Their First Date (Forgotten Existence) [Concluded]

[ForgottenExistance]

Being reduced from a mare of authority and intimidation to just a real, living mare with feelings and who was approachable by most rights, it was a strange feeling for Nightfall. Being set apart from everyone else was something that was common for her, something that she had grown used to. But Aero was different, he treated her like she was a real pony, and didn't treat her by her title. While it was true that she expected to be treated by her title first, it was a refreshing change to be treated like a mare first. She had to think, it was likely why she loved being with Aero so much; he didn't hold her title in front of her like it was all that she was. He treated her like she was an approachable and real living mare.

Pulling the fork back after he had secured the bite, she set the fork down on her now-empty plate and smiled, watching his reaction to the desert. Chuckling slightly to herself whenever his face changed, she leaned back with satisfaction that she had opened his mind to another possibility of desert. Though, the possibility was really only if he could somehow manage to scrape together enough to go back to the restaurant in his own lifetime. On a non-officer's salary, she wasn't sure that he'd be able to, and she couldn't see him as being anything but military. But she hoped that the Princess's would see the legitimacy in his history and reemploy him somewhere in the active military force.

Nodding at his comment and giving a small chuckle, she spoke lightly, "Well, those barracks haven't really be renovated since your time. They've changed, sure. But mostly aesthetics, it's the same building in most areas. I think the sitting room is new though, but that's all. The Solar barracks are newer, of course they give us the older one. You have a past in the military, and that's where your skills lay. It might not be required in this day and age, but I think history has a way of giving gifts to the current time. Call me a poet, but that's why we call it the present. History gave us the barracks my soldiers use today, and more importantly, history gave me you," she said with a soft blush, setting an idle hoof on the table as she stared at him calmly and contently.

[CableZ]

"Um, well I think I'm from a little further back than those barracks go cutie" Aero was a little awkward, he didn't really want to actively say that she was wrong but sadly she was. It was difficult to say how far back Aero had come from due to date systems having changed and the lack of accurately marked down events made it impossible to know exactly. Needless to say that when he came forward in time, he didn't come from a land called Equestria. He was a little floored by her last remark, his light grey cheeks flushed a bright red at her words. Man if her recruits saw her now they'd have heart attacks.

"Well...heh I.." Aero was at a loss for words, he let out a sigh as he failed to think of something cute to say, so he just went for the truth. "I thought my life was over when I came from the past, I was forcefully pulled forward and left with nothing. I hate sounded cheesy Nightfall, but I think that instead of being over my life is just getting going" Aero placed a hoof on Nightfall's happily. "..Jeez I sound like such a dork." He chuckled.

Soon their deserts were polished off and the dishes taken away, leaving the couple sat at the now cleared table waiting for their bill and enjoying each others company. Aero held Nightfall's hoof in his own as his arms spread across the table. It would be a bit of a wait before they could go, so they had some much loved time together.

"So, out of ten hows this date going? I need to know so I can make the next one better." He gave a little wink as he referenced his plans for more dates.

[ForgottenExistance]

Blinking a little, she realized her mistake and gave a small, embarrassed laugh, "Oh, I'm sorry, you thought I was actually--! That was kind of supposed to be a joke; a quip at how old the building is. Clearly I'm out of practice with the whole...conversation thing," she replied, trying to hide her blush. Conversation wasn't something that came easy to her, she never really had the time for it. She could bark orders, plan strategy, give motivating speeches to her soldiers when morale was low, but the one thing she couldn't get a hold of was friendly conversation. Or in this matter, conversation with someone who she was on a date with and who made her head wrap up in a neat little grey-matter pretzel. It was confusing, at best, and embarrassing at worst. At least it was only a quip, she hadn't messed up any worse yet.

Recovering from her embarrassment, she smiled at him and reached across the table, giving his hoof a playful shove, "Dork," she accused before the waitress took the dishes away. Setting her hooves with his again, she turned her attention to him and spoke lightly, "Not that dork is a bad thing. I like it," she said with an idle shrug, trying to play it off like it was nothing. Of course, she knew that half her troops would roll over of spontaneous cardiac arrests if they saw her like that, and the other half would likely spontaneously combust out of either anger or the result of their brains being kicked so hard into overdrive to try and figure out what could be possessing their iron captain to be with Aero.

