Nightfall sat at his office about ready to head on patrol when he hears and know at his door. HE walks over to see a guardspony holding a picnic basket. “Young pone if you’re trying to bribe me…. It’s working.” Nightfall said with a straight face.
“What? Oh Ugh… Sir.” The guard stuttered. “Moonlet said to drop this off for you. She said it’s for the break you two take at the fountain with Luna.” he continued.
“Is that so?” He looked into the basket. She had made her usual smiley faced sandwiches and brewed an extra thermos of tea as Nightfall is terrible at making it himself. “Thank you.” Nightfall said.
“So do you really know the prin--” Nightfall shut the door oblivious to the question the guard pony was asking. He was lost in thought about the basket and what it meant. The guard was still outside “Oh..uhmm, right… “ The guard said before returning to his post.
Nightfall armored up for his patrol and headed to the fountain where he’d have his first break. With Luna. By himself. “I don’t even know her like that.” Nightfall muttered to himself. “ This could not get anymore awkward…” he continued.
He sat at the fountain for a few moments and thought to himself, “Maybe she forgot. That would pretty great. A relief really.” He looked around and it was already five minutes into the break. Typically at this point if she hadn’t shown up she would until the next break. “Well thank Celestia for that. Good thing she didn’t show or this would be the worst night ever.” He said aloud.
“Is that so.” Luna said gently landing behind him has he put the thermos away.
“Ahhhhg!!!” Nightfall shouted. “Oh uh.. Ma’am… uhm… It’s not how it sounded.” he stumbled to say.
Luna just raised an eyebrow. “You’re a weird one aren’t you Nightfall?” Luna asked in all seriousness.
“Umm wow… ugh .. “ Nightfall sighed… “yeah….yeah I am, I guess. Not exactly great with social interactions and all that.” He said lowering his head.
“Well how about you start with some tea and sandwiches?” Luna asked gesturing to the basket.
“Oh of course ma’am.” He said while Luna glowered.
Nightfall set up the plates in silence and distributed the tea and sandwiches. Luna looked on, slightly amused but also confused. She never thought about it before now, but she noticed Nightfall hardly spoke at these breaks. It was usually Moonlet who did most of the talking while he set up most of the picnic. They sat down and munched on the food and sipped their tea in silence.
“Soooo… you and Moonlet figure things out?” Luna asked breaking the silence as she sat next to Nightfall on the fountain.
“Uhm..I don’t know.” Nightfall said awkwardly sipping tea from his glass.
“I see.” Luna said also awkwardly sipping tea.
“You didn’t want to support Promenade at her birthday party either?” Luna asked.
“Umm… well…” Nightfall muttered.
“So you’re avoiding Moonlet because you don’t know how to handle you situation. Hence the shift change.” Luna said raising an eyebrow.
Nightfall looked over at Luna “Ma’am, you of all ponies should know---”
“First!” Luna cut him off. “Don’t call me ma’am….ever. Second do not presume to tell me what I should know.” she added. Nightfall sank into himself lowering is head and ears while looking up at her as might a child being scolded. “And Third, I DO know that in my centuries as princess and overseer of the nights guard that your situation is not unique. And the ones that work out the best are the ones where both parties openly talk about it.” Luna lectured.
“I… still don’t know what to do… even if we spoke about it.” Nightfall said.
“You even sound like her.” Luna said with a smirk. “Ever unsure of what the other is going to say, or how the other feels. I am not saying it’ll be easy, I am also not saying it’ll work out the way either of you wish.” Luna said solemnly while she slowly glanced away. “But keeping things cooped up only makes matters worse. This I know all too well.” she continued.
“I’ll… I’ll talk to her next shift change.” Night said. Luna raised an eyebrow and asked. “Is she not at at Promenades birthday?”
“Yeah but I can’t go I’m at work.” Nightfall said.
“Do I have to fire you Nightfall? It’ll certainly solve a lot of your issues wouldn’t it?” Luna said with a smirk.
“Ma’am!” Nightfall exclaimed. “Uh I mean, Luna?” he continued.
“I reviewed the records and you didn’t attempt to put in leave or even ask your commanders for time off or support. So, I’m giving you the night off, and tomorrow night too.” Luna said.
