Where Night Meets Day

by _Medicshy

Seeking Warmth

Jazz played for the party goers with gusto, their cheering and dancing far more musical to his ears than the fiddle in his hooves. Try as he might, he couldn't get the jazz apples to react nearly as positively to his playing as they did when he'd been with Flora, but even that didn't bother him. When she'd walked out, he'd expected the jazz apples would take a hit. What he didn't expect was the pit sitting beneath his heart.

Despite the smile on his face, it was only skin deep, hiding the scowl that had been glued to his face for the past few days. With every movement of his hoof drawing his bow across his fiddle, his chest ached, still sore from the kick he'd received from Flora. With every laugh and cheer around him, he could hear her giggling at his antics and his shows, making everything else seem mirthless. And as each note reached his ear, perfect in execution but so mechanical that he could barely recognize them as his own, he yearned for the days he'd lost.

He wasn't too proud to admit to himself that he missed her. In fact, if Ink Well's plan worked out, he was going to apologize to Flora and hope they could become friends again. It didn't matter that he despised her father for his cowardly actions, it had been a mistake to pass his faults onto her, particularly when she had just been worried for his safety.

And she hadn't been the only one. As soon as Applejack had shown up at Sweet Apple Acres with her platoon, Jazz had told her his intention to join up with the army. She'd managed to dismiss her knights and get away from Princess Celestia before exploding at him, but only barely. “Are you a dang fool, Jazz? I don' want ya ta join th' army, I'm fightin' so that you don' hafta!. If'n I'd wanted more of my family involved, I'dda sent a letter to your dad or gotten Big Mac in, bad back or no.”

Jazz had stood just inside the farmhouse door, stunned by what he was hearing from the most patriotic pony he knew. “Mom, ya ain't sympathizin' with the enemy, are ya?”

Applejack glared at him. “Don't ya dare use that word.”

Jazz was confused. “Sympathizer?”

The glare continued. “Enemy.” Applejack walked further into the house, putting an armored hoof around her son's shoulder as she did. “Those ponies on th' other side are fightin' for their land 'n their home, just like we are, 'n nopony's happy with the war. If'n ya start callin' 'em the enemy an' stop callin' em ponies, ya ain't respecting the value of the lives ya protect or the ones yer forced ta take.” She then turned him towards her before hugging his head close to her chest, even though he was taller than her. “But mah boy ain't gonna be forced ta take anythin'. The farm needs ya, especially after that stunt yer father pulled. Leave the fightin' to the ol' ponies that started this mess.”

Jazz finished his song, letting the celebrating ponies bow and trade places before starting the next square dance. As they did, he looked over to his mother, watching over her knights with an eagle eye. She'd already pulled ponies aside who were getting too rowdy and took the cider from the ponies that couldn't handle any more. She just wanted to see everypony out safely, whatever that meant. Of course she wouldn't have wanted to see Jazz hurt.

And to think of all the stupid things he'd convinced himself of when he'd entered the greenhouse that day... Sighing deeply to himself, Jazz readied the fiddle again, deciding to do a little something different. He took his bow wandering, needing a few moments to find the pathways he'd set down months before, but once he found them the fiddle was off, as lively and jumping as a stagecoach chase as he did something he'd never done before.

Jazz had never performed his pieces for the jazz apples in front of other ponies. Some of the older compositions had been turned into other things, but the first time anypony other than himself had heard one as it was initially written was when Flora had sat in his greenhouse, lighting up his life with her smile. From there he'd had her join, he'd played for Silver, he'd seen the pain and disappointment mar the sparkling emerald eyes he'd come to adore so much... Even if she couldn't hear him, he wanted to apologize, and this seemed like just the way.

The leaping notes and sweeping counter melodies flooded his mind, and though he was just one pony, his sound contained the notes of two as his hoof danced across the strings, picking out both his and her part. Even though he hadn't played it in so long, he could still feel her harmonies flowing through him, just as they had when they had been connected in each moment by the music. During those happy happy weeks, two ponies had become one... it was only fair that the work be remembered now.

He played his heart out for the ponies listening, no longer caring if it was a dancing tune or no, though he could feel the party continuing. He was too caught up in the flow of the music he created, swept away in the rhythm and the notes around each bend and dip in the song. All too soon he'd reached the end of the path, and though he wished he could continue in his memories, he had to bring it to an end. Still, he drew the last note until it reached the horizon, where maybe she would hear it and think once more of him.

The entire barn was silent, listening for the last note to truly disappear before it roared into applause and cheering, raucous once more. Jazz let out the breath he had been holding, glad he hadn't killed the party with his thoughts, when his eyes were caught with hers. As though summoned by the music, Flora was leaning on the barn gate, her look conflicted, her eyes searching, and then a pony passed between, and the next instant she was gone. He'd been so surprised to see her that he could do little more than raise a hoof toward the door futilely, wishing she'd come back.

