Aphelion and Misty were waiting near the entrance of the castle, their afternoon spent in the royal library spent in search of any information concerning 'Arcane Highway', the powerful teleportation spell used by Aphelion's father to kidnap the ponies sent to excavate what remained of the manor. Unfortunately, their search had proven fruitless despite their best efforts. Deciding to call it quits for the day as the clock struck 6PM, the two unicorns patiently waited for Sandstorm to join them, all the while discussing other leads to follow the upcoming day.
"... Maybe we can try and see if Princess Celestia has a private library in her room?" Misty wondered out loud.
"Perhaps, but would she let us just search through her belongings, if that was the case?" Aphelion replied.
"Well, if we can argue our case well enough, maybe. We could also check with Luna, though I doubt she's had the time to fully rebuild her collection yet."
"Hm. Talking about Luna, how about that abandoned lab we found underneath the castle?"
"I heard Celestia tightened the security near the entrance. Nopony managed to breach the entrance yet, but with Luna's return, maybe she can help. I think it's fair to assume this place belonged to Nightmare Moon," Misty said while stretching. "... What's taking Sandstorm so long?"
"No idea. Maybe Luna sent her on a secret mission."
"Or she said something stupid and ended up back in jail."
"That... Does sound like something she'd do."
Misty groaned. "C'mon, don't tell me she found a way to weasel her way out of paying for drinks?"
"She probably has a reason why she's... Oh, there she is!" Aphelion nudged toward a yellow earth pony slowly exiting the palace. Dragging her hooves as she stepped, Sandstorm was lost in her thoughts, staring into nothing. Misty and Aphelion quickly trotted up to her, noticing the earth pony's inner turmoil.
"... Are you alright, sweetie?" Misty asked as she tilted her head.
Sandstorm, suddenly snapping out of her thoughts, nodded. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you guys. Yeah, I'm doing great! So, how about that drink, huh?"
While Aphelion took Sandstorm's response at face value and nodded in agreement, Misty understood immediately that something was weighing on her marefriend's mind... Something that she wasn't ready to talk about. She sighed, then answered. "If you say so. Well, then lead the way."
Aphelion stared at the large sign above the busy building as Misty and Sandstorm were talking with each other. Large purple letters spelled out 'The Vault' and loud music boomed through the closed doors. Not being used to going inside this type of place, Aphelion felt a wave of anxiety take hold of him at the thought of joining the large crowd inside. His ears already hurt from the music even though he stood outside, making him want to turn back even more.
Noticing his distress, Sandstorm quickly trotted up to him and placed a hoof on his shoulder. "You okay, bud?"
"Uh... Yes, I think so. I'm just not used to... Well, this kind of place," Aphelion replied as he kept staring at the sign.
"Yeah, I figured as much. Don't worry, though. This place is chill. Been there a few times in the past, only good vibes."
"I don't doubt your pick, Sandstorm, I'm sure it's a lovely place. I just need to, well... Get used to the... Vibe?"
Sandstorm observed Aphelion's face more closely, her usual smile fading for a moment. She turned her head toward Misty, who shrugged, not caring too much where they would go for drinks. Turning her attention back to Aphelion, Sandstorm spoke with a surprisingly soft voice. "Listen, there's no shame if you don't wanna get in there. I, uh, tend to forget you've spent your whole life almost entirely alone. We can go to someplace smaller, if you want. Just say the word... Or just nod, if speaking's a bit hard right now."
Surprised by this sudden show of care, Aphelion closed his eyes for a moment. The mere thought of going inside terrified him and a part of him did want to take Sandstorm's offer, but another voice spoke to Aphelion. So far, most of his youth had been stolen away by the pact. Thinking back on the countless lonely nights, his only companions being his books, his tools and the silent mansion staff, his longing for freedom, the repressed dreams of normalcy...
