Midnight's Dawn
By
DarkMalcontent
Proofs by Ali
Eastern Imperial Docks, 18 months AD (After Disaster) Day 1
The low tone fog horn startled Twilight, making her glasses slip down slightly. Adjusting them back up, her hands went back to clutching her handbag in front of her. The dockworkers muttering around her and the water lapping around the pier was the only other sound to greet her. Dressed in her usual skirt and top, she felt wildly out of place as her colorful palette clashed with the sea of gray and dark tones around the docks.
Through the thin fog in front of her another sound bit at her: the sound of rifles cocking, slides locking into place, and boots stomping forward in a quiet formation. A squad of four soldiers followed and quickly blitzed past her, shouting commands as dock workers dove for cover and some going so far as to dive into the waters. Head sharply turning, she watched as the four women surrounded a group of passengers fresh off the boat she had been on, sights trained on them as they ordered them to their knees. "Your documents are fraudulent! What business do you have in the Empire?!"
Twilight widened her eyes as she took in the sight, but had little time to process it all as a voice came from behind her. "You must be Twilight Sparkle?" the voice made her jump, despite its motherly tone. She pushed her glasses back up with a turn to the voice.
"Yes, that's me." She answered meekly, coming face to face with a slender lady, adorned in a lab coat that was a combination of protective gear and uniform. Hands clasped behind her back, she gave Twilight a look of disapproval, reaching a hand to one of the two soldiers flanking her.
A small folded paper came from the soldier and into her latex gloves. She opened it and pulled out a small set of reader glasses. Pushing strains of her golden hair out of her eyes, they had just begun to go grey at the roots. "Twilight Sparkle, you are hereby conscripted into Emperor Sombra's Military Forces. You are to accompany me to the R&D wing of Castle Sombra where you will be processed and given quarters for the duration of your service." She folded the paper neatly and handed it back to the escort. "I am to be your contact, Professor Glockenspiel is my name, but you may address me as Ma'am."
Twilight heard the group from before was pleading for sanctuary with their soldier captors. Each shouting a story of persecution or disappointment. It was hard to filter the overlapping words out.
"Yes, Ma'am." Twilight answered back, staring up at the taller woman, she took in the middle aged wrinkles and laugh lines on her face. The green olive tone of her complexion did little to help hide it. Quickly she averted her eyes.
"Good." Glockenspiel turned, pausing for a moment, a tilt of her head to her new charge. "Your brother arrived earlier. He is being set up in a proper stasis unit." She turned away and began a brisk pace. "Along with a noisy mutt."
"Spike." She whispered to herself. "At least he survived the cargo hold." The conditions in the hold had her concerned when she first saw the dismal state of safety and cleanliness. She had little time to argue as the boat left quickly and she had no real say to where her dog was stored.
"Do keep up. You'll find the opportunity you've been given is not a common thing. I would not take it for granted if I were you." Glockenspiel sternly reminded her, keeping her current speed despite the warning. "Not all receive a welcome as warm as this. Keep that in mind."
"Yes Ma'am." Twilight snapped out of her worry, she stumbled to a clumsy run to catch up.
She barely registered the distant sound of four rifle shots accompanied by bodies splashing into the water.
***
Castle Sombra, Processing Wing.
Twilight pressed the front of the lab coat, letting it take what shape it could of her body. The clothing she was wearing was to be incinerated, she was told, so she needed to get used to the fabric she felt now. A pair of girls wearing lab coats hurried into the room, wearing long gloves and respirators, they gathered her clothing and collected it to a steel cart. The different garments and colors inside the pile of clothing they had led her to believe more 'interns' were being prepped in similar rooms.
Taking a moment to collect herself, she took a seat on the only place possible: a long metal bench under a bright spotlight. She shivered as she made contact with the cold material on it, having been given just the lab coat and told to dress, she was thankful she hadn’t been told to strip entirely. At least they left me my panties and bra. She thought, adjusting her glasses to scan the room.
A solid beige, the bricks had clearly been painted only once. Cracks and flaking had taken over most of the wall in front of her and similar damage was to the side. The only door in and out of the room was old and either solid steel or iron, she couldn’t tell. Peering forward gave her another chill as what seemed to be claw marks on the door etched into the small slit at eye level. Rivets adorned the outline of the entire door and its peep slit.
Crossing her legs, she looked over her bare skin with surprise. She took in her features she seldom took time to. Pale complexion was all she could see from her inner thighs to her feet, which didn't even have a coating of clear polish. She never kept up any of her body beyond basic maintenance and showering. Always had more experiments to run. Theories to craft. She thought, extending her leg and wiggling her toes. I never understood some girls who were completely obsessed with looks. She recrossed her legs in front of her. Or the boys who would chase them. Looking over her fingernails, her gaze drifted to her bust, barely able to make out a shape in the lab coat, she gave a sigh softly. Not that it was a problem in high school or Everton.
Shining Armor, her brother, would always be so protective of her in middle school, she never had to worry about such things. When he moved on to be an upperclassman, she was already notorious for being a bit of a bookworm. Seldom did any of the trust fund kids want to dally with her.
The same issue had been present at Everton, but in that case it was more of her own choosing.
The entrance to the room swung open suddenly, the latex and leather of Glockenspiel’s uniform squeaking as she walked in. She glared down at the young girl as she clasped her hands behind her back once again.
Twilight stumbled to stand, keeping a very curious pose as she affixed her gaze to the floor. "Ma'am."
"Twilight Sparkle. Daughter of Night Light and Twilight Velvet. Age, twenty-two, IQ…" Glockenspiel recited her statistics as she circled the girl, a look of disapproval seemingly locked on her face as she looked at Twilight. "One hundred, ninety-nine. One point shy of 'Immeasurable Genius’." Glockenspiel laughed as the loss of one point seemed to elicit a reaction from Twilights body language.
"Yes, Ma'am." She bowed again out of sheer desperation. "I was top of my class in-"
Glockenspiel slapped the young girl on the back of the head. Twilight's glasses sailed forward and she gasped instinctively. Kneeling down, she patted the ground to search for them.
"Do not move. I didn't give you permission to do so."
Twilight froze and stayed on all fours, terrified now. What have I gotten myself into?
