This was going to be a rough day, Shappi decided as she slowly trotted down the hall of the Canterlot Nightwatch barracks, her armour-plated boots clicking against the cobblestone floor with each step, as did her ornate, dark armour. That damn suit of armour was torture for a vampyric thestral like herself to wear, the burning heat it generated under sunlight sapped her energy, and gave her no patience for nonsense for as long as it cling to her body.
Nevertheless, she walked from her office, keeping to the cooling shade as much as possible until she reached the barracks courtyard, there were some new recruits which had been suggested by the Royal Guard for her unit. She wondered if they suggested them on account of actual talent, or if they were just trying to offload the dregs to her to account for their own cutbacks: Their captain was a lovely, kind, gentle soul; too gentle for the military, and his unit had suffered for it. Sending the dead-weight to her was the only way he could bring himself to do what was necessary... It sucked, because she didn't much like firing anypony either.
It had to be done though, she had to show the other members of her guard that she wasn't to be trifled with. She was young looking, yes, but she was older than she looked. What's more, she wasn't a fool! Not when this armour was fastened around her chest!
"What have we got, Lieutenant Vesper?" Shappi asked as she approached her first lieutenant, a dark purple thestral who Shappi called her friend, once the armour came off that is.
"Well, you wanna take a look, Captain? It's not good." She looked around. "Toothy's been reading them the riot act. Probably best you put them out of their misery."
The ponies were lined up in a row in the grassy courtyard. Just as she'd expected, most of them were disorderly or otherwise unfit ponies... But, there were a few who caught her eye as potentially worth serious notice. In front of them was an armoured, dark gray thestral; Drill Sargent Tooth, and she was laying into the lot of them!
"You bloody lumps of flesh are the biggest wastes of space I EVER had the misfortune to meet!" She barked, suddenly running up to a particularly big one. "Except you! Oh, sweet Luna's Lovin' boy, what ARE YOU!?" She jabbed him with a hoof. "What's your name, tubby?!"
"Batter Mix, Sir!"
"Bullshit, you're a bloody doughball! I'll tell you what I am, I'm a Luna-damned thestral, son! I'd bite your butt and call it steak! What do you taste like, Doughball?!"
"I don't know, sir!"
"Well judging from things I'd say you taste like a pile of sweaty shit trying to pretend it's black pudding! I'll bet you could feed the other thestrals for a damn month, but then we'd all be in the gym trying to work off your fat ass! You trying to make us all fat, Doughball?!"
"No sir!"
"They say big is beautiful, and if that's right you're gonna get a whole lot of loving from the Changelings when they come to chow down on your fat ass, boy! I ain't ever been a fan of jam doughnuts, and you're just gonna' make me sick! START RUNNING LAPS AROUND THE COURTYARD, MOVE IT!"
And so 'Doughball' started jogging laps around the courtyard, while the drill sargent backed up and turning her attention to the group as a whole. "I don't know what kind of cuddles and fun time you lot had with Shining Armour and his gold-plated fops, but this is the Nightwatch! Princess Luna's creme-de-la-creme! If you wanna wear this armour, you gotta be a lot tougher than Snacktime at Sugarcube Corner over there! She continued to pace up and down, eyeing up the squad, eventually noticing Shappi watching them. "Oh, you bastards think I'm bad, a real nightmare fuel vampire to come bite you in your sleep?! You chicken shit don't know nothing about the captain! Shining Armour's a namby pamby little princess pleaser in all the ways you can picture in his big crystal castle! Captain Neida is a Luna-damned vampire, you sacks of shit, I don't want any slouching off any of you bastards or so help me I'll blunt my teeth on the lot of you!" She stepped back, trotting over to Shappi, quietly whispering in her ear. "They're all yours, Moony. Chow down."
Shappi rolled her eyes, stepping forward and turning her attention to the recruits: These truly were a sorry bunch.
