Harp-Struck

Chapter Six: The Black Unicorn

It was early morning and Celestia’s sun had slowly begun to peak over the horizon and shine across the Equestrian landscape, ushering a new dawn and a new day for all its inhabitants. Each and every one of the rising from their beds, well rested and ready to go about their day, wherever they be and whomever they were. Except for myself, who at this point while everypony else was beginning to wake up and prepare for the trials and tribulations of the impending morrow, was still snoring like a foal. Sadly, this peaceful slumber didn’t last for much longer as the aforementioned dawn light shone through the glass in the balcony doors and lit up my poor eyelids. The scorching light caused me to stir, groaning profusely I fought back the light, trying to stop my lucid mind from pulling me out of my dream. But sadly, my efforts were all for naught as my dream faded and my vision was filled with grey, before my eyelids creaked open, reality greeting them once more, but not a welcome greeting. “Ahh, my eyes.” I breathed throatily as my solid vocal chords were awoken from their hours of inactivity – aside from the occasional moans and groans associated with sleeping.  I exclaimed again as the sun hit my still sensitive eyes, filling them with a white blur. Frustrated with the unrelenting rays I grabbed a cushion and used it to block out the sun. I exclaimed for the final time as I grunted in frustration at not being able to return to my dream, my lucidity now intent on staying put. I had been having the most amazing dream. In it, I had taken Lyra to The Ballroom of the Two Sisters. She was wearing a dress I had had made for her and I was dressed in my redcoat uniform as we twirled around the dance floor to the amazement of the ballroom’s attendees. But the best part of it all, the one piece of the dream I remember most vividly, Lyra and I fell in love with each other.

Such a perfect memory, yet sadly fictional, as if I did all that. Wait. I looked down, eyes still adjusting, to see blurry shades of red and dots of gold on my person. Could it be? I made to get up off the sofa, but a weight on my chest prevented me from doing so. “Wha-wha-what?” My tone was a mixture of perplexity and grogginess as I rubbed my eyes vigorously to clear my vision. As my eyes finally came back into focus. The other haze in front of me became recognisable.

The weight on my chest was none other than Lyra herself, sound asleep, a small needle of saliva flowing from her open mouth onto my neck. She was still wearing the dress I got for her. “Didn’t I tuck her in last night when she fell asleep?” I asked myself before shaking it off, scolding myself for questioning such a cute scenario. It wasn’t dream; it was real! Regaining control of my stiff arms, I wrapped them around the sleeping unicorn and nuzzled into her mane affectionately before drifting back off to sleep. I didn’t have much time to nap though as I was awoken by a stirring in top of me. I opened my eyes to see Lyra opening hers at the same time, meeting in an almost puzzled stare. The awkward atmosphere was dispelled as Lyra’s eyes relaxed with a smile.

“Hey, Wingy,” she said, shuffling up to bring herself to eye level with me.

“Hello, Lyra.” I gave her a loving squeeze. “Sleep well?” I felt her nod, her head rising off my neck to look at me. “I had the most amazing dream last night.” I said half-jokingly.

“Yeah, me too.” Lyra bore the same knowing smile I had as we recalled last night’s events at the same time, which led us to hug each other tightly, the both of us refusing to let go for fear of losing the moment forever. “Thank you Wingy, for last night,” she said, giving me another kiss on the cheek. “It was wonderful… just wonderful.”

“No need to thank me Lyra, for somepony as special and as dear to my heart as you there is no end to the lengths I would go to make you happy.” I punctuated that statement with a kiss of my own on her cheek. Lyra nuzzled my nose in return, the both of us moving in for another hug. My chest jolted as I felt a vibration on my stomach. “You want some breakfast, darling?”

Lyra nodded. “Yeah, I’m starving; dancing really takes it out of you.”

“I’ll say, are your legs alright, Lyra?”

“Yeah, there a little stiff but I’m fine,” she replied rising off the couch. “I’m gonna go change, don’t wanna crease the dress,” she looked in the mirror above the fireplace, admiring herself as the sun glinted off the gems on her tiara. “To think I used to hate all this snooty dressing up…” she stopped for a moment, a thought taking hold of her. “Oh, Wingy?” Her voice was sing-song as she trotted back over to me and pulled me off the couch. “A little dance in the morning sun, Wingy?”

I exclaimed in both surprise and pain as Lyra twirled me around the front room, my stiff joints screaming in pain. “Whoa-whoa, Lyra, are you trying to break my back?”

“Oh come on, Wingy it’s easy. One, two, three.” We both laughed as we spun around clumsily, my uniform threatening every ornament’s stability as we danced past them.

“See, Wingy, you’re a natural!”

I smirked “Who was teaching who, Miss Heartstrings?”

Lyra chuckled as she threw me back into her hooves. “Oh come on, Wingy, it’s my turn to lead, one, two, three and one, two, three.” It was then she decided replicate the move I did last night. But instead of having the desired effect, by the time I spun back into her I ended up pulling her onto the floor, the both of us laughing in a pile, again. When our laughter subsided we found ourselves locked in a gaze neither of us wanted to break, our heads edged closer, lips merely inches away, we were thinking the same thing at that moment. Our lips barely grazed when we heard a click from the door. A deathly silence froze time as still as Discord’s prison as we both stared at the door. Then we heard a voice, it was muffled but still audible. Instantly my mind set to work at trying to match the voice to a face. There was only one pony with a voice as jolly as that.

