tumbler. I promised Luna that we’d see the city for the first time together. I can’t go into the city without her. I made a promise.” the stallion said, with no shortage of pride. The jester glared at him from behind her mask, but remained undaunted.

“How about you just... do a fly-over? A pegasi-eye view of the city, for areas of interest? Then, you and her can still go together, and it could still be the first time.” Tumbler nodded vigorously, still trying to sell her idea. For her own plan to work, he needed to buy this suggestion.

“Hey... that’s a really good idea, there. I’ll scout out where Luna and I will go tomorrow, and be able to practice my flying at the same time! Thanks, Tumbler. I don;t suppose you could help me practice magic, too, huh?” he said, half jokingly. The jester gave her best fake giggle, the bells on her hat jingling as she shook her head.

“Well, I’d help you with your magic, but I have a full day’s work ahead of me. It’d be done already, but I’ve just been playing around all day, and now I have a TON to catch up on!” she said, walking upside down on her front hooves toward the door. Suddenly, she hopped back upright, bounding over to Midnight. “OH! But I know a PERFECT place to try out magic without anypony else around to bother you. Or, you know... get hurt if you mess something up.” She wrapped a foreleg around Midnight’s shoulder, pulling him close to whisper in his ear. After a moment, she released him, reaching up with both forehooves to hold his face.

“Now, don’t tell anypony else about my secret spot, OK? I go there whenever I have the time, and I don’t want a ton of litter around next time I go, alright?” With a grin, Midnight sat down and placed a hoof to his chest, holding the other in the air.

“I promise, Tumbler. Scout’s honor.” The mare didn’t know what that meant, but, knowing it must have meant something to him, decided to throw in another request.

“And, could you not tell anypony else that I ‘dropped in’ on you? I’m really not supposed to be doing any really dangerous stunts on ledges or out of windows like that.” The stallion nodded, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

“I promise that, too. Just be more careful next time. I’d hate to see a nice mare like you get hurt, alright?” She had to keep from laughing at this foalish creatures gullibility. “Well, I’m off to scout the route of my date! Thanks again, Tumbler! Maybe when I get back, we could do some magic training together!” He ran to the balcony, spreading his wings wide. “Shut the door when you leave, alright? See ya later!” And with that, Midnight burst out of the balcony doors, and took off towards the city.

No sooner than Midnight leaver her view, that Tumbler ran over to the night stand. Not even using her magic, she grabbed the tea pot the pot from the stand and smashed it on the floor. Quickly, she smashed the remaining bottles and cups on the floor, making a large puddle of assorted liquids in the middle of the room. Falling on her knees, the removed her mask and focused her magic. The window spell required intense concentration, and her master needed to be alerted of this turn of events immediately.

===

“... why don’t you just kill me and get it over with...?” the mare asked weakly. The dark creature looked down on her, feeling full and satiated from his feeding, still licking his lips as his victim shuddered and sobbed.

“Oh, come now, darling. All things in time, you know? Believe me, it will happen. Just not yet.” he hissed, giving off a deep, throaty laugh. Wiping the small amount of magical residue from his maw, he turned and from the poor pony in her rusty cage, heading toward the stairs. “Besides, don’t you think you deserve all the pain I can dish out? You said time and time again that you don’t deserve to live, remember? Just consider this... justice, for all the wrong you’ve done.”

“This isn’t.. justice. This... this is torture. Destroying me... would be justice... I don’t see why you’re keeping me alive,... anyway.” she said through ragged breaths. The mare tried to stand, but faltered, landing on the floor of the cage with a heavy thud.

“My dear, this is all a part of my master plan. Trust me; when all the pieces come together, you’ll get your wish to be destroyed. I promise you that. First you, and the princess, and then all the rest of this pastel colored world.” The beast slithered up the stairs, making his way to the door at the top. Though her eyes were still blury and full of tears, the pained mare found the strength to raise her head, just enough to look towards her captor.

“You monster... you stay away from her! She’s done nothing to you! Do you hear me?! Don’t you DARE TOUCH HER!’ DO YOU HEAR ME?!” Though ignited by her pain and rage, the mare’s words fell on deaf ears. He paid no attention to her cries, or the rattling of her cage, or the pained screech from said cage as she tried to break free. The creature simply opened the door and stepped through, leaving his victim to writhe in pain and frustration in the dark of the dungeon below.

