Midnight's stomach twisted and her heart sank. All the things she wanted to tell David were forced to the back of her head as he approached with a very familiar looking bag in his hands. With each step he took, Midnight's heart beat faster and faster.

"Oh no... he went in the... closet... please, no..." Midnight thought to herself as the bag swayed slightly in David's hand.

Her anxiety skyrocketed and fear clawed at her soul.

A painful silence filled the room once David stopped in front of Midnight. As he set the bag down, there was an audible *clink* as the jars hit each other and the floor. Midnight nearly jumped at the sound. She knew exactly what was in the bag.

"Uh... hehe.. w-what about... big guy? Midnight said, nearly choking on her words.

"Mid... I know that you said you got the morphine to save my life by taking a small amount while you were a medic... And I know that you don't have to tell me a damn thing about your past, but... Mid... this is beyond a small amount. There's enough morphine here to run a hospital for a week. I know enough about pony biology now to know that you can get addicted to stuff like this just as much as I can. And I know no one gets addicted to morphine for no reason... So..." David sighed deeply. "I want to know what happened. Why you have this much morphine." David said, pointing to the bag. "If you don't want to tell me, that's your choice and I'll respect that. But please, for my sake, don't leave me in the dark here. Tia wouldn't tell me anything other than you had an accident a few years ago. You're my best friend, and I want to make sure you're alright."

Midnight couldn't speak. Her words caught in her throat and her voice failed her. Her anxiety peaked, while a bead of sweat quickly began to form on her brow.

"How did he find it?! Did I not lock the closet?! Damn it!" Midnight screamed in her head.

There was a long silence between them as they stood in the hallway, simply staring at each other. Midnight felt each second drag on for what seemed like an eternity. Her mind desperately sought answers.

"How could he?! That's none of his business! David you... you... Damn it!"

Finally, after quite some time, Midnight's fear and anxiety turned to anger, and she spoke.

"Where... did you get that?"

Her piercing glare told David all he needed to know about how she felt about the invasion of her privacy.

"I found it in the closet over there." He said, motioning to the slightly open closet door.

"And why were you going through my stuff?" Midnight asked, barely containing her rage.

"Because when Tia told me about your accident I wanted to know what happened. When I saw the crate in the closet, I thought I would find answers in there. I get that you're mad... But I didn't just go through to be nosy, I was worried about you, and this just makes me even more concerned!" David explained, motioning to the bag of morphine.

"While I appreciate your concern, I'm not on the stuff anymore, and this was none of your business to go through in the first place. I'm an adult, David and I can make my own decisions. If I had wanted to tell you about what happened, I would have." She said through gritted teeth.

Midnight ripped the bag away from David with her magic and angrily pushed past him, walking towards the closet. She opened the door and threw the bag into the crate and closed it. She slammed the closet door shut, causing David to visibly cringe at her previously unseen hostility.

Midnight took several deep breaths before she turned and spoke to David again.

"Look... I don't want to talk about this. I'm going upstairs."

With that she walked up the stairs, pushing past David's leg. David nearly stumbled over to one side from the surprising amount of force behind Midnight shoulder.

"Wait Mid-" David started, only to stop when he saw the angry glare in Midnight's eyes.

He sighed.

"I'll... leave you alone then. I'm sorry."

The sound of Midnight's bedroom door slamming shut filled the house and David was left by himself in the hallway.

"What did I just do?"

Midnight angrily paced back and forth in her room while she sulked over David's actions.

"Ugh, why did he do that!? I mean, did I forget to lock it? Either way, that doesn't give him free reign to just start snooping around! Especially with something so serious! Damn it!"

She sighed harshly.

"Okay, maybe we just need to establish personal boundaries? Like don't go snooping through my stuff when I told you not to, for starters." Midnight thought to herself before letting out a frustrated groan

Midnight shook those thoughts from her head almost as quickly as they appeared.

"No! Damn it, Mid! He was just trying to help! Even if he doesn't understand, it's not like he was trying to make you look like the bad guy here... That doesn't excuse it though! I didn't say 'just go through my stuff when I'm not home, that's fine!'... but you did say he wasn't invading your personal space way back.... Maybe he took that to mean he could go through the closet? No! He's been here long enough to know that that would be a total violation of our trust!"

