It was early Friday afternoon in late summer. Rain had been absent for days, yet despite the sun happily shining down onto the city, temperatures were in the low 20s and unexpectedly bearable.
An old Marty Robbins song was playing on a small radio, echoing lightly in the mostly empty hall of the small workshop where leaning over the popped trunk of a midsize sedan was a short, dark blue mare.
November Rain hissed a curse, baring her teeth as her hands tinkered with the fine mechanics in the car’s engine bay. The owner, an older gentleman and regular customer of hers, had complained about ‘strange noises’ occurring when the engine was idling, and had politely asked November to, as he had worded it, ‘work her magic’.
A brief smirk flashed over the mare’s face. Good-natured -and well-paying- he was, the old man would probably save himself a lot more trouble if he would just move his car a bit more often.
Then again…
She gave a satisfied grunt as a screw on top of the cylinder head finally came loose.
She sure wasn’t going to complain about a bit extra business.
Keeping her green eyes locked onto the malfunctioning engine, her face showing its trademark frown like it did most of the time, she raised an arm and wiped the sweat off her forehead, brushing her short light blue mane out of the way in the process.
She paused for a second, taking a moment to breathe before straightening herself up again. A moment of hesitation as the song began to wrap up, then she she shook her head, deciding to take a short break just as the song ended and a brief burst of static introduced the next one coming up.
The mare gave a soft sigh of relief as she turned away from the car with its popped trunk, wiping her hands on the dark blue overall she was wearing. It was Friday afternoon; the customer in question wouldn’t want his car back before Monday, and there were no other jobs currently in line for her - might as well take a short break.
Her ears perked up as the song on the radio -a classic Dean Martin piece- picked up the pace, and she walked over to where the open roller shutter provided a first-row view into the back alley her workshop was located in.
As she walked, the limp in her step was unmissable, but she had learned to live with it over the years. By now she had even gotten pretty good at hiding it, so that most ponies wouldn’t even notice it at first glance.
Of course, that didn’t mean that it was any less annoying or painful for the mare to handle, but… at least people wouldn’t point it out as quickly anymore.
Looks like those would oftentimes only lead to questions as to why a mare like her, who was barely in her thirties, was limping like an old man. And really, she was all but sick of telling people the stupid, stupid, stupid story of how she had managed to cripple her leg at the age of 27, and had to end what could have very well become a quite successful career in the military.
November frowned, shaking her head as she stopped halfway, and reached out for a small blue cooler that was set on the ground next to a workbench, pulling out a glass bottle with an amber liquid in it.
To be honest, with the way things had gone in her life, there weren’t too many things November Rain could consider herself genuinely happy about.
However, it were moments like these… moments like the one right now, where she stepped out of her workshop and into the mild late summer air, where she could actually find herself… forget about… about all the shit that lay behind her… and actually smile.
November could feel herself relax, taking a deep breath as she lowered herself, careful not to bend her leg too much, then sat down with her back leaning against the smudgy-gray walls of the multi-purpose building, and popped the bottle cap open with the utility tool connected to the keyring in her overall’s chest pocket.
A moment of silence, the noise and smell of the big city the only thing she perceived… then she put the bottle to her mouth, and felt herself relax as the tasty liquid poured into her mouth.
Contrary to what most passersby -of which there were considerably little, given the shielded location of her workshop- might be thinking, she was not currently getting intoxicated - the bottle she was drinking from contained nothing but unfermented apple cider.
November Rain was anti-alcoholic. She wasn’t doing any drugs, of any kind - neither alcohol, nor cigarettes; she wasn’t even drinking coffee.
It was no real surprise given her… unfortunate past experiences with drugs of all kinds, as well as the trouble she had gotten herself into before her life had taken such a drastic turn, and yet it was something that got her a few bewildered looks from ponies in the bars she tended to hang around in.
A mare like her? A mare with her… appearance and backstory, and not addicted to some sort of substance? It was something a lot of people seemed to struggle believing for some reason.
But nevertheless…
November briefly closed her eyes, her whole body shivering as the images flashed past her mind’s eye again. Of how she had dropped out of school before even finishing middle school; how she had spent most of her days living out on the street, hanging around with all the wrong sorts of people… and how she had dropped it all, more or less overnight, and enlisted in the army after… after…
She swallowed, her head dropping back as she set down the bottle.
Slowly, her left hand came up and reached into her pocket, pulling out a small black wallet. The mare blinked briefly as she wiped her hands against her pants again in an effort to get all the grease and grime off them, then unfolded the wallet… and looked at her.