It was then that Applejack walked up to him, nudging him playfully on the shoulder. “Wheoo-wee, Pinkie sure does know how to throw a party on short notice! Ain't no way she coulda gotten the barn set up before we got here, yet look at the place. Ya'd think she'd be throwin' a party fer the other side, really.” When she saw his dejected expression, her own smile faded. “Somethin' botherin' ya?”

Jazz held back a sigh. “I thought I saw Flora at the gate, but she left when I stopped playin'.”

Applejack's mouth scrunched up in bemusement. “She does know she's invited, right? I'll go let 'er know while you set up fer yer next song.”

“Nah, don't bother, it'd just bring down the party. She's pro'bly still mad about a couple days ago.” He looked at the fiddle in his hoof, then shook his head. “I don't feel like playin' much anyway...”

Applejack moved in front of him, stopping him with a gentle armored hoof. “Alright, what happened?”

“I... well...” Jazz rubbed his neck nervously, knowing how she'd react and feeling a bit of a fool himself for what he was about to say. “A few days ago we were finishin' up in the greenhouse an' I told her I wanted ta join the war. She got mad at me 'n told me not ta go 'n I... said some things.”

“What kinda 'things'?” Applejack's voice was hard with skepticism, only adding to Jazz's nervousness. When he remained silent, she cleared her throat, glaring him down with all the combined force of a mother and a drill instructor. To him, the first was far scarier.

“I... I kinda said she didn' care about the ponies she'd lost in the war an' mighta called her a foolcowardpegasus'ntraitor...”

Applejack's jaw hardened, a lot more tension appearing in her body. “You did what!?” When Jazz just stood there looking sorry for himself, Applejack had to take a step back, the control in her actions immense. “If I didn' love ya an' think I'd kill ya doin' it, I'd buck you somethin' fierce!”

“Flora did when I said it, then yelled at me before stormin' out. I ain't talked ta her since.” He stared at the floor of the stage, ready for whatever punishment his mother had in store for him, when the violin case clattered into sight and opened before his eyes. He looked up, seeing Applejack's head coming back to a rest after her throw.

“What're you still doin' in here? Get out there an' fix it before ya can't!” Jazz moved to speak and was immediately stopped. “Now, Jazz. Ya don't get second chances.” Jazz looked back at the case, seeing the bandanna Flora had left behind in the greenhouse sitting inside. Quickly he put away his fiddle, grabbed the little green square of fabric, and ran for the barn exit, weaving between partygoers as best as he could.

Bursting out into the freezing winter air, Jazz looked around for Flora, but all around him was darkness with no clues to where she could've gone. Sweet Apple Acres was a big enough place as it was, but there was no reason to think she'd even still be on the farm, and even if she was, what was he going to say? Like 'sorry' could fix their issues...

Jazz slumped down on the hard ground, just as he had the day she'd left, too late then as well. He sighed, watching his breath freeze before him, the outside chill nipping at his heart. His mother had been right. You don't get second chances. With ears drooping low and tail dragging across the ground, Jazz made his way inside to lose himself among the party guests.

After all of the excitement of the day, it was hard for Wind to buckle down and focus on repairing her mother's perfumery, but she somehow managed, gushing all the while to Steam about how excited she was to see her father again and how amazed she was she hadn't recognized him. After all, she'd been glued to his side when she'd been growing up, she'd have thought she'd know him anywhere. But he'd looked so different, and with the cloak always covering him and the way he'd talked, she never could have…

For her part Steam listened on, amused and warmed by her friend's antics. She'd found it more and more charming how Wind would get swept up in her conversations when she was truly excited about something, particularly considering how often they both sat in silence, hard at work. Back when she'd been working as a waitress, it was her experience that ponies either chatted to the point of annoyance or were silent and standoffish to a fault. Never had she found a mare so able to balance the two extremes.

Steam welded the last brass patch into place, buffing the entire area around it until it was nearly seamless and sparkling like the rest of the workroom. She then looked around at the gleaming machines, feeling the joy of a job well done wash over her. And, on top of that, now she didn't feel quite so bad about taking the room above it to sleep in.

Wind got up from where she was, wiping some of the oil off on her bandanna before tying it back around her mane, a bright smile on her face. “You really did an amazing job in here, Steam! It looks better than I've ever seen it.” She patted Steam on the back, standing beside her to admire their handiwork.

Steam shook her head. “It wouldn't look nearly this good if you hadn't helped polish it. Though I'm just glad I can pay your mother back for all her hospitality.”

“Paying her back? You didn't need to do that. She already… Oh!Ohohohohohohohohohoh!” Wind suddenly began to dance in place, eyes wide and face beaming, before she turned to Steam. “I know how I can pay you back for the time in your apartment! Go put on the Ready Wings and meet me out front.”

