> The Binding Contract
>  by Mani-Roar
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Tough Sell (revised)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My name is Twilight Velvet and the Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns was all about me. I realize how stuck up that sounds now, but trust me, it was true. I was at the top because I earned it, and no other reason.

I was the highest ranked student in test scores at CSGU. I was the president of the Student Government Association. I lettered in two athletic fields including swimming and magic curling. I was founder and president of the Creative Writing Club, and I made solid straight A's.

My special talent, other than being a straight A student, was fiction writing. My professors were so enthralled by my work that I was invited to do school assembly readings and symposiums on my novels multiple times. I even got the attention of Princess Celestia herself who attended one of my readings. She personally commented on my potential as a writer which was super embarrassing as my cheeks must have been bright red as I ungracefully bowed to her. Nonetheless, it was probably the best moment of my life so far. 

However, accomplishments are not what makes a pony important or special. To me, what makes a pony worthwhile is who they are. CSGU was full of talented stuck up pricks, and I endeavored to never be one of them. Everypony has a gift or special talent that makes them unique. It gives them a place in Equestrian society. Nopony’s gift is better or more important than anypony else’s. Unfortunately, walking these halls you’d never think that was the case. You could smell the arrogant academics as they sauntered about, both student and professor alike. Ponies so pleased with their own intelligence that it dripped off of every word they said. Even their walk and body language containing a certain air of confidence and lofty sophistication. They would never outright say it, but they believed that they were the most important class in all of Equestria, neigh, in all of the world at large.

“Scholars”, they called themselves. More like fakers.

The worst thing anypony could do was mistake me for one of these rich, privileged, preppy kids that strutted through this school on their parent’s trust fund never having to earn their way in the world. In my opinion, academics favored the rich way too much.  Since my family wasn’t made of money, I had to earn my way in on merit alone. I rose to the top of my class through hard work and perseverance. When others were spending Spring Break at the beach or Winter Break at their family lodge in the snowy mountains, I was at home studying. Trying to learn all I could so that my brain could get me places in life, instead of the money we didn’t have. I was one of the lucky few who made it into this school on a full scholarship conditional upon my performance. One misstep, and I could lose everything. And I’d never let that happen. Not to my parents or myself. I think that afforded me at least a little bit of self pride in what I’d accomplished as a student. 

Possibly the worst spoiled brat “scholar” offender in the entire school had to be Night Light. That colt was an overconfident, self entitled, bully headed jerk. He was far less social than I was, but that didn’t stop his arrogance from emanating out in an obnoxious, self-righteous bubble around him. He hardly spoke to anypony. He just sat in his ivory tower looking down on the rest of us plebeians who were too low on the intelligence totem pole for him to interact with. He’d never actually say it, but even the occasional single sentence you may have had the misfortune of hearing him speak told you everything you needed to know about what he thought of both you and himself. 

But even though we had hardly ever spoken to each other, it had somehow gotten around the school that him and I were dating. Not because of anything either of us had said and not because we had been seen together. Like I said, we virtually never spoke. You see, he enjoyed bookbinding as a sort of hobby of his. From what I'd heard at the time, he was pretty good at it too. I’m sure that if you asked him, he would tell you all about it. And because I wrote my own stories, everypony thought that we secretly meet up with each other so that I could give him my written stories and he could bind them together. Apparently, this loose premise was supposedly the precursor to our destined…

“Romance!” Sundance Glimmer broke my train of thought. She was galloping in place from excitement.

“Sundance, I don’t meet up with Night Light in secret to have my stories bound into hardback, or any other reason for that matter.” I closed my locker shut and wound my combination lock. 

“I believe you, I believe you. But you have to admit it’s a pretty good story.” Sundance gasped in my face. “Maybe you should write a story about that?”

“I am not writing a fake story about my non existent love for a pony I don’t even know.” I started walking down the hall just to get some space from Sundance. I mean, she’s my best friend and all, but sometimes she, well…

“You know him, don’t lie to me.” Sundance caught up to me and got in my face again. Her suspicious grin almost against my cheek.

“Seriously Sundance, can I get a few inches? We’ve talked about this.” I pulled my head away from her.

“Sorry, sorry, you know how I get when something is just this… hmmmph,” she squeaked out the last part of her sentence. 

“I know all too well how you can get. And of course I know him, but I don’t know him, know him.” I rolled my eyes.

“Well why don’t you get to know him?” Sundance blocked my path so I stopped walking.

“I don’t know, I guess I just… isn’t he weird or something?” He did always keep to himself and I never saw him really talking to anypony. 

“Well why don’t you just ask him if he’s weird and why?” Conversations with Sundance often traveled in circles. 

“And what would possibly make me want to do that?” I started worrying about being late to my Conjuration IV class. 

“Because he’s right over there,” Sundance pointed behind me. I turned around to see a stallion with a cool evening blue coat and dark mane to match. I guess I had never noticed how well groomed he kept himself. Most boys didn't bother making themselves look so presentable on a daily basis. 

"Hey Night Light, over here," Sundance called out to the young stallion before I could object. He turned and looked right at me. My cheeks flushed. 

"Sundance why did you..." I turned to yell at Sundance but she was nowhere to be found. That was so typical of her. By the time I turned back, Night Light was right there staring at me. There was no fear or anticipation on his face. Usually colts were somewhat nervous approaching me for the first time, but Night Light remained stoic. His expression was cold and unchanging. 

"Twilight Velvet," he nodded his head at me and bowed a little. What was this, a formal dance?

"I noticed you got the highest score on the recent mid terms yet again. A commendable effort." He looked at me like he was reading a weather report. Was this his idea of small talk?

“Um, thanks, I guess. Your score was pretty good too.” I had no idea what to say to this guy. It was like talking to a rock.

“Indeed, I find myself in second place yet again. You seem to be the one milestone I cannot break.” I couldn’t tell if he was being friendly or if he was challenging me. Whatever he was doing, it certainly wasn’t making me feel comfortable. 

“Well, you know, it’s been really great talking to you, but um… I think I need to get to class so…” I leaned my weight toward the hallway I wanted to walk down. 

“Twilight Velvet, do you love me?” 

I stopped dead in my tracks. Can you believe him? Just out of the blue asking something like that when we are barely even acquainted. I mean, seriously, who does that?


****


My name is Night Light. I will attempt to avoid boring you with the intricate details of my life and stick only to that which is essential. I was a student in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Although I was very well versed in the theory and practice of the arcane arts, my primary passion at the time was books. Ever since I was very young, I had preferred the company of a good book over that of my peers. It was not that I detested others or that I was lacking in social skills; I simply found most ponies uninteresting. I could not see any reason to associate with another student who could barely grasp the most basic concepts of elemental conjuration when I could have simply opened a book and immediately been among the greatest minds to ever walk Equestria. I would have surrendered any valuable to write my way into history and count myself among the great stallions and mares who shaped the way that modern minds interpret the whole of existence. However, there was one minute problem that was preventing me from doing so.

I was a terrible writer. 

Usually when I applied myself to a specific task, I was able to achieve an acceptable level of success. However, for some reason when it came to writing and prose, my work at the time was described as: "dry, boring, incessantly boring, agonizingly tedious, and as if you just listed a bunch of words without considering what they would sound like together.” Despite my failures, I continued to pursue activities involving the production of books and the editing there of. Then a most intriguing opportunity was presented to me by a rather persistent maroon colored mare.

“Seriously Night Light, everypony is talking about it. You and Twilight Velvet should totally go out with each other.” The aforementioned romance was not the intriguing part I was referring to.

“I mean, you’re good at binding books and stuff and she’s like really, really good at writing them.” That was more like it. I spent much of my free time binding and/or restoring the old classic novels and research materials, but I had yet to be involved with a new publishing project. If this Twilight Velvet was as good of a story writer as the student body had presented her to be, I wagered it could be worth my while to investigate a mutual partnership. However, that was a big if. Normally I would have dismissed the notion altogether, but after hearing that the princess herself had taken notice of her work, well, consider my interest sufficiently peaked. 

“As I have mentioned several times, Sundance, while exploring a working partnership with Miss Velvet does interest me somewhat, I plan to engage this matter on my own time and without assistance.” I walked down the castle corridors toward the area where the magic classes took place. Sundance seemed to be more excitable with every syllable I uttered.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, are you serious? How long have you had a crush on Twilight?” 

I paused my steps but only for a moment before continuing. 

“...I believe you misunderstood my intentions.”

“Oh I understand intentions just fine.” Sundance’s high pitched giggling grated on me. 

“If you will excuse me, I do need to be getting on my way.” I sped my pace slightly, hoping that she would get the hint. 

“Look, I understand that you’re shy. She’s really nice once you start talking to her.” She ran in front of me causing me to stop walking. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything." 

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. Sometimes when I was stressed or annoyed, I would shut down some of my senses, such as sight, to refocus myself. 

“Sundance, while I appreciate your candor I must decline to…” by the time I had opened my eyes, the bubbly mare was gone. As relieved as I was to be out of her presence, the thought of what she might have in store was very disconcerting. 

It was at that moment that something else Sundance had previously stated came to my mind. This had not been the first time she had discussed Twilight Velvet with me. The first time was to inform me of a rumor that had been circulating the student body. Apparently, other ponies were under the impression that Miss Velvet and I were already romantically involved, and that we met in secret outside of school in order to conceal our mutual transgressions. Or at least I assumed that sort of thing was looked upon negatively considering how it seemed to only be discussed with hushed voices at the edges of the school corridors. 

Twilight Velvet secretly loves you. 

Sundance's original assertion lingered in my memory. She loved me? Admired me, smitten with me, mutually respected me, or even aroused by me I could understand. But where would the notion of love come from? Does love not require a prolonged exposure to the subject in question? We barely knew each other. Obviously I was aware of her. She seemed to be the closest pony among the student body resembling a mind that could engage me on my level. Even though her test scores were slightly higher than mine, much emphasis on slightly mind you, I doubt she had the mental faculties to keep up with my complex understanding of, well, everything.

Almost everything. Perhaps I was socially deficient. The thoughts and actions of the opposite sex were enough to baffle me. I had thought that she of all ponies would approach this sort of situation with some semblance of logic and reason. This is why you cannot judge a pony's intelligence by their test scores alone. 

Was it true? Did she actually love me or was this just another hyperactive hyperbole coming from that hysterical mare? I had to find out. Even if it was nothing more than a smoke trail, I had to know for certain if these… feelings were truly present in Miss Velvet. Not that I planned to reciprocate them by any means. It was only relevant because such feelings would have greatly influenced my willingness to enter a business type relationship with another pony. 

I pulled the satchel that was strapped to my back to the front of me using my magic. I always double checked that I had procured the appropriate tools for each class before leaving the area of the building that contained my storage locker. When my satchel came into my sight, I saw that a note had been attached to my bag. 

“Meet me in the far east hall by the lunchroom in about five minutes"

The dubious work of Sundance Glimmer. Obviously she wanted to arrange a meeting between the two of us and was wasting no time doing so. My heart rate began to accelerate as my body temperature rose with it. In a moment, I would likely begin to perspire. I was not sure what to attribute this biological phenomenon to. It was not as though the idea of communicating with a fellow student was terrifying. Although, I had never had a conversation with another mare regarding this particular subject matter. It bothered me that it had such a profound effect on my state of being to the point that I could not control or even temper it. 

I walked over to the far east hall as instructed. This is where the upperclassmen usually opted to have their storage lockers located. Being in my junior year, I had sufficient seniority to claim one here myself. It was considered the richest social hub due to its proximity to the dining facilities. However, I felt that keeping my locker in a central location that allowed me more efficient access to my study materials when I needed them between classes was far more beneficial. Unfortunately, this distraction had certainly removed any possible efficiency that could be applied to the remainder of the afternoon.

I saw Sundance Glimmer speaking to Twilight Velvet next to her storage locker. No, speaking did not seem to be the appropriate context. “Talking at” Twilight was more like it. 

“Hey Night Light, over here,” Sundance instructed. I do not recall allowing my brain to give command to my body to move, yet I ended up standing right next to Twilight and finding myself incapable of averting my eyes from her. When she turned to face me she looked startled. My heart raced even more than before. It was almost enough to make me concerned for my cardiovascular health. 

“Twilight Velvet,” I nodded politely.  "I noticed you got the highest score on the recent mid terms yet again, commendable effort." I am not certain why that was so important to bring up. I suppose the direct question I wanted to ask would have made for a poor conversation starter. Then again, was there even an appropriate way to ask it at all?

“Um, thanks, I guess. Your score was pretty good too.” I was uncertain if she trying to compliment me or if this was a condescending jab to demonstrate her intellectual superiority over me. As if true intellect could be quantified by a flawed standardized test. 

“Indeed, I find myself in second place yet again. You seem to be the one milestone I cannot break.” Although I considered myself a seasoned participant, the subtle nature of pony interactions often escaped me. I was at a complete loss for anything else to say.

“Well, you know, it’s been really great talking to you, but, um… I think I need to get to class so…”

This was ridiculous. I was perfectly capable of asking a direct question. A direct question deserved a direct answer. I was sure she would understand. She clearly wanted to be somewhere else and I knew that waiting for another opportunity would be less than advantageous. If it was going to happen, it needed to happen right then. Although it was imperative that I did so in the most tactful and respectful manner possible. 

“Twilight Velvet, do you love me?” 

She appeared to be shocked by my question. She looked around the hallway as if to see if anypony else had heard. Some had.

"No, I don't love you Night Light!" Her face was flushed and her breath was quickened. Apparently she was not privy to the rumors surrounding us. I had incorrectly assumed that Sundance had informed her. 

"Of course you do not. If you did, it would be a baseless love with no foundation for its fruition." 

She looked at me somewhat angrily as if something I had said was offensive. I could hardly imagine what that might have been.

"If you already know, why did you even bother asking?" Her tone had suddenly become much more aggressive. 

"I inquired as a result of rumors that are currently circulating the student body regarding a romantic relationship involving the two of us. I suspected that the rumors may have originated with you.” 

She sighed deeply and re-positioned her posture so that her waist was sticking out to her right causing her to support her weight at an angle. I believed females often used this stance to express an attitude of superiority or to show that they are annoyed. At least those were the occasions that I usually noticed the stance. 

“Oh, let me guess. You thought that I was quietly obsessing over you day and night, unknowingly letting my feeling slip to my friends and peers who caught on to my uncontrollable yearning?” She placed her hoof over her forehead indicating that she might lose consciousness from over-stimulation. A sarcastic measure no doubt. 

“A distinct possibility, yes,” Actually, I had not considered that possibility until that very moment. My comment did nothing to assuage her anger. 

“Why you stuck up little twerp. Look, I am not in love with you; so you can throw that idea right out of your smug face.” She stomped her hoof and looked away from me.

“Very good. In that case I have a potential business proposal for you.” 

She looked at me curiously with her head tilted slightly to her left. 

“From love straight to business, I see you’re the type of colt who doesn’t mess around, huh?”

“Indeed. Perhaps we could discuss this over dinner?”

“Dinner?” She seemed perplexed.

“Yes, that is what I said.” I think my wording was quite clear. 

“Why don’t you just tell me during lunch or something?” She resumed a normal posture which was probably for the best. That off center pose must certainly put stress on a pony’s bone structure. 

“Dinner seems preferable.” The lunch room was always crowded and noisy. I usually enjoyed my lunch in the science lab or the library. 

“Are you sure you’re not asking me out on a date?” She narrowed her eyes, emphasizing her suspicion. 

“I believe a dinner meeting is a standard setting for a business discussion.” I tried to adhere to social norms when applicable. She considered my words for a moment.

“Does this ‘business offer’ have anything to do with bookbinding?” She rolled her eyes while saying “business offer.” 

“As a matter of fact, it does.” It was certainly not a difficult conclusion to arrive at. “I hear that you are an adequate fiction writer. If your work passes my standards, I would be willing to discuss offering my services in editing and binding your stories for publication.”

“Adequate fiction writer? You’re quite the charmer aren’t you? Why would I want you to edit my stories? I think I’m doing just fine at that myself.” 

A typical response from an inexperienced author.

“Even the most accomplished authors use an editor. I assumed that you wanted to pursue publication and distribution, but I suppose that if you are satisfied remaining an amateur then we can forgo the meeting altogether.” I began to turn around. I was never one for intensive negotiations. 

“I’m sorry, who are you calling an amateur? I don’t see your stories getting noticed by Princess Celestia.” 

