“Okay… I’m a lil confused,” Minuette said as she trotted next to Moondancer. “Can we please go over this again?”
Moondancer sighed, looking up and the darkening sky. The sun had set only just, the moon rising and the world was trapped in the brief moment of twilight. The sky was a gradient blend of oranges and blues, the first star of the night was yet to appear.
“It’s simple,” Moondancer said with a roll of her eyes. “We’re going to Mister Antino’s apartment to watch a movie with him and some of his friends. Simple.”
“Nonono, not ‘simple’,” Minuette said with a wave of her hooves. “HOW did you go from hating his guts, to going around his place? In the span of twenty four hours!”
“We talked,” Moondancer said, relishing the rare moment she had Minuette of all ponies flustered. “That’s what you wanted right?”
“W-Well, yes…” Minuette frowned as she calmed down. This was super weird. Was this some kind of prank… no, couldn’t be. She doubted that Moondancer even knew what a prank was. And Antino and herself didn’t know one another well enough to prank one another, so that ruled him out. “Okay… So why am I here?”
“Because… well,” Moondancer pawed at the ground with a hoof. “I was, kinda, sorta maybe—” Her voice lowered a few decibels. “—Too nervous to go by myself.”
Minuette paused.
Minuette processed CuteMoonie.gif.
Minuette lunged and activated Hug.exe
“Ack!” Moondancer stumbled back under the force of the high velocity embrace, just barely remaining on her hooves. “Minuette! What the hay?”
“I can’t help it when you get so cute,” the blue unicorn giggled and nuzzled her. “You should have told me from the get go. I’ll happily be your wingmare.”
“Wing… but, we’re unicorns, not pegasi,” Moondancer replied to the confusing term.
“It’s…” Minuette sighed and shook her head. “Nevermind. Let’s go to this movie night.”
“About time,” Moondancer sighed as she led the way. Her ears turned back a little as her nerves started to set in. If it was just Antino, this might have been fine. But now that Stella mare was showing up, as well as two other ponies she hadn’t met yet?
Sweet Celestia, what was she getting herself into?
“Okay, Tino?” Astral said, poking her head up from the couch. “Imma say this once. Would you please stop your damned pacing?”
Said human had been pacing up and down their short hallway for about twenty minutes now and it was beginning to wear on the pegasi’s nerves.
“Honestly, she said she was coming over right?”
“Well yeah,” Antino countered. “But… what if she can’t find the place at night? Or if she changed her mind?”
“Geeze, you’re fretting more than a filly waiting for her coltfriend,” Astral sighed. “And as a mare, I find that I take offense to what I just said. Just… I dunno, go cook something in the kitchen or something. We can never have too many snacks.”
“Huh…? Well, I guess I could,” he murmured as he wandered off into the kitchen.
“Honestly,” Astral sighed and gave her wings an idle flick. While his fretting had been getting on her nerves, it was also kind of cute. She’d never seen him act like this, well, not since she’d first met him.
Astral fell into step just behind the alicorn princess ahead her. Apparently during Court, she’d sensed something… odd coming from the massive hedge maze at the rear of the castle. While Discord’s appearances meant that ‘unusual’ occurrences weren’t all that uncommon, the alicorn had said she didn’t feel his magic at play here.
So she’d rounded up some guards that were present, two of the guards in the throne room and two of her Honor Guard. Very powerful ponies that were tasked with guarding the Princess herself. As a rank and file guard, Astral didn’t recognise either of them though. A red-coated pegasus stallion and of all things, a thestral mare. She was stunningly beautiful though, with her milk chocolate coat and platinum blonde mane and tail.
Er, well… incredibly pretty ponies aside. Astral and her current partner, an Earth pony mare named Secure Lines were also roped in to this little venture.
“Any idea what it is?” Secure asked in a quiet tone as she walked next to Astral.
“No idea,” Astral whispered back. “I hope it’s not something like Tirek again.” Secure nodded at that one. Just once, something the Guards could ‘actually’ handle would be nice. But nooo, seems the recent menu only had ancient evils that were well beyond their paygrade.
“Worry not,” Celestia said with a soft smile. “What I sensed may be unusual, it doesn’t feel overly dangerous. That said… I could also be wrong.”
“Real inspiring Sunbutt,” the thestral mare mused. “Well whatever it is, I’m sure we can handle it. We have two rather pretty meatshields back there~”
“What!?” Secure and Astral yelled.
