Splitting aMid the Night

See now, the glory that was promised to you at birth.

For now, I'd be happy with something to do. My, that statement would have been quite wrong if I didn't already know I'm evil.

You are blind. Very well. As for the lack of entertainment now that you did what had to be, perhaps we could do something about that. Ponyville square, south end. You might want to be there a few seconds from now.

Despite better experience, Midnight saw no reason not to obey. On the off chance that there was a case, she'd be needed there as soon as possible. She expected a moment of charging time simply due to distance, yet as soon as she closed her eyes, the warm embrace of a summer breeze encompassed her, together with the rattle of an emergency. Turning around, she spotted Pinkie Pie lying next to a pile of crashed wood and cloth, surrounded by a crowd of bystanders.

Knowing her task, she dove in without hesitation. Upon closer inspection, Pinkie had regular pulse and respiration and was overall unharmed, except for that she was completely unconscious. "Good morning, the name's Midnight, Ponyville clinic, miracle department, here to save the daily life. How can we help you?"

"Stand jus' sorta collapsed on her." Applejack was standing across Pinkie's body, mumbling and gesticulating. "We dragged her outta there and then you already showed up."

Without being able to discern anything that they were trying to tell her, Midnight followed protocol. "Well, she seems to be stable as far as that goes. Get her somewhere comfortable, give her some water and comfort when she wakes up, and report anything strange. I certainly don't deserve any quiet time with the pony I love, do I. Nothing more to see here, ponies."

Sister, you're evil. I believe I like picking this one.

All in due time.

Just as Midnight was halfway through thinking up the spell that would return her to the clinic, a gasp ran through the crowd and her hooves made contact with liquid. Looking down, she could only glance at the expanding puddle coming from Pinkie before her brain assigned new commands. "Of course you have to. Give me some room, everpony! I'll take her to the clinic by magic. She'll be fine, I promise!"

Well, looks like she already took care of this one – as well as all the others, for that matter – while I was gone. Now I'm bored again. What else could be done?

Number seven.

Did that already. Three times. You were there!

I prefer not to watch. Room number seven, get over there, now. Do not force me to use what I am due.

Alright, alright. Seven's the only one neither of us has been, right? Neither I nor the Nurse? Yeah, that's where she lies.

Midnight pushed through the door. In the far middle of the square room, Pinkie Pie lay, silent, still. While making her way across the room, Midnight tried to ignore the ponies sitting around her, as well as the one who occupied the bed. In the end, she stared at the floor, avoiding eye contact with anything. "Alright, let's see. Breathing is normal... thirty a minute, pupils respond. Still alive." Midnight caught the eyes of those around her. They weren't accusing her of anything, only being curious. She sighed when realisation hit her. "She didn't fill you in? We had to give her a few stitches. Reminds me... nothing soaked through, good. She's lost some blood and has a heavy concussion. I mean, with the wound she had, I can only imagine what sort of blow she took." Upon spotting fear in their expressions, Midnight quickly added, "Other than that though, she's fine. She should come around in a matter of hours, that we even still have her here is just a formality. Honestly, I'm surprised she even bleeds. Expected her to be made entirely of candy."

"So there's nothing we can do for her?" said Twilight, looking up at her over the bed.

"Well, you could spend a few days learning a certain spell, check inside her mind and convince her to wake up, assuming her brain isn't any more mush than it already was. Or you could be yourself and do the same within minutes." Midnight circled around the bed and took Twilight into the briefest of kisses, too short to satisfy, serving only to calm. "Or you could leave things to run as they will. She will wake up today. The best you can do is stop worrying and have a nice day, maybe get some foodstuffs. I know I could use them, if you'd be willing to share."

"So be it." Twilight rose and walked out of the room. Without her looking back, Midnight couldn't discern her emotions, though she assumed to know them already.

Hey, pop quiz. What's got four legs, three dimensions, two pony tails, one broken heart and soon no will?

My lightless heart, broken just because she prefers to talk to the wall instead of spending time with me? Regardless, I'm on shift anyway.

"So." Midnight winced at the voice; She had almost forgotten Rarity was even there. "A few hours, that's all you can say? Nothing more accurate?"

"I can say it will happen, but not when." She turned and headed towards the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I am still on shift. You can stay if you want to waste time, but I've got a task. You know, doing princess stuff."

