Raven set her guitar down against the counter and stood up. "Maybe... away from the others? Like a booth?"
"Didn't realize you were our boss anyway. Now where... oh yeah." Asmo cleared his throat. "Not gonna drink it, Patches."
Nightshade nodded and walked over to the booth in the far corner. She took a seat and waited for Raven to join her.
Nightshade took a very long drink from a whiskey bottle before beginning. "You seem like a nice mare, but I can't shake the feeling you're hiding something. And I suppose that's fair, because I haven't told you much about me, either. So... if we're going to do this, let's start by being honest with each other." She took another long drink, dreading where the conversation might go.
Asmo growled and looked at the pot. "...fine. I'll try it." Raven took another deep breath and quickly spoke, "I'mnotreallytwentyone."
"Oh... godsdammit." Nightshade took another very long drink. "You know that means we can't do this. Not until you're eighteen." She sighed. "When's your birthday?"
Nightshade nodded. "We'll take it slow, and wait. If..." She trailed off, not finishing the sentence. She picked up the whiskey bottle and downed what was left. Taking a deep breath, she finally said what she'd been too afraid to say. "A year and half ago, I had a marefriend. Her name was Summer Dream. I loved her." Nightshade's voice sounded hollow and emotionless. "I loved her, and I killed her."
"I... figured that was what happened," Raven admitted. "But... how? I swear on my life I'll never tell anypony."
"I was in Canterlot when the Changelings attacked. Summer worked at the Cloudsdale weather factory. That was where she was supposed to be that day." Nightshade closed her eyes, remembering what happened. "When they broke through the shield, it was chaos. While the Royal Guard tried to hold the castle, the Night Guard focused on defending and evacuating civilians. I ran into a squad near the train station, and joined them." "We fought our way to the castle gates, and that was when I heard Summer screaming. She was flying towards me, with a dozen of them right behind her. I knew it wasn't really her. It couldn't have been. She was in Cloudsdale. She was supposed to be in Cloudsdale!" Nightshade hung her head. "I did what I was trained to do. But when she hit the ground... She didn't change back. It wasn't a trick. It was my marefriend, terrified and flying for her life. Flying to me. Begging me to help her."
"I'm sorry." Raven reached and put her hoof on Night's shoulder. "I'm so sorry. But it's not your fault. You couldn't have known..."