"Alright!" She barked. "You listen, and you listen well! I don't know what the Royal Guard trained you to do, nor what kind of behaviour was expected of you there, but THIS is the Royal Nightwatch! Princess Luna's personal guard! I will not accept lazy, ignorant, idiotic dregs, and if you're not up to the task then you can expect to walk out the damn door right this second!" She glared at the numerous ponies in the group, some of them looking much more intimidated than she'd expected, especially after Nibble Tooth's savaging. Another internal sigh: This was going to be a long shift.
* * *
The three thestrals had finished up for the day, with another disappointing batch of recruits beaten into submission or thrown out entirely. They weren't about mass recruitment, they were about hoof-picking the very best; that was why there were so few Nightwatch ponies while Royal Guardponies were a dime a dozen. The three hung up their armour and retreated to their local pub, the Evening Bell, which was a regular haunt for the thestrals of the Nightwatch. More importantly, it was a place where, once the armour came off, Shappi and her friends had a chance to ignore rank and let their manes down.
"And that big pony was STILL running around the courtyard even when I sent everypony out." Vesper smirked. "You REALLY did a number on him, Nibble."
"Well, I AM the drill sargent. Honestly, what do you expect me to do? The enemies we may end up facing will do far worse than I will. I just said said he was fat."
"And you said you were going to bite his bum."
"...Well, yeah." Nibble conceded.
"You called me Moony." Shappi added. "...We were on duty! And you called me Moony."
"Moony?!" Vesper laughed aloud. "Aww, that's adorable!"
"Shut up Vesper!" Shappi blushed. "I was on duty, you shouldn't be calling me nicknames and stuff!" She lectured them, before quietly mumbling. "It's not like I've never heard THAT one before, either..."
"But it's cute!" Nibble protested. "It suits you."
"That is as maybe, but you shouldn't be calling me nicknames while I'm at work... When the armour's off..." She groaned. "Fine, but not when I'm on duty."
The two other thestrals looked at each other, evil smirks on their faces. "Deal."
"Great." Shappi rolled her eyes in defeat. "Well, I think you're both done for the day, right?" she asked, and they nodded.
"Yeah." Vesper replied. "I've got somepony I want to meet, and... What DO you do, Nibble?"
"Oh, this and that." She smiled. "What about you, Moony? You still busy?"
Moony nodded. "Yeah. I got some other jobs to attend to, but I wanna go and give the Royal Guard a piece of my mind before I finish up today."
After a brief spot of food, the three thestrals departed, going their separate ways until night, when they'd meet up again for some drinks. Until then, Shappi returned to her suit of shining armour, and got to work, eventually heading to the Royal Guard barracks. With shining armour in mind, she had a few choice words for the captain of the Royal Guard as well.
The Royal Guard barracks were considerably larger than those of Luna's Nightwatch. This could be explained by the fact that Princess Celestia's also doubled up as the backbone of the Equestrian armed forces; not to mention being the closest thing that most of Equestria had to a police force in some parts of the kingdom. None of this stopped Shappi from harbour a deep sense of envy at how much more funding the Royal Guard recieved compared to her comparably small, nocturnal order. Still, quality over quantity, right?
As she approached the main hall, where the majority of the drilling the Royal Guardponies were subjected to, she heard sounds of combat. Entering the vast chamber, she saw Shining Armour, clad in his ornate gold and purple uniform, in the middle of a duel with a golden unicorn with a pearly white mane, wielding a training sword in the red glow of his magic. Meanwhile, a considerably older looking golden unicorn, his body clad in ancient armour to conceal the burns and scars he had suffered for his efforts, stood watching. Shappi's face crumpled with disdain at the sight of the older pony, Zunbil Zoor: The former captain of the Royal Guard, well known for his hatred of the princesses other than Celestia, with a particular scorn for Princess Luna... And whoever called themselves her loyal servants, like Shappi. He turned sharply, being the first to realize they were no longer alone.
"Hm." the former captain scoffed. "It seems a bat has flown into the barracks."
