Chapter 1: The Paradox Lives
A neglected, dusty room, light infiltrating through the small cracks on the rickety wall. Everything was covered with a layer of dust. The once vibrant, bright red colored couch, now dulled to a boring shade of gray was placed in the center of the room, craters where the couches legs were. The entire place looked abandoned, neglected, forgotten. A place like this, nopony could be inside. Alas, that is wrong. A single pegasus sat on the melancholy colored couch.
The blue stallion looked young. His coat had a healthy sheen to it and his weight was among the averages. He seemed a bit smaller than the average stallion though. Unlike the couch he was sitting on, his blue color was bright and vibrant. He looked well-built, actually, he looked strong enough to be a farmer.
His wings were a sight to behold. His wings seemed to be bigger than the average pegasus, not so big that each wing was the same size as his body though. Each feather was perfectly straight and in line with the rest. The feathers were stiff and had that water-resistant feel to it. His wings were well preened, no dust or dirt could be found in between his feathers. The feathers were the same shade as blue as his coat, but at the tip of each feather, it became a darker shade. Like a deep purple. His wings looked strong, as if he'd been using them frequently.
His mane was messy, impossible to brush. His hair flicked upwards in many directions, like a flame, licking upwards to the ceiling. Not surprisingly, his mane was the color of a efficient flame. Starting at the base of his hair, it was electric blue. As it progresses to the tip of his hair, it became orange, like an orange you see in a fire. With the orange, several strands of hair were yellow.
His cutie mark was fire, but this fire seemed to be in the shape of a heart. The cutie mark's fire was bright orange and stood out on his blue coat.
His eyes looked the color of fire brick. They glinted in the low level light that had managed to creep its way into the room. He looked so young, but his eyes told a different story. His eyes looked old, filled with experiences one could not imagine nor guess. His eyes looked wise, like he had seen it all. Most of all, his eyes looked sad, like his life was filled to the brim with painful experiences. Like he wanted to forget.
The pegasus sat upon the somber couch. Trying his best not to let his past infiltrate the present. The past made him who he was now. Can he really say, 'the past is the past' when it was the past that was responsible for the suppressed grief that slumbered in his mind? The grief that always wormed it's way to the surface of his thoughts? He tried to suppress the past, he really did try, but he failed. His mind crowded with his past. Reminding him of his grief, the loyal betrayal.
Crash!
"Midnight Wildfire! What are you doing?!" The saffron-colored earth pony with a burnt orange mane scolded the pile of books that laid to the side of a now empty bookshelf. She stared at the books, waiting for a response. There was some subtle movement, the books shifting. A blue head poked out of the mass of literature and smiled widely when he saw his surrogate mother.
"Sorry mom! I'll clean it up. I wanted to study something on the top shelf, but my wings were a little stiff." The little blue foal explained, moving his wings a little. He always tried to look happy around his foster parent. She was his only guardian. The only pony that was nice to the little blue colt.
His mother, Saffron Smiles, was a nice and caring mare. Her mane flowed in short curly locks and her irises were a calming blue. Her cutie mark was an open clam, a dazzling pearl in it, it's milky luster only increased it's beauty.
Saffron just sighed and smiled slightly at her adopted foal's actions. The smile that even in darkness, will glimmer with intense beauty. Just like a pearl.
Midnight was always a strange one. Unlike the rest of the ponies at his school, he loved to learn. He seemed ever so carefree, but at times, Saffron could hear sniffles coming from Midnight's room. As for the little foal, he was afraid to tell her what was wrong because he was afraid she would stop smiling. In school, he'd get bullied every day. The teachers are oblivious to the actions.
.
Saffron lost track of time as she watched the foal's wings flap furiously as he flew up the hardcover books, one by one. Putting them in the letter by letter order that he always used.
She stared at the foal with a smile that spread across her face. Her mind started working, and it eventually led to the one thing every good parent should do; she began to worry. So many strange happenings seemed to surround the foal.
