Midnight

"By the sounds of it, you two are doing really well for yourselves right now."

"It's the best financial state this junkyard has been in since I bought it, I can confirm that without a doubt," I answer Teddy with a laugh. "But really though, I'm impressed at how far Midnight and I have been able to turn things around and get to better health."

I turn to Midnight, who is sharing a vinyl bench seat with me, expecting to hear her chime in with some sass or additional comment. But she's preoccupied with finishing off the last bratwurst on her plate, shaking her head at me to signal no comment. On the other side of the fire ring, Teddy and Starla sit in a pair of foldable camping chairs he brought along for the occasion. Both of them have also finished up dinner, leaving Midnight the odd one out for now.

I have to say, after living with Midnight for a while now, seeing a pony like Starla with a more balanced and varied diet is quite a surprise. I had to ask before this get-together what to have on hand for Starla – it turns out her diet is basically the same as any human.

Teddy says that was the goal when developing the ponies where he once worked, just for ease of integrating with consumers, rather than having something requiring a specific feed. Still, would it have been that much more difficult to just have em as regular... uh, ponies, or horses? Just send em out into the yard to munch on grass?

...then again, that's not gonna work out here, where sand is everywhere. Admittedly, I don't actually know squat about horses.

"So what are the plans for the old car?" Starla asks, dividing her attention equally between me and Midnight.

"Nothing too crazy from what we already have," I answer, noting Midnight has just taken the final bite of her meal. "Someone here seems to have this idea to turn it into a borderline strip terror, but we aren't going that far."

Starla can only offer me an expression akin to a deer caught in the headlights as I briefly mention Midnight's interest. "I'm... sorry, I'm not very good with some terms," she apologizes, lightly shaking her head free of the stunned confusion. "What is a 'strip terror'?"

"Ah, that's my bad, Starla," I reply, acknowledging my mistake. "Basically, a car meant to go fast down a drag strip. Fast acceleration in a straight line, unsuitable for normal street driving."

"Oh, now I get it. So you're going to try to keep it like how it was when new?"

"Yeah, pretty close. There's a few things we will upgrade—"

"Like headers," Midnight interrupts, having conveniently finished eating in time to butt in with her desires. I look over and shoot her an exaggerated glare, which only serves to perk her up with a wide, fanged grin.

Meanwhile, Starla possesses the same look of befuddlement she offered me just a moment ago. I reach over and poke Midnight, pointing to direct her attention to Starla for an explanation.

"Oh, my bad. Basically an improved exhaust system for the engine using tubing of equal lengths for each combustion chamber to equalize pressure for when they all dump into the main pipe."

"*cough* Nerd *cough*" For my effort, I feel Midnight's hoof suddenly jab me in the ribs, making me jump and recoil at the intrusion.

"Wow, there's a lot to think about when building cars, isn't there?" Starla speaks up, "But when do you think you will have it on the road? Any idea?"

"Hmm... that might be a better question for him to be honest," Midnight answers, poking me in the ribs again in time with her emphasis.

I turn my head and shoot Midnight another leer of mock ire. "You do that again and I'm gonna take that hoof away from you," I threaten her.

But Midnight just beams with sadistic glee. "You amuse me with your silly idle threats," she comments in a drawn-out, silky tone.

I dart a hand over toward her, trying to seize one of her forelegs before she can react – but as expected, I'm too slow. She's able to recoil back out of the way enough for my hand to hit the vinyl seating.

"I don't know why you even bothered trying," Midnight snickers.

"Aww, dinner and a show. What a lovely evening out," Starla giggles from across the fire ring. She leans over the arm of her chair, resting her head on Teddy's shoulder.

"Aaanyway... I don't really have a timetable in mind for the car," I respond after the brief interlude. "The car sat for a long time, which isn't good on any components – so there's a lot to sort through and inspect, particularly when it comes to fluid lines and electrical. Fortunately, I haven't seen a single spot of bodywork or structural pieces in the undercarriage that require work. The only thing that would need work in that category is paint."

"Well, we still have the engine situation to contend with," Midnight reminds me. "We don't know whether the engine block is structurally sound. Then we have the issue regarding if we can even get a replacement crankshaft for the engine."