"Don't call me a bat, you ignorant bastard." Shappi spat, her narrowed eyes locked onto Zunbil's. The old pony held an ornate, golden spear, Zulukind's Needle it was called. He propped himself up against the elegant shaft of the weapon, the pole -3/4s the length of a regular spear- was coated in a glossy white enamel, lovingly carved with lines upon lines of ancient Zebra poety written by the titular Zulukind himself over many years. Perhaps Zunbil looked frail, hanging off the weapon like a walking staff, but Shappi would be a fool to believe he was as weak and helpless as your average 80 year old pony: She could personally attest to that truth.
"Captain Nieda?" Shining Armour turned, distracted and forgetting he was in the middle of a fight; his lack of concentration scored him a blow to the side of the chest from the attacking unicorn, the last pony to realize what was going on. "Ouch! ...Urgh... What do you want, captain?"
The unicorn put down his sword, looking to see what all the fuss was about.
"I was hoping to talk to you. What are you DOING anyway?"
"Though I don't think it's any of your concern, Thestral..." Zunbil spat. "I've been training my son, Zhunbill, for many years now, and I want him to join the Royal Guard. Hence, I've brought him to spar with their captain."
"One on ones?" Shappi wasn't impressed with this development. "...I didn't think it was in the Royal Guard's style to hoof-pick its recruits? I thought Captain Shining Armour just hired any old ponies off the street en mass, and then dump the dregs on me to get rid of, like today?"
The white unicorn winced, setting his training sword aside and giving her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Captain. I was under the impression you could have still found good use for them."
"None of them had any physical fitness to speak of!" She protested.
"Well... No." Shining admitted. "But they had other qualifications! I do believe one of them worked as cook. We've got plenty of cooks at the barracks, so I thought he'd be more useful for your men?"
Shappi paused. "...They weren't soldiers?"
"No!" Shining Armour bore a slightly baffled face as he stepped towards her. "We'd already hired the soldiers to be part of the Constabulary Corps! Those ponies were cooks, engineers, gardeners, civilian roles to help you keep the barracks in good condition."
She felt the pit of her stomach drop out from under her, and try as she might, she couldn't stop her cheeks turning slightly red. "...I, I was under the impression you were just sending me deadweight that you didn't want to fire? ...You've done it before!"
"Well, what's to say I didn't just hire the dregs?" Shining Armour asked her. "You're right, I hate giving ponies the sack, and I don't like turning them away much either. But here's the thing: I'm going to take those dregs, and I'm going to turn them into decent guards. Perhaps not elite soldiers like your guard, but having two ponies in uniform patrolling every street will at least help regular ponies feel safe, don't you think?"
Shappi winced: Shining Armour was smarter than she gave him credit, it seemed. But he hadn't considered everything. "You forget, captain." She spoke. "...My guard isn't funded as well as yours... I HAVE to go for quality over quantity, since I can't afford to hire everypony who comes to my door."
"I'd have thought you could recruit more soldiers to your band with a bite to the neck?" Zunbil growled. "I didn't think vampires had to worry about cooks and funding."
"Father, stop." The other golden unicorn winced, seeing Shappi quietly raging as she stepped deeper into the hall, advancing upon the group. The older pony huffed.
"I am being uncouth." He replied. "I won't provoke you any further. It's simply not worth it."
"Captain..." Shappi spoke with a hiss towards Shining.
"Alright, alright!" Captain Shining Armour steeled himself. "Zunbil, please, for the love of Celestia, go and get a coffee! Just, don't start a fight with the Nightwatch, please?" Zunbil snorted, turning tail and worldlessly departing. The son still looked mortified, however, his father's views clearly hadn't rubbed off on him.
"Please forgive my father." Zhunbill spoke to the thestral. "...He... Urgh... He's a bit old fashioned. Very much a 'for the golden light of Celestia' types..."
"You're a Zoor." Shappi snorted. "I wouldn't expect anything less."