“FULL-BRIGHT!” We both screamed as we scrambled to get up from our recumbent position. Unfortunately for me, Lyra managed to use my chest to spring off me and back onto the couch. The force sent me tumbling backwards into the fireplace, causing a fresh cloud of soot to cascade from the chimney onto my uniform and all around the hearth. And as if on cue Full-Bright burst in dressed in one of his flashy but simple suits, his blonde mane shining in the sunlight.

“Good morning, everypony!” he said, in his usual jovial voice.

Lyra rose from the couch to greet him. “Hello, Full-Bright, we weren’t expecting you today. Is something wrong?”

The white coated stallion shook his head. “Oh no, no, far from it, no I just thought I’d drop in you know? See how you two are–” He stopped for a moment, his eyes now locked on Lyra’s apparel   “– my, my Lyra, what a fabulous dress you have on there.”

Lyra smiled as her cheeks went rosy. “Thank you, Full-Bright.”

“The design is amazing, pardon me for asking but where did you buy this exquisite work of art? It suits you perfectly, and don’t get me started on that equally fabulous tiara of yours.”

Lyra’s redness grew as she recalled the night’s events. “Oh I didn’t buy them, Wingy had them made for me; we were out dancing last night. He took me to The Ballroom of the Two Sisters.”

Full-Bright nearly choked on his own tongue as he tried to speak, the mere utterance of the place depriving him of speech. “Th-‘The Ballroom of the Two Sisters’? How in Equestria did he manage to take you there? I’ve been trying to get in there for months!”

“A–” I was cut off as I coughed out the soot I had just breathed in “–a friend of mine knows a few ponies here in Canterlot.” I climbed to my feet and desperately brushed the soot off my overcoat.

Full-Bright jumped as his eyes found my voice. “Oh hello, Winged, I didn’t see you there. You certainly know how to spoil a mare, eh?” He said pointing at Lyra with a tilt of his head.

“Anything that puts a smile on Lyra’s face I am happy with.” I smiled.

Full-Bright chuckled. “Oh you little romantic you,” he joked, his eyes then widened as he saw the state of my clothes. “By Celestia, what happened to your outfit?”

I threw my overcoat over a nearby chair; the rest of my uniform luckily was spared from the black cloud of soot. “Oh nothing I had a bit of… trouble with the fireplace.”

“Ah well, can’t be helped I suppose, accidents happen.”

“We were just about to have breakfast, would you like to join us?” Lyra offered, carefully placing her tiara back into its box.

“Oh no, I don’t want to impose on your hospitality,” Full-Bright replied, polite as ever.

Lyra laughed. “Oh come on Full-Bright, you know you’re not imposing; now sit down and make yourself comfortable. I’m gonna go and get changed.”

“I’ll make a start on breakfast, Lyra,” I said walking over towards the kitchen.

“Thanks, Wingy,” Lyra replied as she went into her bedroom.

About twenty minutes later, we were all sat down in the living room, finishing off a rather large fruit salad we had prepared. The three of us had been talking about the concerts we had done over the last season, laughing as we recalled the time when we were performing at another extravagant event. Not long after we had finished our performance that night, the stage collapsed, sending the unlucky ponies on it tumbling backwards. Now in any other situation this would have been nothing more than a small structural issue. But in this case however, this stage was on the roof of a sky-high hotel – with very low railings.

“Oh by Celestia, I could have perished from laughter that day, oh those poor souls,” Full-Bright laughed, with tears in his eyes.

“Oh come on, Full-Bright, cut the poor ponies some slack, do you remember how high up we were?”

Lyra nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we were on the top floor, those musicians must have been terrified.”

Full-Bright sighed, his breath calming down as his laughter subsided. “Yes, I suppose so. B-but it was jolly funny!” He exploded into laughter again. After a moment or so Full-Bright must have remembered something as the thought practically catapulted him off the couch. “Oh puffer-duff, my apologies, my friends, I was so caught up in our little chinwag I’d forgotten what I came here to tell you,” Full-Bright fumbled through his jacket for a moment before retrieving a letter from the inside pocket. “It’s another request letter; I thought this one might be of some interest to you Winged, you having a flair for the more shadowy arts of music.” Full-Bright held the letter out to me.

“Oh, how so?” I said, taking the letter and unfolding it. The usual ‘Your presence is requested’ was at the top, but something about the letter was different. Firstly, the venue was called ‘The Black Unicorn’, which I thought was odd, no venue in Canterlot had such a name. Secondly, the letter was signed with the letter ‘C’, but something was off, the top and bottom of the C were laced, like a corset and the ‘C’ was jagged in a familiar pattern. My mind nearly exploded when I realised whom this letter was from, and that the fact there was a pony version of him in this world. “I-it can’t be, it’s, it’s.”

Lyra leaned over my shoulder. “Who is it, Wingy?”