Navigating the halls of his lair, the monster made it back to his throne, worm eaten and rotten as it was. The viewing mirror was dark, only reflecting the horrible visage of himself as it usually did when no magic was applied to it. He wondered what to view, now; Canterlot, Ponyville, perhaps Appaloosa? The campaigns in Althea and the diamond dog mines were over, so what else was there? Just as he was about to pop another severed unicorn horn in his mouth from his snack bowl, the mirror flickered. Then, sparked. Suddenly, the mirror swirled and bubbled, the image of his number one spy appearing before him.

“Tumbler? Why, hello, my dear! What brings you to my humble abode? A little early to be making your report, is it?” he mused. Then, he noticed her mask was fully removed. A look she very seldom wore by choice.

“Master, I have great news! I tricked Princess Luna’s new pet project into leaving the palace!” she said with great pride. The monster only raised an eyebrow in indifference, causing the mare to cringe.

“Leave the palace, you say? Explain.” he said, wrapping his talons on the armrest of his broken throne.

“W-well, as I mentioned earlier, he defeated Blueblood and learned to fly. And as ordered, I leaked the news of Blueblood’s battle to the local paper, spreading the word about this Midnight to further hinder their relationship. But today, the human-pony learned to use magic, as well! He’s gained great favor with BOTH princesses now, and has taken to the skies over the city right now to practice his flying skills.”

“Hmm... interesting, but not entirely useful, my dear. I hope this isn’t the only reason you’ve contacted me and risked my discovery.” he growled. Quickly, the jester mare shook her head.

“Oh, no, master! I wouldn’t do that if it wasn’t very important to our goals! Master, I remembered how you said you would like to meet this human-pony. Despite my best efforts, he spotted me, but believes I am just another member of the palace staff. We talked casually for a while, and to further help his efforts to practice his magic, I directed him towards... the clearing.” The creature sat in silence for a moment. His talons continued to wrap against the armrest of his throne, sending a nervous chill down Tumbler’s spine. Would he be pleased with her actions? It was still too late to tell. Slowly, she could hear the beast giggle. Then, he broke into a full, uproarious laugh, pounding his tail on the ground with his head flung back.

“Oh, Tumbler, you evil-minded little minx! That is just Brilliant, with a capitol ‘B!’ I knew there was a reason why I decided to make YOU my deep-cover spy! Remind me to put a little extra something in your pay, next time!” The jester just gave him a sideways look, her head tilted.

“But, Master... you don’t actually pay me anythi-iiING!” The evil mare was cut off mid-sentence, a taloned paw reaching through the puddle and grabbing her by the collar of her outfit. “M-m-master...? W-what a-are you...?”

“Oh, Tumbler, I wouldn’t DREAM of letting you miss out on the FUN I’m going to have when I meet this ‘Midnight Blaze’ face to muzzled face! Come, my dearie! We gotta see a pony about a princess!” The puddled bubbled as the creature drug the jester mare down into it. With a flash and hiss of steam, the mare was gone, leaving only broken bottles and the smell of sulfur behind.

===

The city, thought seeming quite large from his balcony, was even more vast than Midnight imagined. Though careful not to travel too close to the ground, he could see the various goings-on of the citizens as they went about their end of the day routines. The cafes and restaurants were bringing in their tables and chairs from the outside dining areas. Street vendors were shutting down their stands and harnessing them up to take back home. The Royal Guards even seemed to be getting ready for a shift change, large groups of them meeting and talking amongst themselves in different areas of the city.

Suddenly, and strong downdraft sent him into a sharp descent, forcing him to quickly compensate, flapping his wings hard to fight against the winds. Then, a stronger updraft, working with him to elevate him high into the sky, zooming past a cluster of clouds. “Whoa! Spitfire was right; those up and down drafts will kill ya if you’re not careful! Glad I was able to adjust before I lost it.” The stallion drifted slowly through the mass of clouds, looking down on them as a thought came to him.

