Midnight’s Tail
Part 3 - Four by Four, Four on the Floor
***
An MLP:FiM fanfic by Midnight Shadow
Thanks to: Chistery, Roy, Blaze, Pride, Peachy Punch and all my readers and editors :3
Set in Blaze’s “Conversion Bureau” universe
Original: Equestria Daily - Conversion Bureau
***
“We’re on the road again, travellin’ places that we’ve never been...” sang Peachy Punch tunelessly as she looked out the back of the truck wistfully.
“Oh shush.” said Cobalt, “you’ve been reciting that damn ditty for the last three hours straight.”
“You’re only mad, Cobalt,” said Peachy, “because you don’t know the words.”
“Neither do you! And maybe my name’s not Cobalt any more. Maybe it’s...maybe it’s...”
“Come on guys,” said Midnight, “we’re all ponies here. No need to be at each other’s throats.”
Peachy Punch hummed the same tune, or tried to, until Cobalt stared at her. She stuck her tongue out, “I’m just so bored,” said Peachy, “I want to stretch my wings! I want to feel grass beneath my hooves, not filthy straw.”
“It wouldn’t be filthy if you could contain yourself!” hissed Cobalt.
“Hey! It’s not my fault I get car-sick! Besides, it’s not all me, it’s those...those natives over there. They don’t seem to care where they go...”
“They’ve never had to,” mused Midnight, “it’s not like you can blame them. I don’t think it matters so much to Equestrians either.”
“Well forgive me if I don’t just-”
“My little ponies! You’re at it again! Chill! Why can’t you be more like mister frontpage over there?” Midnight pointed with a hoof at the reporter, so far nameless, who was snoring loudly curled up like he’d been a pony all his life.
“Because I hate car rides, I hate hay and I hate ponies.” grumped Cobalt.
Midnight blinked, even Peachy Punch looked upset, “but...why? Why did you go through with ponification if you hate ponies?”
Cobalt looked at the ground as the truck swayed and mumbled something.
“I...I didn’t quite hear that.” Midnight said.
“I don’t hate ponies, okay! I said being an earth pony sucks! I don’t get wings, I don’t get magic. I lost my thumbs. What the hell does that make me?”
“It makes you a pony, dude. A pony like the rest of us. Whatever makes you you, it made you an earth-pony. I mean come on, you’re gorgeous!” said Peachy Punch, before realising what she’d said and blushing furiously, “I mean...”
“You really think so?” asked Cobalt, looking himself over.
“I mean, sure...the lights pretty bad in here so that may have something to do with i- OW!”
Midnight flicked Peachy with his tail, “Tell him the truth.”
Peachy looked intently at the ceiling, then the walls, then swirled a hoof around idly and mumbled, “You...you look pretty neat. For a pony. Which I am too, and, uh...”
Cobalt opened his mouth to say something, and then shut it again. He finally bent his head to one of the water troughs and took a loud slurp trying to hide the blush. Just then the van rocked to a stop and Cobalt ended up coughing and spluttering. After a few moments of the engine being shut off and the doors opened and slammed, the rear tail-gate was let down and daylight flooded the compartment.
“You guys want to come out? Stretch your legs? Union rules when transporting livestock - sorry - we have a half hour break every few hours. If you think you can get yourselves and the other ponies back in you can come out for a trot around the corral.”
Midnight was the first to poke his head out, joined pretty quickly by Peachy Punch and Cobalt. It was getting crowded on the loader-ramp so Midnight turned, to find a whole stampede of ponies rushing towards him. He flinched and suddenly there was a bright blue flash. What appeared to be a soap-bubble surrounded the trio of pastel ponies, and the normal ponies which were rushing past were flowing around them harmlessly. It was over in seconds and the soap-bubble burst, Midnight fell to his knees breathing heavily.
“What was..? How did you..? What did you do?”
“I...I don’t know! I’m a unicorn, I did magic, I guess! I...I just...did it. They were coming right for us and I panicked...”
Cobalt cocked his head, “What does it feel like?”
Midnight licked his lips and peered at his horn, eyes crossing, “Like a headache that doesn’t hurt. Like pumping iron, sort of. It’s...kind of like a hand you don’t have, you can feel what it does but not what it is.” He stood up again, breathing heavily, he felt very strange and right now needed nothing more than breathing space.
“You okay?” asked Peachy Punch, nudging the dazed unicorn with a hoof.
“Yeah, I’m just pooped. I don’t think I’m cut out for doing magic. It feels like I just ran a marathon.”