She felt her heart contort briefly as she looked at the photograph of her grandma - the only pony that had seemed to understand her; the only mare that had really been there for her during her childhood… and the one that had made her seriously question her life choices the day she had passed away.
November frowned deeply as she let her eyes rest on the photo a moment longer.
Really, her dear grandma passing away was what had made her think. Think… think about if this was how she wanted to live her life - what her grandma would be thinking if she would see her little filly…
She swallowed uncomfortably, her eyes dampening. The scars were still a bit too fresh to think too intently about this.
But nevertheless, she dared not wonder what her life might look like today if she hadn’t decided to enlist in the armed forces all those years ago. After all, being a part of this well-working machine was what had opened her eyes; what had made her change her position on life; and what had made her meet…
November’s ears perked up as the familiar sound of a motorcycle engine came from down the street, and the mare looked up from the pavement in front of her feet.
Moments later, an older model dual sport bike pulled from the busy main road and into the derelict side road, and stopped only a few feet away from the mare.
November, who normally didn’t appreciate this kind of entrance, was just about ready to pipe up, and show this impudent visitor why she was known around the neighborhood for her foul mouth, but contained herself - she knew this motorcycle; and she knew just who the mare, clad in black leather gear, was who just getting off the vehicle.
Feeling a slim smirk cross her face, November pushed herself to her feet, just as the mysterious visitor slipped off her helmet, and revealed her face. Standing in front of her was a dark gray earth pony mare with a short orange mane. She looked over to November, a casual smile on her face as her deep red eyes briefly looked the mare over.
“Well well well…” November said as she walked towards the mare who had just deposited her helmet on her motorcycle. “If it isn’t Sam.” she said, her voice with a hint of tease in it. “Come here girl.” she said, stretching out her hand for a fistbump, which soon evolved into a friendly hug.
The mare in gear reciprocated the hug -which did look a bit funny, with her being almost a foot taller than November- but then shook her head, a slightly bemused grin on her face. “Never gonna get rid of that nickname, am I?”
“Nope.” November responded mischievously as she broke the hug and took a step back, “‘sides, it just rolls off the tongue way easier than Just Cause.” she said cheekily, “And remember, you chose that name way back in Bucklem.”
“I know,” Just Cause affirmed, rolling her eyes, “But just because I liked it more than ‘Sergeant Fuckface’ doesn’t mean that I like it!”
“Well too bad,” November said smugly, tapping a finger against her head, “A Rain never forgets.” Another brief chuckle, “Anyway, what brings you here?”
That prompted a moment of silence from Just, the mare hesitating as she cleared her throat, “Well…” she said, the lightest blush appearing on her face, “You said the… package had arrived.”
The older mare needed a moment to process that hint, before her face grew into a grin. “Oooooh~” she noted, smirking, “So that’s the reason you’re visiting, huh? Who cares about old November, you got drugs to pick up.”
“Well, I did want to see my best friend and comrade again, but…” Just replied a bit awkwardly, “I mean…”
“Say no more, sweetie.” November cut her off with a mock-pout as she turned around and slowly walked into her workshop, the subtle limp in her step ever-present, only to return moments later with an unseeming brown paper bag in her right hand. “I guess I’m not gonna ask what you need a growth-potion for.” she said with a cheeky grin as she handed her friend the bag.
Just dodged the question and merely cleared her throat, a slightly embarrassed look on her face as she stored the bag in the inside pocket of her jacket.
“I guess you gotta… change a light bulb or something.” November continued to tease, a smug grin on her face, “Maybe replace the battery in a smoke detector?”
“C-cut it out.” Just responded a bit awkwardly, a noticeable blush forming on her face.
“Or is it by any chance related to that friend of yours?” the short mare asked, wiggling her eyebrows, “I remember he said he liked tall girls.”
“S-shut up.” Just hissed, her blush deepening, although the barely contained grin on her face gave it away almost instantly.
November chuckled briefly - didn’t she know it. After all, this wasn’t the first time her best friend had made use of her… services. Just recently, she had picked up a similar potion, and November remembered all too clearly how she had inquired about transformation-potions - namely, if it was possible to turn a pony into a dragon - just out of curiosity, if her friend were to be believed.
November’s smirk deepened. Ever since she had mentioned her… side-business to her friend a few months back, it had been interesting to watch how the younger mare had grown more and more curious about those potions November was selling under the counter.
And based on the intense blush that was on her face everytime this topic came up, it was evident that she used these -among other purposes- mainly to spice things up in the bedroom; originally with her now ex-boyfriend, now with that new guy she had hooked herself.
Not that she judged her friend for it. November had always been a rather… conservative mare in this regard, but she was by no means against people trying out new things.
