>While the castle with its extravagant nighttime decor is a sight that would leave many a pony speechless in awe, it simply doesn’t live up to the unique atmosphere of Canterlot after dark.
>The lit, glass windows of shops filled with ponies, both bat and otherwise, standing out in stark contrast to the darkness.
>The unique stalls and their eccentric merchants that come out, selling curios from every end of the planet.
>The upbeat, classical music coming from one of the countless bands around the city’s entertainment district.
>Adding all of that to the sheer energy and the aura that permeates the city, you get something that makes your skin tingle, a sensation you’ve never felt on earth. It’s hard to describe.
>But enough of that.
>You and Umbra leisurely stroll into the upscale inner district of the city, taking in the familiar sights and sounds of the slow-paced night-side of Canterlot.
>At the sound of many hooves pounding on the street, Umbra’s training as a guard kicks in and she holds out a foreleg to stop you.
>Almost stumbling over the extended limb, you look to the vampire with the obvious question right on the tip of your tongue.
>You get your answer quickly.
>A trio of foals tumble by, chased shortly after by an exasperated looking mare, each rough-housing in a display that most of the day-going nobles would frown at.
>Umbra smiles at them as they go past and you do too, but probably for a different reason.
>The peace here is so pleasant. Practically no one has a care in the world and everything seems perfect.
>Those foals are the perfect symbol of it.
>Lost in your thoughts, it takes you a moment to realize that someone is calling your name.
>”Anon!”
>The call finally pulls you from your fanciful daydreams back to reality, where you look down and see Umbra stopped in front of what looks like a wide alleyway deviating from mainstreet.
>You don’t recall this being here. There was a gate.
“Wasn’t this gated off just a few days ago?” you ask uncertainly. It had to have been.
>The armorless guard nods her agreement. “Mmhmm. This was a part of the city that was heavily damaged in the changeling attack at Head Captain Armor’s wedding. I think it was rebuilt at Princess Luna’s behest into an…” 
>A jet black batpony flies just inches over your head, holding a sign in his hooves that he hangs on one of the now-open gates. In its whirling script, it reads…
“Artisans’ District?”
>The black pony’s ears perk up as he lands, no doubt taking notice of your exclamation.
>”Indeed it is,” he says looking up to you. “Her Majesty felt that the arts were under-appreciated, so she ordered this area to be built.”
>The bat-stallion shakes his leathery wings and looks towards the castle fondly. “There’s even a rumor that Princess Luna paid out of her own pockets to have this done.  And ponies still have doubts about her…”
>He snorts almost scoffingly
>Lovesick much?
>Umbra must be thinking along the same lines, as she smirks behind a hoof.
>Looking beyond the stallion, you see that the alleyway extends for quite a ways, enough to make the building at the end little more than a shadowed blur.
>To you, it seems a little irresponsible for Luna to have a whole piece of Canterlot rebuilt in her image when there was likely something important before.
>But you have little room to complain. What Luna does with her power and money is no concern of yours. As a millennia-old alicorn, she must know what she wants out of life and how to get it.
>”Anyway,” the stallion continues, “things are a little bare here at the moment.” He stops to look behind him at the empty alley. The vacant buildings seem almost lonely, all by themselves in the narrow street. “But things should pick up once word gets out.”
>Umbra smiles. “That’s so cool!” she gushes. “All this space available for ponies with neat talents. I think it would be incredible once you get the place filled up.”
>The black-coated stallion seems to puff up at Umbra’s declaration.
>He must have some important role with the new district.
“Umbra,” you start with deceptive gentleness, “you don’t know anything about art. I have no idea why you’re excited.”
>Her golden eyes lock onto yours as she scrunches her muzzle up at your words.
>”Do too.”
>Does she really want to play this game?
“Name three masterpieces.”
>She holds her nose up. “The Pony Lisa. The -“
“Ones that aren’t commonly known.”
>Umbra huffs and restarts. “The… the…”
>”…”
“Well?”
