Midnight flew towards the Everfree Forest and then followed the river. Last time he followed the river, and…met with Oracle, he found her house. Once he found the clearing, Midnight landed and tucked his wings to his sides. Midnight eventually saw the same ruins that Oracle showed him. He headed inside, but found that the place was dimly lit with only a few candles. Everything seemed untouched. Although he saw nothing more than the main area, he didn't want to explore more of her house just to talk to her. Midnight found a quill and paper on the floor, and began to write. "Dear Oracle" he said aloud, "I hope you're not upset with me leaving yesterday. It's just that I was afraid. If I started to become more of a threat here, then everypony would chase me out of town. I just don't want that to happen again. I have things here I could never replace anywhere else. If you read this, please come and find me."

Midnight placed the note near the front door and walked outside. Before he opened his wings, Midnight looked back and sighed. He really hoped that Oracle would find him. He took off for a rest from the hectic days he had.

---

The next day was just as sunny and clear as always. Midnight, however, did not wake up till mid-afternoon. Midnight walked out of his house and went into town. Surely Oracle would be there. As he walked through town, he saw Pinkie Pie hopping down happily. "Hey Pinkie Pie" he said, "You haven't seen Oracle around have you?"

Pinkie Pie did not stop hopping but answered, "Sorry, but I haven't seen her in a while."

Midnight didn't have time to thank her since she kept hopping down the street. He was worried, he hasn't seen her yesterday and Pinkie Pie hasn't seen her to even recall. Midnight tried to see his other friends and even tried random ponies. His friends had no idea and neither did the ponies. Some were even confused about who she was. Eventually, Midnight went to Twilight. She of all ponies would know what's going on. She wasn't at the library, but there was a note saying she was in the Everfree Forest. Midnight took no time into getting there. Lucky for him, Twilight was just on the edge of the forest with Spike standing beside her. She had her bag back, which was strange. "Hey Twilight, how did you get your bag back?" he asked as he approached her.

"Sorry Midnight, but I used a spell to get it back" she said. "I'm doing research…" Midnight looked at what she was doing. On the ground in front of her were animal tracks. But these tracks were different. One set were hoof prints while the other seemed to be paw prints. "What are these?" asked Midnight.

"Torch Hound tracks" she replied. "A Torch Hound is a hybrid creature that shows some resemblance between a pony and a canine or dog. They only come out at night, but they also stay underground. It's rare to find one above ground, so that's why I'm researching what I can now."

"But why don't you try to meet them?"

Twilight became silent at that, but only for about a few seconds. "Torch Hounds are generally shy, never really interacting with other species. Besides…I already had my encounter with one…"

Spike leaned over to Midnight, "Twilight met a Torch Hound named Meep. She was nice, but she went on Twilight's bad side."

"How…?"

"Meep ate one of the books from the library…"

"Besides books…" Twilight said changing the subject, "Torch Hounds also eat tree sap. That's where they get most of their nutrients. They also…"

"I'm sorry Twilight…this is fascinating and all but have you seen Oracle anywhere? I've been trying to look for her all day…"

Twilight shook her head, "Sorry…I haven't seen her…"

Midnight turned to Spike, "Sorry, haven't seen her either. Good luck finding her though…"

"…thanks…"

Midnight left half-heartedly with his head down and his wings dragging. The sun was almost down and he had no idea where she was. If she wasn't at home, or in Ponyville, or even in the forest, where was she? Midnight then had an idea. Zecora might know, after all they've been friends since Oracle was a filly. Midnight took off to the Everfree Forest once again. He arrived at Zecora's hut, but stopped when he passed the window. He looked through again to see if what he saw was right. Zecora was balancing on a pole from her head. Her eyes were closed and she was in a meditative stance. Now trying to be rude, Midnight knocked on her door. "Hey Zecora…can I ask you something…?"

"I will be there very soon" she said through the door, "Just let me clear up this room." A few seconds later, Zecora opened the door and happily let Midnight inside. "Since me meditating has come to an end, what can I do for you my friend?"

