The Nightmare Knights Become A Band

by SwordTune

Verse 37

Smolder and Ocellus didn’t have to wait long to get their answers.

The late hours of the night brought few customers to Sugar Cube Corner, although that didn’t seem to stop the flow of work. Boxes of doughnuts, cookies, cakes, and muffins were stacked up on the front counter. It was never slow in the bakery, it was the only one of its kind in Ponyville, or at least the only one worth mentioning. Still, it was rare to see it as packed as it was.

Gallus made his way in through the back door, coming through the kitchen to meet his friends. “Sorry for the wait,” he chuckled. “Turns out it’s hard to read addresses late at night.”

“So, you’re working here now?” Ocellus sounded aghast, although she tried her hardest to hide it. “How do you have time to work and study?”

He simply laughed. “It’s only part-time. After Mrs Cake started giving her guest lectures, I figured she must be a little short on time at work, especially since Professor Pinkie Pie is at the school half the time.” While he spoke, he picked out a set of stamps from behind the counter and began labelling the other boxes. “I thought helping her out would be a good way to earn some bits and get some new experiences. We can’t stay in school forever.”

“Still, this close to exams?” Ocellus muttered.

“There’s still like a month left before we go on break,” he replied. “I’m not in a rush to study.”

“One month to review half a semester!” She buzzed her wings in protest, although Gallus didn’t seem to share the concern she had.

They both continued to pick his brain on the idea, Ocellus more than Smolder. They asked about his hours, his workload, what he was expected to do. But not every question had an answer. He had just started, after all. It was why he was so quick to leave after school. Even for a part-time job, showing up a little early on the first day made a good impression.

Although it wasn’t as if he was in the dark about his job. In just a day he made deliveries, prepared doughs for baking, and took orders. And even if he couldn’t say for sure what the future held, he had a work schedule, which he showed to them both when they asked to see it.

“Four hours a day?” Ocellus looked as if she was going to faint. “I can understand wanting to have other experiences, but isn’t that a little too much for a student?”

“Honestly, I wanted more,” Gallus said. “But Mrs Cake wouldn’t allow it. She said it’d be irresponsible of her to let me spend too much time working.”

“But why baking?” Smolder crossed her arms. “I’m having a hard time imagining you decorating flowery cakes.”

“Right, because that kind of stuff is just too girly.” Gallus eyed her wryly. Their eyes matched each other and Smolder read the look on his face for meaning. Her nostrils widened and flared red-hot as the memory of their first year at the school came back. Powdered scales and a silken dress, Smolder had sincerely hoped he had forgotten about what she had to do to complete the Tree’s puzzles. It was an embarrassing memory, kept under a lock and key of promises.

“What happens with the Tree of Harmony, stays with the Tree of Harmony,” she hissed. Ocellus simply stared at her, wondering where the sudden tension between them came from.

Gallus cracked a smile and laughed, finally answering Smolder’s question. “I feel bad admitting it, but I wasn’t thinking that hard about it when I picked this job. I just need to earn some bits. Not like I can do anything in Griffonstone to get paid.”

“Oh, right,” Smolder pulled back on her temper.

“But you’re with Silverstream,” Ocellus said, although her tone made her sound as if she was asking a question.

“Yeah, what about it?” Gallus scowled.

“N-nothing!” She stammered. “I just thought, if you ever needed anything… Wouldn’t she pitch in?”

“I don’t need to buy anything,” he said, suddenly fussing around with the boxes. He stacked them up, organizing them by matching stamps. Yet, his eyes slowly drifted from the task. “And it’s not about the bits either. When you’re with someone, you should be able to stand with them, not just beside them. I can’t do that if I don’t have anything to support myself.”

“But the school pays for our meals and dorms,” Smolder said.

“I’m just thinking about the future, okay?” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do after school. But I know that if I’m with Silverstream, it’s not fair for her if I’m not working for myself.”

