Waking up in the morning is just another part of the daily grind. Sometimes it’s a tiny fire alarm blasting in your ear, or way too many bright rays of sunshine blinding you through your eyelids, or if you’re lucky, your body will be used to the schedule and wake itself just before everything else happens.

I wish, for once in my life, I could have been so lucky.

The last dregs of a pleasant dream involving onion bagels and beer were cruelly ripped from my subconscious by the same pair of hooves currently trying to cruelly rip me from my bed.

“Hardy. Get. Up…!” Taxi’s voice strained through gritted teeth. It was a tug of war between the mattress and my best friend, with me as the rope. She was winning. “You can’t spend all day sleeping! We’ve got stuff to do!”

“Yeff. I. Kamf!” My words came muffled through the pillow as I was dragged across the concrete floor, worn smooth after who knows how much use. Not the worst surface I’ve had the displeasure of being dragged across.

A shag carpet tickled my belly for a moment before my orientation shifted. Half my body was propped up on a chair with my chin thumped against something hard. A jab in my side allowed Taxi to pry my white comfort from my suddenly numb forelegs.

“Bleh. Next time, one of you gets to wake him up.” She spat, the pillow falling onto the floor with a sad poof.

The smell of what had once been warm waffles appeared before my nose, right next to some lukewarm coffee.

“Why do we have to get up so early? There's nothing special on today.” I grumbled, cracking my eyes open. I flopped my foreleg up and took the mug, taking a sip to wash down a night’s worth of bad breath. The black liquid left a lingering bitterness on my tongue before the caffeine started to hit.

“Actually Hardy, it's slightly past noon. You've been sleeping in.” Limerence intoned neutrally. “And you missed breakfast.”

“This is the part where you tell me there is something going on today, isn’t it?” I groaned.

Swift’s voice came in from the left. At least I thought so, I hadn’t even moved my head from the countertop. “Today is Hearts and Hooves day Sir! Remember? I’m so excited!” I didn’t need to look to know she was wearing the same kind of smile Slip Stitch usually wears, when he’s writing autopsy reports with vocabulary like: “confetti shrapnel” and “custard incineration”.

“And I need to be awake for this because…?” Glancing out of the corner of my eye I gave my bouncing partner the most sardonic eyebrow I could muster. Now, I don’t hold it against her for keeping the holiday in high regard, especially considering her...family’s...line of work, but the day of overpriced sweets and sappy romance gestures was never really my thing.

“Because Swiftie here is going to help out at the Vivarium today. You said you’d consider going with her last night, even though you clearly don’t remember saying it. I’m going too, and there’s no way in Tartarus I’m leaving you alone unsupervised.” Taxi rapped her hoof against my forehead.

I narrowed my brows up at the shallow dent she left behind, taking a second to consider the best strategy to get out of this. Glancing at each of my companions, there was first one important detail that needed to be confirmed.

“Did I really sa—”

A trio of yes-es and one ‘Sir’ came back before I could even finish. Another second passed. I propped myself up on the counter, and took a mouthful of waffle, savouring the hint of vanilla before drowning it with more coffee. A counter-argument began to form in my mind.

I swallowed. Hunger drove me to keep eating as my mind focused on more important things. Sweet Shine was never the sappy romance type, but she’s got a heart of...well, it’s not gold...bronze, maybe? Not iron, at least. Anyway, she has to have a reason to go with Swift, and knowing both of them neither would want me to spend all day doing nothing so…

“I won’t be alone, wha—”

“Limerence is coming too.” Taxi cut me off. “And before you say it, there’s no more food left in here, so you’ll starve if you don’t go.”

“A pony can go half a day without food.” I raised my hoof to interject, momentarily patting my chest. I’d neglected to plug myself in last night, but I still had enough of a charge left in me to last a while. Nothing some quality time with a socket couldn’t fix. “Besides—”

“The Aroyos are gonna do some tweaking with the power grid in this area pretty soon.” Swift piped in, grinning. “Tourniquet told me she’ll disable the lines to let them work. I don’t know how long they’ll take.”

I grunted and folded my forelegs, flicking my eyes towards the unicorn of the group, who was casually pretending to inspect his pocket watch. “Guessing you’ve got a reason why I should go too?”

“No input will be required from me on this, detective.” A smirk graced Limerence’s sky blue features. “We both know how this is going to end. Shall I get your coat?”

