Discovering Midnight

by neobrony7

Out on the Town Part 1

Previous ChapterNext Chapter

Out on the Town Part 1:
______________________________________________________________________________

A flash of magenta light filled a dark back alley of what is considered the nightlife district of Townsville. Shaking her head, as she always did after a powerful spell, Twilight took in her surroundings. She knew this alley very well, it was the alley behind the nightclub known as Luna’s Den. LD, as many of the patrons called it, was one of the oldest nightclubs in the city and the only one dedicated to the princess of the night and music, Princess Luna.

To think a thousand years ago this place might not even be here. Twilight thought to herself recalling the thousand year old story, of how Luna nearly fell to sorrow and madness only to be saved by the power of music and, as some historians like to argue about, the handsome bard that played in the night.

Twilight shook that thought from her head. She breathed in and out to steady herself for the next spell she was about to cast, a spell that would change her appearance. Closing her eyes she focused her magic, and her horn glowed with magenta light once again. This time instead of disappearing, her coat became a dark purple, almost black. Her stripes in her mane and tail turned to neon violet and pink, the spell also having the added affect of making them glow. From her saddle bag she pulled out a camo mini skirt, an olive tank top and fishnet stockings for her front hooves. Once she was dressed she did one last spell changing her eye color to bright red.

The mare that now stood in the alley was not Twilight, but her alter ego Midnight Glimmer. Let’s get this party started, thought Midnight with a grin on her face, as she walked to the back door of the nightclub.


Inside Luna’s Den, the phrase ‘The party is jump’n’ could not do justice to the party that was going down. Vinyl must be pulling out all the stops tonight, thought Midnight, as she entered the nightclub, hearing the loud music all the way in the locker room in the back of the club. After placing her saddle bags in her locker, Midnight made her way to the main floor of the club.

Yep, knew it, Vinyl is going all out, Midnight thought with a smile as she saw a packed dance floor full of ponies dancing to the beats coming from the many speakers in the club. On a stage in the right hand corner was the main turntable. Standing behind that turntable, looking out behind her trademark sunglasses, was Vinyl Scratch.

“You’re late.” said a voice coming from behind Midnight.

“Yes, I know,” said Midnight as she turned to face who was talking to her, “I’m sorry Spike.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” said Spike, the current manager of Luna’s Den. “Anyway Vinyl is almost done with her shift, you better get ready.”

“Aren’t I always?” replied Midnight.

“Don’t take that tone with me or else I will cut your pay.” said Spike while trying to keep a straight face. He started to burst into laughter a few seconds later with Midnight joining in shortly after.

“Hey party ponies!” Vinyl’s voice came over the speakers, causing Spike and Midnight to stop laughing, “This is your favorite DJ signing off for the night, but give a round of applause for the queen of late night raves, Midnight Glimmer!” And with that, the sound of hooves meeting the floor roared through the club.

Giving Spike a nod, Midnight made her way to the turntable. As she passed Vinyl, she asked the mare, “Hey Vinyl, how is the crowd tonight?”

“Looking to party hard.” Vinyl replied with a smirk, as she continued her way to the locker room.

“Aren’t they always?” said Midnight, more to herself than Vinyl, who was too far away to hear Midnight’s comment. Midnight reached the turntable and put on the headset, and scanned the turntable. Satisfied that everything was in place, she made a quick glance to the dance floor and the bar, seeing not much business happening at the bar and that the bartender, Berry Punch, was bored out of her mind because of the slow business.

Midnight knew what her first song would be for tonight, one guaranteed to get drinks in ponies hooves. Placing her forehooves on the turntable’s knobs and switches, Midnight gave no warning to the dancers, not that it was really needed, the song started off slow, but soon enough, the beat picked up, and soon enough nearly everypony was dancing to the retro rap beat or heading to the bar to get drinks, which the song was telling them to do. Up In Smoke by Ponywood Undead, works every time, thought Midnight, as she watched the ponies either dance or go to the bar to get smashed, the smiles on faces of everypony was a clear sign that everypony was enjoying the club tonight.