At that moment, as he watched the crowd of ponies through the club's windows enjoying themselves, laughing, dancing and drinking, Aphelion truly understood what he had missed. He took a deep breath of the cool evening air, feeling the chill fill out his lungs before exhaling, his mind coming back to the here and now, his anxiety dissipating as his lungs emptied out, he looked at the two mares in front of him.
Aphelion was afraid of going in, but he was also more afraid of missing out on this type of experience. He was already so behind in life, taking things one step at a time would be too slow for his liking. What he needed was to take a leap of faith. With a determined look on his face, he focused back on Sandstorm.
"No, I'm fine. Just needed to psych myself up first. Let's go in."
Not too long after entering the Vault, the trio found themselves seated not too far away from the counter. Next to their table, a large area of the bar had been turned into a dance floor, countless ponies dancing with varying degrees of grace and style. Near the back of the room, a white unicorn mare wearing purple glasses played music through massive speakers. Taking a moment to take in the atmosphere, Aphelion's fears quickly vanished as soon as he entered the building. His only issue, however, was the fact that the music prevented him from hearing whatever Sandstorm had been trying to ask him for the past five minutes. Aphelion, in doubt, had been nodding along.
Clearly, this wasn't the answer Sandstorm was hoping for as the yellow mare became increasingly exasperated while Misty chuckled at the display. Eventually, Sandstorm grabbed Aphelion and forcefully pulled him closer to her before leaning toward him and practically screaming into his ears: "For the tenth time, what the buck do you wanna drink?!"
Aphelion, suddenly remembering about the whole point of a bar, attempted to answer, trying to match Sandstorm's volume. "Uh... Whatever beer they have that's not too expensive?"
"You sure? I'm paying for the first round. Misty and I are taking shots to get started."
"Oh... Then, I'll take the same, thanks!"
With a relieved sigh, Sandstorm nodded before heading for the counter. Turning his head to Misty, Aphelion saw that she was speaking to him, but wasn't screaming like Sandstorm. Thus, Aphelion once again couldn't understand anything. Instead of nodding senselessly, Aphelion instead pointed to his ear while shaking his head. Misty's horn instantly lit up in a gray glow before releasing a spell in mere seconds. Feeling his ears tingling for a while, Aphelion looked at Misty with an inquisitive look before noticing that the music had become a lot quieter all of a sudden, much to his relief.
"Can you hear better, now?" Misty asked calmly, her voice reaching Aphelion's ears clearly.
"Yes, that's much better, thanks! I didn't know that kind of spell existed."
"Well, you learn some unorthodox spells when partying every week. I also know the right incantations to get rid of hangovers almost instantly!" Misty was beaming as she spoke.
"That's pretty useful. I didn't know you were the kind to party often, Misty."
"Ha! And you haven't seen me drunk yet! Just as a heads up, after a few drinks, Sandstorm's the responsible one. Don't be too surprised if I end up passed out drunk by the end of the night."
Aphelion chuckled nervously. "Are you sure it's a good idea? We have a lot of work tomorrow, and not that I'm doubting your... Anti-hangover spell, but shouldn't we try keeping a clear head for —"
"Screw that! I've spent a whole bucking month locked away in a cell, same for Sandstorm and you just woke up from a coma. I think we deserved to let out some steam."
"I... Guess so. Still, I think I'll take things slow for tonight."
"That's fine, as long as you enjoy yourself. It's your first time in a bar, right?" Misty asked before scanning her direct surroundings. "... Or first time in a night club. No idea where Sandstorm dragged us, to be honest."
"Yes, first time in that kind of environment. It's... A lot louder than I imagined."
"You'll get used to it, don't worry."
Coming back to the table, Sandstorm was carrying a small tray with six shot glasses, each filled with a green liquid. Setting it down on the table, Sandstorm took a deep breath before yelling at the top of her lungs: "Alright, I got the first round!"
