A DJ in the Night

Chapters

Arc I - Chapter: 1 - Odd Mare Out
Arc I - Chapter: 2 - Off To A Good... Wait, Nevermind
Arc I - Interlude: 1 - Fear the Night
Arc I - Chapter: 3 - Caked Up
Arc I - Chapter: 4 - Royally Screwed
Arc I - Interlude: 2 - A DJ's Life
Arc I - Chapter: 5 - Unwanted Advertising
Arc II - Chapter: 6 - Something is Rotten in The State of Canterlot
Arc II - Interlude: 3 - Fear the Night Pt. II
Arc II - Chapter: 7 - Aftermath
Arc II - Chapter: 8 - Awakened
Arc II - Interlude: 4 - Been Diggin'
Arc II - Chapter: 9 - Welcome To My Nightmare
Arc II - Chapter: 10 - A Nightmare Rises
Arc II - Chapter: 11 - A Nightmare Falls
Arc III - Chapter: 12 - A New Beginning
Arc III - Chapter: 13 - Back to "Normal"
Arc III - Chapter: 14 - Neon Makes A Friend!
Act III - Chapter: 15 - Family Matters
Arc III - Interlude: 5 - Nightmares of the Past
Arc III - Chapter: 17 - Everything Changes [Progress: 25%]
Arc III - Chapter: 16 - Sleep Well, My Love?

Arc I - Chapter: 1 - Odd Mare Out

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter: 1 - Odd Mare Out

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

Flashing lights, blaring music, ponies dancing like they don't have a care in the world. Yeah, I was in heaven. My head bounced to the thumping bass that seemed to emanate from absolutely everywhere. My dark gray mane flung itself up and down with each bob, causing it's normally chaotic style to get even more, well, chaotic. Sweat dripped down my grayish-blue coat, practically soaking my black collared shirt. My white tie hung loose around my neck, and my dark purple shades shielded my eyes from the flashing strobe lights. My horn flared with my magic as I adjusted the various knobs on the turntable in front of me, causing the music around me to shift. I smiled, seeing the group of ponies in front of me grind together, dancing their cares away. The mixture of the club's flashing light and general aura of the room filled me with emotions that I rarely felt anywhere else.

As a DJ, it was my job to make sure that everypony in the club was having a good time, and even from a glance I could see that 99% of the club was jumping, dancing, or even trying to sing to the electronic music that blared out of my speakers. But, even though the majority of the club was having fun, I could see one mare in the back of the club that wasn't dancing, jumping, singing, or even looking like she was remotely having a good time.

I would like to say that I had an eagle eye and could see absolutely everything, but I couldn't. The club that I was currently playing at, The Prancing Pony, was quite modern, only being constructed a few years ago. The layout of the club had the DJ booth on the far wall away from the entrance door. The whole club was mainly in one room in the shape of a semicircle—my DJ booth being in the middle of the arc and the entrance to the club being on the other side. The main floor was separated into a seating area and dance floor, the dance floor being located right in front of my booth. The front area was populated with tables and chairs while the bar was located on the wall to my right. From the way it was designed, I had a clear view of every part of the club from my perch. This was actually the point of the designs, as it allowed me to get a perfect feel of the club's atmosphere. Contrary to popular belief, DJ's didn't just play songs at random. Well, I don't, at least. I study the club and the ponies in it, picking the song, or even style of song, that fits the current mood the best. If ponies were tired, I'd play a slower paced song to give them time to rest. If the ponies were hyper, I'd bring up the pace. Hell, even the age of the majority of the patrons affected what I played. You feel a certain way in the club because the music was telling you to, not because it was catchy. Music was science, after all. And when I saw ponies that weren't having a good time, or not reacting to the music I played, I would take it upon myself to make sure that pony would have a good time. After all, my job as to make sure ponies had a good time, not just to play music.

I pressed the "AutoPlay" button on my table, before walking away from my DJ booth and towards the downtrodden mare.

Truth be told, I was a sap for a pretty mare, and a pretty mare not enjoying herself in a place designed for a pony to let loose kinda irked me. Also, it reminded me of myself before I became a DJ. Yes, I was socially awkward at one point in my life, and I would've killed to have somepony break me out of that look. To be honest, I think that's why I became a DJ... that and I was exceptional at techno music.

I bumped into a few ponies as I made my way to the mare, noticing more details about her as I got closer. He mane was a dark purple with blue highlights running through it. Her coat was an almost mystical blue, and her cutie mark was of a crescent moon... Strange, it looks almost familiar. Before I could dwell on the topic further, I had made my way to the mare and was standing next to her. She looked around, seemingly confused and clearly out of her element. I straightened my white tie and fixed my glasses before tapping the mare on her shoulder. I didn't expect her to jump so high, though.

"Aaaaah?!" She screamed, turning around to face me.

I kept my cool, pretending that it never happened. "Hehe, sorry if I scared you," I began, chuckling to myself. "Anyways, I was wondering why a pretty mare such as yourself was doing all alone?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but soon closed it, seeming to rethink what she wanted to say. "We... I... Am not familiar with this form of assembly, and am currently at a loss of what the socially normal approach in said atmosphere would be."

I...what? Was she crazy? I hope she isn't crazy… "Uh... What?" I asked, not even bothering to try and translate whatever had just come out of the mare's mouth.

She sighed, seeming to wrack her brain for a better explanation. "What we... I mean is that... I'm new to this place and don't really know what to do. It all seems so... chaotic."

I chuckled. "Filly, you are at one of Canterlot's finest Nightclubs! And what you do is have fun!!!" I said, hoping she would understand my meaning.

"Ah...I figured as much... but, what fun is to be had?"

Oh, Celestia... I think I've bitten off more than I can chew... Maybe if I got drunk this would be easier? I’d save that option for later. "Duh, dancing!!!"

"Is that what everypony is doing? I wasn't sure if it was some sort of large... mating ritual," she said, starting with curiosity at the ponies on the dance floor.

I tried, I honestly tried, but it was too hard. I broke out laughing, trying in vain to stay upright and not fall onto my back in complete hysteria. The mare looked questionably at me, almost judging my sanity. After laughing until my sides hurt, gaining questionable glances from some of the other ponies around us, I managed composed myself to stop laughing, though still having to take several extra minutes to catch my breath. "Oh Celestia, filly,” I began, wiping some of the tears from my eyes. “You are hilarious. You don't get out much, do you?"

The mare blushed at my question. "You could say that..."

What was up with this mare? I mean, it seems as though she was thrust here from a completely different time period. Granted, it was starting to get annoying by having to explain practically everything to her, but I honestly felt bad for her. I mean... I don't know, actually. I put a hoof on the mare's back, eliciting a confused glance. "Okay, if that’s true, then I'm gonna help you with the adventure that is a nightclub!” I tried to give a dramatic pose, but it didn't seem to work as intended as she just gave me a questioning look… again. I decided to pretend as though she’d thought it was hilarious, and that I didn't look like an idiot. “Anyways, I'm the DJ of this club, so it's my job to make sure that everypony has fun, including you." I started to pull her towards the dance floor. "Come on, let's go and dance!!!"

The mare, somehow, gave me an even more confused look. "But... I don't know how to dance... in this modern style, at least."

I ignored her comment. "Just move how the music makes you want to move."

She seemed like she looked to question that, but decided to hold her tongue and just simply follow me.

We arrived on the dance floor moments later. I casually pushed (well...more shoved) ponies out of the way to make room for me and the mare. I motioned for the mare to stand in front of me with a hoof, and she did, although tentatively. "Now,” I began, “I want you to listen to the music, and just move your body the way it tells you too."

The mare sighed, seeming defeated. After a few moments of her just standing there, listening to the blaring music, the began too... waltz? Well, I didn't expect that... Although, I probably should've. I stopped her a moment later, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "No, no, that's too… stiff, I guess. You need to be looser!!!"

The mare looked up at me with slight anger in her expression. "But...this song is a tri-beat, perfect for a waltz!!!"

Wow... although it was masked by the fusion of sounds that made up the song, it did technically have a waltz tempo. I was slightly impressed on the mare noticing this. "That...that may be true, but you should still be looser."

The mare sighed angrily and began to flail her body around in a seemingly random pattern. "Does this satisfy thy request for 'loose'?!"

I laughed, a large grin spreading across my muzzle. "Hell, yeah! That's way better!!!" I exclaimed, before trying to dance along with the mare's wild dancing style. To be honest, it was kinda fun!

The dark mare seemed taken aback by this, but it didn't take long for a smile to stretch across her features. After looking at my attempt to copy her dancing style, she continued her spasm of dancing. As she danced, the mare got some weird looks from the others dancing around us. Before she could notice them, though, I gave them a death glare own, making them almost instantly turning around to continue dancing. It may seem like it was a little harsh, but since the mare in front of me actually looked like she was enjoying herself, I wasn't going to let anypony to ruin that…

I'm not sure how long I danced with the mare, but when I heard one of the songs repeat, I realized that I had to return to my place as DJ before the owner of the club got pissed at me. I walked up the mare, poking her gently with a hoof to get her attention. She stopped dancing and turned in my direction, sweat visually dripping from her head. Upon noticing it was me, a huge smile spread across her muzzle. "Huzza!!! We are having a most enjoyable time!!!” she began, jumping up and down in front of me. “You have our thanks for teaching us how to dance!!!"

I smiled back, mentally hating myself for having to leave her to return to my post. I honestly toyed with the idea of just saying, “Screw it!” and continued to dance with the mare, but my reputation as a DJ (and to my boss) would surely go down for doing such. I sighed, the mare noticing instantly my change in mood. She shot me a confused and worried look. "Whatever is the matter?"

"Well..." I rubbed the back of my neck with a hoof. "I kinda have to go return to my DJing duties now, so I'm gonna have to leave you be."

The mare looked almost... depressed. She bowed her head, trying not to look me in the eye. "Oh... that is... fine. We… I should now have taken you from your duties, and apologize for any repercussions for my actions shall hold upon you."

Celestia, this mare looked like I just told her that her mother died. "Hey, don't worry, filly!" I began, placing a hoof on her back. "I'll be fine–don't worry!" I chuckled. "It was worth it to see you happy."

The mare smiled at me, a genuine smile. "Well. We... I am glad to hear that, and we... I thank you for helping me to–" The mare paused, seeming to search for the correct word to use. After a few moments, she finished, "have fun."

I smiled, happy to see the mare change from being completely disheveled to having another smile on her face. Hmm... I wonder. "Hey... I get out of here around midnight... Would you wanna chat more then? I know it's late, but I figured I'd ask anyways..."

The mare's eyes went wide and I would've been concerned if she didn't also have a huge grin plastered onto her face. After emitting a sound that I can only describe as a "squee", she answered. "Yes! We mean, I would love to continue our... chat, later, and do not fear the lateness of the hour, for we are–" Once again, she paused, again thinking of the right word to use. "A Mare of the night?"

Again, I laughed. I didn't topple over this time, but I was oh so tempting. I managed to get myself under control before the entire club managed to stop and listen to my outburst. "Filly," I began, trying to catch my breath, "that does not mean what you think it means. I think you meant to say, 'Night pony'."

The mare, though still looked confused, seemed to take my word for it. "Yes... I think that is it. We favor the night over the day and usually sleep through it. Though, I must ask, what exactly does what I said mean?"

Okay. Now how am I gonna explain this? "Umm… it means..." I trailed off. Damn, this was getting awkward. I looked at the mare, who seemed almost eager to hear my response. "A pony who does..." Screw it, I’m just going to be blunt. "It means prostitute."

The mare instantly blushed. "Oh, I… Oh..."

I put a hoof on her back. "It's okay, you weren't well informed, and I could tell you weren't one of them, so we'll just forget you ever said that." She nodded. "Good. Now, I gotta go do my thing—see you later!" I called as I ran into the crowd and towards my DJ booth. I saw the mare wave back before she was consumed by the sea of ponies...

I'm an idiot. Granted, I may have finished top of my class when I graduated college, but, in this moment, I was a complete idiot.

I continued to pace around the back room of the club. The room was small, and only held a couch and some of the random stuff I kept here for when I performed. Since I was the primary DJ for the Prancing Pony, the owner lets me use this room that originally was going to be used for storage as my own personal hangout when I wasn't performing.

I let out an angry groan. "I can't believe how much of an idiot I am!" I mumbled to myself. "I mean, you not only managed to forget to tell her your name but also ask for her's and forget to tell her where to me you!" Truth be told, I had forgotten to tell the mare where were-were going to meet. I'd finished my shift over a half an hour ago, allowing the next DJ to take their spot, and had spent the entire time since then trying to find the dark-blue mare. I'd lost track of her ever since we parted, and hadn't been able to locate her even while I was at the DJ booth.

I mentally, and physically, kicked myself again, flopping my body onto the couch in the room. It was surprisingly soft, and I had found myself drifting off to sleep on it several times in the past. But, that didn't happen this time, as a soft knocking came from the door. My ears perked up, and I sat up to face the door. "It's open!!!" I screamed, hoping whoever was on the other side could hear me. They obviously did, as the door opened moments later, and in trotted a familiar looking mare.

"I am sorry it took this long to find you, as I wasn't aware of where we were supposed to meet," the mare said as she trotted into the room. She looked around, assessing the interior of the room. "Is this your personal study?"

Like before, I laughed at the mare's ignorance to practically everything. I felt bad for doing so, but it couldn't be helped. "No, this is just a storage room the manager lets me crash in," I said, before scooting over on the couch so there was room for the mare, who immediately sat down. Her posture was, well, as straight as a flagpole. "and sorry about forgetting to tell you where to meet me, I kinda feel foolish for doing so."

She shook her head. "'Tis alright—all is in the past, now."

I smiled. "Sweet. Oh! And before I forget, again." I stuck out a hoof. "I'm Neon Lights!"

The mare looked at me for a moment, before taking my hoof with her own and shaking it. "I am..." Again, she paused to think about her words. "Midnight," she finally said.

I gave her a pleasant smile. "Pleasure to meet you, Midnight."

"And to you, as well."

I chuckled. "Okay, I gotta ask: what's up with your... I don't how to put this... old-fashioned nature?" Yeah, I guess that works.

She seemed... nervous, at the question. I hope I didn't touch a nerve with that... Crap, maybe she was bullied as a filly for this, and I just brought up some painful memories! Before I could yell at myself more, the mare let out a loud sigh. "We... I..." She paused, seeming to be in a mental tirade on weather to speak or not. I waited patiently for her to continue, figuring it was the best thing to do. "We are... Cultured in an older style then thyself, and haven't been introduced to this modern culture for long," she finished, looking to me, presumably to see if I understood. I didn't.

I don't know for sure, but it seems to be a touchy subject for her, so I didn't think about pressing her for details. "Okay, I guess. I honestly don't understand it, but it really doesn't matter, I guess." I shrugged. "It's just part of who you are, which is fine, I should add. Anyways, from what I can see, you are just trapped in last, well, century, and need to be caught up!"

She looked relieve at this, smiling at my response. I smiled back.

We talked for the next few hours, our conversations constantly shifting to different subjects. I didn't press her anymore about her speaking patterns, and she seemed relieved that I didn't bring it up. Midnight was very interested when I mentioned anything that had to do with the club and nightlife, and seemed to almost glow when I mentioned that I was pretty much nocturnal.

To her credit, she was surprisingly talkative once I got her going. She said she was an astronomer and went into great detail about the stars and planets. She questioned me about my star cutie-mark, and I told her about how it symbolized my talent for being able to make myself 'Shine!' I honestly didn't know why it was a star, as I got it during my first ever DJ concert. It was at night... Did that factor in? Regardless, she seemed really interested in it, saying that she didn't know so many ponies enjoyed the nightlife.

Midnight was also surprised at how much I enjoyed her talking about astronomy. I can see how some may find it boring, but I found it fascinating! I've always been interested in science, so much so that my majors in college were, along with music theory, physics, and engineering. In fact, I had built most of the equipment that I used at the club, even having patented some revolutionary mixing equipment and speaker designs.

It was almost four in the morning when Midnight said she had to go.

"We apologize, but we must take our leave," Midnight began, getting up from her seat on the couch. During our conversation, she had managed to relax enough to get rid of the flagpole posture, sinking into the couch's plush material.

I, for my part, was laying upside down, one of my hind hooves hanging over the back of the couch. For some reason, I always managed to get comfortable in the weirdest positions. I sat upright, though, as she got up to leave. "Okay, then. Well, tonight was rather fun, and I hope to see you back, here again, sometime soon."

Midnight smiled. "We enjoyed ourselves as well, and cannot wait to do it again. Are you to be performing tomorrow as well?"

I shook my head. "Actually, tomorrow is my day off." Hmm... I wonder… "Actually, there is this new restaurant down the street that just opened. From what I hear, it seems good. Would you..." I rubbed the back of my head with a hoof, "wanna join me there tomorrow night?"

If it was possible, Midnight smiled even wider. "Yes! We have heard of the restaurant you speak about, and would be honored to attend with you as company!"

Yesss!!! I wanted to jump for joy, but I managed to keep my cool... somehow. "Great. Where and when should I pick you up?"

Her smile faltered for a second, before returning to its previous face splitting state. "Could we meet you at your residence? We feel that meeting at mine would take longer as we are situated on the other end of Canterlot."

Well, made sense, especially since I lived only a few blocks from the club. "Yeah, that'll work. I live just a block over in the high rise, apartment 7-D."

"We should be able to find our way. Would 10:00 work for thee?" I nodded. "Exceptional! Then we shall meet thee then!" Midnight trotted over to the door, opening it with her magic--I don't know how I didn't know she was a unicorn until now--and exited.

I flopped myself onto the couch, a goofy grin on my face...

Outside the club, Midnight practically bounced as she trotted forwards. After getting a decent distance away from the club, she looked around, making sure nopony could see her. After making sure the coast was clear, her horn ignited, causing a powerful purple aura to surround it. Seconds later, there was a 'pop' and where the unicorn had only moments ago stood, was a large, regal alicorn. Her mane flowed as if caught in some ethereal wind, seeming to capture the night sky itself. The alicorn unfolded her winds from her sides and, with one mighty flap, flew from the ground and into the early morning sky, her grin from the entire night never leaving her muzzle.

Arc I - Chapter: 2 - Off To A Good... Wait, Nevermind

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter: 2 - Good Beginning, Bad Ending...

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

I really hate alarm clocks… My eyes slowly opened as the sound of my alarm clock filled my tired ears. I reached out a hoof, trying to find the confounded machine. My hoof slammed against my nightstand, hitting nothing but it's wooden top. I groan, the annoying sound continuing.

With a sigh, I sat up in my bed, wiping the sleep from my eyes with a hoof. Now being able to see my alarm clock, which had somehow moved from to the other side of the nightstand, and turned it off, ending it's annoying rant to my eardrums.

As my brain slowly awoke, memories from the previous night filled my ears, bringing a smile to my features. I had gone back to my apartment soon after Midnight left the club, practically passing out the moment I reached the threshold. Thankfully, I had actually been able to make it to my bed before falling asleep, as sleeping on the floor usually ended with my back hating me.

I reveled in the memories of talking with the mare... then I remembered I had a date tonight... Oh crap.

Now, there are two versions of what happened next. The first one (the one that I convinced myself is what happened) being that I calmly thought about my plans for the night before getting some breakfast, and the second one (being what actually happened) was me getting out of bed and running around in a panic....

To say that I was nervous... would be an understatement. I had not been on a proper "date" in, well... I don't even know. The last pony that I had ended up dating was this girl in one of my classes in college, and that didn't exactly end... well. I still shudder at the memory. Because of my lack of experience in the area, I had no idea what I was supposed to do. The restaurant we were going to go to was more upscale, and I wasn't sure of how I was supposed to dress!

I ran into my bathroom (which was connected to my bedroom) and stared into the mirror. I was a mess. My hair was a wreck, my clothes were wrinkled and dirty, and from one whiff of my coat I soon realized that I smelled like dead pig.

I stripped of my collared shirt and tie before jumping into the shower. The warm water instantly relaxed my sore muscles, and my nerves began to calm. I scrubbed myself as much as I could, trying to get every ounce of dirt and grime off my body.

I stepped out of the shower a few minutes later, feeling refreshed and less nervous than before. I trotted from my bathroom to my bedroom, opening my closet with my magic. Although I wasn't the most organized of ponies, I made an attempt to keep my closet clean. My many collared shirts hung on their hangers, my collection of white ties hung on the door. I flipped through my shirts with my magic, hoping that I had, at least, one that could be considered fancy. After flipping through a few times, a thought popped into my head that made me face hoof. I closed the closet, trotted over to my nightstand, and opened the bottom drawer.

My magic enveloped the item inside and pulled it out, unfolding it with my magic and levitating it in front at me. I gently placed a hoof on it, smiling at the memory of when I had received it. It was the last item my grandfather gave me before he passed; a brilliant white dress shirt with a matching black tie and black blazer. My grandfather had been a tailor, and an amazing one at that. Before he passed, he made made this for me, telling me that he didn't trust anypony else to make one for me after he passed.

To be honest, I almost forgot about it. I had never needed to dress fancy; my version of "fancy clothes" was literally what I wore normally. I mean, most ponies are usually just naked.

I smiled at the well-crafted piece of dress wear, marveling at how even in his dying days my grandfather could still create something as awesome as this. I gently laid it on my bed, making sure not to wrinkle it. My gaze shifted from the bed to my clock, noticing that it was just past nine. Good, I still got an hour to get ready.

Embarrassingly, I spent most of that hour trying to put my mane into some sort of fancy style. I toyed with several ideas but decided to just go and slick it back with some gel. To be honest, I thought I looked good. Well, more than usual, at least. The rest of the time was spent setting my grandfather's custom tux on before pacing around my living room, pretty much trying to put a groove on the floor. At around nine fifty, I heard a light knock at the door. This is it…

I slowly walked to my door, taking a deep breath before opening it and–Oh my Celestia! I’ll never be sure, but I could’ve sworn that I could feel the ground on my lower jaw.

Midnight stood in front of me, looking nervously at the ground. Her mane was in a ponytail, set in just a way that made her look so freakin' cute. She wore a brilliant blue dress, with golden accents. Around her neck was a simple, but beautiful, necklace with what looked like a sapphire, carved in the shape of a crescent moon.

The mare pawed at the ground, refusing to look up. "We hope our attire isn't too much..."

I shook my head, snapping myself out of my trance. "No, you look beautiful!"

Her nervous expression changed to a smile as a blush spread across her features. "You mean that?" I nodded, she smiled. "Well...you look exceptional as well."

I suppressed the blush that threatened to spread across my face...I think. "Thanks...shall we be going?"

She nodded. "Let us embark."

Okay... maybe I didn't think this through. I stared at the restaurant, and it wasn't what I expected. It had only taken a few minutes for me and midnight to make it to the restaurant, and I visually gasped when I saw it. I can't be certain, but I think the ground was literally made of gold! Marble columns ran across the front of the restaurant, with a decently sized garden in the front. Marble statues sat a lung the greenery, adding an even more fancy, and expensive, taste to the area. The ponies that stood in line in front of the restaurant all wore the most elegant of attire.

I don't think I can afford this.

Midnight didn't see my pause, and continued trotting up to the front of the line, eliciting some angry glares from the patrons in line. I followed after her, and the patrons glazes shifted from her to me, now showing disgust. I lowered my head, trotting blindly after Midnight.

Once we made it to the front, Midnight talked to the stallion who I could only assume was the pony who seated us. There is probably some fancy name for him, but I had no clue what it was. The stallion nodded, ushering us in. Midnight smiled at me, motioning with a hoof for me to follow. I tried to keep my cool, but I could feel the glares from the ponies in line burning the back of my skull.

Again, I was stunned. The inside of the restaurant was even more elegant and expensive-looking than the outside. Paintings that I could only imagine cost three times my yearly salary hung all around the restaurant. Statues of various famous ponies littered the area, with a large fountain in the middle. A large, crystal chandelier hung in the middle of the restaurant. The server brought us to our table, and we sat down.

"Okay, this was not what I was expecting," I admitted, still admiring the atmosphere.

Midnight cocked her head slightly. "How so?"

"Well," I began, "I wasn't expecting it to be so... expensive! I mean, I think this tablecloth is probably worth more than anything I own!"

Midnight giggled at my outburst. "We can understand that."

The server returned and gave us our menus... Only five items? "Wow...is this just a kids menu?" I asked the server, and received an 'are you joking?' stare. I responded with, "Nevermind," hoping I could just brush it off.

Midnight ordered us some wine that I'd probably get a headache from trying to pronounce. The server nodded and left. I clopped my hooves together, trying to think of a way to start conversation. "Soo..." I began, "do you go to places like this often?"

She nodded. "Quite often, actually."

I nodded in response. Okay, that wasn't getting anywhere. Luckily, the server returned with the wine and poured us both a glass. Midnight nodded to the colt, talking a dainty sip of her glass. I tried to copy how she drank, hoping it would help me blend in. Bleck! What is the foul liquid that assaults my mouth with its pre– "This is quite good, Midnight," I said, my voice and expression the complete opposite of how I really felt. Midnight smiled, and I took another drink, if only for her... Hmm, I wonder if I could get drunk off of this crap… I took a large gulp.

After finishing off three glasses and not even feeling slightly buzzed, I figured that it wasn't going to work. Midnight had begun talking about astronomy, and I listened intently. I was thankful that she'd finally started a conversation, as I was blank on what to say. Well, that was not true. I had plenty of conversation starters in my head, but none of them would fit for the atmosphere of the restaurant. I listened intently until the server returned to take our orders.

Midnight ordered... something. All I know is she said it in fluent Prench. I stared at my menu, completely clueless on what to get. Deciding to pick something at random, I tried to pronounce it... and failed. I ended up just pointing to what I wanted, and the server ended up understanding.

Midnight and I talked some more until the food arrived... What did I order? The dish in front of me could only be described as a cube of... mush. I couldn't tell what it was made out of! The plate it was served on was huge, only emphasizing how freakin' small the thing was. I poked at it with a hoof, and the thing responded by jiggling like jello.

Midnight's food seemed to be some sort of salad, and I instantly cursed myself for not ordering what she got. Figuring that I might aswell try and eat whatever I ordered, I then began to ponder over the enigma that was the dozen or so utensils lining my plate. There were three forks ranging in size, four spoons, and three knives. I picked up one, only to be stopped by the sound of Midnight chuckling.

I looked up at her. "What?"

"Oh... it is just amusing that you are choosing the salad fork for your entree."

My... what? There was a difference? "Oh... Then which fork should I use?"

She giggled again. "You should be using the one closest to the plate, as the furthest one, the one you picked, is for a salad if you were to have one."

Deciding not to question, I began to eat the... cube. Well, it's not bad. Kinda dry, but not bad. Still, even after consuming it I felt as though I'd only eaten a single grape.

After we were both done eating, the server returned with the cheque. Holy shit!!! My eyes went wide as I stared at our bill, my blood running cold through my veins. Okay, if I mortgaged my apartment and sold some of my equipment then maybe I could–

My mental tirade was cut short as Midnight levitated the bill out from in front of me. "Do not worry thyself, as we shall cover the bill."

I wanted to feel relieved that I wouldn't have to live on the streets in order to pay for the bill, but I couldn't because of the rising guilt of seeing her pay the entire thing... I said nothing, and stayed silent...

A few minutes later we left, and I immediately turned to look Midnight in the eyes as soon as we were out of earshot from the restaurant. "I am so sorry for that!"

"Whatever for?" She asked, looking at me confused.

"For making, you have to pay that…monster of a bill! I mean, I make a good living, but I don't think I even had enough in my bank account to cover that!"

Midnight giggled, something that I found quite cute. "'Tis okay, Neon, we have a substantial amount of wealth, and will not even be phased by such a price. All is well, do not fear; your company was worth it enough."

I blushed. I mean... yeah, I blushed. "T-thanks," I said, rubbing the back of my neck with a hoof. "I had a really good time..."

Midnight frowned. "You seem contemplative... I believe you are not being truthful about your enjoyment of our dinner... ‘Twas it me?! Did I offend you in any sort???" She began, panic beginning to rise in her tone. "We must apologize for any discomfort that we may have caused thee and-” She was caught off-guard as I pulled her into a hug. I couldn’t stand seeing the mare working herself up like that, and saw it as the only thing to really do.

We held the hug for several minutes before I pulled back. I put a hood to her chin and brought her gaze to my own. “Listen. I will admit that my experience at the restaurant wasn’t the best, but I promise you that it had nothing to do with you. I’m just not used to that kind of atmosphere, and it was kinda awkward being out of my element. That being said, I did have a great time talking to you. Although the atmosphere wasn’t to my taste, it was still worth it because I got to spend it with you.” Wow, I didn’t expect myself to actually say that. Damn, I hope she doesn’t take that as corny.

What happened next I wouldn’t’ve expected in a million years. Midnight jumped forwards, wrapping her hooves around my neck. Not expecting this, I fell backward. The dark blue mare held her hooves around my neck tightly. I was stunned at first, but then I hugged back. She held her hooves around my neck for what seemed like an eternity, before I felt her hooves loosen around my neck. She stood up, dusting herself off before helping me to my hooves.

“We apologize for the outburst… it is just that your words touched me, and I couldn’t help myself…”

I smiled. “It’s all right, filly. You got nothing to be sorry about,” I said, putting a hoof on her shoulder.

A smile grew on Midnight’s face as she snuggled into my side, nuzzling into my neck. “I cannot thank you enough for how much of a gentle colt you have been to be… It has been some time since we have met somepony as kind as you have been.”

I was shocked at first, but soon found myself snuggling into her as well. “I’m no gentlecolt--I’m just an awesome DJ who doesn’t like seeing a pretty mare such as yourself upset.”

She didn’t respond, instead just snuggling up into my side more. We began to trot towards my apartment, still remaining pressed together. Moonlight shone down upon us, almost as if the moon itself was a spotlight. The cool night air blew through our manes and coats, causing us to snuggle in even closer, trying to leech off of the others’ heat.

Tonight had been perfect. I almost had a heart attack from seeing the bill, received death glares from Canterlot's upper crust, and had the most awkward dinner of my life. But, it was all worth it from the last few minutes. I was in heaven... Until I felt something hard bash into my head.

I feel to the ground, my ears instantly filled with a high pitched ringing. My vision blurred, and I tried to see what had happened. I saw the shadowy form of what I thought was midnight being attacked by another pony. I instantly tried to get to my hooves, to help her, but my limbs didn't respond. As my vision finally began to fade to black... I could've sworn I saw Midnight with wings.

Oh my Celestia! My head hurt! When I awoke from my forced unconsciousness, I couldn't even think through the raging pain in my head. I brought my hooves up to my temples, trying to get the pain to stop. Luckily, it the pain began to subside, and I relaxed as the pain eventually subsided. It was then when I heard the soft beeping of something to my side.

Suddenly, it hit me. I looked around, confirming my theory—I was in a hospital.

I lay in a hospital bed, most of my body being covered in a thin cotton sheet. An IV drip needle was inverted in my left hoof, connected to a bag that hung beside my bed. A heart monitor sat beside my bed, slowly beeping. The rest of the room was not much different than a standard hospital room; its walls were a bland white and the floor was tiled. I tried to shift my body, soon realizing that I was sore as hell. I groaned, leaning back into my pillow... Oh, shit!

I shot up from my bed, ignoring the pain that flared up in my head and body. I took a deep breath as I grabbed the IV needle in my magic, and slowly pulled it out. I jumped off of my bed, wobbling on my hooves. I took a few shaky steps, my body getting used to standing again. As soon as my body adjusted and I ran towards the door. I went to open the door with my magic, only to receive a roaring headache. I shook my head, turning the knob instead with my hoof before pushing it open.

The door opened to a well lit hallway, patient rooms located along the entire corridor. I was about to make a break for the end of the hallway before I noticed a nurse trotting down the hallway. She noticed me immediately, and began to gallop towards me.

It only took a moment for her to reach me, and she immediately put her hooves on my shoulders, trying to lead me back to my room. "Don't go anywhere," she began, "you need to rest."

I pushed her hooves away. "No! I need to find Midnight!" I yelled at her, intent on running to go find the mare.

The nurse put a hoof on my shoulder, this time more caring than concerned. "Don't worry, your friend is fine. After all, she was the one who brought you to us."

I visibly relaxed, letting the mare guide me back into the room. I craved back into bed, feeling the adrenaline wear off as my head started to hurt again. She nurse began to replace the IV needle back into my hoof. I winced as the sharp metal penetrated my vein.

"Now relax," she began. "This is a painkiller, and it should help with the pain."

I nodded in understanding, trying to relax. I took the opportunity to look at the mare properly. She was a decently sized earth-pony mare with a red mane and a white coat. Her cutie-mark was a syringe over a health cross.

"Excuse me, Miss..."

"Good Health."

"Miss Good Health, would you please fill me in on what's going on?" I knew that Midnight was safe, so even though I wasn't pressed to get details, I was still curious.

"Oh, yes, you were unconscious when you arrived," she began, trotting over to retrieve a clipboard from the bedside table. She read over the clipboard before nodding and returning her gaze to me. "You arrived yesterday unconscious with a decent sized head wound and a concussion. Your friend, Midnight, rushed you in. For a small mare, she was really fast. Anyways, you were treated but remained unconscious. Your friend stayed almost the entire time, but said she had to go 'attend matters of great importance' and would, 'return upon the end of last light!'"

I chuckled, noticing Midnight's speech pattern immediately. Yeah, that was her, alright.

"From what she told us, you were attacked by a random mugger; struck across the head with some sort of pipe. She didn't say how she got away with no visible harm, but we decided not to press as to not activate the memory. I can imagine it would've been quite traumatizing for her," the mare finished, trotting towards the door. "You need to rest. The blow you received caused some minor swelling to your brain. Not enough to cause permanent damage, but enough for it to hurt like Tartarus. That and your friend shall be arriving soon because it's almost 'last light.'" The mare then exited, leaving me alone.

I sighed before laying down and trying to get comfortable. The image of Midnight with wings flashed into the front of my mind, but I brushed it off, figuring it was a trick of my mind when I was struck. After all, how could she have a horn and wings...

I awoke to the feeling of my ribcage being crushed. I wanted to scream for the nurse, but I stopped when I heard sobbing. I opened my eyes, noticing I was being bear hugged by a dark blue mare. I smiled for a moment, before I remember my crushing ribs. "Can't...breath..." I sputtered out.

Midnight released me at once, backing off so she sat besides the hospital bed. "We apologize, we were just excited to see that you have awoken from your forced slumber," she began, wiping a free tear from her eye. "We feared that you would be lost to us, but we are overjoyed to see that is not the case."

I smiled, moving my forehoof to rest on her shoulder. "Don't sweat it, 'Night, it'll take a lot more than that to keep me down!" I said, instantly regretting it when my headache returned.

"Please," she began, "you must not exert yourself, as you are still healing."

I nodded, snuggling back into my bed. "Midnight?"

"Yes?"

"How... How did you get away from whoever tried to mug us? I mean, last thing I saw was you being... attacked." I wilted in the bed, saddened by the fact that I hadn't been able to help her.

"We... we were able to slip away from that fiend,” she began. "We wish not to talk about it..."

I nodded, remembering how the nurse said it could've been traumatizing for her. "It's okay, all that matters is that you are safe."

Midnight smiled at me, nuzzling her head into my hoof on her shoulder. I could feel a chill go up my spine at her touch, and I couldn't help but blush. Far too soon, she stopped, looking up at me with a surprisingly serious expression.

"We... I promise you that I will not let anything happen to you. You have shown me kindness that I have not received in a long, long time. You mean more to me then you can ever know..." She lowered her head. "You show me light in my dark world."

Unsure of how to respond, I leaned forwards and pulled Midnight into a tight hug, whispering into her ear. "I'm not going anywhere..."

Arc I - Interlude: 1 - Fear the Night

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Interlude: 1 - Fear the Night

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

“Give me your bits, filly!” the large stallion said, standing in front of the barely conscious form of Neon Lights. “I already took care of your date, so I believe that it’d be in your best interest to do as I say, understand?”

Midnight didn't respond, only shaking as she stared at the unconscious form of Neon.

The stallion gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on the metal pipe being held in his telekinetic grip. “Lady, I’m losing my patience here,” be began, stepping closer to Midnight. “You don’t give me your bits on the count of three, then I’m gonna have to use more physical means of getting them from you, understand??”

The buck noticed Midnight’s breaths begin to quicken as she began to shake more, still refusing to remove her gaze from Neon. The stallion sighed.

“One!” he began, lifting the pipe above his head.

Midnight didn't respond, only continuing to stand there.

“Two!” the stallion said, getting in position, ready to bring the pipe down and against the mare's head.

“Three!” The pipe swung down, stopping only inches above Midnight's head.

“Thou hath made a horrible mistake…” Midnight began, bending the pipe in half with her telekinetic grip.

The buck’s eyes went wide, stepping away from the advancing mare. “Stay back!” he began, his voice shaking. “Don’t make me hurt you!”

Midnight’s eyes suddenly shifted, her pupils morphing into narrow slits and changing from a bright violet color to a dark black. She advanced, seeming to become larger with each step. “You have hurt the only one who has shown us kindness in many years… You hath harmed the first pony to not shun us or coward in fear…” Midnight began, her horn igniting, enveloping her body in a dark purple aura. “You hath brought upon thyself my wrath…”

Everything around the buck seemed to become darker as he backed away from the mare advancing towards him. He wanted to run, he wanted to scream, but all he could bring himself to do was slowly back up, keeping a few feet between him and the mare. “What,” he began in a shaky voice. “What are you?!”

Midnight stopped her advanced, staring at the buck cowering in front of her. Dark tendrils began to creep out of the mare’s shadow, sliding up and around her body like ghostly snakes. The tendrils shifted, forming into the shape of large, haunting wings. The ghostly wings flared out, a dark mist surrounding them. More tendrils formed from the mare's shadow, sliding up and around her much like the previous ones had. “We are a nightmare!” she screamed, her voice amplified to an extreme level. As if on command, the shadows surrounding Midnight flung themselves of off her and towards the buck. “And we shall show you what true fear is,” she finished as the shadowy tendrils engulfed the stallion, muffling his fear-filled screams...

Arc I - Chapter: 3 - Caked Up

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter: 3 - Caked Up

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

It had been three days since I'd been knocked unconscious, and all three of them being spent in the hospital. Midnight had stayed and kept me company for as long as the hospital had allowed her too, literally having to be kicked out. Those past few days had been, well, boring! There was absolutely nothing to do, and I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. I literally jumped for joy when the doctor said that I was free to leave that boring Tartarus hole of a place.

I stood at the entrance of the hospital, my head finally clear of any pain. The doctor had told me to take it slow for the next week, but other than that, he said that I would make a full recovery. With that in mind, I turned on my heels and began to trot to my personal favorite place in the world: The Prancing Pony. While I was in the hospital, I had ended up missing one of my gigs that I had scheduled, and I was scared out of my wits about how my boss was going to react. To my surprise, he actually visited my while I was in the hospital, telling me not to worry about it, and that my booth would still be waiting for me when I recovered. I guess I may have overreacted when I thought that he’d fire me for missing his gig because I was in the hospital…

I chuckled at my own paranoia as I trotted down the stone sidewalk. You know what, I’m gonna blame the painkillers for my silly behavior. There, ego saved once again!

It didn’t take my long to get from the hospital to the club, as it was located only a few miles from the hospital. Honestly, whoever designed Canterlot had to be a genius because almost everything important or interesting was always walking distance away. Usually large cities, especially old ones, suffered from the plague of urban sprawl, but Canterlot had somehow managed to avoid that.

I opened the large doors to The Prancing Pony, and was greeted by a heart attack. As soon as I had pulled the door fully opened I was greeted by a practical wall of streamers being shot into my face.

“Surprise!!!!” echoed from inside of the club.

“Aaaaah!” I screamed, slamming the door to the club. I stood outside of the door for several minutes, contemplating just leaving. Eventually, I decided to simply deal with whatever lay in store for me inside of the club.

I slowly opened the door again, this time being greeted with no streamers and a much quieter, “Surprise.”

I trotted inside the club, noting that it was decorated from top to bottom in standard party decorations. Balloons and streamers littered every area of the club, and quite a few ponies were milling about wearing party hats. In the middle of the club hung a banner reading, “Welcome back, Neon!” in bright pink lettering. Not the color that I would’ve preferred, but I would never let myself be caught dead being unappreciative. I wonder if my boss put this together for me…

My train of thought was cut short as a pink ball flew into my field of vision. “Hi!!!”

I jumped again and screamed, “What the heck?!”

The pink ball turned out to be a pony, and she wasted no time in answering me. “Oops, sorry! I was just so excited to meet you! One of your friends said that you got hurt that that they wanted my help with throwing you the best welcome back party and I happily said ‘Yes’ and took the first train up to Canterlot so I could get everything set up and I had to make sure the everything was perfect for you because they told me that you were hurt by a mean pony and no one should be hurt by a mean pony unless it is another mean pony and even that isn’t okay because Grandma Pie always told me that ‘Violence was never the answer’ and--”

How did this mare function? I mean, she manages to go on and on without breathing!