“But what about my duties? What would the others think if I wasn’t here because of personal matters?” Nightfall said.
“Nightfall you are truly a hard working and determined captain. I don’t think anyone would blame you for taking a little time to yourself. Now get out of here before Promenade’s party is over.” Luna said.
Nightfall replied “But--”
“Don’t make me order you to have fun Nightfall.” Luna said.
“Yes, Ma--- Luna, and thank you.” He said softly, quickly giving her a hug. Nightfall bolts off to change out of his armor while Luna is left there thinking to herself. “Bold of you to do that Nightfall. Very Bold.”
Nightfall removes his armor and passes down the relevant information for duties to his second in command. He then heads over to the “Light and Sound” where he runs into Sapphire and her new friend Vernal Bloom. After a brief conversation he heads towards Moonlet.
“Oh! And one more thing Night! You should come by Vernal’s shop tomorrow. I have a feeling you’re going to need what she’s selling.” Sapphire said while Nightfall walks away.
“I’ll be more pleasant tomorrow I swear!” Vernal said. “First impressions aren’t my strong suite!” she continued. “Mine either apparently.” Nightfall muttered to himself.
“Heyyyyyy, Moonlet.” He said while sitting next to Moonlet at the bar. She starred with a blank expression on her face. Sugar Cloud saw from across the dance floor and slowly made her way over to Cherry Tune. They both laid low and made their way closer to Nightfall and Moonlet.
“Thought you weren’t going to make it.” Moonlet said crossing her hooves.
“I uhhh. Luna kinda helped me out.” Nightfall said.
“You spoke to Luna!” Moonlet said “Why!? When? What’d you talk about?” She panicked a little.
“At our break… that you brought the picnic basket for...” He said confused. “And nothing… just why I wasn’t here at Proms birthday….” he continued, leaving out the part about Moonlet.
“Oh… eheheh. Right.” Moonlet said.
“So I hear this place is pretty nice.” Nightfall said.
“It is.” Moonlet said twiddling her hooves.
They both sat there for a moment in silence. Before Cherry Tune slid from the side and over behind the bar again.
“So who wants a drink?” Cherry Said cleaning a glass with a towel.
Nightfall replied “Nah, I’m goo--”
“I recommend the Fire twister lemon margarita!” Sugar Cloud said sliding in from the other side also behind the bar. “It’s perfect for couples.” She continued with hoof guns.
Moonlet and Nightfall both shot a glare at Sugar Cloud. “Eheheh or perhaps not….” Sugar replied putting out a blow torch she found.
“Here, nothing beats a Sweet Apple Acres hard apple cider!” Cherry said cracking two bottles open and sliding one to Nightfall and one to Moonlet.
“What do you say captain? Chug it.” Moonlet says as she bounces her brow.
“Fine.” Nightfall taps the bottle on the counter then throws it back. “How about it, sergeant. Think you can keep up?” he replied.
Moonlet frowns then smiles. “We doing this?” she asked before pounding the cider back.
“Hey, hey, hey!!! Those are a rare commodity! You can’t just chug Sweet Apple Acre hard apple cider!” Cherry scolded. “If you want to do this---”
“And we are doing this.” Moonlet interrupted.
“Then we gotta go with the hard stuff.” Sugar Cloud added, pulling out a shiney bottle of distilled cider. “40 horsepower! That’s the stuff.” She continued.
“Hey Cherry! You left the stage! Get back up there and finish what you started!” Vinyl barked.
“Awww, but I ran out of things to play.” Cherry said.
“Well I know for a fact you play the banjo, you better get up there!” Vinyl insisted.
“Aww man, Okie…” Cherry said with a pouty face. “Don’t go too hard you two! I’ll be back in a sec.” Cherry said with a coy grin. Cherry Tune grabbed a banjo from back stage and proceeded to the microphone saying “Alright mah pones! Y’all heard from the best of the best now time to hear from the worst!”
“Oh no…” Moonlet said. “Um Vinyl, you better get her!”
“Why?” Vinyl asked but no sooner had she asked before Cherry began strumming her banjo. A deliberate offbeat and off key cacophony let out across the club. All manner of creatures at the club started booing and throwing stuff at the stage.