"Top of the class at Everton, majored in Magical Understanding and Application. Severe isolationist tendencies. Obsessive compulsive with experimentation." The click of each time the professors heel struck the floor slowed. She stopped in front of Twilight and waited for what she hoped was an eternity to the girl. "My IQ is much higher than yours." She finally said, a stern and offended tone escaping her.
"Yes Ma'am." Twilight flinched, her lack of vision putting her at the professor’s mercy. "I'm willing to bet you are in some fields-"
"Shut. Up."
Twilight began to feel sick to her stomach.
"Now for whatever reason, you were hand picked by our lord to bring your mediocre skills to his service." Glockenspiel continued. "I worked my way to the head of this department and I won't have anyone, no matter how smart she thinks she is, try and take any shortcuts. You will do the work I give you. You will submit your findings on time and with proper proof they aren't flights of fancy." The middle aged woman’s boots stopped clicking again, this time behind Twilight. "Normally interns and sycophants like you start with corpse disposal and elderly repurposing." Glockenspiel leaned in to whisper in Twilight's ear. "Your accelerated placement will land you above ground on level D3."
Twilight stammered as she stood on her hands and knees obediently. She wasn't sure how to respond. Maybe that's the point. She thought.
The soft sound of what she knew were her glasses frame scooting across the floor sounded and she felt the frames touch her hand. She dare not pick them up however.
"Good." The professor said. "You do learn quickly."
"I…" Twilight froze but realized she already spoke. She dared to continue. "...aim to please, Ma'am."
Glockenspiel laughed at her response, the echo sending chills down the younger girls spine. "Oh, we shall see, won't we." A pause in her laughter made the air hang with dread again, though a paper turning in the folder clues Twilight on the next moments. "Hmm." The professor scoffed and closed the folder softly. "You may put your glasses back on."
Twilight quickly placed them on her face and the world became clear again. She stared up at her superior, unsure still of protocol.
"Your request for a name change was approved. All but high level officials will only know you as Midnight." Glockenspiel said, bored with the exchange it seemed.
"Thank you, Ma'am." She stared up.
"Stand and tell me." Glockenspiel motioned, the tension lifting as she gestured. The tone and body language of the elder scientist changed as quickly as it had started. She pulled out a small slender tube from her vest pocket and turned it on, the end lighting up. Taking a drag from it, she expelled a purple and green haze of smoke. "Why the name change? Do you not want the fame and fortune of the little alien girl with whom you share the name of?" turning as she asked, the scientist tossed a duffle bag to Twilight’s feet. "Dress." She stared straight at her as she requested it.
Twilight frowned for a moment, but composed herself. "No Ma'am." She answered, opening the bag and slipping on a pair of pants quickly. Socks followed as she sat down. "If I do anything of note in my life, I want it to be because of what I do. Not whose name I share." She finished, slipping on the uniform boots.
Glockenspiel smiled as she watched, the lack of privacy giving her a rush. It’s seldom I'm on this end of the stick. It's not so bad, she thought.
Twilight finished and stood again, snapping a pair of gloves on. The outfit was very plain compared to her superiors. No rank bars. No medals. No security patches.
"Good. You’re willing to lose everything, even your name, in the pursuit of science." She pocketed the device and coughed a few times after. Turning to the door, an echoing metal thud sounded as it swung open. "Come then. Let's see if you can put yourself to use. D3. Follow the signs. Settle in and begin work on one of the projects on your terminal." She ordered, stepping down a hallway in the opposite direction. "Reports are sent to me and me alone at the end of the day. I do not tolerate disobedience or excuses."
"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you, Ma'am." Twilight took several steps before stopping.
"Something else, Midnight?" an annoyed Glockenspiel asked.
"My brother Ma'am." She asked. "And my dog?"
"Your sibling is stable in Medward CU2. You may visit him when you are not on my time." She waved her off with a dismissive gesture. "Your mutt is in your chambers. No one has walked him, so be sure he doesn't soil the room." She added. "Off with you!"
The distant footsteps of the new researcher had barely left her ears when Glockenspiel began to feel a tickle in her throat. Clearing it, the feeling came back, subsiding as she pulled out the magical inhaler, a hiss of it administering its contents filling her ears. Her episode ended as quickly as it began, the cold stone archway she braced herself in the only seeming witness. Pulling a handkerchief from the inside of her coat as she replaced the inhaler, she paid no attention to the blood that had come up from her lungs.
"Need a minute?" Tempest Shadow gave the thinnest of chuckles from behind her. Stepping from a dark corner, the metal plate that covered her scarred side shifted ever so slightly as she smiled.
"Tempest. What do you want?" Glockenspiel stared forward, feeling trapped and exposed, she knew enough not to let Tempest see it.
"Our lord wishes to speak with you." The assassin answered, the grey cloak covering her right arm shifting as she gestured to the side. Several scars and a crude stitching along her right arm to the shoulder was lit as she stepped into the light.
"More screw ups? Your targets get the better of you again?" Glockenspiel asked with a wicked grin. "Keep this up and Medical won't have much to work with. We’ll just have to start replacing you with machinery." She tapped her chin with a bony gloved finger. "What fun that would be to R&D."
Tempest narrowed her gaze, frustration setting in. Normally I just kill people who talk that way to me. She thought. Her status and the professors being equal, she had little to do but trade veiled threats and verbal jabs.
"Come. One mustn't keep the king waiting." Professor Glockenspiel finally broke the silence. Walking past Tempest she felt a feeling of dread set in, ever so slight, like when one was standing on the edge of a cliff.
An unscheduled stop at the throne room was never good.
***
R&D Section D3 (Energy Research and Geriatric Solutions ) Day 1
Twilight stared down, the occasional sound of paper rustling in front of her the only reprieve from the silence. The desk in front of her was very messy, but she noticed the masking tape on the nameplate had begun to peel off. Under it was evidence of different names, the latest on top was "Tinsel".
"Midnight, quite the resume you have there." Tinsel Bottom's chair creaked as she sat back, the folder with Twilight's new name, Midnight, landing unceremoniously in the center of the mess. "So you have a background in Magical Science previously?"
"Yes ma'am." Midnight shot her gaze up, looking her project lead in the eye. "I changed my focus after the Canterlot mess." Clearing her throat once, she continued. "At Everton I was the top of the class for Magical Theory and Study. It being a brand new field, it impressed many of my teachers."