>She thinks silently to herself, poking her tongue—dare you say—cutely out of her mouth as you and the black-coated stallion both watch her.
>After a moment of silence, she sighs and gives a muttered, “I give up.”
>Rather than look defeated, she looks up at you with a smirk, her fangs on full display.
>The message is as clear as day. ‘You owe me for being right.’
>You know exactly what she wants, too.
>Women… er, mares….
>The poor stallion lets out a dejected sigh and hangs his head at the lackluster answer. “It seems like nop0ny ever has any appreciation of the arts anymore.”
>Umbra’s smirk slowly drops into a guilty wince, apparently not too pleased that she upset the stallion.
>Time to come to her rescue, again…	
“Trust me, you shouldn't be too upset that she can’t remember any important artistic achievements. In fact, I bet she can't even remember what she had for breakfast this morning,” you say, ignoring Umbra’s indignant “Hey!”
>The black coated batpony just waves your statement off. “It’s fine,” he sighs. “I'm not really expecting anyp0ny to really be interested in the district until it’s up and running. After all, the whole point of its existence is to spread its influence around.”
>He then blinks as if realizing something before he smiles. “Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. I am Fine Etch, the landlord appointed to the Artisans’ District by Princess Luna. You two must be Anonymous the human and Major Umbra, am I correct?”
“That would be us,” you confirm.
>”Yeah, so you’re from a different world and all that? I imagine that the human world must have all sorts of exotic art styles…” Etch not-so-subtly hints with a hopeful voice.
“I’m going to cut you off right there, because I have zero talent.”
>Fine Etch just sighs and rubs his head with a hoof. “Figures…”
>”But!” Umbra suddenly interjects. “We would be happy to spread the word of what's going on here out to the public. I’m sure it wouldn't take long for the place to fill up!”
>You level the mare with a discreet, but pointed stare that she promptly ignores.
>Etch’s face picks back up as he looks to his fellow batpony. “You would do that?” he asks.
>”Of course!” Umbra chirps, again ignoring the hole that you're staring into the side of her head.  
>The stallion’s smile is almost blinding. “That’s great!” he exclaims. “Having a lunar guard officer and the resident human talking about the district? We’ll be out of spots in no time!”
“Yeah… we’ll be sure to help out. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we'll go get started right now.”
>Without wasting another second, you snag up a surprised Umbra by the scruff of her neck and lead her away from the ecstatic stallion.
>Once you're sure you're out of the impressive hearing range of the average vampony, you set Umbra down outside an empty café and level her with an incredulous expression.
“Really? Do you have to go and volunteer not only yourself, but ME for all these time wasting things? I mean, what the hell?”
>The guardsmare lets a frown come to her face. “I was just trying to be nice to the poor guy. Besides, it's not like this is going to be all that difficult or anything. All we have to do is bring up his little alleyway in conversations. Plus, we weren’t doing anything else,” she reasons.
>Why do you suddenly feel like ripping out your own hair? Is foresight something that all vamponies lack?
>You pinch the bridge of your nose with a thumb and index finger.
“Umbra, you do realize that this is just going to snowball on us, right? Remember that whole incident with that one crackpot and the repeating crossbow?”
>She sniffs. “It turned out alright. Cog was sent to prison and the guards got some new toys. Despite a few misfortunes, it's a win-win as I see it.”
“Maybe, but we don't want those misfortunes to happen, see?” you say as you poke her on her wing, right on top of a tiny nick. “This is pretty much the same situation. We say that we’ll do one task, and then we get roped into doing another right after.”
>”This’ll turn out well for us, promise.”
>Umbra looks back over her shoulder to the entryway of the Artisans’ District. “I’m not a foal, Anon. I can learn from my few mistakes just fine. If Princess Luna has so much interest in that little alleyway, then I can almost guarantee that it'll be worth it to help out.”
>…You want to argue, you really do, but you had forgotten that little slice of the city belongs to Luna.
>The same Luna who advocated for you before any of the unsavory sort could start pointing hooves.
“…Alright, you win,” you grumble despondently.
