A DJ in the Night

by dj_neon_lights

Arc III - Chapter: 12 - A New Beginning

Beep… beep… beep…

I groan, shifting in the bed and reaching for the damned alarm clock. It sounds strange, different than usual, but I don't pay it much mind—the thing was ruining my morning, so it needed to be shut off!

My hoof swished through open again, not finding purchase where my clock should be. I peak open my eyes to get a better look. My first view is of a white, tiled ceiling, something that no room in my house had.

Well, I guess this is not my bedroom… Wait! I know that beeping! My hoof smacks into my face. Oh, Celestia, I'm in... crap! She teleported me again, didn't she? I was really getting tired of being a punching bag for practically anything that moved, and being teleported against my will, again, wasn’t helping. Is there a frequent fliers card for this kind of thing? Speaking of which, my insurance company must hate me… Actually, I bet Luna’ll be covering this. I wonder if she get’s a discount or something...

“Luna!” I cry out, remember how bad of condition she was in last I saw her. I go to jump from my bed, intent on finding the midnight blue mare, but I am stopped by a little detail that I couldn’t believe I had missed: I was braced to the damned bed. "What the hell...?"

I crane my head, using what movement I could to survey my surroundings. I look around, relieved as I soon to see Luna resting peacefully in another bed, Celestia sitting closely beside her sister’s side.

I smile at the sight, and to my delight the solar princess turns her head towards me, her motherly gaze showing as she gives me a smile.

"Good morning, Neon,” she speaks as she stands up from her seat and trots over to me.

I go to bow but am stopped by my restraints. "Morning,” I begin, before motioning to the bonds that hold me in place. “Why am I tied down?"

Celestia let out a crescendo of soft giggles as she uses her magic to undo the restraints. "The doctors insisted they strap you down based on your last visit. If I do recall correctly, you did throw a few of my guards through a wall."

I let out a nervous chuckle, using my now free hoof to rub the back of my head. "Y-yeah… sorry about that."

She shook her head. “Do not worry about it, Dear Neon, it is all in the past, now,” she begins, before turning her focus back to her sister, who still sleeps softly. “But, there is something pressing that I must discuss with you.” The focuses back on me. “What happened in those woods? My knowledge on what happened is extremely vague, and I really would like to know what exactly transpired.”

I shrug. “Where do I begin?”

The princess sits down next to the bed, getting comfortable. “From the beginning, if you don't mind—I have made time.”

I take a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “Well, I guess we should begin with the dreams…”

“And then I… I killed him,” I finished, shaking my head. “I feel horrible for ending a pony's life, but even more so because I also feel that he deserved it.”

The princess had listened intently to the entire story, waiting patiently for me to recount the entire thing, from start to finish. “So, he said he was a pony who had preserved his soul?” She asks, and I nod. “Interesting… such a magic is unheard of. The last time I heard something like that was from… from…” The princess paused, her words trailing off.

I raise an eyebrow at Celestia’s sudden change in demeanor.

“Uh… Something wrong, Princess?” I ask, genuinely concerned.

The princess snaps back into attention, shaking her head before facing me again. “Oh, sorry about that, and no, there is nothing wrong—just something that I now know I must check on later.”

I want to inquire further, but decide to drop the topic. “Anyways, that's the entire story,” I begin again. “But… I feel like you should talk to Luna about this if you wish to know more. I mean, she was the original host of, well, him.”

Celestia nods her head. “Yes, agreed. But, later on. This experience has been rough on her… on both of you. But, I am glad that you were there for her, and can not thank you enough for being such a good friend to my dear sister.” Her gaze falls. “I tried to be there for her, be the friend she needed, but I couldn't fit. She was still angry at me, though she refused to say so. But you… You filled that role, helping my sister through and past some difficult times.”

She then stands, her horn lowering as she taped it on each of my shoulders. “Which is why I am knighting you. You have gone above and beyond for my sister, and you deserve a total as such.” She puts a hoof on my shoulder. “You've earned it, Sir Neon.”

Holy shit… Holy shit… Holy fucking shit! Screw formalities, this is freakin' awesome! I jump up and down in the bed, eventually lunging forwards and hugging the princess. “Thank you!” I scream, before pulling away and blushing as I realize what I had just done. “Oh, uh, sorry… Princess.”

The solar mare giggles, shaking her head in earnest. “Don't worry about it. And, please, call me Celestia. Your title moves you above formalities.” She then turns back to her sister. “But, we must continue this conversation later. I have briskness to attend to…” She then turns back to me. “Can you do me a favor, Sir Knight?”

