Splitting aMid the Night

"Just cutting it down or should we restyle it as well? Something to keep it out of your eyes, perhaps?"

The barber pony's question rose something in Midnight. She had come only to have one or two inches cut from her mane, but now that she was confronted with it, she felt the urge, the need to be beautiful. In her earlier life, she had never cared about her looks. She liked to have her mane long so that she could have it fall over her face and hide in it if needed. Then again, there was nothing to hide from anymore. Her life was at peace and about to change drastically for the better. The simple straight style felt unfulfilling.

"What do you have in mind?" she asked. The servicer used his magic to levitate her mane into shape. What she saw in the mirror reminded her of a picture she had once seen in one of those crackpot magazines claiming the existence of another sentient species in a reality not too far from Equestria. In every issue, they would print another story about one of them making their way to Equestria. She had stopped reading that magazine once she had fallen in love with Twilight and read a certain story about a houmen, as she thought to remember they were named, doing very naughty things to Sparkle. Things she reserved for herself. "That looks great, given I can afford it..."

"Ma'am, don't worry about it. The sign might say 'expensive', but it's actually pretty cheap. This style in particular isn't hard to make. The total price'll be forty bits. I think that's not too much, right?"

Midnight pondered the offer. Forty bits were a bit of an investment, more than she had expected to spend. Then again, she had a solid salary and a father to fall back on if it came to the worst. Also, that need for beauty just wouldn't go away. She might be able to utilise this small sacrifice if it made a certain somepony finally discover her feelings for her.

"Yeah, I think that'd be lovely."

"Very well. So, Midnight, was it? I've never seen you around, are you new here?"

Barbershop talk. What a farce.

"Yeah, just moved in from Canterlot. Been there my whole life minus about a week already, graduated from Celestia's School for Gifted bla bla bla."

And now he'll say...

"Oh, wonderful. I've visited the castle once or twice. I imagine it must be nice to live there."

Midnight wanted to try out every single one of the fifty actions to express her displeasure to herself, a sarcastic eye roll on top of the list. However, since he could see her face in the mirror while working on her mane, she kept it to herself. "Sure, if you can stand everypony else. It's really a great position to stargaze from, though."

To which he'll reply...

"Must be great. Yeah, down here in Ponyville, there's usually a bit too much light. Canterlot Castle also hosts the Grand Galloping Gala, I think. Have you been there?"

Midnight couldn't repress a snort over the silly question. "Me? Your average good-for-nothing unicorn? You'd have to be royalty or something just to watch it from afar. Though I have visited the castle itself once as a filly. Even caught a glimpse of Celestia, lucky me."

"Princess Celestia can be pretty amazing, I've heard."

Midnight caught the emphasis he put on the first word in the sentence and responded with a sly tone, "Oh, please. A little somepony I know told me she actually prefers to be called just Celestia."

Or I just picked up that way of speaking from hanging out with that filly for three months. Hm. Interesting that she didn't mind to mask it while in disguise. Moreso that she, of all ponies, even considers acting disrespectful towards Celly.

"You're in touch with royalty after all?"

"I guess you could say that..."

He'll pick up the previous topic by saying...

"So what brought you to Ponyville?"

Midnight let out a barely concealed sigh. This conversation was more than predictable, yet she was stuck until he was finished.

What exactly do I say? 'I came here because it's a town of idiots not afraid to work'? 'I'm chasing somepony whose leg you'd voluntarily hump to Tartarus if she'd let you who, all I know, considers me as a good friend'?

I'll help you out.

Midnight felt her lips move while her lungs expelled air, but those movements were not of her own origin, "I've got a job here."

That was spooky. Never do that again. I like doing things by myself.

Insert masturbation joke here.

Oh come on!

"That's nice. What a great mane you have. Let's see if we can't work its colors into the style."

"Actually," Midnight began to explain, but instead decided to drop some of the illusion in her mane so that there was blue within the pink reading 'This is fake'. "Given that, just do what you want, I'll adjust it to that."

After far too many minutes of tedious, forced conversation, Midnight was finally relieved of her torment. At least, she thought she was as she dispelled and reapplied the illusion to have the part of her mane that fell over her face be pink again. While the style had obviously been designed for short hair, she wasn't going to let anypony rob her of her precious length.

"Lovely. We'll take the same length off your tail, then?"

"Uh..." It was custom in Canterlot for a pony's tail to be cut by their mother, spouse, or other guardians where the former options weren't available. Although, if everything was done right, there was little strength to the reason that had established it. Midnight had suspected the whole thing to be a conspiracy coming from the blade suppliers for years. "Yeah, of course."

