The Legend of Midnight Hour

Chapters

Chapter 2: Brother And Bother
Chapter 3: The Device
Chapter 4: Party Lights
Chapter 5: Urgent Mail
Chapter 6: A Dark Day
Chapter 7: Wanted Destroyed Or Alive
Chapter 8: Last Train Out Of Town
Chapter 9: Laying Low
Chapter 10: Secret Admirer
Chapter 11: Cold Trail
Chapter 12: Live Bait
Chapter 13: Calling In The Cavalry
Chapter 14: Pony Vs Machine
Chapter 15: An Encounter Through Time
Chapter 16: Midnight's Revelation
Epilogue
Chapter 1: A Night In The Life

Chapter 2: Brother And Bother

“Wake up, Nightshift!”

The next morning, Midnight woke up to a sudden violent shaking from an unknown assailant. The shaking stopped and he looked up dazed at the owner of a smiling face.

“Did you miss me? Huh? Huh? Did ya? Did ya?”

It was his ever erratic polar opposite twin brother, High Noon. And here he was giving him a rude awakening. Midnight rubbed his eyes and sat up gawking at his brother who was standing at the end of his bed.

“Noon?! What the hay are you doing here?!” he exclaimed.

“What? I can’t drop by home and annoy my favorite twin brother?” replied Noon.

“But I thought you were in Canterlot helping out Star Swirl the Bearded.”

“Oh yeah, that, well it turned out he didn’t need a rainbow making spell since the Pegasus ponies had just made a factory for that. Technology, huh? One step forward, two steps back.”

Midnight looked at his clock to see that it was a little after 10:30. He usually woke up a bit earlier but didn’t mind sleeping in no matter how long.

“Did you see the pie?” asked Noon sticking his nose in his brother’s face.

“Yes.” Midnight answered irritated. “I thought you left that for me yesterday before you went to Canterlot.”

“Oh no, I picked it up when I got home last night, while you were at the clock.”

“So you ate an entire apple pie minus a slice in one night?!”

“Hey, that pie was good stuff; those ponies growing apples outside town know what they’re doing. Can you imagine them setting up farms in the wide open countryside? It’s the way of the future I tell you. Well come on, I want to hang out, let’s get some breakfast or something, or lunch, or even brunch, I’ve got money! Let’s go, Nightshift!” Noon scampered out of the bedroom.

Midnight slumped out of bed with an annoyed grimace; his brother had that effect on him. High Noon was opposite from him in every way, physically and mentally, despite the two of them being twins. Unlike Midnight’s deep blue coat, Noon’s was bright orange and his main was bleached blonde and left unkempt, apart from his brother’s neatly combed black; his eyes were also strangely brown. Personality-wise, the twins differed greatly. While Midnight was calm and collective, Noon was active and energetic. While Midnight lived on intelligence, Noon lived on action. While Midnight was reading, Noon was out partying. The only thing that they something in common with were their cutie marks. Midnight’s was a full moon with clock hands, while Noon’s was a sun also whit clock hands. This was fitting since Noon had the daytime equivalent of Midnight’s job. When the sun was at its highest point in the sky, he would use its power to magically restart the town clock. Although, since the sun’s power was much easier to channel, and the daytime process did not require much of it, Noon could get it done in a split second from pretty much anywhere even outside Fillydelphia. This left him without much to do throughout the day so he would spend his time doing magic related odd jobs around town and sometimes in the unicorn hub of Canterlot. But he always managed to find time to spend time with his brother, even when it got on Midnight’s nerves. Noon took pleasure from making him his punching bag; the pet name “Nightshift” referred to Midnight’s task. But despite the teasing, the two brothers still got along like old friends.

Midnight shook off the dreariness and walked into the bathroom which was next to Noon’s room; they had agreed to live with each other after leaving their parents. He stepped into the shower and ran the hot water almost falling asleep as the drops cascaded on him. After a couple minutes, he looked to see Noon’s silhouette behind the curtain; he was holding what seemed to be a toothbrush and making stabbing motions as if it were a knife.

“Come on, hurry up, I’m bored.” Noon whined childishly.

Midnight peeked around the curtain and glared at his twin. “If you’re so bored, then why don’t you go fix the kitchen sink already?”

“I already told you bro, I tried a dozen times.”

“Well then try a dozen and one times.”

“Okay, but that’s bad luck.”

Noon walked out of the bathroom, dropping what turned out to be Midnight’s toothbrush on the floor, and left him in peace. A few more minutes passed before he began to feel a change in the shower water. It began to decrease in temperature before finally becoming frigid. Midnight rapped at the showerhead muttering at it. Suddenly, the temperature of the water became scolding hot and he yelped as it touched him. He slipped on the floor but caught himself from falling when the water stopped completely. Midnight panted nervously with his hooves clinging to the edge of the tub when he heard Noon yelling downstairs.

“Come on you stupid hunk of metal! Wait, where does this piece go? Connect straight piece A to L piece B. Really? Alright, I’ll give it a shot.”

Midnight waited frozen as Noon was heard clambering with metal parts; then the water came back. This time it was at a more sensible temperature, but it came down like heavy weight. He fell on his back covering his face and sputtering as the pressure of the cascade pelted him. For what seemed like half a minute, the water repeatedly changed from freezing cold, to burning hot, to light as a drizzle, to heavy as a hurricane, and even pulsed and oscillated haphazardly. Eventually, the torment stopped and the showerhead came to a slow drip. Midnight frantically grabbed the edge of the tub and pulled himself out falling to the floor. He panted looking up at the ceiling when Noon came back in.

“Hey Midnight, I fixed it!” he told him cheerfully. “I guess thirteen isn’t so unlucky after all. How was your shower?”

Midnight simply glared at him with bloodshot eyes, grabbed the towel, wrapped himself in it, and hobbled out of the bathroom.

Chapter 3: The Device

The two brothers strolled down the main street of Fillydelphia where everypony was out and about. Colts were hard at work, mares were chatting and drinking tea, and fillies were playing up and down the street. Midnight and Noon pretty much knew everypony who lived nearby; one of them was Marigold, the mare who owned the plant nursery. She was out watering various hanging flowers in her sun hat.

“Good morning, boys!” she said to the twins.

“Morning, Marigold!” they responded in unison.

“Wow, that Marigold sure is something.” Noon said to his brother. “Her lime green coat, her gold mane, I’m telling you, bro; someday I’m going to make her mine.”

“Don’t push your luck, Noon,” replied Midnight. “I think she would only like you if you had pedals and leaves.”

“Oh yeah? I don’t hear you mentioning anything about that Pegasus mare you’ve been eying. What’s her name again?”

“You mean Andromeda? Nah, she’s too smart for a foal like me; she’s too good.”

“What are you talking about? I see you two talking all the time; she likes you, bro.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like she’s ever going to fall for me. What mare would want some weirdo who spends his nights on the roof of the town hall?”

“You know what? It sounds to me like you just need some grub in your gut. Let’s head over to Appetizer’s.”

They walked down to their favorite café. It was a casual eatery owned by the local favorite cook, Appetizer, who prepared all matter of pony confections: bean burritos, veggie burgers, and daffodil sandwiches, hay fries, even carrot cake, etc. One of the other servers there was a good friend of Midnight’s, Stir Fry, who always served him whenever he paid a visit. Midnight and Noon sat at a table outside the café where Stir Fry immediately greeted them.

“Midnight! What’s up, stallion?” he said happily.

“Not much, Fry. You still trying to get into Hors D’oeuvres?” asked Midnight.

“Any day now, you’ll see.” Fry responded. “I’ll be living it up high class style.”

“Hey Stir Fry,” shouted Appetizer from inside the café. “You still got a plate of dandelion sticks ready to go!”

“Will you calm down, you fat slob?!” shot back Fry. “I’ll be there in a minute! Just let him wait, I won’t be working here for long.”

“Well until then, how about getting your old pal some waffles?” smiled Midnight.

“You got it, Midnight!” Fry walked off into the café to yell at Appetizer some more.

Stir Fry was one of Midnight’s oldest friends. He was a light yellow earth pony with a brown mane and green eyes whose cutie mark was a sizzling frying pan. For a long time, since around when he started working at Appetizer’s, he had strived at becoming a master chef and planned to work at the most high class restaurant in Fillydelphia, Hors D’oeuvres. Midnight had faith in Fry’s plans; he was a hard worker, a loyal friend, and an expert cook whose talents were underappreciated. After a few short minutes, Fry came back out with a plate stacked with fresh hot waffles. He was always speedy when serving his friends.

“Here you go guys, with extra blueberries.” Fry announced. “So Noon, what brings you back home? I thought you were in Canterlot.”

“Yeah well the job was cancelled, so I snuck back home last night. The next morning, I saw old Nightshift here catching some serious Z’s.”

“Rough night, pal?” Fry asked Midnight.

“No rougher than usual; although, I did stub my hoof earlier yesterday. And I also made a foal of myself in front of Andromeda.”

“Whoa, whoa, how did that happen?” interrupted Fry.

“Yeah, you didn’t mention that.” Noon added.

“Alright, alright, if you must know, I’ll tell you.” Midnight continued.

The day before, Midnight was pushing a stack of boxes he found over to town hall so he could get onto the roof easier. However, he could not see where he was going since he was pushing the boxes with his nose. They obstructed him from seeing that he was pushing them down a steep hill. Midnight ran after the tumbling boxes into the town entrance; as he caught up, he tripped over them and found himself colliding with a vegetable cart. The cart toppled over and he fell to the ground with lettuce showering all over him. Literally adding insult to injury, several ponies who were there to witness the incident laughed hysterically; one of them was his part-time friend, Andromeda who was trying to control her laughter. Midnight gathered up his boxes and walked off with a huff. For the rest of the day, until his shift at the clock, he hid his embarrassment at home. This was the reason for his sudden self-doubt about Andromeda.

“Huh, you always were kind of a klutz.” Noon said.

“Wait a minute,” added Fry. “Why didn’t you just carry the boxes somehow?”

“Because I’m an idiot,” answered Midnight. “And Andromeda probably thinks so too.”

“Ah pony feathers,” blurted Fry. “Why don’t you talk to her today, she’ll understand. If you ask me, I think she’s got the hots for you.”

“Look at that, bro; you’re a real stallion caller.” Noon gave a cocky smile.

“Whatever you say, Noon.” Midnight replied.

The three of them talked a bit more over waffles until the twins left Fry to reluctantly return to work. They continued down the street trying to figure out what to do for the day. At one point, Midnight waited on the sidewalk while Noon picked up apples from one of the grocers. Then he was met with another, younger, familiar face.

“Midnight! Midnight!”

It was Andromeda’s little sister, Cassiopeia. She was a filly with a pink coat, purple hair, and big silver eyes; no cutie mark yet. Like her older sister, she was Pegasus but as with other fillies her age, she could not fly more than a couple feet off the ground. Cassiopeia was the one who introduced Midnight to her sister in the first place. When they first met, Midnight was out on the roof again waiting for the moon to center, when he spotted Cassiopeia sneaking out that night with her friends. He stopped them in their tracks and told them all to go back to their homes before their parents found out they were missing. But Cassiopeia pleaded with him to let them stay out a little longer; Midnight softened up and told her that he would let them stay up and watch him restart the clock. The young filly was mesmerized by the magic he used to complete such a small task and she immediately idolized him. After the spectacle, Midnight took the young ponies home, dropping Cassiopeia off last; when they got to her home, she introduced him to Andromeda who was there to take her in worried. Midnight told her that he was responsible and apologized for the filly’s disappearance. Andromeda forgave him and asked if he would like to meet him for tea the next day. From then on, he became fast friends with both sisters. Of course while he and Andromeda only met casually part-time, Cassiopeia would always jump happily at the sight of him.

“Midnight! Hi Midnight!” she cheered.

“Hey Cassiopeia,” he smiled. “You seem jumpier than usual today.”

“I didn’t see you after your accident yesterday. My sister and I were wondering if you were alright.” She repeatedly jumped in place with her small wings fluttering.

“Oh you don’t need to worry about me, I’m fine. I’m just not going to push anything with my nose anymore.”

Cassiopeia giggled and continued jumping.

“So Cassie, you know where your sister is?”

She stopped jumping. “Oh she went to Canterlot, but she’ll be back tomorrow tonight.”

“Huh, it seems like everypony is going to Canterlot and coming back.”

“Ooh, ooh, Midnight, you know what day it is tomorrow?”

He knew what day it was tomorrow, but he decided to taunt her. “Hmm, let me think, what could possibly be tomorrow? …Is it Nightmare Night?”

“No.”

“Is it Hearth’s Warming Eve?”

“No silly, it’s summer!”

“Wait, let me guess, could it be someone’s birthday, maybe?”

“Yeah! Yeah!”

“Now who do I know has a birthday tomorrow? Is it Stir Fry’s? No, his is in the fall. Is it Marigold’s? No, hers is in the spring. Huh, whose could it possibly be?”

“Come on! Come on!”

“…Wait…don’t tell me…could it be…yours?”

“YES!” she jumped even more giddily. “It’s my birthday tomorrow!”

“Of course it is; how could I forget? I’ll be sure to drop by and give you a present.”

“Oh I don’t care what I get, Midnight, as long as I get to see you perform some amazing magic at my party!”

“Really? Well I don’t know a whole lot other than time spells. But I’ll definitely come up with something awesome for you and your friends.”

“Hooray! Midnight’s coming to my party! Bye Midnight!”

“See you tomorrow, Cassie!”

As Cassiopeia skipped off, Noon suddenly snuck up and stuck his face in Midnight’s with a grocery bag of apples hanging from his mouth.

“Hey, what are you doing just standing around? I want to go get some hay smoothies.”

They walked down some more toward the town square. Midnight noticed a shadow pass over him; he looked up and around expecting to see a bird. He didn’t see anything until the shadow passed over him again. It was then that he saw a Pegasus in flight; but it wasn’t any other Pegasus. He recognized the flying pony by the cocky way he made a figure eight over his head and cackled. It was yet another friend of his, Takeoff.

“Hey Takeoff,” called Midnight. “Have you swallowed any bugs yet?”

The Pegasus landed expertly in front of Midnight; he could recognize Takeoff anywhere by his fiery red coat and blue mane. He also sported a wool-lined flight jacket and a pair of aviator sunglasses covering his teal eyes. His cutie mark was a silver winged air force emblem, and it was fitting for his job. Takeoff was a pilot and a renowned one too. In his time, the Pegasus ponies of Cloudsdale had developed means of air transportation for earth ponies and unicorns. The most luxurious of which were enormous dirigibles that sailed all throughout Equestria, carrying passengers who delighted at seeing the land from thousands of feet in the air. And since they were lifted by flame-resistant Rainbowgen, they were totally safe. A native of Cloudsdale, Takeoff was the captain of one of these airships, the E.S. Crown of Celestia. But when he wasn’t busy transporting passengers, he always found time to hang out with Midnight, since they both lived in Fillydelphia. He was a hothead by nature, which was typical of some Pegasus ponies, and often made Midnight laugh by bragging about his aerial acrobatics. Takeoff always knew how to show off.

“What’s going on, Midnight?” he asked. “Hitting the town, I see?”

“Sort of,” answered Midnight. “I see you’re off duty.”

“Yeah, the Crown isn’t scheduled for another couple of weeks or so. I thought I’d come back home to hang out.”

Noon spoke still with the bag of apples in his mouth. “I don’t think we’ve really met. What’s up, I’m High Noon, Midnight’s twin brother. I’m the handsome one.”

Takeoff lowered his shades and peered quizzically at Noon. “Oh yeah, Midnight told me about you. He said that you were a ‘living sugar rush’.”

Noon gave the stink eye to Midnight who only grinned sheepishly.

“By the way,” continued Takeoff. “I saw some commotion over by town square on my way here. You guys should come check it out with me.”

“What exactly did you see?” asked Midnight.

“There was just a crowd of ponies around the gazebo; it looked pretty important.”

“Well then I guess we should go check it out.”

“Finally, we get some excitement.” Noon said.

The twins followed Takeoff down the walk to the large open town square where ponies were gathering around in a cluster. They were all facing the decorative gazebo at the center which was blocked by the crowd just out of Midnight’s view. The three made a path through the gaggle of ponies who were murmuring to one another in both excitement and confusion. Midnight stopped when he got a clear look at the gazebo; then he noticed to his left was Marigold.

“Hey Marigold,” he said to her. “What’s going on?”

“I heard news about some pony from another town giving a presentation.” Marigold answered. “Nopony knows who he is or where he’s from; we just know that he’s here to promote something.”

Midnight looked forward again and then he saw him. Stepping up on the gazebo from behind was a male pony wearing a black suit and tie and a pair of wraparound shades. His coat seemed to be a ghostly gray and his black mane was slicked back; Midnight couldn’t make out his cutie mark. Next to him stood a mysterious object which was completely shrouded by a black blanket; it was a little more than his height. Then, when all the ponies became silent, he grinned and spoke in a voice that sounded middle aged and a little raspy.

“Mares and gentlecolts, it is with great pleasure that I introduce you to something that will change your lives forever. I am known as Mr. Mechanic, and I am an engineer from Manehattan. All my life, I have dreamed of making life easier for ponies everywhere; relieving them of struggle and monotony. And one day I decided to make a machine to do just that. Imagine a device that could do any pony’s job faster and better. I am sure there are many of you with grueling tasks and I am sure you would like to have your lives made simple by such a device. It gives me satisfaction knowing that I have this device with me now. So without further elaboration I give you, ponies of Fillydelphia, Workhorse!”

The pony who called himself Mr. Mechanic then revealed the object beneath the blanket. The crowd gasped at the sight of a strange metallic figure that was the shape and size of a muscular stallion. Its dark gray metal hide glimmered as it stood like a lifeless statue. Its face had no mouth, but a single visor with a thin red line across it; a horn stuck out from above the visor like a unicorn’s. While the crowd exchanged more hushed banter, Mechanic continued speaking.

“As you can all see, it is quite a marvel. I have been designing and testing Workhorse for many years now and the results have far surpassed what I could have hoped for. You will see that this mechanical pony is capable of simple movement. Workhorse, walk!”

As if on cue, the metallic structure called Workhorse walked across the gazebo, as fluently as a real pony. It stopped when it reached the other side when Mechanic called again.

“Workhorse, trot!”

Sure enough, Workhorse trotted gracefully around Mechanic in a full circle.

“Now Workhorse, gallop!” ordered Mechanic.

Just like that, the mechanical pony galloped off the gazebo and around it as fast as a professional track runner. Some of the ponies upfront stomped their hooves in applause for the machine’s impressive speed. Midnight, who was by now astounded, looked at Marigold whose blue eyes were widened at the sight.

“It’s unbelievable!” she gasped.

“But that is not all that Workhorse can do, everypony. I assure you that it can handle even the most arduous of earth pony tasks. Workhorse, lift!”

Immediately, Workhorse stopped galloping and pushed out a stack of six hay bails from behind. Effortlessly, it tossed the stack in the air landing it on its metal back and held it without a single ounce of strain. More ponies stomped and cheered.

“And there’s more, mares and gentlecolts, for it is powered by magic! Therefore, it can complete any job for any unicorn. Do we have an ill member of the audience?”

A male pony stepped up to Mechanic with his head lowered.

“I’ve had this terrible flu for a week.” He said with a sneeze.

“Workhorse, heal!” called Mechanic.

Then Workhorse faced the sick pony, bowed its head and emitted a radiant green beam from its horn. The beam engulfed the pony for a few seconds before he was left stunned. The pony perked his head up and faced the audience with an elated grin.

“I’ve been cured!” he shouted with delight and ran back into the crowd which cheered even more.

“Please, I bet that thing can’t do a Pegasus’s job.” Takeoff scoffed from behind.

“And just when you thought that’s all,” continued Mechanic. “Workhorse has the ability to even fulfill the needs of Pegasi! Workhorse, fly!”

To the crowd’s amazement, Workhorse knelt on its front legs and sprouted metal wings from its sides. The wings were simple triangles that stuck out straight to each side; they each had a slit underneath which glowed yellow and made an increasingly loud whine. Suddenly, Workhorse shot off the ground and into the air. Midnight looked up at the sky to see it performing flips, sharp turns and barrel rolls at lightning speeds. The ponies around him jumped, whooped and even took pictures of Workhorse showing off its aerial feats. Midnight looked at Takeoff to see that his jaw had dropped and his glasses lowered. Finally, Workhorse hovered next to Mechanic and landed softly retracting its wings. The crowd cheered and stomped even louder.

“I can see you are all greatly impressed.” Mechanic said taking a bow. “Workhorse is clearly the future in pony labor. And the best part is I have more in stock! So let me thank you all for your time, Fillydelphia, and let Workhorse take the struggle out of your lives. You will not regret it.”

The crowd applauded one last time as Mechanic left the gazebo with Workhorse. Midnight looked around to see that the faces of some of the ponies around him seemed a bit more reluctant than the cheering masses upfront. These included Noon and Marigold; however Takeoff was still frozen with shock. The crowd disbanded and Midnight rejoined with his brother.

“That pony seems like a real con artist.” Noon said to him. “Spending a whole life making some kind of robot seems like a bit much just to make a killing.”

“You got a point,” replied Midnight. “Although, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I think it would be kind of nice having one of those machines doing all the grunt work. Hey I wouldn’t mind having one restarting the clock every night.”

“I don’t know Midnight,” added Marigold. “There’s something awful shady about that Mr. Mechanic. How do we know everything he said is true?”

“It probably won’t make much a difference.” Midnight answered her. “I mean how many of those ‘Workhorses’ could he possibly have? …Takeoff, are you okay?”