"Zecora…have you seen Oracle lately?" he asked.

Zecora's smile disappeared. She seemed nervous, but contained it well enough for Midnight to expect nothing. "I am sorry Midnight, but she hasn't come around" she lied, "Are you sure she wasn't already found?"

"I talked to everypony, but no pony saw her. Are you sure there isn't anything you know that could help me…?"

Zecora's eyes darted around the room, her nervousness starting to shine through. Midnight started to notice, but then Zecora started to push Midnight out. "I told you she hasn't been here; maybe you're only reacting to your fear. Take a nice rest and I'll guarantee, you'll find you very special pony."

With that said Midnight was out of Zecora's hut and the door slammed behind him. Midnight was more than worried, he was deathly scared. He now didn't care where he went, he needed to find Oracle. Night fell, but Midnight continued to run through the forest. He eventually tripped over a loose root and fell in a mud puddle. Midnight gave up after that, he broke down and cried. "Oracle!" he shouted out loud, "Please…give me a sign that you're even alive!"

A couple of bushes rustled beside Midnight, scaring him out of his trance. His wings unfurled and his spike began to glow. But, he continued to back up. A small amount of chirps and barks was heard from the bushes. Then, a pair eyes appeared in the darkness. At first Midnight was scared, but there were two things about the eyes that calmed him down. One, the eyes appeared to have a sad expression in them. Two, they were a familiar shade of a pale blue. Midnight's spike began to fade as well as his wings being folded to his side. "Or…Oracle…?" he asked. "Is it you…?"

The pair of eyes blinked to each side before resting onto him again. Another bark was heard, but Midnight could hear something. It was starting to clear up. "Midnight…" Midnight shot back slightly, still afraid. But, the voice seemed to clear up. It was definitely female, but it had a different tone. "Midnight…it's me…" she said. "I'm alive…"

Midnight's eyes began to form tears as he stared into the darkness. He took one step forward, but then the bushes rustled. "No…you can't see me" she said. "I'm…different…"

"Oracle...you won't scare me…just please…come on out…"

Oracle took a step out, but to Midnight's surprise, it wasn't a hoof; it was a paw. Oracle began to walk out, or at least what Midnight thought was Oracle. She kind of reminded him of him. Her front legs were paws while her back legs were hooves. Her front half had purple fur with light green markings. Her front legs were green with light green glowing markings. Her back half had a lighter shade of purple, her normal color. Her tail still had a fan-like quality, but it was shorter and the yellow growths were slightly longer. A white mask covered her face, the eye sockets dark but a pale blue pupil was shown. Her mane was straighter but had the same colors. One thing that was the same, a long hair with a feather on the end came out from her head.

"Oracle…you…you're a…" stammered Midnight.

"A Torch Hound…yes…" she replied.

Tears seemed to be forming, but she then quickly ran off. Midnight chased after her, him barely keeping up. Oracle turned around, seeing Midnight. She quickly began to dig, picking up a lot of dirt. Midnight ran straight through the cloud of dirt, but turned around quickly. His wings blew away the dirt, revealing a hole. "Oracle!" he shouted.

"No Midnight…" she replied with an obvious state of sadness, "In this form…I'm Oria…and I'm…"

"It doesn't matter to me! Oracle, Oria…there is no difference! It won't matter to me if you're half peacock, I wouldn't mind if you are a Torch Hound, I wouldn't care if you were a dragon! The only thing that matters to me is that you're alive and happy. Nothing in all of Equestria will change how I feel about you."

Two pale blue eyes appeared from the darkness of the hole. Then, dust clouds started to pick up. Oracle…or Oria's head popped up from the hole. Midnight lowered his head to greet her, and got a peck on the cheek as a result.

Author's Notes:

Torch hounds belong to: http://stickfigurequeen.deviantart.com/

Oria is respectively belonging to my friend Makenzie along with Oracle