"That a fact?" Tinsel's clearly unimpressed expression remained. "Well you'll find the environment here is different than your independent course study at Everton. The process works as such: I give out assignments and you as a researcher, work on figuring out if they hold any merit or are in fact a pipe dream."
"Where do these assignments come from?" Midnight asked.
"The filing cabinet behind me." Tinsel's annoyed tone stopped any further questions. "For the most part, kid, we got a drawer of ideas that the Theory department wants tested. Someone has a wild idea about glue, we test it for them. Someone finds a strange artifact, we test it to tell them it's either an old sword, or a glove that can hold unimaginable power." She turned back, opening a drawer in the cabinet in question. "Don't get too excited, we never hit anything interesting. Most of the ideas are worthless half thoughts." She added as she set a folder down. "Like this one."
Midnight picked it up carefully, thumbing through the contents. Her eyes darting back and forth through a moment of silence. "Energy for little effort. Seems workable."
"Right?" Tinsel laughed. "Plum already tried to get the formula right and ended up costing us a lot of raw magic." She slammed the drawer shut. "You'll find her notes in there." The grey skinned girl stood as she continued. "Your station is next to her's, number four. You run into progress or an issue, you come to me. But do me a favor, don't bring me anything but results." Waving off Midnight, she searched along the mess in front of her for a lighter.
"Yes ma'am." Midnight stood, turning to face the door.
"One other thing." Tinsel plucked a cigarette from a stale pack she found, putting it in her mouth as she spoke. "We're a bit more competitive here than you might be used to in a learning environment. Any breakthrough could mean a ticket out of this dungeon to a higher level. That comes with better pay, better housing and fringe benefits." She lit the end and puffed once.
"Ma'am?" Midnight tilted her head curiously.
"Me, I'm content to be down here. No one bothers me. Some of the others, Plum for instance, have it in their heads they are only here until they impress someone above us." Tinsel smiled, leaning back and blowing another puff of smoke. "So watch your back. New kid is always a target to begin with, if you’re as good as you think, you may end up with a dagger in your back."
Midnight furrowed her brow as she took all that in. "Surely you can't be serious." She gave a half chuckle. "We're all scientists here, surely we can be civil?"
Tinsel answered with a silent smile, taking a long draw again that flared the tip bright orange. "You'd think, right?" she chuckled finally. "Just keep that in mind. Maybe they'll leave you alone. Get going."
"Yes ma'am." Midnight straightened her lab coat as she stood. "Thank you." She chimed, taking a moment to look over the lab floor. She swallowed softly and made her way to her work station.
Before she could open the assignment folder, the clearing of a throat came from behind her. Midnight turned to gaze at a purple toned girl, much darker in tone than herself but the same age it seemed. A name tag sewn on her coat read "Plum", several strands of long silver hair draping her shoulders.
"Yes?" Midnight raised an eyebrow.
"You’re the new girl, Midwipe?" the smile she shot was more phony than her press on eyelashes. "I'm Plum. No doubt you have heard of my breakthroughs and papers?" she extended her hand.
"Can't say that I have but then again," Midnight shrugged. "I just got here...and it's Midnight."
"No it's about a quarter past two, though it's probably best for everyone if you ditch that project." Plum leaned forward. "It's impossible,” she whispered.
"Nothing is impossible." Midnight answered back, giving her colleague's hand a brief shake. The latex and PVC coatings squeaking. "Given enough effort and ingenuity, there are no limits to what we can do." She proudly recited.
"Sounds like you just got out of school." Plum chuckled. "Bright eyed and willing to do it all on the first day?" cocking her hip as she folded her arms, the researcher motioned towards the doorway.
Midnight turned, spying the plaque on the wall to the left of the doorway. Etched in a gold nameplate across cheap wood read the departmental mantra: Progress at Any Cost.
"Huh." Midnight blinked once. "Seems a bit dramatic and almost unethical."
"Ethics! That's cute." Plum slapped her on the shoulder a bit harder than she would have liked. "Let me clue you in here, Midchime."
"Midnight."
"I won't be that long." Plum said, leaning on the countertop of Midnights station. "The project you are working on is impossible. They want a way to repurpose the cremated remains of undesirable elders. I tried every permutation of our magic stock and nothing reacts enough to stimulate free flowing energy from carbon." Plum ended her statement with a flip of her head, bringing her straggly hair out of her eyes. "And believe me when I say I'm the smartest one here."
"And?" Midnight narrowed her eyes in annoyance. Taking the moment to break eye contact finally, she opened the folder on her desk. Before she could scan it, Plum turned it back to close the top.
"And…" Plum accented her flip with a flick of her wrist. "If I can't crack it I'll be damned if some new girl with less brains than breasts is going to try and show me up. Drop it." Plum began to stare her down.
"You're the one who needs to drop it." She answered back, shoving Plum's hand off her folder. "Please leave me alone."
"Look you little tart." Plum took Midnight by the forearm as she spoke. Leaning in, the more vicious her words got as the closer she became. "I don't know who you bent over for to get a placement at-"
"Plum!" Tinsel's voice cut through the whispering. Leaning forward on the catwalk railing, the project lead stared at them both with a look approaching anger. "How's your work on that reusable lubricant going?"
Snapping her gaze back to Midnight, Plum let her hand loosen up slightly. "Just fine ma'am. Making progress on it. Human testing shouldn’t be an issue." She answered.
"Funny, don't look like you are making much progress in the new girls face. Or holding her arm." Tinsel replied back. "Get me a report on your findings. Now."
Plum sneered at Midnight, reluctantly letting go. "Sure thing." She hollered back, hip checking Midnight the best she could.
Pushing her glasses up, Midnight sighed in relief, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. She gazed back up to her project lead, only to see her back in her office, silently reading.
Turning to resume her work, she began to scan over the notes from the last attempts of her assignment.
"Lets see. Goal is stable and consistent energy output derived from useless carbon. Carbon in question can come from different sources in the field, as such it must work within environments." She read to herself, flipping the page. "Previous attempts use two parts consumption, one part haste and 1 part rejuvenation. All but one attempt resulted in little to no excess energy provided from the initial burst. Unsustainable." She frowned, a slight creak coming from the stool she pulled to her bench.