I could scarcely fathom why so many ponies allowed emotions and pride to govern their judgement on a regular basis. 

“Are you published?” I turned back around.

“Are my stories published? No, why?”

“An unpublished author is by definition an amateur. Even if they are a talented prodigy worthy of the attention of our great princess.” 

She seemed to calm down a little bit.

“Oh, I see. I suppose you are technically correct in the strictest definition of amateur. Sorry, I thought you were trying to say I wasn’t any good.” Her face flushed a little bit again. Sometimes I wonder if girls have a biological tendency for irregular blood flow in the facial area. 

“Apology accepted. Your skill is still yet to be determined by me.” 

“Have you even read anything I’ve written?”

“I have not had the pleasure.” What would be the point of this part of the discussion if I had?

“You haven’t attended any of the public readings?” She seemed genuinely surprised. 

“Again, no I have not.” Could she not have figured that out on her own?

“Well then how can we even talk about business if you don’t know anything about what I’ve done?” 

A valid point, I must admit. She opened her locker and pulled out a loose manuscript. She presented it to me using her magic. 

“Here, read this, then we’ll talk about editing, Mr. Judgey McJudger Pants.”

I will not even attempt to analyze that analogy. 

“Very well, I agree to your terms. I will read and analyze this piece of work and meet you at 7 pm for dinner.” I accepted the manuscript from her and placed it in my satchel. 

“Wait, don’t you need more time to read the book? 7 pm today is kind of soon, don’t you think? You’re going to miss something if you speed read it.”

“I will have it fully read and properly digested by this evening. If I were to speed read it, I could return it to you within the hour.”

“Oh… wow… really?” 

I had forgotten that most students did not read at my pace. 

“Also, I… well… I didn’t accept the dinner invitation, yet.” She looked down at the floor.

“I see. Is that a no then? Shall I return the book?” I began to open my satchel.

“Great Celestia, does everything have to be so absolute with you? I never said dinner was a deal breaker.” She shuffled her hooves a little bit. “Where would we go to dinner anyway?”

“I was considering La Jument élégante Bistro.” It was my favorite place to eat. 

“Oh my, that’s quite fancy.” Her mood seemed to be wavering again. “I just don’t know I…”

“How about this, I will be at the restaurant at 7pm. Please feel free to join me if you feel inclined. If you do not attend, I will have my answer.” I turned and walked away. I heard no protest come from her so I continued on my way. I was far behind schedule at this point as it was. 


****


The nerve of that guy. Of all the arrogant, self proclaiming jerks in all of Equestria he had to be the worst one. There was no way I was going to his stupid dinner meeting, not in a million years. He could just sit there all alone and enjoy his fancy schmancy Phrench cuisine with his favorite pony in Equestria which was himself. Do you love me? How can you just ask somepony a question like that out of the blue? He knew what I was going to say. He just wanted to see how I would react to it. Well now I wanted to see how he reacted to being stood up.

Stood up? It's not like it was supposed to be a date or anything. I mean, he did make that pretty clear. And his offer to edit my stories did seem like a genuine, although arrogant, offer. Other than tooting his own horn, I guess he was pretty harmless. Could he really read my whole novel in one afternoon and go to class? Oh no, what If he did and really put a lot of thought and effort into it? Could I just leave him hanging there by himself? Sitting by his lonesome at the café table with a stale baguette and my manuscript in his hooves, crying in the pouring rain, "Why didn't she come, why?" He would ask himself.

Wait, why would it be raining? Stupid imagination. I knew it wouldn't be so dramatic. But still, I had to think of something. Should I tell him to never mind before he went through the effort? What should I wear to the restaurant? Was I even willing to go? 

I sighed deeply next to my locker. 

Yeah, I would go. But not for him, or because he guilt tripped me into it. I really needed to be in the market for a full time editor. He was right about that. Although I didn't think it would be him. He was still just a student after all. That's when I reached a decision. I would listen to his input with a grain of salt, then kindly thank him for his efforts before declining. It’s the least I could do. How would he even have time to edit and do binding for me anyway? He probably spent all of his time locked away in a cave. I assumed most socially inept young stallions had colt caves where they did… colt things. Is that too insensitive? Hang on, was he paying for dinner? Probably not. It wasn't a date.

“So how did your little talk go?” Sundance startled me out of my own thoughts.

“Shouldn’t you know? I thought you knew everything on the subject of the two of us?” I dropped my ears and lowered my head. This was my “please stop talking to me” posture.

“‘The two of us?’ So it’s official, he he he....” I walked into that one. Sundance put her hoof to her face and giggled like a child would. 

“Nothing is official. We talked about books and we’re going to dinner tonight, just dinner, a business dinner, totally platonic.”

“Eeee…,” Sundance squealed in a high pitched tone. “This is just too cute, I knew you two were perfect for each other.”

“Sundance, have you heard even a single thing I have said?” My guess was no.

“So what are you going to wear to dinner tonight? I think you should wear that adorable pink evening dress with the laces.” Yep, she hadn’t heard a single word.

“Why would I wear one of my nicest outfits to a casual meet up?”

“But it’s a special occasion, you’ll want to look your best for him. I’ll bet he shows up in a full suit with top hat and everything.” It was a fancy restaurant. I guess it couldn’t hurt to dress up, especially if he did. I wouldn’t want to look under dressed next to him. Why was I worrying about this so much? It was just a stupid dinner. How dumb of me.

“I’m not dressing up, Sundance. I’ll just end up looking stupid.” I closed my locker for like the 50th time in the last few minutes.

“Suit yourself I guess, or don’t, tee hee.” Sundance mercifully left me to my own devices in the hallway by heading in the direction of her next class. I decided to finally get to my Conjuration IV class, late of course. After everything was said and done, today was just going to be another day. So I believed.



****

> Chapter 2: Check Please (revised)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

All of that talk of editing was making me nervous about the "Young Fiction Writers of Equestria" competition. The first time I got to actually meet Princess Celestia (that's right I had spoken to her on multiple occasions) she mentioned it to me and suggested I submit a novel to it. To hear her say that, well, I'd never felt more proud of something I created in my life. It was such an honor for her to recognize me like that. Ever since then, I have been rewriting and rechecking my best stories everyday. I still wasn't sure about which story to submit at that point, but it absolutely had to be my best work. Winning this competition was my chance to jump start my career as a novelist and I had worked so hard and prepared so much for this golden opportunity. 

So you can understand why some snot nosed colt trying to tell me what was	 what would get on my nerves. Where was his motivation to be the best? How many all nighters did he pull trying to make everything perfect? How often did he make himself literally sick by stressing over every minute detail of his work? Maybe everything just came easy to him. Some ponies had a lucky life and didn't have to work at anything. Well I wasn't one of those ponies. I had to work twice as hard just to get into CSGU. My parents couldn't afford the high tuition costs so I had to earn merit scholarships; all of which required essays for application. Good was never good enough. If my work wasn't the best, somepony else would get the scholarship. Most of the kids at school came from rich families. They were spawn of the Canterlot elite and were gift wrapped the best possible education by birth right. I'd put my hard work against their entitlement any day. 

But anyway, back to this silly dinner. It turned out I was right. Wearing the pink dress with the laces would have been way too over the top. So you can image how stupid I felt when I showed up to the restaurant wearing it and he was just sitting there...

"Naked? You didn't bother to wear anything nice at all?" When I walked up to the restaurant, he already had a table out on the patio. He must have gotten there early as it had only just turned 7 o'clock. 

"Of course not. This establishment does not have a 'jacket only' policy." He took a tiny sip from his tea cup.

"Ok, and..."

"And therefore I did not wear a jacket." He took another sip, as if he had just made an indestructible argument. Now I was overdressed and annoyed.

"You still could have worn something. It was your idea to go to a fancy place. You look like you just woke up." Woke up and meticulously groomed himself, but other that, straight out of bed. 

"Well you look like you are going to attend the opera." 

There was just no reasoning with this guy.

"That's it, I'm going home." I turned to walk away but plowed right into the waiter. That's what I get for not paying attention I guess.

"Please forgive me madam.” 

At least the waiter was a gentlecolt. Night Light could learn a thing or two from him.

“Oh, not at all, it was my fault.” I was a little shaken up from smacking into him. It took me a second to reorient myself. 

“Would you like to see our wine list?" He held out a small laminated sheet. It was full of words that I was unable to read. Phrench class wasn't until next semester. 

"I'm afraid I'm a little too young for that list. I'll just have whatever tea he's having." I moved my dress to the side so that I could sit down at the table.

"Right away madam," The waiter shuffled his way back toward the kitchen. 

"I thought you were leaving," Night Light raised his eyebrow. 

"I was, but I don't wanna subject anymore waiters to my hasty retreat." I checked my outfit to make sure everything was still in place. 

"Perhaps you are right. I suppose I could have brandished a bow tie for our meeting." He brushed his hoof against his neck line. 

"At least you don't look as ridiculous as I do. This thing is gaudy and over priced." I considered taking the whole thing off and throwing it in the trash. Then I remembered exactly how much the dress cost me in the first place. 

"Actually, I can admire a mare who is willing to go to such extravagant extremes. I must admit you look..." For the first time since I met him today, he actually had to search for the right word before speaking. His eyes looked up and down my get up. It's not like I was unused to colts checking me out.

"...Fetching," 

Good enough. Maybe this kid did have some hope. 

"It's a little late to turn on the charm now, buster." I couldn't help but grin a little. "Anyway, what did you think of my book?" 

"It was decent." 

My grin disappeared.

"Decent?" 

Never mind, he was hopeless.

"Indeed. Do I not project enough when I speak?" 

There it was. The arrogance, the smugness, how did this kid not get punched daily. No wonder he never talked to anypony. 

“Decent!” I probably shouldn’t have yelled that. A few other customers looked over at us. Night Light opened my book up on the table. 

“Much of what progresses your story line is dependent on contrivance and coincidence regarding some very improbable circumstances.” 

Was he for real?

“It’s fiction, there’s not going to be a perfectly logical explanation for everything.” 

Didn't he have any imagination?

“Granted, however, there does still need to be a consistent logic to any fictional universe, no matter how fantastical. Otherwise, you risk the audience losing their willingness to suspend their disbelief. There were also some minor grammatical errors. You will see that all of my notes are marked in red.” He presented me the book with his magic. I grabbed it somewhat forcefully with my hooves and flipped through the pages. There were so many notes. It looked like he was trying fill a coloring book with only one crayon. 

“You marked my manuscript?”

“Yes, standard procedure for an editor.” 

I swear, the more upset I got, the calmer this guy was.

“This was my only copy.” I frantically tried to read some of his notes. I could barely make sense of them. Maybe I was just too angry to think straight.

“Oh… well then… I suppose this advice is a little late, but you may want to make multiple copies before submitting a piece of work to an editor.” I gave him the nastiest possible look I could muster. 

“What do you mean by ‘grammatical errors?’ I had this proof read by three professors.”

“Like I said, minor errors.”

“So I guess you’re some kind of expert?” 

“‘Expert’ suggests a body of professional experience. I suppose that would put both of us in the amateur category... in the strictest definition of course.” He smiled. I swear he smiled. He wiped it off his face pretty fast but I know what I saw. 

“Look, Night Light, I really appreciate that you went through the trouble to read through my book and make… copious comments on it, but I think that I’m going to go with the advice of my professors on this. I’m not sure if you noticed, but you’re the only one who sees this many problems with my writing so…”

Night Light looked down at the table as if he was thinking really hard about something. 

“Twilight, may I be completely frank with you?” 

Frank? So up until now he was just blowing smoke up my flank? I wasn't sure what to say so I just sat there.

"You need to get over yourself."

If this kid wasn't careful I was going to punch him.

"Excuse me?" 

He crossed the line one too many times.

"You may think I'm giving you less credit than your teachers, however, it is precisely the reverse. They look at you as a student and nothing more." 

Now I was really confused.

"But Night Light, we are students." 

He smacked his hoof on the table. I just sat there shocked. It wasn't as if he did it really hard or anything; I just couldn't believe he was showing emotion of any kind.

"In practice, yes, we are students. But students like us are so much more. We are ready for the professional world yet we are limited by this asinine title of student that restricts our ascension like a glass ceiling above our heads. It is as if it is not permitted to do anything truly remarkable until we have fully reached adulthood." 

I kinda wished I had a box of popcorn. This was getting good. I was kind of agreeing with it too.

"However, by then it may be too late. As adults we may be educated out what made us unique before we can develop our talents into something that is truly our own. Not something manufactured for academic tastes." He looked at me with eyes that were full of a passion that I rarely saw in anypony. 

"Nice speech. What are you getting at?" 

It would have been a big let down if he didn't have a point.

"Your stories are treated like school projects and not works of art."

"But they aren't school projects." 

Wait, did he just call my books works of art?

"It does not matter. They judge you by the same rubric. All of your stories deserve an A+ for a student, but is that all you want them to be?" 

I hadn't thought of it like that before. 

"No, I guess I not." 

"Then what do you want? A pat on the back or true recognition? Do you want academic success or critical success?" He stood up and leaned over the table. 

"I want what I do to be taken seriously." All of those doting compliments from my professors suddenly felt patronizing thanks to Night Light's speech. For a quiet kid, he sure knew how to get you all riled up. He placed his hoof on top of mine and looked me straight in the eye. 

"Then lets get to work, shall we?" 

I'm not sure if it was just the dress, but I was feeling a little hot under the collar.

"I... Night Light I..." 

Was it just me or do waiters always seem to show up at the worst possible moment.

"Madam, your tea Earl Grey, hot." The waiter set the tea cup down in front of me. Night Light sat back down in his chair looking a little embarrassed. 

“Thanks.” 

The waiter went on his way without taking our order. I guess he felt that he interrupted a ‘moment’ or something. 

“Well Night Light, I gotta say, you make a pretty good case for yourself.” I stirred my tea a bit.

“I am a little confused, I believe I just made a case for you.” 

I smirked a little and blew on me tea. The stuff looked hot enough to boil an egg in.

“So you really want to be my editor huh? Well how about you help me decipher some of these notes you made and we’ll talk about it.” I took a sip of my tea and I gotta say, I had never experienced anything quite like it before. I immediately spat it back into the cup.

“Oh my Celestia, this tea is awful.” I looked around the table but we didn’t have any water.

“It is an acquired taste.” He took another sip of his tea, probably just to mock me. 

“How do you drink this?” I rubbed my tongue with the silverware napkin.

“Slowly, it is very hot.” 

I rolled my eyes

“You should do stand up.”

“I prefer to sit while I eat.” 

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“That was really funny Night Light.” Almost funny enough to get the taste out of my mouth, almost. He looked like a realization had struck him.

“Oh, I see. You were suggesting that I perform a stand up comedy routine.” He nodded to himself. 

“This really is you isn’t it?” I shook my head at him. I probably looked like I was studying him now.

“Whom else would I be?” He shrugged. 

“I mean your whole persona, just… you. I don’t know, I guess I thought you were just acting this whole time.” That probably didn’t come out as well as I’d hoped. 

“Acting? In what regard?” He went back to his usual frown/scowl.

“I don't know it's just... you don't act like anypony I've ever met." 

It's kinda refreshing when somepony is unapologetic about being themselves and you know where they stand. Especially in a school surrounded by so many fake ponies trying to use you all the time.

"Would it be preferable if I behaved more like other ponies?" 

It was clear that other ponies had pointed out his odd behavior to him in the past. When everypony tells you that you should be different than who you are, I wonder how long you can just shrug them off.

"No, no it wouldn't be preferable." I shook my head. 

"I am aware that, at times, my behavior is... difficult for some..." He looked away from me. I don't think I liked shy Night Light. No, I didn't like it at all. 

"Good, keep being difficult. Everypony can just deal, ok?" I couldn't help but smile.

"You think I should be intentionally antagonizing?" His cocked eyebrow and his curious look returned. 

"I think you shouldn't change who you are for others. You’re the one who said that we aren't taken seriously because we're students. Well, how are we going to change their minds if we don't flick a few horns here or there?"

Finally, a real smile appeared on his face. Not a grimace and not a quick smirk. He was legitimately smiling. He was kind of cute when he smiled... don't read into that too much.

"I find your reasoning... agreeable." He nodded his head.

“Fantastic, now help me run through these notes of yours. I can’t make heads or tails of them.” I pulled up the excessively marked manuscript with my magic and turned it sideways so that we could both look at it. He scooted his chair next to mine and bumped into my leg. I don’t think he noticed.