“You already paid me back by getting me to safety, and with the gem cutter, and—” Steam started to protest, but was cut off by Wind.

“None of that! Ready Wings and probably warm clothes. You won't be sorry.” With that Wind took off, flying between the machinery and pipes and out the door to the shop, where the bell signaled she'd left the store.

Steam just shook her head, smiling at Wind's antics before going upstairs and getting the items Wind had asked for. She got the hat, scarf, and earmuffs she had borrowed from the main house, unfortunately unable to keep her hooves warm thanks to her magic slippers, but otherwise set for the cold winter night. As she was getting ready to strap on the wings, however, she remembered her letter, still waiting where she'd hidden it in her mane. Removing her hat, she took the letter and tucked it back into the strap of the Ready Wings. Tonight, she thought to herself, I'm going to deliver it. Whatever her reaction is.

Less than a minute later she was outside, watching Wind turn around in circles, slightly puzzled by the sky. “It's not that late, is it? We've only been working for a couple hours, right?”

The moon was high above, steadily working its way to the top of the sky, and all around most of the lights of Ponyville were already out for the evening. Steam looked at all of the evidence and shrugged. “Well, I guess we must have lost track of the night.”

Wind pouted for a moment, but remained resolute. “No matter! It just means we're less likely to meet anypony else in the air, and I think I'd prefer that right now.” She hovered off the ground, holding out a hoof and waiting for Steam to join her. “Let's go, while the night is still young.”

Steam was a little tentative about late night flying, particularly when she knew the Royal Army was so close by, but as she looked into Wind's friendly, determined eyes, she couldn't help but smile, taking the hovering mare's hoof. Unfortunately it was impossible to hold onto it and make the mechanical wings work, but the gesture was there anyway as Steam set herself hovering beside her friend. “So,” she said as she got into the rhythm of flight once more, “where are we going?”

Wind smirked playfully. “Just trust me and keep close. It'll be worth the trip.” Wind slowly rose into the air, making sure that Steam was indeed following before she giggled and took off towards the edge of town. Steam's smile grew at that, doing her best to match her companion's speed, like they had done playing in the sky on their way here.

Steam knew she could never catch the pegasus, the natural born flier far speedier than the mechanics let the unicorn move, but Wind wasn't trying to keep away or even make it a competition. She never got more than a few lengths ahead of Steam, and was often looking back, her smile beaming in the moonlight when she saw Steam keeping steady behind.

Their flight path took them near the camp for the NLR, the sounds of a party rising from the two well lit tents, but Wind ignored those in favor of flying over the dark Everfree Forest. Even in the dead of winter the trees were heavy and thick, the snowy blanket only serving to make a greater shell over the dangerous lands beneath. After a few minutes flying over it, Steam started to feel uneasy moving over the dark branches and the wild magics they contained. She slowed down a little, occasionally glancing back at the few lights she could see marking Ponyville far behind.

Wind saw her friend's discomfort and slowed to a stop, spinning around in the clear night sky. She seemed confident enough, but it soon became clear that she was looking for something that she wasn't finding. Motioning for Steam to stay where she was, Wind flew a ways away, then high up, all the while searching for whatever she'd brought Steam out here to see.

Steam watched for a while, willing to humor Wind as the cold of winter, somehow amplified over the frozen forest below, seeped into her fur. Even with all of the movement needed to keep in the air, soon Steam was aching, the tips of her hooves getting sore from their motions. When finally Wind came back from her search, looking more than a little downtrodden, Steam just smiled reassuringly, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. “There, there. It's alright. I don't think I could've found anything out here either, even if I knew the place.”

“It's not that. I was hoping there'd be a storm, but it's clear as crystal out here tonight.” Wind pouted, the lack of rain actually having a heavy effect on her previous joyful mood.

Steam wanted to go over and hug her to make her feel better, but that too was impossible with the mechanical wings keeping her aloft. And, as the ache started to set into her legs, she spotted a solution she preferred to trying to land in the foreboding trees below. “Hey,” she said, taking a few panting breaths to keep in the air. “The weather changes on its own out here, right? How about we go over to that mountain and wait for a while? Something might change.”

Wind looked over to the lonely mountain in question, ears drooping a little as she heard the tiredness in Steam's voice. “Yeah… okay.” They made their way over, finding the tallest mountain and settling down between the barren trees at the top of a sheer rock wall.

As soon as she hit the soft snow, Steam took off the wings, setting it down on one side of a tree that she too leaned back against, a spark of magic running between her hooves as she tried to warm up while Wind continued her scout for foul weather. Steam watched her, feeling a little sorry that Wind's surprise was going so poorly. “You know, even without the rain, it's really beautiful out here.”

Wind sighed. “Yeah...”

Steam got up, getting a little closer to her friend. “And, you know… There's already been so much going on today, maybe just spending time outside is enough on its own?”