I put my hand to my mouth, completely thunderstruck. “C-Coltaire? N-no way!”

“Who?” Lyra asked, puzzled by the name. “I’ve never heard of him, is he any good?”

I looked at her as if someone had just told me they didn’t know what MLP was. “You’ve never heard of Coltaire, Lyra? He’s one of the greatest Dark Cabaret musicians on Ear- I mean in Equestria!”

And to think Equestria and Earth was poles apart from each other, I guess I was wrong on the gothic level.

Full-Bright nodded excitedly. “Yep, and you’re performing alongside him tonight!”

I could hardly keep my excitement in check as I leapt off the sofa and into my bedroom, running into my wardrobe. “So where’s the venue then!” I shouted from inside the cupboard, searching for an appropriate outfit.

“In Hoofington according to the letter, they’re having a Goth convention over there or something,” Full-Bright shouted back.

“W-nngh, what time?” I pulled on my black swallowtail jacket over my waistcoat and adjusted my tie. I then retrieved my comb; in two swift brushes, I uncurled my hair from its previous state and into a style suitable for the evening. I picked up my silver pocket watch and placed it in the tailcoat’s pocket, threading its chain through my top left button. Upon seeing that my appearance was in order, I walked back into the living room. My appearance at that moment would have been much like that of Sebastian Michaelis, but with green eyes in place of those harsh, demonic red ones.

“I think about eight O’clock.”

“And what’s the time now?” I asked while trying to lace my shoes hurriedly, groaning in frustration as they continued to slip through my fingers.

The stallion pulled his pocket watch out. “The time is... TEN MINUTES PAST TEN!” He screamed and fell off the couch in panic. “It takes hours to get to Hoofington, and it’ll be made worse by the ponies going to the convention–” Full-Bright face-hoofed “–we’ll never get there.”

“Not to fear, Full-Bright, we won’t need the train,” I said retrieving the device from the uniform pile on my bed and placing my toothbrush back on the sink. I emerged from my bedroom to see Lyra putting on some black lipstick from a box of make-up Full-Bright had given her.

Noticing I was looking at her, Lyra came over to me and pursed her lips, allowing me to admire them. “Well, Wingy, are they gothic enough?” She fluttered her eyes at me in a flirtatious manner.

I placed my hand on my chin with an analytical expression on my face. “Hmm, something’s missing,” I murmured, before realising what. “Wait, I know, hang on a moment.” I ran off to my bedroom and came back carrying a black winged collar and one of my cravats. “Here we go, hold still a moment.” Lyra smiled as I placed the collar around her neck, trying to keep my eyes on it and not her eyes. I secured the collar with its gold pin before tying the cravat around it. “Perfect, a true lady of the night.”

Lyra hugged me, she would have kissed me but her lipstick would have been smudged.

“Haha, ‘Lady of the Night’ I get it! Hahaha!” We both shot him an ‘are you serious?’ glare. “Oh, sorry,” Full-Bright smiled embarrassedly as his eyes darted from left to right.

“Do you want me to do your eyes, Lyra?” I asked, holding an eyelash curler and a stick of eye-liner.

“Oh, okay.” Lyra shut her eyes as I began curling her lashes while carefully lining her lids to make them stand out.

“Don’t worry I’ll be careful,” I said as I added the finishing touches. “All done!” I took a small mirror from the make-up box and put it in front of her as her eyes opened. “Like them?”

Lyra turned her head a little to the side and fluttered her eyes. “I love them.” She pursed her lips again and made a kissing gesture at the mirror. She took the mirror out of my hand with her magic and moved forward, Lyra’s lips making contact with my cheek. “Thank you, Wingy.”

“You are most welcome, Lyra, darling.”

We leaned in for a deep kiss, caring not for whom was watching – that is until Full-Bright decided to pipe up.

“Um, hate to interrupt your moment of romance.” Full-Bright took in a deep breath. “But would you please get your stuff together, PLEASE!” The blonde stallion slumped to the ground. “We’ll never get there,” he sighed in resignation, banging his head purposely on the carpet.

I clapped my hands and rubbed them. “Right let’s get our instruments together, quick!” I ordered, and we both sped off to grab our equipment, the both of us ignoring the dramatic stallion sobbing on the floor.

“Got it!” Lyra shouted and rushed back into the living room; with emerging a few seconds later with my Voltaire-tuned guitar strapped to my back. “Beat you.” She giggled.

“H-hang on a second, answer me this because I’m a little lost here, how in the hay are we supposed to get to Hoofington?” Full-Bright inquired, completely left in the dust on the information front.

“We use this,” I said showing him the dimension device as I clasped it on my arm.

“What’s this thingamajig?” He prodded at the keypad.

“Lyra tell him,” I said, winking at her.

Lyra took in a deep breath. “It’s a dimension jump device that allows the user to teleport through the fabric of time and space to anywhere of their choice without having to interact with the world’s magic field.” Lyra smiled proudly as Full-Bright stared at her like a clueless infant.

“I have absolutely no idea what you just said, but I’m going to go with it anyway, how does it work?”