“–and then I told them that it’d be funny if he took the salmon out of his pants and hey are you listening to me?” she finished, looking at me for an answer.

I blinked, trying to comprehend whatever had just been said to me. “Uhh… Yes?”

The mare smiled impossibly wide. “Yay!" She jumped up and down in front of me. "I'm gonna go check to make sure that everything is still perfect, so you should go and have some fun!" As soon as she finished, the impossible mare jumped up and ran to... somewhere.

What... You know what? I'm gonna pretend that I never saw her or talked to her. Nope, I just walked to the club and was greeted by a party. No pink mare.

I trotted into the club, smiling as I got the occasional wave or "Hello" from one of the partygoers. I wasn't sure where I should be going, so I figured I'd just go to my booth and lighten this place up! I trotted through the dance floor, and up to my perch. I ran a hoof over my tables, a happy smile tugging at my face. I grabbed my headphones and began creating a playlist. After a few minutes of toying around with a few tracks, I picked up the mic.

"Hello, everypony!!!" I screamed into the microphone, eliciting stomping hooves and cheers from the party's patrons. "Now, I can't thank you enough for coming to this party to wish me well. You all are the best of ponies, and I feel that the best of pony's deserve the best of music!" I started the first track, slowly turning up the volume as I continued. "So stay a while, have some fun, and drop the bass!!!" As if by my command, the song suddenly had a huge base drop, the whole club practically bounced from the deep tone emanating from my speakers. I pressed a button, making the club's lights turn off before the strobes flared on. Cheers and applause could be heard from in front of me, and I smiled. This... this was the only medicine I needed…

I remained at my tables for about two hours, playing track after track while watching the ponies in the club dance and have fun. The pink pony, who I learned to be named Pinkie Pie, occasionally appeared at my booth either with a song request or just to say, “Hi!” Other than that, I was basically alone at my tables. This was where I belonged, all of the pain, fear, and awkwardness from the other day washing away with the beats of the music. But after a while, I began to feel like something was missing… I pushed the thought out of my mind, returning my focus on the music.

When I finally had enough, I put my tables on “AutoPlay” before trotting down to mingle. I said, “Hi” to a few ponies and was approached by a few fans. Some of them asked me about what happened, and I told them that I wasn't quite sure because I blacked out almost immediately after it happened.

Eventually, I bumped into my boss. "Yo, Neon!" he yelled, wrapping a hoof around my back. "Glad to hear my number one DJ is okay. And, by your performance earlier, I can see that you haven't lost it."

I smiled at him. He was a large, slightly heavy-set unicorn buck with a red coat and a black mane. His cutie mark was that of twin speakers with a money sign in the middle. "Don't worry, Big Time, it'll take a hell of a lot more than that to knock me down, and, even more, to knock the music out of me!"

Big Time patted me on the back. "That's my star! And I hope you like the party—I actually brought in the best party planner in Equestria for just such an occasion. Her name is Pinkie Pie, and I'm sure you've already met."

I nodded, holding back the shiver that threatened to run up my spine.

"Anyways," he continued, stepping away from me. "I'm gonna count the profit I made tonight. See, even when you get mugged, you make me money! Now that's good business!" He laughed, trotting off.

I smiled. Even though the stallion may have seemed prude at times, he had a good heart. Actually, as far as bosses go, he had probably been the best I've ever had. He picked me up right after I got out of college, and gave me a job on the spot. Granted, I wasn't given the head spot at first, as I had to work my way up, but I was still grateful that he gave me a shot.

After mingling for a while, I eventually excused myself to my "personal study." Haha! Midnight's starting to wear off on me... Midnight.

I stopped as soon as I got through the door to the back room. That's what was missing... I flopped on my couch, my thoughts returning to the mare that had not only captured my attention but also saved my life as well. There was something about this mare that separated her from the rest, and it wasn't just her speaking pattern. There was something... mysterious about her. I couldn't put my hoof on it, but I felt like there was more to her than meets the eye...I was drawn away from my thoughts when I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!" I screamed, not bothering to see who it was. I heard footsteps, then a very familiar voice.

"We are glad to see you out of the hospital."

My eyes shot open, and I scrambled to my hooves. I sat up, facing my guest. "Oh hey, Midnight! Yeah, it is good to be outside of that place."

She nodded, trotting over and sitting next to my on my couch. Damn. Déjà vu. "We are sorry we were not able to come sooner, as matters required us elsewhere. But, we made time to be able to see you. Sadly, I did not arrive in time to hear your performance, but from what we have heard from the other ponies was that it was exceptional!"

I smiled. "Hey, don't worry about it, you're here now, so I'm happy," I said, patting the mare on the back.

We sat in silence after that, neither of us being able to think of what to say. Eventually, Midnight broke the silence.

"Neon?" she began, turning to face me.

"Yeah?" I responding, shifting on the couch so I was better seated.

"We... we wish to tell you a secret that we have been keeping from you, but are afraid of how you'll respond," she said, removing her gaze from me and looking shamefully at the ground.

I tilted my head. A secret? What could she possibly be hiding? Was she some sort of government spy? Or maybe she was a secret assassin! Or maybe she was–I cut off my mental tirade, figuring that speculation would do more harm than good. "Don't worry, Midnight, I won't judge you," I began, patting the mare reassuringly on the shoulder. "You can trust me."

She smiled, before taking a deep breath. "What we want to tell you is... is that we are a–" She was cut off as the door the room slammed open, a pink mare bouncing in.

"Oh! There you are, Neon!" Pinkie said, bouncing over to me. "I've been looking all over for you! I tried looking at your DJ booth thingy, but you weren't there, then I tried–"

Is this mare's sole purpose to give me heart attacks and ruin deep moments?

"–and then I checked the roof and you weren't there. But then I remembered that 'roof' rhymed with 'booth' then I thought you may store your equipment somewhere and why are you staring at me like that?" she finished, tilting at me and giving me a confused look.

I shook my head, removing the glare that had formed on my face. "Pinkie, I would like it if you didn't–" Once again, I was cut off.

"Oh!" She screamed, bouncing over to Midnight, who had a confused and almost worried look on her face. "Who are you?! I haven't seen you before, and I would've known if I'd met you before because I remember everypony I meet!" The pink mare suddenly stopped bouncing, narrowing her eyes before leaning in close towards midnight. "Wait a second... You look familiar..."

Midnight suddenly put her hooves up. "No, no, no!" she began, flailing her hooves out in front of her. "You do not know me nor have we ever met before!"

Pinkie put a hoof to her chin, seeming to contemplate something. "Your remind me of–" Midnight gulped. "–black snooty!!!"

Of what now?

"Yes! You remind me of that terrible Nightmare Moon! But I know you aren't her because she went away when Twilight and the rest of our friends blasted her away with the power of liquid rainbow!!!"

Midnight let out a breath of belief. "Yes, I guess we do have some resemblance towards the Night Devil, and can see where your comparison comes from."

Pinkie nodded. "Well, anyways, what is your name???"

Midnight held out a hoof. "I am Midnight, pleased to meet you."

Pinkie shook the offered hoof. "Nice to meet you, Midnight! I'm Pinkie Pie!" The pink pony soon ended the hoof shake and turned to face me. "Well, I just wanted to find you because we are having cake soon and I didn't want the pony who the cake was for not to have a slice! So come down and grab a piece soon!" she said, bouncing out the doorway. Before she exited, she gave Midnight a wink before exiting out the door.

I blinked. What...what was that mare? I mean... her existence almost seems impossible! She should be studied, to be honest. Although, I'd feel bad for the poor sap that'd get that job. I shook my head, banishing any further thoughts about the pink paradox. I turned to face Midnight. "Anyways," I began. "You were gonna say something before that creature entered?"

Midnight twiddled her hooves. "We... it is nothing, do not worry about it," she said, trying to brush it off.

I wanted to press, I wanted to so badly, but I couldn't. I'd have to eventually bring this backup, but not now. "Okay, I guess. We'll talk about it later," I said, sitting up from the couch. "But for now, shall we go and get some cake?" I finished, offering a hoof to Midnight.

The blue mare smiled at me, taking the offered hoof. "We would like that,” she said as we trotted out of the room…

Cake… How is there so much cake?! I stared at the literal river of what I assumed to be every single type of cake ever created. Midnight and I had only managed to make it a few feet out of the storage room before we noticed the plethora of cakes that littered the dance-floor. I had frozen the moment I saw it, completely in awe.

The pink creature bounced up and down in front of us, waiting for us to respond.

"Um," I began, still staring at all of the cakes. "What's up with the cakes?"

"Weeeeeell," the mare began, still bouncing. "I didn't know which flavor was your favorite, so I just got all of them!!!"

My left eye twitched. "You could've just asked me..." I deadpanned.

"No I couldn't've, silly! Because if I did it would've ruined the surprise!"

I face-hoofed. "My favorite is plain because I hate frosting."

The mare gasped, putting her hooves to her face in an overly dramatic pose. "How can you not like frosting?! That's..." She looked down in disgust. "Blasphemy!"

"Meh, I am who I am," I began, shrugging. "Anyways, where is the plain cake in this pile?"

The mare chuckled nervously. "Um... that's the only flavor I didn't get..."

There needs to be something greater than a face-hoof to be able to show the sheer face-hoof levels of this. "Whatever, I'm not hungry anyways."

The mare deflated, almost sinking into the ground. "I-I'm sorry..."

Oh shit, it's like I've kicked a puppy. How could a mare go from me wanting to kill her to making me want to give her a hug?! I gotta do something!!! I quickly grabbed the nearest cake, some sort of blue one, and jammed a slice into my mouth. "Whelf," I began, only to wait 'til I was done chewing before continuing. "I could always try some to see if there is one I like."

The mare, well, re-inflated. "Yay!" She began, clapping her front hooves together. "Now everyone else can dig in!"

At her command, the rest of the party goers went around and got a slice of whatever flavor they liked. I smiled at the pink mare until she bounced away.

I spat out what was in my mouth. "Blech!" I wiped what remained off of my tongue. "That was disgusting!" I heard a soft chuckle from beside me, and soon realized it was Midnight.

"'Twas really kind of you to do that."

I shrugged. "As annoying and impossible as she has been, she seems to mean well... and I couldn't stand to see her like that..."

Midnight put a hoof on my shoulder, giving me a comforting smile. "As we have told thee before: you have a good heart."

I blushed, again. Damn it! This is completely ruining my badass-DJ look. "Thanks..." I grabbed a piece of chocolate cake with my magic, levitating it over to the blue mare. "Cake?"

She giggled, grabbing the offered slice and taking a polite bite. Her eyes went wide. "What 'tis the wonder that hath blessed my taste buds with their presence?!" Seeming to put politeness and posh aside, Midnight dive headfirst into the cake, eating the slice in one gulp. "We must have more!!!" she said, her eyes filled with determination as she went headfirst into another slice.

I'm not sure how to take this... I mean... damn, she sure likes cake… I was pulled out of my thoughts as a loud voice announced: "Cake fight!!!"

"Oh shit..." I muttered as I saw the first slice fly threw the air, hitting an unsuspecting mare. Said mare responded by throwing another slice in the direction of the first... Then the cake hit the fan.

I ducked as another slice barely missed my head as I tried to run towards cover. Cakes of all colors and flavors flew across the air, sometimes hitting their targets, other times hitting an innocent victim. As I ran, I could see Big Time throwing cake after cake at the patrons, a determined gleam in his eyes. The pink monster seemed to be the greatest threat in the club, somehow managing to rig up some sort of cake catapult behind the bar, launching full cakes into the crowd of ponies.

I had lost track of Midnight as soon as the first cake was thrown, her blue body being engulfed almost instantly by the mob that formed.

The whole club had transformed into a war zone in a matter of seconds—nopony was safe from the flying confectionaries. Wait... Oh, hell no!

I ran as fast as I could towards my DJ booth, jumping in front of an incoming cake to make sure my precious equipment didn't get damaged. Wait... why is everything so red? Oh, that's right, because ponies are trying to get cake on my baby... No one cakes my baby…

The next few hours are a kinda blur, but all I could remember was a pile of cake-covered ponies at my hooves, thwarted in their attempts to desecrate my beloved tables... And apparently I passed out. Not sure when, why, or how, but when I awoke I was laying in front of my tables, not so gently being awoken by a hoof tapping my chest.

"Neon, get your lazy butt up!"

No, it's too comfy on the... ground... Nevermind. I got to my hooves, trying to wipe away the frosting that clouded my vision, only managing to spread more frosting and cake gore over my face from my, even more, covered hoof. I groaned, shaking as hard as I could as I tried to fling off any loose cake. It worked, but I kinda wish it didn't...

Big Time looked down at me, his face and coat covered in freshly flung cake.

"Hehe...oops," I nervously chuckled.

Big Time sighed, wiping some of the cake gore off of him. "It's alright...I guess," he began. "Anyways, I'm just going around and kicking anypony who isn't the cleaning crew out so I can have this place cleaned before we open. And unless you want to pick up a mop, I recommend you scurry on out of here."

I looked around and... Wow. Yeah, I don't think there is one area of this club that isn't covered in cake. Not wanting to be a part of the poor ponies tasked with cleaning, I started to sprint towards the door... Before I slipped and began sliding along the floor. "Aaaaah!!!" I screamed, bumping into a large mound of cake. It groaned, shifting slightly. "Cake monster!!!" I screamed, backing away from the groaning mound.

"We...we are not a cake... Uhh..." the mound groaned.

Hey, I recognize that "we" anywhere! "Hey, Midnight, you in there?" I asked, poking the mound.

It groaned again. "We... We couldn't help ourselves... There was... too much delicious... We regret nothing..."

Yeah, that was definitely her. I wiped away the excess cake to reveal the mystical blue mare, holding her stomach with both her front hooves. I laughed at the display. "Seems like someone can't hold their cake," I said, gently poking the mare.

"Come closer so that we may strike you," she mumbled.

I laughed. "Okay, let's get you out of here—I got some stuff that should right your stomach at my apartment," I said, levitating the mare onto my back. She groaned, but didn't seem to protest.

Hmm... Maybe I should've rethought walking down the street in the middle of the day, covered in cake, and with a groaning mare on my back... Meh, I thought as I trotted from the club to my apartment, getting the occasional stare from a passerby. It wasn't like it was hard to spot us, as were colorfully covered in cake, and by the frosting trail I left as I walked.

When I finally arrived at my apartment building, I probably got the funniest look from the doorman that I've ever seen. He didn't say anything, only opening the door and watching as I trotted up to the elevator, got in, and ascended to my floor. I levitated my keys from my ruined shirt and opened the door. It took me longer than expected to actually get through the door without accidentally banging Midnight's head against the doorframe.

Once inside, it was straight to the shower! Well, almost. I trotted into my bathroom with Midnight still on my back and opened my medicine cabinet with my magic. After several seconds of searching, I levitated the bottle down from the cabinet.

"Midnight?"

The mare mumbled in response.

"How much do you weigh?"

Her response was immediate. "We beg your pardon?!" she screamed, instantly groaning and curling up more on my back.

I rolled my eyes. "I need to know your weight so I can give you the proper dose, silly."

"Oh," she began, shifting slightly on my back. "We are not sure of our current weight, but we do believe that we should be around your weight, if not slightly below."

Okay, that's close enough. I poured the correct amount of the liquid into the small measuring cup before levitating it over to Midnight. "I hope you like bubblegum!"

The mare took the cup in her own magic, lifting it to her lips and downing the entire thing. She levitated it back to me, and I washed it out before putting it away. I started the shower, adjusting the temperature before gently levitating Midnight in. "The medicine should kick in soon, and the hot water may help," I began, closing the curtains. "I'm gonna wait out here in case you need me." A groan was all the response I got.

Why does this feel awkward? I thought to myself. I shrugged at my own question.

A few minutes later I heard Midnight finally get to her hooves from inside the shower. "Whatever you have given us has worked wonderfully!" she began. "Both me and my stomach thank you."

I chuckled. "Tell your stomach I said you're welcome."

Midnight chuckled.

"Now that I know you're not dead, I'm gonna wait outside," I said as I trotted out of the bathroom.

"We shall not be long..." There was a pause. "Nevermind! This may take longer as this cake seems to be much harder to remove from our mane than expected!"

I waited outside of the door for what seemed like an hour as Midnight fought with the confection too, "vacate itself from our mane." For a small mare, she sure is loud! Anyways, she finally trotted out, her mane practically sparkling. "We thank you for allowing us to use your facilities and for carrying us here," she began, drying off her mane with a towel. "Would you mind if we waited here until you are done?"

"Okay, if you want too," I said, trotting into the bathroom. "Just don't break anything! Oh, and don't touch my stereo!!!" I added before closing the door...

After meticulous scrubbing--Midnight wasn't kidding about this stuff being impossible to get out of your mane--I eventually emerged from the shower, clean and refreshed. I exited the bathroom, and immediately began to look for Midnight. I found her looking at some of my family photos in my living room. I trotted up next to the mare, looking over her shoulder to see which picture she was looking at. It was the picture my father had taken when I got my cutie-mark. I was standing next to a small, single record turntable, an impossibly wide smile on my face. I smiled, remembering the memory fondly.

“It amazes me how much things have changed…” Midnight muttered.

I chuckled. “Yeah, things sure do change when we grow up.”

She shook her head. “No, we mean… How many ponies enjoy the night?” she asked, taking her eyes off of the photo and shifting them to me.

I shrugged. “I don’t have an exact number, but I can imagine that it’s high! I mean, with nightclubs, stargazing, astronomy, and all of the other things that happen at night, I can imagine many ponies enjoy it!” I explained, curious on what the mare was getting at.

Midnight smiled. “So… ponies don’t ignore the night anymore?”

“No…? I can’t remember when they did… Midnight, what are you trying to ask?”

She let out a deep sigh. “There… it is nothing. We just… It is nothing…”

Okay, enough avoiding the question, time for no more Mr. Nice Neon! “Midnight, there is more to this than that. From how you look right now, I can tell that there is more to it than that. Is… is this connected to what you wanted to tell me at the club? I didn’t want to push you, and I still don’t, but I can tell that something is bothering you, and I wanna help,” I said, putting a hoof on her shoulder for support.

Our eyes met, and I swear to Celestia that they sparkled. “We… yes, it is connected to what we wish to tell you…” Midnight took a deep breath, before standing up straight. “We… we are…”

Midnight took a deep breath, before igniting her horn. The air around us seemed to get… colder as Midnight’s magic swirled around her horn. The room darkened, every single form of light seeming to somehow fade. I watched in awe as the shadows around Midnight started to swirl, almost as if in a ghostly dance. The blue mare’s horn glowed brighter, more magic and power emanating from it. The shadows around Midnight began to speed up, slowly rising from the ground. They continued to rise, slowly engulfing the mare until there was nothing but a wall of darkness. Suddenly, there was a flash, but not a flash of light. It felt like every source of darkness in the room suddenly shot towards the shadow wall, leaving the only light. As the flash faded, the room slowly returned to normal, and where Midnight had just stood moments ago, was a tall, regal alicorn.

I froze in place, looking into the alicorn’s eyes; eyes that showed pain pain and loneliness, but also held hope. I wanted to speak, I wanted to move, but I couldn’t.

The alicorn in front of me nervously shuffled in place. “This is who we really are… We are Princess Luna, ruler of the night.”

I stared at the alicorn for a few moments, before the world faded to black…

Arc I - Chapter: 4 - Royally Screwed

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter: 4 - Royally Screwed

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

Have you ever woken up and wanted so desperately to go back to sleep? Sometimes it’s because you just don’t want to leave the comfortable embrace of your bed. Sometimes it’s because you just didn’t get enough sleep. And other times you just don’t wanna face an immortal god that you didn’t know you were flirting with. Well, the last one may not be as common.

I awoke about 20 minutes ago, and as soon as I did, the memory of Midnight turning into princess Luna flooded my mind. I could’ve convinced myself that it was just a dream, but that’d just be stupid. If I had my way, I would’ve stayed there the entire day, night, and rest of my life in a cocoon of my own blankets… but my stomach had other plans. Considering I didn’t eat any dinner the day before, I was pretty hungry. I groaned, realizing that my plan to just lay in my bed was ruined by my mortal desire to eat, I sat up and… Oh shit.

On any other day, and if it were any other pony, I would consider what was in front of me as cute… but considering it was a princess, I had to banish those thoughts from my mind. Princess Luna sat at the edge of my bed, her eyes closed and her head resting on a hoof. I froze, hoping that she didn’t notice that I’d awoken. After a few minutes of impossible silence, a soft snore escaped the mare’s lips, and I let out a breath that I didn’t know I was holding.

There were two things I could do. One: I could slowly get out of my house and run away to some expediting country, or two: I could just wake the... the princess and address the big-ass elephant in the room.

Many thoughts went through my mind in that moment, contemplating my choices... then it hit me. This mare wasn't going to throw me in a dungeon, she wasn't going to yell at me, she wasn't gonna do anything even close to that! This was still the same mare I met at the club that night... only now she has wings. It was then I took the opportunity to think of this from her perspective. She was a princess. She chose to take the form of a normal pony so she could go to a nightclub. She chose to have dinner with me...

With my mind made up. I cleared my thought loud enough to wake the sleeping mare. Her head jerked up, looking for the source of whatever had awoken her. Her eyes finally fell upon me, and she froze in place. I stared back at the mare, looking into those same eyes that I had seen countless times in the past few days. I opened my mouth to speak, but it was Luna who spoke first.

"We... we shall be going now... We just wanted to make sure that you were okay..." the mare said, getting up and slowly walking towards the door.

"Wait!" I screamed. "Please don't go."

Luna paused, slowly turning to face me. "You... you wish for us to stay?"

I gulped. "Y-yes I... yes, I do." I got out of bed, trotting over to the mare. She shifted nervously as I got closer, refusing to meet my gaze. I stopped when I was only a foot away from her, taking a deep breath before speaking. "You being a princess may... complicate things. But even so, you are still the lonely mare I met at the club, and I'll only treat you differently if you ask me too," I finished.

Her response came in the form of a bone crushing hug. "We cannot express how much thanks we must give you for the understanding you have shown!" She began, hugging me tighter. "We feared that once you knew who we were, you'd run away or grovel like all the others!"

I could feel warm tears begin to flow down my back. Even though I was having trouble breathing, I hugged the mare back. "I... I thought of running away at first... but then it dawned on me that you were still the same pony who I met that day, just with a crown."

Luna continued to sob, holding me in a tight embrace, almost as if she even released a little, I’d disappear. "You... you truly are the kindest stallion we have ever met..."

I can't take it anymore! "L-Luna!" I squeaked. "C-can't b-b-breath!!!"

She instantly released me, and I gasped for air. "We are so sorry!" she began. "We were just so happy... we didn't notice we were crushing you."

"It's okay," I said, taking deep breaths. "It was honestly worth it."

She smiled, and I smiled back.

Silence...

"Now what?" I asked.

Luna cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... well, I mean what does this mean?" I motioned between us with a hoof. "As much as I want to remain casual, you still are a princess. I mean, are there laws about me hanging out with you? I want to remain friends, but I also want to make sure that nothing bad happens as a result of this."

Luna bowed her head. "We... We don't want any special treatment, or for you to treat us differently at all. You... you treat me as a normal pony; you don't grovel, run away, or even fear us. I wish for our interactions to remain the same... but we also know that things have to change." She looked solemnly at the ground. "We... we would like to keep this a secret from the public, lest you become a target."

I become a what now? "Uhh... Say that again?"

"Well, you being personal friends of the princess may lead to others wishing to get to me through you. Maybe trying to gain favors from you, or wish to harm you in order to harm us as a result."

My eye twitched. Well... I didn't think of that…

Luna noticed this, and instantly spoke up. "You need not worry of that!" she began. "For we shall personally make sure of your safety."

Well, can't get much safer than being protected by a god, I thought. "I trust you, and you are truly fun to be around, so I guess it's worth it."

A small blush formed on Luna's muzzle. "We... we thank you for that." She paused. "We... we would like to have you visit us in the castle, as we would like to introduce you to our sister, as I feel she would want to know of your presence."

I get to meet two princesses?! Holy crap, I'm the luckiest stallion in all of freakin' Canterlot! "How could I say, no?"

Luna jumped up, clapping her front hooves together. "Huzza! We shall arrange a lunch for us and our sister! We shall go and make preparations, and shall give you notice once we are ready!" Her horn began to glow. "We cannot thank you enough for how you have taken this, as we feared the worst." With a pop, she was gone.

I stared at the spot where Luna had just been, trying to process what had just happened. In the end, I just shrugged it off, figuring that thinking about it too much would only hurt my brain...

"One hundred and twenty-two," I mumbled as I caught the ball I my magic grip, before throwing it against the wall again. The ball hit the wall, bouncing back as I caught it in my magical grip again. "One hundred and twenty-three..."

It had been a few hours since Mid–err... Luna had left, and I'd been bored out of my mind ever since. I'd finished my morning routine a while ago, and decided to try and find something to do while I waited for her to return. I ended up grabbing a rubber ball that I'd won in an arcade game a while ago, and was bouncing it off my wall, catching it, then throwing it again. I didn't know why, but the activity somehow seemed to calm me. Maybe it was the soft beat that it created when it bounced off of the floor and then off the wall... Meh, whatever. I threw the ball again, returning to my time-blowing exercise.

I wasn't sure how long it'd be until Luna returned, and Celestia knows when... Celestia would be free and able to attend a lunch with me and her sister...

There was a sudden "pop", accompanied by the sound of hooved landing on my hardwood floor. I jumped, turning around and throwing the rubber ball at the source of the sound.

"Ouch!" Luna cried, bringing her hoof to her muzzle.

My eyes went wide as I shrunk down. "Hehe... sorry," I mumbled apologetically.

Luna rubbed her muzzle one more, before moving her focus back to me. "It is okay, as we probably should've given you more warning before appearing," she began, giving me a reassuring smile. "Although, there are repercussions for assaulting a princess."

I meeped.

Luna stared seriously at me for a few seconds, before her lips began to curl into a smile... and then falling onto her back and bursting into laughter. "Haha! You should see the look upon thy face!" she began, still laughing. "We can't believe you believed that!"

My face scrunched up in annoyance. "Haha," I mock laughed. "You are so hilarious."

Luna finally stopped laughing, shifting back onto her hooves and wiped a tear from her eye. "Yes, we are hilarious," she began, smiling. "But we want you to know that we shall never punish you for something done by accident."

I rolled my eyes.

"Anyways, we shall get back to the reason for our sudden appearance," she continued. "We have arranged for a lunch for us and our sister soon, and have come to fetch you." Her horn ignited, and I felt my body be engulfed in her magical grip.

I shuddered and felt... violated. The feeling of being held in someone else's magic was the creepiest feeling in the world. Honestly! It was like being held by a million little hands! "Luna... What are you doing?" I asked, my face showing my discomfort.

Luna smiled. "We are fetching you!" she exclaimed, seemingly oblivious to my discomfort. "Now please do not move, as we would not want to have any parts of your body not go through the teleport."

Wait, what?! I was about to scream, before my body began to tingle, and the world around me went white.

Being teleported was an... interesting experience. It was like being separated into millions of tiny bits, squeezed into a tiny tune, flung and unbelievable speeds, before finally being put back together. And you know what the worst part is? It's that you can feel everything! It was, without a doubt, the worst experience in my life...

After the experience of being forcibly teleported was over, I felt my hooves land on solid ground, and my body giving out. I could feel myself falling onto a cold surface, my eyes still foggy.

"Haha! We remember our first teleport, and can remember how unpleasant it was!" She paused, before continuing, "We... we probably should've warned you about this, actually," I heard Luna say from somewhere besides me.

I groaned, my limbs finally responded to my commands as I began to rub my eyes. "Luna?" I said, blinking as my vision began to return.

"Yes?"

I turned to face her, glaring death in her direction. "I would like it if you never, ever do that again."

Luna nodded, seemingly unfazed by my death glare. "We shall try and refrain from teleporting you in the future, but cannot make any promises."

I nodded, then took a look around. With my vision finally back and working, I figured I'd see where, exactly, we had actually gone. We seemed to be in the center of a large, circular room. The floor was some sort of dark, black wood, and the walls were a midnight blue. The ceiling was dome-shaped, decorated in paintings of stars and planets. In the middle of the ceiling was a large telescope, probably used for stargazing. I would've figured this place as an observatory, except the room also held a bed and other bedroom furniture.

"Luna?" I began, turning to the mare.

"Yes?" she answered.

"Where... where are we?"

She beamed. "You are in my private chambers!"

Oh, that makes sense. Wait... why does this feel awkward, again? "Oh, okay..." I paused. "Uh... Why?"

Luna's eyes went wide, before her hoof smacked into her face. "We apologize, for we should've explained before-hoof. We were so excited that we forgot to mention our plans for today," she began, giving me a sheepish smile. "But, we shall rectify this, and remove your confusion! We have arranged for a lunch with our sister soon, as we have told you. But, as we have told you before: we wish to make our friendship a secret. So, we shall wait in my personal study until our sister has finished her duties."

Okay... I shrugged. "Okay, I guess. But... what exactly are we going to do in the meantime?"

Luna opened her mouth, then closed. She scratched the back of her neck with a hoof, shuffling nervously in place. "We... didn't think this far, actually."

I face hooved. "Well, we better think of something..."

Celestia smiled as she trotted down the hallway towards her sister's room. Day court had just finished, and the solar princess had immediately made her way towards her sister's intended meeting place. Luna had been acting strange lately, staying awake longer during the day, and spending time out of the castle. Celestia figured her sister had been simply been observing modern culture; trying to get caught up with what she missed. To her surprise, her sister had approached her earlier, and told her that she'd made a friend with some stallion, and that she wished for her to meet him during a simple lunch. She had agreed, obviously, to both please her sister and meet this mysterious stallion. At first, she didn't know what to think about him. But the more she thought about it, the more she got worried.

As she approached her sister's room, Celestia began to hear strange sounds from inside. As she got closer, the sounds sounded more like grunts and shuffling. Celestia tilted her head at the door in confusion, before turning her gaze to the guard besides the door. The guard in question was blushing furiously, avoiding the princess' gaze. Realization hit her like a sack of bricks, and Celestia's expression shifted from curiosity, to disappointment. She opened the door, intent on scolding her sister, but stopped dead in her tracks and she watched, her mouth hung wide open...

"Get your wing out of my face!"

"We cannot! You should remove thy face from our wing!"

"Luna! The thing says right hoof to green!"

"How are we supposed to do that from our current position?!"

"I don't know?! Ouch! Watch your horn!"

"We shall put whoever designed this game in the dungeon!!!"

While waiting for Celestia, me and Luna had decided to try and find something to pass the time. Our solution to said issue came in the form of the evil game known as Twister...

"We have put our hoof on the desired color. Now it is your turn!"

I groaned, reaching for the spinner with my magic. I flicked the spinner with my magic, watching as it stopped. "Right rear hoof on... blue." Who designed this horrible game! Already being pretty much tangled in Luna, I tried to get my hoof to the desired location. Which only lead to Luna groaning in discomfort and pain. I was about to tell her to stop complaining, when a new voice joined the conversation.

"What is going on in here?!"

My heart stopped.

"Oh, dear sister!" Luna began from her tangled position, seemingly excited with her sister's appearance. "We are just playing a game with the friend we have told you about!"

Yup, I'm dead.

"Oh... From outside it sounded as if you were... Nevermind," Celestia said, shaking her head. "Well, we better get going."

"In one moment..." Luna began, trying to escape our knot of limbs. "we seem to be stuck..." She paused. "And we are not sure if he is breathing."

I wasn't sure if I was either scared out of my mind, or embarrassed as hell... All I did know was that I was tangled in the princess of the night, and hadn't realized how... suggestive our pose my seem to an outsider... Crap!

Celestia eyes me curiously and, for a fraction of a second, I thought I saw her eyes burn…

After some struggling and more than a few curses that seemed way out of time, me and Luna managed to untangle each other. Luna had immediately went over and hugged her sister, thanking her for taking the time out of her busy schedule. Celestia hugged back, telling her that it was no problem, and that they should spend more time together anyways. I made sure to keep my distance from the princess, only bowing my head and introducing myself. I wasn’t sure why, but there seemed to be some sort of tension between the two of us, and I didn’t like it at all… I mean, when the princess of the sun gives you a dirty look, you know you’re screwed.

We soon after exited Luna’s room and trotted down the grand halls of the castle, Luna leading the way. As we walked, Luna kept pointing out some of the architecture to me, explaining all she could about the castle. I listened as much as I could, giving her occasional “Cool” and “That’s interesting” comments when needed. All of the time, I kept feeling like the white alicorn besides me was glaring at me, but every time I went to peek at her, she had her gaze set in front of her…

About ten minutes of walking later, we arrived at a balcony that overlooked the overhang of canterlot, giving a beautiful view of the land beyond. I gasped in awe when I first noticed the view, and Luna smiled at me. In the middle of the balcony was a pearl white table with a crystal teapot in the middle, surrounded by three settings with a small plate and teacup. On the floor were three cushions that surrounded the table. I picked the one that was closest to the door, and sat down. The two princesses followed suit, sitting on their respective sides.

I sat there nervously, waiting for somepony to break the awkward silence that hung in the air. To my surprise, it was Luna who spoke first, somehow being oblivious to the tension between me and her sister.

“Now that we are in a better setting, we would like to introduce our friend properly, sister,” she began, before motioning with me with a hoof. “This is Neon Lights. He is a disk jockey at one of the nightclubs in our city.” Luna momentarily “squee'd”, tapping her hooves together in glee. “Oh, we love the prospect of nightclubs! It means that ponies are truly enjoying our night. But, we digress.”

Celestia smiled at her sister, before turning to face me. “It is good to meet you, Mr. Neon," she said politely, holding out a hoof for me to shake it.

I hesitantly shook the offered hoof. "Pleasure to meet you, Princess," I replied, trying to hide my growing nerves. I couldn't say for certain, but I think she noticed my discomfort, and enjoyed it!

Celestia retracted her hoof, her horn glowing as she poured each of us some tea. "I'm curious to know about how you two met. I mean, it isn't every day you make friend with a princess," she hung on the word, staring at me as she did.

I opened my mouth to answer, but it was Luna who responded. "Well, we were curious to know about the change in culture, so we decided that it'd be best if we disguised ourselves as a normal pony, taking the name of Midnight. We went to the club that Neon was working at, and she somehow noticed how discomforted I was and went over to make sure we had fun." Luna smiled at me. "He showed us kindness and helped us have a great time."

Celestia nodded. "Sounds like he was a grand gentle colt."

Luna beamed. "Oh, yes, he was and is. He brought us to this glorious restaurant, the one that just opened. We had a wonderful time!"

Glad she left out the mugging…

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Really, now? Sounds like it was fun," Celestia began, before turning to Luna. "Sister, would you mind heading down to the kitchen and fetching some muffins?"

Luna nodded. "We shall return soon!" she said, before getting up and trotting off.

I smiled as the rounded the corner, before turning to face Celestia. My smile vanished immediately as Celestia glared at me, her eyes burning. I could literally feel the heat! I nervously chuckled, slowly sinking into my seat at the gaze of the princess. “Hey… w-what’s up?” I nervously defaulted, not knowing exactly what to say.

Celestia continued to glare at me, before finally speaking. “How dare you,” she began, her form is not changing.

“P-pardon?” I squeaked.

Celestia’s scowl deepened. “How dare you take advantage of my sister!” she bellowed, putting her hooves on the table. “I have seen your kind before, only wanting power and favors from royalty. But, I’m not going to let you do that with my sister!”

I felt like I was literally being melted. “B-but!”

Celestia slammed her hooves onto the table again, this time causing everything on the table to fall over, spilling onto the ground. “Do not lie to us! We have missed our sister for a thousand years, and am not going to lose her again!” Celestia got up, pushing the table aside with her magic. “I will destroy you for what you plan to do…” she growled. “And you shall never-” she was cut off as something black flew in front of me, standing between me and the advancing mare. It took me a second to realize that it was, in fact, Luna. She stood in-front of me, her wings flared and her horn glowing.

“Yield, sister!!!” Luna bellowed so loud the balcony shaken.

Celestia stared, dumbfounded, before shaking her head, composing herself. “Sister, please move aside. I didn’t want you here when I did this, but it still needs to be done.”

Luna growled, her eyes surrounded by some sort of black mist. “We shall not move, and we shall not let you lay a hoof on him! Back away, sister!” Luna said, advancing towards her sister.

Celestia, once again, balked at her sister. “Sister, this is for your own good! He only wants to use you!” Celestia countered.

Luna scowled. “How dare you suggest that to the first to show me true friendship!” Luna spoke, her words dripping venom.

Celestia actually scoffed. “First? What about Twilight during Nightmare Night? Have you forgotten about that?”

Luna laughed. Not a joyous laugh, but an empty one. “Yes, your student showed me friendship once… but only then.” Luna bit her lip. “But not since then. She has not written to me, asked how I have been, or even once, on her own, reached out to me! I sent her many letters, but her replies were always formal, and never accepting my offer of doing anything together! She was my friend for a day, that is it!” she said, her hoof slamming into the floor for emphasis. She softened, taking a deep breath, but still scowled at her sister. “And you question the stallion who offered me friendship for no reason but to be kind? He has gone out of his way to spend time with me, and even showed understanding when he realized that I was a princess… he did not run away like the others… he stayed.” She turned to face me, smiling genuinely. “He has helped show me that I am not alone…”

Luna then turned to see Celestia’s response. To Luna’s surprise, Celestia’s horn glowed, heat slowly building around her. “How naive are you, sister?!" Celestia began, holding her ground. "Has all this time away made you blind?” Luna frowned, but stayed put. “He is using you! I have seen it happen many times before! You are weak, lost, and out of your time. Things have changed, yes, but I didn’t expect you to be so desperate to believe this?!” Luna shrank slightly, her eyes watering. Celestia saw this, but only continued. “How can I expect you to rule when you make a mistake such as this?! You have been ignoring your royal duties to spend time with this stallion! You have been sneaking out, ignoring everything you are supposed to do! You are a princess, and should start acting like one!” Celestia finished, staring at her sister who had begun to cry.

On, hell no! I stood up from my place behind Luna, stomping over so I was between her and Celestia. I was probably gonna die, but like hell I was gonna let this continue! “Hey, Sun-butt!” I screamed, causing Celestia to raise an eyebrow. “I can see why you wouldn’t trust me, and I can understand the risk that somehow abusing being a friend of royalty would be, but that does not give you the right to yell at your sister for having nothing!”

Celestia shook her head, before her scowl returned. “How dare you talk to me like that! This is my sister, and I am only making sure that both she and our kingdom is safe!”

I didn’t back down, instead taking a step forwards towards the mare. I could feel the rising heat around her, but I ignored it. “I dare because you are being really stupid! I know the story of how she came back, I know about the legend; I know everything about it, everypony knows!” Suddenly, I realized something. “And you know what, I think I just figured this out. You aren’t afraid of me being corrupt, or your sister failing at her duties.” I took a step closer, my face softening. “You’re afraid of losing her again…”

Celestia looked like she was about to retort, she choked on her words. Celestia removed her gaze from me and brought it to the floor, seeming to contemplate what I had said. Not long afterwards, she let out a sight, falling back onto her haunches and shaking her head. “You… you are right,” she admitted, before turning to face Luna, who had stopped crying and was watching from beside me. “I… I’m sorry, sister… I… I just don’t wanna lose you again!” Celestia looked like she was holding back tears. “I spent a thousand years blaming myself for what happened to you, and I couldn’t let it happen again!”

She didn’t continue, as Luna wrapped her hooves around her in an embrace. “We are never going to leave you, sister. We shall never let ourselves come to that state again,” she said, still holding her sister.

I watched as the two sisters embraced. I felt a little awkward, feeling as if I was watching something sacred, and my presence was ruining it.

After a while, the two broke the embrace, and both turned to face me, Celestia being the first to speak. “I would like to… apologise, for my actions earlier… and would like to thank you for showing me reason.” She chuckled. “It seems like even I need to be reminded what I am being stupid.”

I smiled back, waving a dismissive hoof. “It was nothing, Princess. I’m just glad that I’m still alive!”

Celestia’s eyes went wide, and I looked at her questionably. She pointed a hoof at my back, and I turned to see that my tail was on fire! I screamed, running around in circles while I tried to stomp it out. I was stopped when I felt something warm splash over me. I stared up, seeing the teapot being held in a mystical blue aura.

I sighed in relief. “Thank you, Luna.”

Luna nodded, placing the teapot on the ground and shooting Celestia a glare, who blushed slightly. “Sorry about that,” Celestia began. “I may have gone a little overboard in my rage.”

I wrung out my tail. “Yeah, a little,” I deadpanned.

Luna chuckled. “Well, this lunch turned out far differently than we expected,” she admitted. “Although, we are happy that all issues have been resolved.”

Celestia nodded. “I agree, and once again apologize for our outburst.”

“Water under the bridge.”

Celestia nodded, before looking at the clock that hung above the balcony. “Sadly, I have to leave you two as I have a meeting with a diplomat from the gryphon kingdom,” Celestia began, as she trotted back inside the castle. “See you soon, sister.”

Luna waved at her sister, before turning her attention to me. “We have to thank you for standing up to my sister. It takes someone extremely brave to do such a thing."