"Oh, I already know I can get a crankshaft for it – brand new, in fact. We just have to make sure the block is good, like you said."

The bench seat shifts as Midnight sits up straight, her gaze hardening upon hearing my comment. "You never told me you found a crank," she mutters.

I can't help but grin as I take the moment to reach up with my arm and pat her head. "Surprise."

"I hate surprises," she grumbles back, pouting even as I start to pet her mane properly.

"Hence why it's so much fun to keep surprises from you," I gush back at her.

Starla's rather mischievous giggle fit breaks Midnight and me from the inane little moment we're sharing. Turning my head to take a look, Star is honed in on Midnight with amusement and endearment. "I knew that rough and tumble mare had a soft side deep in there," she croons.

"Only because killing him with witnesses would be a stupid idea," Midnight retorts, garnering a fresh set of giggles.

"Of course," Starla responds, laying on a bit of sarcasm.

"Oh trust me, she's still got her edge," I chime in, much to both mares' surprise. "Only been a week or two since Midnight legitimately saved me from a pissed-off coyote out here,"

"Really?" Starla's jaw drops at my claim.

"Wasn't the first coyote I've dealt with and put down," Midnight adds with a shot of pride as she puffs her chest out. "Probably won't be the last, either."

"Damn, so you really got the bite to go with the bark," Teddy comments, folding his arms with a slight chuckle. "I suppose I really shouldn't be surprised if you held your own out here for months."

"Well, when it comes to a matter of life and death, you do what needs to be done," Midnight gloats as she basks in the attention.

It's getting to be a bit much in my eyes. I think we need to back it down just a bit...

"But you are correct, Star. Middie's got a soft side – she just doesn't like letting it show."

I don't have to look at Midnight to know she's giving me the stink eye for crushing her moment. "You're a dick," she grumbles. "You're sleeping alone on the shitty couch tonight."

Oh-ho-ho. If either Teddy or Starla picked up on that nuance, things might get a bit interesting. I finally look at Midnight, who keeps a rather dour expression, oblivious to what she just said out loud.

"So you two normally share the couch?" comes the inquiring voice of Starla.

"No!" Midnight quickly shouts back. "We normally sleep in— no, wait... augh, you got me confused!" She lays down on the couch almost cowering at the realization she let out way more than she meant with that outburst.

"Normally you two sleep in bed?" Starla asks in a sweet voice, batting her eyelashes.

"John, do not say anything," Midnight grumbles.

"Hey, don't blame me. I haven't said anything here," I retort, putting my hands up with palms out toward her. "This is all you." The proclamation brings Midnight's eyes to me as she growls, as if she wants to pounce on me – and not for snuggles.

Out of my peripheral vision, I spy Starla taking the time during this brief interaction to jump from her chair and circle around the fire toward Midnight, a gleeful smile gracing her face as she approaches. "Midnight, you know that no one here thinks any less of you, right?" she proposes.

I don't expect Starla's words nor her presence here to help matters with Midnight's attitude. Yet much to my surprise, Middie relaxes just a tad as she raises her head up to look at Starla.

"...fine," she relents in a subdued voice, averting her eyes as soon as she speaks. "I'm— well he... we both sort of share the bed," she manages to stammer out, her ears tucked back in utter embarrassment.

While Teddy remains quiet, his expression says it all as he eyes me, offering up a heartfelt smile and a sage nod of approval.

"Was that really so hard, Mid?" I ask her.

"Shut up, dumbass."

"I guess it was," Starla interjects with another bit of laughter before cutting it short and stepping closer to Midnight, resting a hoof on her shoulder. "Sorry, Midnight. I'm not trying to tease you. I just— you work so hard to prove to everyone how tough you are. Like you have something to prove – especially when I'm around. It's almost like a sibling rivalry or something."

"You do strike me as an overly cheery, kinda annoying Celestia," Midnight jokes, letting a goofy smile crack through her frustration.

Once again, Starla's grin she seems to always sport starts to grow devious as she cocks her head. "Oh, you actually watched the little girls' show we originated from?"

"He made me," Midnight spits without pause, pointing her hoof toward me.

