Beware the Blackout Special:
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Well, this is a fine mess I’ve gotten myself into this time....well might as well make some coffee and tea. Midnight thought as she gingerly got out of bed, not wanting to wake Rarity. Before she left the room, Midnight realized her clothes were on the floor. Oops! Better put those back on... I hope Rarity didn’t get a good look at my cutie mark, or that she doesn’t remember seeing it at all... That’s the one thing my spell can’t change, Midnight thought as she put her mini skirt on.

Midnight headed to the miniature kitchen in her apartment. I just hope Rarity takes this better than I did when it happened with Vinyl, Midnight cringed at that thought, clearly not enjoying that particular memory. Well, good thing my disguise spell is still active... Vinyl didn’t take it too well when she woke up to regular me, Midnight chuckled to herself as she saw her reflection in the coffee maker.

“Huh? Wha...? Where am I!?!” Rarity could be heard screaming at the top of her lungs in the bedroom.

Looks like she’s awake, and not taking it as well as I hoped....this is going to suck, Midnight thought as she prepared a cup of coffee for herself and made some hot water for the tea Rarity would most likely be having.

With a loud bang the bedroom door opened violently to make way for a very angry Rarity. “You!” Rarity shouted at Midnight, “You have some gall to get me drunk and then have your way with me!”

With a sigh, Midnight took a sip of her coffee, looked Rarity in the eyes and said, “First off, I was drunk as well. So drunk I blacked out. That’s why they call the drink I had the Blackout Special. So as to how we wound up in this situation, I have no memory. So I suggest we be civil for now and have something to drink. I have coffee or tea, and then we can get some breakfast before we try and kill each other. Sound good to you?” Never thought I’d be using Vinyl’s lines word for word.

“Fine, tea please... Midnight Glimmer?” Rarity grumbled a bit, still feeling hungover.

“Tea it is then. And yes my name is Midnight Glimmer, but most call me Midnight.” Midnight chuckled as she prepared the tea. “What kind do you prefer? I have Jasmine and Earl Grey.”

“Jasmine is fine.” Rarity stated with a huff.

A few moments later Midnight and Rarity took seats at the small table that served as Midnight’s dinner table. They sipped their drinks in silence not sure what to say to the other. After a few more minutes of silence, Midnight finally spoke. “Okay... using my own experience as a good indication of what’s going on and some street knowledge, I got two theories as to why you may be angry right now: One: this is your first time, and you probably didn’t want it to be as drunk sex. Two: you have your eye on somepony else and wanted to save that for with them. Preferably not drunk though.”

“How.....” Rarity stuttered stunned at Midnight’s analyzation of her situation.

“Like I said, past experience and using some common sense. I mean really, a mare like you getting drunk? There has to be for a reason. And by that I mean you don’t come off as a party pony, unlike the pink and cyan mares that were with you.” Midnight stated calmly.

“You are.... Wait! My friends! Where are they?!!” Rarity panicked.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll find them....I hope.” Midnight said, the last part becoming more of a mubble.

“Ugh....what the buck happened last night?” Rainbow asked, not sure to who she was asking though. Taking a quick glance at her surroundings told her she was back in her dorm room. “How the heck did I get back here?” Rainbow asked aloud as she made her way out her dorm room and into the main living room of the dorm. Looking about the room she noticed what could be described as the aftermath of a tornado that had occurred in the dorm. “Crap.”

“Dashie! Language!” Pinkie shouted as she popped out of the center of it all.

After a few seconds for her brain to process what just happened, Rainbow stated, “Pinks, do you know how we got back? Didn’t the carriage get destroyed?”

“It did, but I fixed it.” Pinkie said nonchalantly.

Resisting the urge to ask how Pinkie accomplished this task, knowing full well that the answer was probably highly unusual, Rainbow merely asked “Have you seen the others?”

“Fluttershy is in her room, and AJ is under this mess with me. I have no clue where Rarity is though.” Pinkie said with a shrug.

Blinking at the response, Rainbow then shook her head and asked, “Why is AJ in there with you?”

“Drunk sex, of course.” Pinkie giggled with a weird smile on her face.

Rainbow opened her mouth a few times trying to respond to what Pinkie just said, with a huff she just stated, “I’m going back to bed, this day is just too random for me.”

