... In The Middle of the Night (Rackenhammer)

[FermataTheBasse]

Penumbra looked infinitely better at night, when she was actually working with her sleep cycles instead of against them. Her hair was not frizzy, her coat was not as frizzy, she actually resembled a normal mare. Perhaps she could have even been called pretty, if looked at from a far enough distance, without proper lighting. She trotted easily, with a bit of sway in her step. It was how she liked to move when she felt strong, when her usual exhaustion was gone. She had a night off from her weather shift, so she could instead hit a few clubs, try to make some new friends.

Penumbra was heading toward a new club, apparently founded in a former speakeasy or something like that. It was a classy little joint that she had little chance of getting into, but it was worth a shot. She was sure that she looked presentable enough to make it past security. The music and food were supposed to be really upscale, and really expensive. So Penumbra had to hope she had the funds on her to get in...

[Blueblood]

Tonight, Earth Writer was discovering just how much leeway a press pass could get you in Canterlot. Even the more exclusive institutions, like one particular nightclub just known as "the Speakeasy" by those in the know, wouldn't risk bad publicity by offending a member of the Press.

The unicorn stallion had to laugh at himself as he thought this, walking up to the bar. Really, when you work for a paper called "The Young Mare's Tail," it's difficult to think of yourself as a hard-hitting journalist. Not that much hitting needed to be done in this town, publicity was a prize much striven for, and anypony who could spare the time would do an interview with pretty much anyone.

Thus, Earth Writer's pockets already bulged with copy taken from an interview with the proprietor. By training a geographer, Earth was more interested in the story of the place than anything, and the owner was more than happy to give him all the details. He was rather proud of this place, and it showed. It's high-class status wasn't an artificial result, no expense had been spared to make this one of the best.

For example, the music was always live, and always good. Right now, some Jazz musicians from the Strand were tearing it up on stage, and the notes of the saxophone hung like sweet fire in the air. [colour=#8b4513]*My sister would probably know who they were.*[/colour] He thought off-hand. He was just wondering if he could parlay his press-pass to get a free drink when Penumbra walked in.

The outside door was just visible from the bar, though the interior mas magically screened from the outside. The mare looked familiar, vaguely, so when the bouncer peeked in, to see if she had known anyone that would be admitted in, Earth waved to signal, "It's alright, I know her."

[FermataTheBasse]

Penumbra had been expecting a bit of trouble with the bouncer, so she was highly surprised when he let her through without too much fuss. Okay, a bit of fuss, and a lot of looking around as if trying to find a pony who would vouch for her. Well apparently she had lucked out, because she was let in after all. Penumbra quickly trotted in, before anypony's mind was changed. Now that she was inside, she was assaulted by strong saxophone melodies. Jazz, and it sounded awesome too. So this place was going to be expensive. With a slight groan, Penumbra looked around, at the bar, at the stage, wondering who her mysterious benefactor had been.

[Blueblood]

Earth Writer didn't let Penumbra's perplexity last long. As soon as she looked in his direction, he waved her over. "[colour=#8b4513]Thought you looked familiar.[/colour]" The unicorn told her as she walked over. He now had a chance to get a closer look at her. *[colour=#8b4513]So, this is a night pony?[/colour]* She certainly was colored with all the dark tones of the midnight sky.

"[colour=#8b4513]Any familiar face is welcome for me.[/colour]" He said, as the saxaphonist took a rest. "[colour=#8b4513]I feel like a stranger in a strange land. I never used to be out and about this late, but a journalist has to keep odd hours these days.[/colour]"