Drowsy and lethargic out of his mind, and staring down endlessly at the gradually-cooling fancy glass bowl of cinnamon oatmeal resting on the table before him, Night sat in the palace's dining room.
Once every other week, ponies working in the massive structure, including lower-ranked guards seeking to escape temporarily from mess hall food, were granted a buffet full to the brim of breakfast foods from fruits to scrambled eggs, to buttered toast and doughnuts freshly ordered from the local Donut Joe's bakery. Of all of the options, however, Night picked what felt would best settle to his stomach.
For some odd reasoning, he had found it hard to catch some shuteye that previous night. The poor stallion could not at all be sure what the official cause was, though on the contrary, leaned toward the thought of having too much on his mind, both in planning for the future of training the new ponies under his command, and working out the stressful paperwork of assigning their stations and pay grade. All of it was coming right back, even after his ordeal years ago, when Princess Luna introduced him to the ponies he knows all too well today.
When Night Shadow's mind did finally boot up, allowing him some sense of his surroundings, he focused on eating as much of the light brown slop in front of him his stomach would allow, then head out to the PGA facility and begin another long day of overlooking training.
Slowly, Night dipped the spoon into the oatmeal, lifting out the portion and slipping it into his maw. The temperature was still decently warm, surprisingly. This slightly motivated him into eating at a steady, yet slower-than-usual pace.
"Hey, Night!"
A sudden shout from behind caused Night to jump, such movements causing him to slam his hoof down on the edge of the bowl, with much of the brown goop to fly out and smack him right in the muzzle. It spread out across his eyelids and cheeks, leaving him dripping oatmeal over the table and parts of the floor.
Two or three of the ponies nearby in the half-crowded room let out soft gasps, others not paying any mind. Night slowly turned to look behind him, a low, deep growl following. Added with his exhaustion from the previous night, this was quite frankly the last thing he wanted this morning.
Standing a few feet away, just hardly inside the wide-open hallway door, watched Zipline, gasping the loudest as the captain made sharp eye contact. He galloped up, nabbing some paper towels from a box on another table, wiping down Night's face as best as he could.
"I-I'm so sorry, Captain. I didn't mean to startle you," stammered the white pegasus, pulling the napkins away from Night's muzzle, his coat very slightly tinted in the color of the slop that previously covered it. Night's glare didn't soften one bit.
"What have I told you about sneaking up and shouting like that, Corporal?"
Zipline pulled back a couple of inches, giving a sheepish, nervous smile. "Heheh, right, I forgot."
"I don't ever want to hear that excuse ever again, do you hear me?"
Zipline blinked, then replied, "You used ever twice."
Night stood up quickly out of his chair, the tufts of his ears beginning to stand up slightly. He bared his teeth, fangs as visible as they could ever be. His growl deepened significantly, forcing Zipline to back away some more.
"I'm sorry, Captain! I-I just wanted to tell you something and leave!"
"Tell me what?!" Night barked.
"Th-that I... That I'm taking over duty for you today, s-sir!"
At this, Night eased himself almost completely. "Taking over? Why? "
"P-Princess Luna said for me to tell you that she thinks it's best if I help out the Lance Corporal for today and tomorrow."
"Princess Luna told you that? What is her reasoning?" Night's eyebrow raised.
"So you could rest, sir."
"So I could—" Night stopped, eyes opening further. "But, why?"
"I don't know, Captain. That is all she said to me."
"Nothing more?"
"No, sir."
Night sighed softly, easing up. "Very well. I... guess I have no choice, or she'll have my head."
Zipline couldn't help but to let out a soft snicker at that, covering his mouth to hide his grin. "Yes, sir, she might."
"You quit that."
Zipline snapped his hooves together and stood to attention. "Yes, sir."
"You are dismissed. And, also, a word of advice."
"Yes, sir?"
"Don't screw up."
"Not on the agenda, Captain."
"Good," Night nodded once. "Have a nice day, Corporal."
"Likewise, sir," Zipline replied, turning tail and trotting out of the dining room.
Watching him go, Night finally comprehended the severity of the mess, realizing some of his armor took hits from the soupy oats, and the fur on his face was beginning to harden and stick together. It was evident that another shower was necessary—and that was just what he was going to do.
***
After bathing a second time, Night dried himself completely, stepping out into his apartment with still a light sense of sleepiness in his eyelids. Exhaling deeply, he sauntered to his bedside, climbing up and crawling onto the bed, but not under the sheets.
