The Veins Run Deeper

by Thunderblast

The New Governor

The room went dark as the lights switched off and the blinds shut, all at the flick of a switch by the door. Night's bed flattened out steadily with the aid of small hydraulics in the mechanism.

He eased the blankets off of his lower half and laid himself flat on the bed as the earth pony doctor positioned a strangely-shaped machine that curved above him, appearing something like a camera studio light. The doctor turned to a small dash of buttons on the machine and pressed a button, followed by a long, high-pitched tone, and a click.

Night blinked in response to the click, glancing over to the doctor as he moved the machine from his bed, the blinds reopening and lights turning back on. "What was that?"

"X-ray. Results should tell us whether or not your bones are repositioning themselves like they should," the doctor glanced up from his clipboard with a warm smile, dragging the large, wheeled machine out of the room. "As soon as the data comes full circle, we'll decide if you can leave today and get you to rehab in Canterlot."

"Thank you, doc," Night nodded once, glancing upwards. "Leave today? It's been only a week and a half," he muttered under his own breath.

Evidently, he neglected to notice the door reopen, a dark grey, blue-maned mare standing just beyond the now-closed doorway. "You should feel lucky, Night."

He jumped in surprise, snapping to the mare, before putting a hoof to his chest and breathing out. The heart machine spiked just briefly during that moment. "Don't scare me like that, please! I don't want to stay in here for a heart attack."

The mare sauntered to his bedside, setting a hoof on his. Bandages remained wrapped around it while the deep cut continued to heal and close itself off.

"For what you had in mind, Night, that was the stupidest idea. You should feel ashamed."

Night's ears lost their perk. "I'm sorry, Scarlet. The last thing I had in mind was that he'd send them to grab me where I wanted to go."

The mare's deep red eyes blinked slowly. She turned, grabbing a chair and sliding it up to his bed to sit, not once taking her hoof off of his. "You said yourself that he had been watching you through your thoughts for months."

"By then, I realized too late. But, it worked out, didn't it?"

"It did. If only you'd have known beforehand. Shield might still be with us. But, before you jump to what I know you're about to say, it isn't your fault."

"You know me too well," Night weakly grinned. "I was about to."

"I know you were," Scarlet gently stroked his hoof above the bandages. "As terrible as the truth is, things went the way they did for a reason. There's a saying, sometimes a brighter future means sacrifice. It goes for material things, or even friends, but in an emotional way. It's a way of preparing yourself for the inevitable, some say."

A small frown curved Night's lips, followed by a deep, nasal sigh. "I know everything went to plan, and Topaz is back behind bars, where he belongs, but, Scarlet... is it wrong to feel... incomplete?"

"Incomplete about what? It's finally over, Night. We can sleep easy. You, especially."

"The only reason I have been is because they pumped me with melatonin in my IV," he said, frankly. "I feel like the job isn't done still."

"It's because Shield isn't with us anymore, is it?"

"That definitely plays a role, but, no. This is something else."

Scarlet cocked her head slightly. "What do you think?"

"I don't know. I feel like..." Night paused, sighing. "I feel like I need answers to a whole heap of questions."

"What questions?"

"Call me crazy, I'm not even sure. Questions I don't yet know about."

"Well," the dark grey mare glanced to his hoof, stroking it gently. "You're the captain here. I trust your judgement."

"That's another thing, Scarlet. Am I worthy of this position in any way, shape, or form?" Night turned his head, gaze meeting hers.

"What would possess you to ask such a question, Night?"

"All of this. Putting each of you in harm's way, getting Shield killed and Dusk captured. How can I be trusted with orders if I cannot trust myself to keep everypony safe?"

A lengthy silence ensued, the two with their eyes locked and with looks of concern between one another. Scarlet broke the silence, speaking softly.

"Leaders have to make tough decisions sooner or later. Leaders put their peers in harms way more often than you may think. It's their job to do so, but by doing just that, they guide their soldiers. They don't stand back and watch them fend for themselves, no. If worse comes to worst, the captain goes down with his or her ship, not stand from shore and watch their sailors drown."