Ocellus fell silent, seriously considering what he said. She, none of them in fact, had ever talked about what they wanted to do after they were done studying at the School of Friendship. Graduating seemed like it was so far off, but years could pass by quickly when you looked at them with hindsight.

“Oh, speaking of Silverstream,” Smolder said. “If you’ve been working since class ended, then do you have any idea where she could be? We didn’t see her at the library either.”

“You mean she didn’t tell you?” Gallus raised a brow. “I guess that makes sense. She was in a rush. Someone from Mount Aris checked her out of school for a few days. We talked just before she left. She said her parents wanted her to help with some family business in Cloudsdale.”

“Family?” Smolder mumbled. “But she’s related to Queen Novo. Doesn’t make it royal business?”

“Probably.” Gallus shrugged. “I’ve been wracking my brain all day wondering what could be going on in Cloudsdale.”

---

The rest of the band had left for the night. Only Starlight and Luna stayed behind to hear what Silverstream had to say. They took a walk down the city’s winding streets, through the wind and snow. Even the central was tough to navigate on hoof. Roads forked off to parallel how pegasi flew, not where a pony would walk. But the storm that the weather teams were moving across Equestria made the skies too turbulent to safely cross.

They counted their blessings when they came across a cafe one block over. And although she still looked anxious while sipping her hot chocolate when their orders came, Silverstream was already much better than when she stepped into the music studio. That was good. Panicking wasn’t useful when you’re trying to pitch a plan for a trade deal with dragons. And it was a lot to unpack.

Starlight didn’t know a lot about what happened during the conference, but Silverstream gave a good enough summary to make her problem clear. Even though she was in attendance, General Seaspray wouldn’t let her make any suggestions. Or rather, he couldn’t let her. Being Queen Novo’s niece, her words could have strong implications with the other kingdoms. So, he was under orders to allow her to observe only. Even if she believed she had the solution to Twilight’s problem.

Luna listened closely, happy to do so now that she didn’t have to put up with the back-and-forth debating between the dragon and changeling.

“It’s a simple solution,” Silverstream advised. “Instead of just stopping the storms that come to Mount Aris, the pegasi can move them towards the Dragonlands. By the time it crosses the sea, it would have died down to regular rain. The dragons won’t need to take water from Equestria if they’re getting it from us.”

“Move the storms?” Starlight murmured, tapping her chin as she thought about the possibility. It was exactly what the pegasi were doing in Cloudsdale, so she didn’t see why not.

However, Luna’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. “I’m no expert on weather control, but I’m not ignorant either. Starting a storm is easy enough. Freshly made clouds don’t run off on their own, and weather teams never let storms pick up too much strength. But we’re talking about wild hurricanes.”

“But the Wonderbolts already said it’s possible to stop the storms,” Silverstream said. “Shouldn’t moving it be easier?”

Luna shook her head. “Busting a cloud apart is simple. It’s just a matter of force. Moving a storm is another matter. You have to counter its momentum without destroying it, while also keeping the winds from sweeping you away. It’s not impossible but it’s riskier for the pegasi involved.”

“But, isn’t it worth the risk? Dragons and changelings won’t have to be upset at each other if it works.”

Luna stirred her coffee, lapsing into silence to think. Realizing she was leaning over the table now, Silverstream pulled back and decided to give her the time to consider. The price she was weighing against the other plans didn’t need to be stated. There wasn’t enough rain to send to everyone. Dragon or changeling, each had a price to pay. To make everyone happy, Silverstream knew she was asking pegasi to put their health on the line.

Hippogriffs weren’t too different, at least where their wings were concerned. Turbulent winds were stressful on the body, even just hovering in a storm was like flying in a race. A torn muscle or a sprained joint, those were acceptable costs, a pittance compared to the benefits of peace and teamwork between the other kingdoms. But if something worse happened. A crash. A life deducted as the price for peace?

