Author's Note

This story was a request from AutumnLime79697. I wanted to get this story aired either before or during Halloween in order to make it feel more special. I hope you all enjoy the 1st chapter and more to come and as always, thanks for your patience and support. Brony on!

The Broken-Hearted Midnight

My name is Chance. I know it sounds like a strange name, but I think it suits me. I’m 18 years old and 5’11 inches tall. I moved into Canterlot City to start a brand new life. I’ve even made some brand new friends at Canterlot High. And to my surprise, all of them are girls. And their names are Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

They were nice enough to give me a chance to be friends with them. My high school days were nearly coming to an end within 9 more months, but even though I’ve been here for a short amount of time, I have a feeling the girls and I are gonna stick together. Now, even though they’re all very attractive, I have my own reasons as to why I don’t ask any of them out.

But enough about that. Right now, the final bell was about to ring and I was anxiously waiting for the darn thing to ring so I could head into town to grab some groceries. The school was kind enough to help me get a part time job, after all, I didn’t want to risk getting thrown out on the streets for not paying my rent on time. However, the part time job I have only covers for my rent and the electricity bill.

Thankfully, Sunset help me out with getting some groceries. I asked her if there was any way I could pay her back, but she said not to fret about it. I don’t know why she said it was no big deal, I mean, all the groceries she helps me buy aren’t exactly cheap.

My thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of the final bell ringing. I immediately grabbed all of my stuff and placed them in my backpack then headed out of the classroom. I walked down the halls and saw that not only was Sunset waiting for me, but also the rest of the girls. I guess they all wanted to lend a helping hand whenever I need it most.

“Sorry to keep you all waiting, I had to get all my stuff together,” I said, walking up to them.

“Don’t worry about it, Chance. We know exactly how it feels to be in a rush to go home,” Rainbow said.

“Yeah, it ain’t nothin’ to be ashamed ‘bout,” Applejack added.

“So, are you ready to have your kitchen restocked?” Sunset asked. I nodded and soon all of the girls walked with me out of the school and into the city. During our walk, we talked about what we would be doing for the weekend, or possibly after we graduate high school. But then, Twilight changes the subject and then asked me something just to make sure everything goes okay.

“Did you remember to bring your list?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, it’s in my pocket,” I said, reaching into my left pocket and pulling out a piece of paper with all the groceries I need in order to stock up. “I have it right now.”

“Alright, what does it say that you need?” she asked again.

I read the list out loud so everyone would be able to hear. I had to stock up on some fresh fruit for my fruit bowl in case I oversleep and need quick bite to eat. My vegetable cabinet in the fridge was getting rather low and so was my meat supply. On top of that, I needed a new loaf of bread and some milk. The rest of the list… well… they were just a few small things to snack on just for the heck of it.

“Jeez, how big is that stomach of yours?” Rainbow asked, patting my stomach.

“Rainbow Dash, you know it’s rude to talk about someone’s eating habits,” Rarity scolded, waving her finger.

“My bad, I was just teasing him,” Rainbow said, patting me on the back.

I didn’t mind that she said that. I know I’ve got a big appetite, it does come from my dad’s side of the family.

Once we reached the city, the first thing we stopped at was at the Canterlot Supermarket. Once inside, I tell them what I needed from my list again so they wouldn’t forget. They all nodded and went to different isles of the store while I headed off into the meat section of the store. Once there, I instantly grab a couple of packets of raw steak, beef and then went to get myself some hot dogs.

I left the meat section and went over to the section of the store that had some bread. I wasn’t too picky on which brand I should get. But then, I was approached by Sunset and Twilight who came up to me with two loaves of bread and placed them in the basket.

“We weren’t sure what brand you liked, so we got those two,” Sunset said.

“It’s fine, as long as I got some bread, I should be good,” I assured.

“SURPRISE!!!” Pinkie shouted from behind, making me jump.

