The Ballad of Midnight Edge

Midnight Edge woke up with vague memories of the night before. He remembered sharing a kiss with the filly he loved and then he locked himself in his room to calm down. He was scared and excited, the last thing he remembered of the night was the moment he remembered being witness of a public execution because of a similar situation. The memory was still fresh in his mind, a human male hanging at the gallows, his crime, kissing a girl a few years younger than him. The age difference was not even that notable, the difference between Midnight Edge and Babs Seed was higher, that scared him even more. He did not know how other ponies would react to their relationship, he feared the worst, but he did not want to give up, he considered love worth the risk. He wondered the proper course of action.

He remembered someone he met during his journey, someone who asked him about love before. "Someday you will find a mare who will make you take risks and do stupid things. But you will feel happy with her, and you will do anything to stay by her side. But what is next after that? Eventually you will seek stability, and it will be like a chemical reaction. Either it stabilizes and creates something new, or it will stay unstable and the littlest change in conditions will result in failure." The voice of his friend echoed in his mind. That was it, that kiss would be the catalyst, and it was up to both of them to make something great out of it, but they would need caution.

Midnight Edge left his room, everyone else was still asleep except for Muffins and Pinkie Pie. The stallion walked silently to the kitchen, everything was almost ready, except for the pancakes which had to be cooked at the moment, they had to be fresh, stale pancakes would be shameful, that would be an act of disrespect toward his guests. As he prepared the breakfast he began to imagine himself settling down and preparing a tasty breakfast for Babs Seed on her birthday.

"Don't be stupid. That won't happen!" He muttered to himself. "You will never marry her. Celestia could blast you into oblivion if she finds out." He did not know if there were laws in favor or against it, but he was still scared. He believed it was seen as wrong in all places, even he felt a bit of disgust for falling in love with such a young filly. Just a few weeks ago if he saw a stallion of his same age with a filly like Babs Seed he would have felt uncomfortable and he would not support him. But now that it was happening to him he understood it was not a depraved feeling, it was just love.

"I will ask Twilight Sparkle about the local laws later. My only hope is a legal loophole."

…

Babs Seed woke up with an unfathomable feeling of joy. She finally expressed her feelings for Midnight Edge, and even though he seemed reluctant, he did not reject her. She took the initiative knowing that was the only way it would work. She never heard of relationships with an age difference being wrong or a crime in Equestria, but she knew it was uncommon and most ponies would not even think of it. What she did was not unprecedented as far as she knew, but it was rare. She did not understand why Midnight Edge felt so scared of admitting his feelings, but she understood he needed time to think. And last night he took enough time to do so.

The smell of freshly cooked pancakes reached her nose. Everypony in the room was asleep. She could hear Rainbow Dash snoring from another room. "She's loud! No wonder why Scootaloo did not want to be in the same room." Most ponies were still asleep. She could only hear Pinkie Pie talking to somepony else in the living room. Other than Pinkie's voice and Rainbow's snores the place was silent enough to hear the otherwise unnoticed sound made by Puffy as it walked around the house. It had to be quite early. "Alright! Let's see who is baking those pancakes."

Babs Seed left the room walking carefully to keep it quiet. She did not want to wake her cousins and friends up with her steps. Her hooves moved with a grace no one could expect from her, silently reaching the exit and walking downstairs to the kitchen. As she walked through the halls she imagined who could be cooking those pancakes. First she imagined Pinkie Pie, leaving the kitchen made a total mess, maybe leaving a measuring spoon inside one of the pancakes accidentally. Then she imagined Muffins, the mailmare, she heard Pinkie calling her name, therefore she had to be the other pony awake, probably she would use a muffin mold to make the pancakes. Then she thought of Midnight Edge, she considered he could be awake, but was not sure. As soon as she imagined him cooking she wondered what would it be like to live with him. "I bet he keeps a secret stash of bacon somewhere." Babs Seed told to herself while walking down the stairs leading to the living room.

...

Once she reached the living room, Babs Seed found Pinkie Pie and Muffins talking to each other, which meant Midnight Edge was the one in charge of preparing breakfast. Babs Seed spoke trying to not seem surprised of seeing Pinkie Pie there. "Good morning."

"Good morning." Replied Muffins with a smile on her face.

"Good morning little one." Pinkie Pie spoke making a little pause before starting a long sentence. "I am glad you woke up everypony was still asleep except for Derpy she was awake and we thought we could help with the breakfast but Midnight locked the kitchen so we waited here then Midnight woke up and went right to the kitchen we wanted to help but he won't let us and..." The pink mare took a deep breath preparing to continue her fast paced single sentence, notably lacking of any pause and therefore stressing, but she was interrupted by Muffins.

"Midnight is in the kitchen. Maybe he will let you help him. You are close friends right?"

"Yeah. I might be his first friend in Equestria. Well, that's what he says."

"Just be careful with the flour. He is using clumps of flour as weapons!" The pink pony warned Babs Seed fearing she could end up covered in flour.

"I'll be fine. He wouldn't mess with me." Replied the filly, confident in her tough girl reputation. Her confidence and bravery made her well known for standing up for herself. "He knows I never chicken out of a challenge."

Babs Seed opened the kitchen door and saw a clump of flour propelling right toward her face, the cloud of white powder held together by magic stopped in the air as if it was afraid of touching her. "Sorry. I thought it was the pink one. I did not expect you would be awake, but come in, it would be nice to have somepony to talk to... Somepony who won't try to mess with my recipe." His voice sounded tired, as if he forced himself to wake up earlier only to get everything ready. Babs Seed walked into the kitchen, getting ready to have a rather serious talk with her coltfriend. Those were her thoughts, to her it was official, they were dating now.