“Okie Dokie Lokie” Pinkie said in a sing-song voice, before submerging herself into the mess once again.

Rainbow closed her bedroom door, laid down on her bed and closed her eyes. Ten seconds later, her eyes shot open and screamed, “WE LEFT RARITY BEHIND!!!!!

“So...Got an idea where your friends might be?” Midnight asked Rarity, as they walked the streets of the nightlife district.

“Not in the slightest.” Rarity stated with a huff.

“Hum....Chances are they might not be in this district anymore.” Midnight stated.

“Perhaps.” Rarity meekly said.

The two walked in silence for a few minutes, till Midnight suddenly stopped. “Want to get lunch? Maybe we’ll have better luck after a bit to eat. All we really had for breakfast was coffee and tea.” Midnight asked Rarity.

Rarity mulled over the idea for a bit, then stated: “Very well, but where in this district will we find a place that is open? Are not all the places open at night, and if you have not noticed it is late morning/ early afternoon.”

“Valid points,” Midnight chuckled, “However, I know this district better than you. And I know of a few diners that are open right now. You didn’t think that all this district had to offer was a night scene, did you? There are tons of hotels and motels, not to mention diners, within the confines of this district.”

“Ehehe... I guess I did.” Rarity said with a visible blush, clearly embarrassed by her mistake in judgement.

“Well, let’s get going, we should be able to make the lunchtime special.” Midnight stated as she started to gallop, Rarity close behind as she too started to take a quicker pace.

The two mares ran for close to ten minutes, passing block after block till finally they reached a part of the nightlife district which could be described as almost a normal city downtown. At least in terms of the apartment buildings that lined the streets, that is.

“Welcome to the nightlife district’s sleeping quarter, most of the workers in the district live here, easier to get to their jobs from here than say the suburban district of the city. Also this place houses the best diner in the whole district.” Midnight stated while throwing her front hooves up into the sky.

“Wait, if most of the workers live here, why is your apartment over the nightclub?” inquired Rarity.

“One: it’s much cheaper to rent that apartment. Two: this place isn’t as safe as it seems. Hustlers out the wazoo around here.” Midnight said, but mumbled the last part as if scared of being heard. “Anyway, let’s head on to Zippy’s!” Midnight exclaimed after a few seconds.

“Zippy’s.... Never heard of that before.” Rarity stated.

“Yeah it’s a good place, best food I’ve ever tasted. And it’s run by the kindest guy ever, even though he is very big...Well, you’ll see what I mean when we get in there.” Midnight said with a smile. The two walked for a few more minutes, before seeing a big sign saying ‘Zippy’s’ over a small brick building, which oddly, for the city of Townsville, had no other buildings next to it for at least a good ten yards.

“This is Zippy’s.” Midnight stated.

“How quaint. Though why are the buildings so far from it?” Rarity asked.

“The owner, Zippy Eats, while not the most assertive of folks, does know a thing or two about zoning, and how to make a business run well. Plus, rumors are that he’s dating Zecora, one of Mayor Mare’s assistants.” Midnight stated with a giggle.

“Wait, the zebra that rhymes all the time?” Rarity asked.

“Yep, that’s her.” stated Midnight with a smile.

“Hum... Now I am interested to meet this Zippy Eats.” Rarity mumbled, more to herself than anypony else.

“Well then, let’s go in.” Midnight gleefully chirped.

The two mares walked into the establishment, taking in the scene. Rarity thought to herself the place was quite quaint, with it’s round wooden tables and chairs that made up the main dining area. This dinner even had what could be described as the stereotypical dining bar area in front of the kitchen with a large open window for food to pass behind. Taking another look around Rarity saw that it was fairly busy. My, this place has quite the crowd. Breaking from her thoughts, Rarity saw Midnight head to the bar counter, whom waved at Rarity to come over and take a seat next to her.

As Rarity approached the stool next to Midnight, she took note of the being behind the counter. Oh my! A minotaur!! What have I gotten myself into?!!!!! Taking another look at the minotaur, her thoughts slowed as she took in what she actually seeing. His coloring reminds me of that Iron Will character that’s been in the news, something about assertiveness lessons going awry. Though he doesn’t have a nose ring but those tattoos on his arms and muzzle.... He must be from Equestrian Samarea. Rarity broke from her thoughts just in time to hear Midnight and this minotaur's conversation begin.

