Chapter 10: The Confession

“The ponies in this town are crazy!” Midnight cried out as he stormed into the library.

He wasn't surprised to see that Rainbow Dash wasn't there when he left the café, but didn't expect Twilight to be nearby. When she saw how upset he was, she invited him over for tea.

Twilight giggled, “That sounds familiar. So what happened?”

“Every single date I've been put on is worse than the last, that's what,” Midnight huffed as he sat on the couch.

Twilight stopped dead on her way to the kitchen. “D-date? But I-I thought you weren't ready to start dating.”

Midnight looked at her with a bit of confusion, “I thought Rarity told all you girls. She convinced me it's time I try moving on.”

“She never told me,” Twilight said as she stared contemplatively at the open tea tin.

“Are you Okay?” Midnight asked.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Twilight said, “I'm just out of the tea I was wanting. I'll be right back.”

Midnight stood and walked in asking, “You want me to come?”

Before he could enter the kitchen, a flash of lavender light announced she had just teleported. Midnight looked at the tin on the counter, curious as to why she didn't just use one of the dozen teas she had.

“Might as well get the kettle ready,” Midnight said as he moved toward the cabinets. Luckily, Twilight was a creature of habit, and everything was in the exact same place as when he still lived there.

As Midnight went about preparing everything, a thought came to him. It was a thought that first appeared after his second date fled in terror. He didn't want these blind dates. He wanted the one mare that was there for him from the beginning. He wanted the mare that watched him, comforted him, and gave him shelter. He wanted the mare that was still good to him even after he tried to kill her, not days after meeting her. He wanted Twilight Sparkle... if only he had the courage to ask her out.

He Thought about asking Rarity for advice, as she was also a close friend, but he couldn't even do that. With a sigh, he resigned himself to the simple fact that Twilight would only ever be a friend, and grabbed a plate of cookies from the fridge.

A flash of light signaled the return of Twilight. She thanked him for setting up for her as she began preparing the tea. Midnight went into the main room and searched the shelves for something interesting. He found a book on Abjuration and, forming his Ghost Hands, grabbed it, before finding a comfortable spot on the floor and laying down to read.

After a few minutes, he heard the sound of clopping on wood as Twilight brought a platter, laden with boiled and baked treats. Twilight took one look at the book he was reading and giggled.

“Interested in unicorn magic?” she asked.

Midnight chuckled as he placed a bookmark and set the book aside, “I find it quite incredible. Unicorns have such unbelievable power, and the precision of their magic is unreal. I mean, look at you! Using telekinesis to pour tea? Our telekinesis can only push or pull, but I've seen Rarity sew with it! And the sheer amount of mana you have? The Cake's kid has three times the mana I do and she's a toddler! Did you know that in my world, in order to teleport something, you need an entire circle of mages? And if you tried to send something living, it would come out the other side looking like a pile of goo, but you just teleported not even half an hour ago for tea. I'm a bit jealous, to be honest.”

Twilight blushed as she passed him a cup, “It's not, I mean your magic is amazing too. You can do pretty amazing things with such ease. You don't need to memorize hundreds of matrices and wards. You don't need to spend years of training. You just take a course in elementary school, and you're ready for a training seal. Then there's the fact that every human can use magic! you just get one of those seals on your hand.”

Midnight's cheeks matched Twilight's color as he rubbed the back of his head, “I guess both have their advantages.”

Twilight looked at Midnight with calculating eyes, “I wonder if it's possible to emulate each other's magic?”

“I wouldn't be able to do anything with yours if I could. I just don't have that much energy,” Midnight said, “But there is a way for you to emulate mine. Unfortunately, we'd need a rune smith for that, and I'm not one. Now, my brother, he's a master rune smith.”

“Tell me about him,” Twilight said before biting into a cookie.

“Jacob?” Midnight got a whimsical smile, “He was the only person I could act like a fool with. Growing up, he was my only friend. Kind of sad if you think about it. What kind of kid is only friends with their sibling?”

He didn't notice Twilight's awkward smile, and continued, “Anyway, we used to do all kinds of crazy things together. Like this one time, when I was eighteen, he was sixteen, we decided to go to this used car dealership and go joyriding in one of his cars. Jacob was a prodigy with runes and easily broke the crappy, half-done runes that kept the car locked. With a quick mod to the starter, we took the guy's most expensive car and wrecked the crap out of it.”

Twilight stared, slack jawed, “You stole something from someone and destroyed it? How could you?”

Midnight gave her an deadpanned look, “Because he stole a friend's legs when his deathtrap of a car failed at seventy miles per hour. The guy was crooked as they came and he hurt a lot of innocent people.”

“Why didn't you go to the guard?”

“The cops?” Midnight scoffed, “Those guys weren't cops, they were thugs with badges.”

“What happened? Did you get in trouble?” Twilight asked.

“No, they never caught us. We did it a few more times, until his losses got so bad, he hired some big security guard,” Midnight laughed at the memory, “But with those guys scaring off customers, he lost even more business. In the end, the guys he hired to save his business made it go under. It felt good to teach that guy a lesson.”

