Splitting aMid the Night

And yet another day ends. Ah, why am I such a coward, why can I not say what I mean?

Kindly be not so depressive, you would shame even Sandy the sad clowness. Besides, you're not a direct type anyway. You're building towards a greater end result right now. On that note, town hall is to the left, not to the right. You're... patient.

I'm a nobody talking to herself.

Soon to be all in the world of Princess Celestia's personal protegé. That's something. And everything for you.

Aye, as soon as I manage to pass a dozen ifs and whens, all with horrible odds for success.

Would you kindly keep your head high already? That... or run into the wall you would've seen if you hadn't been so sulky.

Ah, glorious pain. I deserve this.

Look at it this way, the worst that can happen is that you fail miserably. Anyway, she's as close as never. After just a bit more time, she'll finally be ours. But only if you can keep up motivation.

Let's see then. What jobs are there? Takes too long, not enough payment, I am NOT gonna do that again... ooh, looking for subjects for study about the influence of magic on depressive schizophrenia in half-orphans. Non-unicorns only, though. Darn. Looks like there's nothing here. Weeell, what now.

When one chance fails, another arises on the horizon, or behind you, whichever is more applicable.

As Midnight turned to step off from the board and go home again, she was met eye to eye with two ponies she couldn't remember having seen before, which she only then realised was not too hard a condition to meet even if they had already had personal business with her. The grey pegasus mare instinctively backed off from having her turn around towards them so unexpectedly while the blue stallion's green eyes were fixated on Midnight, likely inspecting her as she had them. Midnight then saw the note floating next to their heads and stepped aside to allow them to do what they had in mind. Funnily enough, that didn't seem to involve actually posting the note, as he instead adressed Midnight in a kind tone, "Are you looking for work? Interested in helping us out?"

"Yeah, I could use a few bits, what do you need?" she replied as softly as she could. This could be her only chance to earn the required money in time, she couldn't allow her true attitude to show.

"A simple foalsitting job. We're needed in Canterlot for the next two evenings and can't take our little Mirage along. It's short term, I know, but we'd be in your debt."

He offered her the piece of paper which she took into her own magic to read. The payment wasn't plentiful, but it'd be enough. "Guess I can do that."

"Oh, great. I'm Emnas, by the way. What can I call you?"

"Midnight," she said briefly. She considered saying more, but couldn't think of something else to add.

"Good to make business with you, Midnight. Our adress is written on there, you can keep it, just come by around this time tomorrow and the day after."

Pst! Don't get involved with this guy!

Let me guess, it's somehow involved with sins long past?

Mmmaybe. The point is, there's nothing to be gained with him.

Except for the money I need to leave my old life behind in favor of the one I ever so desired. Do I really hold grudges for that long?

Your enemy's enemy is not necessarily your friend, my dear. Keep that in mind. Now get a move on homewards. We hunger for the secret stash.

For the entire segment of the way between town hall and her new home, Midnight's mind was surprisingly completely silent for once, but, to her displeasure, not empty. Where the voice of damnation had faded, a neverending collage of memories and emotions took its place, each involuntarily infusing Midnight with a perfectly sufficient reason why she was in love. She cursed her own imperfection and sped up her pace to reach her destination as quickly as possible, somehow not coming to the idea of using teleportation due to what was occupying her mind. She burst through the door and went right into her room without stopping once. Once her saddlebags were tossed somewhere onto the ground where they belonged, she finally managed to bring together a clear thought again and went to see what Octavinyl were doing before dinner.

"Hey there, what's," she said before being silenced by something warm and soft, to which she quickly adapted following a flash of hope that everything had worked out after all. That flash of hope was quickly extinguished again however once she reopened her eyes and saw eyes with irises which were slightly too red for her desire.

Before Midnight could react in any other way, Vinyl disconnected, turned towards the couch where Octavia was lying, and said, "Yup, she's bad. And desperate."

"May I ask that you would kindly explain what in the hay you are doing?"

"Sweetheart, you need to get your Sparkle, that's kind of obvious. You know, the combination of exclusively using your pet name for her, talking and being with her as often as you can, and that dreamy look you get every time books or magic are mentioned, that kinda hints at it. And believe me, with that kind of kissing, you're giving away one persuasion point you need speaking for you on Saturday."

"Thus," Octavia picked up, "we have decided that you will now practice it for your own good, regardless of whether or not you want it."

Midnight's eyes darted back and forth between her two roommates. Neither looked like they were in a mood for jokes. "Can I do the noms first?"

Meanwhile in an alternate universe where everything is in Polish!