“Very well. We will begin with the most pressing issue which is your convoluted overarching plot line.” Here we go again, I guess. I sighed and put my hoof to my forehead. To be fair, I literally asked for it this time.


****

> Chapter 3: Simple Negotiations (revised)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"A contract?" Twilight Velvet seemed troubled by the 26 page legal document I had presented her with.

"Indeed. A binding contract stating the conditions and parameters of our mutual agreement." I had spent a great deal of the previous evening drafting and preparing this contract. It was foolish to enter into any agreement without legally sanctioned documentation.

"Can't we just shake on it? Oh my word, there are so many... words to this. This is a book in of itself." She flipped through some of the pages very quickly. I was doubtful that she had actually read any of them.

"Hardly. It is just a standard publishing contract. I modeled it after other similar contracts that I researched."

"And they were also this long?" She turned it sideways. I failed to see how that would have assisted her in reading it.

"No, those were much longer and involved major publishing companies. As we are two freelancers, our contract is much simpler."

"Simple, right..." She looked as nervous as some of the less capable students looked on a written examination day.

"I still don't understand why we need this. We're both decent ponies. I don't think we would screw each other over." She flipped the manuscript around again.

"The contract is not designed to bring our personal ethics into question. It is a tool that protects both of us from any confusion and/or misunderstanding with our respective roles in this partnership." 

She retrieved an ink and quill from her storage locker using her magic.

“Whatever, I’ll just sign it.”

I moved the contract away from her pen with my own magic. 

“I must insist that you fully read the contract before signing. If you have any disputes with the terms of agreement, please be sure to let me know so that we can negotiate them." 

She sighed heavily.

"Alright, I guess I'll go through it after lunch. Ugh, how am I gonna get through this bulky thing?" 

She should try writing it.

"You are free to retain a lawyer if need be." 

She tossed the contract into her carrying bag.

"Oh great, now we're suing each other. This friendship is off to a great start." 

Such dramatics. I supposed it served her writing well.

"I'll see ya later Night light." She gave a quick wave and walked down the school hallway. 

I was forced to admit, having another pony to talk to about a mutual ambition was proving to be quite invigorating. I certainly hoped she agreed to the terms I stipulated. I felt that they were both fair and agreeable. I even made a few preemptive concessions in anticipation of some objections she might have had. Although, I did keep in the one condition that was the most important to me. I suppose the stronger negotiating tactic was to come in wanting everything and then let yourself get talked into a compromise. She may have viewed my position as weak and asked for even more consideration. In any case, I knew I would have her answer by no later than the following day. It was almost humorous. For the first time in quite a while, I felt as if I may have difficulty focusing on my classes. I did not think I would be able to prevent my thoughts from drifting to her. That was of course, due to our exciting business venture. She was an... intriguing mare I must say. I hoped she would agree to the contract. I should not have softened my position so soon. What in Equestria could have gotten into me?


****


Most of my school day remained uneventful. In the afternoon, Twilight Velvet approached me at my storage locker. I was not aware that she knew where my storage locker was located. 

“Ok, I’ve read over the contract and it looks fine. I’ve already signed it so here you go.” Twilight presented the legal document to me with her magic. I accepted it with my hoof.

“You are positive that you read and understood it in full? There are no points of contention whatsoever?” I inspected the document and found her signature. 

“Yes, I understood it. I’m not a moron, despite what you may think.” 

She positioned her irises to the top sides of her optical cavities. I had observed ponies demonstrate this behavior when they were irritated or annoyed by something.

“I made no such assertion. I simply want to make sure we both understand what we are agreeing to.” Twilight turned her head sideways and made an expression that I would have described as a glare but yet it was not a very intimidating one.

“Oh what? Did you put a secret clause in there that makes me your personal slave or something?” 

I felt shocked by such an audacious claim.

“That would be both illegal and incredibly unscrupulous of me. Even if you signed such a contract, you could sue me on the grounds unconscionable contract terms and…” 

She held her hoof up indicating that I should stop speaking.

“Night Light, it was just a joke. You’re allowed to laugh at it.” She shook her head as if she were disappointed in my response, yet she was also smiling. Pony emotions seemed very complex at times. I often found myself guilty of expressing in-congruent emotions in the same moment as well. 

“I see. Contracted slavery is a rather ridiculous notion in this day and age. I can see how a flippant allusion to the possibility could be humorous.” 

She tapped me on the shoulder, rather condescendingly I might add.

“Right, a real riot. I can see I had you in stitches.” It seemed that, in an effort to make one’s self feel superior, ponies believe they must make their peers feel inferior. In fact, I had determined that this was the basis for all social disparity among ponies in my age group. Although in Twilight’s case, it seemed to be a rather innocuous example. I believed she was attempting to behave… familiar with me. 

“So anyway, I’m really glad we’re getting to work on this. There’s a contest coming up called the ‘Young Fiction Writers of Equestria Competition.’ With your help, I intend to submit this novel to it.” She reached into her book satchel and pulled out a similar looking manuscript from the other day. I accepted the document from her with my magic and placed it in my storage locker.

“A competition, very interesting. Your work should prove to be a respectable entry in such a contest.” I flipped through some of the pages of her fresh book.

“Wow, that’s a pretty big compliment coming from you.” She smiled. Most ponies had a tendency to overstate their observations. It looked like she had become accustom to my less exaggerated way of expressing things. 

“Is this the only copy of the revised manuscript?” I glanced over the pages to see how many of my edits were included.

“No way. I learned my lesson and made a few copies. It’s a good thing the library staff likes me, otherwise I might have had to pay to print all of these pages.” 

That was quite a privileged advantage of hers. I had to pay a quarter bit per page to print the contract I wrote. 

“It looks like the formatting issues I brought up have been fixed. Did you make those changes to the story I discussed?” 

She scoffed and grinned at me.

“Look Night Light, you’re a great editor and I appreciate it. But, no offense, I’m the creative part of this venture and I will take care of the creative story telling.” Her hubris had returned. It was clearly clouding her objectivity. 

“I am not recommending a complete re-write. I simply pointed out parts of your story that do not make any sense within the logic of the universe you created and suggested some ideas that could make the plot work cohesively.” 

The look on her face was one of intense anger. I was afraid that this endeavor might come to a head like this at some point. I was mentally preparing my counter arguments for her emotional outpouring, but her expression suddenly changed. She smiled warmly as if she had been affected by a spell. I looked around just to make sure no one was attacking us with spells or playing a joke. However, I did not sense any residual magical energy.

“Night Light, what do you do for fun?” Her attitude was exceptionally casual. Such a shift in mood was admittedly terrifying. 

"For fun? Well, I enjoy reading. I am well versed in the great classics." 

"Yeah that's great, but what do you do for fun?" She put much emphasis on the word "fun." As if the meaning of the word had changed. 

"Reading is fun." 

She hit her hoof against her face.

"Well yes, of course it is. But what I mean is, what do you do to get out? To cut loose. What do you do when you're just hanging out?"

“I do not understand, why would I need to ‘get out?’” I could think of no recreational activity that I would prefer to relaxing indoors. 

“Oh come on, eveypony needs to get out from time to time. We went to dinner the other night, didn’t we?” 

I suppose I did have a few preferred locations that I frequented.

“There’s a party at Sundance’s place this weekend. Her parents aren’t home so we have the place to ourselves. You should come hang out with us." 

A party was exactly where I did not want to be. I seldom enjoyed them. There seemed to be some sort of social expectation to attend social gatherings of this nature, but the prospect had never appealed to me. I was not against camaraderie and fellowship, but not in the way that other ponies usually partook in it. 

"While I appreciate the gesture, I must decline."

"Oh come on, why?" She brought up a party and already her behavior was reminiscent of Sundance's behavior.

"Parties are not my... thing." For once, description failed me.

"Aw, don't be scared of us, we don't bite." She wore that condescending smile again.

"I am not afraid of social interaction. I merely have no desire to take part in it, most of the time." Her expression changed to one of discovery. As if she had been revealed some grand secret.

"Yeah right. I think you're terrified of parties. I'll bet the thought of surviving 'social interaction' keeps you up at night. You'd probably be scared out of your tail mane if you showed up to one." She smiled at me with that devious expression again. Clearly, this ruse was intended to engineer an emotional response from me in order to get me to accept her challenge and attend the party. Thus allowing her to have her way. I was not certain as to what purpose this would serve her, but I was not going to allow her tactics to work on me.

"You are entitled to your own opinion on the matter. I know my own fears and limits better than anypony." 

She leaned in a little closer to me. I was able to pick up some sort of fragrant scent coming from her. 

"Then prove it, genius boy." She whispered in my ear.

"I have nothing to prove to you or anypony." My anger was beginning to surface. This is why I kept to myself mostly. I found other ponies infuriating at times. 

"Fine, go home to your books I guess. I'm sure that they're all the company in the world you need." She turned to walk away from me. I was inclined to agree with her final statement, yet somehow it did not feel very comforting to do so.

"If I attend the party, will the matter be settled?" 

She stopped and faced me again.

"Of course. If you don't have a good time, I’ll never bother you about it again.” She smiled in a way that made me feel small and inferior. I was impressed that a mare could have so many ways of smiling and make each of them embody a completely different attitude. 

“Then I shall attend the party with you.” I held my head up somewhat defiantly. She gave another one of her devious smiles.

“Fantastic, I’m sure it will be the best night ever.” Yet another example of laymen hyperbole. 

“I will endeavor to genuinely enjoy myself.” For some reason, I felt as if my resolve had been compromised.


****

> Chapter 4: Quick Escape (revised)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sundance's house was down a private stretch of road and through a large metal gate that had been conveniently left open. Her parents were rich investors who were staying in Manehattan for a week to take care of some business deal of theirs. Or maybe they were just on a short trip. Sundance wasn't very good at elaborating. The point was that they were gone and she had invited everypony she knew to party at her house. Night Light had decided to wear a red bowtie to the party. It didn’t exactly fit the scene we were hitting up tonight. I think he was wearing it for me since I made such a big deal about it at the restaurant. He can be unintentionally adorable at times. 

We approached the giant double doors to the front foyer which were both wide open. We could hear the music and loud chatter from quite a distance away. Celestia had lowered the sun a few hours ago and it looked like the place was in full swing. I never liked being early to parties. Night Light had been quiet for pretty much the entire walk over and seemed even more standoff-ish than usual. Who knew how awkward he’d be inside if I couldn't even get him to talk to me. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. The last thing I wanted to do was babysit this kid while at a party. Mercifully, Sundance saw me as soon as we walked inside.

“Twilight!” she ran over and gave me a huge hug with a drink in her hoof. She almost knocked me down with the force of her hug attack. I felt a little bit of her drink splash on my shoulder.

“Party foul,” I tried to sound stern as I said that but I couldn’t stop grinning. This semester was kicking my flank and I never had any time for myself. It had been way too long since I could just chill out and relax. 

“Tell you what,” Sundance’s words were a little slurred, “I’ll make it up to you by getting both a drink. I’m so glad you could make it Night Light!” 

Before he could back away from her she grabbed him and squeezed him into her chest. He flailed his hooves and looked over at me. I’d never seen him more uncomfortable than right then. I almost felt bad for him. 

“H-hello Sundance. Thank you for the generous invitation.” He finally got free of her death embrace and wiped himself off. It looked like she spilled some drink on him too. 

“Oh my Celestia, like, it’s my pleasure.” Sundance took a healthy swig from her plastic cup. “We are going to have so much fun.” She led us into the kitchen where scores of ponies were pouring drinks and talking. At least five mares were being hit on by colts that were trying way too hard. I think maybe two of them were into it. I turned to look at what booze were on the table and almost bumped into Night Light.

“Woah bro, you’re kinda close to me.” I put my hoof up between us. 

“My apologies. Despite the size of this house, space appears to be a limited resource.” 

I could barely hear him over the sound of the music. He seemed to have trouble figuring out what to focus his attention on in the room. He kept looking around abruptly as if somepony was going to attack him. 

“Yeah, it can get a little tight. Just grab a drink and relax.” 

“How is a pony expected to relax when this environment is virtually engineered to keep my brain in a constant state of maximum sensory perception?” His breathing got heavier. I swore if this kid had an asthma attack or something... I'm not sure what I would have done.

“Ok, ok, don’t relax. But at least have fun. Just enjoy yourself. I know everypony here and they’re all cool kids... well… most of them.” 

He just stared at me for a few good seconds.

“How do I have fun?” 

I slapped my face with my hoof. I really needed to get away from this kid. To be honest, I just wanted to see how he would react to a big party. I thought it would be funny to knock him off of his pedestal and see him at a disadvantage for once. But it looked like my joke may have been going too far.

“Well, lets start by getting a drink.” I pointed to the large liquor spread on the table.

“Is all of this alcohol?” He eyed the bottles like they were specimen in an experiment.

“Yeah, it’s alcohol. Is that a problem for you? You think we’re a bunch of irresponsible kids?” I didn’t mean to give him a ton of attitude. I just don’t like being judged for having a little fun. 

“I have no moral objection I just… I have never tried any.” He picked up a bottle of Vodka and inspected the label. I rolled my eyes.

“Ugh, look I don’t have time for this. Just try some stuff 'till you get something you like and then drink that.”

“Twilight, come here. You have to hear Rose Petal’s story, oh my Celestia, you will not even believe it.” Sundance waved to me from the next room. 

“I gotta go. I’m sure you’ll find something you like. Just mix it with something sweet.” I trotted over to where Sundance was talking to a few other girls.

“Ok, so what’s so great about this story that I had to hear it right away?” Sundance, Rose Petal, Fantasia, and Cherry Blossom were huddled up together like they didn’t want anypony else to hear. I started squeezing myself into the circle.

“Night Light, what are you doing? This is girl talk.” Cherry Blossomed suddenly chided over my shoulder. I turned and saw Night Light standing directly behind me. Why couldn't he take a hint? Was I his freakin’ mom? I pulled him aside for a moment which caused the other girls to giggle.

“What are you doing? I thought you were mixing a drink.” I made sure that only Night Light could hear me and let the music hide my voice from anypony else who may be listening. 

“I thought we were heading over here.” 

“So you’re just gonna follow me around the whole night?” I was so mad at myself for inviting him. Why did he even agree to come in the first place?

“I thought we were attending the party together.” 

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. 

“Well, yes, but it’s a big party. We’re not going to be together every second.” 

He looked around the room and then back to me again. 

“What should I do?” 

I could hear the girls saying something about us behind me but I couldn’t quite make it out. 

“I don’t know. go talk to ponies. Expand your boundaries. Just go somewhere else.” That might have been a bit harsh. He was clearly hurt that I had said that and quickly tried to hide the expression on his face.

“So, you do not wish for me to be here?” He looked down at the ground.

“No, no, I didn’t say that. Just maybe, for now, be somewhere else. We’ll meet up later, ok?” Please, please couldn't I just have this? I promised to myself and Celestia never to do anything to make him upset again.

“Very well. I will leave.” 

Oh thank Celestia.

“Cool, see you later then.” I went back over and joined the girl’s circle.

“Sorry about that. So what’s the big story?” The other four gave me these strange looks. “What? Why are you all looking at me like that?”



****



The party was proceeding approximately in the manner I expected but less enjoyable than I had hoped. The only activities available, to my knowledge, were consuming alcohol and consorting with classmates. Engaging in a conversation seemed easy enough but it appeared as if everypony had already selected topics and conversation partners. I listened in on a few discussions involving various groups of ponies, but none of the subject matters that were being discussed interested in me. Perhaps it is the act of engaging in conversation that is supposed to be the fun aspect and not necessarily the discussion topic. However, I could not even think of a contributing statement in which to feign interest. 

I was uncertain why I agreed to attend this function to begin with. I was merely humoring Twilight’s absurd assertion that I was incapable of asserting myself in a social environment. Her current behavior suggested that she did not even desire my presence at this event. Yet she was the one who insisted I came here in the first place. What sort of flawed circular logic could possibly be governing her thoughts? It was clear to me now that she was a master of deception and manipulation. I refused to remain here and participate in her asinine social enigmas. 

As I turned swiftly toward the entrance of this rather spacious abode, I ran into the backside of another pony. I did not have time to brace myself for the impact and fell to the floor in a sitting position. Fortunately, my gluteal region did not feel damaged. I looked up from the kitchen floor to see the rather sizable stallion that I had collided with. 