For the next two hours Midnight switched and transitioned between fast pace dancing songs to slow songs that got everypony in the mood for drinks and food. Vinyl was right, I am the queen of the late night raves, thought Midnight with a giggle. Suddenly struck with inspiration, she knew exactly what song she would play next.

Tapping the headset mic, Midnight got everypony’s attention. “Party ponies, are you prepared to RELEASE THE PANIC!!!!!!!” screamed Midnight, and with that she unleashed one of the greatest songs from the band simply known as Red. it started off slow, but soon enough the song picked up to a pace that could cause anypony to go into a full blown panic attack, needless to say the dance floor became a wild mosh pit. The lyrics of this song could also induce panic from the listeners of it. Between the beats and the lyrics of this song there was no pony who didn’t have an increased heart rate. Complete anarchy, now this is a rave, Midnight thought to herself, over looking the mass chaos that was the dance floor.

As the song ended, and everypony was catching their breath, the main doors to the club opened up. Midnight looked over to the main doors, at that instant what she saw made her blood run cold and she started to sweat bullets. Oh shit! This is going to be bad, was the last thing that crossed her mind before going into a full panic attack.


-Two hours earlier back at the campus-

Rarity was crying her eyes out, the amount she was crying was a shock to all but one of the remaining four mares that were left to wonder about Twilight’s sudden disappearing act.

“Why is Rarity crying so hard? I know what Twi did was bad, but this is ridiculous!” exclaimed Rainbow.

“Umm...I know why” mumbled Fluttershy in a low voice.

“Now sugarcube, if’n ya know what is ah buggin poor Rares, ya should tell us.” stated AJ.

“I really don’t think that’s for me to say,” The shy mare squeaked. “Maybe- maybe you should ask her... if you want...”

“Okay Shy we will try it your way,” replied Rainbow, with a sigh she turned to Rarity and said, “Hey Rarity, what’s up girl, what’s with the water works?”

“Oh... Rainbow Dash, darling, what can I do for you?” Rarity said, after quickly drying her tears and putting on a brave face.

“You can answer my question.”

“And what question is that darling?”

“Why are you crying?”

Rarity sighed, and looked Rainbow Dash straight in the eyes, “Do you really want to know why I am crying?” Rainbow only nodded. “Seeing as Fluttershy already knows, I assume the two of you want to know as well?” Rarity said as she looked at AJ who was passive about it, and Pinkie, who had also been crying but not to the degree that Rarity had. Pinkie and AJ took quick glances at each other, then they both proceeded to nod.

“I assume you all don’t want the long version, so I will be blunt, though I do detest being blunt. It’s just so unlady like,” Rarity confessed with a huff, “I am in love. With Twilight. And no Twilight doesn’t know yet, for I have been too much of a coward to tell her.”

“Woah Woah Woah.... hold up for a sec, I get you having a crush on Twi, but that still doesn’t explain all the water works. If you were dating, I could see it but this... no way Rares that’s too much for this situation.” said Rainbow, still puzzled by her dramatic friend, and beginning to wonder why they hang out in the first place.

“A’h hate to say it Rares; but Rainbow is right. That’s too many darn tears for ya crush keeping secrets from ya.” Stated AJ.

“I will admit, that perhaps I was being a bit more sensitive than I should be,” said Rarity, “But girls, understand this, I know in my heart that Twilight is my soulmate, she completes me, and the thought of not knowing everything about her scares me more than you could ever imagine. Knowing that day after day I watch her continue to slip into her cocoon of self isolation while I sit back and watch rends my soul in twain! But even worse is knowing that I love her, and like a coward I sit back and do nothing! The only reason I have held onto my sanity is thanks to Fluttershy. She always listens and lets me vent.... thank you Fluttershy, you have always helped me when I needed a friend the most.” Fluttershy just blushed and hid behind her mane, clearly not wanting this much praise from her friend.

After a few moments of silent contemplation by the remaining three, Pinkie finally said something since Twilight’s exit ten minutes prior, “So....anypony want to get a drink?”