Takeoff snapped back to reality. “Huh? Oh yeah, uh, that robot- I can do that.”

“Do what?”

“Never mind.”

Chapter 4: Party Lights

For the rest of the day, Midnight and his friends put off any conversation about the event at town square; the day carried out as usual. Noon dragged Midnight to a rodeo held by the farmer ponies outside town where they were joined by Takeoff and Stir Fry. Although it took him some softening up to do, he delighted in watching the roughneck earth ponies wrangling cattle and running obstacle courses. The four friends then spent the night partying at the local pub over ciders, until Midnight left a half hour before the moon peaked to take care of his old friend, the clock. The next day was not as eventful as the last, since he stayed home in preparation for Cassiopeia’s birthday party that night. He was searching relentlessly through his collection of books, when Noon interrupted him.

“Hey bro, your little marefriend’s party is in a few hours.”

“Oh would you stop?” hissed Midnight. “I’m trying to find a new spell I could use to impress Cassiopeia.”

“Ooh, while you’re there, you should spend some time with Andromeda. Huh? Maybe you could try to express your feelings, you know?” Noon then distorted his voice to mock his brother. “Oh Andromeda my muse, my heart burns for your everlasting beauty!” he then imitated a female voice and even pranced a bit. “Oh Midnight, you darling stallion, take me in your strong hooves and whisk me away to the stars!”

Midnight nearly gagged and turned to him. “Look Noon, I appreciate you trying to get involved with my social life,” he said hiding sarcasm. “But I still prefer Andromeda and me still being just friends.”

“Fine, you’re the smart one. Oh by the way, I’m going back to Canterlot to see Star Swirl the Bearded.”

“Again? What does he want this time?”

“He just wants me to help move around books; he’s got like a hundred thousand of them so I won’t be home tonight.”

“Well in case you will be, don’t eat a whole pie this time.”

“I can feel the brotherly love; see you tomorrow, Nightshift, have fun at your party!”

Noon left the house without another word and Midnight went back to his studies. He picked up a dark red tome with a gold fire symbol on the cover. Upon opening to the first page, he read the title: Fire Spells: Pyrotechnic Magic. Taking interest, Midnight skimmed through the pages looking at sketches and diagrams of unicorns conjuring flames with the magic of their horns. He stopped at one that was titled Firework Finale which caught his attention.

“Hmm, let’s see. ‘If you want to dazzle your friends, then this magnificent pyrotechnic lightshow is the spell for you. To make this spell work though, you must gather all thoughts about bright lights and picture…”

...

Midnight rang the doorbell of Andromeda’s house; as he expected, Cassiopeia answered.

“Midnight, you made it!” she exclaimed with a single jump.

“I wouldn’t miss it for anything, Cassie. Oh and happy birthday.” He extended his hoof holding a gift wrapped box.

She shrieked with joy and hugged him. Midnight entered the house where about a dozen rambunctious fillies were playing wildly in the living room with their parents close by. The walls were lined with birthday décor and there was a table with various sugary snacks and drinks. Cassiopeia put his present by the rest in a large stack.

“I can’t wait to see that awesome spell of yours;” she said to him. “I told all my friends you were coming.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll do the spell later; first, I want to pay your sister a visit.”

“She’s in the backyard setting up the piñata. You promise you’ll do the spell later?”

“I never break a promise, especially with my favorite filly.”

“Thanks, Midnight!”

He watched her skip off to play with her friends and then walked to the kitchen being greeted by the parents. He opened the backdoor in the kitchen to the small deck in the yard, and there she was. Andromeda stood on the deck, with her wings folded, after just finishing hanging up a piñata by rope. Midnight melted seeing her under starlight. Her coat was light lavender and her medium sized pink mane was brushed down over both sides of her head with a couple bent strands hanging over her silver eyes. Her cutie mark, which was the constellation that shared her name, symbolized her love for astronomy. Often at night, Andromeda would busy herself studying the stars through her telescope, sometimes recording their ever shifting positions at the Canterlot observatory. This usually broke the ice with her and Midnight pairing it with his fascination with the moon. As he closed the door behind him, Andromeda looked at him.

“Hi Midnight, I’m glad you could make it.”

“Your sister’s hard to let down.” Midnight responded. “How’s it going?”

“Pretty good; that piñata was a pain to make.”

He looked up at the papier-mâché dragon. “I sure hope candy comes out of that.”

Andromeda chuckled. “So, uh, did you see that strange machine at town square today?”

“Yeah, it seemed like everypony was there to see it. It was crazy.”

“I’ll say. If you ask me, I think that Mr. Mechanic is trying to replace hard-working ponies with those robots.”

“I don’t think it’ll catch on; those things won’t be around for long.”

“I hope you’re right. Hey, can you help me with the cake, as if Cassie needs more sugar?”

“Sure, as long as I get a slice.”

They both walked into the kitchen where a large red velvet cake was waiting to be frosted. Midnight coated it with vanilla frosting while Andromeda drew her sister’s head in icing. After lighting the candles, they brought the cake out, singing the pony birthday song, and Cassiopeia blew out the candles with delight. After enjoying the cake, Midnight and Andromeda watched her open her many presents (Midnight’s being a pogo stick). Then, the two retired to the backyard after the breaking of the piñata, where they laid on the grass gazing at the cluster of stars through Andromeda’s telescope.

“What’s that one?” he asked her.

“That’s Clear Sky, the grounded. He flew up to the sky after finally gaining his wings.”

“And what about that one?”

“That’s Town Crier, the loudmouth. He was put into the sky so nopony could hear him.”

Midnight laughed a bit; he admired her for recognizing all the pony constellations.

“So, Cassie tells me you’re going to perform a spell for her tonight.”

“Yup, she convinced me to do it;” he answered. “And of course I couldn’t say no.”

“It’s funny how she admires you. Sometimes she asks me to take her to see you when you’re at the clock.”

“That wouldn’t be much to see, waiting an hour or so measuring the moon’s position until it gets high enough for me to do a five second spell. To be honest, it’s not much of a job.”

She turned to look at him. “What do you mean? I think it’s fascinating what you do. I haven’t met a unicorn in Canterlot who can change time like you do.”

“All it is, really, is just moving it by one minute. It seems wasteful using all that magic just for one tick of a clock hand.”

“Sometimes it’s what we do that makes us who we are. And what you do is unique.”

Midnight smiled at Andromeda and she smiled back. She touched his shoulder as they continued to marvel at the night sky, that is, until Cassiopeia and her friends came bursting outside.

“Midnight, it’s time for the spell!” she announced as the other young ponies ran out into the yard cheering.

He got up along with Andromeda as they circled him and chanted his name.

“Midnight Hour! Midnight Hour! Midnight Hour!”

“Alright, alright,” he said to them. “You guys want to see some magic?”

The foals cheered more and more as he continued.

“And I don’t mean any ordinary magic; I’m talking about some super duper awesome unicorn fi-ya magic!”

They whinnied even louder when he mentioned the word fire.

“Then let’s get started! Stand back now.” He faced away from his audience and toward the horizon. “Ugh, how does it go again? Think! Think! Think!” he whispered to himself.

He strained to remember the firework spell, while trying not to get distracted by the distant rustling bushes beyond the backyard fence. Then, as the foals now chanted the word spell, Midnight recalled the magic words for conjuring the lightshow; he recited them for everypony to hear.

“When the sun goes down and is out of sight, and everypony’s eyes are filled with fright, as the sky is darkened and void of light, let fire soar and glow in the night!”

Before closing his eyes, he spotted something rushing out of the once rustling bushes. Then he concentrated the magic in his horn, gritting his teeth and tensing the muscles in his face. When it seemed as though he was having trouble, Midnight shot off a barrage of colorful light from his horn which flew into the sky and exploded with a titanic bang. More and more of these explosions ignited at random spreading different colors through the air. The foals, especially Cassiopeia, ooed and awed at the blazing pyrotechnics. Midnight peered up to take pride in what he had created; but then something caught his eye. One of the explosions burst low near the ground outside the fence, and something had caught fire. The mysterious object seemed to wiggle and fidget as it was encased in flames before finally collapsing to the ground with the flames slowly fading. Midnight turned his attention back to the fireworks which had grown in brightness and quantity. For one more minute, the fireworks gave off their last big bursts before disappearing altogether. Midnight relaxed and panted, as the foals cheered and whinnied behind him. He turned around to see them and noticed that even the grownups, including Andromeda, were stomping their hooves for him. Feeling like a true showpony, he bowed and waved to his adoring fans who chanted his name again. Among them, Cassiopeia rushed up and hugged him.

“That was amazing, Midnight! You’re the best unicorn ever!”

Midnight hugged her back and even blushed at her comment. Then as she and the others retreated back into the house, he saw Andromeda walk up to him.

“Midnight, that was beautiful! I didn’t know you could do a spell like that.”

“What can I say? I guess I’m a fast learner.”

She hugged him. “See? What you do makes you who you are. And what you did there was outstanding.”

He smiled warmly at her, but then his mind drifted back to the odd sighting on the other side of the fence.

“Wait, did you see something while I was doing the spell?”

“What do you mean? I couldn’t see anything else than the fireworks.”

“There was something outside the fence; it caught fire from the spell and I don’t know what it was.”

She looked curiously at the fence. “We should go check it out.”

The two of them urgently hopped the fence where, several feet away, they saw a black smoldering pile in the grass. As they approached the pile of ash, with small whips of smoke rising from it, Midnight noticed an intact object buried in the pile. Cautiously, he reached in and pulled out what appeared to be a rigid metal part. It was curved and the edges were slightly melted from the fire. Then, he saw Andromeda dig another part out from the ashes; to both their shock, it was recognizable. The object she held was the head of a metal unicorn that contained no mouth and a lifeless black visor below the horn. Andromeda looked at Midnight with disbelief.

“Midnight, this is Workhorse!” she exclaimed while keeping her voice in control.

“It must have gotten in the way of my spell, and I destroyed it!” he replied.

“Oh no, if Mr. Mechanic finds out about this, he’ll be furious.”

“Well, he said he has more in stock, right? Maybe he won’t even notice.”

“I hope you’re right. But right now we should probably get rid of this mess.”

Without raising any suspicion from the rest of the party, Midnight and Andromeda disposed of the smoldering remains of Workhorse by sweeping them up, sneaking them around outside the house and dumping them into the garbage can. The two agreed to keep quiet about the incident and rejoined the party for the rest of the night. After everypony had left, Midnight hugged Andromeda and Cassiopeia goodbye and hurried to his post by the clock just minutes before the moon centered itself in the sky. Without failure, he restarted the clock one more time and went home to doze off. This time, he checked inside Noon’s bedroom expecting to see him sleeping, just in case; he was not there, however.

Chapter 5: Urgent Mail

Urgent Mail

The next morning, Midnight awoke peacefully at around 10:00. He felt something amiss when he listened for the sounds of Noon muddling about downstairs as he usually did when making breakfast; the house was eerily silent. He got out of bed and proceeded down the hall to his brother’s room, which turned up empty like the night before. Midnight felt a brief moment of worry since Noon always came back home at that time to restart the clock when the sun was centered. But he put his worry away reminding himself that Noon could easily do his job from anywhere. After a quick shower and a bowl of cereal, he stepped outside and went over to check his mailbox. As he stepped up to it, he noticed a roll of parchment paper tied with a string lying on the ground next to the mailbox. Midnight looked from side to side thinking that the mailpony had dropped it when making his delivery. Disregarding the parchment, he opened the mailbox and found nothing out of the ordinary: the Fillydelphia Inquirer, the latest issue of Unicorn Monthly, a subscription ad for Pegasus Boutique which he ignored, and a notice from the Fillydelphia Department of Water which he assumed was Noon’s fault. He then turned his attention to the lonesome parchment and carried it inside with the rest of the mail. Once inside, Midnight curiously stared at the roll of parchment at the kitchen table, wondering why the sender had not simply sent whatever the message was in an envelope. Without further questioning, he untied the string and unfurled the parchment. The stylish penmanship of the text was neat and almost seemed printed by magic. Midnight read aloud to himself.

“Dear Midnight Hour, It has come to my attention that an event took place last night involving a high source of magic. I am told that you are responsible for this particular event. I request that you visit me in Canterlot as soon as you receive this letter. We must discuss a serious pressing matter. Signed…” he gawked at the signature. “PRINCESS CELESTIA?!”

Just like that, Midnight was filled with alertness. Without considering what he was doing, he frantically took off out of his home and down the sidewalk five houses down. He knocked spastically on the door of his friend’s house and waited uncomfortably for it to open. When it did, Stir Fry looked at him with tired eyes.

“Midnight,” he said with a yawn. “What’s going on? Why did you have to wake me up this early?”

“Fry, you’re not going to believe this!” blurted Midnight. He stuck the parchment letter in front of Fry, who read the text to himself and then gasped.

“Princess Celestia?! You…you got a letter from Princess Celestia?!”

“I know; I was surprised too! It just showed up next to my mailbox!”

“Well that’s fantastic! You’re probably the luckiest pony in Fillydelphia right now. The Princess requests an audience with you!”

“Yeah but, I don’t think she’ll be too happy; I think I’m in serious trouble.”

“Why? What happened last night?”

“Why don’t we talk about this with Andromeda?”

Midnight and Fry both went over to Andromeda’s house where she greeted them both warmly. But Midnight skipped the friendly addressing and told her that they needed to fess up about what had happened the night before. She made a pot of tea and sat in the living room with the boys where she told Fry about her and Midnight’s incident with Workhorse. After Fry absorbed the info, Midnight then told Andromeda about his letter.

“Princess Celestia?!” she exclaimed. “Midnight, this is unbelievable!”

“Apparently, she must have caught wind about us disposing of the robot.” Midnight said.

“But how could she know about it?” she asked. “There must have been somepony who saw us and told her.”

“If you ask me,” suggested Fry. “It was probably that weird Mr. Mechanic. I mean who else would’ve been around with that machine?”

“That’s a good point, Fry,” replied Andromeda. “But the only thing I’m wondering is why I didn’t get a letter from the Princess like Midnight. I’m the one who suggested getting rid of it.”

“It’s probably because I’m getting all the blame from destroying it.” Midnight answered. “Mechanic probably just got steamed from that and went to the Princess, that is, if he’s the one who told her.”

“That rat,” spat Fry. “Instead of just talking to you two, he had to go turn it into a whole big deal and get you in trouble. That just burns my tail!”

“Whatever went down last night,” continued Midnight. “All I know is that Princess Celestia wants to see me right away. So I guess I’m off to Canterlot.”

“I’m coming too,” replied Andromeda. “I share just as much blame as you.”

Midnight only looked sympathetically at her. “Don’t worry, it’s hardly any blame.”

Just then, the doorbell rang and Andromeda went to the door. She answered it and standing before her was Marigold, who happened to live next to her and knew her well.

“Andromeda,” she urged. “Something big is going on.”

“What is it Marigold?” asked Andromeda.

“Everypony is talking about it, scared,” she answered. “All the railroads outside Fillydelphia have been closed off.”

“You’re kidding,” gasped Fry. “Why would they do that?”

“I heard it’s because of something that happened over in Baltimare.” Marigold told him. “Now we’re not allowed outside the city as decreed by Princess Celestia.”

“First she wants me to come to Canterlot,” pondered Midnight. “Now she doesn’t want anypony to come? This is messed up.”

“What do you mean?” asked Marigold.

He showed her his letter without a word.

“Princess Celestia?!” she exclaimed. “She invited you to Canterlot?!”

“More like she summoned me;” he replied. “Last night, I was performing a fire spell for Cassiopeia when the spell accidentally destroyed that robot from town square. Then Andromeda and I got rid of it in secret. We think Mr. Mechanic was nearby and ratted me out to the Princess. Now we think she wants to punish me.”

“Midnight, that’s awful.” Marigold sympathized. “But the Princess would never be so cruel as to summon you during whatever is happening right now. Something bad is going on in Equestria and I think going to see her will give us some answers.”

“But we just need a way of getting to Canterlot since she closed the railroads.” Andromeda added.

“Hey, why don’t we ask Takeoff?” proposed Fry. “He has a chariot that can take us over to Canterlot.”

“Then that settles it;” said Midnight. “Andromeda, Takeoff and I will fly to Canterlot.”

“Count me in.” Fry said to him.

“Me too.” Marigold added.

“You guys don’t need to get tangled into this mess.” Midnight told them both. “I think you should stay in the city where it’s safe.”

“We’re your friends, Midnight,” replied Fry. “We got your back all the way.”

“Whatever happens, we want to make sure you’re okay.” Marigold said.

“I want to come too!”

Everypony looked surprised to see Cassiopeia standing on the staircase and appeared to have been eavesdropping on them. Andromeda walked over to her.

“Cassie, this doesn’t concern you.” She said to her softly. “Why don’t you stay with one of your friends until I get back?”

“But I’m scared,” her sister whimpered. “And I don’t want anything to happen to you or Midnight. Please, please, please let me come!”

Andromeda looked at the other three for an answer and they simply shrugged. She sighed and looked back at her sister.

“Okay Cassie,” she said deflated. “You can come with us.”

Midnight noticed Cassiopeia’s eyes watering a bit.

“Don’t worry Cassie,” he said with a smile. “I’ll be alright.”

The four of them plus Cassiopeia walked on down to Takeoff’s personal garage. Along the way they noticed that the streets were unusually quiet since most ponies were at home in fear of whatever caused the railroads to close. When they reached the garage, they saw that the large door was open and that Takeoff was pacing in front of his red sport-class chariot which sat inside with his cutie mark emblazoned on the front. He saw the group and acknowledged them.

“Hey, where’s the party? You guys know the railroads have been shut down?”

“Takeoff, we need to ask you something.” Midnight told him.

The group filled in Takeoff on the event from the previous night and the letter from Princess Celestia. All the while, he retained his expression of dumbfounded shock.

“Princess Celestia?!” he yelped when they finished. “I don’t believe this! Why would she want to punish you at a time like this?”

“That’s what we’re hoping to find out.” Midnight answered. “But since we can’t get there by train, you’re our only source for transportation. We need your chariot to fly to Canterlot.”

“Are you insane in the mane?!” bellowed Takeoff. “I’m not taking anypony out of the city when the railroads are sealed off. We’ll get in even more trouble than you are already in!”

“It won’t matter if we’re being summoned by the Princess.” Andromeda told him. “Everything will get straightened out once we talk to her. Please Takeoff, this is an emergency.”

“Forget it,” pouted Takeoff as he crossed his hooves while hovering. “My chariot isn’t for smuggling ponies no matter what princess sent for them.”

“Please Mr. Takeoff, I’m scared.” Cassiopeia looked at the floating bulky Pegasus with doe eyes.

After staring back at her for a bit, he landed and spoke to everypony. “Alright, get in.”

Chapter 6: A Dark Day

They were on their way. Takeoff was hesitant about carrying all five ponies on his chariot so Andromeda, also being a Pegasus, agreed to fly on her own with Cassiopeia on her back. The tension settled as they flew over the city watching for any authorities that would try to keep them grounded; fortunately, they crossed the city limits without a hitch and soared off toward Canterlot.

“I don’t believe it,” said Takeoff pulling the chariot. “We got out of there scot-free!”

“It must be the Princess,” called over Andromeda. “I bet she’s clearing the way for Midnight since she’s expecting him.”

“Yeah, that makes me feel a whole lot better.” Midnight replied skeptically.

“Cheer up Midnight,” said Marigold. “I bet she’s not even mad. She’ll understand.”

“Hey Midnight, I forgot to ask,” chimed in Stir Fry. “Where’s your brother Noon?”

“Last time I saw him was yesterday,” answered Midnight. “He said he was going away to Canterlot again. I haven’t seen him this morning.”

“Well that’s good, right?” said Fry again. “He’s probably still in Canterlot and we’ll see him there. You think remembered to restart the clock when the sun was centered?”

“I saw the clock working fine after that.” Takeoff called back.

“Then he’s okay,” added Marigold. “At least I sure hope he is.”

The six of them flew on through the clouds for a long while before they finally saw it. An enormous mountain rose in the distance, and on the side of it was Canterlot. The gleaming white city drew their view as it jutted from the mountainside next to a cascading waterfall. Moving closer, they could see the steep railroad that led up to the city and knew that no trains would be riding it. Ahead, they noticed two specs emerging from Canterlot and flying toward them. As the specs came closer they were revealed to be Pegasi darning shimmering gold armor. Midnight instantly recognized them as the Princess’s royal guard. The two Pegasi flew alongside the chariot and one of them called.

“You are in restricted flying space!” the guard said. “State your business immediately!”

Takeoff responded. “I’m providing transportation for Midnight Hour! He has been summoned by the Princess Celestia herself!”

Both guards looked at the passengers of the chariot and Midnight identified himself with a wave of his hoof.

“Who are the others?” ordered the other guard.

Takeoff looked back at Midnight for an answer; Midnight responded with a fib.

“They were requested by me to come on behalf of the Princess!”

The guards looked at each other stoically; then they turned back to them.

“We will have the barrier lowered to let you enter!” one said.

“Thank you!” replied Midnight. “Wait, barrier?”

The guards flew off back to the city where Midnight could now see a transparent pink glow covering it. As the guards approached it, a rift in the glow opened up and they flew through it. Takeoff then pulled the chariot with Andromeda following close through the opening in what was now recognized as the barrier. As the group glided over the white streets of Canterlot, Midnight marveled at the medieval architecture. He had been to the city a few times with Noon and he was always fascinated by the rich unicorn history that shaped it. He remembered touring the lively streets where it seemed like at every corner there was somepony performing magic; the only problem now was that the streets were not so lively. In fact, they seemed like a ghost town as Midnight had not seen a single pony roaming them. At last, the guards led the gang to a plaza outside the royal palace of Princess Celestia. As they landed, Cassiopeia gawked at the scenery.