One time, she brought the foal to the doctors. She left briefly to go to the facilities. She got back in due time, but by then the doctor looked as if he'd seen a ghost. Saffron remembered the doctor clearing his throat and said, "We should take this foal in for testing. Only with your approval, of course." but she blatantly refused to let him go. The doctor protested, but she still won the battle. Even if they weren't connected by blood, he was her son! She would only accept it if it was for the good of her son. That doctor never stated a good reason.
Midnight finished putting the books on the shelf. He wished he didn't have to go to school. Every day, he would get bullied. When he sees his mother's pearly white smile though, everything seemed to wash away. He looked at the clock. 8:55 in the morning.
"Mom! Five minutes until school!" Midnight cheered in a faux personality. Saffron snapped back to reality.
Truthfully, Midnight was dreading today. "Please don't make me go," He thought to himself, secretly hoping that his surrogate mother could read his mind. Sadly, she couldn't and soon, he found himself walking out of the house, donning saddlebags at his sides.
He looked back and saw his mother's smile.
"Be brave and be good!" She encouraged,
That kept him going. He made his way to the school.
The building was a wooden red structure with a pink-tiled roof. A large bell hung above the structure, singing it's one note melody. The inside wasn't very unusual. The interior was an array of personal desks, one for each student. All in the same shade of blunt, boring beige. At the front of the class, a large chalkboard was fastened to the wall. The polished, wooden teacher desk right in front of it. A white strip of paper that went along and above the chalk-board, showing numbers or letters in order. There were brightly colored posters plastered all over the walls. Each saying something like rules or encouraging stuff. The rules nopony followed. Midnight experienced that first-hoof.
Midnight soon reached his destination. He sat down in his respective seat and waited. A few kids walked up to him and started to insult him. Stuff like "You were abandoned by your mother!" and "Not even your own mother wanted you.". The small colt held back tears, staying brave like Saffron said. As soon as the teacher came in, the bullies all stopped and ran to their seats, afraid of authority. "At least they didn't get physical this time." Midnight internally sighed, relieved.
The day continued, and continued, and continued. Midnight felt like the teacher was droning on and on for hours when it was really just a couple minutes. He started to daydream, thinking about his mother. Midnight couldn't wait to see his mother's smile. He almost started to smile just thinking about it.
Riiiiiiiiinnggg!
The sound of the bell pierced through everypony's ears indicating the end of class. Midnight was already charging home. Eager to see his mother's smile. He took a left, then a right, then charged straight to the door of the house. Shoving a hoof into the dirt and fanning out his wings to slow himself down.
"Mom! I'm home!" Midnight yelled, crashing through the door, a smile, across his face.
He wasn't greeted back.
He saw a slip of paper. It read;
Going to the doctor's.
~Mom
He smiled and sat in a chair by the front door and waited, and waited, and waited. Time passed, never stopping. His smile started to diminish. "How long does it take to see the doctors?" He thought to himself. It was getting late, but still, he waited. The clock struck midnight, but still, he waited. His smile was gone. It was replaced with worry. "Where are you mom?" He sat in the chair. Looking at the ground. He still sat there, waiting. He sat for hours, waiting, right there, in front of the door.
The rooster cawed,
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
There sat a tired foal. Waiting for his mother. Sitting there, just sitting. Waiting for the second he hears keys jingle or a knock on the door. He eyes started to water. Trying to think of a possible explanation as to why she wasn't there. Midnight sat on the chair, a tear betraying his eyes. Then, finally, two sharp knocks, hoof clashing with wood, rang into his ears. He immediately perked up, ears reaching for the sky. Rushing to the door, he threw it open, ecstatic.
"Mom! Welcome ho-" He was cut short as the pony he saw, wasn't the one he was waiting for. This one's coat was chestnut, not saffron. The excitement died down and was replaced with disappointment. His ears fell and he felt a pain in his chest, it felt like something was clogged in his throat. He could still breathe, but it still felt hard to swallow. The mailpony gave a greeting, then took a letter from his blue-gray bag and handed it to the foal. Midnight took the letter, said goodbye and closed the door. He stared at the letter, observing it. The mail was a eggshell color. On one side, there was a wax seal. It was a clam with a glimmering pearl inside it. Much like his mother's cutie mark. Upon seeing the seal, his eyes widened and he tore open the letter like the Hearth's Warming presents he would get.
