“Tavi, how about we go out tonight?” Vinyl asked, lying on a couch, “It’s so boring to just hang around in the house all day.”

“And what do you have in mind?" Octavia asked while replacing a string on her cello.

“There’s this awesome club in Canterlot—”

“I thought you didn’t like the clubs in Canterlot,” Octavia said, “because they were too ‘stuck up.’”

“Yeah, most of them are,” Vinyl admitted, “But this one’s the exception. It's one of the best dubstep clubs in Equestria, and it’s the only one in Canterlot where being a lesbian isn’t an issue, so I was a regular for years.”

“That really seems exceptional for Canterlot.”

“Right? Anyway, it’s built in an old warehouse, so it’s far enough from all the snobs who could cause trouble. And the owner makes sure that paparazzi and photographers from gossip papers stay far enough away.”

“And who is the owner?”

“A stallion called Mephisto. I never saw him, but—"

“Mephisto? As in, Mephisto Morningstar?”

Vinyl asked surprised, “Yeah, how do you know?”

“Is the club, by any chance, called ‘Nightshade’?”

“How did you know? Did you use your vampiric powers to read my mind?” Vinyl said cheekily.

“You know I can’t do that.” Octavia put the cello away and took a sip from a chalice standing on the living room table.

Vinyl grinned. “You know how overdramatic that thing is?”

“It's just a cup, I don't know what's so dramatic about it.”

“Tavi, it has a bloodstone in it.”

“A simple magical stone put there for convenience sake.”

“It's made from gold, and decorated with rubies and sapphires,” Vinyl deadpanned.

“Is it my fault that my ancestors preferred the extravagant?”

“Wait, it's a family heirloom?”

“Well, yes,” Octavia admitted.

“That's even better!”

“Anyway," Octavia said to get the conversation back to topic, "Mephisto is also a vampire, and runs a bloodbar in the caves under Canterlot. I worked there as a cellist decades ago, but I didn’t know that he expanded his business overground.”

“You never mentioned that."

“I’m 297 years old,” Octavia reminded Vinyl, “There’s a lot I haven’t mentioned yet.”

Vinyl grinned, “But I bet I still have the best story to tell.”

“Oh, now I’m curious. What is it?”

“Around six or seven years ago, I went to the club and found a new customer there, sitting in the more secluded part of the club, being all alone. That somepony turned out to be none other than Princess Luna.

“We started talking, and she explained that she was only there because she was curious why so many ponies were awake at night, since something like that never happened back in her time, and that she found it amusing that I decided to invite her to a ‘private music session’ instead of, you know, bowing and stuff.”

Octavia couldn’t believe it. “You hit on a princess?”

“I totally did.” A huge grin stole itself on Vinyl’s face. “Successfully, I might add.”

“You want me to believe that you—what was that lovely expression that you used—composed together with Princess Luna?”

Vinyl nodded enthusiastically. "Eyup, and it wasn't just one song, either."

“No. Sorry, but no”—Octavia shook her head—“I would believe a lot, but that is too much, even for you.”

“We could go and visit the Nightshade. Maybe Luna is around to confirm my story. And you could show me the underground section.”

“I guess it would be nice to see the old club again…”

“So, what do you say?”

Octavia finished her drink. “Let’s go to the Nightshade.”

Later that night, they arrived at the club. They were on their way to the main floor.

“I’m honestly doubting that we’ll find Princess Luna in here,” Octavia said, “Even if I’d believe that she would visit an establishment like this, I’m sure that an important pony such as herself as far more important things to do than—”

They stepped into the hall, and past the silence shield placed on it. My poor ears! Octavia thought, Why must she be into the most disorienting music known to ponykind? She looked at the crowd of ponies filling the room, pressing against the stage. The DJ was a tall unicorn in a hooded cloak.

She turned her attention back to a grinning Vinyl. Why is she staring at the clock?

The clock turned midnight.

The DJ opened her dark blue wings as her coat turned into a swarm of bats. “THIS NIGHT…”

Luna rose on her back hooves. A shining image of her cutie mark, easily twice her size, appeared above her head. “SHALL LAST…”

She let her hooves crash down, summoning thunder and lightning as the bass drop. “FOREVER!”

