"Try to sit still, dear."
Even in the midst of war, there were parties. And when there were parties, her hair needed to be scorched.
"You wouldn't sit still if your hair was being set on fire." Night Beauty sulked as her mother curled her hair. Despite her name, her mousy locks couldn't hold a curl, so the end result was always slightly windswept waves instead of curls.
Her mother sighed. "It's not that hot. I'm almost done, just give me a minute."
Night heaved a sigh. She knew her role was important, and she was much more adept in the ballroom than on the battlefield like Lux, but why did she have to get her hair curled?
I'll be with you soon, Lux. , she thought. We just need to wait for this stupid party to be over, and we can be together. I promise.
---------
"Try not to die, dear."
"Gee, thanks Auntie," Lux sulked, as said aunt adjusted the thin, concealable barding destined to be covered by her dress. She set her own amber levitation aura to work, brushing away the foreign blue glow at her throat. "I'll do my level-best not to get set on fire."
Her aunt sighed, "I do wish you'd take this a bit more seriously. Those Ravens most certainly will be."
Lux felt a scowl threatening to tug at her lips. She forced her expression to be neutral, at least for all of second or two before her mouth ran away from her. "Of course they will. Everyone is always serious about it. They insulted us in front of Her Highness, so naturally, ponies have to suffer."
"It's not that simple, and you know it," her aunt chided. "Now, does it fit right? It had better, if you want to be sure you make it back to see that stallion friend of yours that you're so keen to keep secret from us."
"There's no secret stallion." Lux knew how hollow it sounded, as technically true as it was. She couldn't keep from glancing at the mirror in front of her. She raised a hoof to brush self-consciously at her orange-gold mane. "Yeah, it fits fine. So, how long do you think this will take...?"
I'll be with you soon, Night. , she thought. Once all this senseless fighting is over, we can be together. I promise.
---------
Night moved through the crowd like a cat, trying to get near the window. In just a few minutes, she would be able to see Lux and the other members of the Shine family's army. Lux had told her about the attack on the nearby small businesses the Ravens owned in the city, and knowing that she could glimpse her Lux for a brief moment made her feel good.
"Miss Night Beauty?"
She whirled around to see a Shine noble behind her. Bright Shine, if she remembered correctly. A minor scion of the main line of the family. "Oh! Hello, Mr. Bright Shine, how good it is to see you." He had the same orange-gold mane Lux did. Lux....
"What were you doing near the window?" He asked with a funny little smile. She hated that smile.
"Just getting a bit of air." She waved a hoof. "There have been reports of thieves, assasination attempts, other nasty things around. Terrible." Cue slightly predatory look, let him know that he couldn't use her tactics.
"Yes, terrible indeed." His eyes narrowed.
"I'm a bit thirsty, can I get you a drink as well?" She crafted a perfect, charming smile. He'd see through it, of course, but the goal wasn't to ingratiate herself, as it might seem. Shine would drink his drink, while thinking he was so much smarter. And all the while he'd be dulling his edge.
---------
Lux moved through the darkness like a cat, each hoofstep considered and poised, each falling right where the previous left, to minimize and distort any tracks. It was an unnatural way to walk, ponies weren't meant to move in a predatory prowl, but long, harsh training could accomplish a great deal.
She kept her head low, trying not to look toward the Rosethorn Hall nearby, where she knew her Beauty was applying those same charms that had ensnared her so completely. For all she hated this, Aunt Glimmershine was right. If she wasn't serious about this, she would be dead. There was no time for daydreaming, as deliciously tempting as it was.
She nearly tripped over a discarded bottle when her mind found itself occupied with images of that dusky charcoal form that Luna saw fit to lovingly torment her with each night.
"Ponyfeathers," Lux swore, under her breath. A smack of levitation magic caught her just behind the ear, nearly making her yelp. She glared into the darkness that contained her partners in crime, hoping that she was giving that killing look to the right patch of shadow.
Scowling to herself, the unicorn drifted closer to the concealment of the buildings near her, as her companions did. Between the dark clothing and the ash smeared into her coat, to hide that noble, Canterlot white that ran through even her out-of-the-way branch of the Shine family, she wagered she was pretty hard to see.
That would probably be for the best, since Night would have warned her family, if just to save lives. There was going to be a trap waiting.
---------
She glanced out the large window, looking down at the alleyways where Lux would be sneaking. The attack would be starting soon. She practiced keeping her face surprised, as she hadn't warned her family. She couldn't do that to Lux. If either of her parents saw her anything but surprised and angry, she'd have hell to pay.
--------
Step by step, Lux was getting more and more nervous. Everything was going according to plan. Which wasn't Lux's plan. There'd been nary a whisper of resistance when the sleep spell settled over the earth pony guard outside the compound—
What were they thinking hiring an earth pony, when spells might be flying?
—and certainly not when one of her cousins had cast the spell to let them ghost through a section of the wall. They'd actually left wine barrels and bolts of silk out in the open, protected by no more than a cloth awning to keep out rain.