“But unicorns...don’t they do magic all the time?”
“I dunno, I get the feeling only some of us are good at magic magic, like only if it’s your talent, your cutie-mark you know? The rest of us...I think it’s just a sideline.”
“That’s stupid,” said Peachy Punch, “that’s like a pegasus that can’t fly.”
“No, no, he’s got a point,” said Cobalt, tapping his mouth with a hoof, “humans can all run, right? But very few of them are olympic sprinters or joggers. Flying is what you do if you’re a pegasus, magic is what you are when you’re a unicorn. Or something.”
“Guess we’re not so different then, huh? Peachy’s the lucky one, she can fly.”
“I wish. I got flight-school one-oh-one but I’m still a newfoal.”
“Can I quote you guys on that?” asked the reporter-pony, looking disgustingly well rested and collected as he walked up behind them.
Midnight snorted, “already out to score the big scoop huh?”
The reporter rolled his eyes, “Don’t be so cynical, this was all your idea, if you recall. My life is the big scoop! This is fantastic! I love being a pony!”
The reporter whinnied happily and galloped flat-out into the fenced-off field where he shot off at breakneck speed around the perimeter, causing another mini-stampede with the ‘normal’ ponies.
“I think I hate him.” said Midnight, scowling, jealous of the ease with which the reporter was taking to having hooves and a tail.
“Cheer up, sport,” said Peachy Punch, flicking her tail at him and grinning, “kick back a little, stretch your legs. You’re too busy brooding if you ask me. You’re a pony now! You can eat grass, run like the wind, live where you please.” Peachy trotted off happily, bucking her hind hooves and flicking her tail and wings with laughter, finally chasing after the reporter for the fun of it. Spreading her wings she hopped and skipped into the air experimentally, bouncing off the fence and almost crashing into the ground before recovering and trying again. Midnight smiled despite himself.
“She’s something, ain’t she?” asked Cobalt
“Mmmhm.” said Midnight, not really listening.
“You think somepony like her could...like somepony like me?”
“I..wait, what? She’s a pony!”
Cobalt snorted and flicked a tail. Midnight’s rump was getting sore from all the attention, “If you haven’t noticed, so am I. So are you! Those slim legs...such dainty hooves. And her wings...I could get lost in those wings. But...do pegasus and earth-ponies..?”
Midnight blinked, “I...I guess so? I mean there was this pegasus, back at the bureau...Rainbow something. Same hair as mine. She was pretty cute.”
“You sly dog. What happened?”
Midnight blushed, “I...I kinda turned her down. It felt weird, thinking about a pony like that...”
“You’re going to be one lonely pony if you don’t get over it. Come on, I’ll race ya.”
They ran. They raced. They bucked. It was great to be out in the fresh air. It amused them no end that it was the humans that had to clean out their stalls whilst they had to do naught but run and play in the sunshine. They finally stopped, as a group, just standing and watching the world go by in the few minutes they had left. The reporter dropped his head to the side of the enclosure and cropped at some grass.
“Eew...” said Midnight.
“Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it,” said the reporter, “it’s pretty good, I doubt the lead content will hurt.”
“I’ll take your word for it, uh...say, what do we call you anyway?”
The reporter chewed thoughtfully and swallowed, “I haven’t come up with a name yet. Whatever it is...bam...frontpage. Above the fold.”
“Frontpage?” asked Peachy Punch, trotting closer, “Suits you.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“Suits you though.”
“Frontpage? Frontpage. Huh. Well alrighty then.”
They mingled, Midnight couldn’t help but notice that Cobalt was keeping the other natives - their word for normal Terran ponies - away from Peachy. He wasn’t sure if Cobalt knew it himself yet, but a small smile played on his lips.
“Look Daddy! Horsies!” came a voice, a small girl, maybe six, maybe seven - Midnight realised he was finding it hard to judge ages in humans, not that he’d ever been good at it.
“You wanna go see the horsies, princess?” asked a gruff voice, and Midnight watched as a heavy-set man gently pushed his little girl towards the fence separating their world from his. She had a bunch of weeds - no, tasty hors d’oeuvres he corrected himself - and was hopefully holding them out, trying to catch the attention of the wary natives whilst he watched with less than half an eye. Midnight wandered over thoughtfully, it was strange, like looking in a fun-house mirror. She smiled and waved them at him. He bent carefully and plucked a few from her unresisting fingers, chewing slowly.
Neither she nor her father realised what the ponies really were despite his odd colouration and pearly horn, Midnight guessed that the ponies from Equestria just weren’t common enough yet for the pair to put two and two together, but still...