“You were saying?” Vinyl asked, the most smug grin Octavia had ever seen on her face.

“You said she’s a guest, not the DJ!”

“She’s both!”

“And how do you suppose we ask her to confirm your story? We can’t just storm the stage!”

Vinyl looked at Luna for a moment with a glowing horn and said, “Backstage, after she finished this track! Follow me!” She began making her way through the crowd. Octavia did her best follow her without falling over, and after a lot of pushing, reached a staff only side door. Vinyl put her hoof on the lock, opened the door, and waved Octavia through. Octavia let out a sigh of relief when the door closed behind them.

“Come on, it wasn’t that loud,” Vinyl said.

“Your ears aren’t built for echolocation, Vinyl.” Octavia looked her in the eyes. “Mine are.”

“Oh… Ooooohhh, yeah.” Vinyl scratched the back of her head. “I should have thought of that. My bad. But the—” she facehoofed “—I forgot to give you a pair…”

“A pair of what?”

Instead of answering, Vinyl levitated a pair of earplugs out of her ears.

“You wore earplugs the entire time!” I almost vomited on the bloody floor!

“Yeah. I wear a pair almost every time I’m in a club. Would’ve gone deaf long ago without them. Guess it just became so second nature for me that I just… forgot. I’m really sorry, Tavi.”

“Why do you even go to clubs if you can’t even stand the loudness?”

“The wubs, of course! Just because I can’t hear the volume doesn’t mean that I can’t feel it.” They started walking down the hallway. “If the music’s good and the wubs are strong, you feel it in your entire body. There’s nothing better than standing in front of a subwoover cranked up to eleven and just letting the wubs stir your insides!”

“I prefer my insides to stay in the place they are supposed to be.” Vinyl turned around a corner and up a flight of stairs. “Where are we going?”

“Luna has a private room here, in case an emergency happens in the dream realm,” Vinyl explained, “Or if she wants to be here but still wants it quiet.”

Vinyl opened another door and went into Luna’s room. It looked like an ordinary living room, with a table, two couches, and cupboards. There was one window, a circle, except for a crescent moon shaped bit in the middle. Vinyl threw herself onto a couch. “So, now we just have to wait.”

Octavia sat down beside Vinyl, just to stand up and kneel down when Luna entered the room a few minutes later. “Your Highness.”

“Sup, Luna?” Vinyl said, waving from the couch.

“Hey, Vinyl.” She walked to the other couch and got comfortable. “And you must be Octavia, right?”

Octavia looked up and turned to Luna. “You know my name?”

Luna chuckled. She levitated a tea set onto the table. “I do, yes. After Vinyl met you at Cadence’s and Shining’s wedding, she talked about nothing else but you for weeks. It was quite cute, to be honest.”

“Did you have to tell her that?” Vinyl complained.

“So she was honest?” Octavia asked, ignoring Vinyl.

“Depends on what she told you,” Luna said.

“The first time I blew your flute,” Vinyl replied.

“How you approached me seven years ago in this club, drunk, looking for a quick bang? Yes, She told the truth.”

“Told ya!”

“You did. I’m sorry for not believing you.” Octavia took a sip of tea. A confused look appeared on her face. She turned to Luna. “Wait, that happened the first night you were back in Equestria, right?”

“It did, yes.”

“And you were still together when the wedding happened?”

“Why do you think we missed the fight?” Vinyl said grinning.

“That means you were together for two years!”

“More or less, yes,” Luna admitted.

How did they avoid being caught by photographers? Octavia wondered. “I must say, it’s surprising to learn that you are into mares, Princess Luna.”

Luna sighed deeply. “Really? Did you never hear of Labrys?”

“Of course I did,” Octavia said, “She was a legendary earth pony from the time of Old Equestria, her strength rivaling Rockhoof’s. But historians are in agreement that you two were merely good friends.”

“Of course they do—” Luna rolled her eyes “—because good friends commonly share deep, passionate kisses, or proclaim that they’d rather die together than live forever without the other. From all the things that could have stayed the same over the one thousand I was banished to the moon, why did straightwashing have to be one.”