“Dash said there was an entire city in the clouds, made and populated entirely by pegasi. So, pegasus ponies have to be able to walk on clouds, like that book on pony biology said. Now... let’s see if a pegacorn can walk on clouds, too.” Midnight thought, circling several large, flat looking clouds, looking for the most likely candidate to land on. Near the end of the cluster, he spotted a relatively flat, broad strip of cloud. Cautiously, he made his approach. With wings broad and wide, he hovered a moment, gently lowering himself. Then, brought in his wings and... promptly fell right through the cloud. Quickly, he spread his wings once more, catching himself and swooping back up above the cloud, giving it a dirty look.

“Whoa! Alright, ‘Nighty,’ that didn’t work. Wet’s try that again, once more with feeling.” Once again, he tried to land. This time, he decided to imagine the cloud as any other regular piece of dirt, hard and solid beneath his hooves. Much to his surprise, the mental exercise worked. He brought in his wings, finding himself standing, albeit shakily, on top of a white, fluffy cloud.

“Oh, wow... I really did it! HA! So pegacorns really CAN cloud-walk! I guess Rainbow was right.” Suddenly, without warning, his good mood vanished as quickly as it came. His own words hit him with a weight he never imagined they could. He identified himself as a ‘pegacorn.’ Not a human, not a human-turned-pony. He called himself a pegacorn.

“I’ve been here almost a week. Damn... a week without caffeine. A week without artificial sweeteners or saturated fats or high-fructose corn syrup, nicotine, tobacco or aspartame. Heh. A week without internet porn.” He laughed at himself at the mention of the last vice, plopping down on the cloud. He hung his forelegs off the edge, looking down on the quieting city far below. “Almost a week without almost getting run over by a taxi, or smog, or waking up the sound of gunshots in the night, or looking over my shoulder as I walk the streets at night. No sirens heading off to an arson or a murder. No newspapers or eleven o’clock news reporting rapes or muggings or drug busts. No drunk drivers killing whole families and walking away from the scene of the crash unharmed.”

He looked down at his hooves. The same hooves that used to be hands. He’d never unlock all the achievements in Halo with these babies. But something that seemed only a week ago to be the most important thing in the world, suddenly didn’t matter at all. He found he didn’t miss video games or TV. Trying to dress in the best designer fashion was a pointless pursuit, now. Going out of his way to look cool and impress others he WANTED to be friends with now seemed... childish. Or as the ponies of this world would call it, foalish. In fact, thinking back on it now, did he even miss his old world at all? Since he started his stay in Equestria, was there ever a time he felt anguished and tormented that he was stuck here, with NO real way to get himself back home? Try as he might, Midnight couldn’t think of one time he did. That was another thing... ‘Midnight.’

He remembered now everything about his old world. Facts and figures, points of interest around the world, famous people throughout history. Songs and books and movies and games and television shows. Everything, and everyone. Everything and everyone, that is, that wasn’t he or his family. THAT was one subject, unfortunately, that was still a total blank. But then again, why would he even need to remember? This new world, perhaps, was a second chance. Try as he might, he couldn’t remember ever doing anything substantial or meaningful in his life on his old world. Every cloudy memory of his past was of school, passing friends, girls who never gave him the time of day, untrustworthy adults... but no real accomplishments. No big games won, no scholarships, no ribbons or trophies.

“It’s like I wasn’t meant for that world.” he sighed out, feeling a bit depressed. “Maybe... maybe my appearing here in Equestria is like... the universe, correcting some great and horrible mistake it made. Maybe I was born in the wrong dimension or world or... whatever.” He turned and looked t his rump, pondering what is ‘special talent’ might be. He didn’t have a cutie mark, yet, and apparently was well overdue for one by his age. Also, being an extremely rare pegacorn made him stand out a bit, too. “Alright, so my lot in life in this world might not be perfect, either. But if those are my two biggest problems, I think I’m doing pretty damn good for myself. Maybe, just maybe...” he thought, grinning at the premise he now had in mind. “... maybe I’ll ask Luna and Twilight to just... not try so hard to find me that spell back home...”

He stood up on the cloud, feeling the snow-soft fluff beneath his hooves. The sun was quickly reaching the horizon, prompting him to be on his way. If this world was anything at all like his old one, there might be some weird creatures out at night. Looking around and determining his position, he assumed which way might be south-east. “I better get to that cliff side Tumbler told me about before Luna raises the moon. I don’t wanna freak out the guards by sneaking back into the palace in the dark.”

