The tall white Palace seemed to pierce the sky with its edgy golden roofs. The sun was in less than the last quarter of its reign. The blue dome was cloudless. Life in the Capital was very energetic. Stylish gentlecolts and ladies were doing their evening walks around the beautiful cultural sights. The classy restaurants were meeting their loyal clients. Musicians were playing on almost every corner. Life was great in here.

"What Celestia told you?" Metal Eye hugged him in shoulder. Both were walking like victors, though mostly the pegasus with the blue mane did. Foxy and the little spy were behind them and were quite silent, despite the fact that they too were going to be rewarded for their actions.

The wide corridors seemed to go on forever. The floor was covered with long superb carpets from a very fine wool. The walls were painted in bright violet. They held quite a lot of old paintings. There were a few guards here and there but for the most part if felt kind of empty.

"Well, nothing special." Lucky tried to be impartial, though the little angry muscle spikes gave him away.

"Nothing you say. Ha, if the Princess just wanted to chit-chat, I don't think she would want us to leave. But hey, I won't bother you about it. Everything said stays in that room and who am I to disregard Her Majesty's will?"

Lucky smiled a little.

"Ah, what will we do now? Hm, I'm think of celebrating the success of our mission with a lot of cider. Oh yeah, I'm all for a wild party after my prison!"

Lucky felt a little mixed about it. He'd rather spend the evening in a quiet place with Foxy. His heart wanted to express its feelings, though his friend's offer was very tempting.

"Sounds like a good plan." the blind pony smiled. "It will be just like before!"

"Oh, yeah! Tonight we gonna get drunk for the glory of Equestria!" he then turned to the rest and asked: "What would you say?"  

Foxy and Spy Filly looked indifferent. Both of them didn't drink.

"Well, it's decided then. To the pub!" Metal enthusiastically pointed forward. The pegasi hasten their pace. They looked like the two were about to fly away. The two grounded members of the group fell behind. Foxy was daydreaming of being alone with him. These thoughts were very unfamiliar to her, nevertheless they filled her hearth with anticipation of the moment. Just a little longer, she had to wait.

"I do not understand the obsession over cider." the voice of the young unicorn pulled her out of the sea of hopes. "Can you explain it to me, please?"

"The answer, I do not have. I don't drink cider or any liquid for that matter. I guess, it's a natural for them to celebrate with alcohol."

"But I've tasted cider and I do not find it enjoyable." suddenly the purple pony looked at the black ninja in disbelief. "Wait, you mean that you don't drink even water?"

"Yep. I do not need water to survive." she looked around to make sure that the occasional guard would not hear or see them and asked: "Would you like to know why?"

"Because you are different?"  

"Because I'm cursed by a mighty dragon. Rawrr!" the mouth mask fell and she showed her sharp teeth. The snake tongue waved in the face of the little unicorn. The latter was not scared at all, actually he was amused by it.  

"Cool! Oh, oh. Could you do the trick with the claws, please?"

"Fascinating. You are brave little pony, aren't you?" she put her mask back and then stroke his pink with green strips mane. The youngster pretty much liked it. Foxy's action awakened some forgotten needs inside him, which made the little spy feel like a loved child for a brief moment. "That trick will make things a little messy. I'll display it to you, when we are not in such a clean place. We would not want to smirch this great castle, right?"

He happily nodded. For some reason Foxy felt good after her little interaction with him. Was it because of that she was going to die, after the birth of her own child or was it because her cold soul was defeated by the light? Either way, this evening was going to be great for all of them and that's what mattered only.

The group exited the palace and found themselves in the vast courtyard. The grass was nicely cut. Green bushes, flowers and statues decorated the yard. They were about to arrive at the front gate, when our heroes stumbled across two unicorns, who were in a bit of a hurry.

"Ah, Metal, Spy, Lucky and Dragon. Nice to see that all of you are okay." Quarter Key shook hoofs with the white pegasi.

"Hi, old horn. What brings you to the Palace?" Lucky sounded surprised to meet him.

