//------------------------------// // Midnight Chorus // Story: The Original Character Immigration Offices // by TypewriterError //------------------------------// Midnight Chorus By Mendoza He fiddled with his blue and black hair for the umpteenth time, looking in the two-way mirror on the wall opposite him. After paying for and filling out the mountain of paperwork for an inter-dimensional passport, then the even more mountainous mountain for simply the interview for immigration; the time had come. The hopeful pegasus had only to make a decent impression and Equestria would become his oyster. Now all that remained was to count the seconds until the interviewer would saunter through the door into this tiny room lit only by a single hanging ceiling lamp. Ponies in this realm saunter, don’t they? He laid his chin on the table at which he sat. He adjusted his rump on his stool, which was bolted to the floor tiles for some reason. Since he had thoroughly exhausted joints to crack, he settled for sweeping his foreleg over the table. The silver bracelets adorning his limb, bought with the leftover savings for the papers and portals, rattled across the surface; the sound was likely aggravating whomever was supposed to be watching him through the mirror, but he doubted very much that a little noise would be a valid reason for rejection. There was the sound of hoofsteps out in the hallway. A tangerine aura enveloped the door handle and the door was magically thrust open to reveal a grey unicorn with a bushy handlebar moustache and matching shaggy black mane. His flank bore the image of a sheet of parchment under a magnifying glass. “Three things: my name is Glasseye, it’s only been ten minutes, and you can stop that.” he related irritably. The pegasus swiftly withdrew his hoof, a tint of embarrassment on his cheeks as the interviewer marched to the chair across from him. A small crystalline cube and bland file folder held in the unicorn’s magical grip followed and softly landed upon the table between the two stallions. “Now before I even look at your file, Blueberry” he said, noting the colour of the pony opposite him, “I’m going to ask you one question.” “Okay.” the pegasus nodded semi-calmly, his monochrome-teal eyes betraying the rest of his anxiety. “Why do you want to leave behind your world in favour of Equestria?” The anxiety diminished considerably; he had practiced this question for 4 weeks. “Equines of my realm,” he began matter-of-factly, “are inherently greedy beings. In my world, there is no such thing as a truly selfless act; there is always something to be gained later on. I want to get away from that; the inhabitants of Equestria have always seemed more genuine and sincere.” The gruff, grey Glasseye nodded sagely, “I can understand that.” He turned his gaze on the crystalline cube and tapped a hoof twice on it’s transparent surface. It began to emit a faintly pulsating emerald glow which continued for four beats and fell dark once more. His eyes counted the hopeful immigrant’s jewelry. “You’re wearing magical artifacts.” stated the unicorn. “Four of them.” “Indeed I am.” replied the pegasus. He placed his forelegs upon the table and admired his purchases, “The amethysts are enchanted with a simple colour-change spell. They cost me less than I thought, considering magic in my world is next to non-existent.” Glasseye leaned forward to examine the bracelets, they reflected the dull light fixture above them in the violet gems. “And why,” he began slowly, ‘are you wearing these to what’s supposed to be a somewhat formal interview? Don’t you worry about the first impression in your dimension?” The limbs disappeared back beneath the table, “Of course we do,” said the interviewee, “I simply figured it would make a better impression to not hide behind an outfit I’ll rarely use.” Glasseye’s eyes narrowed as he leaned on his forehooves and grunted for the pegasus to continue. Midnight began shucking off his accessories which rattled onto the metal table, “You see, these bangles are part of my stage attire. I feel the most at home and the most free to be my true self when I’m in front of a crowd, giving my all in a song.” Without the enchantments, his eyes turned from a solid teal to a dark purple with a visible pupil in the center. The grizzled pony froze. His eye shot to the file on the table and his tangerine aura picked it up once more. It opened and hung in front of his face and he began reading the information within for the first time. When the file dropped, his eyes were blazing with contempt. He took a steadying breath and slowly sat back in his chair and crossed his hooves over his chest. The sudden ignition of such anger bewildered and shocked the pegasus, whose colour paled considerably at the change in the atmosphere. “Mr. Midnight Chorus” he hissed with severe acidity, “a... ssssssinger.” “Y-yes.” stammered the quaking musician as he gestured to the microphone emblazoned on his flank. “I w-want to join in the m-marvelously e-energetic world of m-music in Equestria.” “Well y’see that’s gonna be a problem.” mocked Glasseye. “Do you know how many singers we have in Equestria? Hm?” Midnight only replied with a strangled whimpering at the sheer animosity in his voice. “Too many,” continued the steely unicorn whose voice rose with each sentence, “we have thousands of records produced each minute across the land. Entire towns are breaking out into song and dance just about each and every day!” he lurched forward and planted his hooves on the table, “Districts are backed up for miles because of the dozens of flash-mobs erupting out of nowhere! And y’know who has to deal with all this? My poor father and sister in the royal guard!” He snorted with frustration and continued his verbal crusade, “But they can’t ever catch the leaders; the organizers of these disruptive parties. So they just keep on happening and happening. No more! I’m nipping this one in the bud!” Glasseye’s hoof darted under the table and pounded twice on a large, red button. A section of the wall spun around to reveal a long cylinder, which took aim at the now severely terrified vocalist. There was a high-pitched hum and the cylinder discharged a load of a sticky, black adhesive which pinned Midnight’s wings to his body. The tiles behind his stool slide away and uncovered a hole, into which he was dumped by his stool mechanically tilting backwards. The sounds of Midnight’s screaming and tumbling down the chute were followed by the metallic clinking of his bracelets being tossed down after him. Glasseye took a deep breath after the trap door had closed again. He conjured a cell phone out of thin air and hit the speed-dial for his father. The triumphant news and proud congratulations on another ne'er do well repelled were, unfortunately, cut short by the sound of a polka troupe starting a riot outside the guard post on the other end. But, at least the cities of Equestria were saved again from another potential threat to the peace.