“Consider’n what just happened, Ah’d have to agree with Pinks, some nice, ice cold hard cider is what we all be needing right about now,” concurred AJ with a smirk, thinking of the drinks to soon be had.

“Got any idea where to go Pinks?” asked Rainbow.

“Well... I do have my own ideas, but seeing as Rarity just bore her heart and soul to us all, why don’t we let her decide,” replied Pinkie.

Rarity didn’t respond immediately, she seemed to be thinking of where to go, after a few moments of thinking she exclaimed: “Idea! I have heard of many places in the nightlife district, surely we can find something there.”

“Okay, off to the nightlife district we go!” said Pinkie, bouncing in place with pure joy on her face

“Small problem... no of us have a carriage, and don’t even think about making me carry you.” Rainbow reminded the group.

“I think I saw one next to the sorority house.” stated Pinkie

“Ya can’t be thinking of taking it, can ya Pinks?” asked AJ

“Come on AJ, they’ll be too drunk to even notice it’s gone,” PInkie replied

“Darling, even if they are too drunk to notice, it is still stealing, we could go to jail.” Rarity shrieked, the look of pure horror on her face told all present that the idea of jail was a nightmare for the drama queen.

“We won’t go to jail as long as we return it before it is missed!” Pinkie said in a nonchalant manner, as if this wasn’t the first time she had stolen a carriage. The remaining four just looked at their pink friend stunned by her easy-go attitude about committing a felony. “You going to stare at me all night , or we going to PARTY!!!” Pinkie said from at top the white carriage, she was sitting in the driver’s podium, she had somehow gotten the carriage from the sorority house to where the girls were in the blink of an eye.

After coming out of their shocked states, the girls conceded to the fact that they were now accesories to theft, and all climbed into the carriage. The carriage was a newer model, one with it’s own propulsion system, simple little spell known as ‘come to life’ which could be turned on or off by putting pressure on a peddle on the floor of the driver’s podium, and direction was controlled by a wheel, which also was on the driver’s podium.

As soon as the carriage started to go, Rainbow asked “Is it me or does this feel strange?”

“In what way sugarcube?” inquired AJ in response to Rainbow’s question.

“I mean shouldn’t there be a pony pulling this thing?” said Rainbow.

“Well darling, I would normally agree but considering the advances in unicorn magic, the need for physical labor in such cases no longer is the most efficient method.” stated Rarity.

The girls didn’t talk much for the remainder of the trip, when they did it was mainly about what they were going to do once they got there.


About thirty minutes later, the carriage had finally reached the nightlife district. On both sides of the streets, on all the streets of this district, were nightclubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, motels, and even a few movie theaters, and if you asked some ponies, there are rumors of a red-light district within this district of the city. Some ponies say entertainment district is a better name for this particular part of the city.

In the carriage, AJ, Rarity, Rainbow and Fluttershy were all looking out the windows completely enthralled by the neon lights that made up the signs of the various establishments. Pinkie slowed the carriage down and parked it along side one of the sidewalks, in a designated zone for carriage parking. Hopping down from the driver’s podium, she opened the door for her friends to get out. Once they all were out of the carriage, they decided to walk around to see if something caught their fancy.

When they had gotten a few yards away from the carriage, Pinkie said: “You know, normally when I do this kind of stuff, something bad usually happens to the carriage, seems tonight I get a break from my bad luck.”

Just as Pinkie said the word ‘luck’, the most inexplicable thing happens: A baby grand piano drops out of the sky, crashing into the carriage, which somehow causes an explosion, engulfing the wooden remains to just turn into a large bonfire. The five mares just stared at the blaze, mouths hanging wide open at the sight before them.

“How the heck does that happen?!!!!” exclaimed Rainbow, next to her Fluttershy was in a catatonic state due to the explosion scaring her stiff

“Oh I know! The containment unit for the ‘come to life’ spell broke, causing a cascade failure meltdown in the spell matrix, resulting in an explosion,” said Pinkie, looking at her friends who had shocked expressions on their faces, with the exception of Fluttershy who was still catatonic. “Ugh... I helped Twilight with a project once and the same thing happened.”

