A Brief Inn-terlude
Dusk was almost upon the land, the day nearing its end. Nigel and Midnight trudged on, the pair not stopping since the encounter at their last resting place. Nigel still held the coin sack in his mouth, a soft jingling sounding every time he took a step. Out of the two Midnight was faring the worst, the mare not used to such levels of activity. Nigel looked towards his companion, Midnight appearing like she was on the verge of collapse. The mare’s eyes were staring vacantly at the ground as she moved one hoof in front of the other , her purple mane damp with sweat.
“How about we stop Midnight?” Nigel asked as he stared at the mare with worry. “You look like your about to fall asleep on your fee-hooves” Midnight raised her head to meet Nigel’s gaze, determination in her eyes.
“No, I’m fine really,” she panted out, the mare looking forward as she narrowed her eyes, “the sooner we leave Equestria the better.”
“Okay then, we can stop anytime you want,” Nigel replied as he shook his head at her stubbornness. Midnight seemed to be trying her hardest to prove that she wasn’t a burden but at what cost? Nigel decided that they would walk for ten more minutes and then they’d stop for a few hours. The mare had only had a two hours’ sleep in the last twenty-four hours, not to mention nutritional concerns.
The two pressed forward, the sun dropping below the horizon as the moon began to rise. The cool air helped to wake Midnight up somewhat, the mare seemingly a lot more alert. Nigel still remained adamant about the ten minute limit however, with Midnight in this state escaping from any guards would be incredibly difficult.
Just as Midnight and Nigel crested a hill the changeling put a hoof out, halting the surprised Nocturne as she stumbled into the out-stretched limb.
“What is it?” she asked sleepily.
“There are lights up ahead, looks like some sort of large tavern next to the road” Nigel answered as Midnight looked towards the building, sounds of revelry drifting up towards the two beings on the hill. Various carts and carriages were parked outside the two-story building; the majority of activity focused around one area that appeared to be a bar. As Nigel scanned the building he decided that it would be a good idea if the pair stayed the night, a bed would likely do wonders for his tired companion.
“Midnight, I want you to just hear me out on this…”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
‘I can’t believe we’re going to do this’ Midnight thought to herself as she walked into the motel area of the tavern, coin purse hidden in her bag. The reception area was inviting, warmth surrounding Midnight as the heavy wooden door closed behind her, sealing out the cool night air. The wooden interior was well maintained, pictures of art and ornamental statues of griffons decorating the area. Midnight walked up to the front desk, a greying griffon greeting the young mare with a warm smile.
“Evening Young Miss, after a room are we?” he said as he leaned forward on his desk.
“Yes thank you, just a single thanks” Midnight replied, the elderly griffon grabbing a key off a rack with a talon before placing it in front of Midnight.
“Here you go, the price is twenty Equestrian Bits, ten Griffon Marks or thirty Zebra Pieces a night.”
Midnight opened her bag, removing the sack that was held inside with a wing. She carefully counted out twenty bits, the innkeeper watching the entire time. With a satisfied look he placed the currency into a till, Midnight picking up the key with her wing.
“Must say, we don’t get many of you Nocturnes around here despite only being a mile away from your border” the griffon remarked as he settled back into his chair, grabbing a newspaper as Midnight finished placing the coin sack into her bag.
“We tend to stay at home or in Canterlot,” Midnight answered as she let out a yawn, “Nocturnes tend to not travel around.”
The griffon chuckled, “a shame that, the few that I’ve met during my many years have proven to be great company” the Griffon ruffled his newspaper as he said this, adjusting his spectacles on his yellow beak. “Don’t let me keep you; you look like you’re in need of some sleep. If you’re hungry there’s some complimentary fruit in the room or if you feel like it the bar serves some great food, although I’ve never been much of a fan of pony cuisine.” Midnight smiled at the friendly innkeeper.
“Thank you, I think sleep is the best idea right now” she said, the Griffon letting out another chuckle.
“Good to see you’ve got a head on your shoulders, pleasant dreams.”