Noon's antics never ceased to surprise Midnight. It was very likely that she was simply dreaming it all, perhaps it was even guaranteed by inverse logic given that interdimensional travel was impossible. Then again, it had also been predicted as impossible that she was ever going to become anything of significance. She had every right to feel superior over those ponies now, Midnight thought. She had her life established and apparently found love while most of them were buried.

Would you kindly stop sulking about the past and step into the bloody transport already?

Midnight noticed a well of light in front of her, piercing the darkness of her own mind. It was circular, just big enough for a mare of her size to stand inside, though it quickly converged into a thin beam just above head height which shot above without break until it was rendered invisible by distance. Slightly reluctantly, she entered it, instantly regretting falling for the deception again as every pulse that sent light into the sky also took with it a layer of her. Thinking positively, she couldn't bleed within the dream world, and she had always wanted to see how her internal organs looked.

She awoke in just the normal Ponyville, as a matter of fact, her own room. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, as far as she could see, it was a regular morning. Feeling split on wishing that she had simply woken up and not doing so, she walked out into the hallway, down the stairs, and joined Octavinyl in the kitchen.

"Nie stracil na wadze od tego chwalebnego tylek, widze," Octavia said as Midnight came into the room.

"Twoja jest jeszcze wiekszy," Vinyl replied while the dream hostess was trying to figure out what in the world they were saying.

"Ludzie na kontynencie wyspie ssac," suddenly came out of Midnight. Like a lying filly, she held her mouth shut in shock of having spoken pure gibberish.

"Yeah, this is not getting us anywhere," Noon, who had appeared at Midnight's seat, said. "The good news is, I've got a much better plane for you. And since nopony understands the language you are currently speaking, I'll interpret whatever you're doing as a yes. Meanwhile, in an alternate universe where your greatest wish is fulfilled after all."

She rose and walked outside, motioning for Midnight to follow. Midnight realised that she maybe should have followed a notion telling her not to obey when a single kick in the stomach provided the propulsion needed for her to cross interplanar space. After a few minutes of travelling at surpassed light speed and lots of friction burn, she touched down on the border of Canterlot castle. Something was different, however. Instead of landing graceful as a pegasus without any kind of impact force, her touchdown was more realistically how unicorn would land from such a height. Given her rather lively attitude from brighter days, she hadn't been too careful and broken a limb before more often than she wanted to admit. However, she had to learn that the pain associated with it seemed to be more the product than the sum of the one of each bone she had shattered. She tried to struggle with whatever movement and magic she managed to mobilise, but didn't seem to accomplish anything other than increasing her inner bleedings. She had always dreamed of when this moment, and now that it had finally come, she was fairly disappointed to find that the pain was overwhelming her senses much faster than expected.

Midnight was ready to accept her fate, even when forgetting for a moment that she was currently beyond reality, her own at least. The problem was that fate didn't seem ready to accept her.

What a drama queen. Anyhow, now that you've ascended into the Flow, we can begin your actual task. Take on your new form and carry out your neverending duty.

Midnight felt different. The pain wasn't going away, although it had lessened. As her eyes burst open, she had to find that they were positively emitting light. When she rose, her body didn't move, remaining still and peaceful while she herself came out in the form of a spirit like those described in foals' stories, though she had to admit most of them depicted ghosts as slightly less opaque versions of their living selves and not as much as brightly white glowing figures emitting sparks.

You know, this isn't getting us anywhere either. If you would be so kind, drop the act and arise for real.

Suddenly, most of what plagued Midnight was gone. Unsure of her current reality, she rose to her hooves again after finding herself on the ground, noticing during that action that she was once more whole and intact. Every trace of the previous events on this plane had vanished, up to and including the plentiful amounts of her own blood that had been spilled.

You were supposed to help your fillyfriend kill ninety percent of the population, but since you can't even die without making it a show, a fragment of insanity had to take over the job. I've found an even better plane for you however. One on which even you can't mess things up. Your senses say there is a door to Phyrexia close by. You might want to get through quickly, for your own good.

With the help of her portable everyday omniscience, Midnight spotted a stone gateway a little way in front of her. It looked fairly normal except that the image of the world seen through it somehow seemed off. She stood between it and the city of Canterlot, so she couldn't compare directly, but the Ponyville she saw off in the distance looked rundown, hopeless. She was still considering whether she really wanted to pass through it when an enormous bang from behind startled her out of her skin. She whirled around just in time to watch an orb of green energy expand from a tower somewhere in the castle she had never quite noticed and wash over her.

