“Here you go, Fleur!” Spike shouted above the rapidly growing crowd. “I figured you might like to try one of these canon shots from the bar.” Spike held out a clear plastic cup filled halfway with a bright orange liquid.
Fleur levitated it in front of her eyes and stared it down before turning to Spike. “I’ve never tried hard liquor before. Is it dangerous?”
“Nah, fam, you good,” Spike said. “Watch.” Without fear, the dragon tilted his head back and downed his own cup. He shook his head to get rid of the burn. “There, you see, I’m fine!” He punctuated his sentence with a hiccup.
Fleur took a long sniff of the liquid, the aroma of it smelling sweet all the while singeing her nostril hairs. “Well, it’s not exactly Maredonay Select… but here goes.” She tossed her head back and gulped it all down.
Spike watched with a grin as the initial sensation hit her. She twitched her head and started blinking rapidly, her mouth contorting into a pucker.
“So, how was it?” he asked.
“It was… was… strange. And sweet. And I think I want another!”
Spike’s eyes widened. “Heh, sure thing. I’ll go…”
All the lights in the room went out, leaving it in almost complete darkness.
“What’s happening?” Fleur asked, latching onto Spike. “Are we in trouble?”
Spike turned to her. “It’s time.”
A few small, flickering white light started emanating from behind the curtained stage, providing a softly lit backdrop. And then the first shadow of a pony could be seen as it passed in front of the lights and took a seat behind the drum set that was there. The crowd erupted into an ear-splitting cheer.
MARE OF MAYA! MARE OF MAYA! MARE OF MAYA!
Spike looked to Fleur to make sure she was handling the noise okay and to his shock and dismay, she was chanting along with everypony else.
“Mare of Maya! Mare of Maya! C’mon Spike!” She lifted his arm into the air with her hoof. Of course, he had no choice but to join in the festivities at this point.
“Mare of Maya! Mare of Maya!”
The entire crowd became one voice in their chant. And it only got louder as two other ponies walked onto the stage, their silhouettes picking up their guitars. Ponies all around began getting restless, some jumping up and down in anticipation, others just screaming as loud as they could.
And then the backlit lights on the stage flickered off.
A loud bass drop emitted, shaking the entire floor, followed by a loud voice echoing through the room.
“CANTERLOT!”
A bright flash of light illuminated the stage right as the curtain dropped from the ceiling, giving visibility to the band on stage. A guitarist on one side, bassist on the other, drummer in the back and the vocalist in the front, standing upon a speaker to overlook the crowd.
An echoing synth line began playing from the background, slowly getting louder by the second, increasing in tension to the point of shaking the stage.
“LET’S OPEN THIS PLACE UP OUT THERE! LET’S! GO!”
His final words were encapsulated by a crushing guitar riff, matched beat by beat with the thundering bass and sharp drumming. Confetti rained down and the entire crowd lost it, jumping up and down, running into each other, head banging, crowd surfing… the whole shebang. And when the vocalist kicked it into gear it only got crazier.
Between the brutal music, excessive volume and blistering screams, it was if the gates of Tartarus had opened up and the devil himself was hosting a party.
Spike was no stranger to this kind of environment, but he made sure to keep an eye on Fleur throughout the insanity. Unfortunately for him, she was no longer within his line of sight. He darted his eyes around to find her, but to no avail. He squeezed between the ponies, looking in every nook and cranny, but his efforts bore no fruit. But, just as victory seemed to escape his grasp, he found her… and he couldn’t believe where she was.
There she was, scarfing down another two shots of liquor she found Celestia knows where and pushing and shoving in the mosh pit with everypony else. It was insane to think that this pony was the same one dressed up in a beautiful gown in Rarity’s boutique only a few hours ago.
Spike was pretty content listening and watching the action unfold from his spot, but once Fleur turned around and made eye contact with him, it was all over. She dashed through the horde of ponies and latched onto his claw.
“Spike!” She screamed out. “Come on!”
Spike wasn’t sure what happened next, but as he was drug into the war zone, he didn’t care. It was as if the entire audience was one, him and Fleur included. Controlled chaos and musical violence saturated all of his senses. And the idea that Fleur was enjoying just as much as he was, if not more…
It was breathtaking.
After around an hour of play, the band paused the show for a brief break so the crowd could get refreshments and use the restroom and so on.
“Spike!” Fleur said, her hoof wrapped tightly around him. “This is amazing! I never knew there were concerts like this!”
The dragon nodded. “Yep! And they have ‘em here every week. If you’re ever interested in going again…”
“You’ll be the first one I look for to go with,” she said with a quick nuzzle.
Spike blushed and chuckled. “Yeah, well… For now, did you want anything else to drink? I was gonna head to the back real quick.”
“Sure!” she said. “Just get us something good.”
“Got it.”
Spike managed to escape the grips of the crowd to travel to the bar area in the back. There were a few ponies lounging around on the various bar stools enjoying their drinks. Spike walked up to the wooden counter and hopped onto a stool of his own.
