“I just don’t understand why practice starts earlier each day.”

“I’ve told you, Magic, the closer to the Grand Galloping Gala we get the longer practice will last. We must be at our absolute best.”

“I guess,” Barrier started with a yawn, “I just don’t see why it has to be this early. Even Celestia doesn’t get up this early. Trust me, I know.”

It was no exaggeration; the sun wasn’t due up for nearly another half-an-hour; even the streets of Canterlot were utterly deserted.

“And you didn’t let me take my alcohol today...you have any idea how long today is going to be without it?” Another yawn.

“Oh you’ll be fine. You don’t need the alcohol.” Octavia brushed his concerns off listlessly.

“You’re a cruel mistress, Miss Octavia.” As the two of them passed by the front gates of the castle, Barrier stopped.

A hoof full of guards were outside the castle; one guard in particular wasn’t in the standard uniform; he seemed to be directing the ponies to various spots, no doubt for the Grand Galloping Gala coming up soon.

“Besides, your liver will thank me for…” Octavia trailed off when she realized Barrier wasn’t following her. “Barrier?” She turned to see the unicorn staring intently at a pegasus guard who had yet to realize he was being watched.

The group was comprised of six ponies; two of each type. Rather than typical guard armor, a suit of soft fabric covered the ponies from head-to-hoof. Their hooves were thickly padded to help muffle their sound at the expense of traction, while the cloaks were specially woven to reflect as little light as possible. Any exposed parts of the pony had been dyed black for the duration of the missions; wings, horns, faces. Anywhere there was fur, it was black.

“The informant pulled through. Southwest gate is open.” Flash Sentry landed in the group of ponies. “Patrol passed by every ten minutes or so. Getting in shouldn’t be a problem, nor should getting out, as long as we don’t get caught.”

“Right, we’ll move as soon as the next patrol passes. Remember ponies, this mission is black. If something goes wrong, you all know what to do.” Each pony carried an unstable crystal somewhere on himself; Barrier would charge them all minutes before the mission started; they would have an hour at most before the energy dissipated and they would have to leave. A pony caught in the Griffin capital would spark a war that neither side would be able to prevent. Though Barrier didn’t say it out loud, everypony knew that if they were unable to escape within the one-hour time-frame, they would have to self-terminate; grim, but necessary.

“Right, let’s go.” Barrier and Flash Sentry both trotted off, the four remaining ponies following behind them.

Barrier remembered that night particularly clearly; Flash had managed to run down a Griffin that spotted them from afar before the griffin could shout an alarm; he didn’t think he’d ever seen a pegasus fly that fast in such a narrow corridor; it was that feat in particular that got him bumped up to Staff Sergeant.

“Barrier? Equestria to Barrier!” Octavia was waving a hoof in front of the unicorn, consternation clear in her expression. “Stop staring at the poor guard, it’s rude!” She finally hissed at Barrier, tapping him slightly on the head.

By now, Flash Sentry had noticed the two; he seemed particularly nervous as the unicorn stared at him intensely. Without really knowing why, he straightened his posture ever-so-slightly and slightly flared his wings, subconsciously trying to appear more impressive.

"What's your name and rank soldier?"

“Uh, Lieutenant Flash Sentry?” The lieutenant backed up slightly; who was this crazy unicorn? And why was he smiling?

Sizing the pegasus up, Barrier couldn’t help but smile a sad smile. He was almost a carbon-copy of his old friend, minus the tacky gold armor.

“You look a lot like your grandfather, Flash.” Barrier’s voice was almost sad; a stark contrast to the usual happy-go-lucky tone and attitude he had.

“Um...thanks?” Flash wasn’t really sure what to make of the odd unicorn.

“Honestly, I can’t take you anywhere.” Octavia shook her head, bemused. “Come along now, I’d rather not be late for practice.”

“Right, right.” The carefree attitude returned. “Still think you should have let me bring my whiskey. What am I supposed to do for the next twelve hours while you practice?”

“That is up for you to decide. Perhaps you’ll think twice the next time you decide to be a bodyguard, hm?”

“Won’t be a next time I’m afraid. This was a one-time thing. After your performance, you’ll never have to worry about seeing me again.”

The way Barrier had said that; the sense of finality unnerved the mare a bit. “Yes well, maybe I shall, maybe I shan’t.” Silence reigned for the remainder of their walk, Barrier having nothing more to say and Octavia uncertain of what to say.

“I’ll see you when your practice ends, Miss Octavia.” Barrier bowed his head slightly as the mare turned to trot away.

