Lunar Legacy

Only one of the serving mares would serve him, the others were too afraid of the dark Pegasus in the shadowed corner. She was cream colored with flaming red mane and tail. She knew he wasn’t to be feared. Because she knew he was only here to relax; and to keep an eye on the troublemakers who gather here. Many would call him crazy for just sitting there in the dirty ramshackle tavern with the less reputable citizens of the town. This was what Midnight Star did when he finished work early, which was often. He came to the ramshackle tavern, sat down in the dark corner; had a few glasses of juice, and watched the crowd for signs of trouble.

“You know, nopony else dares sit here because their all afraid of you?” said the serving mare

“Ruby Breeze, It’s good to see you too. I’ll have the usual.” Midnight Star replied

“Comin’ right up, one glass of fresh squeezed grape juice. Anything else?” she asked

“Yeah, the kitchen still open? If so I’ll have some hay fries” he said, realizing he was hungry

“Comin’ right up.” Ruby Breeze replied and went off to the kitchen to turn in his order.

Ponyville was over all a fairly peaceful town, but the occasional fight is bound to happen anywhere you go. The Salty Trough happened to have a higher than average number of fights take place there compared to any other establishment in all of Ponyville due to the nature of the majority of it’s patrons.

Midnight Star was no troublemaker, but he wasn’t afraid of a fight either. He didn’t cause trouble, he just went there knowing a fight might break out. There was something about fighting that felt natural to him. It was in his instincts, probably from several generations of battle-hardened Heroes and Guards up the family tree. He enjoyed a good fight.

Midnight Star leaned back and closed his eyes for a few moments. Ruby Breeze returned with his drink a moment later and he took a small sip then sat back and closed his eyes again. When his fries arrived he set 5 bits on the table for Ruby Breeze. 2 bits for the drink and fries, 3 for her tip. He had just begun slowly eating on them when a particularly gruff character walked over.

“Hey, you tryin’ to make the rest of us look bad or somthin’?” said a muscular Earth pony with a five o’clock shadow and a thick accent.

“Only if I’m making you look bad by giving better tips” Midnight replied, not even looking directly at him and grabbing another fry. Midnight reached for his drink, but the muscular pony slapped it from his hand. Now Midnight looked directly at him, slightly aggravated that his drink had been wasted.

Midnight slid his chair backwards and stood up on his hind legs, as did half of the patrons in the room. It was natural for ponies to walk using all four legs, but when they fought they usually stood on their hind legs to allow the front legs to fight. The muscular pony pulled back to punch, but Midnight was faster. He performed the same maneuver he used on Nightmare Moon, He flapped his wings and backflip kicked his target. The muscular pony fell back, instantly knocked out.

Most of the patrons who had stood up now returned to their seats, but some of the more unsavory characters decided they wanted to try. Midnight used his superior agility and fighting instincts to outmaneuver attackers, rather than directly overpower them. The first attacker rushed him with a few direct punches, but Midnight ducked below and swept his legs out from under him. The next two came together, charging him on all fours. He took to the limited airspace in the closed room, but it was enough to allow him to get behind them. They stopped their charge and tried to attack him, but Midnight grabbed the first and threw him over his shoulder into the wall; the second he gave a black eye with a one legged buck.

All but one patron of the bar sat down. A black feathered Griffon stared him down from across the room. Griffons loved to fight, they were born into it. The griffon roared at him and started towards him, using his wings to propel him. Midnight Star did the same, but the room was not large and it did not take long for them to get into striking range. The griffon swatted at him with one of his claws, but Midnight was smart. He spun horizontally, kicking the griffon’s claw back with a hind leg and landing a direct punch in the griffons face with his right front hoof. The griffon knew he was beaten and felt so ashamed he left without another word.

“Geez, you’re making a reputation for yourself around here.” Said Ruby Breeze, who had been on break and only returned in time to see the griffon get beaten.

“I would have figured I already had one, this happens almost every week. I just come here for a drink. They should have the reputation for starting fights.” He replied. Midnight hadn’t been tipping so much to make the others look bad; he tipped Ruby so high because she was the only one who would serve him.

“I should have known you’d be here getting into more trouble” Midnight heard from the door. It was Mystic Heart with a stern look on her face. “I’ve been looking all over town for you; the guards are looking for you. You aren’t in any trouble; they just want you for something.” She said as she made her way across the room. She grabbed his tail and dragged him out the door.

“I already paid, you know.” He said to her “You can let me go too; I don’t need to be dragged”

“Just making sure I got you out of there without another fight.” She replied

“Those guys didn’t stand a chance, even the griffon ran away after just one hit” he said with a laugh.

“Come on; the guards are waiting at my house, I told them I would find you for them.” She said with a chuckle.