Still of the Night [Dead]

[Dark Star]

Dark Star had certainly gotten everything she needed to know from the others. The three ponies up at the bar introduced themselves quite nicely. First there was Midnight Hour, a dark-colored pegasus with a serious love for the nighttime, which resonated quite well with the nocturnal mare. Then, there was Warp Delivery, a stocky green mail-pegasus with a serious talent for making heavy deliveries. And finally, there was Witch Hazel-Flyte as she preferred to be called-who had quite the mysterious charm to her. Before Dark Star had enough time to process the new information, another new face appeared to her, one that she'd only seen once, but memorized for life.

"Robo Sentry?" she asked. She quickly hopped off the barstool and crouched down before the filly, looking at her with a concerned facial expression. "I haven't seen you since we met back in Ponyville, what in you doing in a place like this?" she asked. Warp had asked Robo the same question Dark Star had, but the latter had beaten him to the punch. She thought that maybe a familiar face would help the poor girl relax in such a place. Warp himself had gotten up and stretched once again, this time to inform the others about how they should advance outside. Dark Star liked this idea; If Robo Sentry were to open up to the older group, then getting her in a wide, open space would be the best way to do it. "He's right. The moonlit atmosphere is the perfect place to go now" she added. As Warp began to clear a path outside the bar, Dark Star gave Robo Sentry a small push on the flank to get her going and followed behind as the group exited.

They stepped outside and Dark Star breathed in a sigh of relief. Her eyes flashed a brighter shade of red for a split-second as she looked down at Robo Sentry, showing her an innocent smile. "Now then, young one, do you feel ready to tell us why you came all this way?" she asked as gently as she could. Her eyes flared up slightly as emotion rushed through her body, which she hoped hadn't affected her appearance to the others.

[Sun Riser]

   All had said their greetings, many with concerned faces or questions of why she was at the cider bar. Feeling timid with all of the questioning, Robo Sentry closed her eyes and breathed deeply. After conquering the fear, Robo opened her eyes and cracked a small smile. "Hello everypony! ...O-Oh, don't worry, I'm just here to talk, not to drink. And yes, Dark Star, I-I do believe we have met before," Robo was actually feeling quite proud of herself for seemingly passing over her rational fear. Now that I think about it, how come I came to this cider bar in the first place? Robbie silently questioned herself. Oh right, She recollected, These were the only ponies to be up at this time. 
   Laughing a bit, Robo shown another toothy grin, forgetting her shy nature. "Sure, let's go inside. But I like the moonlight better." Then, her apprehension gave her a sharp slap on the face. She took in a swift glance around her. It'll look pretty weird if a filly was at a cider bar right? No, it's fine, I bet the ponies here are accepting. Wait, no, or maybe... Robo stopped herself there, knowing it would be strange to let the others see that she was bickering with herself. It was already strange enough as she had suddenly stopped in mid-trot.
   "Heh-heh... Sorry, just thinking... Very deeply." Robo said with a deepening blush showing through her bright white pelt. "Anyway, like I said, I would like to stay outside, but you don't have to listen to me." Robo smiled, with a pink fluster to go with it.

[Linkletter]

Mid returned Flyte’s curtsey with a bow of his own. ”The pleasure is all mine, Miss Hazel.” He was enjoying himself immensely. When she mentioned the thought of sometimes wishing she could truly fly, Mid paused for a moment to think, and was caught off guard by Warp’s brash suggestion. ’Not a bad idea, but very forward for someone who was so shy not too long ago.’ He smiled at the stallion, ”Either I misjudged you Mr. Delivery, or that cider’s doing a better job than expected! That’s not to say that I disapprove of the idea, but-“ He stopped mid-sentence, distracted by the arrival of a fifth to their party. Her coat was mostly white, her mane was gray and dangerously long (She seemed like she might trip over it at any time), and her forelegs had been dyed orange and blue. Overall, she had a very interesting appearance… None of which was noticed by Mid. The only thing that he saw was her age, and it stopped him cold; she was just a filly! As good as he was at figuring out other ponies, he was inversely terrible with children. With no cutie-marks, he had zero information to work with for first impressions, and children were both wildly imaginative, and surprisingly astute; so Mid found it impossible to play his usual head games with them.

