The Prince of the Night

by keaton-furman-prower


Sweet Apple Seduction (3/7/16)

For Lucian, the day was going relatively well. In spite of the autumn chill, the sun was shining down upon him and Big Macintosh, so it was neither too hot nor too cold for them to work. Thus, they had spent the whole morning bucking trees, and were covered in a combination of sweat and dirt. Satisfied by their progress, the two stallions decided to take a brief respite under the shadow of a large apple tree.

By now most of the apple trees were already harvested, and Big Macintosh had estimated that together they could harvest the remaining ones within the next two days. Thus, he and Lucian were having a rather good time.

“So, what you’re sayin’ is that Rainbow Dash and Rarity seem to be interested in ya?” asked Big Mac.

“Oh, I'd definitely say they're interested in me,” said Lucian.

“Don't ya think maybe one of them could be a good match for you?”

Lucian sighed. He would have preferred not to speak about it, but he knew that he needed to get it off his chest.

“Well, I'm not sure I know enough of them to really give you a satisfactory answer. And, the truth is, I've... had trouble dating before.”

“Ah know what that feels like,” said Big Mac. “Apple Bloom and her friends once tried to hook me up with their teacher, Cheerilee. Course that didn't really go all that well.”

“Why am I not surprised?” said Lucian.

“Eeyup,” said Big Mac. “Truth be told, she was rather nice, but she just wasn't Twilight Sparkle.”

Lucian looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected Big Mac to be interested in a studious Canterlot mare such as Twilight.

“You like Twilight?” asked Lucian.

“Eeyup,” said Big Mac, somehow managing to look even redder than usual. “Ah have to admit, ah did do some rather silly things to try and get her attention, like pretend to be hypnotized by her Smarty Pants doll-”

“What.” Lucian said flatly.

“Ah told you ah did some silly things. Anyway, after the whole thing with my sister's teacher, ah went and gave Smarty Pants back to her. When Twilight got it, she was happy, angry, confused, and a tad bit curious. So, after Spike convinced her not to kick me out for stealing, ah asked her out to dinner.”

“And how did that go?” a curious Lucian asked.

“Pretty good,” said Big Mac. “We both had plenty of fun and talked a lot about science and stuff.”

“Science?” said Lucian. The seemingly simple farm stallion was full of surprises.

“Eeyup,” said Big Mac. “My sister AJ always says that she ain’t interested in hearin’ about ‘fancy mathematics’ and stuff, but ah do enjoy it, kinda like Twilight. So, ah though that, you know, maybe we might go well together. In the end, though, she confessed she wasn’t all that interested in me.”

“Oh,” said Lucian, his face full of concern for Big Mac. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t you worry about me,” said Big Mac. “Ah did like her, but ah know that there are plenty of mares out there, and someday I’ll find the right one for me. And who knows? You too might find yourself a pretty mare someday.

As Big Mac finished his thoughts, Lucian blushed in surprise at his statement.


Rarity gazed at the farm. It wasn’t her favorite place in the world, but it was where Lucian was. She wondered why in Equestria he would want to work here, since he did come from Canterlot, where ponies preferred to not even speak of farm life. Then again, he did owe them for whatever it was he had done.

“Um, Rarity? I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

The refined white unicorn turned towards Fluttershy, who had, with some persuasion, agreed to accompany her on her foray to Sweet Apple Acres.

“What do you mean this isn’t a good idea?” said Rarity. “Of course it’s a good idea! Why, when Lucian sees how willing I am to help him, he’ll be entranced by my generosity!”

“Yes, but what if he’d rather do it alone? And what if it’s too much work for you? And what if, you know, you mess up and get all dirty?”

Rarity cringed at the thought of getting dirt in her mane, or having to do manual labor. She had to admit, she admired Lucian even more for his willingness to work on the farm in spite of those risks.

“Well, Lucian doesn’t seem to worry about it,” she said finally. “And I suppose I’m going to have to make a few sacrifices if I want him to notice me.”

“Well, if that’s not a problem, then I guess that’s fine,” replied Fluttershy. “So, good luck with, um, whatever you’re going to do.”

“Thank you, Fluttershy. I appreciate your help.”

As she finished speaking, Rarity marched off towards Lucian and Big Macintosh.


While one pearly white unicorn soldiered on, a pink party pony and a cyan pegasus approached the apple family orchard. The former bounced up and down while wearing a coach hat and whistle. The latter walked behind her nervously, feeling that her friend was taking things far too seriously.

