Cyberpony Y2K

Cadenza and Midnight both rose at the command.

Celestia lounged, at ease, but had sat up a bit when the two Princesses entered. Her six wings spread out behind her, all unfurled. Four mechanical, two flesh and blood. She wore clothing made out of golden links, in a long skirt that would have trailed the floor had she been standing, and a sash across her chest. Some ponies had described her as attractive; beautiful.

Midnight was never certain why, of all the things about her to praise, people praised her beauty. Why not her wisdom? Her kindness? Her mercy?

Celestia let the two stand before her, for a long moment. When she finally spoke, it was to Cadenza.

"My dear niece," she said, voice echoing and warbling, "do you understand what you've done?"

Cadenza looked to Midnight, then up to her aunt. "I...think so," she said.

"Good," Celestia said. She made a hand gesture, and one of her priests stepped forward, bearing a plate of pastries. "I'm glad that you two can resolve things like this without my guidance now." She picked up one of the pastries, and asked Midnight, "What has become of Fleur de Liss?"

"She's staying in Ponyville for now," Midnight said. "Indigo said that she had the implant removed. Seems to be staying with a doctor, as I don't think she has any friends in Ponyville."

"You placed quite a bit of doubt in her heart," Celestia said. "I may not be able to let her into my heaven now." She popped the first pastry into her mouth.

"I'm sorry, Auntie."

"It is your sin to live with." Celestia's face did not drift into as unpleasant an emotion as sorrow or pity; she remained...passive, calm. Stoic, many would say.

But Midnight chose to say, 'divine'.

Celestia turned to Midnight. "Are you going to kill her?"

"No," Midnight said, "too many eyes watching. Even if it wasn't discovered that we did it, it would be our fault for not preventing it, so soon after another attempt on her life."

Celestia nodded. "Good." And Midnight breathed a sigh of relief. I knew it was the right decision.

"Cadenza. You have...other tasks, I assume?"

"Yes, I'm afraid. I was in the middle of a meeting when..." Cadenza looked to Midnight, then back to Celestia. "...When I was summoned."

That brought emotion to the goddess's face. Just a slight frown. "I see. Come around again sometime; it's been ages since we were last able to spend time together."

"Yes, I agree," Cadenza said with a smile. She bowed, wings fluttering. "It has been too long. I'll come when I can." She looked to Midnight. Midnight neither moved nor spoke, so Cadenza simply nodded and walked out.

Midnight climbed the few steps, to stand directly in front of Celestia. "There is...another matter I was wanting to bring up," she said.

"Yes, I am aware."

Of course she is. She's God. "We found the trail of Discord," Midnight said. "While I finish resolving the Filthy Rich situation, I shall have Minuette track them down."

Celestia's face fell. Midnight paused, confused, waiting for Celestia to reply.

"No. You shall not."

"Y-your Radiance?"

"I have said this before, Midnight. Discord is of no consequence to you."

"But...that was before! Things are different now. Discord's been gathering their forces all of these years! Especially with that Changeling in Manehattan! I--"

"MIDNIGHT SPARKLE."

Midnight flinched. She'd overstepped. The wrath of the Goddess was an unpleasant thing, but by far the worse thing about it was that it was always deserved.

"Let me make myself clear," Celestia said. "You are not to waste time hunting Discord. I know everything about them; they are of no consequence to you." She leaned forward, face inches from Midnight's. "Do you remember what I told you when you ascended?"

Midnight nodded.

"Good. Keep that in mind." Celestia sat back on her bed. "If there's nothing else of note, then, couldn't we move on to more casual matters? It has been some time since we last talked. How have you been?"

"W-well enough," Midnight said. "I've been working trying to get more Inquisitors. I found a good candidate, but..."

Celestia patted the bed besides her. Midnight hesitantly sat up next to her, feeling like a child again. But, with the incomparable age of the goddess besides her, anypony, anything, was a child.

Two of Celestia's right wings, one flesh, the other titanium, extending, wrapping around Midnight and pulled her closer. As she got close to Celestia, her skin warmed. The very air around Celestia distorted from the heat the Alicorn was outputting. The titanium wings reflected prismatic light off of themselves, which in turn reflected off the smooth, golden walls of the room.

"The mare I found was Goldbricker's groundskeeper, so she's...not really a fan of us. Much like poor Gold Leaf. And worse, one of Derpy's students is probably about to get fired, but...I'm leaving that to her to decide. And...Lyra herself..."

"Lyra is, and has always been, troubled," Celestia said. "You know what she went through."

"Yeah. Her...pain that she shared with Bon-Bon." Not physical pain, of course, but trauma. So quite a bit different from the burning sensation on her arm in contact with Celestia's wings... "And then Bon-Bon left. She's never been the same since then. I...I thought Goldbricker was a suicide attempt for a while. This most recent stunt, I'm certain was. I...can't trust her on missions anymore."

"Hmm. Is there anything else you can trust her to?"

"Well...maybe she could train a new recruit," Midnight said doubtfully. "It might just...give her something to live for. She's...she's..." Midnight grimaced. The pain in her right arm was really beginning to build up. "Lyra was my other mentor. You taught me magic, she taught me...well, everything that makes up an Inquisitor. Lying, sleuthing, hacking, combat..."

"Seduction?" Celestia gave that mischievous little grin of hers, that didn't quite fit with her image of divinity, but fit a more...playful mood. It certainly meant Midnight's overstepping was forgiven.