Taking a seat on the familiar bench, Barrier glanced down at his shaky hoof. Though he had hid it well, his head was killing him and for some reason, he couldn’t stop his hooves from shaking, unless he was actively using them.

“It’s because of the alcohol, you know that, right?” Octavia had returned to find him staring at his hooves, his face scrunched up in thought.

“Yeah, maybe.” He was well-aware that he had an alcohol problem, though Octavia had, in no uncertain terms, stated that if he continued drinking on the job and in public, she would make his life a living tartarus. He had no choice but to agree; he still needed her father’s help, and in all honesty, he knew she was right; drinking while actively working was a problem. “Not to be rude, but I thought you had practice?” Barrier questioned.

“Yes well, I decided that, if you wish, you may move to the auditorium and listen to my ensemble and I practice.”

Barrier grinned slightly and climbed off of the bench; outside of a show, the auditorium was usually off-limits to everypony without the proper permissions. Up until this point, Octavia hadn’t arranged for the permissions, likely on account of their poor business relationship. While it had posed a security risk, the unicorn had taken to feeling around with his magic as best he could, focusing specifically on the back-entrances for performers. As the doors were never disturbed, and he honestly loathed the mare, he never brought the issue forth.

“So long as you don’t cause problems.” Octavia added with a slight glare. “No yelling out, no sarcasm. You’re to be a perfect gentlecolt for the duration of this practice. Is that understood?”

“Dang, foiled again.” His grin faded, replaced by a soft smile. “I’ll behave, promise.” The two trotted through the doors into the auditorium. “Also…thanks for this. It really is dull sitting out there for that long.”

Practice was...practice, Barrier supposed. The musicians were all very talented, but Octavia outclassed most of them in Barrier’s opinion. While he wasn’t a musical savant, there was something wonderful about the mare and her ability to play. Octavia seemed to tune the world around her out when she played; nothing existed but her and her cello.

It wasn’t until the practice session came to a close that Barrier realized he had lost himself in the sounds of music for nearly twelve hours. Mentally, Barrier noted a pony approaching him from behind and was almost instantly on guard.

“Quite the talented cellist, wouldn’t you agree?”

“She has a bright future ahead of her.” Barrier agreed as he turned around to greet what had to be the biggest damn unicorn he had ever seen. Barrier was a fairly large specimen of the unicorn race, so the fact that he had to crane his head upward to meet this pony’s eyes was worthy of note.

“Mm, I don’t know. I’ve a feeling her career might be cut a little short. It’d be a shame for you to be drug down with her.”

“I’ll have to disagree. I see her having a long and prosperous career, and I plan to do whatever necessary to ensure it happens.”

“Then you’ve made your choice.” The giant of a unicorn turned and trotted away as Octavia approached.

“I’m surprised. Not only did you behave the entire time, but you even made a friend.”

Barrier turned to the mare and smiled slightly. “Yeah, the guy’s…interesting. So, practice is over. Wanna go grab an early dinner?”

“Are you asking me on a date?” The mare raised an eyebrow inquiringly.

Coughing slightly and turning away to hide his face, Barrier responded as he walked into the lobby. “You just played an instrument for like...twelve hours without stopping for lunch or anything. It might just be me, but dinner sounds really good right about now.”

The mares stomach rumbled its agreement, much to her displeasure.

“It wasn’t twelve hours. It was like ten, at most.”

“The sun wasn’t even up when we got here. It’s…” Barrier glanced at the clock as they departed the lobby. “ three o’clock. You practiced for like...eleven hours.”

“Oh, quit whining.” Octavia waved a hoof in Barrier’s general direction.

“I’m not whining, I’m complaining.” Barrier reasoned. “Can’t complain too much, though. You’re the best cellist I’ve ever seen.”

“Yes well, I do try.” Octavia turned her head away to hide the slight smile.

“It shows. You’re better than Mr. Casal could have ever hoped to be. Granted, I only ever heard him in pony twice, but I still stand by my statement.”

Octavia blushed slightly at the praise, until a flash of recognition crossed her face.

“You said you’d seen him in pony?” Octavia stopped walking and turned to face Barrier.

“You keep saying odd things like you were with Nightmare Moon for one-thousand years. Forgive me if this sounds rude, but do you know how asinine that sounds?”

“I’m well aware, but the difference between me and other crazies is that we can go to the castle right now and I can prove my statement.” A grin crept onto Barrier’s face; he knew what Octavia was about to say.

“Hah! I’d like to see that.” The mare scoffed.

“Alright, the Princess isn’t in bed yet, so I’m sure I could get a quick word with her.” Barrier turned and trotted off towards the castle.