"All of you and of course, our duty to defend Nose's reputation. After you two disappeared, we convinced him to order a raid on the inventors' laboratory, despite having direct orders to not take action against them."

"Woaw, I'd never think that he was capable of disobeying orders." Lucky nodded. "We appreciate his gesture. I hope everything turns alright for him."

"Hey, what would you say to have a huge party in the pub, after you've finished?" Metal Eye went in between the two unicorns and hugged them tightly. A big grin appeared on him. "The one kind of party with no rules, with a lot of cider and of course the last pony standing pays for the entire treat. What you think of my proposal?"

The gray pony looked him seriously in the eye.

"Are you suggesting that I should pay for the party? We all know that I don't drink that much, unlike some ponies in the current company."

"Alright, alright. I'll pay for it. So, you two game?"

"You bet! Who would refuse free cider?" Diamond patted him in a friendly manner, though it felt a little mockingly.  

"Excellent! We'll wait you at De Pub. Quarter Key knows, which one."

"There are only a hoofful of taverns in here. Do not start without us, you hear!" Quarter warned with a strict voice.

"Yes, sir!" Metal Eye saluted, while still grinning.

Then they parted ways. Quarter and Diamond quickly got inside the Castle, while the rest went to the closest pub to the Royal Guards Office. The inn was constructed in the traditional way to induce feelings of being in the country. A big wooden sign above the door said: Everfree. It was on the corner of the street, next to the gorgeous monuments of the Equestian heroes. Six statues of ponies from the past, who contributed to the bright future of this great nation, stood mighty in a line in the center of the junction.

A waiter in white and black welcomed them with opened legs. He showed them their table and happily took their order. They sat on red cotton pillows. Everything seemed perfect and ordinary, except that they're being followed by a pink unicorn. The journalist was quite good at spying on them, unfortunately her presence was noticed by Foxy's sixth sense. The ninja kept it a secret from the others. Tail didn't want to spoil the fun, unless she was absolutely sure that they were in danger.

Frozen Flash entered in the old pub after waiting for five minutes. She sat on a table for two next to the windows. From her position the journalist had a great view on them and in the same time the unicorn didn't look too conspicuous. The yellow waitress took her order, which was a glass of red whine. The beautiful mare glimpsed at the happy company on equal intervals. Her purple eyes memories every detail, action and expression on their faces.

Then the beverages were served and as always Metal began drinking from the tasty alcohol, despite Lucky's warnings. The apple cider made him feel, as if he became extra light, like a feather. The little spy had a milkshake, which surprised everypony, who thought that it wasn't served in here. He was like an angel, when sipping from the straw. Lucky hesitated at first but the urge was too strong. The blind pony fell for the power of cider and took a deep one. Only the ninja was empty hoofed. Tail refused to take a try from her drink 'cause she knew what the taste was going to be: like ashes. Nevertheless she was genially having fun, they all did.

Paid musicians were creating the perfect mood with their awesome rock music. Not to fast, but not too slow. The atmosphere was more than great. Everypony enjoyed the evening with their friends over a mug of cider or wine, for those who were a bit classier. They celebrated the end of the day and the beginning of the night just like the ponies did thousand years ago.

After an hour, Quarter Key and Diamond Rod appeared in the pub. The elder was not jolly by the fact that they didn't wait for them but his bad mood changed quickly, when the king size mug was delivered in front of his eyes. The grey horn sat next to the Spy Filly and Foxy. The brown mane sat next to Lucky.

"So, how it went?" Metal asked after he took a sip from his mug.

"After waiting for forty minutes, the guards finally told us that we couldn't see the Princess at this time. We'll try tomorrow."

"Something about an unexpected thing happened and she was too busy to grant us a visit." Diamond added.

"Well, better luck next time! Now let's make a wassail eveypony!" Metal lifted up his mug and said proudly: "For the successful end of the mission! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

The mugs clanked and then the cool liquids satisfied the thirsty throats. It was pure alcoholic dream.

"Hey, what are you going to do with junior here?" Quarter pointed at the little unicorn. "I've heard rumors that you'll adopt him."