“The hell’s your problem, dude?” The gentlecolt had at least 40% more body mass than myself and was wearing a lettercolt jacket from Canterlot University. I assumed Sundance had older acquaintances whom attended school on the other side of town. 

“My sincerest apologies. I carelessly turned without noticing where I was going. I am at fault.” I pulled myself up on my hooves just in time to see the wily stallion now centimeters from my face. 

“Damn right it’s your fault. You frickin’ prep school colts think you own Equestria or somethin’.” The breath of this stallion smelled like bourbon. He pushed his forehead into my horn causing me to take a step back. For a pegasus, his muscle structure was incredibly toned. 

“I make no such assertions of ownership. Even if I did, I do not believe our Princess would be willing to yield executive power to me anytime soon.” My neck was retracted all the way back to my shoulders in order to keep his head from touching mine. Invading personal space seemed to be a method of establishing dominance. An awkwardly effective one as it was making me very uncomfortable. 

"What are you, some kind of funny guy now?" He tapped my chest with his hoof. My number one priority at this point was to avoid physical confrontation, but I feared that may have been virtually impossible. 

"Look, we seem to have had a misunderstanding of intentions here. How about I apologize and accept all wrongdoing and we both go our separate ways peacefully?" I held up my hoof with the sincerest hope that he would accept it. 

"And how about I throw your flank through this table and see if your skull is as thick as I think it is?" He swatted my hoof down. I did not believe he made a very cohesive metaphor. He wanted to throw my flank into the table to test the girth of my skull, even though my hind quarters would take the full force of impact in that scenario. Perhaps he was intending to suggest that my brain was in fact located in my flank thus creating an allegory for the term "head up your ass" as it were. However, I did not believe him to be clever enough to come up with such a subtle reference on the spot.

"I do not believe Sundance would appreciate it if all of these expensive alcoholic products were dumped onto the floor because you forcibly threw my body into the table." An incredible feeling of apprehension was threatening to consume me as I began to realize that this impossibly proportioned pegasus may very well follow through on his threat. It was imperative that I kept my wits intact if I was to diffuse the situation. I started calculating the approximate market value of all of the various commercial liquors on the table in order to distract myself from calculating the approximate force required for an object of my size and weight to compromise the integrity of the table such that it breaks in half on impact.

"Who the hell is Sundance?" 

I noticed that my aggressor had two friends standing on either side of him. Both of them were also wearing lettercolt jackets from the same university as him. It was then clear to me that these students were not invited to the party at all. One of his friends said something to him that I couldn't hear over the music. Whatever it was, apparently they found it humorous. 

"Since you're so worried about the precious drinks, how about we have a little contest instead?" 

While I was certain that I was going to be less than enthusiastic about whatever contest he was prepared to propose, it was still a significant improvement on my situation.

"What contest? To what end?” 

The two stallions on either side of him laughed. 

“If you can out drink me shot for shot, I won’t beat you to a pulp. But if I win…” He reared back and smashed his front hooves together making a loud smacking sound. I was unable to prevent myself from jumping a little at his sudden action. The trio of stallions laughed at that as well. Everything seemed to amuse them at this point.

“I have never sampled an alcoholic beverage before this evening. I do not believe I will provide much sport in such a challenge.” 

Now they were outright cackling. They patted each other on the back and gave knowing elbow jabs as if suggesting an innuendo was shared. It felt as if I had been left out of the punchline to a great joke. However, I was pretty sure I understood it with great clarity.

“Oh you’ll provide plenty of sport, pal. Mostly as a punching bag.” That one was the funniest joke to them yet. They nearly keeled over each other with giggles. Clearly I could not escape through them as they were blocking my exit from the kitchen. I could turn and run through the house, but navigating through the dense crowd would be troublesome. They would most likely have caught up to me. I could have tried calling for help, but the ponies in the immediate vicinity seemed to have been aware of what was transpiring but chose to do nothing about it. I had a suspicion that nopony would be willing to physically risk themselves on my behalf. Perhaps Twilight or Sundance would, but we would have still been greatly out matched. Additionally, I had no desire to see them injure themselves for my sake. No, running and/or appealing for assistance were not viable options. I had an idea but the probability of its success was low. Nevertheless, it was my best chance.

“I will accept your challenge with some conditions.” I attempted to straighten my posture and stick my chest out a little bit. My hope was to look strong and defiant, but I probably just looked ridiculous. 

“Conditions? Do you hear this guy?” 

His associates shook their heads. 

“Alright tough guy, what conditions? This I gotta hear.” He leaned himself against the kitchen counter. He seemed to be sufficiently amused by my suggestion. Very good.

“We will drink exactly one shot of bourbon each. Whoever is the least visibly affected by the alcohol once consumed will be the victor.” I was about to continue when he interrupted me.

“One shot? What’s even the point?” He gave his buddies a confused look and shook his head.

“However,” I returned with more volume to get his attention back, “I will drink my shot the normal way, but you must drink yours in exactly the method I specify.” He looked at me for a few seconds. It seemed he was considering his next action.

“And exactly how am I supposed to drink my shot?” 

Curiosity crippled the colt I suppose. 

“It will be poured into into a dish and placed on the floor where you will ingest the contents by licking it up with your tongue.”

“And why in all of Equestria would I agree to something like that?” 

This was the part I was afraid of. He had absolutely no reason to accept my conditions. Just as I had no reason to come to this party in the first place.

“Well, I suppose that if you feel this makes the contest unfair for you, I understand if you choose to withdraw. I can empathize with submitting in the face of certain defeat.” I had never been more terrified in my entire life. If he called my bluff… well I hoped my hospital bed would be comfortable. Maybe Twilight could bring me my reading materials. She would owe me a few favors.

“Forget this kid, just waste him bro…” The associate on my would be attacker’s right started to move toward me but was stopped when the stallion who had confronted me put his hoof up. Clearly, he was the leader of his group of friends. 

“Woah, woah, everypony just shut the hell up already.” 

His friend backed off. The leader looked me straight in the eyes. It felt as if he could see through me. That he could see how terrified I was and that I was completely helpless to his whims. I held his gaze the best that I could; afraid that looking away would somehow trigger his assault. He paused for a few seconds. The room felt as if it were frozen in time. My heart was beating at an unhealthy rate for standing still. 

He smiled.

“Alright, I’ll do it.” His friends looked surprised. “I’ll lick the frickin’ whisky up like a cat, just for you, you little punk. But when I win, I’m not just throwing you through a table. I’m gonna break every piece of glass in this house with your face. How does that sound?”

It sounded approximately as awful as he described it. 

“I accept.” 

His friend poured some bourbon into a small glass and handed it to me. Then he took a dish that was holding some wrapped candy set out for guests and dumped them out on the floor. He poured some more bourbon into the container and set it on the ground in front of his friend, the leader. At this point, quite a crowd had gathered to witness the event. Ponies were murmuring things to each other and pointing at the dish on the ground. 

He started licking the alcohol. I just stared into my glass. The smell was quite strong but not unpleasant. I gave it a small taste. The sensation was overwhelming. I barely managed to swallow the tiny sip I took. My mouth felt like it was on fire from the feeling of it on my tongue. How did anypony drink this and enjoy it? Then the flavors started hitting me. They were complex, pronounced, intense, and intriguing. The drink nearly hurt to sample but there was so much more to it than just the bitterness of alcohol.

“Come on loser, you gotta finish it.” One of the lackeys pointed out that my glass was still mostly full. The stallion on the ground was nearly done lapping up his drink. I thought I heard somepony say my name. I turned around and was astonished to find several ponies were chanting my name together.

“Night Light! Night Light! Night Light!”

The chatter became infectious as the chant spread to seemingly everypony at the party save the three I was in conflict with. It became so loud that it drowned out the music. My breath was quickening again, but this time it was different. I was neither anxious nor afraid. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins and I felt as if no obstacle was insurmountable at that precise moment. It was an illogical, flawed, and emotional response; yet I could not convince myself to ignore it. I allowed those feelings to wash over me in a wave of excitement. I held the glass out ceremoniously so that everypony could see it in my hoof. I then brought the glass to my lips and tilted my head as far back as it would go as I poured the remainder of the bourbon into my mouth. The difficulty I had previously experienced did not stop me this time. Before my body could have an adverse reaction to the drink, I swallowed the contents in its entirety. This action was met with great approval as the crowd of ponies surrounding me cheered. This was the loudest that the room had been so far this evening. I worried, for a moment, that my hearing might have been damaged as a result. Then the feeling hit me. I convulsed from the taste of the bourbon. I opened my mouth and exclaimed in discomfort. Someone smacked me on the back.

“Nice shot, bro. You took that down like a champ.” I heard from behind me. I assumed it was the pony who had touched me. 

“That’s it punk; I’m taking you down!” My competitor had finished his bowl. He rose up on two legs and lunged at me with a right hook. His movements were very slow and exaggerated. I simply stepped to the right and watched his hoof fly past my face. He had thrown his entire weight into the swing and was unable to stop himself from losing his balance. He collapsed face first onto the floor of the kitchen. 

“I believe the alcohol is clearly affecting him more than I. I hereby declare myself the winner of this contest.” My statement resulted in another group cheer. Two stallions, whom I recognized as members of the hoofball team at CSGU, came over and picked my fallen opponent up off of the ground. He seemed barely coherent. They tossed him over to his friends who struggled to catch him before he fell down again.

“I think it’s about time you guys got out of here.” One of the stallions who had picked him up spoke. His name was Fancy Pants.

“And just who the hell is gonna make us?” The lackey protested while trying to hold his leader up.

“We’ve got the whole starting line up for CSGU hoofball here. If you want a 20 on 3 fight, we’re ready to go.” Fancy Pants played the quarterback position and was considered the captain of the team. Although quite late, their assistance was much appreciated. The two University students left standing decided to drag their friend out of the party. I felt as if I might collapse onto the floor with relief. 

“That was quite a little trick you pulled there, Night Light.” Fancy Pants put his hoof on my shoulder. I was not not sure how I felt about the excessive touching that was involved in a party like this. 

“Thank you. I apologize if I contributed to a disturbance.” 

Fancy Pants chuckled.

“Are you kidding? That was the best part of the party. Listen, why don’t you come hang out with us and tell me how you pulled that off?” I felt inclined to accept his offer. He led me over to where some of the other hoofball players were gathered. 

“Well, you see, it is a simple matter of basic pony biology. Instead of ingesting the alcohol into his stomach, he absorbed it through his tongue when he licked it up. This caused the alcohol to go directly into his bloodstream instead of being broken down by his digestive system and kidneys. Therefore, the usual impairment that the body experiences from alcohol was accelerated for him and more intense.” The other stallions nodded in approval.

“Dude, that is genius. You should write up plays for our squad. I bet you could give some tactical advice to our coach.” One of the stallions suggested. he seemed incredibly intoxicated. 

“I have to agree. Your solution was both elegant and witty. Let’s toast to Night Light and his swift disposal of those university jerks.” He raised his glass and the others followed his lead. I was surprised by how well spoken Fancy Pants was. I knew he came from a wealthy family but I always assumed that sports jocks were mostly, well, meat headed jerks.

“Hey, Night Light doesn’t have a drink.” They all started speaking in succession.

“Someone go get this colt a drink.”

“He’s gotta have a drink, man.”

“Dude’s a champion.”

“I’ll go get it. What would you like Night Light?” Fancy Pants offered.

“Bourbon please.” Now I could finally taste it slowly and properly experience it. It stung my palette going down, but it had me curious. I had to admit that having an entire group of ponies cheering me on and celebrating with me was exhilarating. I was beginning to understand the appeal of these social gatherings. Although I could do without the threat of bodily harm.

Fancy Pants returned with a cup. It had bourbon and two ice cubes in it. We lifted our glasses together to toast and celebrate the stunt I had managed to pull off. I was still somewhat apprehensive about the concept of consuming alcohol. The thought of losing any degree of control over my faculties was not appealing to me. I took a sip of the highly intense beverage. I was already feeling as if my senses were cloudy. The feeling was somewhat euphoric and gave me the sensation that I was somehow far away from myself. I started thinking about Twilight and how she did not want me to be around her just a few moments before. For some reason this caused an incredibly negative emotional response that I had not felt when I had first experienced her rejection. I was angry at her and wanted to tell her how she made me feel. Yet I also missed her and wanted to just be near her and talk to her. I wanted to hold her in my embrace and… 

No! I told myself.

Surely these thoughts were not an accurate representation of what I desired. I was sure that it was merely a result of the alcohol and nothing more. 

“Yo Night Light, are you alright?” Somepony asked me. I’m not sure which of the stallions it was. 

“Cheer up man, you really wrecked that dude.” 

A giant smile came across my face.

“Yes, yes I did. I really wrecked him didn’t I?”




****

> Chapter 5: Slight Complications (revised)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What? Why are you all looking at me like that?” It was so bizarre. I felt cornered by their eyes. 

“I dunno Twilight, why don’t you tell us?” Fantasia looked at me like she was trying to seduce me. 

“Didn’t Rose Petal have a funny story or something?” I was getting really nervous. I wasn’t used to being out of control in a social situation. 

“Oh I think this is way more interesting than my story.” Rose Petal made "eyes" at me as well. It was what we did whenever we had something super scandalous to talk about.

“What are you talking about?” I wasn't sure I’d be able to just play this one off. It was obvious what they wanted to talk about. Sundance had been poisoning their imaginations ever since Night Light and I started talking to each other. 

“Come on Twilight; you can’t hide anything from us. You are so into him.” Cherry Blossom tilted her head as she held out the word “so.” 

“How many times, in how many different languages do I have explain to you girls that I am not interested in Night Light that way?” 

Couldn't a mare just have a colt friend? I didn't mean a colt friend, colt friend but just… oh you know what I meant. 

“Oh you can say it all you want, honey. That ain’t gonna change what we can see clear as day.” 

I couldn't believe they were ganging up on me. What did it matter if I liked him or not? 

“Ok, fine. Since you all clearly insist, I’ll indulge your little fantasy. What exactly makes it so obvious that I like Night Light?” I imitated Cherry Blossom’s emphasis on the word “so.” They started giving evidence in rapid succession.

“You spend, like, all of your free time with him.” Sundance finally spoke.

“We’re working together.” I snapped back a little too hard.

“You never used to work on stories this much.” Rose Petal pushed.

“The competition is in a few days, I have to get ready.” I barely had time to answer before the next point came.

“You talk about him all the time now.” Fantasia gave me a viciously suggestive smile. I was pretty sure I taught her that. 

“He’s editing my work. I mention him by proxy because the competition is my main focus and I have to bring it up.” I sighed. They didn’t stop.

“You still chose him to do it for you.” Rose Petal offered up another opinion. I wasn’t sure who to focus on. I was literally flanked on all sides. 

“He chose me. It was his idea. It just happened to be convenient for me. It’s not because I like him.” I turned to face Rose Petal since she had spoken up more.

“Oh so you don’t like him at all? You’re just using him?” I turned back around to look at Cherry Blossom.

“I’m not using him. It’s a mutual business partnership. We even signed a contract. No emotions involved.” I was getting a little flustered.

“So just a one and done, huh? You two split as soon as you do the contract?” 

I looked over to Fantasia. My face was feeling warm. I was probably really red in the cheeks at that point. 

“It’s not like that either. He’s a nice guy. I’m sure we’ll be friends as well.” 

"So which is it? Is it just business or is it personal?" Fantasia winked at me.

"Don't contradict yourself." Rose Petal winked as well. 

"It's not a contradiction. We're friends and we have business, but there's nothing more." 

Sundance suddenly jumped into the middle of the circle next to me. 

"Ok girls, back down a second. Let's not drill her too hard." Sundance put her arm around me. 

"I bet I know a colt who'd like to drill her." 

The girls giggled at Fantasia's crude joke. I wished that something big would happen right then so that the conversation could just end.

"Hey, there's about to be a fight in the kitchen!" Somepony shouted into our room. I watched as ponies shuffled over to the kitchen area.

"A fight? Oh no, I thought everypony was friends here." Sundance looked at me with a mixture of fear and concern.

"I'm sure it will pass. If everypony just rushes over there it’ll probably just make it worse.” I put my arm over Sundance so that we were both holding each other.

"Hey, they're chanting something." Rose Petal took a few steps toward the doorway that led to the kitchen. Our room was practically abandoned now except for the five of us. The chanting got louder and louder until we could all hear it clear as day.

