Thud. Thud. Thud.
Pain branched through Thunderball's mind. He wrapped a cloud around his head to block out the jarring noise coming from his apartment door. His tongue wandered aimlessly in his dry mouth before he could muster enough strength to speak.
"Hold your horses, I'm coming!"
He stumbled his way to the door with indecent haste to head off any further knocks. Thunderball looked through the peephole to see Adjutant waiting patiently for him. After a moment's hesitation, he took in a deep breath and opened the door.
"Good morning, Adjutant. I'm afraid you've caught me at a bad time."
She bowed her head politely. "My apologies. I had no idea what the effects of alcohol would be last night. Suffice it to say, I plan on severely restricting my intake."
"Probably for the best." He let her into the living room and busied himself it he kitchen. "Would you care for some tea? I usually have a cup of Earl Grey."
"What an intriguing concept. I would be delighted to partake of your boiled leaf juice."
Adjutant waited patiently on the couch as Thunderball brought out a mithril tray with a porcelain teapot and two cups. He set it down on the coffee table in front of Adjutant and poured them each a serving.
He pushed a steaming cup of tea towards her. "May I take the liberty of assuming that, given the size of my headache, I drank too much last night and made an ass of myself?"
Adjutant lapped cautiously at the hot liquid. It was honestly quite unlike anything she had ever tasted before, and she was unsure of how she felt towards the strong, vaguely citrus flavored beverage. She set her cup down on the table and looked Thunderball in the eyes.
"Upon reflection, "I think that, it is the other way around. I am unfamiliar with love, and have conducted myself poorly. I understand why you would be disinclined towards romance in general. Let me, then, offer you an apology for any discomfort I may have caused. If you would like, I am willing to keep our relationship entirely professional — though I would hope that we can at least be friends."
An electric tingle ran through her foreleg and up her spine as Thunderball gently reached for her hoof. "I accept your apology."
Adjutant was very thankful that changelings were incapable of blushing. "Excellent. Then I shall leave you to your breakfast in peace."
"I usually have breakfast after watching the sunrise, then go for my morning run." He glanced over at a grandfather clock in the corner. "Both of which are coming up, incidentally. Would you care to join me?"
"Well, since you so kindly offered, I suppose I might as well." Adjutant smiled and followed him up to the courtyard.
The castle gate was open, and they could see the horizon glowing in prelude of the sunrise through it. The two sat in silence as the moon dipped below the treeline, and the sun slowly ascended to prominence in the bright blue sky. The clouds on the horizon glowed orange on the bottom, even as their tops remained dark, while the trees around them were sharply outlined against the sunlight streaming into the Everfree Forest. Thunderball spread his wings to embrace the sunlight, and began a series of calisthenics in front of Adjutant, who watched the sight with a grin on her lips. It was rare for her to be presented with such a magnificent view in the mornings.
Adjutant waited for him to finish his warm–up routine before interrupting. "May I join you on your jog?"
Thunderball looked her up and down. "Are you sure? You don't look like you'd enjoy it."
"Oh, come now. I'm genetically superior to most changelings, and quite a few ponies. I can handle a simple endurance test." She tossed her head back and brought her left foreleg, proudly displaying the holes that dotted its lower half. "Not to mention the fact that I'm lighter than you, especially where it count. If anything, I have an advantage. Why, I bet you a baker's dozen of cupcakes at Sugarcube Corner that I could run circles around you."
Thunderball shook his head. "Fine, but you'll have to go by the same restrictions. That means no wings."
A wreath of green flame engulfed Adjutant, and her wings disappeared . "Done! So where do we begin."
He tilted his head upwards. "Now. I like to run twenty laps around the castle walls."
"Alright. Do we find the stairs, or…"
She trailed off as he bolted past her to the nearest corner of the castle. Thunderball planted his hoof on the wall, slightly below knee height, and pushed down to propel himself upwards. His hooves passed from indentations to protruding bricks as he scrambled his way up to the parapets like a spider. Once he had reached the top, he gave her a cheeky grin and began running along the walls.
Adjutant stomped her hooves on the ground. "You are the worst pony!"
Indignation raged through her chest and drove her hooves toward the nearest flight of stairs. Both honor and dignity demanded that she catch up and throw him off of the parapets for cheating, but she was smiling nonetheless.