Twilight's Midnight Violations

a Shameless Clopfic

Chapter 1

Twilight settled herself down in front of the alchemy set with a grateful sigh. If it had been any other pony, the idea of being grateful to get back to doing rigorous study and research would seem odd. Of course, Twilight was far from your average pony. This was what she enjoyed the most. Well, probably not the most, but it was one of her own little pleasures which she made sure to indulge in usually healthy doses. The exploration of knowledge.

Since she was just a little filly, she had delighted in anything that would reveal to her some previously unknown fact of wisdom. Everything from watching baby birds hatch, to seeing what color milk and orange juice turned when mixed together. She had caused her parents no end of grief as she was growing up, always causing a mess or getting into trouble with her pursuit of knowledge. Of course, now that she was older, she had moved on from simple things that most children were curious about, and on to deeper, more mysterious mysteries. And, at least this is what she told herself, she was far more responsible now than she had been, and only rarely let her quest for knowledge end in a mess.

But today she had decided to set her quest aside, at least for a few hours. Today she had something else she needed to work on. She had decided that, since her little assistant, Spike, was growing up, he needed to have his own space. At first, it had seemed like a silly idea to the librarian. That her assistant needed a place to get away from her. But after speaking with her friends about it, she had come to realize that it was just part of the little dragon maturing. Two of her closest friends, Applejack and Rarity, had both explained to her just how important it was for a growing foal to have their own room, and that a growing dragon was no different. They had reminded the unicorn about when she was little. About how she used to share a room with her older brother, but that eventually he had moved into his own room. It had been a sad time for Twilight, but now she understood that it was just part of growing up.

So the majority of her day had been spent cleaning out one of her storage rooms and moving in furniture. Spike old basket was starting to get too small for him anyway, so she had managed to find a nice twin-sized bed, which thankfully fit perfectly into the small room. There was little else in the way of furniture though, but she suspected that in no time her little assistant would have it quite to his liking. Twilight giggles quietly to herself, thinking about the few times she had gotten to see the inside of a teen aged colt's room. Covered in posters and questionable pictures. Knowing Spike, they would likely all be of Rarity.

It had been a difficult job, but one she had gladly done and managed to finish in a timely manner. Today was also the best time to do it. Spike was spending the day helping Rarity at her boutique, so she was able to get it finished in time to surprise the little dragon. Not that she thought about it, Spike was spending a lot more time over at Rarity's place than usual. With a shrug, she guessed it was just him wanting to get away from the library more than he used to. But now, with his room ready and waiting, he could have time to himself while still being close at hoof.

But now it was all finished, and the librarian could get back to what she was originally intending to spend the day doing. Spike would be home soon, so she wanted to at least get some of her experiment under way before she showed her assistant his new room. With her horn glowing a soft lavender, two beakers levitated up from the table in front of the unicorn. Twilight watched as she carefully poured liquid from one beaker into the other, taking note if how the two different colored liquids swirled about each other and slowly mixed into a new color not related to the colors of the two separate liquids.

Ah, the magical properties of quasi-biometric materials. It seemed like such a simple thing to the librarian, but it was a mystery that held special interests for her. One which she hoped to fully uncover and understand. She might even be able to publish a research paper on it and finally make her mark academically. With a gentle swish of the beaker, Twilight turned to scribble down a few notes and figures onto the blackboard set up next to her alchemy set.

"Hmm.. This color change is counter-intuitive to what I predicted would happen. Perhaps I should distill the liquid and slowly re-introduce it into an inert medium. That should allow me to later filter the components out into their base elements." The unicorn babbled to herself as she made more notes onto the blackboard. The bit of chalk tapped along as she rechecked her figures and calculations before returning her attention back to the floating beaker. With a thoughtful tap of a hoof against her chin she slowly poured the now green liquid into a large glass sphere.