Immediately covering his ears, Aphelion winced at Sandstorm's loudness. Misty chuckled, then patted Aphelion's back. "I did the muffle spell, no need to shout any more... Unless you wanna scare Aphelion away from his first bar... Or club... Or wherever you brought us to."
"Oh... Sorry, Aph'. Anyway, I got us two shots each instead of one. There's some sort of happy hour going on, so the booze's cheap right now. I hope that's fine with you, Aph'?" Sandstorm asked.
"Dibs on his second shot if he doesn't want it!" Misty excitedly said.
"That's fine, thanks. Anyway, what kind of shot is it?" Aphelion replied while eyeing his shots.
"It's a Prench liqueur... 's called 'Chartreuse'. It's made out of —"
"Cheers!" Misty yelled, cutting Sandstorm off, before slamming her first shot glass down, already empty.
"... C'mon, Misty, take it a bit slower. I don't want to scrape you off the dance floor before 10PM," Sandstorm sighed.
"Last time doesn't count. You wanted to stay sober, so I had to drink for both of us," Misty pulled her tongue out.
"I... Don't think that makes much sense," Aphelion replied, a bemused look on his face.
"I swear, she turns into some depraved alcoholic demon as soon as there's booze in her system..."
"I can see that. Well, in any case... Cheers?" Aphelion hesitantly said while raising his shot above the table, the glass floating in a faint yellow glow. Sandstorm smirked before grabbing her own glass while Misty levitated her second.
"That's the spirit!" Misty cheered.
"Hope you can hold your liquor, Aph'. Misty's already a pain to foalsit, dunno if I can keep an eye on two drunken idiots."
Aphelion smirked. "Who knows? Maybe I'll drink you under the table," the gray unicorn smugly said before downing his shot. Feeling the unusual burning sensation travel down his throat, Aphelion instinctively shivered. "... Okay, maybe not."
Sandstorm laughed before easily downing her own shot, as if it was filled with water. "That's what I thought... But points for confidence, though!"
"Yeah, I probably should've started with something less... Intense," Aphelion smiled. "Anyway, I meant to ask earlier... How did it go with Princess Luna? What did she want to talk to you about?"
"Just... Stuff, I guess. Nothing too important. I'm sure she'll tell you all about it at some point in the future, though."
Misty, noticing Sandstorm's smirk waver ever so slightly when mentioning her meeting with Luna, jumped in the conversation. "Well, whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow. We're here to have fun, dammit!"
"... Well, you did mention something about telling me the reason why you two used me as bait on our little trip underneath the castle," Aphelion spoke with an unsure tone. "But I understand if you want to keep that for later."
"Ah... Right. No, we probably should rip the band aid once and for all," Misty said while looking to the side, feeling shame.
"Yeah, true... Well, first, Aph', you need to know that this wasn't Misty's idea at all. Heck, I wanted to help you get out of that with us, but... It was too risky."
"Too risky? No offense, but you could've taken down every single guard in that tunnel. Why didn't you?" Aphelion spoke, not with an accusatory tone, but with a calm and curious voice.
"Back then, I wasn't sure whether Misty was safe or not. Sure, she had run ahead of us and used some... Fog spell thing to get by unnoticed, but there was no way for me to be 100% sure. Getting you out of there would've taken too much time, during which anything could've happened to her. I also could've been captured myself. You say I'm strong, but even I have my limits."
"... And we swore to each other that whatever comes our way, we wouldn't let anything separate us," Misty added with a sigh. "This may sound horrible, but I would've done the same were I in Sandstorm's situation, even though I hate to admit it."
"Yeah. So, it wasn't personal, if you were wondering. I do regret having to leave you behind, and I'm sorry for that, but if I was sent back then, I would do the same in a heartbeat..."
"Still, Aphelion, we're sorry. This whole robbing the royal castle idea was ill-conceived, and we never should've dragged you into our mess. Our orders were to simply make the trade and leave... But Sandstorm saw an opportunity."
Aphelion, who had been listening carefully, tilted his head. "What opportunity?"