“Wow, I’ve never been to Canterlot before!” she said.

“It’s so empty;” added Andromeda. “It wasn’t like this when I was here yesterday.”

“Whatever’s happening is happening pretty quickly.” Fry said. “I bet the Princess is about as high-strung as we are right now.”

“Her royal majesty has been expecting you,” one of the guards said to Midnight. “I’ll take you inside to see her.”

“What about my friends?” asked Midnight.

“I’m afraid the Princess’s audience with you must be private,” the guard answered. “But they will be allowed to wait in the castle.”

“It’s okay, Midnight,” Andromeda told him. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Midnight and the rest followed the guard to the entrance of the Princess’s magnificent castle. The guard opened the large doors and they entered into the eccentrically designed foyer. On the walls hung multiple Equestrian flags between the tall windows, and a long purple carpet led up to a matching colored stair case that symmetrically split into two directions leading up to the next floor. Above the platform where the stairs split was a large window with a stained glass depiction of Princess Celestia herself. As he gazed around at the elaborate foyer, Midnight heard galloping coming down one of the separated staircases. The running pony stopped at the platform and revealed to be his brother.

“Midnight, you made it!” exclaimed Noon.

“Noon! What the hay are you doing here?!” asked Midnight experiencing deja-vu.

Noon descended the stairs to greet him. “You’re not going to believe it! I was here at the castle this morning helping Star Swirl move the last of the books, when Princess Celestia announced that she was sealing off all the railroads and she told us to stay in the castle. Everypony else in the city has been ordered to stay inside as well. Then, I overheard the Princess mention your name and I told her that I’m your brother. She told me everything about what you did to Workhorse and that she was going to send you a letter. Then she told me to greet you as soon as you got here, and well, here you are!”

“You met the Princess?” replied Midnight. “What did she say about me?”

“She just said she was anxious to meet you.” Noon answered. “And I can tell she is. It has to be about your run-in with that Workhorse. I’m telling you, bro, that is some pretty shady stuff.”

Midnight rolled his eyes and noticed Andromeda blushing uncomfortably.

“But don’t worry about it,” continued Noon. “I’m sure it’ll all be…”

The pupils of Noon’s eyes receded when he saw Marigold, who seemed to be happy to see him. He then spoke to Midnight out of earshot of the rest.

“Uh Midnight, why is Marigold here?” he asked nervously.

“She got worried so I let her come along.” Midnight answered. “What, you’re not nervous to see her are you?”

“Yes!” seethed Noon. “Bro, you don’t bring a pony’s crush to see him during the middle of a mysterious crisis!”

“Are you serious? Noon, I hardly think this is the time.”

“Fine, fine, whatever; just forget it. Now look, the Princess told me to bring you to her. She’s waiting upstairs, but you’ll have to come alone. Everypony else will have to wait here. Come on.”

Midnight followed his twin up the stairs; he looked back at his friends who simply stared back at him encouragingly.

“We’ll be right here, Midnight.” Andromeda called after.

When the two reached the top of the stairs, they proceeded down a long hallway similarly designed to the foyer. For what seemed like forever, Midnight walked down the corridor starring at the stained glass murals on the windows which told various stories about the Princess and other ponies of legend. Then he turned to his brother when they approached a gilded double door with tow earth pony guards standing ready at both sides of it.

“Noon, I got to be honest,” he said. “I’m shaking like a leaf here. I’m almost positive that the Princess just wants to punish me for last night.”

“Relax bro, no matter what she does to you…well; I’ll let Andromeda down easily.”

Midnight gulped as the guards opened the doors for him and he stepped in not knowing what to expect. And there she was; standing on the other side of a large room, standing in front of a red cushioned throne, was her majesty, Princess Celestia. Towering over Midnight, she stood at twice his size while retaining a graceful limber physique. Her glistening coat was rose white and her full rainbow mane and tail mysteriously flowed despite the lack of motion or wind. She sported a gold band studded with a purple gem around her neck; a matching crown rested upon her head above her prominent horn and magenta eyes. Her large wings folded in front of her cutie mark which was a blazing sun. As Midnight gawked at the only known Pegasus-unicorn is Equestria, he became astonished by her face staring back at him. To his surprise, her expression was gentle and almost motherly; she peered at him with soft sparkling eyes and even smiled at him. Before Midnight could make any words come out of his gaping mouth, the Princess walked up and spoke to him in a calm, crystalline, and resonant voice.

“You must be Midnight Hour. It’s good to finally meet you.”

The sound of her angelic voice compelled the stunned Midnight to close his eyes, drop to his knees, bow his head and plead hysterically.

“Oh your high and royal majesty, I am not worthy! I am but a humble pony who has been blessed to stand in your holy presence! Please oh please spare me from a harsh and just fate! I know not what I did! I am not worthy! I am not worthy! I AM NOT WORTHY!”

Before he could do anymore groveling, he felt his head being gently lifted by his chin and he opened his eyes to see Celestia’s smiling face up close.

“You don’t have to humble yourself, Midnight,” she spoke. “As of now, you and I are both friends.”

Midnight cleared his throat. “Uh, friends?”

“Why of course,” she replied. “I sent you a friendly invite and I shall treat you as such.”

He stood, clearing his thoughts. “So, you’re not going to punish me?”

She scoffed while still smiling. “Why would I punish you? You did nothing wrong.”

“But, I destroyed Mr. Mechanic’s Workhorse and then disposed of the evidence! I committed a crime and never told anypony!”

“I don’t blame you at all for getting rid of that machine; however I do consider letting somepony know next time. But right now, there are bigger matters we must discuss.”

Celestia’s smile faded and she walked over to a window by her throne with Midnight joining her.

“Ordinarily, I would send you a lesson about an incident like this,” she continued. “But this is a dark day in Equestria. By now, you’ve noticed that I have closed all the railroads; I apologize for that after sending your invite, but like I said, this is a dark day. The pony you know as Mr. Mechanic is not who he says he is. In fact, he is not even a pony at all. He is a changeling.”

The word rang in Midnight’s ears. He remembered reading about the menacing creatures known as changelings. They were horrid insect-like beasts that could take the form of any animal, especially ponies. In mythology, they threatened the very existence of Equestria and stories were told of them wreaking havoc on the land. Midnight braced himself to hear more from Celestia.

“His real name is Locust, and he is one of the most powerful minions of Queen Chrysalis, the ruler of the changelings. A week ago, I learned that he had intruded Equestria and went into hiding. When I discovered his location, he was in a remote cavern meddling with strange machinery. Locust was creating some type of mechanical pony and seemed to be planning on making more.”

“Wait, he’s using Workhorse against Equestria?” questioned Midnight. “How many does he have?”

Celestia sighed before looking at him and answering. “Millions.”

Midnight’s eyes widened and his stomach turned at the thought of more than one of those enigmatic robots. “How did you find out about this?” he asked.

“Star Swirl the Bearded foresaw him using divination. He and I found out that Locust had used changeling magic to create them all so fast. And it pains me to say that he has already unleashed them.”

Celestia then used magic to open up a rift in front of Midnight. It was a spell used to view past events. In it, Midnight saw a familiar city.

“Just yesterday,” she said. “Baltimare was devastated by a swarm of Workhorses.”

He watched the city of Baltimare being shrouded in smoke under a stormy sky. The view changed to a close-up in the streets where frightened ponies were running from charging hoards of the mechanical monstrosity seen in town square. The rest of the visuals changed accordingly to what Celestia told.

“All the ponies in Baltimare have gone into hiding,” continued Celestia. “And the Workhorses have overrun the city. I sent my royal guard to defeat them, but they proved too powerful and the guards had to retreat. It was the changeling magic of the machines that got the best of them; it made the Workhorses impervious to any weapons, even the magic of my unicorn guards. After the attack on Baltimare, I knew Locust would send his mechanical army to Fillydelphia next. I ordered all ponies to stay where they were until I could figure out a solution, when I received word about you from a mysterious source. I heard about how you managed to destroy one of the Workhorses with your fire spell and became astonished.”

“But, didn’t you say that they were impervious to unicorn magic?”

“That is what brought you to my attention, Midnight. Where even my most powerful unicorns failed, you succeeded in taking down a Workhorse. I have never met a pony who could defeat something fueled by changeling magic; not even I could have accomplished it.”

“Princess, what are you saying?”

“I am saying that you have a gift, Midnight. Your magic is unlike any other, and it is likely that anypony from your family line will rub off on you. As far as I know, you’re the only pony who can defeat Locust and his Workhorses.”

“But, I’m not that great. Other than changing the clock and shooting fireworks, I really don’t know much else.”

Celestia laid a hoof on his shoulder. “Sometimes, it’s not about how much you know; it’s about what you can already accomplish. It’s what we do that makes us who we are.”

Midnight realized the irony in her words after hearing Andromeda saying the same thing the night before. Without further rebuttal, he smiled at the Princess gratefully.

“Thank you Princess,” he said with a bow of his head. “I will be forever in your service.”

She gave another affectionate grin. “There’s no need for formalities, Midnight.”

“So, what do we do now?” he asked.

“There’s much to be done in so little time. Locust is probably making more of those machines and he will most likely send them to conquer Fillydelphia. I plan on sending my army there to keep them at bay until we can find a way for you to stop them. I’m sorry you must bear such a burden.”

“It’s a better burden than staying up to restart a clock every night.”

“Yes, I heard about that from your brother Noon. Your job is very unique, Midnight; I remember meeting your ancestors who perfected that time spell, including your mother and father.”

“You knew my parents?”

“Of course, I always take the time to meet any unicorn who shares your magical ability.”

Midnight blushed. “I’m awfully flattered, Princess. But if you don’t mind me asking, how come you didn’t just come to me instead of sending that letter?”

“The ponies of Canterlot needed my presence. They’re afraid of the Workhorses coming here and I couldn’t let them down. Once again, I apologize for any inconvenience.”

“There’s no need for formalities, Princess.”

“Touché.” Celestia replied with a bit of laughter. It took Midnight some getting used to that the all powerful ruler of Equestria had a warm side.

“Well I don’t want to keep your friends waiting.” She said. “I’ll arrange for you all to stay at the castle for the night. I promise I’ll find a way to take down the Workhorses. In the meantime, my guards will have Fillydelphia under safe protection.”

“I can’t thank you enough, Princess Celestia.” Midnight told her.

“It’s my pleasure, Midnight Hour; I am honored to aid such a unique pony like you.”

Midnight walked beside Celestia to the now closed doors which the guards outside opened again. He stopped upon suddenly seeing his six friends standing at the door eagerly staring at him. It occurred to him that they had all been eavesdropping.

“Bro, that’s epic!” exclaimed Noon.

“Yeah Midnight,” added Fry. “You’re the savior of Equestria!”

“You must be so honored!” chimed in Marigold.

“You’ll go down as a legend!” cheered Takeoff.

“We’re so proud of you, Midnight!” said Andromeda.

“He’s the best unicorn ever!” whooped Cassiopeia.

Midnight just stared blankly at them, not being used to such praise.

“Well Midnight,” said Celestia. “It certainly looks like you have some supporters.”

“Yay?” whimpered a befuddled Midnight.

Chapter 7: Wanted Destroyed Or Alive

After briefing Midnight on the subject at hoof, Princess Celestia courteously gave him and his friends a tour around her castle. He marveled at the alabaster walls and gilded furniture, and the storytelling stained glass windows that stretched throughout the echoing halls. Celestia commented that the entire palace was said to have been built from the air down, instead of the ground up, by Equestria’s earliest master stonemasons. Upon several pedestals sat vases, jewels, busts, statuettes and other precious artifacts from Equestrian history. Andromeda had to keep her hyperactive little sister from jumping around too much and breaking any of them. All the while, the royal guards and servants hustled about tending to their various duties. Noon said he almost envied the Princess for living in such a posh castle. As the group reached the end of their tour, Celestia led them through the front doors to take them to a guest house outside where they would spend the night. It seemed to Midnight as though things had finally calmed down; until he saw the lone pony standing on the castle plaza.

“Who’s that, Princess?” asked Cassiopeia.

“I don’t know, child,” replied Celestia. “I’ve never seen him before.”

“Wait a minute,” alerted Takeoff. “That’s Mr. Mechanic, the pony from the Fillydelphia town square!”

“Oh no.” Midnight muttered to himself.

Sure enough, there he was. The ghostly gray pony stood several yards from and faced the group with a relaxed smile; his eyes were still shielded by wraparound shades. An eerie calm settled as the black suited Mr. Mechanic stood motionless without a word. Then, he gave a deep chuckle.

“Well if it isn’t the ravishing Princess Celestia;” he spoke charmingly. “I’ve been just dying to meet you.”

“I can see through your game, Locust,” Celestia responded in a stern tone. “We will not let you devastate Equestria!”

“My word, is that any way to greet a humble entrepreneur like me?”

“We’re not afraid of you, you big dumb changeling meanie!” exclaimed Cassiopeia.

“Cassiopeia, hush!” scolded Andromeda.

Mr. Mechanic gave a chilling laugh. “I admire the filly’s attitude. It’s a shame such fortitude must be wasted on a young mind.”

“Look, we all know who you are,” announced Midnight. “So just drop the act and show us your true form!”

“Ah yes, you must be the famous Midnight Hour, the one who restarts the day. I saw your little incident with one of my Workhorses and found out all your information.”

“So then you should know that I can take down your crazy machines.”

“We’ll see about that.”

From behind Mr. Mechanic came a figure that was all too familiar to Midnight. It was a Workhorse, plodding up in front of its master with a whirring hydraulics sound coming from its legs. The thin horizontal red line on its black visor seemed to stare menacingly at the group. Midnight gulped but forced himself to bear up; he knew this would be his first time killing the contraption intentionally.

“Well, Midnight, I’m waiting.” Mr. Mechanic taunted.

He exhaled deeply as he stared down the lifeless android. Then he closed his eyes and focused the magic within his horn. After a few moments of preparation, and perspiration, Midnight opened his eyes and fired a beam of raw magic at the Workhorse. He held it letting the beam engulf the machine until he decided it was enough. He stopped the magic and looked at the Workhorse with anticipation. After a brief lapse of time, the red line in the visor disappeared and the entire robot collapsed into pieces. The remains resembled a pile of pots and pans. Midnight’s friends cheered for him as he smiled victoriously at Mr. Mechanic. But the silvery pony only kept smiling back.

“I underestimated you, Midnight.” He said. “You really do have the power to conquer my machines. But now that I’ve seen you destroy two, let’s see you destroy two thousand!”

At that instant, Midnight noticed an approaching mass in the distance behind Mr. Mechanic. His jaw dropped when he saw that the mass was an endless hoard of Workhorses marching in synchronized formation down the Canterlot street. The ground shook from their metal hooves stomping to a droning military-like beat.

“As you can see, Midnight Hour,” continued Mr. Mechanic. “You can demolish as many of my Workhorses as you want; I’ll just make more.”

As he said this, Mr. Mechanic finally removed his sunglasses and took Midnight by surprise. His eyes were not pony eyes. The pupils were vertically slit resembling a reptile’s; his left one was grayed as if it were blind. Then he grinned from ear to ear revealing that his teeth had somehow become fangs. His slicked black mane suddenly turned white and unfurled becoming matted and unkempt. As the Workhorses marched closer, his silver coat turned pitch black and the outline of his body became jagged and gnarled. The being now formerly known as Mr. Mechanic had revealed his true form as a changeling lord; the being now known as Locust let out a snarling hiss with a flailing forked tongue. By now, the Workhorses had approached right behind him.

“Now that you see me as I truly am,” he bellowed in a raspy voice. “I think we can come to an understanding. Equestria will fall, and the changeling kingdom of Queen Chrysalis will RISE!”

As Locust cackled hauntingly, Princess Celestia gave an order. “Guards!”

Immediately, a battalion of royal guards hurried in from all directions and stood in front of the Princess ready to face the mechanical onslaught.

“You must protect Canterlot and everypony in it.” Celestia continued. “Give these machines no quarter.”

“Yes, your highness!” replied a guard.

As Midnight witnessed the standoff between the guards and the Workhorses, he felt his brother shake him frantically.

“Midnight, this is bad, bro! What are we gonna do?!”

“Why are you asking me?!”

“You’re the savior; I’m just here for the looks! Can’t you just take out these things?!”

“There’s too many of them. I’ll get creamed before I could even destroy five!”

“Midnight,” said Celestia. “You and your friends must escape Canterlot and hide.”

“Where?” he asked.

“Anywhere, you must go where Locust will not find you. When Canterlot is safe, I’ll find you and bring you back.”

“But I feel like I should stay and help. I’m the only one who can defeat him.”

“That makes you his target; we can’t risk losing you here. You must get to safety.” She then turned to a couple guards. “Captain Saber, Captain Cutlass, take these ponies to the emergency track. Make sure they stay out of sight.”

“At once, Princess!” saluted the guard named Saber.

“Emergency what?” questioned Fry.

“Midnight, I’m scared!” whimpered Cassiopeia.

“It’ll be alright, Cassie,” he told her. “Just follow the guards.”

As they sprang off behind Saber and Cutlass, Midnight looked back at the Princess.

“Keep safe, Midnight,” she called to him. “You’re our only hope!”

He turned away one last time before hearing Locust shout after him with a cackle.

“You can’t hide from me, Midnight Hour! You will be found, destroyed or alive!”

Chapter 8: Last Train Out Of Town

The escort led Midnight and his pals through the remaining empty streets. They galloped in fear of the Workhorses surprising them from the next corner. After what seemed like a lifetime of arduous sprinting, they eventually stopped at a part of the mountainside where a large boulder rested. The two guards heaved to push the boulder to the side revealing a cave in the mountainside.

“Everypony get inside; hurry!” Saber ordered.

They rushed into the cave with the guards closing the boulder behind them. Inside, the cave was lit by exposed light bulbs hanging from their wires on the walls. A ladder led from where the group was standing down to a lower level where a train track ended. On the track rested what looked like a single train car. It was an odd looking thing that sat eight passengers and two engineers and carried a bulky engine in front of the seats. They climbed down the ladder to the railcar.

“Wait, I thought all the railroads were closed.” Marigold said.

“All except this one;” replied Saber. “The Princess had this track made for carrying ponies out of the mountain in secrecy only in times of crisis.”

“It can take you as far as Neighagra Falls.” Cutlass added. “But we must leave now before we’re found.”

“We’re getting away on that thing?” scoffed Noon. “We’ll go flying off the rails!”

Suddenly, a violent rumbling was heard outside the sealed boulder. It seemed as if it was being forced open.

“It’s better than facing them.” Andromeda said.

“Get on!” told Cutlass.

Without hesitation, all nine of them hopped aboard the railcar and watched the cave entrance nervously. Saber stepped up to a set of levers behind the engine and pulled a couple. There was a brief clanking noise from underneath, but the engine did not start.

“Ugh, it’s been a while since this thing was used.” Saber said. “The engine’s having trouble turning over.”

“Oh great, this is it,” groaned Takeoff. “We’re gonna die on this hunk of junk! This is the end! My time’s up! I regret nothing!” Marigold slapped him clear across the face. “Sorry.” He muttered.

Then, the boulder at the entrance exploded letting in daylight. The silhouettes of several Workhorses stood outside and proceeded into the cave. Saber frantically yanked the levers repeatedly still with no result. Fry then sprang up next to him.

“I don’t have time for this!” he exclaimed and gave a quick mule kick to the engine. Miraculously, it clanked a few times before finally sparking to life. The railcar began to move slowly making a steady loud chugging sound while the Workhorses gained closer. Before the robots could seize the railcar, it picked up speed along with the chugging and left them in the dust. The runaways were finally out of the Workhorses’ clutch as they sped through a tight dim tunnel. Fry gloated a little.

“The same thing happens with the dishwasher at Appetizer’s.” He said. “The principle is pretty much the same.”

The rickety railcar clambered down the tunnel with its passengers looking back for any sign of the Workhorses. Eventually, Midnight saw a distant light further down the tunnel and knew it would be the exit. They approached the light and at last cleared the inside of the mountain. While the railcar now rolled along an old rail track on the mountainside, the ponies gawked at the enormous landscape below which stretched far throughout northern Equestria. On the horizon were the snowcapped Crystal Mountains, to the west in the sky was the floating Pegasus metropolis of Cloudsdale, and to the east was the valley that led to the gigantic Neighagra Falls. Midnight stared until the creaking and shuddering of the track distracted him. It didn’t feel at all safe to him speeding along the old planks.

“Where exactly are we going?” asked Andromeda.

“There’s a safe house somewhere along the track on the ground.” Cutlass answered. “You can stay there until the Princess says it’s safe to come back to Canterlot.”

“I hope she’ll be okay,” said Marigold. “Those Workhorses were everywhere. You think the guards were able to hold them off?”

“Locust may be powerful,” responded Midnight. “But he won’t stand a chance against Princess Celestia.”

“Look!” shrieked Cassiopeia.

Everypony looked back at the track behind them where she was pointing. Shrinking in the distance was the cave exit in the mountainside. A few moving figures manifested from the exit and flew toward the railcar. They appeared into view as five Workhorses flying in a V formation.

“Good gravy!” exclaimed Fry. “Can’t this thing go any faster?”

“This is as fast as it gets!” said Saber.

Suddenly, the railcar jerked violently from a surprise green burst. The ponies looked back to see that the airborne Workhorses were firing changeling magic from their metal horns at them. They struggled to hold on to the railcar for dear life.