“Aloha Wahines! Ey! Aloha Mids! Howzit sista?” said Zippy Eats.

“Been better Zippy, been better. Anyway, Zippy, I would like you to meet Rarity, Rarity this is my friend Zippy Eats, he owns this place, he’s also the top short order chef here. He makes the best food. Anyway Zippy, Rarity and I would like to get lunch.” Midnight sighed.

“Aloha Rarity. You wahines have come at a good time. Da food today brok’ da mout!” Zippy exclaimed.

“Oh, braddah. Fo’ Real? You always say that.” Midnight chuckled at her own fake Samarean accent, lucky Zippy too joined in the laughing as well.

Meanwhile Rarity was in shock at the scene before her. Who is this Midnight Glimmer? She is an enigma wrapped in a mystery inside a paradox....Wait, where did that thought come from?

“Mids? Dis sista be acting lolo.” Zippy stated.

“No, she isn’t. She has never been here before, and only just meet me, so I expected such reactions from her. Give her time.” Midnight tried to placate the minotaur’s worries.

“K’den. Wat ya wanna eat?” Zippy asked.

“Just the usual.” Midnight simply stated.

“Ah, choke of lei covered in poi. I will be back wiki wiki.” With that Zippy headed to the kitchen to place the order. From her seat, Midnight could see Zippy talking to the other chef in the back. Turning her attention back to Rarity, she saw that her friend was still in shock over the whole situation.

“You okay there Rarity?” Midnight inquired.

“Huh?... Oh yes, sorry about that darling. It’s just I never suspected that you knew a fellow such as mister Eats.” Rarity said after she shook off her initial shock.

“I suspected as much. Don’t let Eats’ appearance intimidate you. He’s really a big softy.” Midnight snickered.

“I guess you’re right.” Rarity sighed.

“Want to talk? I can see something is on your mind. We really didn’t get to talk earlier.” Midnight stated with a slight twinge of guilt.

Rarity mulled over her thoughts for a few minutes, “I guess. I am more angry at myself than at you for this whole situation.” Rarity finished with a huff.

“Well, that’s a start. But I can see something else is on your mind.” Midnight tried to coax Rarity to say more.

“Hum, I guess there is, but you think I am silly for having this on my mind.” Rarity sighed.

“Oh come on! No I wouldn’t.” Midnight chuckled while batting a hoof at Rarity.

“Well, seeing as I told my friends this already, I guess telling you isn’t too bad. You see Midnight, I am in love, and I guess I always pictured my first time being with her.” Rarity finally confessed to Midnight.

“Her?” Midnight squeaked. Rarity is a lesbian? Holy Faust, I never would have guessed. Midnight thought to herself, it was the only thought that prevailed in her now shocked state.

“Yes, the mare that I love is the smartest, most beautiful, adorkable mare around,” Rarity smiled as thoughts of her beloved filled her mind, before her smile faded to her next thoughts. “She hardly knows what she does to me, just by looking my way. I’d give anything to tell her how I feel, but alas I get cold hooves when I try to say something. It does not help that she is always keeping to herself.” Rarity explained in her usual drama queen fashion.

“Wow, sounds tuff. You know from the way you described this mare, she might not be on the market for long. You might want to tell her sooner rather than later. If you wait, she might be picked up by somepony else.” Midnight stated, having shaken off her shock.

“You’re right! I must tell her how I feel! But how?” Rarity pleaded.

“Geev da sista a tiki, but not any tiki, a tiki of Laka.” Zippy said as he returned with a plate of food.

“Laka? Isn’t she the goddess of fertility and the hula?” Midnight asked her Samarean friend.

“Fo’ shua, but we from da i’land see ‘er as love as well.” Zippy responded with a big smile.

“It’s an interesting idea but I have no such item on me. Nor do I know where to get or how to make such an item.” Rarity confessed.

“Tiki can be anything sista, just make shua it come from da heart.” Zippy replied

“Really? Oh thank you Zippy, you have given me an idea!” Rarity exclaimed.

