Twilight woke to the sound of snoring. Cracking her eyes open, she saw it was still dark outside, well, mostly. The moon was hanging heavy and big. Climbing to the edge of the bunk she slid down and looked out. There was a pony head outlined on the white shape in the sky, a tingle ran through her, like the time when she got her cutie mark.
The mare turned and looked at the stallion, curled up under a blanket. "What does this all mean?" Twilight's voice was soft, hesitant. She smiled. "It means I am heading out on an adventure and have a new friend."
In the dim light of the moon and a soft glow she made with her horn, Twilight began to write in her journal.
First day away from Canterlot. Very excited, my new companion seems a lot nicer asleep… less noisy. Found out yesterday that the royal armor actually makes ponies look like each other, changes their fur and their mane and tail, I think it is strange that when the Princess celebrates individuality, she also requires her guards to discard it.
Tapping her quill a few times, Twilight was lost in thought when a disgruntled pony groaned. "Ugh, stop that tapping!" The pillow Night pulled over his head to try to block out both light and sound was no use, Celestia's gift to the world was starting to make its presence known and with a louder groan Night Talon slumped off the bed and immediately began to wander out of the room and down the hall, in search of relief.
Hearing the whistle of the locomotive and a slight shift in the train, Twilight started getting her pack ready. She packed all the things back into her own bag but as she was about to stuff in a particularly heavy book, she felt resistance and looked up. "Let me carry some of it. My armor is heavy but I can't go letting a mare carry all our stuff." Night started putting on his armor and soon was once more the gray-brown stallion with silver mane and tail.
"That is really odd," Twilight mused, watching the change happen. "I mean, why does she need all of you to look the same?" She did as instructed, sharing the load but still keeping a bit more for herself.
"Gotta look the part." Night lifted the pack and settled it on his own back. "Half the job of a royal guardspony is diplomacy, or so my captain said." He suddenly blushed and managed to get a scowl on his face. "Let's get off this thing and move on."
Twilight, rebuffed a little in her attempts to open up to Night gave a sigh and looked around their little room. It had been cozy but, at the same time, completely not where she would want to spend a long time. The force of the train's deceleration now was quite noticeable and she had to fight not to stumble forward as she joined Night at the threshold of the carriage.
Stepping from the train just before it stopped, Night made room for Twilight and looked around; he suddenly realized he had no idea where to go from here. That infuriated him a little, almost as much as being outside Canterlot excited him.
"Straight ahead, we need to find a boat to take us over to the bugbear lands." Twilight gestured to the exit with a hoof. As they wandered through the ornate arches at the station, the pair of ponies from the capital of Equestria marveled at how much bigger and modern Manehatten was. Everything was bigger and the two found their heads craning up to see the tops of buildings still under construction that would soon make it bigger still!
"Straight ahead?" Night pitched his voice in slight mockery. "This place is a monstrous maze!" And the worst of it, as far as Night was concerned, was that everypony else seemed to know where they were going.
"Hey! This is my first time here too… excuse me?" Twilight approached a mare who was walking along the sidewalk. When she didn't stop, the unicorn frowned a little. "Oh, excuse me sir!" She managed to get another pony's attention only by dint of standing so he couldn't get around her. "Which way to the docks?"
Possessing the sure knowledge that unless he told this crazy mare what she needed he would not get past, the stallion gestured down the street in the opposite direction. "That way." When Twilight turned to look where he was pointing he slipped around her and was free.
"Well that wasn't nice." Twilight started marching in the direction alluded to. "You coming?" Night shrugged and wandered after the mare. A few blocks had them smelling the sea air. Salt, wetness, and… muffins? "Oh, yum!"
Night groaned as Twilight dashed over to a bakery and purchased two big muffins. "Do we have time for this?" The problem for the grouch was that having had no breakfast, the food smelled better than any he had tasted before.
Noticing the stallion's gaze, locked on the second muffin she carried in her magic, Twilight made sure not to offer it. "For breakfast? Of course, it is the most important meal in the day."
Mouth watering now, Night looked behind them to the bakery, suddenly wishing he had purchased a muffin too. "Oh go on, have this one." A muffin floated into view and the stallion spun his head back to Twilight.
"Thanks…" It was hard to be grouchy and accept food, particularly food that tasted as good as the muffin surely did. Night bit into the soft, fluffy flesh and nearly melted on the spot. Blueberry. His favorite.
The rest of the walk was accompanied only by the noises of the city and happy mastication. The pair reached the docks and had a quick scan around. "Excuse me," Twilight spotted a valid target for her questions, "I don't suppose you know of somepony who would take us somewhere on a boat?"
Half Hitch lifted his head at the question, looking the mare up and down. She didn't look like some rich mare, but she was accompanied by a royal guard. More, she was carrying her own load. "Ain't nopony got time for joyriding this time of year." He returned to mending the little sickle he had before him.
