When Midnight delivered a kiss onto her lips, Oracle was not expecting that at all. The sheer surprise of it caused her tail to unfold and extend. This caught Midnight off guard and he stumbled back. Oracle was still in a daze from the sudden affection, but soon recovered and brought her tail in. Midnight rubbed the back of his head, "Oh….I-I'm sorry…I just…you were so…I think I should leave…"

"No wait!" she exclaimed. This caused Midnight to step back, but not from fear. It was out of surprise. When he thought about it, he believed that Oracle would be disgusted by him. He was willing to take the risk to show her his love. She was the first pony that was feeling the same pain as her, but she managed to live with it better than him. "I…er…mean why not come in?" she asked. Midnight was confused until he looked out into the distance. There were these massive ruins in the background that the river ran by. Midnight simply nodded and Oracle gladly lead the way. Midnight walked beside her so he wouldn't step on her tail. They came upon the stairs and climbed them. He was excited to see what her house was like. Well, technically this wasn't exactly a house. These were just some ruins that survived in good condition. Once Midnight stepped inside, he couldn't help but to gasp in awe. The entire room would be considered one big art project. Along the walls hung several paintings; some of ponies, and others of landscapes. Other places had a wide instruments hanging. Near the base of the walls had flowers planted. This made Midnight kind of upset. He tried his best to find some exotic flowers, but now he was in a room filled with some. Although, one set of flowers caught his eye. One day in the past week, Midnight purchased these roses that he found in the flower shop. He bought four of them; one red, one white, one blue, and the strangest color, green. They were planted in some fine soil and placed near the wall. Midnight smiled as he walked up to them. He had no idea how she planted these, especially because of the thorns the stems had. But, they were planted and she kept them nonetheless.

"Wow Oracle…" spoke Midnight, "This place is amazing!"

"Oh…it's nothing special" she said. "This place actually has the one upside of my accident at Zecora's house. If it wasn't for her potion, I would have never found that I was a great artist. I can also play a few instruments and keep some flowers around."

Midnight walked along the walls, gazing up at every painting. All of them were expertly painted. The two he liked the most were ones of a clear sky at night and a beautiful sunset. As Midnight walked by the walls, there was one painting lying against the wall. It was covered by a white sheet completely. Midnight reached for the sheet but Oracle stopped him. "No…that's…not ready yet…" she said. Midnight took that an answer. With one final thank you, and a small blush from Oracle, Midnight left for the day.

---

More weeks went by in Ponyville. Midnight practiced flying every single day by Oracle's house. The strangest part was that neither of them saw Shard within those weeks. But, Midnight's flying improved greatly and his wings grew bigger. The seasons began to change from the summer crisp air to the chilling cool breezes of fall. Eventually, to Midnight's first experience, the most celebrated holiday came through; Night Mare Night. Apparently, you need to wear a costume to the festivities they hold in Ponyville. Midnight invited Oracle to meet at his house to get ready for the festivities. Midnight was currently inside getting his costume ready. Since Midnight had large bat-like wings, he decided to go as a bat. He was wearing something over his body that made him appear to have brown fur. On his head were these fake bat ears, much larger than what his were. To top it off, he placed a fake set of fangs in his mouth. These allowed him to take normally without causing any discomfort. A knock on his door signaled that Oracle has arrived. Midnight smiled once he saw what Oracle was wearing. Oracle had a fake beak piece around her mouth and wore a feathery cloth around her body. She resembled a peacock. They were a matching pair; two ponies with odd features, each wearing a animal costume of their own features.

"Nice costume Midnight" said Oracle. "You really look scary."

"Well you look beautiful in your costume" Midnight replied.

Midnight's comment caused a blush to occur on Oracle's face. Her tail began to ruffle, but she contained it. The last thing she wanted was her tail to ruin her friend's house. Another knock on the door was heard, giving a confused look on Oracle and Midnight's faces. Using his magic, Midnight opened the door once he was close enough. "TRICK OR TREAT!" shouted a group of ponies. Midnight smiled, but some of them stepped back. Midnight noticed this and spit out the fake fangs, "Don't worry kids, their fake." The group settled down and each held out their bag. Each pony had a different costume. Midnight knew he would at least have some visitors and was prepared. He levitated a piece of candy for each kid and placed it in their bags. The pony with them was an Earth pony. Her coat was a shade of cerise and her mane was light grayish rose. Her cutie mark was three flowers. "Now kids, what do we say?" she asked. "Thank you!" they all said in unison. As they left, the pony approached them.