“Ughhh, I’m gunna hurt her.” Vinyl said calmly while walking toward Cherry. Vinyl motioned to Bon Bon, Lyra, and Octavia and they surround Cherry. “Mosh Pit!” Cherry cried out, slapping on some heavy metal in the DJ stand, and jumping into the crowd. The creatures and pones were un-amused with Cherry Tune but took to the heavy metal. As Cherry fell towards the group, as if parting a grand body of water, they split down the middle leaving Cherry to slam on the floor.
Just then Sunny Side and Promenade walked in from the balcony unsure of the commotion. Vinyl took back the DJ booth and regained the crowd’s favor adding her own twist to the heavy metal. The venue regained their energy and Vinyl took this moment to enjoy herself. “Gotta say, looks kinda fun!” Vinyl said before throwing herself to the crowd.
“I suppose.” Octavia said jumping off stage as well shortly followed by Lyra and Bon Bon. The crowd caught and lifted the mares into the air unlike Cherry Tune who had limped her way back over to Sugar, Moonlet, and Nightfall.
“Well Sugar Cloud, looks like I win this round!” Cherry Tune said knowing full well what she was doing.
“Oh the night is young dear sister! And my awkwardness knows no bounds!” Sugar Cloud replied.
“Shall we continue?” Moonlet asked.
“Hold on!” Cherry said. “We got the banquet upstairs to get to.” she continued.
“Then after we can finish what we started.” Moonlet said.
The group of friends move upstairs and the dinner went smoothly, offering all the junk foods a pony could dream of, nachos, hay burgers, chili hay fries. Dessert was something of a treat created by Sugar Cloud and Pinkie Pie earlier that day to include Sugar’s signature cloud cookies and the jointly named Pinkie Cloud Strawberry Fluff, but in cupcake form! The drinks kept flowing.
After the meal, the party continued on the third floor and parts of the Promenades group trickled down a few at a time. Moonlet, Nightfall, Cherry Tune, and Sapphire were the first to head down to finish their drinking game. After a couple of shots the two were starting to feel the warmth of the booze flow through them. This calmed them down enough and they began talking in between shots and eventually stopped the shots all together.
“Look, in all seriousness… I am glad you came out.” Moonlet said a little aggressively.
“Aye, and I am glad that you were here when I showed up.” Nightfall replied looking over at her. Sugar Cloud and Cherry Tune were “cleaning glasses” behind the bar again pretending not to listen in. Nightfall and Moonlet paused for a moment. Though they had quite a few beverages they were still aware of who was around and that kept them from talking too much. Promenade fully aware of their situation walks over to “order another drink” though she already more than both Nightfall or Moonlet.
Promenade walks in between the two and puts her arms around both of them. She leans over to Moonlet and whispers “Maybe the firepit... balcony.. would.. should… be a good place to talk.” Promenade struggled to speak a full sentence but got her point across. The balcony was largely empty and the fire pit was reserved for Promenade and her guests and it was empty. Moonlet leaned back a little and looked passed Promenade’s wings which were drooping due to how intoxicated the rather tiny mare was.
Moonlet nodded at Nightfall and he and Moonlet placed Promenade in one of the bar stools motioning to cut off Promenade to Sugar and Cherry. The two behind the bar nodded and placed a glass of water in front of Promenade as she laid her head on the counter, her face flush and with peaceful smile.
Moonlet and Nightfall walk outside to the fire pit with drinks in hoof and sit near the edge where the view of the night still sparkled with magic. “So… I like you captain.” Moonlet said not raising her gaze from her glass.
“When you say it like that, it makes it harder to say it back.” Nightfall said.
“Like what?” Moonlet asked.
“When you call me captain. As if you know, as you should, that captains and the guard can’t like each other like that. It is improper and unprofessional.” Nightfall answered.
“And you say THAT as if you feel the same way…” Moonlet replied looking up him.
Nightfall looked over saying. “I do, but we both know the code--”
“The code, just like Luna said huh.” Moonlet interrupted. “So true to the code of guard that you can’t live a little for yourself.” She added.
