It was a cold night. And Midnight hated cold nights on duty. Normally she didn't really care about how cold the night was. But when she was on duty she was in armour. Armour conducts heat, and consequentially the lack thereof, very well. So, her armour was cold. By extension, that meant she was cold. And Midnight didn't like being cold. Being cold sucked. It meant her joints were stiff and her wings ached.
Being cold was definitely the suckiest thing ever.
But, she had a job to do. A job given to her by Princess Luna herself, rather than the pesky Gild. And she planned on completing it as quickly as possible, so she could get home and be warm again. Yeah. Warm is good.
But no, here she was, chasing down the damn earth pony that her Princess and boss was infatuated with. She knew he hadn't moved, so she had time. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop instead of flying, mostly because it's less tiring, and secondly because it's a bit more fun. That much she understood about Septimus. His love for free running was shared by her, though she doubted he was as good as her. In any case, she was getting close to him, so she started taking a more stealthy approach, so as not to startle her prey for the night.
She saw him almost instantly. He wasn't even making an effort to hide this time. Instead, he was standing on the balcony of the third floor of the building he was in, wrapped in a blanket and leaning on the balcony's guard rail.
She paused for a long moment, watching him. Had he been more alert, perhaps he'd have noticed the bright yellow, slitted irises watching him from another rooftop.
It should be said now that Midnight Blossom was not wearing her traditional armour of the Midnight Guard. No, that would have restricted her movement far too much. Instead, she'd donned a more stealthy outfit, and more formfitting. The dark fabric was wrapped tightly around her, but wasn't quite a catsuit. She also wore a long scarf, for two reasons. One, it was really cold. Two, she thought it looked kinda cool.
When it became clear he wasn't going to move from his place, she smirked and picked her way around the rooftop, to the opposite side of the building, and let herself in via a broken window. Easy really. She decided instead of just walking right up to him, she'd look around first.
The room was a mess, but not because of garbage from him. The room was just a mess of old furniture, several broken chairs and a partially destroyed bed. Clearly, he'd been sleeping on that, it was the only neat thing in the room. And the 'doorway' to the balcony was in shambles. That said, she opened it without a sound, and leaned on the inside of the opening, smirking as she watched him. He sighed, and she sized him up. He was thin, probably from malnutrition by the looks of him, and he wore tattered jeans, if the peeks she was getting from under the blanket thing he was wearing over his shoulders was any indication.
With a smirk, she decided she'd watched him long enough.
"You'll catch cold if you stand out here y'know," She said casually, taking a personal sort of delight at the way he stiffened at the sound of her voice, "You should really come inside. Come to bed Septimus, I'm sure it's healthier than standing out here and freezing."
He turned, slowly, turned to look at her, and she could see dread and just.... Fatigue? He looked so very, very tired.
"Relax!" She said quickly, holding up both hands, "I'm not here to cuff you, or clap you in irons or any such thing. Not even here to kill you, believe it or not."
Septimus didn't bother to answer, but nor did he seem to relax either. Midnight sighed.
"Look, my name's Midnight Blossom. I'm a... A shadowguard, for Princess Luna. One of her Midnight Guard. She sent me to pick you up, I won't lie."
Septimus still didn't move, and Midnight almost groaned, but he then spoke. He sounded as tired as he looked, and just as weary.
"I have no wish to return to Her Majesty," He said stiffly, "You can run back to her, and tell her I remember my place, better than anypony else I'm willing to bet. And I'm living it."
"Oh, she's well aware of your living conditions," Blossom shrugged sarcastically, "So very, very healthy. Stealing your food, your blankets and clothes."
"I survived," He shot back icily, "I'm still alive, and that's what matters, though sometimes I wonder why I bother."
She paused, re-evaluating him. His hands gripped the handrail behind him very tightly, and looked ready to run again. Her eyes narrowed.
"The solar guard might not be able to follow you Septimus," She warned him slowly, "But I'm no slouch at running the streets myself, and I have wings. You run, and I chase you down. I can't guarantee your safety then."
It didn't seem to alleviate his tension, but his hands did tighten for a minute, before slowly (And probably painfully) letting go of the railing.
"I'm not going back."
"That's not what Luna thinks," She replied coldly, "And it's my order to bring you in. Alive and unharmed. Unharmed, not necessarily conscious."
Septimus shifted slightly, still considering flight. Midnight sighed again.
"Look," She said tiredly, "It's cold out here, and I'm missing the warm fireplace in the guardhouse, and the warmed halls of Canterlot Castle. if you don't mind, could we just go to the castle? You can talk to your errant royal girlfriend, and I can go relax in the guardhouse. You get warm, I get warm, and Luna gets what she wants as well. She'll probably yell at you a bit, then feed you, and we'll be fine and dandy."
Septimus wasn't sure on that. Last he'd seen her, she'd made it pretty clear how pissed she was with him. She'd thrown him bodily across the room with magic for Celestia's sake.
"Last time I saw her," He said slowly, "She threw me across the room without even trying, without a shred of pity. More likely, she'll sentence me to execution just to get rid of me. So unless you have a warrant for my arrest, I suggest you leave."
Right. That's it. Midnight tried to force her anger down, but it wasn't working very well.
That's it. Diplomacy dyke over. This bitch is not being held back.
"Alright look Jackass, Princess Luna sent me to pick you up. You gunna come with me peacefully, or do I kick your ass and then drag you back?"
"If The Princess wanted that, she'd not have sent you," Septimus shot back challengingly, "You're to bring me back unharmed, aren't you?"
"Non-lethal force only," Midnight growled back in reply, "Doesn't mean I can't knock your bitch ass out and drag you back. Pick your poison Septimus. I'm tired, I'm cold, and I want to go back to the barracks."
Septimus glared at her for a long time, then sighed. Midnight smirked as his grip on the railing loosened.
"Fine. I'll talk to her Highness," He grouched, "But if I'm killed, I'm haunting you for the rest of your natural life."
Midnight snorted in response.
"Fine."
Back at the castle, only a few minutes later, Luna received a knock upon her door. It cracked open a moment later.
"Princess. Midnight Blossom reported in. She's on her way with her target. ETA fifteen minutes."
The door closed. Luna smiled.