It's All Smoke And Mirrors
Night Storm sat on the train as still as stone. Sword Right had gotten up to use the restroom, and she was alone in the car. Her rosy eyes scanned the room, slowly blinking and taking everything into account. Night looked out the window next to her and saw nothing but stone as the train chugged closer and closer to Canterlot.
She looked out of the opposite window, making the same slow blink and analysis. She could see Ponyville and the sun peeking up over the hills. Princess Luna was lowering the moon already, and Princess Celestia was raising the sun. Night's locket made a metallic clink as she looked at the clock on the wall of the train car.
5:49 a.m.
Night yawned slightly, covering her mouth with a hand. She had been on the train for almost eight hours. She got on the train in Baltimare at 8:33 p.m. and had been awake ever since. Night Storm had met Sword Right, and spoke to him most of the way. She knew very much about him.
He was a shy colt and was very outgoing, and he thought of himself as friendly and understanding. He was practically a vault of secrets, none of which he ever spoke of again. He built Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's weapons for their guards, like spears, shields, and armor. Sword had told her that he occasionally made bows and arrows, and when he did, he built quivers as well. His fur was always the same color brown, his mane dark red, almost a blood color, and ashy red eyes matched his other colors. He had a shining sword for a Cutie Mark, representing his love for metals and justice. He was also a Unicorn, but he tended to use his hands more than his horn.
He was a kind stallion, but his muscles were well defined. His smile was warmer than a Hearth Warming's Eve fire, maybe even warmer than Celestia's sunshine on a sunny day. He was twenty three, a young age for a Unicorn. Something about him gave off a radiance of kindness and love, something Night hadn't come across in a long, long time.
The stallion soon returned and sat down next to her again with the same beaming look on his face. He, however, had barely gotten anything out of Night Storm. He only knew that she was born in Prance and had been running around Equestria for Celestia knows how long. She was shy but gentle with an eloquent voice to match her cobalt body and sea green mane. She wore a golden locket she had never opened in front of any pony.
She was twenty two, an even number but still younger than her new acquaintance. Sword's eyes were heavy with tiredness, but he still wore the same exact smile. Night looked over at him with a slightly less weary gaze, but was still sleepy.
"Where are you staying in Canterlot?" Sword asked absently.
"I'm going to stay in my old apartment. Where are you staying?" Storm queried.
"I'm staying in my home, silly. I live on 54 Metallic Drive. Where is your apartment?"
"It's at 88 Seasonal Street. I live in the second floor apartment." Storm smiled slightly as the train ground to a halt.
"Canterlot! Next stop, Cloudsdale!" The conductor yelled.
Night Storm stood and made her way to the door, exiting and walking through the station, Sword Right close behind her. He finally caught her when they were out of the station and on the sidewalk.
"Hey, uh, maybe we'll meet again sometime? Maybe we'll run into each other." Sword repeated what he had a few hours ago.
'Why hadn't he left when he said almost the same thing?' Both the Unicorns thought.
"That'd be... nice," Storm smiled before trotting down the sidewalk, her hooves and shoes clip-clopping enchantingly and getting softer and softer.
Sword Right trotted in the opposite direction, happy to have met a new pony. Night Storm was happy to meet him as well. He radiated enough love to feed her Hive and Queen Chrysalis' for almost seven months, give or take a few weeks. Night Storm walked down the streets of Canterlot, many guards walking around on patrol.
Night guessed that the armor they wore and the spears they carried came from Sword Right. They weren't made by a newbie, that much she could tell, but they couldn't be made by a master either. Sword wasn't exactly a master, but pretty darn close. Night thought that maybe he had made them a while back, or maybe he had an apprentice.
She walked, turning onto Seasonal Street, a row of apartments going straight down the street. She walked, looking at the numbers. Thirties, Forties, Fifties, Sixties, Seventies, and finally, Eighties, all even numbers. Her rosy eyes glanced across the street to the odd numbers and scrunched her nose.
For some reason, Night Storm didn't like odd numbers. She trotted up the steps to eighty-two, eighty-four, eighty-six, and lastly eighty-eight. She used her magic to undo the bindings, her magic basically the key to her apartment. She trotted in and locked the door behind her, shutting it with her left hoof.
She looked around the apartment. It was mostly black and ash colors, with red splashed here and there. She had a nice living room, a black wood sofa with red cushions with flower print on them and a radio set across from it on a similarly made table. She had a side table that had the same wood, and a bookshelf in the corner. Night walked to her kitchen and looked at it; it was still clean, save for a bit of dust. Her ash gray appliances sat, running, waiting to be used. A refrigerator, stove, sink, and counter-top with black cabinets above them.
With her green magic, she opened the fridge, revealing strawberries, blueberries, ice cream, salad ingredients and so much more, all still good to eat. She took a strawberry and ate it whole, chewing quietly and spitting the leaves into the trashcan under the counter. Her dishwasher was still working as the mare inspected it, and then made her way to her bedroom.
In her bedroom was a large queen sized bed in black and gray with two close matched side tables on either side with lamps on them. A dresser and a mirror laid across from the bed and its canopy, and her bathroom had the usual; a shower, a tub, a sink, and a toilet, with all of her mare necessities. She curled up in her bed after checking everything, gently falling asleep.
It's All Smoke And Mirrors