Carefully levitating the sphere over towards one end of her lab, she slowly screwed it tightly onto a series of glass tubes, making sure not to agitate the liquid, nor crack the glass. After placing a few supports, a short, fat candle was scooted under it, providing a slow, gentle heat to the liquid. A moment later Twilight found herself at the other end of her lab, moving another beaker, this one containing a dark blue liquid, under a small nozzle. Satisfied everything was in place, her horn glowed gently as a small lever on the nozzle was moved just slightly. With a smile to her lips and a small glint in her eye, she watched as a tiny drop of pale green fluid slowly formed at the nozzle before dropping into the beaker, disappearing into the waiting blue fluid.

"Excellent! Now to get cleaned up and wait for Spike to-" As Twilight turned to head back upstairs, she never got to finish her sentence. In her excitement, she hadn't payed attention to her tail, which had flicked about eagerly at the thought of seeing her assistance's face upon getting his own room. It had lifted up, displaying it's owner's eagerness. But it had also gotten in the way. That little lever, keeping that nozzle set at only the slightest of opening, had been in the way of her tail. With not but a little push, her tail sent that lever all the way open, and green liquid poured into the beaker below it. Had she been paying attention, Twilight would of been amazed at this startling reaction.

But all she knew of it was the powerful concussive force slamming into her from behind. The smell of singed fur and the burning feeling splattering her body. Smoke filling her lungs and the cool press of the blackboard against her cheek before it and her collided against the far wall in a heap. As the broken blackboard covered her, darkness came over the poor unicorn.

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The sun had started it's slow slide across the sky and down towards the horizon as the two close friends made their way towards the old tree that served as Ponyville's library. The white unicorn smiled down to the younger dragon walking next to her, Rarity offering Spike as warm and tender a face as she could muster.

"I'm so sorry for making you stay so late, deary. I know you must be eager to get home again, after all the work I put you through."

"Nah, it's fine Rarity. I don't mind one bit." Spike replied. In truth, he indeed didn't mind at all. For him, any excuse to get out of the library was a good one. It had just made things all the better when the light of his life asked for his help restocking bolts of cloth. In truth, it wasn't so different from restocking the bookshelves back home. In fact, Rarity's system of organization had seemed as complex and contrived as Twilight's. But somehow, the fact that he did the work under the tender gaze of his beloved Rarity made all the difference.

"Mmm.. Well still, I'd imagine a good night's rest must be foremost in your mind after a day like today." The immaculate unicorn said. She didn't like leading the young dragon on like this. Twilight had asked her to keep Spike out of the house for most of the day, giving the purple unicorn plenty enough time to make sure his room was ready and waiting for him before they returned. The restocking of her fabric supply was a convenient excuse to keep him busy. But still, Rarity would be glad it was almost over, and she could see the look on Spike's face when he saw his new room. She had even considered putting together a plush bedspread for him, but that would of spoiled the surprise. Such gifts would have to wait.

"Eh, not really." Spike said with a glance over his shoulder, a small sack tossed over to hang behind him. It was stuffed with small gems, tasty gifts from the lovely unicorn. They were all cracked, chipped, or oddly shaped. No good for use on her dresses, but that didn't matter to him. They were sweet, savory, and had come from, in his opinion, a true angel. "My bed's been getting cramped lately, and I don't think Twilight wants to bother with getting me a new one..."

Rarity had to suppress a giggle at that. If only the little dragon knew what awaited him at home. Things couldn't be going any better.

"Well, in that case, I suggest we hurry. I have a feeling you'll be pleasantly sur-!" Rarity stopped dead in her tracks, mouth agape and eyes wide as she saw the library. Smoke was billowing out of the basement windows, curling up into thick clouds amongst the tree's branches.

"Tw-Twilight!" The sack of gems was forgotten as it hit the ground with a thud, the little dragon's legs frantically carrying him as fast as they could home. It took a moment for the gears in Rarity's head to click into place once again. As she snapped back to reality, her hooves beat hard against the ground as she took off at a full gallop, racing for the library, hoping she wasn't too late.