Sighing, I waved him off and buried my muzzle into the final waffle, taking my time and downing my coffee as slowly as I could. It was nice having that quiet peace for a few minutes, but like it or not the breakfast was waking me up. Though that one was probably Gale’s doing.

All good things have to end sometime. Goodbye, bed. I’ll miss you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Night Trotter’s roaring shriek faded into the background when Taxi turned on the radio. The opening chords of some pop song about stalking mares in nightclubs came screaming out, and I immediately began ignoring it in favour of a more important question on my mind.

“Okay, can somepony tell me what's so special about Hearts and Hooves day now?” I turned around to face Swift and Limerence in the backseat. “Kid, seeing those chompers of yours on a grin like Taxi’s isn't gonna help my nightmares.”

The pegasus quickly closed her lips, but still smiled wide. “Sorry! I'm just so excited! H&H is a pretty special occasion for the Vivarium, Stella closes half the place for the day and throws a huuge party for everyone working there, and they get to bring guests. Most don't really have anyone else to bring but some take their special someponies, families, kids…”

“Wait, what?” I held up a hoof. “Ponies bring their foals to the largest brothel in the city...for 'bring your foal to work’ day? Who would—” I cut myself off when I remembered exactly who I was talking to.

“Uh, right, nevermind. Keep going.” I urged.

The orange fluffball in the back huffed. “I'll have you know, Sir, that the Vivarium is never inappropriate on H&H day...except for the year after Scarlet and I hit puberty. And even then, it's actually very appropriate when you think about it.” She gave a final nod. “Ever since mom stopped working there to raise me, Gran's been the one to invite us.”

“Guess that makes it 'family day’ for the Cuddles’ then.” I tried to think of Stella running a daycare, with the Stilettos for babysitters, and imagined something that was the perfect explanation for Swift’s fascination with guns.
I turned to the side and nudged the driver, one hoof on the wheel while the other was lazily resting on the window. “Taxi? After Glow invite you there too?”

“Stella did, actually. After all I've done to help out he insisted I'd be treated as nothing less than part of the family.” A lecherous grin broke out on her lips as she waggles her brows. “And there's plenty of other things going on too. The Vivarium may never be inappropriate on Hearts and Hooves, but I'm an adult.”

Which for Taxi meant adult-appropriate activities. Likely involving one or more minotaurs, zebras, and/or griffins. Hopefully with soundproofing.

“Limerence! What about you?” I called out to the unicorn. Unlike Taxi, I had no desire to know every detail of my best friend's sexual misadventures, not even if they involved fresh-baked bagels, unlimited beer, and all the cream cheese I could handle. They'd probably all be on her anyways.

“You mean 'why am I going to the Vivarium, instead of spending it in a library, alone’? Simple..” He shrugged. “The rest of you are going there too. That, and they've got a library I haven't fully explored yet. A good Archivist leaves no knowledge unaccounted for.”

“I'm not so sure the Vivarium even has anything you don't already know about, unless you mean the—ooooh.” Swift put her hooves over her mouth, covering a grin. Limerence's eyes widened in realisation at the implication and frantically shook his head.

“Didn't know you were into that kind of reading material Limmy.” Taxi turned to give him a conspiratorial wink, lazily resting a leg on the wheel to keep the Night Trotter steady. Limerence’s face grew imperceptibly redder with each sentence. “Why not ask one of the staff there for a practical lesson? I'm sure some of the mares might do it for free. Definitely some of the stallions too, if you're into that. I mean, I used to think Hardy here was only into mares, with maybe one exception, but after Scarlet I'm starting to think—”

“Eyes on the road Sweets!” I yelled, frantically tapping her shoulder and pointing ahead.

“Oh lighten up Hardy, I—woah!” Taxi turned just in time to swerve around an old mare crossing the road, also bouncing my head off the window. Taxi gave me one of her trademark smug smiles as I rubbed the growing bruise on my scalp. Just one more for the collection. “See? All under control. As I was saying, Hearts and Hooves day is about love, and what better way for Limerence to experience all the different kinds than—”

“Miss Taxi, please!” Limerence blurted out, with a blush I've only seen once before involving a sex cult supply locker and enough Ace to drug a dragon. “I am not visiting the Vivarium just to peruse their collection of literary erotica, I assure you. I—

“Just?”