“Buh bye pony!” called the girl and stroked Midnight’s nose. He nickered softly as the pair left, the daughter hoisted onto her father’s shoulders. Midnight waved a hoof goodbye, the girl’s eyes went round as saucers, but Midnight turned quickly with a grin and trotted away before she could alert her father.
Midnight trotted back to the van where the other ponies were following Cobalt, who had somehow managed to make himself their de-facto herd-leader despite his obvious disdain for them. Midnight laughed to himself as the tail-gate was raised and the great heavy engine started up again. With a final two slaps on the back from the navigator, they were off.
They made several stops and drove on into the night. It was tiring, it was cramped - he was sure it would have been worse on any other load with natives - and they had little to pass the time. Not even tying the strings from bales of hay to the walls to create makeshift instruments couldn’t relieve the boredom.
Finally they stopped for the night, they were about an hour from their destination but union rules were union rules, and backed up by union people. Things would get ugly if rules weren’t stuck to, so they pulled over.
Peachy had had enough of the van. Cobalt, with a streak of chivalry a mile wide, decided to sleep outside with her. Midnight was jealous, both of them had the hang of the whole ‘sleeping standing up’ deal. He didn’t know how they managed it. It irked him even more that Frontpage just curled up without a second thought and drifted off.
Insomnia. He hated it. He’d spent the whole day doing nothing. That was the problem. He’d not imagined that ponies could have the same problem.
“Maybe I’ll just...go for a run. Yeah. S’not cold, air quality is better near the coast...”
He clopped carefully down the ramp and ambled past the herd. Cobalt and Peachy seemed to be sleeping with their necks entwined, Peachy’s wing over the earth-pony somewhat protectively. Midnight snorted, just as long as none of the natives followed him he’d be fine. The ones that weren’t dozing didn’t seem too interested. Herdmind behaviour had them, breaking from the group was a taboo.
Further into the countryside was just scrub and brushland, the moon wasn’t full but the sky was clear. He picked up his pace, from a basic trot, to a canter and finally to a full gallop. As his hooves flew over the uneven ground he exulted in a sense of freedom he’d never experienced before. Why, he wondered to himself, had he never felt like this before? His friends had often spoken of just how good they felt after a run. He hadn’t believed them. Now, grudgingly, he did.
When he ran out of scrub and found himself nearing another road he reluctantly slowed back down to a walk. He was breathing heavily but wasn’t winded. He felt alive, he felt-
His ears pricked up, something was wrong. He trotted up and down the roadside, out of sight of the traffic, flashing his tail unconsciously. He couldn’t get the idea out of his head that something or someone was...
A rope flashed out of the darkness and looped over his head, pulling tight against his neck. He reared up instinctively and kicked first his front legs and then hind hooves as he pulled against the taught cable. He was caught fast! He pulled hard, hard as he could, but it only tightened the noose. It wasn’t strangling him, not that it mattered through his panic, but it was restricting his breathing. He saw stars, stumbled, fell. In moments they were on him, three men - he assumed they were men from their deep voices - holding him down, fighting to keep his legs in check as a fourth, the rope-wielder, made a quick but effective bridle. They hobbled him with two more ropes and then a greasy hand twisted his ear and a harsh voice said, “I’m going to get off now, trigger, and you’re going to get up, real slow and easy.”
They did so and, awkwardly, Midnight got to his feet. He hadn’t spoken yet, but they forced his hoof.
“We’re going to take a little walk, just the five of us. We’ve got a van waiting that’s big enough for you and your other little friend we found all alone in that big old trailer.”
“You better not hurt him,” said Midnight, clearing his throat, “You must know what this horn means. I can turn you inside out at a moments notice.”
The man stopped and turned, flashing a piece in the moonlight secreted in a jacket pocket, “a moment’s all I’ll need to put a bullet through your brain.”
“Just so we understand each other,” Midnight gambled, “it’s just me an him with a bunch of natives, hiding us out on the way to Equestria, trying to avoid people like you obviously.”
“Aye, we got your friend. You didn’t do too good a job.”
They walked him slowly and carefully, surrounded on all sides by a solemn quiet figure, until they reached a van much like the one he’d been travelling in, but a good deal smaller. Just about big enough for two full-sized horses, or two ponies and two guards. Midnight flicked his tail in anger as he noted Frontpage - that’s who he assumed it was in the now near-pitch black night lit only occasionally by passing cars and a very dim flashlight brandished by one of the thugs - hobbled, hooded and tied to a stumpy tree.