“That’s it,” blurted Takeoff. “If I’m going down, I’m taking a few of them with me!”

“Takeoff, what the hay are you doing?!” exclaimed Midnight.

“I’m saving our flanks from these Pegasus knockoffs!” he answered as he flew up and toward the Workhorses. He swerved, ducked and rolled to avoid their magic blasts. Then, Takeoff rammed the center Workhorse from below at an alarming speed. The robot stalled for a moment then clumsily floated back to the scene. The other four dispersed to collide with Takeoff, but he was able to shoot off again causing the machines to crash into each other. They rejoined their wing commander to gang up on the daredevil Pegasus who still managed to avoid and knock them at every turn; however he took a few knocks himself.

“He can’t take them on by himself,” said Andromeda. “I have to help him.”

“Andromeda, don’t,” protested Midnight. “I’m not going to loose you, let alone Takeoff.”

“I’ll be fine, Midnight, it’s you we can’t loose.”

With that, she unfurled her wings and sprang into the air toward the one-sided dogfight. The Workhorses shot after her chasing her above the railcar. She was in fact baiting the machines and leading them to Takeoff who continued to broadside them. But as the aerial battle ensued, the Workhorses still managed to fire upon the railcar. The clunky transport jerked and popped from the blasts. An especially powerful hit caused Marigold to loose her balance and trip over the edge of the railcar with a scream. Before she could fall, Noon grabbed her hoof.

“I got you!”

He strained to pull her back up onto the platform of the railcar. He looked up to see that one of the Workhorses was flying straight toward the dangling Marigold. Then on pure impulse, Noon bowed his head and fired magic from his horn. He opened his eyes to see that the incoming Workhorse twitching and sparking as it lowered to the ground to recover. Midnight was shocked to see the damage that his brother was able to inflict on the machine. Noon finally pulled Marigold up with a grunt and she hugged him tightly in both fear and gratitude. His face had never turned redder.

Eventually the railcar came to a descending slope leading down the mountain to the ground. Midnight’s stomach dropped as gravity pulled them faster and faster down the steep drop. He held onto a seat tightly and watched Andromeda and Takeoff tangling with the Workhorses. At this point, Andromeda led two of them at a breakneck speed and Takeoff did the same. It seemed as though the two Pegasi would collide, but they shot upward at the last second causing all four Workhorses to slam into each other. The impact was so hard that they fell spiraling to the ground. Midnight was astounded at his friends’ victory as they both landed on the railcar as it bounded onto the ground track.

“Guys, that was incredible!” he told them.

“We didn’t destroy them,” panted Takeoff. “They’re just beaten really badly.”

“Those robots are tough,” added Andromeda. “I bet they’ll be up and running again.”

“Wait, weren’t there five of them?” asked Noon.

Just then, the fifth and final Workhorse sprang out of nowhere and landed on the railcar. It stared intently at Andromeda, who was standing at the rear of the railcar, as if it wanted revenge on her for taking out its comrades. Her eyes widened in fear as she backed up slightly. The Workhorse knelt down ready to attack when Saber and Cutlass pounced on it. The brawny guards tried to pin it to the ground, but the machine’s inner parts whined and screeched as it shoved them off and over the edge of the railcar. Saber and Cutlass landed with a thud on the ground and disappeared out of view from the rest of the group.

“We really need to stop pushing our luck.” Saber said lying dazed on the ground.

“Maybe our injuries will excuse us from getting fired.” Cutlass replied next to him.

Now unprotected, Midnight and his friends were left with the monstrous Workhorse. The robot continued to glare at the frightened Andromeda and began to slowly step toward her. Takeoff stopped the Workhorse and stuck his face in its.

“Oh no you don’t! I already took down your buddies so don’t think I won’t do the same to you!”

The Workhorse simply stared back briefly then grabbed him by the neck. In a split second, it tossed Takeoff behind it and he slid into the engine casing banging his head. He muttered something in gibberish before fainting. The Workhorse then pinned Andromeda to the floor and bowed its head aiming its glowing green horn in her face. She screamed in terror.

“Andromeda!” cried Cassiopeia.

Midnight gritted his teeth and glared at the Workhorse. Without hesitation, he bowed his head and yelled.

“GET OFF HER!”

He fired an enormous blast from his horn and the machine disintegrated in the magic. When Midnight stopped, all that was left was a cloud of ashes that blew off in the wind. He felt woozy from generating that much magic, but he shook it off and tended to Andromeda quivering on her back.

“Are you okay?” he asked her.

She didn’t say a word and instead grasped Midnight in a desperate hug. Andromeda trembled and sobbed a little as he held her tight.

“I told you I wasn’t going to lose you.” He told her.

Chapter 9: Laying Low

For the next few hours, the seven ponies rode the railcar through the broad valley as the sun set on the horizon. This was a good sign for Midnight that Princess Celestia was still able to control the sun despite the peril. There was no sign of the safe house mentioned by the guards; everypony assumed it was demolished by the Workhorses. Soon enough, they approached the mammoth Neighagra Falls and followed the track up the side. Before the sun completely vanished, they made it to the top of the hill and saw a lone cabin up ahead. Fry pulled the brakes stopping the railcar in front of it. It was an old-style wooden cabin with two levels and a front porch; it seemed like a good enough safe house. At last, the ponies stepped off the railcar and up to the porch.

“Hello? Is anyone home?” called Fry as he opened the front door.

“The place looks abandoned.” Noon said. He was helping Midnight lift the unconscious Takeoff off the railcar.

Before Fry could enter the cabin, Cassiopeia ran inside. She jumped around observing her new surroundings. “Wow, it looks like somepony was just here yesterday.”

The rest entered. The living room was surprisingly tidy and complete with cozy woodland furniture. A kitchen and dining room was in the back and a flight of stairs ascended in the middle. Marigold turned on a few lamps while Takeoff was plopped onto a couch in front of the fireplace. Andromeda looked at the comatose Pegasus guiltily.

“That Workhorse really knocked him out cold.” Midnight said. “He’ll probably be fine around morning.”

“He was trying so hard to take them down.” Andromeda sighed. “He didn’t have to stand up just for me.”

“Takeoff is a tough stallion; if it was anypony else, they wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Andromeda paused a bit. “Midnight, I can’t thank you enough for saving me. I’ve never been so scared.”

“It’s alright,” he smiled. “I don’t think those robots will find us out here.”

“I sure hope not;” said Noon. “I would faint too if there were more of them.”

“But you were terrific, Noon,” Marigold told him. “You saved my life from both falling and that Workhorse. You’re my hero.”

Noon started yammering and laughing sheepishly as Marigold touched his shoulder.

“Hey guys,” announced Fry coming down the stairs. “There’s enough bed space up here for everypony.”

“Are you sure it’s entirely safe upstairs?” asked Marigold.

“I don’t see anything wrong with- Holy crabapples!” he exclaimed as he was suddenly tackled down the stairs. Everypony rushed over to him as he got up bucked wildly.

“Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!”

They saw that the cause of Fry’s terror was a snarling raccoon that had latched onto his back and rode him like he was an angry bull.

“Aw, he’s so cute!” said Cassiopeia.

The ponies started to laugh a little as Fry continued bucking; even Andromeda managed to crack a smile. He disappeared screaming into the kitchen and the sound of dishes crashing was heard. Then the raccoon ran out of the kitchen, past the ponies and out the front door snarling. They walked into the kitchen to see a dazed Fry covered in pots and pans on the floor.

“Don’t help me up; I need to regain my dignity.” He moaned.

Later that night, the ponies took their time to recuperate in their newfound hideout. It was hard for them to believe that the past events all took place that day. They hadn’t eaten a thing and they were starving. Fortunately, after nursing his raccoon wounds, Fry was generous enough to whip up a big dinner with whatever food was in the cabin. With their bellies full, they settled around the lit fireplace and exchanged friendly banter to lift their spirits from the chaos of the day. At one point, Noon drew a whacky face on Takeoff’s; Midnight, Fry and Cassiopeia chuckled while the two mares simply rolled their eyes. Soon they decided to hit the hay. Midnight became concerned because this was the first time not being in Fillydelphia to restart the clock. But he figured that the correct time would be the least of the city’s problems with the army of Workhorses waiting outside. He could only hope that both his hometown and Canterlot were being well protected by Princess Celestia. Before the moon was centered, Midnight lied in one of the bedrooms upstairs staring at the ceiling in the dark while the others slept. He was having trouble getting to sleep with all his thoughts about the crisis buzzing in his head. Then, he heard his door creak open.

“Andromeda? Is something wrong?” he asked.

Andromeda entered quietly. “No, I was just having trouble sleeping. Do you mind if I get in bed with you?”

Midnight stared surprised before answering. “Uh, sure you can.”

“Thanks.” She climbed in bed to Midnight’s left and stared up at the ceiling with a smile. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No it’s fine; I’m not getting much shuteye anyway.” He sighed and stared upward too. “I can’t believe it was only this morning when I got that letter from the Princess. It feels more like a week ago.”

“Tell me about it; to think that just yesterday was Cassie’s birthday.”

“How’s she doing by the way?”

“Better than me; she always seems to perk up instantly. But I’m still worried about her coming along with us. She just cares about you that much I guess.”

“I’m sorry for dragging you guys into this.”

“Are you kidding? We would never let you face this alone. We’re here for you all the way, just like you were for me on the railcar.”

Midnight smiled. “Well I just couldn’t stand to see you pinned down like that.” As he gazed at the ceiling he felt something press against his chest. He looked to see that it was Andromeda nuzzling her head against it with her fore hooves wrapped around him.

“You’re a sweet pony, Midnight. I feel so safe with you.” She closed her eyes and fell asleep without another word, using Midnight as a pillow. He put his hoof around her, nuzzled his head against hers and closed his eyes. In that moment, all of his troubles finally cleared his mind as he cuddled with his dream mare.

Chapter 10: Secret Admirer

Midnight only slept for a couple hours or so. His eyes suddenly shot open and saw Andromeda still snuggling him. He thought he had heard her speak, but she was still fast asleep. Then, the sound came back; it was a faint whisper.

“…iii…iiigh…ooouuu…rrr…”

His ears twitched as he looked around expecting to see somepony else in the room. It was just him and Andromeda. He darted to his right to notice that his window was open; it hadn’t been before. Tiny wisps of wind blew inside creating a slight whistling noise. Midnight’s spine tingled as he heard the whisper again, this time more clearly, among the whistling.

“…Miiidniiight…Hooouuurrr…”

His heart accelerated when he recognized his name. Slowly and quietly, he slipped himself out of Andromeda’s grasp leaving a pillow in his place for her to hug. He stepped out of bed and up to the open window. Looking out, he saw nothing but the small patch of yard on the right side of the cabin leading up to a forest tree line.

“…Miiidniiight…Hooouuurrr…”

The whisper came to him clearer and clearer; he had to intervene. Midnight exited his room after looking back at Andromeda one more time and tiphoofed downstairs. He walked by Takeoff who was still literally passed out on the couch in front of the dwindling ember in the fireplace. Carefully opening the door, Midnight stepped outside into the yard and faced the tree line.

“…Miiidniiight…Hooouuurrr…”

The only other sound besides the whisper was the distant roaring of the titanic falls. Midnight forced himself to summon his courage and wandered cautiously into the woods. The next white noise became the chirping of crickets and the occasional owl hoot. Above the treetops, the night sky was dotted with numerous stars due to the lack of light pollution; the moon was almost at its peak. Midnight looked on ahead to see a light fog forming at knee height. He gulped as he entered it. The fog quickly began to rise and seemed to engulf him.

“…MIIIDNIIIGHT…HOOOUUURRR…”

The whisper was now more forceful than ever. It seemed to be coming from right in front of Midnight. He was now far enough away from the cabin that he could no longer see it, not that he could through the fog. Just then, he saw a blurry shadow obscured by the mist in front of him. He squinted to make it out. The shadow was not moving and seemed to be twice his height; it appeared to be pony shaped. As Midnight’s body became weak from nervousness, the fog then began to lift and the shadow started to reveal itself. Before it finally came into view, he heard a sudden female voice speak in a taunting manner.

“Surprise!”

Midnight gasped as when he saw her. There in front of him was a black coated alicorn standing at roughly the same height as Princess Celestia. She stared at Midnight with icy blue eyes, whose pupils seemed to be almost slits, and smiled an evil toothy smile. Her broad wings spread out in front of her cutie mark which was a crescent moon surrounded by a purple cloud. She wore metallic armored shoes, a chest plate with a crescent moon, and a headpiece around her long horn, all of which were blue and in a gothic style. Her mane was flowing and wispy just like Celestia’s, but instead was deep blue with white sparkles resembling the starry sky. Midnight gawked at the alicorn in astonishment and terror, mainly because he recognized her.

“Out for a late night stroll are we?” she asked in a devious voice.

“No…it can’t be…” stuttered Midnight. “You’re…you’re…you’re Nightmare Moon!”

“I’m glad you recognize me, Midnight.”

“Wait, you know who I am?!”

“Of course; I’ve known you for a long time now. I was just curious to se if you knew who I am.”

“I know that you were once Princess Luna.”

Her face then became shocked for a moment but she instantly returned her calm smile. “You’ve learned more about me than I thought. I’m awfully flattered.”

“But what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be trapped on the moon?”

“I am still able to visit Equestria, but only for a short hour. When I am finally able to once for all banish the day, I plan to stay here for a long time.”

Midnight braced up. “Look, I read all about you and your plan for eternal night, but just tell me why you’re here.”

“Why I was just getting to that, Midnight. I am here to help you.”

He looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

She slowly paced around him in a circle eying him from head to tail. “You see, Midnight, since I reside on the moon, I see everything that occurs in Equestria. From Manehattan to Los Pegasus, I can observe all that happens with just a turn of my eye. And I have especially been watching you, Midnight, because you have been watching me.”

“Uh…I have?”

“You harness the power of the moon to restart the Fillydelphia clock every night. Do you know where that power even comes from?”

Midnight’s eyes bulged at the thought.

“Of course, your family has been using that power for generations. You however are the first to take particular interest in it. I’ve seen you reading books about me and my home. I understand that it is one of your greatest fascinations. And I must say, Midnight, I’m touched.”

“I admire the moon and Princess Luna, not you.”

“Oh please, it’s like you implied: that weakling is just a former version of me.” Nightmare Moon seemed to be acting seductively toward Midnight as she gently lifted his chin with her hoof and fluttered her eyelashes. “And I love the admiration, Midnight. Nopony respects the night more than you do. They would rather shun my beautiful darkness and pay all their attention to my egotistical older sister. But not you, Midnight; you’re my secret admirer.”

His stomach turned at the thought that he had been staring longingly at the evil Mare in the Moon all his life. “So, you want to help me because you think I respect you?”

“It’s the least I can do. I have witnessed the events caused by that changeling Locust. And frankly, I was appalled. If anypony is going to take over Equestria, it will be me and my glorious night, not that filthy little insect and his soulless machinery. Then, I saw you perform that fire spell which destroyed one of those Workhorses.That's when I realized you were the one hope for defeating Locust. I couldn't reveal myself to you just yet, so I left an anomynous tip for my sister."

"So it was you who told the Princess about that?"

"Yes, but I happened to leave my name out of it. Now unfortunately, I am unable to aid you in fighting Locust, since I can only stay here briefly. But luckily I can give you any information you need. Like I said, I see everything.”

“What do you want me to know?”

“Locust is hiding in the San Palomino desert in southwestern Equestria. He has built a massive fortress where the entire production of the Workhorses is taking place. Before attacking Baltimare, the machines isolated Los Pegasus, Appleloosa and Dodge City. But Locust did not order a full attack until Baltimare, to keep out of my sister’s knowledge.”

“What about Fillydelphia? My town is right next in line for him.”

“After Baltimare, he decided to head straight for Canterlot where he thought he would seize control of the entire land. Miraculously, my sister managed to drive the Workhorses out without a hitch. But they are still stationed on the mountain waiting to attack again.”

“Why didn’t locust go for Canterlot in the first place? Why go all the way around southern Equestria?”

“He felt an indirect approach would be necessary to keep my sister confused. Changelings work in mysterious ways, the miserable pests. But as we speak, Locust is already surrounding both Fillydelphia and Ponyville. Time is running out and soon every city in Equestria will be overrun by the Workhorses.”

“How can I stop him? I can’t destroy all of them by myself.”

“No, but luckily you’re not alone. Have you noticed your brother’s ability with magic?”

The question caught him off guard. “Noon? Well sure he’s great with magic, but I don’t think he can destroy a Workhorse.”

“On the contrary, Midnight, he is just as powerful as you are. You’re both twins after all. The only reason you are able to disrupt changeling magic and he is not is because he lacks the power of the moon. Noon uses the power of the sun to restart the clock at midday, but the sun is a giver of life; it does not represent destruction. However, the moon’s magic is darker and posses destructive ability.”

“Wait, is that because you live there?”

“You catch on quick. I am the reason for the moon’s destructive influence. So basically, if not for the curse my sister punished me with long ago, you would not be able to destroy the Workhorses. But still you remain the only pony who can.”

“So what does that mean for Noon?”

“I’ve planned this since the first time I saw you dismantle a Workhorse. Twins are rare for unicorns. They have the ability to channel each other’s magic from any distance. Yours and Noon’s ability is particularly unique. If you can channel your magic to him, then the force would be powerful enough to even spread to other unicorns. If what I predict is true, then you and Noon will be able to form an army big enough to vanquish the Workhorses.”

Midnight paused in disbelief. “So it’s not just my burden, it’s Noon’s also.”

“I apologize for the task my sister has bestowed on you.” Nightmare Moon touched his cheek sweetly. “Such a kind pony like you should not have to be risked to defeat a worm like Locust. That is why I want to help you, Midnight. Your admiration means that much to me.”

“Well, don’t think I’m doing this for you. I won’t forget about your evil plan.”

“Believe me, Midnight, compared to what Locust will do to Equestria, my plan will be a walk in the park.” She paused. “My time here runs out; I must return to the moon. Ooh, that reminds me.”

Nightmare Moon then raised her head high and her horn began to glow blue. She shot off a small bolt of magic into the air which disappeared.

“What did you just do?” asked Midnight.

“I restarted the clock for you. There’s no need to thank me. Be safe, Midnight Hour, I’ll always be watching you.”

“You know, I don’t think you’re as evil as my books say you are. I think you’re just looking for a little affection.”

“As long as at least one pony respects me, maybe I won’t be so evil in the future.” Nightmare Moon stepped back into the mist still being visible for the last several seconds. She winked and even blew Midnight a kiss. “So long, Midnight Hour!”

“So long…Princess.”

She disappeared and the fog lifted. Midnight returned to the cabin.

Chapter 11: Cold Trail

There was too much to take in. Midnight had just met face to face with the mythical antagonist straight from his books and did nothing but listen to her talk. He pondered returning to Canterlot at once to tell Princess Celestia, but as far as he was concerned, Nightmare Moon did nothing wrong, at least not yet. It didn’t help his composure that she said she was flattered by him. He tried to shake off discomfort and focused on the new information she had just given him. All of a sudden, his brother was now a crucial asset to defeating Locust. Midnight always thought Noon was a goof and never expected him to be as powerful as he was with magic. He wondered how he would break the news to Noon and how he would take it. It didn’t even seem believable to Midnight. The thought of a unicorn army like Nightmare Moon said was a bit farfetched. But these thoughts were put aside once he reached the cabin. There was somepony outside; it was Marigold. She was scurrying to and fro worriedly and was even breathing heavily. Midnight walked up to her.

“Marigold, what’s wrong?” he asked her.

“Oh Midnight, you’re not going to believe this. It’s Noon; he’s gone!”

“What? Where would he go?”

“I don’t know. We were in separate beds when I woke up suddenly and saw that he disappeared. I looked all over the cabin but he’s not anywhere. I’m so worried!”

“Guys?” spoke Fry who had just come out from the door.

“Fry, Noon’s disappeared.” Midnight said. “You didn’t see him did you?”

“No, but that’s not the only bad news. I was getting up to get some water when I noticed that Cassiopeia wasn’t in her room. I looked around and couldn’t find her. She’s missing!”

“Oh no, not Cassie too!” gasped Marigold.

“I got to tell Andromeda.” Midnight replied hurrying into the cabin. He galloped upstairs to his room and prepared to break it to Andromeda. But to his shock, his bed was empty. “She’s not here!”

“She’s not in her room either.” Fry added.

“What about Takeoff?” asked Midnight.

“He’s still unconscious on the couch.” Marigold said. “Oh my goodness, this is bad. How could we have three missing ponies? You don’t think they were taken by Workhorses do you?!”

“If that’s the case,” answered Midnight. “I think they would have taken me too.”

“Well somepony had to take them.” Fry urged. “They wouldn’t just leave on their own. What do we do?”

“I don’t know!” replied Midnight.

“What the hay are y'all doin’ in mah home?!”

Midnight, Marigold, and Fry looked behind them to see a stranger standing at the top of the stairs. It was a brown stallion earth pony with a matted black mane and piercing gray eyes. He wore a red flannel jacket, a dark gray hunting cap, and sported a wooly beard. He glared at the three ponies who only responded with silence.

“Well? Ah’m waitin’!” the roughneck pony scolded.

Marigold and Fry cowardly pushed Midnight in front of them gesturing for him to speak first. He stuttered nervously.

“Uh, heh heh, hi there. Uh, we’re really sorry. We didn’t know somepony lived here.”

“Oh, so ya couldn’t tell bah the furniture and stocked food that somepony lives here. Are you out of yer mahnds?! What gives ya raht to break into mah house and mooch off mah food?!”