Just as Midnight passed the door out, a call reached her. "I'd certainly hope so."

What is it with ponies and talking absolute cryptics nowadays? That includes you, even though you're not a pony.

Perfection patiently waiting to accept itself. Soon you will understand. Perhaps the dawn will bring knowledge already.

That isn't helping my mood, you know. Not with everything else going on.

Is that anyone's fault but your own? Perhaps I was involved a little, but beyond that, it's you to blame for all.

I'll get back to you for everything. The horrors of the last months. The years before, which made me into the monster I am today. Even that of now. Maybe it'll be today, or tomorrow. You will suffer.

Couldn't hurt anything.

No, I couldn't. Ngh, even now I nurture life despite my best of intentions. What is it with this curse that I do not obey myself? Why does the world's cruelty only make me kinder?

That can and will be helped.

Don't you dare. If not for my own will, for hers.

You're quite fond of that little variable of yours, aren't you. Very well, we shall find another way.

At long last, Midnight pushed through the library's door, collapsing onto one of the couches inside right after. Since the entire house was as silent as it was dark, she saw no reason to conceal her true feelings. For a few precious moments, she followed only her heart's desire. Once her limbs were sufficiently stretched, her eyes flung open and she jumped to her hooves, moving to the kitchen. Too many hours had passed since Twilight had brought her a small package of emergency rations, and work had left her particularly few breaks that day. Sometimes, she had to wonder if the citizens of Ponyville were able to live without harming themselves daily; If they were, they certainly weren't trying very hard to do it.

Rummaging through the library's food stores, she was disappointed to find only salad, cabbage, and other pointless healthy food. Perhaps she'd known already that there was nothing to be desired. Perhaps she'd bought everything herself after discovering that a certain other unicorn had no idea of a proper diet. Neither fact helped her mood, however. In the end, she settled for a mixture of various forms of salad, determined to show it how much she despised it while eating. Even if nothing else worked, perhaps getting petty revenge on her food for not being candy could ease the bottomless void she felt growing inside of her.

Needless to say, her plan did not exactly work out as expected. While she could feel some satisfaction coming up as she tossed the used dish into the sink, the bitterness refused to leave, especially when she looked at the unused second portion. Twilight would return soon, she knew that. Still every second that ticked by chipped away at her temper. Tired of watching the neverending race between the clock's hands, she sighed and teleported onto the balcony. The air had already cooled down in the brief time that the sun had spent below the horizon, but she found it to be just what she needed to keep a level head. At the very least, it gave her a few more minutes before consequences had to be faced.

Oh, stop sulking and start properly looking for once. Can we not see her power like a beacon against the night sky?

I suppose there she is. She is quite brave, walking through the darkness by herself. Then again, perhaps she is safer there than with me.

Yes, she needs a lot of courage, she who could defeat literally anypony within the empire, most of them all at once. If she has anything to fear, it's what lies inside.

What is that supposed to mean? Anyway. Well, what if she was ambushed and injected with Bitterblossom before she could react, infamous for sapping a pony's magic? Weren't you there when I read up on it, when a young mother got into a sticky situation the exact same way? Wait, it's the other way around. Bitterblossom paralyses the body but keeps energy intact. I should have a word with that novel's author sometime.

If you can. For now, I expect she'll appreciate your presence downstairs. Get moving.

Just as Midnight made the last step downstairs, the wide door was nudged open by an invisible hoof and Twilight snuck inside. Apparently, she was yet unaware of Midnight seeing her. To change that, she teleported on top of her, directly into a loving embrace. "Took you long enough. Your dinner is getting stale."

Silly you. Allow me to show you how to use that tongue.

Twilight moaned under the load and shook her off onto the most comfortable object nearby. Unfortunately, that was the floor, though Twilight soon joined her there with a floating bowl of salad. "Long day. Lots of things to mind," she said before taking the first bite.

"Yeah, and to think how much worse matters would be if you had an actual job keeping you busy." Midnight had no idea of how she'd allowed such a slip to happen, though she hoped that the leg she laid around Twilight's shoulders would help get her intentions across.

Twilight's silken fur melted into her before she swallowed and said, "Pinkie came back, by the way, and she was asking for you. Said she'd heard your voice through the darkness."