Midnight left the old griffon to his newspaper, heading up the stairs leading to the second floor. She glanced at the tag on her key, the number thirteen printed in bold black ink. The room was right at the end of the corridor, Midnight unlocking the latch as she reached it. Steeping into the room she took note of the furnishings decorating the space. A single bed with white sheets occupied the back left corner, the brass headrest against the tan wooden wall. To the right of the room was a doorway with the sign ‘Bathroom’ on it, Midnight giving herself a sniff, wrinkling her nose at the stench of sweat. A shower could wait however; first she had to let in Nigel.
The mare walked over towards the solitary window, un-latching it with a hoof and she placed her bag on the still like Nigel had told her. She watched it for two minutes before a thump was heard on the roof above her, Nigel dropping down into the room seconds later, landing awkwardly but he shook it off as he stood up.
“Thanks for that,” he said as closed the window, closing the yellow curtains after he had done so. “Breaking and entering when you don’t have hands is a lot more difficult than it first appears” Nigel commented as he observed the room, the changeling turning back to look at Midnight after he had done so.
“Nice place, but why is their only one bed? Did they not have a double like I wanted?”
“No, they only had singles left,” Midnight lied, the mare walking towards the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower, I smell like I’ve been working on a farm all day” she said as she walked into the bathroom, leaving the door slightly ajar.
Nigel was too busy removing his cloak to notice this, placing the blue apparel upon a table. He wandered over towards a fruit bowl with apples, bananas and peaches being the primary occupants. He balanced a peach with a hoof, inspecting the fruit for any impurities before he bit into the peach.
“Blargg!”
Nigel spat the mouthful into a waste bin, the fruit proving to taste incredibly old. The most appropriate word he could use to describe the taste was ‘stale’, even though the fruit looked to be perfectly ripe. His face scrunched up as he tried to eliminate the taste from his mouth, tossing the rest of the peach in the trash. “Don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat a peach again” Nigel muttered as he heard the shower start up.
He was thankful that he didn’t have to eat solid food in this form considering how badly things seemed to taste. He had tried a bit of blueberry muffin earlier and it had tasted like dirt, the blueberries themselves tasting like olives that had been drenched in brine.
Nigel sat down on the floor next to the bed, tracing a hoof over the faint bruises that existed on his chest. He was surprised that the hooves he was stuck with could pick up the texture of his alien chest. The smooth chitin seemed to be fairly weak really, no wonder it seemed that Changelings avoided direct confrontation. The bruises seemed to have faded rather quickly once he had met up with Midnight, maybe this new body healed better with this ‘love’ crap that the Equestrians had claimed. Nigel sighed as this thought came to mind, reduced from a feared and respected soldier to a four-foot bug that feeds of the sappiest emotion known to man.
He laid his head back against the wall, trying to not think about what the coming days would bring. He closed his eyes, losing himself to the rhythmic noise of water hitting the floor as the shower ran in the other room. He let out a yawn, the fatigue of the last few days catching up with him as he slowly drifted off into a hopefully-dreamless slumber.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Midnight hummed to herself as she left the shower, drying herself with a towel that was hanging on a rack. She felt utterly re-vitalised, her coat and mane finally free of the grime that had built up since she fled Canterlot with Nigel. She studied herself in the small mirror hanging up in the room, making sure that her mane and tail were in order. Everything was looking good, Midnight stepping out of the room merrily, looking around for the changeling she had be-friended.
Midnight smiled when she saw that Nigel was leaning against the wall asleep, the mare making her way over towards him. She stopped a few hoofsteps away, watching as the changeling’s chest rose and fell with his breathing. Midnight blushed as she realised what she was doing, the mare moving quickly onto the bed, careful not to disturb her slumbering friend. She moved under the covers and made herself comfortable, expecting to fall asleep immediately.
For ten minutes Midnight tossed and turned, the mare unable to drift off no-matter how tired she was or which position she tried. She eventually gave up, resigning herself to stare at the plain wooden ceiling as she counted the minutes passing. Soon she found herself at the edge of the bed, her head hanging over as she looked down upon the changeling sleeping beside it.
She stared at him for what felt like ages, the mare scrutinising his form as he lay there unaware of her wandering gaze. Midnight jerked her head back in alarm as Nigel’s head twitched violently, the expression on his face morphing into a frown. She watched with worry as his head twitched again, the changeling’s breathing rapidly increasing.