If they were being allowed this close, taking these risks, the trap would be devastating. All they'd have to do would be dispell the wall-passing magic and brace the gates, and they'd be doomed. None of their party knew how to teleport.
Lux's legs quivered under her, and hear ears folded tightly back against the armor held snugly to her head. Her heart was threatening to beat its way outof her chest. The urge to run was almost overwhelming.
She hadn't expected to die here. But at least some good would come of it. For her family, or even her Beauty's. She hoped that would be a comfort for that beautifully emotional mare.
Magical glows began to drift through the yard, the sight seeming washed out to Lux's blurring, watery vision. Her compatriots were taking advantage of the apparent short-sightenedness of the trading family they were here to ruin, scattering the flammable materials around. Lux didn't even know the family's name, it was better that way. All she knew was that they were vassals to the Ravens. That was supposed to be enough.
She blinked away at her tears and lit her horn grimly, trying to keep it from flickering from her own nerves as she unrolled one of the bolts of cloth, all the way to a spot below an open window. The curtains inside would catch, when the time came.
Her cousins and more distant family lined up around the front of the compound's main house, all impassively hooded, masked faces.
A dazzling flash burned across Lux's vision.
---------
Night continued to look out the window. Any second now....
A small plume of orange appeared on the roof of the Prose's home. More began to appear as the house began to look less like a house and more like a firework show gone wrong. More of the Ravens flocked to the window, surprised glares evident on their faces. Night fought to keep her face angry.
She could see the miniature outlines of ponies running away from the house, so at least the Prose family were alright. She could also see the outlines of about ten or fifteen other ponies running in the opposite direction, toward the Shine manor. Lux's team.
As the blaze neared its xenith, a symbol took shape in the inferno, a blazing phoenix in otherworldly blue flame. The Shine family crest. It was gone almost as soon as it had formed.
"Those insolent Shines!" She heard her father shout. As always, his deep, rumbling voice carried to every corner of the room. "They think they can burn one of our vassals' homes and put up their crest like this is all some game!? Schoolyard teasing?! We'll show them! We'll show them all!"
The other Ravens in the room cheered, along with Night, who's cheer was more out of excitement than agreement. Finally, she could go see Lux. Finally, the agonizing wait was over. Mumbling excuses, she hurried out of the hall, then took flight, low to the ground, to see her Lux.
-------
Her Beauty was there, right where they'd planned to meet, just a block from The Banner Mare, a posh, overly expensive club catering to their class and age.
Lux's previous stealth was long abandoned. Worse, she was drawing glances from everypony she passed. It might have been the frown promising impalement to anypony stupid enough to step in her way. Maybe it was the quick, nearly stomping steps she was taking. Perhaps it was how she hadn't bothered to get dressed after washing all that horrid charcoal out of her coat. She was as nude as a common country mare, without so much as a saddle on. She hadn't had the patience.
Even that dark mood didn't keep her gait from faltering, and her heart from skipping a beat at the sight of her Beauty. Her fillyfriend. Her special somepony.
The warm feeling in her chest, and the sweetness her own mental voice supplied with that stupid phrase just made her all the more mad.
"What in Celestia's name were you thinking?!" she found herself shouting, when she was a few paces away.
"If I told my parents about the attack they'll want to ask how I found this out and then I'd have to tell them about you and then I'd never get to see you ever again!" Night gushed without taking a breath. She reached out to pull Lux into an embrace. "I don't want to never see you again."
Lux stiffened when that foreleg went around her neck. It was impossible to properly glare with the darker mare attached to her. It took long seconds to translate that flood of excuses into proper Equestrian anyway. Those moments were calming, at least. Lux lowered her voice to a hiss. "Make something up. Tell them you seduced a Shine or something." Sisters knew that was true enough anyway. "If they'd known we were coming, there would have been an open brawl. Celestia wouldn't have been able to ignore it."
The pale mare squirmed from Night's embrace, pushing her back with a hoof on her chest. Her voice dropped further, but became no less serious for it. "Ponies probably died tonight, Beauty. They certainly will soon."
"Nopony died, Lux. I saw the Prose family get out safely. Everypony involved is alright. You're alright. I don't care if every member of my family died as long as this" -she pecked Lux on the cheek-"is kept as under wraps as possible. I'm a terrible liar, you know that. Even if that's not technically a lie, one look from my father would make me spill everything."
"You could sell sand to a camel," Lux protested. She flailed a hoof toward Beauty's hindquarters. "Do that tail-flick thing while you're lying. Nobody can think properly when they see that, nevermind catch a lie."
"It's all over now anyway. I'll keep that in mind, but now it's all over, Lux. And everypony's fine. It's okay."
Lux tried to be angry. She really, really did. But somewhere along the way she found herself with her muzzle buried in Beauty's neck. "Next time I'll fill you in on my devious plans beforehand," she said, through a faceful of sweetly perfumed darkness. She was sure it sounded properly pathetic.
Night laughed. "I love you too, Lux. I love you, too."