Metal Eye put the mug on the low table and looked at the carefree kid. His innocent look made him feel warm inside his heart. There was a bond between them, which was deeper than many thought.

"The rumors are true." the pegasus smiled.

"Wait, wait. You want to become his father? Woaw, that's quite unexpected of you." Lucky said.

"I know. I do not look like the typical family pony but I do enjoy his company. And also he doesn't know what parental love is. I can not let that happen, so I'll take him under my wing and teach him all about life!"

"Life with cider, am I right?" Diamond smirked.

"Well, cider is one of the things in this world a filly needs to absolutely know and love, so to answer the question: yes!"

"Can she be my mom?" the youngster snuggle Foxy. The later was surprised from this act.

"Why me?"

"Because you have awesome powers!" the unicorn happily answered.

A white wing enfolded him and pulled him to Metal Eye. He tried to escape the all mighty feathers but without success.

"Sorry about that. It seems I'll have to look for a mate now. He-he."

"For the new parent!" Quarter Key lifted his mug high in the air. "May our little spy become the greatest one!"

"Cheers!"

They drank until their mugs were empty and then simultaneously put them down. This cider was very good and it ignited their spirits like love. Speaking of it, Foxy silently looked at the little pony and then at Lucky, who was in front of her. "Family. I never had one. What is like being in one?" she thought. Her answer was sitting just a hoof away. Lucky unknowingly stared at her. Somehow she saw his feelings in his dead eyes, feelings that were too sacred to be shown in public.

"Hey, Lucky, what you gonna do now?" Metal asked.

"I think of living in a quiet place. Maybe Ponyville, where I'd like to pursue happiness and do hobbies."

"That's a bit boring. Why don't you go on another adventure with your partner, if you know what I mean?" Metal winked.

Lucky felt a little uncomfortable. His plans included her but he wasn't ready to share them with the rest of his friends.

"Private Detective Lucky. Hm, I can live with that but not with fire breathing dragons on my tail!"

"I hear you, bro!" then Metal Eye made a sign for the waitress to come. The yellow unicorn quickly responded to their call and prepared to receive their next order. "More cider, please! Oh and another milkshake for the little one! You are not going to separate from the group, eh?" He stroke the mane of his future son, the filly made the biggest smile in his short life. He absolutely adored chocolate milkshake and getting a second for free was a dream come true.  

"So, what's happening with you? I've heard that your sister is going to get married. Are we invited?" Metal asked.

"The lucky guy disappeared, just like many other Royal Guardians. At this time, my sister can kiss him good-bye." Diamond took a big one and after finishing, he exhaled heavily. "There is just no trace of them and are probably not coming back."

"That sad." Lucky noted.

"Let's not ruin the night and change the topic, shall we?" Quarter Key said.

The joyful group continued with cheerful jokes and talks. They drank like kings, though their singing wasn't top notch. It was so bad that the host threatened to drive them out, if they continued. Two hours passed and Frozen Flash was getting tired. Maybe it was because she had too much whine or the scene bored her to death. There was not a single thing that was related to why there was a raid in the inventors' house. It was clear to her that they would not speak of it in public, so the entire time she was watching them having fun and drink. However, it wasn't a complete waste. The black earth pony interested her. She didn't have a single sip from her mug for the whole evening and was the oddest in the entire pub. Frozen was thinking of ways how to make her talk. The 'Orange eyes', as she called her, didn't seem to be from around here, which excited her interest in her. There was a very strange feeling coming from Foxy, which she didn't like.

The waiter approach her table and passed her the bill. She took a quick look and almost spit the red liquid in the neck of a brown earth pony. How much did Flash really drink? The unicorn checked her pockets for bits. She could pay only half of the entire cost. Froze put few gold bits on the table and then swiftly made it to the door. The irregular client was not noticed by the waiter, unfortunately for her, Foxy was all aware of her escape. The ninja knew that she was the one, who spied on them all along, so she wanted a few words with the unicorn.

"Dragon, you haven't touched your drink at all. If you do not like it, you can choose something else." Quarter Key suggested.