“I was hungry!” cried Fry melodramatically.

“Look, we’re so sorry,” said Marigold. “We’ve been riding the rails all the way from Canterlot and we had to stop for rest. We were on the run from the Workhorses.”

“The what now?”

“You know,” added Midnight. “The robotic ponies that have been terrorizing Equestria?”

“Ya mean those fancy contraptions that have been runnin’ amok over in Baltimare? Ah’d like to see them hah-tech gizmos come after me! They won’t get no quarter, they won’t! Wait a minute; did you say you folks came from Canterlot?”

“Yeah,” answered Fry. “The machines were taking it over. Midnight here is the only one who can destroy them, but there were too many of them so we had to escape.”

“And just how can you destroy them machines?”

“Well, I just can, using magic.” Midnight told him.

“Magic?” the pony scoffed. “There’s only one thing Ah gotta say to you spell flingin’ Canterlot unicorns.”

Midnight gulped as he grimaced at him. But then the mountain pony suddenly smiled.

“It’s a pleasure to meet ya! I don’t mind city ponies as long as der not in mah face about it. The name’s Kodiak! And anypony that’s against those dang contraptions is a friend o’ mahn!” The pony who called himself Kodiak shook Midnight’s hoof vigorously.

“Uh, it’s nice to meet you too.” Midnight replied sheepishly.

“So uh, Mr. Kodiak,” said Marigold. “Why do you live out here by Neighagra Falls?”

“Well Ah’ve been a mountain pony all mah lahf, just lahk mah pa, his pa before him, his pa before him, and so on. Ah keep the extra bedrooms for when mah distant relatives come out to visit. It gets lonely out here sometahms so yer welcome to stay here fer as long as ya need.”

“Well actually,” said Midnight. “Something just came up. There were three more of us and we just found that they went missing. Did you see any other ponies?”

“Ah’m afraid not,” answered Kodiak. “But Ah did follow a trail o’ hoof prints leadin’ up from here to the north. Ah figured they were made bah you comin’ here, which is whah ah was surprahsed to hear ya came from Canterlot instead.”

“You saw tracks?” perked up Fry. “Can you show us them?”

“Sure, follow me,” said Kodiak. “And make sure ya scoop up your vegetable friend downstairs while yer at it.”

The three followed Kodiak outside with Takeoff slumped over Fry’s back. They were led around back where the mountain pony was inspecting the ground beneath him.

“Raht here, they just lead off into the woods.” He told them.

“I don’t see any tracks.” Midnight shrugged.

“Look closely.” Kodiak urged.

Midnight strained to make out something in the grass. Sure enough, there was faint imprint of a hoof which was barely visible. Marigold looked too.

“How in Equestria did you see that?” she asked.

“When ya live out here for as long as Ah have, ya learn how to track things. It seems there was a bit of a tumble here before the prints lead off north. Ah reckon there were at least six ponies in all.”

“In that case they had to have been captured.” Fry said.

“The railroad leads up north;” added Midnight. “We can follow the tracks on the railcar.”

Immediately, the three ponies hurried over to the blocky railcar and tossed Takeoff onboard. Midnight and Marigold prepared themselves for a long journey as Fry pulled a couple levers. The engine slowly clanked but then died out. Fry tried furiously to restart the darned thing, but eventually a loud crash was heard inside and smoke began to rise from the engine.

“Oops,” uttered Fry. “I can’t help at feeling this is my fault.”

“Now what are we going to do?!” complained Midnight.

“Well shoot,” interrupted Kodiak. “You folks will never get bah on that hunk o’ junk. C’mon ‘round back, Ah got just the thing for ya.”

Kodiak took them to a large shed behind the cabin. He opened the sliding doors to reveal a wide contraption covered in a tarp. He pulled off the tarp and there before the group was a small white and red airplane. Air travel at the time had not only excelled with dirigibles, but winged aircraft also made often appearances. Airplanes had become crucial for earth ponies to visit normally inaccessible places such as Cloudsdale or Los Pegasus. Midnight recognized this particular aircraft as a bush plane which were flown frequently in the wild north. The plane sported a single propeller engine on the nose and a high wing sitting atop the cabin which contained two rows of seats. Behind the seats was a cargo space stuffed with various hiking, camping and mechanical supplies. The landing gear was equipped with heavy tires made for rough terrain. Kodiak gave the wooden propeller a casual twirl.

“Ain’t she a beaut?” he boasted. “Ah take her up to the Crystal Mountains to go clahmbin’ or ahce fishin’.”

“You’ve been to the Crystal Mountains?!” lit up Midnight.

“Sure have, it’s mahty dangerous territory up there, with the ahce and blizzards and all.”

“Can you fly it along the trail?” asked Marigold.

“Ah sure can. But there’s just one problem. Ah need to keep an ahye on the tracks and Ah can’t do that while flahyin’. Ah don’t suppose you folks got any pahlot experience do ya?”

Just then, they heard mumbling coming from the railcar. They looked to see that Takeoff was finally waking up. He yawned and lifted his head up while sitting awkwardly.

“Hey guys, what’s going on? Where are we? Hey, a cabin, did we just get here?”

Before long, the group got Takeoff up to speed about the current situation; he nearly fainted again from the amount of information he was receiving. It didn’t help him that he now had to fly a bush plane with a strange backwoods pony navigating for him. Ultimately, he gave in and helped Kodiak prep the airplane. As Takeoff sat at the pilot’s seat and held the ignition, Kodiak spun the propeller making the engine sputter to life. When the plane began to roll along the ground, he climbed into the copilot’s seat; Fry sat behind him with Marigold to his left and Midnight to her left. It didn’t take much to get the little aircraft off the ground. It bounced along a stretch of cleared land before finally ascending above the trees. As Kodiak pointed out the trail using a searchlight, Takeoff maneuvered the plane quite well despite the fact that the only thing he had ever flown was basically a gigantic blimp. Time passed as Kodiak peered out the window through binoculars spotting the trail and Takeoff followed his directions. Gradually, the forest began to dwindle and become replaced with snowy tundra. Although the view was tremendous, Midnight was too distracted. He realized he could have prevented this from happening. He thought if he hadn’t left his room, he could have saved Andromeda from being captured. The guilt hit him like a kick to the stomach. After all the trust she had put into him, after saying that she felt safe with him, and after him saying he wasn’t going to lose her, now she was gone and he had nopony to blame but himself.

“It’s my fault.” He said gazing out the window at the snow covered pines. “If I hadn’t left Andromeda in my bed, I could have prevented her from being taken. She’ll never forgive me. I could have saved Cassie and Noon too.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Midnight.” Marigold sympathized. “You couldn’t have seen this coming. But, what were you doing out in the woods anyway?”

Midnight’s eyes widened; he hadn’t thought of a good enough excuse. He wasn’t just going to tell her that he was meeting with the dark and evil Nightmare Moon. On one hoof, she wouldn’t believe him and think he was crazy. On the other hoof, if she did believe him a whole new matter would stir up involving Princess Celestia. He didn’t want to lie to Marigold; he already felt guilty enough. After pausing for an uncomfortable amount of time, he decided to wing it.

“It was a messenger from Princess Celestia. He wanted to speak to me in private so the rest of you could get your rest. He told me that the Princess had figured out a way for us to defeat Locust once and for all. But we need Noon to do it. I was an idiot for letting my guard off though.”

“It’s not your fault, Midnight. Chances are, you wouldn’t have been able to stop the captors anyway; you might have been taken as well. And hey, you got useful information that will really help us. It wasn’t all for nothing.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Eventually, the sun began to rise and the snow became much more plentiful. The white blanket was now blinding but it was much easier for Kodiak to spot out the tracks. Takeoff had been drinking from a large kettle of coffee ever since they left several hours before. The temperature dropped frighteningly leaving the ponies shivering in the plane’s cabin; Kodiak of course was unaffected by the cold. He told them to strap on some winter coats from the cargo hold in the back. After warming up, they felt relaxed until the plane had to come to a landing. Apparently Kodiak had forgotten how much fuel was in the plane and told Takeoff to land in an ice field. Fortunately, there was a spare fuel tank stored underneath, but it would take a while for refueling. Once they landed, Kodiak got out handling the fuel situation while the rest of the ponies stepped out of the cramped cockpit to stretch their hooves. They didn’t move much however due to the brutal cold winds. Courteously, Kodiak set up a stove fire with a pot of boiling soup to warm their shivering bodies. They huddled around it chattering their teeth.

“This is ridiculous,” whined Takeoff. “How is it that I miss out on sleeping in a nice warm cozy cabin and wake up to flying into a frozen wasteland?!”

“Would you stop complaining?” scoffed Marigold. “We’re trying to save our friends in case you’ve forgotten.”

“I can’t feel my hooves.” Fry chattered. “Kodiak, how much longer is it going to take?”

“It’ll be just a bit,” he answered. “But we’ll be back up in the air in no tahme. Though Ah’m afraid the trail won’t be around much longer. The winds will most lahkely cover up the tracks. We can only assume where they were headed.”

“Midnight, you should eat some soup.” Marigold said. “You’re freezing worse than the rest of us.”

“I’m not that hungry.” He replied.

“Come on, Midnight,” pleaded Fry. “If you don’t eat some, I’ll eat it all.”

Midnight slowly took one of the portable bowls and scooped up some of the vegetable soup from the boiling pot. He held it up and let the steam drift over his face and up his nostrils before slurping half the bowl. Ever since arriving at Canterlot, he had not eaten anything other than the meal Fry prepared the previous night. He thought we would be extremely hungry, but somehow his appetite was starting to wane.

“Oh pony feathers!” exclaimed Kodiak from behind the plane. Everypony looked over at him. “Bad news folks, we’ve only got enough fuel to bring us back home. Ah have no ahdea how much longer the trail goes on fer so this is as far as we can get. Ah’m sorry, folks, yer friends are gonna hafta wait.”

Midnight sighed quietly at this. Enough was enough for him. He knew he couldn’t just sit there in the snow sulking. He had to take action into his own hooves. Without another moment’s contemplation, he stood up, chugged the last of his soup, even swallowing pieces of green beans whole, dropped the bowl and face his companions.

“Guys, I’m sorry I ever dragged you into this mess. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been worried enough to follow me to Canterlot in the first place. I should’ve done this a long time ago. I’m setting out on my own.”

“Don’t be crazy, Midnight,” said Takeoff. “You’ll freeze out there!”

“Midnight, I told you it’s not your fault.” Marigold added. “There was nothing you could have done.”

“We can’t let you face this by yourself, Midnight.” Fry replied. “We’re here for you.”

“You’ve all helped me enough.” Midnight continued. “But this is something that I must bear alone. I already lost three of my friends and I’m not going to lose you three. I’ll be fine.”

“Ah doubt that.” Kodiak said. “This ahce field could go on fer hundreds of mahls. If yer gonna go alone, yer gonna at least need a hikin’ bag.”

Midnight walked over to the open compartment in the back of the plane where the outdoor supplies were crammed. He took one of the heavy saddlebags complete with survival gear and strapped it onto his back. Marigold stopped him from walking back out.

“Midnight please,” she begged. “It’s too dangerous. If you don’t freeze, there might be Workhorses out there!”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” He told her.

“Are you sure about this, dude?” asked Fry.

“You’ve all been very faithful to me and I thank you.” Midnight answered. “Now it’s time for me to fix what I’ve done.”

The three other ponies looked at each other nervously, but soon resigned looked back at their friend.

“Be careful out there, Midnight.” Takeoff said. “We can’t afford losing you.”

“We’ll miss you, Midnight,” sobbed Marigold. “Please be careful.”

“Good luck, stallion.” Fry encouraged softly.

Midnight looked back at his friends with a sincere grin and turned away from them. He wandered off into the cold white nothingness without another word.

Chapter 12: Live Bait

High Noon

“Noon! Noon, please wake up! Noon!”

Noon stirred from unconsciousness on the cold surface. The last thing he remembered was being dragged out of bed and gagged by a Workhorse. He was taken outside to where the same had happened to Andromeda and Cassiopeia. He tried to fight off the three robots that held them, but immediately one of them knocked him on the head and he went out like a light. Now he had no idea what he was waking up to. He heard Andromeda’s voice calling him and sure enough, he opened his eyes and saw her standing right by him. She put her hoof on his shoulder in concern. Noon widened his eyes to see that he was lying on crude cot nothing but a brick-like mattress. He looked around with a grunt and surveyed the dark metal walls surrounding him on three sides with a sink and toilet on one. The one side that didn’t have wall had metal bars which indicated that he was in some sort of cell. He struggled to sit up as Andromeda helped him. He ten saw Cassiopeia standing on the floor staring worriedly at him.

“Wh- ah- where are we?” he asked in a tired voice.

“I don’t know,” answered Andromeda. “Cassie and I were blindfolded and gagged on the way here.”

“Noon, I’m scared.” Cassiopeia whimpered. “I don’t want the Workhorses to hurt us.”

“Wait, the Workhorses,” he muttered shaking his head. “Oh no.”

Just then, the three ponies heard calm devious laughter coming from outside the cell. Noon got up, his head pounding, and walked up to the bars. The room outside was a large hall that was also dark and metallic. It didn’t offer much of anything different other than more jail cells which were all empty. Somewhere in the distance he could hear various sounds of machines clanging and sparking and he even saw a few flashes down the hall. The laughing was heard again and a shadow crossed the wall at the other end of the corridor. The shadow was a hideous jagged form in the general shape of a pony. But it was no pony; he revealed himself again. The dreaded Locust entered the cellblock staring menacingly at the ponies. He walked down to their cell with a fanged smile.

“So, how do you like my little outpost here?” he taunted.

“Locust, what is this all about?” demanded Noon.

“You’re so eager to know, High Noon,” replied Locust. “Why don’t you take the time to absorb your surroundings?”

“I’ve seen enough. I want to know what we’re doing here.”

“Why did you only take us?” asked Andromeda.

“Isn’t it obvious, Andromeda?” he answered. “You three are the ponies that he cares about the most.”

“Midnight? Wait, you’re using us as bait for him aren’t you?” gasped Andromeda.

“Very keen of you my dear, I’m impressed.”

“But why didn’t you take Marigold, Fry or Takeoff?” asked Noon. “They’re Midnight’s friends too.”

“Oh please, I’m sure he wouldn’t give much care for those three if I took them.”

“That’s not true,” rebutted Andromeda. “Midnight is a loyal friend and he would never abandon us!”

“Oh really? Then why wasn’t he there for you, Andromeda?”

She paused surprised. “I…I don’t…”

“Of course you don’t know. You don’t know that your trusted friend decided leave you vulnerable when he knows he has my machines after him. The whole reason I didn’t take him instead was that he was nowhere to be found. That’s very trusting if you ask me.”

Andromeda looked away and quivered her lip. Noon banged against the bars.

“Shut up you bug!” he growled. “Midnight would never neglect us! You’re sick for making him risk his life just to save us!”

“I’ll be surprised if he’ll even show up. If he does somehow, I have some plans for him that I am very anxious to get on with. But I’ll try not to get my hopes up.”

“You keep your slimy appendages off my brother you creep!”

“Hmm, I liked you better when you were asleep.”

“Midnight will be here you dummy!” scolded Cassiopeia with slight hesitation. “He’s going to save us and beat you!”

“Are you so sure about that, little filly? Because we’re in the middle of the Crystal Mountains; the winds here blow faster than anywhere else in Equestria. If Midnight does decide to rescue you, he’ll freeze to death for sure.” Locust then lifted Cassiopeia’s chin and feigned sympathy. “And the only pony who could have stopped me and saved you three will be gone forever. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before.”

“You scumbag!” exclaimed Noon. “You’re going to pay for this!”

“You should probably get some rest. That bump on your head will need some healing. For now, enjoy your stay.” He walked off chuckling to himself.

Noon seethed with anger at the changeling, but his anger ceased when he saw Andromeda sitting and facing the back corner. She appeared to be weeping silently as she buried her face in her hooves. He walked over and put his hoof around her shoulders.

“What if he’s right?” she said with a sniffle. “What if Midnight doesn’t make it? I know he couldn’t have left me back at the cabin, I know he’ll come for us. But what if he’s out there in the snow right now? He must be so cold. He must be thinking about us. I just wish I could be with him.”

“I’m sure wherever he is, he’s doing just fine.” Noon calmed her.

“Don’t worry, Andromeda,” said Cassiopeia. “Midnight will be safe and so will we.”

Andromeda turned with tear filled eyes and hugged them both. They all prepared themselves for a long wait and kept Midnight in their thoughts.

Midnight Hour

It was unbearable. The cold howling wind blasted his face with a stinging bite. He could feel ice forming on the ends of his mane and coat. The swirling snow surrounded him limiting his range of vision to only about several feet in front of him. Nonetheless, Midnight pressed on. Since he departed his friends, he had been trudging a good three hours across the snowy plain in the general direction that Kodiak had been following. Every now and then, he expected to feel a change in slope indicating that he had reached the Crystal Mountains. But the ice field seemed endless. He looked back sometimes to see his tracks in the snow which would disappear in the blizzard. He decided to hold off on the food inside his saddlebag, figuring he would have to save it for Noon, Andromeda and Cassiopeia. Slowly but surely, he forced himself to continue through the blizzard still with no sign of salvation ahead. Eventually, after relentless hiking and grunting, Midnight collapsed and fell over on his front burying his face in the snow. He panted with wheezing breath, as he simply could not find the energy to keep going. The snowfall was beginning to pile up on him and he knew he would be buried completely soon. At that moment, it felt like this was the end.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry…I’m so sorry.”

Midnight sadly whispered to nopony; he closed his eyes and waited to be entirely frozen. Then, he heard it. An eerie screech came from high above. He slowly opened his eyes and peered upward. He thought he was hallucinating when he saw a small red and yellow light circling above him. The screech he heard sounded like that of an eagle’s. Soon, the flying light descended and landed right in front of Midnight. He really thought he was going mad when he made out a large bird sitting in front of his face; especially since it appeared to be covered in flames. The bird gave him an acknowledging chirp and stuck out its leg. There was a roll of parchment paper tied to it. Midnight gathered whatever strength he had left to untie the parchment and unfurl it. He read to himself.

“Dear Midnight Hour, this is Philomena. She is my pet phoenix whom I have taken care of for many years. Let her fire warm you and her light guide you through the cold. Locust must be stopped. I have complete trust in you. Yours faithfully, Princess Celestia.”

He looked back up at the bird. It was true, it was a bona fide phoenix staring right at him and melting the snow beneath it. The warmth emanating from the bird told him that he was not delirious. But then he looked back at the letter.

“How did she know?” he asked himself.

Midnight’s delusions and grandeur came back when he gazed randomly up at the sky and envisioned Princess Celestia smiling down on him as sweetly as ever. Then he imagined the same for Noon, then Cassiopeia, then Andromeda. Tears welled up in his eyes and he gritted his teeth.

“I will find you!”

Struggling with all his might, he groaned loudly and steadily stood up on his hooves once again. He exhaled heavily trying to pump blood throughout his system. Once regaining his strength, he extended a hoof to Philomena and the flaming bird simply chirped, fluttered up and perched on his back. Immediately, Midnight’s body became overwhelmed with heat from the phoenix. He finally felt warm and reinvigorated enough to charge through the blizzard. With a huff, he galloped off into the white, Philomena warming his every muscle along the way. He had never run further or longer than any other point in his life. He carried on for what seemed like a little more than an hour all while galloping nonstop. Eventually, faint triangular outlines manifested in the distance. Midnight knew he was getting close to the Crystal Mountains. Then, he finally stopped when Philomena gave an urgent squawk. He panted while looking around for what might have spooked her. An unidentified pony silhouette up ahead caught him by surprise. It was stalking toward him at a slow walk. Midnight strained his eyes to see it clearly. Sure enough, the machine came into view. The hydraulic whirring of its legs broke the sound of the howling wind. Its visor with the thin horizontal red line stared blankly at him as it stopped and paused. Familiar to this sight, Midnight decided to tell the Workhorse off.

“Hey, you’re in my way. If you don’t have anything better to do than stand around, why don’t you go tell your master that I’m coming for him?”

As expected, the Workhorse just stared back. Then, it reared up into attack position and charged the green changeling magic within its horn. Without hesitation, Midnight bowed his head and quickly fired a burst of raw magic from his own horn. Before the Workhorse could fire, it obliterated leaving a pile of metal scrap which was encased in the snowfall. After taking in the victory, Midnight looked ahead to where the machine was coming from. In the distance, there was a single mountain jutting out from the range. Near the top of the peak, barely noticeable, there sat a gray building that looked somewhat like a fortress. At last, Midnight became elated at this sight of civilization. But he knew who exactly was responsible for the mysterious structure. A knot caught in his throat at the thought of numerous Workhorses waiting for him with Locust. Then he remembered the reason he set off on his own in the first place. The vision of his dream mare came back.

“ANDROMEDA!” he yelled at the top of his lungs in determination and galloped forth.

High Noon

Time had elapsed. It had been a couple hours after Locust revealed himself to the trio. It was still late at night and Noon, Andromeda, and Cassiopeia wanted sleep. Andromeda and her sister shared the one cot while Noon sacrificed comfort and slept sitting awkwardly on the toilet. He tried to get some rest laying his head on the back of the toilet but found himself feeling ridiculous. When it soon felt like he was finally going to fall asleep, he snapped awake hearing some quiet murmuring. He looked at the cot and saw Cassiopeia tossing and turning next to her sleeping sister. It seemed to Noon that she was having a nightmare. Sympathetically, he got up from the commode and went over to wake up the stirring filly.