He took a quick swig of cider, and cast a glance around at his other companions to see their reactions. Flyte waved a hoof at the newcomer, and seemed just as uncomfortable as he did, so that was a bad start. Warp, however, jumped right into a greeting, and quickly suggested taking the group outside. Without waiting for a response, the stallion headed for the door. Midnight found himself once again surprised at Warp’s forwardness. ’This one’s got more than a few layers to him.’ Before he or Flyte could brook any comments, Dark Star had rounded on the filly, and quickly ushered her out of the bar. It seemed as though the pair had met, and the Unicorn was clearly concerned with the well-being of the Earth-filly. Mid sighed, unsure of where to go next. On the one hoof, simply abandoning ship because a child entered the picture would be bad form, especially when he had just started to see Warp Delivery open up. On the other, the group was beginning to get a bit large for his comfort, as his attention was being pulled in too many directions at once.

As if on cue, the bar finally kicked its activities into high gear, and the DJ started her first number.

Excuse me, yeah I'm talking to you. Look in the mirror, could you tell me what you see?

The crowd that had gathered gave a shout of approval, and the noise level had reached a point where he almost had to shout to be heard. He leaned in to Witch Hazel, ”Well Miss Flyte, what say you about all of this?”

[Tartan Lassie]

    Flyte was surprised by how forward the green pegasus was suddenly. She knew a couple of pegasi ponies herself but none of them had ever suggested anything as crazy as that. She was impressed though. When you live a dangerous lifestyle, like Flyte did, it’s always impressive when someone outside your circle suggests something thrilling. “I’ll need to consider that, Mr Warp.” She replied, with eyebrows raised. "But perhaps some more cider is necessary before I’d try something as risky as that!” She added, laughing lightly and taking another sip out of her glass. She’d only just finished her first and moved smoothly onto the second that Midnight Hour had bought, giving him another nod as she did so.

    With the appearance of Robo Sentry making her so nervous, she was greatly relieved when the red-maned mare ushered her outside in a mother-hen fashion. It wasn’t that Flyte disliked children, on the contrary, she fully intended to have some of her own someday, but then they would be her foals. Other people’s foals threw her a little. She never knew what she could say or do with them and what would be crossing the line and so she was a little paranoid about making a mistake and being told off by an angry mother. So she generally tried to avoid the situation.

    Warp Delivery headed outside too and Flyte was left to decide whether or not she would follow. On one hoof, she was curious as to why the filly had been here but that would mean voluntarily following the filly and maybe having to converse with her. On the other hoof, she had enjoyed Warp Delivery’s company and he had chosen the outdoors. She scratched her head a little, wondering, just as the DJ started playing. The sound was loud and unexpected and gave her a fright. She jumped a little, but tried to cover it when she noticed the purple-maned stallion was looking at her. The music blared on.

You never felt so good, you never felt so free!

    Now, there was another factor to consider. She was very much enjoying the company of Midnight Hour. He was very kind and clever and had proved to be an excellent conversationalist. Plus, Flyte had a soft spot for the kind of chivalrous compliments Midnight had been dishing out. She swayed her hips a little in time to the music and leaned in close to the stallion to be heard. “I’m not sure, really. It’s all very odd. That little filly was an usual occurrence. But then, Warp seemed quite comfortable.” She shrugged a little, her eyes still drawn over to the doorway where the others had exited. In all honesty, she didn’t like attention being diverted from her but was trying not to show it, and so couldn’t decide whether it would be best to stay or go. She resolved to stay with Midnight Hour and see what he was doing. If he decided to go out under the stars she would join him. “What are you thinking then, hmm?” She asked, glancing up at him.