The ninja looked at him and pretended to be flattered by the suggestion.

"I'm not in a mood to drink. If you excuse me, I'll go outside for some fresh air." Foxy stood up and then with a fast pace went to the exit. The wooden door opened and the assassin disappeared in the night. Quarter Key and Diamond watched her leave and then looked at the full mug. Lucky told Metal that she didn't drink anything but to make her blend with them, they ordered her a drink.

The two unicorns' had emptied their mugs but the thirst was still not quenched. Metal Eye saw a way to cut his expense and carefully took the mug in his field. The unicorns followed it move across the table with opened mouths. Their cheeks were reddened from too much cider but that didn't stop them from wanting more.

Metal smirked. He had them by the horns.

"So, who wants the last mug with untouched cider in it?"

Quarter and Diamond reached out but the cunning pegasus pulled it closer to him, so that they couldn't get it. He then handed it to Spy Filly.

"Here, my little buddy. You have to start from somewhere, so taste it and tell me how you feel."

The little unicorn looked puzzled. Metal had already given him to taste cider before and his future father knew how much he disliked it. There was a trick, so the kid played along.

"Mmm, looks very good. The smell is superb! I will try now, father." the mug was in front of his lips. The unicorns began to sweat. Diamond couldn't take it no more and used magic to steal it from the filly. This action was stopped by Metal. He grabbed the mug in mid air and prevented it from moving any further.

"You can have it, only if you pay one third of the tab."

The unicorn ceased his magic and thought for a moment. Was it worth it for a single mug? He happily nodded and then he received his promised drink. Ah, the taste of the cider was heaven for his tongue. Metal Eye hugged the little unicorn and smiled. They really looked like father and son.

"That, my little friend, is called bargaining."

"With half drunk unicorn. He-he." Quarter added.

Out of a sudden Lucky stood up. His mind seemed to be somewhere elsewhere.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" the grey unicorn asked with a little trouble. He had too much and that was the line, Quarter was willing to not overstep.

"I'll go for some fresh air too. If we don't return, then I'll give you my best regards. Have a nice evening."

Metal Eye understood him perfectly. He escorted him to the door, which was on the other end of the pub. This place was still lively, though not a small number of ponies had already hit the road. An angry waiter entered in the pub. He closed the door and went past the two white pegasi. On the way out, Metal gave him an advice.

"Be gentle. Show no fear and she will be yours."

Lucky stopped and couldn't belief what he heard.

"Wait, what? I'm really going for some air and maybe get back home, if I remember where it is."

Metal Eye placed a hoof on his chest. His heart was beating fast and he knew what that meant.

"Brother, you're on fire! Would you like me to get some water?"

"Ha-ha, very funny. Anything else, you'd want to tell me?"

Metal hugged him and with his free hoof he opened the door. His friend added only one thing:

"Make it happen!"

Lucky looked down shyly. Time was being wasted and he was not a fan of it. The moment came and the pegasus was ready to face destiny.

"Thanks. I will."

They shook hooves and then Lucky went outside. Metal closed the door behind him. His smile became bigger. This night his friend was officially becoming a stallion.

"Ninja, are you here?" Lucky asked. There was no answer. He then tried to make a map from his memories in his mind and began searching for her.

Meanwhile...

Frozen Flash was breathing hard. She managed to avoid the waiter's wrath and live to tell the tale. However, she totally blew it. Now the unicorn had to stay out in the dark and wait for them to come out. She hid behind the corner of a blue building and stared at the entrance. The public lighting was burning bright, defending the Capital from the absolute night. There wasn't a single bloody soul on the street.

"Looking for me?"

The dark voice totally scared the living horse crap out of her. The pink unicorn turned around and saw how the ninja tossed her on the ground. Her strength was out of the ordinary for a mare. She wanted to push the attacker away from her by using a spell, though the ninja swiftly did a sign in the air and touched her horn. Black smoke now covered it. Froze was unable to perform magic. She was no match for the skilled warrior. Fright was written all over the unicorn's beautiful face.

