//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Sweet and Sour // Story: Stella Eventide: Wings on my Back // by Shepherd Sheild92 //------------------------------// Stella was not used to being at work while Luna was lowering the moon, and now was an especially inconvenient time. Between the hours alone and having two tests yesterday, she was in the mood for some sleep. Thankfully, she had just finished her last chore for the night and was making her way back to the maids’ dressing room. As she drew closer, her eyes caught sight of one of her drinking buddies coming her way. Ordinarily, she’d be happy to see him, but right now she just wanted to find a bed and sleep. Still, it’d become a routine for them to go out drinking after work and he was simply coming to confirm this. Best to just nip the issue in the flank right here. “Hey, how are you doing this morning Gloomwing?” asked Stella with a yawn. “I’m doing okay I suppose, though clearly better than you Stella. You look about ready fall asleep on the floor,” He said, noting the bags under her eyes and the obvious yawn. “I don’t suppose you’re up to going drinking tonight, are you?”. Stella had to fight back another yawn as she tried to answer him. “Honestly, I don’t think so, I’ve had a long week and really just want to sleep for a bit if that’s okay.” “No, I get it. Busy week and all that, it happens.” Stella practically let out a sigh of relief at his response, eager more than ever to get some shut-eye. Sadly the conversation wasn’t over. “Say, um, before you go. Do you think maybe Ruby would be interested in going out for drinks later? ” He asked, his tone making it fairly clear this was the main point of the conversation. Stella had to fight back a scream as it felt like she was being tortured with how long this conversation was going on. However, she managed to bite back her anger as she contemplated her response. “ I think I can get Ruby to come with us, I’d have to ask first, but I don’t see why she wouldn’t be interested. But, for now, I really want some sleep,” replied Stella with a yawn. Gloomwing smiled, satisfied with the answer and went off to guard something, Stella didn’t really care, though noticed a slight spring in his step. Stella took a few steps down the hall when she heard a voice call out her name. Stella was in no mood to talk to anypony, so she turned, all but hissing at whoever was talking to her, even baring her fangs as well, only for her mouth to drop at the sight of Princess Celestia. Any sound Stella had been making effectively died in her throat as she suddenly forgot how to breathe. Celestia looked at the small batpony, with slight alarm and then slight amusement. “Princess Celestia. I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t see you. How can I help you out?” asked Stella once she could breathe again and properly form sentences. However, as Stella spoke, she again barely held a yawn in, which was not lost on the Princess, as she could tell at a glance the pony before her was exhausted and practically asleep on her hooves. Under any other circumstances she would have simply put business aside and had the young pony go straight to bed, but she regrettably needed immediate help. “You don’t have to apologize for anything. Honestly, I should be apologizing for what I’m about to ask of you, but my sister has told me a lot about you, young one.” Stella froze, not sure if she should be happy or worried. “Regrettably, my hoof-maid is sick and I need somepony to take over for her, just for today. Could you please aid me, just for two hours, if possible?” Celestia asked in a sweet tone. In her mind, Stella wanted to say no, however her soul said otherwise. “Just the two hours, right?” asked Stella with a yawn to confirm what she just heard. The white Alicorn smiled, nodding in the affirmative, “I know it’s a bit last minute, but I would really appreciate the help.” Seeing little point in arguing, especially with the Princess of all ponies, Stella merely nodded and followed the Princess to her chambers, though Stella had to all but drag her hooves every step of the way. Celestia’s room was a stark contrast to Luna’s, lacking much of the artwork and drawings Stella had become accustomed to seeing. Put another way, Celestia’s room was more what you expected from a ruler, very regal but simplistic. If Stella wasn’t so tired she would be impressed by what she could see, but at the moment all she could think about was a pillow and a bed “Alright Stella, I’m going to take my bath, so I want you to do what cleaning you can, and make sure you get my schedule for the day,” said Celestia grabbing her bath