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Her whole body ached. Her joints were stiff and her coat seemed to tingle like just the barest touch of needles all over her body. Slowly she tried to open her eyes, but only one seemed to obey her without too much effort. As light started to fill her vision, everything was just a washed-out blur. But slowly, as she adjusted, everything came into focus.

"Twilight!"

That was her name, that was a voice she knew. With a low groan, she turned her head slowly, regretting the movement but only just. The large green eyes that filled her vision were a welcomed sight. The tight squeeze around her neck wasn't, however.

"S-Spike!"

Spike quickly let his friend go, blushing sheepishly as she squirmed and groaned on the bed. Slowly Twilight looked about the room. From the look of things, she was in a hospital, her bed lined with the relieved faces of her friends. A hoof went up to her face, feeling that her left eye was covered, bandages holding a soft pad of gauze in place over it.

"Thank goodness you're awake."

"Y'all sure had us worried for a sec there, sugarcube."

"You need to be more careful when you're baking, silly."

"Twilight, whatever happened to you?"

Fleeting memories of what had happened flooded into Twilight's mind. Of her experiment. The explosion. The impact against the blackboard and the wall. With a start she bolted upright in bed, gasping loudly as thoughts of the library burning down sprang first and foremost to her mind.

"M-My experiment! I've got to get back!" She cried out, trying to get out of bed despite the protests of her limbs. But a firm hoof held her in place and gently pushed her back down onto the pillow.

"Calm down. Your library is fine, and you're not going anywhere. At least not till you're discharged" the doctor said as he guided her back to lay down once again. With a sigh, satisfied that his patient wouldn't try to jump up again, the unicorn stallion's horn glowed as he levitated up her chart, looking it over.

"Twilight, you really should do what the doctor says. It's for your own good... I mean, if it's not too much to ask.." Fluttershy said as she timidly slipped her hoof over to stroke at Twilight's in a soothing manner.

"I know... I just got worried. What if I ended up burning down the whole library? And after I went through all the trouble of getting Spike's room ready for him..."

"My what?" Spike's eyes were wide with surprise as he heard that. Mentally Twilight was kicking herself in the flank, but after what happened it was probably for the best. Blushing at how she just let her secret slip out, she smiled sheepishly to her assistant.

"Yeah... I was wanting to make it a surprise for you when you got home. I even asked Rarity to keep you busy so I could finish it..."

Spike glanced between Twilight and Rarity, who was also offering a blushing smile to the little dragon.

"Awww... C'mon, Twilight. You didn't have to go through so much trouble for me" The little dragon said as he wrapped his arms around the unicorn's neck, this time in a much more gentle hug. Twilight gently wrapped her forelegs around her little assistant, holding him close as she rested her chin on his shoulder. She opened her eyes, looking over to the blushing Rarity and silently mouthed a 'thank you' to her.

"Well, looks like you were lucky." The doctor said as he lowered the chart. "Mostly just some minor scrapes and a bruised eye. From what your friends told me, it could of been a lot worse."

"So, does that mean I can go home now? To be honest, I'm still sort of expecting the library to not be there anymore..."

"Yes, I think so." The older stallion smiled with a gentle nod. "Your smoke inhalation was minimal, so if you're feeling up to it, there's no reason we'd need to keep you overnight. Let's just take a look at your eye first."

Twilight closed her uncovered eye as a magical glow starts to slowly unwrap the bandages covering her other eye. Every pony, and one dragon, watched as layer after layer of bandage was pulled away, soon leaving only the pad of folded gauze keeping Twilight's left eye covered.

"Ok, now, once you're comfortable, slowly start to open your eye. If there's any pain, you can stop and tell me." The doctor said as he levitated the gauze away. After a moment or two, Twilight took a deep breath, slowly parting her eyelids. She winced slightly as light flooded into her now uncovered eye at first. But after a pause, her eye adjusted and slowly she let her eyelids open the rest of the way.

At first she was surprised there was hardly any pain at all. In fact, her eye felt just fine, aside from the usual feeling of having just woken up.

