Pinkie Pie watched Midnight Runner as he trotted through Ponyville. She had been trying to talk to the colt ever since he had arrived in Ponyville a few weeks ago, yet at every turn, he seemed to be three steps ahead of her.
She could never ambush him. He neatly avoided every single one of her hiding spots and when she tried to follow him, he lost her with startling ease. Her Pinkie Sense couldn’t be used to actively track somepony; it more of an early-warning system that let her know if she was needed somewhere or if something bad was going to happen.
Pinkie Pie had brought up her frustrations with her friends, and they were all rather unsympathetically blunt towards her.
“Pinkie, you need to let him adjust. Princess Luna sent him here for more or less the same reason Princess Celestia sent me,” Twilight Sparkle had said. “I know you like to greet new ponies and throw them parties, but not every pony reacts the same. Remember Cranky?”
Pinkie hated being reminded of the times she went overboard and made ponies (or any other species, for that matter) uncomfortable. She had started learning about newcomers, trying to figure out what they liked and disliked before she approached them and tried to be their friend.
“He did come by the Boutique, which I found rather strange. I rarely get males,” Rarity had replied. “He said he was simply looking; although he was eyeing some of my…ahm…lingerie and asked if I had anything in Luna’s size…” she had giggled like a school filly and went on. “I was rather curious as to how he got her measurements, although thinking back…he IS her right-hoof pony who has to deal with her every night and day…I’ll have to ask him for details later.”
Pinkie was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact Rarity kept a lingerie line. Turned out she ran a small side-branch of Maretoria’s Secret called Rarity’s Secret. The sheer number of straps in some of the designs had baffled her and she had yet to work up the nerve to buy one.
Midnight Runner and Rainbow Dash got along famously. As soon as Rainbow Dash had heard the newcomer to Ponyville was a pegasus, she had challenged him to a race. What surprised everypony who had watched the race was the ease with which the smaller colt had kept pace with Rainbow Dash, who was said to be the fastest flier in Equestria. Yet he was rather self-deprecating in describing his flight skill. Rainbow Dash had won that race, but every pony who had seen it knew that Midnight could have flown rings around the egotistical mare and some were rather disappointed with the outcome.
Applejack wasn’t a fan of the small colt.
“He’s not natural. Have you seen his eyes? Silver isn’t a normal color. I’ve never seen a pony whose entire eye is colored either. He’s also a lot wiser than a pony his age has any right to be. He’s hiding something, and I don’t like it one bit.”
Her younger sister - Apple Bloom - seemed rather taken with the small pegasus and the two were often seen curled up together with their homework from school.
Whether or not there was anything romantic going on between the two was up for debate, since neither pony mentioned the other, nor would they give a definite answer when asked about it.
He also got along well with both of the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, for which the entire town was secretly thankful. Ever since he had arrived, the CMC seemed less focused on finding their talents (which often ended in some rather spectacular property damages) and more focused on becoming better ponies.
Scootaloo had stated, rather bluntly, that she was going to be his special somepony when she grew up. This had promptly started a three-way argument between the three fillies and Midnight Runner had easily broken it apart by explaining the concept of herds to them, keeping it simple enough for them to understand without going into details they weren’t ready to hear.
Cheerilee, the schoolteacher, had nothing bad to say about him either.
“He’s more-or-less the perfect role model in class. He doesn’t blurt out answers, he lets other students answer first, and if nopony knows the answer to my questions, he manages to answer them in a way that the other students understand and can easily remember,” The mulberry-coated mare shook her head. “Whatever his talent is, it seems to be something with getting ponies to understand things.” Her only real gripe about the colt was the fact the students often paid more attention to him and he had taken to sitting in the back of the classroom so he wouldn’t be a distraction.
When Midnight Runner had first arrived in Ponyville, nearly every pony who saw him thought he was a mare. He had the build and grace of one, and he wore his red and white mane rather long and kept it in a fairly simple braid.
He had even agreed to model some of Rarity’s clothing lines for younger ponies, both for fillies and colts, since every other colt Rarity had approached had said they wouldn’t be caught dead in the Boutique, and the CMC simply lacked the attention span to hold still for more than a few seconds.
(There were rumours that Rarity had a scrapbook of pictures of Midnight Runner in dresses, yet nopony has been able to verify the legitimacy of the claim.)
When Midnight Runner had gone to Sugarcube Corner, Mr. and Mrs. Cake had been rather surprised when their children, Pound and Pumpkin had both behaved around the colt. Not even Pinkie Pie had that kind of control over them and she had been worried the Cakes would ask him to babysit their foals instead of her. He had politely declined, stating that he didn’t have the time and Pinkie had a feeling he knew she was jealous of him.
Pinkie scowled as she watched him stop at Roseluck’s stand to talk with the flower pony.
It seemed like every mare in town had fallen in love with the strange colt at first sight and he was often seen accompanied by a mare or two whenever he did spend time outside of the house he was renting.
Pinkie Pie had overheard some rather strange things when she followed him. It seemed like the mares he spoke with all had their own kinds of problems, whether it be with their loved ones, family, themselves or something else.
It seemed like he had an answer to every question they asked him on any topic. He seemed very knowledgeable about how to comfort ponies without making the pony in question grow attached to him in the process.
Pinkie Pie wondered how old the colt was, because he talked casually about things that she hadn’t learned until she was nearly twice the age he appeared to be. He discussed topics ranging from aborting an unwanted foal, to sex, to religion and even politics with a sense of understanding and conviction that said he dealt with them constantly.
Pinkie Pie watched as Midnight Runner purchased some pink, yellow and blue flowers from Roseluck and he trotted off. Sure enough, when she followed him, he had once again vanished without a trace.