“It was a joke, Barrier!” The mare followed after him, taking his tail in her teeth and trying to stop him, to little avail.

“S’cool. I need to see the princess about something anyways. Might as well do it now rather than later.” Barrier continued to trot, dragging Octavia behind him flawlessly, much to the amusement of some passerby and the irritation of others.

“Honestly Barrier, stop it!” A loud clop resounded as Octavia smacked him on the head with a hoof.

“Damn it mare, that hurts.” Barrier whined.

The two guards Barrier had been staring down in the hallway took this opportunity to flee.

“Honestly, what do you have against the bat-ponies? I understand that they’re different, but that’s no reason to be so rude to them.”

“It’s a personal thing.” The humor was gone from his voice as he responded; the levity of the conversation vanished almost instantaneously as Barrier turned back to the door and the two day-guards standing on either side of it.

Octavia fell silent when Barrier turned around; for some reason, she felt bad, despite Barrier clearly being the one in the wrong.

“Barrier, what are you doing here?” The motherly voice of the princess came from behind the pair.

“Y-your majesty!” Octavia bowed respectfully.

“Sup Celestia.” Barrier greeted casually. “The guards said you had business in Ponyville and I decided to wait here for you. Needed to discuss a couple of things, if you’ve a moment.”

“Barrier, bow to the princess!” Octavia hissed from her place on the ground.

“Why? She explicitly told me I didn’t have to months ago.”

“Rise, my little pony.” Celestia giggled slightly. “Tell me Barrier, who is your friend?”

“Ah right. This is Miss Octavia Melody, my current employer.”

“Unwilling employer, mind you. I apologize for my companion’s rudeness, your majesty.”

“It’s fine, Miss Melody. Barrier and I have enough history that he doesn’t have to stand on ceremony with me.” Celestia trotted into her room, Barrier and Octavia following when she motioned for them to do so.

“So, Ponyville huh? How’s Twilight?” At this, the princess frowned slightly.

“She enchanted her doll with a want-it-need-it spell,” Celestia pressed a hoof to her face.

“Yeesh.” That was a fairly serious crime, “What’s the punishment for that these days? Mind-altering magic would cost you your horn back in the day.”

Octavia cringed at the thought; while she didn’t have a horn, she was well-aware that losing it could very well lead to the death of a unicorn; the sudden backlash from the loss of such a connection was the stuff of nightmares for unicorns, or so she had heard.

Celestia cringed as well, frowning. “No, penalties such as that were abolished centuries ago. The worst we have now is banishment from Equestria.” The princess explained. “Twilight, however, won’t face such a punishment for obvious reasons.”

Barrier actually scoffed at the ‘worst punishment’ when the princess said it; Octavia reached over and swatted him once more, causing him to shrink back.

“Damnit mare, those horseshoes hurt.” Barrier whined, much to Octavia’s annoyance; this had the unexpected effect of making her reach over to swat him again.

A light giggle escaping her, the princess spoke once more.“So, Barrier, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?”

Octavia and Barrier both sat upright again.

“Ah, right. First and foremost, Miss Melody here doesn’t believe I’m over a thousand years old. I need you to confirm that for me, if you’d be so kind,” Barrier stopped as the Princess consented.

“As odd as it sounds it is the truth, Miss Melody; Magic Barrier spent a millennium imprisoned in the moon.”

Barrier continued, completely disregarding Octavia’s sudden expression of confusion, followed by disbelief, followed by realization, “And secondly, I’d like you to close out my bank account and donate the funds in it to whichever charity or orphanage needs it most and can do the most good with it.”

“That’s very generous of you, Barrier, but I must ask. Why?”

“Because I’ll never use one-hundred eighty million bits. I’ve got a few hundred-thousand put up at my place of residence at the moment. That will be more than enough until I figure out what to do in this day and age.”

Octavia’s jaw had unhinged itself; while she herself came from a very wealthy family, that was still an impressive amount of money, especially for an uncouth joker such as Magic Barrier; Had the princess not maintained such a straight expression, she’d have thought he was joking.

“If you insist, Barrier, I’ll not turn down the offer. Thank you for your generosity.”

“No problem, princess. Come on Miss Melody, we should be on our way before night falls.” Barrier levitated the mare in his magic and departed, placing her on the ground when they made it to the front gates.

“So when you said that you had seen Pablo Casals play the cello…”

Author's Notes:

Not tons to say about this one, other than I need to figure out how I want to end this fic. Am rapidly approaching my initial goal for the word count. =\

Thanks To:

Alticron and Izanagi for editing. Love you guys like a fat kid loves cake.