towel. “You can trust me,” Stella yawned. “I’ll get the job done.” Celestia smiled and walked off towards the bathroom. Seeing little point in standing around, Stella decided to start reshelving books and made sure the Princess had a properly made bed. A knock came at the door and a blue Unicorn walked in, holding some paper. She trotted over to Stella and giving the batpony a raised eyebrow. “So what are those papers you got there?” asked Stella, grabbing the papers from their magical grip. “They are Celestia’s To-Do list and court papers, as well as what we have planned for the Gala this year,” replied the Unicorn. “Make sure she gets them.” Stella nodded and set them down on Celestia’s desk. Once the Unicorn was out the door, Stella did a quick scan of the room for something else to occupy her time with. “She certainly keeps her chambers clean, though I suppose I shouldn’t expect anything less from the Princess. Almost makes my job a little pointless.”. Feeling her drowsiness quickly start to set in again, her eyes zeroed in on the nearby bed, which much like the rest of the room was exceptionally large, beautiful and clean. In short, very inviting and the Batpony couldn’t help but feel drawn to it. “I shouldn’t, but it’ll only be for a couple of minutes. A quick nap wouldn’t hurt, right? Too tired to argue with herself, she barely laid down on the mattress before her mind shut down and sleep consumed her. -Sometime Later- Stella’s eyes slowly opened, letting out a yawn as she sat up to collect herself, only to now find herself back in her own bed, Ruby sitting in front of her bed reading a book. “Oh, glad to see you’re finally awake.” Stella wanted to scream at her friend for being in her room, but she took a deep breath and let her curiosity lead her words. “What happened to me?” asked Stella, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “Well I went to pick you up from work and when I got there I found out that you were sleeping in Celestia room.” Ruby looked at the floor, before speaking again. “I had to cancel my plans today, needed to make sure you were okay.” “Sorry about that, didn’t mean to worry you or anything. Guess I underestimated how tired I was.” Stella offered what little of an apology she could to her friend, a little ashamed she’d let such a thing happen. “By the way, don’t suppose you could tell me what time it is, could you?”. “It’s 3 p.m., you’ve been asleep for about six hours since I brought you back,” replied Ruby looking over at the clock. Stella just gave out another yawn, as she moved to get out of bed. “Well, guess I’ve slept enough for now. Might as well get up.”. Stella walked out of her room and sat down at the table in the living room with Ruby, who had poured herself a glass of grape juice, Stella catching sight of Brighteyes studying on the couch. That was one less concern for Stella, though it also served to remind her of another thing she’d almost let slip her mind. “Say, Ruby, do want to come drinking with Gloom and I in a few hours?” asked Stella with a smile, showing her fangs. “Stella, I had to miss my train to Ponyville because I had to carry you back here and now you want me to go drinking with you?” replied Ruby with a stern face. “You expect me to go drinking with you after what happened today.” Stella was a little taken aback. ” “Besides you need to study for your psychology test, which is on Monday,” Brighteyes chimed in. Stella however, rolled her eyes at the comment, even if there was validity to it. Yes, she should study, but between all the hours she’d already clocked in the last two days, a little break was all she wanted. Though a quick look at Ruby, whose eyes were practically burning holes into her skull, she was almost tempted to just crack open a book right then and there. The tension was almost becoming suffocating, though mercifully, Ruby quietly got up and made her way to the door, leaving without another word, almost slamming it as she did. Stella practically felt her whole body flinch at the obvious anger that had been radiating off of Ruby. Now she was just left in the apartment with Brighteyes, the only sound being the nearby clock, and that wasn’t helping ease her mind. Without another word, she made her way out the door, Brighteyes only sighing slightly at what had transpired before returning to her book. Stella walked down the streets of Canterlot, mulling over what had just transpired, tuning out the sounds of every pony that passed by her, as if the entire bustling city, was completely silent. “Guess I might as well see what Gloomwing is up to. Hopefully, I don’t see Ruby until she’s had some time to cool off.” She quietly