“Well, this sucks,” Blue muttered, flapping his leathery wings to gain more altitude. The wind blew through his dark blue mane, the short mohawk not protecting his ears much from the icy chill of the breeze. The only clue somepony on the ground had that another pony was flying overhead was the shadow that passed over the night sky. Much like his namesake, Blue’s coat was a perfect mix of blue along with black to blend in excellently with the sky. Not too much like a Bluebird’s flamboyant colors, but well enough camouflage overall.

The mare directly beside him contrasted his color scheme in terms of visibility. With a coal black coat and even darker mane, Shriek stuck out like a sore thumb over the the moonlit sky with the vastness of twinkling stars above her. “What? The part about us having to patrol the streets of Canterlot when we’re still rookies, or the part about the captain having absolutely no faith in our abilities?”

Blue hummed to himself for a few seconds. “I’m gonna put my bet on the first option.”

“Like usual, you’re only thinking of yourself again,” Shriek sighed, ducking under incoming cloud cover.

“Hey, I don’t think for myself all the time!” Blue countered, lowering his left wing to glide through the air downward. “If I did, I would’ve worn a helmet.”

“Which I’ve been reminding you to do the entire time we’ve been up here!”

“Sheesh, you two argue more than an old pair of married gits,” Barley commented, sweeping through the air between the two in a lazy stride.

“Oh for the love of… Barley, we are not gettin’ married!” Blue yelled at the shorter squad member, baring his fanged teeth in Shriek’s direction. “I’d rather castrate myself with a pair of rusty safety scissors than tie myself down with her! Heck, my ears would probably bleed and fall off if I stuck around with her for much longer!”

“Keep on insulting me and you’ll find out what that feels like!” Shriek replied, narrowing her eyes and flaring her nostrils.

Barley rolled his eyes, descending downward to not be in the middle of one of the pair’s heated fights yet again. The little gray colt might’ve seemed plain with his barrel body shape and slicked back brown mane, but he still knew not to get too involved in trouble if he could help it. Shrugging, he dug out a flask from within his armor and took a couple of sips, sighing as the liquid traveled down his throat in a satisfying burning sensation. “Ah, that sure hits the spot!”

“Damnit, Barley, you know we’re not allowed to drink on the job!” Shriek shouted at him. Thumping him on the back of his helmet for good measure, she added, “Doesn’t help you look like a colt and half the bars in the city don’t think you’re legal to drink even with an ID.”

“Hey, I’ll have y’all know I’ve been drinkin’ since I was a little bugger!” Barley rubbed the back of his helmet and winced at the sore spot he found there from Shriek’s blow. “Why, the water from where I was from was so foul, booze was the only thing we could drink without keelin’ over.”

“Typical backcountry hick,” Blue said, rolling his eyes. “What, were your parents moonshiners or somethin’?”

“Nah. Lawyer and surgeon.”

Blue blinked and gawked at Barely. “Then what in Tartarus’ name are ya doin’ as a frickin’ guard? I thought you lived under a rock!”

“It was more of a boulder, actually,” Barley corrected him, spinning through the air in a barrel roll out of pure boredom. “Besides, every bat pony where I came from lived under boulders. We didn’t have no caves, so we made due with what we had.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you’re a trying to be a guard,” Shriek reminded him, dropping low to Barley's side to match his altitude.

“Well, that’s ‘cause this job is excitin’! Bein’ dressed in a military uniform, fightin’ bad guys, doin’ the good work that makes society run smoothly. I’ve been dreamin’ of becomin’ a guard all my life.” Flying upside down with ease, he chuckled. “Sure beats bein’ a stuffy ol’ lawyer or doc like my mum and pop, that’s for sure!”

“Wow… that’s actually pretty noble of you,” Shriek commended, while Blue just rolled his eyes behind her. “Truth be told, I’ve always wanted to be a guard myself, ever since I was a little filly.”

“Seriously?” Barley asked with an excited smile spread over his wide, chubby cheeks. “That’s just fantastic!”

Shriek smiled warmly at her teammate, a rare sight to see for the two stallions. “Yeah, I guess it is. My whole family has served in the guard force as long as I could remember. My parents, my brothers and sisters, and my grandparents and great grandparents before them. All dedicated to keeping the peace and protecting Equestria for the greater good.” Shriek looked up to the moon, her eyes sparkling under its luminous light. “And now I get to be the first in my family to serve in the night guard. The most prestigious guard force for bat ponies. My one true dream is to serve under Luna and protect her with my life.”

“Why’s that?” Barley asked.