She rushed off the bed to his side, Midnight embracing him as the spasms intensified. Tears built up in her eyes as she hugged him tight, afraid for his safety. She didn’t know what to do, was his body rejecting the alien mind that occupied it or was he experiencing an allergic reaction to something?
As she was going over all of the possible things that could have gone wrong the fevered twitching subsided, the changeling returning to his peaceful state. Midnight blinked away tears as she looked up at him, his face morphing back to a neutral expression. The mare’s frantic heartbeat slowed down to normal as she rested against him. It was at this point that she realised just how much she needed him, the thought of losing her only friend un-thinkable to the mare.
She knew that it was more than that however; he was far more than just a friend. Midnight only wished that he could see her like that, the changeling so far having avoided the topic since she first kissed him. Was it because she was a Nocturne and his people would look down upon it?
Midnight moved over to Nigel’s side, keeping her fore-legs wrapped around him as she did so. She feared that if she let go he would begin to spasm again, the first time already spooking her enough. As she moved her belly brushed against Nigel’s side, Midnight pausing to look upon it. Was he hesitant because of what had happened with Equinox? She knew that bastards were looked down upon heavily around the known world, was it the same where Nigel was from?
Midnight looked back at the changeling she was against, dismissing the thought almost as soon as it arrived. She knew that even if he didn’t show it with affection, he still loved her regardless. The mare snuggled in closer, sleep finally creeping up on her. She made a promise to herself that she would talk to Nigel about her feelings for him in the morning, hopefully this time she would get a much better result.
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Finally, a chapter! None of my favourited stories have updated for at least THREE days. Thank Celestia that I didn't have to wait longer, and thank you Dropbear271
Haha, too bad Midnight. Nigel love only himself.
Interesting, continue.
3732415
while most of his love is fore himself i think he also loves killing stuff, toppeling governments, infiltration missions with explosive endings and other harmless fun things like exterminatus or something.
Maybe he even has a little bit of love to spare for other people but who knows.
Why do I detect unintentional sleep sex happening soon?
Good chapter, very good
3732563
Yeah... I have always found active seizures that leave you unaware to be a real turn on.... Spares me from using the pills anyway....
Otherwise sounds interesting if it happens while he isn't spazzing out.
3735844
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
3739297 I saw it and thought that we were going to get a "While you were still learning to SPELL YOUR NAME!" joke
Great story, hope you keep updating these more often! I really hope that this fanfic keeps going down the humorous rode more often, but still, great story.
Great chapter and story! I really love this story, but i think the story is losing it's character. It's starting to lose its funny and is turning into a romance story. I don't a of romance in this story, but I prefer comedy. So please, I don't want this fanfic to loose its character. In the end tho this fanfic is yours. So I'm not going to be bothered.
3760843
Yeah, i'm trying to kind of get all of the development in early, don't worry next chapter (Which should be out today) will have more comedy. This fic I wanted to try to take a more... serious approch really but I agree it needs more laughs. Working on it now so keep an ey out.
Alas, the bed goes unused.
When the griffen pops in, I want to know his thoughts.
Oh boy, I hope Midnight can handle what Nigel has to say to her.
Clever girl.
This is not the reflection of midnight i was expecting.
This is an emotionally unstable mare with only 1 supporter.
Wait hold the phone... Now give the phone to me.
If this dude is from the future with genetic spacefaring shit, how did he make a Bieber reference in chapter 1? Biggest plothole ever! XD
8238607
It also mentioned Monty Python and the Holy Grail as being a 21st century film. Plothole theory BUSTED.
7031418
isn't that exactly what Midnight is inthis fic?
10211330
She was a Royal Guard for Luna’s section which means that she should have passed the basic -and likely advanced training- regimens and eliminations to attain the position over less worthy applicants. Unless they slap armor on anyone coming in off the streets who fill out an application and assign them to classified security areas on day 1-2 in this Fic… hard to say given the information so far, I think. Or maybe Equestrian mares in this Fic become inundated with unpredictable natal hormones during pregnancy and thus the reason she was declared unfit for military duty?