It felt plain odd. Midnight knew there was no base to why she felt that way, but she still couldn't resist occasionally flicking her tail while it was being worked. She tried to focus on something else and watched the bits of hair drop to the floor. Lacking connection to its power source, the spell on them fell out of control, sparkled slightly and slowly faded back to blue. Seeing that almost made Midnight want to reconsider her opinion on herself, to take into account what school she had graduated from. However, the simplicity of the spell, its inability to sustain itself as soon as it got separated from an energy source, prevented her from finishing that thought.

When it was in the proper length, he combed everything through again. Midnight took that as a sign that she'd finally be able to leave.

Well, this wasn't just as bad as I imagined. Wait, did he just... buddy, if you touch that plot one more time, magic or other, I will comb your villi. Is that clear? Why exactly am... ugh, anyway.

Why are there five words for the same thing without even going into vulgar language?

I'd rather not endulge into the deep philosophy of etymology right now.

Just warming you up.

Item four. Since it was just barely past lunchtime, Midnight had plenty of time to kill. In order to do that, Midnight had first briefly checked back on all of her patients, then spotted Twilight coming to visit one of them, sprinted into the office and teleported home from there. Now, she was lying on her bed, leafing through her favorite picture book, Equine Anatomy Illustrated, which was one of her oldest possessions. Some ponies thought that a book filled with images of drawings of specific regions within ponies was disturbing, but Midnight enjoyed just looking at it, pleased to find that she could still name every major bone after the last time she had learned it by rote. She didn't waste time thinking about what she might have become had she had regular storybooks in her foalhood. She just loved this one too much. So much, in fact, that it showed damage that was far beyond what should be expected for its age. Thinking back of when she used to sleep with it brought a nostalgic smile to her face. In moments like those, she could forget who she was and how her attitude was supposed to be. In such moments, she felt true love, and true hope.

What is better, to be born good or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?

You cannot avoid evil if you have not experienced it. If there is nothing but good in your heart, you may end up doing bad with the best of intentions. Not that there is anything bad to evil done with a good heart, serving purely the greater purpose.

There is no evil that cannot be forgiven if honestly remorsed. For us, mercy is victory. We have seen what this world has to offer, but in its face... we turn to pacifism. We turn to peace. The world isn't ready for a mind as true as ours. Think about it. Philosophise, publish that, create utopia, infinite money.

Utopia is a people, no place. And in our world, there is no place for those who cannot understand the true nature of evil, pain trying to relieve itself by spreading to others while never diminishing within the individual. One way or the other, we would have to dispose of those of good nature. Those... like Sparkle.

Sacrifices must be made to prove your faith.

Or... I could give it up, seeing as any notable accomplishment is impossible within a mortal lifespan. I would prefer to claim everything I ever wanted, instead of falling into Shy's psychoses and making sacrifices to the Flow in order to pursue everything I could ever want.

Some would say to risk everything for a chance of redemption in the end. However, those tend to be living in a reality like the one in a certain book under your bed.

'T's good lecture, 'kay?

Of course it is. That and nothing else.

Before long, seven o'clock arrived and Midnight began to slowly make her way out. In the living room, Vinyl Scratch proved to be a valuable distraction to pass those ten minutes she had to arrive late out of politeness or pure malicious intent, should politeness not be a valid reason.

"Didn't see ya all day. Hehey, did your mane, didn't you. Nice, is there a reason?" the white mare asked from the sofa.

"As a matter of fact, I'm dating tonight. You might not want to wait for me."

"Finally got Twilight Sparkle around?" Midnight responded with silence. Vinyl got the point after about two seconds. "Well, whatever you want. Might I ask what made you?"

Midnight pawed at the brown carpet with a forehoof, "Trying to get her out of my mind. Maybe something'll result from it. In any case, it'll be a free dinner for me. She's kinda pathetic."

"Hum. I'd have expected it to be a stallion that's twisted your mind into going out with him. I guess you're a filly fooler all the way."

"Mares just... I don't know. I'm not turned off by stallions, just attracted more by those two fillies. Maybe because about ninety-five percent of all ponies seem to be female. Don't ask me how we survived up until now. Maybe because they actually care for body hygiene. Oh, that sweet smell only mares are allowed to... erm..."

Vinyl cracked a small smile of plain amusement over Midnight's rambling. "Caught ya drift. Love is just evolved friendship. Ain't anypony gonna complain if your best friend's a mare, so why should they be allowed to if you take it to the next level?"

Midnight felt the need to explain herself, "Oh, I'm not saying anything about those bloody homophobics. Filly fooler, homosexual, lesbian, they can call me whatever they want, I don't care, as long as my filly of choice doesn't either. But as soon as I'm seeing tears, they know they've screwed up."

"Aye. Same goes for me 'n' 'Tavy. Not that she'd need anypony defending her, of course. Pray to Celestia you'll never see her angry."

Midnight saw the time as Vinyl changed channels on the television. She was just as late as she wanted to be. "I think I'll be on my way then."