Reaching over to her resource computer, she pulled up the magic she had at her disposal. As she did the cabinet in front of her creaked much like her chair did. The internal gears and belts powering up, glass orbs inside the display case clattered together as it ran a quick diagnostic and count of its contents.
Typing her requests into the database, Midnight watched as the cabinet brought her selected orb to the front, a dusty label on the glass read "consumption" across the front. As she reached to pick up the apple sized container, the jostle she gave the contents seemed to awaken the raw magic inside, causing it to glow a bright lighter blue for a moment. Bringing the familiar element to eye level, Midnight gave a wide smile to it, as if she were a proud parent of a child in front of her. "There you are."
Repeating the process, more orbs of magic cycled and she stored each on stands of the bench. All lined up like perfect soldiers, Midnight focused on the haste orb, tapping it once again to see the green glow pulse again. Rubbing her gloved hands together in giddy anticipation, she searched the desktop for tools, pulling open a drawer to her right. The final one seemed to elude her, the annoying sound of rummaging filling the room for half a minute before Plum finally had her fill.
"Can you keep it down? Some of us are trying to work." She frowned. "What are you looking for?"
Midnight turned on her stool, standing up and letting it creak yet again. "Orb pivots. There doesn't appear to be anything to hold my-"
"Storage rack. Back. This shelf up. Try to get it without being more annoying." Plum said, gesturing her to the back of the lab.
Plum shook her head as the new girl vanished from sight. She took a moment to glance over the magic she intended to use, scoffing her chemical ideas and laughing a bit to herself. The very idea this new girl could even come close to a break through insulted her. Shooting a look back to the storage racks, she began switching several labels on the chemical vials near the magic orbs.
Whereas magic had distinct hues, most of the basic ingredients had a similar color about them. Shuffling a few more tags, Plum went back to her own station, silently fumbling with her papers as Midnight returned.
The young girl sat down and turned back to her workbench, a hum sounding as she powered on her instruments.
"Now let's see." Midnight mumbled, picking up an empty beaker and placing it in front of her. "I'll need chlorine." She took a glance at her ingredient tables, picking up one and starting to pour, making a delicate measure to the first line of her beaker.
Eagerly waiting, yet patiently staring down at her paperwork, Plum heard the distinct splash of another liquid into the beaker. Split seconds later she heard a gasp accompanied by a rapid reaction of volatile chemicals. The glass beaker shattered, followed by several others around Midnight’s station.
Her colleagues rushed to help, only to step back as the fizzing liquid she had made ate through the floor around her desk. Plum turned in her seat slowly, a wicked smile on her face, and observed as the acidic compound worked at eating a hole in the floor.
Midnight quickly grabbed several flasks, reading them in rapid succession. As the cloud of vapor from the reaction on the floor grew, Midnight mixed two flasks and picked up a white magic orb. She poured the first concoction to the floor and followed through by throwing the magic at her creation.
A plume of yellow smoke erupted from the massive combination. Alarms began to sound as the smoke detection system triggered. Tinsel rushed down stairs and to the main floor. "What the hell is going on in here?!"
"Looks like the new girl already screwed up." Plum answered, kneeling to look at the mess. "Chlorine poisoning almost took us all." She waved a hand in front of her own nose, the foul stench gagging her slightly. "Way to go new girl." She added scornfully. "See this is why you shouldn't have given her such a hard assignment."
"There wouldn't have been a way I could have created that cloud with the chemicals I pulled from my stockpile." Midnight shook her head, looking at her read out on the terminals. "There's nothing that reacts like that."
"That's because this isn't regular chlorine." Marsh said, picking up a vial and staring at it intently, handing it to Tinsel.
The project lead looked at the label, then stared at the chemical through the glass tube, then back again. "This is labeled wrong." She set it down and turned to the group around her. "I want a double check that all resources are labeled correctly. Now. No more work until you can tell me for sure you are using the right tools for your jobs."
A collective groan came from the team as they walked back to their stations. Plum shook her head at Tinsel, staring back at Midnight. "Look, I know we need help but if she is already causing this much trouble, maybe it's best we send her away and give me her caseload."
Tinsel gave Plum a long stare, then Midnight, then back to Plum. "I'm not convinced this wasn't simple carelessness by the last person to use that station before her." The project lead answered. "But without further incidents, I can't rule out negligence entirely." She finished. "Both of you do as I've said and try to stay out of each others hair."
Midnight remained silent, her gaze locked on her station as Tinsel walked back up stairs. A delicate pat on the shoulder came from Plum.
"Don't worry, Midwife." Plum's sarcasm seeped through Midnights ears. "This sort of thing happens all the time."
"Really?" Midnight finally broke her silence, looking at Plum.
"Of course." She responded, turning back to her station. "...but only to the stupid ones." She giggled, resuming her work, leaning forward to examine a slide under her microscope.
Midnight stared as she left, looking over the table and back at her. A feeling that had started out as self blame shifted inside her. Replacing it was the burning of insult and the inability to prove Plum had sabotaged her experiment.
Balling up her fists, Midnight let the anger dissipate from her physically, closing her eyes and calmly turning to begin cleaning up the mess around her.
***
Medical Ward CU2 (Long Term Storage), Day 127.
Midnight felt the leash tighten again, prompting her to give it a gentle tug as a reminder to Spike to keep close. The halls of the medical wing, kept at a lower temperature for safety’s sake, sent a shiver up her sides. She reminded herself to bring a coat next time as she walked past the glass cylinders, each holding different people of advanced stages of magic injuries. She stopped to warm up her arms, rubbing them up and down vigorously.
Next to her was a tank, though it was not the one she was there to visit. A single female occupant was suspended inside, attached to dozens of wires that all lead up into a main trunk of cables. Wiping frost from the side, it was clear no one had been there to visit this girl in some time. Midnight furrowed her brow a moment as the reality of the wing she was in hit her.
This is a tomb. She thought to herself, the hypnotic sound of life support machines surrounding her. The monotone beep was slower than an average heart monitor, though a glance at the vitals and chart attached to the tube explained why.