"I hope you're not trying to insinuate that I think like my father?" the unicorn turned defensive, turning to face Shappi proper, the two locking eyes.
"Why don't you tell me?" Shappi snorted. "The apple never falls far from the tree."
"I'm not an apple!" Zhunbill cried, pointing his training sword at her. "I don't having problems with you because you're a thestral. I'm having problems with you because you're being an arsehole! You charge in here, all headstrong, shouting at ponies without getting your facts straight, then turn on ME when you trip up over yourself! You've not even apologized for it!"
For Shappi, those last words stung, and she felt her anger ebb away. She looked. "Alright, alright... I'm sorry..."
Shining Armour, never one to hold a grudge, smiled. "Thanks Shappi... I'm sorry I wasn't clear enough. I'll make sure to keep you up to date from now on, alright?" Shappi nodded.
"It's still just the bloody funding." She spoke. "...Your men always have more resources than mine do! That put me in a bad mood, made worse by how hot it is today! ...Then his father was being a bigoted dick... I've had better days."
Zhunbill, for his part, breathed relief, lowering his sword. "He's overbearing and difficult... But he's family... It doesn't mean I agree with a thing he says."
"Is that so?" She wasn't sure what next to say, in case she put her hoof in it, again. She'd been burned, and didn't want to burn herself again.
"It's the truth." Zhunbill nodded. "My father was a great pony, once. But now? ...I don't care for that bitterness. I don't care much for fighting either, but I'm good at it so my father will stay off my back." He twirled his sword in his magic. "...I'm pretty good with a sword."
"Are you now?" The slightest chuckle escaped Shappi. "Mind if I see for myself?"
"I thought we were reaching a more amicable position?" Zhunbill asked.
"Relax. I only want a friendly sparring match. Just to see if you can cut the mustard."
"I can cut it just fine." He scoffed. "My father's Zunbil Zoor, if you recall. Blood of warriors, and all that."
Shappi licked her lips with a smirk. "I wonder what that blood tastes like."
A final snort from Zhunbill. "Oh, I bet you do..."
Zhunbill readied his sword, while Shappi brandished a long, blunted training spear wrapped within her front hooves. The spear was her weapon of choice, and she merrily flew past Zhunbill's first strike against her with his sword. She continued to dance around his swings, whacking his back leg with the end of her spear. He yelped as he stumbled, tipping over and threatening to hit the deck. His fall turned into a far more elegant forward roll and he swung at her again. His sword clashed with her spear, breaking the wooden pole-arm in two.
"Dammit!" Shappi spat. "You're a quick one, aren't you?"
"Much quicker than I look!" He body-slammed against her, knocking her as he twirled his sword to attack. Quickly, Shappi adjusted her broken spear into two wooden clubs, blocking the next sword swing in a scissor-like pincher movement to keep the blade away from her face. With all the strength her forelegs could muster, she twisted the dual poles a sharp left to force the blade from Zhunbill's magic, throwing it to one side.
"Ha!" Shappi smirked. Suddenly, her forehooves started to glow red, as did Zhunbill's horn. "Oh cra-" Up she went, Zhunbill's magic flipping her up and landing her heavily on her back. She had barely a second to react as Zhunbill stood over her, his training sword at her throat... Only for him to find the spearhead of her polearm at his own.
He looked down, seeing that spearhead, feeling its cold metal against the gold fur of his neck. "Hm... It appears that we're at an impasse."
"You think?"
He sighed with a shrug, removing the blade from his opponent's neck. "Well, it's a good thing this is only a practice fight."
"Indeed." Shappi lowered her own weapon, but not without tapping Zhunbill on the snout with it first. She scrabbled to her hooves, trotting over to her discarded forehoof boots, which had flown off when Zhunbill had thrown her, and returning them to her feet. "You had to go for my armour, didn't you?" she asked.
"Well, yeah, it was an opportunity, and I took it."
"I suppose, but my armour is pretty important to me."
"And yet a unicorn could just use it to fling you around the room?"