Or extremely stupid, I mentally added. "No problem. Honestly, I couldn't stand to see you like that," I admitted.

Luna playfully bumped into my side. "Whatever the reason, we thank you," she began, smiling. "Now... would you wish to continue our game?"

I shrugged. "Why not..."

Me and Luna spent more time that I’d like to admit playing the curse and joy that was Twister. I don’t know how it was both fun and horrible at the same time, but it was. I’m not sure how long we played, but when we were done it was starting to get dark. Luna offered to teleport me back home, but I refused. After my first experience, I didn’t want to have another one any time soon. I ended up walking back from the castle to my apartment, stopping along the way to have a quick dinner. Considering the castle was quite far from my apartment, and I stopped for dinner, I got home pretty late. Considering I have completely wrecked my sleeping patterns by being up for the past few days, I figured that going to bed early seemed like a good idea.

As I lay in my bad, I could help but chuckle at the day’s events. I had gone face to face with the goddess of the sun! I could’ve help but feel a little bad flank for managing that, to be honest...

Arc I - Interlude: 2 - A DJ's Life

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter co-written with: Electric294

Interlude: 2 - A DJ’s Life

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

“Get ready to d-d-d-drop the bass!” I screamed into my microphone, my words ending with a perfectly timed bass drop. Yeah, I was that good.

It had been three days since I had shared the lunch with both of the princesses, and things had seemed to go back to normal since then. Luna had sent me a scroll the other day--which, I might add, scared the crap out of me as it literally appeared out of nowhere--and told be that she would have to return to her royal duties, and wouldn’t be able to spend any time together for a while. I was originally saddened by this news, but didn’t dwell on it, as I knew it only meant that it would be a while since we would be able to hang out again, rather than never. Since then, my life had been returned back to the way it was: Sleeping the day away and playing music at the club at night.

I stood behind my turntables, casting my spell of music on the clubbers. Actually, it pretty much was a spell. The music I played made the ponies dance in a certain way, think a different way, or feel a different way. It only took a slight change in tempo to turn a normal crowd into a proper rave. The lights were also a part of my spell as well, being almost as important as the music. I was the master of the club, making the participants do my bidding.

A thought popped into my mind that instantly made me smile. As I have mentioned before: I am an engineer as well as a musician, and I had managed to create something pretty damn awesome that I wanted to unveil. I had been saving it for something special, but I couldn’t wait any longer.

I turned my gaze away from the crowd and onto the large red button on the top of my tables. I smiled as I removed the glass cover before pressing it. Immediately, the music stopped, and the lights turned completely off, leaving the crowd in complete darkness. The ponies in attendance instantly stopped dancing, and quietly began to murmur to themselves, probably wondering if it was a power outage.

I smiled as I watched two large pillars that seemed to be wrapped in copper slowly lower from the ceiling, before stopping when they reached the ground. The pillars softly hummed, leading to even more murmuring from the crowd. I decided I’d teased them enough, and picked up my mic.

“Those of you with heart problems should probably brace themselves,” I began, smiling as the murmuring only grew. “Because you are in for one hell of a shock!” I screamed, pressing another button on my table.

On cue, one of the pillars lit up as a charge of electricity jumped from one pillar to the next, creating a bright flash and high pitched sound. The crowd jumped, surprised by the sudden display. The discharges continued, electricity arcing from one pillar to another. The sounds and patterns seemed to be random but slowly grew into a pretty catchy beat.

Yes, I was making music with lightning!

The tesla coils continued to discharge as I added in a bassline. The crowd, who had gotten over their initial shock (all the pun intended), began to cheer and dance as the arcing lightning continued to both lights up the club, and fill it with sweet music… and slightly of ozone.

Okay. Now, I knew my Editor was awesome, but he just crossed the line into extremely awesome! Yes, he went and actually made the set for this section of the chapter!!! Link

I spent the next half an hour playing the mixes I had programmed on the coils. They were basic, compared to my usual mixes, but the fact they were made with lightning kinda made up for it. After I finished the "lightning" set, I put on one of my favorite tracks (the one that was made by a mare I had done a collab with a while back: Pony Swag III) and began messing with the beat to the song with my mixer’s beat grid, giving it more of a house beat than a hip-hop beat. I flipped a switch on my mixer, giving the song a little more “wub” than normal. The crowd reacted immediately, going from already ecstatic to complete rave mode!

I let the song go on a bit, setting up a loop when she said, “Drop the bass”, halved it, halved it again, and so on until I let the beat drop by crossfading to yet another of the mare’s songs, Bass Cannon, keeping it in time, of course. The crowd went wild. Everypony was dancing, having a good time, and overall enjoying them.

This is what I live for!

After letting the track play for a short while, I turned it down and transitioned to another track called Pony Rock Anthem that… wait… when had I heard that voice before? No… It can’t be!?!

The pink one…

This doesn’t make any sense! She wasn’t in the original mix! Where is her voice coming from?! My eyes scanned the club, looking for the pink monster. I didn’t see her... but I could hear her voice. I felt a shiver go down my spine, and I made a mental note to go over the track and make sure that I wasn’t just going crazy…

After that… track, I switched to a track that I thought was pretty good to wrap up the evening -- a track by a friend of mine that suited the night perfectly, as we’re nearing spring. I chuckled to myself. How perfect! I thought, bobbing my head to the beat.

The song eventually came to a fade, and I could hear more than one groan as the music slowly died to nothing. I chuckled, probably even more disappointed than them that I had to stop. I picked the microphone with my magic and brought it to my muzzle. “Sorry, everypony, but even the DJ has to call it quits.” I wiped some sweat from my brow. “And, to be honest, I’m pooped. I have been DJ Neon Lights, and I thank you for coming. Rock on!” With that, I dropped the microphone, and trotted towards my back room, intent on crashing there for the night…

Arc I - Chapter: 5 - Unwanted Advertising

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter co-written with: Rumble (A.K.A: my bro!)

Chapter: 5 - Unwanted Advertising

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

The Everfree Forest; a place where ponies dare to travel, and where literal nightmares call home. A place where, not only, the land lives as one, ghostly entity, but also the breeding grounds for nightmares. Once, the forest was like any other… but it changed. The event is a story, lost to time, practically erased from history. But it’s legend remains.

In this ghostly forest, on the edge closest to grand city of Canterlot, stood a group of ponies. There were twenty in total, each one shrouded in a dark, hooded cloak that covered everything but the wearer’s horn. The ponies stood in a large circle, all surrounding a dark blue ethereal flame that burned from a dark purple chuck of metal. They all stood in silence, the only sound that could be heard was the ambient noise of the cursed forest.

The silence didn’t last, however, as the group began a quiet chant. It started off soft, almost a whisper, but slowly grew to a loud chorus.

“Revertere ! Revertere regina nostra ! Revertere in tenebris ! Revertere in tantibus ! Dicens: Surge et ClaMe super thronum tuum Vive et dirige nos ! Revertere !”

The chant continued to grow in intensity, sounding much like an unholy choir. As they chanted, each of the unicorn’s horns began to glow with their magical aura. At the same time the ethereal flame in the center began to glow brighter, slowly shifting and morphing into shape. The flame began to grow, and soon morphed into the shape of rearing alicorn, clad in ancient armor.

The ghostly alicorn growled, letting out a screech that would give styrofoam a run for its money [Author's Note: Seriously, that shit makes me cringe!]. The ponies in the crowd all cringed, obviously disturbed by the sound. After a moment or two, the ghostly alicorn began to dissipate, until nothing but a light spark remained...

I let out a loud groan as I awoke, softly cursing in the name of everything that came to mind. I hated mornings... nights... waking up in general. I had passed out on my couch in my back room soon after the end of my gig, too lazy to stumble back to my apartment. This wouldn't be the first time I'd fallen asleep here. Hell, that was the reason why I had it!

I tried to fall back to sleep, but to no avail. I let out another irritated groan as I sat up on my couch, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Did I have anything planned for today? I thought, contemplating trying to go back to sleep. I mean, I don't have a gig tonight and–

I was torn from my thoughts by a loud "pop" and flash of light in front of me. I screamed, falling off the couch and landing face first onto the floor below. Something also smacked into the back of my head and I let out, you guessed it, another groan.

Why can't my life be normal? I thought as I sat up from the floor, rubbing the back of my head with a hoof. To my surprise, a scroll lay at my hooves. It took my sleepy mind a second to put the pieces together, and as soon as it did I lunged at the scroll, unfurled it, and began to read:

Dear Neon,

It has been some time since we have spoken, more time that we would have wished. But, I digress. We are writing to you to give you notice that we have been able to clear some time from our schedule to "hang out" with you. We have managed to procure some tickets for performance by a flying team known as the Wonderbolts. We have not seen them, but have heard great praise from our sister. We have attached your ticket to the bottom of this letter.

Oh! And we should mention that we shall be meeting you there as Midnight. As we have told you before: we wish to keep our friendship a secret. We shall meet you there a half hour before the performance begins at the main gate.

Sincerely,

Princess Luna.

Sure enough, a golden ticket with the Wonderbolts emblem was attached to the bottom of the letter. I stood there, frozen for a few seconds... Until I jumped up and down and cheered like a school filly. Little known fact about me: I loved flying. Yes, I was not a Pegasus, but I still loved it. My younger days had been spent wanting to become an alicorn, only because I wanted wings. I had also spent countless attempts to create my own flying device... The results had ended not as good as I had wanted... but, I digress!

After way more time than I'd like to admit, I finally was able to control myself. I ran out of the club and to my apartment to fetch a few... items.

My hooves clopped against the sidewalk of cloud-street, the residential Pegasus district, as I made my way towards the coliseum. I had stopped by my apartment to pick up a few of my Wonderbolts attire... Okay, maybe a little bit more than a few. I was currently wearing my Spitfire tie, my official Wonderbolts blazer, my Wonderbolts fedora, and my limited edition Wonderbolts saddlebags. I may have looked like a walking Wonderbolts billboard, but I don't care!

The large stadium slowly came into view as I continued to trot forwards. More and more ponies began to litter the streets, most likely heading towards the same destination. I got a few strange looks from some of the ponies around me, but nothing more than that. I tried to keep my cool, I really tried, but I was gonna see the Wonderbolts! I pretty much giggled and jumped up and down as I continued to trot--well, bounce--forwards. As I got closer, more and more details of stadium came into view. Canterlot’s Ultra-Dome was probably the most epic sports and event stadium in the country. It was designed to be able to be used for any type for sport, whether it be hoofball or, in today’s case, a flying performance. From the outside, it looked like a giant, upside down bowl with the center cut out. Billboards and other advertising plastered the outside of the stadium.

I eventually made my way to the mane (Yes, it was actually called, and spelled, like that...) entrance, and waited for Lu-err... Midnight to arrive. Honestly, I really needed to get used to this switching names thing! I didn’t have to wait long until I spotted the mystical blue mare in the crowd. I waved to her, but I don’t think she could see me. After continuing to wave and shout for a few more minutes to no avail. Grumbling to myself, I trotted towards the mare, pushing myself past ponies and I went on.

When I finally made it to her, I tapped her on the shoulder with a hoof. She, in turn, jumped up in surprise and turned to face me. Her confused expression instantly died quoin seeing me, being replaced with one of joy. "Huzza! We have found you at last!" she began. "We were worried that you had been lost in the crowd." She looked me over for a second, then her expression changed to one of curiosity. "What are you wearing?"

I rolled my eyes, having already dealt with people questioning my attire since I was young. "I'm just dressings for the occasion."

Midnight... Luna... Whatever! She raises an eyebrow as she looked around, noticing that nopony was even close to being as "dressed" as me. "We... think it's a little much."

"It's not!" I shot back. I mean... yeah, it was a little extreme, but it just showed how much I liked them! It wasn't borderline obsession... right?

Midnight rolled her eyes, holding back a laugh as she began to walk towards the door, turning her back to me. "Whatever you say..."

“It's not, I swear!" She continued to walk, seeming to ignore me. "Hey! Come back here!" I cried as I ran to catch up with her.

I'm actually here! I thought giddily as I walked beside Midnight... Luna... Damn it! Okay, what do I call her? Okay, when we're out in public, she's Midnight. When in private, she's Luna. Anyways, as I walked besides Midnight, I had a hard time resisting the urge to jump up and down with utter glee. This was my first Wonderbolts performance in, well, ever! And what made it better, is that she managed to get us front row tickets!

The stadium was ablaze with hollering fans in the layers of rows that filled the gigantic oval stadium, aerodynamically designed with the roof sloped upwards, giving the ponies the best view of their heroes as they swooped by. Some official guards ponies kept watch on the frantic crowds from below, making sure no pony was going to sabotage the big event about to unfold. Banners of blue and yellow, with ponies of all ages waving flags around frantically gave the atmosphere a feeling like no other. It was kinda like being in the club, actually, except with a lot more ponies!

Me and Midnight were currently making our way to our seats, which were in center front-row. I literally bounced with each step, the excitement only growing inside of me. After a little more walking and shoving, me and Midnight made it to our seats. I sat down first, my gaze glued on the stadium in front of me, imagining the performance that was about to happen. From besides me, I heard Lun-Midnight giggle, which slapped me out of my stupor.

“We can see that somepony is having fun, yes?” she said, still giggling.

I blushed slightly, realizing how silly I must’ve looked. I decided to play it cool… well, cool by my standards. “Yeah! This is so freakin’ amazing!” I began, waving my hooves over my head in emphasis. “I haven’t been to a Wonderbolts show in forever! And you even got us front row seats!”

Midnight shifted in her seat, seeming to try and get more comfortable. The seats were solid practice, so I mentally wished her luck in her attempt. She stopped shifting, seeming to give up, and turned back to face me. “Well, we are glad that our sister suggested this, then,” she began, before shuffling more. "But, we shall request more comfortable seats next time..."

I couldn’t resist anymore; I was just too damn happy! I leaned over and wrapped Midnight in a huge hug, holding her as tight as I could. “Thank you,” I whispered as I held her close.

Moments later, after she got over the initial shock, I could feel her nuzzle her head gently into my shoulder as she whispered, “You’re welcome.”

I wanted to remain in that hug forever, to just hold this mare who had grown to mean so much to me... But something else pulled my attention away for the mare. “Fillies and gentlecolts! I take great pleasure in introducing the one, the only, the Wonderbolts!” rang out from the loudspeaker. The announcement made me release Midnight from the hug as I turned as fast as I could towards the center of the stadium, waiting for the show to start.

After five minutes, nothing happens. I look around, trying to see if I'm missing something. I instantly notice that many of the ponies are doing the same thing, so it can't just be me. Was there an accident? Is this just some sort of joke? What the heck! I'm about to stand up and complain when flashes of color burst out from behind me, carrying with them a burst of wind. My jaw goes slack as I figure out what's happening.

Five Wonderbolts, all coming from different corners of the stadium, all fly towards the center. As soon as they're all about a yard away from each other, they quickly dive and narrowly miss colliding.

I gasp as they dive down towards the ground, again barely missing before they pull up and begin flying back towards the center of the stadium. The then begin flying in a helix pattern, before splitting off and flying over the crowd.

I scream and shout, much like the rest of the crowd, as they fly only hooves above us. I swear, if I jumped at the right time, I'd be able to touch them! The idea is quickly thrown out of my head as I contemplate the resulting lawsuit...

Anyways, after a few passes over us, three of the 'Bolts break off from circling the crowd, and fly back towards the center. They fly at each other, pulling up and the last moment, linking hooves as the flew up as one. They flew up a few hundred feet, before splitting off in an explosion of colorful fireworks.

The two who didn't break off, Spitfire and Fleetfoot--My two favorites!--flew towards opposite ends of the stadium, before arcing up and back towards the center. They twist and begin to fly at each other at high speeds. Both me, and the entire crowd, gasp as they got to collide... before barrel-rolling over each other at the last possible second. The crowd responds by erupting in cheers at the incredible display of both trust and agility.

Spitfire, who is a golden yellow mare with an orange mane and the captain of the the team, flies towards the middle of the stadium. She lands in the middle of the stadium, skidding several feet from the sheer speed of her landing. The other Wonderbolts continue to fly around and perform minor tricks--such as corkscrews and barrel rolls. For some reason, I have a feeling like she's gonna do something special...

As if on command, Spitfire suddenly bursts into flames. Her Wonderbolt's flight-suit is completely covered in bright orange flames while her coat remains untouched by the flame.

Midnight leans over close to me. "Is she supposed to be on fire? Should we be concerned?"

"Not at all!" I scream over the cheering fans. "This is gonna be so cool!"

Spitfire begins to trot in circles, increasing in speed as she begins to use her wings for added speed. She goes faster as faster, eventually slowly rising as she gains enough speed to take off, still going around in circles. The fire continues to burn on her jumpsuit, arching back at the force of her twists. She goes faster and faster, the flame trail soon forming into a vortex of fire!

"The Flaming Vortex!" I scream. This was a move that Spitfire rarely did, usually saving it for major performances.

The vortex of fire continued to grow, going down a small cone to a huge tornado! The other Wonderbolts stopped their tricks and began to fly around the vortex, making it grow even more. After a few more minutes of this, they all fly up and into the vortex of fire, disappearing into the flames. Seconds later, the vortex suddenly disperses, sending flames shooting out from all angles. The Wonderbolts fly out with the flames, circling a few times before landing at the center of the stadium. Each of the 'Bolts takes a bow from the center of the stadium, before flying to what I believe to be the locker rooms.

The stadium erupts in applause, ponies jumping up and down, whistling and hollering while other simply stomp their hooves into the benches. I jump up and down, screaming at the top of my lungs in approval at the performance.

We all continue to cheer as the Wonderbolts take one last bow and fly towards the what I believe to be the locker room. The audience continued to applaud for several minutes after the Wonderbolts leave, before slowly stopping as the ponies in the crowd began to get up to leave. I get up to join them, but Midnight puts a hoof on my shoulder to stop me.

I give her a confused look. "What’s up?" I ask.

She smiles and levitates two lanyards in her magical grip. "We were able to procure these as well," she says, her grin a mile wide.

I squee'd in such a high tone that a dog's head would probably explode... and then faint...

"Shouldn't he have woken up by now?"

"We are not sure... How long is one usually out?"

"How should I know?!"

"Step aside! I got this!"

"Shit!" I scream as I come to, jumping up as I am splashed by ice-cold water.

"Hahaha, this one always gets the best of reactions!"

"Urg!" I groan angrily, turning to face whoever had splashed me. "Why the hell would you... do... that." I go quiet as I look around as realize where I was. If I were to guess where I was gonna wake up, my last guess would be in the wonderbolts locker room! My mouth hangs open as I begin to stutter, trying to make coherent sentences.

"I think we broke her, Spits," Fleetfoot, a light blue mare with a white mane, mutters to Spitfire as I continue to stutter.

Midnight, who was standing next to them, giggles. "We think it is cute!"

I instantly stop stuttering to blush. "No, it's not!"

Midnight rolls her eyes. "Whatever you say," she began, holding back another giggle. "But, we should not dwell on that, as we have more important matters to attend to! We did not procure VIP passes for you simply stutter and blush the entire time."

I chuckle sheepishly. "Hehe... Sorry."

She rolls her eyes, before pointing a hoof in the direction of the two awaiting Wonderbolts. "Well...?"

My eyes go wide. "Oh, right!" I turn to face the two Wonderbolts. "It's an honor to meet you two! I am a huge fan!"

Spitfire chuckles. "I kinda guessed as much, considering you're practically a walking billboard of us."

I chuckle nervously again. "Yeah..."

Suddenly, Fleetfoot cuts in. "Okay, you gotta loosen up, dude! We're just ponies, not the princesses or something like that," she begins, putting a hoof on my shoulder. "Just talk to us like we're just old friends, okay?"

I take a deep breath. She's right... Come on, Neon! Be a man! "Okay... Yeah." I shake my head. "Sorry about that. I kinda got a little nervous about meeting, well, you!"

Spitfire smiles. "Don't worry, kid, we get this all the time. You wouldn't be the first, and, most likely, won't be the last." She turned to Fleetfoot, who nodded in agreement.

"Oh, yeah. And believe me—we have seen some crazy fans," Fleetfoot added in agreement.

The two Wonderbolts nod in agreement, before turning to face me. "Before we get more sidetracked," Spitfire began, "I actually wanted to ask you something."

Wait, they want to ask me a question?! What could the possibly want to ask me? "Uh... Sure, I guess," I replied, hoping to hide my enthusiasm.

"Well," Fleetfoot began, "We have heard you perform at The Prancing Pony, and the whole team agrees that you have talent–" No... They couldn't be asking me to. "–and we wanted to know if you would be interested in DJing for an after party that we're planning to have next month."

Oh, my Celestia! This can’t be happening! There is no way that the Wonderbolts are actually asking me to DJ for one of their parties! I must be dreaming! I have to be dreaming! “C-can you please repeat that?”

Spitfire rolled her eyes. “We want you to DJ one of our parties.”

“Okay… just wanted to make sure I didn’t hear that wrong." I paused. "Actually, can you give me a second?"

They both shrugged.

"Thanks," I said as I turned and walked back behind some lockers...

Yes, yes! Buck yes! I mentally screamed as I jumped up and down, pumping my hooves up in the air, completely filled with overwhelming joy. I continued my celebration for probably another minute before stopping, composing myself, and trotting back to the waiting Midnight and Wonderbolts.

"Sorry about that," I began. "Now, when is this party, again? And do you have any special requests for songs?"

"It's gonna be exactly a month from now," Spitfire began. "We'll give you more details as the date gets closer. As for requests... Well, we want that lightning thing you pulled off the other day."

I smirked. "You guys saw that?"

Fleetfoot nodded vigorously. "Hell, yeah! I've never seen anything like it! As a Pegasus, we're used to seeing lightning, but never have I thought it could be used for music!"

"It was truly something unique," Spitfire chimed in. "How did you come up with it?"

"That's a funny story, actually!" I began. "I was toying with a new speaker design, when I accidentally wired it wrong and shocked myself. Well... Somehow that made my mind think of a tesla coil, and then it made me think of music, and somehow it became that!" I chuckled to myself. "Honestly, I don't know how my mind got that from a shock, but I'm glad it did."

“We thought there’d be more to the story than that,” Midnight chimed in, making me jump in surprise. She giggled as I recovered. “We are sorry, we didn’t expect to frighten you.”

“It’s okay. Actually, you were so quiet that I actually forgot that you were still here!”

She smiled. “We tried to remain silent so as to not ruin the moment.”

I smiled back. "Thanks."

She nodded, before turning to address both the Wonderbolts. "Well, we thank you for the time, and it has been a pleasure to meet the both of you."

I nodded vigorously. "Hell, yeah!"

Spitfire let out a light chuckle. "Pleased to meet the both of you." She held out a hoof, which I eagerly bumped...

I was walking on sunshine! Well, not in the literal sense, since it was the middle of the night, but you get the idea. I had not only been able to meet my heroes, but also been asked to DJ one of their parties! It had been my dream forever to just attend one of those parties, let alone DJ it!

Me and Midnight had left the stadium about ten minutes ago. I had given her the biggest bear hug that I could, thanking her as many times as I could. She'd responded with an "It was no big deal", but I could tell she was just being modest. She had offered to walk me home from the stadium, but I'd refused.

And, that was where I was now, walking towards home. There wasn't a soul to be seen, and the streetlights cast their faint glow against the street. I bounced with each step I took, still filled with the joy of the day.

But, there was something... off. I don't know how to explain it, but I felt like I was being followed. I wasn't a paranoid pony, not in the slightest, but I could still feel that something wasn't right. I'd stopped to look around me several times already, only to see the same empty street and flickering of streetlights.

This last time I'd stopped to look around, however, I'd caught the tail end of... something walking into a nearby ally. I wanted to follow whatever it was, but that urge was crushed as soon as I realized how silly that would be. They were probably just somepony out late, probably heading home just as I was.

The streetlights suddenly flickered off, allowing the darkness to take over. Okay... this is definitely not right. I started to walk a little faster, the feeling of being followed grew. Something isn't right! My eyes darted side to side as I ran, trying to find, well, something! What the hell was going on?!

I skidded to a stop when I saw them. Three ponies in black hoods blocked my bath. I quickly turned around, planning on running the other way, only to be met with three more hooded ponies. I frantically spun around, trying to find somewhere to escape. Finding nothing, I decided to try and talk my way out.

"Hey, guys," I nervously spoke.

The didn't answer, only continuing to trot closer to my position.

"W-what you guys doing here?" I began, trying my best not to freak out. "Do you guys want bits? I got a lot of bits!"

No answer.

Shit! They aren't talking... Time for plan B. "Help!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping in vain that somepony, anypony, could hear me. "Help! Somepony please, help!" I screamed again.

The cloaked ponies were really close now, ably about a yard away. Screw this! I charged one of them, hoping to somehow get by and escape. It didn't work, however, as a bright light suddenly shone from under the pony hood, a bolt of magic shooting at me. I tried to dodge, but i wasn't fast enough. My limbs went numb, and I instantly fell to the pavement. I lay here, unable to move anything, as my vision slowly began to fade, and the hooded figures completely surrounded me...

Arc II - Chapter: 6 - Something is Rotten in The State of Canterlot

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter: 6 - Something is Rotten in The State of Canterlot

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

Why does everything bad that happens to me always start when I wake up? Couldn’t they just wait until I was fully awake? Seriously, mornings suck enough as it, and adding this crap is just adding insult to injury...

“Urg!” I groaned as I groggily opened my eyes. My head hurt like hell, and my whole body felt like it’d been thrown into a pack of rampaging bulls and trampled over. Wait… why did my head hurt? Wait! Where the hell am I?! All the pain was put aside as I instantly got to my hooves. Wherever I was, it was dark. Like, really dark! The floor felt cold, most likely metal. I wracked my brain for explanations. Okay, Neon… Let’s got through what happened yesterday… I remember going to the Wonderbolts thing with Luna. Then meet the Wonderbolts. Then… oh, no…

My eyes went wide as the memory of being surrounded filled my mind. What had they done to me? What did they want?! My mind reeled with questions, concerns, paranoia, and fear. A thousand different possibilities of what was going to happen went threw my head, all of them ending horrible.

I was so engrossed with my thoughts, that I didn’t notice the faint sound of hoof steps slowly approaching my current position.

“You have awoken… good.”

I jumped, turning on my heels, desperately trying to locate the source of the voice. Of course, since the room--or wherever I was--was completely black, and I couldn’t see a thing. I was scared out of my mind, but I didn’t want to let whoever had kidnapped me know that. Taking a deep breath, and summoning as much confidence I could muster, I spoke. “Who are you?! What do you want?!”

My words echoed through the void before the room was once again silent. The only thing I could hear was my heavy breaths, and the heavy beats of my heart. After seemingly forever, the silence was broken by a deep laugh. The laugh was quiet at first, only a mere chuckle, but it grew. As the laugh got louder, more voices joined in the laughter, creating an eerie chorus. My head shot from side to side as I tried to see, well, anything! The laughter continued, and my heart beat faster. I was scared. Not like a foal being scared of the monster under their bed, but the fear that you were gonna die. I wanted to run; to flee. But, somehow, I knew that I was trapped and that there was no escape.

The laughter suddenly stopped, and a single voice spoke up. “Do not fear, Neon Lights, we will not hurt you.”

Yea, right! I’ll believe that when pigs fly! “Okay, say I believe you. Why am I here, then? Why did you take me? Where am I?!” I screamed into the darkness.

“We do not want you. No, the reason you are here is because of what you will bring,” the voice said.

What the hell is that supposed to mean?! I thought to myself.

“You have become close to somepony whom we need to achieve our goal. We brought you here to lure them here…”

What was that supposed to… oh, no! How could they have found out?! What do they want with Luna?! My brain was suddenly filled with confusion and rage. How could they have figured out that I was friends with the princess? And, more importantly, what did they want to do with her? There were too many questions that I needed to be answered, and the only way to get those answers was to talk with… whoever this is. I took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. “Look, I don’t know who you are, or what you want with Luna. All I know is that it isn’t gonna work!”

The voice chuckled. “I can tell that you are confused, frightened, and probably angry. But, fear not, for we shall release you once your purpose has been completed," the voice began again. "Although, that is if you behave, and don't try anything stupid. After all, the plan will work whether you are alive or dead."

I froze, afraid to even move. I didn't know who I was even talking too! Every ounce of my being screamed for me to run away—to escape. But, I had to resist. I wasn't stupid—I knew how badly it would end if I tried to escape now... I had to wait; I had to plan. Reluctantly, I fell onto my haunches, letting out a loud sigh. "Fine..."

The voice chuckled again, something that was starting to get on my nerves. "Good, good... Just sit there like a good little colt, and it'll be over before you know it..."

Luna bounced as she trotted down the well-polished halls of the Lunar Wing of the castle. The princess' mind was still filled with the joy of the previous evening—her time with Neon still fresh in her mind. She had had a wonderful time. Nay, she had a glorious time! The pure joy that she could practically feel from Neon, the closeness they had shared, and that... hug.

The princess of the night stopped trotting, her face screwing up in thought. That hug she had shared with her DJ friend had been popping back into her mind quite often that day. She had thought it strange that, out of everything, that was what stuck in her mind the most. Was it the fact that she appreciated the closeness of another pony after such a long time? Or was it something else... The princess shook her head, banishing the thoughts from her head, once again, before continuing to trot down the hallway. She didn't have a destination in mind, she only wanted to walk. It was something that calmed the princess, as most of her day was spent sitting through meetings or on her throne, and the simple prospect of walking was, sadly, a rarity.

As Luna rounded another corner, she was instantly pushed back as she collided with yellow blur. Being larger than most ponies, and considerably stronger, she had only managed to stumble, while whatever had collided with her had fallen to the ground with a loud thump. Luna looked down at whatever had hit her, and soon realised that it was, in fact, a pony. A yellow pegasus stallion, to be exact. Upon further inspection, she noticed that he was currently wearing saddlebags that labeled him as one the royal messengers. She offered a hoof to the pony, who refused and got back onto his hooves on his hooves. The messenger bowed nervously, mumbling a string of apologies.

Luna shook her head. Why do they always cower? Do they honestly believe I would harm them for a simple accident? She thought, before turning her focus to the messenger, who was still apologizing. She raised a hoof. "Please, cease your apologies, as we have already forgiven you," Luna said in her most calming tone she could muster.

The messenger let out a sigh of relief. “T-thank you, Princess.” He bowed again before his horn ignited his magic and a scroll levitated out of his saddlebag, and over to the princess. “I was actually on my way to deliver this to you…”

Luna grabbed the scroll in her own respective magic, levitating it over to her side. “Well, then it is convenient that you have bumped into us, yes?”

The messenger let out an awkward laugh. “Y-yeah…”

There was an awkward pause. The messenger refused to meet Luna’s gaze while Luna simply stood there awkwardly. After a few more awkward moments, the messenger finally spoke, “Well, I better get going! These scrolls won’t deliver themselves, after all!” And with that, the stallion turned around and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

Luna watched him leave, letting out a loud sigh when she could no longer hear his hoof steps on the marble floor. “Why does everypony always run…?” she mumbled to herself as she turned around and began to head back to her room, the skip in her step now gone.

Princess Luna opened the doors to her room and trotted inside. She smiled as she gazed at the interior, knowing that this was hers. As a princess, she didn't have many freedoms, as everything she did had an impact on somepony or something. But, here in the comfort of her room, she had freedom.

And, with this freedom, she did something that she'd been holding in all day; she let out the loudest, most unladylike burp ever released.

With that out of the way, the princess of the night made her way over to her bed, throwing off her regal attire as she got closer. She's pick that up later so they could be polished by the Royal polishers (yes, they had an entire division whose sole job was to polish the princess' and Royal guards armor). But, for now, all she wanted to do was rest.

She jumped onto her bed, slowly sinking into its velvet material. Her bed was made from the finest fabrics and woven by the finest crafts-ponies, and Luna could not be happier with the results. The soft material threatened to pull the princess to sleep that moment. But, Luna had other plans before she let sleep take its grasp. She stretched her wings, letting the scroll from earlier fall from its position rested beneath one of them. As soon as it hit the bed, it was instantly engulfed by a midnight blue aura and lifted up to the princess's gaze. We wonder who could've sent this? She thought to herself, before smiling. We hope it was from Neon…

With newfound enthusiasm, the princess of the night unfurled the scroll, and began to read...

Five minutes later... That enthusiasm turned to rage. The scroll was thrown across the room in a desperate attempt by Luna's subconscious to preserve it so that I could be tested to find out who sent it before she ripped it in half. The shadows in the room danced around violently as the Princess' anger began to build, directly resulting in the chaos and power the darkness around her held.

Princess Luna was pissed.

Don't cry... please, don't cry! I thought as I rocked back and forth on the ground. I had spend the past few hours--at least, I thought it had been a few hours--and tried to think of a way to escape. But, my mind was blank. I couldn't see where I was, I couldn't run, and I couldn't for help... I was screwed. And, what made matters worse, was that I knew Luna would come... And I knew they'd be ready for her. I needed to be strong, I needed to plan… but it was so hard! All I could do was sit here and plan! I couldn’t warn her, I couldn’t save myself… I was stuck.

I looked around again, only to see darkness. They must’ve had some sort of spell around where I was being held because my eyes still couldn’t get used to the darkness. It was like looking around a dark room, with a blindfold on, and your eyes cold. I was glad that I wasn’t afraid of the dark because I would’ve had a heart attack by now…

Luna, please… just stay away!

There were many things that Celestia had woken up to; assassination attempts, earthquakes, riots, wars, the list goes on. But, an angry Luna had never been one of them… and she wished that it would’ve stayed that way.

Celestia awoke by being violently shaken by her livid sister.

“Sister! You must arise! We have urgent matters to discuss with you!!!” Luna screamed, her hooves tightly gripping her sister’s shoulders.

“Sister,” Celestia began, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, “Whatever is the matter?”

Luna responded by releasing her sister, and shoving a scroll into her face with her magic. “This!!!”

Celestia took the scroll in her own magic, and began to read:

Dear, Princess of the Night.

We have your friend, Neon Lights, and will execute him at the stroke of midnight one day after you receive this scroll, unless you can stop us. We shall be waiting at the edge of the Everfree for you… do not be late.

Celestia’s eyes widened, her mind shooting immediately awake. She turned her attention to her sister. “Luna, when did you get this scroll?!”

“Only hours ago, sister. We have tried to trace who sent it to us but have come up with nothing. Whoever did, made sure to remove all traces of themselves from it, both magically and physically,” Luna began, “We have searched our city high and low for Neon, and have not been able to locate him. We fear that the threat is genuine, and wish to take immediate action!”

Celestia was about to answer, ready to tell her sister to ready the entire army to storm the Everfree… but then she thought better. She sighed, shaking her head. “Sister, you know that we must be discreet about this, right? We cannot send the entire guard after him."

To Celestia's surprise, Luna nodded in understanding. "We know that, sister. We are going to go the meeting place with a dozen of our best Night Guards and deal with the situation ourselves. If spotted, then we can play it as a training mission—we only wanted to inform you before-hoof as a precaution."

Celestia blinked, surprised by her sister's well thought out response. "Well..." She began, before snapping out of her stupor. "Very well then, sister. We wish you luck."

Luna nodded, before turning to head out of her sister's chambers, only to be stopped as her sister called out, "Wait!"

Luna turned to face her sister, who had risen from her bed and trotted over to her. The princess of the day put a hoof on her sister's shoulder. "Be safe, please?"

Luna smirked. "We shall, sister."

The sound of armor being hastily put on and the sound of blades weapons being sharpened filled the air of the Night Guard’s barracks. Moments before, the Princess of the night had stormed in, demanding that all of her guards be armored up and ready for battle in less than ten minutes. Nopony asked any questions. Nopony faltered. They did what they were trained to do: follow orders.

The Night Guard had a grand total of fifty guards, and twenty-five of them were currently at attendance, the rest being assigned to various jobs or home on leave. Luna had hoped for more to be readily available, but she did not want to waste time tracking down the rest of the guard. This was a personal mission, and she did not want to compromise the guard for her own personal gain. She was pissed as hell, but she didn’t let that turn into a blind rage. Anger clouded the mind, and Luna wanted her mind to remain clear.

While the guard prepared, the Princess made her way to get herself prepared. With a blink of her horn, and a pop of magic, a glimmering set of midnight black armor appeared in front of her. It was like her guards armor, but lighter, allowing for more maneuverability. Twin blades sat in their sheaths at her armor’s sides, still as sharp as they’d been a thousand years prior. She’d hated her war armor. It was masterfully crafted, paralleled only by her sister’s, but she couldn’t bring herself to love something that was only meant to bring death.

She donned her armor, before trotting around, getting used to its weight on her back. It was unbelievably light, almost feeling like wearing a dress. Its material had been forced by a strange metal mined from crashed meteorites. It was only fitting that it be used to make armor for the one who created them.

Feeling reacquainted with her armor, the Princess trotted back into the barracks to be greeted by all of the guards standing in formation in front of her, ready for her command. The Princess smiled internally at this. The captain of the squad, an elderly, battle tested stallion named Iron Hoof, saluted to Luna, who saluted back.

“Ready at your command, Princess!” Iron Hoof stated from his place at the end of the line.

Luna nodded her head. “Good, good,” she muttered, walking down the line and inspecting each of the guards. The all were fully armored up, standing at attention, still as statues. “We face an unknown enemy who hath captured somepony quite dear to me.” She paused. “This mission is a personal one, and I will only take those who volunteer. You won’t be fighting for your country, but for me. I will not force anypony to run into the unknown for just me. If any of you wish to back out, you may do so now.”

Nopony moved. Nopony twitched. They all stood their ground. Iron Hoof chuckled from his place in line, catching the Princess’s attention. “Princess, we took an oath to protect Equestria and our princesses. That applies to running blindly by your side to make sure that you don’t get yourself killed.”

Luna smiled at this, grateful to how loyal her guards were. She had expected at least half, if not all, to back out.

Okay, still stuck. I thought as I lay on the floor of my prison. I’d given up yelling empty threats at my captors, and all of my plans of escape ended, in my mind, with either me dead, or badly injured. The world around me was black, and my eyes still didn’t get used to it. I couldn’t even see my hooves in front of me! It was starting to creep me out. I was trapped in darkness. There were no walls to hold me in; no chains to hold me down; no bars to keep me trapped… there was just nothing. I was literally trapped by nothing!

Taking another deep breath, I began to tap a beat on the floor. For some reason, I was getting really inspired in this void. Several new beats for future songs began to play in my head, and I was trying with all of my might to not forget them. I never had a good memory, so this was really gonna piss me off later.

If there is later.

Oh, shut up, brain!

I am you, and you are me, so you are just yelling at yourself.

I am yelling at the depressed part of me!

No, you’re just yelling at yourself.

Shut up!

You’re the one yelling at yourself, buster.

What the hell was going on? Was I starting to go crazy? I just wanted to go free, to be rid of this nightmare! I wanted Luna back… I wanted whoever was planning on hurting her to die, painfully!

I groaned, rolling onto my back and staring up into the void. Then I noticed it… It started off slow, but it started to grow. The sound of chanting began to echo within my ears. I couldn’t understand what was being chanted, but it sounded spooky. I sat up and perked up an ear.

Something was happening.

The sound of rattling armor filled the air near the Everfree. Luna and her guard had touched down moments ago, and were waiting for something to happen.

This was the place they said to meet, right? Luna thought as she paced back and forth. She was getting impatient.

As if on cue, a cacophony of voices rang out from around them.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Princess.”

Luna jumped to attention, unsheathing both of her blades with her magic. She held them at her sides, ready to strike. “Where art thou hiding?! Show thineselves!”

“As you wish… your majesty.”

Hooded figures snaked out from the shadows around them, each one with a glowing horn poking out from the top of their heads. They trotted around the group, making a large circle. It was then the Princess noticed the glowing runes below them.

Princess Luna reacted first, jumping into the air screaming, “Run!” Some managed to jump out of range as the ground shook beneath them before filling with an electrical current. Cries of pain filled the air, screams of those who couldn’t get out of the way fast enough. Luna watched in horror as her guards bodies began to darken as their insides were cooked. Rage filled the princess as about half of her guard dropped dead onto the Everfree floor.

The night air began to swim as the shadows that surrounded the group began to grow, becoming dark tendrils. Luna dived down, blades ready. The ground exploded for her impact, a large crater around her. She lunged at the first hooded figure that she saw, blades immediately digging into their skin. Blood began to drip out the pony as they were all but torn in half by the strike. Luna didn't linger, pulling out the swords and jumping at the next hooded figure she saw.

Luna had frenzied, killing anything with a hood. The air around her had started to fog up, a thin mist covering the forest floor around her. She noticed but didn't pay much attention to it. It wasn't important.

Several minutes went by before Luna's swords were dripping with blood at her sides. She panted, winded by the experience... Then the fog started to lift. The ponies that lay around her morphed from having hoods, to having royal guard armor.

"No..." Luna muttered, slowly trotting back from the slowly growing pile of guards.

A loud laugh began to echo from within the forest. "Seems like you have been tricked, my dear princess. Now you are all alone, just as we wanted."