"Not impossible. There have been reports of ponies who had some of their senses return before others or their consciousness as a whole did. If you've read any bad stories using a coma as a cheap tragedy motor, it's basically the same thing." She laid back, finding the floor to be quite comfortable with the right attitude. "Now if only I could say I really care about whether she's here or beyond."

Twilight bent down to her, stealing a kiss sweet as ever but too minute to savour. "Meet me up in our sanctuary."

Once on top of the library, Midnight wasn't left to wait for more than a few minutes. Perhaps it had been hours. She could hardly find a reason to care, despite the nervosity that was ever so gently tickling the ends of her nerves. One way or another, a flash of energy behind her told of Twilight's arrival, just in time for her to get bored of watching the stars. "Sometimes, evil ponies ask me why I am together with you, what it is that I see in you. Honestly, I can never give them an easy answer." Twilight's voice sounded steady as always, but as though something deep inside was undermining her. "Every day, you put me through challenges, as I'm sure I do with you too. Anypony who has seen us together would describe us as perfect polar opposites. Yet... I just know that we're destined to be together, that we deserve to be."

"Well, maybe those ponies are right. I don't deserve you, Sparkle, neither you nor your kindness that you still put up with me. Still, who is it who says such things? Rarity?" She turned to take Twilight into a soothing embrace, but was stopped dead in her tracks when she found her kneeling before her. Despite the darkness surrounding them, the pure shimmer of gold was unmistakable. "You gotta be kidding me," murmured Midnight.

"The last days, what happened to you, Pinkie, everyone, it showed me how fleeting life really is. Where are we if not to enjoy every second of it that we get?" Twilight's eyes rose to meet hers. "If I meet the fate that we could so narrowly avoid until now, I know that I want to be by your side when it happens. Will you stand at mine?"

Now! Speak the words, your master commands it!

"Sparkle... I can't..." Midnight's body said, without her orders, without her will.

No! I am stronger than you! We are stronger!

Just before she held her own mouth shut to keep herself from talking, darkness enveloped Midnight, blurring out reality as much as imagination.

When she awoke, she found herself pacing back and forth in a bright room, in front of a lying and chained version of herself. There weren't any objects around to serve as relation; The walls themselves seemed to be made out of pure light. "So, this is your plan? Force me to deny the only thing I am given in this merciless world, the only thing that you've left to me?" she asked, calm as ever. She had expected to be boiling with rage, taking every opportunity to strike another blow. Yet she felt none of those things, only walking to help herself concentrate. "Speak up, whatever you are. Why? Why do all this, who knows how long back I've been a blind servant of your plans, to what end? What other sacrifices would you force me to make?"

"I am not at liberty to tell. I'm sorry, you must ask the right questions." For the first time, Noon spoke with actual humility and nothing else. "She is an open variable, one that isn't in other worlds. She would compromise our plans at best. If this world is to see the others' glory, she cannot stay with you."

"Another world? This is related to the Flow again, isn't it. Are those worlds where you come from?" She strid around the chamber, trying to make sense of everything. Nothing seemed to change with her position though, neither outside her head nor within it. "What are you, anyway? How can you have such power over me that it takes the love of my life to break it?"

"I'm sorry, you must ask the right questions." Noon rattled her chains. Midnight was pleased to see them tight rather than the usual mockery.

"So, the right questions then. What is the glory you mentioned? What would become of Sparkle if I refuse to give her up? What is the plan, and whose? Why am I required for this all, why exactly I? Who would do this to me, send you into my head, who would sacrifice me for her plans... her own daughter?"

"That, sister, is the right question. I don't suppose we could go back to normal life now?" With a stomp of Midnight's hoof, Noon's chains shattered and she rose to her hooves.

"I tried ignoring you. Killing you. Living with you. None of it worked. So you know what? Just go, and don't come back." The light dimmed everywhere except for one glowing pathway. Midnight needed only think a command to send her walking towards it.

"So be it, princess. Goodbye, Midnight. I hope you can live with your own choices." She was not going to return. Midnight knew it.

Midnight's eyes flung open, momentarily blind as they adjusted back to the darkness around her. Nothing had changed, not a single star's position in the sky, not Twilight meekly cowering before her, waiting for uncertainty to prove itself. When she pulled her up, there were no words; The contact of their lips said everything.