Dispirited, Pinkie wandered to the park and sat on a bench with a sigh. She looked up at the blue sky and wondered what else she could do to talk to the elusive colt.
“Mind if I sit here?” asked a voice.
“Free country,” Pinkie said absently, watching as Rainbow Dash directed her weather team to gather come clouds for a storm later that week.
“You seem troubled,” the voice continued, as whoever it belonged to sat next to her. Pinkie Pie could feel the heat from the proximity of the pony’s coat, yet it wasn’t an invasive heat. She let it coat and comfort her and she looked to see who had sat next to her.
Blue eyes met silver over a bouquet of pink, yellow and blue flowers.
Pinkie Pie blinked slowly, her eyes darting from the flowers to the dark-coated colt who held them.
“Funny…usually I’m the one getting flowers for ponies feeling down,” Pinkie said, taking them.
“Sometimes roles reverse themselves when we least expect it,” Midnight Runner replied, sitting in a peculiar fashion that Pinkie could have sworn she had seen before.
Most ponies sat on their stomachs, with their legs tucked beneath them. Midnight was sitting on his rump with his legs dangling off the edge of the bench and his forelegs on either side of his thin hips.
Some ponies would probably consider it a rather provocative position, since his legs were spread and it would give a pony passing by a rather direct view of his crotch.
Midnight Runner seemed to have had considered that possibility and had draped his tail over his lap.
“I’ve been trying to talk to you for a week,” Pinkie Pie said, trying to keep the ire from her voice.
“I apologize, I’ve had a lot on my mind recently. Helping the Crusaders with their schoolwork, helping Rarity with her fashion lines, keeping Luna appraised of my progress, helping several distraught ponies with personal problems…” he spread his forehooves. “I’m just a pegasus, I don’t know what draws them to confide in me.”
“Maybe it has something to do with your talent?” Pinkie suggested. She cast a quick glance at his flank and saw the white sigil that somewhat resembled a mix between a cross and a fleur-de-lis.
“My special talent is part of the reason you’ve never been able to catch me,” Midnight replied. Pinkie Pie stared at him in confusion. He went on.
“My special talent is to be a nopony. I can fade from your perception and you’d never be able to pick me out of a crowd.”
Before Pinkie’s eyes, he suddenly became unimportant and despite the fact she could still see him, her brain simply said he was just another uninteresting pony and Pinkie felt herself growing bored and felt like going somewhere else.
Midnight Runner suddenly snapped back into focus and Pinkie Pie shook her head to clear it.
“That’s…an interesting talent. I assume it also works in reverse?” she asked. Midnight Runner smiled slightly and suddenly Pinkie found herself unable to look away from him. She wanted to confide in him, talk to him about her insecurities, her fears that her friends would abandon her, the darkness she battled with daily…
Once again, he seemed to fade away then back. Pinkie Pie shivered and looked away.
“It’s not an easy talent to live with, but I’ve put it to good use in Canterlot,” Midnight said, his voice suddenly subdued. Pinkie looked at him and frowned.
“In what way?” she asked carefully. A grim look settled on Midnight’s face.
“I used it to close down several…less-than-legal organizations, whose interests ranged from selling drugs to selling foals and weapons…” he sighed and seemed to deflate. “Every place has its own dark side…even Ponyville.”
Pinkie Pie nodded slowly. “I know everypony in town, and while most of them are good, there are some who wear a mask to cover their true nature, but my talent is to understand ponies and make them happy, and I can see right through them. It makes me sad that I can’t make them happy by doing what they want, since the things they enjoy are highly illegal…” Something in her mind clicked. “Were you part of that group who shut down that foal-smuggling operation that operated out of Sofas and Quills?”
Midnight Runner tilted his head. “I was part of the investigation, yes. I helped close down their Canterlot branch, and their paperwork led us to locations in Manehatten, Fillydelphia, Stalliongrad and Ponyville. I’ve washed my hooves of it though, there are ponies much better suited for that line of work than I am.”
Pinkie noted the change in his voice, looked at him, and saw he was watching the sky with a relaxed expression on his face.
“So what do you do now?” Pinkie asked. She knew from her friends who had talked to him that he was Princess Luna’s student, consort and right-hoof pony.
“Luna sent me here to make some friends, pretty much what her sister sent Twilight to do, if I’m not mistaken?” Midnight replied with an amused smile.
“Who’s managing her affairs though? I thought most of that got dumped on the right-hoof pony,” Pinkie asked. Midnight chuckled and stroked his tail lightly.
“I still do. Luna sends the various requests sent to her by ponies and it’s my job to filter through them and prioritize them in terms of importance. Some ponies seem to think they can sneak their plans past Luna, but they severely underestimate her intellect,” Midnight said, his voice little more than an amused purr.
“I love watching her knock the nobles down a peg or three. They make the silliest expressions when she demolishes their plans on setting up a monopoly on things ranging from dresses to imported artifacts.”
Pinkie stared at him for a moment. “That seems…” she really didn’t know how to put it and she sighed in frustration.
“It’s been over a thousand years since nobles have had any real influence in Canterlot. Some of them were conspiring on using Twilight Sparkle against Princess Celestia. Others sought to use me against Luna.”
“What happened?” Pinkie asked, eyes wide.
“That is classified information,” Midnight said flatly, his tone losing its amused lilt and gaining a hard edge that made Pinkie shiver.
“Well, Pinkie, I’ve enjoyed this chat, and I hope we’ll be able to have more in the future. In the meantime, I have some fillies and a draconequus to coax out of building an ICBM.”
With that remark, Midnight hopped forward onto the ground in a quick trot and was soon swallowed up by the streets of Ponyville.