"You're not very appreciative of what a lucky filly you are. You know that, right?"

Midnight did not even need to turn around as she knew she was alone with her self. "What do you mean?" she asked, deciding to play along again at least for the time being.

"Look around. What is this? Well, we've already established that you don't know if this is another reality or just a dream." After walking around Midnight, she paused with her back turned. "But you know what? That's not even important. What does count is that it's your reality right now. 'Cause you've just been connected. Made a part of a greater whole."

"And that is necessarily bad?"

"Let me put it this way. I think you should have learned by now that matter is a simple illusion. All that counts, all that makes you, well, us in this case, is in the mind. Only that now, it's the common mind instead of your own. Do you think the hive mind would much appreciate having someone like you in itself?

"I know somebody who would," Midnight replied with just the right amount of disrespect in her voice as she found it.

"Funny as us having a vasectomy with a very detemined doctor. The point is, you are not supposed to be here. As soon as the hive mind finds your thoughts, it's going to do it's best to bring them into line. And guess what, once that is gone, so are you. A body with no mind other than that which all share. Little Midnight, suddenly gone, deleted, my dear."

"Rather live a slave than keep what has malformed me!" she shouted out, causing Noon to gasp lightly and slowly turn to watch her after staring through the portal.

"Would you know that your kind is nothing but slaves anyway. When was the last time you chose for yourself? But, keep this in mind. You are not here. You are sleeping. But if you get deleted here, your own mind will struggle, but keep up. And then, when you wake up? What do you think will happen then?"

"I will wake from a nightmare and realise it's all been just that?"

"To follow with what you think is reality now, your personality would be gone. No more Midnight. And once you are gone, the machinery would have to assemble what used to combine into you the fastest way it can find, and believe me, you don't want that to happen. What is a pony but the sum of her memories? The tale, the tale she tells herself? Imagine if even one piece was out of place? Best case scenario, you'd spend the rest of your days in a cell, suckling on your hoof until you finally manage to garrote yourself." The earth shook. Bits and pieces flew away into the sky, uncaring about the aspect of gravity. "As what is you fades, so does this world. Here it comes, robot! Midnight, scheduled for deletion!" She ran up and grabbed Midnight around the throat, slowly pulling her forward.

"What are you doing? Is this the final stage of your takeover? Stop it! You're not going to get through!" Midnight screamed as she tried to tear free.

"I'm saving you, idiot! Finally go!" With that, Noon flipped the two of them around and tossed Midnight into the gateway.

Suddenly, where she had previously treaded on soft grass, the very same blades now cracked and shattered under Midnight's hooves. She looked around. The sky was dark. Everything somehow induced depression within her. Canterlot, while it wasn't in ruins, showed damages on almost every building, some of them being entirely collapsed even.

Your goal is in the very tower which doesn't exist in our plane. Hurry.

Midnight had a distinct feeling that, out of any time for disobedience, this was certainly not it. She judged her target distance. With careful aim, she would probably be able to cross onto the tower with a simple Blink. She acquired the desired space as well as she could, shut her eyes, concentrated, and breathed once. Once she had to take the second breath, she found herself safely on the balcony, right where she had wanted to be. Since the door had been torn out long ago, judging by the scars the building had, she could simply gallop right inside, following a mad cackle coming from inside.

Inside, she found Twilight, bent over a control panel with an incriminatingly looking device beside her. "It's done! It's finally done!" she murmured to herself, apparently unaware of Midnight's presence.

"Sparkle! What in the world are you doing?"

"Ah, you've come to stop me, I assume. Behold, my dear Midnight, the total disease, as you would call it. I would prefer the term of Phyrexian perfection, but who cares. You see this button here? I'm gonna press it!"

"Stop it! You're gonna kill us all!"

"No," Twilight laughed, "I'm going to save you. I'm going to save you all from the imperfection. Stay away from me!"

Before Twilight could realise her threat, Midnight had her tackled onto the ground. "Are you insane? Imagine what we could do with this! We could cure the world of any and all!"

"I will not let that happen. As long as I live, I swear I will rebuild this as often as you try to destroy it. Don't you try!"

Soon after, Midnight inspected the bomb's mechanism for herself. Thanks to her excellent knowledge of anatomy, Twilight's twitches hadn't lasted for long, though long enough to squeeze out a pleading tear. She had ignored it. Nothing was real, everything was permitted for the means of the greater goal.

You sacrificed your world, quite literally, to save everypony else's. The greater good must always prevail.

Yes. I understand that now.

Click.