Luna's somber expression of shock and sadness immediately shifted to one of our rage. She screamed in her Royal Canterlot Voice, shaking the entire forest, "Show yourselves!"

A group of five Hooded ponies trotted out of the forest, carrying a struggling Neon Lights in their magical grasp.

Luna growled. “Let him go…”

The middle pony in the group chuckled. “No, not just yet.” A knife floated from beneath his cloak and rested on Neon’s throat. “Now, you are gonna stand right there until we finish the spell, or I’ll slit his throat. Simple trade, right?”

Luna growled, but stood still. Every fiber of her being wanted to rush forwards and rip those ponies in two, but she knew that she couldn’t react fast enough to stop that knife. So, she sat now on her flank, sticking her blades into the ground besides her.

The middle pony nodded, immediately followed by more robed ponies trotting through the forest and making their way to the princess. There were four of them, each standing an equal distance away from her. Their horns ignited, blue flames sprouting from the ground around them. The flames spread in thin lines, drawing out a pentagram with Luna being at the center. Ancient marking glowed around the dark-magic star, and the air around her began to get colder. Each of the unicorn’s horns began to grow brighter, each one seeming to strain themselves while trying to contain the spell. A ball of blue magic began to grow over Luna’s head, sparking and shifting as it grew in size. Luna closed her eyes, waiting for the spell to complete.

The ball of blue magic finally grew to critical mass. Luna braced herself, only to feel a weight on her side as she was thrown out of the way. She opened just eyes just in time to see Neon's body engulfed with the blue sphere.

Luna's mouth hung open, tears stinging her eyes as Neon lay steaming in the middle of the pentagram.

Then her eyes saw red.

Arc II - Interlude: 3 - Fear the Night Pt. II

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Interlude: 1 - Fear the Night Pt. 2

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

Luna stared in shock as the one she came to rescue lay motionless in front of her. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she also saw all of the guards lying dead around her, some felled by her own blade, and others because she didn't warn them soon enough. Everything had gone wrong. She didn't see the attack coming, she fraught with such rage that she didn't even notice she was killing her own ponies, and she failed to rescue the one she came to rescue. But, those who were responsible were still here, breathing and well.

Her eyes shot open, her tears stopping immediately, now burning with a shadowy glow. The shadows around her began to dance around, like ghostly snakes. With her magic, the Princess of the Night pulled her blades from the earth, holding them by her sides. Pure rage fueled each step as she trotted towards the one she believed to be the leader of the group, who was too busy cursing at the failed attempt at whatever they had been trying to do to notice her advance. Once she got close enough, she lifted the pony in her magic, who immediately began to squirm. With her eyes still burning with shadows, she stared into his eyes.

"You have made me angry... and will now pay with your life for what you have done," she muttered quietly, just loud enough for only him to hear. Her head then turned towards the rest of the remaining group, and screamed in a much louder voice, "You will all pay for what you have done!" With that said, her rage-fueled magic tore the leader in half, blood exploding from his now severed corpse.

The rest of the group stared at the scene with shock, before they all snapped to their senses and charged the princess. Luna turned, her blades ready at her sides as she waited for her charging opponents to make their first move, which they soon did. The largest of the group, most likely a stallion, pulled out a large, blunt hammer from beneath his cloak, and took a mighty swing at the princess. Luna dodged the attack, rolling out of the way just in time. She immediately scrambled to her hooves, only to be tackled by another charging hooded pony. A sharp pain erupted from her side, and the Princess of the Night immediately realized that she'd been stabbed by the charging pony's horn. She'd had worse, but it still hurt.

The rest of the group began to get closer, some sending burning hot plasma at the princess from their horns. Luna dodged as much as she could, but the sheer amount of attacks was starting to be too much. Between the plasma blasts and the large, hammer-wielding pony that constantly tried to crush her with his instrument of death, Luna was beginning to overwhelm. As she dodged, she caught a glimpse of Neon's body and felt reinvigorated as she saw one of his legs twitch slightly.

With newfound purpose, Luna’s horn ignited in a dark glow, and the shadows that were still dancing around them began to snake their way towards the closest robed pony, immediately wrapping themselves around them and slowly crushing them. It was enough to lighten the assault, and Luna was able to turn to the offensive, lunging at the hammer-wielding pony. Her blades remained at her side as she checked the large stallion, makinging him stumble slightly. That gave her the opening she needed. Using one of her blades, she stabbed into his shoulder, making him cry out in pain. She used the other blade to block the stallion’s still continuous swings of the hammer. With him too wounded to run, and weapon too preoccupied to strike, Luna lunged at the stallion, grabbing the back of the stallion's neck with her teeth. With a mighty tug and twist of her body, a loud “snap” echoed out as the stallion suddenly went limp, falling to the ground.

Luna didn’t falter, immediately pulling out her blade that she had stuck into his shoulder and charging towards the next pony that she could see. About half of the group of robed ponies were preoccupied fighting off the advancing shadows, learning that the only way to fight them with with magic. Some lay dead from being strangled by the ghostly shadows, and some managing to escape and were currently fighting the shadows that continued to advance. Luna was about the charge the closest pony, when an idea came into mind. Luna sheathed her blades and, with a flap of her mighty wings, Luna took to the sky, immediately flying towards the barely moving form of Neon. He still lay where he was struck, twitching ever so often. Luna grabbed him in her magic, lifting him into the air. As soon as he was clear of the ground, the Princess of the Night activated the electrical trap again, shocking the rest of the hooded ponies with their own trap.

A wicked smile graced her lips as the sounds of their screams of pain filled her ears. Her smile vanished, however, as she turned back to Neon, who was still in her magical grasp. With a flick of her magic, Luna slung her friend's body over her back and immediately began her flight back towards the castle…

Arc II - Chapter: 7 - Aftermath

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter: 7 - Aftermath

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

I trotted along the dark surface, turning my head from side to side, searching for any form of light. Minutes before I had attempted to cast an illumination spell, but, for some currently unexplainable reason, it failed to cast, and no other spell I had tried since had worked. The area surrounding me wasn’t just black—it felt as if there was nothing. I felt like I was in some sort of void—where the darkness around me simply represented the empty space. My hooves trotted firmly but made no contact with any tangible floor. I'd been trying to remain calm and try and figure out a logical explanation for what was going on, and where the hell I was. But this… place? Didn’t seem to have any logic at all.

My thoughts were suddenly cut off when a quiet, and seemingly distant, voice cut through the ever growing void. I quickly looked around, trying to find the source, but all I could see was the unchanged void.

“H-Hello?” I nervously called out, “is anypony there?”

My response came in the form of a creepy-ass chuckle. "Hello, Neon, fancy meeting you here!"

I knew that voice... Wait, huh? "Who's there?"

The voice was silent, before responding, "Moi? Well, I am you!"

I scoffed. "No, you're not! I'm me! You're... I don't know, but you sure as hell ain't me."

The voice chuckled."Oh, my ignorant pony, this will make sense soon. But, for now, I think you need to wake up."

What did he mean—

My vision was suddenly filled with a white, burning light. I groaned, my entire body feeling like it'd been struck by a freight train. I closed my eyes; keeping them open just hurt too much. To my surprise, my pain was slowly fading away. The soreness in my muscles remained, but the throbbing pain of, well, everything went away. As the pain faded, I was able to open my eyes without the accompanying pain.

“Ah damn it, not here again!” I groaned as I realized that I was in a hospital, again. Didn’t seem like the same one as last time, as the room I was currently in was far more fancy than the last one. I lay in a standard hospital bed, but the sheets were far more comfortable then I remembered. A heart monitor softly beeped besides me, getting more annoying by the second. The walls were a blinding white, somehow reflecting the light from all of the lights right back at me.

I sat up, trying to get comfortable in the bed, Once I had done just that, I began racking my brain for anything I could remember. I remember being captured by those… ponies. I remember laying in that god-awful void for what felt like forever. I remember being dragged out of the void by those hooded ponies… I remember seeing Luna sitting there. I remember the knife to my throat… And I remember pushing her out of the way of that… that ball of energy. Had I been struck? How am I not dead?! Is Luna okay?!

My internal questions ceased as the door to my room opened, and a pale white unicorn mare with an orange mane trotted in. Our eyes met, and she was instantly at my side, pushing me down with a hoof. I was confused, but I complied. She probably knew what she was doing.

“How do you feel?” she asked, her voice filled with concern and kindness.

"Sore, tired... strangely thirsty," I answered, smacking my chapped lips.

The nurse, whose name I am yet to learn, levitated a glass of water over to me, which I greedily gulped down. She also pulled out a clipboard and began scribbling stuff onto it. From my angle on the bed, I couldn't see what exactly it was.

Her face screwed up in confusion, seemingly puzzled. "This doesn't make sense..." she muttered to herself.

I raised an eyebrow. "What doesn't make sense?" I asked. I figured since it was most likely about me, I had the right to know.

She shook her head. "What's strange is that you're normal." I raised my other eyebrow, which she noticed. "Well, you should have... something wrong with you! From what the princess described, and how much of a hurry she got you here, we expected at least something."

Huh…? Maybe the magic was a dud? Can that happen? "Well... That's good, right?"

To my surprise, she shook her head. "Magic doesn't just do nothing, especially magic that was intended to do something to the princess. It's more of that we haven't been able to find out what it did yet."

I deflated. I was fine for the time being, but I was essentially a time bomb... At least, I’m alive.

For now.

Shut up, brain.

I shrugged to the nurse. "Well, whatcha gonna do?"

She bit her tongue. "Y-yeah..."

There was a pause.

"So..." I began. "What do I do now?"

It was the nurse's turn to shrug. "Just wait, I guess. The princess shall be here shortly. Trust me, she'll be here as soon as she know's you're awake."

A goofy smile graced my lips. Luna... I'm so happy that she's alright.

Luna sat in her bed chambers, staring at the wall like she'd been doing since she'd gotten back. After Neon had been hit by that... Whatever it was, Luna had rushed him back to Canterlot, immediately taking him to the Royal Hospital. It's usually reserved for guards wounded in battle, or anyone of significance, really. He was significant to her, and that's all that she had to say to get him in.

After that, she'd taken personal responsibility for telling all of the guard's family that they were... that they had been... felled in battle.

She let out a single sob. She'd had to tell mothers, fathers, brothers... And even an expecting mother that their loved one wasn't coming him. All twenty five guard had been killed... Almost half by her own blade. Luna let out another sob, her eyes still red and puffy from the all the crying she'd done earlier.

But, she's saved Neon. Rather, he'd saved her. Nopony knows what that spell had done, and last time she'd checked Neon was still unconscious. She'd been happy that he seemed to be alive, but her mind still questioned one thing: was all the lives of her guards worth it? Was their lives greater than his? She knew the answer, but she didn't want to admit it.

Suddenly, the door burst open, a panting nurse trying to catch her breath in the doorframe. Luna turned towards the nurse, a sad expression still peaking her features. "What is it?" She asked, her voice holding her great sadness.

The nurse took a few deep breaths, before speaking, "You wished to know... know when we got news about you friend."

Luna raised an ear. "Yes, and?"

The nurse took a few more breaths. "He... he is awake, but we have no news on the effects of the spell."

That was all that Luna needed to know. In a flash, Luna had dashed past the nurse, sending her flying in her wake. The nurse fell to the ground, slightly dazed.

"Where is he?!" Luna demanded to the secretary, who was cowering behind her desk.

"T-two d-doors down the h-hall, miss," the secretary squeaked, covering her head with her hooves.

"Thank you!" Luna declared before trotting down the hall and towards her friend's room.

Once she got to the desired room, she stopped. Suddenly, the thought that going in wasn't a good idea suddenly popped into her mind. What if he doesn't want to see me? Or what if he hates me for what I brought him into?! the Princess of the Night thought as she started to hyperventilate.

Closing her eyes as tight as she could, and bracing herself for the worst, she slowly opened the door, trotting all of the way inside before she opened them. Luna instantly meeped as she noticed that her gaze was locked with Neon's.

Well, this was awkward... Me and Luna's eyes were glued to each other, neither of us wanting to look away. I could tell she was nervous, and I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't either. Everything had gone to shit yesterday... Was it yesterday? I'd need to confirm how long I'd been out later. Can't believe I actually forgot about that. Anyways, shit hit the fan yesterday, and both of us felt the repercussions. Taking a deep breath, I decided that I'd be the one to address the elephant in the room.

"So... about the thing..." I muttered.

Luna shuffled nervously on her hooves. "We... we don't want to talk about it, but know that we must." She trotted over to the hospital bed I was laying on, and gently lay at the foot of it, making sure not to lay on me. Once she was settled, she turned back to face me, tears in her eyes. "We thought we lost you! We thought you were dead!"

Well, didn't expect that... I guess.

Luna continued, tears running freely down her muzzle. "Twenty-five of my guards are dead... and I... and I killed half of them."

My eyes went wide. This is new information…

"It's all our fault that this all happened. We were careless, and caused their deaths, and almost caused yours. We are so sorry, and we can understand if you hate us and think that we are a—"

She was cut off as I pulled her into a hug, letting her bury her head in my mane. She sobbed quietly, holding me tightly and continued to bury her head deeper into my mane. I didn’t know what to do other than hold her close and whisper that, “Everything is gonna be alright,” into her ear. Something in the back of my head told me to yell at her and to blame her for everything that she’d done to me, but I pushed that thought away. I couldn’t blame Luna for everything that happened… could I?

I shook my head slightly and continued to nuzzle the princess that lay at my hooves. I could tell that this mare was damaged from the first time that I’d met her, and I could tell that, somehow, from the experiences that we had shared, she had began to heal. Slowly, I had seen this timid, scared, and confused mare slowly open up and grow to who she is now. I’m not gonna take all of the credit, but I can tell that I definitely did something.

Luna rested her head on my chest, seemingly calmed by my heartbeat. “I’m so glad that I met you…” she muttered, a smile creeping onto her features.

I smiled as well, closing my eyes and embracing her warmth. “I’m so glad you met me too…”

My eyes fluttered open, and the feeling of something warm resting against my chest instantly made me smile. This is how waking up is supposed to be, I thought to myself as I gently sat up, trying not to disturb the gently snoring mare at the foot of my bed. I stared at the adorable sight of the Princess of the Night sleeping peacefully in my lap, her eyes closed and the cutest little snore escaping her lips. I smiled, the sight bringing a warmth deep within me. Just to think, I had a princess sleeping in my lap -- I must be the luckiest stallion in the world.

Damn bitch almost got us killed.

I reeled slightly, surprised by the thought. Yes, I guess it was her fault that all of this happened to me, but I really couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t like it was her intention. I shook my head, clearing myself of all of those negative thought. Seriously, where had they come from?

I guess my sudden motion was enough to wake the princess, as her eyes slowly crept open, a soft yawn escaping her lips. She looked around, seemingly to get her bearing, before her gaze shifted to me. A soft smile spread across her features. “Good night, Neon,” she muttered, stretching slightly as another yawn escaped her lips.

Goodnight? Wasn’t it morning? I thought to myself as I searched around the room for a clock. Finding one on the nightstand besides me, I confirmed that it was nighttime. Midnight, to be exact. The clock didn’t have a date, so I turned back to Luna to have one of my questions finally answered. “Hey, Luna… how long was I out?”

She stopped mid-stretch, and turned to me. “Hmm? Oh, right, we thought you’d be curious about that. Well, you were unconscious for about… four days, if memory serves us correctly.”

Four days?! Damn, I’d been out for four days… new personal record, I guess? I shrugged at my own question, shifting again to get more comfortable. My back hooves were still asleep, but like hell was I going to ask Luna to move.

Sadly, I think Luna sensed my discomfort, and slowly crawled off the bed.

She’ll leave you, just like everyone else!

I flinched, once again surprised by my own thoughts. What was going on with that, anyways? I pushed both thoughts aside, planning on going back to them when I wasn’t in Luna’s company. “So, any ideas when I can leave this place?” I asked, motioning to the room with a hoof.

Luna shrugged. “We are not sure, but we shall go and ask a nurse to see if they have an estimate, yet.”

I nodded to her. “Yeah, that’d be great.”

She smiled at me, keeping eye contact for as long as she could before heading out the door.

As the door closed, I immediately brought my thoughts back to my strange thoughts. Why the hell had I even been thinking them in the first place? I wasn’t a mean pony by any standards, and I tended to forgive and forget extremely easily. Ponies had taken advantage of my helpful, easy going attitude for as long as I could remember. Tricking me into hanging out with them so that they could use me. Making fun of me because they knew that I was too ignorant to see it.

Wouldn’t it be great to get back at them all by using your new status of the Princess’s lover? Show them who they were messing with, and how their lives were useless in comparison!

No.. why the hell would I do that? First of all, I am not her lover. Second, I would never abuse that status if I did gain that. And third, why the hell would I still care? I mean, it’s not like they still do it. I moved away. Left all of them behind. No use in opening old wound, right?

Come on, don’t you remember how they made you cry? Made you feel like you were useless. Told you how nobody would ever love a freak like you!

I began to shake, anger filling by body on it’s own accord. I didn’t want to feel angry, but I was. Yeah, maybe it was time to get back at those assholes for what they did. Show the entire world that Neon Lights isn’t some lonely nerd like he once was! I’m a god of music now, the best DJ in all of Canterlot! Everypony would see who that I’d be—

“No!” I screamed, pressing my hooves to my temples. What was happening to me? I wasn’t like this!

The door creaked open, and a concerned looking nurse trotted in. “Mr. Neon, I hear you scream from outside the door… is anything wrong?”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “No, everything is okay. Just some silly thoughts in my head.”

No, tell her about the anger!

She raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. “Okay, I guess. Is there anything I can get for you?”

I shrugged. “No, I’m good.”

No you’re not!

The nurse nodded before closing the door.

I stared at my hooves as I began to shake again.

“What is going on with me…?”

I sat in silence since the nurse had left. My mind was blank, just the way I liked it. My random sprout of rage had gone as fast as it had came, the void it created filled with fear. I was scared at what had happened, and if it was gonna happen again.

A few minutes later Luna trotted into the room, a smile on her face and completely oblivious to what had happened.

"Well, we were told that you will be released later after a few tests," she began, stirring at the edge of my bed. "They now believe that the spell was meant to harm an alicorn, and not a normal pony. They are running a few more tests just to make sure, though." She then leaned over and kissed my cheek then whispered, "That is for saving me, my brave little DJ."

I blushed, a goofy smile crossing my lips. My mind was putty in the moment; completely useless.

The moment was cut short as the door to the room entered and the same white nurse with the orange hair trotter in. (Note to self: Get her name.) Her eyes went wide as she saw me and Luna, shying away from the door. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know I was interrupting."

Luna chuckled, rolling over and onto their hooves. "Do not worry, you weren't interrupting anything."

The nurse still seemed a little timid, but trotted into the room nonetheless, immediately making her way over to me. "Now, we only have one more test for you to take, and it's probably the easiest. You just have to take this one and you're free to go."

I sighed in relief, glad that I was gonna get out of here... Until I saw the needle being held in her telekinetic grasp...

Solar Guards flooded the royal hospital, all stationed next to the second door to the left. Inside that room was me, standing on my bed and surrounded in medical equipment floating in my magical grasp. Now, there are many thing that I'm afraid of, and needles are on top of that list.

After I was shown said needle, I had managed to throw that poor nurse through the wall, and pushed Luna out the door as well. I then managed to pick up everything that wasn't nailed down and throw it at anyone who tried to come inside of my door. Usually such a feat would be impossible for me, but when a unicorn feels extremely threatened, they get something called a Magical Surge, which is basically the adrenaline of magic. Usually, it takes a life or death experience to cause this sort of reaction, but for me all it took was the appearance of that needle.

"Come on, Neon! All we must do is take a little blood!" Luna called from the other side of the door, hoping to resolve the situation peacefully.

I laughed from the other side of the door. "Like hell I'm letting anyone inside with that... that thing!"

Luna shook her head sadly and turned to the guard beside her. "Okay, breach on three."

He nodded and motioned for several other guards behind him to get ready.

"One... Two... Three!"

The door exploded as a magical charge imploded on the door. All four of the guards rushed to the door, one holding a riot shield and the others going with just their hooves. The riot shield-wielding one shielded the others from the medical supplies that I was throwing.

The leader of the quarter jumped first, checking me into the wall, momentarily stunning me. The other two pounced on me, grabbing my front hooves and pinning me down. The riot shield one threw his shield on his back and tried to restrain my back hooves. His efforts were awarded with a kick to the face. I managed to wrap my magic around the guard that was holding my left hoof and pulled him off, throwing him into the wall. I then shifted my body so my back hooves were under the last guard, and kicked him as hard as I could. He went flying, crashing into the opposite wall.

I stood up, a smug grin on my face. These fools thought they were a match for me?! Ha! No one is a match for me, Neon Lights!

At that was when I felt something hit the back of my head, before I saw black.

Luna stood over Neon's unconscious form, shaking her head side to side. A broken flower-pot lay over his head.

As soon as he had gone down, the nurse had rushed in and took the blood sample. For having been thrown through a wall, she was doing quite well. The guards that had been thrown during his frenzy were also okay, the only thing truly wounded was their pride.

After the nurse had taken the blood sample, and several extra to make sure that they had more than enough, Luna picked up Neon's unconscious body and placed it on her back before she began to trot towards her room.

Once there, she lay him in her bed, and tucked him in. After stationing a guard outside the door to make sure he was safe, the Princess of the Night trotted back out the door of her room and down the hall.

She promised herself that she wouldn't laugh, but she couldn't resist. The princess chuckled as she made her way down the hallway, and towards the dining area. We can't believe that he actually took down those guards! Hehe, and I can't believe that potted plant actually worked, Luna thought as she walked.

Before long, Luna pushed past the doors to the Royal dining area, already seeing her sister waiting at the end of the massive table. Luna made her way to the seat next to her sister and sat down. "Sorry we are late, sister, we had a bit of an... incident, in the hospital wing."

Celestia rolled her eyes. "Yes, your friend threw several of my best guards into a wall."

Luna blushed. "We did not expect him to have such a fear of needles."

Celestia looked seriously at her sister before her expression faltered. She wrapped a wing around her sister and pulled her into a hug. "We are so glad that you are okay."

Luna welcomed the embrace, hugging her sister back. "We promised you that we would be."

The next few moments lay in a tense silence, neither of them saying a word. Eventually, Celestia broke the silence. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Luna lowered her head, knowing exactly what her sister was talking about. "Yes, we supposed that talking about it will ease the burden." She took a deep breath. "I can't believe that they're all gone... so much death. And me, their princess, was the one who slain them!"

Celestia listened intently as her sister told her the entire tale. She didn't interrupt, only listened. After she was done, Celestia took a deep breath.

"Sister, it wasn't your fault. Please don't blame yourself for something that was out of your control," Celestia said, her voice calming and motherly.

Luna shook her head. "We know, sister, but it only helps so much. It is still their blood on our sword."

The solar princess frowned, knowing all too well the pain her sister was feeling. She was gonna have to look into who these ponies were that tried to attack her sister, and maybe figure out what their intent was. For now, though, her only Job was to comfort her sister.

"Do not fear, dear sister, we shall get to the bottom of what happened, and what their intent was."

Luna just nodded. "We hope so..."

Arc II - Chapter: 8 - Awakened

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter: 8 - Awakened

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

The room around me was black, a cold void that stretched out as far as I could see. I couldn't feel anything, I couldn't see anything. The world was empty.

"Ah, crap," I muttered, shaking my head. I knew where I was. Or, at least, I'd been here before.

"Welcome back, my ignorant pony!"

And there the voice is... Joy. "Okay, mind skipping the chatty-chat and tell me where the hell I am? I haven't had the greatest week and talking to a figure in my head isn't gonna make it better."

The voice... thingy was silent, and I thought it went away.

"My, my. Somepony's in a bad mood!"

Never mind…

I sighed, falling into my haunches. Somehow, my flank touched... Something, as I wasn't falling, but I couldn't feel anything. Unnerving, but unimportant. "Yeah, yeah, I'm a grumpy pony! But, please, can you give me some answered?"

The voice chuckled. "Don't worry, my ignorant pony, I am not here to make your life miserable—far from, in fact!"

The air (Void?) around me started to morph and shape. I stood on my hooves, trying to back away. I didn't go anywhere, seemingly running on an invisible treadmill. The void continued to shift, until it took the shape of a pony, one that I knew quite well.

"Well, you don't seem to be going anywhere," the materialized pony spoke, a hint of amusement in his voice.

I stopped immediately, falling into my haunches. My mouth gaped as I stared at the pony in front of me—as I stared at myself. The pony that had materialized was me, or looked like me. It was like looking into a mirror, only the mirror didn't copy you, but acted with free will. The other... me smiled, putting a hoof only my shoulder. I tensed up, wanting to run away from... me, I guess.

The copy shook his head. "Why do you wish to run? As I said before: I wish you no harm. Why would I hurt myself, after all."

I didn't know how to react, choosing to simply stare dumbly forwards.

The copy shook his head. "Well, I guess this is the best I'm gonna get," he began, removing his hoof from my shoulder. "Anyways, what I wanted to say is that I am only here to help you. I'm gonna release you from all the pain that you have felt, and punish those who caused it."

The copy faded away, being replaced by a mirror. At first, the image was black but soon morphed into a colt version of me. The background shifted, and the colt was located in a room that I knew quite well; my old classroom.

The colt version of me sat at a desk in the empty classroom, scribbling onto a paper with a pencil tightly grasped in my magic. I cocked my head—this scene looked familiar. I watched as the younger me was absorbed in whatever was being written on that page. I remembered that feeling, when the world around me would fade and all I could focus on what I was currently working on. I let out a soft chuckle, remembering that feeling quite well.

Suddenly, the door opened, and two large unicorn colts trotted in. One was a dark black, and the other a blinding white. My eyes went wide as I remembered them. The one with the black coat had a white bass clef on this flank, and the white coated one had a black treble clef adorning his flank. They were my childhood bullies...

The scene finally struck me, and I remember exactly what happened next. I lunged at the mirror, screaming for the colt me to turn around and run. He couldn't hear me, how could he? But that didn't stop me from trying. I soon felt a hoof rest on my shoulder, and I knew who it belonged too.

I watched as the two unicorns trotted up to "me" snickering at what they were about to do. When they were right behind me, the black coated one (Shadow Note), picked me up with his magic and pinned me against a neighboring desk. The white coated one (White noise) laughed as I flailed at try and get out of his brother's grasp.

"Let me go!" I hear the colt me yell, thrashing about as hard as I could. I was small for my age, easily half the size I was supposed to be.

White Noise chuckled. "Seriously, runt? Are you still trying to escape? Just give up—you're too much of a wimp to do anything even if you did manage to break free."

The colt me continued to squirm, despite his comment. I was stubborn, even then, and never gave up. I was just too stupid.

Shadow Note, the more impatient of the two, decided to make me stop his way, with a hoof to the gut. I wheezed, the air escaping my lungs from the strike. "Shut up," he spoke, never the one for more than a few words.

White Noise trotted over to my desk, picking up the paper that I was scribbling on. He laughed, folding the piece of paper up and tucking it into a saddlebag that I just now noticed. "This one is even better than the last one, runt," he began, trotting out in front of me, taunting me to do something and give him an excuse to fight back.

The colt me stayed put, mumbling angrily under his breath.

White Noise rolled his eyes. "Seriously, I figured you'd get used to our little arrangement by now! But no, you don't learn."

I remember the arrangement well, I wrote a few songs for him and his brother a week and he didn't beat the snot out of me. He stole my music, using it as his own and calling me a "copy cat" every time I tried to play something. It was humiliating, but it had to be done. No one ever said or did anything, and I knew ponies knew. I was alone, forced to turn over my creations to that stupid colt.

I growled, knowing what happened next.

The colt me jumped forward, sinking his teeth into White Noise's hoof. He screamed, trying to pry me off as blood began to pool down his leg. I still remembered the sick taste of copper in my mouth.

His brother stepped into action, grabbing me in his magic and trying to pull me off. I only bit tighter.

It wasn't long until White Noise's screams caught the attention of the teacher, who burst threw the door to see me biting the stupid colt.

Then the mirror faded to black.

I didn't need to see the rest. After that incident, I was expelled from Celestia's School for Gifted Musicians. My parents had been extremely upset, threatening to kick me out for "Wasting their money." Nopony listened to my side of the story... nopony cared. I had to transfer to a normal school, with normal music programs. Since then, I became even more of a loner, doing whatever I could to stay out of trouble. I did kids homework, I gave up my songs, I took the beatings.

I took the pain.

I didn't realize it, but I was grinding my teeth. If I wasn't in this "Dream World," I'd probably have a headache, and possible tooth damage. Anger seemed to radiate from me as I stared into the blackened mirror. In a fit of rage, I screamed, smashing the mirror with a hoof. The shards fell into the void, somehow not being caught by whatever was keeping me up.

"See, don't you remember the pain? The anger? The hate? I could make it all go away, and make those who deserve it pay."

I turned to my copy, who was sitting next to me with a caring look on his face. I didn't know what to say. I wanted them to pay, all of them, but something felt wrong. "I don't know... It still feels wrong," I muttered, trying to keep the anger at bay. I hated being angry.

The copy nodded his head, seeming to understand. "Don't worry, you have plenty of time to decide," he began, resting a comforting hoof on my shoulder. "When you do decide, I'll be here."

And with that, my world faded to black.

I awoke with a start, my head pounding and my body sore as hell. Everything was foggy, and it took more time than usual for me to get my bearings. I wasn't in my room, that much was clear. These sheets are way too comfortable to be mine. I curled up into a tighter ball, content in remaining in my cocoon of warmth. But, then it hit me: if I wasn't home... Where was I?

I unwrapped my cocoon and sat up. After a quick look around, I soon realized that I was in Luna's bedroom. Not many other ponies lived in an observatory.

I didn't remember going to sleep here... And the lack of an alcoholic tint to the air clarifies that it wasn't from heavy drinking. Never was into alcohol after I saw what I saw it could do to my father, but I wasn't completely against the stuff—just excessive amounts. All. The. Time.

It was then I remembered the needle. The needle. I shuddered, and felt along my hooves. Sure enough, there was a Wonderbolts bandaid on my left hoof. A Spitfire one, to be exact... I approve.

Seems like those pricks got to me after all. Funny, usually I wake up in jail after I go to the doctor and they spring the "It's only a little shot" routine. Yeah, they were never little... pricks.

Anyways, pushing my mind from the pointed heathen, I rolled off the bed, and onto my hooves. My mind was still a bit cloudy, and I think it may have had something to do with the large lump on my forehead. I tested a few steps, making sure that I didn't have any cognitive damage from... whatever. I walked straight, if a little shaky, so I figured the odds of me face-planting were fairly slim. With that I mind, I made my way to the door.

I wasn't sure where I was heading, but I figured that I'd eventually run into somepony, who could point me in the direction of the princess.

Speak of the devil and doth they appear! I was immediately stopped by a guard the minute I opened the door.

"Halt!" He boomed, making me cover my ears. His voice was too loud!

"You don't have to yell, y'know!" I screamed back at him, trying to copy his assertive tone.

He rolled his eyes, snorting in annoyance. "It is proper for a royal guard to speak in this tone! We must show our–"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I spoke, interrupting the stallion. "Whatever the reason, it's stupid. Now, point me in the direction of the princess, you armored fool!" He seemed offended, and actually looked like he wanted to punch me. Good.

Through grinding teeth he muttered, "Throne room..."

I smiled at him, pissing him off even more. "Thank you," I said before trotting down the hall.

Once at the end of the hall, my eye went wide. I turned around and screamed, "Sorry!" before turning around and immediately trotting off towards the dining room.

That was strange, I thought. I was never one to be mean to anyone, even if they deserved it... I shook my head. Must just be a reaction to the shot. Yeah. Probably just me still being upset by being pricked without my consent.

Figuring that was the case, I continued trotting towards the direction of the Throne Room. It wasn't hard, really, as, like in Rome, all roads lead there. Or hallways, in my case.

As I trotted, I began to reflect on the past few days since the incident. The weird thoughts, the weird dreams. Were they my way of coping with what happened? Did I need therapy? And what was with last night's dream, anyways? Usually I forgot my dreams as soon as I awoke, but last night’s was still fresh in my mind. It was a strange dream, one that seemed to hold more meaning then something his resting brain should’ve been able to come up with. Did it, in fact, mean something? I mean, it showed me a memory, one that I had hoped to forget. I wasn’t a fan of my childhood, as it held more pain that I would’ve liked.

I stopped as an idea sprang into my head. “I’m an idiot!” I exclaimed out loud, before shrinking down and making sure that nopony was around to hear that. Making sure that there wasn’t, I returned my mind to that thought. Why didn’t I just ask Luna? She is the Princess of the the Night, and probably could explain this to me better than anypony else.

I continued down the hall towards the throne room, thinking of how I was going to explain this to Luna. Actually, it probably wouldn’t be the best if I just came up and said that I have a voice in my head telling me to get revenge... Probably think I was crazy! I thought as I finally reached the large double doors to the throne room. Twin guards stood on either side of the large door standing at attention and stiff as statues. I resisted the urge to make a joke about that.

I nodded to one of the guards, who turned and ignited his horn, the large doors opening in a glow of his magical aura. I thanked him as I trotted inside, hearing the doors closing as soon as I was past the threshold. The throne room was huge! The ceiling was easily ten meters tall, probably to allow pegasi to fly freely throughout the room. Large stained glass windows depicting the Elements of Harmony and their exploits hung along one side of the room, one catching my eye in particular. It was the one depicting the Elements of Harmony defeating Nightmare Moon, releasing Luna. Don’t know why that one caught my eye, but it did. Anyway, a large emblem of the two sisters lay inset in the floor. On the far wall were two thrones, one for Celestia and the other for luna. Above each throne was a banner for the respective princess’ cutie mark.

Luna sat on her throne, while Celestia was nowhere in sight. From one look outside and seeing the moon, I could surmise that Celestia was probably sleeping, as the night was Luna’s domain. The Princess of the Night seemed bored out of her mind, lounging on her back and staring thoughtfully at the ceiling. Was this what she did while she wasn’t with me? Damn, no wonder she wanted to spend so much time with me!

I began to trot towards her, and she soon took notice of my presence. She sat up, running a hoof through her mane to get the frills out. I stopped when I got at the foot of the steps that lead up to the dual thrones, and bowed. Luna rolled her eyes. “You do know that there is no need for you to bow? We are friends, after all.”

I chuckled nervously. “Sorry, the throne thingy kinda threw me off.”

“So, how are you feeling?” Luna asked, her voice suddenly filled with concern.

I shrugged. “Better, I guess,” I began, sitting on my haunches. “Speaking of which… how did I end up in your bed, again?”

It was Luna’s turn to nervously chuckle. “Well… we may have knocked out with a plant?”

“A plant?”

“A potted plant, to be precise!”

I nodded, slowly. “You knocked me out... with a potted plant?” She nodded. I took a minute to soak up that bit of information. “So, why did you knock me out with a potted plant?”

“Because you threw my sister’s guards through a wall,” the Princess of the Night stated, matter-of-factly.

Well, I didn’t expect that. Actually, I didn’t expect that at all! “Why a potted plant?” I asked, genuinely curious.

Luna shrugged. “We believed it was the best tool for the job!”

“Really?”

Luna sighed. “We didn’t think it through, okay?!”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “I still can’t believe that you knocked me out with a plant.”

“A potted plant.”

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, well, enough about that. What I really came here for was to ask you a question.”

Luna perked up at this. “Oh, a question? Well, ask away!”

I nodded, before taking a deep breath. “Well… I wanted to ask you about… about dreams.”

Luna’s eyes went wide, and her smile grew from ear to ear. “Really?!” I nodded. “We would love to tell you about dreams! ‘Tis rarely we get to talk about our realm.” She stood up and trotted down to me, sitting just in front of me. Her eyes held much enthusiasm. “What do you wish to know about dreams?”

How should I word this… Oh, I got it! “Can dreams ever mean something? Like… can they hold meaning about the future, or about ourselves?”

Luna took a moment to think before answering, “They can. Dreams are the subconscious way of talking to you. Communicating between your active conscious and your impulses. Dreams can sometimes tell you something that you cannot put into words, such as a feeling.”

Huh… maybe my brain is telling me to face my past?

Luna then paused, seeming to ponder something over. After a minute of silence, she continued. “Dreams can also be affected by magic. There have been some cases where the environment the pony sleeps in can affect their dreams, such as an area dominated by dark or light magic. The dream realm is magical in nature, so it is commonly affected as such.” The princess of the night then paused again, before cocking her head to the side. “Why do you ask, anyways?”

I shrugged nonchalantly. “Just curious, I guess.”

Luna nodded happily. “Well, if you ever want to talk about dreams again, we will sure be happy to discuss!”

I nodded. “I shall do just that.”

There was an awkward silence between the two of us, neither knowing what to say. Finally, I broke the silence. “Well, I better get home. I’ve already missed enough of my gigs due to… unforeseen circumstances, and I really need to go back and explain it to Big Time.”

The blue alicorn nodded in understanding. “We can understand that,” she began, before leaning forwards and pulling me into a hug. “Just please be careful, okay? We don’t want to lose you.”

I nuzzled the Princess’ neck. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t let that happen to myself a second time.”

Luna didn’t reply, simply holding me close. I liked the contact, a warmth spreading from my core. Finally, Luna released me from the hug and trotted back towards her throne. Once there, she sat down and turned to face me. “We shall have a guard escort you home, just to be cautious.”

I nodded in understanding, welcoming the extra security. “Okay. See ya’, Luna.”

She nodded back. “We shall meet again soon.”

“Of course!” I responded, before turning around and heading out of the large room. As expected, a guards soon flanked me as I trotted towards the exit of the castle. As I trotted forwards, only one thought filled my mind: How was I going to explain this to Big Time?

“Let me get this straight,” Big Time began from behind his desk. “You were kidnapped by a shadow group of cult-ponies?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

I had arrived at my apartment not that long ago. As soon as I had gotten inside, a scroll had appeared in front of me and scared the shit out of me, once again. I will not admit that I screamed like a little filly, and I will also not admit to the fact that the guard had fallen over in laughter moments later… okay, maybe he did. I had told him to leave and he did so, still laughing as I slammed the door behind him.

The scroll was from Luna, obviously, and she had told me that I should try and keep the entire being kidnapped thing a secret, and try and keep me and her friendship a secret, as we had already seen what can happen when ponies know. I had soon after gone to the club to explain to Big Time why I had been absent the past few days. And that was where I was now.

Big Time leaned back in his chair, putting his hooves to his head and sighing. “You do know how crazy that sounds, right?”

I nodded.

He chuckled. “Whatever, just make sure that it doesn’t happen again, capiche?”

I nodded, again.

“Good. Now, get out there and do what I pay you to do!”

I nodded once again and walked out of his office, grateful that he wasn’t too questioning about my reasoning as to why I was absent. I walked into The Prancing Pony’s dance floor, which was fairly packed, with music from my emergency playlist blaring throughout the club. I had, thankfully, prepared that playlist and taught a few of the employees how to set that playlist to Automix in case of such an emergency, but I could tell some ponies were beginning to get a little upset over hearing some of the same songs repeat.

I pushed my way through the crowd toward my DJ booth. Some of the ponies recognized me and began to question me about where the hell I’d been. I didn’t answer them, instead continue walking towards my table. When I got there, put on another track and grabbed the microphone.

“What’s up, everypony!!!” I screamed into the mic,

The crowd roared approval in response.

“Sorry that I’m late, everypony. Traffic was horrible! Anyways, you guys ready to party?!”

The crowd all screamed in unison, yelling their approval.

“All right, then. Here. We. Go!” I said in time with the song, which went into its drop.

The crowd went wild.

I smiled, bobbing my head along with the music. I prepared the next track by loading it into deck B. Shortly before the track I put on finished, I started playing the track I prepared and began crossfading into it, smiling, as it matched the beat well. Just before my first track was finished, I fully crossfaded into the prepared track. This one sang about getting 20 percent cooler. I noticed that’s been a bit of a trend among ponies these days. I shrugged. Must be a fad or something. The song had a nice beat to it, though. I loaded another song, one that was more instrumental, but still kept in the same style. It occasionally had snippets of a filly from Ponyville. One of the Elements of Harmony, if I remember right. I began crossfading into this one as the previous track ended. Now, I began adding my own little touches to this song, by quickly fading out and bringing the song back in right before the drop.

The crowd’s mood had greatly improved by now, and they were going absolutely wild.

So wild, in fact, that they began tiring out pretty quickly. I loaded in another song, one with a little less tempo to it, but it was still one of my favorites. I let it play for a bit, and before it got to the drop, I added an effect that gave it a bit more build-up, then took it out for a bit more emphasized drop. I did this same effect for the rest of the drops in the song, the rest of the time bobbing my head along with the music, sometimes attempting to psych up the ponies in the club.

Sheesh! They tired out easily, tonight.

I loaded up what seemed to be my last track for the evening, a slower song than the others had been, but kept with the groove that was going. I let this one play for a while, then began fading out completely.

I picked up the microphone.

“Alright, guys, that’ll be it for the night.” I said, looking out over the crowd, “You guys have been a great audience, and I just wanted to say, you guys rock! Good night, everypony!”