"So it seems..." Shappi groaned. "Good fight. I'd be dead right now if this was real."
"I dare say we'd both be dead. You're a pretty capable young fighter."
"Young?" Shappi laughed. "I'm older than I look, but you think I look young?" She smirked. "I changed my mind: I think I like you... You'd do well working for us, rather than the Royal Guard, if you want?"
Zhunbill pondered the offer for a moment. "To be brutally honest with you, I don't really want a job fighting at all. My father may have reveled in war and combat, but I don't..." He sighed. "Shining Armour isn't the only one who hasn't got the nerve to say no to people."
Shappi sighed. "Hm... I see." She offered him a hoof to shake. "Well, that's a shame... Still, it's good to have met you. I hope we meet again under better circumstances."
* * *
"Wait, wait!" Vesper Wing gasped, one of her wing fluttering slight at her side. "And you just let him go?"
"Shappi, Shappi Shappi Shappi! Why did you do that?!" Nibble Tooth rolled her amber eyes. "...You stupid mare! The guy would've been great! He sounds great, and would've been a boon for the Nightwatch!"
Shappi shrugged, taking a sip of her cider before setting the wooden mug down on the circular bar table: The Evening Bell was a very dark, very popular bar for thestrals and Nightwatch ponies, and was only a short trot away from the Nightwatch barracks. Shappi often enjoyed a nice drink with her friends after work, and now they sat in their favourite booth, near the front windows.
"Besides, we need more unicorns!" Vesper added. "We're all thestrals and earth ponies! It'd be useful to have some ponies who can actually use magic!"
"Maybe... Yeah, alright..." Shappi sighed. "But he was fairly insistent... But... He didn't want to, and I can't FORCE him to join, can I?" She sighed, again. "Besides! I don't wanna talk about work! What are these rumours I hear about you finding a bite buddy, Vesper?!"
Vesper blushed. "Oh... Yeah..." She looked away. "Well... Yeah, I did."
"Oh!" Shappi beamed. "Oh you lucky thing! Who's the lucky mare?"
A slight smile formed on her face, showing her little fangs some. "...Well, her name's Ginger Bread, and she works at that bakery down the road..."
"The one with the cat cookies?"
"The very same? You know I love those little things. So, I sometime go there, and she's always at the till... We talk, and stuff... Then... Well..."
"Does she know, about your needs?" Nibble Tooth asked.
"Yeah, yeah." Vesper said weakly. "I think she could tell because I'm a Nightwatchpony and I have bat wings."
Nibble winced. "Yeah, good point..."
"Stupid question, stupid answer, Nibble." Shappi scoffed, before returning to Vesper. "How'd it go?"
"She's a little nervous about it. But she's decided she's okay with me doing it with her... I, I think she we're going to try it tonight" A slight giggle. "...Among other things."
"Ooooh!" Shappi grinned. "You should dry-nibble her ear, that's always fun I hear! Assuming..."
"Dammit." Nibble Tooth winced. "Do you both have to talk dirty like that?"
"Yes, we do. Because until I find another bite buddy, I'm having to drink the strawberry cider." She felt the dryness of her mouth. "Speaking of which, I do believe it's my round." She stood up. "Cider for both of you?" They nodded. "Thought so. I'll be back in a bit!"
She trotted over to the bar, taking a seat at a stool as she waited for the barkeep (a rather large pony named Pint Glass) to come her way. Shappi and her friends were regulars, he knew what they wanted (it helped that he was as much of a fan of strawberry as they were, so to speak).
"Hey Shappi." He greeted. "Same again?"
"Awww, I was hoping I could drink from the tap?" She smirked, rubbing the fur of his chest with a hoof. "...You know, like last month?"
"Not this time, Shappi."
"But you taste so good!" She smirked. "And I didn't exactly hear you complaining, not while were we half-buried under your bedsheets doing all manner of things." She blushed. "I mean, dinner and a show, right? What's wrong with eating out with a handsome stallion like yourself?"