“Kidding~” the mare giggled and winked. “Don’t worry, you two are much too cute for that. If it’s bad, I’ll protect you~”
“Midnight,” Celestia sighed and shook her head. “Alright, we’re here. Now what do you suppose it…” She trailed off as the ponies heard sounds emanating from within the maze. Something was definitely moving around in there. And whatever it was, it was getting closer.
Astral and Secure drew their spears and brought them to bear. The pegasus stallion pulling out a long, black bow as Midnight just stood there with a bemused expression.
There was a terse few moments as nothing happened, just the sound of rustling shrubbery and the clank of the armour of the ponies lying in wait.
“Hold,” Celestia said as she raised a wing. “Do not act unless I say so.”
“Ma’am,” came the murmur of all four guards as they suddenly flinched, a tall creature emerging suddenly from the maze’s entrance. It looked around, seemingly confused as to where it was. It was tall, at least as tall as Celestia herself. It wore clothing, but that seemed tattered and… charred in some places? A short, messy black mane covered it’s head and any visible skin was hairless and tanned. It’s eyes looked far too small, and when it noticed the ponies, they widened distinctly, the pupils growing smaller. It… looked afraid.
Then… it spoke? It was definitely speaking, though the language was completely incomprehensible.
“What… is it saying?” Midnight tilted her head.
“I am afraid I do not know,” Celestia said. She knew a few languages, some old and unspoken by any living creature. But this tongue of his was something new altogether.
“It’s not Equestrian, or Thestrali,” Midnight commented. “Princess, your orders?”
Then they all gasped as Astral started walking towards it.
“Soldier! What are you doing!?” Midnight hissed at her as the pegasus stepped closer, keeping her head down a bit, her ears back as she inched closer to the strange creature. When he saw her spear and took an uneasy step back… she puased herself and looked at the weapon, before gently setting it down on the grass.
“Archer, take aim,” Midnight said as the red stallion nodded and nocked an arrow, only for Celestia to shake her head.
“No, let’s see how this plays out,” she said with a small smile as Astral inched closer and closer. Once she was about a half dozen hooves away, she stopped and they pair just stared at one another for a moment.
“Can… you understand me?” she asked him, keeping her tone even. “My words. Do they make sense?”
The creature stared for a moment, then shook its head, speaking something in it’s odd language again.
“So that would be a no,” Astral sighed. She looked at her hooves and the way it seemed to carry itself. Something about it was… oddly pony-like in it’s facial expressions and tone. Taking a breath, she slowly extended her right forehoof towards it and raised it, holding it in the air.
Midnight’s whole body tensed up, preparing to leap at a moment’s notice as Secure clutched her lance, hoping her fellow guard wasn’t about to be eaten.
And then the creature folded in on itself? As if gravity and physics meant little to it as it’s legs folded under it, bringing its head down to Astral’s height. It was… oddly disconcerting to watch. How did such a creature do something like that and retain balance without a tail?
Nonetheless, it did and looked comfortable as it raised one of it’s arms, and pressed the palm of its hand against her hoof, leaving its fingers extended.
“I… think it’s okay,” Astral said, though not too loudly as so she wouldn’t startle it. “I think it’s friendly.”
“You’re lucky you’re not dead,” Midnight hissed back. “Honestly…”
“Oh, like you don’t do something crazy every other week,” Archer mused. “Who took on Tirek with her bare hooves again?”
“Woulda won if it wasn’t for that cheating prick Discord,” the mare mumbled.
Celestia let them bicker as she stepped forwards, mimicking Astral as she kept her head lowered and her wings tucked in to make herself as small as possible. That said, the creature did seem more wary, possibly due to her much larger frame… wait, where was he looking?
Her horn?
Ohh, her horn ‘was’ much longer. Perhaps it looked like a weapon to it?
So she mimicked him this time, tucking her legs under herself and laying on the soft grass.
“Princess?” Midnight asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Let us sit,” she smiled. “And figure this out hmm?”
Astral shook her head, snapping out of the memory as a series of rapid knocks on the door nabbed her attention. Before she could even hazard a guess as to who it was…
“Oi!” Stella’s raspy accented tone shouted out. “Ya gonna let me in or what cunts?”
“Goddammit Stella,” Astral and Antino echoed as the mare moved to open the door, letting the loud batpony inside.
“Thanks love!” she mused and planted a sloppy kiss on Astral’s cheek. The pegasus rolled her eyes. “So, where’s everypony else?”