"Subject prognosis: Terminal. Cause: Incurable Tumor Growth Inside All Airways." She read to herself. "Why would they keep you alive, miss Maple Thorpe?" she received no answer as she hung the clipboard back up. Tugging Spike away from the tube, she shook her head. Seems like a waste of resources to keep someone like that in storage. She thought.
Turning the corner, she couldn't help but breathe a small sigh of relief as she saw her brother’s tank. Picking up the pace, she tugged Spike along until they were inside the small alcove.
Midnight looked around silently, searching the blackness around her for a moment. Finally she snapped her fingers and stepped to the left. Fading into the darkness a moment, she emerged with a folding chair. Missing a ring or two, it had clearly seen better days. It'll do the trick. She thought as she sat in front of Shining Armor's stasis tube. She flattened out her coat under her bottom and sat carefully, as if the chair were going to collapse under her.
A gentle creak was all she heard, and she gave it a sigh of relief in return. Spike pawed at her lap, but didn't attempt to leap up, his age catching up with him.
"Hey, how's my BBBFF?" she suddenly asked, breaking the silence that filled the room.
Silence answered her.
"You wouldn't believe how big this place is. It's one thing to see it from the outside, but inside you feel like a rat in a maze." She smiled at the tank, smoothing out the front of her outfit. "I'm settling into my new job. Everyone here is very dedicated to science and little else. Which is fine. I mean, I was the same way in Everton. Just that here no one complains since everyone else is the same way."
Spike circled once on the concrete and laid down quietly.
"The colleagues here are somewhat prickly. But I'm pretty sure it's because I'm new and despite that I’m already noticing I'm several years ahead of them in magical theory." She continued, fixing her eyes on his slumbering form. "The head of the department didn't seem to like me at first but after the first day she sort of lightened up. I guess she finally saw my genius at work." She tilted her glasses a bit to check her watch. "I guess...I'm still getting used to the more…"
She searched for the word silently. "...ruthless attitude everyone has here. Everton and High School were so much more pleasant. The worst I'd have to worry about was being called an egghead." Midnight spoke towards the container again, the slightest of motion from the aeration device moving her brother's body. "There's a co worker that...well let's be frank...she sabotaged my project. I was on the verge of cracking a problem I was given after she failed at it." She sighed, standing up to stretch, she leaned on a stone archway, her gaze looking down. "I never had to deal with people like that before. But as you always say..."
"’Adapt and Overcome!’" she recalled a distant memory of her brother's advice. "If I can't prove I'm worth the investment…" she trailed off, her thoughts unpleasant now. "I'm going to have to just step up my game, right?"
She laughed softly, a brief moment of comfort before it faded. Shivering again, she sat back down in the rickety old chair. Looking down at her hands, she fidgeted a bit in her lap. "I really could use some brotherly advice. You never were one to be stingy with it." She whispered, staring vacantly into the glass.
"Twily, I know this is important to you and I want to support you." She felt the gentle hand of her brother on her shoulder. He gently squeezed the kashmere material as he continued. "But you need to at least hear out alternatives. Mom and dad are worried as much as Cadence is."
"Worried about what?" she asked, brushing his hand away, she focused on the backyard through the living room window. Spike barked frantically as he circled the entire space. She frowned as she watched her brother.
"Worried that you might like this idea of Everton now, but it's a long program. Years worth of isolation." Shining crossed his arms, covering the Crystal Prep insignia on his polo shirt. "You can't just quit something like that if it turns out you want to change your mind."
"Why would I change my mind? I work better alone. I work better uninterrupted. They don't have a rule against pets." Twilight opened her arms up in protest as she turned to face him. "I don't have a social life so that's no issue."
"See there's a good point there." His eyes widened a bit, leaning forward as if to get her to see the larger implications. "Maybe what you need is some friends to hang out with. Even wrapped up in my studies, Cadance and I always make time for each other."
"Yes, I remember quite a few times you and she made time for each other when she babysat for me." Twilight gave a partial frown, the implications caused him to break from her gaze. "You can't expect me to be as driven by my base instincts as you two have been."
"That's not what I mean, Twily." He protested, a hand to his forehead in distress. The sound of Spike barking louder and more incessant making it all the worse.
"Isn't it?" Twilights tone took an aggressive turn for once. All the months of pestering from everyone from her brother's girlfriend to her parents finally breaking down her cool demeanor. "You think I need to get laid? That might fix me?"
"Twilight that's not what-"
"I've had it with everyone under the sun trying to tell me how to live my life. I'll make the decision for myself where I want to go, when I want to and how I do it!" flailing her arms at him, she ignored any concern for Spike now, focused on her brother. "I won’t let mom, dad, or you dictate how my life goes, ever, is that clear?" frustration took full control and she stormed out to check on Spike.
The door slammed shut behind her as she searched for Spike. Watching him circle around the entire backyard, she was too angry to notice the wind had picked up. Stepping in front of her dog, she picked him up, his barking scowling down and turning to whining. "What's wrong?" she asked.
A whine was all she got in response, but then the distant sound of the backdoor opening and shutting again sounded.
"Twilight. I don't want to fight. I just…" Shining began and paused. "...there’s so much more to life than science. It's a wonderful thing and I wish I had your mind for it." He sighed. "But …"
She rubbed Spike’s head. "But?"
"When I was playing football that was all I focused on and I was good at it. But at the end of the day I didn't have anything but sports." He struggled with his words. "Then out of nowhere Cadance came along and it was like she put a spell on me. We were in love almost instantly. Then. Football was still there. But it wasn't all that was there."
Twilight seethed a bit as the words bubbled up out of her. Months and years of people pushing her to be more social or get a dating life finally cracked her as she snapped an about face. "Let me tell you something, mister." She let Spike down, her body was rigid in anger. "I'll be damned if I ever become as distracted as you are. Objective and clear minded focus is the only way anyone will make it in this world! Not friends! Not sex! Academics!" she took several steps towards him. "I wish you'd all just shut up and let me be!"
"Twilight!" Shining Armor’s focus was on the horizon behind her, no longer meeting her gaze.
"And look at me when I'm talking to-" she felt the wind get knocked out of her as he shoulder checked her to land behind the largest rock in the yard.
