"So you're telling me that Midnight said he wouldn't mind having another mare in the relationship?" Twilight gawked slightly as AJ had just finished her story about the previous day.

"Yea, why? Is it that suprisin?" AJ smirked catching Twilight off guard.

"Well, not really. But our relationship already feels slightly strained since Rarity is engaged to him and he is my colt friend. However, since it is you and not some other pony that I am unfamiliar with, I don't see any issues there. I do have one question though." Twilight said while rubbing her chin in thought.

"Okay........"

"What does your granny think of this situation?" Twilight asked causing AJ to give a heavy sigh.

"Granny Smith don't exactly know about this. She is a mite old fashioned and believes that a relationship consists of one mare and one stallion. Tell'er anything else and she'll throw a tantrum like a bronco bucking at bee's." AJ chuckled at the thought but stopped as she began again. "I don't feel right tellin'er bout how all this is going'bout. It might break her heart to know that her eldest grand daughter has a partial relationship that is purty much physical. She don't take kindly to hearing bout two ponies just ruttin when they get a lil antsy. I don't mind it. But hooo doggy Granny just flips'er lid." AJ sighed attempting to think of a way to keep things civil.

"Well, why not just keep your relationship on the down low? No pony has to know about you and Midnight. I have received quite a few stares from ponies since we came out to the public about our relationship. I feel like a third wheel at times since he and Rarity were together first, but overall I couldn't be happier. Besides, Midnight is well known in Equestria now. I have personally seen him walking out of the Canterlot Cathedral with a mare under each wing and a stupid grin on his face. At first it bothered me a little, but knowing him, I know he will always take Rarity and my feelings into consideration if we need to speak with him about any given subject." Twilight gave a contented sigh thinking about him and all the things they had done since her heartfelt confession not so long ago.

"Yer right sugarcube, maybe a relationship really isn't something I should consider with him. I'm perfectly content otherwise." AJ smiled to Twilight who gave a quiet giggle in return.

"There is one thang that bothers me though." AJ continued, catching Twilight's attention again. "I can't help but noticed the way he looked at mah sis, Sweetiebelle, and Scootaloo when they was all grown up the other day. I'll admit that ah never thought mah sis would grow up to be such a purty mare. But seeing is believing. I bet that Alicorn still has some mixed feelings'bout all of that. Ah think ah'll talk to him about it when I catch up with him later." AJ chuckled.

"Better go easy on that subject. We already talked about it and it seemed to bother him a lot so I just dropped the conversation for his sake."

"Really? What'd he say?" AJ pushed a little to continue the conversation.

"All he told me was that he is a guy and guys will have thoughts about seeing a pretty lady, as he put it. He told me that although Rarity is beautiful, When he saw Sweetiebelle as an adult, all he could think about was her. He admitted to me that Sweetiebelle's beauty was actually far beyond Rarity's. He also went on to say that there would be 'No way in hell' that he would ever have relations with any child, even if they had been magically altered to become an adult. He even went as far as to learn and cast a spell on himself to give him what is called 'Honest Eyes' which gives the being it is cast on to see the truth behind any given guise that a pony has cast."

"That is pretty hard core, Why does he want the truth out of something like that?" AJ had just finished her question as Midnight entered the library.

"Because I don't believe in lieing to get what I want. If I lie to get help then I'm not only hurting myself, but my friends in the process. If it is something like a surprise for another I can see telling a little white lie to get the help needed. But if it is for personal gain, or to hurt another pony. Then I will be against it." He sighed as he trotted in and taking a seat next to Twilight giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Ah must say Night, you have some purty straight forward no non-sense. morals. It's rather refreshing teh hear that there is another pony that thinks like mahself." AJ chuckled.

"Being the element of honesty is a tough job. Even if you don't want to hurt another ponies feelings, its best to just lay out the details in front of them so they can't be hurt later by a lie and finding out the information on their own." Midnight smiled.

"Darn tootin." AJ winked giving a chuckle. "At times I feel bad about having to break the news to another pony, but its always for the best."

"Glad to hear it AJ. I'd expect nothing less from the hardest working pony I have ever met." He chuckled giving her a wink only to make her blush slightly. "So, should I inquire about what you two were talking about just before I walked in?" He cocked a brow slowly changing his gaze from Twilight to AJ then back again.