Dear Midnight Wildfire,
I cannot stay with you any longer.
I cannot tell you why I must leave.
I can only tell you to stay safe, keep out of trouble.
Please know that leaving hurts me as much as it hurts you.
I wish I could stay. Please, remember that I love you.
It's not your fault.
Goodbye my son.
~I'm sorry, Love,
Your Mother, Saffron Smiles
The words from the letter first confused Midnight. His own mother? Leaving? That can't be right. The gears started to turn. Confusion turned to shock. Shock turned to anger. Anger turned to guilt, regret, and sadness. Midnight fell silent. Almost forgetting to breathe thinking about it.
Midnight sat in a corner. His eyes started to water. He raised a hoof, touching a hoof to his eye before pulling it away to look at the damp fur. This was just the first of many. Tears started to come out of his eyes, rivers, streaming down his face. Soaking his vibrant coat. "Why? Why would she betray me like this? Why would she leave me? She was the only thing I had. So, why?" He buried his head into his hooves. "The one thing I had to look forward to when I got home, left me! Why did she do that? How could she do that?" Midnight kept crying. He wished she was there to comfort him.
Midnight kept asking himself the questions over and over again. Then, he started to think. What could've happened that made her leave? The puzzle piece fit, and the picture was completed. He grabbed the slip that he saw soon after he returned home. He read it once again.
Going to the doctor's.
~Mom
Midnight may have been just a foal, but he wanted answers. The most likely place for that, is this doctor. He wiped his tears away. His eyes, dry from crying. He blinked a couple of times and squeezed his eyes shut to moisten them, his breath was still shaky, quavering as if his lungs were shaking. Breathing-in made his entire body jolt and twitch multiple times. He got to his hooves, and slowly, he left the house, the house where he grew up in, the house where he loved, and was loved. The only place he called home, he looked back one last time at the colorful house. Then turned to face forward, and left.
He never returned.
This wasn't the memory he wanted to forget. This one wasn't that bad. The OTHER ones, he never wanted to remember. Although, with so much time alone, sitting on that dull couch, in that dusty room, he remembered, and remembered, and remembered. It used to hurt, but now it can't, because he stopped the hurting.
The grown-up blue pegasus stared blankly, stoically at the dusty carpet. "If I could go back in time, I would stop myself from going to the doctors after you left. Mom, I now know why you left," His eyes did not water, his mouth did not quaver. That stopped centuries ago. "and I forgive you." He shifted, pulling his forehooves in front of his face. Staring at the only thing that wasn't gray. "I still want answers. Why does it have to be me? How can this happen?" For a moment, he stared, trying to form his thoughts into sentences, "Out of everypony in the world, why do I have to be the one that can't die?"
He looked away from his hooves and turned, looking at the door. The old, rotten and degraded door. He walked over to it and pushed it open. The door gave way, but responded with a loud creak, annoyed from it's disturbance. He took a while to stare, just stare at the area that surrounded the house. The dark green grass swayed softly in the wind. The sun evenly spread it's celestial blanket on the tipsy grass. Midnight walked away from the degraded structure. He walked into the clearing that his house was built in. Surrounded by the thick, dark timberland that so many ponies were afraid of.
He inhaled deeply, letting the smell of fresh pine infiltrate his senses. The pine smelled good as ever. Midnight likes the smell of pine a lot. It was one of the main reasons he chose this place to be his residency. He turned around, looking for some herbs to eat. Possibly some berries.
He continued off into a direction. Going into the underbrush. The thick bunches of flowers and the long blades of grass tickled his sides. It didn't bother him, Midnight was focused on one thing. He looked around, trying to find the safest lunch that you can find in this forest.
The Everfree forest.