Midnight threw herself on her bed as the tears started forming.

"Damn it, Mid... stop crying..."

"I was gonna tell him too..."

David sighed for the tenth time. His mind searched for answers while he sat on the front porch with his head hung low. He pawed at a small rock in his hands as his thoughts raced over his fight with Midnight.

"Mother fucker... Why did I do that!? Why couldn't I just wait for her to come back and then ask her about it?! Looking through her stuff like that... How did I not expect her to be angry!?" He shouted in his head as he threw the rock at the country road leading away from the house.

David hung his head low. His heart ached and the pit in his stomach refused to go away.

"So stupid... Why did I think confronting her about it would be a good idea? I should've just asked her like a normal person. What was I thinking? She probably thinks I was calling her an addict and trying to make her sound like a junkie. God damn it... She deserves better than me..."

David sat on the porch for a long time before he noticed the sky turning multiple shade of orange and the sun lowering in the sky.

"Must be at least four-ish by now... Maybe I sho- no... She needs some space. I'll see about talking with her tomorrow..."

David rose from the porch and started walking down the road. He blindly followed the path and proceeded towards Canterlot as the sun set over the horizon.

David walked with his mind lost in thought as the gravel under his shoes dispersed and compacted under his weight. With each step, he feet seemed to get heavier and heavier. He trudged along the beaten path in a haze. The events of several hours ago replayed in his head so many times he was sick of it.

"God damn it... This is our first fight ever and I'm letting it get to me like this... Maybe I'm blowing things out of proportion. Maybe she isn't that mad and by tomorrow morning we'll just laugh this off and things will be alright between us. God I hope so..."

As David proceeded down the path, he found his way back into Canterlot. He walked through the busy streets as the final hours of the workday came to a close and ponies began making their way home. David trudged through the crowds with his head hung low. No matter what he tried to think of instead, he could not shake his thoughts from the fight.

"And to think, I was gonna tell her how I felt... I bet she would never even consider it no-"

"Davey!" A feminine voice called out.

David looked up at the ponies walking around him. He swiveled his head until he found the direction of the voice. After squinting his eyes slightly, he saw a navy blue pegasus mare with a silver mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a wooden shield being struck by a lightning bolt, and her emerald eyes seemed to beam when she made eye contact with David. She waved a hoof at him, to which he waved back and the two of them closed the distance between them.

The mare jumped into the air and tackled David into a tight hug, knocking him to the ground in the process.

"Davey! I was just on my way to come see you! I was really worried after you just ran out of the castle earlier today. I tried to get your attention, but you just ran right past me. What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Uh... Storm Shield?" David hesitantly asked.

"Well duh? Of course it's me, silly. Oh wait, that's right. You've never seen me without my armor on. Well, uh... here I am!" She said as she hopped off of David's chest and sheepishly smiled.

David rose to a sitting position and reached out to Storm's ear. He scratched just behind her ear, earning a content sigh from the pegasus.

"Hehe, you're as adorable as I thought you'd be, Stormy." David said with a smile.

"Well, I aim to please. But you still haven't told me what you're doing over here. Don't make me put on my armor and force the truth out of you." She said playfully.

David put his hand up in a mock surrender.

"I yield, I yield. I'll tell you why. Just... can we go somewhere not so crowded?" David asked, suddenly aware of the many eyes on the two of them.

"Oh, yeah, hehehe... We can go to my place. It's only a little ways away."

"Sounds good to me."

Storm helped David to his feet and led the way through the crowded streets towards her house. Despite the many ponies out and about, Storm easily navigated her way through the busy streets with David tagging just behind. Some ponies made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with the human, as they pushed themselves further into the crowds to avoid him. Some ponies recognized him and gave their greetings, which David kindly returned.

Eventually, Storm led David out of the crowded streets and down the more residential neighborhoods. She took him down to a short cul-de-sac with several identical looking buildings lining the pavement. They were all wooden and painted white. The front door was flanked on both sides by small windows, and the second floor of each house each had two windows as well. Aside from small yards in front of each house, there was nothing noteworthy of their appearances.