“Yo, bartender,” he said. “I need two Freak-a-Leeks and a cup of water, please.”
“Sure thing,” he shouted back. “Coming right up.”
Spike twiddled this claws and drummed them against the counter while waiting. His heart was still beating at a million miles per hour from the night he’s been having so far. And seeing Fleur having just as much fun was the icing on the cake. Everypony deserved a night out where work and responsibility didn’t matter.
…Even a supermodel. A supermodel who might be hurting her career by even being here.
Spike shook the feeling off the best he could. No matter how much fun he was having all evening, he couldn’t escape the slight tugging of guilt at his heart. The voice telling him he might be doing something wrong, no matter how right it felt.
“Eh, it’s whatever,” Spike said aloud, shaking the thoughts off.
“For the love of Luna’s crotch titties, that modeling event was a total waste of my time.”
Spike’s attention was broken by two ponies trotting up to the bar. They both took a seat directly to his left. It normally wasn’t Spike’s habit to listen in to conversations, but at the same time, it kinda was. His ear perked at hearing the sound of possibly entertaining information.
“Oh dude, I know,” the other pony replied. “At least we made it here in time for the second half of the show. Better than nothing.”
“Yeah, but to spend money just to see Fleur, only for her to not show up… that was weak.” The other pony motioned to get two beers from the bartender before continuing. “After seeing her on all the magazines, I figured getting a chance to meet her would be pretty lit. But nope.”
Spike’s eyes widened. Ponies actually went to the show just to see her?
“Oh, c’mon man. She didn’t just ditch. You saw the flyers. She disappeared.”
Flyers?
The second pony continued. “Besides, bro, even if you did meet her, there’s no way she would’ve gone out with you.”
“That’s not what it’s about, bro! Even if she said no, getting rejected by a supermodel is just as cool to tell the boys back home about.”
Spike had since gotten his drinks from the bartender, but he stayed glued in his seat.
“Well, either way, I hope the police find her,” the second pony said, taking a swig of his beer. “A pretty mare like that… I’d hate to think what some psycho could be doing to her.”
Flyers? The police? A psycho?
Spike made up his mind. This was going too far. Not only was she hurting her career at this point, but now the police were involved and things could only get uglier from this point on.
Spike sighed as he hopped off his barstool. “And things were going so well, tonight.”
Why did those two ponies just have to deus ex machina their way in here to make me feel guilty?
Spike zipped his way back into the concert area, zig-zagging his way through the crowd. It took him a moment, but he was finally able to find the mare he was looking for… standing at the center of the widening mosh pit. Luckily the music hadn’t started up again yet, lest Fleur finds herself in the middle of a heated combination of violence and extreme dancing.
“Fleur!” he cried out, running to the center.
“Spike!” She called back, sloppily waving a hoof. It was quite evident she’d had a few drinks.
“Look, we gotta go,” he said, taking her by the hoof. “We gotta talk real quick.”
“But... “ she said, pouting and looking back toward the crowd. “They were just about to start again and I wanted to jump in on a wall of death.”
“Wall of—” He brought a claw to his face. “Yes, yes, there’ll be time for that later. But for now, we really need to skedaddle.”
She begrudgingly nodded and let him lead her out of the crowd. It was a battle fighting through the hordes of ponies and it hurt Spike with every step they took toward the door. Getting blue balled by himself wasn’t exactly how he predicted the night going. But then again, that’s how most of his other relationships ended, so why would tonight be an exception to the rule.
Spike and Fleur made it outside and away from the chaos at long last. They stood on the now mostly barren sidewalk. The occasional pony could be seen walking in the distance but it was late enough that they were alone for all intents and purposes.
“Spike?” Fleur asked. “What’d you need to say?”
“Well, I was just thinking that—”
“Wait, hold that thought,” she said, thrusting a hoof over his mouth. “I have something I would like to say first.”
Spike cocked an eyebrow at her. “Mrrf.”
She removed her hoof and smile. “I need to simply thank you, Spike. This has been, by far, the most enjoyable night I’ve had in years.”
Oh great. Now there’s unintentional guilt involved.
“Sure, my modeling career has been a success. And for the most part, I’m satisfied by my life choices. But tonight. Tonight. I experienced a whole new side of living that I never knew existed.” Fleur engulfed Spike in a tight hug, nuzzling his cheek all the while. “And I owe it to you. You’ve done so much for me without even knowing it. But, now you do.”
Spike could definitely smell the hint of liquor on her muzzle. Maybe that’s why all these emotions were coming out?
“Well, I’m glad you think so, Fleur,” Spike said, separating himself from the cuddly constriction. “But Fleur…” Spike began pacing back and forth, his claws behind his back. He really had no idea how to phrase what he needed to say.
“But what?” She replied, following him with her eyes.
Spike scratched the back of his head, took a deep breath and turned to her. “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just gonna say it. I have to take you back. Tonight is over.”
Fleur thrust her head back, her eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. “W-What? What do you mean?”