I nod enthusiastically.

She smiled, letting out soft laughter. “Can you watch over my sister until she wakes? I want her to have a familiar face when she wakes up, as she can tend to be quite, well… extreme, when she is surprised.” She shook her head. “The doctors have cleared you, so you may leave as soon as you wish. There seem to be no lasting side effects from the… innocent, so you should only feel soreness for a few days.”

That said, the princess gets up and trots out of the room, leaving me alone with her sister. I take the time to get up and out of bed, the process taking longer than expected as my body feels as if it was hit by a herd of buffalo. I’ve had rough mornings, but this one really takes the cake.

With one last groan, I roll off the bed and onto my hooves. After some vigorous stretches and more ‘snaps’ and ‘pops’ then I’d ever want to hear come from my body, I take a moment to look around, finally giving the room a good look over. The walls were bleach white, while the air smelled of antiseptic and chemicals. Yup, definitely a hospital smell. The rest of the room was just as plain as the walls, standard hospital decorations of plastic plants and cheap paintings made up most of the decor.

I rolled my eyes, the cookie cutter design making me think that the decorator was just lazy. But, once again, I digress. My hooves resumed their trot as I made my way over to the princess’ bed, it’s occupant resting silently beneath the silken sheets. I popped down to her side, one of my hooves moving on its own, reaching up and grasping one of hers. Her chest slowly rises and falls, her muzzle resting in blissful neutrality.

Moments pass, maybe hours, and I continue to hold the Princess’s hoof, watching her chest slowly rise and fall. My gaze eventually wanders, and I notice a large bouquet of sunburst flowers on the bedside table, Celestia's crest residing on the side of the crystal vase. I feel my cheeks curl into a smile at the sight, but I soon tilt my head as I notice something out of place. I hadn’t noticed it at first, but I feel as though I should, that a single, blue and black rose sat besides the large bouquet, almost resting in its shadow. I ponder if it was symbolic or, perhaps, from somepony else, but I don’t get the chance as I feel the hoof that was still in mine twitch, followed by a soft, yawn. My eyes darted to the princess, who seemed to have awoken and was trying to get up.

“Ugh… What are we doing here? Why are we not in our quarters?!” she screamed, panic filling her eyes.

I reacted instantly, pushing her back down and poking my face into her point of view. “Luna, calm down! You are in the hospital, and you need to rest!”

The princess’s gaze softened once she noticed me, her body slowly sinking back into the bed. “Oh… right,” she muttered. “We almost forgot about our previous… encounter, of sorts.” She shook her head, blinking away the sleep that still clung to her eyes.

I smiled at the princess, then felt… weightless? I squirmed as I was lifted in a midnight blue aura, wiggling about like a possessed balloon. “Luna! Put me down! You know how much I hate being picked up like this!” I cried out, trying to break free of the princesses magical grasp. I knew it was pointless, but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t try. I could hear Luna giggling as she finally put me down, laying me next to her on the bed. My mouth opened to speak, but instead of words coming out, the entire contents of my lungs was exhaled as the midnight alicorn rolled onto her side and pulled me into a huge hug.

“Oh, Neon, we are so happy that you are okay!” the emotional princess spoke. “We thought we had lost you and… and we feared the worst!”

The hug somehow grew tighter, and it was now that I figured it was time to make my lack of breathing material known. “L-Luna… A… Air!” I whimper out.

The princess seemed to get the message, releasing me. I gasped for air, but I couldn’t help but smile through my gasps as a shade of red tinted the Princess’s cheeks. “Sorry about that… We seem to have gotten ahead of ourselves.”

I waved her off, still panting. “No worries… I would have… I would have reacted the same way.” I cracked my back, holding back my pain from my still sore body. “I’m just as glad to see that you’re alright, as well… Couldn’t help but feel responsible for letting that… thing in.”

I felt two hooves wrap around me again, thankfully not as hard this time. “Neon, please do not blame yourself for what has transpired. If anypony is to blame, it is me, as I helped bring that creature into this world the first time, and if I hadn’t then you never would have had to deal with him…”

Okay, that’s enough of this. I raise my head, looking the princess straight in the eyes. “No, it was not your fault. He tricked you as he tricked me. He was a parasite, leeching off of our bodies for his own selfish gain.” I shook my head. “What is done is done; the past is the past. All we can do now is move on and be thankful that it is all over, and that we will never have to deal with him again.” Huh… that wasn’t half bad, I thought, mentally patting myself on the back.