"You have not failed us as a squadron, Night Shadow. Even if you saw it coming, there was no possible way for you to change the outcome of things. Shield would have used himself regardless, because he couldn't bear to watch somepony else take that arrow. If it weren't for him, Night, I'd be the one they are having a funeral for."

"As reassuring as I'm sure that was supposed to be, it wasn't. Whether it be you, or Shieldhunter, it wouldn't have altered my feelings then, or in the present," Night sighed, laying his head back. "I should have just kept things close, either in Canterlot, or... I dunno."

"Night, please, quit being so hard on yourself. What's happened is done, there isn't anything we can do about it but to continue to fight in his name, and everypony else who couldn't be home."

He stared up, ears flat to his head. Night took in a deep breath, then relaxed his muscles. "Then that is what we will have to do, Scarlet."

"But, we won the war, Night. He is probably looking down on us at this very moment, chugging his favorite brand of whiskey in celebration," she lightly smiled, then leaned across and planted a kiss on the stallion's cheek. "After all, even in death, who wouldn't be proud to serve in the Zodiacs, under Captain Night Shadow's orders?"

The kiss brought a small, faint blush on Night's cheeks, and a smile pursing his lips. In spite of his doubts, he knew she was right.

***

Gazing out the window, Night went over numerous thoughts in his head, chin rested on his hoof. Scarlet sat to his right on the seat, reading a mare's magazine, occasionally laughing at one or two of the articles on some of the pages, whenever there wasn't an advertisement.

To all but himself and Scarlet, he stared with a frown out at the scenery. From this high up, ponies could see for miles and continuing to grow larger the more they climbed into the mountains, closing in on Canterlot.

For once, Topaz, the fight, and every little detail in between didn't blink with top priority in his head. Rather, he pondered on the idea of adjusting back into normal life. Until his wing is better, if it heals properly, the only traveling he would do anywhere is by train, or airship, if those are even still utilized.

In addition to his wing's condition, the doctors in Manehattan strongly admonished against vigorous physical exercises altogether, further limiting him from everyday activities. To an extent, walking was included in their overly-lengthy list of things Night should not do, at least not for a month or more.

"Three whole months..." he said lowly, eyes falling to the ground outside the train while it raced by. "I can't do that."

"Not by yourself," Scarlet said, looking up from the magazine, smiling. "We're all in this together."

"Oh, no, Scarlet. I don't want to have to force the others to shoulder my problems. Right now, everyone has their own thing going on. The last thing I want is for them to—"

Scarlet took Night's chin in her hoof and turned it, pecking him on the lips, silencing him immediately. His cheeks lit up with bright red, and his one wing puffed out with its feathers ruffled.

"You worry too much, Night," she said with a soft giggle, returning her attention to her magazine.

Flustered as ever, Night toned down the blush just enough, narrowing his eyes onto the grey thestral mare. "You know, for how much you flirt, it's like I'm your favorite stallion to hit on."

"What, is that a problem?" Scarlet moved her eyes over, playfully fluttering her eyelids at him, then snickering.

"No, just... I don't know," Night groaned, falling back against the seat. "You're unexplainable sometimes. N-not that... that's a bad thing, of course."

"Aren't all mares?" Scarlet smirked softly as she flipped a page.

"Yeaaaaah, but—oh, you get what I mean!" Night grumbled and crossed his hooves, gazing back out the window.

For this amount of time, she hadn't even bothered reading what was on the pages while Night sputtered.

His attempts to formulate a single sentence kept the smirk across her muzzle holding strong. He was cute, she knew that much, and to her knowledge, this was the closest he'd ever been to a mare in this sort of way. Their moment in Hollow Shades weeks ago, and their current one, both having left Night the one flustering rather than her, as many would refer to as backwards.

Having been close to his squad mates for this long, him and Scarlet most definitely stood side to side in friendship. She was, after all, a flirtatious mare.

Ranging from horrible pick-up lines to the occasional compliment in the suggestive range, she used any one in the book on nearly every stallion she'd come across. Those that knew her well knew she meant them in a purely satirical manner. Yet, around Night, they seemed all too real, and both of them had been well aware of that without mentioning it prior to now.

