“It was a really warm day.”

Halo smiled sweetly. She had taken the time to refill her glass but had yet to take a drink, instead simply opting to roll the liquid around gently with her hoof. Her eyes were lost, looking into another world and leaving the quiet bar far behind her. “It was the first really warm day of the season and the sky was absolutely gorgeous and blue.” A bright smile spread across her lips as she reminisced. “Was a Tuesday, I think. Real boring day. Kinda day you where ya could stay in bed and still get the same amount of stuff done.”

Her smile faded ever so slightly that one wouldn’t notice unless they watched her do it. “Some days, I wish I had done just that.” She muttered the words a bit darkly, lifting the glass to her lips and taking a gentle sip of her liquor. The previous glimmer in her eyes dulled quietly. “I had just started Uni, tryin’ to make somethin’ of myself. Make my parents proud and all that, just like every other pony there. And there was this mare,”

Halo straightened herself up a bit. I noticed her hoof wrapping a bit tighter around her drink, but was unsure if she knew. “Rosemary. Rosie-May, we would call ‘er to try and be cute. Knew her for over a decade and she’d still blush the same way whenever ya said it in public.” The mare chuckled softly, more pleasant memories taking hold once more. “Oh, she was a mare like no other. The kinda gal that you could just never forget once ya met her. Absolutely gorgeous, curves for days…” She giggled softly at her own joke. It was actually kind of adorable. “And those eyes,” she continued, “like a sunny sky on a cloudless day.”

“She sounds like a wonderful mare,” I said. It was calming seeing the barmare’s posture soften as she went on and on. The smile she gained had yet to leave, which was a good sign.

“You don’t even know the half of it,” Her eyes turned to look at me for the first time since her story had begun. The setting sun had darkened the room even more so than it had already been, and with our place in the bar most of our light was coming from the backlight behind the drinks. It gave the mare an alluring presence and seemed to highlight the blush on her cheeks. “I was speaking from experience when I mentioned the whole ‘singing heart’ stuff. She was like somethin’ out of a storybook – always knew what to say and when to say it. It was like she had some kinda… presence.” The mare laughed to herself, her eyes leaving mine much too soon as she took a sip of her drink. “It probbly sounds crazy, and I can’t really explain it too good…”

“No, no!” I said, half as reassurance and half just to keep her mood around. “Actually… I know exactly what you mean.” I smiled softly to myself, relaxing into the bar as good memories fell to me just as they had for Halo. “Moonlight was – I mean, is – the same way. Whenever she’s around, it’s like nothing could ever go wrong. The bad days just blew away, like they were never even there.”

Memories flashed by. Laughter, smiles, and all those “perfect days” you could only ever experience when you were young. And even on the roughest days, when it was only one bad thing after another, Moonlight’s confidence was simply contagious. She didn’t frown often or scare easily – or so I thought.

Halo must have seen my smile falter. Her own grin melted away and her eyes turned down to her drink, watching the reflection ripple gently. “I was head over hooves for Rose. Who wouldn’t be? A mare like that was a once-in-a-lifetime kinda thing. But o’course, I wasn’t the only one thinkin’ that. Girl must have gotten asked out on a date every other day for the first six months of school.”

I gulped thinking about the pressure of a hundred different stallions – and at least one mare, evidently – vying for my attention. I could barely handle my excitement from a single love letter, and I was nearly out of high school!

The barmare sipped her drink. A content sigh left her lips as the alcohol seemed to be doing its intended duty in helping her relax. “And she turned down every single one of ‘em. Kept on sayin’ that she wanted to finish her schoolin’ before she considered jumpin’ into a relationship.” She shrugged gently and brought her glass back to her lips. “Eventually a couple rumors started gettin’ around that maybe she just didn’t swing that way. Wasn’t her fault, some colts just don’t like being told ‘no.’”

Halo downed the rest of her drink in one go, slamming down her glass and shaking her head to brush off the daze it gave her. “Course, I was a young and dumb kid still. I’d been nuts about her for the last two years, maybe longer. Figured, hey, maybe those rumors weren’ too full of crap? So I came up with the flawless plan of tellin’ her how I felt at her lil’ sister’s sporty event. Thing is, this wasn’t no little game, you see,” She turned to look at me, shaking her hoof to emphasize her slurring words. Only now, though, her eyes barely held on mine and seemed to look right through me. Was she getting drunk just from those two glasses? How strong of a drink had she been offering me? “This was somethin’ big, and everypony and their mama’s was there to root for the team. Felt like my head was gonna explode every time one o’ those mares scored.” Halo rubbed the side of her head. I was unsure if she was just remembering the noise or if she was actually developing a headache now.

