Nightfisher sat on a narrow ledge, high atop a tower, overlooking Canterlot, doing her best impression of a gargoyle.
She had grey shaggy fur. Her mane and tail were an odd purple-brown colour, and her wings were brownish and leathery. Her mane whipped in the wind. Her piercing orange eyes surveyed the castle grounds below. Her cutie mark was a leaping fish.
She bathed in the warmth of the moonlight, taking it all in.
She was Mare Imbrium, the first of Luna’s Lunar Mares, a secretive group dedicated to eradicating everything that went bump in the night. When things went “bump” Mares like Imbrium arrived to bump back.
Far below her was Luna, out enjoying the night with her troublesome and fussy foal. She could hear the foal’s wailings all the way up on her lofty perch. She had been there that day when Luna had rescued the foal from it’s terrible fate. A faint stench of sulfur rose up to her nose.
The foal was problematic.
Nightfisher had discovered, by accident, that she was utterly immune to the foal’s strangling gas. It had made her cough a bit, and made her eyes water, but it was not instantly lethal to her or her kind, the lunar pegasi. Luna had practically cried tears of relief upon this discovery.
The foal quieted.
Nightfisher could see a nauseatingly green cloud below. Another accidental discharge of magic. Imbrium sighed. Luna had to be becoming somewhat frustrated by now. So much effort was being put in to restrain Brimstone’s magical abilities.
She raised her eyes, looking out over the lights of the city. Electric lights. Gaslamps. Magic lights. Out of all the light sources, Imbrium, like most of her kind, prefered gaslight, or no light at all. Electric light was harsh and magic light was piercing to the eyes. Gaslight had a certain glow.
In the distance, she could see the lights of Ponyville. She had been there recently, to take care of a little problem. She had met Pinkie Pie, a bright pink pony. Pinkie Pie was a delightful surprise and a strong potential ally in the war against the creeping darkness.
Her tufted ears pivoted, hearing the fluttering of feathered wings. Something approached. She sniffed, smelling pegasi. She could hear the heartbeat of the approaching pony. Her senses were supernatural. There was a faint hint of urine in the air… Somebody didn’t do a very good job of shaking when they were done. Male urine.
Nightfisher scowled.
She was brooding. It was impossible to brood when there was some other nosy pony around. It drew closer.
She turned her gaze upon her visitor, an off white ivory coloured stallion with yellow and brown mane and tail. He was large for his kind, and solidly built.
He landed on the narrow ledge and sat down on his haunches, mimicking her pose.
“What brings you here, solar sta…”
“Don’t start with that!” The stallion interrupted. “Solar, lunar, we’re both ponies. Let’s not forget that.”
“Very well Captain Sunflower. What brings you here?”
“Are you always on duty? Shall I call you Mare Imbrium? Or might I be more informal?” He turned to her, smiling slightly in the moonlight.
“Alright then. Sunflower, what brings you here?” She asked, the first notes of impatience entering her voice.
“I came to see if a certain mare I know was out brooding. And to ask a few questions. Maybe some idle chit-chat.” He shook out one wing, causing a loose feather to be dislodged. It floated away on the breeze.
Nightfisher sighed. Her ears drooped. So much for brooding. Sunflower just wouldn’t leave her alone. It was getting annoying.
She pondered flying away. Or simply shadow diving into the darkness and shadow winking to someplace else. Yes, a long distance teleport was tempting right now, as fatiguing as it might be.
“Ask your questions,” she said, turning her gaze away to look at Luna below her, “And let’s get this over with.”
Sunflower smiled. He had a lopsided smile. His face was scarred, causing his cheek to scrunch slightly. One ear was notched and missing a bit.
“How are you this fine evening?” His question had a teasing tone.
Nightfisher’s face soured. “Look here you cheeseball solar pony, I’m not in the mood for small talk.”
Sunflower’s smile widened a bit.
“Fine then,” he replied, “I’ll get to what I was really thinking about earlier, when I thought about you. I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately…” his voice trailed off, and he lifted a hoof to his chest.
Nightfisher rolled her eyes.
“OK, serious question time,” Sunflower said, tapping his hoof against the ledge, “I wanted to know, what is it like being a lunar pegasi?”
Nightfisher nearly choked. She had expected a lot of questions. Mostly cheesy questions of a quasi-romantic nature. Sunflower seemed smitten. She had never been asked this question before by anypony. Nopony had ever bothered to ask her about their differences.
“Oh, and before I forget...” he buried his head into a small saddlebag, rummaging around, and finally emerging with a fish held in his mouth. He set it down on the ledge and then spat a few times, trying to get the taste out of his mouth.
Nightfisher had to strain to avoid smiling. He looked silly, his face contorting, his lips pulled away from his teeth.
“Picked it up just a while ago from the griffon fish market. The one I know you go to when you don’t catch fish yourself. I asked the fishmonger what you liked. He said this one has roe. Whatever that means.” He smiled at her.
Nightfisher’s mouth watered. Salmon. Full of roe. Her body betrayed her, she had to slurp to avoid drooling.
“Thank you,” she said shyly, “it is very thoughtful of you.” She lowered her head down and picked up the fish, head first, and it started to slide down her throat. She bit down when the tail was near her lips, releasing a mouthful of roe. It flooded her mouth, coating her tastebuds, causing her eyes to roll back in her head. With a gulp, the tail was pulled past her lips and disappeared.
Sunflower repressed a gag.
“What’s roe?” Sunflower asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.
“Fish eggs,” Nightfisher replied, wiping her muzzle with her foreleg, “that fish was full of eggs.”
