The Life and Death of Molotov ‘Sharky’ Flare
A Tie In with Breathtaking by fiXDbayonets
Night Flare growled lightly as he made his way into Las Pegasus. Behind him a simple wagon rolled down the paved street. He hated that it had come to this. Years, absolute years, of dreaming and training by himself all spent to be a Royal Night Guard for the Princess had come to an end when Captain Shine had seen his one moment of weakness. It wasn’t supposed to be like that. He hadn’t even really wanted to help Gumdrop or Fuz get into the treasury. The ten months of academy training he had done, ten months of back breaking duty and service he had put up with, had all been for nothing. He was drummed out of the guard, lucky not to be thrown into the dungeons, and forced to move out of Canterlot.
Las Pegasus was the only place he could find work. Work as a personal guard to one of the casino owners. He looked over his shoulder at his wife. That was already another strike against him with the night guard. Lunar Pegasi were expected to marry Lunar Pegasi. It was tradition. Marrying an Earth Pony had set him up to be ostracized, but he didn’t care. He loved Cinnamon with all of his heart. Beside her was his sleeping son, Molotov. The young Earth Pony was so much like his mother, but he had gained the Lunar Pegasi teeth and temper. In truth Molotov would have made a fantastic guard in his own right when he grew up. His temperament would have been perfect for someone who had to travel into foreign lands and battle.
He seriously doubted that would happen now. At the very least he could hope that his son would eventually become a respected stallion. He finally spotted the small house he was informed of. It was certainly bigger than the dorm room he had to share with Fuz, but to say that it was just as nice as his apartment had been back in Canterlot would be a stretch. He pulled the wagon up, Unhooked himself, and set the breaks. He then turned back to Cinnamon and gave her a small smile.
“We’re here,” he said.
She slowly got down off of the wagon with Molotov. She didn’t say much, but he could see the disappointment in her eyes. She wasn’t someone who really thought much of social circles, but her family, and friends, had been near Canterlot. This was taking her away from everything she knew. He could have left her in the apartment, moved out here, worked, and sent money home, but she didn’t want that. She wanted to be with him.
“It’s not so bad,” she said once she placed Molotov on the ground.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“What’s done is done Night. We can’t change it, but we can make the most of this for us, and for Molotov. Come on, let’s get inside,” she said.
She picked up Molotov, placed him on her back and followed Night into the house. Once inside she was surprised to find it clean, fully furnished, and there was even a note on the coffee table. Night walked over to it and lifted the note up.
“Mr. Flare,
Thank you for deciding to accept my offer of employment. I believe that we both have the opportunity to build a fantastic future together. Get settled in, and tomorrow evening report to Silver Cloud. I’ll go over your duties, and explain what I expect of my employees. Until then please, enjoy your house, and enjoy the dinner I had one of the casino’s staff prepare. It is in your refrigerator.
Moon Glow,” he read.
Cinnamon walked toward the refrigerator and opened it. She let out a gasp and eyed the spread before her. It was everything a lunar Pegasus and an Earth Pony could ever want to eat. Moon Glow had went way out of the way to make them feel at home and wanted. She turned toward Night Flare who eyed the food and then looked at their sleeping boy.
“Let’s get a bite tonight, and tomorrow we’ll have a family dinner together,” he said.
The two of them gathered together a small meal. Cinnamon took some of the smoked salmon over to the counter and sliced off a piece of it. She wasn’t much for lunar pegasi food, but she wanted Night to get a decent meal. He had pulled the wagon from Canterlot, and it had been a rough couple of weeks. What little savings Night had managed to put together during his academy training had drained away a good two days ago. They had come down to just having enough food for her and Molotov. She had tried to refuse, but he insisted that she eat.
She placed the salmon on a slice of bread, and then she found a little potato salad. She dipped some onto the same plate and carried it over to him. Night smiled at her, and then he began to eat as if he was starving to death. She fixed herself a small plate of okra, fried turnips, and a wedge of apple pie. She carried it back over to the table and looked at Molotov who was sleeping sounding soundly in his carrier. She gently rocked him as she ate. Night studied his son and touched his head.
“Do you think that we can fit in out here?” he asked.
“Night, I don’t know much about Las Pegasus. I know a little, but not enough to really be an authority on the city. What I do know is that wherever you are, wherever we go, as long as I am with you then I’ll fit in,” she said.
He stopped eating, walked toward her, nuzzled her gently and then kissed her forehead.
“I want to have more foals with you. I want us to have a large family, and I will do everything I can to make them proud of us,” he said.
She smiled back at him and looked at Molotov.