Foxy stood above her and stared down. Her evil eyes brought more fear in Frozen's hearth.

"What we have here is failure to spy on us. What is that you seek by doing that? Answer me!"

The elegant unicorn almost fainted but the strong shaking kept her in the world of the living.

"Tell me!"

"I-I wasn't spying on you. You must be wrong!" she answered with frightened voice.

"Liar!" Foxy stamped the ground near her head with such a force, that she left a mark from her hoof on the pavement. "I'll start crushing your bones until you've become a lifeless meat!"

"Please, don't! I do not know anything! Let me go!" tears began to fall from her eyes. The panic had full control over her.

"Do not play with my temper!" Tail stamped again but this time with her left leg. "Your time is ticking!"

"Yesterday, the Royal Guards stormed the home of Phoenix's Just and Blue Volts. They refused to give any information of why they did that and knowing that th-they were going to make up a cover story, I-I took the initiative. I've followed the two unicorns from the RG to find the answers but so far I was not able to find anything in particular. Please, I'm telling the truth!"

Foxy stared at her for a few more moments, until she was sure that the pink unicorn was sincere. The dragon pony backed off and let her to stand up. Before Frozen could take a breath, Tail moved in her personal space and looked her in the purple eye.

"Why you need that information?"

"Because I'm a journalist."

"A journalist?" Foxy raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I write stories. I spread the news of recent events, so that everypony can learn what happened in the world they live in. You could say that I'm truth-seeker."

"How do you spread the news to everypony?"

"Easy, by newspapers. Hey, how do you not know such a simple thing as newspaper? Are you coming from a cave?"

"From where I come, there are no newspapers." Foxy calmed down and now didn't look as threatening as earlier. "So, you are saying that you hunt the truth? Hm, too bad for you. Your potent ruler told us not to speak of it with the rest of her subjects, so you'll get nothing from me or the others."

"Princess Celestia forbade you to speak? It must be something very important." the unicorn looked quite surprised. "It seems She is the one I'll have to ask for answers. Now, if there was a way to get Her to talk..."

Foxy thought for a second, after that she looked around to make sure no pony was near.

"What if, you were to give somepony a large sum, the truth might emerge." she looked at Frozen in a way, that had a double meaning.

"Are you saying that you want to be bribed? You know bribing is a big offense in these lands." she made few steps backwards. "Why you want to disregard Her Majesty's order? Who are you exactly?"

"I'm a traveler, who bows to no rulers. For me the laws are just words in the air. You game?" Foxy made a few confident steps forward. Flash felt like she was pressed against the wall, literally. The ninjas face seemed to become darker, maybe it was because the street lamp was behind her.

"I-I... let's do it! The Princes has no right to hide important information from the public, so we are going to do justice to everypony. How much would you like to open your mouth?"

"Half a tone."

"What!?" Frozen exclaimed. "Half a tone of bits? That's too much. I do not have that many savings..."

"Half a tone of apples. Preferably red ones or no truth for you!"

"That's still quite a lot to pay. Why would you need that many apples? Are you going to bake apple pies or something?"

"I'm gonna eat them, of course! I do not need them put into sweets. So, what will you say?"

Frozen was sure that she could pay her that much but it would be too suspicious. Giving away so many apples would bring unwanted attention and that's something she didn't want to happen.

"Can we tone down the sum? What would you say about one hundred kilograms of apples? That's quite a lot for only one pony and I'll not go bankrupt in the process. Deal?"

Foxy's lightening hoof stopped just in front of her gorgeous face. The unicorn's hearth stopped for just a second. Did she tried to negotiate with the wrong beast?  

"Half a tone! That's my offer. You take it or beat it!"

The seriousness in her voice made Frozen realize that there was no other way.

"No deal. I'd rather try my luck with the Princess than with you." she pulled out a visit card from her small pocket and handed it to Foxy. "If you have a more reasonable offer, then you know where to find me. Now I'll have to prepare for tomorrow. May you have a nice evening."