He sighed. "Yeah, it was fun, and you're a beautiful mare. But come on, I'm like 10 years older than you, and..." He went a bit quiet, looking over at a middle-aged mare sitting in the backroom; white-coated, with a creamy blonde mane, she waved happily at him once she saw him looking at her. It didn't take long for Shappi to join the dots.
"Oh! Okay..." She shrugged. "Fine, I see what you mean."
"She's a childhood friend! She asked me out a few weeks back... I just, I just knew she was the one for me! I'm sorry, Shappi."
She shook a hoof at him. "Forget it. You'll be great together."
He nodded. "I'll get your drinks, alright? On the house."
She nodded back. "Thanks, Pint Glass."
...Then, she was alone, and she sighed. She heard the door bell of the pub open, and she turned her head... A gold-furred unicorn with a pearly white mane entered the room: Zhunbil. He trotted up to the bar, sitting next to her.
"Zhunbil?" She spoke, he snapped up, looking rather tired.
"Oh? Captain?!" He winced. "Sorry, I hadn't seen you there."
"Hey, don't worry about it." She looked down. "I'm sorry about before... I was out of order, and made myself look like a proper idiot..." She turned to face him. "Wanna start over?" She offered him a hoof. "I'm Shappi Neida."
He smiled. "Zhunbil Zoor." He shook her hoof, eyeing her up. "...You on your own?"
"Oh, no... I'm with my friends, I'm just brining in the next round... What are you doing here anyway? This is a thestral bar. Half the drinks have blood in them, and half the ponies here think there's drinks in you."
"Oh?" He looked around, seeing a the eight other ponies in the bar, all of them were thestrals. "I see..."
"Yeah, you should stick with me, in case any of them get a bit too friendly with your neck." She smirked. "Though, I can't promise I won't get drunk and start getting very friendly with you either."
He shrugged. "It's this or go home, I think I'll risk it."
Shappi laughed. "You'd rather sit with a bunch of vampires rather than face your dad, huh? Is it that bad?"
A nevous chuckle escaped him. "Oh, certainly. He'd probably go nuts if he found I was even here."
"Then I suppose I'd best buy you a drink, hm?" She called over to Pint Glass. "Hey PG! Get us a drink of whatever my gold friend here wants! Put it on my tab!" She paused, quickly adding. "No strawberries!"
"Wait, I love strawberries!" Zhunbill perked his ears up.
"Oh, oh no, sweetie." Shappi blushed. "As I said, thestrals. Strawberries is our codeword for... You know. The red stuff?"
He clicked. "Oh! ...Oh I see. That's a bit of a shame."
"Well... ask for strawberry and lime cider. That's the one they got up on the menu, so any normal ponies assume that's all we do. The drinks with blood in them don't include lime, and they're not on the menu."
"But what if a non-vampire doesn't want lime in their cider?"
Shappi paused. "Huh... Well, I suppose it's a good thing not a lot of non-thestrals come here."
He had a thought. "...Am, am I safe? I mean, as you said..."
"Oh, trust me, pretty much everypony here is in the Nightwatch. they've got nibble-discipline. Trust me."
"Nibble-discipline?!" He chuckled. "I'm sorry, that's adorable!"
She smirked. "Oooh, I like you!" The drinks arrived. "I think I ought to introduce you to my friends. We've been talking about you."
The pair took their drinks and returned to Shappi's booth, where the other thestrals were very much happy to see him.
"Ah, so this is the stallion?" Nibble Tooth sat up to greet him. "He's pretty handsome."
"He's pretty good too." Shappi nodded. "Not many ponies can best me when I jump them so suddenly."
"Yes... Well, my father wanted me to go into the military, he made sure I had prior training before I did."
"Yeah... We're not going to mention how you knocked me to the floor though, ARE WE?" She smirked. "No, instead, how about I introduce you properly?" She pointed to the other ponies. "This is Vesper Wing, and this is Nibble Tooth. Guys, this is Zhunbil Zoor. Or Sunbutt, as I'm gonna call him." Sunbutt was appropriate: Zhunbill's cutie mark was a sun and a moon alongside a pile of golden coins.