"Night Light, Night Light, Night Light..."

My heart sank into my stomach. Just about any colt at school could have creamed that kid. Heck, I could've creamed him if I'd felt like it. He was going to get hurt at this party and it was all my fault. I should have just stuck with him. I could have poured him a drink and introduced him to a few ponies. Sweet Celestia, that was the very least I could have done. 

“We have to help Night Light!” 

Sundance squeezed my shoulder.

“What can we do?” Cherry Blossom shrugged her shoulders. I got in front of the girls and stood near the doorway so that they would all look at me. 

“Five mares can take on whoever wants to beat up Night Light. Come on, before he gets hurt.” I rushed into the next room and the girls followed behind me.

“Wow, you must really care for him don’t you Twi…” 

“Shut the hell up, Cherry.” I cut her off. I didn't have time for stupid crush crap. We tried to make our way to the kitchen, but the crowd was too thick. We couldn’t even get close enough to see the fight. There were too many ponies were in the way. I heard the crowd cheer a few times. At one point, it sounded like somepony hit the floor really hard.

“Please be ok.” 

If something happened to him, I wasn't sure if I could forgive myself. There was some other sort of commotion and talking going on. It seemed like the fight was over, but another could have started any second. The crowd started chanting his name again.

“Night Light, Night Light, Night Light…” 

Did he win? I wondered. I knew he must of won. I didn't think they would chant the loser’s name. Nopony is that sadistic. Heck, I even joined the chant this time. After a minute, the crowd dissipated. I walked to the kitchen but Night Light was gone.

“Where did he go?” I stared at a bowl sitting on the ground for some reason. There was hardly any sign of a fight at all.

“They dumped my candy out!” Sundance collected the pieces of candy from the floor.

“Great Sundance, I’m glad your candy’s ok.” I rolled my eyes. I wished I could be as flippant and optimistic as her sometimes. We managed to gather bits and pieces of what happened from other ponies who saw the fight. Bottom line was Night Light was never hit and the fight lasted less than a second. Apparently, that thud I heard was the other guy hitting the floor. I must say, I was impressed. I guess I underestimated Night Light's ability to handle himself. I tried a few other rooms but I couldn't seem to find Night Light in any of them. I finally gave up and joined Sundance for a drink. Vodka and grape soda was always my favorite. 

"Look, I will admit he's cute. He has a quiet, dignified charm to him." I swirled my drink around and took a sip. 

"Kinda like Fancy Pants." Sundance was swaying a little bit. I planned to cut her off after that drink. 

"Kind of, but Fancy Pants is much more outward about himself. He brings his charm to you whereas Night Light keeps everything inward. He has to invite you in. Which I guess, in a way, is even more attractive." Sundance had a goofy smile on her face. 

"I can hear you thinking it Sundance and you're wrong. I don't just fall for every guy who's halfway decent. I'm very picky." I took another sip. I probably put too much vodka in my drink. I always over poured my shots. 

"You play hard to get is what you do. You love the chase, and you want every guy to chase you." Sundance mimed her right hoof chasing her left.

"And just what, pray tell, are you implying about me, my dear sweet Sundance?" I did my best to make my voice sound like a stuck up, rich snob. I flipped my hair, trying to look as proper and prudish as I could.

"Hey, I never said you were easy to catch." Sundance threw her arm around my waist and pretended like she was picking me up. I laughed.

"You are such a brat." I pretended to fight her off. She took her arm back and copied my snobbish act. She tucked her chin to her neck and made an exaggerated frown that distorted her face.

"Oh forgive me, my dear. I, by no means, meant to intrude on your personal space. Mm hmm pish posh poppycock and all that jazz." I had to set my drink down I was giggling so hard. Nopony could do a rich, stuck up snob routine like Sundance. The funny part was that her family really was that rich.

A good three hours went by and I still hadn't seen Night Light anywhere. There hadn't been another incident, otherwise I would have heard about it from somepony. I walked through the party several times expecting to see him sitting off by himself somewhere. However, there hadn't been any sign of him. 

Did he go home? I thought. Maybe he got spooked after the fight and left. 

Crap, what if he hates me now? I worried. I invited him out to a party and he got shunned and nearly beat up. I wished he was still around so that I could apologize. I decided to just ask around a few more times in case he was still there. I tapped some drunk kid on the shoulder. 

"Hey have you seen Night Light anywhere? Blue kid, blue mane, talks like a machine?" I think the guy's name was Fun Runner. He played backup running back for our hoofball team.

"Oh you mean the kid who fought the university guys?" 

Guys as in plural? I wondered. I had thought he only fought one stallion. I wondered if Night Light knew martial arts or something?

"That's the one, he disappeared on me." Fun Runner swayed a little bit. He had been talking to another girl from our school. Her name was Dizzy Dove if I'm not mistaken.

"Like, O, M, C, Twilight. He's totally hanging out with the hoofball team." She was all over Fun Runner with her arms around his neck and shoulders. They were barely able to stand up together. 

"The hoofball team?" I couldn't imagine what was he doing with those guys? 

"Yeah, a bunch of the guys are hanging with Night Light in one of the upstairs bedrooms.” Dizzy grabbed his face and shoved her tongue in his mouth.

“How long have they been up there? When was the last time you saw him?” Fun Runner pulled his face away from Dizzy and lazily turned his head to me. His eyes were bloodshot red. 

“Hey, we’re kinda busy right now, do ya mind?” I left them to their own devices. It wasn't like I needed a good reason to not watch the two of them suck face. I went up the stairs to where the bedrooms were. I had passed by here earlier but left any closed doors alone. I figured the ponies behind the closed doors were… busy… and Night Light wouldn’t be in there if that was the case. I came up to the largest bedroom at the end of the hallway. It was a mother in law suite that Sundance and I used to play in and have sleepovers growing up. I heard a bunch of loud chatter behind the door and knocked a few times. No one answered the door so I let myself in. 

They had beer pong on a folding table set up in the middle of the room. There were teams of two on each end of the table. The rest of the stallions in the room, about a dozen or so, were crowded around watching earnestly. There were red solo cups littered everywhere and beer spilt in various places on the floor around the table. Night Light and Fancy Pants were the team on the left. It looked like all of the cups on their side of the table had been hit by the other team. The other team had two cups remaining on their side. Night Light had a ping pong ball in his hoof and was eyeing the cups at the end of the table as though everything in his life depended on his shot. As weird as it was to see him playing beer pong, the part that stuck out to me was that his mane was all messed up. I'd never seen him with a messed up mane before. The stallions around the table were chanting.

"Redemption, redemption, redemption!"

Night Light's voice barely managed to cut over the crowd.

"Target analyzed. Trajectory is set. Vector looks good..." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The room went nearly silent when he lobbed the ball in the air. It was a big and slow arc that was more exaggerated than how most ponies threw in this game. The ball landed squarely in the front cup and made a little "sploosh" noise. The boys in the room erupted with cheers. 

Fancy Pants held out the ball in his hoof and sized up the last remaining cup on the opposite side of the table. The two Colts on the other team waived their hooves over the cup, trying to break Fancy's concentration. They shouted indecipherable gibberish at him, hoping to throw him off of his game. Fancy made it look like he was going to do an arcing shot similar to what Night Light did, but at the last moment he brought his hoof down closer to the table and pushed the ball forward with a quick flick. The other team, surprised by the sudden change, watched as the ball bounced near their only cup. One of them tried to swat the ball away but it sailed over his hoof and landed gently inside the red cup. Fancy's trick bounce worked, scoring two cups worth and denying the other guys a right to redemption throws. The game was over. I threw my hooves over my ears just in time. The amount of yelling over the impressive game winning shot would have for sure given me a headache. Fancy Pants and Night Light exchanged high hooves. The guys supporting their team were tripping over themselves to congratulate the victors.

You know, it was funny. I brought Night Light along that night hoping to see him knocked off his saddle. But something about watching a good chunk of the hoofball team cheering for him as if he were the star player really put me in a good mood. He wasn't even being smug about winning. He looked genuinely humbled and happy to be center of attention. I could tell that he wasn't used to getting it very often. How could a colt who was usually so full of himself be so meek and unassuming at the same time?

I decided to meander a little closer to Night Light.

"Nice shooting there, cowboy. You looked like a regular Colton Manning." 

Night Light and Fancy Pants looked over at me. Their expressions were still glowing from the high of their win.

"Twilight, hello." Night Light suddenly remembered he was an awkward kid and looked away from me. 

Great, I guess I bring out the weird in him now. Cause that's really what I want to be known for I complained in my head.

"I'd say Night Light's throw had more of a Steed Young vibe to it." Fancy Pants extended his hoof to me and I shook it. I let a little grin slip for him.

"Well I suppose you would know, huh? Glad you could make it tonight, Fancy."  

Night Light continued to look away from me. A few other colts were talking to him and patting him on the back so I was pretty sure that I was the only one who could tell how awkward he was being. I let go of Fancy's hoof and he smiled at me. Most girls would have been putty in his hooves for a smile like that. 

"A pleasure as always, Twilight." He looked like he was about to say something else but then looked at Night Light.

“I suppose, you came up here to see Night Light.” Fancy gave a little nod toward Night Light. Was this for freakin’ real? Was the whole freaking school in on this? All of Equestria? Was I going to wake up the next day with a royal decree that Night Light was my boyfriend? It was really starting to piss me off.

I saw that Night Light was kind of looking at me weird. Which made me, for the first time, notice that most of the colts in the room were looking at me as well. 

That’s when it dawned on me. This little creep had been talking about me. He was gossiping about me to the whole hoofball team. I mean, it wasn't like Night Light had a lot of dirt on me or anything, but still. Did he even realize how embarrassing it can be to walk into a room where everypony has been talking about you behind your back?

“Twilight, I finally figured out a drink that I legitimately enjoy. Would you like me to…”

“You, me, downstairs, now.” I snapped my hoof toward the door and walked away. Night Light followed me out of the room. I was sure they’d make jokes about that comment but I didn't even care what it looked like anymore. Night Light and I were going to have to come to some sort of understanding if our friendship was going to work out. I decided to wait until we got down stairs to explode on him.

“What the hell is your problem?”



****

> Chapter 6: Back Story (revised)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wine had gone to my brain, so to speak. Although I had not consumed any wine at the party. Mostly bourbon and some beer. At this point I had lost track of how many drinks I had consumed. At first, I had been keeping track so that I could make a mental note on how it affected my senses based on the volume of drinks, the alcohol content by volume, and how much time had passed between each drink. By my calculations at the time, the results thus far were "a lot" and "a while." 

At first, I had been distracted by the fellows in the hoofball team offering me drink after drink as the night went on. I tried to explain that I was inexperienced in such consumption. Apparently, that was cause to encourage more drinking, according to them. By the time we got to playing beer pong, I had noticed a significant decrease in the efficiency of my motor skills. Fortunately, I was able to compensate with a little concentration. In fact, I found myself concentrating harder on the most basic of tasks just to compensate for the loss of sobriety. Others seemed to be satisfied embracing their less than optimal inebriated states and just allowed their movements to be sloppy. I simply could not bring myself to indulge the situation to that extent. Although, I did enjoy the euphoric feeling all over my body.

When Twilight dragged me downstairs, I was at a complete loss as to what she was upset about. I had stayed away from her the whole evening just as she asked. It was her who sought me out. She stood in front of me by the stairwell, looking angry as if I had just insulted her. 

"What the hell is your problem?"

My "problem" was apparently multi faceted. One such aspect being that I had no idea what she was talking about. 

"I don't understand." 

A phrase I anticipated Twilight would hear from me many times in the near future.

"You get into a fight, you disappear, you scare me half to death, I spend most of the party trying to find you to make sure you're ok and then I find out that not only have you been having fun with the hoofball guys while I was worried, but you've been gossiping with them about me the whole time? What did you tell them exactly?" Twilight slid her waist into that crooked hip position. She held out her hoof like she was proposing a deep philosophical question. 

"Being exact is going to be a little difficult for me as my brain is quite fuzzy at the moment." I rubbed my scalp. I noticed my mane was a disaster. 

"Oh that's real convenient. Why don't you give me the cliff notes of it, Mr. Editor?" She got into my face close enough to smell her breath. She had been drinking as well. In retrospect that was not exactly a startling revelation. 

"While I appreciate your concern for my well being, I fail to see why you are so upset over being brought up in casual conversation."

"There's a difference between being brought up and being the talk of the evening. It's a breach of trust."

"I apologize, I didn't realize that our association was privileged information. Shall I keep everything about us a secret? Would that be the problem? Are you too ashamed to have everypony know that we are friendly with each other?" My emotional state was elevating. I was having difficulty thinking straight.

"Oh don't be such a drama queen, you know it's not like that." She shifted a bit and looked away for a second. I felt like I was winning. What I believed I was winning exactly, I will never be quite sure of.

"If that is the case, why did you send me away from you and your friends. You wouldn't even introduce me to them."

"See, that sounds like something the hoofball kids would say and they don't understand the dynamics of our situation. Which is why you don't blab to every open ear about stuff like this."

"At least they aren't afraid to be upfront with me and don't judge every minute detail of my existence." 

Twilight gasped and stomped her hoof.

"I have always been upfront with you from the beginning. You're the one who's a cryptic weirdo"

"I am not cryptic. I am precise and efficient. That's how I wrote such a pristine contract for our business arrangement." I couldn't keep up with what I was feeling. There were so many conflicting thoughts that were unclear.

"Exactly, you write up friendship contracts to force ponies to talk to you like some kind of sick, pathetic loser!" She closed her eyes when she shouted. 

I pressed my lips against hers. I just wanted her to be quiet. The yelling was making me dizzy. After a second, she pulled away and slapped me across the face. Obviously I had gone too far. I was about to offer an apology when she grabbed me from the back of my head and pulled my lips back to hers. She slid her tongue into my mouth. It had always baffled me as to why ponies did that. Being inside somepony else's mouth always seemed repulsively unsanitary to me. However, in that moment, it was perfectly clear to me why it was done. I could not think of anything else I would rather do than passionately kiss Twilight Velvet. 

It was some time later that we gently pulled ourselves apart from each other. Twilight rested her forehead against mine as our horns made a tapping sound against the other. The look on Twilight's face made me feel warm and content. She smiled at me with yet another new type of smile from her. This one was very low key and more subtle than usual. It seemed to be inviting me back in for another kiss. I acquiesced and gave a small one on her lips.

"What am I going to do with you Night Light?" She ran her hoof through my mane. I did not care to be reminded how messed up it was.

"I have to admit, that was a unique and fascinating experience. I will have to study this type of... experience further."

"Mmmm, such poetry. You sure know how to make a girl feel special." Her smile returned to a more familiar sarcastic one. I hoped I would get to see the other one again. Suddenly, my vision blurred and it felt as if the room was spinning.

"Night Light, are you ok?" Twilight tilted her head and appeared to be concerned.

"I seem to be somewhat disoriented. Please allow me a moment to collect myself." Twilight let go of my shoulder. Unfortunately, It seemed that her embrace was the only thing that allowed me to have perspective of my surroundings. Without her, direction and distance were too difficult to discern. I did not even notice I was falling until I hit the ground.

"Night Light!"

Much of what immediately follows is blank in my memory. I do not remember saying the words, but according to Twilight I kept babbling nonsense such as, 

A starry night sky is all I could imagine. A leaf blowing in the wind underneath the moonlight sonata of a brilliant theory of magical conjuration. As Star Swirl's account told us, the dreams of many are representative of the dreams of one so as the dreams of a nation coincide with the needs of us all. A single star is bright enough to burn for thousands of millennia but is often burnt out by the time our eyes can perceive its ancient light. Asleep at the wheel of a great vehicle, a vessel that will guide us into the future by understanding our past. Twilight's mouth tastes like fermented grapes and soda pop but that is not indicative of an industrial society. Do all girls taste like fruit? Maybe that's why they like to wear scented sprays and lip gloss, to accessorize their natural fruitiness. I wonder what other girls taste like. Such a peculiar sense obscured by preference. Preference is subjective and relative. Ein-Stallion's theory of relativity functions as follows...

I just kept going and going apparently.

"Feels like you're finally awake. Now can you please stop wiggling? I'm trying to walk here."

I awoke to find myself draped over Twilight's back. She was walking us down the empty streets of Canterlot near where the school was located. 

"What is going on?" I rubbed my head. There was an intense pain located in my frontal lobe.