“I wish I knew,” Octavia said, “It’s one of the more irritating thing ponies do.”

“Oh, vampires don’t do that?” Luna asked curiously.

“Not really. Nopony really cares about that. If they care about something, its purity of blood. What gender the body containing said blood has is more or less irrelevant.” Octavia looked at Vinyl. “Needless to say, my parents wouldn’t be very happy about my choices, either way.”

“Fuck em,” Vinyl said, giving Octavia a kiss, “You’re an awesome mare, and I’ll buck the teeth of everypony in who says otherwise.”

“I love you too, Vinyl,” Octavia said, hugging Vinyl tightly.

“I wouldn’t mind leaving you two alone,” Luna offered, “in case you want to compose a little bit.”

“Or the three of us could compose as a trio,” Vinyl said.

“Maybe another time,” Octavia said. She turned back to Luna. “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you have a room here?”

“It’s just… calming here.” Luna stood up and walked to the window. “Seeing my little ponies enjoying the night helps me keep my jealousy in check. It doesn’t make it go away completely, but it helps.”

“Oh, I… I understand.”

After a while, Luna returned to the stage, and Vinyl and Octavia decided to go to the bar. Octavia was about to complain about the lack of wines, but then looked closer at the barkeeper. “Sans? Is that you?”

“How do you know my… Melody?”

“It really is you! You’re still working for Mephisto?”

“You know me, as long as he pays, I’ll stay. What brings you here?”

“Her worse half,” Vinyl said, appearing by Octavia’s side.

“Would you look at that, Tavi got a pet!”

“Pet?” Vinyl asked confused.

“Girlfriend. She’s my girlfriend,” Octavia clarified, “Not my pet.”

“I see,” the barkeeper said, “Well, then this isn’t the right place for you two. Dubstep just isn’t romantic, don’t you think?”

“Oh, definitely not. I guess you can bring us downstairs?”

“You’ll find a passage in the warehouse across the street.”

Octavia led Vinyl to the original Nightshade, an underground jazz club and bloodbar. A small ensemble provided a calm background music, and darkwood tables lit by candles filled the space used as a dance floor in the overground club.

The two sat down at table in a corner. “It’s still the same as it was back then,” Octavia said.

“I guess it’s not too bad.” Vinyl looked for familiar faces among the guests, but it was too dark recognize anypony’s faces. She turned back to Octavia. “The candle flatters your eyes. I could look at them for hours.”

“Aw, Vinyl, you really can be quite romantic if you just—”

“Melody! You’re back!” a very young voice exclaimed.

“I’m kinda busy right now, Mephisto,” Octavia said with a sigh.

Vinyl looked down to the pale colt standing by their table. “That’s Mephisto?”

“The one and only, Miss Scratch,” Mephisto said.

“You seem pretty young for a nightclub owner.”

“I was bitten as a colt.” He turned his head, showing the bite scars on his neck. “Three hundred years ago. Vampirism tends to keep one remarkably... fresh, as my sister likes to say.”

“So there’s a centuries old filly running around somewhere as well?”

“Yeah, Babette, but she doesn't live here. Last I heard, she was on her way to Himmelsrand. But I should go before Melody rips my head off.”

Vinyl looked at Octavia. Her eyes glowed, her fangs were out, her ears fluffy. My girlfriend is the cutest bat in all of Equestria, Vinyl thought.

“Good call,” Octavia said.

“I’ll tell the server to bring you some wine,” Mephisto said, “Your favorite is still point noir, right, Melody?”

“Yes. Unblooded, please.”

Mephisto nodded and left.

Octavia turned to Vinyl, her eyes turning back to their normal colour. “Sorry about that.”

“Eh, I had worse experiences in clubs.” A waiter came and brought them two glasses of wine. Vinyl picked one up with her magic. “Happy hearts and hooves day, Tavi.”

Author's Note

I know that some of you are waiting for Rarity to give Spectre the dress, and I promise that it will happen in the not too far future, but Flu- and Finals-season hit me really hard, so it will take a little bit longer