“No prob sista, just be happy is all I ask.” Zippy smiled, then preceded to help another customer.

“Well, let’s eat then find your friends. Sound good Rarity?” Midnight asked.

“A most excellent idea.” Rarity replied.

After eating the authentic Samarean dish, the two mares said their thanks to Zippy and left the establishment full and prepared for whatever else the day could throw at them. Though one thought prevailed over all other thoughts in the mares’ minds. What are the others up to?

-Back at the Lunar dorm -

“Girls!!! Wake up!! We got to find Rarity!!!” Rainbow screamed as she frantically tried to wake her friends from their collective stupor.

Applejack yawned, “I don’t see what the fuss is about, Rarity is a grown mare she can handle herself.”

“But, we just left her Faust knows where.” Rainbow retorted.

“Umm... I might know where she might be.” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Where?” Rainbow inquired.

“I remember her and the DJ having a drunk conversation during the DJ’s second break, seems they might have... Well you know.” Fluttershy confessed with a blush.

Rainbow was shocked, more that Fluttershy was saying it and not over what she had just implied. Shaking the thoughts from her head, Rainbow responded, “Still we should find her.”

“Oh oh, I get to st-borrow another carriage!!!” Pinkie spoke up, though it was clear, to all present, that she was about to say ‘steal’.

“I’d rather not go to jail, Pinks.” Rainbow stated defiantly.

“Why? Jail is fun, especially when you break out.” Pinkie said with a smile.

Rainbow, AJ and Fluttershy just had one thought going through their heads at this point. When did Pinkie go to jail? And did she say she broke out?

“I don’t want to know.” Rainbow, Fluttershy and AJ, all said at the exact same time.

“So, let’s get going.” Rainbow stated.

“But where to? We have no clue where Rarity is.” Fluttershy said, her head dropping a bit in sadness.

“Best place ta start would be where we all last saw ‘er. Ah say we just search that district for Rares then.” AJ stated.

“Sounds like a plan.” Rainbow concurred.

“I’ll get the carriage.” Pinkie call out to her friends, from outside the dorm.

“How did she get out there so fast?” Rainbow asked, as she saw Pinkie run off to get the carriage, from the window.

“Not a clue, sugarcube.” AJ relented, Fluttershy just nodded in agreement.

A few minutes later Pinkie showed up with a carriage. It was similar in design as the one from last time, but this one was black with silver inlays around the wheel wells on the frame.

“Where did ya find this one?” AJ asked.

“Oh, I got it from a friend.” Pinkie replied.

“Anything we should know about this friend?” Rainbow inquired.

“You don’t need to know anything personal about my friend, but incase any cops ask this isn’t the carriage they are looking for. Trust me, you want to play stupid.” Pinkie stated.

“How are we friends with her again?” Rainbow whispered to AJ.

“Not a clue, sugarcube.” AJ whispered back.

“Umm, shouldn’t we be looking for Rarity right now?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Right! Let’s get a move on!” Pinkie said as she hopped down and opened the carriage door, before she proceeded to hop back into the driver’s podium in one fluid movement. AJ, Fluttershy and Rainbow hopped in and they were ready to roll.

Now back in the nightlife district, the four friends headed to the last place they remember seeing their friend, Luna’s Den. When they got there, they had forgotten the first rule about nightclubs, namely that they’re not open during the day.

“So, what now?” AJ asked.

“Give me a minute to think.” Rainbow snapped.

“Oh, what was that bar we first went to? Pony Joe’s? Maybe Pony Joe can give us some ideas.” Pinkie suggested.

“Better than nothing.” Rainbow relented.

They hopped back into the carriage and made a beeline for Pony Joe’s. After a few minutes, the girls found themselves in front of the bar that, for them the night before, started it all. Luckily for the mares, Pony Joe’s was indeed open. When they walked inside, they noticed the bar wasn’t as packed as it was last night.

“This place must not get a lot of business during the day.” Rainbow whispered to Pinkie.

“For sure.” Pinkie whispered back.

Meanwhile, AJ walked over to the bar and waved down Pony Joe. “Hey Joe, Ah need to ask ya somethin.” AJ stated

“Sure AJ, what you need? Something go wrong at Luna’s Den?” Pony Joe inquired.