“FP, it’s me, we’re safe...kinda.”
“Midnight, that you?”
“Yeah, they got me too. They left the natives all back there, it was us two they wanted.” he prayed Frontpage would get the hint and not mention the other two transformees.
“That’s right my little ponies, and now the whole gang is here we’re going to move very slowly and carefully into the van. Don’t make with any funny stuff, you got me?”
“Crystal,” said Frontpage, “I’ve been taken hostage before. I know the drill. We’ll co-operate, for now. Where are you taking us?”
“If you don’t shut up it’ll be the glue factory, but you’re in luck. We want to go to Equestria.”
Midnight blinked, he’d had the short, short version of the talk from Twilight Sparkle the purple unicorn the day before, and whilst it seemed like forever ago the memory was still fresh and clear. Humans couldn’t go to Equestria, it just wasn’t possible. Didn’t these idiots know that?
“Now now, I’ve heard all the talk about the shield, keeping us out, but the way I see it that’s bullshit. They’ve given you a code to let you in, some way to lower the shield. We want it. I hear there’s gold in ancient dragon’s caves, diamonds in the rivers, riches just for the taking, you damned ponies don’t need any of it, and we want our fair share.”
Midnight thought quickly and opened his mouth, but Frontpage beat him to it, “How...how did you know about the code? We, we weren’t supposed to tell it to anypony! It’s a secret!”
“Oh we have our ways,” said the ringleader, signaling to his men to finish up and move out. By now the two ponies were in the trailer-section, cowering on the floor, still hobbled and Frontpage atleast was hooded, unable to see. The van moved off at speed, into the night.
Not much was being said. Every so often Midnight would touch Frontpage with a mouth to his mane to let him know he was still there, and the earth pony would flick a tail in response. The men behind them were sat down, warily watching the two pastel equines.
Midnight tried to engage them in conversation, all the while listening out for rescue, “How do you plan to get to Equestria? I mean it’s...it’s way out in the ocean! That shield is the only non-guarded and perfect no-fly-zone on the planet. It even screws with our satellites since it’s grown so big.”
“Quiet, we don’t fraternize with livestock.”
“You’ll have to if you want that code,” said Frontpage, lifting his head blindly and staring about through the blindfold, attempting to catch even a glimpse of his captors, “We can’t just give it to you, and they’ll know if we’re harmed or injured. You touch us, you’ll never get in.”
“That’s as maybe, but we’re almost there. No funny business. You transmit that code, we slip through, and maybe we’ll let you live.”
“Just...just don’t hurt us.” said Frontpage.
The van sped up, “We’re close, boss.” said the driver, leaning to the grill, “first roadblock’s ahead.”
“Good, it guarded?”
“Naa, those dumb fuckers don’t bother. Sweetness and light, they are.”
The van rocked as it broke through a flimsy barrier. Midnight twitched. He was a unicorn, for all he was a newfoal. The barrier was big, quite possibly the biggest single force of magic on the planet, and they were drawing ever closer with every second. His heart began to tingle, an uncomfortable feeling like static washed over him, he could swear his fur was standing on end and wouldn’t have been surprised had blue sparks shot from his nostrils.
“Guys, stop...I...I can’t get you through the shield.”
There was a second crash and the van lurched, they’d gone over wheel-spikes, puncturing the tyres. The van began to lurch left and right, throwing the two ponies about.
“What the fuck do you mean, metwurst? Are you fucking us about?”
“I mean there’s no fucking code, man, it’s bullshit. I can’t take you through.”
“You’ll take us, or your friend is dogmeat.”
Midnight gasped, “No! No! Please! Okay, okay!” he was frantic now, the triumphant look on the thug’s face as he brandished the firearm was manic, he was capable of anything. Midnight took a deep breath, “Okay Frontpage, just like we rehearsed it. I...I’ll do the opening spell, okay? You have to help me...I...I’m going to start glowing now, that’s normal, it-it’s the spell, doing it’s thing.”
The uncomfortable static-cling feeling was making him feel sick and nauseous, but he welcomed it. With every passing second they neared the shield, he would have to be quick enough but not too quick. He closed his eyes and started concentrating, breathing deep. Just remember, he told himself, remember what it was like in the van before, with the stampede. His horn started glowing, which elucidated a string of swear words and a gun cocking.
“Please stop,” said Midnight, straining, “I told you, this is normal. What can I possibly do to you, huh? You’re sitting there with a gun...”