Midnight sputtered, shaking her head. "No! No, nothing like—" She is god, Midnight reminded herself. "Yes," she admitted.

Celestia laughed.

"Well, yes, though I thankfully haven't had to pull out those particular skills in a bit," Midnight said, face flushed. And not just from embarrassment. Her arm was throbbing at this point. The heat made her glad she hadn't put on her cloak.

"Well, they could still help," Celestia said. "You could find yourself a lover."

"I'm...a little too busy for that," Midnight intoned. "I work all night, I don't really have time for...sex." To Tartarus with dancing around the word; Celestia was God. If she hadn't wanted to hear about it, she wouldn't have made it.

"You should enjoy some of the perks of your station a little more," Celestia said. "Remember. There's only one sin you can commit now."

Midnight nodded. "I remember. But...I mean...it's not exactly something you just ask."

"Few ponies would say no to you. Many would beg you."

Fewer would say no to you, Midnight mused. Yet smoke was beginning to rise from her arm; the lack of pain seemed to mean that some of the nerves had been killed. Her mechanical eye's vision was distorting. Thankfully, she had made it to be heat resistant, so it shouldn't have been damaged.

"And if not, then perhaps, you might want to stay here tonight?" Celestia purred. Her hand slid up along Midnight's side. A shiver of panic, cold and dreary, slid into her mind like a knife.

"T-tempting," Midnight lied. "But I'll find somepony. Tonight."

The look in Celestia's eyes made it obvious; she caught the lie. But of course, she was Celestia. She knew. She had known Midnight's weakness since the moment it entered her heart. "Hmm. I'm sure you will. But if you change your mind, I'll be here for you."

Her hand slipped away from Midnight's chest, and Midnight's panic left. "Good luck," Celestia said, before leaning over and kissing her on the cheek.

Moreso than even the prolonged contact on her arm, the kiss hurt. "Alright, thank you," Midnight said, rising.

"Anytime, Midnight. Remember: I'm here for you."

"Always," Midnight said, turning and leaving. It would be rude to teleport out of Celestia's presence, even if a part of her really wanted to. Yet goodness was not the absence of evil; it was the rejection of it.

Midnight waited til she stepped out of the solar spire, then teleported into her office. She wobbled, unsteadily, before sitting down at her desk. A messy pile of notes and things she could only describe as 'scrawlings' sat upon the desk, things she had been deciphering, wisdom from her predecessor. She cleared off a spot, putting her injured arm onto the table. She gritted her teeth, then slowly, painfully, peeled off the burned flesh from it. Blisters popped and the charred skin crackled, and was actually still smoking in a few places. She could see the warm, reddish glow of fire. She crumpled it with her magic, snuffing out the flames, and then threw it into the garbage disposal.

She stretched out her hand, surveying her injuries. She reached up, rubbing her cheek.

Painkiller.

She ripped open a drawer, yanking through a bunch medical supplies before finding a needle. She jabbed it into her upper arm, hissing. Then, she summoned her magic, pouring it into her arm.

If she'd had more practice, Midnight would have used Earth pony magic to heal her arm. On non-Alicorns, it could only really help with scrapes and bruises, but for her? In a matter of hours,s he could heal bullet holes. Or, had watched Spitfire do so, at least. But she didn't have that practice, or the magic memory that Spitfire had. Midnight only knew her innate magic well.

But the healing spell she knew was more than enough. The skin grew back swiftly, covering up the exposed musculature and blood vessels.

But the panic she felt did not go away.

She closed her eye, trying to shut out the memories, the waking nightmare that remained with her. The thing that shouldn't have made her so terrified. What was supposed to have been a special night. With...with...

A door opening disrupted her thoughts. In the room beyond, she heard Minuette's voice. And an idea clicked into place. She rose swiftly from her desk stepping out into the main room.

You can do this, she told herself. After all, you've done it before. Nothing big, right? Just...a fun time. Yeah.

"Hey, Princess!" Minuette said. She stretched her arms above her head, saying, "Just got back from the hospital. Heart implant is working fine again! Haven't felt this good in ages, but the doctor told me to get plenty of bed rest still."

"You should," Midnight said. "Rest is important." Not that any of us get much sleep. "Taking the evening off, then?"

"Hmm? Yeah. I was going to go sm..." She fumbled, frowned to herself, then said. "Sit down and relax."

She was trying to give up smoking? Odd. "Come to my room," Midnight said. "We could relax...together." Was that the right way to phrase it? Did it sound right? How, exactly, did one just ask?

It seemingly took Minuette a second to get it. "Oh! Um...okay! Uh...your room. Right. Heh heh..." She awkwardly ran a hand through her mane, then reached up and undid the top few buttons of her coat.

This is what I want, Midnight told herself. Oxygen seemed to have suddenly become a rare commodity; her breath came in short, ragged gasps. She moved closer to Minuette.

"I'm sorry," Minuette burst out suddenly, frantically stepping away. "I don't...I don't think I can...do this." She paused, then redid the top buttons on her coat. "I'm not ready." She looked down at the ground, shamefacedly.

"Don't be sorry," Midnight said. Shouldn't she feel...disappointed? If not, then...relieved? "It's fine. If you don't want to, then there's no point."

"I...I'll be off, then," Minuette said, before sprinting off.

Midnight calmly walked back to her office, trying to pretend she wasn't about to throw up. She walked past her desk, then sat down on the floor. She curled into a ball, wrapped her wings around herself, and cried.