“Sorta, ya see we’re tryin to find our friend, and the last place we saw ‘em was at that there nightclub, but it’s closed. We know Rarity is with that there Midnight. We’re hopin ya might know where they might be.” AJ explained.

“Hum.... Midnight has an apartment on the second floor of Luna’s Den.....Seeing as it’s noonish, I guess they went to Zippy’s for lunch.” Pony Joe replied with a shrug. “Midnight always eats there. Heck, all the workers ‘round here do.”

“Zippy’s huh, care to tell us how to get there?” AJ asked.

“Head west for five blocks, then head north for 6, turn left onto Kiwi Street, then you should see a sign that says ‘Zippy’s’.” Pony Joe stated flawlessly, from memory as one who walks that path everyday.

“Thank ya kindly.” AJ tipped her stetson. “Come on girls, we got ourselves a lead.” AJ said to her friends. A few seconds later they were out on the street and about to get into the carriage when Rainbow crashed into another pony.

“Ow! Oh, who did I bump into this time?” Rainbow asked as she rubbed her head with one of her forehooves.

“That would be me. I wish I could say ‘it was nice to meet you,’ but under the circumstances, that’s not likely. Anyway, my name is Cadence.” Said the pony, now identified as Cadence.

“Nice to meet ya, I’m AppleJack, this here is Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. The pony that crashed into ya is Rainbow Dash.” AJ said. “Now Rainbow apologize to miss Cadence for crashing into ‘er.” AJ snorted at Rainbow.

“Ugh... Fine.... Sorry I bumped into you.... Now can we go we got to find Rarity.” Rainbow said with a huff.

“Oh, looking for a friend? Need some help?” Cadence asked.

“Thank ya kindly, but we know where to go to find ‘er. She’s with that Midnight character.” AJ spoke up.

“Oh! She’s with Midnight huh? Well, don’t worry too much then, Midnight is a responsible mare. Oh! When you see Midnight, tell her that I say ‘sunshine.’ She’ll know what that means.” Cadence said as she started to walk away, leaving behind a fairly confused group of mares.

“Anypony got a clue what that means?” Rainbow asked.

“Not a clue, sugarcube.” AJ shaking her head, Pinkie and Fluttershy doing the same. After a few moments of silence, AJ said “Well, let’s get a move on, we still need to find Rares.”

“Hey girls? Did you notice she had wings and a horn.” Pinkie said as she climbed to the driver’s podium.

“Yeah.... But no time to figure that out Pinks, we got to find Rares. One mystery at a time.” Rainbow stated, as the girls once again entered the carriage.

Once again, the girls found themselves traveling the streets of the nightlife district in an attempt to find their lost friend. After a good ten minutes of driving, the found themselves outside of the diner known as Zippy’s.

“I hope she is here.” squeaked Fluttershy as she made her way to the door of the diner.

“Yeah, me too.” Rainbow stated.

The girls walked into the diner and made a beeline for the counter, once there they only waited a few seconds before Zippy Eats made an appearance, “Aloha Wahines! Welcome ta Zippy’s. I be Zippy Eats, da owner and operator.”

“Hello mister Eats, we’re here looking for a friend. We heard she might have come by these parts.” AJ stated calmly. This wasn’t her first rodeo, and a minotaur short order chef was not that odd to the mare.

“Ah, I try and help but ya know ya friend’s name?” Zippy asked.

“Rarity.” AJ said.

“Eh! The sista was ‘ere, left with Mids a few moments ago, ya just missed um.” Zippy stated with a smile.

“Great, now where could they be?” Rainbow huffed.

“If I ‘ad to guess, Mids probably took Rarity back ta ‘er place.” Zippy thought as he rubbed his chin.

The mares just stared at Zippy. The silence that persisted was only broken by Rainbow losing her cool and shouting, “You’re telling us we have to go back to the beginning of this entire mess!”

“Settle down, Dash! Thank ya kindly there mister Eats, we will be on our way now.” AJ said.

“Was nothin sista, go, find ya friend.” Zippy said with a smile as he waved to the leaving group of mares. Zippy thought to himself, Mids fo’ shua knows how to keep things lolo around dis place.