Thinking for a moment, she smiled and leaned in a little so she wasn't so far away and her hooves didn't need to be extended fully to hold his, "I'd give it about a nine-point-three. The only thing I could imagine making it better would be if we had more time together. Other then that, I think you're doing pretty good for a first date," she said with an honest laugh, smiling heartily across at him. Continuing after a pause, she spoke, "I think I was right to break out of my few years of not having dated, this night has been well worth it," she mused, more to herself then to Aero, with a confident nod. It was certainly well worth it at the moment.

[CableZ]

Aero stuck his tongue out at her when she called him a dork, playfully of course, any other way would have childish. He found her whole flustered state when she realized she'd told the joke a little wrong absolutely adorable, he wondered how many casualties might be caused by proxy if her troops were to see her now. Aero recalled that he never got a moment away from his troops so he never acted any different, he was there leader yet he was one of them. Nightfall had to be the cold leader, she had to teach, inspire, lead. It was not a close knit team, it was an entire force, the very protection of the city and its rulers lay on her shoulders. There was another captain but he hadn't met them, despite their difference he was sure that the Royal guards were a well organized machine, it was hard to focus on what type of wings you had when you were staring down a changeling army.

He was happy to get a high score on the date, he was just a little upset that the only thing that would put it to a ten was something he had not control over. He hated not being able to help something like that, it was annoying. Especially when it was how much time he could see his girlfriend, that just plain sucked. Still there was naught to be done about it now, she was a busy pony. Although the thing the consider was that before she had no cause to want free time, he liked to think that he gave her a reason. The only problem with that plan was her stubborn nature, she loved her work. He'd have to try harder to give her more reasons to want a bit more free time. Just a bit, he wasn't about to ask her to change her entire life for him, they'd only gone on one day. They were still on that date!

"Few years huh, I'm curious as to when you dated last? A few years ago you'd have been just fresh out of the academy wouldn't you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a curious tone. He wasn't playing an overly jealous type that didn't even like the idea of her having dated before, he was simply curious about her past. "I know I...well my dating past is a little chequered." He smirked weakly.

[ForgottenExistance]

Nightfall gave a little chuckle before sticking her own tongue out at him in kind, trying to refrain from acting childish. No, it was just a reasonable response to such an act, it was redemption, revenge for him sticking his tongue out at her! Nothing childish about it. Grinning after a moment, she shook her head with a quiet laugh at how ridiculous they were. Quite prepared to kill and be killed in their daily lives without hesitation, and then acting like they were when they were out together. It was strange to consider that they weren't actually childish... Usually.

She was sure that her soldiers would have simultanious heart attacks if they saw her as she was. They were used to her being a role model, cold, calculating, inspiring and strong. They saw her as someone who would stand on a war torn hill with a flag in one hoof and a blade in the other while screaming a motivational speech the likes of which would make any opponent cower before her. As she was with Aero though, it was like she was tapping in to her inner pony for once, letting the civilian personality within her out for a breather. It was refreshing to be able to act like someone who was relatively normal, though it felt as if she had to watch her actions more when she was with him. Being the cold leader was something that she had been for so long, she had to watch herself so she didn't accidentally scold him for acting like a foal or something similar.

Nodding at his comment after a moment, she chuckled, "Yeah, that's about the time it was. We were together for the last few months in the academy, and then when we were out in the real world, we just went into different specialties. I focused on teamwork and tactics, taking on missions in squads and leading positions where I could. She went into espionage, stealth and sabotage. As you can imagine, those two don't quite coincide, so we just broke it off and left it at that. Then I was just too busy with assignments, and then Luna came back, and I was too busy keeping everything organized and transitioning smoothly. There wasn't time for dating, and then when I managed to get everything onto a smooth plateau, I just never found anyone interesting enough..." she paused for a moment before hiding a smirk, "Except for a certain pegasus from another time period."

Smiling and leaning onto the table to get comfortable, she continued, "And what about you? Chequered can really be good or bad. Which was it for you?" she asked curiously, quite interested in learning more about the stallion who quite literally just showed up one day out of the history books without so much as a 'how do you do my lady?'.