"You drank too much and passed out. I'm trying to get you home. Are you in the north dorms or the south dorms?" Twilight continued looking forward as she slowly trotted down the street. 

"North dorms. Why does my head hurt so much?" I rubbed my forehead again

"You drank too much."

"Why are you carrying me?" 

Twilight stopped walking and looked at me.

"You drank too much. Are you starting to recognize a pattern yet?" 

"I can walk on my own." I struggled to climb down from Twilight. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I gave up trying to balance my descent and just collapsed onto the street.

"Oh this should be good. Also, you're welcome by the way."

I managed to stand up, but it took every bit of discipline I had to not fall over again. My vision perceived the world around me in a rotating circular pattern. My senses were almost worthless.

"Is the world still spinning?" Twilight looked amused.

"In actuality, no. According to my perception, yes. Unless you are referring to orbital rotation, then in that sense the world is always spinning." I spread my front hooves out to feel more grounded. 

"Shall I carry thee again m'lady?" Twilight teased. 

"That may be the most prudent solution." Refusal would have been preferable, but I did not have the faculties to continue on my own. 

"Well hurry up and climb on or we're gonna get caught by..."

"Hey you kids, stop right there!"

"...security." Twilight had been interrupted by a uniformed campus guard. He trotted over to us and spoke into a radio attached to his shoulder.

"Zero two two niner, I've got two students out past curfew, be advised." He stood towering over us as I did my best to look as sober as I possibly could. My mane probably wasn't helping my case. His flashlight was shining directly in my eyes. 

"Just what do you two think you're... Twilight Velvet, what are you doing out here?" 

"Third Watch? Oh my gosh, how have you been?” Twilight and the pony named Third Watch embraced for a hug and then continued talking. Obviously, the two of them were acquainted.

“I’m great. After graduation, I got a job as a security guard for the school.” He proudly pointed to the cheaply manufactured badge on his chest.

“Holy Celestia, I didn’t even know you were working with the school. What about the nightclub job and your dad trying to make you go into politics?” 

Third Watch finally decided to lower the light from my gaze. It would take at least 90 seconds for my vision to fully adjust to low light again.

“Well, I got a better offer from the school after Mr. Lumination put in a recommendation for me.”

“Oh that is just like him, I knew he would come through for you if just asked.” Twilight tapped him on the shoulder. One of her many conversational ticks. 

“Yeah, I finally worked up the courage. And as for my dad, I ended up confronting him as well about the politics thing.”

“And how did that go?” Twilight was now resting her arm over his shoulder.

“Well he kicked me out of the house and told me never to come back. But now I have my own place and this job pays alright, so I’m doing pretty good all things considered.” 

“I am so sorry. I can’t believe your dad would just cut you off like that.” 

“Yeah well I guess he just…”

Their delightful conversation was cut off by a loud voice coming through Third Watch’s radio. I cannot explain why, but I was happy that their exchange had ended.

“Third Watch, we copy your zero two two niner. Do you need assistance in bringing them in? Also, I’m gonna need the names of the apprehended students in violation of curfew as soon as you have a second.”

Twilight and Third Watch both developed a terrified expression on their faces. 

“Aw crap, hang on Twilie, I’ll take care of this.” 

‘Twilie?’ I had yet to hear somepony refer to Twilight by that nickname. He picked up his radio with his hoof.

“False alarm on that zero two two niner. It was just a couple of Canterlot citizens I mistook for students.” 

The radio crackled for a few seconds. Twilight looked at the radio with her eyes open as wide as they could go. I was unsure as to what she was so anxious about.

“Copy that. Please be a little more discerning in your identification, Third Watch. I already called in a two oh two and now I have to cancel it.” The voice on the other end of the radio seemed slightly annoyed.

“Copy that. My bad, Gilded Sentry.” Third Watch put his radio back on his belt.

“That was a close call.” Twilight sighed. Now I was confused. Perhaps my intoxication was preventing me from understanding even simple concepts.

“I do not understand. What exactly was a close call?” 

Twilight looked away from me.

“You, my friend, might have been expelled if it weren’t for Twilight here. They’re cracking down on underage student drinking these days. A curfew violation with a drunk and disorderly infraction might have gotten you kicked out of school.” He looked at Twilight and put his arm around her so they were basically holding each other. “You guys gotta be more careful, girl. I mean, he is clearly toasted and you’re involved too.”

Something about the way Third Watch held onto Twilight was disturbing to me. He appeared to be holding an object in his possession rather than embracing a friend or loved one. 

“If that is the case then thank you, Third Watch, for your intervention. I suppose we should head back to our respective dormitor…” I had moved my hoof to begin walking forward and immediately lost my balance. I had forgotten that balancing was a nearly impossible task for me. It seemed that alcohol affected my short term memory as well. I wondered if there was any other pertinent information that had eluded me. 

“Woah, buddy. Hold tight there, I gotcha.” 

The weight of my body mass was propped up against Third Watch.

“Um, Watch, I hate to trouble you, but would you mind…” Twilight began but was interrupted by Mr. Watch.

“Yeah, I got him. It’s no problem at all.” 

I felt my body being hoisted into the air. I landed sideways with my stomach draped over Third Watch's back. He was tall enough that my hooves still didn't touch the ground. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about how nauseated I felt as we traveled back toward the school dormitories. 

"So how long have you two been together?" Third Watch's voice sounded far away. Perhaps I was losing consciousness again. 

"What, me and Night Light?" I heard Twilight's condescending giggle. "We're not together. We're just... good friends. I had to watch out for him tonight." 

I do not know why Twilight needed to hesitate before mentioning our friendship. And as I recalled, I "looked after" myself for most of the evening. 

"Whatever happened to that one guy you were with for a while. I can't seem to remember his name." 

"Oh, yeah, well, you know... people move on I guess." 

I could here a certain nervousness creep into Twilight's voice. 

"I swear it was on the tip of my tongue."

"Eh heh heh, does it really matter that much?" Twilight sounded almost annoyed. Perhaps it did matter after all.

"It'll bother all night if I can't... Fancy Pants." Third Watch tapped his hoof triumphantly. "That was his name. What happened with you and Fancy Pants?"

Twilight sighed deeply. For some reason she did not want me to know that she and Fancy Pants dated at some point. Why that needed to be kept a secret from me, I was unsure.

"Fancy was great and all but... I don't know. I guess I just wasn't his type of girl." 

"Oh no, don't tell me you gave him the 'I'm not the mare for you speech.' I'd have figured you'd at least come up with a new story for the next guy."

"Hey, I did not give him the same speech. It was a completely different situation with Fancy... perhaps the thesis was the same, but still a totally different story."

"Calm down Twit Spit. I was just messing with you." 

"I hate that nickname you know." Twilight grind-ed her teeth.

Third Watch laughed. 

"Yeah I know." 

They were silent after that for a while. It was bizarre, to say the least, learning so much about Twilight's personal past from other ponies instead of her. The information presented so far had left me with several inquiries. However, I decided to just let them speak uninterrupted. Besides, attempting to speak may have triggered an unwanted response from my digestive system. 

"Third Watch, listen, I'm really sorry about how things went down back then. You're so great and you really deserved better."

"Hey, don't worry about it. All water under the bridge now. Besides, if it weren't for you, I never would have worked up the courage to confront my father."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you used to get on my case about letting him control me. Sometimes I felt like my life was being run by the two of you instead of me. Which is why I finally, uh, brought it up to you that one time."

"Oh my Celestia, I remember that day. Yeah, we got pretty heated at each other."

"Heated? I'm surprised I don't still have a scar from that hit you gave me." 

Twilight gasped.

"I completely forgot about that. Oh gosh, I am such a bitch aren't I?" 

"Don't be too hard on yourself. After that day I realized that if I was brave enough to confront my girlfriend about it, why should my dad get off the hook?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure I hit harder than your dad."

"You joke, but that's actually pretty true."

"Oh my Celestia, you don't mean..." Twilight stopped walking and help her hoof to her face. She looked like somepony had told her that Armageddon was imminent. 

"Calm down, it's nothing like that. We used to box together a lot. My dad's right hook comes out like a sick filly."

Twilight exhaled a sigh of relief.

"You scared me there. I thought things were about to get all weepy and dramatic about your tragic abusive childhood or something."

"Nah nothing like that. We don't have time for that anyway. Gotta wrap this up."

"Why is that?"

"Isn't that your dorm hall?"

"Oh right. I kinda lost track there for a second."

"You still in the same room?"

"Yeah, I figured it was easier than moving off campus. Also cheaper." 

We moved inside the large dormitory. We walked down a long hall in relative silence as I drifted in and out of consciousness. I thought I heard more talking but I couldn't make it out. I felt myself get placed on the floor of a room. 

"Well Twilight, it's been a real pleasure catching up."

I turned my head on the floor and looked up at the two of them. 

"I agree. I'm glad we ran into you." She looked down at me for a moment. "For more reasons than one."

"You take care of yourself, ok?" He leaned forward and kissed Twilight on the cheek. My vision blurred as my eyes slowly shut. When I woke up, I was still on the floor in Twilight's dorm room.
> Chapter 7: Spill It (revised)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was it. This was the big day. The day that my manuscript was to be judged for the Young Fiction Writers of Equestria Competition. The princess herself was presiding over this event and I couldn’t have been more thrilled and excited.

So why was I unable to leave the dressing room?

I was terrified. I just stood there staring at myself in the mirror like a middle school filly about to go on her first date. I kept waiting for my anxiety to die down; taking deep breaths to calm myself. But it just wouldn’t go away. What was wrong with me? I was stronger than this. I’d stood before crowds of thousands and given talks before. I’d never been ashamed or too embarrassed to do anything. Why did I have such a huge mental block at that moment? Especially on this day of all days. I had to be strong if I wanted to win that stupid competition. 

Why does it have to be a competition anyway? Why does art have to compete with itself? Can't we just display talent for what it is and leave it at that? 

I thought to myself. I quickly realized that I sounded like somepony who had already lost. This was what losers said to make themselves feel better. My part was already over. The words were written and I just had to submit the finished work. Maybe that's why I was so scared. I couldn't do anymore. It was out of my hooves and that was terrifying to me. I felt like as soon as I turned it in, I'd think of 50 things that were wrong and have a panic attack. But Night Light was thorough with his analysis. He thought of things I hadn't even considered and made me revise and polish so many times. He was somehow even more of a perfectionist than I was. Even if the work was not perfect, it was absolutely in the best shape it could possibly be in. I had nothing to worry about.

But if that was the case... why was I staring at myself in the mirror terrified like this?

Night Light, I wondered if he was worried about today? 

Who cares... who cares what he thinks about anything? That freakin' jerk is nothing but a greedy opportunist. I don't care if I ever see him again. Two days ago he... we... maybe if we could go back in time and I hadn't... forget him. I am strong, I am capable of doing this without him...

My mind was wandering and going back and forth. I knew that I could do this on my own, but at some point I was going to have to leave this dressing room.


****


Two days earlier

As soon as Third Watch was halfway down the hallway, I closed the door behind him. It really was nice seeing him again. I often wondered how he was doing these days. I probably would have contacted him sooner  but... well I was just so afraid that we had burned too many bridges with each other. 

I looked down at the heaping flop of a blue stallion that was Night Light. His face was smushed into the floor.

"You comfy on the floor, buddy?"

"In my current state, I believe that I would find any location where I could remain motionless to be adequate." He let out a weak groan.

"Great, well let me know if you start feeling sick because I don't want..." 

Before I could finish, Night Light's body convulsed and he vomited a huge nasty pile on my dorm room floor.

"Ah damn it! Get to the bathroom, quick!" I gently kicked his lower back with my hooves.

"That is not necessary, I believe the immediate need to vomit has pass...bleaugh..." He jerked forward and made a new pile on the floor.

"Like hell it's passed!" I wrapped my hooves around his awkwardly sprawled body and started dragging him towards my bathroom.

"Come on, puke boy, we've got to get you over a toilet." 

This was perfect. I was still half drunk myself and now I was supposed to babysit Night Lightweight here?

"Yes, I believe we should. I am very sorry about your floor." He feebly tried to help me drag him by kicking his back hooves. 

"Yeah you're sorry! You're going to be scrubbing every last bit of puke off of my floor, do you understand me, buster?" His butt hit the ground with a thump as we crossed the threshold to my tile bathroom floor.

"A fair exchange, no doubt... oh Celestia... I..." 

I acted as quickly as I could; dragging him to the toilet.

"In there, in there!" I held his face over the bowl just as a new wave started coming up. It was revolting and I was beginning to smell it now. If he kept this up much longer, I was going to need the toilet too.

"Easy there, buddy. Just hold onto the seat and let it out." I was literally holding his hair for him. It was just long enough that I was afraid it might fall in front of his mouth.

"The contractions in my abdomen... are so painful..." He fired off another volley.

"I know, I know sweetheart. Just let it happen and bear through the stomach pain. You'll feel a lot better when it's done." 

He breathed heavily and moaned a little bit. 

"In the name of Celestia's infinite wisdom, how will I know when it is completely done?" He started to heave but then stopped.

"Well, that's the tricky part. We'll just need to sit here a few minutes and make sure." I sighed deeply. A little too deeply as I caught a taste of the foul air by doing so.

"Thank you, Twilight." He stuck his head almost entirely into the bowl.

"Yeah, don't mention it." I looked away, trying to avoid the stench.

"No, please do not take my gratitude lightly. I mean it with every fiber of my being. You are a true friend." He heaved again and let out a small amount. Even the sound was revolting to me now. 

"Thanks, but I was being literal, you see. Don't ever bring it up again. I don't wanna remember that this happened." I pulled his head back a little by his hair. If he had dipped any lower, his nose would have been in... it.

"You do not understand, Twilight. I've never had a friend like you before. I have always felt so distant from everypony. I never seem to be able to make any real connections with my fellow colts and mares. The only relationships I have ever truly known are from books. I feel closer to Star Swirl and Coltpernicus than anypony I encounter. But with you I can just open up and be myself. I do not have to follow any rules of social interaction or make myself uncomfortable to please you, like I do with others." 

I wasn't sure what to say to all this, so I just let him ramble. I didn't realize how insecure Night Light truly was on the inside until then. I gotta say, the dude hid it pretty well.

"Twilight, this may sound... unusual but I cannot think of another way to put this..." 

I cocked my eyebrow but remained silent. A habit that I'm pretty sure I picked up from him.

"I feel as close to you as I do to Star Swirl the Bearded." 

I couldn't hold it in. I let go of him and just burst out laughing. I wasn't meaning to make fun of him. I just wasn't ready for that comment and couldn't stop myself from reacting.

"I suppose that is quite... stupid..." Night Light drooped his head down toward the toilet bowl.

"No, no, no, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... he, he... I really shouldn't be laughing. I just... I..."

"It is alright. I realize how pathetic I am. My only kinship is with book authors, most of whom are dead. By societal standards, I suppose that makes me a... loser." 

I rolled my eyes until it caused my eyelids to blink. Another involuntary action, I suppose.

"Oh Celestia, shut up with the pity party. You just need more friends, real friends." 

Night Light sighed and rested his head on the toilet seat. 

"Believe me, if anypony can understand the emotional connection that a reader has to a favorite writer, it's me. When you read their works and truly study them for long enough, you feel as if you know them on a personal and spiritual level. But let me ask you this. Is Star Swirl gonna jump out of the page and talk to you? Is Coltpernicus gonna cheer you up when you're feeling depressed and let you know how great of a guy you are? Are either of them gonna hold your hair for you while you vomit profusely into their toilet?" I ran my hoof through his mane and gave him a little pat.

"No, obviously none of those things are possible for them to do." He smirked a little but turned his head to try and hide it.

"Exactly, that's what you have me for... although, please don't make a habit of vomiting in my room." I took a seat on the ground next to him.

"Look, life is hard enough even with friends to help you along. No one should ever have to go through life alone." Night Light lifted his head and looked over at me.

"Yes, being alone does seem to put a pony at a severe disadvantage. I am glad that I have a mare like you that I can depend on." 

I couldn't help but snicker at him.

"Well aren't you just the sweetest thing?" I stood up.

"Now flush the damn toilet, it smells awful in here. And rinse you mouth out in the sink. You don't wanna fall asleep with that taste in your mouth." 

