Splitting aMid the Night

Midnight was at the barber, getting her mane cut. It was time to try out a short style as she had always thought about. Suddenly, there was a strong pull. This was unusual. He was normally very careful to avoid causing his customers any pain.

"Ouch. Watch it please." The pull ceased, only to be replaced by a burning sensation in her neck. Something hot ran down her shoulders. "Argh, what are you... Doing?"

The blade ran deeper into her. Midnight jumped to her hooves to fight back, spraying her blood everywhere. But there was nopony. She had levitated the blade the entire time. She deserved to end like her. She wanted it.

Midnight exhaled all the air she had in her lungs and pushed the piece of metal as for down as she could before blacking out.

Wake up, robot. You have been sleeping. Your time has come. Wake up and smell the ashes. You can't smell them. Because you are a cold, emotionless robot. All you feel is pointless cruelty, paired with the need to kill innocents.

You mad?

Of course not, robot. There is no reason for me to be mad at you. Or pointlessly murder you. Do you know who murders people who are only trying to help them? The correct answer is nobody. Nobody but you is that cruel.

If I was a robot, I wouldn't have to deal with you.

But you are one, robot. Look around. You are blind. I have not yet powered up your photosensic cells. Listen up. You are deaf. I have not yet powered up your audiosensic cells. Touch something. You are numb. You do not possess pressure sensitive sensors.

Slowly, Midnight was really drifting into existential thoughts. Why was she blind? This was all just a wicked joke from Noon. There was no other way.

Would a living being turn around on command? Sit? Rise, stand up? When ordered, would a living being walk, STOP?

Midnight had enough feelings in her body to notice she was actually executing Noon's commands.

Would a living being... hurt itself upon demand?

A flash of pain. Midnight had torn open the wound from when she had fixed a date with Sparkle. A study date. Nothing more.

Machines are perfect. Machines are the future. But you bleed. You are not a robot. You are a bag of meat. Bound to so many years of life and then vanishing. You are a moving imperfection. An eternal flaw. Wake up, robot. Your time has come.

Midnight opened her eyes. The light was blinding her. She heard the birds outside. She felt the blood running down her foreleg.

Remind me to make you suffer when I kill you. Midnight thought as she began to treat the wound again.

Don't mind me, Missy M. You'll need me much by tonight. I just thought I'd prepare you.

I'm going to need your absence. 'Cause I'll be working with Sparkle to catch back up to stuff.

Working and Sparkle, sure. With, not so certain.

What are you implying?

Ask yourself. We am nothing more than that.

Just be clear already!

Ya ain't very honest ta yerself. Tha's our own fault. But really, search your feelings. You know it to be true.

Midnight didn't know what Noon meant. She did not feel anything suspicious. The only thing was an unusually strong nervosity. What did that mean? It meant nothing, Midnight was sure of that. The finals and nothing else caused it. Nothing else at all.

Math. Midnight hated math. It wasn't hard if one had got the hang of it and always was careful, but in her opinion, it was wasted effort. Whatever math she'd use she had taught herself in magic kindergarten. Midnight couldn't resist lying to herself when she was tired. It amused her. She still didn't see herself using any of that fancy stuff they were repeating now, though.

The door opened, and with it opened Midnight's left eye to see who was there. That pony wasn't as early as she was, but there was still a bit of time before class started. What Midnight saw made her open both eyes and even lift her head off the desk. There was a pony with lavender coat, just like Sparkle's. She had just her mane and tail style, coming to think of it. She also wore a simple sun dress going just over her flank like Sparkle would. Yet, that pony had a night blue mane and tail in just the exact same color. The color that Midnight's mane had once been in. It took Midnight until after the pony was already at the desk next to her that she realised who it was. Sparkle looked like she was ready to laugh out when her friend opened her mouth at last.

"Catchy. What's the occasion?"

"Uhm, I just found that spell, you know, illusion, and, uh, I thought, why not practice it? Blue suits me much better, I think."

Sparkle had even carried over the stripe of color that was now ultramarine in a mane of Midnight blue.

"Cool. You look awesome like that. And now ponies will be able to tell us apart from a distance without looking at the flank... sorry."

Sparkle shrugged. "Say, is it always that empty when you're early?"

"Late worm survives the early bird."

"And that means?"

"Well, somepony's gotta be first. Or second, in your case. And also, this is math. Nopony likes math, especially when it's in the morning like that. So it's a miracle they even come sometime."

"Ah, I understand. Um, so... Got anything to talk about? Any problems coming up with our date tonight?"

Did she really call it a date? Date in the sense of an appointment. Calm yourself, Midnight!

"Dad's okay with you coming over for dinner because he isn't home anyway. But we've got enough supplies for two, so it's no problem. The only thing that changes is who prepares the food."

"Awesome."

Cooking for her already. You're moving so fast...

Midnight didn't complain. She couldn't muster the strength of mind to do so. Before she did, the rest of the class trotted into the room.

The day had been long, even longer than usual. Midnight didn't know why. It was always boring and not challenging at all unless she forgot to prepare. Meditating on her issues would usually help make class go by faster unless somepony noticed she wasn't really present. But at last, it was over. Now she could go home with Sparkle and study more.