[CableZ]

Aero was quite intrigued at hearing tales of Nightfall as a younger pony, not that much younger mind but certainly a different pony for those years. He certainly would have liked to see her during her academy years, it so was funny in his mind that you could almost make a sitcom out of it. Anyway, getting back to the present, or at least the presently told story of the past. Aero was a little surprised to hear that Nightfall used to date a girl, he didn't judge of course as that wasn't in pony nature he just simply didn't see if coming for some reason. He wanted to ask a few follow up questions but that was just him being a goof so he decided to keep them to himself, he felt kind of bad for her however. A situation where you drift apart not emotionally, but because of work. Made him wonder if she still liked which ever pony it was she was talking about.

His face dropped when she asked about his past, he had no issue talking about it it was just that it wasn't all cheery. In fact of the few times where he had a story to tell of his personal time, they often weren't the happiest. Maybe he didn't have enough free time to make good decisions with it, its not like he was well experience with social stuff.

"There's not much to tell really, I dated a few girls. Not many, I was full career so it was never something serious." Smiling, it was obvious he wasn't exactly too happy to talk about his past, but clear he wasn't reluctant to. "I fell in love...once. Actually it was just before I was sucked forward in time that she admitted to me that she loved me, I barely had time to finish the sentence that returned the sentiment before I was staring at a whole new world." He lowered his head for a moment, trying to hide his sadness before looking up. Swallowing the sadness in his throat and taking a breath, he gave Nightfall a smile. "Heh..sorry, wound is a little fresh you know?" He gripped at her hooves softly, giving her a squeeze just to reassure himself that he had somepony there for him.

As they spoke, a waitress walked by with a little black tray. On it was a little plate of mints and the bill for their meals, along with a pen for signatures and the like. Leaving the couple to themselves and to pay the bill, Aero smiled as he remorsefully let go of his girl's hooves and pulled the tray over to himself as he picked up the pen and began writing a few things down on the bill.

[ForgottenExistance]

Noticing that his face dropped, Nightfall's smile quickly faded, replaced by a look of concern. She quickly tightened her grip on his hooves, reassuring him that she was there. She was about to tell him that he didn't have to tell her if he wasn't comfortable, though as she was about to open her mouth, he began speaking. Closing her mouth again, she shut up and listened to him with curiosity and with a bit of sadness. She couldn't possibly imagine being pulled out of her time period and dropped in another without being able to say any final words to the ponies that she loved, leaving everything behind suddenly.

Listening to him speak, Nightfall remained silent, holding tightly onto his hooves as he told her how he had once been in love and been severed from her without a word. It was like something straight out of a tragedy novel, leaving the audience wondering why it was that such bad things were happening to the protagonist. But, like with all great tragedy novels, there was no answer, could be no possible answer. What happened was what happened, and no amount of reason, logic or explanation could change the fact that Aero had been ripped from his love and his life and thrown into an alien existence as an outsider.

Nodding at his comment, she gave a soft, "Yeah..." in affirmation of his rhetorical question. Gripping his hooves back tightly, she hesitated when he took his hooves away before bringing hers back to a comfortable spot on the table. As he wrote, Nightfall hesitated before speaking quietly, "Aero... I am so sorry. I can't... I can't even imagine what that must have been like," she said softly, blinking a few times against a foreign pricking sensation behind her eyes.

She had fallen out with her previous girlfriend because of a career thing, but they were still friends, so there wasn't much pain with it. She couldn't even begin to imagine how Aero felt, how he must continue to feel when looking at how things have changed. And of all things, Nightfall didn't feel broken and sad over that, she actually felt the need to embrace him, hold him and protect him. If anyone knew how soft of a spot she had for the pegasus, she was sure they'd spontaneously combust out of disbelief.

[CableZ]

He immediately had to give her a reassuring smile, he wouldn't want the big bad Nightfall, Captain of the fearsome Luna guard to be worrying about him. In fact regardless of her job or intimidating nature, he didn't want her to worry. He'd rather her simply be happy to be with him, not worry about the past. Chuckling softly at her, he hopped out of his seat as he placed the bill down. Walking over to her seat with a smile, Aero pulled her out of her seat into a big hug. Breaking the hug only slightly to look into her eyes, he gave her a warm smile as he did so.