Wind sighed again, pouting as she looked at the ground. “No. It's not. I wanted to do something special for you.”

Steam's heart began to flutter in her chest as she took another few steps towards her dejected friend. “Something special?”

“Yeah. I wanted to pay you back for being awesome and letting me work in your apartment and not freaking out about the travel and… well, everything we've gone through, and after seeing my dad, I remembered this really great story he told me he did when he and my mom were first getting to know each other. He got Twilight Sparkle, before she was a princess, to cast a spell that gave mom wings, and then he flew out here and they stood in a storm and he saw the most perfect moonbow.” She looked back, the disappointment with herself apparent in her eyes. “I wanted to see it for myself and show it to you, but… well...”

Steam's own ears drooped with Wind's as the pegasus looked forlornly over the cliff once more. It hurt to see Wind's heart falling like that. Just like it had hurt to see Wind falling from the sky, off a similar cliff so very far away from here. As Steam looked around, the wing pack off on the side, the wind rustling through her mane, her horn aglow as a little beacon in the dark, she couldn't help but think back to the day she'd first met Wind. She thought about that day more often than she cared to admit, a blush coming to her cheeks as she did once more.

She had to tell Wind what she meant to her. How happy she was now, how unfair it was for the pegasus to be feeling sad after all the good she had done. Steam picked up the letter from the straps in her magic, hovering it into her hooves. “Wind, don't feel so bad about the moonbow. I know you wanted to show me something special, but you don't have to. You've already… I mean you're so kind to me, and… What I'm trying to say, I guess, is… well, if you'd just read—”

Steam slowly walked to Wind's side as she worked up the courage to get the words out, scared what might happen if she revealed her feelings to her best friend in the world. If somehow Wind got offended or pushed her away because of it… Luckily for her, she didn't have to go through with it as Wind's hoof and wing shot out, pulling Steam to her side while her other hoof pointed down into a valley in the mountain. “Steam! Look!”

Steam looked down where she was directed, seeing a thin waterfall in the stationary landscape. Much of the river above was frozen over, but what was still flowing tumbled off the edge of the cliff, many of the droplets turning to snow as they tumbled through the freezing air. However, in the spray forming around the base of the lone waterfall, light sparkled up at the pair on the mountain, the snow and mist coming together with the moonlight to create a vivid moonbow, all colors of the rainbow standing out against the frozen, dormant landscape.

As much as the beautiful sight warmed Steam's heart, it did little compared to the downy feathers of the wing holding her to Wind's side. Feeling that warm shell wrapped around her was something amazing that she didn't even realize she'd missed until that morning. She melted into the comfortable embrace, leaning against Wind with a deep smile on her face. Wind looked down at her, proud excitement shining in her eyes. “Isn't it awesome Steam?”

Steam just nodded, snuggling a little closer. “Yeah… yeah it is.” A thought went to the letter clutched in her hoof, but she brushed it aside, not wanting to squander this one perfect moment.

They spent what seemed like hours watching their little hidden moonbow, nothing bothering them in their chilly perch as the night sky rolled by overhead. Eventually, however, Wind realized the night was late when Steam yawned, passing the tiredness to Wind. “We should probably head back...” Wind said, not moving a single muscle as she did.

“Yeah… we should.” Steam almost nuzzled into Wind's side, refusing to move from her warm, safe shell.

“I need to get home before mom realizes I'm gone… though she might still be up talking or something with dad...” Wind continued to stay stock still, apart from her head, which fell softly to lean on top of Steam's.

Steam nodded slowly, then, with her heart in her throat, voiced a thought. “You know, you could stay with me in your shop tonight...” She smiled weakly, peeking over at Wind's moon bathed face, where she saw no reaction. “The bed is a little big for one pony, and it's very cold alone. I mean, you don't have to, but after all those times in the caves on the way over, I wouldn't mind some company, if you—”

Wind's smile spread across her face as she looked back, her eyes closing and her head tilting cutely. “Of course! What a good idea. I accept.” She unwrapped her wing from Steam's side quickly, allowing in the freezing chill of midwinter in the mountains, which sent Steam shivering. Wind then ran over to the Ready Wings, helping Steam get them on despite the cold. “We need to get you home before you turn into a ponycicle.”

Steam just nodded, getting the machine going before hovering in the air, her motions doing little to warm her up. The flight home was swift and smooth, as was their entrance to the cold shop front, running up the stairs and removing the wings and winter clothes. Soon, Steam was shivering beneath the bed covers, only to be warmed by Wind's body entering like a space heater. When Wind felt how cold her friend was, she wrapped her hooves and wings around her, once more cocooning the unicorn in warmth. This ended up making them both unbearably overheated, but neither of them seemed to notice as they quickly drifted off to sleep, a content smile on both of their faces.

Comments

[Flutterknight]

~<3