I walked out of the bathroom and over to my bed. I collapsed onto the pillows and buried my face. I felt like I could fall asleep in an instant. The contest was two days away and I needed to get some rest so that I could get the final touches done and print my manuscript for submission. I heard the toilet flush and the sink run for a bit. At least he was sobering back up enough to move around by himself. The last thing I needed was to have to call an ambulance due to alcohol poisoning. Holy Celestia, how horrible would I feel if I took him out drinking and he died from that? Or if he had to be treated and then got expelled for drinking underage. Heck, he was in my room, I'd have probably been expelled right with him. I guess we could've gotten fast food jobs and moved in together. Right after our respective parents disowned us for being such delinquent failures.

"Twilight?" Night Light's gentle voice peered from my bathroom.

"What's up?" I kept my face buried as I spoke. 

"Well, it's just that... you see..." 

Did he forget how to talk or something?

"Jeez dude, just say it already... actually don't, just get some rest. I'm too tired to hold a conversation anymore. We'll take care of the vomit piles in the morning."

"Well, that is the issue. You see, I do not find the floor to be very comfortable and I was hoping we could... well... share your bed space." 

I groaned loudly.

"I understand. I will make due with the floor. You have accommodated me well enough as it is." He walked over by where he had collapsed previously. I turned to look at him and sighed.

"Come on up here buddy. No hogging the covers." I moved the comforter aside so he could settle in easier.

"But I swear on Celestia's best kicking leg that if you try to make a move on me, I will buck you in the groin and send you flying through the wall." 

Night Light moved to the bed. His face looked so relieved. I guess he really did hate the floor that much. 

"I promise that I will do no such thing. I am not in a particular mood for romance as it is." He climbed into the bed and pulled the comforter over us. 

Wait a minute? Does that mean that if he was in a romantic mood he would try something?

Such a distinction seemed critical to me.

"Good night, Twilight." He yawned and turned over to his side, facing away from me.

"Good night, Night Light." I copied his yawn and closed my eyes. However, I wasn't quite able to fall asleep anymore. Something about what he said before, the part about having no friends, was bothering me. I wanted to ask him for more details but he was probably already half asleep and completely incoherent. At least, that's what I thought. 

My eyes darted open when I heard a weird breathing sound. At first, I panicked a little because I wasn't sure what it was or if it was an intruder. I quickly realized that it was the sound of Night Light crying. 

Welp, guess I'm not getting any sleep tonight after all.

I wanted to be irritated at Night Light for making me take care of him so much already and for making me have to deal with him crying. However, hearing him sob only filled me with sadness. It wasn't the type of sobbing that a spoiled kid does when they complain about their rich kid problem. This was the deep sounding sob of somepony who was trying very hard not to cry and failing. He cried like somepony who has felt true despair in their life and couldn't stop the intense sadness from culminating in this one moment.

Or maybe he was just drunk and weepy, what did I know?

"Night Light, are you ok? Do you need to head back to the toilet?" I figured I'd give the guy an out in case he didn't want to admit he was crying and save face or something.

"I am sorry Twilight. It is nothing. I do not know why I am having such an emotional reaction." He made sure to keep himself faced away from me.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" If somepony had told me last week that I would be asking Night Light if he wanted to "talk about it" while crying in my bed, I would not have believed them. I would have thought it would be more likely for Equestria to be ruled by four alicorn princesses at the same time. 

"No, no thank you. I will burden you no further with my troubles." 

I shrugged my shoulders.

"It's your call dude, sweet dreams." Before I could even roll back over, he started rambling.

"By the time I was seven years old, my father had conditioned me to be entirely self sufficient. With a weekly stipend, I was expected to feed and take care of myself so that he didn’t have to take time away from his research to look after me. I was expected to make and meet regular appointments with a tutor and otherwise educate myself in own time. He refused to send me to any public or private school for fear that they would be too lenient and I would get complacent and lazy. We neither shared meals nor the same roof together as he preferred to live where his research was. The only times I saw him was so that he could test me to see if I was still good enough to call myself his son. 

"Sometimes it would be calculus or physics; other times history or psychology. One time, he challenged me to a fencing match. When I lost miserably, he told me I was too fat and lazy. That I needed to apply my body as well as my mind. I started applying physical education to my already packed schedule. A schedule that I alone have been the steward of and have kept to this day. I do not recall meeting any of my peers until I started attending Celestia's school freshman year."

Woah, life story alert. Although, I had to admit, that didn't sound like a fun childhood.

"Wow, so your dad just left you to your own devices? What about your mom, was she not around?" I turned back to face him. He was still looking away towards the door.

"I have never met my mother. My father refuses to explain the nature of her absence."

Ok, now I was pissed. Not at Night Light, but for him.

"Are you kidding me? That's not fair! Your mom could be dead or thousands of miles away. You have a right to know who she was or where she is." 

Night Light remained still as I fidgeted around. 

"Perhaps my father feels that the sorrow of the truth about my mother is too great of a burden for me to bear."

"It doesn't matter. He can't just keep that from you forever, no matter how sad it is. You deserve at least some kind of closure. Especially since he's too busy being selfish with his own life to even love or care about you at all." I crossed my hooves and made a pouty face. It's what I did sometimes when I got frustrated. 

"I know that my father loves me." Night Light's tone was cold and flat. Crap, maybe I overstepped a little bit. You can't just say that somepony's father doesn't love them. What was I thinking?

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." 

Night Light rolled to face upward and stared at the ceiling.

"No, it is quite alright. I know my relationship with my father may seem strange to some ponies. However, it is not for lack of love that I begrudge my father. I just..." He shook his head. This must have been the only thing in the universe that Night Light and his wealth of knowledge was unable to describe.

"I feel selfish for feeling it, for even thinking it, but I wish my father... respected me. I wish he respected me enough to make time for me. I know I shouldn't feel that way. His research is important, I cannot think only of myself and my needs. I feel weak, because I think that he sees me as weak." Night Light closed his eyes but I knew he wasn't going to sleep.

"That's not selfish at all. It's selfish to leave your poor child to fend for himself. Especially when they've lost their mother... or... you know... she's not around." 

Well that was smooth. Way to salt open wounds, Twilight. 

"I just wish I could bear my shame a little better. Or at least find other ponies to rely on to make me feel... better when I feel this way. But I am so terrible at forming lasting bonds with anypony. I simply do not know how." 

I rested one hoof on his shoulder and he opened his eyes.

"I don't know about that. I think you've made at least one." I couldn't help but smile at him. No pony should ever feel as alone as he did. The least I could do was be his friend. I started thinking I might make a good counselor... until he started crying again.

"Oh no, Night Light, what's wrong now?" 

Since when is he so fragile that he just bursts out crying all the time?

"Forgive me, Twilight. I do not intend to express sadness. Your confession just now made me so happy, yet I responded with tears for some unknown reason." 

This kid was like something out of a book. Although, with the way he said his father was, I was starting to see why he was so out of touch with his own feelings.

"It's fine, let out as much crying as you want. I won't mind." I gently squeezed his shoulder with my hoof.

"Thank you, Twilight. You are literally the greatest thing that has ever happen to me in my life." 

I scoffed a bit when he said that.

"Literally? I mean, I'm pretty great, but I can't be the best part of your entire life. We just started hanging out recently." 

Night Light grabbed my hoof and looked directly into my eyes. His intense stare put chills down my spine.

"Twilight, allow me to ask you something and consider the answer carefully. Do you think I am the type of pony who would use the word 'literally' incorrectly?" 

I blushed as he held my hoof in his firm grasp. His stern gaze made me turn away.

"No, no you are not." My heart started racing. Just knowing how much of an impact I had made on Night Light made me feel so much closer to him.

"Twilight, I..." Now he was blushing and turning away. What were we, a couple of grade school kids? We couldn't even express our feelings to each other without blowing up red with embarrassment? 

Wait... do I have feelings for Night Light? I mean, we kissed, but that was just drunken passion and instinct. Was this really something else? I questioned myself. 

"What is it Night Light? You can say it, it's ok." If he had grabbed and thrown me to the bed right then, I would have gone with it. Maybe I was still drunk.

"This is very difficult for me to express..." 

Oh come on! I yelled in my head. 

What was he doing? Where was the “Twilight Velvet do you love me?” Night Light who would say anything without a second thought?

“Just spit it out already. What are you feeling? What are your innermost desires right now?” I leaned over him, close to his face.

“Will you hold me?” 

I paused for a few moments, completely caught off guard.

“I’m sorry, Night Light, what did you say?”

He sat up, forcing me to sit up as well since I had been leaning over him.

“Will you hold me in your hooves and tell me that you… care about me?” Night Light stared down at the bedsheets. What the hell was I supposed to say to that? Was he really that insecure? 

“Night Light, if I’m picking up the context correctly, you have never been… held in your life? Even as a baby?” 

He looked at me with a face of stern regret. His eyes were weak and looked fatigued from crying.

“Coddling is for the weak…” 

Those were obviously his father’s words. My hoof reached out to him, almost unconsciously. I gave him a quick rub on his back. He slid back down into a laying position. I laid down next to him and put my hooves around him. I locked my hooves in his and pressed my body against his back. I heard him sigh as I felt all of the tension release from his body as his muscles relaxed.

“Thank you, Twilight. I appreciate your indulgence.” 

I sighed as well. I had to admit, I didn't have any words for this one. But I guess sometimes words are unnecessary. Especially for two ponies who spent most of their lives over explaining and analysing things with words.

“It’s no trouble at all, buster. And I do care about you. Believe me, if I didn’t, I certainly wouldn’t be indulging you.” I closed my eyes. Maybe I could squeeze a little sleep out of this deal after all. 

“How long may we do this for?” Night Light was warm and content in my hooves. 

“Oh I dunno. I guess until we’re sober or the sun comes up. Whatever comes first.” I briefly freed my arm to pull the covers back over us.

“That sounds… acceptable.” 

At least he and I agreed on something. I held onto the poor, geeky, slightly annoying, yet somehow adorably charming Night Light until I fell asleep.


****

> Chapter 8: The Binding Contract
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Okay, say that again!” 

My blood was boiling. My face was probably red as a tomato. My shoulders and neck muscles tensed until I could feel pain but I didn’t care. I had just heard the most impossibly infuriating thing I could imagine. 

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure Night Light has a mom. I saw him talking to her and his dad around town like, a few days ago.” 

Cherry Blossom’s words confirmed my worst fears. I felt my stomach tighten and wanted to throw up.

“Then why would he tell me that his mom has been missing since he was a baby?” I could feel my front hooves begin to shake. I swallowed heavily and tried to calm myself.

“You've got me there. Some ponies just crave attention I guess.”

This was unthinkable. I could forgive almost anything. You could do nearly any wrong to me and I was able to look past it. But the one thing I would never excuse was lying to me. And this wasn't just any lie. He lied about something as profound as his mother being… dead… and I was foolish enough to believe it. To think that I had felt sorry for him? I felt used. I felt betrayed. I felt like kicking his teeth out.

I don’t remember what else I said to Cherry Blossom. I may not have said anything and just walked away. My mind was consumed by swimming thoughts of rage and disbelief. I started going over every conversation Night Light and I had ever had with a new light. Everything he had ever told me was now suspect. Did he really mean anything he had ever said? When he told me that we were special, that I was special to him, was that a lie too? I didn’t ever want to see him again.

I made it back to the girl’s dressing room backstage somehow. The award ceremony for the Young Fiction Writers of Equestria Competition was being held in the Canterlot Amphitheater. The gig was way bigger than the occasion called for, but I guess the star treatment was what you got when Princess Celestia was involved with anything. The enormous dressing room was full of props, costumes, and makeup sets, yet devoid of ponies except for me. Everypony was already gathered and waiting for the ceremony to begin. The other contestants were probably giddily meeting and greeting posh ponies, potential investors, and publishers. 

None of it mattered to me now. I no longer cared if I won or lost. I just wanted to be alone. I felt something land on my lap and looked up at my reflection. There were tears running down my face. I hadn’t even realized I had been crying. I was wearing my fancy dress. It was the same dress that I wore the first time Night Light and I met at the cafe. This was the second time I wanted to rip it off and throw it in the trash.

This was it. This was the big day. The day that my manuscript was to be judged for the Young Fiction Writers of Equestria Competition. The princess herself was presiding over this event and I should have been thrilled and excited.

So why was I unable to leave the dressing room?

I was terrified. I just stood there staring at myself in the mirror like a middle school filly about to go on her first date. I kept waiting for my anxiety to die down. I took deep breaths to calm myself, but it just wouldn’t go away. What was wrong with me? I was stronger than this. I’d stood before crowds of thousands and given talks before. I’d never been too ashamed or too embarrassed to do anything. Why did I have such a huge mental block at that moment? Especially today of all days. I had to be strong if I wanted to win that stupid competition. 

Why does it have to be a competition anyway? Why does art have to compete with itself? Can't we just display talent for what it is and leave it at that?

I thought to myself, realizing that I sounded like somepony who had already lost. This was what losers said to make themselves feel better. My part was already over. The words were written and I had submitted the finished work. Maybe that's why I was so scared. I couldn't do anymore. It was out of my hooves and that was terrifying to me. I felt like, now that I had turned it in, I was going to think of 50 things that were wrong and have a panic attack. But Night Light was thorough with his analysis. He thought of things I hadn't even considered and made me revise and polish so many times. He was somehow even more of a perfectionist than I was. Even if the work was not perfect, it was absolutely in the best shape it could possibly be in. I had nothing to worry about.

But if that was the case... why was I staring at myself in the mirror terrified like this?

Night Light, I wondered if he was worried about today? 

Who cares... who cares what he thinks about anything? That freakin' jerk is nothing but a greedy opportunist. I don't care if I ever see him again. Two days ago he... we... maybe if we could go back in time and I hadn't... forget him. I am strong, I am capable of doing this without him...

My mind was wandering and going back and forth. I knew that I could do this on my own, but at some point I was going to have to leave this dressing room.

I nearly jumped into the ceiling when I heard a knock on the door.



****



On a day such the day of the ceremony, I believe a pony is supposed to feel a sense of anticipation and excitement, perhaps even mild anxiety towards the potential results of a competition. I did not see myself as being above such emotional reactions however, as far as I could tell, I could not identify with those normal synaptic responses to said stimuli. The only emotion I could use to accurately express my state of mind was trepidation. 

As I flipped through the program of the ceremony, I took particular notice of our submission to the competition. Or more accurately, Twilight’s submission. After a brief synopsis of her work of fiction and a quaintly written, and edited by me, bio of her person, it listed Twilight as the sole author of the submission. There was merely a cliff note at the bottom that read, “Special thanks to: Night Light” that connected me to the work whatsoever. Although I felt somewhat vain pursuing the issue, I couldn’t help but desire a dialogue with Twilight to determine reason for my near omission from the manner in which we had agreed to present this work.

I asked several ponies back stage the whereabouts of Twilight to no avail until I came across the likes of Cherry Blossom.

“Ooh, yeah… she’s in the girl’s dressing room. But you might not want to approach her right now.”

Cherry Blossom’s comment on the matter made me curious if not a bit concerned.

“Why would approaching my friend and colleague be inadvisable in your eyes? Is she ill?”

Cherry Blossom rolled her eyes, much the same way that Twilight was wont to do from time to time. 

“No she’s not sick. Maybe sick of you.”

Cherry Blossom flipped her head in what I perceived to be a disapproving manner. 

“I am afraid I do not understand.”

“Look, let’s drop the pretense, shall we? She knows, okay.” 

Cherry Blossom narrowed her eyes and flared her nostrils. I was certain I was being accused of something but I was unsure what the accusation was.

“What is she aware of?”

Cherry Blossom sighed and looked away from me.

“Whatever, if you want to be a dingus about it I don’t care. But just stay away from Twilight. I don’t want you hurting my friend anymore than you already have.”

I became profoundly concerned. In what way could I possibly have injured Twilight? Was it the same issue that I had with the program notes? Could she still have been angry about the contract terms and expressed that anger by removing me from our agreed level of recognition? I walked straight away to the mare’s dressing room. I knocked on the door, of course, as a male entering such a premises would be a social faux pa. 

“Who is it?” Twilight’s distressed voice replied to me a few seconds later.

“It is Night Light. I wanted to discuss an editorial matter involving the ceremony program as it relates to our binding contract.” 

I waited several seconds but she did not respond.

“I heard that you were upset at me. Is everything alright? Have I wronged you in some way.”

I was startled to hear a cackling chortle come from the her side of the door.

“Oh of course not, my dear Night Light, come right in, please. Let’s discuss our delightful little agreement, shall we?”