"Uh........." Twilight began as she looked to AJ nervously.

"We might as well Twi, no reason not teh." AJ chuckled trotting over and taking a seat across from them.

"AJ and I were talking about what you said to her the other day......... About having another pony in your relationship with Rarity and I." Twilight gave a nervous smile looking up to Midnight. He raised his brows in slight shock as he looked back and forth between them once again.

"Alright, What do you think?" Midnight said as he looked to Twilight.

"Well Night, Even though ah'd like teh have a relationship going on with ya, I feel it best teh just keep things civil. Know what ah mean?" AJ began.

"In short, two's company, three's a crowd?" Midnight chuckled.

"Not really, Ah just feel better knowing that yer a friend with benifiets." AJ chuckled causing Twilight to gawk.

"Seriously AJ?" Twilight asked in shock.

"Your decision is fine with me AJ. You know I'll always be there for you and your family if you ever need me. Same goes for every one of the elements." He smiled nodding to AJ who came over and gave him a hug.

"Thanks sugarcube, ah appreciate everything ya've done for mah family an me." AJ said as she pulled away from the hug.

"Not a problem AJ, as long as there is a breath in my body, I will help out where I am needed." He chuckled but stopped as he began to take a few slightly quick but deep breaths.

"AAAACHOO!" Midnight's mane and tail erupted into an inferno as he sneezed hard causing AJ and Twilight to nearly fall over to get away.

"WOAH NELLY! You alright there Night?" AJ asked looking at his slightly stupid expression. After a few moments Midnight shook himself back to reality.

"Wow, that was new." He said as his mane and tail returned to normal.

"Midnight? Are you ok?" Twilight asked coming back up to his side and giving him a gentle nuzzle. He gave a slight sniffle nodding.

"I'm alright, just hope I'm not coming down with a cold. Although I wouldn't be surprised. Ive been here for almost a year now without getting sick. Come to think of it, I don't know anythiiii heeee HEEEEE AAACHOO!" He let out another sneeze, this time his horn lighting up with magic, as soon as the sneeze hit several books explode from all around them.

"I was going to say, that I don't know anything about the types of illness's this world has compared to my own, what the hell happened to those books? And why is it raining paper?" He spoke out in slight confusion.

"Give me one minute Midnight." Twilight said as she located a book on pony physiology and illnesses, floating it to Midnight who immediately scanned it.

"Informative, but it didn't tell me what kind of illness I may haaaaa...... haaaaaa..... HHAAAAAAACHOO!" He sneezed again, this time his wings flying out to the sides of him and knocking over two large towers of books.

"Ugggggghhhhh, Ok, this is getting annoying." He groaned.

"I think I need to send a message to the princess. It is actually quite rare for a pony to catch a cold. Especially an Alicorn." Twilight spoke as she yelled for Spike. After a minute of writing the letter Spike sent it on its way. A few minutes passed before the reply letter had been sent back, Twilight opening it and reading it.

"My most faithful student Twilight,

I am troubled to hear that Midnight has possibly caught a cold. It is quite rare for anypony including an Alicorn to catch a cold. I am sending my personal physician to check on him. Please keep me informed of his status. Also I have sent along this horn ring to keep him from casting any spells should he continue to sneeze as you spoke of. Please tell him to rest and take it easy for a few days until he is feeling better. I look forward to hearing that he has returned to a healthy state.

Her Royal Highness

Princess Celestia."

Twilight finished reading the scroll then levitated the ring attached to the scroll to in front of her. She looekd to Midnight who gave a heavy sigh.

"Seriously? I don't need that stupid thing to keep my magic in cheeeeh heeeeeh HAAAAAAAACHOO!" He sneezed hard as his horn lit up once again. This time causing a book case to explode behind him.

"Heh, I take that back. I'll put it on." He chuckled nervously seeing AJ's jaw slack and a very annoyed expression on Twilight, all within the raining debre that was once books.

A few hours had passed since Midnight had been placed in the basement of the library with the magic blocking ring attached to his horn. He had sneeze many more times. Each sneeze that would have probably leveled the library by now had it not been for the ring. Twilight had brought some books down for him to read while he waited for the doctor to arrive so that he could be healed and he could finally go on his way for the day.