I didn’t have time to answer as I had already keyed in the location and the countdown clock appeared. “No time, take my arms, QUICK!” Lyra grabbed onto me tightly as Full-Bright still stood.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Just do it Full-Bright, QUICK, FIVE SECONDS!” I shouted frantically, my voice nearly cracking.

The stallion grabbed onto my free arm. “Well I still don-AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” The flash cut him off as we were catapulted into the void.

*  *  *

I’m starting to think that this device functions more like Captain Jack’s vortex manipulator, it gets you where you want to go; in the most painful way possible. Or it could just be that the easy ride is not applicable to three individuals using a device intended for one person.

As the blinding white light cleared from my eyes, I got up to my feet and looked around to check our whereabouts. We were definitely alive, and we were inside somewhere. I looked over to see a sign written in a gothic scripture above what looked like a bar, the sign read ‘The Black Unicorn’. I smiled at the device “Good job mate.” I felt my side and realised Lyra was still clinging onto me for dear life, her eyes shut tight. “Lyra,” I said, patting her softly. “We’re here.” Upon hearing my voice, she loosened her grip on my arm, but still kept hold of it, looking about the room cautiously. “You okay, darling?” I asked, worried that the trip had shaken her up.

“N-no I’m, fine,” Lyra replied, releasing my arm and standing on all four hooves. “Just a little dizzy.”

Relieved that she was okay, I looked about the room. The club was quite spacious; the walls were black and white with various pictures of gothic art, including a portrait of a pure white mare with black eye liner dripping from her eyes. The stage was through two double doors that were currently cordoned off with two security ponies at the door; their faces were practically dead still despite our teleport intrusion, which worried me a bit, until a snore escaped one of them. As for other signs of life, there was barely anypony in sight apart from the pony who was cowering behind the bar. Considering the lack of crowds I came to the conclusion that the establishment would refrain from opening until the concert started, allowing us some breathing room. It was then I realised that somepony was missing. “Hang on, where’s Full-Bright?”

I heard a small whimper to my left. “R-right here.” I looked over to see Full-Bright mangled among a stack of chairs once stacked neatly on the tables, now acting as a makeshift prison. “D-don’t worry, I’ll be alright in a minute.” The stallion tried to wriggle free from the wooden chair legs to no avail.

“Uh, can somepony help him please?” I called out as one of the staff helped him out of the pile before taking him away to be patched up.

My ears pricked up as I heard a clapping off hooves behind me. “Well, well, well. Now that’s how you make an entrance!” I stiffened as the voice nearly made my blood freeze, that unique Cuban/New Jersey accent was unmistakeable. I turned to see a virgin white unicorn standing in front of us. He had a small black pointed beard, an equally dark spiky mane and tail that was as black as the darkest hour of night. His cutie mark: a laced ‘C’ with a skull beside it. And the crowning glory: his signature top hat, tilted slightly to the left on his mane.

“C-Coltaire?” I stammered, which was a step up from picking my jaw up from the floor.

Coltaire nodded his head. “That I am. I’ve heard a lot about you and your lady friend and I gotta say I’m a little shocked. When I heard about you in the papers, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. A human in Equestria? The first thing I thought was ‘This is a load of hogwash’ but, turns out the rumour’s true! Anyway, what are your names? You already know me it seems.”

“Winged Sheath.”

“Lyra Heartstrings. It’s an honour to meet you, Mr Coltaire.”

“Lyra huh?” Coltaire removed his hat and bowed to her. “Pleasure to meet you. You’re one lucky guy, Sheath; she is a perfect lady of the night.”

I chuckled. “I know. She is one of a kind.”

Lyra’s teal cheeks flushed. “Oh, Wingy, stop it.”

Coltaire chuckled heartily. “Ah love, heh-heh. I see your trademark instrument isn’t a myth either,” he said, pointing to my guitar. “And here’s me thinking I’m the only guy in Equestria who owns one. May I see it?”

“Of course.” I unbuckled my guitar strap and held out the instrument to him. Coltaire took it in his horn field and studied it, running his hooves across the strings.

“Hmm, it’s kinda different from mine, the strings are closer together for one,” he looked over to me “Mind if I give it a try?”

“Oh no, by all means do.”

Coltaire placed his hooves on the guitar, trying to hold down the correct strings, only for a deadpan chord to emanate from it. “Nnngh, c’mon,” his tongue poked out of his mouth as he concentrated, another single chord left the instrument, which sounded faintly like E-Minor. “I think I’ll stick to mine, thanks.” He floated it back into my hands and cancelled his horn field. “C’mon, we’ve not a moment to lose.” Coltaire bade us to follow him, motioning the security guards to unlock the door to the stage. As soon as the bulky doors were pushed aside, the gothic brilliance of the stage greeted our eyes. The stage was about five feet above the ground with a small fence separating the stage from the crowd area. The floor of the stage itself was a shiny black with a large laced ‘C’ in the middle of it. A microphone was clipped on a four feet tall stand. Leaning against it, was Coltaire’s famous guitar. It looked considerably different from my version; the strings were spread out more with a finger-like hoof contraption that had pins for holding down the chords. Coltaire ran ahead of us and leapt up onto the stage. “Come on guys, what are you waiting for!” He waved his hoof as we picked up the pace and climbed up – well I stepped up, Lyra climbed. Coltaire picked up his guitar and played the legendary B7 chord, sighing in bliss. “Ah, the weeping chord.” He laughed as I imitated the chord on my guitar, feeling a dark aura wash over me as I did so. “There’s such a longing to that chord don’t you think?”