"You're cute when you're sympathetic, but don't worry." Letting go of her as he went to pick up a mint from the little tray on the table, he turned back to her with a smile as he seemingly lost all trace of his melancholy nature from before. "Thanks for feeling sorry for me though, I appreciate the sentiment." Nudging into her as they began walking out of the restaurant, he gave her a little peck on the cheek as they walked.

As they exited the restaurant, Aero shooting a few smiles to those that he had managed to talk into letting him into the restaurant and what not. They stepped out into the frigged night air, it was quite a shock to the system but nothing the two military types. Still, Aero took the chance to wrap his wing around Nightfall with a smile, happy to have her nearby. The night sky looked beautiful, only the briefest scrap of cloud to obscure the view. Looking around for a moment, Aero sighed softly as he knew they had less time together every moment from now.

"Hey, we have some time left. Wanna take a walk in the park?" Aero smiled softly at her.

[ForgottenExistance]

Nightfall wasn't entirely sure how she had come to become so sentimental towards the Pegasus in front of her. For one, she had met him not all that long ago, and more importantly, he wasn't even from their time period. He wasn't a batpony, he wasn't one of her soldiers, and he wasn't related to her. And despite all this, she still had to admit to herself that she cared about him and despised the thought of him in pain. She was fairly certain that it was either love, or Discord hard at work to make her go insane. At this point in the evening however, it could be one or the other, she was having fun regardless if it was her heart melting over the Pegasus, or Discord playing her like a puppet.

Watching him walk over to her, she gave him a soft smile, and decided that she didn't really care either way; she was having fun with him, and she regretted that the date was going to have to end eventually. And regardless, she would much rather believe that it was (Perish the thought) the fires of love.

Stepping out of the seat and returning the hug strongly before returning the lingering gaze, her green orbs intently searching his eyes for everything and nothing at the same time. Though, that gaze was broken when she was called cute, and the orbs instead found the most interesting spec of dust on the ground while her face heated up like a fire. Picking a mint off the tray, she stuck it in her mouth while quietly muttering, "I'm not cute," while simultaneously trying to hide her embarrassment. She quickly sauntered after Aero on the way out of the restaurant, trying her best to hide her blush until they got into the cool night air, though these efforts were relatively futile when he kissed her cheek when they got outside.

She wasn't going to hear the end of it.

Taking the moment to take a deep cooling breath of the night air, she gazed up to the sky as Aero wrapped his wing around her. While she was still obviously not used to the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing, as her cheeks very clearly showed, she couldn't deny that she felt very comfortable as she leaned against him under his wing, finding solace in the warmth he provided.

Noticing he spoke, she looked at him and then smiled with a little nod, "I'd like that," she agreed before turning in the general direction of the park. Aside from the royal gardens, she would have to say that she liked the park the best when it was lit up at night, nothing but the moon and gas lanterns to light the paths for ponies out for a stroll. Kind of poetic, in a novel sort of way.

[CableZ]

The tranquillity the emanated from the park was palpable, a kind of mysterious and magical feeling as fireflies slowly floated around the vine wrapped arch way that lead to the pathway. The moonlight gave a brilliant luminance as the occasional lamp in a beautiful ornate metal cage added an atmosphere to the perfectly light park. Flowers caught the light, casting their colour to the eye while tree's cast shadows in dramatic fashion. It was peaceful and romantic, the perfect combination for the end of the date.

The couple walked softly, they had no pressing matter to get to nor was either in a hurry to end the date. As the sound of their hoofs echoed softly out into the dark, Aero happily let Nightfall lean into him. It was a quiet end to the date, rather fitting actually. There was no drama, no loud declaration of cheesy romantic intent, just a quiet walk in the park. Coming to a little stop beneath the light of a larger street lamp that was in the mark to light up a path crossways, Aero looked around for a moment before smiling at Nightfall.

"So admit it, this was a pretty great date." His smug smile was a little hard to hide, he had thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

You'd think the date would simply end there, but even in Equestria life has this tedious little habit of having a coincidental sense of humour as to when it springs stuff on you. There was the distinct sound of three separate sets of hooves approaching them, the light of the street lamp making it so their eyes couldn't pierce the thick vale of dark around them.

