There Goes the Neighborhood

by Prak


Interlude: The Second Night

Interlude

The Second Night

As the sun inched toward the horizon, Storm Seeker’s hooves touched down on the ring of clouds known as Library Lookout. The team of sweat-soaked pegasi on the afternoon shift barely even nodded to him as they squirmed in their armor. Paying no mind to their wretched state, Storm trotted over to the mare leading the shift.

“Lieutenant, report.”

Lieutenant Gale Dance saluted sharply, flinging sweat over the edge of the ring and narrowly missing Storm’s face. “Sir, this location is secure. However, there are numerous disturbances around the town.”

Storm nodded and turned toward the town. “Yeah, I noticed. It’s getting pretty bad out there. I almost got trampled by a mob heading to the town hall. Have you heard from the princesses?”

“Only Princess Luna. After that mob drove her out of the town hall, she retreated to the library. Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight departed some time ago, and their whereabouts are currently unknown.”

Shaking his head, Storm said, “Well, that’s just great. Any word from the captain?”

Gale sighed and shook her head. “I’m afraid not, sir. She’s still out on special assignment from Princess Celestia. I have no word on when she’ll return.”

“Wonderful. Absolutely perfect,” Storm grumbled. “Sounds like you guys have been through Tartarus and back.”

“You have no idea. The heat’s been so bad, our armor is practically burning through our coats, and the air’s been too thin for flying. One of my guys went down to check with the guards at the door earlier and couldn’t fly back.” Gale paused for a moment as Storm snickered. “Yeah yeah... Anyway, we had to get one of the unicorns to levitate a rope up here just so we could lift him back up.”

Gale’s face developed a twitch as Storm’s snickering gave way to chuckling, interrupted by the occasional chortle. “And as if that wasn’t bad enough”—she paused to sigh—”we dropped him twice.”

By the time Storm Seeker stopped guffawing, half of his crew had arrived.

The next few minutes passed quickly as, one by one, the others landed on the cloud ring, and Gale continued to report on the day’s events. Finally, as the sun set and the moon began its trip across the sky, the pegasi of the afternoon shift departed, showering the town with their sweat as they returned to the barracks.

The rookie approached Storm, who was peering intently over the edge of the ring, staring at the darkened streets. “Vice-captain,” he said a little too loudly. Storm jumped halfway out of his armor and nearly fell off the cloud as one of his hooves slipped over the edge. “Sorry, sir. The door guards just sent this up.” He pulled a small scroll from under his wing.

Storm snatched the scroll from the kid and glanced over it, then rolled it back up and tucked it into his armor. “Looks like Princess Twilight is back. They heard her talking near the door. Probably teleported in.”

The kid opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by a shout from the goofball. “Hey, Boss! When are we gonna get started with the game?”

Storm rolled his eyes and gnashed his teeth before answering, “No slacking off tonight, moron! Keep your eyes sharp and focus on spotting trouble before it shows up at the library’s door!”

Turning back to the kid, Storm said, “So what were you trying to say?”

The kid opened his mouth again, but words didn’t come out. Instead, he stood in place, fidgeting as he hemmed and hawed. Storm rolled his eyes and started to turn around, but the rookie finally found his voice. “Sir… should we really be up here? I mean, as bad as things are down there… well… I just think that maybe—”

Storm held up a hoof to stop him while he covered his face with a wing. “Kid, just stop. We’re up here because we need to be. There’s two princesses in that tree, and they’re counting on the guards at the door to keep an angry mob from breaking down their door. Those guards are counting on us to let them know if something’s coming, so we’re staying put.”

“But what about Princess Celestia? She’s still out there, and she might be in danger.”

Storm perked an eyebrow and smirked. “Princess Celestia? In danger? From what?”

The kid rubbed his chin as he pondered. “Well,” he said finally, “there’s always the rumors that Princess Luna has turned evil again. If she turns back into Nightmare Moon—”

“We’ll be the first to know,” Storm interrupted. “Did you forget that she’s right below us?”

“Oh. Right.”

Storm put a hoof on the kid’s shoulder and gave him a fatherly smile. “Everything’s gonna be fine. The princesses know what they’re doing. The only thing we need to do is our job, and we should trust them to do theirs.”

The kid stood in silence for a few seconds, his head hanging low in a thoughtful pose, and Storm imagined he could hear the gears turning under his skull. Finally, he looked back up at the vice-captain, and with a grin splitting his face, he said, “You’re right. I’m worrying over nothing. That awful day is over now, so everypony should calm down soon, and everything will be fine. Besides, it’s not like things can get any worse.”

While it had been quiet on the ring before, the silence had been comfortable. After those words, however, instead of wrapping around them like a warm blanket, it constricted them like a python. Every eye was riveted to the kid, frozen in hateful glares.

“You idiot,” Storm hissed. “Saying something can’t happen is the surest way to make it happen!”

“But sir… I only meant that—” He was interrupted by Storm smacking his helmet.

“Just shut up. You’ve done enough damage.” Storm walked past the kid to address the others. “Listen up, boys! Thanks to this featherbrain, we need to watch twice as close tonight. If I see anyone having fun up here, I’m gonna pick him up and throw him at you!”

“Sir, I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” the hotshot said. He was staring at something behind Storm, as were the rest.

As Storm and the kid turned around, it was obvious what the others were staring at. A gout of flame was spewing upward from a drifting cloud, casting an orange glow over the surrounding area.

As they stared in silence at the ongoing spectacle, Storm barely registered Princess Luna’s hasty departure from the library, nor the renewed screams from below as ponies poured out of their homes, taking to the streets to spread their panic to those who weren’t yet awake to share in it. What did catch his attention was the fluttering of wings and the soft whump of hooves touching down beside him.

In the dancing light of the distant fire, he could see the mare beside him clearly: beige coated with a light blue mane, streaked with pale yellow. He snapped to attention and gave her a sharp salute. “Captain Cirrus! Welcome back, ma’am.”

Cirrus Edge returned the gesture when the others gathered around her and added their own salutes. “Where is Princess Luna? I need to report to her immediately.”

“Princess Luna left just before you arrived, Captain,” Storm said. “It looked like she was going to investigate that disturbance.”

Cirrus stomped on the cloud, which didn’t make enough of a sound to be very dramatic. “Blast it all! She doesn’t know what she’s flying into!”

The kid took a step forward. “Captain, why report to Princess Luna? Weren’t you on a mission for Princess Celestia?”

“That is Princess Celestia!” Cirrus barked, pointing at the blaze.

Storm Seeker growled and pushed the kid aside. “Captain, enough beating around the bush! Just what the hay is happening over there?”

Cirrus sighed and turned to face the conflagration, her eyes quickly wandering down to the streets, where other guards were trying—and failing—to bring the panicked masses back into some semblance of order. “I wish I knew for sure, Storm, but I can tell you one thing.” She turned to face him again. “Today’s heat was just the beginning. Unless somepony can get this under control, it’s going to get worse.”

“Just how bad are we talking?” the pervert asked.

Cirrus shook her head and and looked into the distance again, where the fire was starting to die down, but golden light was radiating from its source.

“Eternal day.”