I walked away from my DJ booth, heading towards my back room. Sweat was dripping down my muzzle and I was absolutely beat. If I felt like this, then I couldn’t imagine how those other ponies feel. I chuckled at the thought, opening the door and jumping on my couch. I twisted in mid air and landed on my back. I yawned, stretching my front hooves.

This is the life! I thought as I lay there.

Feels good, don’t it? Everyone loves you because you are the best.

I smiled, swinging my hooves from side to side in the air.

Those who doubted you, those who thought you said you would be nothing, they were all wrong. Wouldn’t it be good to show them who you have become?

“Yeah…”

Show them the Boss that you’ve become!

“Yeah!”

Make them all pay!

“Hell, yeah!”

Good…

Arc II - Interlude: 4 - Been Diggin'

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Interlude: 4 - Been Diggin'

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

Celestia sighed as she sat at her desk, looking over the papers that lay at her hooves. She had read them already, three times, actually, but she didn't like what they said. With another sigh, she pushed them aside, figuring that a fourth time wouldn't do anything.

The door to her study creaked open, heavy steps instantly clopping against the hardwood flow. Celestial looked up, greeting her visitor with a fake smile. "Thank you for coming, sister," she muttered, sitting up and trotting over to her company.

Luna smiled in response, meeting her sister halfway and embracing her in a hug. "Well, as much as we would have loved that extra hour of sleep, we feel that something deemed important enough for our sister to wake us seems like it'd be pretty important."

Celestia nodded, ending the embrace and motioning for her sister to take a seat beside her desk. The smaller alicorn nodded, sitting on a plush cushion in front of her sister's desk.

Once Luna sat, celestia's false smile fell and she lowered her head, shaking it side to side. "I have concerning news to tell you," she began, pushing the papers that were previously in front of her towards her sister. "The reports from the investigative team came back from your encounter in the Everfree."

The midnight alicorn's eyes went wide, grabbing the papers and quickly reading them over.

"Apparently, the group you encountered was a Cult based on the rule of Nightmare Moon, and, from what we can gather, had managed to come up with a way to bring her back..." The solar alicorn paused, lowering her head even more. "We've known about them for a while now, but... Never thought of them as a threat..."

Luna didn't immediately look up at her sister, instead reading thru the entire report. She get every detail, every point, and every speculation that was written in those few papers. After seemingly hours for the older alicorn, Luna finally lowered the paper's and placing them back on her sister's desk. "Although we are not angered by your actions, dear sister, we are angered by the fact that we were never told of this group." Luna sat up, staring at her sister with impassive eyes. "We were informed about all other known threats to our nation, at least we were told that we were, and are curious to know if you are hiding anything else from us?" Luna didn't seem mad, not even raising her voice.

Celestia bit her lip, not wanting to answer. After some time of internal conflict, and almost entertaining the idea of fleeing out the window, Celestia sighed, giving up. "There are several cults that wish to return you to... to that thing, but I didn't want to bother you with it. I didn't... think that... I didn't want you to know..."

Luna stared at her sister, looking like she was about to yell... before she sighed and her expression softened. "We guess we can't blame you. All you wanted to do was for the best." She paused, "But make sure it doesn't happen again."

"We will make sure of it, sister," Celestia replied. "But, back to the point, I also think we should give Neon a proper look-over. I have a theory that the spell may have a delayed reaction since it hit the wrong target... Neon could be growing a Nightmare inside of him as we speak."

Luna's eyes went wide, fear to radiate from her features. She knew what it was like... she knew what would happen. She didn't want it to happen again, and she definitely didn't want it to happen to someone she cared about. She turned to her sister, eyes wide. "Sister, we can't let this happen!" She screamed. "What could we do if it's true?!"

The solar alicorn put a comforting hoof on her concerned sister's shoulder. "We have thought about this at great length, sister. We believe, since he is not one of us, an alicorn, the elements of harmony may be too much for his mortal body to handle... If we use it, we believe he will die."

Luna visually paled, her face falling and tears beginning to build in her eyes. "W-what are we gonna–"

She was cut off when her sister pulled her into a hug. Luna began to cry, letting her fears drain onto her shoulder. Celestia had more to say but decided to let her sister cry out her pain. After a while, the tears died down, and Luna lets out only a soft whimper.

"Sister, I have thought about this at great length and... Well, I think I have found a solution," Celestia began, gaining her younger sister's attention. "All we have to do is find out where his rage stems from, and then get him to make peace with it. After all, the Nightmare is fueled by anger, and if we can stop that anger before the transformation, there is a chance we may be able to stop it from happening."

Luna wiped her tears dry, and looked up at her sister. "Well, it is worth a shot. And, who knows, maybe it isn't even happening. If we are lucky, the spell was a dud... But, if it isn't, then we must do our best to make sure that he doesn't become the monster that we have become."

Celestia nods. "Sounds like a plan..." She began, before biting her lip. "But... If it doesn't work, we shall send in the elements. We do not want a repeat of what happened to you, dear sister, and he wouldn't survive a banishment..."

Luna nodded, a solemn yet determined look in her eyes. "We shall make sure of it."

The solar princess nodded. "I have faith in you," she paused. "Where is Neon, anyways?"

Luna's eyes suddenly went wide. "He's at the party..."

Arc II - Chapter: 9 - Welcome To My Nightmare

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter: 9 - Welcome To My Nightmare

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

The room exploded in applause and stomping of hooves as I finished my set, the smile on my face spreading wide as I soaked up their praise. I wanted to continue, but my time was up; it was the next DJ’s turn to take the tables. Sometimes I wished that I could just stay and DJ the entire night, nonstop, but I still had to give the other DJ's their turn. Can't hog the crowd all to myself. I didn’t say anything as I walked off of the stage, I didn't need to, all that needed to be said was in the music. I just walked off stage, a huge smile plastered on my face.

My destination was the same as for every one of my performances: the back room. I opened the door and immediately jumped onto my couch, talking my usual upside down position. I closed my eyes, intent on taking a nap. It had been almost three weeks since I had left the palace.

I spent most of that time honing my DJ skills, becoming better than I had ever been, if I do say so myself. I became determined to simply be the best there is.

Yes... and finally prove to them that I am better than they will ever be!

“No!” I said aloud, "I just want to improve since I was a bit rusty after I came back from that… incident.”

You cannot lie to yourself, my ignorant pony. Though, the practice has been worth it.

"Whatever," I grumbled, jumping onto my couch and assuming my usual position. I closed my eyes and waited for blissful silence and peace... But, instead, I was filled with worry. The Wonderbolts party was tomorrow night, and, even though I knew I was ready, I was still afraid because, well, this was gonna be my biggest gig ever! I mean, I was gonna be playing for my idols! Not to mention all of the other important ponies that would be attending. If I was lucky, the exposure would lead to a contract.

Don't worry, it will. No pony is better than you, and you'll soon show them!

"Well, that's not true, there are a lot of ponies better than me. I mean, the princess are! I can compare to a god."

No... You are even better than them! And we shall show that tomorrow night... Everypony will know the name 'Neon Lights'! Everypony…

I was in the void again; the savage clutch of nothingness bore down on my soul once more. I didn't scream out this time, or even try to move. I simply sat down and looked forwards, awaiting whatever was gonna happen.

I sat there in complete silence for a few minutes, or maybe hours, before it finally appeared.

"Welcome back," the voice, my voice, spoke to me from the darkness.

I let out a sigh, rolling my eyes. "Okay, what is it now?" I grumbled out, annoyed this time. "You never seem to bring anything good, so might as well get this over with as soon as possible."

The voice was silent, and I hoped that I'd actually managed to offend the thing. To my disappointment, the damn thing laughed.

"Haha!" It laughed, mocking me. "I don't bring pain, my friend, only understanding."

"Understanding for what?!" I screamed. "All I seem to understand is how much my life once sucked!"

"Exactly!" The voice responded. "That is exactly the point! I want to show you why you need to do something about it!"

I rolled my eyes. Seriously? "Why? No matter what my past was, I'm fine now. Hell, my life's been at it highest for the past few months! Why would I do something about something that happened a while ago. Sure, it sucked, but what does it matter now?"

The voice grumbled.

Sweet, I'm pissing it off!

"No!" It screamed, throwing me off a little. Hell, I actually took a step back.

The area in front of me shifted, a version of me appearing... and it looked pissed. "You aren't supposed to resist!" It began, stepping closer to me. With each step, it's body got darker, an evil shade of black covering its body. "How can you not submit?!"

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" I asked. "What the hell am I resisting?!"

The mirror 'me' face-hooved. "Are you that dense? I am taking over. I am becoming you."

"And you are…?"

The other me erupted in ghostly black smoke, growing at as dark, tendril wings sprouted from its back. "I am a Nightmare, you idiot! And you will become me!" It screamed, before lunging forward and engulfing my entire body.

I tried to scream, but nothing came out. As I stood there, the only thing I could feel was the cold...

My eyes shot open, and I instantly realized something was off... Why the hell was I on the floor? I slowly rose to my hooves, and cautiously looked around. It didn't take me long to realize that I was in a bathroom. Not a public one, but one you would find in a high end apartment.

"What the hell..." I muttered to myself.

Something was wrong. Something was defiantly wrong. Where the hell was I? How did I get here?! I wracked my brain for an explanation and came up with nothing. All I could remember was falling asleep on my couch at the Prancing Pony the previous night... Was it the previous night? I don't remember even drinking that night so I don't imagine a blackout being a possibility. Was I drugged? What the hell happened?! No... Did those ponies kidnap me again?!

Before I could think anymore a loud knocking on the door to the bathroom knocked me out of my thought.

"Neon! You okay in there? You've been in there for a while." Came a concerned voice from the other side of the door.

"Who are you?!" I screamed, jumping up and turning to face the door, preparing for anything.

"Uh... it's me, Spitfire. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You said you'd only be a minute and it's been a half an hour."

"Oh... Okay... I'll be out in a minute," I said without thinking.

"Okay, sweet! The boys just finished setting up your equipment on the roof so you should probably check it out before you begin your set," I heard Spitfire say, before I heard her trot away.

I stood there for a second, trying to comprehend what was happening. Finally, I just shook my head, one thought filling my mind. I could figure this crap out later, right now I'm gonna DJ for the freakin' Wonderbolts! With that thought, I pushed aside the issue for now and trotted towards the door.

With a flick of magic I pushed open the door and my jaw dropped. In front of me was what looked like a gorgeous penthouse apartment, but that was not what took my breath away. Beyond the expensive electronics and furniture was a panoramic window that spanned the entire front and sides of the apartment. I was speechless and I wordlessly and practically mindlessly trotted forwards towards the window. From where I was currently standing I could see the entire city of Canterlot and the land beyond. Fluffy clouds dotted the area around the view, but didn’t obscure anything, letting the full glow of the setting sun engulf the land below.

“Impressive, isn’t it?”

I jumped, letting out a squeak of surprise as I turned around to face the source of the sound.

“Jeez, are you usually that easily spooked?” Spitfire chuckled as she trotted closer towards me.

I nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck with a hoof. “Not usually…”

Spitfire chuckles again, shaking her head slightly before turning her gaze towards the view. “Beautiful, ain’t it?”

I nodded. “It really is.”

“I actually got this apartment for the view; it reminds me of my home in Cloudsdale. Granted, it isn’t the cheapest place to call home for over half of the year, but it’s well worth the money.”

I can imagine… I’d pay just about anything for a view like this. I thought as I continued to stare out the window.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Spitfire broke the silence. “Anyways, I think we should be heading to the party now, eh?”

I shook my head, knocking myself out of my trance. “Yeah, yeah. We should.”

Spitfire and I made our way through her apartment and out the door. After that, we made our way down the hallway and towards the elevator. She hit the top button and we soon assessed, and my excitement rose with it.

Soon, the doors opened and we trotted out onto the roof. The roof was huge, easily having the same amount of floor area of the Prancing Pony. Ponies of all sizes and races (mainly

Pegasus) were running everywhere, setting up the roof with tables, chairs, and other comraderies to make make it suitable for the party. On the far side of the roof say my DJ booth, seemingly fully assembled. To the right was about half of an assembled outside bar.

The "floor" of the roof was composed of some sort of gravel, and crunched beneath my hooves as I trotted towards my booth. As soon as I got to it I instantly realized that the entire wiring was all messed up and, not only wrong, looked like crap! I groaned, my horn igniting as I began to rearrange the plugs into their correct positions.

After a few minutes of grumbling to myself I was finally satisfied, I gave my entire setup a good look over and realized that whoever had set it up didn't seem to have messed anything else up. With a nod of my head, I trotted up and behind my mixer and began getting some tracks ready, making sure that everything would be ready for the party.

I soon decided the kick things off a little early, playing my first track. I figured that the other staff wouldn't mind some music while they finished setting up, and I could make some more tweaks if necessary before the party actually begun.

I began with a quiet, build up song. Simple, easy beat and a slow tempo. I watched from my perch as the staff began to slow down, seemingly relaxed and working easily. I then began to build things up, bring up the tempo and beat, and I watched as everyone began to speed up, working harder and faster.

I watched as I could practically control the staff with my music. I watched as their actions changed with a simple flick of a switch, or alteration of the beat.

Like little puppets...

It was another hour or so until everything was fully set up, and only about a half an hour after that before the guests began to arrive. I continued to play, watching as the pony's began to dance and enjoy the party, enjoy the music—my music.

The moon was high in the sky now, the sun fully setting a little before the guests began to arrive. The aura of the night sky and the brilliant stars made the night just perfect. I would've expected the light pollution from the city to completely destroy the stars glow, but I had a feeling that Luna made sure that, somehow, her beautiful night sky could be seen above her home city.

As I continued to play, I watched as the pony's continued to dance, drink, and have fun. I was ecstatic—on top of the world! I was DJing for the Wonderbolts! And everything was working out perfectly!

About halfway into the party Spitfire trotted up through the sea of pony's that had gathered around the front of my table and over towards me.

"Hey, Neon, got a sec?" she screamed over the speakers.

I nodded, knowing better than to try and speak this close to my speakers, and motioned for her to follow me off to the side so we could properly speak. We eventually stopped at the outside bar, and spitfire ordered herself something and asked me if I wanted anything.

"Nah," I responded, "Unlike most DJ's I prefer not to drink on the job."

She shrugged. "Suit yourself," she began, before picking up her drink, which the bartender had just finished preparing, in a hoof and taking a long, savoring sip. Once she swallowed, she continued, "I just wanted to tell you how awesome you are up there! Everypony's been talking about you from down here."

I smiled, my grin spreading from ear to ear.

She chuckled, before taking another sip. "You keep this up and I think I'll make you our new go-to DJ."

Somehow, my grin got wider, and I literally squeed.

Spitfire chuckled. "Now, get your ass back up there and–"

Spitfire was cut off by a loud "pop" and following screams from the middle of the crowd. I turned to see what had happened, and my jaw dropped at what I saw.

Luna stood in the middle of a bowing crowd of previously dancing ponies. Her eyes scanned my DJ booth, before turning to scan the rest of the party. Every pony was silent, either bowing or standing there in shock. The entire party had gone from a ten to dead in a matter of seconds.

Finally, Luna spotted me, her horn instantly igniting and she vanished, only to reappear right in front of me.

"Neon! We are glad that we have finally found you!" she began, grabbing one of my hooves. "We must get you out of here!"

I pulled my hoof out of her grasp. "Woah, wait... Where am I going? What's with the hurry?"

Luna turned to face me, her face filled with concern. "You are not safe here. We must get you back to the castle so that we may cure you of your ailment."

I shook my head. "Luna, I'm fine. And I'm not going anywhere. Do you have any idea what being here, right now, means to me?"

"We know, but this is more important!" she screamed, before picking me up in her magic. "We are sorry, but we must take you away for your own safety!"

I struggled as Luna began to carry me in her magic, every pony still silent and in shock over the ordeal.

"No!" I screamed, my horn igniting in a dark green aura as I sent out a magic wave that disrupted Luna's telekinetic grasp, making me fall to the floor. "You are not taking me anywhere!"

Luna's eyes went wide, clearly in shock over my outburst. After a few seconds, the Princess of the Night recovered. "Neon, this is not up for debate."

I could feel rage build up in my core, anger that I'd never felt before bubbling up inside of me. I slammed my hoof down hard, sending gravel flying everywhere. "We are not going anywhere!!!"

A dark aura began to radiate from my body, power I'd never felt before slowly building up inside of me.

Luna's eyes went wide, her mouth fumbling on her words until she was finally able to scream, "Everypony, get off of the roof!"

I watched as Everypony complied with Luna's command, scrambling to their hooves and either running for the elevator or flying away. I ground my teeth as I watched the entire roof empty before my eyes, the best moment of my life ruined as Everypony who I had come here to entertain ran away, screaming.

Even more rage began to build up inside of me as I watched the last pony leave the roof, leaving just me and a scared looking Luna. I turned to face her, my voice dripping with malice. "What did you do..."

"Neon... please, calm down. Deep breaths," she began, slowly walking closer to me.

I snapped, my anger that had been building up erupting as my horn ignited, a bolt of pure magical energy shooting out and striking Luna straight in the chest, the impact sending her flying backwards. I slowly began to walk towards her, my anger and sadness fueling my every step.

Luna recovered when I was only feet away, rolling onto her hooves and throwing up a shield spell just as I shot another magic bolt at her. Is sizzles out as soon as it made contact with the magic shield.

"Stop!" Luna cried in desperation. "Resist, Neon, we do not wish to fight you!"

My eyes burned with green flame, practically burning a hole into the princess that lay in front of me. I charged up another blast, thinking that enough hits would eventually burst her bubble of protection. But, before I cast, I looked into Luna's eyes... those eyes of fear. Not fear of death, but... fear of me.

I let the built up magic disperse as I continued to stare into the princess' scared eyes. I looked down, staring at my hooves. "I don't want to hurt you either..."

Enough! screamed the voice in my head, so loud that I had to cower and cover my ears, but it didn't help. Luna was at my side he moment I fell, her shield down.

"Neon!" She screamed. "What is wrong?!"

My body acted without my consent, turning and bucking Luna had in the side, sending her flying once again.

I stood there, appalled by my actions. "Princess!" I screamed, my voice strained and echoed, almost like it was my soul speaking. Soon, I regained enough control of my body to move. I got one step before the scream returned, full force.

I am tired of waiting! You could've conceded and we could have existed together, but now only one can be in control...

With that I felt my body begin to go numb, my mind being teared away from my body. I tried to resist, but my attempts were all met with extreme, rushing pain. Soon, I couldn't feel anything, my only sense I still had control over was sight, and I saw everything.

I watched as my body stretched, rotating each limb and muscle, seeming to get used to the movement.

Ah, feel good to have control, once again.

I wanted to cry out in anger, to shove whatever the hell the thing was that was inside of me out and stomp on it until it didn't move, but all I could do was watch.

My body slowly trotted forwards, walking towards the, once again, upright Luna. She looked at my still with fear, but I could see some hope in her eyes.

"Neon," she began, "are you okay? Is the demon out?"

My body nodded, and I heard my voice answer. "Yes. It's just me, now."

Luna didn't seem convinced, but still entertained the possibility. "How can I know for sure?"

My body smiled. "We were together for a thousand years on that rock, Luna, I thought you'd recognize me sooner?"

My body shifted, my legs growing and my back shifting. I couldn't see for certain, but I could swear I saw the shadow of wings in the reflection of the lunar light.

Luna backed, throwing up her shield just in time before my body lunged forwards, magic streaming from my horn and making contact with the magical barrier. Unlike last time, the shield began to crack under the power of the blow, and I could see strain in Luna's eyes to keep it up.

"We live once again, dear Princess," my voice called, this time shadowy and violent. "And, this time, we shall not fail."

And with that, there was a flash of light and a loud "pop"…

All of a sudden, the world was back in an explosion of green light. I wanted to close my eyes, shield myself from the blinding light, but all I could do was endure. Soon, the flash faded, and all I could see was darkness. I was scared, terrified, even. Nothing was making sense, and adding not knowing where the heck I was, again, was just another stupid thing to add to the fast growing list. The darkness didn’t last, however, as the room suddenly filled with a soft, ghostly green glow.

I watched as my body began to trot forwards, and look around the room. I was currently in some sort of old, stone cavern. The walls were coated with moss and cracks, showing damage from years of neglect. The room was lit only by the soft glow of my horn, which I believed was from an illumination spell. As my body trotted forward, a pedestal came into view. It was simple, made of some obsidian material and holding up a dark, black orb, swirling with unholy magic and mist.

My body stopped once I was steps away from the orb, the light growing brighter as a tendril of dark green magic snaked it's way through the darkness and towards the orb. The orb seemed to sense the approaching magic, the dark magic inside shifting faster and more violently.

Finally, the magic made contact, and as soon as it did a large, black tendril shot up from the orb and began to snake up the magic trail, slithering along it until it made contact with my horn, accompanied by a blinding pain. I would've screamed if I could, but I had not mouth to vocalize my pain.

The pain continued as my vision blurred, the room shifting as I felt like I was being pulled forwards, and out do my body. Soon, there was a flash, and I crumpled to the floor, pain slowly fading. I shook my head, recovering as fast as I could and getting to my hooves. I looked up... And I saw my body. It was different, though. Large winds stood at rest at my sides, my horn had grown and my legs had stretched. My body had taken a sickly tint of its former color, and my eyes burned with a dark energy.

My body chuckled, staring at me with its evil eyes. "So, how does it feel to be an entity without a body?"

I shook my head, bringing my hooves to my... What? My hooves were misty, almost translucent. They were almost ghostly. I looked down, and saw that my entire body was the same. My head rocketed up and glared daggers at my former body.

What have you done to me?!

"Oh, something I should've done the first time," it began, this time it's voice seeming natural. "I removed you from my body so you can't get in my way." He smiled at me, his mouth filled with jagged teeth.

Who, I began, taking a step back. Who are you?

His toothy smile grew wider. "I used to be Nightmare Moon, but now you can call me… Death Note."

Arc II - Chapter: 10 - A Nightmare Rises

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter: 10 - Nightmare Rises

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

"How could you have failed me?!" screamed Death Note, smacking the frightened follower across the face and sending him flying into the wall of the chamber. "I set everything in motion, told you exactly what had to be done, and, in the end, you let us get trapped inside of a mortal body?!"

The group of the Followers of Nightmare had been summoned moments before, only to find that their new ruler and "savior" totally pissed.

The leader of the group, shrouded in his hood, meekly stepped forwards. "N-nightmare?"

"Death Note!"

The leader winced, shuttering at the explosion of his voice. "S-sorry! Death Note, we sincerely apologize that we failed, but isn't you in a mortal body good enough?"

The Nightmare growled. "No, it is not. If I wanted a mortal body I would've chosen one of you as my host, you fools! Mortal bodies cannot handle my power for long, which is why I require the host of an immortal!" He stomped his mighty hoof, cracking the floor beneath him. "I am surprised that this body had held up for even this long—it's host's will is the only thing holding it together. I can sense it is strong, but not permanent. No, I will need to transfer to a proper host, and do so soon." The Nightmare turned his head and gazed at the dark orb that sat on its pedestal, it's dark energy slowly fading and flickering. He sighed, shaking his head. "If I do not find a proper host soon... I shall be no more..." The room was silent, Death Note standing completely still next to the orb.

The Nightmare's head suddenly shot up. "Wait! I had an idea!" He turned to address his followers. "'Maybe this is not a complete loss after all." He looks down at his host body, smiling, then turning to the corner to where I currently sat, my head buried in my hooves, ghostly tears sliding down my muzzle and vaporizing as soon as they made contact with the floor. "Yes, this is not a complete waste..."

“Luna, please, I beg of you to calm down!” Celestia pleaded with her sister.

Luna paced back and forth in her room, her eyes streaming tears, but still holding rage. She was a mess, several powerful emotions filling her head: anger, sadness, regret. All of them fighting against each other, each one trying to become dominant. She had teleported to her room after hours of searching for her friend had yielded nothing. She had wept, she had screamed, she had cried. Celestia had appeared moments after being alerted of her sister’s presence back in the castle, and had since been trying to calm her ruling counterpart.

“Luna, it’s gonna be okay, I promise you,” the older sister spoke, her words soft and almost motherly.

The midnight blue alicorn shook her head, stamping a hoof into the marble floor. “No! It is not ‘okay’. We have failed to protect him, our friend, from the same evil that plagued us for a thousand moons! We have failed not only him, but also our citizens.” She choked out a few more sobs, before wiping a few remaining tears away from her muzzle.

Celestia, risking her own safety, crept closer to her sister; her emotions augmenting her powers, radiating unstable energy. It is never wise to approach an emotional alicorn, their power, when not controlled, can kill. Even Celestia could feel the power radiating from her sister, and this was beginning to worry her. But, even so, she risked it and wrapped her hooves around her sister, holding her in a comforting embrace. Luna shuddered, both from the sudden contact and from another sob.

“There there, sister… it is okay. We will fix this, I promise you,” Celestia coed into Luna’s ear, running a hoof through her mane.

The younger sister’s sobs began to lessen, the rampant energy in the room dying down as Luna regained control. With a few soft sobs and some more comfort from her sister, Luna regained her composure, wiping away the few stray tears that remained.

“You are right, dear sister, standing here and weeping will do nothing for the current situation. We must think, we must regroup, we must think not of what is lost, but of what we can do to recover.” Luna stood tall, her mood changing entirely from sadness to determination. “Have your scribes recover as much as you can about the cult you hath spoken about only days ago, while I think of a plan of releasing my friend from his… my, Nightmare.”

Celestia nodded, a small smile gracing her lips with her sister’s change in tone.

Do you know what it feels like to have your soul forcefully torn from your body? Do you know what it feels like to watch as an embodiment of evil walks around in your skin? Do you know what it feel like to have both of this happen, and be helpless to do anything about it? Well, I do, and it sucks.

I watched as that… that creature masqueraded around in my body. I watched him from the corner, my sadness turned to anger. I wanted to end him. I wanted to tear him from my body and throw him down to the pits of tartarus myself. But, I could not. I was a ghost, a spectral being that could not interface with the physical world. And, what made things worse, is that he was the only one who could see me.

What am I to do? I cannot act. I cannot call for help. I cannot fight. I cannot struggle. I can’t do anything! This was a living hell, being able to watch the world go by, but not be able to do anything, talk to anyone, or even be noticed by anyone!

But, I did have one thing.

After my sadness had turned to anger, and my anger faded to regret, I heard it. It started off as a simple tune, like the base track of a song. The sounds around me all mended together. Hoofsteps became drums. The soft sound of the drip of water from an unknown source became the piano. The ambient sounds of life all morphed into an unknown symphony, one that we all hear that we never recognized.

It was beautiful, and it helped calm me when my world had shattered. Usually, I was the one making music, compiling random sounds into a rhythm that everypony would love. But… it seems like we all make music, in a way. We are all instruments this organic symphony, conducted by some unknown figure.

But, somepony, no... something had taken my instrument. Stolen it from me, ripped it from my hands and left me with nothing, only able to watch and listen to the song around me. The symphony was beautiful, but it was off. He didn’t play my instrument right.

I am going to get it back…

Death Note let out a deep, annoyed sigh. He was currently sitting at his mock throne in the main chamber, watching the dark flickering of the orb in front of him. It oscillated from a strong, full black, to a static grey. It was dying… he was dying. He had finally freed himself from the ether and back into the physical world, but not fully. Half of him still remained in the either, trapped there until he could find a host that could support his power. This mortal body that his idiot followers had gave him was not enough to support him, allowing any more would destroy it. At the same time, the longer he remained separated, the sooner he became to fracturing., his soul and magic splitting into different pieces, the cycle continuing until there was nothing left to split. A millions entities of the same origin would disperse, and soon fade to nothing.

He let out another sigh, turning his host’s head towards the disconnected soul. It layed there, ghostly tears no longer falling, his sadness replaced with an empty expression. The Nightmare turned his host’s head back to the orb. He did feel pity for the poor soul, he himself knowing what it was like to be a soul without a body.

But, sacrifices had to be made.

The Nightmare stood up from his throne, trotting down the length of the room and towards the far wall, where the only entrance to the chamber was located. He had a plan, a way to get a body that could support him. His followers had been sent out to put the pieces in motion, all that remained was for him to wait...

Luna let out a loud, audible sigh, her chin resting on a hoof as she gazed out the window of her observatory. A lot had happened in the past few months. She had met a friend, and for the first time in a thousand moons she had felt that she mattered; that her role of princess actually mattered. She was the princess of the night; of shadows, dreams, and of darkness. And for so long she had felt that only meant that she ruled under her sister’s shadow, of the Sun and all it’s light brough. But, that mindset had changed. She now realized that there were those who thrived in the night, who loved that which she had created. She felt needed, wanted, and that gave her a feeling of purpose.

But, just like that, it was taken from her. Her friend was taken from her by a demon from her past; a creation of her jealousy and anger. He was just one pony, but he was also the pony who had changed her life. He meant more to her as a friend. He was like a knight in shining armor, come to save her from her monster. Luna let out a small chuckle, the thought of Neon in proper knighted armor popping into mind. But, that moment of laughter soon fleeted as reality came back to her. Her knight was kidnapped, taken from her by the same demon that had plagued her for so long, even after she was freed from his control.

Right now, it was up to the Princess to rescue the Knight. Except, she didn’t know where he was. After her chat with her sister almost a week ago, Luna had done as much research into the cult that worshiped her demon as she could. Reading every report, following every lead, speaking with anypony that she thought could help her. But, even after a week of trying everything she could think of, she had come up with nothing that could help her find her friend.

She had exhausted all that she could do, left with the only one option, and one that she had feared she would have to resort to: Waiting for them to do something. The Nightmare wasn’t one to stay in the shadows for long. No, contrary to his shadowed nature, he wanted to be known. He wanted all to fear him, know his presence. And it was only a matter of time before he did so again.

She sighed, shaking her head. Focusing on that which she couldn’t control only ended badly, as fearing what was to come never aided anypony. She shook her head, pushing the train of thought away and replacing it soon with a more recent matter: her job.

How petty the role of a princess has become, the alicorn mused, her eyes staring out the window. In a way, she wished for a return to the olden ways, where life was more black and white. Back when the princesses had to deal with war, border disputes, or other issues that had to do with the nature of a whole, and required a central representative for the nation. Now, her job consisted of resolving petty disputes, problems that had no reason for a princesses intervention. That is what the court had become: a place where the stupid of disputes went to die. Had the ponies lost their ability to lead themselves? Or had her sister become too soft of her subjects, letting them use her as a universal decision maker, rather than solving the problems on their own.

She chuckled, taking her head away from the window and trotting towards the center of her room. Her horn ignited, the large telescope that stood in the center of the observatory slowly began to rotate. Luna trotted over to the lense, the mechanism stopping once it was in position. The alicorn peered through the lense, using the many dials to adjust the focus to allow her a clear view.

“Hmm…” Luna muttered, rotating the telescope slightly. “Seems that one of my stars has fallen slightly out of orbit…” The alicorn muttered, scanning the surrounding sky for the culprit of the celestial anomaly. After years of practice, it didn’t take long for the princess to spot the entity causing her night sky to be abnormal. A celestial dwarf, just barely too small to be a planet, had managed to wander out of the orbit of its neighboring sun. Luna’s horn lit up again, and the mistake was corrected, the planet moving to its proper place. Most ponies believe that Luna shaped the stars and moon in an artistic rendering, but they were wrong. Every star, every planet, every asteroid had its place; all in perfect balance. If that balance was interrupted, the disaster would strike. It was the one thing that the nightmare had let her keep control of when she was possessed as Nightmare Moon, as even he understood the importance of her job.

After a few more scans, Luna found no more anomalies and was satisfied with her handiwork.

Her sky was in perfect balance.

All the pieces were in place, all pawns ready for one last stand. It was not a plan thousands of years in the making, nor was it even well thought out. No, it was a hobbled together idea, a concept, that might work. The Nightmare stood in front of his kingdom, a once great empire that now lay in ruins in the middle of the Everfree forest. He remember it all, every nook and cranny of the land he once ruled. He stood on a once a grand courtyard, that once held statues depicting his mighty rule as Nightmare Moon.

Now, however, the years of decay had taken its toll; the statues were toppled and rotted from decay, the once grand lunar garden fully engulfed by the haunted forest’s many weeds, and even the columns that had lead up to his palace now lay on their sides.

All around him, where a timeless empire should have stood, was nothing, only an ancient reminded of what could have been. He hated it, every toppled building of the forgotten city only brought with it more anger at his failure, his defeat by the sister of his possessed.

He grumbled, snorting before turning around, heading back into the cave that was once his palace. He weaved in between the rubble, making his way down an invisible path. Soon, he stood in front of a large, black border, its presence slightly out of place, but easily overlooked if you didn't know what you were looking for. His horn lit up, and with only a flick of his magic, the large stone moved, allowing him just enough room to head past. Behind the boulder was a secret cavern, one he had made shortly before his fall. The cavern was the entrance into a system of catacombs, ones that were enchanted to make any who did not know the way wander forever, trapped in an infinite loop. The Nightmare trotted forwards, all light disappearing as the boulder slid back into place.

His hooves guided him through a remembered path, one that he could only follow through only memory and not through sight. The eyes deceived while the mind held true.

His pace eventually led him to his hidden chamber, his sanctuary. It was his ‘throne room’, the same one that held the obsidian pedestal that held the orb that flickered with dark energy. He trotted towards the orb, placing his hoof on its surface. The magic inside was attracted to his touch, it’s seemingly random patterns of movements now focusing on the spot where his hoof touched. The orb’s outer shell held contain the lose magic that was held within, but its energy and presence could still be felt through it’s protective case. What the magic actually was, well, it was a secret, one that he held closest to himself, never uttering it to a soul. His followers knew to stand away from it, warned harshly of the consequences of what would happen if they disobeyed.

Death Note removed his hoof from the orb, trotting over to his throne and sitting on the dark marble material. His gaze shifted to the side, and his eyes instantly met with the ghostly specter, with me.

I gazed death at the creature that sat in front of me, my eyes practically burning with hatred. The damned nightmare laughed, chuckling at my unspoken threat.

“So, it is now when you finally show anger?” he spoke, his works half-hearted, mocking, even.

My left eye twitches and my jaw tightens. I remain silent, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of an answer.

He rolled his eyes, batting me off with a hoof. My hoof. “Oh, stop your petty tantrum. You have lost, and I have won. Accept your reality, as it is the one that you must now live with.”

Okay, now that’s it. “You expect me to stop? You expect me to lay down and submit to what you have done; accept the hell that you have put me through?!”

“I expect you to do nothing, as I do not care,” he began nonchalantly. “You have served your purpose, and done so well. I have no need for you anymore.”

I snorted, standing to my hooves and pointing my icy glare in his direction. “So that’s it, huh? You got what you wanted from me, so you’re just going to toss me aside?”

He nodded. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” he begins, turning to face me. “Do you understand what you are right now?”

I slowly shake my head, my anger still pointed at him.

“You are a spector, a spirit without a form to manipulate on the physical plain. You currently rest between the plains of existence, sandwiched in between the physical and spiritual.” He chuckles, shaking his head. “Ironically, you currently reside in the same place that I once rested on, before I took your body. Sucks, doesn’t it?”

I growled. I didn’t care where I was, or even what I was. All I cared about was getting my body back, and sending that monster to the furthest depths of Tartarus, forever tortured for his sins. “Why the hell are you telling me this? What do you possibly have to gain by reminding me of this?”

The alicorn shrugged. “Making conversation, I guess. Unlike you I was trapped without having someone to talk too, so I wouldn’t push your luck. You do not know what it is like to be alone like I have. No, you can’t even begin to fathom what it is like to live and not able to be seen; to exist and only be able to watch as the world moves around you, oblivious to your presence!” His mocking tone was now gone, replaced with annoyance and anger. “You should be thanking me for not letting you remain in the hell that I was trapped in for thousands of years! Be blessed for the grace that I have given you!” The alicorn stood from his throne, his eyes burning with dark magic as he trotted towards me. I backed up, trying to stay as far away from him as I could. “Now you know my pain! Now you know what it is like to be truly alone, to be forgotten!”

I backed up into the wall, my spectral form pressed up against the solid material. The enraged alicorn in front of me stared me down, his death stare not leaving me. Moments passed, but it could have been years. I was afraid, my own anger at the creature in front of me had drained and replaced with fear. I wanted to remain calm, to stand up to him and say that I wasn’t afraid. But I couldn’t. He was right, I did hold no power. I was completely at his mercy, and it took me until now to completely grasp it.

Eventually, Death Note let out a loud snort, turning away from me and returning to his throne. I felt my nerves calm the further he got away, and I was soon calm enough to snap out of my fear-induced daze. I slowly made my way back to my corner, my gaze not meeting that of the creature I shared the room with.

The Nightmare’s calm demeanor had completely vanished, replaced with annoyance and anger after his confrontation with my spectral form. He sat there, his eyes locked with the orb that still glowed with dark magic, and did nothing else.

I wanted to process what had happened, to figure out the significance of the Nightmare’s words. But, I couldn’t focus, to shooken up to think straight. All I could think about was my own mortality, and what life would be like if I was stuck like this forever. Did I age? Could I even die? What would happen if I was stuck like this forever, not being able to interact with the physical world anymore? All these questions brought me more fear, all stemming from the same central point.

I was alone.

Arc II - Chapter: 11 - A Nightmare Falls

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter: 11 - A Nightmare Falls

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

The air was cold, and the night was dark. The world was at peace, oblivious to the evil that lurked in the shadows of the night. While Equestria slept, darkness ran unhindered and unnoticed to most that lived in the relatively peaceful country, allowing it to do as it pleased without fear of repentance. Well, almost unhindered. As there were things that went bump in the night, there was also those who vowed to defeat them. Luna was the princess of the night, guardian of the darkness and protector over the land when her sister’s sun slipped behind the horizon. She watched over her ponies dreams, saving them from their nightmares and deepest fears, protecting them from their own minds. But, her job wasn’t limited to the subconscious, as there was more that went bump in the night then what went on inside the mind. Her guard, the Night Watch, vigilantly watched over Equestria while it slept, fending off all those who would do their wicked and sinned deeds while the world slept.

In some places, the night was a time for rest, contrary to the day. Canterlot, however, isn’t one of these places. The night was just as active as the night. Young escaped in their youthful rebellion, clubs hopped with ponies who didn’t want the night to be the end of their day, and students of the many universities that were located in the grand city plowed away at their studies.

Needless to say, it was one of the cities that never slept.

Princess Luna sat on her balcony that hung from her observatory tower on one of the top spires of Canterlot Castle, her eyes watching over the moving lights and distant sound that echoed and shown from the city down below. The princess smiled, joyful that ponies actually appreciated her night, and was proud that her ponies had developed an entire culture based on her night. She was glad, more joyful than she had been in a long, long time.

But, not everything was as perfect as it seemed.

Her friend, the first pony who had treated her as an equal and made her feel not alone, was still missing, his body possessed by the same demon that had calmed her those many moons ago. It had been a month. A month and nine days, to be exact, since she had seen the demon take its full hold over Neon, and snuck away back into the shadows. The midnight alicorn had tried everything in her power to find her friend, spending many a night and day scouring over the land. But, she had come up with nothing, no sign of Neon or the cult that followed his possessor. She had not given up hope, knowing fully well that the nightmare would eventually return, and she hoped that he would bring her friend with him.

The Princess let out a long sigh, her eyes shifting to the night sky above her. She had performed her duties already; raising her moon and making sure it had safe passage around it’s orbit, performing her required duty during the public night court, and even checking over her stars and all that hung in the night sky to make sure that they were in their proper place, performing their proper task. It was now that she found herself longing for company, or something to take up her bored mind. Other than Neon and her sister, the midnight alicorn didn’t have anypony who she could call a true ‘friend’; somepony who she could pass the time with and ‘hang out’ with, as the kids called it, nowadays. Her sister was currently sleeping, and Neon was, well…

Luna let out another sigh, shaking her head as she turned to make her way back into her chamber, intent on spending the rest of the night in bed, reading or going to be early. But, she stopped when she just passed her internal threshold. Her horn lit up and glowed with a bright blue shine, her legs spread to an offensive position as she let out a commanding growl. “Why hath thou breached the scarcity of our bedchambers?” she announced, her voice demanding. “Who are thee, and why art thou here?”

A lone, hooded pony stood stock still in the middle of the Princess’s room, it’s face and all discerning features hidden by the black robe that covered its body. The figure took a step forwards, facing the princess, but keeping its form hidden. “Princess Luna… I have been sent here by the Dark Lord to relay a message.”

Luna’s eyes lit up, her offensive stance faltering as hope glistened in her eyes. “What have you come to say? Speak, messenger!”

The cloaked messenger nodded, pulling out a scroll from beneath their robe and tossing it in the direction of the princess. She caught it in her magic, floating it over to her. “You are expected to read his message in full, following its steps to the exact detail, lest you wish for your friend to suffer a fate worse than death itself,” the hooded pony said, disappearing in a puff of magic as soon the last words were spoken.