groaned as she made her way to her friend’s apartment. Despite never having visited it before, she was able to find them, thanks in part to directions Gloomwing had given her earlier. They lead her to some, rather unkempt looking complexes, that were a far cry from inviting. The only problem now was finding out which building was the right one, which provided to be more difficult than Stella would have liked. “Where in Luna’s name is that apartment?” shouted Stella, losing her nerve after looking for ten minutes. “Hey, I’m trying to sleep! What do you want?” asked a very upset Batpony mare screamed from an open window. “Oh, sorry. I’m just looking for my friend, Gloomwing. Do you know where he lives?” asked Stella with a hopeful smile. “Yeah, he’s my little brother. I’ll unlock the door, and you can come in. Just keep quiet,” she said before closing her window. “Well, thanks, mind telling me where the front door is too.” Stella uttered sarcastically. She quietly entered the complex as instructed, and thankfully found the correct door, after a few more minutes of searching. Upon being let in, she found Gloomwing reading on the couch, while his sister, still crabby mood, walked over to the fridge, allowing Stella to get a better look around. Most eye-catching, we were two mannequins wearing sets of dark purple amour, obviously belonging to the siblings, with a Princess Luna flag hanging proudly on the wall behind the armor, a Night Guard recruitment poster directly below it. There were similar ornaments and decorations throughout the apartment, which coupled with the dim lighting allowed the room to give off a strong sense of pride for the siblings' profession. Gloomwing was quick to take note of Stella’s presence and offered her a wave. “Oh, hey Stella. I thought you said you wouldn’t be able to come drinking we me today.” “I did, but right now I just wanna take my mind off of some things and drinking seems like the best option.” Gloomwing only nodded, not wanting to pry. “Hey, Hazeveil, since you’re up, do you want to come drinking with us?” asked Gloomwing with a bright smile. Hazeveil just shot him a look that could kill and took her drink to her room, slamming the door. Stella’s ears dropped a little bit, fearing she’d likely contributed to the ponies bad mood. “So…what’s up with your sister?” asked Stella, looking over at Hazeveil’s door. “Hazeveil is super critical of ponies. She loves to find the weaknesses in others and tear them apart. In other words, she is ruthless. Believe it or not, though, she does care about others. It’s like a tough love…very tough. She actually happens to be one of Luna’s Honor Guard.” “Wow, guess she must be a real piece of work,” replied Stella looking away from the bedroom door. Gloomwing nodded and chuckled, “Well, that’s one way of putting it.” He quickly grabbed his saddle bag. “Shall we go get Ruby?” asked Gloomwing, pulling Stella off the couch. “No, Ruby doesn’t want to come drinking tonight…she’s kind of mad at me,” Stella said quietly, holding back a tear. Gloomwing wanted to find out why, but first, he walked over to the kitchen and grabbed some hard cider. “Say, Gloom, can you tell me what life in the colony was like?” asked Stella, wanting to get off the topic of Ruby. Gloom gave her a glass of cider and sat down next to her. “Where to start…” Gloomwing began. “First, family history was a huge topic for the colony, so we don’t inter-breed with each other. Second, living in a cold, damp cave was really depressing, but we had faith that Luna would return someday,” Gloomwing said, taking a gulp from his drink. “We were told, ‘the stars would aid in her escape, return where the battle raged, and the elements would wash away the darkness and the pain.’ This had brought us hope that our Princess would return,” Gloomwing finished. Stella was surprised that her friend believed that her Princess would return, in spite of her having been banished long before either of them were even born. “Wow, I can’t even begin to imagine what that’s like. Guess we all have hard times in life,” She said being reminded of her own past. “At least you didn’t have to deal with dust in the cave,” replied Stella rubbing her friend’s shoulder. Gloomwing just laughed a little bit. “Yeah, dust really sucks….” “Would the two of you just leave already so I can go to sleep?” Haze yelled from her room, causing the pair to jolt up in fright before the door opened wide. Haze came out, wearing one of her spare bladed hoof guards, looking at the pair with an unsettling air that made the pair quickly flee out the door, taking flight at high speed the second they got out of the building. The