"Bullshit I did," I scoff. "You were the one to suggest it and I didn't argue."

"You were the one to hook up the laptop to the TV, search for the episodes online, and actually play them," Midnight counters.

"And I suppose I tied you to the couch and forced your eyes open to watch it, too?"

"At least you admit it."

"Alright, c'mere you moody pain in the ass," I grumble in mock frustration, leaning over to snatch up Midnight. Despite her rather feeble efforts to dodge me, I manage to hook an arm around her barrel and pull her up next to me. She struggles the whole way, squirming and fidgeting in a half-hearted token effort to avoid me.

"I really despise you for this," Midnight mutters as Starla lets loose another bout of giggles at the sight before her.

"Midnight, I'm really glad you took my advice," Starla says as she comes off of her last bit of laughter. "I had my suspicions – but it now makes perfect sense why you have been so much more relaxed the last few occasions we've been able to talk."

Advice?

"So you already told Starla we had a little thing going between us, you and I?" I ask Midnight, staring at her in disbelief.

Midnight grimaces at the inquiry, reluctant to look up at me for a moment before giving up and offering an uneasy smile. "We... may have had a short discussion at one point," she admits. "Nothing— I mean, nothing was actually said or admitted. You heard what Starla just said, right?"

"And sharing a bed is the most embarrassing thing in the world to you?"

"We didn't talk about anything like that before, stupid," she growls back. "So yeah, it's a step further than I would have liked."

There's no hint of smugness on her face and in her voice – she's serious about this. I have to just lean back in my seat and stare up at the sky to fully absorb Midnight's prior hangups. "Midnight, you are something else, you know that?" I finally respond as I bring my attention back to her.

She stiffens up as her gaze hardens, as if trying to peer inside my head. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're something that rhymes with 'suit'."

"Do not say it."

"Cute?" Starla interjects. I nod my head feverishly at her answer, while Midnight emits a groan, shooting Starla a glare as she wanders back to her camping chair.

"You're just trying to be a troublemaker tonight, aren't you?" Teddy asks Starla as she plops down into her seat.

"Who, me?" she gasps as if offended by the accusation. "I would never do such a thing."

"It's not you, Star. This is all on John," Midnight says.

"Hey, if you're gonna accuse me of something, at least explain it so I can understand and possibly refute it," I argue.

"All of this tonight," she answers, waving a hoof to include everything in our general vicinity.

...what?

"So it's my fault you've become reasonably well-adjusted and able to make sense of your feelings and emotions to form relationships and spend a nice evening outside with friends?" I counter "That's about all I can make sense of your blame game, Middie."

"Well, you hit it right on the head. I'm impressed," Midnight replies, giving up her facade to nod her head and grin.

"Well, that's kinda my fault, too," Starla adds, trying to make herself sound depressed and forlorn – but it doesn't work well with her giddy expression.

"Can't forget some of this lands on Teddy's shoulders, too," Midnight continues, directing her line of sight over to him.

"Me?" he responds, pointing a finger at himself in mock surprise. "What the heck did I do?"

"Well, you were the first person I interacted with besides John, and despite our rough initial meeting, you gave me another chance," Midnight clarifies. She glances down momentarily and taps a hoof to the crescent moon pendant resting upon her chest. "And you also gave me more freedom than I would have ever had."

The explanation gets a smile from Teddy, even before Starla snuggles against him. "You've come a long way since I first met you, Midnight," he says. "I've seen many ponies be it bots or like you that just stay latched onto the past and cannot work forward beyond that. I'm glad you found a way out – in more ways than one."

"Me too," Midnight sighs, resting her head on my shoulder. "Me too."

"Really? Like that, we're good with sharing all this tonight? After that minor hissy fit?" I ask her.

"It's not about the destination, it's the journey," she sasses back to me. "You wouldn't have it any other way."

"I don't get a choice in the matter. We've been through this."

"We have. Yet you still question it."

"Right, my fault," I grumble. In reality, I'm happy to hear Midnight this open and this thankful, and yeah, tonight's antics have been enjoyable.

"And we come back to my point. It's your fault," she repeats.

"Well, I'll take the blame. I got the shoulders for it."