Much to his surprise, the ‘hidden’ cliff Tumbler told him about was easier to find than he thought. The area was about the size of half a football field, littered with patches of flowers and lots of rocks, varying from pebbles to cinder block size. This would be a perfect place to practice magic. Focusing on a hoof-full of rocks, he hovered them in place, horn glowing in a magical light.

“Alright, let’s get this party started...”

===

“I’m bored.”the large, dark-furred wolf huffed. From the top of lead cart, the earth pony, Klokwerk, sighed from under his purple top hat.

“Oh, put a muzzle on it, Grimdark. You know we’re supposed to wait for Master’s orders. Why don’t you go kill something, if you’re so bored.” he said, waving his hoof in the air in no particular direction. The direwolf sniffed the air, then looked over at Crash, who preening his wings.

“Hey, Crash! Wanna go...”

“Nope. Absolutely not. I don’t eat meat. Herbivore, remember? Go hunt yourself.” the large pegasus mumbled out as he worked through his wings with his teeth. “I gotta be ready at a moment’s notice when we ger Master’s orders, and I’m not scaring little critters out of the underbrush for you.”

“And I’m not starting another fire to do that, either. Why don’t I just give you a belly rub to relax, you big fluffy, wuffy wolfie?” Burn giggled, trotting over to the beast. With a flicker of magic, the direwolf levitated up and turned in the air, landing on his back. The unicorn mare hopped up on his belly, rubbing the bottom of his rib cage with her forehooves. Grimdark’s back left leg started twitching and running on it’s own, his tongue lolling out the side of his open mouth in sheer joy.

“Oh... yeah... Burny...” the wolf groaned out. Klokwerk just shook his head in annoyance as Crash laughed at the huge beast acting like a small, innocent puppy. “Forget Master’s orders... I could lay here and do this all day... Hey, Burn... your hooves feel a littel sharp. You should get a ponypedi when we raid Canterlot... ow. Ow... OUCH! Bur...” Grimdark opened his eyes, finding Burn standing on the ground in line with his gaze. He quickly turned his head, noticing a large, taloned paw scritching his belly, the smiling face of his master looking down on him with a grin.

“Aww, what was that about forgetting my orders, my good Grimdark?” The direwolve’s eyes shot open wide, pushing himself backwards away from the horrible visage of his master. He got to his feet and quickly bowed, joining the rest of his comrades, already bowing before their great leader.

“Master! It’s great to see you, again! How goes the plan? Everything in order? We’re ready to move at a moment’s notice, as you know.” Klokwerk chimed, grinning to assure his master of the team’s readiness. The creature strolled back and forth a few times, scratching his chin as he peered up off into the sky.

“Hmm... yes, yes. I know, Heir Doctor. But there seems to be something I’m forgetting... what is it... OH, YES! HERE it is!!!” The ‘Master’ clapped his paws together, one on top of the other, raising the top paw to reveal a checker-board suited unicorn mare in his palm. “I brought you all a gift!”

“Tumbler!” the group yelled, much to the surprise of the jester. Tumbler looked around in surprise, not immediately sure where she was. Finally, upon seeing her fellow warriors, her face lit up, hopping down from her master’s hold.

“Guys! Oh, I can’t believe it! You’re all here!” she said, running up and throwing her forelegs around Crash and Klokwerk, the two ponies closest to her. Grimdark and Burn joined the in before they all caught themselves, their master examining his claws while he waited for them to compose themselves. The group all released each other from their embrace, falling back into formation.

“Alright, now that we’re all deliriously happy... maybe we could get back to the task at hoof. Or, hand. Or... whatever.” he said, walking past the group towards the overgrowth. The five companions looked at each other, then rushed to their hooves to follow him. Easily following the path their Master treaded flat through the bushes and overgrowth, they all came to a stop, just behind him. He turned, grinning as he motioned them closer with a single claw. “Come, my little minions. We have a guest.” Through the thick foliage and overgrowth, the five creatures spotted a charcoal-grey stallion with red wings and mane. All around the pony hovered rocks and twigs of different sizes, spinning and arranging in the air around him.

“Master... it that the one you mentioned? The pony that the princesses saved?” Burn asked. The creature grinned, fangs giving off a gleam in the fading sunlight streaming through the overgrowth.