The unicorn went past her and headed to the nearest hotel. Foxy looked at the little card. There was an address in Manehatten. She memorized it, then burned it with her fire breath, after that she made another sign and the little cloud disappeared from the Frozen's horn. The ninja went back to the pub. Tail returned to the table. Everypony there was surprised to see her.

"What happened?" Metal Eye asked concernedly.

"Nothing. Where is Lucky Eight?"

"Uhm, didn't he tell you something?" now the pegasus was very worried.

"No?" she looked perplexed. "I haven't seen him."

"Oh, pony!" Metal jumped from his seat. "He went out to tell you something. He's probably still near. Find him! Go!"

"Metal Eye, what in Celestia's name are you talking about?" Diamond asked.

Foxy realized what he meant and without wasting a second, she galloped her way out of the pub. A lot of the customers there were intrigued by the speedy mare. Tail almost ran over the door and in the next moment she was galloping on the streets.

Diamond looked at the rest in disbelief.

"What was that all about?"

"That's love for you, sonny." Quarter Key said calmly.

Lucky was having trouble navigating via his virtual map. The alcohol in his blood was taking its toll. He couldn't concentrate and make good calculations. That's why he was a little off course. The blind pegasus was next to the big park, which had a lot of nice places for midday picnics. It also had some very astonishing sculptures made from fine marble.

Suddenly he heard steps. Lucky stopped to listen. Somepony was galloping, it didn't seem like the pony was going after him. He knew that he was lost and asking for directions would not hurt.

"Excuse me, do you know where we are?" he shouted.

The pony immediately changed her heading.

"Here you are." Foxy stopped just a hoof away from him. "Had to search an entire neighborhood to find you."

"Oh, sorry to trouble you like that." he felt a little embarrassed.

"So, you wanted to tell me something. What is it?"

His heart started pumping harder. His cheeks turned even more red. Suddenly he lost control over his mouth and was unable to speak very fluently.

"Uhm, I... ar... lo... Arrgg!" Lucky hit his head several times to get his thoughts moving again. "Where are we?"

Foxy looked around and answered.

"in front of a park."

"Would you like to take a walk with me? The night seems okay and there's barely any wind."

She gladly got closer to him. Her soul was waiting for him to be ready. Together they entered in the park. The ponies followed a small path that took them to one of the most beautiful places of this green paradise. There were lamps on every twenty five meters, so it was kind of well illuminated. It seemed like they were the only ones in here, though there were few silhouettes in the distance. There was only the silence and the sounds of their steps.

They got under an apple tree that was spreading its branches over the path. Green apples were hanging from them. Lucky Eight slowed pace. He felt like it was time to reveal what was hidden inside his hearth.

"Foxy?"

"Yes?"

"The one thing I want to tell you is..." she was waiting in anticipation. This was it. "... as my closest friend, I think of you very highly..." Lucky took a deep breath. "... to the point that I love you. I love you for everything you are. You rescued me from my little hell, you've taught me what was to be a pony again. You are my pillar, my other half, my...mmhmm..."

Lucky was interrupted by the close encounter with the ninja's face. Foxy kissed him with such a passion, that other lovers would be jealous of them. They hugged, creating an unbreakable chain that was going to last for eternity. It was pure ecstasy. The feelings exploded inside them like supernovas. Her lips had the sweet taste of love. Their hearts were like small motors that worked full turnovers. Their souls fused like oxygen and hydrogen. Enormous energies moved from him to her and backwards. This was the true kiss that both were waiting for. It expressed everything they felt for each other. They couldn't get enough from it. The kiss was better than everything they've experienced in their whole lives. It was so intoxicating. Finally the last barriers melted.

The third and the last padlock unceremoniously fell on the cold ground and disappeared forever from this realm. The two ponies gently lied down on the soft grass, their lips still connecting their hearts. Time lost its substance and gracefully moved forward, though the two lovers were not affect by it. Love was their shield and noting could break their bond. Not even the events that followed in the next day... Next Chapter: Chapter 30: Bloody Winds... The Shadow Coming Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 32 Minutes