“Pinkie, I appreciate your help, but maybe you should just let me do this on my own.”

“No way!” yelled Pinkie. “What kind of friend would I be if I wasn’t there to help you? You’ll be thanking me when we’re done. Now, what have we learned?”

Pinkie proceeded to pull out a clipboard labeled “Operation: Hookup” out of nowhere. Rainbow, on the other hoof, could only press her hoof against her face.

Why am I suddenly getting a bad case of Déjà Vu? she thought to herself.

“What have we learned?!” yelled Pinkie.

Sighing, Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Lots of self-control.”

“Good! What’s next?!”

“Let him express himself.”

“And most important of all...”

“…Subtlety.”

Pinkie giggled at her ‘student,’ who seemed to finally be ready.

“Excellent! So, now that you know the elements of a good conversation, go start one!”

To emphasize her point, she blew on her whistle. Rainbow groaned, then began to trot off in the direction of Lucian.


Lucian hummed to himself as he bucked another tree. While the apples fell into the basket, he took a moment to wipe some dust off his face.

“Why, hello Lucian! It’s so good to see you!”

The dark blue stallion lifted his head in surprise. He wasn't expecting anypony else at the farm other than Big Macintosh. And yet, when he turned his head, he found himself staring right at Rarity.

“Rarity?! What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I was just passing by Sweet Apple Acres when I though what a marvelous idea it would be to take a nice stroll through the orchard!”

Lucian raised an eyebrow in suspicion. He wasn’t convinced that a pony like Rarity would want to take a stroll through Sweet Apple Acres.

“Well, yeah, I guess Sweet Apple Acres is nice this time of year,” he said.

Rarity smiled and nodded in what seemed to be agreement, although her smile seemed artificial, as if her heart was doing the opposite. Certainly it was quite noticeable to Lucian.

“Are you all right?” he asked concernedly.

“Oh! I'm... perfectly fine! Just, uh... excuse me, I'll be right back! Don't go away!”

If Rarity had moved any faster, Lucian would have sworn she could teleport. As he went back to his work, he shook his head.

That was certainly interesting, he thought to himself. It could have been worse. It could have been not only her but also...

“Hey Lucian!”

Lucian turned his head back in shock. To his shock, a certain rainbow-maned pegasus mare was just a mere inches away from his face, smiling right at him. All he could do in response was facehoof.

“Rainbow Dash,” he said out loud.

“That's me!” she said cheerfully. “So, what's up?”


“I'm not sure I can do this!”

Fluttershy patted Rarity on her back as she tried to catch her breath.

“Please calm down, Rarity. It can't be that bad, can it?”

“Well, I suppose not,” Rarity admitted. “Still, I didn't think I'd have to see him all covered in dust and dirt! I mean, that's so... uncivilized!”

“Uncivilized?” Fluttershy said in surprise. “A lot of ponies work on farms! Applejack, Big Macintosh, and all sorts of other ponies all over Equestria, including Lucian! If he's willing to work on a farm, shouldn't you?”

Rarity looked at her friend, who was giving her an encouraging smile. She then smiled back at her.

“You're right, Fluttershy. I need to get my hooves dirty if I am to impress him.”

“That’s what you’ve been saying the whole time!”

Rarity couldn't help but smack her hoof against her face at the irony of the moment.

“I suppose I'm not as good of a coach as you are, dear Fluttershy.”

The quiet yellow mare giggled as her friend trotted back into the orchard.


Rainbow Dash raised her back hooves, and then slammed them against a tree. Despite the tree shaking quite considerably, only a couple of apples toppled out. Surely not as numerous as when Big Mac or Lucian kicked the trees, but a respectable amount nevertheless.

“So, you challenged Applejack to a competition?” asked Lucian.

“An Iron Pony competition!” Rainbow added. “And I won!”

“With yer wings,” a strongly-accented, deep voice said.

Rainbow turned towards Big Macintosh, who had just arrived and was now observing her attempts to impress Lucian.

“She never said I couldn't use my wings,” shrugged Rainbow.

“Well, don't you think it gave you an unfair advantage?” asked Lucian.

“All's fair in love and war.”

“So, you were at war with Applejack?” Lucian deadpanned.

It was Rainbow's turn to facehoof.