"Well well well, look'it this boys."

A familiar voice to Nightfall's ears rolled in through the night. The couple turned as Aero's eyes dropped into a more determined expression as he brought his wing reluctantly from Nightfall back to his side. They turned to see the figure of three distinctly different built ponies walking toward them in a triangle formation. The head pony was smaller than the other which didn't say much given the size of the other two. While the pony mountains either side of him were rather deadpan, the pony at the head of this miniature pack had a grin on his face.

"Nice ta' see you captain Nightfall.."

The pony was Questionable Intent, a petty criminal who Nightfall had dealt with before.

"Out on a little date are we?" He had the most annoying grin on his face.

Aero caught the eye of this interruption to his perfectly planned date with a glare, one so cold that it almost made the criminal double take before he chuckled softly. Aero didn't know how this was going to play out, or what the situation was. He'd follow Nightfall's lead regardless.

[ForgottenExistance]

Nightfall had to admit that while she walked, she found herself sinking into a deep state of contentment and enjoyment. The date had gone quite perfectly; flowers, dinner, a beautiful night, and then a romantic walk. Not many ponies could claim that their first date had ever gone so well, and Nightfall would be lucky to count herself in with the thin crowd who would be able to make that bold claim. There was no real way that she could imagine the night being any better, except of course that she didn't want this perfect date to end so soon.

Stopping under the lamp and leaning against Aero, she looked up at him and gave a light scoff, though the true nature was betrayed by the loving smile that slithered onto her lips and the blush on her cheeks. Bumping her wing against his side, she spoke softly, "Oh shush you. But if you must know, you are right. This was an amazing date," she replied with a happy nod before leaning her head against his neck, contently closing her eyes and wishing the moment wouldn't end. It was strange, but she found herself eagerly thinking about the next date....

... When of course, Equestria had it that they would have to be interrupted.

Nightfall's eyes snapped open when she recognized a familiar and annoying voice. Sighing quietly to herself, she shifted away from Aero at about the same time that he removed his wing. Questionable Intent was someone that she had apprehended before on vandalism and petty theft. A low-tier criminal, barely worth noting, but he always had the potential to do more then just rob a few bits off of Joe's Doughnut Shop. Turning her attention to the pony in the center, Nightfall's expression fell to her steel mask.

"Questionable Intent, we meet again. I thought I recognized your voice, it's hard to forget since the last time I heard it you were crying with your face pressed against a wall and a pair of cuffs on your hooves," she replied coolly, her sharp green orbs refusing to waver away from him. She had a feeling that if it were to come to blows, Aero might wind up becoming a terrifying whirlwind of destruction, he didn't seem the type to let that sort of thing happen. And he was kind of terrifyingly skilled to begin with, so she wouldn't want to see what would happen if Intent gave him a reason.

"Speaking of which, I heard you're out on bail. I suppose your parents didn't want their son to spoil their reputation by being put on community service for robbing from the community. Isn't it past your curfew?" She challenged readily, arching a brow quizzically to serve for a bit of extra punch to it. While the lack of facial expressions could be terrifying in some situations, she found that in other situations seeing someone who is usually expressionless take on an expression, even one as simple as a raised eyebrow, could throw one off guard. Simple psychology of the pony mind, it often helped her when dealing with petty criminals like Questionable Intent.

[CableZ]

Aero stayed quiet through the exchange, it wasn't his rivalry as it was though this guy was no rival to a pony like Nightfall. He simply looked stern, a warrior's face if there ever was one. He'd stand by Nightfall's side through the end of the world, not that he was some mad pony who'd fallen in love 2 second into the relationship. Simply he felt it was his duty to stand by anyone, he was a guardian and protector. Not as great as Nightfall however, she had dedicated herself to guarding the innocent. She was a shield, Aero was a blade, quite literally.

Even though Aero had trained long hours to keep a straight face in presence of the enemy, when Nightfall mentioned the stuff with this ponies parents, he couldn't help but burst out laughing. If the comment itself hadn't annoyed him to no end, the laughing of another pony directed at him certainly would. Aero couldn't help it though, it was quite a funny line. Scowling as hard as he could, Questionable gritted his teeth as he seemed to have been pushed over the edge.