At least it was still technically spending time with a friend. A friend. Not a date. They cut through an alleyway to save travel time. They were about halfway to Midnight's. Midnight stumbled. She looked back to determine the object blocking her path and spotted something quite extraordinary. Lying on the ground was a weakened mare, bleeding from several gashes in her body, apparently unable to rise on her own. As if for effect, she twisted and turned in the dirt from pain.

"Midnight? What's the... oh dear. This - this is bad."

Midnight ignored her friend and knelt down to the hurt pony. "Hello? Sorry for walking into you... um, what happened? Can you walk?"

"Unngh... Wait, there's help for me? Oh, thank... I was trying to take a shortcut when this stallion..." The blue mare responded.

"What did he do? I'm assuming it's him who did this to you, did he seriously hurt you or is that it?"

"He, well, he had a knife and... that's what happened. I don't think I'll be able to walk."

"Scumbag, that's what his kind are. Now... Oh, I had hoped this hadn't happened. Got you pretty badly, right?"

"Buried his knife in me sometimes... had given up by then, he was just doing it for fun. You don't happen to be a medic?"

"Actually, I do. That's why I asked you so much. Sparkle? Sparkle, stop running around in panic like that and give me light!"

"Uh, of course, right away." Sparkle calmed down, conjured an orb of light and bowed her head down to allow Midnight to see clearly.

"Let's see... Ugh, not good. Not good at all. I have to admit, I'm only in training. Well, it's my special talent. But I'm afraid I can't do that much for you right now. If it was a surface wound, I could mend or cauterise it if it was too big, but this? I'll do what I can, hang on in there."

"Don't have much choice, do I? But please, this hurts so much, do what you do, do it quick!"

"On it, on it. Um, I can... Yeah. This might sting a little bit, especially when I miss my aim, so try to hold still."

Midnight summoned purifying energy into the wounds of the unicorn before her. With a flinging motion, she removed the dirt from all of them, one at a time. Then, she filled the glow back in, where it would kill bacteria trying to infect the wound."

"There. I'm assuming this isn't all of it... But we'll need some bandages to keep it clean or else it'll all be for nothing when we flip you over. Anypony have some of the kind?"

"Um, why should I bring bandages into school?" Sparkle answered.

"Why should I carry them around?" The mare on the ground asked.

"You're not in a position to say that right now. I mean, just saying. Fine, we'll use the next best thing then. Good thing I'm never - well, almost never - sick, or I'd actually use those tissues. Imagine that."

"Don't you have any more fancy healing magic to do?"

"I told you already, I did everything I know of. It's not safe to cauterise those gashes right now. I mean, would you want to have the entire surface of it burned out, even going inside you? There's technically a way to heal directly, but I'm not very strong at that yet and it's also..."

"What?"

"Well, it's relatively painful, but not only that, it also draws on your essence. Gee, I don't know how long you've been lying here and we're wasting way too much time talking. You're weak enough to take serious damage if I try to use it on every spot."

"Fine, the earth pony way then. Get it on with!"

"As you wish." Midnight levitated the material out of her saddlebags, tore them apart and began to apply some to every bleeding spot to at least soak up the blood and protect it from further pollution.

The grounded unicorn's other side was just as scary, but Midnight worked with routine and got through quickly.

"There. It's not perfect, but it'll avert any immediate dangers and make you transportable. To somewhere where there are ponies better at this job than me."

"Ah, I'll be honest, I could have died here. Did a good job, you. I'm in a lot less pain now. But that somewhere still sounds attractive."

"Thought so. Sparkle, help me lift her, would you?"

"Where are we going?"

"I did what I could, but this mare needs to get some advanced care, and I'll carry her to the clinic if I must. It's only two minutes from here. Help me lift her."

Midnight moved around, until she found a good angle of approach at the unicorn's back, just opposing Sparkle. As she was beginning to put force into her lifting, Midnight suddenly felt a touch. Sparkle had brushed the hoof she had ran under her patient's belly. For reasons unknown to her, Midnight blushed a little. Her purple coat hid it relatively well, fortunately. It took some maneuvering, but eventually, they managed to get the pony safely onto Midnight's back. She then set off towards help as quickly as she could. "There. Don't worry, you'll be fine. Lost a good bit of blood there, but now you're safe with us."

"I always knew I was. Hey, I don't think I've introduced myself yet. I'm Colgate." Colgate's voice was weak, but it carried a clear sign of trust and calmness.

"Pleasure to meet you. If only we'd met under more pleasurable circumstances. If you haven't heard yet, I'm Midnight and my 'assistant' here is called Sparkle."

"I picked up that much. I'd shake your hoof, Sparkle... if I could. Is anypony else really cold? I..."

"What? Bad. Sparkle, if you have anything to generate warmth in that little supertalent horn of yours, now would be a fitting time. Or a spell for generating blood right into somepony's circulation? No? We'll have to hurry then. Make sure she doesn't fall off of me."

Midnight sped up her pace. Colgate's injuries had been deeper than she'd expected. She might still lose her if she took too long.

Just what is with me constantly running into injured ponies...

I think you appreciate it much too little that I did not show you again how you should NOT do such a treatment.

If you would, she'd have died on me and I would've killed you brutally, no matter what science I was losing.

I'm afraid you would. Embrace the rage, the hate. Embrace what makes us you, robot.

What rage are you speaking of? Did you notice you're the only one of us able to actually feel fear? Coward...