What happened next is something that I will remember for the rest of my life; a memory that I will never, ever let leave my mind.

Time practically slowed as I felt a pair of lips press into mine. My eyes widened, my heart pounding as Luna’s lips were locked with mine. I didn’t know what to do, nor did my brain have enough mental capacity to process anything other than what was happening right now.

Then, I felt her pull away, her body retreating as if she had just committed a terrible sin. My body was still failing to move as Luna shrank away from me, hiding her head beneath the sheets. “I’m so sorry, Neon! W-We didn’t mean to!” she cried from herself cocooned prison of blankets.

My brain decided that it was time to function again, and my body finally decided to give up pretending to be a tree to allow me control. I shook my head from side to side, first making sure thing was actually happening, and secondly to make sure that I wasn’t… yeah, to make sure that this was really happening.

But, then I heard the cries.

I looked down that the shuttering ball of bed sheets that lay beside me, cries of fear and regret filling the air. My face turned serious, all shock and hesitance thrown away by that horrible sound. I sat up and began to pull at the bundle of blankets, trying to unwrap the princess that was hiding underneath. I felt resistance as I pulled at the side, and I eventually had to use the added force of my magic to finally break the Princess from the cocoon. The blanket was thrown aside by my magical grasp, revealing the still crying princess held beneath, her eyes refusing to meet my own. I leaned forwards, trying to remove the princess’s hooves from her face. “Come on, Luna. Please stop crying,” I softly cooed.

The princess shook her head, tears still flowing freely. “No! You hate me now! I made things awkward because I could not control myself!”

My face fell at that comment, the words echoing through my head. Somehow, whether it was from the shock of the situation, or me just being an idiot, I never actually considered what the kiss actually meant. I mean, I’m pretty sure that meant like liked me, but… did I love her too? I mean, she is beautiful; her eyes twinkle like the stars itself, and her face is absolutely breathtaking. And… and she was definitely kind… and smart… and funny… and absolutely adorable when she slipped into her ye olden speech…That was it, that was the answer. There was only one thing that I could do in that moment, only one action in my mind actually making sense.

With a gently hoof, I slowly pulled away one of the hooves that covered the princess’s face, allowing me to get a glimpse of her dark, but mysterious irises. Her eyes were red, tears still flowing, although not as violently as earlier.

I gave her a gentle smile, holding out a hoof. She took it, and I slowly pulled her to an upright position. With a sniffle, the princess spoke, “S-sorry about that… We didn’t know what came over us and only hope that our friendship isn’t–mmph!”

She didn’t get to finish, her lips cut off as I pulled them into mine, holding her in the deepest kiss I could give. It was her turn for her eyes to go wide, and her body to freeze. But, sooner than me, she recovered, her eyes slowly closing as she wrapped her hooves around my neck, holding me close. I smiled through the kiss, regretfully breaking it far too soon. I pulled back, watching Luna’s eyes open and a goofy smile gracing her lips.

I tried to not laugh, I really did, but that adorably silly was too much. I snorted… then chuckled… then burst out into tears laughing. I could only imagine that mine was just as awkwardly, as I soon heard the midnight alicorn’s laughter join with mine.

We both lay on the small medical bed, bout of us laughing until our sides hurt, and we practically gasped for breath. After that, the room slowly fell into a silence, neither of us truly knowing what to say next.

“So… what now?” I asked, making my thought’s known.

“We… we do not know,” she begins, sitting up on the bed. “We have not had a romantic partner for some time, and are not familiar to the proper courtships of modern times. We would try with the style of old, but from experience we know that does not always work as planned…”

I nod in agreement, holding back a chuckle at the moments that I had been there to watch. “Yeah, I would hold off on that.” I let out a sigh. “I just… can I even date you? Being a princess ‘n’ all? Don’t I have to be a, I don’t know, prince, or something?”

Luna lets out a laugh. “No, no! There is nothing of the sort. That was abolished years before I was banished, as they found the harmful effects of inbreeding.” She shuttered of repressed memories of the topic.

I couldn’t help but shiver myself at the thought, but smiled at the actual meaning behind it. “So… there is no problem?” I asked hopefully.

The princess bit her lip. “While we see no issue, though we do believe we should consult our sister before continuing any further.” She pauses, then smiles. “But, no matter what she says, we do want to be with you. Even if it means in secret.”