two friends eventually landed in a nearby park to catch their breath, Stella actually laughing at the fact that she was still alive, while Gloomwing fell over into the grass, still recovering from the sudden exertion. “You have one scary sister,” laughed Stella, as she laid down three feet from her friend. “Haze is a complicated one I can say that much., though you wouldn’t know it from that little encounter.” Gloomwing laughed back. “What’s so complicated about her?” Asked Stella wanting to know. “The best way to put it, normally she keeps her emotions pretty locked up. Most of the time it’s impossible to get a lock on what she’s feeling and when you can, it’s usually just anger. Honestly wish she’d open up a little more once and a while,” replied Gloomwing. Stella nodded but didn’t say anything, the pair just laying in the grass for a short amount of time, before the sounds of hoof steps approaching them could be heard. “Well, look what we have here, two succubuses lying in the grass like a pair of snakes,” a mare’s voice spoke out. “Indeed, shouldn’t the two of you be on your side of town?” asked another mare. Stella stood up and showed off her fangs, causing the two Unicorn mares to take a few steps back. Gloomwing stood up, prompting the pair to take a step back, only to then flee the instant the two Batponies advanced a step towards them. “What was that about? They shouldn’t be treating other ponies like that?” asked Stella. Gloomwing lowered his head in shame. “The colony did what it needed to do to live, even if we had seduced other ponies to open up the gene pool,” replied Gloomwing with his head down. She looked over at him and put a hoof around him, trying to offer some form of support. The two quietly walked through the park, coming upon a rather calm pond in the center, meriting a smile from Stella. “You know, when I first became a Batpony, I always wanted to visit the colony,” said Stella with a smile. “You’re in luck because Luna is going to go visit the colony in a few weeks. You should ask her to see if you could join her,” Gloomwing told her with a smile. The sun was getting ready to set and the clouds were a nice orange and pink. Canterlot was slowing down, and everypony was going home to have dinner with their families. “I have to say; this is a really fun day for me. I wonder if Rize is doing anything?” asked Stella out loud to herself. “Am I just that boring that you want to go find your coltfriend?” asked Gloomwing with a laugh. Stella smiled and shook her head. “Do you have a marefriend?” She asked. “Nope, no mares and not for lack of trying. I think I need to try some new pick-up lines.” Stella laughed harder than she had all day at that. “You’re silly Gloomwing,” replied Stella as she took to the air. “Come on, let’s go find Rize.” ---------------------- A few days passed since Stella and Ruby had their fight. Brighteyes was reading a comic book when a loud knock came at the door. Brighteyes walked to open the door hoping it was Ruby wanting to talk to Stella. Sadly, what she got instead was a Pegasus stallion standing on their welcome mat. “Can I help you?” asked Brighteyes with a smile. The stallion returned the smile and pawed at the welcome mat. “Does Stella Eventide live here?” he asked with a hopeful look. Brighteyes looked surprised, mainly at the seemingly ever-increasing number of stallion friends Stella seemed to have. “She’s still in bed,” she replied. “Sorry, can I get your name so I can tell her you came by.” “Still asleep at eleven a.m., Well, I don’t know if Stella has even talked about it with me before, but I’m her brother, Daystar,” the stallion said, raising his head. Brighteyes was quick to allow the pony in, allowing him to scan the apartment, zeroing in on Brighteye’s comic. “You a fan of comics?” asked Brigheyes as Daystar picking up one of the comics. “Yes, while I’m preferable to X-ponies, I’m also a fan of Power Ponies and Mega Mare.” “I thought Mega Mare was an arcade game?” asked Brighteyes tapping her chin with her hoof. “It is, the game came out first before the creators released the comic to dive deeper into the lore of the series,” he replied, scanning over Brighteyes X-ponies comic. Brighteyes would have continued to talk to him, but noting the clock she remembered she was meeting Dawn Trotter for lunch. “Sorry, but I’ve gotta leave. Just wait here until Stella wakes up, make yourself at home.” She quickly ran out the door, leaving Daystar by himself. Finding himself alone, he quietly sat on the couch and continued to read the comic, contemplating taking something from the fridge, but opted against it so as not to impose on his sister. Though after ten minutes without any response, he was tempted to grab something just to curb his boredom. Stella did eventually wake up...forty-five minutes later, and made her way to the kitchen, completely oblivious to her brother’s presence. As she was grabbing some blackberries, however, she finally noticed him as he offered her a wave.  