She sighed and leaned forward onto the bar, pushing her empty glass away. Her eyes stared at the wood finish, but I could tell she wasn’t looking at it. “Our team was winnin’ and Rosie was lookin’ so happy, I could hardly take my eyes off ‘er… I thought to myself, this is my chance, if I’mma do this then I gotta do it soon. I turn to her and tapped her shoulder, an’ she looked at me with those big beau’ful eyes of hers, and I told her I loved her.” Halo’s good mood and smile seemed so far away now. “Somepony scored just as the clock ran out, and the whole place went ballistic. She didn’ hear me, so I said it again. She still couldn’t, so just as the bell quit ringin’, I shouted my feeling at her as loud as I could.” A heavy sigh, followed by what seemed to be disappointment that her glass was still empty. “She heard me that time. Her and everypony else around us. I still ‘member her parents lookin’ over at me, just as shocked as she was. Thing is, there was an anger in their eyes. Turns out they weren’t fans of fillyfoolers like me. Now it may come a shock to hear that a del’cate flower like me has been called a lotta things in the past, but… I never felt so backed into a corner in my life. I was scared. ‘Parently they were askin’ me somethin’ ‘cause her mama slapped me for not answerin’.” Halo brought her head down onto her hooves, now looking more tired than anything. “I didn’ stick around to see what else she’d do. I ran away. Didn’ know where I was goin’, but anywhere was better than there. I eventually got back home some time durin’ the night. Mom an’ Dad were pissed, but they were gettin’ used to be stayin’ out late.”

“But what about Rosemary?” I asked. I honestly felt helpless for the mare. Even though it seemed that this story took place quite some time ago, she was still falling apart at the thought of it all. Gone was the loud and flirtatious mare that she had first met, replaced instead by a mare that was so lost in her memories that I was worried that my coming here had been a terrible mistake. My eyes glanced past her sunken form to the kitchen doors. They were opened just wide enough for me to see both True Blue and the mare from before peeking out from behind. They didn’t say a word but I could tell from their looks that this wasn’t the first time the barmare had broken down. Perhaps my being brought here was just as much for her sake as it was for mine. I asked again, “What did Rosemary say?”

Halo shrugged. “Dunno. Never will know, either. Her Ma told mine ‘bout the whole thing the next day, and that’s when I found out that our parents had a lot in common. Got kicked out o’ the house and dropped outta school. Wasn’ much point in stickin’ around there, especially if Rosie really did feel the same was her parents. Woulda been alone on the streets if not for my big brother.” I bit my lip seeing the fur around her eyes turn dark with held back tears. “Big guy went and tried his hardest to convince my parents to take me back in. They wouldn’ have none of it, and I don’ think I woulda been able to do it neither, knowin’ how they felt about it all. So he went and demanded his inheritance, ended up givin’ half of it to me. Used it to get this place, been here ever since.”

I quickly picked up my jaw after hearing her words. “B-but this place is gorgeous! And you don’t seem terribly busy for a bar in the evening. How do you manage to keep all this going?” I looked around at the flawless interior once more. I only just realized that most of the patrons that had been here when Blue and I had come in were now gone, save for the still slumbering stallion in the corner booth.

Surprisingly, Halo chuckled. It was nowhere near the hearty laugh she once had, but it was at least a step in the right direction. “Honey, I’m an Orange. My family owns one o’ the biggest businesses this side o’ Equestria. Half of an inheritance is more bits than some ponies see in their lifetime.” Her gloomy eyes turned to a squint in my direction, “And ‘chu mean, we ain’t busy? Fridays are always pretty slow ‘round this time! Come in over the weekend, then you’ll see!”

I couldn’t help but giggle at the way she got protective over her bar. It was relieving to know that the playful mare from before wasn’t completely gone. “Maybe I will.” I said, “If only to at least see if you’re lying or not.”

“You better,” She replied, closing her eyes as she relaxed slightly. “’Sides, I told you my sob story. Only fair I hear yours too. That’s why Bluey brought you all the way out here to ‘gin with, yeah?”

I bit my lip and looked away. How could I possibly complain over my circumstances after hearing Halo’s story? She lost everything because of her feelings. Her home, her education, her family, and her best friend. I was lucky enough to only lose one of those things.