This time, Sunflower gagged. He couldn’t help it.
Nightfisher let fly a thunderous belch. She had no doubt that Luna could hear it down below. It was certain that she would be scolded later.
“So, what is it like?” Sunflower asked, cocking his head slightly, turning his ears forward toward Nightfisher.
Nightfisher was silent and reflective. She looked at the pegasus on the ledge next to her. He had scooted closer when he had offered the fish, she reflected. Clever, clever pony.
“We do not feel the sun,” she replied, “the day is as cold to us as the night is for you. Chilly. Frigid. The sunlight stings a bit though. Prolonged exposure can be painful. Feels like… Beestings or something.” She looked up at the stars. “The day is very cold. Which is why we have shaggy coats I think. The sun is a bitterly cold light. Blinding too.”
Sunflower’s eyes widened a bit. “Really? The sunlight does not warm you? I mean, I sort of figured that part out on my own already, but actually hearing it from you…” his voice trailed off, his words lodged in his throat. “I guess we really are different.”
“The moonlight is lovely though.” Nightfisher craned her head to look at the moon high above. “It has a gentle warmth. Luna tells me it is different than the sun, which can burn you, or be painful on the skin when it burns too brightly. The moonlight is never harsh. Never painful. It gives us strength. Gives power to our shadow magic. Allows our eyes to see things that your eyes cannot. Invisibility spells fail under moonlight, we can see all manner of beings and shadowy creatures. The world is covered in delicate silver hues, a soft glow that shimmers over everything. Not like the harsh daylight that just overpowers everything it touches. Everything shines and twinkles like diamonds in the moonlight.”
“I wish that I could experience what you see and feel for just one night.” Sunflower’s tone was genuine, his expression one of quiet awe.
Nightfisher turned to look at him. He was closer now. He had scooted over a bit more while she had been stargazing and looking at the moon. Her eyelids narrowed, her slitted pupils becoming paper thin slits. She looked down at where she was sitting. There was no room for her to scoot over. End of the ledge. Oh bother.
“I’ve always loved the night,” Sunflower confessed, “I went to school and studied astronomy. When I graduated, I found that most observatories only hire unicorns, much to my dismay. I only became a guard so I could pay my bills and keep eating.” He paused, a thoughtful silence hung momentarily in the air. “I like eating. And having a roof over my head. And I love looking at all of the beautiful bodies of the heavens at night.” He gazed at Nightfisher, a faint smile on his muzzle. He boldly scooted a little closer while Nightfisher stared at him.
“My cutie mark is a starburst and a telescope. You’d think that someponies would get over being tribalist jerkoffs and hire a pegasus. But no. I don’t have magic. I’m not worth hiring. Plotholes…” Sunflower scowled.
“Don’t stop me from loving the night though,” he added, “or the creatures of the night,” he said in a faint whisper.
Nightfisher could hear faint whispers a little too well. She could also hear the stallion’s heart beating, racing. She sniffed. She could smell the faint sour sweat smell of fear coming off of the stallion. Fear she wondered?
He was closer now. She could feel his warmth radiating from his body. His tail twitched slightly, his ears quivered.
He was definitely afraid of something. She could smell it. Sense it. Almost taste it. She could see his nostrils clenching.
He raised his head, looking at her, gazing into her eyes. She noticed for the first time the colour of his eyes. Gold. He was looking at her intently, leaning forward slightly.
“If you try to kiss me, you are going into the lake to get cooled off.” Nightfisher looked away from him, turning her eyes ahead, looking out over the city.
The night was dark and full of wonder.
She felt something very warm press against her cheek and heard a gentle “smooch” sound just below her ear.
Nightfisher sighed. Some ponies.
She reached out with a hoof and shoved Sunflower from her ledge, causing him to plummet towards the ground with a loud cry of alarm. She swooped from her brooding point, diving after him, a silent shadow being poured into the night, her wings making no sounds as they extended.
She snatched him from out of the air, her forelegs wrapping around his body, preventing his wings from spreading. She sniffed, Sunflower was actually terrified, his fear had escalated greatly.
Her wings caught air, causing her to veer upward suddenly, making Sunflower again cry out in alarm. “What are you doing?” He asked, panic present in his voice.
“I’m taking you to the lake…” Nightfisher said in her most terrifying whisper, breathing her words directly into his ear, causing his notched ear to flicker back and forth violently.
Sunflower squirmed in her grasp. She could feel him fighting his panic. He was trying to calm himself, at least on the outside. His heart was racing.
The city twinkled below them. Nightfisher’s wings cut silently through the night.
Sunflower began to grin slightly, his ears falling back against his skull.
“This is kinda sexy,” he uttered in a brave whisper, “never had a mare on my back before. Feels kinda like you’ve mounted me.”
Nightfisher groaned.
“You just don’t know when to shut up, do you?” She demanded.
“No,” he replied. “Celestia said it is going to be the death of me someday. Or some night. Maybe tonight?”
“Oh, you are going into the lake. I might drag you to the bottom my self. I can fly out of atmosphere for a fair bit of time, I don’t need air as much as you soft little daytime ponies do.” Her voice was silky and terrifying, and she felt Sunflower shiver and shudder in her grasp.
“May the condemned make a last request?” He begged.
Nightfisher said nothing.
“Could you fly me as high as you can reach and get me closer to the stars? My wings aren’t as strong as yours, I flounder when the air gets too thin. Pretty please? And could I get one final parting kiss while we are up there?”
Nightfisher gave her captive a squeeze as she turned toward the lake.