“Cassie, Cassie, wake up. Are you alright?” he whispered as not to wake Andromeda.

Cassiopeia quickly opened her eyes. “Oh Noon, it was so scary! I was running through Fillydelphia and there were Workhorses everywhere! They just kept chasing me and chasing me and there was nopony else around to help me!”

Noon lightly patted her as she cried. “It was just a dream, Cassie,” he shushed. “The Workhorses won’t get you.”

“But what if Locust does something to us before Midnight comes? Or what if he keeps us in here forever?”

“I promise that won’t happen. My bro has never let me down before. Of course I don’t know why he wasn’t at the cabin to help us, but I’m sure he had a good reason. He’s always been a busy pony.”

“I hope he comes soon.”

“I do too, Cassie. But for now, why don’t you go back to sleep?”

“I’m afraid to. If I go to sleep, the Workhorses will be there. If I stay awake, I’m afraid they’ll still come and get me.”

Noon paused to think about Cassiopeia’s conundrum. Despite the situation, he was desperately tired and didn’t know how to get the paranoid filly to sleep. Then it came to him and he smiled at her.

“Here, let me show you something.” He said. “When I was your age, I had trouble falling asleep a lot. Then, Midnight showed me this wicked spell that I could use whenever I went to bed.”

“Really? What is it?”

“Take a look.” Noon bowed his head and focused the magic in his horn. He opened up a portal in front of Cassiopeia for her to see. In the portal, she saw a gorgeous white sand beach at nighttime, with blue tropical waves gently crashing against it. Cassiopeia gasped in amazement. Then, a harp appeared on the sand and began playing itself. The soothing tones of its strings resonated with the hush of the waves. To complete the scene, a wooden fence sprang up on the beach and a sheep skipped by jumping over it. Sure enough, it was followed by more sheep, one by one hopping over the fence.

“Wow!” lit up Cassiopeia.

“If this spell doesn’t get you to sleep, nothing will.” Noon replied.

“Thank you so much Noon, you’re just as amazing as Midnight.”

“Oh I don’t know about that; I’m pretty sure he’s better at magic. Sweet dreams, Cassie.”

“Good night, Noon.” She hugged him and lay back down. She drifted off to sleep at last after staring at the dreamscape. Noon sat backwards on the toilet again and dozed off as well. Somehow, in the cold clammy cell, he actually managed to get a good night’s rest. He had one of the best dreams he would ever come to recall. It began with Marigold being tied to a chair with Locust and his Workhorses surrounding her. She screamed in horror as they stepped closer and closer to the innocent earth mare. Suddenly, a wall collapsed letting in bright light. Standing at the hole in the wall was the dashing, daring, heroic, muscular High Noon in a gold tunic and red cape. Marigold was ecstatic to see him as he smiled a charming grin. Locust ordered his robots to attack but Noon was well prepared. Effortlessly he unleashed an array of lightning magic instantly stopping the Workhorses in their tracks and causing them to explode. Noon then peered over to see the weasel Locust running off frightened. In one fell swoop, Noon charged after the changeling, tackled him to the ground and encased him in a magic barrier immobilizing him entirely. The victorious unicorn then turned to his damsel in distress. He untied Marigold and lifted her on her back with his buff fore hooves. She grasped his head and smiled gratefully.

“Oh Noon, you’re my hero!” she cheered.

“I just couldn’t stand to be away from you, Marigold.” He said in a deep suave tone.

The two closed their eyes and puckered their lips. But then a third voice was heard from nowhere interrupting the dramatic kiss.

“Noon, wake up! Noon!”

In an instant, the real Noon opened his eyes and found himself pressing his lips against the toilet he sat on. He nearly gagged and jumped over to the sink to wash his mouth out. After his abrupt wakeup, he looked to see that Andromeda was the voice calling to him. She stood alert next to her little sister.

“Noon, I hear something.” She told him.

He turned off the faucet to listen carefully. There was some distant clopping against the metal floor echoing far down the cellblock.

“It’s Locust,” quivered Cassiopeia. “He’s come back to do something horrible to us!”

“It’ll be okay, Cassie,” said Andromeda. “Maybe he’s just going to give us food.”

Noon listened to the echoing steps stalk closer and closer. He squeezed his head out between the bars expecting to see Locust walking down from his right. But it seemed that the changeling lord was keeping close to the wall being obscured by shadow. Noon glared impatiently as the figure came closer than ever.

“If you’re going to torture us then at least show your ugly face!” he called out.

The figure stepped out of the shadow and revealed itself to be a smiling dark blue unicorn with a neat black mane. He was dressed in a thick winter coat with an overstuffed saddlebag on his back. His blue coat seemed to have turned paler from the frigid onslaught of snow outside. He looked at his twin brother with relieved purple eyes.

“I’m guessing you don’t want to be saved then?” joked Midnight.

“Midnight?!” exclaimed Noon.

“MIDNIGHT!” cheered Cassiopeia back to her normal jumping self. She sucked in her breath and strained as she slipped through the bars of the cell to hug her hero.

“You mean you could have escaped this whole time?!” blurted Noon.

Midnight returned Andromeda’s tight hug; he was still shivering from the brutal cold and seemed to be elated to feel the filly’s embrace. He then separated and turned back to Noon.

“We all found you three were missing back at the cabin.” He said. “We met a mountain pony who flew us up near the Crystal Mountains. But we ran out of fuel and I decided to set off on my own across the tundra to save you guys. I wasn’t going to wait another minute.”

Noon smiled back. “You are one crazy pony, bro. It’s good to see you again.” The twins grabbed each other’s hooves in a brotherly grip and hugged between the bars. Then Midnight pulled away to look at his dream mare. Andromeda simply stared smiling at him with tears welling up in her silver eyes. Without speaking, she wrapped her fore hooves around his shoulders and held him tight.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you.” He whispered trembling and tearing up as well. “I swear to Celestia I’ll never let you out of my sight again.”

“I knew you’d come.” Andromeda replied while rubbing his back. “You feel so cold.”

“The thought of you kept me going.”

She looked in his watering eyes and kissed him on the cheek; he blushed feverishly. The tearful reunion was unfortunately interrupted by a familiar chilling cackle.

“Midnight, I’m glad you could join us!” mocked Locust. “We were getting worried that you’d never show up. I have some very special plans for you.”

“I hope those plans include kicking your flank.” Midnight retorted.

“I suppose you would like to let your friends out wouldn’t you? I’m afraid they’ll have to wait. But for now, it seems that this young little fighter will be happy to join in our games.”

Cassiopeia stepped in front of Midnight trying to shield him. “Midnight’s going to save us you monster!” she scolded. ‘And he’s going to stop you for good!”

“Yes, yes, so I’ve heard.” Locust rolled his slit eyes. “You know, you’ve been quite the little chatter box. You should probably keep quiet if you don’t want to get hurt.” He leaned down to stick his face in hers. But she only responded by hocking spit in his eye. The changeling reeled back with a terrifying hiss covering his eye in agony. “You little pest!”

Locust raised his hoof above his head grimacing at Cassiopeia. But before he could bring down the striking blow to her, his hoof was stopped in midair by Midnight’s. The unicorn was returning Locust’s glare and even flared his nostrils with vengeance.

“You will not touch her!” he bellowed.

Midnight revved up his magic and aimed his horn pointblank at Locust. He blasted a gigantic beam straight at him shrouding him in white light. When the magic ceased, Locust was nowhere to be seen. Then, a mysterious black wisp floated in from above and grew in size on the floor. The wisp quickly took form and Locust appeared again smiling and unscathed.

“You thought you could destroy me like my machines?” he growled. “I am too powerful for you, Midnight! You are no match for the changeling race! And now you will pay dearly for ever entering here.”

As if on cue, a group of Workhorses marched up behind their creator. More surrounded Midnight on all sides backing him into the bars of the cell. Cassiopeia grasped his leg in fear.

“There’s nowhere you can hide, Midnight Hour.” Locust continued. “If I can’t find you, they will!”

Just then, a loud screech resonated down through the cell block. Everypony including the Workhorses looked up to see a bright flame flying in through the corridor. Philomena had arrived. The ravenous Workhorses jumped up trying to stomp down the fiery bird but Philomena managed to swerve by their metallic hooves. The phoenix flew toward Midnight and circled him and the other three ponies, even swooping cleanly through the bars. Suddenly, a bright ring began to form around the group and rose into a wall of fire. They could still hear Locust outside the ring.

“What’s going on?! Where did they go?! Get outside immediately and find them!”

The ponies looked in confusion at the flames and braced themselves for whatever would happen next.

Chapter 13: Calling In The Cavalry

The fire had disappeared. Midnight kept his eyes sealed shut in fear of what he would open them up to. Nopony made a single peep after Philomena’s wall of flame had abruptly receded. For a split second, Midnight flashed open one eye which was all he needed to see that everything around him was completely dark. There was not a sound apart from the faint shaking of nervous hooves. Then he opened both his eyes and kept them open trying to identify where he was. But he couldn’t even see Noon, Andromeda or Cassiopeia next to him, although he could definitely feel their presence. Midnight dared not move; he considered the chance that he was standing at the edge of a cliff for all he knew. The phoenix seemed to have done something to transport the ponies to who knows where. Then, Midnight jumped at the sound of a large door creaking open behind him. Quivering, he slowly turned around, as light shone on his three companions making them at last visible. Sure enough, he saw a doorway illuminated by blinding light; a large blurry silhouette was standing before it. Once again, Midnight recognized a pony like shape. His instincts had somehow told him that was usually a bad thing. But then, just as he first laid eyes on the shadow, he heard an angelic female voice from it.

“Ugh, where are those darn lights? Hold on.”

Suddenly, the talking shadow emitted another smaller bright light which floated above Midnight’s head and stuck to an unseen ceiling. Immediately the entire room was finally illuminated thanks to the ball of light. After rubbing his eyes irritated, Midnight strained to look back at the mysterious figure in the doorway. His jaw dropped.

“Welcome back, Midnight. I’m so glad to see you’re all safe.” Princess Celestia smiled.

It was a sight for sore purple eyes. Midnight was back in Canterlot Castle. And Princess Celestia herself was there to greet him warmly. But the questions only grew. How did they get there? What happened while they were gone? Where were the Workhorses? Was Canterlot safe? Why were they back anyway? He knew all of this would be answered when he stepped out of the empty stone chamber and into the castle with the Princess. Midnight was elated to see her again; so much so, that he presented her with more overly dramatic groveling. Sincerely as ever, Celestia cheered him up and led him, Noon, Andromeda and a jumping Cassiopeia through the palace. It was as if the place had never been under attack. The hallowed walls and windows were perfectly intact and the city outside looked untouched. Celestia led the four into what appeared to be a royal lounge. And to add more to Midnight’s surprise, there were three more familiar faces sitting in velvet chairs. His friends he had left up in the cold were back as well peacefully drinking tea.

“Midnight, you’re okay!” greeted Marigold.

“Fry? Marigold? Takeoff?” exclaimed Midnight. “How did you guys get here?"

“We’re not really sure.” Fry answered. “We just remember seeing the Princess’s phoenix and the next thing we know, we’re here.”

“It was carrying a note from the Princess.” Takeoff added. “It said that you were safe and that we would be brought back to the castle. So we said goodbye to Kodiak and here we are.”

Midnight looked questioningly at Celestia. “You brought them back here?”

“Yes, Midnight,” she answered. “I sent Philomena with a magic enchantment that can transport ponies from anywhere in Equestria back to Canterlot. I told her to use it for both you and your friends.”

“But how did you know we were up there?” he asked.

“I received an anonymous tip saying that you were struggling through the snow trying to save your friends. I just had to help somehow. Besides, it was time you all came back. I have some important news. Why don’t the four of you sit down and have some tea?”

Immediately, Noon rushed by Midnight and plopped onto a velvet couch. “Oh, praise Celestia!” he said as he melted in relaxation. Midnight felt embarrassed of his brother but Celestia only chuckled.

“Uh Princess, could you tell us what time it is?” asked Andromeda as she sat in a chair.

“It’s about ten o’ clock in the morning.” She answered. “It’s hard to believe you all were just here less than a day ago.”

“I can’t believe it either.” Noon replied. “My sense of time is really messed up.”

“So Princess, what is it you wanted to tell us?” asked Midnight.

“I think you will all be excited to know that I have a plan to stop Locust for good. Midnight, there is no denying that you are able to destroy the Workhorses. But I think I know how others could be as well. Noon, I understand you are skilled in magic too.”

“Oh, uh, I don’t know about that really.” Noon said reluctantly. “There’s not that much that I know.”

“It’s not about how much you know, Noon,” sympathized Celestia. “It’s about what you can do. You may not be able to dismantle a Workhorse, but you are Midnight’s twin. Your magic is just as powerful as his.”

“Well, I appreciate you making me feel better, your majesty.” Noon humbled.

“It’s true, Noon!” cheered Cassiopeia. “I told you were just as amazing as Midnight.”

“And that is what makes you a valuable asset to this plan.” Celestia continued. “Unicorn twins are able to transmit each other’s magic. And with the ability you both share, this can be powerful enough to spread to other unicorns. Therefore, I think we have the necessity to create a magical army big enough to conquer the Workhorses.” Celestia’s words were starting to sound familiar to Midnight. “You see, when the machines stormed the city yesterday, my guards and I were able to hold them off since Locust had disappeared suddenly. He must have vanished up to the north where you were. After the battle, I received the message that you were in the north and the idea came with it. Locust has set up an outpost in the San Palomino desert where the Workhorses are being made. I have learned that he keeps the robots under control through a changeling spell that he maintains at all times. If we can find a way to seize Locust and stop that spell, the Workhorses will be useless. But there will definitely be many of them there, which is why I want Midnight and Noon to lead this army against them.”

“So let me get this straight,” said Noon. “If my bro and I channel our magic between us, then we’ll all be able to destroy the machines?”

“That’s the idea.” Celestia replied. “We just have to figure out how Midnight will cease Locust’s spell. If I’m right, he’ll have to destroy him entirely.”

“I don’t think it’ll be enough to destroy him, Princess.” Midnight told her. “It’s one thing to stop changeling magic but it’s another thing to take an actual changeling. He’s too powerful even for me.”

“Then what do you suggest to do to him?” asked Andromeda.

Midnight paused to consider this. If he couldn’t destroy Locust’s clock, what could he do? After dealing with a clock all his life, he thought he wouldn’t have trouble figuring this out. And then it came to him. There were a couple things that he had learned as a colt from his father, Dusk. While teaching him the ways of restarting the clock, Dusk told him about a powerful time spell that gave the user the ability to travel forward in time. Although he gave Midnight the proper magic words, he warned him to never use the spell as it would drain his energy to near death. Then, when Dusk taught him about changeling magic, he mentioned that their spells had a time limit that could last for years. The pieces were coming together in Midnight’s head. He wouldn’t have to kill Locust, he would just have to push him to his limit.

“There’s a spell that I learned a long time ago.” He finally said to the group. “It can transport a pony and anypony around them to sometime in the distant future; but only for a short minute. Here’s what I’m thinking. If I can get to Locust face to face, I can use the spell to send the both of us to the future. I learned from my father that changeling magic runs out after a certain amount of time. It could be a few years or it could be centuries. Either way, this spell should be enough to run out Locust’s spell on the Workhorses. All I need is that short minute in the future and all the machines will shutdown. I just hope I’ll be okay on the way back to present.”

“This spell seems awfully risky.” Celestia responded. “Do you remember how it goes?”

He paused to clear his memories again. “Yes, but the effects can hazardous to the user.”

“I think it’ll be safe enough for a pony of your ability.” Celestia encouraged.

“Midnight, are you sure about this?” asked Andromeda worried. “It sounds dangerous.”

“Yeah bro, we don’t want to lose you again like in the Crystal Mountains.” Noon added.

“Don’t worry about me.” Midnight replied. “I said it before and I’ll say it again, this is my burden.”

“No way bro, it’s mine too.” Noon smiled.

“Mine too.” Marigold added.

“Mine too.” Fry sat up.

“Same here, we haven’t been of much use to you, Midnight.” Takeoff said. “Princess, I have an idea, if I may. These Workhorses are tough flyers. So I suggest leading an armada of airships against any of them attacking from above. I will gladly volunteer for that job.”

“Are you sure you are up to this, Takeoff?” asked Celestia.

“Positive, I know friends in high places in the airship business. We can give a lift to some of the unicorns where they can take out any airborne robots. It’ll be the perfect air support.”

“Takeoff, that’s awfully noble of you.” Midnight said. “Are you sure you’re not just trying to show off?”

“Hilarious, Midnight, but I’m doing this to save your skin. You can count on me.”

“And you can count on me.” Fry assured. “I know I haven’t been much help for you and that I can’t really do much anyway. But I want to help you sneak into Locust’s fortress. I can’t be useless all the time.”

“Fry, you’ve been a loyal friend.” Midnight smiled. “There’s nothing useless about that.”

“Whatever happens, Midnight,” said Andromeda. “Cassie and I will be there for you to bail you out.” Cassiopeia nodded.

“And I’ll be there for you, Noon,” Marigold smiled at Midnight’s brother. “I guess I should return the favor for saving my life.”

Noon blushed and averted his eyes with a sheepish smile.

Midnight looked at everypony with his eyes almost tearing up. “You guys are too good to me. I’m glad to call you all my friends.”

“Friendship is a magical thing, Midnight.” Celestia said. “Now, why don’t we all eat?”

It was then that a royal guard opened a door leading to a long dinning room. Sitting upon the clothed table was enough breakfast food to feed all of Canterlot. Waffles, pancakes, buttered and jellied toast, hash browns, doughnuts, muffins, éclairs, croissants, baguettes, apple and orange juices, tea, coffee, hot cocoa, all crowded the tabletop. Stir Fry was nearly moved to tears.

“So hungry…too beautiful…for words!” he uttered.

The tired, aching, hungry ponies felt at home in Celestia’s custody. They joined her in the dinning hall for breakfast and stuffed themselves with just about everything on the table. She then led the group to the guest house where they were happy to see the streets empty of any robots or maniacal changelings this time. Celestia had her servants treat them to lunch and dinner throughout the day and they were given only the most comfortable accommodations in Canterlot. Despite the impending danger, it was paradise. Later after dinner, Midnight spoke to Celestia privately in her throne room. The two stared out a window at a sunset over the far horizon.

“You wanted to speak to me, Midnight?” she inquired.

“Princess, there was something that happened when we were hiding out in the cabin by Neighagra Falls.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Well, this might be strange to hear but, I was visited in the woods by Nightmare Moon.”

Celestia only nodded not seeming the least bit surprised. “I know. She’s the one who told me you were there.”

“You mean she talked to you?!”

“She still does. Occasionally, she’ll drop in just to mock me. But she also gives information on events in Equestria that I could not foresee. She’s told me about the first Workhorse you destroyed which brought you to my attention. Ironic, isn’t it? The most feared being in Equestria helped to stop a threat to this land. My sister may be misguided, but she can actually be useful sometimes.”

“She mentioned something else. She said that the only reason that I’m able to destroy the Workhorses is because of her. The moon creates destructive influence, and since I’ve been using its power for years I posses some of that power. I guess I’m not really that strong.”

“It is true that Luna has had some influence on your magic ability. But even if you weren’t able to destroy the machines, you would still be just as powerful. I told you that you have a gift. Your family’s magic is of the best I’ve ever seen. Your children, and your children’s children, will be lucky to inherit it from you.”

“So, do you still think I’ll be able to stop Locust?”

“I am more than confident of that. But the real question is do you think you can?”

Midnight stared for a moment then grinned at her. “I know I can. I know I will.”

She returned his smile. “You are a very brave and strong pony, Midnight. I am honored to call you my friend.” Celestia put her hoof on Midnight’s shoulder and continued to marvel the scenery with him.

Chapter 14: Pony Vs Machine

This was it, the day had come. Princess Celestia gave Midnight and his pals a full week to recover from their ordeal. During this time, the ruler of the sun recruited her entire unicorn army in preparation for the battle against Locust. But she knew they would not be enough to stand against the multiplying Workhorses. It wasn’t long before civilian unicorns from all over Canterlot volunteered for the crusade. Midnight was surprised to see the diversity in this group of minuteponies. Some were expert magic crafters but most hardly knew anything else other than levitation. There were stallions who had seen many years, and colts who hadn’t yet seen enough; there were even mares who participated. But theses ponies all had one thing in common: they were willing to fight for Equestria. Meanwhile, Celestia helped Takeoff organize an aerial assault using a fleet of airships, whose crews had also volunteered from Cloudsdale. Midnight tried to relax with his friends throughout the week, but he knew in the back of his mind that he would soon be risking his life at the end of it. When the day finally came, Celestia summoned every volunteer unicorn to assemble on the plaza outside the castle. She stood before the crowd next to Midnight. To him, it seemed like all of Canterlot was there to see him. They looked eagerly at him and waited to hear him speak; some groups were whispering to each other. He surveyed the massive crowd trying to find the right words to address them with. Then he sighed and spoke loud enough for everypony to hear.

“Ponies of Canterlot, today you will take part in changing the fate of Equestria. The cause for all of the dreaded machines called Workhorses is a powerful changeling named Locust; he is extremely dangerous. He operates the production of these robots in the San Palomino Desert. It is my sole duty to bring down this enemy personally. But there will be more Workhorses there than any of us have seen so far, and I cannot face Locust with them guarding him. That is where you all come in. With the help of my brother Noon, we will transfer each other’s magic to all of you which will make you able to destroy the Workhorses just as I can. This will only happen once we face the machines head on outside Locust’s fortress. Some of you will aim your magic at any flying Workhorses from airships, controlled by the Pegasus volunteers of Cloudsdale. Once the way is clear, I will then sneak into the fortress and defeat Locust which will leave all of the machines useless. This is a risky move and we may never get another chance like this again. I cannot say whether you will come out of this battle without a few scratches and bruises. But know this, you will not be expendable. Each and every one of you will play an important part in saving everypony is Equestria. You will be remembered for your brave effort. We will go and fight no matter what it takes; for the Princess and for all of Equestria!”