“You’re the first one,” Antino said from the kitchen. “Want a drink?”
“I would let you bend me over that table for one,” Stella groaned.
“Pass, and look in the fridge.”
“Aww,” the batpony chuckled as Astral shook her head. She turned away from the door and took a step…
*knock knock*
“Of course,” the pegasus rolled her eyes and turned back, opening it. Standing outside was a unicorn mare. She had a pinkish white coat and a dark brown mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a sun hiding behind a trio of clouds, but Astral recognise those amethyst eyes easily.
“Ah, so you were able to make it Sunny?”
“Indeed, today has been a loooong day and this sounds like a good way to unwind,” the mare agreed. “May I come in?”
“Sure,” Astral stepped to one side as she entered. “Stella just showed up as well.”
“Aye!” the mare in question beamed from the kitchen entrance, sipping from a mug filled with some kind of liquid. “Sup Sunnybuns?”
“Greetings yourself,” Sunny Days chuckled and nodded her head. “I see you’re wasting no time on sprinting towards inebriation.”
“Aye!” Stella raised her mug.”Ya want one ye old prissy princess?”
Sunny snorted and rolled her eyes. “Please, like you could outdrink me you batwinged harlot.”
“Tha’ sounds an awful lot like a challenge,” Stella narrowed her eyes, Sunny returning the challenging stare.
“Just… don’t break anything,” Antino sighed as he glanced at the clock. Maybe Moondancer wasn’t planning to turn up after all…
*knock knock knock*
“Oh? Expecting somepony else?” Sunny asked with a small tilt of her head as Stella passed her a mug of ale. The she giggled as Antino practically bounded to the door, just barely reining himself in as he opened the door and looked down.
Okay, who was this pony? She was a blue unicorn mare with a dark blue and light grey mane and tail. The coat she wore obscured her cutie mark but she seemed to stare at him with equal confusion. Antino swore that he’d seen this mare somewhere before.
“Uhh… hi?” the pony waved her hoof. “Hiya. My name’s Minuette. It’s been a while huh?”
Oh? Oh! Now he remembered. He’d met her outside Joe’s one day and they shared a pretty decent conversation. Still, it didn’t answer the question as to why she was here now. Did one of the others invite her to Movie Night? Maybe Sunny? She didn’t seem like one of Stella’s friends.
“Uh, you okay?” Minuette waved a hoof in front of his face. “Heeeey, Equestria to Tino.”
“Huh?” the human snapped out of his introspection and looked back to her. “Sorry, I… was expecting someone else.”
“Ahhh,” Minuette nodded in understanding. “Maybe… somepony like this?” She reached out to the side and pulled someone else over, hugging a nervous Moondancer close to her. “Maybe somepony of the bookworm variety?”
“M-Minuette!” Moondancer blushed as Antion’s head slowly tilted. While her hooves had gotten cold at the last second, she should have figured that Minuette wouldn’t let her bail so easily. She looked up and noted the human’s confused expression. She put two and two together. “You said I could invite somepony,” she spoke out, though her voice was kind of quiet.
“Ohh,” Antino nodded. And stepped back, opening the door wider. “Please come in. It’s freezing out there.”
“No kidding,” Minuette shivered as she walked past him, Moondancer hesitantly following close behind. This was the first time she’d been in a stallion’s house before… well, apartment. Eh, same difference. Still, this was kind of nerve wracking…
“Oh hey, it’s the cute lil nerd from earlier,” a rather distinctive tone called out and Moondancer’s expression settled into a flat stare.
“Oh hey, it’s the loudmouthed bat from earlier,” she deadpanned without thinking. Everypony just… stopped and stared at her as Stella’s eyes widened ever so slightly. Why were they…
Oooh, she’d just said that to a pony that could probably murder her.
“I… um… I mean…” Moondancer stammered as the imposing thestral stepped closer and bared her fangs.
Before breaking into a wide grin and patting her hard across the withers. “Hahaha, now that’s whut ah’m talkin’ about!” she laughed and threw a leg around the back of the unicorn’s neck, dragging her further into the house. “See slags, this is how you get shit across.”
“No, pretty sure that’s most ponies default reaction to you,” Antino said with a roll of his eyes, and that earned his a swat from her tail as she hauled Moondancer over to where Sunny was sitting.
“It seems you’ve now made friends with Stella,” Sunny said to the unicorn and offered a small smile. “My deepest condolences.”