Luna wanted to follow, to cast a spell to track the magical signature of the teleport, but she thought better of it. Nightmare was smart, and wouldn’t allow himself to be found so easily. No, he was methodical and patient, everything his did thought out to the tiniest of details. This thought only granted her with a moment’s pause, and she soon unraveled the scroll that she had been given, reading it over.

*I’m not going to delay, or digress. You are to follow these directions to the letter if you want to see your friend again. You know exactly what I am capable of, so I do not have to explain that I can make him suffer a fate far worse than death.

You are to meet me at my old kingdom at the stroke of midnight, no sooner and no later.

You are to bring no one, nor tell anypony of your destination. If you must tell somepony, then you are to say you are taking a flight to clear your head.

Once there, you are to go to and wait at the center fountain until instructed to do otherwise.

You have little time, Princess, so I suggest you begin your journey.*

I will be waiting.

The princess read over the letter a few more times, committing it to memory. She knew it was stupid to go alone, that she should tell her sister or guard. But, this may be her only chance to save her friend. Nightmare would know if she delayed or tried anything, and would most likely flee before either her guard or her sister could respond.

“This is most certainly a trap…” she muttered, her horn lighting up and the scroll lit up in ethereal fire, burning and crumbling to ash in her magical grasp. “But, we see no other alternative. Hold on a little longer, our friend, we are coming.”

The journey to the old kingdom wasn’t long by distance, but the flight might as well have taken years. She had donned her royal armor, and had muttered to one of the maids that served her room that she would be out for a midnight flight, just in case anyone got curious about her absence. Since then, she had been in flight, making her way towards the center of the Everfree Forest, the sight of an old kingdom that she had not seen in a thousand years.

Eventually, her flight ended when she landed at the edge of the ruined city. Her hooves thudded on the uneven cobblestone that was once the grand main road but was now misshapen and overgrown. She trotted forwards, making her way to the center. The nightmare had chosen the fountain for a reason, as all roads in the city lead that to that exact position. Luna’s eyes shifted from side to side, her body and mind on high alert. She saw nothing, nor felt anything. She felt like she was alone, but knew better than to believe it.

Her hoofsteps stopped when she stood at the base of the once grand fountain, its black marble construction cracked, covered in overgrown green. “We are here, Nightmare! We have come alone, as you have instructed! Show yourself!” she called out, her ears patiently awaiting a response.

“Punctual, just as expected.”

Luna’s horn lit up as she turned towards the voice, a bolt of magic surging from the base and firing from the tip, casting a bolt of pure magic. The bolt flew through the air, and Death Note Jumped from his perch on one of the pillars that surrounded the fountain, narrowly missing the magical blast as it struck where he had just been. The pillar exploded on impact, black marble flying in all directions. The Nightmare landed on the ground at the pillars base, seemingly oblivious to the destruction that occurred just behind him.

He stood tall, ruffling his wings and stretching slightly. “Well, that is an interesting way to say, ‘hello’, don’t you believe?”

Luna growled, stomping her hoof. “Nightmare, we have no time for such foolishness! Give us back our friend, now!”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” the Nightmare taunted. “That is not the way to ask, Luna.”

The Nightmare circled the mare, trying her patience and resolve. The mare tried to keep her cool, to stop herself from lashing out. It was working… for now.

“Where is our friend, Nightmare? I had your word he would be released unharmed if I followed your demands.”

The nightmare stopped pacing just in front of the statue, a creepy smile plastered across his muzzle. “Your friend is safe, for now. You have fulfilled your part of the bargain, and in time I will honor my end. But first...” He then jumps up, his wings catching the night air as he took to the sky, circling before landing on the top layer of the black marble fountain. “You are an honorable opponent, Luna, and I know that you will not go down without a fight. So, I prepared for this eventuality.” The nightmare nods his head to something in the distance, and soon the air flashes as a large shield rises around the duo, the dome of magical energy encompassing a decently large area around the two.

Luna watches as the shield goes up, her eyes scanning and seeking out each of the unicorns who stand sentry outside of the shield, their horns bright and magic holding the magical prison in place. The mare shakes her head. “What is your game, Nightmare?”

Death Note trots casually around the top layer of the fountain. “It’s simple, really. I will fight you, and if I win, I take your body. If I lose, your friend takes back his.” He gives a toothy smile. “Simple, is it not?”

“But why?”

The nightmare rolls his eyes. “Because it is no fun beating someone who knows they will lose.” He turns his gaze down to the princess, his grin spreading. “No victory is truly won without hope; being just out of reach of victory. That, is when I will win. When I crush all hope, I will break you.”

The princess of the night’s horn glows as she pulls out her twin sabers from their sheaths, their magic-infused metal gleaming in the moonlight. “You will fall, Nightmare! We will smite you down where you stand. You are a cancer, and must be destroyed.”

The nightmare’s smile is replaced with a serious mask, his emotions fleeting away as he prepares himself for combat. He jumps from his perch, landing just in front of the princess. His horn glows, thick black armor appearing on his once naked coat, a black scythe connected to it’s side. The demon raises the cursed blade, beginning to circle the mare in front of him.

Luna hovered her blades close to her, her body low and slow as she counters the Nightmare’s circling; both remaining face to face. Tension fills the air, ancient magic is called as both charge their spells. The shield glistens above them, a reminder that only one can leave.

As the tension reaches its peak, the nightmare is the first to strike, swinging his curved blade at the princess. Metal meets metal as Luna easily deflects the blow with her own blade, using it’s twin to send her own attack. The volley continues, each side swinging for an attack, only to have the other counter. The sound of ancient steel striking fills the once silent air, the cries of the fight echoing into the far distance.

Luna goes for another strike, one blade piercing as the other goes for a slash. The nightmare barely blocks the stab but was struck as the other blade graced his side, leaving a deep gash in his side. The nightmare retreats, clutching his wound with a hoof.

“Lucky shot!” He calls out, firing a bolt of magic at his opponent.

Luna dodges the beam of magic, rolling out of the way on the ground where she had just stood explodes in a cloud of dirt and rock. She does not survey the damage, instead countering with her own bolt of magical plasma. The nightmare puts up a shield and deflects the blast, its power sizzling to a stop as his wall of magic absorbs the blast. The princess waists no time and sends a hail of further attacks at Nightmare, each one deflected with ease. Her current tactic showing no effect, the princess takes to the air, her horn igniting as it builds with magic. The air practically cools as the princess draws her power from her element, finally releasing a ball of built up magic. It lands near a dodging nightmare, who takes a moment to smile as his skillful avoidance.

But, his cocky expression falls as he turns to the blast sight, a small, black dot floating just above the crater. Light bends around it as it begins to suck in the immediate area around it, both it and its attraction growing as it absorbs more of the ground below. The nightmare acts fast, digging in his bladed weapon into the ground as he begins to be sucked into the spawned singularity, his magical grip on the weapon the only thing stopping him from being sucked into oblivion.

“Seriously, Luna?!” He calls out, his horn charging as he sends a small white orb into the growing ball of mass. It is instantly absorbed, and soon after the black spot begins to expand, this time its power lessening as it expands. Then, it stops, collapsing in on itself as it instantly is sucked into nothing, and the nightmare falls to the ground as he is freed from the gravitational field. He rises to his hooves, brushing himself off. “Well played, Luna. Now, it is my turn!”

His horn ignites as he pops out of existence, appearing above the fountain once again. Magic crackles from his horn as a blast of dark, magical lightning strikes from its tip, striking the ground. Almost instantly, the shadows of the battlefield begin to dance, shifting and rising as they eventually form the outline of ponies. The shadow figures charge towards the princess, who strikes them down one-by-one, her twin blades swinging with deadly accuracy.

Once the last one falls, the princess makes her play, the shadows forming around her in snacking patterns, inching towards her foe, who fires bolts of magic at the approaching shadow creature, chipping away at its dark form with each hit. The creature slowly shrinks, a final blast destroying its trace from existence. The nightmare stands victorious, but the strikes clearly winding him. Luna trots forwards with purpose, her form still strong.

“Give me my friend, Nightmare. If you do so now, I will allow your demise to be swift and painless,” Luna speaks, her words monotone, but her face showed her seething anger.

The nightmare laughed, his evil cackle growing louder and louder. “You will not kill me, you fool! If you kill me now you will lose your friend’s body, leaving him to wander in internal ether.” He steps forwards. “You will fall, because you know what will come next if you don’t. Your only friend will die, and his death will rest on your shoulders.” He takes another step. “And you will be alone…”

Luna pauses, her neutral face taking on a contemplative expression.

The nightmare notices this, and smiles. “That’s right, you already lost.” He laughs. “And to think you were so close!”

The Princess of the night’s face contorts in anger, and she slashes out at the cause of her aggression. The nightmare smiles, his horn blinking as the outline of a very familiar pony comes into view. Her charge halts instantly, her eyes going wide as she is locked in place.

“Luna, don’t worry about me! Kill him, end it now!” I scream, squirming as my spectral body is held in place by my possessor's magic. “Just end it now!”

I watch as Luna’s eyes begin to water, her blades shaking as she takes a step back. “N-neon?” She mutters out, staring at me with pained, yet hopeful eyes.

I nod. “Yes, it’s me, now end him before he ends you!”

The princess shook her head. “No, I can’t! If I do you will be lost, and I would never live with myself if I let that happen!”

My eyes go wide, her words hitting hard. I go silent, unmoving for a moment as I process the situation.

“Do it…” I hear myself say, the words popping out almost on their own.

Luna’s eyes water, and her swords clink to the ground. “I… I can’t,” she begins, kneeling down. “I submit to you, nightmare…”

The demon smiles, trotting forwards and up to the kneeling princess. I scream, begging for her to get back up and finish him. I knew it would kill me, I know how hard of a choice it must be, but it had to be done! I squirmed as screamed at the Nightmare, pulling at the magic that restrained me in place.

“I told you before, Luna… I will always win,” the nightmare spoke, his horn igniting. A small, dark tendril slowly snaked its way towards Luna’s horn, it’s eventual contact causing the princess to scream in pain. I watched as the princess was engulfed in a dark glow, the light inside of her being pulled out by the Nightmare’s actions.

I screamed again, fighting as hard as I could to break free. Finally, I felt something give. With a final tug I felt the magical bonds break as I was sent rocketing forwards, my spectral form slamming right into the dark tendril…

The world around me was black, and empty void that continued forever. “Where the hell am I?” I asked nopony but myself, confused on what the heck just happened. I go to take a step forwards, but stop as a chilling voice fills my ears.

“Well… it seems like you messed up my plans, once again!”

I go to turn around, intent searching for the source of the voice. But, before I can even turn my head, something slams into my side, pain flowing up my side as I go flying.

“You know, I really should have just killed you, would have been much easier!”

I look up, and I whimper as I see the ghostly form standing above me. It’s eyes are soulless black, while it’s body is a dark shade of grey. It looks like a pony, but it’s shifting and mist body prevents me from getting a good look at it. She spectator stands above me, eyes staring into my very soul.

“Y-you… you’re him!” I squeak, trying to scamper away. I am caught by some magical fiend, however, and slammed back into the ground. I scream in pain.

“Yes, I am the one who’s plans you keep getting in the way of, you idiot!” It calls out, stamping a ghostly hoof. “And I was going to give your body back, too.” He lifts a hoof, intent on smashing in my skull. As it falls, I just barely roll out of the way, scrambling to my hooves.

“What are you?!” I scream at the creature, trying to keep my distance.

It rolls it’s eyes. “How have you not figured it out by now?!” He screams. “I am a pony, you idiot! I was once like you, and I was able to preserve my soul as my body rotted away. I thought I would be immortal, but I made the grave error of not taking account that a soul cannon, on it’s own, interact with the physical plain. My solution to this was to find a host, and your princess was the first willing one I would find.” It… he smiled. “So lonely, she was, that she was willing to let me take over to relieve herself of the pain.” He shook his head. “Such a foolish move.”

That’s it? “That’s it?!” I scream. “You enslave a princess, my friend, and turn her life into a living hell just because you wanted a host?! You fucking monster!”

He rolls his eyes, once more. “Your words are meaningless. I did what I did to survive, and you would do the same if you were in my position.”

I scoffed. “No! I would never steal something like that from someone! You ruined her life, took everything from her, and from me!”

“I didn’t ask you for your permission, mortal!” He growled. “It is time for you to die so I can take what I have worked so hard for!”

The creature lunges at me, and I jump out of the way just in time, avoiding its deadly attack. I turn to run, but change my mind. Running won’t do anything, I thought, I must fight back! With newfound purpose, I turn and lunge at the creature, who stands in shock at my actions. My shoulder makes contact and it falls to the ground, and I waste no time into landing punch after punch on its head.

“Get out of my body, you monster!” I manage to land a few good hits before I am thrown off of him, landing on my back against the strange, non-tangible ground. I quickly rise to my hooves, my horn lighting up as I send every magical spell I knew at the creature. I was not well versed in combat, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t mean that I couldn’t cause damage. Lightning crackled from my horn as I sent bolt after bolt at the creature, his body sizzling with every hit. Years of working with electronics and waved had filled my magical que with all sort of interesting spells, one of them being fucking lightning!

The beast let out a scream of pain, but still charged at me. His movements were fueled by anger; powerful, but clumsy. I dodge his attacks, sending bolt after bolt, spell after spell, attack after attack. Soon, both of us stood exhausted in the middle of oblivion, my body and mana spent, while his body sizzled. I tried to cast another spell, to finish it, but I had overtaxed myself too much, my mana supply running dry. Magical burnout, at the worst possible time.

The beast cackled, smiling with rows of phantom teeth. “It seems like you have run out of tricks, little pony. You fought well, but it was not enough.” He smirks. “I will tell your princess you died with honor, as I suck her soul from her body!”

No… “No!” I screamed, my tired body fueled with rage as I rushed forwards, catching the creature off guard. I lowed my head, and soon felt my horn slam into something. I pull back, and watch as the demon, the nightmare, stares at me with disbelief, before turning to look at the punctured hole in his chest, oozing black goo.

He took a step forwards, before falling to his stomach. “How… How did you?”

I stand over the fallen creature, my face contorted with anger. “You can threaten me… but nopony threatens my friends!” And with that, I raise my hoof, slamming it down on the creature's skull…

My world returns, the back fading as the real world comes back into view. Huh… who tilted the world? I thought, before practically smacking myself as I realized that I was laying on my side. I tried to get up, slowly rising to my hooves as everything protested, pain and soreness erupting from every part of my... body.

My eyes go wide as I look down, my hooves and body no longer ghostly or opaque. They were whole! I jumped up and down, screaming in happiness. “I got my body back!” I cried out to the heavens. “Take that, you freakin' psycho!”

The celebration was cut short, however, as a soft groan breached my hears. I stopped bouncing, turning to find Luna laying on her side, body smoking and badly beaten. “Luna!” I screamed, trotting over to her and standing by her side. “Luna! Are you okay?! How many hooves am I holding up!”

The princess groans, her eyes opening, but swimming. “We see… seven.” She cocks her head. “How do you have seven hooves, Neon?”

I scream in happiness as I pull her into a hug. I hold her tight, but probably too tight as I soon hear her gasping for air. I release her from my bone crushing hug, blushing slightly as I help her to her hooves. “Hehe… sorry.”

Luna shakily rises to her hooves, before tilting and almost falling over, only to be caught by me. I hold the mare up, stabilizing her. “Neon…” She begins, nuzzling my head. “It is good to see you back…”

I smile, nuzzling the mare back.

“What a touching reunion…” a voice calls from behind us. My eyes went wide, but eased when I didn’t recognize it as the Nightmare’s. I turned, helping the princess as we faced the once who addressed us.

Several hooded ponies stood around us, with many more that I could notice at a distance. The one who had grabbed our attention steps forwards, his face holding anger. “What happened to the Master?! What did you do to him?!”

I smirked. “He’s dead, you fools,” I began. “I killed him!”

They all looked at me with disbelief, but seeing nothing to contradict my statement soon caused their skepticism to slowly die down. “If… if that is true, then he would have wanted us, his followers, to avenge his killer.”

My eyes go wide, and I begin to back up. I look to Luna, who I notice is desperately trying to cast a spell, any spell, but failing. The group slowly gets closer, the distance between us and them shortening by the second. I close my eyes, holding Luna close as I wait for them to strike.

“That is enough!”

I wince as I feel something land hard in front of us, the commanding voice practically knocking me over. I open my eyes slowly, only to have them shoot open. Celestia stands in front of us, her mane ablaze and her normal royal regalia replaced with golden combat armor.

“You will all yield!” she screams, her horn pulsing as a blast of magic explodes from the tip, sending those who had once surrounded us flying back. At the same time, dozens of royal guards five bomb from they sky, landing and immediately engaging the hooded cult. The Solar Princess’s horn lights, a shield appearing around all three of us. She then quickly rushes to her sister, looking her over with concerned eyes. “Luna! Are you alright? Where is the nightmare?!”

The midnight gray alicorn smiles, nuzzling me. “It is gone, ‘Tia… I am free.”

Her eyes go wide, and she instantly shifted her gaze to me. I nod. “He’s gone, Princess.”

It takes her a moment to process that information, but she soon shakes her head, seemingly pushing the thought away for another time. “That is good news, but I believe that is a matter to discuss for another time. Right now, you two need medical attention.” The mare then chuckles. “This should be fun for you, as Luna has told us all about your enjoyment of teleportation.”

My eyes go wide. “No! I hate--”

But, I am cut off as the words fades to white, and the most irritating, unnerving experience of my life starts for the second time...

Arc III - Chapter: 12 - A New Beginning

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter: 12 - New Beginnings

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

Beep… beep… beep…

I groan, shifting in the bed and reaching for the damned alarm clock. It sounds strange, different than usual, but I don't pay it much mind—the thing was ruining my morning, so it needed to be shut off!

My hoof swished through open again, not finding purchase where my clock should be. I peak open my eyes to get a better look. My first view is of a white, tiled ceiling, something that no room in my house had.

Well, I guess this is not my bedroom… Wait! I know that beeping! My hoof smacks into my face. Oh, Celestia, I'm in... crap! She teleported me again, didn't she? I was really getting tired of being a punching bag for practically anything that moved, and being teleported against my will, again, wasn’t helping. Is there a frequent fliers card for this kind of thing? Speaking of which, my insurance company must hate me… Actually, I bet Luna’ll be covering this. I wonder if she get’s a discount or something...

“Luna!” I cry out, remember how bad of condition she was in last I saw her. I go to jump from my bed, intent on finding the midnight blue mare, but I am stopped by a little detail that I couldn’t believe I had missed: I was braced to the damned bed. "What the hell...?"

I crane my head, using what movement I could to survey my surroundings. I look around, relieved as I soon to see Luna resting peacefully in another bed, Celestia sitting closely beside her sister’s side.

I smile at the sight, and to my delight the solar princess turns her head towards me, her motherly gaze showing as she gives me a smile.

"Good morning, Neon,” she speaks as she stands up from her seat and trots over to me.

I go to bow but am stopped by my restraints. "Morning,” I begin, before motioning to the bonds that hold me in place. “Why am I tied down?"

Celestia let out a crescendo of soft giggles as she uses her magic to undo the restraints. "The doctors insisted they strap you down based on your last visit. If I do recall correctly, you did throw a few of my guards through a wall."

I let out a nervous chuckle, using my now free hoof to rub the back of my head. "Y-yeah… sorry about that."

She shook her head. “Do not worry about it, Dear Neon, it is all in the past, now,” she begins, before turning her focus back to her sister, who still sleeps softly. “But, there is something pressing that I must discuss with you.” The focuses back on me. “What happened in those woods? My knowledge on what happened is extremely vague, and I really would like to know what exactly transpired.”

I shrug. “Where do I begin?”

The princess sits down next to the bed, getting comfortable. “From the beginning, if you don't mind—I have made time.”

I take a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “Well, I guess we should begin with the dreams…”

“And then I… I killed him,” I finished, shaking my head. “I feel horrible for ending a pony's life, but even more so because I also feel that he deserved it.”

The princess had listened intently to the entire story, waiting patiently for me to recount the entire thing, from start to finish. “So, he said he was a pony who had preserved his soul?” She asks, and I nod. “Interesting… such a magic is unheard of. The last time I heard something like that was from… from…” The princess paused, her words trailing off.

I raise an eyebrow at Celestia’s sudden change in demeanor.

“Uh… Something wrong, Princess?” I ask, genuinely concerned.

The princess snaps back into attention, shaking her head before facing me again. “Oh, sorry about that, and no, there is nothing wrong—just something that I now know I must check on later.”

I want to inquire further, but decide to drop the topic. “Anyways, that's the entire story,” I begin again. “But… I feel like you should talk to Luna about this if you wish to know more. I mean, she was the original host of, well, him.”

Celestia nods her head. “Yes, agreed. But, later on. This experience has been rough on her… on both of you. But, I am glad that you were there for her, and can not thank you enough for being such a good friend to my dear sister.” Her gaze falls. “I tried to be there for her, be the friend she needed, but I couldn't fit. She was still angry at me, though she refused to say so. But you… You filled that role, helping my sister through and past some difficult times.”

She then stands, her horn lowering as she taped it on each of my shoulders. “Which is why I am knighting you. You have gone above and beyond for my sister, and you deserve a total as such.” She puts a hoof on my shoulder. “You've earned it, Sir Neon.”

Holy shit… Holy shit… Holy fucking shit! Screw formalities, this is freakin' awesome! I jump up and down in the bed, eventually lunging forwards and hugging the princess. “Thank you!” I scream, before pulling away and blushing as I realize what I had just done. “Oh, uh, sorry… Princess.”

The solar mare giggles, shaking her head in earnest. “Don't worry about it. And, please, call me Celestia. Your title moves you above formalities.” She then turns back to her sister. “But, we must continue this conversation later. I have briskness to attend to…” She then turns back to me. “Can you do me a favor, Sir Knight?”

I nod enthusiastically.

She smiled, letting out soft laughter. “Can you watch over my sister until she wakes? I want her to have a familiar face when she wakes up, as she can tend to be quite, well… extreme, when she is surprised.” She shook her head. “The doctors have cleared you, so you may leave as soon as you wish. There seem to be no lasting side effects from the… innocent, so you should only feel soreness for a few days.”

That said, the princess gets up and trots out of the room, leaving me alone with her sister. I take the time to get up and out of bed, the process taking longer than expected as my body feels as if it was hit by a herd of buffalo. I’ve had rough mornings, but this one really takes the cake.

With one last groan, I roll off the bed and onto my hooves. After some vigorous stretches and more ‘snaps’ and ‘pops’ then I’d ever want to hear come from my body, I take a moment to look around, finally giving the room a good look over. The walls were bleach white, while the air smelled of antiseptic and chemicals. Yup, definitely a hospital smell. The rest of the room was just as plain as the walls, standard hospital decorations of plastic plants and cheap paintings made up most of the decor.

I rolled my eyes, the cookie cutter design making me think that the decorator was just lazy. But, once again, I digress. My hooves resumed their trot as I made my way over to the princess’ bed, it’s occupant resting silently beneath the silken sheets. I popped down to her side, one of my hooves moving on its own, reaching up and grasping one of hers. Her chest slowly rises and falls, her muzzle resting in blissful neutrality.

Moments pass, maybe hours, and I continue to hold the Princess’s hoof, watching her chest slowly rise and fall. My gaze eventually wanders, and I notice a large bouquet of sunburst flowers on the bedside table, Celestia's crest residing on the side of the crystal vase. I feel my cheeks curl into a smile at the sight, but I soon tilt my head as I notice something out of place. I hadn’t noticed it at first, but I feel as though I should, that a single, blue and black rose sat besides the large bouquet, almost resting in its shadow. I ponder if it was symbolic or, perhaps, from somepony else, but I don’t get the chance as I feel the hoof that was still in mine twitch, followed by a soft, yawn. My eyes darted to the princess, who seemed to have awoken and was trying to get up.

“Ugh… What are we doing here? Why are we not in our quarters?!” she screamed, panic filling her eyes.

I reacted instantly, pushing her back down and poking my face into her point of view. “Luna, calm down! You are in the hospital, and you need to rest!”

The princess’s gaze softened once she noticed me, her body slowly sinking back into the bed. “Oh… right,” she muttered. “We almost forgot about our previous… encounter, of sorts.” She shook her head, blinking away the sleep that still clung to her eyes.

I smiled at the princess, then felt… weightless? I squirmed as I was lifted in a midnight blue aura, wiggling about like a possessed balloon. “Luna! Put me down! You know how much I hate being picked up like this!” I cried out, trying to break free of the princesses magical grasp. I knew it was pointless, but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t try. I could hear Luna giggling as she finally put me down, laying me next to her on the bed. My mouth opened to speak, but instead of words coming out, the entire contents of my lungs was exhaled as the midnight alicorn rolled onto her side and pulled me into a huge hug.

“Oh, Neon, we are so happy that you are okay!” the emotional princess spoke. “We thought we had lost you and… and we feared the worst!”

The hug somehow grew tighter, and it was now that I figured it was time to make my lack of breathing material known. “L-Luna… A… Air!” I whimper out.

The princess seemed to get the message, releasing me. I gasped for air, but I couldn’t help but smile through my gasps as a shade of red tinted the Princess’s cheeks. “Sorry about that… We seem to have gotten ahead of ourselves.”

I waved her off, still panting. “No worries… I would have… I would have reacted the same way.” I cracked my back, holding back my pain from my still sore body. “I’m just as glad to see that you’re alright, as well… Couldn’t help but feel responsible for letting that… thing in.”

I felt two hooves wrap around me again, thankfully not as hard this time. “Neon, please do not blame yourself for what has transpired. If anypony is to blame, it is me, as I helped bring that creature into this world the first time, and if I hadn’t then you never would have had to deal with him…”

Okay, that’s enough of this. I raise my head, looking the princess straight in the eyes. “No, it was not your fault. He tricked you as he tricked me. He was a parasite, leeching off of our bodies for his own selfish gain.” I shook my head. “What is done is done; the past is the past. All we can do now is move on and be thankful that it is all over, and that we will never have to deal with him again.” Huh… that wasn’t half bad, I thought, mentally patting myself on the back.

What happened next is something that I will remember for the rest of my life; a memory that I will never, ever let leave my mind.

Time practically slowed as I felt a pair of lips press into mine. My eyes widened, my heart pounding as Luna’s lips were locked with mine. I didn’t know what to do, nor did my brain have enough mental capacity to process anything other than what was happening right now.

Then, I felt her pull away, her body retreating as if she had just committed a terrible sin. My body was still failing to move as Luna shrank away from me, hiding her head beneath the sheets. “I’m so sorry, Neon! W-We didn’t mean to!” she cried from herself cocooned prison of blankets.

My brain decided that it was time to function again, and my body finally decided to give up pretending to be a tree to allow me control. I shook my head from side to side, first making sure thing was actually happening, and secondly to make sure that I wasn’t… yeah, to make sure that this was really happening.

But, then I heard the cries.

I looked down that the shuttering ball of bed sheets that lay beside me, cries of fear and regret filling the air. My face turned serious, all shock and hesitance thrown away by that horrible sound. I sat up and began to pull at the bundle of blankets, trying to unwrap the princess that was hiding underneath. I felt resistance as I pulled at the side, and I eventually had to use the added force of my magic to finally break the Princess from the cocoon. The blanket was thrown aside by my magical grasp, revealing the still crying princess held beneath, her eyes refusing to meet my own. I leaned forwards, trying to remove the princess’s hooves from her face. “Come on, Luna. Please stop crying,” I softly cooed.

The princess shook her head, tears still flowing freely. “No! You hate me now! I made things awkward because I could not control myself!”

My face fell at that comment, the words echoing through my head. Somehow, whether it was from the shock of the situation, or me just being an idiot, I never actually considered what the kiss actually meant. I mean, I’m pretty sure that meant like liked me, but… did I love her too? I mean, she is beautiful; her eyes twinkle like the stars itself, and her face is absolutely breathtaking. And… and she was definitely kind… and smart… and funny… and absolutely adorable when she slipped into her ye olden speech…That was it, that was the answer. There was only one thing that I could do in that moment, only one action in my mind actually making sense.

With a gently hoof, I slowly pulled away one of the hooves that covered the princess’s face, allowing me to get a glimpse of her dark, but mysterious irises. Her eyes were red, tears still flowing, although not as violently as earlier.

I gave her a gentle smile, holding out a hoof. She took it, and I slowly pulled her to an upright position. With a sniffle, the princess spoke, “S-sorry about that… We didn’t know what came over us and only hope that our friendship isn’t–mmph!”

She didn’t get to finish, her lips cut off as I pulled them into mine, holding her in the deepest kiss I could give. It was her turn for her eyes to go wide, and her body to freeze. But, sooner than me, she recovered, her eyes slowly closing as she wrapped her hooves around my neck, holding me close. I smiled through the kiss, regretfully breaking it far too soon. I pulled back, watching Luna’s eyes open and a goofy smile gracing her lips.

I tried to not laugh, I really did, but that adorably silly was too much. I snorted… then chuckled… then burst out into tears laughing. I could only imagine that mine was just as awkwardly, as I soon heard the midnight alicorn’s laughter join with mine.

We both lay on the small medical bed, bout of us laughing until our sides hurt, and we practically gasped for breath. After that, the room slowly fell into a silence, neither of us truly knowing what to say next.

“So… what now?” I asked, making my thought’s known.

“We… we do not know,” she begins, sitting up on the bed. “We have not had a romantic partner for some time, and are not familiar to the proper courtships of modern times. We would try with the style of old, but from experience we know that does not always work as planned…”

I nod in agreement, holding back a chuckle at the moments that I had been there to watch. “Yeah, I would hold off on that.” I let out a sigh. “I just… can I even date you? Being a princess ‘n’ all? Don’t I have to be a, I don’t know, prince, or something?”

Luna lets out a laugh. “No, no! There is nothing of the sort. That was abolished years before I was banished, as they found the harmful effects of inbreeding.” She shuttered of repressed memories of the topic.

I couldn’t help but shiver myself at the thought, but smiled at the actual meaning behind it. “So… there is no problem?” I asked hopefully.

The princess bit her lip. “While we see no issue, though we do believe we should consult our sister before continuing any further.” She pauses, then smiles. “But, no matter what she says, we do want to be with you. Even if it means in secret.”

I chuckle, shaking my head. “Considering that we have been meeting in secret this entire time, I really don’t see the difference, to be honest.”

Luna smiled as she nodded in agreement. “This is true, and we have no problem if this is to become the eventuality.” Her cheeks curled up even further at the thought, her hooves reaching over and pulling me into a bone-crushing hug. “Oh! We are most excited to have you as our ‘special somepony’!”

My eyes threatened to bulge out of my head while my ribs threatened to break from the force of her embrace. However, her force slowly reduced to a manageable level, and I wrapped my hooves around the princess, returning the embrace. “I am glad too, Luna.”

We remained in the hug, the princess nuzzling her head into my chest and snuggling up close to me. Our bodies entangled as we snuggled into each other on the hospital bed, content smiles remaining on both of our faces as silence ruled over the room. I looked down at the princess that was curled up on my side, her eyes closed and her smile wide. I couldn’t help but internally chuckle at the size difference between us, her alicorn body making her substantially taller than me, and, I hated to admit it, but she was even more well built them me. But, I didn’t let this bother me. I scanned over the rest of her features; truly admiring how beautiful the princess was. I was glad that nopony was there to see me, as the goofy smile that was most likely plastered on my face would have been prime real estate for an endless supply of jokes.

How could I be so lucky?

I thought back to the previous month's, remembering the first time I met the mare curled up in my hooves. She had been so awkward, yet so willing and wanting to fit in—to be like the common pony. I remembered our first ‘date’, and the following almost heart attack from the damned price of the thing. I remembered every moment we spent together, the good and the bad. Trust me, when it got bad, it got bad. But, even after getting my ass kicked, abducted, and having my soul forcefully ripped from my body, I would do it all again to keep the mare I have come to love in my hooves.

But, then a thought popped into my head, one that I should have thought about earlier: what about everyone else? I had been so focused on Luna (and being kidnapped, but that’s excusable) that I’ve barely had time to think about them. My work, my friends, my family. I haven’t been able to put any time in for them!

Then something depressing dawned on me: I don’t really have many friends. I mean, there were ponies I used to hang out with, some old college buddies and a few fellow DJ’s, but as I dedicated more time to my career, they just kinda… slipped away.

Holy shit...

I couldn’t even remember the last time I hung out with anypony besides Luna! I can’t believe it’s taken me until now to realize this. I mean, I was on my way into becoming a crazy cat lady… How could I have not figured this out sooner! I mean, wouldn’t I have felt lonely?

Was I?

Thinking back, I guess I kinda was. I mean, my life was fine; the club was fun and I always enjoyed making music, but the time between shows was always horrible. Eating alone, passing out on my couch, tinkering with a new sound equipment design. That had become my schedule. And they were all things that I did… alone.

I felt myself holding the princess in my arms tighter, her presence now meaning even more to me than before.

Then another thought popped into my mind, one that practically made my eyes bulge out. Big Time is going to kill me! I had not been around for… what was it? A month? Crap, I don’t even know how long it was! What the hell does he think?! My heart pumped, anxiety rising as I tried to calm myself. What if he fired me when I got back?!

“Neon, is something wrong?” I heard a voice mutter from my chest. “Your heart rate has increased, and you are breathing really heavily.”

Crap. I thought, taking a deep breath. “Nothing is wrong, I guess, it's just that I’m finally realizing the gravity of what happened. I mean, I’ve been gone for a month, now. Are ponies worried about me? And what about my boss! I’m just worried about how they’ll take it. Heck, I don’t even know if I can say the truth!”

The midnight alicorn’s gaze turned to me, her face softening at my visual unease. “Neon, please calm down. We will take care of everything, worry not. It is not your fault that this happened, and thus you shouldn’t have to deal with the complications of what happened.” She smiled, leaning up to kiss me on the cheek. “I will personally make sure that everything is fine, we promise.”

I stare into Luna’s eyes, only seeing complete sincerity. My fear slowly fell as I began to calm down, her words soothing my worries. I smile back at her. “Okay, Luna, I trust you.”

She smiles back. “Good! Now, let us get up from this bed and meet our sister for food! We do believe it is around lunchtime, is it not?”

I licked my lips at the thought of food, my hunger finally making itself known. “I don’t really care if is or not, I’m starving!”

Luna giggles, rolling her eyes as she begins to roll, “–holy shit! No, Luna, wait!” I scream, but too late as Luna’s movements push me from the bed, my hooves flailing as I land flat on my back. I let out a groan of pain, my still sore body not liking the fall one bit.

The midnight alicorn landed on her hooves as she finished her roll, her face wincing with embarrassment. “Oops… we are sorry about that,” she mutters meekly, using her magic to help me get to my hooves. “We didn’t mean to push you off.”

“It’s okay,” I begin, cracking my back. “Now, let’s eat!”

Oh my Celestia! I forgot how good the castle food was! Considering I hadn't technically eaten anything in a few weeks, it’s pretty easy to guess that I was a little hungry.

Luna and I had arrived in the castle dining room only minutes ago, a full table of food awaiting us. Celestia wasn't anywhere to be seen, but we were informed by a maid that she was going to be a little late before we got a chance to ask. The midnight alicorn took her normal seat next to the edge of the table, and I plopped down next to her, wasting no time and dug in, which is where I was now, stuffing my face with awesome food.

It was now that the doors to the grand dining hall opened and the other half of the equestrian government trotted in. Celestia smiled and me and Luna as she trotted over to her seat at the end of the table, sitting down and levitating a napkin into her lap.

“I see that Neon is enjoying the food,” she spoke with a chuckle, to which I was too preoccupied to to reply. The then turned to her sister, levitating some food from the buffet in front of her onto her plate. “Good to see you up and trotting, Lulu.”

“And it is good to be up,” Luna said with a nod, filling her own plate. “We appear to only be a little sore, and the doctors have informed me that no permanent damage was sustained.”

“Good to hear,” Celestia replied, before turning to me. “And how about you, Sir Neon?”

I nodded, chewing and swallowing. “I'm not doing half bad, actually. I mean, I’m a little sore, like Luna, but other than that I feel fine.”

“Good to hear,” the white alicorn replied. “But, we’ve got more serious matters to discuss.”

I raise an eyebrow. “About what?”

“You story,” she answered. “As much as I hate lying to my subjects, letting this little… Incident became public would do far more harm than good. So, I've arranged for a ‘cover-story’ to be implemented as an excuse for your absence.”

Oh, crap, I almost forgot about that! “That’s perfect, actually. I've got a lot of explaining to do to my boss at the club, and I'm gonna need all of the help I can get.”

“One of my scribes is detailing an airtight excuse for your absence, and shall hand it to you when you leave,” the white alicorn spoke, wiping her mouth with her napkin.

The rest of the meal went by in relative silence, all parties too consumed by their food to converse. As soon as we were done, and the table had been cleared off by the servants, a single teapot was set in the middle of the table, which Celestia immediately used her magic to pour herself cup.

“Sister…” Luna spoke up, pouring herself her own cup. “There is something we must tell you.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

She bit her lip, looking to me. What did she look like she suddenly didn't want to be here? It's not like she’s telling her… Oh, wait… Crap.

“Me and Neon… Have mutually agreed to start seeing each other in a romantic manner, wishing for you blessing to continue the relationship.”

Hot tea flew across the table as Celestia’s eyes went wide. “W-what?”

“I and Neon are now dating… You you have a problem with this?”

Celestia cleaned her chin with her napkin. “No, no! Not at all! You just surprised me, that’s all.” She chuckled. “I guess I should have seen it coming, as you two were practically inseparable when you first interfaced me to him, sister.”

I released the breath that I was holding, glad that this turned out a lot better than I had expected.

“I just want to remind Neon that he shall fear the full rage that is the sun if he is to disappoint or hurt you.” I don't even need to look as I can feel Celestia’s gaze burn into the side of my head.

I avoided eye contact, trying not to scream. “N-noted…” I mumbled out.

Her eyes turned off of me and a smile graced her lips. “Excellent. Then, I congratulate both of you, but I already suspect that you understand this must remain privately, correct?”

We both nod. “Yeah, we already talked about that before. Kinda sucks, but what can you do?” I said with a shrug. “Whelp, I hate to dine and dash, but I've got some explaining to do to a bunch of ponies, so I’m gonna go and head off to do that.” I got up from my chair, bowing to Celestia and giving Luna a peck on the cheek. “See you soon, Luna.”

The mare smile in return. “Sooner than you think, Neon.”

I waved goodbye to each of them as I left the dining hall, making my way through the snaking hallways and towards the castle entrance. Before I was able to exit, a messenger trotted up to me and hoofed me a scroll, telling me it was the cover Celestia had given to me. I thanked the mare, before heading out of the castle, a mile long smile spanning my cheeks...

Arc III - Chapter: 13 - Back to "Normal"

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter: 13 - Back to "Normal"

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

Have you ever had an eye-opening experience? Like, an event that makes you think, “Wow, I never realized that?” Well, I’m currently dealing with the aftermath of such an event, and it sucks!

My hooves trot firm along the cobblestone streets, their sounds muffled by the many other hooves that stomp around it. Canterlot during the day was a busy place, ponies from all parts of Equestria either visiting the nation’s capital, either for pleasure or business. The influx of computing ponies was a constant within the city, almost half of the ponies who were in the city at any given time weren’t even residents. I had been one of them, at one point in time. The cities nightlife and many clubs made it the perfect city for me, as it wasn’t that hard to find a job. Sure, Manehattan had its share of clubs, as well as other cities, but none brought the crowd like in Canterlot. Because of the variety of ponies who visited from all over equestria, and even neighboring lands, you never knew who’d you bump into.

As I trotted through the sea of ponies, I couldn’t help but think of how none of them would know what happened to be, nor know how close they were to being in real danger. They were completely oblivious, unknowing of the return of the demon that had cast the land into darkness many years ago. My eyes scanning the crowd, watching the rainbow of different colored ponies of all races trotting around as if nothing had happened. To be honest, nothing had happened, as far as they were concerned. Celestia had told me not to tell anypony about what had happened to me, even going so far as to have one of her ‘Scribes’ write up a cover story, one I hadn’t gotten the chance to read yet.

I wonder how many of them noticed I was missing? I thought to myself, eyes returning to a forwards position as I flowed with the current. It was a good question, one that I knew I would be depressed if I knew the actual answer. My epiphany yesterday was still fresh in my mind, my unclouded view of my life still sinking in. I was a loner, and had been one pretty much since I got out of college. Actually, even when I was in uni I still wasn’t the social one, the only ponies I even hung out with were my lab partners.

I let out a sigh, taking a turn and breaking off from the stream, heading down the final street that would lead to my apartment. I figured that I’d make it my first stop, seeing as I needed to pay my rent. Actually, I was overdue. On my journey from the castle I had stopped and asked a random mare what the day it was. To my surprise, the day she gave me meant that I had been gone for a whole month and a half.

It only took a little longer until I was back at my apartment complex. I headed inside and up to my apartment, relieved when I didn’t see an eviction notice on my door. Using my magic I removed the spare key from under the door, pulling it out before using it to unlock the door. I trotted inside and was shocked at the fact that, well, it was clean. Like, really clean! I closed the door behind me as I trotted forwards, scanning my spotless home.