"Well, I've seen that crescent moon mark of yours. I think I'll call you Moony then."
"I think not." Shappi stuck her tongue out at him.
"I think he's going to do it anyway." Vesper interjected.
"Yeah, I gotta say Moony, he's definitely gonna do it." Added Nibble Tooth.
"Yeah Moony." Zhunbill teased. "I think they're right, Moony."
Moony rolled her eyes. "I hate you all. You know that?"
"Love you too, Moony."
She sat down, taking a drink of her cider. "Moony's a real original nickname. It's not like I've ever been called Moony before."
"Aww, but it's a such a cute name." Zhunbill sat next to her, taking a drink.
"Yeah I'm cute..." Shappi stuck a tongue out at him. "But if I was on duty I'd punch you in the throat."
"I'd have thought you'd have nibbled on it instead?" Nibble Tooth offered.
"Oh, well, that too." Shappi shrugged, a slight smirk on her face.
"Oooh. I wonder if I should be flattered?" The golden unicorn replied, downing his drink. "Is the biting just commonplace for you mares, or is it for special somponies?"
"Well, lets put it like this, as a pony with a bite buddy I love quite dearly. "Vesper offered. "If it's for a special somepony, it won't even hurt. Anypony else? Well, unless a thestral is trying to be stealthy about it, you'll know where you stand when it happens."
To further her point, Shappi opened her mouth slightly, to show Zhunbil her sharp, white fangs.
"Nibble discipline, right?" He asked. She sighed, and nodded.
"If we went around casually biting everypony, everypony would be frightened of the Nightwatch, which wouldn't reflect well on Princess Luna, now would it?"
"So... How do you...?"
"Feed?" Vesper finished. "That's easy! We're still ponies. We can eat vegetables and stuff like you can, but we're technically omnivores. Blood is just part of our diet, and for that... This stuff's animal blood, imported from the griffin lands, since they eat meat, and handle blood far more than Equestria ever does."
"Don't worry, Zhunbill. We're all attended to." Shappi spoke. "We thestrals don't need to break into ponies' houses and feed on them in the night. Those are just nasty stories told to scare the fillies. It's not true in the slightest." She whispered into his ear. "In other words: Nibbling ain't business, it's pleasure."
The thestrals had already had quite a bit to drink; this latest round had only served to loosen their tongues even more. More drinks were poured down their mouths, and into Zhunbil's, and he found himself getting very friendly with the Nightwatch captain.
"Why..." He slurred, propping himself up on the table. "Why if ya' don't mind me askin'... Why do ya' wear a hairband? Ah, I'm don't get me wrong! It's VERY cute! But your mane's very short and cute and everything, and you're this big, tough soldier pony! It's a bit of an odd one! I mean, if you're tryin' to do the big, tough, soldier pony thing, the hairband's counterproductive, because it makes ya' look a lot younger, and... Well..." A bit of a pause... "...Well... Kinda nice in my humble opinion."
"Awwwww..." Vesper giggled. "I think he likes you!"
"I'd be very jealous, Shappi." Nibble Tooth agreed. "I mean, I'm bite him."
"Hey!" Shappi retaliated, going silent for a second as her drunken brain ticked over. "...Shut up! I... I don't need'ya to flirt on MY behalf! I can flirt with the handsome unicorn by myself!" She sat back, wobbling on her seat. "...I... I dunno, Sunbutt... I guess... It reminds me of when I was little I guess, and my dad was a night guard... And he gave me a hairband... And... I just... I always wore my hair like that, because... Well, he's not around anymore..."
"Oh..." Zhunbil paused. "Sorry, Shappi."
"No no!" It's okay!" She slurred.
"Apparently it's her lucky hairband as well!" Nibble Tooth teased. "She never takes it off."
"I won the lottery thanks to this hairband!" Shappi protested.