"He is weird. I think his weirdness might rub on her if she spends too much time with him." Said the party pony wondering why he would let the filly in but would refuse to let two good bakers in.

"I think he is nice. And he cares about her."

"Yeah, he is fine. But he is still weird... Wait! I have an idea that will keep this party going!"

"Wasn't the party over already?" Asked the pegasus mare.

"Not at all. I will transform it from a slumber party into a breakfast party!"

"Just remember what Midnight Edge said. Don't break anything." Muffins felt concern over the plans her friend had in mind.

"Don't worry, it will be just fine. Now where is our spore covered friend?" The apex party planner had an idea, and she intended to get help from the fungal resident of Midnight Edge's abode.

...

Midnight Edge was almost done. Only a few pancakes left to get his breakfast banquet ready. He got everything ready to be served and intended to please the guests. He obsessed over following the recipe he mastered, reluctant to deviate from it. A filly helped him with the preparations while both had a conversation regarding their future together.

"I'm so glad we are dating now. I mean, we have no experience, but that's fine. We will discover new things together." The filly said with a smile on her face.

"Look Babs... It must remain a secret. Nopony shall know. If somepony finds out I could get in trouble... Or worse."

"Come on! It is not as if we were doing something bad!"

"You are too young." Replied the stallion who was still reluctant to make their relationship public.

"I'm not even that young! I know why you're scared. I already heard about that at school. You just want to keep it secret because other ponies could think you are taking advantage of me. This is not just a silly filly crush, I think I know at least as much as you do about serious mature relationships." Babs Seed felt angry. She hated when older ponies underestimated her. She accomplished things older ponies could only dream of, such as catching a burglar, and she would not let anyone tell her she was to young to pursue her dreams. She already got her cutie mark.

"It is not just that. I do not even want to talk about that thing right now. You should at least talk with your parents about it. But of all the guys out there you had to pick me... It is good for me, but I don't know if I am good for you... I am too old... I am too different... I am not even as cheerful as you are. How are we going to make it work? We must keep it in secret until we figure out how to make it work."

"Don't treat me like a little foal!" Babs Seed was reluctant to give up. "You don't have to protect me, and you shouldn't feel afraid of yourself! We'll figure out this together."

"I... Just don't want you to do something you could regret... Or something I could regret." Midnight Edge was still nervous, he was hesitant, he did not want to make any mistakes.

"We can keep it low for a while if you want. It will be our secret. But don't give up. Fine?! Babs Seed sounded a bit more mature than expected. "Look, that kiss didn't feel wrong. I don't think we are making a mistake. Just promise me you won't feel guilty for it. You are not hurting me, you are not doing anything bad at all."

"Then you must take the lead. I could rush things. I could think of things you don't feel ready for. And if you want to break up... Well, I hope you never do that, but I won't stop you."

"Don't think about that. You always worry too much about the future. You shouldn't worry about that, not when I am here, by your side, in the present."

"This is so new to me... I really don't know what to do." The stallion admitted. "But you are right. I want to stay by your side, just... Bear with me if I act a bit weird... Well, time to serve the guests!"

Midnight edge left the kitchen lifting several plates and jars with his magic. Babs Seed followed helping with as much as she could. Upon leaving the kitchen they found the dining room decorated with different party decorations brought by Pinkie Pie, held in place with Puffy's sticky resin. Midnight Edge was surprised, but he carefully placed everything on the table before focusing on the decoration.

"What is this supposed to mean?" Midnight Edge was uncomfortable, but not angry.

"It's your special welcome slumber breakfast party! Don't you like it?" Pinkie Pie responded excited and joyful.

"Dude... Are you her accomplice?" Midnight Edge spoke directing his words at Puffy. "I did not know you thought this was necessary."

"I needed his help. Don't worry, I asked him to use the less sticky goo and not the super sticky one you use as mortar."

"How did you know? Who told you?" Midnight Edge was truly surprised. He did not expect they would plan that.

"Twilight mentioned your friend made different types of sticky goo." The pink pony was starting to wonder if she made a mistake.

"Fine... But I am not cleaning this mess." Midnight Edge responded expressing approval. After that he took two frying pans and approached the stairs. "Alright everypony! Wake up! The artisans have blessed us with a joyful new day!" The stallion yelled as he walked all over the place using the frying pans to make as much noise as possible. All the guests woke surprised and even startled by the noise, except for the Apples who were used to that.

"Oh god! I have always wanted to do that!" Midnight Edge expressed with mischievous joy. "It was worth the wait!"

"I thought Granny Smith was the only one who did that." Babs Seed stated in surprise.

"Oh, but probably she does not derive as much joy from it as I do!" Midnight Edge was prone to pranks and minor mischief. Rainbow Dash would have loved his pranks if she was not on the receiving end of them.

...

After a delightful breakfast and a few hours of conversation all the guests returned to their daily routine. Midnight Edge was actually surprised when Pinkie Pie offered to clean up the place. He was expecting her to just leave and pretend nothing happened leaving behind the sticky mess she and Puffy created, but she politely offered to help without being asked to. His arrival was met with fear and rejection, but that party was a warm welcome. Midnight Edge finally felt at home again. He was no longer a foreigner or a wanderer, he was no longer a vagrant mage, now he was a resident of Ponyville.

"Well, Puffy, what do you think? Should I settle now? Or should I keep on dreaming I could be an adventurer?"

The creature directed the front of it's faceless head toward Midnight Edge, making him reflect on his words.

"What am I saying! I am not settling down! I am not just another background character! I am part of the play. I am the leading stallion! This is just a part of my story, the part where I find a place to call home, a place I will return when I feel tired. I will rest for now, but the journey is far from over." As he spoke those last word he took his latest journal and began to write. The last sentence in his newest entry read I have a home now, and I know what love feels like, I am eager to see what the future holds for me.

…