Limerence pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes in a squint, promptly burying his face into his hoof. The hoof muffled the scream that came next. Not the usual result of a Taxi interaction; she was going easy on him today.

I cut in there to save Limerence further embarrassment. “Yeah, yeah, okay. So everypony here has a reason to go to the Vivarium today. So!” I clapped my hooves. “Why am I going, specifically? And don't say ‘to keep an eye on you’. I'm not a colt anymore.” Folding my hooves I gave a pointed look at a certain foalhood friend of mine.

A glimmer out of the corner of Taxi’s eye told me she understood exactly what I meant. She chuckled.

“‘Anymore?’ I didn't notice. Sorry Hardy, Juniper was the one who had the talent for finding the truth, not you. I hope.” She paused, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. “Don't worry though, it's for a good cause, you can trust me on that. Your butt isn't itching right now, is it? So you've got nothing to worry about, ain’t that right Junior?” Taxi cooed as she ruffled my hat around my head like she did the gear shift.

I growled and readjusted my hat with a hoof, turning around in my seat to communicate in that special way all detective partners have that she’d better give me something more substantial.

“Kid…”

Swift’s muzzle scrunched up. “Really sorry, Sir! I can’t say much, I promised. All I can tell you is, uh...my parents will be there?” She glanced at Taxi, who didn’t turn from her driver’s seat.

Frowning, I shifted a little in the seat, feeling the mat of beads roll against my flanks. And as she usually was, Taxi was right. Far as my Talent could tell, dragging me here against my will on threat of death by starvation wasn't unjustified...somehow. Taxi wasn’t the type to do things for no reason, even if she did a piss poor job of explaining herself.

“Didn’t think I’d see you act motherly to me until the world started ending.”

“Well too bad for you that already happened, huh? Anyway, you might wanna hold onto something.”

“Wha—” Twice that morning/afternoon/whenever my head played pinball with the Night Trotter’s interior. I swore.

“We’re here.”

“Jeez! Whatever happened to a gentle stop!?” For all the dying and reviving I’d went through...being hit on the head still bucking hurt.

“Not a foal anymore, he says!” Taxi laughed.

“You forget to use your seatbelt again, Sir?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Swift led the way into the Vivarium, more familiar with the place during its festival of love (and lovemaking) than any of us were. The building itself was unchanged, but Stella’s staff made the place look almost like an entirely different building.

The main public areas were redecorated and rearranged with so much pink and red I'd thought I suddenly stepped back in time to my High School prom night. Balloons, ribbons, the only thing I recognized were the crowds of dancing ponies. This was not the Vivarium I remembered. My partner, however, navigated the mess with ease, until she turned just in time to be pounced on by a pink ninja wielding a bow.

“Ehehehe! S-Scarlet! Stop!” Swift blurted out between giggles. At the mention of the name I relaxed a muscle I didn't even know was tense. Scarlet Petals seemed to have the uncanny ability to appear whenever we came over. Usually to greet his best friend...but I've had my own fair share of wine coated stallion to fend off at times. At this point, it was not about if, but when.

“It’s Hearts and Hooves day and you think I wouldn't be there to welcome you?” The stallion's smooth voice chirped, easing his assault on my partner's sides. He helped her up with a hug, pecked her cheek and nuzzled her in a way that would have raised some questions on their relationship if other ponies were present.

But that was just Scarlet being Scarlet. He turned around like nothing happened and bowed, left forehoof held across his chest. The costume he was wearing squeaked a little as he did so.

“And a good day to you too, Miss Taxi, Mr Limerence, Mr Boiled. Welcome to the Vivarium.”

“Of course I knew!” Swift raised a hoof to her chest in mock disdain, than showing a grin that let the tips of her teeth glint in the light. I thought I saw a faint electric glimmer behind her eyes.

“Tourniquet told me you were coming. Nice costume, though! Looks like something from the Power Ponies.”

“Pfft! That's cheating. Just because your little friend can let you see everything doesn't mean you have to.” The stallion pouted. “And thanks. We all agreed that having a character more popular to younger families attending this year would be better. So for today, I'm dressed as Heartshot, Love's arrow, at your service!” He flourished a bow and struck a pose that showed off a little too much of his behind to be the kind he did in front of the foals...I hope.