“Oh fuck off,” Stella snorted as she filled two glasses with some kind of amber liquid. “Oh yeh, this here is Sunnybuns. Come on down from high to grace us mere mortals with her radiant presence. Sunbutt, this here is…” Stella paused and looked at Moon. “Er, sorry bout that. I appear to ‘ave misplaced your name.”
“Moondancer,” the mare replied and held out a hoof.
“Sunny Days,” came the response from the other as they shook hooves. “A pleasure to meet you Miss Moondancer.”
Well, she seemed pleasant and polite, the exact opposite of the batpony next to her. How were they friends?
“Alright, so everyone’s here now?” Antino called out from the kitchen. “Astral? Could you set up the projector?”
“In a sec,” the mare said as she looked at the table where everypony else was.
Moondancer looked back at her, she hadn’t even noticed her until now. Then again, Stella had a way of standing out. “Oh, um… hello?” This new mare looked… kind of underwhelming. And… was she wearing a hoodie that was made to look like a suit of armour? Antino’s friends were more varied than a box of sampler chocolates.
And why were they all mares?
“That’s Astral,” Sunny pointed out. “She’s a bit shy around new ponies, so be nice to her okay?” She paused and then added. “Oh, she’s also Antino’s roommate.”
Wait? Roommate? Moondancer recalled that Antino mentioned a roommate, but she’d expected a stallion or something. Not a… well a rather attractive and demure pegasus mare.
“You seem to have a loooot of competition in this room Moonie,” Minuette whispered into her ear. “Don’t worry. As your bestest friend, I got your back.”
“Competition for what exactly?” Moondancer whispered back.
“Ye know ah kin hear ya right?” Stella wiggled her ears, causing the mares to flinch. “Trust me nerd. We’re not competition. I’m not interested in him… anymore. And Sunny here is so far out of his league that if his league exploded, she wouldn’t hear the sound for three days.”
“Love you too Stel,” Antino deadpanned. “So, no pineapple on your pizza then?”
“Tino, I’d blow you for that and you know it.”
“True.”
“And as fer the Sol here,” Stella moved over and pat the pegasus on the head with a wing. “Well… she’s about as gay as they come. So I’d worry about Antino having competition for you~”
“W-What!?” Moondancer felt her face heat up as she spluttered. What the heck was she even talking about? And what did that pegasi’s sexual orientation have anything to do with it?
“Stella!” Astral blushed as well, pushing the thestral away with a hoof. “Be quiet and go have your drink.”
“Aye aye,” Stella saluted and chuckled as she strode back over to the table. “Well, that’s everypony…” She paused and looked at Minuette. “Eh, almost. Who’re you?”
“I’m Minuette, Moondancer’s friend and moral support,” the blue unicorn replied cheerfully. “It’s super nice to meet all of you.” Her smile was so bright it was almost blinding.
“…I think I just got a bloody cavity,” Stella quipped as she sipped her drink, her comment went mostly ignored.
“Well, now that everypony is introduced,” Sunny said. “Miss Minuette, Miss Moondancer. This is your first Movie Night here yes?”
“Yuppers!” Minuette smiled and waved. “We weren’t expecting so many ponies here.”
“It’s the usual gang,” Sunny explained. “We get together every so often, eat a bunch of snacks that aren’t necessarily healthy and drink things that make the morning a little unbearable.”
“That… doesn’t sound fun,” Moondancer said, earning an eyeroll from the thestral.
“Perhaps,” Sunny said. “But most of us have jobs that… doesn’t offer much of a chance to unwind and be ourselves. So here, there’s no titles, no responsibilities. Just a group of ponies having fun and enjoying good company and often terrible movies.”
“Well it was Stella’s turn to pick,” Antino called out. “So expect either cheesy horror, gratuitous violence or weird foreign porn.”
“Ah have been known for those things,” Stella puffed out her chest with pride. “Somepony’s gotta keep ya on yer hooves.”
Moondancer and Minuette shared a look that ranged somewhere between abject horror and extreme regret. If this was the latter, they probably couldn’t bail out of this home fast enough.
“Ah, don’t ye worry about it,” Stella chuckled when she noticed their concerned expressions. “This one’ll be great, a cheesy B-Grade action flick.”
“Hm? Which one?” Antino called out, before entering the room, arms laden with bowls of popcorn, diced fruits and vegetables, mini pizzas and nachos.
