//------------------------------// // chapter 12 // Story: vengeance at nightfall // by NightSugar pone //------------------------------// Old friends Nightshade and Metamorph were outside on a brisk night under the light of the moon, laying down in the centre of the Canterlot gardens. It had been a couple crazy busy days after the incident with Valour, but after the change in the quantity of blood he got, he became tamer and less likely to attack. So after talking to the multitude of vampire ponies that had shown up, they were deciding to take a break from everything, and since Angel said that she'd come to join them after she dealt with one more thing they patiently waited. Nightshade sighed “I love how the night sky looks when mom lets us help raise the moon,” She got up and looked around “but she said something about the flowers she planted out here,” She said as she walked away from their spot as she began to look around. “What exactly do they look like?” Metamorph said as he got up as well, watching her walk around and look around at everything “lunar lilies, she planted them so they would bloom on our birthday and they're gorgeous when they bloom,” She gasped and trotted over to him, grabbing his hoof and pulling him to a small patch of budding purple flowers. “Is this what you were looking for?” He said with some confusion as he leant down and looked at one closely “they just look like regular purple flowers,” “Of course they do, but she told me that whenever they'd bloom she'd come out here and sing our lullaby to them.” She smiled and laid down in front of them “I can't remember the last time I heard it, she'd always sing it when we had nightmares or just couldn't get to sleep,” Metamorph just laid down beside her and looked at her “Would you teach it to me?” Her ears shot up and she looked at him with a small blush “I don't know, it's really old and I'm not really the best singer,” She fiddled with her hooves as she looked down at them “You're better off asking our mom to teach you.” He nuzzled her and gently grabbed her hoof with one of his own “I'd prefer to hear it from you, and I bet your singing voice is beautiful,” She smiled and sat up “If you say so,” She cleared her throat and began singing, although it was the old equestrian tongue it was still a beautiful tune. It had an almost ghostly melody that seemed to be magical all on its own, and as she slowly stopped a tear rolled down her cheek as a small smile crept onto her lips. She quickly wiped it away and looked at him, noticing that he too was brought to tears “That was the most beautiful lullaby I have ever heard without knowing what the words meant,” He said as he held his hooves up to his muzzle. “How long have you remembered that lullaby?” She just shrugged “For as long as I can remember, probably a hundred years, maybe longer,” His smile only grew and she looked at the flowers again “I just used to sing it to my little dragon, I just hope she's been ok without me.” “Why don't you ask her yourself?” Angel said as she walked into the garden and towards them, accompanied by three other mares and a bright blue dragon about the size of a dog. Nightshade practically squealed with joy and held her hooves out as the blue dragon began running at her, jumping into her open hooves for a loving hug. “Oh my sweet baby, you've grown up so much,” She said as she held the dragon in what looked to be a suffocating hug, and she simply nuzzled Nightshade's neck “Whoa whoa whoa, who the heck are all of you?” Metamorph said as he stood up and one of the mares instantly glared up at him. “These are our old friends from years ago,” Angel said as she hopped up to the pinto mare with plenty of blue in her coat and mane “This is seafoam Blossom, but we just call her Blossom,” The mare waved at him with a happy smile before Angel moved to the next mare. She looked more like a bat pony with a fiery mane, tail and hooves “This is Inferno with an ‘I’” She just nodded in a very dignified way as Angel moved to the last mare, who had a white coat and a long black and red mane. “And this Scarlett,” She just rolled her eyes and looked away, from what Metamorph could see Scarlett was the only unicorn and the only one without wings. “Okay, so who's the little dragon?” He said as he pointed a hoof to her and she slipped out of Nightshade's arms, before standing in front of him and holding out one of her front webbed feet. “My name is Sapphire, and it it nice to meet you Prince Metamorph,” She said as she shook his hoof “I'm practically Nightshade's daughter” “She's right, but Angel, why did you bring them here to meet him now?” Nightshade said as she gently ran a hoof over sapphire’s head frill. “Well, you've been talking about how much you missed sapphire and I just thought that you'd like to see everyone again,” “Yeah, we really missed you over the years,” Blossom said as she hopped up to Nightshade and hugged her. “Not to mention you kind of disappeared when you gave sapphire to us to take off,” Inferno chimed in as she walked over to her as well “I trusted you two enough to take care of her because you two are mature enough for a baby dragon, and besides, you're together anyways so I thought doing as a team would be easy for you,” Nightshade said as she let go of Blossom “There you go analysing everything again, jeez, do you know how to act normal?” Scarlett snapped as she frowned at everyone. “We all know you have a soft spot for Sapphire and Blossom,” As soon as Angel said that everyone but Metamorph nodded, and he decided to sit down and try to absorb everything. And all through the night, they swapped stories and eventually, everyone was smiling and pleasantly chatting about what they've been doing after they stopped working as bounty hunters, and little by little Metamorph began to be more fond of Sapphire and the rest of Nightshade's friends. But after a few long hours of talking they separated and left to go home and get some rest, while Sapphire chose to stay with her adoptive mother and new soon to be father, in Canterlot.