“Sweet beans in a basket, Pinkie, you scared the dickens out of me!” I said, placing my hand over my chest. Pinkie Pie giggled like it was just a tiny prank, which it was.

“Sorry, Chance. I just couldn’t resist the urge to surprise you. Anyways, I brought you your snacks,” Pinkie replied, placing the snacks in my basket.

“Thanks, Pinkie. Come on, let’s go find the other girls, see how they’re doing in finding the items that I told them I needed from my list,” I said. The others agreed and followed me throughout the store and continued on with our search.

We searched every isle in the store, going in and out, looking for the rest of the girls. We found Rainbow Dash and Applejack in the fruit section with bags full of apples, bananas, oranges, peaches, melons and grapes. They helped with loading the fruit into my basket.

Afterwards, we went to go and check up on Fluttershy and Rarity. They too got every single vegetable I needed on my list and loaded them into the basket.

“Thanks, girls. I really appreciate the help you all did for me,” I said.

“Ah, think nothin’ of it, sugarcube. What’re friends for?” AJ replied, patting me on the back.

“It’s really no trouble at all,” Fluttershy added.

“Now then, I believe it's time to get all of your stuff checked out and while I have it paid for, so shall we finish up our grocery shopping, Chance?” Sunset asked.

I nodded and waited in line for a while. It was now my turn and so I placed my groceries on the counter and let the cashier lady swipe the groceries one by one before setting them to the side. She totaled the amount on the cashier and the price came to a whopping total of $125. And as always, Sunset reached into her purse and took out her debit card and swiped it on the card reader, entered her pin number and then put it right back inside her purse.

Now that everything was paid for, we got all of the groceries in their bags and then the girls all helped me carry each bag back to my house. I didn't have a car and neither did the girls, so we all had to resort to carrying the bags back on foot. And we had to move fast or the meat would spoil.

We picked up the pace after we had left the Canterlot Supermarket. During the time we were walking back to my house, the girls got a little curious and asked me some question I definitely didn’t want to answer.

“Hey Chance, do you remember how to told us you first came to Canterlot from out of town?” Rainbow asked.

“Yeah, why do you ask?” I replied.

“Well, it’s just that… you never told us which town you came from and I just wanna know what it was like where you used to live, you know give us some clues,” she explained.

“Uh… now’s not a good time to talk about it, maybe some other time, I’ll tell you,” I shook my head as I replied.

“Aww, come on don’t leave us in the dark, you can tell us, we won’t tell anybody,” she persisted.

“Now, now, Rainbow Dash. If the poor deary says he doesn’t want to talk about it, then we have to respect his wishes,” Rarity chimed in.

“Aww come on. Aren’t you girls just a little bit curious of Chance’s previous life?” Rainbow kept on bringing it up. And the more she brought it up, the more I kept visioning the scars of my past haunting me. I dropped to the ground and felt my entire body shaking.

“Now look what you’ve done, Rainbow! You went and made him have a flashback of one of his bad memories that he was probably trying to forget!” Twilight scolded before kneeling down and placing her hand on my shoulder, comfortably. “It’s okay, Chance, just take a deep breath.”

I did as she told me and took a few deep breaths until I my body stopped shaking and then stood back up.

“Thanks, Twilight,” I said.

“You’re welcome,” she replied.

I picked up the grocery bags from the ground I was carrying and continued to onwards back to my house with the girls following me close behind. In about half the time, we managed to finally make back to my house. I grabbed my house keys from my pocket and latched them in the keyhole, unlocking the door before allowing the girls to step inside before me.

The girls walked in with me and then placed my groceries on the kitchen counter. “ Hey listen, thanks again for all of your help today, everyone. I couldn't have gotten this done without you,” I said, gratefully, earning smiles from the girls.

“It was no problem at all,” Sunset replied.

“And sorry for bugging you about your past. I didn’t know you had some really bad memories back when you still lived in your hometown. If you ever get the chance, maybe you can tell us all about what it was like when you feel like you're ready, how does that sound?” Rainbow asked.

