The Ballad of Midnight Edge

The library was vast, but there were a few books he cared about. He sought information on what he called dynamic cutie marks. Unusual marks which displayed change with certain actions. In his travels, Midnight Edge would tell his companions about other worlds he visited, his birthplace in particular, and about cutie marks. One of his companions, another planeswalker, was a curious one like him, and asked him if his cutie mark, displaying changes and movement, was something common. The question made him plan to go back home and learn more about events. He knew only of three, and two of them were in his family, his mark, and that of one of his siblings.

"Are you still looking for it? I must go to sleep. – Twilight Sparkle seemed extremely tired."

"I will see you tomorrow then. I will check my friends."

"About that. Well. You should talk to the mayor before the building continues. I don't mind it, but maybe she could object, and you need a permit to build anyway."

"I just hope that won't cost much, most of my currencies are meaningless here. Did you know there is a world where iron oxide is used as currency? They literally use rusty iron coins!"

"I just finished reading that part of your journal."

"Sleep well your highness."

With those words Midnight Edge left the castle, heading to his temporary outpost in the former location of the library. Upon arrival he noticed the building was almost complete, walls of polished stone and windows of fine crystals held together by a mortar made of sticky resin. The finishing touches would take a bit of wood, but that would be his part of the building process.

"Well my friends. We should stop here. It seems I must talk to the mayor before the work is complete, just a formality, the princess already green-lit my project."

The creatures looked at their “master” in shock, some of them revealing anger or sadness, one of the fungi emitted a sound which seemed like a combination of an angry moan and a pained wail.

"Calm down guys, it is going to be fine, and you can go back to your nests for a while. I will call you for the finishing touches once I am done with this silly formality." With this words a ring formed near each creature, all but one walked into the ring to rest. The fungus refused to leave, Midnight Edge could force him to leave by placing the ring around him, but those were not his intentions, he would only force them to leave if they were in danger.

They had a contract after all, when they were called the ring formed in a location they agreed upon previously and they would hear the call, only those available would step in the ring to be sent to Midnight Edge's location. That is how he handled the real ones, he could always summon lifeless copies for more dangerous tasks. And the real ones were free to leave or stay as long as they wanted, they could even request him to place the return ring before the task was done.

"Do you want to stay? Fine, just stay out of trouble, and don't look for food. No hunting of locals, no pantry looting, no grave robbing, no trashcan digging, and definitely no latrine inspection. Understood?"

The fungus seemed intelligent enough and loyal enough to comply. But it looked at a trashcan with a sort of longing.

"I know you love food leftovers. I will get you some apple cores tomorrow."

Midnight Edge placed the force field again and both rested for the night.

…

The next day Midnight Edge went to have a talk with Mayor Mare, Ponyville's mayor for a long time. She was good enough at managing Ponyville to keep every single local pleased.

"Mayor, I think we should talk."

"Oh, you are the mysterious newcomer. What can I help you with... What is that thing?" The mayor was shocked by the sight of the strange faceless creature which somehow felt as if it was staring at her.

"My friend and construction worker in my current project. He helped building my house. That is exactly what we must talk about."

"Oh yes. The building near the former location of Golden Oaks library. I talked about it with somepony else earlier."

"I feared so. Everypony is angry about it."

"I know, but if Twilight Sparkle has no objection. I will allow the project." The mayor did not seem bothered by the building at all, but that was only half of the process. "Of course you will have to fill some forms to get a permit, but it won't take long."

"I hope so, I promised my friend here a meal and the little guy would not like to see it interrupted."

The process was rather quick and efficient, something strange in most worlds but rather common in Equestria. In just a few hours Midnight Edge had a permit to build and there were no issues with him starting the project already. In Equestria it was a lot easier to get a place to stay compared to other nations, and in small towns there were fewer restrictions for such activities.

...

With everything in order, the traveler moved on to his next goal, getting a fair amount of apple cores for his unusual friend. There was only one place to go with as many apple cores and apples in general as required, Sweet Apple Acres. As he approached he noticed the workers. A burly big red stallion and a gorgeous orange mare, both with blonde mane. Once he was there he was greeted by the mare.

"Howdy mate! Need something?"

"Hello. I would like to buy some apple cores."

"Cores? Just the cores?"