"It... It feels just fine, actually. Is it not supposed to hurt?" Twilight asked. But the doctor didn't seem to of heard her. Looking from the doctor to her friends, Twilight noticed something was wrong. Every pony looked startled by something, their own eyes glued onto the unicorn in the bed.

"What? What is it?" Twilight asked, suddenly starting to feel nervous.

"It.. It's nothing, really."

"A-Ain't nothin' wrong, hun."

"It's totally cool."

"It's blue!"

Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity all turned to glare at the little dragon. Twilight, however, was too busy frantically looking about the room, searching for something she could catch her reflection in. Thankfully, the doctor had the presence of mind to levitate over a small hoof mirror to the purple unicorn before she could get too excited.

Sure enough, Spike was right. Her left eye was blue! Not just blue, completely blue! Her pupil, iris, and sclera were all a different shade of blue!

"H-how could this happen?" She asked in a slightly panicked tone. She closed her mismatched eye, rubbing at it with a hoof before opening it again and looking in the mirror, as if massaging might somehow return it back to normal.

"I... I'm not sure. Normally, a bruise to the eye causes it to turn red for a few days..." The doctor looked back, levitating over a small scope which which he looked through at his patent's eye. "Other than the color, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with your eye. Some minor irritation, but nothing out of the ordinary."

"Sh-Should I stay here?" the worried unicorn asked, trying her best to hold her eyes perfectly still as her doctor continued to examine them. After a moment the doctor shook his head, putting his scope away.

"No, there doesn't seem to be anything to worry about. The odd color should fade away over the next few days. Just take it easy and avoid doing anything strenuous, including casting complex spells, alright?"

"Thanks, doctor." Twilight said with a smile as she watched him step to the door leading out into the hallway.

"I'll go fill out the paperwork and have you discharged, then your friends can take you home." He smiled back before leaving his patient with her friends to prepare for the trip home.

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The library was right where she left it. And good thing too, Twilight didn't think she could handle any more excitement tonight. She smiled first to one side, then the other, looking at both Spike and Rarity in turn. While all of her friends had seen her from the hospital, Rarity's home was closest to the library and Spike, of course, lived there as well. So now it was just the two of them left to see the violet unicorn home and into bed.

"You really don't have to come in, Rarity. I feel just fine."

"Nonsense, darling. You just had an accident! What sort of friend would I be if I didn't see to it you were safe and sound?" The pure white unicorn said as she gently nudged her lavender friend into the library. Twilight looked about her home and sighed. Everything looked perfectly fine, though she was sure there was one hell of a mess to deal with downstairs.

"Now, up to bed with you. And don't worry over what's in the basement. Applejack and I will be by first thing tomorrow to take care of it. You just do what your doctor said and get some rest!" Rarity ordered in her gentle yet authoritative voice. Twilight just rolled her eyes at the command and sighed.

"Fine, just not too early, alright?" She said as she started to make her way into her bedroom. It was already well past a proper bedtime by now, and her room was dark as a mine. Yet, it didn't seem to bother her much. Twilight found her way up the stairs to the loft where her bed was just fine. Her horn glowed softly in the darkness as she pulled the sheets on her bed aside. From the corner of her eye she noticed something. Her mirror. Her bed forgotten for the moment, she made her way over to the mirror hanging above her vanity. Sitting down in front of it she regarded herself.

"You know, it doesn't look that bad..." she said softly as she brought a hoof up, resting it on the cheek just below her now very blue eye. It didn't match her right, but still, it was something she could live with for a few days. With a little sigh she left the mirror, slipping into her bed as she used her magic to pull the covers over herself and nestle her head down onto her pillow.

Her trip to dream land was delayed as she heard the door to her room opening. With a sigh she slowly opened her eyes only to see Spike just reaching the top of the stairs, his old basked held in front of him.

"Spike, what are you doing?" She asked, unable to keep the annoyance from her voice.

"I just thought I should sleep up here for tonight. You know, make sure I'm close in case you needed me." The little dragon said, peeking around the side of the basket he held. Twilight just sighed, placing a hoof to her forehead.