“And so you chose to look like Princess Cadence in a skintight catsuit?” Taxi’s eyes trailed over his outfit, taking in the details with an amused smile. “Hm. Doesn't look like a regular superhero costume...you sure this isn't just your work uniform?” She pointed a hoof at the zipper trailing along his underbelly.

“I...had to borrow a few things to make this outfit.” Scarlet shrugged. The ‘suit’ he was wearing wouldn’t have looked out of place in a regular workday at the Vivarium, if not for the plates of pink ‘armour’ covering his back, neck, and upper legs. A quiver of heart-shaped arrows was slung across his barrel, along with a matching half-mask on his forehead.

“I don't remember reading about any Power Pony looking like that, Sir.” Swift murmured from my right.

“Me neither.” I whispered back, scratching the back of my head like it would restore some lost memory. The Power Ponies are a staple of any foalhood, but even at the height of my collection there wasn't anything about what Scarlet was dressed up as. “Looks like he's from a special issue or something. I dunno, a Princess Cadence impersonation?”

“Heartshot appeared in Power Ponies special issue number 138.” Limerence chimed in. “It was a one-off issue that had an alter ego of the Princess of Love herself square off against a tyrant king and his Wendigo army. She ends up getting captured and it ends in a cliffhanger where she’s left at the mercy of a white goo monster while wearing a set of metal swimwear that suppresses her abilities. The whole thing actually taking place in the king's bedchambers and—”

“I get it!” I threw up a hoof to interrupt the unicorn. “There are foals here, remember?”

Limerence rolled his eyes, replying with annoyance.

“The foals are hardly within earshot, Detective, it's nothing you haven’t heard before. Unless you were referring to yourself.”

“And speaking of foals!” Scarlet jovially slipped his foreleg around Swift’s neck and pointed down one of the halls. “I remember somepony volunteering to help me foalsit for the afternoon. They’ve been waiting for quite a while, you know.”

“Aw, right now?” Swift glanced around the room. “I just got here, and I haven’t even checked in with Granny yet, or seen my parents, or…”

“They’re all already helping out too. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure word gets out.” The stallion leaned in with a grin. “The ball pit’s ready too.”

Swift’s eyes lit up as her wings stretched out halfway. She pursed her lips and fidgeted indecisively before slowly nodding.

“Okay. Well if you’re sure you’ll tell them I’m here, then...”

I arched my brow at her body language. A pegasus doesn’t hold out their wings like that just to stretch.

“Seeyouguyslaterbye!”

With a sudden gust of air that sent our manes flapping and my hat off my head, my partner was gone, her voice echoing down the hall.

Scarlet chuckled, and that started a reaction in the rest of us as well. Swift was like a little filly again, and that was much more comforting than I expected.

“And another thing, Hardy...” Scarlet bent over and put my hat back in its rightful spot, taking the chance to lean in and deliver a surprisingly chaste—by his standards—kiss on my lips. He pulled away with a smile. He still tasted like frosting.

“Happy Hearts and Hooves day, Hardy. I got you something special. So cheer up, you look like After Glow when she loses a round of bingo.” Scarlet giggled.

He gave me a wink and turned after Swift, his hips swaying as he moved down the hall. A second later and I turned back to Taxi and Limerence, wiping a hoof across my mouth. It came away pink.

“Something special? What did he mean by that?” I asked, ignoring the flash from Taxi’s camera.

“He wants to have sex with you?” She shrugged. “Most ponies would be happy enough not to be alone on Hearts and Hooves day.”

“Well that was certainly a warm welcome. But I believe it's time we went our separate ways for now?” Limerence interjected. He was inching away now, and I would have missed him entirely if I didn't turn to look.

“And leave me alone? I thought you brought me here for a reason.” Taxi tutted and shook her head, slipping her leg around my neck.

“Hardy Hardy Hardy. You won't be alone. Get a drink at the bar! Enjoy the festivities! We've got enough goodwill here for a few free drinks.” The mare nodded down one of the many paths branching out deeper into the Vivarium. “I just gotta pay someone a visit first, and I'll come find you after. Besides, this is the first time in a while that you've come here without danger of being eviscerated by one of Swift's relatives or some other world ending force. Enjoy it.”

She patted me on the back and went off with a laugh, leaving me alone with Lim—

Oh.

Limerence was already gone.