The sound of his pained screams filled her ears before she could ask what he was doing. Looking up at her brother she was as frozen in fear as he was in pain, a massive distortion wave blew through him, the entire scene looked like a poorly tuned television. Wave after wave and swirling magic soared through him, passing like he wasn't even there. Finally after his voice was hoarse, the distortions began to vanish, leaving his shuddering the only sound that registered.
He collapsed to the ground with a wail of agony, eyes wide as his nerve centers lit with activity. Eye to eye with him, Twilight gave her own gasp as the once strong and confident face she grew up with was now gone. All that was left was an expression of sheer pain and suffering.
It was then she started hearing the world around her. The sounds of sirens, explosions, and endless screaming from all directions.
"Oh my god, where’s my baby!?"
"Has anyone seen Sugar Plum!? She was right here!"
"Make it stop. Make it stop! It won’t stop!"
"Whatever it was came from the direction of the High School! Hey what's that?!"
"Look out!"
Squealing tires gave way to a sickening metal crunch followed by a massive explosion rocked her even where she lay.
Staring distantly to the ground as she thought, she took her glasses off. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, and the few tears she allowed herself, she sighed softly. "Now that you’re stable and money isn't a problem, I can find a cure faster than if I were back home." She paused again. "Well I suppose...this is home now. No sense in thinking about Canterlot." She frowned as she put her glasses back on. "Nothing left there. Mom and dad are gone. House too. All I have left in the world..." Midnight stood up and stretched her back.
Taking a few steps forward, the cool fluid in the tank bleed to her bare fingertips. "...is you."
Spike barked once.
"And Spike." She smiled down to him as he waddled over to nuzzle her ankle. Kneeling down, she scratched behind his ears. "I can't imagine how awful life would be without the two most important men in my life being with me." She said to Spike. "You both mean so much to me."
Standing back up, the new researcher crossed her arms in front of her. "I don't have a lot of time to visit but I'll be back. I'm told I can come whenever it pleases me and I'm not on the clock." She put a hand back to the glass, staring in. "So I'll just let you rest. I've got to get back to my room and get some rest. Haven't been sleeping well the last few months it seems."
Reluctantly she pulled her hand free. "I'll be back though. I promise." The rubber on her glove snapped into shape as she put them back on. A quick adjustment of her lab coat and a grab of the leash was all she needed to be on her way.
"I love you." She said softly, her gaze on the ground as she uttered it. Looking back up she tugged on Spikes leash and began the trek out of the ward. The small dog slowly stood and hobbled forward to follow, leaving the room to its silence.
***
R&D Section D3 (Energy Research and Geriatric Solutions ) Day 130
"Barton, have you anything to report on the geriatric serum?" Midnight was quite skilled in both listening and remaining unseen in her new role. The bickering among the staff was ever present this day as well.
Squinting one eye tightly, she prodded at a sample in a petri dish, a tiny dropper invading the microscope view from the right.
"Marsh screwed up and left the furnace open last night so the bodies we got are contaminated ash." A dainty voice answered behind Midnight.
"I did not! You told me the lab was sealed so I left. You're the one whose responsible for what we get from the nursing hom-"
"Shut up, both of you." The project lead, Tinsel Bottom, shouted down from a platform. "Get on the phone with the home and see if we have any undesirables we can use for making carbon blocks."
Midnight fought the urge to scold them all, the lack of peace and quiet getting to her. Taking a breath slowly, she pulled her focus on the microscope back, the eyedropper spilling a few drops of glowing lime green liquid into the ash samples in the center. A small reaction began and the magic began to eat the ash pile up. She struck a button on her lab table and a timer began, its blocky red letters ticking away as she watched the reactions.
The magic ate through the carbon pile, nearing halfway through before the reaction slowed down. Grunting at the drop in usage, she pulled a new dropper labeled 'rejuvenation', adding the smallest of drops to the batch.
Reviving the magic fire, a dull green returned and now enveloped the pile. Checking the timer quickly, she failed to notice her colleagues had begun to take notice behind her.
"What's Midwife got going?"
"That's the energy theory Plum Drop couldn't get to work."
"That's because it's impossible."
"For you maybe."
Midnight pulled the dish from the microscope as the energy ball grew in its size and intensity. Now about the size of a tennis ball, she slid it into a metal sphere nearby. Closing the lid, the wires and diodes attached to the ball lit up in activity, a deep hum starting to fill the room.
"I'll be damned." Tinsel shouted down. "I think the new girl cracked the energy equation we found."
A purple toned girl shouted from the far back of the room. "She wouldn't have gotten anything if it wasn't for my work! She stole from my research before she stole that project."
Midnight shut them out, taking readings from the fusion core she had constructed. The ball began to spin in place, burning through its small amount of fuel with an impressive return. The faintest smile of satisfaction coming to her face, the flashing orb turned her glasses opaque a moment before it spun down, having exhausted its fuel.
"Looks like the kid figured it out." Midnight felt a pat on her back from Marsh. "You may just fit in after all." She turned back to the project lead. "Hell one day she might be in your spot, Tinsel."
"Progress at any cost." Midnight recited her departments slogan, the quick turn to her lead startling Marsh.
Plum scoffed and peered into her microscope. "Yeah well you can't expect a girl like that to hit too many genius moments, I'd be surprised if she wasn't on her way to being a comfort woman within the end of the-"
A gunshot-like explosion suddenly ripped through the room, sending the researchers ducking - all save for Midnight.
The team members all turned to the source: Plum's station. The wailing sound coming from Plum followed as the team on the floor ran to her.
"Oh god her scope overheated!"
"Call the infirmary! The power source overcharged and blew, it sent the eye glasses into her eyes like a bullet!"
Tinsel frowned, clipboard in hand as the floor called for medical assistance. Focusing on Midnight, she stared right back, and Tinsel couldn't help but feel that her smile had widened. She returned to work as the others carried the blinded girl from the laboratory.
Tinsel smirked to herself and began writing an accident report up, shaking her head as she walked to her office. "Looks like she's fitting right in."
***
R&D Section B1 (Experimental Magic Application & Theory), Day 181
Furrowing her brow as she took in the knick knacks of the office, Midnight shook her head softly. "No wonder I'm replacing this girl. A department head office shouldn’t be so cluttered with useless..." she paused as a bobblehead jiggled in her eye line, perched on a shelf with folders stacked every which way. "...and offensive...junk." Midnight scowled harshly, stepping from the entryway.