“Steel Sky, ya know, tha’ one about the Unicorns from the dark side’o the moon coming down an’ invadin’ Equestria.” Stella held up the case containing the movie. “This oughta be good fer a laugh.”
“Hooboy, I know that one,” Antino mused as he returned to the kitchen to get the rest of the snacks. Meanwhile, Minuette sized up the shy guardspony mare that hadn’t been saying much until now. She tapped her chin and then smiled and nodded.
Moondancer felt hooves on her flanks, but before she could mount a proper retort, she was pushed across the room until she was nearly nose-to-nose with Astral, both mares squeaking in surprise. “Okay!” the energetic blue unicorn smiled widely, her grin almost blinding. “Let’s get some introductions done and become friends okay!”
“I… um…” Astral took a step back.
“This is Moondancer, adorable nerd pone and scholar,” Minuette ploughed on regardless. “She’s a new friend of Tino’s, but I think they’ll get along fine.”
“Y-You don’t say,” Astral said uneasily, more confused as to how to handle the hyperactive mare instead of being nervous. “N-Nice to meet you?”
“Sure…” Moondancer said, long since used to Minuette’s antics. Seriously, she should have picked Lemon to come along with her instead. “Nice to meet you too.”
“Yay! And with that, we are now friends,” Minuette clapped her hooves. “So tell us Astral. What's it like being a Royal Guard?”
“Ye know ah’m a guard too,” Stella said.
“They mean a real guard,” Antino called out from the kitchen.
“Oh fuck off!” Stella called back. “Least I got a job ya knob!”
“So do I, it's called ‘Professional Procrastinator’,” the human retorted. He soon emerged again and Sunny’s eyes widened as he put bowl after bowl of snacks on the table. Until she couldn't see the surface of said table underneath.
“Don't you think you went a little overboard?” the mare raised an eyebrow.
“You think so?” Antino asked as he looked at the buffet of treats. Candies, chips, cupcakes and an assortment of other delectables. Stella and Minuette were already helping themselves.
“Maybe not…” Sunny deadpanned as she watched the mares wolf down the food like hungry Timberwolves. She almost growled when they reached for the cakes, both mares wisely backing off.
Astral moved to finish setting up the projector and inserted the crystal disc. Bulky cassettes were a thing of the past now. “Is everypony ready?” she asked.
“I'd say so,” Antino nodded as he took a space on the couch. Minuette was quick to grab Moondancer and plonk her down beside him as she squished next to her. Astral on his other side, along with Stella as Sunny stole the beanbag chair.
Moondancer felt her face heat up… odd, it wasn't that warm in here. Was she coming down with something?
‘I should run some tests when I get home. The last thing I need is to get sick. Then again… It has been cold lately. I should look into getting my flu shots…’
She looked up to see that somepony had dimmed the lights and the movie was already playing.
‘What… when did… I really should stop spacing out like that. And…’ She adjusted her position and stole a glance to the person on her right. ‘He's… rather warm. Despite not having fur. Does he have a higher internal body temperature. Maybe I should ask Twilight if she has notes… Stupid question, of course she has notes. Probably a whole tome on him. Hmm, maybe I could switch to Xenobiology for a while.’
Antino glanced down and looked at his newest friend. She was staring at the screen pretty intensely. Was she that interested in what appeared to essentially be little pony Nazis.
Seriously, ponies were just adorable no matter what. Even serious space Nazis from the moon were just so damned cute.
‘I hope she's enjoying herself. I was worried she might not have shown up… but more surprised she actually did.’ He found that the unicorn had been in his thoughts lot since he'd first met her.
Minuette stared at the two spacing out again. There really was no helping them huh. And she couldn't offer verbal advice during a movie… Hmm, what do…
Then she caught Astral’s gaze and the pair gave a silent nod. Inching closer, they pushed the human and unicorn closer together, the mares now comrades in shipping. The fires of friendship forged in the embers of their OTP.
Moondancer and Antino hadn’t even noticed that they were pressed up against each other, each of them lost in their respective introspections. Stella laughing at a particularly cheesy scene of the villainess giving a rather dramatic monologue.
“Who do th’ badguys think monologuing is a good idea?” she asked nopony in particular, taking a sip of her drink.
“I suppose, it’s mostly for exposition,” Sunny replied, earning a shrug from the batmare.
“Tha’s what ah woulda thought,” she replied and took a long sip of her drink. “But remember Queen Bugbutt?”
“You know I do,” Sunny said, idly putting a hoof to her horn as old memories were dredged up.
