The stallion had a dark brown coat and a swept back mane just a few shades brighter than his coat. He was a unicorn with a fire in his eye. His cutey mark showed two crossed wrenches resting over top a pointed purple star. Axton had three freckles on each cheek and a large grin that could warm the heart of any mare and a Oatsralian accent to match.

"How about we get some drinks, eh?" Axton signaled the bartender over. Once the barkeep finished off with another customer, he made his way over to the stallion.

"What can I getcha?" asked the kind barkeep.

"Well, I'll have a Stallion Adams, and my friend here will have..." Axton turned his gaze and raised an eyebrow.

"Some water will be fine, need to keep a clear head." I told the chestnut unicorn.

"Ah come on, just a couple and we'll stop. Ok bud?" the unicorn was persistent, I'll give him that. I nodded and pointed to a random bottle on the shelf. "Some Absolhoof vodka then, didn't take you for that kind. I'll buy the first round, and you'll pay for the next. Sound good, my friend?" asked the brown stallion.

"I'm not much for drinking, but sure. I need to take a break, well... I'm required to."

The unicorn gave me a confused stare,"Required to? Who told you to take a break?"

"It was requested by our rulers, Celestia and Luna. They say that I'm overworking myself and causing unnecessary stress on my mind. I'm off for about a week." I told the curious stallion.

"You were ordered by them? You must be really important to be gettin' orders from the princesses. One'd think that you were that guardian fella. But I'm not that lucky, but Imagine that. Me, sharin' a drink with the guardian." He stated with childlike wonder.

"What do you know of him?" I asked the clueless unicorn.

"Well, not much. I heard that he came from anotha world like the old Guardian, Senia. Some say that ever since he came here, he's just been wanderin' the countryside lookin' for a fight. I seen him once or twice in town here a sometime ago but could never catch his face, always wearin' that hood of his."

"What do you think of him?"

"Well, I think he's alrigh'. I do feel kinda sorry for the guy in all seriousness. Always travelin', never really havin' a home. I heard that he had a heated encounter with the Changlin' Queen."

I raised an eyebrow of interest, not in response to the known information, but what he heard. "Oh, what did you hear?"

Axton looked left and right, making sure no one else could hear and leaned in towards me,"Well, I heard from some ponies around town that a while back durin' a feedin', she slipped him a little tongue, if you know what I mean." The remark made me chuckle, he looked to me and said,"What's so funny?"

"That's not what happened." I said through continued laughter.

"And how would you know? You weren't there."

"Actually, I was."

"Hidin' in the background, eh?" the unicorn laughed off my claim.

I looked to the unicorn and pulled a grin over my face,"Things did happen, but I haven't seen the queen since last tuesday"

The Oatstralian looked at me in disbelief,"Wait a minute, you... your.."

"Yep." the bartender passed me my glass and I took a sip.

"Where's ya fancy clothes and armor? Besides the clothes your wearin' now." asked the curious unicorn.

I gave my attire a look over and realized that it was strange not wearing my usual set of clothes. "Well, I was going to visit someone special today. I was until I was called to the castle."

The stallion raised his eyebrow in interest,"And who's this 'special someone'?"

I looked into the clear vodka and thought of her,"Well, I've had my eye on this mare for a while now but I don't know if I can bring myself to tell her. I'm just some guy, she's far out of my league." I told the stallion as he took a few drinks out of his mug.

He wiped the foam off his muzzle and smiled,"If you and this 'mystery mare' are meant to be, then tell her. If she rejects ya, then move on. You don't want to watch from afar for too long, she'll see you as a friend and there's no way outta the friend zone."

"I'll keep that in mind. Well enough about me, tell me a bit about yourself Axton."

As the night drew to a close and the bar started to clear, I learned a lot about Axton. I learned that he was a scientist that explored and experimented with complex spells. He was a brilliant stallion and by the time he turned fourteen, he was accepted into the well-renowned Magic University in Canterlot. His talents were extraordinary, so much in fact that he caught the attention of a royal princess by the name of Luna. He studied under her for quite a while and become a master of his trade, in the use of magic, regeneration spells and his profession of being a mechanic.

The night seemed to be coming to a close, so I gave the bartender a pouch full of bits and paid for Axton's drinks. I made my way to the door and a voice called from behind,"Hey Dark!"

I turned to find the unicorn leaning against the bar with his drink in hand,"Thanks for the talk. Hope I'll see you sometime soon." I smiled to the unicorn. I placed my arm over my chest and gave a bow. "Ah, come on now. I'm not royalty." he gave me a toothy grin and I gave him a quick wink.

I turned to face the door once more and pushed my way through. I stood on to the dimly lit street of mane street, lit by nearby lamp posts and the radiance of the moon. I walked down the road and began to near my house.

As I stood on my porch, I gave a look to the night's moon and smiled.

"Goodnight Luna."

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, I found it fun to write and generally enjoyed writing it. The play-on booze names were just... just.. entertaining to come up with.

Keep it cool, Condemned.

(Pssht.. Brain here, If you want to read stories from Axton himself, here's a link. Axton the Mechanist. Later peoples.)