Despite his urge to shut his eyes and fall asleep, he couldn't. The day was still young, and the sun was very much bright in the room, filling it with a deep golden hue. Even if he could doze off into a deep slumber or the slightest of naps, Night would find himself sleeping during the day and awake during the evening.
Gradually, gravity took over, his eyelids beginning to slip shut, and what very little noise there was from the outside ambiance of the city faded. Then, a knock on the door woke him right back up. Or, well, made him alert.
Sitting up, Night turned to the door, the knocking only getting louder and eventually turning into a pounding. The knob was taken in a shimmering blue grip of magic, the entire door forced open, and in stepping a night-blue alicorn, hoof pointed and raised.
"Night Shadow!" Shouted Princess Luna from across the room, startling him even more.
"Princess!" Night hopped up out of bed, stumbling and falling onto the cold, hard cobble floor below with a grunt. Instinctively he bowed right where he fell.
"We are going out for fun, does thou hear?!" Princess Luna continued in the Royal Canterlot voice, nearly enough to literally blow Night backwards.
"Fun? What fun?!" He looked right up at her from the floor, still in a bowing stance.
At that, the princess of the night herself stepped forth, lifting Night to his hooves with a simple burst of magic.
"We... are going..."
She leaned in closer to whisper.
"...shopping!"
"Shopping?" Night cocked his head. "Again?"
"What does thou mean by again?!"
"Didn't we—" Night stopped briefly. "—you go last Sunday?"
"We have not been out of the Royal Palace for much more than a month, my Captain. Has thou simply lost track of time?"
"I—" Night again paused, putting a hoof to his chin as he pondered. "It seems so."
"Did we also not call for thou's time off?"
"You did."
"Then we shall go shopping!" Princess Luna, in her half-silly, more secluded self, raised her hoof, horn lighting and spawning a red-and-white baseball cap atop her head, a smirk crossing her muzzle.
"What's with the hat?"
"It is something I very much enjoy wearing on our outings. Does thou not wear hats?"
"Just helmets, Princess."
"That must change. Thou's entire wardrobe must change! We will find thou some new outfits!"
Was any of that really necessary? Night thought. It's not like I go out off-duty often, so clothes are just about pointless.
"What ever you'd like, Princess."
"Enough of the formality!" She decreed, once again raising her voice.
So much for relaxation time.
***
Now out of the palace a good twenty minutes later, after arguing again and again with other guards going out of their way to prevent the duo from leaving, it was decided only Night would go with the princess. With his experience within the Guard, he would make up for the usual armored bodyguard assigned to Princess Luna's side on outings such as these.
Marching rather proudly down the street, the princess of the night passed through crowds, many ponies on the streets stepping out of her way and bowing fearfully, or simply staring with total shock.
Behind her with a more steady pace trotted Night Shadow, keeping his eye out for trouble. Normally he would be ahead, although, Princess Luna insisted she takes the lead, her having knowledge of the majority of the shops around the city.
Their first stop was at an arts and crafts store only a block from the gates of the palace. Inside, apart from the two ponies working, a few were completely shocked to literally be standing directly next to Princess Luna as she trotted around the small multi-story shop. The princess paid little mind to the customers, going about her business like the average pony.
Picking up some quills and a few jars of ink, she proceeded upstairs, Night following close behind while also looking around a bit himself. On the second floor, everything apart from the price tags was far different than the first floor. Consequently, Princess Luna's eyes opened wide with wonder.
Rather than entirely shelves of materials, displays were set up throughout most of the room, with only a couple of small shelves off in the corner and rather out of sight. On the displays sat a large assortment of wooden, plastic, clay, and even pure metal models, constructed with perfection and placed in their own 'environments', with their building kits below the actual stands.
Approaching the array, both the princess and Night feasted their eyes over the models, ranging from miniature constructs of famous Equestrian cities, to model trains and airplanes, helicopters, and even creatures of all sorts.
On a separate display sat multiple differently-colored figurines of fabled dragons, legendary manticores, and draconequuses—one of which a former enemy to the land, now-reformed and much recently an ambassador of Equestria.
Out of the many tens of figures and models, one caught the princess' attention the most: a ten-inch dragon figure, wings halfway extended outward and neck extended up in a bending shape, all the way to its head. The paint job done on the figure was by far the most notable thing about it, with the colors mixing between blue, purple, and pink, with a touch of pearlescent.