Storm lead David to the fifth house on the street before turning into the walkway and heading to the front door.

"Here we are. Now I know it's a little messy, but I was expecting to go over to your house, not the other way around so I hope you can forgive that." She said with a sheepish smile.

"It's fine, Stormy. I'm sure it's not that bad anyways." David reassured.

"Alright, welcome to el casa de Storm." She said as she pushed the door open.

David followed Storm into the house, and his jaw dropped. There was a small entrance for anypony to remove their jackets and other apparel, followed by a neat living room with a small sofa and a fireplace at the end of the room to the right. To the left was a small kitchen filled with all the necessities for cooking. Straight ahead there was two doors and a stairwell leading upstairs. It seemed like an ordinary house, except the entirety of the first floor was completely spotless. There wasn't a spec of dirt anywhere on the floor or anywhere else in on the first floor. Even the fireplace was completely spotless and somehow even managed to have a small sheen to it.

"Uh... What did you say about it being a little messy?" David asked, a stark amount of confusion evident in his tone.

"Well, there's a bit of dirt over on the stairs, hehe..." Storm replied as she sheepishly smiled back at him.

"Stormy, this place is completely spotless... What are you talking about?"

"Over here." She replied, walking over to the stairs.

Storm pointed at a hoof print made of an extremely small layer of dirt on the first step.

"Right there." She said.

"Seriously?" David deadpanned.

"What? I'm in the guard! They drill cleanliness into us from day one. I'd be doing wing ups and laps all week for this dirt if I lived in the barracks and my Sergeant saw it." Storm said defensively.

David shook his head.

"I guess. They sure are strict on that kind of thing. We would get punished for stuff like that in basic, but not so much once we got to our actual units. Speaking of which, why don't you live in the barracks?"

"Because married ponies get free housing so that we can live with our spouses." Storm replied matter-of-factly

"Wait, you're married? Since when?"

Storm unfurled her wing, revealing a small golden ring on her pinfeather. It fit snugly around the base of the feather, and was almost completely covered by the surrounding feathers holding it neatly in place.

"I've been married for six months now. My husband's just out of town right now on business. I swear I told you that before."

"No... I don't remember that. Uh, well congratulations. It might be several months late, but I am very happy for you. What's his name?"

"Wind Rider. He's off in Cloudsdale at the moment. He'll be back in a few days if you want to meet him." She said with a happy smile.

"I'd love to. If he's got your stamp of approval, then he must be a good guy. I am in need of more 'guy' friends. I haven't had a night out with the boys since I got out of the Military." David said, reminiscing about the past.

"Well I'll let him know when he gets back. Now, back to the reason you came over." Storm said as she walked over to the living room and hopped onto the sofa.

"Right..." David said morosely.

"Well, judging by your tone, it's not a good thing. So, sit down, and tell me what's up. I'm a good listener." She said as David sat down.

"Alright, but this stays between us."

"I swear that nothing you say to me leaves this room." Storm replied, her tone turning serious.

"Alright. Mid and I... we, uh... we had a bit of a fight. I was an idiot and I really pissed her off."

"What did you do?"

"Ugh... I really don't think I should say. It's her own personal issue and I've pissed her off enough already just by bringing it up in the first place."

"David I'm not gonna tell anypony. I already swore I wouldn't." Storm said defensively.

"I know, I know. It's just... I already hurt her enough as is. Let's just say that she has some demons she's had to fight in the past, and like a complete idiot, I brought them up and tried to confront her about them. She was understandably pissed off at me and stormed off to her room. I... kinda just started walking after that. Honestly I don't know if she even wants to see me anymore after all that." David said as he hung his head.

"Well, regardless of how wrong you are on that last part, that does sound like you hurt her pretty bad. Why did you confront her if you knew she didn't want to talk about it?" Storm asked as she rubbed Davids shoulder with her hoof.

"I wasn't thinking. I thought someone had hurt her, and I wanted to get to the bottom of it. I was so blinded by the thought of someone hurting my best friend that I lost it. I went through some of her stuff I really shouldn't have, and when I confronted her, well... let's just say that if we weren't best friends, I'd probably be in a hospital right now."