“Care to explain why a dang piano fell from the sky sugarcube?” asked AJ

“That’s the one thing that got me stumped.” replied Pinkie with a shrug, the rest of the girls just let it slide, they guessed even somepony as random as Pinkie can get stumped once in awhile. After a few moments to get Fluttershy out of her catatonic state, the five mares continued their journey.

After about 45 minutes of walking around and seeing the sights, they stopped off at a bar. The bar was decent, but not all that spectacular in any regard, one might call it average, though it was doing well for itself if you went by the crowd that was there. the group walked up to the L-shaped bar station, and were greeted by one of the bartender “Welcome to Pony Joe’s, I’m Pony Joe, owner operator and bartender of this establishment, how may I serve you ladies tonight.”

“Mighty nice to meet ya, Joe, I will have a glass of hard cider, if ya got any.” said AJ.

“We do have hard cider.” replied Joe.

“I’ll take a glass of that as well,” Rainbow concurred.

“Me too!” Pinkie piped up.

“A martini for me darling,” stated Rarity.

“Ummm...just water please.” squeaked Fluttershy.

“Okay, three hard ciders, a martini and a glass of water coming up.” recited Pony Joe.

While Pony Joe was getting their drinks, the girls took a closer look at the bar, there were pool tables, dart boards, tables and chairs, but nothing really for them.

“I think we should try someplace else, after our drinks,” Rainbow said to the group, in a low voice, trying to be polite for once in her life.

“Dashie is right this place isn’t for us,” Pinkie concurred

“But where should we go next?” Rarity asked

“If you girls are interested in a nightclub, I know of one” Pony Joe said, returning with a tray of drinks, then passing them to their intended pony “And before you ask how it is I heard your conversation, know this: bartenders learn many skills on job, one of them is hearing things ponies say when they think no pony is listening or can’t hear. And I have to agree, you girls aren’t the type for this place.”

After taking a sip of her hard cider, AJ asked “Y’all mentioned somethin’ about a nightclub?”

“I did.” Pony Joe replied bluntly.

“Care to tell us darling?” inquired Rarity.

“It’s known as Luna’s Den, it’s about two blocks away, take a left when you leave here, then at the intersection take a left, head straight for two intersections then take a right, and you should see the sign from there, a large crescent moon with the words Luna’s Den next to it.” explained Pony Joe.

“Ummm.. can you tell us how you know of this place... if that’s okay with you?” squeaked Fluttershy.

“It’s a deal all the owners in the district have. If a pony needs help finding a place send them where you think they should go, keeps the market fresh and lines all the owner’s pockets.” Pony Joe said with a smirk on his face, a few seconds later he left to help another patron.

The girls finished their drinks about 10 minutes later, paid their bill, and made their way out of Pony Joe’s. Once again out into the night, it was slightly colder than when they first arrived but wasn’t too bad, they made their way to Luna’s Den. For a friday night, the streets were unusually barren, but the girls shrugged it off. It was late, and that meant ponies were either at home or inside one of the many establishments that made up this district.

About fifteen minutes from when they left Pony Joe’s, the girls finally had Luna’s Den in sight. Upon seeing the sign, Pinkie screamed at the top of her lungs, “Yeah we made it, PARTY TIME!!!!”

“We made it here without too much trouble,” Rainbow commented.

“Speak for yourself, Rainbow. You didn’t have that mad pony spouting nonsense in your face!” Rarity snapped at Rainbow. Several blocks away there was a pony with a sign that said ‘The end is nigh, Lord Smooze returns’, and this pony was trying to warn the girls about some sort of disaster. The girls however gave the pony the slip and made it to Luna’s Den without much trouble there after.

“So we going in or not?” Pinkie asked with a noticeable bounce in her step.

“Yes sugarcube, we are going in.” replied AJ.

Nodding in agreement, the girls made their way into the club. For them this would be a night to always enjoy. For one DJ this would be a night she would wish she could forget.
______________________________________________________________________________


Author's Note

Edited by Sam Cole, he also gave me the link for my cover art
songs in this chapter:
Up In Smoke by Hollywood Undead
Release the Panic by Red

Next Chapter