Another hour had passed by before the doctor had arrived at the library. Twilight introduced herself, as did the doctor before they headed into the basement to check on Midnight. They walked through the door and began to descend the stairs as they spoke.

"It's rather strange Dr. Whooves. I have been looking through all of the medical texts the library has and nothing I have seems to pinpoint what type of illness he has." Twilight spoke as they finally reached the bottom stair and trotted over to Midnight who was still reading but stopped as they neared him.

"Sound's rather strange, yes. So how are you feeling my boy?" He spoke up seeing the slight bags under Midnight's eyes.

"I've been better, this cold hit me hard though. Just a few hours ago I was fine, but now I feel like i've been ran over by a train." He sighed

"Hmmmmm, sounds like a nasty bug you've caught mmm hmmm. Yes, well, let's take a look at that throat shall we?" The brownish earth pony smiled as he pulled on a plastic hoof glove with a tongue depressor attached to it, and pressing Midnight's tongue down so he could see better down his throat. He then went on to checking his ears and other various regions before finally pulling out a small device and turning it about and pressing a button or two on it.

"Alright now, Mrs. Sparkle, would you be so kind as to remove his magic depression device?" The Doctor said as the device began to humm softly as he pointed it toward Midnight.

Twilight used her magic to pull the ring from Midnights horn for just a few seconds before replacing it back after the doctor finished his scan.

"Hmmmmmmm, quite remarkable, yes." He spoke softly looking at the device.

"So what do I have Doc?" Midnight sighed softly. Twilight sitting next to him and giving him a comforting nuzzle.

"Honestly my boy, I haven't the slightest." He chuckled only to cause them to gawk in disbelief.

"Say what? I thought you knew everything when it came to medicine and illnesses." Twilight spoke up rather disgruntled.

"I do my dear, I have over a billion different types of illnesses stored in this little screwdrivers memory core. It can tell me exactly what you have. The only problem is. Your illness isn't registered in it. You my dear boy have something quite new." He spoke up in a rather fascinated tone. "But I can tell you one thing." He began again as he caught there attention.

"You are loosing a lot of magic as time goes on. Your body is compensating by making more, but it won't be long before you have been bled dry of magic. The symptoms however are not going to get better unless we can cure this. You will become weaker and eventually you will not be able to move at all." The doctor sighed only to cause the two ponies before him to gawk again.

"Wait, so you're telling me that I could die from this?" Midnight spoke in shock.

"No, you won't die. You will just become a vegetable. Of course it will only be temporary until you have been cured or get better on your own." He smiled looking at Midnight as if he had given him some positive news.

"That's even worse!?" Midnight shouted catching the doctor off guard.

"I'm sorry my boy, but there is nothing else I can do for you. I recommend you stay here for the time being. If something happens and you are out on your own when the paralysis state comes around, you could be in a very sticky situation."

Midnight gave a defeated sigh as he lay his head down across the book he was reading. "At least tell me it isn't contagious, I can't bare the thought of hurting another pony with this."

"As far as I can tell, this illness originated from your body and will not afflict any other living beings. But that doesn't mean you need to go around hugging everypony." He spoke out in a suggestive manner.

"Understood." Midnight sighed just before unleashing another sneeze. "UGH! I hate being sick." He whined as he curled up pulling a cover over himself, his snout the only visible part poking out from underneath it. His horn having made a hole through the cover as well.

Twilight walked the doctor back upstairs to see him off but stopped him just before so that they could talk.

"Doctor, What do you think is causing this illness?" Twilight asked worriedly.

"I'm not sure my dear. But it seems to be unique to his being. I understand that he was a human before one of your spells didn't go as planned?" He asked cocking a brow at her.

"Yes, he used to be human. Do you think he brought a virus with him when he fell into Equestria?" Twilight asked feeling a pang of fear.

"He could have, it is always a possibility. But for it to be dormant so long and to just now appear seems rather strange." The doctor said as he rubbed his chin in thought. "For the time being though, please keep your distance from him. If he needs anything please use your magic to levitate it to him. We don't need an epidemic on our hooves." He said as he stepped from the library to the awaiting chariot.