"Oh my..." Princess Luna gasped as she spoke, trotting up and leaning down to get a better look at the dragon. "This is truly stunning! Night, come here!"
Night sauntered to her side, focusing on the figure as well with a gentle smile. "Wow, how beautiful. They did one heck of a job on that."
"They did! We never previously pictured ourselves as a modeller, but this. This could change everything!"
The stallion by her side let out a soft chuckle. "You buying it?"
"We shall!" Princess Luna decreed, tossing her hoof up. With that, she began searching for the kit. "Now, if only we could find what we are looking for."
After a minute of standing still, watching the blue alicorn trot around aimlessly, Night joined in, looking all around for the model kit, unaware that soon after, the store's manager was watching them from beside the staircase.
"Can I... help the both of you?" He asked in a somewhat nervous tone.
Princess Luna paused, approaching. "Yes. Whereabouts is the box for that model?" She pointed to the display.
The manager shifted to the dragon model, then back to the princess with a frown. "I'm sorry, your highness. I'm afraid that is just on display. We do not sell kits for that specific figure. In fact, they're not even made."
Princess Luna gasped audibly. "What? Why not?"
"These models are specifically sold for colts and fillies, your highness," he cleared his throat afterward, eyes briefly darting to her bodyguard.
"Then why have all of the professional-looking stuff if you're not going to sell it for the stallions and mares who may be into that kind of stuff?" Night asked, an eyebrow raised.
"I'm terribly sorry, but that's not how—"
Princess Luna's hoof fell to the floor. A loud, crashing thump, enough to shake the entire building, followed, the princess' eyes turning pure white. Her wings flared out to full length, nearly smacking Night in the muzzle.
"You are to sell these kits to the ponies of Equestria! This is bad business to target a specific group when all may be interested! If thou does not change your ways, thou will be forced to suffer our wrath!"
Night, off to the side, stared with wide-eyes, ears pinned back. In embarrassment, he tapped the princess' shoulder, her head snapping back to make direct eye contact.
"Princess, perhaps... you could tone it down a little? T-this isn't a good example."
"Y-y... yes, y-your highness!" The manager, now laying on the ground and recoiled back with fear and trembling like the building itself, stuttered. "I-I-I will m-make sure we s-sell what you w-want!" He gave an innocent, pleading smile.
"Very good!" She stopped, everything returning to normal around them. "Now, if thou will excuse us, we must check out. We expect thou to have followed orders by the time we return."
"Y-yes, your highn-ness."
Turning tail, Princess Luna put her nose up, rounding the staircase down to the first floor. Night followed, stopping for a moment and turning to the manager, giving him an apologetic smile, then heading downstairs as the night princess went to pay for her purchases.
***
"So, Princess..." Night began.
"Yes, Night?"
"Was... any of that, back at the shop, was that necessary in the least?" Night glanced to his side, slightly up at the dark blue alicorn.
"Yes. Yes, it was!" She raised her voice, though not enough to scare any bystanders as they passed. "The supervisor of that store should be ashamed of himself, scamming his customers by bartering false advertisement! How dare he?!"
"Well... you aren't wrong there, your highness—"
"No formality!"
"Sorry. You aren't wrong there, Luna. What worries me is the fact that you used the Royal Canterlot voice in public...again. That... isn't good. We need to work on that."
"What is wrong with using the Royal Canterlot voice in such situations?!" She glared daggers at the slightly smaller stallion.
"What's wrong with it, Princess—" he emphasized her title. "—is that you're making a bad example of yourself again. When you were reformed half a decade ago, you used the voice quite a lot and accidental. Now it's on purpose, but it's more frequent than it needs to be. You get me?"
"I simply do not understand what it is with thou and having a strong dislike for the Royal Canterlot voice. Thou has not tried it, it truly is relaxing to let it go during times of distress!"
"You're referring to breaking down, Princess. Shouting causes situations to worsen. It can prove helpful sometimes, yes, but shouting isn't the way to go. He would have listened to you one way or another."
"And how is thou so sure, Night Shadow?!"
"Because you're Princess Luna, one of Equestria's four rulers, and I bet you ten bits that if he refused your request, your sister would have banished him to the moon," Night gave a sly grin, then a wink.
Princess Luna processed the thought, then nodded once. "Alright, I believe thou."