And she did indeed not have a bad conscience selling potions and herbs that were not entirely legal. Yes, they hadn’t been tested or approved by the Equestrian health office, and were officially not allowed to be sold in stores, but at the same time, they weren’t explicitly outlawed either, so November didn’t necessarily feel like she was violating the law as she handed her friend the bag. Just doing a messenger-service between two of her friends; that was all there was to it in her eyes.
“I haven’t heard back from Jack on that other potion you requested, by the way.” November mentioned offhandedly as the stallion popped up in her head, “I’ll let you know if I have any news.” she said with a knowing grin.
Jack, as November had come to call him, was an old friend of hers; a zebra stallion she had run into during her and Just’s deployment in Zebrica years ago. His real name was, of course, not Jack, but upon hearing his actual name, spoken in the zebra’s native tongue, November, simple-minded a mare she was, had briefly concluded that it was too complicated to even try pronouncing it correctly, and had thus simply stuck with calling him Jack.
The zebra didn’t seem to mind too much, however.
The story of how the two met was a long and intense one, beginning with him trying to sell her a dog when her platoon came through his village, and ending with the two fighting back to back against a horde of militia-fighters. It was a story November greatly enjoyed telling, and would end up spicing up more and more every time she re-told it.
However, seeing how she had told it to Just the second she had gotten back to base that day, and had re-told it at least half a dozen times since, she decided against honoring her friend with yet another repetition today, and remained silent.
“Thanks…” Just said, a tad of embarrassment still evident on her face as she closed her jacket again, “I appreciate it.”
“No worries,” November replied with a nod, “It might take a while though; Jack likes to take his sweet time with stuff like that. And with the shitty state the zebrican mail system is in, getting it sent here might take even longer.”
“Anyway... “ she shook her head, her look going back to her bottle of soda momentarily, “You wanna come inside?”
“Sorry, but I’m in a bit of a rush.” Just said with an apologetic smile, “BS said he’d need my help with something around the house. Some other time?”
November frowned for a second, but quickly shook her head. “Sure.” she said with a shit-eating grin, “Go and see your loverboy. I’m sure he’ll love the gift you’re bringing him.”
Again, the normally so confident mare coughed briefly, the red on her face deepening again, “S-sure…” she muttered, putting on her helmet again as she walked back to her motorcycle with quick steps, “See you later?”
“Take care.” November replied briefly with a nod of her head, crossing her arms as her friend mounted her vehicle again and started the engine. Moments later, she was gone.
November sighed softly as she looked after her friend disappearing, a brief smirk crossing her face. She had already turned around and was on her way back into the workshop to finish work on the customer’s car, but stopped in her tracks as something else caught her eye.
A car had pulled into the side alley she was standing in, just as Just had departed - a new model full-size sedan, painted in black and white. If the markings painted on the side didn’t give it away, the purpose of the car was revealed by the siren and set of red and blue lights on the roof.
November’s eyes narrowed.
Police.
It was no secret that November Rain had had more than just a few issues with law and its enforcement during her younger years - vandalism, shoplifting, drug abuse… there was hardly anything young November hadn’t been arrested for at least once during what she had come to refer to as her ‘rebel’-phase.
However, while she could proudly say that she had left her criminal past behind herself (selling of semi-legal potions notwithstanding) and was now trying to be a better pony, try as she might, November still felt very uncomfortable around anything related to law enforcement. And her opinion on police was… not necessarily the best.
The mare frowned, furrowing her brow as she watched the car come to a halt in a respectful distance. Moments later the driver door was opened, and out came a… fairly short gray pegasus mare. Her uniform was spotless and neatly groomed, her ocher eyes looking over to November with an attempt at confidence in them as she came walking over to the unicorn mare, her hands holding on to the bulletproof vest that was strapped around her chest.
“Hello ma’am,” the mare spoke up as she stopped in front of November, “Officer Skip Blade,” she introduced herself, “I take it you’re miss… November Rain?”
The mare in question remained distinctively silent, making a face.
The policemare uncomfortably cleared her throat, then started another attempt, “I’m sorry to bother you on this beautiful day, but we’ve had some complaints from neighbors - noise disturbance mostly, but uhm…” she faltered for a second, pulling out a notepad from her uniform’s pocket and hastily flicking through it; her eyes widened slightly as she seemed to have found what she had been looking for, “There’s also an unpaid parking ticket on your name.”
Again, not a word from November, who merely raised an eyebrow.
“So um…” Skip Blade continued more or less undeterred, clearing her throat, “Are you going to pay cash or credit?”
Another long, intense moment of silence, and a tense staring contest between the two mares. The look on November’s face made it seem like she was just about ready to swallow the cop whole and alive.
