//------------------------------// // "Keep doin' what you do . . ." // Story: She Rocks My World // by LightningSword //------------------------------// The group that had joined in was slowly getting bigger, and Nocturne and Spike kept up the distraction as well as they could. By now, the pretty Pegasus' stalkers had stopped to watch the show themselves, seeming to be confident that they were keeping good tabs on their quarry. What they hadn't noticed was that she had slipped away from them again. Slowly grooving to the tune of the song, the pink-maned mare tipped away from the gangsters, blending into the liveliness of the scene that Spike and Nocturne had started. She was making her way to another set of tables, where a few card games were going on. “I'm telling you, man,” Spike muttered as they continued to dance, “You can't keep this up! These ponies are serious!” Nocturne dropped back down on all fours, turned to the gambling tables, and stiffened his back as he segued into a departure. “So am I,” he muttered playfully to his short contemporary, “Just keep the show going, little buddy. Things are looking up.” Spike almost continued his warnings, but Nocturne was gone, and the dragon growled. “That guy's gonna be the end of me!” he lamented quietly as he spun twice on the spot, keeping with the rhythm, “I should've just paid the bill!” Nocturne finally caught up with the Pegasus mare, and they reflected the same dreamy look back at one another. They had both definitely been waiting for a moment like this; even earlier, when they'd first spoken to each other, it wasn't quite as magical as this. “Keep dancing and act natural,” said Nocturne as they approached each other. The mare obeyed and slowly moved her hooves to the tune, swaying her body in time with Nocturne's. “You know, I'm a little nervous,” the mare admitted, “I've never really done this before, and with those ponies watching me and all . . . . but there's something else. Something I felt before, when we first met . . . I just feel like . . . . like my life won't quite be the same again.” “I felt the same way,” Nocturne replied, his heart racing and his hooves gliding, “I just feel that you changed me somehow . . . the way I walk, and talk . . . . it's—” “Unexplainable?” the mare finished for him. “Yeah,” Nocturne smiled; that's exactly what he was going to say. He felt such a rush, as though he were holding on to his sanity with everything he had. But he knew he was only scratching the surface; in time, this would slowly evolve into love and happiness. All there was to do now was wait patiently and keep up the groove. The mare crept in close to Nocturne's side, and the two swayed together in perfect unison. “You know, it seemed to me,” he whispered in her ear as she blushed, “that now that we're together like this, something just feels . . . . I don't know . . . complete. Don't you think so?” The mare looked up at him with a lovestruck grin, “Yes. It's like I can be true to my feelings now. I feel like I don't have to look for security anymore . . .” she trailed off and laid her head against his shoulder, “. . . now that I'm with you . . .” Nocturne cuddled with her, taking in the aroma of her mane, “Mmm . . . then just keep on doing what you do, girl.” The mare giggled, and they continued to dance slowly to the music. A short distance away, Spike seemed to be casting off his earlier bitter attitude, and was even enjoying himself; he led the pony group behind him with comical zeal and impressive precision. As well he should; he learned everything he knew from Nocturne. As Nocturne and his companion danced together, she glanced over his shoulder and saw her overseers approaching again. Luckily, they seemed to not notice them yet. “Oh, no, here they come again!” she whispered, starting to shake and close to disrupting her rhythm. “Stay calm,” Nocturne told her gently, “Ease out into the buffet area. I'll join you in a minute.” The mare nodded, and slipped away from the card tables just before her unsavory followers looked her way. They saw Nocturne and approached him roughly, and the Pegasus with the slicked-back mane spoke first, “Hey! You! Where'd she go?” Nocturne locked his legs and pushed his hat forward on his head, grinning smugly, “You lookin' for somepony?” The Earth pony in shades spoke next, “Don't jerk us around, creep! I'll deck you one if I find out you're runnin' off with my mare!” “And don't be lookin' so smug, either,” the slick-haired Pegasus added roughly, “Our boss runs this place, and he don't take too kindly to freaks like you invadin' his space!” “Your 'boss'?” Nocturne bit back, “Well, if he's not here, what's the problem?” “He's upstairs,” the Earth pony in shades clarified, “And if he sees you messin' with us, you're dead!” Nocturne's kept his sly grin, “If he's that insecure, then find him his own marefriend.” His expression quickly went dark before he danced away, “Maybe he'll treat her better than you treat yours.” As Nocturne slid lithely out of the gamblers' midst, the slick-maned Pegasus angrily made to follow, but was stopped by the Earth pony in shades. “I said chill!” he admonished, “Big D won't be happy if we start something with this loser. He makes the first move, it's all on him. Got it?” The Pegasus seethed at Nocturne's cocky movements, then turned to his superior, “Unless he really is messin' around with your mare, isn't that what you mean?” The pink-maned Pegasus saw Nocturne coming toward the buffet tables, and felt her heart flutter. Shyness was beginning to dissipate more and more, and she felt a return of that comfort she'd felt when they'd first met. Her feelings were her own. Her decisions were her own. And she decided to invest her feelings in another pony, one that would treat her far better than that meanie Shades. Her only problem: she was afraid of how he'd react. Nocturne slipped up next to the mare and kept his voice low, “Keep dancing. They're right behind us.” “Okay,” she mumbled back and continued moving her hooves to the song. She danced between two long tables of food, while Nocturne jumped up to an upper level against the wall, separated by a semi-transparent curtain. She saw his form move gracefully past the diners at their tables, and was amazed at how fluid, how precise his movements were. This stallion wasn't too easy on the eyes (what with the bat wings being a slight put-off), but anypony who could move like that made the wings irrelevant. There was something different about this pony. Something interesting. Something . . . . . alluring. She suddenly had a thought; she'd been a fool to think her feelings were her own. She could neither control how she felt nor explain it. This Nocturne fellow had a strong hold over her, and even though she dreaded Shades finding her with him (as well as Big D's reaction to her desire to leave), she liked being under Nocturne's spell. The mare kept herself parallel with Nocturne as he pulled back the curtains, stood up on his hind legs and spun on the spot. She smiled at his grace and skill and trotted up to him as he came toward her. He smiled back at her, and she felt her face redden. “Alone at last,” Nocturne grinned, and the mare giggled, “Tell me something, what's this hold these guys have over you? Why do they want you so badly?” The mare anxiously wrapped a lock of her mane around her hoof, “Well . . . it's kind of a long story.” “I've got time,” Nocturne replied, reassuring her. “It's not that easy. I can't say too much, or . . . . well, I just can't.” She felt tears welling up, and blinked a few times trying to get rid of them. Nocturne continued his reassurance with a hoof on her back. “We'll figure something out,” he said, “I'll do everything I can to help you. That is,” he paused, easing into the question, “if you'll have me.” The mare looked up at her rhythmic companion, feeling the tears fade away and her confidence increase more than ever. She nodded, and she allowed him to take her hoof into his and kiss it. Big D leaned back in his chair and whistled. Up until he'd started on his little origami bird, he'd had the time to sit down and watch “The Godstallion” all the way through (still an excellent film). Now that he was through with his bird, his boredom forced him to take off his hat and spin in around in his paw and talon. And still, he whistled. He did this only when his boredom got to be annoying. He hated being annoyed. Shades and the others had been annoying him for quite a while. So had that cute little piece of plot that Shades always dragged around. Now that they had annoyed him for whatever reason, he was close to considering making them all pay for it. And if he did consider it, Celestia help whoever got in his way.