"Yes, you see, my friend here is a bit weird, others would eat the apple whole, but he only likes the cores, and he prefers red ones. Red is his favorite color."

Applejack looked at the creature, she was not truly shocked by the thing itself, she noticed them the previous day and Twilight Sparkle told her they were harmless. However she was very confused by the traveler's words. Whatever that thing was it had no eyes at all. How could it have a favorite color if it was blind?

"I am not sure that thing can see anything at all sugar cube."

"Oh, but he does. Just pay attention to his face. He has no eyes, but just like flies taste things with their feet, he has his very own means of looking at things, and his sight is as good as ours if not better."

"I don't want to be rude, but that thing is as faceless as a tumbleweed."

"Not really, there is a head and a mouth. Look closely."

As she looked at the things head, with those strange vine like tentacles, she began to feel observed, but not by something ominous, she felt as if the thing looked at her with invisible puppy eyes.

"Color me surprised! An eyeless animal that can see!"

"It is not an animal or a plant. He is a fungus."

"How do you know it is a he?"

"I don't, but he does not seem to mind at all. I just treat him as a he because I find it hard to imagine a girl releasing sticky goo to build a nest."

Applejack felt a bit disgusted by the idea of nests made with sticky goo, but had little words to respond, only one word came to her mind. "Gross."

"Not so much, but well, I need apple cores, from red apples. Puffy is rather picky with his meals."

"I will see what I can do. Nopony buys cores at all."

"Applejack!" Two fillies ran toward the mare, they seemed extremely scared "The timber wolves are coming!" Applejack was shocked at those words. She knew that was not normal, maybe it had something to do with the big timber wolf she faced once.

"Hide in the barn! I won't let them get there!"

"No, don't do that!" Midnight Edge yelled following his instinct. "It is common strategy, never hide in a place easily flanked by an army."

"What should they do then?" Applejack replied, clearly angry by Midnight Edge's response. "Stand there and get eaten?"

"Maybe this is a family feud with those wolves, but I hope you don't mind if I interfere." Midnight edge lifted his sword and prepared to fight.

"Be my guest mate, I will get the little ones to safety then."

"Run. And avoid the barn, it gives me a bad feeling."

Midnight edge ran toward the horde of timber wolves ready to face them all. He was already used to fight large crowds, and a bunch of decaying wood in the shape of a wolf would not change that. He threw a rock to divert their attention from the fillies.

"Hey rot bags! Here! I am going to teach you a lesson."

The enraged beasts began to leap on a single place, clashing and breaking apart. Midnight Edge was confused, but he fought many monsters to know what that meant. They were getting ready to give him a good thrashing at the same time. As he steeled himself, the atrocious beasts merged into a single gigantic one. The wood creaking and the stench flowing in the air. A nightmarish Gargantua of rotten wood and pure anger.

"Why do all monsters try to do that at some point? Why? Just to make it clear, I am not jumping into your maw, rot bag!"

The stallion leaped and struck the beast on a leg, but the hit did nothing, the beast tossed him away as if swatting a fly. His body struck one of the walls of the barn, leaving a hole in the wall, the only thing protecting him from more severe wounds was his magic. Before he could get back into action the creature directed all its rage at the barn in an attempt to bury him alive under the rubble.

After the beast stopped, believing it's enemy was gone, Midnight Edge rose from a pile of broken wood planks. "I knew it! I knew the barn was not safe! I always trust my gut on such things!" His eyes directed at Applejack, who was ready to face the monster.

"The little ones are safe. I will fight that thing now."

Applejack was ready to fight, but Midnight Edge replied before she could leap to battle. "You won't defeat it alone. We must fight it together, we must make sure it never strikes again!." Now it was personal for him, and he could not hold back his desire to fight. He felt compelled to protect those other ponies.

The fight did not seem to end, it was an endless cycle of attacking the beast, avoiding it's attacks and diverting it's attention from the rest of the farm. Every now and then the ponies would try to hurt the beast with the remains of the barn after Applejack mentioned sometimes timber wolves would break apart if something got stuck in their bodies, but it did not seem to work, and Midnight Edge insisted on finding a way to destroy the creature for good instead of temporary measures, often suggesting fire only to remember the fumes of toxic gas could ignite and burn the whole place.