Then, out of the blue…
“You look delicious.” November’s dry, unimpressed voice really made it quite ambiguous what she was referring to.
“W-what?” Skip Blade asked wide-eyed, a light blush visible on her face.
But November said nothing more, and just stared the police officer down.
Then, without another word, and without so much as blinking, November silently turned on the spot… and walked through the open gate back into her workshop.
“M-ma’am,” Skip Blade called out, and came walking after the disappearing mare. “I must ask you to stay here!” she tried to command November, but all she got as a result was a disinterested grunt.
The policemare pressed her lips together, a look of insecurity flashing over her face for a brief second, before she shook her head, and the frown was replaced by the look of good-natured anticipation she had worn before.
“Miss Rain,” she called again, but stopped abruptly in front of the still open gate, still a bit hesitant to step into other peoples’ homes just like this. She frowned lightly, and one of her hands came up, resting on the pair of handcuffs on her utility belt. “I-if you don’t come out and pay the fine, I…” she called out, but found herself faltering momentarily, “I will see myself forced to detain you, and as a law-abiding citizen, I am sure you don’t want-”
But she was cut short as she saw November return from somewhere in her workshop, holding what looked like a roll of dollar bills held together by a rubber band in her right hand.
The older mare gave a very annoyed sigh as she stopped next to Skip, and her hands undid the band holding the dollar bills together.
“How much?” she asked visibly unnerved.
“T-that’s ten for the parking ticket, plus a late fee of five dollars, so-”
“Here.” November cut her off again, lacklusterly holding two bills ready for her, which Skip grabbed a bit hesitantly.
“D-do you need a receipt for th-”
“Get lost.”
The harsh comment made Skip flinch noticeably, but she fought to collect herself, and pressed out her chest, once again putting her hands on her bulletproof vest.
“Ma’am, I’ll have you know, this is no way to talk to a law enforcement officer.” she reprimanded November, her voice sounding more confident than she really was. “I’m merely doing my job, and since you broke the law I’m afraid you will have to pay up.”
Her words rang out, and a still silence settled between the two ponies again. Swallowing, Skip noticed that November was looking at her again with that… that stare.
She tried to stand up to the older mare’s glare. She really tried.
However, she found herself involuntarily breaking the eye contact and backing off, clearing her throat.
“Have a nice day, ma’am.” she said conclusively, still not quite managing to make eye contact, “And don’t break the law again!”
“Yeah yeah.” November put her off with a swish of her hand, and crossed her arms. Skip nodded confirmingly, despite still not being completely happy with that reaction, but shrugged it off, and turned around to walk back towards where her car was waiting with an idling engine.
Although… she couldn’t shake the feeling that the mechanic was still looking after her; or… looking at her, actually. What could she-
“Don’t walk so fast though, will you?”
Skip Blade stopped dead in her tracks, her ears twitching as they picked up November’s call. She turned around, confused look going back to where the mare was standing and grinning back at her with a sly grin that managed to speak volumes.
“I was trying to enjoy the view.”
The police officer pressed her lips together and shot the mechanic a glare that she hoped would look admonishing, but even now she could feel how the blush on her cheeks probably made her look a good bit less serious than she intended to, leading her to scrunch up her muzzle in frustration.
“I am…” she spoke, doing her best to put on an exhorting face, “Just going to pretend like I didn’t hear that, ma’am.” she closed in on her car, opening the door, “Have a nice day.”
“Sure,” November replied curtly, leaning back against the wall of her workshop with her arms crossed. “Oh, and by the way…” she spoke up again, making the mare look up just as she had sat down in her patrol car, “If you ever feel like…” she cracked her knuckles, “having a good time,” she grinned at her with a very distinct look in her eyes, “You know where to find me~”
That prompted another glare from the dutiful mare, who briefly shook her head and quickly directed her attention to the laptop mounted in the middle console. “Goodbye Miss Rain!” she said, pointedly ignoring the lewd invitation.
The mare in question merely chuckled softly as she watched Skip turn on her car’s engine, and blew her a mock-kiss - a gesture Skip did her best to ignore, but was given away by the slightly deepening blush on her face.
Still holding the bundle of cash in her hand, November watched as the car pulled out of the alley and back onto the main road, Skip Blade looking at her one last time before filtering back into traffic.
November smirked.
She was cute.
She was… pretty damn cute.
Her grip around the roll of bills tightened.
Maybe… maybe there were some more parking tickets coming her way in the future. And next time, she might not pay up as easily.
Provided, of course, that this cute little policemare would come over to collect her debt again.