“Because, she’s our princess,” Shriek answered. “More so than any others. We bat ponies have never been fully accepted into Equestria like the other three tribes. More outsiders than anything else. But Luna took our race under her wing and gave us a real purpose. To defend Equestria during the night from all threats. A purpose we have not served for nearly a thousand years now, since her banishment. But look at our future now!” Shriek swooped through the air, performing a full loopty-loop without breaking rank with her compatriots. “We’re guards again! Night guards at that, with our princess returned to us! There’s no way I’ll give up the chance to become the best guard I can possibly be!”

Blue flapped lazily behind the pair, so slumped down in his flying that his wings were the only part of his body positioned upright. “Okay, now that we’re done with the sappy backstories, can we get back to our job?”

“Oh, so mister laze around all night is finally eager to get back to work?” Shriek asked, a curious glint in her eyes as she stared intently at Blue. Flying backwards while directly in front of him, she asked, “What prompted this change of heart?”

“I… just wanna get this job over and done with,” Blue sputtered, eyes shifting to the left and right but not at her. Looking over Shriek’s shoulder, he pointed and said, “Cap said to head to the edge of the city then walk on the streets back to the castle. So I just wanna get that over with and then hit the showers. Can ya dig it?”

“Yeah, yeah, I can dig it.” Shriek nodded her head. Blue still noticed that devious smile that was beginning to make him sweat buckets was still there. Which was uncomfortably close to his own. He could actually see his own weirded out expression in the reflection of her eyes. “What I can’t dig is why you’re in the guard force in the first place.”

“Whatcha mean by that?”

“Well, let’s see…” Shriek held out one hoof and slowly tapped on it on it with the other. “For one thing, you’re a lazy smuck that doesn’t know one thing about being a guard.” Another tap. “You almost never listen to orders and disrespect just about everyone who is an authority figure.” Yet another tap. “And really, you aren’t cut out for a guard physically. While you do have height on you, you aren’t all that strong, or fit. You’re nearly a skeleton most of the time. Plus, that slouching you constantly do isn’t healthy for your back. You’ll definitely have some type of spinal problems in the future. Also, did I go over personal hygiene? Because brushing your teeth should definitely be first on the list. Next to doing something about those bags you always have under your eyes. As for your—”

“Shut up already!” Blue shouted in Shriek’s face, spittle hitting her cheek. “You don’t think I know that? Every day I had to hear ‘bout this and be criticized for it! And what I definitely don’t need is you acting like my mother and telling me what’s wrong with myself! I already know, okay!” Blue took in a shaky breath and flew around Shriek. “I already know…”

Shriek stared dismally at Blue, then turning her attention back to Barely. The short stallion shook his head sadly, turning his head away from Shriek.

“Blue, wait, I didn’t mean anything by it,” Shriek said, going back to Blue’s side.

“Just shut up,” Blue snapped at her, still keeping his head turned. Shriek was sure she caught a glimpse of tears in her teammate’s eyes. “Get back in line so we can finish our patrol, okay?”

Frowning, Shriek complied and took position in front of Blue with Barley at the very back. After just a few seconds of flying, Shriek turned her head and said, “Please, Blue, understand that sometimes I can be… a little too judgemental. I guess I got that from my parents. But believe me, I never meant to hurt you. I’m terribly sorry if I did so.”

“Hey, Shriek,” Blue spoke up, head still turned to the ground so far bellow.

“Yeah?”

Blue looked up, grinning the smuggest smile Shriek’s ever seen. “You have a hot ass.”

“Why you perverted piece of—” Shriek gritted her teeth together so hard she was sure she’d break her own jaw. Breaking rank and flying behind Barley, she murmured, “After I apologized to you, you still had to act like a bastard, huh? Expect this to be the last time I’m ever nice to you!”

“Looking forward to it,” Blue called over his shoulder, wiping a tear quickly and laughing joyfully. Spreading out his wings to full extent, he shouted, “Last one at the city’s edge buys drinks the next time we hit the pub!”

“Free drinks ahoy!” Barley shouted, zipping past the two so fast that lightning seemed to go at a turtle’s pace compared to him. The small stallion soared across the darkened skyline faster than the wind, already disappearing thanks to the city lights obscuring Blue and Shriek’s visions.

Squinting to where Barely disappeared at, Blue said, “Oh yeah, forgot the little guy has the fastest flight speed in the academy.”

“Try to remember that before you make a racing bet,” Shriek said, shooting Blue with her own smug grin before taking off in a rapid flight. “Especially with the mare with the second fastest flight speed in the academy!”

Seeing the two of them fly away, Blue smiled and stretched his back and wings out. Flapping at a temperate pace, Blue chuckled. “They actually think I’ll buy them a free round of drinks. Ha!”

Next Chapter: Chapter 3: Trot Around Town Estimated time remaining: 28 Minutes