The crowd of ponies cheered and whinnied with applause with some rearing back on their hind legs flailing their forelegs in the air. Then they chanted his name.

“MIDNIGHT HOUR! MIDNIGHT HOUR! MIDNIGHT HOUR!”

He didn’t know what to make of the inspiring sight. He turned to Celestia who simply looked encouragingly at him. Midnight turned back to his audience and waved to them with a smile.

At last, they were underway. Celestia had finally reopened the main railroad leading out of Canterlot and the makeshift army rode in multiple trains toward the southwest. The royal guards kept watch over the railed convoy in case of any prowling Workhorses. A short while after departing, the trains rode through the town of Ponyville where the citizens cheered them on in the streets as they passed. After parading through the last sign of civilization before the desert, they then chugged around the dreaded Everfree Forest and the Ghastly Gorge. This was the final detour before entering the edge of the San Palomino Desert. Midnight rode in the lead train with his friends, with the exception of Takeoff who was behind leading the airship assault. While Noon, Marigold and Fry were in another car, Midnight sat in silence with Andromeda and Cassiopeia in the caboose. He gazed out the window at the setting sun which indicated the long hours he had been riding. He was itching and fidgety ready for any kind of action that would come his way. The long wait made him ache with anticipation of the conflict that would ensue later on. Andromeda put a hoof on his twitching leg.

“Are you okay?” she asked with a look of concern.

“I’ll be fine.” He answered simply. “I just want to face that scoundrel and put an end to this mess for good. This whole battle shouldn’t have to happen, if I had just defeated him back at that prison in the mountains.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Midnight. This will all be worth it once you come back. You are planning on coming back aren’t you?”

Midnight thought about this for a second. He wasn’t entirely sure how the time spell would affect him. It was a dangerous feat and he knew there was the possibility that he would never come back alive after using it, or come back at all. Suddenly, everything around seemed so real as if he was living the last few hours of his life. Andromeda never looked so beautiful to him before. He gave her a smile.

“Of course.”

“Midnight,” said Cassiopeia softly. “When you come back, can you perform that spell again, the one you did at my birthday party?”

Midnight took her under his hoof. “I promise, Cassie, you’re definitely going to see some fireworks later.”

The trains stopped. They had officially crossed the geographical border of the San Palomino Desert and already they could see a looming shape far off in the distance. The information given by Princess Celestia said that it was Locust’s base of operations; the fortress where the menacing Workhorses were assembled. It was too far away to make out any details, but the structure seemed to be a towering black spire that stuck out like a thorn in the cracked desert ground. The sun was just nearly completely hidden by the horizon and the sky in the direction of the fortress had become clogged with stormy black clouds with a reddish haze. After exiting the trains, the army of unicorns gathered in a mass walking slowly toward the nightmarish scene. Midnight and Noon hugged their friends in a tearful goodbye before joining at the front of the mass; Marigold even laid a long loving kiss on Noon’s lips. As the twins set off leading the militia behind them, the imposing fortress became bigger and bigger as they approached closer to it. To keep spirits up, Noon spoke to his brother.

“You know, bro, you’ve come a long way from staying up every night on a roof.”

“And here I thought I was nothing special. I mean, who else can say that they’re going to save Equestria from a deranged changeling with his twin brother?”

“Do you remember what Mom used to tell us about when we were born? ‘A unicorn is powerful, two are even stronger…”

“‘But two at the same time just mean trouble.’”

The brothers laughed together with nostalgia for living as foals with Dawn and Dusk. But they felt anxious as they faced the black spire in the distance.

“Listen, Midnight,” sighed Noon. “I just want to let you know. Whatever happens here, it’s been a privilege fighting with you.”

“It’s been a privilege to call you my brother, Noon.” Midnight grinned.

Just then, the twins spotted something vague around the area of the fortress. It looked like a sea of silver, but Midnight knew better. It was the army of Workhorses waiting for them. There were far more of them than he had seen back in Canterlot that fateful day. The metal battalion stretched wide across the dry craggy plain standing motionless. The unicorns stopped in their steps to marvel at the dreaded sight. A knot tied in Midnight’s stomach.

On a prominent balcony high up on the fortress, Locust stepped out to survey the battle scene. He smiled a fanged smile as he spotted the army of unicorns in the distance. Then he looked straight down upon his prized mechanical destroyers. With a slight cackle, he gave but one simple order.

“Workhorse…KILL!”

Before anypony could say a word, the hoard of machines began to charge forth toward them shaking the desert like an earthquake. Midnight glared and on impulse, he galloped forward facing the robotic defense. Noon followed close behind along with the rest of the unicorns galloping at a heart racing pace. They charged for what seemed like an eternity toward the impending Workhorses. Before it began to seem hopeless, Midnight heard a faint roaring form above. He quickly peered up to see a formation of several enormous airships floating across the blackened sky toward the mechanical mass. Now refilled with hope, Midnight faced the machines and uttered a spell.

“When the sun goes down and is out of sight, and everypony’s eyes are filled with fright, as the sky is darkened and void of light, LET FIRE SOAR AND GLOW IN THE NIGHT!”

Immediately, his horn gave off a blinding light that shone brighter than he had ever seen it glow; it even emitted from his eyes and mouth. Then he saw Noon charging his own magic and sure enough, the light spread to his horn and separated off him toward the unicorns. Each and every one of them received the light which glowed off their horns. The Workhorses were just seconds away from collision when at last, Midnight’s fire spell shot out from the hundreds of unicorns as they finally clashed with their foe. A deafening crash was heard as they charged through the machines with the fireworks decimating them at pointblank. Everywhere around Midnight, loud colorful explosions burst from the ground and metal parts began to shower over him. As the fiery bursts shot out from all around him, he saw the severed heads and limbs of the Workhorses flying around him. Some of the mechanical pieces scratched and cut his coat as he pressed forward. Every step he took, he feared it would be his last before taking a serious fall. Hoping to regain vigor, he looked up at the sky again and sure enough, the blinding light was reaching toward the airships and more fireworks blasted from their gondolas. Throughout the carnage, the unicorns had slowed down from a head-on charge to a firm standoff with the Workhorses continuing to pelt them with their pyrotechnic assault. Shouts were heard over the bombardment.

“Watch out!”

“There’s one on your side!”

“Stay on the left!”

“We need cover over here!”

“Nice shot!”

Midnight stood back to back with Noon shooting down the Workhorses that circled them. He put everything he had into focusing his magic; any major slipup and he would break the magic connection causing everypony to lose their fire. All around him, it seemed that they were making excellent progress since there were no casualties to be seen. The battle ensued for over an hour but it felt like a lifetime. Eventually, the Workhorse army had diminished a great amount. Only a thin crescent of the machines remained to defend the fortress from the magic casting invasion. Midnight was growing battle weary and doubted he would even make it to face off with Locust. Suddenly, he heard a rumbling boom and then his brother yell.

“Midnight! Help!”

He turned to see Noon buried under of pile of Workhorse parts with only his head and fore hooves poking out underneath. Midnight tried to push the scrap metal off of him, but the heap would not budge.

“Bro, behind you!” shouted Noon.

A quick turnaround showed Midnight three airborne Workhorses sailing straight toward him low over the desert surface. The trapped unicorn under the pile of dismembered robots seemed like the perfect target for the three intact ones. Midnight held his ground in front of his incapacitated brother and fired at will bringing down one Workhorse. But the other two were gaining fast, and as he shot down the second one, it was too late for him to defeat the third. Noon seemed as good as doomed. Before he could dive onto his brother for protection, Midnight saw a bright green blur pass in front of him. He thought it was the inevitable blast from the Workhorse’s horn. But waiting for more than three seconds told him that he was still alive and so was Noon. He opened his closed eyes to see that the flying mechanical pony was gone from the air and was now lying on its side, fidgeting on the cracked ground. Standing atop it was a triumphant pony who had apparently knocked the machine out of the air just in the nick of time. But oddly enough, it wasn’t one of the unicorns; it was Marigold. Midnight stood with his mouth agape staring at the earth mare smiling at him. Then she hurried over to lift the heavy metal off of her hero stallion. Midnight helped her and soon the pile cleared enough for Noon to get back on his feet. He hobbled a bit with Marigold helping him up.

“Marigold?!” exclaimed Noon. “What are you doing here?”

“Takeoff landed close by and he dropped me off to search for you.” She answered and turned to the other twin. “Midnight, you guys did it. Now that most of the Workhorses are out of commission, it’s safe to take you to the fortress.”

Midnight blinked with surprise. He didn’t expect this part of the plan to come so soon. He looked at the blazing battle up ahead and debated whether to comply with Marigold or not. Then he turned to Noon who looked slightly dizzy from standing up.

“It’s alright, bro,” he said softly. “I’ll be fine here. I’ll take over the fire spell for you and keep the magic flowing.”

Noon then channeled the magic from his brother and almost fell on his knees as he took full control of the fire spell. He then smiled at Midnight.

“Now you go kick that changeling’s sorry flank for me, Nightshift!”

Without a word, Midnight hugged his twin and let him charge off back to the chaos finishing off the downed Workhorse along the way. After watching head off, Midnight followed Marigold away from the direction of the battle. Up ahead, a smaller airship that could fit no more than several ponies was resting on the ground. Standing beside it was a familiar red Pegasus ready to greet the two.

“You ready to do this thing?” asked Takeoff joyfully.

“I hope so.” Midnight replied.

“Where’s Noon?”

“…He’s doing just fine.”

“That doesn’t really answer my question, but okay.”

Midnight took one last heartfelt look back at the siege in the distance and climbed onboard the airship with Marigold. Phase one was complete; next came phases two and three.

Chapter 15: An Encounter Through Time

The jagged black tower loomed into view as the airship sailed through the coal black sky. Further away, the rest of the armada continued to blast the flying Workhorses out of their flight giving the smaller dirigible a clear path to Locust’s fortress. Below, the epic conflict between the fire wielding unicorns and their robotic foes ensued; there seemed to be no trouble as the Workhorses’ numbers dwindled. Midnight looked down at the battle in awe; the fighting had left his blue coat slightly blackened with fire residue and even some of his mane had been singed. Takeoff steered the airship with Marigold standing by. Sitting at a lone table was Stir Fry looking over a large paper littered with rough sketches. Midnight looked over his shoulder at his diagrams. There was a crude drawing of the fortress with various cross sections and labels indicating the interior.

“I’m glad to see you’re okay, Midnight.” Fry said. “While you were out fighting, I took the liberty of analyzing the fortress from nearby. I think I’ve mapped the place out so that we’ll be able to find Locust easily. We can enter through this open balcony and make our way through these corridors here which lead to his study.”

Midnight was stunned. “Fry, how do you know so much about architecture?”

“What? You thought cooking was my only talent? There’s not much use for that here. Besides, I became interested in architecture after figuring how to sneak into Appetizer’s to make off with a few snacks.”

“And how is that the same principle as breaking into a massive changeling fortress built and secured by robotic ponies?”

“Relax, I have my methods.”

“You’re weird, Fry.”

They approached closer and closer to the spire fortress that scraped the clouds. Midnight could now see a large platform jutting out from one side high up on the tower. Takeoff lowered the airship to its level and turned so that the door faced the balcony. Marigold opened the airship’s door and Midnight and Fry prepared to step out.

“This is it!” called back Takeoff. “We’ll be here for you two when the job is done. Midnight, give him one for me.”

“Will do, Takeoff,” replied Midnight. “Thanks for the lift.”

“Good luck Midnight.” Marigold hugged him before he and Fry stepped onto the metal balcony. They looked back at the airship as it cruised off.

“Well let’s get a move on.” Fry announced as he started off toward an open doorway leading into the fortress. “You’ve got a changeling to take down.”

“Lead the way, Mr. Architect.” Midnight gestured.

The two stallions stormed off inside. Although half expecting to find Workhorses patrolling the inside, there wasn’t a single sign of them in the metal halls. The dark industrial interior reminded Midnight of the prison back in the Crystal Mountains. He and Fry proceeded to the right down the dank corridor taking cautious steps in case of any mechanized security guards. Lighted only Midnight’s horn, Fry led him down numerous twisting and turning halls; he stopped often to get his bearings. Midnight was surprised at his earth pony friend’s apparent knack for figuring out the interior of such a structure just from hypothesis. It was a wonder why his cutie mark wasn’t a building blueprint.

“Fry, are you sure you know where we’re going?” asked Midnight.

“Trust me on this.” Fry answered. “With the Workhorses being beaten back, Locust is sure to be hiding in a more secure room.”

Up a long hallway, a distant clanging sound was heard. The two ponies followed the clanging which became louder and was accompanied by sparking and mechanical whirring. They came to a large observation window which viewed an enormous metal room. Inside, there was a production line moving metal forms which were added with other similar parts by automated arms along the conveyor belt. Midnight widened his eyes with shock upon realizing that the metal forms were being made into Workhorses.

“Dear Celestia!” exclaimed Fry. “This is where they’re being made!”

“Those robots outside weren’t the only ones;” added Midnight. “He’ll just send in more and more waves.”

“That’s all the more reason to stop him. We’re gonna find Locust and you’ll knock him into next week; or however far that spell of yours takes you.” Fry chuckled lightly.

“Let’s keep going, he can’t hide forever.”

Almost instantly, Midnight stopped himself from running off when he heard a familiar cackle echoing through the corridor. As expected, he saw a gnarled shadow pass over the far wall before the hated changeling lord entered into view. He stalked toward the two ponies wearing his usual grizzly smile. He kept laughing with increasing volume and maniacal joy as he stared daggers at his nemesis. Both Midnight and Fry glared at Locust.

“Did you really think it would be that easy?” boomed the changeling. “Did you think that was all the machine power I had to offer? I told you before, Midnight Hour, and I’ll tell you again. I’ll just make more of my magnificent Workhorses no matter how big an army you manage to scrap together. I am unstoppable!”

“It ends now, Locust!” scolded Midnight. “From this moment on, Equestria will no longer suffer from your soulless machinery. It’s over for you!”

“Oh such confidence from such an eager pony; it’s truly touching.” Locust mocked. “But has it yet occurred to you that you have just risked your pathetic country by setting hoof in my base of operations? Once I destroy you, Equestria will have no precious savior to defeat my machines. I admire your bravery, Midnight, but your intelligence leaves much to be desired.”

“Hey listen you slime,” seethed Fry. “Midnight here is more powerful than you’ll ever be. And he’s going to stop your toys once and for all.”

“And just who are you to stand up to me, commoner?”

“My name is Stir Fry, bug.”

“Stir Fry?” scoffed Locust. “I would have expected a typical earth pony to have such a ridiculous name. You’re not worth the trouble blasting out of existence. You’ll just have to stand back and watch as your friend falls.”

“I’d like to see you try, scumbag.” Midnight retorted.

With a slight chuckle, Locust sealed his eyes and strained. Midnight watched in disgust as a long jagged horn grew from the changeling’s forehead. Immediately, it began to glow a toxic green.

“Are you ready to pay for your actions, Midnight?” he taunted.

Midnight only responded by charging his own horn and taking aim. But suddenly, Locust disappeared in a burst of black and green flame. Darting around in anticipation, Midnight heard Fry shout to him.

“Midnight, look out!”

A loud whoosh was heard and Midnight turned around to face the fiend. With an excited hiss, Locust fired his sickly magic at him. But before Midnight could match his fire, something flew in from the side of his view. He flinched then looked back to see what had gotten in the crossfire. To his horror, he saw Fry thrashing on the floor with the changeling magic encasing him. The earth pony yelled in agony as the green aura zapped his every fiber. After several grueling seconds, Locust ceased his magic and Fry lay motionless on the cold metal floor with his eyes shut.

“Stir Fry!” shouted Midnight as he hurried over to his fallen friend. He rolled Fry over and held his head up. Much of his coat had been singed from the horrifying electrocution and he twitched slightly making hushed grunts of pain.

“Oh dear me,” sulked Locust sarcastically. “It’s a pity my magic had to be wasted on such a meager undeserving soul. No matter, at least the two of us have no more distractions.”

Ignoring Locust’s teasing, Midnight held Fry close as he trembled with tears welling up.

“Fry, I’m so sorry buddy,” he pleaded. “I never wanted you to get hurt! This was supposed to be my burden!”

Groaning, Fry managed to open his eyes halfway for his friend. “Midnight,” he said in low breath. “Don’t stop now. Use the spell. Just do it. Don’t…worry about me. This is about you and the rest of Equestria. Do it now, stallion, I know you can.” Fry’s glassy eyes closed. Midnight touched his neck and felt that his heartbeat was still pulsing, but only at a decreasing rate. He hugged his friend as he tried to fight back the water in his eyes.

“Don’t mourn him, Midnight,” continued Locust. “He was nothing more than a commoner and he didn’t deserve your friendship. You’re too powerful for that. He wouldn’t understand.”

Midnight carefully laid Fry back on the floor and slowly wiped the tears from both his eyes. He then opened them and grimaced vengefully at Locust. Without taking the time to find the right words, he let out a furious roar. The magic within his horn shone brightly as he prepared to initiate the risky time spell. He bowed his head keeping his eye on Locust. But the changeling saw right through his intent and immediately teleported again within his black and green wisp. Midnight looked around at random until he saw Locust appear to his left. He prepared to fire, but hesitated when the changeling disappeared once again. This continued several times all while Midnight recited the words for the spell hoping he would be able to catch Locust when he was done.

“Leaving the present, leaving the past,”

Locust appeared to his right. He aimed but came up with no target.

“Time goes on, and forever lasts,”

Another teleportation to the left and he failed again to keep steady.

“Wherever it may be, whether far or near,”

Locust manifested in front of him as he took aim once again.

“Take me to the future, and away from here!”

Midnight raised his fore hooves ready to charge, but Locust only disappeared again. But Midnight knew better. He quickly turned around and caught the changeling behind him, tackling him to the floor just in time to fire the spell. Locust hissed in shock as the unicorn magic quickly began to swirl around them. Midnight looked around, still pinning him to the floor, as everything around him changed at an alarming rate. He could no longer see Fry’s body or the Workhorse assembly line. The metal walls gave way to fleeting images of different places throughout Equestria with fast motion events taking place, moving too fast to comprehend. The only sounds were various random voices back meshed together resulting in unintelligible gibberish. At one point, Midnight recognized the city of Fillydelphia and then Canterlot and other places he recalled visiting at some time in his life. As he gazed at the images with the trapped changeling underneath his hooves, he suddenly felt weaker and weaker; he assumed it was the spell draining him of his energy. At long last, the passing scenes were interrupted by a blinding white light encasing him. After a brief moment of feeling suspended in the air, Midnight finally dropped onto what felt like soft grass. He opened his weary eyes to see that, in fact, he was lying on his front in the middle of a grassy yard. Peering around, he saw a clear sunny blue sky above him, and a wide open landscape around. Ahead was a peaceful looking town not too far away. He found the place serene, but knew there was one thing missing. Struggling with all his might, he pushed himself off the ground and managed to stand up unstably. Then he spotted him. Locust had been lying in the grass right in front of him all along. The changeling seemed to be near unconscious as he lay on his side wheezing tiredly. Midnight thought he had done it; he had weakened the mighty bug and put an end to the Workhorses’ spell. Before deciding what to make of this moment, a shadow appeared in the top edge of his sight. He looked above the dazed changeling and saw a pony standing by him; he had never seen this new face before. It was a unicorn mare seeming to be just about his age and had a lavender purple coat and matching eyes. Her mane and tail were a darker shade of purple with a pink stripe leading downward. Her cutie mark seemed to be a twinkling diamond shaped star. This mare looked at Midnight with curiosity and awe; he figured this would be an appropriate reaction to seeing a pony covered in cuts, bruises, burn marks and a matted mane. She stared at him intently before noticing the panting Locust on the ground. A look of shock and confusion overcame her as she turned back to Midnight with question in her eyes. He knew she deserved some explaining and he opened his mouth to so. But before he could utter a word, he noticed the blinding light looming in from behind him. He darted his head in confusion as the light grew. Then it hit him; the spell was retracting. He had forgotten that he could only stay in the future for just a minute. He looked back in desperation at the mare as the magic enveloped him. He stretched out his hoof and she copied his gesture. But that was the last he saw of her. Quickly, the fleeting images came back surrounding Midnight and the limp Locust at a much faster speed. His fatigue became replaced by racing anticipation. Before long, the light returned suspending him in motion and dropping the pony and the changeling this time on a cold floor. Midnight felt weaker than ever. He could barely make out what was around him this time with his vision beginning to blur and fade. The last thing he could make out lying there on the steely surface was a small pink form running up to him. It seemed to be a filly, but he could not process the image before finally closing his eyes and fading out. Midnight left one last thought concerning whether or not he would wake up again.

