Princess of the Night
300 years after the return of Princess Luna
***
“Hello there, fillies,” a green stallion said, leering across the table. “You look a little lonely.”
Three seated mares considered the two would-be suitors only briefly before the middle mare shook her head slightly.
“Come on, let’s see some smiles,” the first stallion said, not catching the gesture. The two mares on the sides gave him a glare that could have re-frozen the Crystal Empire. Fortunately, his companion was a little more sober.
“Let’s go,” the sober one said. “Fun fillies don’t sit at tables. Fun fillies are on the dance floor.” The two left.
“I wonder if the fun colts are on the dance floor, too,” Nightflutter, the mare on the left said. She was a pale grey pegasus pony with a long, charcoal black mane and an eagle cutie mark. The lavender unicorn in the middle gave her a look.
“I’m a fun mare,” said Angel Beats, the one on the right. She was a pale blue-grey pegasus with a light grey mane and a heartbeat line cutie mark. Her ears were drooping.
“We didn’t come here for colts. We came here for music and cider. And I’m all out of cider,” the middle one said. She stared into her empty glass as if remembering a long-lost friend.
Nightflutter was a mare of action, however, and quickly waved for reinforcements. “Come on, Twilight. We’re here to loosen up a bit. Of course we don’t want colts. We want stallions.
“I don’t want any males—” Twilight Sparkle began, but Angel interrupted.
“You want mares?”
“Gah! I want quiet so I can listen to the band!”
Soon she had a fresh mug and enough silence at the table to let her listen. Nightflutter and Angel weren’t particularly into jazz, but this rendition of La Vie en Rose was exactly what Twilight had wanted when she left home this evening.
***
Wandering through the late-night streets, the three mares chatted and giggled. They were quiet, in spite of the alcohol. The cool night air cleared their heads a little, but with all the bars closed, it seemed like things were about to get boring, and a bored Angel Beats could be a problem.
"We should go to another club!" Angel squeaked.
"It's after 3 am. All the clubs are closed. We could arm wrestle?" Nightflutter offered.
"We could dance right here then!" Angel began hopping in place.
"Not in the middle of the street with no music!” Nightflutter rolled her eyes. “ Staring contest, go!"
Angel didn't even look at her. "I know! Let's make snowponies!" Angel tried.
Nightflutter facehoofed. "It's the middle of summer, Angel." Nightflutter countered with a sigh. "How about a race?"
"Keep it down, fillies," Twilight said.
"Okay, a silent race. We're good at that!" Nightflutter said. "End of the street and back! On your mark, get set, go!" The grey pegasus took off with a kick and a whoosh, but not a very loud whoosh. Twilight shook her head and stood silently.
Angel looked disgusted. "What does she think she's doing! We can't leave-"
"Watch what you say," Twilight warned.
"Sorry," the blue pegasus responded.
Nightflutter returned, embarrassed. "I shouldn't have-"
"Forget it. I understand, really," Twilight said. “Now where did we park?”
***
The chariot was easier to hide than one might have thought. Sure, it’s big, and would be very difficult to turn invisible, yet there is a spell to make ponies just ignore it instead. They simply treated it like part of the background. Twilight didn’t like using the chariot on trips like this, but teleporting that many ponies carried risks.
After a little more walking, they came back to the beach where they had first arrived in town. "Come on, I got a bottle we can share," Twilight offered. The two pegasi leapt over the chain separating the beach from the street; Twilight just phased through it. She felt a little bad about trespassing, or breaking any rule really, but then again she had earned a few privileges, hadn't she?
When she got back to the chariot, two stallions were waiting for them. Shadow Wing and Big Fang were two of the most imposing batponies Twilight had ever met, but Shadow Wing was really very friendly. She wasn't so sure about Big Fang. He was too shy to get a read on. "Can you do me a favor?" she asked Shadow Wing. "Make sure no one bothers us?"
"Yes ma'am," he said as he trotted off to the fence. Twilight frowned a bit at being ma'amed.
She dug into the boxes on the chariot with her magic. At three in the morning, there was no more need for the good stuff, so she pulled out a bottle of not-quite-awful whisky. The two pegasi were already sitting in the sand waiting for her. They looked at her expectantly, but trustingly. They looked at her like they were waiting for, well... a friend.
Twilight opened the bottle.
***
"Ma'am," Shadow Wing said, cutting off a drunken train of thought. Twilight turned to him. The pegasi were still giggling about something, but Twilight had already forgotten what. "It's getting early."
While part of her mind pondered the odd language they all used, she hauled herself to her hooves and prepared to cast a spell to purge the alcohol from her and her companions' bodies. With a grunt, and a splash of green across her face, she managed the feat. It would have been an easy spell if she was sober to begin with, but then what would be the point?
Head cleared, she proceeded to drop their disguises. Her legs and horn lengthened, her trunk stretched, her coat darkened to indigo, and her royal regalia reappeared. Her mane took on its mystical aspect, a flowing cloud of starry sky. Twilight Sparkle, Princess of the Night, successor to Princess Luna, shook her head and gathered herself once again. With a bright burst of purple magic, she cast the spells to make the moon set and the stars dim, the last of her nightly duties. Well, almost the last.
"Come on, everypony. It's time to go home," she commanded. Angel Beats and Nightflutter didn't complain. Back in their batpony forms and Royal Guard armor, they were all business now. Shadow Wing and Big Fang were already ready to pull the chariot home.
***
Twilight Sparkle alit on the Sun Tower's balcony just as Cadence opened the door to her chambers. "Good morning, sister," she said. They had been calling each other that since Shining Armor passed away. They were the only family either had left.
"Mornin'," Cadence began to yawn, but paused, "Hey, what's up?"
"What do you mean?" Twilight didn’t quite make eye contact.
"Another one of those nights?" Cadence raised an eyebrow.
"Whatever do you mean, dearest sister?" A ghost of a blush appeared on her cheeks.
"I assume there was some cider involved? Possibly a jazz club? Maybe a stallion?"
"I have no idea where you get these ideas! I had a regular night of watching over the Kingdom." The blush materialized further.
Cadence, still ruffled from just waking up, stared into Twilight's eyes. "No stallion. Definitely cider and jazz. Don't try to hide things from me, Twilly. I used to change your diapers."
"Okay, fine. I was out. I know you do the same thing some days."
"I'm not accusing, Twi. I do understand completely. I'm just not sure these excursions are working. You still seem stressed."
"Sorry. It's... actually, you know how it is."
"I do. One minute, I need to do some work here." Twilight stood back while Cadence raised the sun. It was not a simple spell, but surprisingly elegant in its design. Then she smirked. "Maybe next time, try a stallion."
"Cadence!"
The Princess of the Day continued to smirk for a second, but then the smile changed. She leaned over and gave Twilight a gentle nuzzle. "Sleep well, sister."
Twilight returned the gesture. "Have a good day, sister."
Author's Note
Special Thanks to AcreuBall for editing, and Comet Burst for use of his batpony!