“Sure, I’ll let you know when I’m ready to talk about it, but for now, I think now is as good a time as any to get these groceries put away so they don’t spoil,” I replied.

“Alrighty. I’m just gonna head back home and get in some practice for the soccer game coming up this weekend, then chill out and relax. You take care and don’t be a stranger,” Rainbow said before she bolted out of my house and left for home.

“As fer me, Ah’ve been dyin’ to try out some new Apple family recipes, see if Granny Smith’ll add these to either the family dinner menu an’ maybe the cafeteria menu. Plus, those apples won’t harvest themselves fer the market,” Applejack said. “Catch ya later, sugarcube.” And once she said that, she took off and headed back home to Sweet Apple Acres.

“I’m gonna go back to Sugar Cube Corner and hold down the fort. The Cakes took the twins with them to see some family members out of town earlier this morning and they put me in charge of watching the shop until they get back home later on tonight. Bye-bye Chancey!” Pinkie said before hopping out of my house and back to Sugar Cube Corner. Every time she makes the springing noise, I can’t help myself thinking just how ridiculously adorable it makes her look.

Next up, Fluttershy checked her phone and then got a little concerned. “Oh dear, I’ve got to get back to the shelter and feed all of the animals! The poor little critters must be so hungry and lonely sitting in their cages all day today. I’ll see you tomorrow, Chance. Goodbye,” she said, before taking off.

“Well, I guess that’s my cue to exit. I did promise to make you a nice wardrobe, darling. I just hope that little Opal hasn’t scratched any of my clothing materials. Toodles, darling and be sure to take care of yourself,” Rarity chimed sing-songy. She hugged me and I hugged her back before she finally went back home.

“I guess I’d better head home, too. I still gotta get a head start and study for the math, english and history test that’s coming up this Friday. If you ever get stuck on anything, just give me a call and I’ll stop on by your house to give you a helping hand. Take care, Chance. Goodbye, Sunset,” Twilight said before she and Sunset hugged and then kissed each other.

I guess I forgot to mention that Sunset and Twilight were actually dating each other. They told me so themselves during lunch a week after the Friendship Games, which I wasn’t enrolled into Canterlot High until a week after Twilight and Sunset got together. If I'm gonna be honest with myself, I thought it was cute how the two of them loved each other so much.

Once they separated, Twilight walked out the door and now only me and Sunset were left. “Well, I will see you later on tomorrow in class, Chance. And sorry about Rainbow Dash bothering you like that, she can get a little too curious for her own good. Are you gonna be okay?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine now, thanks to Twilight,” I assured with a nod.

“That’s good to hear. Well, I’d better be getting home. I’m getting a tad hungry, haven’t eaten anything to eat since those tacos at school earlier today.” she replied, rubbing her stomach.

“You gotta admit, Taco Tuesday is the best. But hey, on the bright side, tomorrow, Granny Smith is gonna be serving some tasty cheeseburgers,” I said, rubbing my stomach.

“Oh, you have no idea how much I love those cheeseburgers. Alright, you take care and be sure not to slack off. Remember, we still got all of those tests tomorrow. See ya, Chance,” Sunset waved at me before she closed the door on her way out and then went back home. I walked up to the door and locked it and then let out a relaxed sigh and headed back in the kitchen.

I took this time to unpack all of my groceries out of the bags and stocked them in the fridge, freezer, pantry and also in the spice cabinets. After all of my groceries were stocked, I took the bags with me and placed them in one of the cabinets in case I need one of the bags for the trash can I have in my bathroom.

“Phew, all that hard work made me hungry,” I said, wiping away my sweat. I went into the fridge and pulled out some dough, pizza sauce a block of yellow and white cheddar cheese and some pepperoni slices. I leaned down and opened up one of the cabinets, then pulled out my trusty cheese grater and a smooth wooden cutting board.