The sight of him quickly burned away any remaining fatigue as she practically tackled him, beaming with joy at his presence. “What the hay are you doing here, brother?” Stella said, smiling as wide as a mile. Daystar could not help but smile in return, noting how cute his sister’s fangs were. “Well, I’m here to meet with the city’s weather managers for a conference, so I thought I’d pay you a visit and see how you’re doing,” Daystar replied hugging his sister. “I have to say, this week has been busy, sad, and now super happy.” Stella was beaming with energy for a pony that just got up. In fact, she could no longer stay still, so she started flying around the apartment. Daystar laughed to himself and just watched his sister make a fool of herself. “Well, I’m glad I could make your week. I kind of wanted to meet your special somepony, Rize, as well as take you out to lunch.” Daystar said flying up to his sister, in order to get her to stop flying around the room. While still full of energy, Stella played with her brother’s mane with her hoof. Stella and Daystar want to pick up Rize, so he could join them to go eat lunch, but when Stella went to talk to Daystar and she saw he was no longer there. They saw him looking at an arcade, and so Stella knew they were going to be here all day. “Bro, I thought you wanted to go eat?” asked Stella, trying to pull her brother away. “We are in luck, it looks like they sell food in there,” replied Daystar flapping his wings with joy. They walked into the arcade and were met with the sound of games, laughs, and children. Colts and fillies playing was a sight to behold, due to the fact some shared the games, some fought over them. Stella and Rize went to grab food while Daystar had his fix playing games. Stella and Rize found a booth and sat on one side of it. Stella playfully bit Rize’s ear before kissing him. Rize returned the favor by booping her nose. They laughed to themselves while trying to keep things PG, so they wouldn’t get kicked out. “Your brother seems very nice, Stella,” said Rize, kissing his special somepony, only for Stella to push him away. “We need to keep things PG, Rize,” Stella giggled. “Daystar is a very silly pony at times, and I love him for it, but he can also be a bit overprotective, so let’s have a little restraint okay?” With a nod from Rize, Stella decided to go check on their food, leaving Rize to practice his drawing. Daystar came over to the table with a sad look on his face. “Why so down?” asked Rize, starting to draw. “I’m out of bits. I wanted to beat one of the bosses in Mega Mare, but I ran out,” said Daystar, with his head on the table. Stella came back with their fruit salad and Hay burgers. Stella smiled at her brother before bopping him on the nose playfully. “It’s just a game, bro. It will still be here tomorrow and the next day,” smiled Stella. Daystar just looked at her with his best puppy dog face. Stella reached into her saddlebag and pulled out six bits and gave them to her pouting big brother. With gratitude, he smiled as he flew off to go play more games. “So, how old is your brother?” asked Rize, adding some shading to his drawing. “He’s twenty-four, just two years older than I am.” “Wow, and still acting like a colt.” “You’re one to talk, mister ‘I want to play tabletop games, and read comic books’,” Stella grinned before she kissed Rize’s cheek. “You are getting a lot better at drawing, I just wish I could say the same thing about my painting.” “Oh yeah, totally random but, is your brother the only family member that knows you’re a batpony?” “Sadly, yes. I just don’t know when to tell them. Princess Luna told me I have to tell them before Hearth’s Warming,” said Stella, drawing circles on the table. “Why before Hearth’s Warming? “Asked Rize with curiosity. “Well, Luna promised she would help me change if I told my family about it. To be honest, she gave me a due date to tell them. It could be any day of the year. Luna also told me, if I didn’t tell them that, it would be hurting my family if they never saw me again.” Daystar trotted over with a huge smile that Stella understood to mean that he had defeated his foe. “Oh yeah, Stella. Mom wants to take you some time to do ‘ladylike things’,” Daystar said his smile going away. “Do I have to?” asked Stella lowering her head.