"I'll do that, and thank you. If anything else happens I'll send a scroll to the princess." She nodded to the Doctor as the chariot took off back to Canterlot.

"I just hope that this doesn't last." She sighed heading back into the library.

Four days had passed and Midnight's health kept deteriorating. By the fourth day he could barely move of his own accord and had been moved from the library to a quarantined section of the hospital. He had been placed on a magical IV that would keep his magic level at a constant spot. With the magical ring around his horn he could no longer use magic so that any unfortunate events could not happen when he sneezed. After the first day of being in the libraries basement, the other girls had been notified. Midnight received visitors daily, sometimes more often than not. He had been unable to sleep due to the discomfort of his illness, this was beginning to show in his everyday actions and speech as delirium was setting in, sometimes he would pass out for a short period before waking up in some sort of pain that he could not describe.

On the fifth day however things took a turn for the worse for our hero. After many failed attempts at curing his plague he fell into a coma like state. His eyes would blink very slowly and had lost all of their firey red color revealing a set of deep green eyes. His mane and tail had all but gone out revealing only a lengthy black possum looking tail and a slightly reddish area where his mane had been. He could no longer communicate with those around him at this point which in turn began to drive Twilight and Rarity stir crazy as they took turns sitting with him in the hospital.

Celestia and Luna had been notified of his condition and its decent into his current state. It had been proven that he was not contagious so having them visit would be acceptable. Pinkie however was taking it the hardest since she and Midnight hung out sometimes to pull a few pranks on some unsuspecting ponies. She and Discord had visited once before he had fallen into his coma like state only to get some type of gibberish out of him through conversation.

On the sixth day his eyes closed and he had yet to awaken. He was now completely inert and was barely breathing on his own. The doctors had all but given up on him, even the continuous magical IV's began to take little affect on him. He remained in this state for some time, that is before Zecora arrived in Ponyville from Midnight's missed appointment with her. After talking to several ponies she had come to find Midnight's location in the hospital, she arrived quickly finding Twilight sitting at his side reading a book, heavy bags under her eyes from her sleepless nights.

"Twilight my dear, what is going on here?" Zecora asked as she trotted into the room seeing Midnight hooked up to various machines.

"Zecora? What are you doing here?" She asked as she put the book to her side.

"Midnight and I had set a date, for he was learning about my potions as of late. Upon his failure to come to my home, I began to worry that something dire has begun to grow." She spoke in her rhythmic tongue looking Midnight over.

"He has been sick for almost a week, his condition keeps getting worse Zecora. The doctors don't know what he has or what to do. They said he could be like this permanently if he doesn't overcome this illness." Twilight spoke softly as she began to sob. Zecora coming over to her side and giving her a gentle hug.

"There there my friend, Do not worry about him, I shall bring a few potions that might mend. Or at least find find what ale's him." She smiled pulling away from Twilight and trotting out of the room to head back to her hut.

After a couple hours, Zecora returned to the hospital with a saddlebag full of herbs and potions. She set up shop on the other side of the room from Midnight's bed and began to mix a small brew. After a few minutes she pour the concoction into a small vial and carefully poured the contents into Midnight's mouth then putting a strap around his snout to hold his mouth shut. He began to struggle and cough but it eventually stopped as he swallowed the bile contents down. A minute went by before the potion had taken effect and Midnight's eyes opened to reveal a ghostly white aura that seemed to flow like a mist down the sides of his head and disappear just before it could hit the bed. Zecora let out a soft gasp as she rushed back to her small station and began to mix up another brew.

"Zecora? Whats wrong?" Twilight asked watching her frantic pace.

"Something dire has happened, his body is rejecting his magic and is becoming flattened. If his loss of magic is total, I fear that it could become fatal." She spoke as she continued mixing her potion. Twilight began to sob a little louder as she stood up on the side of Midnight's bed looking down as his eyes continued to leak the white mist before slowly closing again. Twilight's horn began to glow slowly as she pressed it to his head, Zecora to late to notice this as she turned around yelling.

"TWILGHT STOP.................." Was all that was heard before a flash erupted around her and she was now standing in a long hallway inside Midnight's head. But this time, it didn't seem as normal as it did before.