“I still think you went about it in the wrong way,” Twilight lectured.

Midnight sighed, “When the right way lets people like him continue hurting others, it stops being the right way. He was the only one that got hurt from our pay back.”

Twilight thought about that for a moment, “I guess I shouldn't judge you for that. It's a different world after all, and what works here wouldn't always work there.”

They sat in silence for a short time before Midnight spoke up, “This is good tea, what is it?”

“It's made from desert rose, from Saddle Arabia.”

They went silent again. Twilight could tell something was bothering him, but didn't really want to pry. Eventually, though, her curiosity and desire to help others won out.

“Are you alright? You look like you have something on your mind.”

Midnight looked up at her. You, he wanted to say. “Just... these dates Rarity keeps setting me up on. It's like she's trying to make them terrible! Between ponies freaking out, and ponies begging me to beat the crap out of them, it get's tiring.”

“I'm sure Rarity doesn't mean for that to happen.”

“I know she doesn't,” Midnight rubbed his temple with a hoof, “But it's still stressful.”

Twilight stared down into her cup for a moment before snagging Midnight's as well and trotting into the kitchen, tea set in tow.

“What gives?” Midnight inquired.

Soon, Twilight popped back into the room carrying a wine bottle and two glasses.

“I've been looking for an excuse to drink this, and you need to let loose a little.” Twilight said, “Mom gave this to me on my last birthday.”

She popped the cork and filled the glasses, passing one to Midnight. She raised her glass in a toast.

“To friends, family, and, hopefully, love!”

Midnight clinked his glass to hers, “Here here.”

The wine tasted of raspberry and tulips with just a hint of alcohol. They made small talk, mostly about their siblings, as the bottle of wine slowly drained between them. Midnight was surprised to find Twilight's brother was a military stallion, and married into royalty. Twilight poured the last of the wine, split between them. By this time, they were both a bit tipsy, but far from drunk.

Midnight stared into his glass, his reflection colored by the beverage it held. Twilight could tell he was wrestling with something, but thought it best if he came out with it on his own and remained silent. The wine helped strengthen Midnight's courage, but he still had to work up a bit more before he spoke.

“Twilight..?” Midnight began.

“Yes, Midnight?” she answered, her voice slightly slurred.

“I'm tired of these blind dates.”

Twilight blinked in confusion, “Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. I wish you'd give dating another try, but it's up to you.”

Midnight shook his head, “No, I still want to date, but... There's this certain mare I've kinda fallen for, and I want to ask her out, but...”

“You're scared of rejection,” Twilight finished for him. He nodded and they remained quiet for a few seconds before Twilight continued, “What are the odds of getting a date if you ask?”

“I'd say about fifty-fifty.”

“And if you don't?” Twilight looked at him seriously. When he just sat there, quiet, she continued, “It's better to just ask. If you don't, you'll always ask yourself 'what if’. Trust me, I know from experience. Just come out and ask her.”

Midnight let her words sink in before speaking, “Twilight...” she gave him her full attention, “W-would you... like to have dinner with me tomorrow?”

Twilight's eyes slowly widened as it sunk in, “Wait... am I the mare you..?”

Midnight watched his hoof kick the ground as he nodded his head. Twilight was rather surprised. She didn't even know he cared for her like that. If he had asked two months ago, she would have immediately said yes, but that infatuation had faded. She only saw him as a friend now. Not to mention he was still unstable.

“I... I'm sorry,” Midnight said, taking her silence for rejection, “I'll just leave.”

“W-wait,” Twilight stopped him, “This is just so sudden, and I...”

She couldn't say she loved him, but few couples can when they first start dating. The question was could she love him? Her thoughts drifted to the time they spent together. She remembered finding out the truth about him, seeing him bleeding after that creature stabbed him, the magical experiments they did together.

Twilight smiled as the answer came to her, “Yes, I'd love to have dinner with you.”

Midnight's unsure frown slowly morphed into a smile that threatened to split his head, “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Twilight stood up, “Now come on, It's late. Why don't you stay here tonight.”

Midnight blushed furiously, “H-here? Are you sure? I mean we just...”

Twilight gave him a bemused look, “In the guest room. What kind of mare do you take me for?”

“Oh... sorry... I, uh... I let my mind wander for a bit.”

Twilight giggled, “I just agreed to dinner and you're already fantasizing about me.”

“What? No! It's not that! I'm not fantasizing, not that you're not beautiful, ‘cause I have before, but – oh, goddess, I didn't mean-” his panicked explanation was interrupted by a hoof to his mouth.

“I'm just teasing you,” Twilight said with a smile, “Besides, it's natural to fantasize about ponies you find attractive. I find it rather flattering, actually. Now go to bed, and no trying to sneak up to my room.”

Midnight started to defend himself but caught the playful smirk and instead, poked back, “No promises there.”

Twilight giggled as she headed upstairs. Midnight decided to follow her example and made his way to the guest room. He kind of missed the room. It had been built for him after all, added when they fixed the hole left by the explosion. He chuckled at that.

“Leave it to Twilight to take a bad thing and use it to her advantage,” Midnight said to himself as he climbed into bed.