“Well, she could monologue with th’ best of ‘em,” Stella pointed out. “I seriously didn’t think anypony would do something that…” She rolled her hoof in the air, trying to think of an appropriate word.
“Foalish?” Sunny offered.
“Inane?” Astral chipped in.
“Dunno, wasn’t there,” Moondancer and Antino said with a scary amount of synchronicity. That got them stared at by the others, but they seemed to ignore it fairly effectively.
“Yes well, it certainly cost her in the end,” Sunny said. “And to think, she might have actually won had she played the role a little more lowkey.”
“Mebbe,” Stella shrugged as something in the movie exploded. “At least until Princess Luna woke up. She’d have been pissed.”
“Only if they woke her up early,” Sunny giggled, getting the attention of Moondancer.
“You know Princess Luna?” she asked Sunny.
“Hmm… you might say that~” Sunny said with an enigmatic smile.
After the movie finished, several ponies got up and stretched, limbs giving off satisfying cracks as Antino cleaned up the snack bowls that had been emptied over the course of the evening.
“So um… what happens now?” Moondancer replied. Stella grinned, one of her fangs poking out as she put a wing over the unicorn.
“Now comes the night-long orgy!” she purred in a sultry tone that had Moon blushing up a storm and rapidly backing up. “Haha, just screwing with ya.”
“You know, maybe there’s a reason you have very few friends,” Antino deadpanned.
“I have plenty of friends,” Stella retorted, unfazed by his jab. “At least I’ve gotten laid. You probably can’t even masturbate without getting cold hooves.”
“Hmm, I dunno, I think an orgy might be a bit too much for Moonie,” Minuette nodded seriously. “The first time should be special ya’know.”
Moondancer and Stella stopped and slowly turned to stare at Minuette. The unicorn stood there for a moment, before grinning widely.
“Gotcha!”
Moondancer shook her head and sighed, while the batpony just laughed along with Minuette. Oh great, now they were bonding.
“This does not bode well for the world as a whole,” Antino nodded, his eyes closed in thoughtful seriousness.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Sunny said as she stretched her legs. “That does beg the question, the night still young… But I also have a long day tomorrow.”
“Aye,” Stella sighed. “Same, I have a shift for most of the day…” She looked at Minuette thoughtfully and smiled. “Mind you, maybe I’ll take a snack home with me~”
“Eh?” Minuette blinked as he bat threw a wing around her, leading her to the door. “Oh… um… okay? Bye Moonie! I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“If ya can still walk by the time I’m done,” Stella purred and nipped her ear as she tugged her out of the door.
“Astra!” Minuette called out. “I leave the rest to yoooouuuuu…” her voice fading away in the distance.
“....wat?” Moondancer had no idea what the heck just happened. How was Miss Stella still hungry after all that snacking?
“Hmm, I guess we should retire,” Astral said suddenly. “Antino. Since her friend is now… indisposed. Why don’t you walk Miss Moondancer home. Canterlot at night is no place for a mare alone.”
“Uh, sure?” Antino blinked as Astral chuckled. “Let me know when you’d like to leave okay?”
“I’ll clean up here with Sunny,” Astral said, her cheeks the slightest shade of pink. She got help get these nerds together and spend time with her crush… Win win~
“Well, if you say so,’ Antino said and looked at Moondancer. “Well, are you ready to head out then?”
“If it’s not a bother,” Moondancer replied and looked outside. It was gonna be cold out there… Buck. Astral noticed this and vanished into her room, returning a moment later with a thick jacket.
“Here,” she said. “It’s probably a little big, but it’ll keep you warm until you get home.”
“Oh… thank you,” Moondancer said as the coat was draped over her small frame. Mmm, it really was nice and warm. It looked well made too.
“Winter gear for the guards are the best,” Astral nodded. “Take care Miss Moondancer. And thanks for coming over. I hope everypony wasn’t too crazy for you?”
“Some more than others,” Moon replied with a light giggle. “But… I had fun tonight. Even if I spent half of it confused.”
“Happens,” Antino nodded as he put his own coat on. “Well, let’s head off then.”
Moondancer nodded and after a wave goodbye to Astral and Sunny… the latter stretching her wings and… wait, wasn’t she a unicorn a moment ago!?
Before she could get a better look, Antino closed the door and started leading her down towards the stairs of the apartment complex. Moondancer snapped out of her trance and trotted after him.