“Yes, it is... Midnight the human-pegacorn. He’s the one wild card I never factored into my scheme.” The Master stood up, slowly making his way to the wide open area where the stallion was performing, pushing his way through the trees and brush.

“Master, where are you going?” Klokwerk asked, ready to follow. The beast only held up a paw, giving him a backward glance.

“It’s alright, my minions. I’d like to do this alone. I think it’s time I saw just how powerful this ‘Midnight Blaze’ really is...”

===

“Alright, circle...” Midnight said aloud, the collection of rocks forming a near perfect circle before him. “Nice. Now, this time a square...” The rocks responded again, this time in the shape of a square. He had been doing this for a while now, slowly adding more rocks or twigs, making faces and images from the dust and debris around the large cliff. “Alright... let’s do a little offensive magic, this time...”

The rocks and sticks formed into two large separate collections in the air on either side of Midnight. One by one, the larger sticks broke, the ends forming into points. Using some of the bigger rocks stuck in the ground as markers, the stallion sent the sticks flying like mini-missiles into the ground. Once the few dozen sticks were spent, he went to work on the rocks. Targeting the sticks speared into the ground, Midnight managed to break almost every stick on his first attempt, smashing them with the rocks fired off at high speed. However, after all the sticks were smashed, there were still a few rocks remaining. Deciding to try aiming for individual trees, he launched rock after rock into the woods, again with almost 100% accuracy. The last rock, however, was an exception. The golf ball sized projectile hit the desired tree, but then ricocheted off into the woods, resulting in a loud !BONK! from an unknown source.

“OUCH!!! What in the hay was THAT?!” a voice cried out from the green. Midnight cringed, realizing that he was not only alone, but that he may have just seriously another creature. He took off in a gallop for the trees, searching desperately inside for the pony he had hit.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Are you alright?! I didn’t mean for that! I’m so sorry!” the pegacorn couldn’t apologize enough, hoping that whoever he hit would be forgiving. The pegacorn, however, stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide as the creature he struck walked out of the forest.

The first thing he noticed was the sheer height of the thing. This... animal, or whatever it was, easily stood at least four or five feet taller than Celestia, already giving him an imposing presence. The thing’s face was longer and thinner than a pony’s, but still somehow distinctively equine, reminding him a characterized version of a horse from his world. On top of the creatures head, however, were two very mis-matched horns; the left being black and crooked, like a gazelle’s and the right being thick and ‘L’-shaped, similar to that of a bull. The neck of the thing was covered in grey fur and black spots, almost exactly like a hyena, if not for the fact that it was almost twice as long as it would usually be on the canines. Half way down the neck were, much to Midnight’s surprise, ARMS, equally mis-matched in keeping with the standard theme of this creature. The left arm was muscular and scaly, reminding him something of a dragon’s foreleg. The right arm seemed to be equally strong looking, but was gray and dark, with claws on the very human-looking fingers, appearing to be a warped version of a human arm. The creatures... it’s FRONT legs, were those of a powerful bird, complete with sharp talons and colored dark brownish-red. The body was feline, appearing to be from a large lion. On the beasts back were a set of wings, as different as the arms of the thing were; the left brown and furry, looking like that of a large bat, the right green and leathery, again, distinctively dragon-like. The back legs were both pony, that much he could tell. However at least twice the size as that of any stallion he had seen so far, and covered in a navy blue coat. The tail was thick and dark green, with a row of spiked trailing down both the left and right sides, just like an alligators. But the most striking feature on the thing was it’s eyes. The left eyes was a thin slit, vertical like a snakes, and the right eye pale blue, like a wolf. Every piece of this thing was larger and more intimidating than it would be on the animal that it came from, making this creature

“Excuse me, my good pony, but is this your rock? I seem to have caught it... with my skull.” The creature was definitely a male, judging by the voice. He sounded young, perhaps not much older than some of the royal guards in the palace. It reached down into the brush, picking up the very rock Midnight had fired a few moments ago, then leaned down to show him a very noticeable chip in his one horn.