"Have fun and don't forget, bring me home a bride!" Vinyl said with a grin that made her mouth bear a close resemblance to the number three. Midnight just couldn't explain how everypony around her managed to look so cute and happy and joyfully oblivious to the horrors of the world outside.

Having a fallback, yes?

You be quiet unless spoken to. Dreams of utopia are nice and everything, but reality is a nightmare.

This is where true strength comes into play. It would be so easy to misjudge them, but we must see past that illusion of bad behavior to reveal and cure the suppressed pain hidden underneath.

So far, so good. Now how can I exploit her best?

Midnight gave her glass another swirl. The evening was going just as planned. After she had arrived at Shimmer's house, she had been brought to yet another small restaurant somewhere in Ponyville which looked exactly like any other she had previously seen. The Sun had already gone down, which was expectable in the end of February, making Luna's moon and artifical lighting the only light sources available. In this specific moment, most of the illumination was provided by the candle on their table or the shimmer of Midnight's magic when she used it to levitate part of the dinner like a proper unicorn. She had, since her magic had grown strong enough, been indoctrinated with the teaching that she had to make every food related item come to her while eating. Naturally, pegasi and earth ponies weren't affected by this rule, seeing as they had no way to use magic other than a skilled unicorn companion, but Midnight had no intention to feed Shimmer.

Knowing how much ethanol it contained, Midnight took her time to finish her glass of wine. This seemed to slightly unnerve Shimmer. Even if she cared, though, Midnight couldn't accept subtle accusations of uncouthness from somepony who had drunk her portion from a solid mug because genetics hadn't granted her a horn. Perhaps Midnight would be more interested in her if Shimmer was an alicorn. That'd make their eventual marriage an affair of state, like the one that had happened at Canterlot not too long ago. She didn't understand what the deal with that one had been. She found it so boring that she had actually slept through most of it, not having the feeling of missing anything. A royal marriage between two mares would certainly give out a message about homosexuality nopony could ignore, though they would probably still pick on colt cuddlers. Midnight couldn't say she knew many stallions she cared about, less even with that kind of orientation, though she wouldn't be surprised to see at least somepony from her class with a male companion one day. Given she would see any of them again, which she tried to avoid to the best of her ability. She'd probably have to invite them to her wedding, though. If she ever had one, which sounded unlikely.

She cast her eyes back up from the red liquid to see Shimmer looking back at her with an expectant expression in her eyes. Of course, they were supposed to talk. She took another tiny sip, barely enough to visibly lower the fluid level, and set the glass down before reticently picking up conversation again or rather making Shimmer do it, "Hm?"

"Just noticed how great you look. Love that mane cut."

Midnight blew the single strain that always seemed to be there no matter what she did from her face. She knew flattery when encountering it, but she decided to play along for the moment. Sometimes, she too needed some compliments to keep her ego going. "You're too kind."

"Only the best for you."

Midnight knew that this was standard dating vocabulary, but even though she could and maybe had to take Shimmer if she wanted, she couldn't help but feel like she was cheating on that somepony who had no idea of what troubled her or why she and Midnight were still such close friends.

"So what did you do, you know, the last years?" Midnight asked, faking interest she honestly had.

Shimmer waved a casual hoof, "Standard stuff. Came to Ponyville, found a nice home, got to stargazing. Night is so wonderful."

"I know I am," Midnight instantly intersected.

"Uh... sure."

Thus, another awkward silence began, caused by Midnight's rudeness. Fortunately for at least one of the dating partners, a waiter soon arrived, carrying a plate with their chosen desserts on it, although...

"Two straws, one glass," Midnight stated.

She set this up, I know it!

"Well, I guess we'll have to drink it like this," Shimmer said, unphased by the unexpected way their chocolate shake was served in.

Oh no missy, I won't fall for this one.

Midnight summoned her magic, separating the straw pointing in her direction into two halves through a quick void slice and then forming a magical passage between the two newly created ends.

The fastest way to get from point A to point B is to make them one. I love this special talent.

Some concentration was required to keep the spell active, but Midnight preferred that over what Shimmer had apparently had in mind, as the pegasus looked quite disappointed when Midnight took one end into her mouth, suckling on it and pleased to find that everything worked as intended. Now that she had established a route, she could just sit back and enjoy their shared beverage from there. Obviously, Shimmer didn't dare to object, as everything was supposed to be a secret and seem unplanned.

Aw. Wanna go cry, filly? Maybe I shouldn't be so rude. She's still...

She downed what was left in her glass, realising that, in fact, even with a sweet tooth like hers, any kind of wine tasted terrible when drunk with a mouth previously filled with chocolate. She put it down, shuddering, and bent forward into conversation again, "Something on your mind, dear?"