"The Summer Sun Celebration. We were planning on trying to get dirt on some noble asshole to get in Mud's good books, just so that he'd stop keeping such a close eye on us. We were planning on running away from everything, y'know. All we needed was a window where Mud was too busy extorting the royals... And when we met you, I instantly thought about using you," Sandstorm finished her sentence by downing her second shot, already knowing what question would come next.
"... But why me, though?" Aphelion asked.
"Two main reasons. One, you're an unicorn. We needed somepony else good with magic to get in. And second reason... Because you were part of the Crescent Pact. We... Or rather, I thought you were some crazy cultist. If some bad things happened to you during that mission, I wouldn't have cared too much. One less crazy power-hungry unicorn in the world, I thought..."
"But you quickly proved us wrong," Misty continued. "We hadn't met many members of the Pact until that point, and all the ponies we saw were varying degrees of insane. You were the first one that wasn't... Completely unreasonable."
"Yeah. I mean, buck, you're actually fun to be around! Still, that doesn't really matter. I left you behind, and for that, I'm sorry."
"I am as well, even though I wasn't there when it happened. We were using you for our own gains because we assumed you were just another nutcase from the Pact."
The gray unicorn closed his eyes for a second, lost in his thoughts. His face remained expressionless, causing Misty and Sandstorm to wonder if Aphelion was angry with them. Eventually, he opened his eyes, looked at Sandstorm, then Misty, before taking his second shot, grimacing as the alcohol hit the back of his throat. "Well, I already forgave you two a while ago, but it's nice to finally get your side of the story."
"Wait, you... Already forgave us?" Misty asked, incredulous.
"Yes. At first, of course, I was less than pleased with you two, but I couldn't bring myself to be genuinely angry. Still, I wanted to bring you two to justice, because it felt like the right thing to do at the time... But things changed while Steady and I were in Manehattan to capture you two. Or, rather, when I met Sandstorm in the woods outside of the city. I had overheard your previous disagreement and I... Kind of understood."
"Understood what?" Sandstorm tilted her head in confusion.
"That you two care a lot for each other. To be honest, I was able to guess why you ran. And... I don't know, even though you were using me, I still valued our friendship. We had only met for a day, and it ended with me in jail, but it was the first time I was meeting somepony from outside the Pact that wasn't... Well, like you said, insane in some manner. I knew what you did was bad, but I didn't want to hold it against you two."
Misty blinked a few times, unsure how to respond. Sandstorm, however, beamed a smile at Aphelion. "You're a bucking saint, Aph', you know that?"
"Well, I still think you two owe me one, but that's more due to the fact I've been vouching for you two to Princess Celestia. For some reason, she was really open to the idea of not throwing both of you in front of a judge when I started saying you weren't that bad."
"This is probably because of this whole 'Power of Friendship' thing that's been going on in Ponyville recently," Misty eventually said.
"Actually, what's up with that? I heard something about relics and harmony, but none of that stuff was clear," Aphelion asked.
"Buck if I know," Sandstorm shrugged. "Misty's been keeping up with that crap. She can tell you while I'm getting us some more drinks," the yellow mare said as she stood up from her seat and began heading back toward the counter.
Misty, in turn, began explaining to Aphelion the recent events surrounding a strange group of six ponies that became what was known as the Elements of Harmony. When Sandstorm came back to their table with more drinks, the trio began drinking for a long while, talking about anything that came to their minds and having a good time. Misty and Sandstorm felt a huge weight lift off of their shoulders after apologizing for leaving Aphelion behind the first day they met, and Aphelion was glad to enjoy what many would consider a typical evening in a bar with friends, for the first time in his life.
A few hours later, Misty was completely wasted and giving everything she had on the dance floor, her moves sluggish and drunken barely resembling any sort of dance. Sandstorm and Aphelion were watching Misty's wild flailing from their table, both feeling inebriated though nowhere near as much as the pink unicorn.
