Dark of Winter

"M-Me neither. T-That's why I w-want to help." The Answer sounded Childish, even to himself, But Icarus pressed on. "I-I mean, W-What kind of f-friend would I be If I l-let you g-go on alone?"

"If they'll only attack your friends, that's something that can be exploited."

A dark part of her, the part she hid away from the world when she left Cloudsdale thought that that could work. That it would be a good idea. The Idea's turned in her eyes before her honor could shove them aside again.

"You would be safe, Icarus." He half Glared Taking a few steps away from them. "If I had never come here, you would have all been safe..." She Grumbled to herself. She had not expected them to follow her here, let alone so quickly.

Icarus sighed. "S-Safe I-Isn't e-everything. I W-Would b-be safe If I n-never T-Tried F-Flying. B-But I'd n-never experience t-the wind in m-my hair. S-Sure, A M-Million t-things c-could g-go wrong. B-But, If I n-never did, I-I'd n-never E-Experience that. Y-You're my F-Friend. I'd F-Face a-an Army f-for my f-friends."

Indigo stepped forward.

"Night... A pony has nothing to gain by going it alone."

Sighing Nights head drooped. Her back was to them. She hated not seeing them, but Night Flare could not bare to face them. "You Don't understand, I have done things, so many things..."

Shaking her head She lifted it up again and turned around to finally face them. "The thing is, I don't regret the things, Its what they lead to. I'm not the kind of pony deserves friends like you."

Icarus grumbled, shaking his head. "I-If you're g-going to be s-stubborn, I-I'll be s-stubborn right b-back. I-I've g-got Four G-Generations of S-Southern T-Trottingham B-Blood T-To h-help me t-there." He said simply, Sitting down in the Snow to make his point.

With the possibility of her previously being a Neighpon prostitute erased from his mind, Indigo began to draw conclusions.

"What kind of things...?"

Night did not know if she could say it. For one any law abiding pony would drag her to a guard and let her rot in jail.

She had a feeling that these ponies were maybe not the most lawful.

Sighing Night Flare Looked at Indigo, and Icarus. "I will tell you a story, but we must go somewhere private." Shaking her head she scanned the sky again. "They said three days, If anything Fall is good on his word. We have time, even just a little."

Night figured the worst case she would tell them a half truth, about who she was. If she didn't chicken out.

Icarus blinked. "W-Well, T-The G-Garage is u-usually p-pretty Empty, I-If you w-want, w-we could g-go t-there..." he offered, Looking between Indigo and Night.

"It can't be too long, I have to get to the print shop."

Night sighed and nodded. Gesturing to Icarus she smiled sadly "Lead the way."

Icarus Quickly stood up and headed to his Garage, Conveniently Not too far from where they were at, And waited for the other two to come inside before Shutting the door, Starting a Fire in the woodstove.

Indigo followed Icarus inside the garage. He flushed and laughed at the reemerging memories of what happened here on Hearth's Warming. Still laughing, he levitated a pocket watch from his coat pocket to check the time.

I can spare a few minutes... Oh man Intel's hat was priceless!

She sat by the stove, shuffling her hooves. This was such a happy place. Just a few nights ago. The memory of all the kissing that happened that night made her lips tingle.

But she was not here, to remember those fun days that were not so long ago.

"I meat Star Fall and Snow Shine when I was a teenager. I didn't know I was Warpony breed then. I just had all this hate and anger inside of me. I NEEDED to fight. I NEEDED to feel ponies crumble under my hooves." Night Stared at the wall. Her mind taking her back to that first time she had gone to lower Cloudsdale. Looking for a fight. Because her body screamed for her to fight.

Icarus nodded, Taking a seat, fully engrossed into Night's Story.

Indigo put his watch away and dropped down to his knees to listen.

"Its part of being a warpony, maybe, if my birth parents bothered to tell anyone, or at least direct my mothers it would happen... It could have turned out different. But all those year of selective breeding. For size, skill, violence. Its a harsh cocktail for a filly to deal with."

Sighing she placed her hooves on her chest trying to find the words to describe it. "It's like before you get your cutie mark. You know its coming, but you don't know what it is and when it will come..."

Shaking her head Night Flare continued her story. "Anyway, lower cloudsdale is like the slums of Manehatten. Its harsh and full of desperate ponies. Those first fights, were where I met Shine and Fall, they grew up in lower Cloudsdale, they flocked to me, Fall had all this rage, hidden under his coolness. I have never seen a cruller, even in those days when I was found of the pain we brought on other ponies, I thought he went to far."

"Shine" Night couldn't help but smile at the memory of her. She had been so different. "Shine always had big plans, she was always very loud and outgoing. But she was beautiful, and she used that to her advantage." Frowning Night Dipped her head watching the other ponies out of the corner of her eye. "She was our face, our seducer. Even those hard ponies, that watched for ponies like us. would let in somepony like her."

Looking back up she kept both of them in her sights, She was glad she had a wall to her back, "That leaves me, I was the brain the planner. Once I got the taste of it, the hang of, Cloudsdale was mine" Pulling out the pendent she held it up for them to see. her purple feather in the middle, and a bit larger then the other two. "I formed the Free Fall Gang, Shine and Fall took the name night, The were my right and left hooves."

"These ponies, they aren't looking for an ex member, they are looking for there leader." Glaring at the pendent, she tossed it into the wood stove, letting it burn.

"B-But you c-changed." He said simply, stretching a bit. "T-They d-didn't. S-Simple a-as that."

Indigo listened to her story and had just one thing to say.

"What kind of idiots hold a town hostage to get their free leader back?"

Night Flare smiled at Icarus. "Its sweat that you think that. I have not changed so much." After all running a spa was a lot like running a high scale brothel.

Frowning Night shrugged. "Night Fall tried to take over, he did some things he thought were favors and feels I owe him for that. Believe me, if he knew where my mothers were he wouldn't have involved the whole town." Trailing off she walked to the window, she couldn't see it but she faced the direction of Canterlot. Of all places at least that one was safe. "I can at least keep them safe..."

"A-And W-We'll be s-safe." Icarus said, stepping forward. "A-And we won't l-let them t-take you."

Indigo tapped his left front hoof on the floor. "So long as you're not running a secret pony slavery ring, you've changed enough. At least from what I can see, but due to your background I'm sure you know about introspection... I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I'm not going to let anypony take you."

Night Had to laugh at that. It wasn't a normal laugh but a crazy laugh that was all to loud and lasted to long.

"Take me? Dear, I will make him kill me, or I will kill him this time." Lifting her wings she exposed her rapiors "These are not decorative, And I will not be showing him mercy this time..." Her voice started out confident, but ended as a question. Once, Fall had been like her brother, Night feared that that would cause her sword to waver.

Icarus nodded, looking down. "A-And... until t-that happens, H-He's g-going t-to attack t-the t-town, i-isn't he?" He said, picking up a cup.