“Normally, I'm glad to head to the bar…” I muttered. The detective's instinct of walking into something was deep in my gut.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Holiday or no, the Vivarium was the Vivarium, and the part that needed a minimum age to get into was very much still in business.

Some things never change.

Nightclubs were never my thing. Too noisy, bad music that sounded like other bad music, and enough flashing lights to induce a seizure if you weren't ready. Today, the main hall of the Vivarium defied expectations.

The place was decorated with deep pink, white, and purple banners, and heart shaped balloons were tied around the pillars. It looked like a high school prom night. Pairs of couples I would never have thought could be physically compatible on a dancefloor literally took center stage as the DJ played out a mild tango piece.

There was less of a crowd than I expected for a day like this, but it felt like business as usual.

Finding the bar was practically habit for me in places like these. Call it part of a detective’s instincts. It was understandably empty for this time of day, but that never stopped me before. A detective on a barstool before 5pm is a much more common occurrence than most ponies would think.

“Detective? I take it you're here for a drink?”

“Yeah, give me a...Suture?! What are you doing here?” I couldn’t help but make my surprise obvious when I saw Swift's dad was tending the bar, his white doctor’s coat and stethoscope standing out greatly against his emerald coat.

“Well, After Glow is my mother-in-law and with Quickie being an ex-employee…”

“No, no. Not Hearts and Hooves day,” I shook my head. “I meant what are you doing behind the bar? And in uniform…?”

“Oh.” The Pegasus cocked his head just like his daughter does, I noticed. “The usual bartender was having a lack of orders, and took a break, so I stepped up.” He motioned towards the crowd. “It seems that the kinds of alcohol one finds in a bar and the kind in a hospital aren't so different. Except bars have longer instructions.”

Suture pulled out a bottle from under the bar and pointed behind me.

“The rest of the answer to that question, and your second one, is coming back right now.”

I swiveled around just in time to catch sight of Quickie Cuddles trotting her way back balancing a tray of empty glasses on her back, pink mane neatly trimmed and tied back...wearing a nurse outfit.

A very short, revealing nurse outfit.

I found myself leaning away slightly as she came up to the bar. One of the last times I was in the vicinity of the unicorn, she wasn’t very much in the mood to talk. More of a “you touched my daughter so I’m coming to kill you” kind of mood. She seemed focused on her husband for the moment, so I decided it would be wiser to keep my mouth shut unless she spoke to me first.

“The party is picking up, and so are the drink orders.” She greeted him with a seductive wink and hug I never wished to see coming from a mare old enough to be my mother, even if she was little bigger than Swift. “...I told you I could still do it.”

“Soliciting drink orders using sexual charm does not count when the clientele either already knows you, knows of you, or knows of your mother.” Suture drily replied, taking the little slip of paper Quickie put on the counter.

“I don’t recall that stopping you when we first met.” She chuckled before turning to me. “Detective. A pleasure to see you here.”

The mare embraced me in a hug that had me awkwardly bending forward to account for the height difference. It hurt a little, but a little backache from a unicorn that could cause tremors with her hooves was hardly the worst that could happen.

“It's...nice to see you too, missus Cuddles.” I returned the hug, but the fear didn't help with not making my hooves flop around, even with Gale’s help. The first time I met the Cuddles family they were much more...reserved. Then again, they had also recently found out their daughter’s partial transformation into a carnivorous killing machine and had to receive the news of the results of her first weeks of work and all the near and actual-death experiences it included.

“Oh, relax! Scarlet explained everything. I'm not going to kill you.” Quickie flashed me the kind of smile only a mother could give, before becoming darker in the way only a mother could do. “Which is more than I can say for that Iris Jade mare…”

“Good to hear.” I nodded, eager to change the subject. The less I talked about the topic the less likely my heart would end up needing a restart. “I have to say, its a real surprise to see both of you handling the drinks. I thought you two would be enjoying the celebration. No offence, but I didn't know you were so...”

“Outgoing?” Quickie finished my sentence for me. “The Vivarium was my home—no, is my home, even if I don't live here anymore. You could just say that back here, I’m in my element.” She leaned onto the bar, placed her hooves over her husband's, and growled. The blush she elicited from him turned whatever subtext there was into a full length billboard saying ‘We're gonna do it later when no one's looking’. I was almost thankful when she started talking about me again.