I had known Twilight well enough to recognize the most "dripping" of sarcasm in her tone.

“I… um… I am not supposed to enter the mare’s dressing room. Perhaps you could come out here in the hallway and…” 

I was interrupted by her booming voice.

“Get in here right now, buster, or so help me I will kick this door into your face so hard, your mom will feel it!"

I was taken aback, not so much by her volume or even the venom in which she spoke, but rather to the sudden reference of my mother. Reluctantly, I entered the dressing room. The layout was same as the stallion’s dressing room except mirrored. Certainly a typical design choice, I assumed.

“I fail to see the necessity for violent threats even in…” I stayed my speech as I looked at her face. Her cheeks were drenched in tears. Some were fresh and some had dried in their tracks.

“Ah, I can see why you did not want to leave the dressing room. Forgive my intrusion. Are you alright?”

She looked at me with such disgust that I took a step back toward the door. I had never seen her look at me that way before. It made me feel like abandoning the event altogether, heading to the library, and burying my thoughts into the longest, driest magical studies manual I could find. Twilight had such a profound impact on my emotions. She quickly hid the expression and replaced it with a disappointingly unconvincing smile. 

“I’m just fine, Night Light. Nothing to worry about at all. Please, tell me what’s on your mind.”

I cautiously creeped a step towards her.

“Well, as per our contract, it states that if you make any changes to the plot and/or characters based on my recommendations that you would list me as a co-author for this work of fiction. And even if that point were to be disputed I am, at minimum, entitled to be credited as ‘editor in chief.’ However, this program only states ‘special thanks’ in regards to my involvement which is rather vague and an insufficient description of my involvement. Do you disagree?”

Twilight closed her eyes. She breathed loudly through her nose and stiffened her front hooves. 

“I can’t believe you. Is that really all you have to say for yourself?” 

I searched my memories trying to find some context with which to understand what she was on about. However, any explanation for her demeanor escaped me. 

“Well, yes… I believe I adequately explained my position.” 

Twilight lowered her head and looked at the ground. 

“I’ll give you one more chance to come clean. Are you sure there is nothing else you would like to admit to me right now?” 

She looked up at me with eyes that seemed to pierce through my cranium, and tried to expose my innermost secrets. I would have confessed any sin to her, but I honestly could not think of single transgression to exercise from my conscience.

“No… nothing.” 

Twilight's cheeks flushed red as her fury returned to her speech. She bared her teeth as she spoke.

“I wouldn’t credit you as a co-author if my life was at stake. You cheap, lying, pathetic, son of a bitch!”

I stood in shock at her last words. I understood that it was a common turn of phrase, however this was the second time Twilight had made a reference to my mother and I knew it was not by accident nor coincidence. She had intended to wound me with her words in the most profound manner she could muster using the most sensitive possible subject matter from my past. I was certain that such an act was not the way a friend would behave and she had blatantly disregarded our contractual agreement. This meant that she was no longer my colleague nor my friend.

“If that is your position, then I suppose we have nothing further to discuss.” 

She turned away from me.

“Get out…”

Her whisper was so soft that it was barely audible, yet nothing she had said thus far came across quite as clear as those two words did. I left the dressing room without saying anymore. I walked out into the main lobby, ignoring all of the ponies gathered around. They were already moving into the auditorium to be seated. I went down a corridor where nopony else was congregated at the time. I looked down at my bow tie and tuxedo. I had dressed for the occasion as I assumed Twilight would have wanted me to be. I noticed a small wet spot on my lapel and realized that tears were coming down my face. 

Not wanting to advertise my current predicament, I elected to remain in the corridor until the ceremony began. Even with our association severed, Twilight still determined my emotional state. No, it was more than that. She controlled my very ability to be happy at all. 



****



I finally worked up the courage to get to my seat. Unfortunately, butt face’s seat was supposed to be next to mine since he was technically my plus one. However, I was relieved to see that he wasn’t there when I sat down. I hardly remember the ceremony at all. Occasionally, ponies would clap for something or another and I would clap along with them. Celestia would say few things, then more clapping. A winner of a category would be announced, then more clapping. I just needed to wait out all of the clapping periods until it was over without losing my composure. I was lost in thought when I somehow managed to perceive Celestia announce the next category. 

“And the winner of the full length novel category this year goes to…” she tore open a fancy laced envelope with her magic and pulled out the paper inside.

“Twilight Velvet for her submission ‘To Kill a Mockingjay.’ Come on up here Twilight.”

The applause started again. My eyes shot wide open. I couldn’t move. The contestants around me patted me and shook me with encouragement. 

“Well done, Twilight.”

“Go on.”

“Go on up there.”

“You go girl!” 

I heard them say. I slowly rose to my hooves and walked up the stairs of the stage. It took me so long that the applause had significantly died down by the time I reached the podium. Celestia smiled warmly at me and handed me a golden statue of a scroll. She gently gestured to the microphone. What in Equestria was I supposed to say?

“Um, thank you for this prestigious award. I am very humbled and blessed to have received such an honor.” There was absolutely no enthusiasm in my voice. The room remained silent for me to continue.

“I would like to thank all of the teachers who encouraged me along the way…” I looked down in the front row where I and the other contestants had been seated. I saw Night Light’s empty seat and before I could stop myself, I burst out into tears. A few members of the audience gave some pitying “aw” sounds as if to say, “isn’t that sweet, she’s moved to tears.” 

“I’m sorry.” I managed to blurt out in a choked high pitched manner.

“I’m sorry but I don’t deserve this award. I plagiarized it.” 

The audience gave a collective gasp. 

“What I mean is, Night Light helped me write this story. He was my editor and worked just as hard on this as I did, maybe more so. I took his ideas and his advice and incorporated it. This story is as much his story as it is my own. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” 

I left the award on the podium and ran off of the stage and out of the auditorium altogether. 



****



I was uncomfortable with the thought of sitting next to Twilight so I had chosen to witness the ceremony from the wings of the main seating section. I must admit, I was most shocked by Twilight's admission to plagiarism. It was an extreme stance to take on the matter and an unexpected one at that. I could not simply stand idle and allow the situation to run its course. I had to take action as soon as possible. I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I failed to notice two very familiar ponies approach me.

“Night Light, that was a very… interesting ceremony just now. We wanted to discuss with you the nature miss Twilight's claims of…”

“I apologize for my rudeness, father, but there is something I must do and it cannot wait even a moment.” 

I ran off before I could hear his response.



****



Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid I kept repeating in my head over and over again. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was sure I would not only be disqualified for the award but also kicked out of school. I wasn’t sure exactly how long I had been outside, but the sun was just beginning to set. My heart sank as I saw Princess Celestia herself approach me.

“Your highness” I squeaked out as I bowed ungracefully to her. I laid prostrate on the ground in front of her.

“My dear Twilight, do get up please.” 

I stood up slowly and looked at our wondrous princess. Her eyes were so gentle yet wise. Her smile was calm and soothing. I felt more at ease just being in her presence. She had this effect on me every time I met her, yet I was always so nervous to see her in person, especially now.

“Princess…” I swallowed hard, “I accept any punishment you deem that I deserve.”

The princess placed her hoof underneath my chin and I looked directly into her gaze. She grinned and shook her head. 

“Oh Twilight, you’re being much too hard on yourself. I know you didn’t plagiarize your book.”

I took my eyes off of her, but allowed her to keep her hoof in place under my chin. Her golden royal shoes were somewhat cold yet her touch was also comforting at the same time. 

“Night Light may have a different opinion on that, Princess.”

“Actually, I just spoke with Night Light.”

A shot of fear went through me.

“You did?”

“Yes I did.” Celestia’s expression briefly changed to looking slightly annoyed. “He gave me a ten minute lecture on the definition of plagiarism and how it doesn’t apply in any regard in your case. He also mentioned an agreement you two signed and said something about how, while he is supposed to be listed as co-author, that only technically applies to any official publications of the novel and since this is a contest for amateurs, the program notes do not constitute an official publication so you therefore haven’t violated the terms of the contract. I believe I remember most of what he said correctly.”

I smiled for what felt like the first time that day.

“That does sound like Night Light alright.”

“It’s good to see you smile, my faithful student.”

I blushed a little when she said that.

“Princess, you flatter me.”

Celestia crossed her front hooves and looked up as if in deep thought.

“Well, you may not be my personal student, but my name is on the school you attend so technically…” 

As she trailed off, we both giggled together. The princess looked over her shoulder.

“Oh, speaking of Night Light, here he comes now.”

I saw Night Light walking towards us. He was carrying my silly award with his magic. He bowed his head a little as he approached the princess. 

“Princess Celestia.” 

It bothered me that he could look so natural while showing reverence but I couldn’t. 

“Good day to you both,” Celestia remarked and began to walk away before turning around again. “Oh and Twilight, don’t let the good ones get away.” She winked at me and I felt my cheeks get warm.

“Twilight, I believe you left this at the podium.” Night Light presented the award to me and I held it in my hoof. 

“Thanks. But, I feel like you should get an award like this too, though.”

“Your speech was reward enough for me. I have never felt so… appreciated before. Although, I wish that it had not been so much at your expense.”

I sighed and slowly let a smile form on my face. It felt like I was letting out a toxic breath I had been holding in for the past hour. 

“I’m sorry about earlier, will you forgive me?”

Night Light nodded quickly.

“Of course.”

I reached out to embrace him and he accepted my hug. As we let our embrace linger, it seemed like the moment would last forever. But my nagging curiosity forced me to finally break it off. I took a step back and tilted my head at him. My suspicions had still not been settled.

“I just have to know, why did you lie about your mom?”

Night Light jerked his head back abruptly.

“Lied about my mother? In what regard?”

“Well, Cherry Blossom said she saw you talking to your mom and dad the other day and…”

I was interrupted by a rather tall pegasus mare with a giant poofy permed mane. She wore an excessive amount of jewelry on her neck, ears, and hooves and was rather dolled up in make up. 

“Oh my dear Night Light, come here and give me a big ol’ hug!” She yanked Night Light into her embrace and squeezed him tight enough that he looked a bit uncomfortable.

“That’s my beautiful nearly fully grown stallion. Come here and greet your father too.”

She pushed him into a unicorn stallion of about similar height to Night Light and almost the identical mane style. He wore a white lab coat and had protective eye wear around his neck. The two stallions did not embrace.

“Twilight, allow me to introduce my father, Peer Review and miss Marzipan Summer, my father’s lover.”

I looked at Marzipan Summer and the realization hit me like a wheelbarrow full of bricks. 

“Oh you are just like your father, what with your blunt way of putting everything. Have you no tact for a lady? You should call me his intended or fiance.” She held her hoof out daintily.

“That would be an incorrect statement as we are not yet properly engaged at this time.” Night Light’s father said flatly with calm conviction, exactly the way Night Light would have said it. Marzipan gave him a dismissive hoof wave. She turned her sights on me. 

“Oh and you must be Twilight Velvet, aren’t you just the cutest little darling. So gorgeous in a simple way. Oh, don’t take that the wrong way, my dear. You see I wish I could pull of the minimalist approach to beauty, but you see I have to get all dolled up just be presentable in public. But you, why it just comes naturally to you, my dear.”

I’m pretty sure I was flattered. 

“My darling Marzipan,” Peer Review began, sounding like he was reading an index card for notes, “You could neglect all efforts towards your appearance and I would still find you exactly as attractive as I always have.”

Marzipan blushed and held her hoof to her face in faux embarrassment. I wasn’t sure what a scientific mind like Night Light’s father saw in her. It’s not that she wasn’t friendly but…

“Oh, you are such a charmer. I guess there is something to be said about the blunt approach after all.” 

Peer Review turned to his son.

“Night Light, if you were having difficulties with wording the terms of your contract with miss Velvet, you should have brought it to my attention to for appropriate revisions.”

Night Light furrowed his eyebrows.

“I do not require revisions, father. I am perfectly capable of drafting a simple coherent legal document.”

Peer Review shook his head.

“Considering the events of today’s ceremony I would say that the evidence states otherwise. There is no shame in requesting assistance in areas outside of your expertise.”

Night Light gave an exasperated sigh and raised his voice slightly, a habit he probably got from me.

“Father, do you think… why do you always… can I not just…” Night Light jumbled his words. 

“What is the matter? Gather your thoughts before you begin to speak. Do not allow emotional stimuli to interfere with your ability to properly communicate.”

I was about to jump in and say something but Marzipan gently tugged my hoof so I turned to look at her. She spoke in a whisper.

“It’s best to let them have at it, honey. This conversation has been a long time coming.” She winked at me. Perhaps Marzipan was more perceptive than I first gave her credit for. 

“Am I not intelligent enough to be called your son? Are you even proud of me?”

Night Light was unable to look directly at his father. There was an intense silence that left the air dead. Finally, Peer Review spoke up.

“Son, have I ever told you why your mother and I chose the name ‘Night Light’ for you?”

Night Light stood very still. He was facing away from me but I could imagine exactly what his face looked like in that moment.

“When she was pregnant with you, she was very ill. There was no cure for her disease and we both knew that she did not have very much time left. I had to take care of her during the day and the only time I had to continue my research was during the night when she was asleep. I was obsessed with getting on with my work. It was the only thing that could distract me from the fact that I was going to lose the mare that I loved more than anypony in the world. I knew that my work had to be successful if I was to further my career and be able to provide for you on my own. 

“Late at night, I would get so exhausted that I was unable to maintain a illumination spell and work a quill at the same time, thus inhibiting my work. Your mother bought me an electronic night light to keep by my desk so that I could continue on working no matter how tired I was, or how hard it seemed to go on. We agreed to name you Night Light because it would only be you that could keep me going. You would keep me motivated to continue my research after she was gone.

“And now, for the first time in your life, I am truly disappointed in you. How could you not know, that I have always been immensely impressed by your progress. You have exceeded my expectations at every phase of your development. Your intelligence is far more superior than mine was at your age. I am now and forever proud to call you my son.”

Even though the day had emotionally drained me, I was still deeply touched by Peer Review's heart felt words. Marzipan sniffled as she interjected.

“You see, that wasn’t so hard now was it Peer?” 

Night Light and his father exchanged stonewall looks with each other.

“Oh don’t just stand there like a couple of Canterlot garden statues. You two hug it out now.” Marzipan insisted. 

The two reluctant stallions embraced in a very robotic looking hug.

“Father, thank you for your remarks and for finally revealing to me some details about mother. I know it was not easy for you to say.”

“You are welcome.”

They let go of each other and returned to their original standing positions. I couldn’t help but blurt out,

“That’s it? After all of that, that’s all you two have to say?” 

Everypony turned to stare at me. I felt like I was only an inch tall.

“I mean, how lovely…” I tried to recover.

Marzipan suddenly burst out laughing and wrapped me up in her hooves.

“Oh sweetheart, you know my pain, don’t you. You know my pain.” 



****



After Twilight and I left my father and Marzipan, we returned to her dorm room to prepare to attend the celebration for the students who participated in the competition. We already had an incredibly eventful day and I would have been satisfied to simply go to bed. However, I intended to celebrate with her regardless of my exhaustion. 

“Oh my Celestia, Night Light I am so, so sorry. I’m such an idiot.”

“You have already apologized several times to me.”

“I know, but I should have gone to you. I should have asked you to clarify. How could I not have considered the possibility that your dad was just dating somepony?”

Twilight was pacing the room. She had been doing so for about 20 minutes.

“Your misunderstanding is understandable and I have already forgiven you.”

She stopped pacing in front of me.

“I know, I know but I really messed up and I can’t stand to lose you. You've become so important to me and I want you to…” 

She wrapped her hooves around my shoulders and looked into my eyes.

“I want you to be with me.”

My heartbeat accelerated and my body temperature rose. There was nothing I could do to temper the biological effects but it did not bother me in the slightest. However, I was still very new at handling situations such as this one.

“We should leave soon if want to meet at the celebration party with the other students.” My breathing became heavier as Twilight gently ran her hoof down my cheek.

“Oh, I think we can have a great celebration right here.” 

I could feel her breath on my ear as she said it. She looked at me with that warm smile. The smile that I wanted to always see on her face when she looked at me. I could not help but smile back at her.

“Twilight Velvet, do you love me?”

“Mmmm keep talking, buster and I’ll let you know.” 

“Is that a promise?”

“Consider it binding.”

Twilight and I kissed our first kiss as an official couple. I decided that my preferred life of solitude was overrated.



The End