>She smiles brightly. “Indeed I do win. Umbra: one hundred ninety two, Anon: twenty.”
“You’re still keeping score of all this? That's a little sad.”
>”You’re only saying that because you're losing.”
>Maybe, but you're not going to tell her that.
“Right, right.”
>Umbra rolls her slitted eyes with a small smile and faint giggle.
>Looking over into the nearby café at the clock on the wall, Umbra hums a low note to herself. “Hey, Anon? Let’s stop by that new smithy real quick. I want to see if they're done repairing my armor.”
>Is that why she's not wearing her armor? She damaged it?
“Wait, why didn’t you just give your armor to the castle blacksmiths?” you ask with a raised eyebrow. “Seems counter-productive to have some private joint fix it.”
>”Just curious, I guess,” she says with a shrug. “If it’s a good job then I might try to hire the guy. My company goes through equipment like mad.”
“Lead the way, then. How you managed to fuck up reinforced armored though, I'll never know.”
>Without waiting to hear any more lip, she turns and begins to trot off, leaving you to follow.
>She leads you through the tangled streets of the capital city and the more congested roads with an ease that befitted her earlier boasts of her navigational abilities.
>As you walk with the vampony, you can't help but find your eyes drawn to her more times than any other.
>Out in the light of the moon, it's even easier to see the changes that your blood has given Umbra. One would have to be blind to NOT notice them.
>The almost supernatural fluidity of her movements, each limb moving like a machine with well-oiled hinges
>The unconscious way her ears swivel to pick up sounds not even other vamponies seem to notice.
>Eventually your eyes fall upon her cutie mark, a purple pony silhouette outlined in black. When you first met Umbra and had the concept of the marks explained to you, it was a little difficult to understand them at first glance.
>Now it's almost second nature to look at the mark of an unfamiliar pony.
>Umbra’s rather stereotypical cutie mark symbolized her impressive stealth ability. She could practically vanish off the face the planet even before she was getting power boosts from you.
>Now…	
>You blink. You’re not even sure just what your friend’s maximum potential is. For all you know, she might be able to turn into a ghost now.
>It’s unsettling to think about. Stealth plus vampire strength? You’ve seen those strong legs of hers send opponents flying during the times you've watched her train.  
>…When did Umbra’s hips start swaying?
>”Ohhh, Anon? My eyes are up here.”
>Then you realize you've been staring at her behind for the last few minutes.
>Your face goes hot as you look up and away from her.
“I was just thinking about cutie marks, is all,” you force out past the lump in your throat.
>She looks back and snickers behind a hoof as she walks. “Really now? Are you sure you aren’t having any dirty thoughts? Because that's what it looks like to me.”
“Dirty thoughts about YOU?” you ask with a scoff
>”You know, if you want a closer look at my rump, all you have to do is ask~”
>For a single moment, you actually consider taking her up on that.
>Then you crush that thought with a bus.
>“If you’re nice, maybe I'll think about letting you touch it!” she says, her tone nothing but mischief.
>Three buses and a tank.  
“Just keep walking…”        
>You’re just glad that the road to the local blacksmith is often abandoned this early. If anyone had seen all of that…
>Umbra just smiles and nods at the order, before trotting with a bit more bounce in her back legs.
“What am I going to do with you?” you mumble to yourself.
>She overhears you. “Hug me, love me, and take me home?”
“How about no?”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

>The inside of the aptly named “Dingy’s” blacksmith shop is almost stifling compared to the cool air just outside. It’s obvious that a metalworking shop would be considerably hotter than outside, even on a summer day, but good god, it must be over 100° in the sooty, dirty shop.
>You hold the door open for Umbra, who sends a grateful glance at you as she walks in.
>Almost immediately, she winces as the loud peal of hammer on steel echoes from the back of the building, no doubt hurting her ears.
>She folds her ears back as she trots up to the checkout desk before hollering into the open door behind it, making the hammering suddenly stop. A second later you hear hooves trotting across the wooden floor to the front.