"It was a hundred bits on a scratch card!" Vesper interjected. "You spent most of it right here!"
"Erm... Yeah..." Shappi chuckled. "...Okay... Okay... I, I think I'm a little drunk, and I think we should probably call it a night!" She got up, her legs wobbling, and eventually giving out, and she the floor.
"Okay! I'm not letting you walk home on your own." Zhunbil got up, staggering a bit before helping you up.
"Oooh, he's a gentlecolt, ain't he?" Vesper smirked.
"You... You're all lightweights. "Nibble Tooth teased.
"Quite." Zhunbill smirked. "What about you two? You two fillies gonna be okay?"
"Sure, sure..." Vesper nodded. "I'll go over to my bite buddy's flat and crash out there. How 'bout you, Nibble?"
"Ah... I think I'll go back to the barracks. It's nice and close, and I've drunk more than this and stucked solid on my hooves. I'll be fine."
"Stucked?" Vesper poked her friend's side. "Alright, you can't talk, but you can walk?"
"Shut up! I'm fine!" She flapped her wings a little, and Nibble landed on her dainty hooves. "I'll see ya' both tomorrow, okay!?"
And so, Zhunbill walked Shappi home, her wing wrapped around the unicorn's body as she hung off him, the more they walked, the closer she ended up. By the time they arrived at her Canterlot townhouse, the mare was practically hugging him, whispering all manner of suggestive things into his ear.
"You, Shappi, are a real flirt, you know that?" Zhunbil opened the door and took her inside. Shappi's house was rather messy, lots of books all over the place in an otherwise pleasant living room, one doorway to her small kitchen and dining room, a small toilet in a tiny room under a staircase which led to her bedroom and the house's bathroom. He carried her upstairs, seeing a much tidier, lavender blue bedroom with a large, comfy looking bed, near the window was a telescope, and a star chart. On the other end of the room was an armour stand, where her Nightwatch armour was painstakingly placed and polished, ready for duty.
Now in her bedroom, Shappi had briefly gone to the bathroom. Upon her return, she'd set something down upon the top of her bedside table. As Zhunbil realized what that small square packet was, she'd started off her assault of flirtation once again.
"Aww, well ain't you a great hero. Walking little ol' me back to my room."
"Little?" He chuckled. "Didn't you try to beat the crap out of me with a stick earlier today?"
"Didn't you win?" Shappi retorted. "And you ARE a big, handsome unicorn..." She burrowed into his fur, purring slightly. "Hhmmm, and very warm, too." She slipped over to her bed, pulling her with him with a grip of her hoof.
"Hmmm..." Zhunbill paused, wobbling on his legs a little. "...Your bed is awfully comfy looking..." He watched the mare climb up on that bed, lying atop it invitingly. "Are you sure about sharing?"
"I'm very sure..."
Zhunbill's mouth was rather dry, and Shappi was VERY pretty. His mind was clouded with alcohol, leaving other influences to drive him: The biggest of which was how much he wanted that mare, and by the looks of things, she wanted him too. Rationality and restraint lost out, and he stepped forward. He'd taken the small packet as he climbed into the thestral's bed, and atop the dark blue mare. He stroked her mane as she leaned up to his ear, her tone dripping with lust.
"Do you remember what I said about Nibbling?" She asked. He nodded, blood rushing through him and his hind legs trembling with anticipation as they locked around his partner. She kissed his cheek, he lips moving slowly down his face before reaching his neck. True enough, as she pierced his skin, he didn't even feel it as he pierced her in turn.
Zhunbill didn't remember what happened much after that, but he remembered the warmth of Shappi's body against his, and the gentle wet trickling down his neck as his blood met with her saliva. He didn't know how much of him she drunk down, but he was very tired, but very happy by the pair had finished. Then, there was a thestral mare cuddled up under his foreleg, sleeping after a long feed. That same blood loss meant that Zhunbill wasn't awake for much longer before he too fell asleep...