I learned how to cook thanks to a lot of help from Applejack, Sunset and Pinkie Pie. But most of the recipes Pinkie taught me were all dessert dishes. I didn't mind sweets, though it took a bit of time for me to finally adjust my sweet tooth. Maybe after a while, I'll bake some chocolate chip scones after dinner, but for now, what I really have a craving for is some delicious homemade pepperoni pizza.

And so, I started off my getting the dough all nice and flat, though I made sure to use some flour so none of the dough would peel off and stick to my hands or the cutting board. After it was good and flat, I put the pizza sauce on top and spread it all around the dough. Next, I took the block of cheese and shredded it using my cheese grater.

I made sure to put the shredded cheese in a bowl before sprinkling it on the dough. After that, I threw in the pepperoni slices on top of the cheese. I can already smell the pizza already. Now all I had to do was cook it.

So, I set the oven to preheat and waited a few minutes before placing the pizza inside the oven and allowed it cook up for a few minutes. While I was waiting, I took the time to clean up my kitchen counter and put away all the ingredients I used and washed up all the dishes before finally heading back into the living room to watch some good old-fashioned TV.

The next day, my usual day went by a little slower than usual, though I blamed myself for constantly looking up at the clock when I should've been taking notes for the tests coming up this Friday. Because of my mistake, my only choice of passing was to ask Twilight over to help me out in order to prepare. She and her family were understanding of me being one of her friends and didn’t mind her visiting me.

After school had ended and finishing my part-time job, I gave Twilight a call on my flip phone. I know it sounds lame that I have a flip phone, but it’s all that I could afford, along with the $30 monthly phone bill. Anyways, I dialed the number for Twilight and put it up to my ear.

The dial tone went off at least 3 times before Twilight finally picked.

“Hi, Chance. Need something?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, do you think maybe you can stop by my house and help me out? I forgot to take some notes to study for the tests coming up this Friday,” I replied.

“Wait what? Chance, how did you forget to take notes, were you ignoring your studies and watching the clock most of the time again?” Twilight asked, hitting it right on the mark.

“You guessed it,” I said, shamefully.

“It’s okay, I’ll stop by your house later after my date with Sunset. This might be a little long, but are you able to wait for at least another 2 hours?”

“I can wait 2 hours, yes.”

“Okay, I’ll see you later on at 5:30 and remember to pay attention to your studies and not at the clock next time, just a little friendly advice, okay?”

“Alright, I’ll talk to you later. Bye,”

“Bye, Chance.”

After our conversation ended, I hung up and put my phone back in my pocket before heading off for my daily afternoon stroll around the city. I liked going for a walk because it helps me clear my head after a stressful day at school.

I was a couple of blocks away from the Canterlot City Cinema, taking in the fresh air. It's rare that I got to smell clean fresh air, especially since the last town I lived in was like the biggest living nightmare.

As I was walking along the streets, I hear the sound of someone crying. I quickly followed the sobbing noise, which lead me to a dark alleyway where some strange girl was sitting against the wall. Her legs were folded and had her hands covering her face. Though, for some reason, it feels like I know her from somewhere, but I didn't know where.

I felt bad for this girl so I asked her. “Hey, what's the matter?” And she jumped, then turned to look at me with those beautiful dark lavender eyes. Her skin color was the same color as her eyes and had beautiful hair shooting upwards like it was being blown by the wind. On her forehead, she had this glowing horn and had these gorgeous wings in her back. Around her eyes was this magic energy that made her look like she was wearing glasses.

“D-Don't come near me! I… I'm warning you!” she exclaimed, pointing at me. I ignored her warning and approached her.

“I won't hurt you, I promise,” I reassured. But she wasn't buying it and then she attacked.

“I said DON'T COME NEAR ME!!!” she screamed, shoving her hand on my chest. When she shoved me, this burst of magic shot me back and I landed on the sidewalk. I grunted in pain from the harsh impact.