"Hmm... That does sound kinda bad. Especially the part where you went through her stuff... But you were only trying to help her though, right? Like, you were only doing what you thought was in her best interest."

"I guess. I don't know. When I heard about it from Tia, I just started seeing red. She's not just my best friend... She's more than that..." David trailed off.

"Wait, you don't mean..." Storm began.

"If you're going to ask what I think you are, the answer is 'no'. At least, I haven't told her how I feel yet. And after this, I doubt she'd even consider a relationship with me. I totally overstepped my bounds. So stupid."

"Aww, uh... I feel conflicted, actually. On one hoof, I'm super, super happy for you and hope you go for it. On the other hoof, I'm concerned about what happened with you and I really, really hope it gets resolved quickly. I'm excited and scared for you. Scarecited."

"Thanks Storm. I just... I think I should give her some space. I'm probably the last thing she wants to see right now. I think I'm just gonna stay away from her for the night."

"Well, if you're sure then you're always welcome to stay here. Just know that I have to be up at five and I tend to make a lot of noise in the morning so I might wake you up."

"Thanks Stormy, but I think I might just go walk around for a bit. I'm not gonna get any sleep like this anyways." David said as he rose from the couch and headed for the door.

"Wait, you can't just stay out there all night! You'll freeze. David, we're due for snow any day now. As your friend, I can't let you stay out there." Storm said, quickly moving to block the door.

"Storm, I appreciate it. I really do, but I just want to walk around tonight." David said, trying to get past the navy blue mare.

"Nope. I'm sorry but it's supposed to drop to thirty degrees tonight, and you don't have fur. Without a winter coat or something like that, you'll be hypothermic by morning. If you think I'm going to just stand by and let my friend freeze over a dumb fight with his 'soon-to-be-girlfriend' then you don't know me at all." Storm said, stomping her hoof on the ground to silence any rebuttal David had prepared.

David let out a long sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Jesus... Alright Stormy. Fine. I'll stay the night."

Storm cheered with excitement.

"Yay! It'll be like a sleepover!"

David rolled his eyes at her antics.

"You are a child trapped in an adults body, you know that?"

"Adults are just grown up kids, Davey." She sing-songed as she headed for the kitchen. "So what would you like for dinner?"

Midnight opened her bedroom door slowly. She walked out and down the stairs with a noticeable drag in her hooves. She hung her head as she walked to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. She quickly downed her drink and made her way over to David's room before pausing for several seconds at the door.

"Alright Mid, just explain to him that what he did was not okay, and then I'm sure he'll apologize. From there, it's as easy as saying 'I forgive you, let's move on' and boom, we're friends again."

Midnight slowly raised her hoof and knocked on the door. There was nothing but silence.

"David?" Midnight asked,

She knocked again but there was still no answer. Midnight pushed the door open and looked inside. An empty room greeted her, just the way it had every day before David moved in. Midnight scanned the entire room, hoping that she had missed something. The room was completely empty, leaving Midnight all alone.

"Oh no..."

"David!" Midnight called out.

There was no answer. She hurried to the front door and made her way outside.

"David!" She called again.

There was no response. The only sound that filled the air was the sound of the trees rustling in the cold mountain breeze as the sun set on the horizon. Midnight felt the cold wind bite through her coat, particularly at the now damp fur under her eyes. She trudged back inside and slammed the door behind her.

Midnight walked up the stairs and into her bedroom. She threw herself onto the bed and cried into her pillow.

"What have I done?"

Eventually, Midnight's tears dried and she slowly fell into the calm embrace of sleep.

Midnight woke up to the sound of running water. She slowly craned her neck off of the ground and turned to see a gorgeous river flowing in front of her. She looked down to see the sun's golden rays shining a sandy beach laid out under her body. She rose to her hooves and turned around completely to find a starry night sky and the moon. Confused, she turned her head skyward, and saw the navy blue of the night sky, and the blood orange of the setting sun mixing together in the twilight, creating a gorgeous magenta and a million other shades of purple.