Please, please, please, thought Midnight, let me be right. Aloud, he said, “Okay Frontpage, close your eyes, this is going to get a bit bumpy...”
Push the field, feel the invislble hand, reach out, take a breath, push more... it was quite unlike anything he had ever done before, and he wasn’t sure he could make it last long enough, he had no idea how far away they were, how fast they were travelling, quite what would...
He gasped almost in pain, the shield, that mammoth magical construct was mere metres away, “hold on Frontpage, the shit’s about to hit-”
The van lurched and Midnight instinctively squeezed his eyes tight shut as inside his head fireworks went off. It felt like the world was turned inside out as the van intercepted the leading edge of the shield. It took him a few moments to realize that the vertigo wasn’t all his imagination as four hollow explosions rocked the van and he felt it tip over at speed, tumbling through the air with a sickening velocity. He and Frontpage were thrown roughly around and around as the van tumbled, his magical shield somewhat protecting them from the worst of the impacts as finally, mercifully, the van came to rest on it’s side with a solid and final-sounding crunch. The strength left the dazed unicorn and his shield flickered and failed, and he passed out.
Nopony moved for a good ten seconds, there were no sounds from the wrecked van but ragged breathing in the strangely foggy, wet air before the earth pony called out, “Midnight? You alive?”
“I don’t think it’d hurt this much if I weren’t.”
“I think we’ve stopped. I can’t see, what did you do?” Frontpage was struggling to get up in the strangely slick, topsy-turvy world of semi-darkness.
“Magic, I did magic,” said the exhausted unicorn, “I can barely move, I’d hoped it would have gotten easier...ow...I think I cracked a rib...”
“Can you get this hood off?”
“I can try...”
Midnight bit at the cloth, ripped and pulled until the earth-pony got himself free. He whistled through his teeth, “Keep your eyes closed and breath carefully through your nose, I’ll get us out.”
The van was wrecked and ominously silent. The inside of the van was strangely slick and warm, like sitting in a steam room - only cooler. Frontpage felt his hooves slipping and sliding as they lacked purchase, but he finally found the back door of the van and using lips but grimacing at the wet, lukewarm metallic taste, he tried to ease back the bolts. They wouldn’t budge so he set himself as firmly as he could and bucked until something gave, whereupon he forced himself out into the faint sunlight of early morning, turning around and pulling Midnight by the rope between his backlegs until he too fell out into the road.
Midnight spat and opened his eyes. For a brief moment his vision settled on the inside of their recent mobile prison before turned his head and retched.
“Get...let’s get this shit off, let’s get away from here.”
When Midnight felt he could stomach the sight, he did so, not using magic - he wasn’t sure if he could right now - instead his horn and teeth to tear off the now-slick ropes.
The inside of the van was red, like it had been spray-painted with ketchup, more oozing through the badly-dented partition wall between the drivers’ compartment and the stock compartment. The rear walls were dented also, like two large objects had impacted the walls and ceiling.
“that’s them, isn’t it?”
Midnight, turning green, said softly, “I think so. The shield’s not just for show. It let us through, it let the van through...”
“But not the humans.”
When the van had barrelled through the barrier, it had done its job simply and effectively. No living human could pass through the barrier. The van hadn’t been so impeded, neither had the ponies, and finally it came down to a classic application of force. When the hapless humans had attempted to gain entry, the shield had resisted their forward motion and the van hadn’t let them stop. The result was chunky human salsa, and the two ponies were covered in it. Midnight threw up again and dropped to his knees, spitting the taste of blood and pureed person out. The uncomfortably-warm concoction was rapidly starting to smell like a charnel house, not to mention cool off and mat his fur.
“I’ve...I’ve gotta get this off...oh shit...oh fuck me...” Midnight was beginning to hyperventilate, which didn’t help.
“Shh, Midnight, calm, calm down. It’s okay, you did what you had to do. You tried to warn them and you couldn’t have stopped either them or the shield. It’ll be a short walk down the road to the beach if I remember the route they showed us, it’s not far, come on, you can make it.”
Midnight got up, breathing hard, unsteady on legs that felt like rubber, slick with gore, and the pair walked down the hill around the short bend in the road. The hill was steep and ended rather abruptly with the sound of surf. The water was cold but not freezing as they waded in, submerging themselves in the ocean, renewing their spirits as it washed off their pelts.
Midnight stepped out and shook himself dry to stand shivering and steaming in the early morning sun, his first sunrise in Equestria. He just wished it hadn’t taken a blood sacrifice to make it a reality. He idly wondered where Peachy and Cobalt were, they were going to be frantic...