“Well if the chord itself doesn’t make you cry, the places you need to put your fingers in order to play it, will.” I shook my wrist at the horrible recollection of practically ruining my fingertips while trying to hold down the chord. Coltaire laughed along with me, and then a question popped into my head. “Hey uh, Coltaire? What kind of guitar is that?” I had been wanting to know this since I first started following the Earth version of the dark singer.

“Ah, well this–” He held his instrument out and pointed to the marking on the neck “–is a Pinkamena acoustic/electric G series. One of a kind, and very reliable.” He stroked the neck affectionately and struck up a tune. “Now in order to perform alongside me tonight, in my musical: ‘Coltaire plays at the Black Unicorn’. I will be playing the part of Coltaire.” He said in a self-admiring tone and his mane with his hoof. “BUT, I have to cast the part of the Beelzebub Philharmonic Orchestra; somehow with one human and one pony.” He laughed, letting us know he was joking. “Now in order to be cast in this, you must fulfil one of three requirements.”

Oho, here it comes.

“One, you must know all the lyrics to the choruses of my songs. If you do raise your hoof” I raised my hand, Lyra half-raised her hoof. “Two, you must know some of the lyrics to the choruses of my songs.” My hand stayed raised while Lyra’s still remained half-raised. “And three, you must be able to fake the lyrics to the choruses of my songs.” He laughed at my enthusiasm as I felt my hand was about to dislocate from the strain. “It’s okay, Lyra, my songs are easy once you pick them up,” Coltaire lit up his horn and cast the same spell Lyra had cast on me once. “Better?”

“Y-yes, thanks, Coltaire.” She shook her head to stop her eyes spinning.

“You’re welcome, Lyra, now let’s start, actually, Winged, would you like to choose the song?”

I froze. “Oh, uh, really?”

Coltaire nodded. “Sure, don’t be shy, hit me.”

“Uh–” My mind was more still than Discord’s prison, so I picked the first one that popped into my head. “–When You’re Evil.”

Coltaire chuckled again. “How did I know you were going to pick that one? Good thing it’s on the song list.” He pointed over to the two microphones, one on the left and one on the right of him. “Ready your instruments and prepare to weep.”

“Ready!” I stuck the cable into my guitar, and the chords rocked through the speakers.

“Ready!” Lyra shouted, fixing the mini-microphone onto her lyre, the notes sounding out perfectly.

“One, two, THREE!” Coltaire shouted as he began playing, my guitar playing in sync with his, giving am eerie echoic effect to the notes; the plucks from Lyra’s lyre surprisingly made up for the violin, as we began singing, preparing for the night, where darkness would descend on The Black Unicorn, in the form of Goth ponies.

Sooner than we all expected, darkness was upon us. Our playing/chatting had driven us into the early hours of Luna’s night. Coltaire wiped the sweat from his brow, the nerves getting us all psyched for the gothic onslaught that awaited us. It was time, for the performance of Lyra’s life, and my life, and boy, were we ready for it. The clearly audible screams could be heard outside the building, a sign of things to come. “Sounds like quite a turnout; I hope you guys are ready.” Coltaire grinned, turning to Lyra and me.

I saluted him. “As ready as we’ll ever be sir!”

“Yes sir!” Lyra barked, saluting also. “Let’s do this!”

“All righty then, security open the main doors!” The security guard nodded and Coltaire leapt off the stage. “To the dressing room; quick!” Following his orders, we hurried behind, the screams growing louder. However, they were muffled slightly as we shut the door on the noise.

“There’s so many!” I shouted, commenting on the din that was now above us as Coltaire slipped into his black waistcoat and clipped on his cuffs with his magic, clipping his key necklace on as he adjusted his hat. Lyra and I quickly dabbed on our performance make-up and picked up our instruments.

“COL-TAIRE, COL-TAIRE-COL-TAIRE!” The crowd screamed above us.

“Okay guys, let’s get in position!” He shouted over them as we took our places on the podiums, which looked like they were going to take us up to the stage. Coltaire pulled a leaver by on his podium and the parts of the stage above our pedestals opened, the full volume of the crowd hitting our eardrums.

“YOU GUYS READY?” Coltaire screamed over them.

“READY!” We shouted, our instruments linked up to the speakers on the pedestals and ready to go.

“PREPARE TO BE PLUNGED INTO THE DARKEST DEPTHS OF LADY NIGHT’S EMBRACE! LET’S GO!” Coltaire pressed the red button; our podiums began to ascend slowly up to the stage. As we reached the top, we were greeted by a flash of white smoke, signalling our entrance to the sea of Goth ponies, who cheered loudly in response. Their screams upped a decibel or million as the spotlight revealed Coltaire, guitar in hoof. “GOOOOD EVENING, FELLOW CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT!”