"Yes ma'am." The intern behind her seemed less interested in her assessment she had heard and more about being agreeable to the new boss.
"Survival instinct is all well and good, Sheila." Midnight continued, walking behind her new desk, a brisk shove of all the junk, and most of the non paperwork was in the trash can. Dusting her gloves off, a smirk came over her face. "I don't abide ass kissing though. Get maintenance here. Now." She emphasized the final word, stepping past the assistant and into the large open room that housed her newly acquired team.
A clearing of her throat brought all six researchers gaze to her. Towering over the main floor by about a foot, the elevated platform served as both a watch perch and a speaking center for her. The sheen of her PVC coated gloves complimented the gentle squeak they gave as she gripped the guardrail in front of her. "I'm sure most of you know your last department head has been reassigned pending disciplinary review." Midnight took a slow scan of the team, each expression a bit different but all had a common quality of uncertainty in their eyes. Five women and one man, they were all dressed in plain lab coats. "We will be doing things a bit differently. I want project summaries from everyone in two hours. No excuses. Just results." Midnight smiled. "Hawkin, you’re first. See me in two hours." The smile left her face just as quick. Turning to leave she felt relieved as the room erupted in work behind her. Clasping her hands at her back, she met her assistant again midstep to her new office.
"Ma'am." Sheila absently pushed her own golden hair out of her eyes. The bun it was in had become undone partially, the rest a lazy mess like a sagging pastry on the top of her head. Too busy with a clipboard of papers to care, she flipped the front page and quickly looked back up. "MedWard 1A needs your final approval on your brother's transfer. They want to make sure the room and the staff assigned are to your liking." Sheila skipped to another line. "Your new quarters on Floor 2B are ready for inspection and the total of your last quarters contents have been transferred to it. The castle decorator regrets to inform you the carpet you requested has been denied…" she flipped yet another page as she searched for good news. "...but Spike has just gotten back from a full check up and save for a stubborn case of arthritis he's fit as a fiddle."
Midnight nodded her head to each bullet point, walking slowly to keep her assistant in step. "Inform MedWard I'll be down in twenty minutes to inspect. Have Spike brought up here, I'll bring him to see my brother."
"Yes ma'am." Sheila scribbled frantically to keep up and walk at the same speed. Sweat beads on her alabaster skin rolled from her forehead, the sterile lights barely registered on them.
"Also Sheila." Midnight stopped, running a gloved finger across a countertop. The small area seemed to be a converted lab. It served as a breakroom now, a coffee machine and a small fridge as well. "Have engineering convert this back to code. I want production out of this department, not bread crumbs and coffee stains. We have a cafeteria on this floor for a reason." She scowled at her assistant’s scribbles. "...and I don't know how the last department head was, but I expect my assistant to be a bit more presentable. You'll have your hair tightly back or you will get it cut. Understood?"
"Y...yes ma'am." Sheila stumbled on her words, almost wanting to defy the order by the look in her eyes.
"...and less makeup. This is a scientific research lab not a social club. See that the rest of the team abides by that as well. Science doesn't require lipstick or false eyelashes." Midnight turned to exit the entire lab. "I'll see to my room first, then my brother. I expect results from everyone who works for me." She added. "Because there's more than enough room for more personnel in body disposal and animal husbandry." The door slammed shut as she finished, leaving the room in a flurry of activity as computers clicked away and printers screamed each new line of code printed, a stark contrast to its state a mere thirty minutes ago.
***
Brightly lit and dressed in sterile white tones, the new accommodations for her brother’s stasis tube, Midnight scanned the room slowly. Hands clasped behind her back out of habit now, her eyes came to the caretaker of the room as she stood fidgeting in suspense. Silently, Midnight walked the room and craned her neck as she stopped in front of Shining Armor’s lifeless form. She took a small sense of pride as the new room was one of many rewards she had reaped recently.
Turning at a pace that startled the caretaker, she approached as quickly and stared down through her glasses at the young nurse. "I expect him to be undisturbed and cared for as if he were your own." Midnight finally broke the silence.
"Yes ma'am." The young pink girl stammered as she gave a clumsy crusty. A sigh of relief came over her as Midnight left.
Adjusting her glasses gently with a forefinger, Midnight strolled past more rooms dressed like the one she had just left. Each held a person in various states of health. Some had what she assumed were loved ones around them and some were darkened rooms with monitoring equipment strung to them. She paid them no mind, as she did the young doctors who scrambled out of her way only to backtrack as they met another more terrifying roadblock around the corner. Midnight frowned a moment as they doubled back, a sharp contrast of gasp came next.
"Specialist Midnight." A sly tone interrupted by a cough was uttered as Glockenspiel came into view.
Midnight gave a small but believable smile to the middle aged woman. "Professor Glockenspiel." The raspy tone just hinted at as she was greeted gave Midnight small satisfaction. Cancer must be winning again. She thought, taking notice of the more visible cheekbones of her superior. "What brings you down in the ditches?"
Glockenspiel laughed. "I was merely on my way to make sure your brother was settled in to your satisfaction, dear doctor." The laugh inadvertently triggered a coughing fit that brought the professor to a seated position on the closest bench. "...and to give you more tidings."
Midnight made no effort to help her, but did raise an eyebrow as she finished. "Tidings?"
"Yes." The aging woman took a draw off her inhaler, the green and purple mist barely wafting out this time. The deep breath she took evidence of its purpose. "The reports for your team projects have been found unsatisfactory. Your funding is hereby cut off until you can present a suitable breakthrough in Project Drone." The slightest hint of a grin came at the end of her sentence.
"I don't understand, I was just given-"
"You were given a mess to fix. Until it's fixed, you will not receive funding or resources." Glockenspiel interrupted her as she stood. "This way. These halls are for healing not bickering." The professor motioned for her to follow down the hall she had come from.
The two walked in step with each other, past guards and security doors, until they transitioned into the cold stone walls of the main castle. Finally as the last door closed behind them did the silence break.
