Splitting aMid the Night

Reality?

Filly, you know something's wrong with your mind if you always have to ask that. That being said, there'd theoretically be no difficulty for me to hold you within an illusion of reality and continuing to steer our body and getting it laid at long last. That'd teach you to trust a demon, wouldn't it. Alas, I didn't have that idea in time. No, my dear, of course I wouldn't. Anyway, this is indeed reality. Seven thirty-seven, a nice thirteen degrees outside. And yes, your mane is indeed THAT screwed up.

That's freezing!

Tsk, savage.

Midnight reluctantly rose and walked to the mirror to see how things stood. Noon hadn't been lying, and she pondered for a few moments if she could salvage her current hairstyle into something that she could believably claim she had chosen to wear. Unfortunately, she came to the conclusing that she couldn't, and set to straightening it out again. In doing that, she tried out various styles of long and straight manes. She locked in on one and simply sat there admiring herself, until she, with a bit of help, remembered that there was a certain pegasus who already had it looking the same.

Didn't want that anyway. Doesn't suit me. I'm amazed that it's that long, though. Oh wait, magic. Ha!

After altering it slightly to more closely resemble her original style all the way back from her time in Canterlot, she rose and went out of her room and down the stairs.

Princess, I know you've reason, but why are you so happy?

As if I knew. I just feel better. Did I accidentally nip from the painkillers bottle again? I hope not. Still, can't I?

Watch where you're going! You know, you should be glad that I'm benevolent. Do you know how tricky it can be to constantly help out your lacking reflexes?

Yeah, what's supposed to happen? I've got four legs afterall, and am a master of teleportation magic. I can't fall.

But fail. Imagine if you did, down, and broke your horn. What then?

That'd be a slight inconvenience. Reduded magic capability until it regrows. I can't for the life of me think why ponies expect something else to happen. It's just an extension, for the sake of something. Why do they think do civilised unicorns have them rasped regularly if they couldn't replace themselves? You always hear about coma this and death that. Perhaps reading such stuff was why I ended up quitting the business with the others.

Sister, if I could, I would so hoofbump you. How wonderfully our interests match.

Understandable.

"Understandable," came out of the kitchen. Midnight walked the final steps in, absently greeting Octavinyl who were already seated within. "Oh hey," Octavia continued as she saw her. "Were we just talking about you, my dear."

"Yeah, because the world revolves around me. Wonderful."

"Are you maybe feeling sick or something? Don't see you that happy often, or even smiling, for that matter," Vinyl said, feigning genuine concern.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"I suppose that is a valid question - either way, to the point. As you still seem to struggle to gain whom you want, you are going to ask her today, we will see to that."

"Actually," Midnight began, pausing for a moment to let that single word sink in, "I kinda already asked her."

Octavinyl reacted as expected, except that it was the unicorn who inhaled coffee. They both stared at Midnight and, while her friend was recovering, Octavia said, "Really? But, why? How did you of all do that? Just to clarify, we are talking that you did ask her out on a date, yes?"

"Yeah, something like a date. Monday. Well, I don't think she technically sees it as dating, but, y'know, that doesn't really matter when she's going to the movies with me anyway."

"... surprising. Anyhow, big day ahead of us, right?"

Midnight buried her face in cereal. "Yeah, sure," she mumbled, "hours of unpaid labor out in the sun, happy little singing and working together like the idiots they are."

"I know magnets that are less bipolar. Look at it this way, finally spring will be here and there'll be plenty of time for you to focus on little Sparkle and do stuff."

"Do I really have to?"

"Everypony does. It's the one day a year that we're working together! It'll be fun even for you, I am certain."

A bit later, though still much too early for her liking, Midnight arrived at Ponyville Square, apparently a little too late. The crowd, while still among the biggest she had ever seen, was already dissolving again, each group of differently colored vest-wearers going out in another direction. Trying to find somepony in the crowd would have likely proved fairly pointless if it weren't for her talents, which revealed to her that using them hadn't been required in the first place as Twilight was still up on the podium. Trying to ignore the deceptively happy tune the others were already beginning, she approached the stage.

"I was wondering when you'd show up. Where were you in the beginning?" Twilight said when she saw her, sounding unusually serious, though Midnight knew she didn't mean it like that.

"I, uh, magic? Damn, wrong excuse this time."

Sparkle giggled briefly, "It's all right. What do you wanna do today?"

"Well, judging by the fact that you're currently naked, I'd deduce that I can't be on whatever team you're on." Midnight readjusted her scarf with a bit of magic, "So what are the alternatives?"

Insert the sound of a slow clop here, Marelock. Actually, that it doesn't work per se is kind of worrying and I should probably get back to work on fighting back insanity.

"Since you don't have wings, which I guess I could change, though that never ends well... anyway, you could do either plants or animals."

Midnight looked around behind her. Pegasi in the sky were working on the blanket of clouds while earth ponies and unicorns down below plowed fields to clear them of snow. "So it's hard work or animals. No thanks, I'll be wherever the injured get cared for. There's no such place, is there. Ugh."