Chapter 16: Midnight's Revelation

“…hmm…apple…apple pie…clock…f- f- fire magic…wasn’t…lose you…”

Memories crossed his mind at a frantic rate. They were recent but he felt as though they happened years ago, more years than he had ever lived. He had not a single idea how he had fallen from consciousness in the first place, but he did not want to climb back. All he knew for sure was that his last memory before falling was too much to take and it happened too fast for his own comprehension. He also recalled his second to last memory not being as fast but was even more dreadful; this memory, whatever it was, caused him to fall so weak. With every ounce of willpower he had in his half sleeping state, he tried not to let himself wake up fearing that a new bad memory would torment him if he did. The more he thought about preventing himself, the closer he was to getting back to reality. He even whined softly as his senses gradually came back. The first thing he felt was being hot on the outside and cold on the inside; he sweated and shivered at the same time. He was lying on a soft flat surface and slightly rolling on his sides in torment. Now the only reminder of his deep sleep was the fact that his eyes were still sealed. It was too much for Midnight. He uttered a quiet yelp when he felt something touch his cheek. But his nerves settled once the touch felt warm and gentle. In an instant, the cold he had inside began to meld with the heat he felt outside; the heat and cold mixed together to create a comfortable warmth. After slowing down his breathing, he finally decided now was the time to open his scared eyes. Midnight’s vision was fuzzy and it took him some time to adjust to his surroundings. Wherever he was, it was bright and the air smelled of something strange and artificial; it was oddly silent. He noticed himself lying on his back on what felt like soft sheets with a blanket covering him. His sight began to recover and already he began to make out what was touching his cheek. To his left was a brightly colored form; it was pink with a hint of purple at the top. Suddenly, it began to look pony-like. At last, Midnight’s vision cleared up enough for him to see a familiar little pink Pegasus filly sitting beside him on the bed and smiling at him. Somehow, he started to feel safe again, that is until Cassiopeia wrapped her hooves around him tightly.

“Midnight! You’re back!” she cheered loudly.

It was a miracle. Midnight had woken up and his favorite little filly was there to greet him. He managed to find the strength to lift his left hoof and return her hug; he smiled with disbelief.

“I was so worried you wouldn’t wake up.” Cassiopeia said pulling away.

“Cassie,” uttered Midnight with a pause. “It’s so good to see you again.”

Then he turned his head to face forward. He saw that he was lying in a bed in what appeared to be a hospital room, with curtains and medical equipment around him. He looked at the open door in front of his bed to see somepony standing in it. It was the white lavender mare he had missed dearly staring at him with relieved silver eyes.

“Andromeda! Andromeda!” burst Cassiopeia. “Midnight’s back! Look! He’s okay!”

“I see him, Cassie,” replied Andromeda. “I’ve never been happier to see him.”

She walked into the room over to Midnight’s side and hugged him softly. They held their embrace for half a minute before she pulled away.

“You did it.” She said. “You really did it.”

“I couldn’t have without you in my head.” He grinned.

“Takeoff flew us over to the fortress to rescue you.” Andromeda continued. “When we arrived, we found you, Fry and Locust lying in a hall somewhere. Cassie was so scared, she ran over to try and wake you up. We took you back to Canterlot and put you in the hospital. You’ve been asleep for a whole day, and Cassie here never left your side.”

Midnight turned to the ecstatic sitting cutely next to him. “Thanks, Cassiopeia.” He said. She responded with a peck on his cheek. It was then that he noticed three more familiar faces standing in the doorway excited to see him. Noon, Marigold, and Takeoff stormed in cheering.

“Midnight, you’re okay!”

“Well look whose back in action!”

“Rise and shine, bro!”

Midnight turned to face his companions; he noticed that Noon was walking with a left front leg cast and a crutch. “Well now what happened to you?” he asked.

“Oh this?” replied Noon. “Don’t worry about it; just a little battle wound. But I should ask how you’re doing.”

“I’m just fine; especially since you’re all here.” He paused to consider something that he was missing. “Wait, where’s Stir Fry?”

All the ponies looked at each other before Marigold spoke. “I think you better come see for yourself.”

They helped Midnight climb off the bed and get to his hooves. Surprisingly, he managed to walk steadily without any strain. His friends led him out the door and into a long hallway. The numbered rooms and posted medical charts made it clear to him that this was definitely a hospital. They approached the door right across the hall from Midnight, who gulped as his friends opened it. He stepped inside slowly and saw what was lying on the bed.

“Midnight! You’re okay!”

Fry was lying covered in casts and bandages as he greeted Midnight elatedly. His right front hoof and left rear hoof were suspended by splints but nonetheless, he kept a happy composure. Midnight hurried over to his side and hugged him tightly.

“Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! STOP!” yelped Fry in pain.

“Oops, sorry.” Midnight let go and shrugged. “How are you feeling?”

“Never better;” replied Fry still joyfully. “Even though that changeling blast made me lose all the feeling in my bones and my muscles are slowly painfully regaining mass and the doctor said there was a one in five hundred chance that I would survive, I feel alright!”

“I thought I lost you, pal.”

“I told you, Midnight, I have my methods.”

Midnight prepared for another hug but only made Fry cringe. Instead, he shook his friend’s hoof. The others entered and joined them.

“It’s good to have you back, Midnight.” Noon said.

“I was going to say the same for you.” He replied and the two brothers slapped each other’s hooves.

“Hey Midnight, there’s somepony else here to see you.” Takeoff interrupted.

Midnight turned to the door where Takeoff was gesturing. Marigold walked in leading somepony in. And there next to her was Princess Celestia herself. The majestic alicorn stepped up to the bedside to face Midnight. After a still silence, she spoke.

“I’m so glad to see you made it, Midnight.”

Before Midnight could bend down to bow to her, she grasped him in yet another hug. He felt her radiant royal energy against him and returned her embrace. He pulled away to talk to her.

“Princess Celestia, I can’t thank you enough for helping me with this task. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“It was my honor, Midnight. And I think you’ll be happy to know that your plan worked. I arrived to the battle with your friends to make sure you came out safe. Once I got there, I saw Noon and the rest of the army cheering for my arrival and that the Workhorses were completely motionless. Locust’s spell had been broken, and it’s all thanks to you.”

“It wouldn’t be without my friends’ help. Wait, what happened to Locust anyhow?”

“We took him while he was unconscious and placed him in a cell in Canterlot castle until we can banish him back to the land of the changelings. By the way, Midnight, I would like to see you at the castle soon. There is something I would like to discuss with you.”

After the doctors gave him the okay to leave the hospital, Midnight went over to Canterlot Castle to meet the Princess alone. He experienced a bit of deja-vu walking back to the familiar palace and reflected on the day about a week ago when he first came to it. He felt silly for thinking that Celestia would summon him for punishment in the first place. As he walked through the castle, the guards and servants who once paid him no mind now bowed gratefully in his presence. It seemed that everypony was looking upon him as their hero. Midnight found the Princess waiting in her throne room as expected and she happily jumped right into discussion.

“It was a miracle you survived that time spell, Midnight.” She explained. “Locust’s magic has been drained from it making him forever weak. You’re lucky the same didn’t happen for you. Although I guess I shouldn’t be surprised with a unicorn of your magnitude. So tell me, how did the spell work out?”

“Well, it all happened so fast now that I think about it.” Midnight told her. “I’m not sure how far into the future the spell took me and Locust, but it didn’t seem that different from today. I think I was in Ponyville. Everything was so peaceful and serene like the Workhorses never existed.”

“That’s not too far from the truth. The fact that the future is peaceful means that your success was bound to happen. Now I know you were only there for a minute, but did you see anything significant in the future?”

“The only thing I saw was a mare who lived there. I had never seen her before, but I guess that was obvious since I was so far in the future. But there was something I just couldn’t shake about that pony. She just stared at me without saying anything. Before I could talk to her though, the spell sucked me and Locust back to the present. I know there was no way I could’ve known that mare, but something about her just seemed…familiar.”

“Well that’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. While you were away, I did some research on the spell you told me about. With some cross referencing, I found that the spell is called Future Generations. There’s something very fascinating about this spell, Midnight. Come look.”

Celestia led Midnight to one of the stained glass windows by her throne that seemed to portray some kind of story. Then, one of the figures on the mural caught Midnight’s eye. It was a depiction of a purple unicorn mare bearing a type of elemental jewel. He looked on in wonderment as he recognized the pony of interest.

“Can you tell me what the pony you saw looked like?” asked Celestia.

“She…looked just like this.” Midnight pointed to the picture of the purple mare.

“There’s something you should know about that spell you used, Midnight. Not only does it have the power to transport you to the future, but it also takes you to the time of your most magically powerful descendant. Once I learned this, I curiously did some divination on your future family tree. I was shocked to find out what pony would be this particular descendant of yours. You see, the prophecy on this window tells that the fabled Elements of Harmony will one day reemerge to save Equestria from the eternal darkness of Nightmare Moon. There are six ponies who will take on these elements, and this pony will lead them all with the Element of Magic. Midnight, what I’m trying to tell you is that this pony is your direct descendant. She will be one of the most powerful unicorns who ever lived, just like you.”

Midnight simply kept staring at the glyph of the purple mare unicorn that would one day take on his genes. He touched the picture on the window and turned to Celestia.

“So you’re saying that…this is my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, something great granddaughter?”

“Exactly, you must be so honored. Only a unicorn of your power could pass on the same magic that this mare will inherit.”

A long silence came from Midnight as he kept staring at the prophecy.

“Are you alright?” asked Celestia.

“…One day, Equestria will fall into chaos again. And one of my descendants will be there to save it…I guess that’s not bad for somepony who spends his nights on a roof fixing a clock.”

“Not bad at all.”

The two smiled at each other warmly. The Celestia left him alone for a while to stare at the prophecy of his grandchild with pride.

After about an hour, Midnight finally stepped out of the throne room. Celestia and a couple guards were standing next to a large metal box with a slot on a door. Before he could ask, he jumped as the infuriated head of Locust poked out from the slot.

“You think you have won, Midnight Hour?!” he growled. “You think this is the end?! Nopony is any match for the changeling race! Nopony can defeat us! Nopony!”

Midnight walked up to the mobile cell and faced the changeling firmly.

“I don’t think you understand how it works here in Equestria.” He said. “It’s what we do that makes us who we are. And what you did is disgraceful.”

“Locust, you are hereby banished back to the putrid realm from which you came.” Celestia scolded. “Your magic is now weak and you have no business here.”

“Just you wait, Midnight Hour!” snarled Locust. “This isn’t over! Soon in the future, Equestria will be met with the wrath of Queen Chrysalis herself! And I swear to you, she will bring punishment upon your descendants!”

Midnight felt power in his words, but showed no fear. “I’d like to see her try.”

“This isn’t over, Midnight! THIS ISN’T OVER!” Locust repeatedly hissed wildly as the guards wheeled his box out of the castle. It was the last anypony ever saw of the feared changeling lord. Then, Midnight noticed his friends walking in to greet him. Noon stepped up to him first.

“You’re a hero now, bro.” He said. “I thought you were a lot of things before, but I certainly didn’t expect this.”

“I can’t take all the credit.” Midnight replied. “After all, you’re my twin brother.”

They shook hooves and hugged one more time. Marigold joined Noon’s side.

“You know, I don’t care how much credit I deserve.” Noon continued. “As long as I get the girl in the end.”

Marigold kissed Noon on the cheek once again turning his face red. “Thank you for everything, Midnight.” She said.

Then, Takeoff approached pushing Fry in a wheelchair.

“That was some fancy flying out there, Takeoff.” Midnight told him.

“Well that is true.” He responded happily. “But I think you deserve the wings this time.”

Midnight turned to Fry.

“I guess I did my part, huh?” the injured pony said sheepishly.

“You did great, Fry. I’ll never forget that.”

Midnight then felt a hoof poke his side. He looked down at Cassiopeia who hugged him almost immediately.

“Thanks for the fireworks, Midnight.”

“Anything for the birthday filly.”

Finally, he turned to his favorite mare who was waiting for him over by a window. He walked over to Andromeda and faced her.

“I just want to say, you’ve been a very great friend of mine, throughout all this.” He said.

“I think we’re already past that.” She replied.

He cocked an eyebrow at her comment. But then his eyes widened as Andromeda held his head and kissed his lips with her eyes closed. She held this embrace for several seconds pressing her lips against his. Midnight’s face flushed with hot swelling redness. She finally pulled away and looked sincerely into his eyes.

“Midnight…I love you.” She said softly. “I know it’s only been a short time since we were just friends, but I can’t help at feeling this way for you. You saved my life, more than once, and you’ve never failed to amaze me in what you do. I just always feel so safe with you. I love you, Midnight! I want to be your mare!”

The thoughts within Midnight’s head buzzed around too fast for him to control. There was only one choice of action he felt necessary to take. So he grabbed Andromeda’s sides and kissed her back, holding it longer than the first time. After enjoying each other’s presence for half a minute, he pulled away and smiled.

“Not bad at all.”

...

The future looked up for Midnight Hour. All of Equestria rejoiced after the defeat of Locust and the Workhorse invasion, and everypony everywhere praised their unicorn hero. Soon, Princess Celestia held a massive award ceremony for him and his companions. Noon, Andromeda, Marigold, Fry, and Takeoff all received a Distinguished Pony medal from her; Cassiopeia earned a Junior Distinguished Pony award. As for Midnight, he was honored with a similar award and was knighted as an official savior of Equestria by decree of the Princess. This title included a gold tunic, a red cape, and an olive branch crown symbolizing his status as a hero. Before long, a marble statue was erected outside Canterlot Castle in his honor, which depicted him standing in a triumphant pose; a head bust of Noon was also made and put inside the castle. Eventually, Takeoff was made the head general of the first Equestrian air force while Stir Fry finally went on to become the head chef at Hors D’oeuvres; in fact, he became one of the most renowned chefs in Equestria and also took up studies in architecture. Cassiopeia would soon earn her cutie mark, which was the constellation that shared her name, and grow up to be a successful magic scholar. She even invented a spell, similar to the one that took Midnight to the future, only it took ponies to the past. Midnight and Andromeda quickly settled down as lovers; their wedding would be one of the biggest and most attended in Canterlot. Together, the couple raised a few foals while Noon and Marigold even had more of their own. The unicorns of these fillies and colts would carry on the twins’ magic power, just as Celestia predicted. Midnight became a living legend throughout Equestria and his tale would be told numerous times. As an official savior, he kept duty of watching over the safety of his land alongside the Princess. The battle against Locust and the Workhorses became a life changing experience for him. But after all that he had learned, after all he had done, after all the friends he made, after all the pain and agony he felt, after all the joy and relief he experienced, after all the struggle and triumph…Midnight Hour kept his post by the clock admiring the moon every night.

Epilogue

“Spike, can you help me find Intermediate Conjuration?”

“Ugh, I would if I wasn’t busy alphabetizing your field guides!”

Twilight Sparkle studied one of her past journals in her library built into a tree. She occupied herself with her notes as Spike struggled to carry an unnecessarily high stack of books. With the slightest trip, the little dragon assistant toppled over with the tomes crashing down on him. Twilight turned around to see him in a daze buried underneath her collection.

“Uh, never mind, I’ll get it.” She said and walked over to her bookcases.

“Ouch, I think I sprained my tail.” Spike uttered.

Twilight searched through her neatly organized books to find her magic reference guide. She noticed that some of them were not supposed to be in that section. Irritated, she turned to her assistant emerging from the pile.

“Spike, I told you to organize this section.” She scolded. “I see story books where there should be conjuration guides.”

“Hey, I can’t tell the difference.” Spike complained. “You got me working so hard I can’t even distinguish book titles anymore. That’s it, I’m gonna go lie down.”

Twilight shook her head and pulled out one of the misplaced story tomes. Curiously, she read the title.

“The Legend of Midnight Hour? I don’t remember getting this book. It must have been in the library before I moved in.”

Somehow, the unfamiliar novel piqued her interest and she walked over to sit on one of her couches. Twilight studied the cover; it was dark blue with silver trim. She opened to the very first page which had the table of contents on the right. On the left was a colored drawing of a pony. The elaborate etching depicted a ground view of a blue unicorn stallion standing in a desert wasteland. His mane and tail were black and his strange cutie mark seemed to be a full moon with clock hands pointing upward. Whoever this stallion was, he was portrayed in a triumphant and heroic manner beneath a dark backdrop. Twilight assumed this was the title character. Intrigued, she called Spike over.

“Spike, come take a look at this.”

The young dragon returned reluctantly. “What is it now, Twilight?”

“Have you seen this book before?” she asked.

“No, it looks too long for me to read. I’ll stick to my comics, thank you. Why do you ask?”

“There’s something about this pony in the picture. He looks…familiar.”

“Hey you know what, he kind of looks like you, Twilight.”

“You think so?”

“Well, I mean he sort of has your eyes.”

Twilight looked at the illustration again and noticed that the stallion’s purple eyes were just like hers. This sparked something in her.

“Spike, take a letter.” She announced. “Tell Princess Celestia I would like to see her tomorrow. I think this is something that she might know about.”

The next day, Twilight paid a visit to the royal castle of her praised teacher. Princess Celestia welcomed her to Canterlot and the two sat down in the lounge for tea. Twilight kept the newly discovered book on her.

“So, Twilight, what brings you to Canterlot Castle so soon?” asked Celestia warmly as she sipped her tea.

“Well Princess, I found this strange book yesterday.” Twilight answered pulling out the book of question. “It looks kind of old, and I thought you might know about it.”

“Oh? What is it called?”

“I think it’s a story. It’s called The Legend of Midnight Hour. Does that sound familiar?”

Celestia’s face became swept with shock. She paused before saying anything and closed her eyes in recollection.

“Midnight Hour…” she repeated. She kept this expression of cold stillness. Then her eyes finally opened to reveal a hint of tears. She smiled and spoke softly. “Now that is a name I have not heard in a long time.”

“So you knew him?” asked Twilight.

“Oh yes, I knew him quite well. He was a powerful unicorn who saved Equestria from peril. And he was a dear friend of mine. He was a lot like you.”

“Well, if you knew him, then I guess you would like to keep this book.”

“That won’t be necessary, Twilight. I think I already know the story quite well. But why don’t you read it to me here? I’d love for you to learn about him.”

“Um, okay.” Twilight smiled back and turned open the blue book. Before reading aloud, she quickly read the first paragraph in the first chapter in her head and spoke to herself.

“Hmm, that is interesting. Midnight read quietly to himself as he sat on the roof at night.”

The End

Chapter 1: A Night In The Life

The Legend of Midnight Hour
By Stratocaster

Chapter 1: A Night In The Life

“Hmm, that’s interesting.”

Midnight read quietly to himself as he sat on the roof at night. It was just like every other night; the town was quiet, most ponies were asleep, the lights were out, the stars were glimmering, and the moon was moving closer to where Midnight was waiting for it to be. The book he was reading was a mythic tale about the powerful being once known as Princess Luna. For as long as he could remember, he had a deep fascination with the power of the moon, especially since it was a crucial part of his job. After diving himself further and further into the book, Midnight forced himself to break away and look up at the sky.

“You got to be kidding me, it’s time already?!”

To his surprise, it was. The moon was just about directly over Midnight’s head as he closed the book and sprang to his hooves. He pulled out a sextant and intricately measured the angle of the moon; his calculations were correct, it was at 90 degrees.

“Perfect, alright, let’s do this.”

Midnight took short deep breaths to get him into focus. He faced the steeple that held the town clock of Fillydelphia. Gathering up all his concentration, he charged the magic inside the horn on his head. A white beam of light shined down from the moon and surrounded Midnight. Then, he bowed his head and fired the magic from his horn at the clock. Slowly but surely, he kept the magic flowing for several seconds until he heard the gears within the clock begin to make their constant ticking. Midnight stopped the magic and looked at the clock with a satisfied smile. Both hands were pointed at XII and the large bell inside the steeple gave off twelve chimes which resonated throughout the town. He gave one last sigh of relief.

“Another day, another apple.”

With that, he hopped off the roof and down the stack of boxes he had set up to get on top in the first place. The bell’s chimes stopped as Midnight walked down the empty street guided by the light from his horn; he yawned when he approached his house a few blocks down. Quietly he opened the door which usually squeaked and entered the front room closing it behind him. He stepped into the kitchen; on the table was a plate with a single slice of apple pie. Next to it was a note that read “Sorry I ate the rest, bro. –N” With a role of his eyes, Midnight wolfed down the pie slice and a glass of milk. After heading upstairs to brush his teeth, he finally climbed into his bed and buried his face in his pillow. Before instantly falling asleep, it then struck him: he forgot his book on the roof.

“Shoot! …Oh well, I’ll get it tomorrow.”

...

This was the life of Midnight Hour. He was just like every other average blue coated, black mane, purple eyed, young working class stallion unicorn pony; only his work wasn’t as average. He was known in Fillydelphia as the one who restarts the day. In his time, clock technology in Equestria was fairly modernized; however the only problem was that the clocks would immediately stop after 11:59 PM. Since clocks were powered by unicorn magic, it took unicorn magic to fix them. Midnight’s family had been in charge of that task for generations. Every night, the one who restarts the day would wait by the town’s clock for the moon to reach the center of the sky. Only then, they would channel the power from the moon and use it to magically restart the clock. The hands would strike twelve and the bell would sound out the respectful number of chimes which would alert everypony that the day had started anew. Also, this process made it so that the magic would spread from the town clock to any other clock in town making them restart as well. Midnight’s father, Dusk, was the previous owner of the job, and now he had become old enough to inherit it from him. Although, when Midnight was still a colt, Dusk’s life would be dominated by going to different towns, in different time zones, restarting the master clocks in every one. Because of this, Midnight had to learn everything else about life from his mother, Dawn. Now he only does the job in his hometown of Fillydelphia, where he spends an hour waiting for the moon, and the rest of the hours living like a normal pony; at least that was how it had been.

Author's Note

(Thanks for reading! If you like it so far, check out the next chapters. I'll publish more of them as frequently as possible. I'd love to see feedback so please remember to comment! Thank you!)