I chuckle, shaking my head. “Considering that we have been meeting in secret this entire time, I really don’t see the difference, to be honest.”

Luna smiled as she nodded in agreement. “This is true, and we have no problem if this is to become the eventuality.” Her cheeks curled up even further at the thought, her hooves reaching over and pulling me into a bone-crushing hug. “Oh! We are most excited to have you as our ‘special somepony’!”

My eyes threatened to bulge out of my head while my ribs threatened to break from the force of her embrace. However, her force slowly reduced to a manageable level, and I wrapped my hooves around the princess, returning the embrace. “I am glad too, Luna.”

We remained in the hug, the princess nuzzling her head into my chest and snuggling up close to me. Our bodies entangled as we snuggled into each other on the hospital bed, content smiles remaining on both of our faces as silence ruled over the room. I looked down at the princess that was curled up on my side, her eyes closed and her smile wide. I couldn’t help but internally chuckle at the size difference between us, her alicorn body making her substantially taller than me, and, I hated to admit it, but she was even more well built them me. But, I didn’t let this bother me. I scanned over the rest of her features; truly admiring how beautiful the princess was. I was glad that nopony was there to see me, as the goofy smile that was most likely plastered on my face would have been prime real estate for an endless supply of jokes.

How could I be so lucky?

I thought back to the previous month's, remembering the first time I met the mare curled up in my hooves. She had been so awkward, yet so willing and wanting to fit in—to be like the common pony. I remembered our first ‘date’, and the following almost heart attack from the damned price of the thing. I remembered every moment we spent together, the good and the bad. Trust me, when it got bad, it got bad. But, even after getting my ass kicked, abducted, and having my soul forcefully ripped from my body, I would do it all again to keep the mare I have come to love in my hooves.

But, then a thought popped into my head, one that I should have thought about earlier: what about everyone else? I had been so focused on Luna (and being kidnapped, but that’s excusable) that I’ve barely had time to think about them. My work, my friends, my family. I haven’t been able to put any time in for them!

Then something depressing dawned on me: I don’t really have many friends. I mean, there were ponies I used to hang out with, some old college buddies and a few fellow DJ’s, but as I dedicated more time to my career, they just kinda… slipped away.

Holy shit...

I couldn’t even remember the last time I hung out with anypony besides Luna! I can’t believe it’s taken me until now to realize this. I mean, I was on my way into becoming a crazy cat lady… How could I have not figured this out sooner! I mean, wouldn’t I have felt lonely?

Was I?

Thinking back, I guess I kinda was. I mean, my life was fine; the club was fun and I always enjoyed making music, but the time between shows was always horrible. Eating alone, passing out on my couch, tinkering with a new sound equipment design. That had become my schedule. And they were all things that I did… alone.

I felt myself holding the princess in my arms tighter, her presence now meaning even more to me than before.

Then another thought popped into my mind, one that practically made my eyes bulge out. Big Time is going to kill me! I had not been around for… what was it? A month? Crap, I don’t even know how long it was! What the hell does he think?! My heart pumped, anxiety rising as I tried to calm myself. What if he fired me when I got back?!

“Neon, is something wrong?” I heard a voice mutter from my chest. “Your heart rate has increased, and you are breathing really heavily.”

Crap. I thought, taking a deep breath. “Nothing is wrong, I guess, it's just that I’m finally realizing the gravity of what happened. I mean, I’ve been gone for a month, now. Are ponies worried about me? And what about my boss! I’m just worried about how they’ll take it. Heck, I don’t even know if I can say the truth!”

The midnight alicorn’s gaze turned to me, her face softening at my visual unease. “Neon, please calm down. We will take care of everything, worry not. It is not your fault that this happened, and thus you shouldn’t have to deal with the complications of what happened.” She smiled, leaning up to kiss me on the cheek. “I will personally make sure that everything is fine, we promise.”

I stare into Luna’s eyes, only seeing complete sincerity. My fear slowly fell as I began to calm down, her words soothing my worries. I smile back at her. “Okay, Luna, I trust you.”

She smiles back. “Good! Now, let us get up from this bed and meet our sister for food! We do believe it is around lunchtime, is it not?”

I licked my lips at the thought of food, my hunger finally making itself known. “I don’t really care if is or not, I’m starving!”

Luna giggles, rolling her eyes as she begins to roll, “–holy shit! No, Luna, wait!” I scream, but too late as Luna’s movements push me from the bed, my hooves flailing as I land flat on my back. I let out a groan of pain, my still sore body not liking the fall one bit.

