Hi everyone! Sorry that I didn't update last week. I had a huge project that I needed to work on.
109 reviews! Wow! I read some of them and a bunch of you actually guessed what was going to happen in the story several chapters into the future! I won't tell you who it is, though.
Here's today's chapter:
Nightingale groans and rubs her wing as she hobbles back to her compartment near the armory. She has learned her lesson. Clock Music is not somepony she should spar with.
She had sized the colt up and decided (wrongly) that he would be an appropriate opponent for combat practice. Clock Music is shorter than Nightingale, despite being two years older than her. That's why Nightingale decided that she could take him.
Who knew that such a short pony could pack so much power in a punch?
She knew that he didn't mean to knock out those feathers when they were practicing, but he did. And they hurt like Tartarus.
Her friends, Libraria and Crystal Faze, strolls into the compartment, giggling and shoving each other playfully.
Libraria is a thirteen-year-old white unicorn with red eyes and a floor length red and black mane and tail. Nightingale always tells her that she should cut it, but she never listens. She grew up in Ponyville.
Crystal is half-crystal pony, half pegasus. She is eleven years old but looks and acts younger. She has lemon yellow eyes, a purple and blue mane and tail, and she wears a yellow bow. Her coat is pale blue. She grew up in the Crystal Empire.
"Hey, Gale," Crystal calls, plopping down on the middle level of her bunk bed. "How's the wing?"
Nightingale holds the small ice pack beneath her wing. "Stupid Clock," she grumbles, "I probably won't be able to fly for a week."
Libraria takes out a few sheets of paper.
"Is that the math Ms. Cheerilee assigned us yesterday?" Nightingale asks incredulously.
The thirteen-year-old laughs, "Just because you procrastinate everything does not mean everypony else does, too."
Crystal is standing near the doorway, scanning the area.
"I hear yelling in the armory!" she says excitedly.
"Yeah, so?" Nightingale mutters, barely looking up from grooming the remaining feathers on her wing.
"So," Crystal finishes, rolling her eyes, "we should go and see what they're yelling about!"
Libraria looks up. "Wouldn't that be spying?"
"Come on!"Crystal pleads, "You know you want to see!"
"Not really," Nightingale replies.
"Actually," Libraria starts putting her books away, "let's see."
The two friends head out the door, leaving a very flustered Nightingale no choice but to follow.
-Line break-
The armory door is locked when the fillies try to open the door. Figures. Whoever is in side must want a private conversation.
"I got this," Crystal whispers as she sticks a feather of her wing into the lock. She twists and turns her wing. The lock opens with a click.
Libraria grits her teeth. She seems to have a problem with Crystal's 'ability' to open locks without a key.
Inside, an orange pegasus in her late teens is cowering in the shadow of somepony bigger. Another glance tells Nightingale that it's Luna.
When Luna got back from the attack, Nightingale noticed that her mane was cut in a very weird way. Meadowlark told her that the princess's mane cut was scary. Nightingale suggested to Luna to cut it in a neater way, but her suggestion was ignored. Now Meadowlark would go out of his way to avoid the princess.
She knows why her brother is so scared of the manecut. Nightingale herself had the same one when the soldiers killed their mother and they had to live on the streets. Meadowlark had moaned that he was hungry, so she cut off her mane and tail with a knife and sold it to a snobby wig maker. They got a loaf of stale bread in return.
Now her golden mane is mostly grown back. Meadowlark didn't seem to care either way, but now, Nightingale realized, the memory of the soldiers is permanently burned into his mind.
She can't help but wonder if she could have made it easier for her brother? There was really no way to prevent the soldiers from attacking her home, but maybe she didn't have to make Meadowlark's reminder of the attack a messy manecut. She should have earned some money.
But what could she have done?
If Libraria had been in her position, she could have gotten a job anywhere. She can learn how to do things really fast. If Crystal had been in her position, she would have just robbed a bank or something. She's really good at stealing things. In fact, Nightingale remembers that that's exactly what her friend did before the war.
Her friends both have talents that would help them survive on the streets. What does Nightingale have? She and Meadowlark have a pretty singing voice for begging. Not the most self esteem-boosting thing to do, but it earned her a few coins.
A sigh escapes her mouth before she listens in to the conversation.
"If I cannot trust you, Scootaloo, with doing something as simple as blowing up the enemy armory, than what can I trust you with?" Luna is shouting at the mare. "Why is it that everypony has done their mission and you just threw the grenade away?"
"I told you already, Princess Luna," Scootaloo pleads, "Rainbow Dash was going to kill me, but she didn't. I couldn't have blown the building up after that."
"That has nothing to do with the mission. You cannot think that you own Rainbow Dash a favor. I am glad that you have not been hurt, but you cannot let your emotions disturb your mission!" the alicorn sighs before continuing.
"Scootaloo, you will not be in charge of leading another mission again."
Scootaloo's jaw drops. "W-what!?" she stutters, "But-"
"I cannot trust that you will not get 'emotional' again and fail the mission. This isn't a foal's game. If you fail a mission, ponies would actually get killed. I can't risk that." Luna sighs and heads to the door.
Libraria glances at her friends with an obvious message in her expression- run!
The foals scramble to the other side of the doorway just as Luna opens the door. They pretend that they're going the other way. Luna gives them a strange look and leaves.
Nightingale breathes a huff of relief just as Scootaloo storms out.
She narrows her eyes at the trio.
"Be careful, now, girls," the mare tells them. Nightingale gulps. She isn't going to call them out on spying, is she?
"Hanging around here isn't a good idea," she continues, "especially at this hour. You might just hear something that you'll regret."
With that Scootaloo leaves, leaving Nightingale, Libraria, and Crystal Faze to scurry back to their compartment.
Wow. Luna's being really strict.
Remember, Walt isn't experienced enough to hunt for jelly babies with Sadie, Zia needs to roll dung balls, and Carter is in love with a bird bath!
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