>While Umbra is busy with that, you aimlessly wander the shop and look over the myriad of arms along the shelves and racks.
>Maces, swords, axes, pole-arms, bows, lances, knives, chakrams, and all sorts of other weird and wild weapons are situated around. A look at a bronze mace tells you that they’re probably sorted by quality.
>For such a peaceful land, Equestria has some talented weapon smiths. You idly wonder why they even make these things when magic itself is such a versatile tool. 
>You pick up a gleaming, steel knife with etchings on the blade off of a rack and give the handle a squeeze. 
“Fuck!”
>...Only for it to fall apart in your hands, sending down a rain of little pieces that you have to scramble to catch. 
>Gently replacing the broken merchandise back on an out of the way rack, you look to see the ludicrously low price.
“Wait, what?”
>In fact...
>Craning your head around, you see that almost EVERYTHING is cheaply labeled. This place must be at the level of a tourist trap...   
>Not to say that everything in Dingy’s is a weapon. There are plenty of common tools in labeled boxes and a medley of armors spread around on equinnequins. Easily enough to drown out the number of offensive items.
>Still surprising to you, though.	
>Wandering back up to the front of the store, you find Umbra, now in her normal lunar guard armor, haggling with a young, orange-coated earth pony smith that you’ve never met before. Neither of them seem to notice you approaching.
>”Ma’am! I can’t possibly go that low! It’s simply not possible!” the young stallion says, practically in a tizzy. “The very best I can do you is 80 bits, and not one lower.”
>Umbra frowns, then immediately wipes the expression on her face in favor of a slick, charming smile.
>”Well, that simply won’t do,” she replies matter-of-factly, then gives him a sideways look. “50 bits at the most, I’ve got a VIP to protect and I need to get back to work immediately.” She looks down at the side of her armor, where there is a large, and very visible mark where the indigo armor was repaired. “Plus, I don’t think I can pay full price for something like this. A weak point on a set of officer’s armor?”
>The young stallion looks to where Umbra is pointing on the armor and practically begins to hyperventilate. 
>Poor guy.	
>”SO!” Umbra continues, her alluring smile on full blast, “seeing as how you know WHY I think it should be 50 bits, I’ll buff out the mark on my own and forget it ever happened... So long as you agree.”
>”But... but Master Dingy said...”
>”Come on now, a VIP protection detail mission from Captain Smiles isn’t something I can slack on forever,” the mare pressures.
>At the mention of the lunar guard head captain’s name, the novice metal worker completely deflates.
>With a sigh and a dejected nod, he agrees. 
>Grinning a wide, fanged revealing grin, Umbra pulls a pouch of bits from under her wing and tosses a pair of bits with ‘25’ printed on them onto the counter. 
“About done? It’s sweltering in here and I want to go back outside. Don’t tell me it’s not, either, because I can see you sweating.”
>Both Umbra and the smith look up at you, that latter finding it appropriate to gape. 
>The kid must not get out much, seeing as how you been in Canterlot for months.
>”Well, here’s my charge!” Umbra tells the young pony jovially. “And yes, let’s get out of here. I can feel sweat starting to soak into my fur.”
>Once you and her are outside, you both just stand in a cool breeze that blows by for a minute, trying to get rid of all the stuffy heat that seemed to cling to you.
>The pony next you shakes herself like a dog, airing out the parts of her coat not under her armor.
>”Ahhh, much better!”
“So, now that we’ve got all that out of the way, what next?”
>The major hums to herself in thought. “Well, we should probably see what the lieutenant and my old company are up to. Knowing them, they’re probably goofing off rather than doing any real work...”
“Don’t you goof off half the time?”
>”Officer’s privilege. As long as the paperwork says I did something, then it’s okay! Neat, huh?”
“But... you just...” You stop, sigh, and run a hand down your face.
>Again, you find yourself following the lunar guard back into the tangle of the majestic city, this time back towards the castle.
>Neither of you ever noticed the pair of emerald green eyes watching your every step.