The midnight alicorn landed on her hooves as she finished her roll, her face wincing with embarrassment. “Oops… we are sorry about that,” she mutters meekly, using her magic to help me get to my hooves. “We didn’t mean to push you off.”

“It’s okay,” I begin, cracking my back. “Now, let’s eat!”

Oh my Celestia! I forgot how good the castle food was! Considering I hadn't technically eaten anything in a few weeks, it’s pretty easy to guess that I was a little hungry.

Luna and I had arrived in the castle dining room only minutes ago, a full table of food awaiting us. Celestia wasn't anywhere to be seen, but we were informed by a maid that she was going to be a little late before we got a chance to ask. The midnight alicorn took her normal seat next to the edge of the table, and I plopped down next to her, wasting no time and dug in, which is where I was now, stuffing my face with awesome food.

It was now that the doors to the grand dining hall opened and the other half of the equestrian government trotted in. Celestia smiled and me and Luna as she trotted over to her seat at the end of the table, sitting down and levitating a napkin into her lap.

“I see that Neon is enjoying the food,” she spoke with a chuckle, to which I was too preoccupied to to reply. The then turned to her sister, levitating some food from the buffet in front of her onto her plate. “Good to see you up and trotting, Lulu.”

“And it is good to be up,” Luna said with a nod, filling her own plate. “We appear to only be a little sore, and the doctors have informed me that no permanent damage was sustained.”

“Good to hear,” Celestia replied, before turning to me. “And how about you, Sir Neon?”

I nodded, chewing and swallowing. “I'm not doing half bad, actually. I mean, I’m a little sore, like Luna, but other than that I feel fine.”

“Good to hear,” the white alicorn replied. “But, we’ve got more serious matters to discuss.”

I raise an eyebrow. “About what?”

“You story,” she answered. “As much as I hate lying to my subjects, letting this little… Incident became public would do far more harm than good. So, I've arranged for a ‘cover-story’ to be implemented as an excuse for your absence.”

Oh, crap, I almost forgot about that! “That’s perfect, actually. I've got a lot of explaining to do to my boss at the club, and I'm gonna need all of the help I can get.”

“One of my scribes is detailing an airtight excuse for your absence, and shall hand it to you when you leave,” the white alicorn spoke, wiping her mouth with her napkin.

The rest of the meal went by in relative silence, all parties too consumed by their food to converse. As soon as we were done, and the table had been cleared off by the servants, a single teapot was set in the middle of the table, which Celestia immediately used her magic to pour herself cup.

“Sister…” Luna spoke up, pouring herself her own cup. “There is something we must tell you.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

She bit her lip, looking to me. What did she look like she suddenly didn't want to be here? It's not like she’s telling her… Oh, wait… Crap.

“Me and Neon… Have mutually agreed to start seeing each other in a romantic manner, wishing for you blessing to continue the relationship.”

Hot tea flew across the table as Celestia’s eyes went wide. “W-what?”

“I and Neon are now dating… You you have a problem with this?”

Celestia cleaned her chin with her napkin. “No, no! Not at all! You just surprised me, that’s all.” She chuckled. “I guess I should have seen it coming, as you two were practically inseparable when you first interfaced me to him, sister.”

I released the breath that I was holding, glad that this turned out a lot better than I had expected.

“I just want to remind Neon that he shall fear the full rage that is the sun if he is to disappoint or hurt you.” I don't even need to look as I can feel Celestia’s gaze burn into the side of my head.

I avoided eye contact, trying not to scream. “N-noted…” I mumbled out.

Her eyes turned off of me and a smile graced her lips. “Excellent. Then, I congratulate both of you, but I already suspect that you understand this must remain privately, correct?”

We both nod. “Yeah, we already talked about that before. Kinda sucks, but what can you do?” I said with a shrug. “Whelp, I hate to dine and dash, but I've got some explaining to do to a bunch of ponies, so I’m gonna go and head off to do that.” I got up from my chair, bowing to Celestia and giving Luna a peck on the cheek. “See you soon, Luna.”

The mare smile in return. “Sooner than you think, Neon.”

I waved goodbye to each of them as I left the dining hall, making my way through the snaking hallways and towards the castle entrance. Before I was able to exit, a messenger trotted up to me and hoofed me a scroll, telling me it was the cover Celestia had given to me. I thanked the mare, before heading out of the castle, a mile long smile spanning my cheeks...