"Hey, it's not that bad, cheer up. Although," Sparkle seized her up, "you probably have better places to be than plants. Why don't you try helping out the animal staff?" She levitated forward another brown unisized vest which Midnight reluctantly put on, then pointed in a direction she hadn't looked yet. "There, stick to Fluttershy. If you run, you can easily catch them."

Midnight gave her a sceptical look. "Uh, Sparkle? Traveling medium distances in an instant and me, remember?" Without awaiting an answer, Midnight vanished to the front of the animal crowd.

"Huh? Hello there. You're working with us today?" Fluttershy said as Midnight moved to walk besides her.

"Yeah, guess I am."

"I'm sure you'll have a great time. Why wouldn't you enjoy waking little fluffy critters?" the pegasus' eyes already became dreamy again apparently just from thinking about animals.

"That is exactly why I'm doubting it, but anyway. So what's this job all about, anyway?"

"You'll see in a moment. Ah, here we are." They arrived at the middle of nowhere, a little out of Ponyville. Once off the path, Midnight could spot multiple holes in the ground through the snow. The rest caught up, two ponies pulling carts with various food items packed into little baskets, bells, and some rough cleaning equipment. Fluttershy beckoned her over to a small group of holes. "The animals go in here to hibernate through the winter and now it's our job to wake them up for spring."

"As opposed to, y'know, just letting the other birdies bring out the Sun and having them wake up from warmer temperatures?"

"I, uh... we have to do it this way because otherwise the snow would melt and flow into the dens while they're still inside and that'd be really bad. It's easy, just wake them up with a bell, give out the right food packages when they come out, and help them clean out a little. Watch," the pegasus mare said as she grabbed one of the instruments and rang it in front of one of the entrances. After a few seconds, a pair of sleepy honey badgers showed up. "See?" she commented through gritted teeth whilst laying down a pile of insects and larvae, which the animals didn't seem to care about too much...

"Wouldn't have expected you to voluntarily kill insects just to feed those things - then again, you've never had a big problem with killing things, have you," Midnight said neutrally as she levitated forward a bell and began ringing it in front of another opening. Fluttershy tried to hide any reactions, but she notably twitched when the second part of Midnight's sentence had left her lips. Midnight's first species turned out to be, worst to worst, a couple of snakes. She took a few steps backwards as they curiously looked around and smelled the air, then calmly breathed through and said, "Nope. I'm not doing those."

"Is there a problem?"

"Well, I'd describe it less as a problem and more as an insurpressable urge to break every single vertebra in their bodies, if you catch my drift."

The yellow mare fluttered over holding the proper food and murmuring what sounded like encouraging words to the abominations slithering around on the ground before her. After they climbed to a sunny spot without snow to warm up, she turned, "Wanna talk about it?"

"I'd prefer not to. I'm trying to forget exactly why or even that it's there, talking would probably only make it worse. 'S not like you've already given me enough fears."

Fluttershy looked fairly disrupted already, and Midnight wondered if she'd gone too far, if she should apologise, until she remembered that such a thing as too far did not exist with that certain pegasus. Thus, she instead turned and set to awaken another set of creatures. Before she walked far though, Fluttershy called out surprisingly loud, "Watch your step!"

The information managed to be processed within Midnight's mind just in time for her to look down and spot as her hoof made contact with a tortoise on the ground, which returned her gaze and greeted her, "Hello!" moments before shooting ill-smelling fluids into her face.

"... Sorry, I didn't see that soon enough. Uhm, you can just wash that off, it's harmless. But you have to admit that it's really fascinating how that species of turtles evolved such a defense, not to mention being able to kindly greet you before, well, bursting."

"Alright, alright. I'm fine," Midnight said while rubbing her head in some snow to get the ichors off while the critter walked off on its merry way.

Isn't that exactly your job?

Princess, I can't spot everything. Maybe I could, but... your face! Priceless!

How funny.

They silently resumed work, at last without major interruptions. Some time and a seemingly endless mass of bunks later, Midnight heard the giveaway flash of a teleportation spell behind her. Twilight had come to them, currently talking to Fluttershy, "Everything going as planned?"

"Even faster."

"The weather staff is about to clear the skies, any objections?"

The pegasus scanned the hills wherever a brown-vest was working. "No, I think we'll be done soon."

"Great, I'll relay the message. See you at the celeb!"

Midnight was about to say something, to at least make her presence a few meters away known, but Sparkle had already vanished at that point. All that remained was a quiet, malicious giggle from the remaining mare. She moved up to her with puffed stature and said, "Missy, I'm starting to regret giving you my secret. Perhaps, given what you've done with it recently, I should go around and tell ponies yours? Free information, no secrecy from the public. Doesn't your cult want that?"

Robot! As just as this is, socialise, would you kindly?

An intimidated meep was all that came as response as Midnight turned and resumed work. She didn't know exactly what Twilight had meant by celebration, but if the librarian would be there, then so would she.