“No! Of course not!” she said. “I mean, well, maybe a bit. Yeah, it’s true that we argued a lot about the rules and what was and wasn’t cheating, and that we were constantly fighting even during the running of the leaves but, that doesn’t mean we were at war!”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure that sort of behavior constitutes war,” said Lucian.

“I swear it was a friendly competition!”

“So it wasn’t fair to use your wings, ‘cause it ain’t love or war,” said Big Mac.

“It’s a figure of speech!” Rainbow said angrily. “It doesn’t mean that I was-”

“In love?”

Both stallions burst into laughter at Big Macintosh's joke. Rainbow, on the other hoof, was not amused.

“You know what? If you're not gonna take me seriously, then fine! I'm out of here!”

She immediately took off for the sky, leaving the two stallions behind. Lucian chuckled to himself, and then turned towards Big Mac.

“This day is turning out to be a bit unusual,” he said. “First Rarity and now her.”

“Rarity was here?” asked Big Mac.

“Yeah, and she said she'd be back,” shrugged Lucian. “You think she's gonna keep that promise?”

Big Mac was about to answer, when his eyes popped wide open.

“You... ought to ask her yourself.”

Lucian groaned as he turned back. Indeed, Rarity was trotting right towards him. She didn’t seem to notice his distress as she called out to him in a singsong voice.

“Hello Lucian! How good to see you again!”


“That's perfectly fine, Dashie! It’s a good sign if he feels comfortable making jokes around you!”

“I still wish he didn't make them about me.”

Rainbow Dash had just finished discussing her recent conversation with Lucian with her ‘mentor.’ Exactly how the pink party pony knew anything about dating was beyond Rainbow, but she had to admit, Pinkie was good at it. Even so, some parts of her advice seemed a bit harder to swallow than others.

“Okay, so what do I do now?” she asked.

“Just keep talking to him!” replied Pinkie. “Once you're absolutely sure he feels comfortable talking to you, you can ask him out!”

“All right,” said Rainbow, resigning herself to whatever ideas Pinkie held. “But why do I have to ask him out? Don't guys do that?”

Pinkie rolled her eyes.

“Come on, Dashie! Not everything has to happen like that! He might not think about asking you out until you ask him! Remember what Iron Will says! Be assertive!”

“Who's Iron Will?”

“Oh, just go out there and get him!”

With that, Pinkie Pie grabbed her whistle and blew on it. Her ‘student’ groaned and slowly flew away.


“And so they gave up all their gemstones! And not just that, they were practically begging me and my friends to leave with all their carts full to the very top!”

Lucian nodded absentmindedly at Rarity’s tale. While he found it interesting to hear stories from his friends, he was starting to feel irritated at how Rarity and Rainbow seemed to be trying to impress him.

“Yeah,” he said in a tired voice as he finished bucking another tree. “So, remind me again, what exactly brought you to Sweet Apple Acres today?”

“Well, it’s a beautiful day, and so I thought it would be a waste to spend it indoors. Don’t you agree?”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac agreed. “But why here?”

“I’m with Big Mac,” said Lucian. “It’s not exactly the kind of place where ponies just come in for a stroll.”

Rarity began to chuckle nervously. The two stallions were finally cornering her.

“Well, I saw the apple trees in the distance, and I thought that they looked quite lovely! And so, I decided to go take a look to see how they were growing, and I just happened to see you here!”

“Oh really?” said a distinctly female voice.

Rarity jumped in surprise at the voice and quickly turned around to find its source. Before her stood an angry-looking pegasus mare.

“Rainbow Dash! What are you doing here?!”

“I ought to ask you the same thing!” Rainbow said angrily. “Or am I supposed to believe that you just ‘happened’ to be around Sweet Apple Acres at the same time as Lucian?”

“Oh, like you can talk!” yelled Rarity. “What makes you think you can just come and go whenever you please?!”

“Well, for your information, I was flying around, moving clouds and stuff. It’s my job after all!

Skeptical of Rainbow's claims, Rarity turned her head upwards. The sky was perfectly clear, without a hint of there ever being any need for weather maintenance.

“Oh, of course you were,” said Rarity. “And should I assume you just happened to come down to take a break at Sweet Apple Acres?”

“Well, she does tend to nap around here,” quipped Big Mac.

“Don’t help her!” snapped Rarity

“Why not? I think you’re just being a sour apple,” said Rainbow, a wry smile forming on her face.

“And you’re a rude, crude, pegasus slacker!”

“Well at least I don’t freak out when I get dirt on me!”