It was easy to see the effects on Shimmer that Midnight playing with her emotions had, which pleased her more than she wanted to admit. "Midnight, I..." Before she could finish that sentence, Shimmer lost control of herself, lunged forward, and gave Midnight an unforeseen kiss on the nostrils. Following that, her natural fight or flight instincts kicked in and she fled to the ceiling, pressed flat against it with her wings beating below her for support, her face looking as if she'd suddenly grown a beard in the same fiery red color of her mane.

"Shimmer? It's okay, you can come down," Midnight called up. The only answer she received was an excited squeak. "Come on, that's no way. Alright, I'm kinda sorry. Also, you still have to pay," she continued. At last, the pegasus gave up and dropped to the floor. They didn't speak a word to each other until they were out of the restaurant, where Shimmer turned with the clear intention of adressing Midnight another time. However, Midnight heard a slight rustle in a bush.

What's that? Eye!

The Flow revealed one pink presence in front of her, but surprisingly, where she had heard the noise, another pink blob was visible, a cameo spell put up over it to mask her presence.

What the heck is Sparkle doing here? Why is she hiding? Is that... satisfied? Screw the previous questions, why does she have that look on her face?

Midnight had to abandon her research in favor of properly wrapping up her date. She might have noticed a slight change in Shimmer's energy color, had she not switched back to normal vision quickly to better see her facial expressions.

That was fun. Maybe I'll let myself be convinced to a second date.

"Midnight... I'm sorry, but..."

Or that could happen...

"I don't think anything between us two will work out."

"So," Midnight began with a neutral tone, "you just dumped me a second time after begging for another chance, am I correct?"

"Sorry..."

"I'm at a loss of words. 'Bitch' doesn't quite cut it, neither does 'Hope you die of cancer' or 'Get out of my life'. Well, you got me, congratulations, was it worth it? Because despite your violent behavior, the only thing you've managed to break so far is my heart. Maybe we could settle for that and we'll just call it a day. I guess we both know this isn't going to happen. You chose this path. What did I ever do to you? Now I have a surprise for you. Deploying surprise in three, two, one..."

Before Shimmer could object, a blue glow consumed her, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

What the hay did you do?

Brought her home.

That's not terribly evil.

A kilometer above the ground.

This isn't brave. It's murder.

It were, if she didn't have wings, silly.

Right. Now... oh my, that's something you have there. Just go home and...

That's what I had in mind.

If Sparkle was still watching after Midnight returned home using the same spell as a few seconds earlier, she might have seen a single tear drop to the ground, its owner removed through magic as soon as it had disconnected.

Friday night and I've got a date. With a box of tissues.

Too bad we're a mare.

Got nothing else to say?

I'm afraid not.

Midnight knew she had no idea what to do when even her evil second personality had nothing to say. However, she was fine with it if Noon absorbed all of her helplessness, allowing her to think properly. Suddenly, she heard a soft knock on the door.

"Go away," she shrieked, pressing her head into her pillow. Only when it was too late, she realised she hadn't locked her door. She turned towards the wall as Vinyl Scratch magicked her way inside. "Haven't I been clear? I wanna be alone, leave me."

Vinyl sat down on the bed, putting a comforting hoof onto Midnight's shoulder, "That's exactly why I'm staying. Didn't work out as you thought, hm?"

"Gah. I wanna drown her in liquid oxygen, that little!"

She wasn't really looking at her and her eyes were filled with tears, but Midnight could see Vinyl's confusion. "Is that even possible?"

"Of course it is. Respiration relies on gaseous state. Also, there'll be the benefit of her instantly freezing to death and turning into ash as soon as I submerge her. But I'll keep her alive just so for her to let her run out of oxygen. She deserves the most ironical and agonising of deaths."

"O-kay. Just don't go near her, I guess. Don't want... just don't think about it. Alright... but you didn't sound like you really wanted her anyway. What's going on?"

"There's... nevermind. I don't want."

Vinyl sighed over the sobbing figure beside her. "I've been around, you know. What you're making is the sound of deep pain, and the only way to cure it is to talk about it. What's the deal?"

Midnight turned to avoid any attempts at soothing touches. Simply coming into a conversation had helped her tears, though. "There was Sparkle and..."

"She caught you red-hoofed? Ouch, that's gonna take some effort to fix."

"I don't know what she did, she was just kind of hiding somewhere, watching us, but she didn't look like she minded us two. In fact, she... she looked happy that I was with somepony else and left her alone." Midnight had to revise her earlier find as liquid blinded her again.

"Shh, don't rush things. I'm sure this is just a big misunderstanding. Calm down and ask her what happened tomorrow."

"I just don't want to see her anytime soon."

"Fine, you want to do that? Go ahead. Just keep in mind, Winter Wrap Up is next Saturday."

Midnight didn't mind to look at her roommate as she got up and left, leaving her alone in the dark. Left with solely her emotions and their incarnation to accompany her, Midnight didn't even notice when she drifted off to sleep.