“COL-TAIRE, COL-TAIRE, COL-TAIRE!” The audience chanted.

“WELCOME, to The Black Unicorn guys! Now I have a special treat for you all. Tonight, I have two special guests with me tonight.” He turned to us. “For one night only at The Black Unicorn please welcome, for the first ever, pony/human chapter of The Beelzebub Philharmonic Orchestra, WINGED SHEATH AND LYRA HEARTSTRINGS!” We were almost blinded as the spotlight lit us up to the crowd, and we were welcomed warmly by a wave of ear splitting applause. “NOW, enough dilly-dallying, let’s get to it! Ready guys?” We assumed our ready poses and nodded at him, and at each other.

“Aye-aye, Captain!”

And then it began, the best concert of our lives, with a ponified version of my all-time favourite musical hero, with hilarious and surprisingly similar versions of his songs: Almost Human, Feathery Wings, The Mare Upstairs, Mechanical Mare, The Night (In which the lyrics were exactly the same), Vampony Club and of course the famous When You’re Evil. Which featured the reprise of the ‘Beelzebub Philharmonic Choir’ and spilled rum. Plus the stage nearly collapsed from the amount of ponies we had on it.

“I’m lying through my teeth; your tears are all the company I need!” We all sang the closing lyric and sadly, that was the end. The spotlight returned to Coltaire as he addressed the crowd. “Thank you, thank you! Unfortunately that’s my time guys, give it up one more time for my Beelzebub duo WINGED SHEATH AND LYRA HEARTSTRINGS!” We were all met with thunderous applause and even a few wolf whistles, or timberwolf whistles as we bowed to the crowd. Coltaire pressed the button again and the podiums began descending, we held our positions as the doors above us shut out the noise, leaving us nothing but the memories of the concert, and the sweat, not to mention my cut and plastered fingertips which had been sliced open by my guitar strings. “Heh, looks like your fingers took a beating eh?” Coltaire joked at my bandaged appendages. “By Sombra that was great, you okay, Lyra?”

Lyra wiped the sweat from her forehead and nodded. “Yeah, that was amazing!” She laughed at the state of my hands. “Maybe having hooves isn’t so bad, just look at your hands.”

“I may never be able to play again!” I said sarcastically, looking at my bleeding fingers under the plasters.

Coltaire held out his hoof to us. “Celebration high-hoof!”

“YEAH!” We all shouted; the night had been a success.

“Hey, you guys wanna head up to the bar for a drink?" Coltaire asked, smiling. "The night is still in her youth."

“Yeah, sure!” I felt like Rainbow Dash in the company of the Wonderbolts. “What d’ya reckon, Lyra, fancy having a drink with a star?”

Lyra nodded eagerly.

“Right that’s settled then.” The white unicorn beckoned us to follow through another door that led up to a private area, a curtain separating us from the other ponies, who were still reeling from the concert. The room had a small bar and two black leather sofas and a display case with numerous skulls and Wiccan looking chalices inside, one of which I recognised from a certain album cover. Coltaire trotted over to the bar and reached for an unmarked bottle of copper coloured liquid. This being Coltaire, the only spirit that could have been was rum. He uncorked the bottle with his magic and poured the liquid into three shot glasses he had procured from the shelf behind the bar. When the shots were measured, Coltaire raised his glass. “To the night!” He toasted.

“To the night!” Lyra and I toasted back, clinking our glasses before kicking back the rum. It must have been quite aged, because as soon as the fiery liquor the back of my throat it immediately set to work on burning my insides.  Lyra seemed to be suffering also from the rum, choking slightly as she set the glass back down.

“Good stuff, eh?” Coltaire said, clearing his throat, his voice sounding mildly throaty as he chuckled at our choked expressions.

“Um, Wingy?” Lyra prodded my arm.

“Yes, Lyra?”

“I’m just gonna go wash this make-up off, I won’t be a minute.”

“Okay, but be careful out there, you don’t want to be smothered by ponies asking for your autograph.” I joked.

Lyra giggled. “Don’t worry I will be.” She trotted through the curtain and into the rest of the club.

Coltaire grinned at me. “Quite the mare she is, eh?” He winked jokingly.

“Yep, I wouldn’t even be where I am if it hadn’t been for her, I would have just been an oddity on a street corner.” Coltaire raised his eyebrow, leaning in as his interest grew.

“Really, so where’d you guys meet?”

I began telling him first of how I ended up in Equestria, how Lyra’s partnership with me had changed my life and how it all began In the Treble Clef Bar. Meanwhile.

*  *  *

Lyra pushed through the bathroom door and back into the main bar of the club, which was now packed to the rafters, piercings, tattoos, eye-liner and black clothing as far as the eye could see. Wiping the wet fur on her cheeks where she had washed off her stage make-up, Lyra began hurriedly weaving her way through the gauntlet of Goth ponies to reach the guarded curtain.

“Well hellooo there, sexy!”

Lyra froze as two thuggish black clad stallions stepped into her path.

