"Thank you." Nightshade quickly downed the drink, paid, and headed out the door. "Interesting," Nova said after she left. "I haven't seen Nightshade scared since she was filly. She's terrified that Raven's going to end up hating her."
"It's because she loves her, I assume. Very dearly. She wouldn't want anything bad to happen to her, which is good, as the feeling goes both ways. And she wouldn't want somepony she loves so dearly to hate and abandon her. Of course, I could be way off. Buuut... I doubt it."
"You're probably right. So what is Raven to you, anyway? Nightshade called you her parents, but I somehow doubt that an Alicorn and Pega made a Bat like her."
"So... let me see if I have all of this straight. Raven's birth parents were violently killed... in front of her, I'm assuming... and now you want Nightshade to force her to visit where it happened." Nova sighed wearily. "Two questions, then. Who owns the house now, and how close is it to other houses?"
"Honesty, Skydust, I don't want to tell you, because I don't know that you wouldn't try to prevent it. Just trust me when I say that neither Raven nor anypony else is in any danger."
Nova chuckled. "We're both too old for idle threats. Raven's perfectly safe with Nightshade, and you know it."
"I can't, because I can't say for certain what she'll do. It's just... if I know Nightshade, she'll want to make sure Raven gets real closure."
"That part has to be done within her. Maya slew the murderer that night to save Raven. I suppose the only thing left to do in the real world would be to figure out why, but... good luck with that. Battered skeletons are hard to interrogate."
Azrael walked up to the counter and cleared his throat. Dusty shook his head. "No. That could put her in immediate danger." Asmo rolled his eyes, having been snatching drinks from behind the counter. "That bastard's kung fu isn't too strong for Az and Shady, zombie or not."