"What should we do? The blasted thing refuses to give up!"

"I don't know! It wasn't that strong the last time! What in tarnation made it stronger!"

"Good question. Whatever that thing is taking, I could use some of it to hunt behemoths!"

After a desperate battle Applejack noticed something. "That isn't normal. What's that stone doing there?" A green stone with a pulsating glow stood right between the creature's twigs in it's head. It seemed ethereal, as if it was a physical manifestation of the monster's essence. Midnight Edge recognized that, solidified magic, the thing channeled enough magic to create a solid magic stone, both strength and weakness to it.

"Well, I think it is telling us where to strike to land the final blow. Puffy! Distract the creature!" The fungal creature hurled a blob of a sticky substance to the claws of the monster. It was not strong enough to halt it completely, but ti was just enough to distract it, like a puddle of molasses. "Hey country girl! How good are you at tossing ponies?"

"Well, I'm quite strong."

Midnight Edge's eyes sparkled with determination. "Then throw me as hard as you can right to where you saw that stone!" He was ready to deal the final blow. "I will let you take the credit if that means something to you."

"It's fine by me." Applejack got ready to launch the stallion to the air. "Let's do this mate!"

Midnight edge felt the thrill of battle again as he struck on the monster's head, breaking the stone and releasing a large amount of magic from it as the stone faded into nothingness and the beast fell apart. He remembered doing the same when fighting against an ice giant in another world. As he got ready to land a miscalculation made the fall in a lot less comfortable and impressive fashion as he intended.

"Ugh. Well, it is over, too bad I could not look a bit more impressive."

"Thank you sugar cube. I guess this could count as payment for the apple cores."

"Well, I will also help you fix the barn. I knew it was going to happen."

"Yup. The place is kinda jinxed. We must fix it several times a year. Sort of a family tradition. But friends can join too."

As the stallion put his sword away, his eyes crossed with those of one of the fillies. Her green eyes displayed awe and admiration toward him, she was clearly impressed by his feat, she expressed the same for Applejack, but not with the same surprise, which meant heroic feats from her relative were not a novelty to her.

Midnight Edge felt a strange feeling, but when he noticed the green light in his cutie mark completely covering the red trail he dismissed it as the effect of his talent. He learned a new spell and began to absorb the lingering green magic flow that covered the place. A magic drain spell. He was used to that, one of his companions compared it to the leveling up mechanics in video games. A rather uncommon cutie mark, and the reason for his current research.

"What was that? – Applejack asked, surprised by the sudden change."

"My special talent. I learned a new spell. Every successful action leads to a bit of progress in my cutie mark. Challenging tasks and new ones yield a lot more progress. Once it is done, well, I learn a new spell."

"Neat!"

"Yes, I am yet to fully understand it."

"Care to help with the barn?"

"I will, maybe I will learn a repair spell next." Midnight Edge replied with a smile while he gathered pieces of the fallen army of timber wolves, he avoided the pieces that still moved and squirmed on the ground which were still alive, taking the remaining pieces which reminded him of the tissue samples he would often take from wounded still living enemies after battle.

"What are you doing with those?"

"I will use them to craft things. Nothing better for crafting than fallen enemies."

"You sure? They attacked us, but I wouldn't want to harm them for no reason."

"These parts don't move, they are replaceable, just like broken claws and tufts of fur in other beasts. They will replace them with wood from Everfree later."

"If you say so."

"Once I am done with this I will repair the barn... Look, this one was part of the barn, they absorbed it. Looks different now. Right?" He seemed focused on analyzing every piece of wood with care, but no longer seemed to pay much attention to his surroundings.

Applejack noticed his words were no longer directed at her, but to himself, she thought he was similar to Twilight Sparkle, "But a lot more violent." The thought in her mind made her wonder what kind of stallion he was.

…

The ponies fixed the barn while Puffy stuffed it's strange tendril covered maw with apple cores, occasionally spitting one which was the “wrong color” according to its arbitrary alien minded standards. The repairs of the barn were done in a jolly manner, the ponies talked to each other and were cheerful. It really felt as some sort of tradition.

"Exactly what kind of animal is your pet?" Asked a yellow filly with red mane, looking at the creature as it spat a core from a yellow apple.