“Ahem, yes, well.” Suture coughed and glanced at me, clearly embarrassed. “Not out in public, Quickie.” He whispered.

Sometimes I wondered if my own parents ever got wild whenever I wasn’t home. I quickly discarded that imagery.

“The Vivarium is hardly what I would call ‘public’, dear.” The unicorn mare took a seat as her husband passed the dirty glasses behind the bar with a wing. “So, Hard Boiled, since you’re here I guess my Little Bird is too. Though I notice she isn’t with you right now...or any of your other friends either.”

“Swift is doing well.” I pointed a hoof back to where I last saw her. “She was really excited to get here, flew off to her foalsitting thing with Scarlet first thing before even saying hello to everyone. Limerence disappeared to look for some book that may or may not be smut, and Taxi is off doing her own business which she hardly ever tells me about.”

“Hearts and Hooves was always one of Swift’s favourite holidays, I take it she hasn’t even said hello to her own family yet because Scarlet told her about the ball pit.” Suture called over his shoulder as he took out a few more bottles and began mixing. I could hear the smile on his voice.

“What about you, detective?” Quickie asked.

“Me?” I pointed a hoof to myself, shrugging. “I’m here because Taxi didn’t feel like leaving me behind all alone with some power grid works scheduled for later in the day. Frankly I’ve never really been into the whole Hearts and Hooves thing. My last date was years ago, and being a police detective needs time and commitment a special somepony would just be competing with. I don’t really have much reason to be here otherwise.”

“Oh? Not even for Scarlet? He told me he had a surprise waiting for you, and he doesn't plan gifts like this for ponies he doesn't appreciate.”

“Is he pregnant now, too?” Suture chimed in, and was promptly ignored by his wife. But it was enough to get a small laugh from me.

“Scarlet and I...aren’t exactly like that.” The memory of the younger stallion’s sweet kiss was still fresh, followed by a tinge of...guilt? Call me sentimental, but I couldn’t help but feel a little affection for a pony willing to show so much love even to a stallion like me, it would be just unfair otherwise. “He doesn’t do to me anything I haven’t seen him do to Swift, but I know he likes me for something more than just infatuation. Even if I don't know what it is. It's just that...”

“You’re not planning on leading him on, are you?” Quickie’s voice went flat and her eyebrows narrowed, which meant a mood shift was imminent. If I had a drink I’d have spit it out, but for now choking on my own spit would have to do. I'm sure some other stallion would've loved to have a lower-middle aged nurse stare them down, but not me. “I'll have you know that Scarlet Petals has been Swift’s best friend ever since she was a filly, and we treat him as if he were our own. If you’ve done anything to hurt him—”

“The detective isn't the type, Quickie. Our Swift would hardly have stuck with him otherwise.” Suture reassures as he put down a new tray of drinks on the bar. “No need to break out the hoofcuffs just yet.”

“No hoofcuffs for me, thank you!” I blurted. This conversation was becoming something much more than I wanted to handle right now, so turned to the Pegasus. “Could I just have that drink now?”

“A beer, detective?” When I nodded, the other stallion promptly placed a bottle on the table. “No need to worry about paying, serpent's orders. I also recall saying I'd buy you a drink, if you don't mind discussing the details of that transplant heart of yours.”

Giving the bartending doctor my thanks, I took a deep swig and let the cool booze flow down my throat. I had just opened my mouth to answer when Quickie interrupted me.

“I'm sorry, dear, but I must interrupt. Did you mention that you hadn't had a date in years, detective? Not even that Taxi mare?” But of course, the ex-escort would be concerned about my (lack of) love life. I guess I should just be glad that sea serpent doesn't know or else I'd never— “Stella will be coming to give a speech soon, right when our shift ends. You're coming.” She ordered.

Most of me cursed whatever magic that dictated that whatever I said or thought would become true for maximum irony. The rest of me sniggered at Quickie Cuddles’ use of the word “coming”. Or maybe that was just the literal foal in me.

Author's Note

It's late, but here it finally is. I can't say I'll be able to work on it as much as I'd like to, Starlight will likely finish long before this does, but I had an agreement with myself months ago, and I'll put down my idea to words eventually...no matter how long it takes. It'll be done when it's done.

As last time, feel free to comment and criticize. I'll certainly look back and change things as needed if continuity errors pop out from the main story.