“H-Hey, was it just me or did Miss Sunny have wings for a second there?” she asked, wanting to make sure she wasn’t crazy… or that Stella had spiked her drinks.
“Mhm,” Antino nodded and smiled. “Little secret… you just spent the night watching movies and snacking with Princess Celestia.”
Moondancer paused.
Moondancer blinked.
Moondancer exe. has failed to execute and will be shut down.
“So there’s that,” Antino said as he nudged her shoulder. “Don’t worry, she just honestly likes spending time as a normal pony. Sometimes we have Luna over as well. And I’ve been meaning to invite Twilight up for a visit at some point.”
“If she doesn’t forget about you completely for years on end,” Moondancer muttered under her breath. Antino raised an eyebrow at that. Seems there was a story there. Likely one he shouldn’t get involved with just yet.
“Well, let’s get you home,” he offered with a smile. “This cold is no good for anyone.”
“Agreed,” Moondancer said, shivering despite the warm coat she’d been given. Falling into step next to him, she soon moved a little ahead when it became apparent that he didn’t know where she lived.
Canterlot at night was vastly different to Canterlot during the day. While some ponies were out and about, it didn’t have the bustling nightlife of say, Manehattan or Las Pegasus. Lampposts bathed the quiet streets in a gentle glow, Antino and Moondancer offering a greeting to patrolling officers.
Conversation between the pair was… rather quiet though. Given they’d been talking most of the day, they were now utterly lost for words for some reason. Just the gentle taps of shoes and hooves against the cobblestone pathway.
But when they were getting closer to her home, Moondancer’s nose wrinkled as something rather cold touched it. Looking up, beads of moisture hit her glasses.
“It’s snowing?” Antino spoke up, pointing out the obvious. “I didn’t think that was scheduled.”
“I don’t know,” Moondancer replied. “I never checked the forecast.” Still, snowfall would make the journey home more difficult if it got heavier. “We should probably hurry.”
“Yeah,” Antino agreed as his pace quickened. “Is it much further?”
“No, just two blocks from here,” Moondancer replied. “Honestly, thank you. But you should head back before the snow gets worse.” It was still light, barely able to be called a proper snowing just yet. But that could change soon enough.
“It’s fine,” the human shook his head. “I have long legs after all. And my apartment isn’t too far.”
Moondancer did agree he raised some valid points. His apartment was one made for Guards not residing in the barracks. So it was close to the castle. And her home was close to the library… which was also near the castle. So they only lived a few blocks away from eachother. “Still, I wouldn’t want to to catch a cold.” Given he was from another world, she wondered if he even could get sick with pony diseases. Her hooves kept moving as she thought, Antino nudging her out of the way of a lamppost.
She soon snapped out of it as she reached her home. It was an old building, which was why she’d gotten it so cheap. And since she’d not set the heater, it was bound to be freezing inside. Still…
“Thank you for seeing me home,” Moondancer said and turned to face him. The human was rubbing his arms, was he that cold? Admittedly the snow was chilling things quickly, but the wind had died down so it actually felt a little warmer. Oh wait! He didn’t have fur. Oh geeze, he’s probably freezing. And yet he’d walked her home regardless? Her eyes flicked back and forth as she thought and then nodded. “Would you like to come inside for some hot cocoa. I should have some of the instant stuff.”
Antino looked… surprised? But smiled and nodded. “Sure, that’d be great Miss Moondancer.”
“Hmm, alright,” the mare chuckled as she unlocked the door and removed the magical ones too. What? She had rare books. One could not be too careful. “And you can stop calling me ‘Miss’ all the time. Moondancer is perfectly acceptable.”
“Well, feel free to just call me Tino like everyone else,” the human replied as she stepped into the dark home, her horn lighting up as she walked over to her lanterns and turned them on. A light blush crossed her cheeks as she realised her place was an absolute mess. Books, books and more books were strewn everywhere. Not to mention empty instant noodle and takeout boxes as well as some errant clothes. Pretty much just black sweaters.
“Nice place,” the human said, either not noticing… somehow, or politely ignoring the chaotic mess. “It looks pretty cozy.”
“Um, let me just…” Moondancer’s horn glowed as she started picking up books and stacking them, before looking around and sweeping the rubbish under a table, the long tablecloth hiding the offensive clutter. “I’ll get started on that cocoa…”
“If my being here is a bother,” Antino said, as he watched her panicked cleaning. Sure, the place was a mess, but it didn’t really bother him. You should see his apartment when Astral got a weekend off. It was like a tornado hit the place and usually took him all day the next day to clean it up.