I trotted past the kitchen, stopping when I noticed a piece of paper taped to the door. Curious, I levitated the note over to me and read.

Dear Neon,

If you are reading this, then you have been freed from your nightmare and have returned home. We hoped this would be the eventuality, and have since made sure your house was in good condition whilst you were away, as well as taking care of your rent for the month… and two after that just incase.

From, Luna

I smiled at the note, folding it and putting it in my shirt pocket. I looked over the rest of the house and found it spotless, someone had even taken the time to neatly manage my cable system to my music setup. I was nervous at first, but whoever had done it had known what they were doing, taking extra care and putting everything back where it belonged.

The last thing I check was my bedroom, which was just as clean as the rest of the apartment. I flopped on the bed, smiling as I slowly sank into the sheets, happy to finally be back in my own bed.

Maybe… maybe things won’t be so bad, I thought, wiggling my body and scootching up towards my pillows. Resting my head down, I remembered that I still had to read the cover that Celestia had created for me. Curiosity piqued, I used my magic to remove the scroll from my shirt pocket, floating it into my hooves. “Now, let’s see what Celestia had prepared for me…?”

I opened the scroll with my magic, reading it over. But, after I got about half way my excited smile started to curl into a frown, and by the end of the letter, I was completely dumbfounded.

“Seriously, Celestia?! This is the best you could think up?!”

I like Celestia, I really do. She’s a good leader, and even a good pony when she takes off her royal mask. And even though we got off on the wrong hoof she more than made up for it.

But this is just sad.

I had slept like a baby for the rest of the day, setting my alarm clock ‘Til I would have to head to the club and just slept. It was good being back in my own bed, in my own home. Heck, it almost made me forget all the shit that had happened.

Almost.

But, my nap had ended with the an electric chime, and it had been time for me to return to work. Now, Celestia had been kind enough to cover for me at work, establishing an alibi for me, a solid one, and her note had instructed me to return to the club at my usual hour and, well, return as if nothing had happened.

The short trot from my apartment to the club was peaceful, actually. The night sky shone overhead, stars shining brightly down on me from miles away.

An ironic thing about the sky is that most of what we see are just ghosts, the stars that had once created the light we see long since dead while others have been born that we haven't seen yet.

But, it was still peaceful, and I enjoyed it while it lasted. He canterlot nightlife was still as I remembered it; ponies of all ages and types enjoying what he night had to offer. Some went to bars, some went to clubs, and other just enjoyed the night itself, no particular destination in mind. A smile crossed my lips at the diversity as I rounded the last corner to the club, the thought of something remaining constant a comforting sight.

Finally, I made it to the club. The outside sign was lit up in neon lights (yes, I see the irony), and I could hear the base of another DJ’s songs reverberate from inside. I cut in front of the line as I approached the bouncer, much to the annoyance of those who stood in said line, and was happy that the usual bouncer was still there.

He gives me a smile, opening the door to the club and motioning for me to go inside. I nodded at the large stallion and trotted inside, immediately being blasted by the atmosphere of the nightclub. The smell of sweat and alcohol immediately assaulted my nostrils; the flashing lights and blasting sounds adding to the sensory overload. I didn't flinch, instead a smile crept across my face as I soaked in the experience, my body absorbing it greedily as if it was a drug, one that I had been in withdrawal with for a long time.

After I had my fill of the initial fill, my hooves started up again as I set my course for my bosses office, which was situated in a room directly behind the bar. As I approached the bar the bartender, Shot Glass, noticed me and waved me over, a huge smile on his face.

“Yo’, Neon!” The green station called out, his magic still mixing his current order’s drinks and he trotted over to meet me. “I haven't seen you in forever, man! Where’ve you been?”

I chuckled as I bumped hooves with the stallion. “Long story, Glass, I'll give you the short version later,” I began, before motioning to behind the counter. “Is the boss in?”

He nodded, opening the entrance to behind the bar top. “Yeah, he’s in there.” He gave me another smile. “Good to have you back, again. The club's been really lacking lately without your musical flair,” he finished as he returns to his duty, drinks and ingredients flying through the air as he mixed the alcoholic concoctions.

I made my way to the bar and into the office, opening the door and seeing Big-Time sitting at his desk, reading over some papers. He tilted up his gaze at the intrusion of sounds of the club as I opened the door, his bored gaze shifting to excitement upon noticing it was me. “Neon, my boy!” he spoke, putting down the papers and motioning for me to take a seat.

I did as he said, taking a seat in one of the chairs that faced my boss. “Hey, Big,” I began. “Finally back.”

He nodded enthusiastically. “That indeed you are, and I'm happy for that because, as you can hear, it's been hard to find a temporary replacement that could live up to the seat you held.” He shook his head, chuckling.

I had heard the music and had though it wasn't that bad. Sure, the transitions were a little off and he (or she) should have been playing something slower since it looked like it was a cool down period, but the actual music wasn't that bad. The opposite, actually, and since I hadn't heard the current track before I expected it to all be original content. “Yeah, sorry for making that so difficult,” I said with a chuckle. “But, I'm back from…”

And this is where things got… Well, this is what Celestia had pissed me off with. Out of all the excuses and situations she could have used, this had to be the most… Embarrassing!

“From being in the Hospital with a rare stomach parasite.” Yup, she had gone with that. Not an injury, or something normal, but with a God damn creature that lived in my stomach!

“Yeah, that had to suck.” Big Time shuttered. “But, it's over now and you can return to duty… Right?”

I nodded happily. “Hell yeah! I'm ready to hit the tables as soon as you say the word!”

“Well, then, you’re on in…” The stallion looked at his desk clock. “Five minutes.”

My eyes went wide, and I launched out of my chair and out of the office as I bolted to the back room, intent of grabbing the gear I would need and using the remaining time to start a set that I would have to make while performing. Usually I customize as I work, but I at least have some template to work with before hoof.

As I trotted through the crowd, pushing through the dancing ponies, I took note of who was currently in attendance. Young... most look like mostly college students… okay, gonna go probably go with some heavy Dubstep to begin with. I noticed their current mood towards what was being played. Doesn't seem to respond to a fast-paced trap, so I’ll toy with that later once there had a cool down.

I finally made it past the dance floor and pushed open my back room. Everything seemed to be where I had left it, so it was relatively easy for me to quickly grab the things I deeded. My laptop, cables, switch-board, and my high quality headphones floated over to me in my magical aura. After quickly looking over each to make sure they weren't broken or anything (just incase, as nothing is worse the a DJ cutting out over equipment failure) I trotted back out and up towards the perch, my equipment floating behind me like a very expensive balloon.

The current DJ came into view and, much to my surprise, I recognized the mare currently at the tables. Her electric blue hair bounced with absolute energy as her horn glowed as her magic engulfed her set up, mixing and altering her track as it played. I got closer and she seems to recognize me as well, turning to me.

“Hey! If the King of the Tables hasn't returned!” She screamed to me, just barely audible over the bass that screamed below us. I set my stuff behind the setup and trotted next to her, giving her hoof bump that she soon returned. “Well, if it ain't the Queen who’s been trying to steal my spotlight?” I called out, chuckling. “It's good to see you again, Vinyl.”

The white mare smiled, pushing her signature purple shades up to rest above the base of her horn. “Hey, you can't blame me for trying to usurp you while you had a worm up your ass.”

I flinched, giving myself another of the many mental notes to kick Celestia's ass the next time I saw her. “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up,” I exclaimed as I rolled my eyes. “But I'm back and my title is still standing!”

It was true, Vinyl truly was a match for me when it can to DJing. My specialty was reading the crowd and playing what they wanted to hear, as well as all of my custom sound gear that gave me the advantage. Her, on the other hoof, she was a far better producer than I was, her tracks absolutely amazing and revolutionary. What she lacked in crowd reading and equipment she made up for with custom sound. I may be the King of the tables, but she is definitely the Queen of sound.

“I’ll beat you yet, don't you worry!” Vinyl began, shaking her head with a chuckle. “Anyways, I'm guessing you’re playing next?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I'm hoppin’ in as soon as you finish your set, which should be…”

The track ended, and Vinyl’s eyes went wide as she turned as fast as she could and ran back to the mic. I let out a chuckle, only slightly feeling bad for almost making her miss her outro.

“Hey there, everypony!” The mare screamed into the mic, eliciting a thoungeous applause of stomping hooves and screaming fans. “Look’s like DJ Pon-3’s time had come to a close.” The crowd got quieter as it opposed her leaving, begging for an encore. “Now hold on, it ain't like I'm going anywhere! And I think you’ll be taking that back when you hear who’s up next!” While she was making my intro, I used the distraction to start plugging in and setting up my gear. “So please welcome back the only pony who can put on a show better than me, DJ-MCW1SH!”

The crowd went wild at the introduction, the smile on my face threatening to split my head as I trotted into view, taking the microphone from Vinyl. I have her a hoof-bump and whispering, “Thanks,” before turning to the ground and levitating the mic to my lips.

“Helloooooo ponies of Canterlot!” I screamed, the crowd somehow going wilder. “As the amazing DJ before me was so kind to announce, I am indeed back and ready to entertain!” I opened my laptop and flicked through my playlist, at the same time putting on my headphones. “After all, I need to make sure that I prove that nothing can stop this DJ from rocking!”

I pressed play and a soft music box tone slowly overtook the club. I smirked at the confused faces in the crowd as I reached for my switchboard connected to my lighting display and shut off the main lights to the club, engulfing it in complete darkness. The music box continued to play it's creepy, unsettling melody as I started the smoke machines, giving the club floor a thin layer of must, which Nopony could see, yet.

This was a little set that I hadn't gotten to play yet, an intro I like to call, Dance of the Damned!

My hooves pressed up against the switchboard as I raise the lights that line the lighting up the club from the ground up. I then move to the soundboard and added an overlaying baseline, softly building up with the overlying melody.

The crowd stood in relative silence as the music and feeling breathed over them like a looming ghost, their previously pounding hearts slowing down, but still keeping a higher beat. They were hooked, their minds melding with the music as the senses I gave them filled them with ease, but wonder.

The track slowly, and carefully, began to rise again. I added more sounds to the accompaniment, the soft and simple beat growing into an intricate mixture of sounds

Then, when they were least expected it, I added the drop.

The club filled with an explosion of bass and reverb, everypony complexly caught off guard as the real music kicked in. Being suddenly broken from their trance, the crowd erupted into cheers and hoof stomps as my track truly begun. Unlike usual, I had to listen and mix the track as I was playing, and couldn't truly soak in their reaction. But, even so, my smile remained on my face as my hooves and back bolted around like lightning, mixing track after track.

I was home.

I was back!

I know how much time past, but it truly only felt like minutes. After three hours strait of mixing live tracks and rushing to keep ahead of what was currently playing, I was truly wiped.

I stood over my perch, the last bit of my set slowly wound down. Sweat dripped from my muzzle and brow, my tie hanging loosely around my neck and my shirt was completely unbuttoned. Even though I had barely enough energy to stand up, I pushed myself for a little bit longer as I picked up the mic.

“Okay, everypony! It’s about time this DJ passes out for the next twelve hours,” I spoke, trying to sound as pumped as my performance had been. I heard sounds of sadness and a literal chant of an encore, but I could only laugh and wave them off. “Sorry, but I’m done for the day. I love you guys, but we all gotta call it quits some time. I have been DJ-MCW1SH, and you have been an amazing audience! Goodnight!” And with that said, I dropped the mic (because that never went out of style) and slowly unplugged my equipment, floating it behind me as I made my way towards the back room.

The door swung open and I spent only enough time on my feet to carefully put away my stuff before belly flopping onto the couch, once again (for the millionth time) thanking my past self for putting it here.

My heart rate slowed down as I snuggled into the soft material, pulling one pillow below my head and hugging another tightly between my hooves. I then closed my eyes, letting my mind wander back to my performance. Although Celestia had chose an embarrassing excuse for my absence, I decide to hold off on kicking her ass as she had made sure that I could keep my job, something I was just reminded that I couldn’t live without. The thrill of the crowd, the beat from the speakers, the flashing lights and, well, everything just reminded me why I became a DJ in the first place. But, on top of that, I loved watching all of the happy faces of the crowd as they danced their cares away, the music and atmosphere giving them a sanctuary where they could forget the worries of the day.

A smile spread on my face as I snuggled in deeper into the couch, letting the soft embrace of sleep take over…

Pop!

My eyes shot open and my hooves flailed as the sudden sound and influx of light scared the shit out of me, causing me to roll unceremoniously off the couch and land muzzle first into the floor. I scrambled into my hooves as soon as they would respond, turning towards the sound and intent on screaming my head off to whoever had made that racket.

But, I didn’t.

My anger filled expression instantly faded as a face that I had not seen in a long time came into view, standing just beside the door to the backroom. “Well, you aren’t a face that I was expecting to see.”

Midnight (or, rather, Luna disguised as Midnight) stood nervously beside the door, her face red with embarrassment. “S-sorry about scaring you,” she muttered, looking away and refusing to meet my gaze. “I didn’t mean to wake you…”

Now this was Luna. Not putting on a royal mask, not afraid about past sins or the judgment from others, not trying to prove herself to anypony. Just an adorable, socially awkward mare way past her time.

I gave her a soft smile, trotting over to her and wrapping her in a hug, pulling her close. “You don’t have to apologize to me for anything, Luna. You are worth the occasional scare.”

I watched as the mare’s face brightened even more, but she returned the hug and even nuzzled her head into my neck. To be honest, I liked Luna when she was in her normal form better, but I had to admit that she had done one hell of a job creating a form that managed to capture her to a “T” if she had been just a unicorn.

We broke the embrace after a little bit, both of us just pulling back far enough for our muzzles to be only inches apart. “So, Midnight, what brings you to this fine nightclub?”

Midnight smiled innocently and nervously tapped her hooves together. “Well, uh…” she began, before blushing. “We really just wanted to see you… is that bad? Am I being too pushy???”

Before the mare could spiral into a never ending circle of anxiety, I pulled her in close, our lips pressing together. I can feel her body relax in my hooves as we continue the kiss. When we finally break apart, I can’t help but smile at the goofy grin plastered on Midnight’s face, which I probably have an equally, if not more, one of my own. “Don’t worry, Luna. You are not being pushy or anything like that. We are dating now, I have no problems with you spending time with me--the opposite, infact!”

She blushes and nods in understanding. “Okay…”

We both stand there for a second in a comfortable silence, before I let out a loud yawn, my exhaustion from before finally returning. “As much as I would love to stay up and chat, I really need to get some sleep; I’m on the verge of passing out as it is.”

“Oh… Yes, you must be exhausted. We should have expected this before we decided to visit,” Midnight says with a sheepish grin. “Go ahead and rest, Neon. Perhaps we can meet again tomorrow at a more convenient time?”

My head nods vigorously. “Of course! That would be awesome!” I say before jumping back into the couch, curling up into the pillow while still facing Midnight.

I watch as the mare stands there, awkwardly, her face looking as if she had something to say, but didn’t know, or have the courage, to say it.

Curious, I inquired about it. “What’s on your mind?”

“N-nothing!” the mare blurts out, before adding. “Well… we were wondering if it would be… if we could… if it were proper to…” The midnight blue mare paused, taking a deep breath. “We… I was wondering if we could sleep with you, tonight… It was… we liked the company of another whilst we rested.”

I crack a smile at the now blushing mare in front of me, holding back a chuckle at how adorable she was being. “Of course, Luna. I would like that.”

I rolled off the couch and onto the floor, using my magic to move pillows long enough to pull out the bed part of the couch, then replacing them.

“Oh… we were afraid that there would not be enough room, but now see that the couch is also a bed… most curious.”

“Yeah, I got the pull-out version because I knew I would sleep on it, but am usually too tired to actually set it up so I usually never use it,” I say as I levitate over a blanket, jumping onto the bed as I laid it over me, snuggling in close. “You gonna join me?”

The mare nodded meekly, slowly crawling onto the bed and laying down next to me. I lift the blanket with my magic while using my hooves to pull her in closer, letting the blanket then fall down and cover us both. I felt the mare then snuggle into my, resting her head on my chest. With our bodies intertwined, I let a smile spread across my lips as I closed my eyes, kissing the top of Midnight’s head. “Goodnight, Luna,” I spoke softly to her.

“Goodnight, Neon…” the mare replied, holding me tighter.

As I slowly drifted off to sleep, my fillyfriend wrapped in between my hooves, I could help but chuckle at how the worst few weeks of my life had ended with the best day of my life.

Life can be strange, can’t it?

Arc III - Chapter: 14 - Neon Makes A Friend!

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter: 14 - Neon Makes A Friend!

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

I am not a morning pony. All my life I have hated the time just when the sun catches the horizon and the official start of the day begins. In my mind, that was a time for sleep. Hell, anytime before twelve is a time for sleep! But, even if you try and fix your sleep schedule to account for this, nature has its way off, occasionally, rising you at this ‘normal’ time.

Today just so happened to be one of those days.

I groaned, trying to force sleep to return as I slowly woke up. My hooves reached forwards instinctively for the warmth that I had held the night before and was surprised when I found, well, nothing. Curiosity and slight concern won over my will to return to sleep as I cracked my eyes open.

To my surprise, and sadness, I awoke in my pull out alone, no unicorn (or even alicorn) laying next to me. Had it been a dream? And I imagined or, perhaps, dreamed that she had slept in my hooves the night before? It would be a pleasant dream regardless, but a far better reality.

Lazily, I rolled from the pullout, stretching my back as I let out a loud yawn. But, before I could start to fold up the couch, I noticed a piece of paper taped to the neighboring pillow. Curious, I levitated the paper over and read.

Dear Neon,

We are sorry that we had to leave you before you awoke, but we needed to return to our responsibilities as a princess. We are dreadfully sorry if this was taken as rude, but we didn't wish to wake you whilst you slept so soundly.

On the matter, we will try and secure another time soon for us to ‘hang out’ and properly spend time together.

Again, we are sorry for leaving you, but we assure you it was not of ill intent. ‘Til we meet again, we bid you good day, our friend and lover.

Princess Luna

Well, that was one mystery solved. I will admit that i’m a little saddened that I couldn't wake up to her by my side, but being a princess does come first, so I don't hold it against her. I chuckled, reading over the note again and noticing her change in speech, signaling she had gone into ‘princess mode’ before writing it.

I folded the piece of paper and slipped it into my shirt pocket, then finished folding up the couch. I nearly folded the blankets and placed them and the pillows in their proper place. Once everything was nice and put away, I flopped onto the couch and delved into my mind, planning out the rest of my day.

Today was Tuesday, which meant that I didn't have any responsibilities that I had to attend too. Normally today would consist of heading home and spending hours on hours of planning my shows for the week and working on new sets or equipment. But, today I had something else in mind. As my ‘awakening’, as I'm calling it now, had pointed out: I was quite the loner. I mean, it wasn't like I was that bad with ponies, considering my job was centered around my ability to deal with them, but more as I didn't put myself out there as somepony you could ‘hang out’ with or anything like that.

But, today this was going to change!

Mark my words, by the end of the day I, Neon Lights, would have a new friend!

I had trotted out of the club with a sense of purpose; a goal that I had set for myself that I would accomplish by day’s end. How I was going to go about achieving this goal was beyond me, but that was something I could figure out as I went along.

Although it was morning, the capital city buzzed with life as if it had been awake for several hour already, and currently in the middle of a caffeine high. High-class ponies trotted with their noses in the air, trotting as if everypony around them was beneath them; normal business ponies trotted around on their cell phones, chatting about some big ‘deal’ or something like that, bumping into ponies in their distracted haze; college student trotted around with at least one cup of coffee either floating in their wake or held tightly and possessively in their muzzle. Everypony had a place to be, a destination in mind.

It was kinda funny, actually, watching the ponies around me as I trotted forwards. It was like judging a crowd during a gig, except I could blast music or lights or anything to alter their moods. So, instead, I donned my headphones that had hung around my neck, pulling out my music player and setting a track to play. A high quickly paced beat began to play in my ears, contrasting nicely to the busy day life that surrounded me.

With a smile, I trotted forwards, my head bobbing to the song that only I could hear, parting through the crowd and heading straight.

I may have forgotten to add, but I did have a destination in mind. As much as I love trotting around and just enjoying life around me, I had a goal to accomplish, and an even more important task to achieve before even that: Food!

My stomach growled at the thought, and I quickened my pace as I headed towards Downtown Canterlot, specifically an amazing Donut Shop.

After a good few minutes of travel later, and several songs, I passed through the doors of Pony Joe’s, the best donut shop in all of Canterlot. The cafe, if it could be called that, was relatively small; booths and tables lined the walls and middle of the small confectionary shop while a large ‘bar’ that gave a clear view of the kitchen stood opposite of the door. As you would expect, the place was packed, a thought that I had not taken into account before I started my journey. But, I was in luck, as an empty barstool at the end of the main bar top, which I quickly snagged.

“Ah, Neon! That’s a face I haven’t seen in awhile!” I heard be called out from behind the counter, the voice I instantly recognized as belong to the store’s owner, Donut Joe himself. As I lifted my head, I confirmed my guess as a happy tan stallion trotted into view from behind the counter, approaching my seat. “So, what brings you to my humble shop, oh famous DJ.”

I rolled my eyes, chuckling at the stallions flattery. “Hey, man, even if I became the most famous DJ in the world I wouldn’t be too ‘big’ for your cooking,” I said with a smile. The stallion was famous for being able to not only personalized with his customers but also treating everypony as if they had been regulars for years. I had been one of those regulars, at one point, practically spending all of my free time while I was at uni in this very restaurant.

“Glad to hear, as the publicity would be fantastic! I can see it now.” The stallion stood up hooves in the air. “Donut Joe’s, official Donut Shop of Neon Lights,” the stallion finished, waving his hooves in the air as if outlining a banner.

I couldn’t help but laugh again. “Okay, okay. Don’t get ahead of yourself, man. I ain’t that famous… yet.”

Joe shrugged, returning to his hooves. “Never hurts to plan for the future. But, I digress! So, what can I get you? Usual?”

I nodded. “Two glazed and a large coffee, extra cream with whipped cream.”

The stallion nodded, heading back to get my order. “Coming right up!”

As the stallion prepared my order, I sat at the barstool and thought about my second order of business after foot: making a friend. No, if I remembered correctly, normal ponies made friends by finding somepony with a common interest. Now, I had many interests, but how to go about asking other ponies about theirs, without sounding creepy, was going to be the hard part.

But, before I could think on the matter more, I was cut from my train of thought as I felt something bump into me to my right. Turning, I quickly noticed a familiar mare who had just bumped into my side.

“Oh, hey Vinyl, can't believe I didn't notice you there!” I say to the unicorn beside me. Somehow, in my tunnel vision for food, I had failed to notice my fellow DJ sitting right next to me.

The mare rolled her eyes from behind her shades. “Seriously, dude? I was literally waiting for you to notice, ya goof!”

“Yeah…” I begin, nervously tapping my hooves together. “Kinda get a little hyper focused when it comes to food.”

“Yeah, I feel ya on that. Not much can distract me when it comes to food. Donut Joe’s especially.” She laughs. “Anyways, how’s it been, dude? Stayed around to check out your performance and, I have to admit, you haven’t lost your touch.”

Joe returns with my donuts and Coffee, placing them on the counter in front of me. I not thanks to the stallion, taking a greedy sip of the caffeine filled liquid before returning my attention to the mare. “I’ve been good, I guess.” I shrug. “Club’s been good to me, as usual, and the crowd keeps coming back so I know I’m doing something right. If it wasn’t for the, eh… incident, life’s been treating me quite well!”

“I still can’t get over that, man!” Vinyl response with a laugh. “I mean, I ain’t gonna ask about it again, but that seriously had to suck.”

You have no idea.

“Anyways, that’s great, man! Last time I saw you before last night had to be… that double feature I introed for you at the club, and you killed it then! Can’t believe you’ve managed to get better since then.” She shakes her head, taking a sip of her coffee that I had not noticed until now. “I mean, I’m seriously jealous, man.”

I take a bite of my donut. “Practice makes perfect, and I’m actually pretty jealous of you, as well.”

She raises an eyebrow.

“I mean it!” I exclaim. “My talent is in showmanship and all the little details that go into a performance, while yours, on the other hoof, kick my ass by leagues in mixing!”

The mare blushes slightly. “Thanks. That means a lot, actually,” she says, her energetic personality seeming to deflate with those words.

I raise an eyebrow at this, confused and concerned at the sudden change in demeanor. “Yo’, Vinyl, what’s up?” I ask softly, putting down my donut.

The white mare lets out a soft sigh, shaking her head. “It’s nothing, just…” She pauses, before sighing again. “Look, you’re a really cool and nice guy, but… I don’t know, I just can’t help but hate you. Just a little, at least.”

I’m a little taken aback by that. Actually, I’m really taken aback by that. Why… why would she hate me? What had I done to her? Should… should I apologize? But before I can inquire about this, the mare speaks up again.

“Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with you. More of about… me.” The mare stops to wipe a hoof across her sullen head, and it is only then that I realize that she’s crying. “I look at you and see success. I mean, you got your way through uni, you got yourself an amazing job, and, hell, you even got yourself an amazing home! Me, I… I got nothing.”

Wait… what?

“I’ve been working my flank off for the past few years and all I have to show for it is a few decent gigs. No steady job, no college degree, nothing!” The mare then stomps her hooves into the table, her face contorting as she holds back tears. The restaurant quiets at the sudden out burst, all eyes on her. Vinyl, for her part, holds back tears as she runs out of the restaurant.

“Vinyl no, wait!” I call out, going to chase her, before stopping to reach into my pocket and toss a few bits at Joe, enough for Vinyl’s and my orders, then turn back and follow the fleeing mare. I burst through the door, shaking my head from side to side and eventually seeing a white blur running down the street to my right. Swiftly, I turn on my hooves and begin chasing after the mare, slowly gaining on her as I blast past ponies in my way, mumbling apologies, but nothing further.

Eventually, I follow her into Canterlot Park, a large greenery set in the center of the city. As I run past the many trees and bushes that litter the area, I eventually lose track of the mare. Cursing to myself, I begin to search... before a soft cry hits my ears. I follow the sound, and eventually, find my target, crying softly behind a bush. With soft hooves, I trot over and sit next to the saddened mare, waiting for her to be good enough to talk. Eventually, she seems to compose herself enough, wiping her muzzle with the back of her hoof, before curling up into a ball, her gaze trailed at the ground.

“Sorry about that…” She sniffs. “I just… I just didn’t want to make a scene.”

I softly smile at the mare. “It’s okay, I just wanted to make sure that you were alright.” I paused, reviewing her outburst thus far. “And… and I’m sorry that you haven’t had as much luck as I have, but trust me when I say that your talent soon will be recognized! Your sound is amazing, far more unique than anypony else I’ve ever heard!”

“Yeah, that’s all well and good, but nopony seems to want to hire a highschool dropout full time! It doesn’t matter how good I am, everypony just can’t seem to see past that…”

I bite my lip, at a loss for words. I had seen her at the club many times before, but… I had always thought that she had something more permanent somewhere else and just spotlighted here. Crap, I really feel bad for her. “I… I’m sorry, Vinyl. I had always thought…” I let out a sigh. “I know I may not seem like I have room to talk, but I’ve been where you are now. But eventually I got lucky and things got better. I have faith that with your skill you’ll become even bigger than me! All you have to do is just not give up.”

Vinyl’s gaze lifts from the grass and up to me, her eyes red, but filled with hope. “Thanks, Neon. I really needed that.” She sniffs again, before letting out a quiet chuckle. “It’s kinda funny that I hated you the first time I met you. So confident, so passionate, and so successful. I figured that you were like all of the other stuck up ponies in this town, thinking that you were better than everypony else, but when I got to know you I learned that I was wrong. You’re just… I don’t know, normal!”

I let out a laugh of my own, shaking my head. “I am far, far from normal. Hell, I’m the strangest person I know!”

“Okay, I guess ‘normal’ was the wrong word. More, like… I don’t know! Down to earth, I guess? You’re actually a big deal, and you act as if you were just like everypony else. Canterlot is many things, but humble is not one of them.”

I take a moment to take that in, and I have to admit she’s right. Usually anypony who’s anypony flaunts their status and fame as if it was a contest. Me, well, I never cared for titles. I played because I wanted to, it was just a bonus that a lot of ponies liked what I did.

A thought suddenly popped into my mind, and I couldn’t help but smirk. “Hey, Vinyl?”

“Hmm?”

“How would you like to become my assistant?”

Her eyes went wide. “Really?! That would be awesome!” she screamed as she reached over and pulled me into a hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

I chuckled, pushing the mare off of me. “Okay, okay! That’s enough,” I chuckled. “I’ve got the showmanship, and you have the musical talent. I believe that, together, we can blast the rest of the competition away!” I got up. “Now, I have a performance tomorrow at ten, and I want you to be at the club by at least eight so we have plenty of time to practice and get everything worked out. That work for you?”

Vinyl nodded, getting to her hooves as well. “Yeah, that would be perfect,” she said with a smile, her eyes still a little red, but all other signs of her previous sadness seemed to disappear. “Thank you so much for this, and I won’t let you down!”

I nodded. “I know you won’t. Now, let’s quickly head back to the club so I can tell the boss about this…”

Vinyl and I made our way back to the club and talked things out with Big Time. As I expected, the stallion was all for the idea, even going as far as saying that he would have hired Vinyl full time if he would have had the room. Vinyl, for her part, seemed to completely bounce with excitement at the opportunity, and I honestly lost track at how many ‘thank yous’ she had given both me and Big Time.

Afterward, though, Big Time pulled me aside and said that he would need to cut my salary slightly to afford my new assistant, but I was fine with it, as even the resulting pay was still above what I needed to live comfortably. After that, I had waved Vinyl goodbye as she went to go and do… something, I don’t know, while I decided to just head back to my apartment, which is where I was now.

I trotted through my apartment door and flopped onto my couch, pulling out my phone and ordering a pizza. After the promise of food had been ordered, I took a second to reflect on my day thus far… then laughed.

I don’t know how long I laughed for, all I knew was that my sides hurt afterward.

Somehow, without even trying, I had managed to make a friend. Not only that, I had managed to also help out said friend by making my life easier at the club. Had I known that it would be that easy to make a friend, I should have done so a long time ago.

As my laughter subsided, I was soon filled with the feeling of, ‘Now what?’ I mean, there was a crap ton I could do. I could work on a track for tomorrow, finally finish assembling that tube amp that sat in my workshop, or I could do the lazy thing and watch TV and eat pizza.

The last option was starting to become quite tempting… Oh, what the hell!

I deserved a day off.

Act III - Chapter: 15 - Family Matters

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter: 15 - Family Matters

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

“Okay… easy does it, now…” I mumbled as I slowly levitated the last tube into place for the new tube amplifier that I had finished building. To those technologically impaired, a tube amplifier is like a normal amplifier, except it uses electron tubes instead of transistors to up the voltage of the input. Now, the advantage of a tube amp over a normal one was that a tube amplifier gives an analog output rather than a digital one, making sounds clearer and precise. The downside is an increase in distortion, but I digress.

Anyways! I slowly lowered the tube into its place, making sure to get every pin went down strait. I would use my hooves, but the oils from the could cause it to, you know, explode. Which was not good.

Slowly, the pins slid into place, and I let out a sigh as began to wiggle it down tighter.

Pop!

“Fuck!” I screamed, the sudden sound and flash scaring me enough to make me not only jump, but also throw the tube in the process. I watched in almost slow motion as the very expensive, and essential, piece of my hardware fly through the lair and crash onto the ground.

My lip curled under as I couldn’t help but whimper at the sight.

“Oh… Did we scare you again?” a voice called from behind me.

I nodded.

“And…. and did we cause you to accidentally break your, uh… thing?”

I nodded.

“Oh… do you… do you want a moment.”

I nodded again, sniffing a few times as I mourned over hours of works. After all but a funeral service, I rotated in my workbench seat to come face to face with a blushing and guilty looking unicorn.

“S-sorry about that, Neon… We should have listened when you told us not to ‘pop in out of nowhere and scare the shit out of me,’” Midnight mumbled apologetically, her gaze locked on the floor.

I let out a sigh, shaking my head. “Yes, that would be nice, but don’t feel bad about this. What is done is done.” I took a deep breath, wiping my aggravation and sadness away and replacing them with my normal, bubbly attitude. “So, how are things at the castle?”

It had been about three days since the last time I had seen the mare, to which she sent many a letter detailing her apologies for, but it appears that she had managed to clear some time in her schedule, a prospect that I was extremely grateful to hear.

“Busy, as usual. Many of our ponies feel that it is the government's duty to solve their petty disputes. Sometimes we fear they lack the ability to solve their own problems…” Midnight shakes her head sadly. “But, we guess it is better than dealing with war, or disputes between neighboring nationions.”

I nod with a laugh. “Okay, okay. I gotta ask: What is the most ridiculous thing you have ever had to deal with in court?” I really had to ask. I mean, there has to be some funny moments wrapped up in there, somewhere.

Midnight sat on her haunches, bringing a hoof to her chin as she sat in contemplation. “Well, there was this one stallion who wished to secede for our nation to create his own, to which both our sister and we could not help but laugh at.”

“Wow, why did he want to do that in the first place?”

“He believed that we would eventually become tyrants and take over our nation as a dictatorship, a blasphemous idea!” Midnight scoffed. “The nerve of a pony to believe we would be so cruel, especially after all we have done to preserve freedom, in our home state and others!”

Yikes, that must have hurt… time to switch the subject! “So, Midnight, did you have any plans for today, or do you want to make it up as we go?”

Midnight shrugged. “Nothing in specifics. We wished to simply relax with our romantic companion and enjoy the day in relative comfort,” Midnight spoke, before hastily adding, “if that is okay with you, that is!”

I nodded. “Yeah, that sounds great! I don’t have work today so we can hang out for the entire day if you want… How’s about we chill here for a little bit, order in some food, and just relax for the afternoon, then go somewhere ‘fancy’ or something for dinner.”

“We would like that very much, Neon,” Midnight said with a smile, one that I couldn’t help but melt at. Celestia damned it, she was so adorable!

I got up from my chair and wrapped the mare into a hug, pulling her in close before pulling back just enough to place a quick, passionate kiss on her lips. “To the couch?” I spoke as I got up and trotted over to the comfy piece of furniture.

Midnight followed, and we both hopped on before entangling our bodies in a cocoon of each other's embrace, her head snuggling into my chest with my hooves gently wrapped around her waist. I had never been one for snuggling before, but I would definitely consider myself one now. I don’t care if it’s not ‘manly’ or anything like that; it was awesome, being able to almost be one with somepony who you felt completed you, as if completing the bond that we shared. And that, my friends, is worth losing some manly points in my book.

As we layed there, I levitated my phone over and ordered us a pizza. To my surprise, but enjoyment, Midnight said she was a huge fan of the ‘modern cuisine’, saying that it was her favorite food that she had tried since she had returned. After that, Midnight and I just remained together on the couch, enjoyed each other’s warmth and proximity. A large smile on each of our faces.

But, everything has to come to an end, as a knock on the door signaled our pizza was here. Groaning, I gently tapped Midnight, who seemed to have fallen asleep. “Food’s here. I’m gonna go grab it and be right back,” I muttered softly, to which Luna nodded. Slowly, I untangle our bodies before making my way towards the door.

I was actually quite impressed at how fast they had managed to get here, only taking about ten minutes instead of the usual half an hour. Another knock on the door, and I quickened my pace, opening the door wide. “Sorry about that, you guys usually aren’t… this… fast…”

My jaw dropped, eye twitching at the sight of the pony standing just outside of my threshold… a pony who I had not seen, by design, in a long, long time. Through gritted teeth, and a fake smile, I spoke.

“Hey… Mom.”

There is a lot that you don’t know about me, especially about my past, and there is a reason for that. We all grow up differently, with different families in different places and in different situations. I had tried to forget that part of my life, leaving the past in the past and only focusing on the future.

But, my past had finally caught up with me, and was currently standing in front of me.

My mother was an average sized mare, her mane a dark silver and her coat was only a few shades lighter than mine. On her flank was a pair of conductors batons crossed, magic radiating from one to the other.

“Neon! It has been ages since I have seen you!” The mare called out, lunging forwards and pulling me into a strong hug. “I’ve missed you so much.”

I embraced the mare. “Nice to see you too, mom,” I spoke, my words betraying my true inner feelings.

“Neon? Who is that at the door?” Midnight called from the couch, lifting her head to see me and the mare at the door.

Before I could say anything, my mother jumped from my embrace and ran over to my filly friend, standing just in front of her. “Oh my! You must be my son’s filly friend!” She squeed, reaching over and taking Midnight’s hoof, shaking it rapidly. “As you may have guessed, I am his mother, Symphony!”

Midnight was taken back by the upfront mare, but I think her years of being a princess helped her keep her composure as my mother berated her with questions. I slowly trotted back over to the couch, sitting down next to Midnight and waiting for my mother to stop questioning her, which she sure did.

“And how did you meet?” my mother asked.

“Well, I decided to attend one of his ‘gigs’, as he calls it, at the club and he found me, coming right up to me and asking if I was okay, as I was not used to the environment and was quite nervous,” Midnight said calmly, turning to flash me a smile. “Our relationship developed from there.”

My mother clopped her hooves together. “Oh! What a gentlemen!” she began, “And you also said you were an astronomer, correct?”

Midnight nodded. “Yes, our job is observing celestial behavior, both charting and categorizing our findings.”

“Our?” my mom asked.

Midnight shook her head, to my surprise, quite collectively responding, “Sorry, old habit. I used to speak for the entire division rather than just myself, and the habit just grew from there.”

As I sat and listened, I couldn’t help but try and guess my mother’s game. There were many things that made my mother unique, patterns that she never deviated from, and one of them was never, ever doing anything without a purpose. She was not a random pony, as she may have seemed.

My curiosity on the point finally won out as I inquired about this. “So, Mom, what brings you to Canterlot?”

My mother stopped her conversation with Midnight to shake her head and chuckle. “My apologies, I did not mean to digress,” she began. “Your father and I were here on business and decided to visit our son! Is that a crime?”

I shook my head. “No, not at all. Just a little unexpected, that’s all,” I spoke flatly.

A silence swarmed over the room, one that none could have welcomed more them me. But, it was soon broken as my mother stood up. “Well, I’m sorry to say but I must be going! Much to do and much to see!” She started to head for the door, before turning and saying. “Neon, would you see me out?”

My eye twitched, but I stood up and walked my mother to the door, seeing her out. “Goodbye, mother,” I spoke clearly.

As soon as she was out of view of Midnight, her bubbly face turned serious, her happy-go-lucky tone dropping almost immediately. “We have a private dinner reserved at the Puis Fantaisie Poney tonight at eight, you will attend. And no guests will be aloud, I am afraid.”

With that said, the bubbly personality returned and she smiled and gave me a hug before trotting away. I waved her away, before turning and slamming the door as I entered the room, my usual carefree nature disappearing as a neutral expression invaded my face.

I didn’t like to get angry.

As I flopped on a neighboring chair, Midnight spoke, “I sensed no hostility from the mare, but your demeanor says differently… if we may inquire, what is the cause of your strife against your parent?”

I took a deep breath, hesitant, but knowing all too well that getting this off my chest would only help me. “Luna, there is a lot about my parents that nopony can see except me.” I sighed, my face falling. “I… I want to talk about it, but…”

“You are ashamed.”

I nodded. “Yeah…”

A silence fell over the room as I delved into thought, mental conflict and old wounds reopening at the simple return of one pony. Midnight, for her part, stood there silently. Not interuption, not questioning, just giving me time to think.

I appreciated that.

Finally, my will folded and I let out a long, slow sigh. “My parents are control freaks. They may not seem like it, but they need to make sure that everything and everyone does exactly what they want it to happened when it needs to happen. It’s a good quality for being a conductor, as my mother is, and also in being a stage manager, like my father, but not in being a parent…” I lowered my head, repressed memories I thought I had gotten rid of flooding back. “I… I was supposed to be a protege; a glorious creation of two ‘great’ individuals, but apparently I wasn’t good enough… They made me learn how to play every damned instrument in their orchestra! I practiced until my hooves bleed, I studied as hard as I could in school because ‘a good mind is the missing piece for a whole body’, and I attended every. Single. Concert they brought my too!” I screamed, sitting up in my chair and seething as I shared death at the floor. “And not once, once, did they ever give me credit! It was always, ‘again’ or, ‘not good enough’!”

I could not hold back my anger anymore, stepping off of the padded chair and kicking it over. Midnight stared at me with shock, but did not flinch. But, I did not look in her direction, my gaze continued to be glued onto the floor. “But, it didn’t end there…” I began again. “My father was a violent stallion, but he kept it in control when he was near other ponies, and when he was sober. But when he drank, and all eyes were off… he didn’t care what he did.” I shuddered, my back hurting from the phantom pain. “And my mother… she was worse. She may never have laid a hoof on me, but she was far, far worse. She demanded perfection, she was the one who forced my every waking moment to be filled with practice for instruments that I hated. I was good, probably the best, but I never cared. All I could think of was that I wasn’t good enough for them. At first, I thought it was my fault, then I just got angry. Angry at everything, everyone, anything I could get my hooves on. I never hurt anypony, though. If they taught me one thing it was how evil anger could be. I don’t get angry, because what I hate most in this world is that vile emotion!”