Out on the streets, the carriage carrying the intrepid girls was racing down the streets, making a beeline for Luna’s Den. Or it would have, had it not come to a sudden stop, causing the passengers inside to crash to the floor.

“What gives Pinkie?!!” Rainbow screamed.

“Sorry Dashie, but I see Rarity on the sidewalk with Midnight.” Pinkie replied from the driver’s podium.

“That’s great! Let’s go see what’s up with the drama queen.” Rainbow stated as she threw open the carriage door. Pinkie jumped from the driver’s podium as Fluttershy, AJ and Rainbow raced out of the carriage, and all made a beeline for Rarity, who was a few yards ahead. They all cried her name as they closed the gap, ready to pounce.

Rarity turned her head and saw her friends as they plowed into her in dog pile formation. This resulted in the pile of ponies falling to the ground. Rarity groaned, “Oww! Girls! I am happy to see you but if you would please, Get the Hay Off of Me!”

“Sorry Rarity, we were just so worried about you.” Fluttershy confessed.

“Shy’s right, we were worried.” Rainbow admitted in a rare show of emotion.

“Ya got that right, sugarcube. We had a mess of fright when we realized ya were gone.” AJ stated.

“Yeah! I was super dupper worried.” Pinkie exclaimed. “I only had like three cakes for breakfast I was so worried.”

“Well darlings, I thank you for the concern, but as you can see, I am fine.” Rarity stated as she picked herself up after the girls got up off of her.

“Seems like your friends missed you, Rarity.” Midnight chuckled, though thinking to herself, My friends sure are protective. Maybe even crazily so.

“Thank you for an interesting day Midnight.” Rarity said with a slight smile.

“No problem. Anyway, I got to head back and prepare for my next shift. See you around, maybe?” Midnight said, turning around and heading to her apartment.

“Oh, Midnight! We ran into a friend of yours, named Cadence. She said to tell you ‘sunshine’.” Rainbow spoke up.

Midnight stopped in her tracks, turned to face Rainbow, and asked in a calm but eerily angry voice, “Cadence said what?”

“She said ‘sunshine.’ She said you would know what that means.” Rainbow gulped.

“That bitch is dead!” Midnight howled, causing the girls to flinch back in fear.

Steeling herself, AJ inquired, “What does ‘sunshine’ mean to ya? And why are you angry at this Cadence character?”

Taking a calming breath, Midnight sighed, “The story is long and convoluted, but here is the jist of it: Cadence is a stripper from the red-light mini district around here. She has a reputation of sleeping around with many of her patrons. She even has a system in place where she will date somepony for a time then dump them. When she dumps them, she for some reason calls it ‘sunshine.’ Anyway, her latest date has been the bouncer you meet last night, Shining Armor. The reason I am so mad is because everypony at Luna’s Den is like family. And that bitch is going to break his heart.”

“Wow....Just wow. That’s messed up.” Rainbow stated.

“Yeah, unfortunately that’s the rules here, all things get messed up.” Midnight sighed, “Anyway, been nice meeting all of you, I should head back to my apartment, something tells me it’s going to be a long night.” Shining is most likely going to be crushed, this is one hell of a weekend. Midnight thought as she left the group of mares.

After Midnight was out of sight, Rarity addressed her friends, “Well girls, this has been an experience. Perhaps we should adjourn back to the dorm.”

“Sure Rares, but I got to ask what happened last night?” Rainbow inquired.

“I hate to say it, but it was what you would expect when two ponies drink too much.” Rarity sighed.

“Ohhh....So you and Midnight did the deed then?” Rainbow stated in a hushed voice.

“Yes, but it ended surprisingly well, all things considered. I even got advice on how to express my feelings to Twilight.” Rarity stated with a smile.

“That’s good news, sugarcube.” AJ cheered.

“So, how are you going to do it?” Pinkie asked, with a grin on her face.

“That, darling, is going to be my little secret.” Rarity winked seductively.

“Does it involve mustaches?”

“No- What?” Rarity balked as they began to trot back to the carriage.
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Author's Note

chapter 4 is up. leave questions and comments below, tell me what you thought? also give it up for my new oc minotaur, Zippy Eats