"One more thing... when did you go back to using 'thou'?"
The princess' eyes widened. "Is that another problem habit?"
"No, not at all," Night shook his head, facing forward as they rounded a corner. "You did drop it for quite some time, though."
"I see," she replied, her eyes coming across another building coming up on their left. "Oh, here! Here is the place!" She said, now galloping towards it.
Night's bright gold eyes opened up, hooves taking a sprint after her and dodging between ponies after her. "Princess, wait!"
The grey pegasus caught up to her after a few moments, although by that time, she had infiltrated the front door of the shop and was going about her routine of looking all around at the store's vast selections
This must have been why they were out all along, as Night immediately remembered their earlier conversation. He froze just past the entrance mat, eyes scanning across a sea of clothing, folded on wooden displays, dressed on manikins, and hanging on racks. Much of it was casual wear, too.
At this point, Princess Luna was long gone—likely in one of the dressing rooms at the rear of the shop. For second-in-command of her personal guard, keeping that mare under control on shopping outings such as these was beyond problematic. He would find her, just not until it was her decision to check out. Until that time would come, Night had no other option than to browse. After all, the princess requested him to.
He began by moving toward a section of denim and leather jackets, all of different color and style. Sliding them down the railing they were hung on, Night pulled a couple down to get better looks. One was black and grey, the other a brown-and-grey mixture. Shifting between the two, he shook his head, placing them back on the rack for neither of the two were of his 'style', whichever that was.
Searching through more jackets, Night eventually gave up on that section, moving on to a few displays of t-shirts surrounding a couple of manikins on top. Many of which had more of a variety and different style than each other, all combined making up for every color on the rainbow and more. On them read wording such as 'I Luv Cntrlt'. This raised Night's eyebrow, even though it was done to fit on the shirt with such the large wording it had.
Moving around the white wooden circular shelf, he picked through different t-shirts, all seemingly with wording he would never find himself saying—or in this case, wearing. Beyond that, again, none of which truly latched on to Night's taste.
Next was hooded jackets and sweatshirts, seeing as they were just about the only things left within the store. He dug through the rack hanging on the wall politely, afterwards moving on to a couple of shelves to the side. Then, something caught his eye.
Pulling it out from a neatly stacked pile, Night unfolded the black and dark grey sweater, hoof rubbing against the soft, smooth outer material it was made of, the inside being a more fluffier, warmer material. Even though he couldn't immediately wear it, Night knew this would be perfect for the approaching autumn weather.
He lifted it up, stretching the bottom out slightly and slipping his head in, hooves through the sleeves. Too tight, he thought, taking it back off and re-folding it, searching for a larger size. Finding his matching size moments later, he trotted up to a mirror, looking over himself, even striking a couple of poses and unaware of his surroundings.
"Heheh. Nighty, you're lookin' fine today," he grinned to himself, lifting one of his forehooves in another pose.
Behind, he could hear faint snickering. Night's eyes moved up in the mirror, spotting Princess Luna standing right behind him, along with some other mares shopping at the time with bags in their magical auras.
"You know, I have never seen him so proud of himself like this!" Princess Luna grinned, the mares giggling.
Night, having whipped around in surprise, blushed profusely, proceeding to slip the hood over himself to hide it, though it didn't nearly work quite as he expected.
"Oh, come on, Night, lighten up. Nopony is making fun of you."
"This... was all I found that I liked. What do you think?" Night turned his head slightly.
"It looks magnificent on you, definitely matches your colors! You're getting there, Night. Eventually you'll find yourself bathing in new styles. You'll fit in to Canterlot!"
Night raised an eyebrow at that.
"Not... that thou doesn't already," Princess Luna smiled sheepishly. "We simply meant with how fancy folks dress around the city."
"Uh huh..." Night slowly nodded, removing the hoodie with a slight struggle. "Are you ready to check out?" He asked, muffled by the clothing.
"Whenever you are!" Princess Luna smiled, holding up at least two-hundred bits worth of clothing in two different stacks.
When Night did remove the hoodie and begin to fold it, Princess Luna and the mares burst into a fit of laughter. He glanced up, head cocking slightly.
"What is it? What's so funny?"
"Your mane!" Princess Luna cackled hysterically.
Still confused, Night turned to the mirror, seeing his previously-combed mane utterly destroyed by the static of the fabric rubbing against it, eyes opening wide.
"Princess, we're going back to the palace. Now."