"Well, shit, guess you can hold your liquor quite well after all," Sandstorm chuckled.
"Guess so... That's the only good thing I got for my father," Aphelion replied with a shrug.
"Hm. Where d'you think he is, by the way?"
"Don't know. Some mansion that belongs to the Pact, for sure, but..."
"But?"
"... I don't know. I just don't think I wanna see him again, but that's not really an option."
"Fair enough. I know what that's like, having shitty parents."
"At least, yours weren't part of a cult."
Sandstorm, thinking about what Luna had said about the origins of her family on her mother's side, sighed. "... Yeah, I s'pose. Though... Well, actually, I'm being mean to them. Mine aren't that bad. They're just..."
"Just what?"
"... Old fashioned. They were great except for the part where they'd disown me if they knew I was dating Misty."
"Why would they... Oh. I'm sorry."
"Yeah... Me too. The worst part is, I'm too afraid of standing up to them. Shit, I'm fine with robbing banks, blackmailing nobles, foalnapping ponies and just hurting ponies in general, but my folks... I dunno. I'm afraid."
"Does Misty know?"
"Yeah... And she tries to be supportive, to tell me that it's fine and shit, but I know that she's hurt by it. I just wish I was strong enough to... I dunno, do the right thing. If not for me, then for her... But it's hard. So bucking hard," Sandstorm wiped her face with a hoof, removing the tears that were already streaming down her face. Aphelion, not knowing what to do, placed a hoof on her back, hoping to comfort her.
"... I'm sure things will figure themselves out eventually. If you, uh, need my help with anything, I'll do my best... Even if love matters aren't really my forte."
Sandstorm chuckled. "Thanks, that means a lot. But while we're talking about that sort of stuff... Seems like you and Glaze were hitting it off, eh? At least, according to Steady."
Blushing brightly, Aphelion gazed at his half-full glass of beer. "Y... Yeah, I guess so. Though, to be honest, anypony that's giving me any sort of attention is usually enough to get my heart going."
"Well, yeah, you spent your whole life basically holed up in your room. I'm assuming the dating pool in the Pact was pretty shallow?"
Aphelion scoffed. "There's only arranged marriages. No place for sentimentality, I'm afraid."
"Good. You deserve somepony nice, Aph'... Like Glaze. I'm sure she's got the hots for you. And if she doesn't, then screw her. Heck, if it doesn't work out with her, you've gotta let me play matchmaker!"
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks... I should probably ask Glaze out first, though... Even if I have no idea how to do that sort of stuff."
"If you want my advice, just... Do it. Don't overthink it, just trot up to her and ask if she wants to have a drink or eat lunch with you."
"Is that how you and Misty started dating?"
"Well, we skipped over a few steps. We did a lot of... Things together before she asked me out. I'm gonna be honest, that was the happiest day of my life, even though we were kind of dating already. Kind of weird how these things work, huh?"
"I can only imagine. I'll... See if Glaze wants to spend some time together next time I see her, then."
"That's the spirit, dude. Anyway, I think it's soon gonna be time for us to go. Misty's got that look on her face..."
"What look?"
"The one that says: 'please bring me home, Sandstorm, before I start really embarrassing myself in front of everypony'."
Looking at Misty's attempts at moving with any coherence at all, Aphelion chuckled. "I think it's too late for that... But you're right. Do you need help to take her outside, or...?"
"Actually, yeah, if you could make sure she doesn't grab anything else to drink with her magic while we get out, that'd be nice."
"Alright, I'll do that. She's a bit of a lightweight, huh?"
"Don't even get me started on that."
And so, standing up from their seats, Aphelion and Sandstorm began the laborious process of going back to their rooms in the castle, all the while dealing with Misty's inane drunken ramblings and vague attempts at keeping their party going. An hour later, Aphelion was finally back in his bed, quickly falling asleep with a smile on his face.