“Oh, no... I’m so sorry, sir! I-I thought I was alone out here! That’s why I flew all the way up here to practice magic! A-are you alright?” the pony asked, ears folded back. The creature rubbed his horn with his clawed fingers, closed his eyes and tossed the rock over his shoulder.

“Eh. I’ll live.” With it’s hands behind it’s back, the creature casually strolled towards the cliff, stopping and laying down, facing Canterlot far in the distance. Midnight was puzzled. He had just hit this thing in the head with a rock, but it barely seemed bothered. The pony trotted over beside the thing, admiring the view right along with him.

“Are you sure you’re OK, mister? I feel just horrible about that.” Midnight looked down at his hooves, feeling as though he should be in some kind of trouble for that misfire. His attention was drawn by a shadow creeping across the ground. The creature now had it’s arms folded across it’s chest, but was holding up one of it’s forelegs to Midnight, the palm of his paw open.

“The name’s Bedlam, son. No ‘Mister,’ just Bedlam. And I come out here for a reason not too different.” Midnight placed his hoof in the open paw, feeling Bedlam take it in a firm, but gentle grip and shake. “What’s your name, my fine gentlestallion?”

“Um... Midnight. Also, no ‘Mister.’” he added, a low chuckle coming from the centaur-like Bedlam. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Oh, don’t worry about me, Midnight. I’m a fast healer. Besides, I couldn’t stay mad at a relative of the princesses, now could I?” The stallion looked at him, not quite understanding his meaning. It must have been obvious on his face, as Bedlam then motioned with a talon at his wings and horn, insinuating he was an alicorn.

“Oh! You think I’m...? No no no no, sorry. Heh. I’m just as mortal as any other pony you’d meet. Just not at common. I’m actually a pegacorn.” Bedlam nodded his head in understanding.

“Alright, I see. You’re a very rare breed, friend. Almost as rare as me. Sorry for the confusion. My mind is just pre-occupied with other matters at the moment, that’s all.” Bedlam went back to staring at the city below, the sun shining in his mis-matched eyes. Midnight couldn’t help but give the creature an odd look. He definitely wasn’t like anypony he’d met, yet.

“What’s your reason for coming up here, if I might ask?” Bedlam took a long, deep breath, holding it a moment before letting it go, ever so slowly. He looked over at the pegacorn with a grin.

“Why, to admire the view, of course. Canterlot is a beautiful city, is it not? Just look at that architecture, the layout of the streets and markets. Not to mention all the history behind it all. And what a melting pot of creatures. Ponies, diamond dogs, griffons, changelings, buffalo, donkeys... a central meeting point for all the races of the world, living and working in harmony.” Bedlam sighed, looking over his claws. “But also to clear my head. I have something important coming up, and I hope to find someone, but it looks like I’m just going to have to go ahead and start without him. I probably could find who I’m looking for if I went down into the city, but I suppose I’m a bit too strange to casually walk down the street. I usually don’t go down there, anyway. My kind is very rare around Equestria, indeed.” Midnight looked him over once again from head to tail. His kind? What in the actual hell was this guy, anyway. He recognized unicorns and pegasi immediately when he saw them. He even knew what a griffon looked like. But for the life of him, he just couldn’t put his hoof on what kind of creature this Bedlam was.

“Well... what’s your ‘kind,’ Bedlam? I’m really sorry, but I just don’t think I’ve ever seen your species before. Is this other creature you’re looking for one of your own kind?” Midnight asked, hoping the subject of race wasn’t taken as seriously and hostile in Equestria as it was on his world. But the creature just laughed, patting him on the back with one of his powerful paws.

“No, I suppose you wouldn’t, now. That’s alright, I don’t mind. And yes, the one I’m looking fore is the same species as me.” Standing up, the beast stretched his back, wings fully extended out as his arms reached for the sky. He opened his mouth wide in a yawning roar, exposing a mouth full of sharp teeth.

“My dear Midnight, perhaps you might know who I’m looking for. He’s my younger brother. His name is Discord, and he’s a draconequus, just like me.”

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

Please return your seats and tray tables to their full and upright positions. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have just lost cabin pressure. The villain finally steps out of the shadows! How will the Princesses react to this new visitor to Equestria? Who sis this poor mare already in his clutches? Will Canterlot survive the coming storm of CHAOS? Find out next time in 'The Human World', the next exciting installment of

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