“What’s a hot mare like you doing wandering by her lonesome, huh? You could get hurt.” The white coated of the two stallions tone was sickly sweet as he edged closer to her. Lyra was still fixed to the spot, fear now creeping into her mind; she shivered as she spoke. “I-I have to go,” she pushed through them and quickened her pace towards the bar. The mint-maned unicorn stiffened as she felt a hoof on her shoulder, pulling her back.

“Ohoo, you’re not going anywhere, Missy, not until we have a little fun,” He ran his tongue slowly across his lips as he rubbed Lyra’s shoulder. “I ma–”

The rest of what the stallion was about to say was lost to the air as a swift right hook from Lyra’s hoof struck his jaw and sent him to the floor with a thud, a fresh stream of blood beginning to flow from his snout. “I said, go away!” She brushed her hoof and shoved the other stallion aside. “Nopony messes with an anthropologist.” Lyra smirked and began trotting towards the curtain. She didn’t even get two yards before she yelped in fright as two sets of hooves grabbed her back and threw her against the wall, the entire fiasco invisible to the security among the sea of Goths.

The stallion Lyra had punched wiped the blood from his nose with a hoof. “Now that wasn’t very nice, was it?” He brought his face closer to Lyra’s while the other pony held her tight against the wall “I’m actually quite a nice guy when you get to know me.” He inched even closer, his face now merely centimetres from hers. Lyra whimpered; tears of panic were beginning to form on the rims of her eyelids.

“Aww, did we hurt your wittle feewings?” The white stallion cooed. “HUH?” The shout made Lyra jump; the sudden leap in her heart caused her tears to spill over, her breath faltering as she made to stifle her shaking.

Lyra tried to strike the stallion with her hoof but the other pony had a tight grip on her free hoof while her primary assailant held the other. In panic Lyra lit up her horn to try and forcibly remove their hooves but was unable to focus a strong enough field, the adrenaline flowing through her veins hindering her concentration. “P-please don’t!” Wingy! Her inner voice called out to me.

*  *  *

“I remember one time when I was playing at Whipby Gothic Weekend in Boltain. It was the near the end of the show and when I was casting the choir somepony stole my bucking bottle of rum!” Coltaire had been regaling me with the comic tales of touring Equestria – which I was more than eager to hear. Looking back, I’m actually surprised I managed to keep my composure. “There was like a hundred of us on stage too!”

“Coltaire?”

“Yeah?”

“How come you know so much about human religion? I thought nopony knew my species existed, that we were just fear and folklore.”

Coltaire smiled and tapped his nose with his hoof. “Let’s just say Lyra’s not the only one who is well read on this particular subject.” He kicked back another shot of the rum and turned to look at the clock. “Where’s Lyra? She’s been gone a good twenty minutes now.”

I squinted as I made to look at the far away timepiece. “Seventeen actually, yeah you’re right.” I rose up from the sofa, walked towards the curtains and opened them slightly so I could see through without anypony knowing I was there. My eyes scanned about the bar, trying to find her amongst the still sturdy wall of now drunken ponies. My eyes stopped when I noticed two bulky stallions huddled around something by the wall. I was about to dismiss it as another shady transaction for ponies seeking a little something to keep the party going, when my eyes caught a shade of turquoise through a gap in the huddle. My heart hit my sternum as I realised that they were grabbing at a mare; then I nearly suffered a cardiac arrest right there on the spot when I saw that it wasn’t just a mare they were assaulting. They were assaulting Lyra. “Oh, CHRIST!” I exclaimed.

Coltaire nearly spilt his drink when he heard me. “What is it!?” He frantically looked from side to side.

“I’ll be back in a moment.”

“Where are you going?”

His words didn’t even register in my ears as I grabbed a silver dress cane from the box beside the hat stand and stormed out of the bar towards the two stallions. “OI!” I shouted, the both of them turning at the noise. “What, the buck, do you think you are doing!?” Rage mixed with adrenaline was flowing through my veins, it’s a wonder I didn’t batter them right there and then.

The shorter of the two stallions – Lyra’s primary assailant – approached me. As he advanced the wall became visible, revealing Lyra to my horrified eyes, she was curled up and sobbing uncontrollably. “None of your business, ape–” He gave me a light shove with his hoof, a snide grin on his face. “– now be a gentlecolt and kindly buck off.”

My anger grew thrice fold as my fingers clenched around the cane I was holding. I brushed my tailcoat where the stallion had shoved me and came back with a sick smile of my own. “I am going to give you, one chance, for you and your friend to leave this lady alone and run away.” My smile fell as I let my anger take the helm. “If you don’t, well.” I rolled the cane around in my hands.

The stallion snorted, the threat obviously falling on deaf ears. “And what are you gonna do?” He obviously couldn’t take a hint either. He advanced on me again and spat on his hoof, as if he was shining it. “Well, can’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I jumped back as he made a feral swing at me with the same hoof. I swiftly countered and swung the cane, the metal handle making contact with the stallions head with a loud THWACK, knocking him out instantaneously and sending him to the floor. The other buck stood in shock for a moment, his expression blank in surprise which turning to anger as he leapt at me, his right hoof landing a hard blow to my lower jaw, the force almost knocking me off my feet. There was no time to think as he made a run at me again, more like a charging bull than a pony. This time I swung my cane at his legs, tripping him right up and landing flat on his belly. I stood over him and dragged him over to Lyra. “Say sorry,” I said calmly in his ear.

