//------------------------------//
// Arc I - Chapter: 3 - Caked Up 
// Story: A DJ in the Night 
// by dj_neon_lights 
//------------------------------//


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…