My head was spinning rapidly from that blast of magic energy. As I laid there, I remember seeing the look she gave me when I got too close to her. The look of someone who's all alone and has absolutely no one else to turn to. No one to trust, not even themselves. That's the exact same look I once had when I was just a child. I had to show her that I was her friend and that I wouldn't hurt her.

So, I slowly got up and looked over at the girl who still had the same sad and lonely look on her face, but this time, with an added touch of guilt. I got up, but my knees buckled a little.

“I… I won't hurt you, that I promise. I can take you to a warmer place to stay at if you want,” I offered, standing where I was to avoid scaring her again.

“J-Just leave me alone! Didn't your mother ever teach you that you shouldn't talk or worse, take in random strangers off of the cold streets?! How do you know I'm not someone else's long lost daughter?”

“After that blast to my chest, something tells me you're no ordinary girl. Look, there's plenty of room over at my house and it's a lot warmer there than it is here. I even have a guest room that I can set up just for you, no trouble whatsoever, I can assure you,” I said.

“How do I know that I can trust you? Why exactly would you be nice to someone you don't even know who practically almost killed you?!” she exclaimed.

I paused for a second to take a deep breath and then told her my reason. “Because you remind me of myself: alone, broken down and having no one else to trust. I won't turn my back on anyone who's been struggling just to survive for who knows how long. So please, let me be your pillar of strength,” I confessed.

Hopefully she'll accept my offer. I really don't want her having to spend the rest of her life in this cold alleyway. Still, she remained hesitant about taking me up on my offer. I can't really blame her for feeling so scared.

“J-Just… I…” she said, not able to come up with the right words. She must be at a loss. If she didn't want to come with me, then I can't really stop her or force her, otherwise that'd make things worse. She sighed and then stood herself up and walked up to me with her sad expression on her face. “Just hurry up take me away from all of this, please.” As she said that, she gave me a big hug and buried her face on my shoulder. I responded with a warm and nice hug in return, trying to give her some comfort.

I can feel my shoulder growing wet from her tears, but it didn’t matter to me. Right now, I did what I felt was right and took her to my house. I knew I was probably going to give an explanation to Twilight after she gets done with her date with Sunset, but it’s a necessary sacrifice I have to make.

So, this girl and I made our way through the city and back to the neighborhood, coming up to my house which was directly across from the school. For some reason, the girl kept her eyes locked on the school and wouldn’t stop glaring at it. Was she a former student at that school, did she get expelled from there? I just don’t know.

“Is there something wrong, miss?” I asked, patting her shoulder lightly. I guess I snapped her out of her trance and she turned to me.

“Just get me away from that place. And for the record, my name is Midnight Sparkle,” she said, not wanting to talk about it. I was surprised to hear that she had the same last name as Twilight. Is she her twin sister?

Hmm, now that I think about it, they do have similar features, but I doubt she’d want to talk about it and risk having a bad memory flood her mind like what happened to me yesterday.

I didn’t waste anymore time with the details and took my keys out of my pocket and unlocked the front door, letting Midnight go in first. “After you,” I said.

She walked inside and didn’t say anything as I walked in behind her and closed the door and locking it up. Midnight sat down on the couch and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering like a leaf.

“If you want, I can get you a blanket,” I said.

“P-P-Please…” she said, turning away from me. I quickly ran down the hall on my left and entered the 2nd door on the left. I entered my room and opened up my closet door. I reached the top shelf and grabbed one of my warm blankets and took it with me back to the living room. I unfolded it and wrapped it around Midnight.

“If you need anything else, just let me know. I’m gonna go set up the guest room,” I said, before letting Midnight have some time alone. Whatever happened to Midnight Sparkle, it must have hurt her really bad. Maybe worse than what I went through, but when the time is right, I’ll ask her if she wants to get it off her chest.

After all, there’s no better way to let go of the past than to talk it over with your friends.