"You think that's funny do ya flyboy? Well..boys, give him something to really laugh about."

The two large ponies barely flinched before walking forward toward the two ponies, not ready for what they were getting into to. Their lumbering steps forward were designed to intimidate, all it gave Nightfall and Aero time to do was get coordinated. Aero didn't need to say anything to his girlfriend, she was highly trained and knew enough to work on what they were both doing. Aero Flew up into the air, hovering above the ground which caught both their attention long enough for Nightfall to make her move. When she had done so, Aero dive bombed the one who she hadn't taken on. Slamming into the larger pony and wrestling him to the ground into a tussle.

[ForgottenExistance]

Nightfall had to admit, they had found themselves at a very strange turn of events. What was an amazing date had quickly turned into a combat scenario, or at least a scuffle. She wouldn't really consider local street yokels as being a serious combat threat, so she'd grant the event the title of a scuffle, but it still hardly ranked that in her books. But what was most interesting was that it absolutely had to happen on the night of their first date. She supposed that was Marephy's Law at it's finest, but she'd take it as que sera sera, if their date was going to be ended by a street fight, who was she to argue. It was really just going to be another fight, except this one was going to be fought along side her lover, so it had a slight appeal to it.

However, Nightfall couldn't help but crack a grin when her lover began laughing behind her, a light chuckle escaping her lips. Leave it to Aero to laugh at a situation like that, of course he would be confident enough to be able to laugh. While she would have preferred a professional approach, she couldn't help but appreciate the lighthearted response from the stallion, it was a refreshing change from the usual stoic guards she worked with.

Nightfall didn't need any word, and she didn't believe that her boyfriend needed any either. They were both experienced in combat, they both knew how to handle a couple of street ponies. Especially ones that graciously gave them so much time to prepare for their first move. When Aero took to the air, Nightfall lunged forward with her right hoof and connected with the lumbering mountain of a pony on the left, hitting him square in the jaw with enough force to send him off balance. Following the momentum and using her wings to counter-balance, she leaned back and kicked out his front hooves from under him to send him toppling to the side in a disoriented mess without much of a fuss. Lun'shi was a dangerous form of martial combat that the Lunar Guards were notoriously proficient at, and while it would have been far more effective if she had her hoof blades or armor on, the unarmed equivalent was still obviously effective.

Flapping her wings to send her forward with more momentum, she landed with her forehooves on Intent's closest shoulder, putting her full weight into sending him to the ground with her hooves keeping him firmly planted there. This is when she wished she had brought hoofcuffs with her, or some other form of binding, but she'd have to make due with just holding him down for the moment for the proverbial dust to settle.

[CableZ]

Aero may have been from a different time but the art of knocking a pony on their plot was something that had be around for longer than he cared to know, whether that was a good or bad thing was irrelevant right now. All that mattered know what dodge, punch, duck, roll, hoof kick. Aero ran though the sequence in his mind, dodging the occasionally mistimed and undisciplined punch or kick. The dust obscured any view of what was going on, it had been pretty dry recently as the pony nature of loving the sun had gotten in the way of having a bit of rain every now and again.

The noise was quite audible however, the grunts and wallops of the scuffle resonated out of the dust cloud. Soon however the noises stopped and only the sound of one set of hooves on dusty ground could be heard shuffling slightly. The dust began to fade and there the winner stood triumphant and..it was Aero, Aero had won. Really there was little other possible outcome, one of the first things they taught you at boot camp was using an enemies size against them so a big pony like this had no chance. Standing with one hoof atop the now unconscious pony with a smile, Aero waved his wing to Nightfall with a smile.

"Hey sweety" He gave her a big grin, acting as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all.

However he soon lost his smile when he saw the pony his girlfriend was currently keeping pinned down, walking overly slowly for a moment. Leaning down and brining his face close to Intent's, staring him in the eye for a moment.

"Mistake.."

Straightening himself back up, Aero turned his attention back to Nightfall with a smile. While it seemed Intent was now a little too scared to speak, Aero didn't seem phased by any of this.

"Well, I can't lose points for this! I didn't plan for this to happen!" He laughed.