“No no no, I just wasn’t expecting a guest,” Moondancer replied as she moved to the kettle, igniting the wood stove with a quick spell before turning and firing a bolt across the room, igniting the fireplace. Antino blinked at the surprisingly good marksmareship and clapped his hands.
“Huh?” Moondancer looked puzzled as to why he was clapping, but turned back to her kettle. “How do you take it?”
“One sugar thank you,” he replied and looked around. She sure owned a lot of books, some were stacked as high as the ceiling itself. What he’d assumed were darkened windows from the outside, were actually blocked off by more bookshelves. A large study desk was pressed against a wall, inbetween the living room and kitchen. At the far end of the living room was a Princess single bed, and a door nearby which he assumed was the bathroom. The fireplace crackled a good dozen feet away from the bed, filling the room with ample light and warmth. The house was essentially one giant room, with only the bathroom seperate. Still, she made it look liveable.
“I… don’t usually have guests period,” Moondancer said as she walked over to him and held up a mug with her magic. He took it and cupped it in both hands to warm them.
“Thank you,” he nodded as he took a sip. Hmm, not bad. Could use a touch more powder though. And probably use boiled milk over boiled water. Still, it was good. “So, you live here all alone then?”
“Yes, I’ve been on my own ever since I left school,” Moondancer said. “It’s fine. I get to focus on my studies in peace and quiet.” She had nopony to ever bother her. Just… just her her books. Still, she never complained about her life. What was in the past remained there and she had no use for things like friendship…
At least until Twilight Sparkle came knocking all those years later. That… that had been an emotional week. Moondancer was still a little sore about it, years of anger didn’t just disappear overnight after all. But… they were getting there.
Then there was Antino. She’d have never had guessed in a million years that she’d make friends with someone like him. She’d come to think that he wasn’t rude, annoying and everything she’d first imagined. He was smart, witty and a little funny. His friends were varied, but she could see that he liked them all and they liked him in turn.
She found herself feeling warmer now and she shrugged off the coat that Astral had lent her. Even then, she wiped her brow as her cheeks heated up. Geeze, maybe she should try a cooling spell later.
“Is everything okay?” she heard a voice ask and looked up to see Antino staring down at her with a concerned expression.
“Y-Yes, everything’s fine,” she stammered back. Why was her heart beating so fast? Ohno, was she actually getting sick? “I guess I’m a little tired.”
“Oh,” Antino looked at his mug before tipping it back and drinking the rest of it. “Alright. I should head home anyway. Else Astral will have eaten herself into a coma on all those snacks.”
“O-Oh, okay…” He was leaving already? She hadn’t had a chance to ask him any of the questions she had. Yet if she was getting sick, she was worried he might catch it. “We should… hang out again soon then.”
Antino’s face brightened and he nodded, smiling widely. “Yeah, I’d like that very much Miss Moondancer.”
“I thought i said to drop the Miss part?” she chided him. “Go on, before the snow comes down.”
“Yes ma’am,” Antino chuckled as he headed for the door. “Take care Moondancer. See you soon.”
“Mhm,” the mare waved as the human ducked through the door and left. Once he had, she grabbed her medical books and flipped through them. Well, a cold certainly had the high temperatures. But she wasn’t feeling sleepy or achy. Nor was she nauseous. She checked others, but she was certain it wasn’t a panic attack or symptoms caused by night terrors or drug abuse.
“What the heck is wrong with me?” she said aloud. She removed the rest of her clothes and climbed into bed, pulling up the ‘Flame Insignia’ novel she’d been reading. “It’s probably nothing. Maybe just nerves…” She opened the book, forgetting what was happening since it’d been a few days.
Oh…
Seems the main character was falling in love with one of her teammates. The paragraph described her feelings. How her heart pounded like a wardrum whenever he looked at her. How her cheeks flushed and her words got twisted. When he saved her by shielding that arrow, she knew it had to be love…
“Love,” Moondancer snorted as she looked up. Her mind wandered to the human that had left a half hour ago and her heart started to beat harder in her chest. Her eyes widened and she rapidly shook her head, trying to purge her mind of his image. The more she tried, the more it stuck. Her heart racing and her face getting hot again.
“Oh no…” she put her book down as she stared at the door, her eyes widening more. “You have GOT to be kidding me!”