"Let me candid, Twilight." Glockenspiel practically spit out Midnights old name. "I have no idea who you may have eliminated or stepped on to get your promotion or your new accommodations." She took a step towards the younger girl. "But I'm still the head of this division and until such time as that changes, I'm still the final word on things in your department as well." She leaned forward, a hushed yet fierce tone starting to erupt. "Now your mess of a project is supposed to get his majesty reliable drones we can use to make use of the useless. You get magic to link the brain and machinery entirely and without constant failures like Tempest’s piece of shit arm, then you can have more resources."
Midnight swallowed softly as she took a deep breath. The bellows of her courage firing at once, she took a defiant step toward her superior. "Now, you listen. I'm trying to get a department up and running to serve the king better. A department that was mismanaged and under supervised. A department that I might add was run by a manager YOU approved of." She pointed back at her. "I'll get you your results. But I need test subjects. Phase one means I need more livestock or guard dogs to extract from. I don’t get that I can’t show you anything!" she flailed her gloved hand about as she spoke.
Smiling back at Midnight. "Why, Midnight, I am proud of you. You stood up for yourself and you tried to shove blame on someone else." Glockenspiel crossed her arms, a look of amusement taking her face. She stared back at the girl and the stare down between the two brought nothing but silence for almost a minute. "Alright. You get ten. Ten guard dogs from the pens. That's it. If you can’t show results by the end of next month, your brother isn’t the only one that's going to lose power." She let the statement half sink in, turning abruptly and storming down the hallway.
Midnight kept the scowl on her face from before and realized she was now balling her fists. Gently relaxing them, she counted to ten with her eyes closed, calming herself down. Don't let her get to you. She wants you to be upset. Emotion is the mind killer. She thought, a look of neutrality coming to her face again, her boots clicking the stone as she returned to her new lab.
***
R&D Section B1 (Experimental Magic Application & Theory), 2 years, 1 month AD
Flipping the paperwork in the folder for what seemed like the millionth time, Midnight gave a growl in defeat as she tossed it to the desk. The otherwise orderly tabletop became cluttered with x-rays and other notes that spilled from the brown folder. Fuming in frustration, Midnight leaned forward, the crinkle of her gloves tightening on the desktop sounding loudly.
That's the last one. Ten subjects were all I had. She thought. "If that idiot hadn't spilled that iodine on the brain, we would have had it." Midnight let the scowl from her face drift. Looking over the prototype unit, she marveled at its construction. Articulated legs and hydraulics were all her design, covered in cold steel. She had made it in the basic image of an attack dog, but as revision after revision changed it, it resembled a nightmare. Razor sharp teeth and puncture topped paws, all coming together to both frighten and kill on the battlefield.
The empty cranium case was what caught her eyes next. Ten times she had tried to maintain the interface between the synapses and circuits and ten times something went wrong.
"I've got enough essence for one, maybe two more tries but no more animals." She felt the scowl return to her face. The only solace she took was the researcher that caused the tenth subject contamination was 'reassigned' at her request. "I haven't even told the rest of them not to reset the prototype yet."
A timid knock on the door snapped her from the sea of thought she was drowning in. Standing up to make herself seem more presentable, she pressed a small red button to open the lock.
Standing in the doorway was Sheila, an arm full of new data from the team below. Prim and proper, her hair was in a bun as she’d been given to do now, and she stumbled in with the load. "Ma'am. Today’s findings."
"Did you hear back from Grislock?" adjusting her glasses, Midnight crossed her arms, failing to help her assistant set the workload results down.
"Dr. Grislock did make contact. She…" Sheila hesitated, a furrow coming over her face. "...she isn't very sure Spike's age is the issue."
"What do you mean?" Midnights posture changed drastically as she stormed around her desk and grabbed the assistant by the arm. "Tell me what the vet said."
Sheila hesitated, but pulled a folded up paper from her lab coat. Shaking like a leaf the paper found its way to Midnights gloved hands with a single snatch.
…‘that I write to inform you that your personal pet, Spike, has a condition known as DJD. As advanced stage as it is, there is nothing that can be done’… "This cannot be right." Midnight finally broke the silence, looking at Sheila. The mix of sadness and compassion gave way to wide eyed fear she defaulted to as her boss read the remaining letter. "...’You may already know, the sick and infirm, human or not, are not afforded the same level of care as the healthy. We will be able to treat Spike for the condition however, a cursory glance at records indicates your stipend will not cover the whole amount needed.’"
Midnight felt her stomach drop in dread as she read on.
"’In order to allow Spike’s treatment, your sibling will need to be reduced to section D9 Cold Storage for the foreseeable future. As we know you value your time with him, we must also inform you D9 visitation is once every two months and your data gathering on him must cease immediately.
Alternatively we can have Spike scheduled for incineration as early as tomorrow morning.
Or your sibling.
Please let us know your decision in this matter.’"
Midnight lowered the note, glancing at a now terrified Sheila. Slowing her breathing to a steady and calm state again, closing her eyes.
"Ma'am I'm very sorr-"
"Have Spike brought down to me. If Grislock has a problem, have her see me personally." Midnight suddenly broke in, crumpling the note as she sat back down at her desk.
"Yes ma'am." Sheila answered as she turned to leave, stepping quickly and closing the door behind her.
Midnight adjusted her glasses, turning in her chair it gave a rusty squeak as she did. Staring across the lab she came to lock her eyes on the empty brainpan atop the Panzerhund.
Ever so slowly her gaze drifted further, falling on the photo of her family she had allowed herself to keep. The focus tightened in her mind as it came to her brother. There, frozen in time, was his gentle smile. A smile she hadn't seen in so long, she found herself working to remember it as she sat there. Staring still, she gave a few gentle nods to the picture, standing up to walk to her observation window. Putting her hands behind her, Midnight silently watched as the remaining researchers scrambled about as they prepared the prototype for another attempt.
***
Author's Note
As we work on fleshing out the Eastern Empire, we discovered it was difficult for people to understand there are TWO Twilight Sparkles. So we renamed her to Professor Midnight, making it a clear difference in who she was both by name and behavior.
Keep in mind that Midnight did NOT get the friends she did in the third movie, since the third movie didn't occur in the MetaVerse. :)
This also let us show the Canterlot Disaster from the outside perspective, be it ever so brief.
Don't forget to comment on what you liked and disliked, as we can hardly read minds, and will continue to refine as we receive input from all our growing fans!
Stay Tuned!