"Guess I cried myself to sleep... great..." Midnight muttered to herself.

"Well I suppose that confirms my fears." A voice echoed through the sky.

"Gah!" Midnight shouted, turning to see where the voice came from. "Princess Luna?"

A bright light flashed in the sky, and a ray of bright white light beamed down to the sand a few feet away from Midnight. After a few seconds, the light dissipated, and in its place stood Princess Luna.

"Princess... I... I failed you. I'm sorry." Midnight said, hanging her head low.

"Now now, Midnight. You haven't failed me yet. That said, I would like to speak with you about David. He's having a nightmare again. You're not with him, obviously. Otherwise you'd with him right now stopping it. Since you cried yourself to sleep, I'm just going to assume that you two had a fight. Is that a fair assumption?" Luna said, her tone calm and collected.

"I... yes... We had a fight and he left. When I went to his room, he was gone and when I ran outside looking for him, I couldn't find him anywhere. I'm just glad he's alright at least." Midnight said, trying to keep some of the sadness out of her tone.

"What did you two fight about?"

Midnight sighed deeply.

"It was about... my past. David found some stuff he shouldn't have when he was looking where he shouldn't have, and I responded poorly. I get that he was trying to help and be a good friend, but when he just went through my stuff without asking it violated my trust. It's my fault though. I got so used to him and I trusted him so much that I didn't even bother locking the closet. I just thought I had no reason to. I asked him not to go into that closet before and for some reason he just did anyways..." Midnight trailed off.

"I see. What exactly did you say to him?" Luna asked, rubbing her chin in thought.

"I told him that he shouldn't have gone through my stuff. That he violated my trust and privacy. He tried to talk after that but I was just so mad... I just stormed off and went to my room... Like I said... I handled it poorly." Midnight said, hanging her head again. "I was gonna tell him that I want a relationship too... Guess that'll never happen now."

Luna cocked her head to the side.

"What are you talking about? You had one fight with your best friend. I think you're overreacting a bit. David doesn't hate you now, and he certainly still likes you. You two just need to make up and move on."

Midnight sat down in the sand and sighed.

"I don't know if it's that easy. I mean, if I managed to literally make him leave, then I doubt he'll just come around."

Luna sat down next to Midnight and draped a wing over her shoulder.

"Let me put it this way. If David was shallow and spiteful enough- and I know he isn't- to never want to see you again after a fairly small fight like that, then he was never worth your time in the first place." Luna finished with a friendly smile.

"You think so?" Midnight asked as she slowly turned her head to look at Luna.

"I know so. You're an amazing mare, Midnight. Don't let your past deter you from believing that. You've served in the Night Guard ever since you recovered and your performance has been nothing short of exemplary. David would be the luckiest stallion in the world to be with you. The only question, is are you willing to fight for him?"

Luna retracted her wing and rose to her hooves. She walked towards the waterline before turning back around and looking at Midnight again.

"But how? I don't even know where he is..." Midnight asked.

"I have a feeling that he'll come back to you. At least, that's what Celestia told me." Luna said with a wink before walking into the water.

"...Wait! What!?" Midnight shouted as the last of Luna's form disappeared into the water.

There was a bright flash under the water's surface and all was calm. Midnight rushed into the water to find nothing. She kicked at the water with her hoof.

"UGH! You can't just say that and leave! Does that mean what I think it means?!" Midnight shouted to the sky.

A bright light caught her eye and pulled Midnight's attention to the horizon. The sun was getting brighter and brighter, going from a warm red to a blinding white. It spread over the horizon and quickly enveloped the world around her. Her vision filled with nothing but white, forcing her to shut her eyes.

Midnight shot her eyes open as she awoke in her room. She rolled over and looked at the clock on her dresser.

"I need to find David."

Woohoo! Another chapter finished. Not exactly what I originally intended, but I am happy with this result regardless. I hope you guys like this one. Things will finally start to get spicy over the next few chapters, and I hope you like them. I would strongly advise that if you have any questions, you simply keep reading. They will be answered in the coming chapters. It's my goal to leave absolutely no plot holes and answer every question that might get brought up by the end of the story.