“I mean, I…” I stuttered, not really sure where to even begin with it all. I looked back to Halo and saw her head turned toward me, still resting on her legs. Her sassy attitude was put aside and she looked up at me with genuine interest. Very tired interest with a sniffle now and then, but interest nonetheless. I sighed, “Well, it all started yesterday, actually…” My eyes glanced toward where Blue was hiding. “I received a letter in my locker. It was a love letter. First one I had ever gotten.” I giggled, embarrassed at the fact that no stallions had ever taken enough interest in me until recently.

Halo laughed with me. “Was Blue, wasn’ it? I taught him that trick.”

I found myself smiling at the imagine of the smaller unicorn barking orders at the much bigger earth pony as he was hunkered over a piece of paper. “Yeah, yeah it was. And I had been dreaming of the day somepony would express their feelings for me ever since I was a little filly. So when it finally happened, I was overjoyed. But when I finally heard the words, it all suddenly felt so… wrong. There was none of the fireworks in my heart like I thought there would be. I wasn’t washed away by the moment like I imagined I would be in my dreams.” I looked back at Blue, who seemed to have taken a much greater interest in the conversation now. “And it’s definitely not his fault. He really seems like a great stallion, even if he’s still working on a few of his social skills.” I couldn’t help but smile seeing his cheeks flush before slipping out of sight.

“I got scared and ran off,” I continued, “Moonlight heard about it and came over that night. It was at that moment that… Well, I realized she was everything I had been looking for all along. She was – is – the most wonderful mare and carries herself so well. I remember being a bit jealous of her growing up, wishing I could be so confident and beautiful all the time.” I sighed, my posture stiffening as the events of the previous night were still so fresh in my mind. “And without even thinking, I threw myself on her… I don’t blame her for hating me now-”

“Did she say that?” Halo interrupted.

“I-I’m sorry?”

“Did she say she hated you?”

“W-well, no…”

“Did she hit you?”

“Of course not!” I exclaimed, the very thought of Moonlight striking anypony being offending to me.

Halo smiled softly and reached out to touch my hoof. “Then you’re already miles better than where I was.”

I blushed at her touch and looked away. Maybe I really was overreacting about everything? Maybe I should just talk to Moonlight? It was a chance Halo never got, so to waste it could leave things worse than they could be. But what could I possibly say? ‘Hey, sorry for forcing myself on you without your consent, let’s be friends again?’

And what would my parents think if they ever found out? Dad might be okay with it, but mom had always been just as excited about my fantasies of living a life with a handsome prince as I was. Suddenly a few distant memories as a filly came to me of my mother shying me away or shielding my eyes whenever a pair of stallions that lived a few houses down from us were out in the yard. Oh Celestia, I always thought they were brothers! Could they have really been…? I suddenly felt a lot less sure of my parents’ opinion on the matter…

Halo’s grip tightened around my hoof, pulling me out of my thoughts and back to reality. She was smiling at me. “You’re cute when you’re lost in thought.”

My cheeks flared and I gasped softly, reaching desperately for some sort of comeback.

“And… you’re drunk.”

Flawless.

She laughed out loud, retracting her hoof as she sat up. “Maybe so. But if your mommy and daddy are anything like mine, then they’re probably wonderin’ where their little filly might be at this time o’ night.”

I gasped and looked out the window on the far side of the room. The sun had almost completely set at this point, and outside a unicorn was using his magic to turn on the streetlights. I hopped out of my seat without thinking, ready to rush out of the building before my manners got the better of me. I turned to Halo, who was laughing to herself as she spun around in her seat to follow me.

“Go on,” she said. “But like I said, things are a bit more lively ‘round here on the weekends, so, you know, maybe…?” She shrugged and smiled, knowing the question was obvious.

I smiled with her. “Yeah, so long as you don’t mind housing a minor for a bit.”

She held up her hooves, “Hey, I won’ tell if you don’.”

My smile widened a bit before I left the bar. The cool night air sent a shiver through my body and made me realize just how pleasantly warm it had been inside the bar. Halo’s invitation echoed in my mind. The weekend started tomorrow, so I wouldn’t be able to see Moonlight without coming straight to her house. Would I want to risk her parents overhearing? Of course, this was all assuming she would agree to talk to me in the first place. But before that, I would have to figure out what to even tell her. Maybe that’s why she had been invited to come back? Either way, she had plenty of time to figure things out – as well as a new friend who seemed more than happy to help.

Author's Note

I have the worst writing habits. Did nothing for a good week, then spent every night doing about 50-100 words, then did the last 2000 all in one sitting. I dont get it.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!