“Girls?” Lucian said worriedly. “Can’t we work this out in a calm and rational manner?”

Both mares shot an angry glare at him and, in unison, shouted, “NO!”

Despite having been a ruler over a kingdom, succumbed to dark forces, spent a thousand years banished to the moon, and having been on the receiving end of the elements of harmony, Lucian suddenly felt small and numb under their cold stares. Positively shocked, he backed off and away from the two angry mares. Without even missing a beat, they drew their concentration back onto each other.

“Oh, look, you’ve gone and scared him,” Rarity said angrily.

“I scared him?!” Rainbow said incredulously. “You were yelling and screaming at least as much as me!”

“I was not! I am a lady! It would be improper if I were to lose my temper!”

“Well, you’re definitely losing it right about now!”

“You be quiet! I swear I’ll-”

“You’ll what?! Make me wear a bunch of your ugly dresses?”

Rarity gasped as if she had been smacked in the face. If there was one thing she couldn’t tolerate, it was somepony insulting her passion.

“I’ll destroy you!”

Before Rainbow could react, the enraged unicorn had already launched herself on top of her. Shocked by what had just occurred, Lucian attempted to intervene only to feel a strong hoof pull on his shoulder.

“Don’t.”

Lucian opened his mouth to protest, but when he attempted to form words, they seemed to get stuck in his throat. Big Mac had a point. Getting involved might not be prudent at this point.

The two mares rolled on the ground, grappling each other tightly while trying to throw each other off. At the same time, Rarity was using her magic to levitate leaves, grass, hay, and sticks at Rainbow, who was flailing her wings wildly. All the while they were throwing every conceivable insult at each other. They quickly disappeared in a cloud of dirt dust. The sheer amount of dust being thrown up made it difficult to determine exactly what was happening, but Lucian knew it could not be good.

Finally, after just under a minute of fighting, the dust settled, leaving behind two exhausted ponies.

The stallions stared in pure disbelief at the aftermath. Unlike Big Mac, who remained speechless, Lucian was just able to muster one word.

“Whoa,” he said.

The unicorn mare was a wreck. Rarity's mane and tail were hopelessly tangled with leaves and twigs randomly poking out. Her formerly white coat was now covered with dirt and what appeared to be apple juice, and one of her false eyelashes had fallen to the ground.

But the true shocker was what she had done to her opponent.

Rainbow Dash was covered in one of the most elegant dresses either Big Mac or Lucian had ever seen. Just the fact that Rarity had been able to make such a dress with the available materials made it all the more impressive.. The body consisted of hundreds of bright red, orange, and yellow leaves all perfectly arranged in a striped pattern that complimented the blue mare's rainbow mane. Her normally messy mane had been combed into long curls which bore an uncanny resemblance to those of Rarity. Even the edges of the dress were made of sticks and hay which had been sewn together, producing a rustic yet refined hem. Indeed, the entire garment seemed to be held together not by thread, but by several long strands of hay. And finally, Rainbow's hooves were covered with yellow-green shoes which seemed to be made of grass.

“Ha!” she laughed triumphantly. “I got you!”

“No, dear, I think I got you,” said Rarity.

Rainbow huffed at Rarity. “No way! I definitely got you!”

“No, I got you!”

“Girls?” Lucian interrupted. “I think you both ‘got’ each other.”

The two mares looked towards Lucian, who sighed and pointed at a nearby puddle of water. Wondering what could possibly have happened, they both walked to the puddle to take a better look at what had happened.

Rainbow Dash was the first to react.

“Wh- what? How is that even-”

Rarity smirked at Rainbow before turning towards the puddle. However, upon seeing her reflection, she was no less shocked.

“Oh dear, oh dear! I-”

Then, both mares screamed in perfect unison.

What happened to my mane?!!

Before the startled stallions could say anything else, Rainbow Dash and Rarity both ran off in opposite directions

Lucian simply stared off into the distance for a moment, trying to process everything that had just happened. Meanwhile, Big Mac patted him on the back.

“You'd better get used to that. Those two are gonna be chasin' you around a lot now.”

Lucian attempted to say something, but he couldn't seem to find his voice. After a while, he finally managed to say something.

“Eeyup.”

Then, as if to punctuate the strangeness of that day, Pinkie walked past them, saying “Sheesh, some ponies just freak out over the littlest things.” Having already had more than enough strangeness for one day, Lucian merely sighed and went back to work.