"I have been waiting to talk to you Midnight" she said. "My name is Cheerilee, and I am the teacher here in Ponyville. I heard about you from a few students from my class. I also have heard of the pony behind you" she said. Oracle heard her be mentioned and walked forward. "I was just wondering if you two would like to come into my class one day and help me with a lesson." Both Oracle and Midnight nodded in agreement, causing a smile to form on her face. Midnight closed the door and placed his fake fangs back in. He walked beside Oracle on his way to Ponyville. The town had many booths and decorations hanging along the buildings. A stage was set up in town square and some ponies were playing music. Oracle and Midnight looked at the town with wide eyes.

"This is incredible!" exclaimed Midnight.

"I know how you feel" said Oracle, "I haven't been to a Night Mare Night Celebration ever since I was a filly."

Soon enough, they met their friends. Pinkie Pie was wearing a clown outfit, probably an excuse just to use her several party pranks. Rarity was in a princess outfit. Applejack was even more of a cowboy attire than usual, more likely a sheriff. Fluttershy had fake butterfly wings with hers along her sides. Rainbow Das had the outfit of a Wonderbolt. As Oracle and Midnight accompanied them and discussed their outfits, Twilight was accompanying Princess Luna.

"Well Luna, I want you to meet my new friends" said Twilight. "They seem interested in meeting you."

"Well, we shall see if they like me" replied Luna.

"Come now Princess, you already met Midnight, and he liked you. Plus one of the others was an outcast just like him. Don't worry Princess, tonight is basically your night." As they entered town, Twilight noticed her group of friends. "Hey, there they are now!"

Twilight galloped towards the group and everypony said their hellos. Luna approached slowly and cautiously. She knew Midnight, but the other one was a mystery. To her, seeing a pony with a tail like a peacock made her think it was just a costume. But the way it moved made it seem real. Oracle saw this, approached her, and bowed. "Good evening Princess" she said. "My name is Oracle. I am pleased to see you after for so long to talk to you."

"Please, drop the formalities" she said. "Please, just call me Luna. I am very curious, is that tail truly yours?"

Oracle answered her question by opening her tail to the fullest extent. Her action not only gave Luna quite a startle, but caught the attention of the smaller fillies and colts. They all gathered around Oracle and started to laugh and talk. Oracle seemed uneasy, but Midnight stood by her side.

"Wow! Your tail is pretty!" said a couple.

"Are you really a bird?" asked a small colt.

"Look at the pony beside her!" said a pony. "He's a bat!"

Midnight and Oracle chuckled. "Sorry kids" said Midnight, "I'm not a bat. But these wings are real." Midnight opened his wings and flapped them a little. The young ponies gasped in awe. One colt approached him and tugged on his wing. "Um…excuse me…" he said. "Can you use echolocation like a bat please?" Midnight looked at him strangely, "I'm sorry, but what?" "I mean can you emit sound waves?"

Midnight looked up to see a bat. It opened its mouth and emitting a small screech. As Midnight watched the bat, his center spike began to glow black. Twilight noticed this strange event. "I…I guess I can try…" he said. Midnight opened his mouth, and a loud shrill screech was emitted. Everypony there and at the party stopped to cover their ears. Midnight stopped and looked around. He saw that everypony was hurt and shuttered. "Wha…what did I just do?" he said nervously. Oracle patted his back but Midnight ran off. Oracle tried to run after him but Midnight opened his wings and took to the skies. Oracle sighed and rejoined the group. Everything seemed to calm down after they recovered. Soon the festivities were back to their original status.

"Hello everypony, what happened?" asked a voice. Twilight turned to see Lightning. Well, at least she thought it was Lightning. He looked like a puppet with black wood and green glowing circuit-like markings. The cutie mark was the same, but his mane and tail seemed to be like green electricity. Twilight was startled but Fluttershy galloped towards him. She nuzzled him greatly, and Lightning returned the favor. "I'm glad you're here Flutters…" he said. "And I am glad that you're here Stormy" replied Fluttershy.

"…Stormy…?" asked Luna. Lightning's head suddenly shot up. Luna was shocked and confused at the same time. The small group turned between them, waiting for an answer. "Aw BUTTERBALLS!" shouted Lightning. He ran off from the party rather quickly, leaving everypony in confusion.

"Uh Princess, how do you know Lightning?" asked Twilight.

"He's…um…an old friend…" replied Luna.

"Hold on a sec, how can Lightning be an old friend?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"I have to agree" added Rarity, "You are at least over a thousand years old. It seems impossible for him to be your old friend."

"Well…Lightning is older than me…"