"Spike, you don't need to do that. You've got your own room now. And I told you, I'm just fine. Tired, but fine."

"Are you sure? I mean, I could still..." He trailed off as he noticed the look Twilight was giving him. The fact that her one eye now seemed a bit brighter than the other in the dark room didn't help.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now go enjoy your new room. You've earned it, after all." She said, punctuating the statement by laying her head back onto her pillow.

"Alright.. But if you need me, just yell." Spike said, taking his old basket with him as he headed back down the stairs. Once she heard the door to her room close again, Twilight let out a sigh of relief, finally able to drift off to sleep.

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Sleep wasn't the sweet release that Twilight had been hoping for. Try as she might, even in slumber she couldn't stop strange thoughts from working their way into her mind. They tormented and twisted her dreams. They were wrong, they weren't right. Every dream she had became something disturbing. Something no pony should think about. Something no pony should ever do.

Under the warm covers of her bed, she twisted and turned. Legs kicking about, hips jerking erratically as she shivers and shook. Her breathing quickened and her head rolled from side to side as she struggled to regain control over her thoughts. Just when she thought she had taken back her own mind, something changed, something twisted into a sick and perverted mockery of her dream.

Her body felt as if it was on fire, and it seemed to move to it's own devices. Her hips bucked and squirmed under the sheets. Her legs ticked and spasmed. Her forelimbs reached out, grabbing for things that weren't there. Eventually, however, it all slowly subsides. Soon her sleeping form laid still under the sheets for several long moments.

Slowly the unicorn's head rose from her pillow. Her sheets soon followed, tossed aside with a glow of her horn. A moment later and she was on all fours next to her bed. Twilight's tail flicked in agitation as she made her way over to the large window leading out onto the balcony. With a flick of her head, the window was opened and she stepped out into the cool night air.

She paused for a moment, looking back to the now empty room. Why was she doing this? These thoughts, these actions. She knew something was wrong. But she also knew she needed to do this. There was no other way to explain it, she had to do this. A terrible need had grown inside her for some reason. Likewise, a needful weight had grown under her flank.

Turning from her bedroom, Twilight felt a tremble run up her spine as she stepped off of the balcony. First to one branch, then another, then down to the dimly lit street below, she set off to find what it was she needed.

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The dark streets were gloomy, and more than a little intimidating. But that never bothered her, she had been walking down the same streets for years. Candlestick knew there was nothing to worry about, that her home town was safe, even in the dead of night. And with a talent like her's, being out this late was practically a fact of life. The tawny mare made her way down the streets, passing under brightly glowing lamp posts on her way home from work.

Sure, most of Ponyville was still in bed this late, but there was always work that needed to be done. And with her particular talent, it was only natural that she would be the one to do that work when others just couldn't stay up so late. It's not like she minded. The pay was good, and it gave her a chance to walk in the cool night air in peace. Gone was the hustle and bustle of the day, and now only the stars and moon were out to keep her company. That was just how she liked it.

It wasn't that she didn't like other ponies, far from it. But she just enjoyed being alone with her thoughts. And tonight was such a lovely night. So quite and still, the perfect time to be alone. The earth pony happily made her way down the street, quietly humming a soft tune to herself to pass the time as she let the slight breeze cool her coat and dance about her mane.

That is, till something suddenly grabbed her. Her eyes darted about as she felt her hooves leave the ground, kicking under her in surprise. All about her was a vibrant violet glow, holding her in mid air as she was pulled from the light of the street lamps and into the dark of an alley way.

"W-what's going on!?" She panicked, crying out as she was pulled from the light into the shadows, frantically searching for the source of the magical grip she now floated in. All that greeted her was the dark of the shadows and a looming figure. "Help! Some pony, help me!"

Her screams for help were silenced as a black sack floated out of the darkness, swallowing up her world as it was placed over head. She could feel rope being tied around it, wrapped around her and forced between her teeth to make a gag, leaving her silent and at the mercy of the looming figure...