“Look, Fleur, you’re hurting your career by being out here, by being with me.” Spike shook his head. “Ponies are worried about you. They’ve sent the police looking and everything. Just by being here right now, you might be doing damage to your image that you can’t fix.”
“But Spike!” she cried out. “We were having fun! I was having fun, with you. I can’t even remember the last time somepony wanted to spend time with me just for fun! It’s work this or work that. And now you’re saying you want it to end?”
“No, that’s not what I’m…. Well yeah, that’s kind of what I’m saying.” Spike tried to walk closer to her, prompting her to back up turn her head away. “It’s not because we aren’t having fun, though. It’s because you’ve got responsibilities and a future to maintain. And frankly, I don’t wanna be the reason that it gets ruined. So let me take you back and you should probably forget this whole night ever happened.”
“No!” Fleur wiped a few visible tears from her cheek. “This isn’t fair!”
Without another word, she dashed off past Spike and down the sidewalk. Spike immediately flipped his head around and started running for her.
“Fleur! Come back! It’s dangerous out here!”
Spike ran as much as he could behind her… but she was fast, And he was slow. The math wasn’t good for him trying to catch her.
Meanwhile a bit farther down the sidewalk…
Fleur had slowed to a trot at this point, sniffling and trying to keep her tears in. If she had a pillow right now, she’d more than likely be screaming curses particularly offensive to dragons into it.
“Stupid dragon. Saying we’d have fun and just changing his mind like that.” Fleur pouted and kept walking.
She took a look around and quickly realized she had no idea where she was. She thought she recognized the brick buildings around her… but the more she looked the less she knew.
Part of her wanted to turn around and go find Spike, but part of her didn’t have any desire to see him at all. No, she’d just have to continue on until she found out where she was headed… wherever that was.
“Hey, you there.”
Fleur heard a voice from behind her and turned around to look at its source, expecting the worst. “H-Hello?” Her tense muscles relaxed ever so slightly upon seeing the pony, however. “Oh, it’s you. The pony from the restaurant. Poptart, right?”
“So you’ve heard of me?” Poptart replied, trotting up a bit closer. “Not surprising. Most pretty mares have.”
Fleur blushed and dropped her eyes to the ground. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yep,” he said. “But uh, I don’t think I caught your name.”
“Fleur de Lis,” she said. “But you can just call me Fleur.”
“Fleur? I think I can manage that.” He gave her a cocky smile and walked up beside her. “So, what’s a beautiful mare like you doing out here by yourself? Where’s that dragon you were hanging out with?”
“Spike?” Fleur shook her head. “He, uh, he decided he had enough fun tonight and… let’s just say he wasn’t what I thought he was.”
“Oh, that sucks,” Poptart said, taking a moment to flip his mane out of his face. “Some guys are like that, though. They don’t really do much besides think about themselves and what they want. Sounds to me like you still wanted to enjoy the night. Am I right?”
Fleur nodded. “Yeah, that’s right.”
“Thought so,” he replied. “Now, I was just on my way to a little hangout with some friends and in this town, as I’m sure you know, it’s really not cool to show up somewhere without a date. So, I’m just kinda hoping you might be able to help me out… if you’re not too busy, that is.”
Poptart held a hoof out her and put on a smile that melted her heart. She was about to reach out and grab onto his hoof, but she kept hearing that warning Spike gave her in the back of her head. He was dangerous or something. He certainly didn’t seem like trouble.
“I dunno,” Fleur said. “I don’t really—”
“Fleur!”
Both ponies flipped around and saw Spike running toward them from the distance.
“Let’s go,” Fleur said, giving one last sorrowful look at the approaching dragon.
“Ladies first,” Poptart said.
And just like that, they disappeared around the corner.
Spike finally reached the spot they were at, gasping and heaving.
“Argh… Poptart… Fleur… Ah!”
Spike had no idea where they were, but he did know one thing:
Fleur was in trouble and it was his fault.
I have to find her.
Meanwhile at the Canterlot Police Station…
Knock! Knock! Knock!
The Sheriff looked at the large stack of paperwork on his desk, still unfinished. “I guess it’ll have to wait. Come in!”
The door burst open revealing a white unicorn with a mane so unkempt it could be confused with a wild jungle. “You!”
“Ahh!” The sheriff squeaked, pressing back into his chair. “And I thought the devil was a red pony with horns.”
Rarity took a moment to compose herself before calmly standing at the opposing of the sheriff’s desk. “Sir, I did not mean to use you as the target for my rage, but there is something I must inquire about.”
He gulped and leaned forward in his chair once more. “Of course, ma’am. Go on.”
“WHERE ARE FLEUR AND MY PRECIOUS SPIKEY-WIKEY!?”
His military training and instinct kicked into gear as he leapt from his chair and under his desk.
“Ugh!” Rarity flipped around and stormed out of the office, giving the evil eye to every Police Pony she passed.
After she finally made it outside, she looked at the various “Missing” posters plastered around and shook her head. “I suppose a pony has to do things herself around here.”
With a glint in her eye and a hunger for justice in the pit of her stomach, she strode off, ready for action.