The stallion spat up at me. “Buck you, you hairless ape.”

I raised my cane.

“Okay, okay I’m sorry, just buck off.”

“You do that, and take your friend with you.” I swatted at his flank with the cane and he sped off, taking his dazed friend with him.

The crowd hadn’t even reacted at all. Had anypony even batted an ear at this? But then again, about three quarters of them had drunk themselves into oblivion by this hour.

My grip grew limp and the cane fell from my grasp as I rushed over to Lyra and pulled her into my arms. I feared she was in danger of hyperventilating.

“W-Wingy!” Her voice was a stammering mess as she cried.

All I could to do was rub her back and offer words of comfort until she could talk. “Shh, Lyra, it’s okay, Wingy’s here.” My breath caught as I saw tears blurring my vision. Lyra buried her head in my neck and I almost broke down myself as I felt her tears soaking my bare skin. “Lyra, did they?” I asked, fearing I would have to pay those stallions another visit and feed them their teeth.

“N-no,” she stammered through her sniffle spasms that interrupted her breathing. I could feel her jaw quivering as I stroked her mane and neck to comfort her. A few minutes of physically consoling her passed before she spoke again, still stammering. “T-thank you, Wingy,” she wrapped her hooves fully around my chest and squeezed me tight. I felt a kiss on my neck as she did so. “Thank you for saving me.”

I looked about the room, the remains of my adrenaline rush keeping me on edge. “Lyra, can you walk?” I asked, concerned whether they had hurt her more than I had first thought.

“I-I think I can.” She made to get up onto her hooves, but her legs were trembling too much to walk by herself. I slid my arm under her fore hoof and walked her back through the curtain. Coltaire spat his drink over the table when he saw the state we were both in.

“By Celestia, what in Equestria happened to you two?”

I sat Lyra down on the sofa and held her close as she calmed down, her eyes staring at the floor. “Lyra was…attacked, by two stallions.”

Coltaire smashed the glass on the table. “Where are they? I’ll send them to Beelzebub’s cauldron for attacking a lady!”

I shook my head. “No, need I dealt with them.” I looked down at Lyra, worry still plaguing my mind as she leaned into my side. “Do you think you could get Lyra some water?”

“Sure.” Coltaire got up and in a few moments returned with a glass of water from the bar. I thanked him and took it into my hand, sitting Lyra up slightly as she took the glass and drank slowly. The colour returning to her still darkened cheeks from where she had been crying, small rivulet patterns were present in her fur from where the tears had dried.

A minute passed and she set the glass down, managing a small smile. “Thank you, Wingy and you too, Coltaire.”

The musician bowed his head. “You’re most welcome, glad to see you’re okay.”

“Are you sure you’re okay, Lyra? We can go home if you don’t want to stay here.”

Lyra shuffled round so she was face to face with me, before kissing me lightly on the lips, telling me he was okay. “I’m okay, Wingy, thank you.” I smiled and hugged her tightly, relief washing over me as her smile restored the happiness in the atmosphere. “It takes more than a few pervs to bring me down, I’m okay now.”

“You’re a strong mare, Lyra.” I hugged her.

“You should have seen that stallion’s face when I punched him,” she laughed.

“Quite the lovebirds you two are, eh?” Coltaire chuckled when Lyra nuzzled my nose after he had finished.

“Yep, Wingy’s my ‘Knight in Shining Armour’.” She turned back over to the bottle that was on the table. “Drink?” She giggled and she took a sip from it, immediately regretting it as the dry liquid hit her throat. We all laughed after that and continued with the night, caring little for the time.

After another few hours or so of talking, drinking and laughing the bottles had been emptied and we were all a bit drunk.

Tiredness began to take hold on us as Lyra leaned into my shoulder. “Come on, Wingy, let’s go home.”

“I second that,” Coltaire joined, staring at the empty rum bottle. “This is good stuff but it doesn’t exactly do my vocal chords any favours,” he laughed, setting it back down. Lyra and I stood up and bowed to him.

“Thank you, Coltaire. It’s been an honour playing alongside you tonight.”

“Yeah, it was an honour. Thank you, Mr Coltaire.”

He waved aside our thanks. “No, I should be the one thanking you.” He lit up his horn, the aura enveloping his key necklace and unclipping it. Once it was off, he floated it over to Lyra and secured it round her neck. “Treasure that, Lyra, I only have three.” Coltaire took another from his waistcoat pocket and clipped it round my neck over my tie. “And that’s the second,” he removed his hat and bowed. “Thank you, you guys really made tonight, I hope we can do this again sometime, I’ll be sure to talk to your manager about it,” he smiled.

Lyra and I picked up our instruments and I keyed in the coordinates for home, the countdown appearing as Lyra held onto me.

“Bye, thanks again Coltaire!” we said together.

“Farewell my little Gothlings,” he said as a white flash enveloped us and we were catapulted into the void. “Farewell.”