It was at that moment that a group of three guards ran into the park, apparently the noise and commotion that had taken place had caught their attention. It was a group of three bat ponies, Nightfall's men. They were doing their usual patrol around the park area, a common place to find trouble makers at this time of night, hence their speedy response. When they arrived all they saw saw Aero stood over what looked like 4 unconscious ponies, Nightfall's position over intent made her look more like a pile of ponies. As such they immediately sprung into action and two of the guards tackled Aero to the ground while the leader immediately rushed over to check on Nightfall as he identified her as a civilian while he knew the others were local small time hoodlums. However it was when he spotted who it was that he went pale and lost all his colour.

"C-captain Nightfall!" He immediately moved into a salute "I'm sorry ma'am, I did not know it was you!"

The other two guards looked up at the mention of that name, though didn't get off who they thought was the culprit.

"Did this ruffian assault you?" The leader of the guard looked down at Aero with disgust, he was sure he'd got the right guy and that Nightfall would soon thank him.

[ForgottenExistance]

Keeping her hoof on top of the hoodlum that she had effectively disabled, Nightfall turned her attention to the scuffle that Aero had found himself in. She wasn't entirely sure what sort of style he was using to fight, or if he was actually using any sort of style at all. It was entirely possible that he was just brawling and getting by on strength and agility. But regardless of whether or not he was using a disciplined style, it was quite obvious that Aero was going to be the one who was going to come out on top. She kind of felt bad for the pony he was fighting with; the henchman had no idea who it was that he was fighting with. But, at least Aero wasn't the sort to kill somepony on their first date, so at least the henchman had a little something going for him.

When Aero came out on top, as she had predicted, and with his silly wave and comment, she raised one of her webbed wings and mimicked the wave before responding happily, "Nicely done honey," she replied, giving a small chuckle before returning her attention to the pony who was underneath her hooves. The henchmen weren't really problems; with how hard they had gone down, she would be surprised if they actually managed to regain consciousness before the sun rose. Questionable Intent, however, had been only mildly roughed up, and left in a mostly conscious (albeit terrified) state so he could be taken in at some point during the night.

Watching her boyfriend walk over and observe the pony under her hoof, she chuckled and shook her head, "No, no minus points for this. If anything, I might give you bonus points for fighting at my side," she replied, attempting to sound playful. She even threw in a brief wink, though she wasn't entirely sure if she managed to pull off the lighthearted and playful sense she was going for originally.

Her contemplation about the attitude and pose of a pony was disrupted for the second time that night by the sound of rushing hooves somewhere behind her. While she assumed it was Intent's backup, she had about enough time to turn her head slightly to the right before she saw a pair of blurs tackling Aero to the ground. If she wasn't looking, it could have very easily been mistaken for Aero just suddenly disappearing. And then just as quickly, there was suddenly another figure directly in front of her. The arrival of the figure from out of the darkness and into the cone of light she stood in briefly disrupted the focus of her light-sensitive eyes, causing her to blink a few times and squint in frustration. By the time her eyes had refocused on the details of the pony in front of her, it was already speaking and making frantic saluting movements.

Well, the night just kept getting better, didn't it?

Straightening to her full height, which was still decently shorter than the stallion guard in front of her, Nightfall still somehow managed to dwarf the male with a mix of both her posture and the steely glare that crossed her face. Not even returning the salute, Nightfall snapped straight into her retort, "Soldier, while your zeal is noted, you have entirely misread this situation," turning her head to the other two soldiers, she snapped, "Hooves off, get some bindings on the other ones and haul them to the cells for the night," she spoke before turning her attention back to the leader in front of her.

"Though, in response to your question, no, he did not assault me. The pony I am currently standing on top of did, if the bruises on his jaw and my hoof are any indication. The stallion you had your men tackle actually fought on my side. So, while I appreciate your swift reaction, you failed to take in the details of this situation. Next time, you should observe the situation enough to make a rational decision in your actions," she continued, glare fading slightly, though her face stayed in a neutral emotion. When her soldiers made mistakes, that was her primary way of dealing with them; educating them with what they can improve on. While she wasn't mad at the fact that her boyfriend got tackled, she could understand how the situation could be mistaken for Aero being the antagonist.