For how much Night overworked and stressed himself on an almost-daily basis, she loved him, and for how occasionally obnoxious and spunky she can be, and how hilarious she got when having guzzled too many drinks, Night loved her. Perhaps not in a sense he was willing to confirm just yet, or being uncertain if his mind is playing tricks on him.

Despite his constant attempts to quell his thoughts, they only looped back around. After some time, he had no choice but to let it consume him, not that his thoughts were painful, degrading ones. In fact, they were quite the opposite, and he could only smile.

As the train pulled into Canterlot, it slowed, jolting as it halted at the platform. The conductor disembarked from a leading carriage, welcoming passengers to the city one by one. Night and Scarlet stood, grabbing the little belongings they had on them and worked through a single-file line to step off.

Night lifted his gaze from the floor, freezing in his tracks just off of the train with Scarlet slipping out beside him and both staring with much surprise. In two rows stood a line of City and Lunar guards, standing at attention. Among them stood Sharpblade, Skye Racer, many others in the Zodiacs and House Guard, and looping around them, Thunderblast, who fell into line himself.

"About face!" Thunder ordered, the guards in either line swinging sideways in unison. Their hooves clicking together, the guards facing one another and taking a step back to clear a central path leading up to the door. His eyes moved to the right, a faint smile appearing for only them to see, lip-speaking the words, "Welcome back, Captain."

***

With the sun setting in the far distance, and ponies filling the streets to head home, two pegasi guards strode through the crowds and into a narrow alleyway-like street, shadowed by the surrounding buildings and lit with only a few lanterns.

Strolling up and down the alley, Zipline and Skye Racer kept vigilant for the shop they searched for. Apart from themselves, only one other pony traversed the alley, walking between them when they split to make space for the walking pony. They stopped near the end of the street where they initially entered, scanning around to their respective sides of the street.

One sign caught Skye's attention, him lifting a hoof to gently tap on Zipline's armor and grab his attention, gesturing toward the shop, which partially sunk into the ground with a short flight of steps leading down to the door. The two strode down the steps and into the shop, a tiny bell ringing above them to alert the shopkeeper of their entrance.

Trotting around a rack and stopping, the lavender unicorn with a buzzcut-like mane scanned over the two guards. His maw parted to speak, only to be stopped by Zipline raising his badge.

"You are Kas, the owner of this shop, correct?" Skye sternly asked, standing tall beside Zipline, doing so to show off some sort of intimidation toward the unicorn.

The lavender unicorn furrowed an eyebrow, then nodded once. "That is me," his eyes briefly darted to the emblem on their chest plates, easing himself. "You are Zodiacs. Ah know yer captain and your sergeant, they purchased bows and arrows from my shop."

"Then perhaps you can answer some questions we have for you," Zipline replied, tucking away his badge. "It is to our knowledge that you have illegally sold weapons to enemies of Equestria, but with Captain Night Shadow's orders, we cannot arrest you until you are proven guilty."

"Sold weapons... illegally?" Kas chuckled softly. "You two must be mistaken, ah do not sell anythin' to anypony who ain't a guard or a soldier—"

"When was your last customer?" Skye interrupted, walking closer.

Kas stood his ground, raising a brow again. He went back through his memory in silence, responding moments later. "Just a few days ago. Ah refurbished a private's armor for 'im."

"Before that?" Skye blinked.

The lavender unicorn shook his head. "Just guards, that ah can remember," he stopped, eyes moving up to the ceiling in thought. "Actually, now that ah ponder it, there was somepony strange that came in about a month ago. Says he was Special Forces, or somethin'."

"What did he look like? Can you remember?"

"Tall, brass coat, green eyes. Was a unicorn, ah think. Had, uh... swept back mane, and his voice..." Kas shuddered slightly. "T'was somethin' ah've never heard before in my life."

"And... did he purchase anything from you?" Zipline said, writing down on a notepad with a pen.

"Did he? The question y'all should be askin' is, what didn't he buy from me? Bought my whole collection of knives, swords, some crossbows, even some armor. His identification card seemed legit, but ah couldn't be sure. Ah came back around to question him on it, but he was gone. Took the weapons with 'im, and left a big sack of money."