Twilight blushed at the brush-off. "We aren't after a joyride, we need to get to the bugbear lands…" She watched as that old earth-pony's head lifted again. "Please, we can pay."
"Payin' ain't the problem. Everypony on the water is off harvesting seaweed, it is the growing season for it." Half looked up again and narrowed his eyes. "Unless you was payin' a lot."
"How much is a lot?" Twilight was confused by all this, it was meant to be straight-forward! Her train of thought, as well as Night's, was shattered then.
"You monster!" A female voice screamed after the pronouncement. Night was the first of the pair to react, turning and charging off at a gallop. Twilight wasn't far behind him, but the stallion's reflexes and training had him heading for danger before he could even think twice.
Crashing between a griffon and an earth pony mare, Night shouted. "Halt!" Claws raked down his armor and he got a good double-barreled buck on the other side. He was about to start having to do more when both combatants were lifted into the air and away from each other. His relief at having a partner was deep and he narrowed his eyes at the mare who had just kicked him. "Okay, what is going on here?"
"That creature attacked me!" Fleur Bonnet gestured with a hoof at the griffon floating beside her. "And worse, it was already covered in blood!"
Night turned to the griffon next. "And you, why did you attack her?" He scowled, there was a little blood around their beak, but it certainly wasn't 'covering' them, and it certainly didn't seem to be the mare's.
"I was having lunch!" Frida pointed with one claw at what remained of a fish. "Then next thing I know this filly is screaming and kicking me!"
Twilight focused on keeping the pair apart and left the situation to Night. The stallion in question dearly wanted to bonk both miscreants on the head. "And then you clawed back and this started?" The griffon ducked their head down but nodded. "Okay, miss…"
"Fleur. Fleur Bonnet." The restrained mare filled in.
"Okay, Miss Bonnet, please avoid the docks if you don't wish to see unwholesome sights. And…" Night turned his attention to the griffon.
"Frida." When Night was sure there was no more name coming from the griffon, he smiled.
"Well Frida, I would suggest not eating fish just out in the open. Most ponies won't mind, but you have to understand we are not all… quite so relaxed." Night gave a nod to Twilight and the mare gently set the mare down first, who turned around and dashed off, then she set down the griffon.
"Your armor took the brunt of that…" Twilight was at Night Talon's side, running a hoof over a dinged-in plate. "Do we need to get it fixed?"
"Nah, give it time and it will be fine. Enchanted, remember?" Night felt himself relax a little more, the guardspony in him realizing that the mare actually could handle herself. "Now, let's go see about that boat…"
"A boat? You need a ride?" Frida brightened up at the shift in conversation. "Look, I need to thank you for that, griffons tend to get the short end of the stick, here. I have some money, and my friend has a ship."
Twilight grinned widely. "We are trying to get to the bugbear lands." Her map unfolded from her pack and she pointed to where they needed to go with a hoof.
"Easy! And what are you doing there? Hunting?" Frida perked right up at this, she had never heard of ponies hunting, but what other reason would they go to such a place for, if not to prove their mettle in battle?
"Oh no!" Twilight looked shocked. "Princess Celestia has sent us to make sure they are behaving."
Frida laughed. "Oh, such a pony reaction… sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I mean, when a griffon wants to prove how tough they are, they go and spend a week living there." She poked at the map with a careful claw.
"Well, let's go talk to your friend, then." Twilight smiled to the griffon, her ears perking up and forward. Falling in on each side of the griffon, Night and Twilight were soon led to a ship that had a line of griffons helping to load things on board.
"Bandyr!" Frida called out and they saw a new griffon stick his head out on deck. "Got an extra job for you."
Spreading his wings, Bandyr glided down to his friend and the two ponies with them. "Frida, what mess have you gotten into now?" His head turned to Night. "I am sorry, sir, my cousin is always getting into-"
"It's okay, she isn't in trouble." Night cut in to reassure the griffon and saw their relief prominent on their face. "Although she was eating a fish out in front of some upper-class mare."
"I wondered what that scream was, when it didn't repeat I figured it was dealt with." Bandyr shrugged his shoulders. "So what's the job, Frida?"
"They," Frida pointed to each of the ponies with her, "need to get to here," she pointed to the map Twilight Velvet was holding. Unfolding it in her magic, Twilight poked the bugbear territory with a hoof.
"Ah! Right on our way too. Well sure we can do that. I assume it was you two who got this scamp out of trouble?" Bandyr looked to Night, then Twilight. Frida was blushing and opening her beak to protest.
"Things are settled, but I would suggest you not be around Manehatten for a few days." Night poked Frida gently with a hoof.
"Oh, I won't be." Frida gave a nod to that. "I will be going with you, this smells like adventure!"
Bandyr laughed at his cousin. "Frida, the only thing you can smell is trouble, and that is because you step into it everywhere you land." The tom reached out to Frida and gave her a thump with a wing to reassure her it was all in jest.