Nightfall replied with a hint of frustration “You know it’s not that simple. If word got out that a captain and his subordinate were--”
“Subordinate huh?” She interrupted again. “So you just see me as some subordinate huh? Not that I practically ran the night shift as a captain when we needed captains. Or that, between me and Cherry Tune, the both of us have been AND are in command of our own special units which no other guard has done in centuries? A position that only captains or commanders are entrusted to?” She continued.
“No you are not just some subordinate, but the laws we follow keep our guard strong and the titles help maintain discipline and line of authority. To ignore it for personal gain is against our oaths. It could set the guard back months.” Nightfall explained.
Cherry Tune and Sugar Cloud peered out the window and saw that Nightfall and Moonlet’s conversation was breaking out to an argument. Suddenly Moonlet stood up and quickly walked off back into the club. She quickly ran up to the fourth floor, she saw Sunny and Promenade sitting at a table and sat next to them.
Nightfall huffed and turned away as Moonlet stomped off. He gave a big sigh and then walked in through the doors to look for Moonlet. He scanned the crowds and made eye contact with Cherry Tune and Sugar Cloud who looked away as if not paying attention. Nightfall walked over and sat back at his bar stool.
“Well Cherry Tune, I believe we’ve found our winner.” Sugar said smugly.
“Yes indeed good mare. Such a spectacular failure. Crash and burned the whole way down.” Cherry Tune replied.
“And it was going quite well too.” Sugar said.
“Would you two cut it out.” Nightfall snapped. “Clearly I have no idea what I’m doing.” he continued.
Cherry leaned over and started to say, “Well capi-tan…” Nightfall frowned at her. “Perhaps we can be of some help?” She continued.
“Oh, unless you can change the code of guard then I don’t think there is anything you can do.” Nightfall said.
“No I’m afraid not, but we all know that you and Moonlet know exactly what to do. You just don’t like the options presented to you.” Cherry said.
“You’re starting to sound like Luna.” Nightfall replied.
“Well we did spend a lot of time together so I kinda look to her as a mentor and a friend. Buuuuut I know my best friend, and I know you. The both of you are smart enough to see the the few paths you two have.” Cherry said. “Tell you what. I might not show it, or act like it, or really convey that I am too bright…. however I’ve been looking into this for many moons now and I think you two should talk it out. For real this time, not at a party or at work, but among yourselves and me of course!” she added.
“Aww why not me too?!” Sugar said folding her arms and frowning.
“Shush you!” Cherry playfully quipped. “Here, this is a pamphlet of the Vernal Equinox Lantern Festival. Vernal Bloom showed it to me earlier. I was thinking of taking her myself but maybe you should. I think that’d be a perfect time to let it all out. But first! You have to apologize! Here this is her favourite drink. It’s a shot of moonshine, half ounce each of cherry liqueur and almond liqueur, muddled blackberries with mint, 4 ounces Iced Lavender Tea, and garnished with a passion Flower or it’s petals! I call it the Moonlet Lullaby! After her of course!” Cherry said.
“Wow… so you came up with this for her?” Nightfall asked.
“Yup! It helped her through a stressful period in her life where she had a lot of anxiety and found it hard to get sleep.” Cherry explained. “Now stop wasting time and go apologize, she’s upstairs.” Cherry ordered.
Nightfall took the drinks upstairs passing Sunny Side and Promenade on the way up.He cleared the hallway into the dining room and nodded at Moonlet. Moonlet nodded back and he walked over. “Cherry made this for you and told me to apologize.” Nightfall said.
“Not even going to pretend it’s your idea?” Moonlet said.
“Thought about it… but how would I know about the Moonlet Lullaby.” Nightfall said sliding one over to her.
“Fair enough.” Moonlet said. “So I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”
“Don’t apologize… that’s my job.” NIghtfall said with a smile. “Which i’m gonna do now. With this.” Nightfall added sliding the pamphlet over to her.
“The lantern festival? Did Cherry set you up for this too?” Moonlet asked. “You know! It doesn’t matter. I think it’ll be a great time despite how things work out so let’s live in the moment. I’ll go with you.” Moonlet continued. Nightfall remained silent as he had not expected such a welcoming response.
“What’s the matter captain. The Lullaby got you sleepy that quickly?” Moonlet asked gently nudging his shoulder before leaning her head on his shoulder.