“He will be proud of you, and he will respect us both,” she said.
They finished eating, put away the uneaten food, and carried Molotov into another room. The kitchen had been a surprise, and so was the master bedroom. Night Flare had expected a simple bed. He expected a bed that should be expected in a new home, but instead the bed before them was a large bed on an oak frame. It looked beautiful, old, but beautiful. Cinnamon carried Molotov over toward the bed, took him out of the carrier, and laid him in the middle of the bed. The infant foal squirmed until Cinnamon pulled him close to her. She snuggled him against her barrel and felt him get comfortable. She looked at Night who studied his son, then his wife before he switched off the light and crawled into the bed.
“Whatever tomorrow brings we’ll face it together,” she said.
“I know,” he said.
He had wanted to nod, but unlike the other lunar pegasi Cinnamon couldn’t see in the dark. The darkness had swallowed everything in the room, but Night could see all of it. He lay in the bed, near Cinnamon and Molotov, thinking about tomorrow night. It was his first night of work with Moon Glow. There was a bit of nervousness about it. Moon Glow had wanted a lunar pegasi, or a Thestral rather, as a night guard.
It was easy to understand the reasoning behind it. The Thestrals had been part of the night guard since before the banishment of Nightmare Moon. He knew his ancestor Midnight Star had been a personal guard for Princess Luna. Even though the night guard worked with Princess Celestia they all waited for the return of Princess Luna. He had wanted to wait for her return. He had every intention of fulfilling the dream his ancestor had started. It was the dream of having a member of their family as part of the royal guard for Princess Luna throughout all time. He hated that he was the reason Midnight Star’s dream would never come to pass. His disgrace would keep Molotov from ever being a guard.
He let out a quiet snort and studied Cinnamon. She had put up with all of the razzing the other mares had put her through. She had dealt with the snide remarks, being viewed as inferior and even dealing with the rites of passage to marry a Thestral. She had dealt with it all and still came out on equal footing. This wasn’t fair in the slightest. He wanted to give her a big family that she could be proud of, and maybe he could do that here.
He tried to close his eyes, after all he was tired, but his own nature worked against him. He needed to be up. Regardless of being tired he needed to be awake. He studied Cinnamon in the dark and took in everything about her. Her family ran the royal pastry kitchen, and they had even arranged for her to married to one of Cherry Jubilee’s sons. It would have provided a direct line to any and all of the cherries they would need for the pastries, but she had found him. He was a stallion that was barely out of his adolescent years, training, actually training, in the Royal Guard academy.
She had been the most beautiful mare he had ever seen, and she was so gutsy walking up to him, to all of the night guards in training, and talking to him. It was something he never expected. None of them expected to see a day walker coming up to them. She talked to him like he was anypony else. There was no fear, no hesitation, instead she seemed genuinely interested in getting to know him. The memory of that caused a smile to cross his lips. He knew how strong Cinnamon was, and he was thankful for her.
Finally, lying there, going over his memories, thinking about the past, thinking about Cinnamon, and considering their future helped him relax enough to get a little sleep that he so desperately needed. Within a few moments he was out cold. He was finally roused out of his sleep by sounds and smells coming from the kitchen. He opened one of his eyes and looked to see that it was well past noon, reaching into evening of the following day. He crawled out of the bed and found Cinnamon working on breakfast. Molotov was in a small play pen they had bought in Canterlot, but the little colt was attempting to tip it over.
“It will be ready soon sweetie,” she cooed to him.
He didn’t say a word, but instead he snuck up on her. Waiting until she was faced away from the stove, and instead was looking in the frigrator he wrapped his forelegs around her hips. She let out a surprised squeak.
“Good morning,” he purred into her ear.
“Night, Molotov is in here,” she said.
“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on traumatizing our son,” he said.
He let go and she turned toward him. She nuzzled his neck and hugged him.
“The house is nicer than we thought. I went through and checked the other rooms. Night, there is another bedroom up here, a small den, and a family room. Then there is the attic, and the basement is split into three rooms,” she said.
“Maybe this is a sign of good things to come then,” he said.
“I hope it is. No, I’m sure it is. Things are only going to get better for us. I’m sure of that,” she said.
He kissed her muzzle and then took a seat at the table. She brought over the meals and he watched as Molotov began to eat. His diet was a mixture of both of his heritages. He then looked back at Cinnamon who sat down with her own plate. Once they were done he checked the time, and walked toward her. He kissed her once more.
“I’ll be home as soon as the shift is over,” he said.
“Okay, be careful,” she said.
He walked out of the house and into a new life.