I stood in the middle of my room, my breath panting and my body heaving as anger overtook it. I wanted to scream, to throw something, but I did what I always did and curled up into a ball, my hooves and legs tightly wrapped at my chest. I didn’t cry, as I was not saddened by anything. No, I curled myself there because then I couldn’t hurt anypony. I didn’t care what happened to me, I’d learned to deal with the pain, but I would never, ever inflict it onto somepony else.

As I layed there, I soon felt something curl up next to me. Soft, gently hooves wrapped around me and held me close, and I only curled up tighter. “Please, just go away, Luna. I just need to calm down; I don’t want to hurt you.”

But, my word fell on deaf ears as the hooves held me tighter, her head gently nuzzling my side. I expected her to act like all the others that I’ve told, my friends and therapists alike. ‘It wasn’t your fault,’ or, ‘It’ll get better,’ or some other bull! But, to my surprise, the mare remailed silent, simply holding me while the anger slowly faded.

We laid there, for how long I don’t know, and for the first time in my life I felt the anger just… wash away. Usually it remained, building up until I eventually had one my ‘mental breakdowns’ or, as my parents called it, ‘temper tantrum’.

Finally, Luna broke the silence and spoke, her voice soft and gentle. “You have endured a lot, suffered more than any child should, but I must say one thing about you that we find remarkable: you did not give in. We know anger, and we know hatred, but we have never seen somepony with so much to be angry about, yet not give into it. You are strong, taking the harder path of enduring instead of giving up. But… there is more to your story that you have not told, and we wish to hear it.”

I… I didn’t know how to respond to her words. So, I just did what she said, and continued my story. “When I turned eighteen, I ran away. I grew up in manehattan, and had to hitch hike my way across the country until I ended up in Canterlot. My parents tried to bring me back, to save ‘their investment’, but I never looked back. And, so, with not a bit to my name I managed to get a few odd jobs, until eventually getting a scholarship to the Canterlot University of Music. I had to work, like, three jobs, and constantly search for more money, but I did it… I graduated, got hired by big time, and that’s where I am now.” I let out a loud sigh, my anger now gone. I turned to face the mare spooning my back, pulling her close. “I don’t know what my parents want now, but my mom wants me to meet them alone at a private dinner tonight and… and I’m…” I took a deep breath, finally whispering, “Afraid…”

Midnight raised her head from my chest and looked me in the eyes. “You are afraid of facing them?”

I shook my head. “No, and nothing I can do can change their minds. It’s not me they hate, but themselves. No matter what I do, I will never meet or beat what they expect of me. All I can do now is avoid them like the plague and forget what they… what they did to me.”

“Then, perhaps, the only way to beat this is to prove yourself to the only person who matters.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And who would that be?”

Midnight raised a hoof, poking at my chest. “You.”

I couldn’t help but smile. I guess… I guess that really is all that matters.

I pulled the mare into my hooves tighter, holding her protectively, never wanting to let go. “Thank you, Luna… Thank you.”

The mare only embraced me back, no words were shared, nor needed to be.

“Do you want us to come with you?” Midnight said from the silence. “You need not face them alone, as you have me now. You were there when I confronted my demons, so I believe I should return the favor.”

My mother's words about not bringing company still rang through my head but at the same time Luna’s words sung louder.

“I… I would like that.”

Midnight and I stood outside the Puis Fantaisie Poney, the fancy, finely constructed architecture that composed of the outside entrance taking up my field of view. Though it was beautiful, what was hidden within was what scared me. I was finely dressed in my best suit, the one hand tailored, and my usually wild mane was neatly combed back. To my right stood a, well, godess! Both literal and metaphorically. After my… moment, the pizza had come and both me and Midnight ate, and soon afterward she told me she would be, ‘right back’, and teleported away. Four and a half hours later, she reappeared wearing, well, this! The dress was an amazing shade of blue, matching her coat perfectly. Silver tendrils ran all along its length while precisely punched out portions composed it to look like the night sky. I had asked, after I snapped out of my initial shock, where she had gotten it, to which she replied, ‘a friend of a friend.’

Anyways, we now stood in front of the restaurant, Midnight patiently waiting by my side as I prepared myself for the encounter.

“Okay, I’m ready,” I said aloud, looking to Midnight for support.

The mare nodded, holding my hoof as I escorted her to the desk attendant.

“Reservations?” The stallion who stood at said desk spoke, his accent posh and reserved.

I didn’t like it.

I cleared my throat. “Neon Lights.”

The stallion looked over some papers, before nodding. “Yes, right this way, Mr. Lights,” he drawled, motioning for us to follow as she turned and trotted into the restaurant. Midnight and I followed, remaining just behind the stallion as he lead us through the fancy eatery, passing nobles and elites alike. Soon, we made it to a private, cut off portion of the restaurant, separated by a single door. The waiter opened the door and motioned inside, to which I nodded thanks and entered.

The inside of the private room was what you would expect: expensive. Expensive painting, expensive carvings, expensive table. Hell, even expensive silverware! And that was just what I could see! Anyways, I trotted through the threshold and instantly noticed my parents sitting at the dinner table. My mom was sitting patiently on one side of the table, while on the other, looking pissed off as usual, was my father. He was a slightly larger than the normal stallion, but was well toned from years of physical work. Yes, he did manage the stage and everything, but he never wanted to look weak so he made sure to, at least, be one of the strongest stallions in the room. His coat was a light blue, with a dark black main. His cutie mark was of stage lights shining down on a pair of moneybags.

They were soon to notice me, my mother perking up instantly while my father merely gave me a half-hearted glance.

“Neon! It’s about time you got here! You’re already five minutes late and–” her voice cut off as soon as she saw Midnight, her scolding expression instantly flipping back to its bubbly state. “And you’ve left your dear parent waiting!” she finished, pulling a complete one-eighty.

My dad even perks up a little at the site, rather because of Midnight’s stunning appearance for for show was beyond me. “I thought you told him to come alone, honey,” my father spoke to my mother in a gruff voice. Not threatening, but still commanding.

My mother rolled her eyes. “I did mention that, dear, but i’m guessing that he wanted to bring his date.”

Midnight, for her part, used her formal speaking pattern to her advantage, as well as keep a calm, collective composure. “I am sorry to intrude, but it is my fault. Tonight is the only night me and Neon are free to eat together, so I may have asked to tags along.”

It was a good lie, as it was half-true. My parent seemed to buy it, or at least didn't press the issue any further. “That’s fine, dear, it was just supposed to be a family dinner, but it would be rude to ask you to leave now.” She motioned for us to sit, which we did.

Almost instantly the door opened and several waiters trotted in, each bringing some sort of fancy appetizer or something… I don't know, it looked small and expensive. Anyways, they place the food on the table before leaving, the door shutting signaling my mother to speak.

“Well, Neon, as I have told you me and your father have come to canterlot on business, but upon which business I have yet to say,” my mother began, taking a dainty bite of… it, before chewing, swallowing, taking a sip of wine, then continuing, “and that business is about you.”

I could have never guessed… I mentally deadpaned. “If you don't mind me asking, but what specifically? I though since you disowned me you didn't want anything to do with me?” I spoke, shocking myself at how direct I was.

My mother seemed shocked too, take a moment before speaking again. “Well, uh…”

“You were an ungrateful brat who ran away, we were mad and sad what we said because it was how you treated us,” my father finished bluntly, nodding his peace.

My eye twitched. “I left because you were driving me crazy!” I spoke, louder than before. “How many times did I have to tell you I didn't want to play before you got it?!”

“As many as it took to get you to see reason!” my father commanded, hitting his hoof against the table.

My mom gave him a stern look, before looking softly at me. “Neon, we’re worry, we truly are. We want to make amends, for all those years we put you through so much stress.”

I… What? They wanted too… What?! “A-apologize?” I stuttered out, not believing what was being said.

“Yes, honey, we wanted to apologize to you for that, and to make it up to you we set you up as a first chair player for any of the Royal Canterlot Orchestra!”

The room went silent, her excitement fading against my lack of a reaction.

“Neon, did you hear what I said? First chair!” she repeated.

“Listen to your mother, boy!” My father commanded.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I heard her, and though I appreciate the gesture, I respectfully decline.”

Silence, again.

“W-what?!” My mother cried out. “After all the work I went through you refuse?!”

“I’m sorry, mom, but I meant what I said, I don't want to play anymore. I like electronic music, and I love the club. I’m happy where I am, and although I appreciate it, I do respectfully decline,” I stated, matter-of-factly.

My mother looked in shock, while my father looked… Well, pissed as usual. “How can you chose to work at that… That hovel rather the the most prestigious musical organization in all of Equestria?!” My mom called out. “It's ludicrous!”

“Because I just do! I get to make ponies feel better, give them a place of release. And although the Orchestra does similar, it's not the same feel for me. It's not just the music that sends the message—it's the atmosphere, the light, sounds, and even smells! That how I like to play music, with all senses and just just one.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I've ever heard!” my father called out. “We traveled all the way over here to forgive you for your stupidity, and your throw away something we worked really hard to set up?!”

“If you’d listen, you’d hear that I appreciate the offer, but it's not for me!”

“If you’d listen you’d hear what a horrible son you're being!”

I slammed down on the table. “Listen!” I screamed. “Can you two get your heads out of your asses and think about what I want for once?! I don't want this, you do. You wanted me to become a famous musician, not me. You made me practice, I didn't chose too. And now I chose for myself!”

My father stood up, looking me dead in the eyes. “You sit your ass back down before I put it down for you. You’re taking this position and that’s final.”

I looked him back, for once in my life not backing down at the stallions command. “No.”

His eye twitched. “What?”

“I said, no, old man.”

“Don't talk to your father that way!” My mom chimed in.

“Honey, I got this!” He called to her. “Now, you are going to accept this position, or we will make sure you never work in this city again. We have powerful friends, you know this, and we will blacklist you from Canterlot.”

“My boss would never do something like that!” I retorted.

My father chuckled. “Yes, but there are ponies higher up they your boss, there always is. After all, it's Canterlot! Now, accept or get out…”

I… Shit. I went quiet, not knowing what to say. I didn't question my father word, as I knew it was true. I bit my lip, considering my next words. But, luckily, I didn't have to answer for myself.

“I’m sorry, but Neon has already refused your offer,” Midnight chimed in. She had remained quiet for almost the entire argument, and I had actually forgotten she was there. Now, however, she made herself known, standing proudly besides me. “He has already told you, numerous times, that although he appreciates the gesture, he will respectfully decline.”

It was finally my mother turn to stand up, her patience and resolve faded and she had no problem breaking her facade to yell back at Midnight. “Excuse me, but this is a family matter. Please stay out of this.”

Midnight didn't flinch. “No, this is a matter between adults, and a threatening one, no less. I suggest you leave Neon alone and leave this city.”

My mother scoffed, and my dad outright laughed. “Oh! Now you have your stargazing filly friend speaking for you?” my father laughed out. “Keep out of this, lady. Go look at stats or something.”

I looked wide eyes ahead. Not at my parents, but at Midnight. They didn't knew who my filly friend really was, and with both fear and excitement they were getting dangerously close to finding out.

“I believe we are done here,” Midnight spoke, grabbing my hoof and turning us away, beginning to walk away. I remained quiet, following her lead.

“Where do you think you’re going?!” My father cried, rushing forwards and blocking the door. “We aren't done here!”

Midnight glared neutrally at my father. “Yes, we are. Now move before you get hurt.”

He laughed, chuckling loudly. “And how are you going to that, little mare?”

And then, Luna snapped…

The inside of Puis Fantaisie Poney was peacefully quiet, as usual. Guests are, a string quartet played in the background, and five star food was served to ponies of all the highest positions. The entire scene sensed to represent the feeling of peace and prosperity.

But, like all things, it couldn't last forever, as that peace was interrupted by a stallion sent flying all the way across the main dining areas, impacting and cracking the far wall of the fancy restaurant. All eyes went from their food and to the stallion embedded in the wall, then following his launch path to the large hole in the wall that leads to the private dining area. If one was to peek in, they would see a very horrified unicorn conductor, a wide eyed DJ, and a petite Astronomer who looked quite pleased with herself.

“We believe he as been taken care of,” Midnight spoke, staring out the gaping hole in the wall. “Mother of Neon, we wish you a good feast, as we will not be partaking in any.”

She then turned to me. “Come on, Neon, let us make our leave,” she spoke, grabbing my hoof and pulling me through the hole.

I nodded dumbly, staring at the unconscious, but still breathing, from of my father on the opposite wall. “Oh… Okay…” I mumbled, taking my gaze away, shaking my head as a smile crept up across my face as I finally snapped out of my daze. “Yes, let's get out of here. Pizza?”

She nodded. “That would be delightful.”

And with that, we both trotted out of the restaurant, my mother trying to remove my father from the drywall, while all eyes remaining on us until we were out of sight.

“I can't believe you through him through the wall!” I laughed out, trotting closely by Midnight as we trotted to a more proper eatery, a twenty four hour pizza place.

Midnight furrowed her brow. “We believed he had it coming! A father talking so selfishly to his son, as well as blocking our path.” She snorted.

I chuckled, shaking my head. “In all honesty, that could have gone better, but at least now I think my parents will finally decide to leave me alone,” I said, before adding. “Although, I hope they don’t press charges…”

Midnight chuckles. “Do not worry about that, Neon, as we have already taken care of that. If he tries anything, we will make sure it won’t head to court, as technically we don’t exist.” She shrugs. “And fear not about your parents threats of exile, as we would not let that happen as long as we shall breath.”

I smiled, pulling midnight into a side hug, to which she responded by nuzzling my shoulder. I smiled, guiding us forwards down the street, before turning and heading into our new, more preferred restaurant. It didn’t take long for us to be seated, to which we were given our fair share of strange stares at our more regal attire.

Although, me and Midnight could care less.

Our food was served almost as fast as we were seated, with both of us digging into our shared veggie pizza. Although we had magic to assist us, pizza still had a bad habit of getting, well, everywhere, but we had managed to isolate the affected area to our faces. After all had been eaten, we both shared a good laugh at how me messy the other one was, and I even got her to blush the deepest I’ve ever seen when I leaned forwards and licked some off her muzzle.

After the food was finished, and the bill was payed, my and Midnight headed home. The streetlights lit up the dark sidewalk, lighting the way as we trot closely besides each other, our body's almost one as, our tails intertwined.

As we trotted towards home, I couldn't help but look at the beautiful night sky, it's beauty reminding me of the mare that trotted right besides me. “Hey, Midnight?”

“Hmm?” she answered, her eyes closed as she relied on my guidance to move our collective forwards.

“How… how do you make the sky so beautiful?” I ask, genuinely curious.

The mare smiles. “It's not my doing, the beauty relies on a balance that I only help maintain, not create. Every star, planet, and moon has its own place, their balance designed by the physics that hold our, and all other, universes together.”

Huh… that’s an interesting thought. “So… You make sure that we don't die from some cosmic event?” I ask.

Midnight nods. “Yes. It is minute corrections that help hold backs our systems collapse. Magic, itself, is random, and needs some direction every once in awhile.”

I smiles, looking up at the stars with a further appreciation. “Harmony is beautiful…” I muttered, to which Midnight nodded in agreement.

Today has been… Interesting, to say the least. What started off good, turned bad, then turned scary, then turned good again. But, even when it was at its worst, I still had the mare who trotted beside me for support, allowing my a feeling of comfort and peace I had never truly felt before.

I had helped her fight her demons and, in return, she helped me fight mine… I didn't want to say it earlier, as to jinx things, but now I know one thing for certain, a fact that I had suspected for a while now, but only truly knew for certain now.

I love Luna.

Arc III - Interlude: 5 - Nightmares of the Past

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Interlude: 5 - Nightmares of the Past

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

“Again!” my mother yelled, her baton smacking against her podium. “You were flat! Play. It. Again!”

‘Again’… that cursed word again. It only brought with it more pain, more practice. Again and again, I brought the bow across the string, a reed to my lips, or a stick in my hoof. I hated it, I hated every single damned practice!

But, I couldn't say, no… I could never say, no.

Again, I brought the bow to my hoof, Violin to my shoulder. I hated strings the most. All other just got me winded, but these… They made me bleed. Calloused hooves from years of never ending practice pressed down on the strings, rosined bow drawn across the strings.

I played.

I was good, even though nopony ever told me I was. It was always, ‘not good enough’, or, ‘could be better.’ There was never any release, each day brought with it only more pain…

My music was a lie.

The happy, carefree notes flew across the sky, traveling where they pleased, bringing joy to those it touched. While I, the creator of the music, felt nothing!

Another sour note, a fault in the perfection. I lowered the violin and waited for the word…

“Again!”

Packed theatre, empty music. Every note played was perfect, executed with the precision of a master. But, the song sounded hollow. Perfection went so far, it was the imperfections that made a piece unique, added that which made it unique.

She didn't see that.

When it ended, all applauded. I smiled, bowed, and trotted off stage.

I would win, as usual. I would get the trophy, my mom would tell me I could do better, and my dad… Well, I knew what was coming next. It was Wednesday, halfway through the week…

That’s when he was at his worst.

But, until then, I smiled and waved, accepting what I had ‘earned’.

It didn't matter.

When I went home, the cycle would continue…

“Again!”

School; sanctuary.

Here, I was free from the gripping claws of my parents. They watched over me, but I could avoid them if I did good.

I always did good.

School was easy for me, math and science clicking in my brain with ease. But, what I excelled at was building. In art class, I couldn’t draw to save my life. But, I could make amazing 3D creations. Towers out of nothing but paper that could support the weight of a student, catapults and other simple machines that could do amazing things!

But they didn’t care.

I’d bring them home something I built, something I created with my own hooves, but they always responded in the same, ‘That’s nice, now go practice.’

High school was where things changed.

I went to a private high school, one for ‘gifted’ students such as myself. Classes were tougher, but I didn’t mind.

What I liked was the freedom.

I got to choose the classes I could take, focus on the subjects that I wanted to learn.

I had a choice.

I chose science, specifically engineering. They let me build so much, craft wonderful creations with my own hooves. The teachers praised me, for once somepony recognized me for something other than my music.

It was nice.

Home, I still practiced, but at school, I could play.

I got a taste of freedom, a taste of what it was like to chose for myself.

I craved that freedom.

But, like all good things, it came to an end.

When high school ended, my parents told me that I had to attend a musical college, the best in the nation. I didn’t want to go, but I didn’t have a choice.

Or did I?

I chose my own path, made my own decision.

I ran.

Far away, I ran. Fleeing from the grips of my family’s influence. I had little money, no social skills, but I did have one thing: drive.

I had fight.

I fought my way across the nation, picking myself back up every time I fell. I slept in gutters, I was beaten, I starved, I froze, but I kept going.

Then, I got to Canterlot.

I was a shadow of my former self when I arrived at the front gate, dirty and almost a skeleton. I had exhausted my funds, but looking up at the city, I could only see hope.

A fresh start.

And I used that hope to get my fresh start.

I worked. I worked hard. Day after day, job after job, I worked. I saved, slowly working my way off the streets. When I had enough to function, I set off to make my own choice, to decide for myself where I wanted to go from there.

I went to college.

It took every penny I had, night after night of filling up scholarships, practically begging for funds.

But it paid off.

I got in, accepted into the Canterlot University of Music.

It was a musical College, but one that offered much more beyond just that. I had talent in music, I couldn’t deny that, but I close to find my own style, make my own path.

And I did.

I found modern music, a style that I had never known before. I loved it, falling in love with it almost immediately.

But that wasn’t all.

They had engineering, an entire department dedicated to the creation of technology. I took one class… then two… then three… and I just kept going. Creation music may have been fun, but creating something that I could touch, well… that was something else all together.

I graduated. After four years of working my flank off, I graduated. Valedictorian of my class, a title that I earned because I wanted it, not somepony else. I earned my education because I wanted it, not for anypony else.

I was free.

But… where did I go after that?

I had debt, lots of it. I went back to my normal, part-time jobs to help pay off my debt.

Then he found me.

While I was busing tables, he found me.

The owner of a new club, Big Time, approached me and offered me a job as one of his DJ’s. I didn’t know what to say. I had learned the craft a college, and was hired by students constantly to DJ their parties. And, I guess, this stallion had heard about them, about me. He gave me a chance, one that I took.

And I made sure that I didn’t let him down.

Night after night, I played.

It started off as a part-time thing, just a filler in between sets of the most famous DJ’s. I liked it. It was fun and free.

And soon, there were ponies who were coming to see me, ponies that called themselves fans. My fans. I can still remember the first, a mare who came up to my booth just to say how awesome my playing was.

It was the greatest feeling I had ever had.

This went on, the crowd who came to listen to me growing bigger, and bigger. And one day my boss approached me and gave me my own time slot, making me an official DJ, and not just a filler.

It was amazing.

And from then on, I rocked my time frame. Those four hours that I had the club to myself, I made sure that everypony who came in felt as free as I was; felt the excitement, joy and ecstasy that I felt every single night.

Luna exited the dream realm, her magic severing the connection between her and the host. Her eyes slowly opened, her body uneasy as she adjusted her position in her bedroom chair. A frown fell across the princess’s face, guilty of intruding her friend’s, no, lover’s privacy filling her mind. It truly was a breach of privacy, intruding on another’s dreams without consent was an eon old rule that she had never broken… until now, that is. The midnight blue mare shifted again, her mental conviction made comfort a rarity.

‘Twas it wrong of us to do such? We worry about him, and sometimes the true problems are the ones we cannot put into words, she asked herself, trying to justify her actions. It seemed just at the time, the mental pain she had seen across her lover’s face after his mother had left was a sight she wished to never see again.

How could such a kind, loving colt have been treated so poorly? she thought, her face then scowling. ‘Twas the work of his… his parents which caused him this internal strife. Such vile acts on somepony!

Once again, the thought of more harsh action against the two ponies crossed the mare’s mind, evil thoughts of revenge and repentance for the sins they committed against their own child. But, like before, the anger was short lived, her oath as princess returning to the forefront of her mind: protect and defend.

Luna sighed, shaking her head solemnly. Her thoughts shifted from the two hated individuals, and back to the recipient of their abuse. The mare still found it hard to believe that Neon, a seemingly ray of bubbling sunshine, could have grown up from such a dark past. She was not new to this type of circumstance; family abuse has, sadly, existed for as long as the family itself. But, usually the victims of these types of trauma grew up to be spiteful individuals, either continuing the abuse with a family of their own, or letting the scars consume them, driving them into a pit of anger and hatred. Neon… Neon had neither. Sure, she could see the occasional inner strife, moments when his scars broke open and old pain returned, but he always just took the pain and moved on. It was not that he hid his sadness, or faked his happiness. He was… he was an anomaly.

Hoof to chin, the mare returned to her original point of intruding on her lover’s dreams, her tangent running on for far too long.

She had, essentially, broken into his dreams so she could see his raw, unbidden emotions. And, to her surprise, what she found was both disturbing, and admirable. Neon had gone through years of abuse, immense physical and mental stress applied to him at such an early age. She had seen the worse, but she had also seen the best. The victim was able to not only escape his abusers, but also use his past as fuel to write his future; his drive, dedication, and ethic that resulted was nothing short of admirable.

Originally, the princess had planned on using what she learned to better understand, and better aid, her love’s pain, but in the end she had learned something entirely different: he was a survivor. It was no wonder he was able to face the Nightmare for so long, fight off the demon from taking over for far longer than she could.

In the end, she believe that his background had only made him stronger. She had found new respect for the recipient of her love, not only that, but also admiration.

As the princess rose from her seat to finally return to her proper duties of the day, she could not help but have a smile on her lips.

Arc III - Chapter: 17 - Everything Changes [Progress: 25%]

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Arc III - Chapter: 16 - Sleep Well, My Love?

A DJ in the Night

By: Michael A

Chapter: 16 - Sleep well, my love?

[Romance][Slice-Of-Life]

Ugh… Why does my head hurt? I thought, my eyes slowly cracking open. Everything was a little swimmy, but it was quick to clear up. When I felt full cognate control return, I took the time to look around.

Okay… blue color scheme… royal architecture… large telescope in the middle…Okay, I know where I am!

Luna’s bedroom wasn't that hard to miss, as I had yet to find one even remotely close to it. I let out a groan, rolling over on my side, only to bump into something warm and soft. What the?

“Do you want to see the moon rise…?” Luna mumbled from her position beside me.

Oh, well, it looks like I'm sleeping beside Luna… sweet!

Okay, what was clear thus far was that I woke up next to Luna. Not a bad way to wake up, I must admit, but the foggy circumstances lessened my enjoyment of the moment. I let out a long breath, then took a deep inhale through my nose. I could smell the lingering scent of alcohol, which surprised me as, well, I didn't drink.

But, another pungent scent filled the air, one I had not smelled since university.

What the hell… Oh… Oh, shit!

I pulled up the covers and confirmed my suspicions.

I fucked a princess?!

Silent panic. That was the only thing that went through my mind. Not joy, or happiness. Just panic.

Now, I am not a pony who is known to do good under pressure. And right now, I had an elephant on top of me. The unknown was the most crushing force, as I could not, for the life of me, remember the events prior to now. I was known for blackouts, as my singular ‘experiment’ in uni had taught me, and considering the wafting aroma of alcohol, I'm sure this was the case.

I turned to the pony resting peacefully next to me. She was adorable, and still held a smile on her resting features, but I couldn't help but fear that it would not last once she was awoken. A relationship was one thing, but sex always complicated things.

That much I knew for certain.

I rubbed my muzzle. Okay, let's do the cleché thing and try to remember what happened. That works in the movies, so it has to work with me… right?

Right?!

[Earlier that day…]

The crowd cheered as I bounced off stage. I soaked up the applause like a greedy sponge as I trotted off towards the back room, intent on taking a much-needed rest. Once I pushed past the double doors, the crowd muffled considerably once they shut behind me, I face-planted on my couch and let out a long, exhausted sigh.

Damn, that was awesome… I thought as I lay there, snuggling into the well-used fabric.

It had been a good night, per usual. The crowd was happy, I was happy, and, hell, my boss was happy that I was now back without interruption for two whole weeks!

Speaking of time past, my parents hadn't bothered me yet, much to my confusion and relief. Sure, I loved the fact they left me alone, but it wasn't like them to just let things lie. They always got what they wanted, that much I knew for certain. Although being thrown through a wall may be a more powerful deterrent than I believed.

I let out a breathy laugh. Probably should have tried this earlier.

I shook my head, knowing that was never an option.

My wandering mind then shifted towards the individual who had thrown my father through the wall. I hadn't seen Luna since that night, after me and her had shared the rest of it together. Like usual there would be a lull before the next time we could spend together. I wasn't happy about this, but she was a princess, and it was just something I had to learn to live with.

I shook my head softly, then hugged my pillow. It wouldn't be long before our next ‘date’, as we had begun calling them, and Luna had promised something special this time. What exactly, I had no idea, but knowing the mare it would be something exciting, that much I knew.

“Wake up, our consort!”

Once again I found myself startled out of my wits, and my body plummeting towards the hardwood floor. And, for the thousandth time, my face met said floor.

“Ouch…” I grumbled.

“Oops… we must remember to not startle you.”

Ya think?! I thought though my actual words were a lot less rude. “It’s okay, Luna. I’m used to it by now,” I muttered as I rose to my hooves. I was soon facing to face with the familiar unicorn, and immediately gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “So, what brings you here?”

She blushed and turned away, but still kept a smile on her face. “Well, we finally got time off and… and wanted to see you. Has been dreadful waiting for the next time we could meet.” She brushed a bit of mane from her face, an action that almost made me have a heart attack from sheer adorableness.

“I've missed you too, Midnight,” I began with a wink. “So, you said a while ago you had something special planned?”

The mare perked up, almost as if she forgot her timid nature. “Oh, correct! We have a grand night planned! We even had our sister help with the planning, you see. So we are destined to have bounds of fun, yes?”

Oh, no… that’s not good. Celestia was a good ruler, don't get me wrong, but I questioned her definition of a ‘good time’. Especially considering she’s almost killed me several times. But, I didn't want to offend the mare, nor ruin the mood. She practically bounced with excitement, to which I couldn't help but smile at.

“Sounds like a plan,” I began, then took a quick a quick sniff. “Actually, let me shower first; I smell like, well, a wet horse.”

Luna took a sniff of her own, then took a step back in disgust. “Yes, we agree with that… worry not, this can be fixed!” she said before her horn lit up.

I raised an eyebrow at her meaning but was then flooded with water before I question. I looked up to see a cloud, of some sort, hovering over my head, and raining down water on me. My eyes went wide at the thought of this water damaging my equipment, but held back an outburst when I looked down to notice a pace of water on the floor. Somehow, the water seemed to evaporate before it hit the ground. Strange, given that it wasn't that hot…

The cloud soon poofed away, leaving me soaking wet. Again, before I could say anything, I watched as the water evaporated from my body and floated up, leaving me completely dry after only a few moments.

“All clean!” Luna chanted, before grabbing me with a hoof. “Now, come on, it is time for our first stop on tonight’s journey!”

For the third time I was left in a state of being unable to respond as the small mare dragged me forwards, and out of the back room…

“So, Midnight, ya gonna tell me where we’re going now?” I asked again, hoping to finally get an answer from the surprisingly secretive mare.

“Nope! It’s a surprise!” she responded, still bouncing forwards.

We had just exited the club and we're currently heading down Canterlot’s club district. Ponies of all ages and races trotted about, going from club to club. The moon hung high in the sky and cast a perfect aura that added to the atmosphere of the night. Besides me trotted the very mare whose domain we now stood in, thought in her secretive, disguised form of ‘Midnight’.

I had asked several times before, and gotten no answer about her big ‘plans’ for the night, only lead forwards down the street closely by her side.

“Ah! Here we are!” Midnight spoke, stopping in the middle of the street. I turned to where she was pointing.

A bar, really? I didn't question, only followed as she strode forwards. The bar in question was the Staggering Stallion, one of the most exclusive bars in all of Canterlot, and possibly Equestria. And if she was anyone else I would question how she got tickets, but this was Luna we were talking about.

We trotted past the large line in front of the bar and straight up to the bouncer. The large stallion stopped up, to which Midnight pulled out two lanyards, and the stallion then lets us in. She passed me one with her magic and I put it on, reading it before hoof: “V.I.P.”

I followed Midnight again as I was dragged inside of the bar, immediately blasted with the thumping of music. Now, this was a bar, not a club, so there was no dance floor—just a large bar and a lot of tables, with a DJ booth set up in the back. Didn't recognize the style, so it was probably someone new, or a house exclusive player.

“Come on!” Midnight called out over the music, dragging me over to the bar.

I followed and sat down next to her once we got here. I turned to the mare, eyebrow raised. “I don't mean to sound rude, but… is this the surprise?”

Midnight giggled. “No, silly! This is just stops one on our little Odyssey!” she began, before turning to the bartenders. “Five shots of Celestia's Royal each, please.”

The bartender nodded and trotted off to fetch her order.

I bit my tongue as the bartender came back. He rolled five gasses in front of Midnight and me respectively, then deftly poured each shot. Shit… I thought, looking at the amber liquid. I turned to the mare beside me. “Midnight I… I don't drink.”

She didn't seem phased. “We know this, but it's only one night! Please?” She looked at me pleading, and I found it impossible to say, ‘no.’

I let out a sigh of belief, then picked up the first glass in my magic. “Whelp, down the hatch… I guess.” I tipped the glass back and felt the warm liquid burn down my throat. I coughed but went for another shot.

After I had finished the row, I looked over to see five turned over glasses in front of a smug looking Midnight. “Round two?”

I felt a new warmth fill me, and a slight loosens in my resolve. “Yeah, why not.”

And thus, the night had begun…

I had… there had… damn.

An empty bottle of Celestia’s Royal remained stuck on my horn, much to me and Midnight’s attempts to remove it. It had been about… I don't know. An hour? Two? Pfffft! Who cares! We had been at the bar for a while, and the alcohol seemed to flow down easier as time went on. Hesitation slowly faded, and I found myself having to stop myself from asking for another glass.

But Midnight… damn, that filly can drink!

I watched from my perch next to the filly as the sucked down shot after shot, absolutely crushing the stallion who had challenged her to a drink-off.

“Go, Midnight! Whoooo!!!!” I cheered.

Midnight slammed down the last glass, smirking at the stallion who sat, wide-eyed, with five more glasses to go.

“How did you… How did a tiny ass mare like you beat me?!” he exclaimed.

Midnight smirked, but let out an adorable ‘hic!’ “That, my friend, is a secret.” She puts her hoof to his lips. “Shhhhhh…”

I let out a laugh and grab her shoulders. “Come on, Love. I think you’ve had enough.”

“Who wishes to challenge us next!” She cried out as she held her hooves in the air.

I pulled them back down.

“No… No. Didn't you… didn't you say there was more to this surprise?” I asked as I pulled her away from the bar, stumbling slightly as I did so.

The mare’s eyes went wide. “Oh, right! We almost forgot! Come on, Neon! We mustn't be late for our next stop!”

I turned her away from the bar and towards the door.

“Yes, it was this way! How could we have forgotten?”

I chuckled. “You silly mare…”

“Oooooouch!” I screamed, holding my head as Midnight tried to pull the bottle off with her magic.

“Hold still! If you keep moving, we’ll take your horn off with it!”

I tried not to move, but it was hard considering the mare was holding me by the unwanted peripheral, shaking me back and forth in vain hopes to loosen it. Soon, I heard a pop, and I flopped onto the ground with a loud ‘thud’.

“Huzza! You are free!”

“Yeah… thanks,” I muttered. I rubbed at my horn, that was now sore as hell and rose to my hooves. “No, where… where to now?”

“Dancing!”

“Dancing?”

“Dancing!”

“Okay,” I began, then stumbled slightly and had to catch myself on a nearby wall. “Where, exactly, are we going dancing?”

“Oh, some place called the, uh…” She put a hoof to her chin. “We do not recall its name, but it was highly recommended by our sister!”

Yeah… that’s reassuring… I thought, but kept a smile on my face. “Lead the way, Love.”

We never made it dancing. Instead, our staggering journey lead us to the gates of the castle.

“So… they really can't do anything? They have to stand… stand there like statues?”

Midnight giggled. “Yup! It's is their duty to represent the discipline of the guard! They must remain static at their post, no matter what!”

I tossed an egg up in the air with my magic. “This is gonna be awesome!”

“We agree! Now fire!”

They did not remain at their post!

“Midnight! You said they would remain in place!” I screamed as I ran as fast as my legs would carry me.

Midnight ran close beside me. “We thought they would!”

“Get back here, you two!” The pair of egg covered guards screamed, hot on our tail. “I’ll have both your heads!”

“Did we outrun them?” I asked as I panted.

“We… we believe so,” Midnight panted back. “Oh, look! Another bar!”

“A… Another!”

“Sir… I think you’ve had enough.”

“No! I demand another! I can still stand, so I can have more!”

“Sir, you’re on the floor…”

“I don't tell you how to live your life!”

“I’m over here…”

Okay… just gotta… No, that’s not my hoof.

I followed the beautiful blue ass as it trotted in front of me.

Such an amazing ass…

“N… Neon?! Where… where are you?”

Behind you! Wait, no… “Behind you!” I called out as I fell forwards, grabbing the blue ass. “I caught you!”

“Oh, there you are! We… We thought we lost you!”

I would never lose you, oh magical blue ass.

“Hey, filly, you look fiiiine!”

It complimented my blue blob.

“Ya wanna ditch the idiot and go with a real stallion?”

It complimented my blue blob!

“No, no! Have mercy! I was kidding, honest! I didn't mean it—ahhhh!.”

It learned its lesson…

“Okay, who is next?! We may be small, but we will take on each of you!”

“Girl, you're my angel, you're my darling angel! Closer than my peeps you are to me, bae-bae! Shorty, you're my angel, you're my darling angel; girl, you're my friend when I'm in need, lady!” I sang out, swaying back and forth. The microphone continued to dangle in front of me in my magic, and I struggled to keep it from falling.

“Life is one big party when you're still young, but who's gonna have your back when it's all done? Yeah! It's all good when you're little, you have pure fun; can't be a fool, son, what about the long run? Yeah!” Midnight sang into her microphone respectively, her horn glowing as she modified her voice to be lower.

“Looking back, Shorty, always mention; said me not giving her much attention! She was there through my incarceration, I wanna show the nation, my appreciation!” I replied, then me and Midnight leaned in close and sung into the same mic:

“Girl, you're my angel, you're my darling angel! Closer than my peeps you are to me, baby. Shorty, you're my angel, you're my darling angel. Girl, you're my friend when I'm in need, lady!”

“Midnight… I think… I think we've had enough,” I mumble, trying to remain awake.

“We… We… Agree,” Midnight responded from her position beside me, using me for as much stability as I was her.

Our night had ended. All the random, drunken fun had been had. Although almost everything was clouded by a thick film of alcohol, I still felt that I had a good time. But, that could also be because I was standing next to her; to my love.

“We… We’ll have us back to the room in a sec. Just have to… Remember the… Spell,” she began, her head dipping as she fought off the slow draw of sleep. “Oh, right, we remember it now! Hold still, love, as we need to make sure everything materialized in the right place…”

Pop! Crash! Thump!

In a flash of midnight blue magic, I felt myself impact a hard floor.

“No… No, this is not right…”

Pop! Crash! Thump!

Again, I fell and impacted the ground. This time, instead of a floor, I was somewhat cushioned by what felt like grass.

“Grrr… Okay, I think I got it this time!”

Pop! Crash! Thump!

“No.”

Pop! Crash! Thump!

“Nope.”

Pop! Crash! Thump!

“Hey!”

“Sorry!”

Pop! Crash! Thump!

Finally, my body impacted on something soft. The world was a blur of pain and fuzzy colors and shapes, but I couldn't mistake the soft embrace of warm blankets.

“Huzza! Finally!”

Something warm gripped my side, and then nuzzled me. “We knew we could make it. It just took some… Guesswork.”

“I knew you could do it, my lovely moon,” I spoke, then rose to my hooves. My vision cleared, and I was quick to recognize the sight of Luna’s bedchambers. Looking down, I noticed that we were currently on her bed.

“Oh, you always know what to say… my musical, shining knight,” Midnight spoke as she snuggled close to my side.

I put a hoof to her muzzle. “Shhh… You know… You know you look far more beautiful when you aren't like this… Midnight, I mean.”

The mare smiled, then her horn lit up. She glowed like the beautiful shine of a full moon. When it faded, a midnight blue alicorn lay next to me, her cheeks a rosy red and an adorable expression on her face.

I smiled.

“You look… You’re much more beautiful like this… Luna,” I began, then fell towards the alicorn as I lost my balance. She caught me but fell back as well. Soon, we both lay in a heap of limbs, and after some struggling, I ended up on top of her, my hooves straddling her body, and both our eyes locked.

Neither of us spoke.

Moments past, as if blown away by the wind. There was nothing said through words, but our eyes spoke volumes. Silent messages, words without a voice, passed from me to her, and her to me.

Then, she spoke, “Take me, my knight. I am ready.”

I knew what she meant. My heart knew what we meant. I leaned down and our lips locked.

The rest, well, I think you can guess…

[Back to the present…]

Nope, nothing.

My mind was blank, the previous day only a mixture of foggy memories and vague thoughts. I began to panic; my mind reeled as I tried to think of what the hell I should do next.

I heard an adorable yawn. “Oooouch… our head.”

I want to die.

“Is that you, Neon?”

I’m invisible!

“What is… What is that smell? And does it feel as if we are glowing?”

Shit! Fuck! Ass! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

“What is… Oh… Oh, my…”

My head slowly turned, and I swear I heard it creak. My eyes finally fell upon a normally blue alicorn who was current a shade of bright red. She eyes were trained down and on the bed, shame and embarrassment coating her face.

Slowly, she turned to face me. Our eyes met for a second, but we both looked away immediately after.

“Did we…?”

“Yes.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah…”

The awkward tension that filled the room was so thick I swear you could cut it with a knife. Neither of us spoke, only looked everywhere but each other.

“Do you… do you remember anything from yesterday?” I finally asked.

“A little, yes,” Luna replied, pawing at the blanket she had currently cocooned herself in. “Most of it is a little fuzzy, but… we remember enough.”

“Oh… and?” I began, finally getting the courage ts to look her in the eyes. “Was it… did I…”

“No, no,” Luna began, returning my gaze. “From what we remember, you did nothing that made us uncomfortable. The opposite, actually. You were… Sweet.” She blushed, and looked away.

I bit my lip. “Did you… did you like it?” I flinched, wishing I could take back my words.

To my surprise, Luna nodded, and her blush somehow deepened. “You were…” She paused, then shook her head. “Yes, it was wonderful. Though the experience was clouded by a veil of alcohol, we could still feel the love you showed for us.” I then felt her front hooves and both wings wrap around me and then pull me close.

I smiled, then returned the embrace.

“I love you, Luna,” I whispered into her ear as we both laid back down on the bed.

“We love you too, our Knight.”