"So, you did not get a chance to ask him questions?" Skye narrowed his eyes slightly.

Kas shook his head. "Afraid not. Ya say ah sold them illegally, now it all makes sense. Who was he?"

The two guards exchanged looks, then turned back to the shopkeeper. It was Zipline who replied, tucking away the notepad and pen. "For the moment, that is classified information. Is that all the information you can give us?"

Nodding, Kas waved a hoof. "About all ah can remember."

Zipline nodded. "Well, for legal reasons, I am afraid we must bring you in for some further questioning, as well as a lie detector test to ensure your side of the case. Likeliness is, it will end in your favor. But, one small slip, and you could very well face life in the dungeons beside whom you sold those weapons to."

"The sales of weapons to an enemy of Equestria is one of the highest offenses in the country, and while her highness is against execution, she holds the right to determine whether you are deserving of such punishment."

Skye Racer brought out a pair of hoofcuffs. "If you are willing to comply, we will not have to use these."

Breathing a shaky breath, Kas nodded. "Ah will go with y'all. Just, one question. Do ah get to keep the money?"

"That will be up to the judge," Zipline responded. "Come on, Kas."

***

For as much as Night believed it would be difficult to return to normal life, sure enough, he could not have been more wrong. Within the first two weeks of returning to Canterlot, it was as if he'd forgotten entirely about the cast on his wing.

Every two days, Night met with a pegasus Guard Rehabilitation Instructor, steadily working his strength back up and bringing his body back into shape. A week and a half of not moving from a hospital bed other than to briefly shower and use the restroom took a major toll on his physique.

By now, with his current progress, it would only be a short matter of time until the cast could come off, and with the help of the instructor, would gradually work his way to flying again.

But, between his sessions, it was back to the everyday grind for Night, going over report after report at his desk. Thankfully, Captain Fallen Star and Silent Knight took over for his work throughout the days of his absence. Evidently, neither of them had been aware of his actions outside of Canterlot, and simply assumed for that time, he'd been stranded elsewhere with a sickness and was quarantined in the process.

Night found the story to be absurd, though, he went along with it to avoid further questioning. He already knew the princesses were aware of what he and his fellow squad mates had done, and for the moment, had no plans of telling the truth. Not any time soon, that is.

Yawning softly, Night neatly tore into an envelope with the help of one of his fangs and sliding out the folded piece of paper inside and opening it up to read this next report.

He quite nearly jumped out of his chair with surprise as a rolled-up piece of paper tied neatly around the center with a red ribbon and bow appeared in a flash, dropping onto the floor beside him.

Having stood up on all fours on the seat of his office chair, Night stared with wide-eyes down at the letter, easing himself at the realization that it wasn't a threat, but still suspicious of this letter. Only ones directly from the princesses themselves delivered them in such fashion. This one just happened to be from Princess Celestia, knowing Luna's were of her own shade of blue.

Reaching down and plucking it up, Night sat back down, undoing the button on the ribbon and placing it off to the side, then unrolling the piece of paper and beginning to read.

Attached by a paperclip sat a ticket with print so tiny not even Night could make out just by staring closely. Rather, he continued to read, narrowing his eyes the further he delved into the invitation for the coronation of a new colony leader.

Then, his jaw dropped as far as it could possibly go, finishing off the final sentences of the notice. In utter shock, Night flopped over, crashing to the cobble floor with a thud.

Author's Note:

One more chapter...

P.S.
I ship Night/Scarlet 100%

Comments

[HolyCross9]

Good Hades! Night Shadow fainted!

Also, I also now ship Night Shadow x Scarlet!

[Silver Chord]

Wow... You ship Scarlet with Night Shadow... Color me surprised. ._.

[Thunderblast]

8043375 I already told you that I did. I just wanted to make sure you were fine with it. XD

[Silver Chord]

8043391 Go crazy with it, man. I have no problems with that.

[Paladin Redflare]

I'll kill your shipping, BOY.

Also WHO'S THE NEW GOVERNOR? GLORY??