"It is not an animal. It is a magical fungus from far away lands. Imagine a walking mushroom, that is what it is."

"Really?" Asked the other filly, with a dark, almost brown, orange hide and reddish pink mane. "Where did you find it?"

"In a forest, there was an entire colony of those things. This one seems to like me a lot. I call him puffy, because the bulb on it's back looks a lot more like a puffball than the others."

"But where's that forest?" Asked the filly trying to find out more, she wanted to hear the full story. She was not pleased with just “in a forest”. She was truly curious.

"Oh, a curious one we have here." Responded Midnight Edge, still pondering what would be the right answer. He did not want to reveal everything. "Well, in a far away country, so far there are no ponies there and you can't get there by air, water, or land.

"You mean another universe?"

"Where did you get those ideas from?" Midnight Edge was surprised, he did not want to talk about it, he was afraid he would be seen as insane, lynched as a heretic, or bring any other form of trouble. He grew used to be cautious with that information, sometimes even fearful of revealing it. Even if nothing bad happened, he did not want such a young foal involved in it. He did not want her to become his companion. It was not safe for her.

"Don't be silly. Everypony has heard about those things. Movies, books, comic books, video games, it's everywhere! And my cousin knows it's real."

"Oh right. Twilight Sparkle mentioned it." Midnight Edge told to himself. "Well, yes, Puffy was born in another universe, but you must never try to get there. It is dangerous, full of wild animals and monsters, there are no ponies, and the natives are not very civilized, they tried to eat my friends and I when we arrived."

"And how did you escape? Did you use a spell to blast them away?" The filly was interested in his travels. The other ponies were talking about something else already, satisfied with his previous answers. But she was curious and excited about the novel situation.

"No, one of my friends lit a flashlight and they got scared. The power of the sun in a stick of plastic and metal. That was enough to keep them at bay. I bet they imagined it could burn them if we wanted to."

"That sounds like something out of a Daring Do book."

"Yes, I know. I told the same to my friend. He just said the best books were based on real events, but some happened away from the author."

"You mean Daring Do is real?" After the filly said that Applejack coughed and decided to interrupt the conversation. She and her friends promised that would be a secret.

"Come on sugar cube, don't make our new friend uncomfortable. We haven't even introduced ourselves properly."

"Oh, but I know your name. I met Twilight Sparkle yesterday, and I know you are Applejack. I guess I should introduce myself then. My name is Midnight Edge, traveler and collector of rare objects."

"Well, you already know my name mate. These are my siblings Big Mac and Apple Bloom, and this is my cousin Babs Seed."

"Pleased to meet you. You must be the Apple family then. You are rather famous if you ask me. Well, at least Sweet Apple Acres is famous. It's on my map." Midnight edge revealed an old outdated map of Ponyville. It was at least a least six years out of date, but most landmarks were still accurate, except for the castle and the library most of it was accurate.

"Yup. We are well known around Ponyville, and there are Apples all over Equestria."

"I'm from Manehattan." The filly said with joy.

"Manehattan. I have never been there. Many say everypony is on it's own there. I don't like the idea. All alone, in a big city..." Sad memories flowed in his mind "An outcast, a freak. Not my cup of tea if you ask me. I never travel alone."

"It's not that bad. I have friends, and I get along with all my relatives."

"I am glad to hear I have been lied to. Maybe I will go there next."

"If you do I could help you get used to the big city. You could tell me more of your stories, that's my fee."

Midnight Edge considered accepting the offer, but that would mean making her his travel companion, and he did not want to, he refused to put a filly in danger. And even if he was in a safe place, he was prone to seek danger just for the thrill of adventure and battle. Now he had to turn down the offer without sounding rude. "Maybe I will travel alone this time, but if I don't you can show me the best food joint in the city."

The filly looked notably uncomfortable with the response. Midnight edge felt deeply ashamed. He did not want to make her feel bad, all he wanted was to keep her safe from his reckless adventurous drive. He refused to take young companions for that reason, because not all his companions returned home alive.

"I... Must keep helping with the repairs. Maybe we can talk later."

Midnight edge focused on the repairs from that moment expecting the atmosphere to be less tense. For everypony else he just seemed shy, but for Babs Seed there was something else, and she wanted to know the truth.