Starlight noticed her student’s face. General Seaspray’s orders to hold her back wasn’t the only thing holding back Silverstream’s plan. She had seen self-doubt plenty of times in the mirror before to know her student wasn’t as confident in her plan as she wanted.

“It is worth it,” Luna eventually nodded. “‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained,’ I believe is the saying nowadays.”

Silverstream perked up, her face swelling with pride.

“But it’s not my call. It’s not even Twilight’s.”

The hippogriff’s face deflated back down to her anxious state. “What do you mean?”

“She can order the Wonderbolts to help, I’m sure they won’t back down from a challenge, but it will be weather ponies who do most of the moving. If you propose this plan to Twilight, she’ll have to consider what the pegasi will say about it. She might just say no.”

“But…” Silverstream choked up on her words. “The dragons and changelings can’t start hating each other. They just can’t!” Her talons clenched around her cup, putting scratches on the painted porcelain. “I love travelling with my friends. I want us all to visit our homes. If the dragons and changelings start fighting—”

Starlight reached out and placed her hoof over Silverstream’s grip. She relaxed, just a little bit, and looked at her teacher with watery eyes.

“It’s a good plan, and your heart’s in the right place,” she informed her. “You should share it at the conference. If there’s a chance Twilight will say no, that means there’s a chance she’ll say yes, right? Just don’t be worried if it doesn’t work out. Two kingdoms aren’t going to hate each other just because of one bad deal.”

Luna waggled a wry eyebrow at Starlight, although she kept herself in a doubtful silence. Dragons could fight over pretty much anything.

“Alright,” Silverstream finally breathed, for the first time it seemed since the conference. “But General Seapray won’t let me speak at the conference, and he hasn’t been open to listening, either. Someone else is going to have to present the plan.”

“Luna, do you think…” Starlight began.

“Yeah, yeah, I can do it,” Luna moaned, muttering into her coffee. “Honestly, it’s like every pony forgot the meaning of retired.”

Comments

[Yoshifan30]

He simply laughed. “It’s only part-time. After Mrs Cake started giving her guest lectures, I figured she must be a little short on time at work, especially since Professor Pinkie Pie is at the school half the time.” While he spoke, he picked out a set of stamps from behind the counter and began labelling the other boxes. “I thought helping her out would be a good way to earn some bits and get some new experiences. We can’t stay in school forever.”

Ohh so he works at sugarcube corner with mr. And mrs. Cake while Pinkie Pie is still working at the school that's pretty cool

[Yoshifan30]

“Right, because that kind of stuff is just too girly.” Gallus eyed her wryly. Their eyes matched each other and Smolder read the look on his face for meaning. Her nostrils widened and flared red-hot as the memory of their first year at the school came back. Powdered scales and a silken dress, Smolder had sincerely hoped he had forgotten about what she had to do to complete the Tree’s puzzles. It was an embarrassing memory, kept under a lock and key of promises.

Lol oh my God that's right I remember about smolders fear of liking cute and girly stuff which is fine and all nothing to be embarrassing about but I guess she has her standards

[Yoshifan30]

Ocellus fell silent, seriously considering what he said. She, none of them in fact, had ever talked about what they wanted to do after they were done studying at the School of Friendship. Graduating seemed like it was so far off, but years could pass by quickly when you looked at them with hindsight.

Don't worry kids after seeing the last problem in your future you guys are going to be just fine the future is very bright for all of you especially you gallus 😊

[Yoshifan30]

So it looks like smolder and Ocellus found gallus and it looks like he's been doing part-time job just to earn money for himself and even for silverstream which that's pretty nice for him to do that and it looks like they are still worried about the future witch as I said before we saw them in the last problem I'm sure they're going to be okay meanwhile silverstream was talking to Starlight and Luna about this idea she had about how the Wonderbolts in the Pegasus can help out with the situation which it sounds pretty good idea but they need to get an okay from Twilight which this is going to be very hard to get through because you know all this politics stuff 😑