Music of the Night

by Aegis Shield

Help Me Make the Music

Music of the Night 4: Help Me Make the Music

Even Cleff’s astute sense of direction and location was completely thrown off when Princess Luna led him off of his room’s balcony and into the night. He could not sense her flying, but he knew he was being lifted somehow. If somepony had told him the god-like magic had gripped every molecule of his being, morphed him into a mist and then whisked him away for transport, he would’ve laughed. But, it was the truth. Luna’s gaseous form could extend to others if she merely touched them and concentrated hard enough. As soon as they settled into the cloud-like form, she took off like a shot into the night sky. Just as she did, she heard the confused voice of a mare that had just forced the door by magic. “Cleff…?” Luna chuckled at her calling. As though a normal unicorn could compete with a goddess. Feh.

Steering their transport skyward into the highest towers of Canterlot’s royal palace, she lingered on the balcony of her own room. The palace hosted three high towers. One was for Celestia, one for herself, and the third for the astronomy department of Canterlot (what I high honor!). But, there was little privacy given that one could see from any one of the towers into the others. Curtains would not do well if Celestia decided to peek at her this night, after she’d basically fled from the Royal Opera House.

Frowning inwardly, Luna instead took to a different section of the castle. A deeper, darker section. The sparkling whisp of cloud forced itself into a closed window, then down a hall, through a secret passage, down hidden stairs, around and around a stairwell that had not been touched in centuries, and into the deepest din. Below the dungeons, below the sealed archives of forbidden knowledge Celestia only trusted to her closest advisers., and into what could’ve been a cave system or a waterway. There was standing water in a good portion of it, though there were enough dry portions to warrant candles and even furniture. Luna’s old room.

Forgotten by all, it was her sanctuary. Someplace the sun would never touch where she kept her greatest treasures and deepest secrets. When she arrived with Cleff she solidified them both again, snapping the candles alight with a thought. A fire roared into existence, and someplace miles away a stack of wood vanished from a lumberjack’s woodpile. How? Well, Princess Luna was a goddess after all.

Cleff shuddered, hoofing at the ground a little. A whole new set of information flooded his senses and he snorted a few times, trying to take in his surroundings with perked ears. The drip and echo of water told him it was underground. The stench of old parchment said it was furnished like an archive. The heat of flame and touch of light on his sensitive skin told him it was at leasted capable of hospitality. He cocked his head, his breath quivering in the cool air while the fire worked hard to heat the enclosure. The cave was monstrous, and it would take a bit of time to make it pleasant. “This place.” He whispered with a quivering voice. Luna looked at him as he hoofed the ground carefully a few times. “It’s old— very old— older than memory.” The Princess marveled not for the first time at how very aware the blind stallion was of his surroundings. It was true, the room hadn’t been used in a millennia.

Luna looked around, frowning at the cracked armor hung on the wall. Nightmare Moon’s armor. She’d thrust it into this room after her resurrection as Princess Luna, promising never to look at it again. But, this room had other uses now and it could easily be covered by a sheet or something. Ancient scrolls lay in cubbyholes covering one of the walls, and a placid lake of mineral water burbled quietly nearby. Light reflected this way and that, and the fire was slowly warming the place. The massive bed in the center of the madness was covered with a thick sheet. She thrust it aside by magic, and the black velvet with gold trim bed was revealed. She smiled, remembering it well. Time had been kind to it, all things considered. Moving about the secret place, she took sheets from all of the furniture. The desk, the Equestrian border map, all of the statues and trinkets and surfaces she’d carefully covered before leaving the room a thousand years ago. Nostalgia rushed back to her like a great wave. Cleff coughed a little in the disturbed dust, drawing her attention back to him. If only he could see its magnificence, she thought. Tossing one of the sheets over the suit of armor hanging on the wall, she turned and ignited any remaining candles so that the sanctuary was finally completely lit. The stench of burning dust permeated for a bit, so she lit a dozen ancient scented candles to rid the place of the smell. They were slow to start working, but soon helped. Luna turned to Cleff with a seductive look he could not see, so she let her voice do the talking:

We have brought you

To the seat of sweet night time’s throne

To this kingdom where all must homage to night time…

Night time…

Cleff’s head cocked and his ears rose. This was a new tone, a new emotion from the mare of the night. His mind glazed just a little as older magicks massaged his mind and temples. He tilted his head back a little, his eyes closing. His mouth went just a little bit agape, and Luna was reminded of a stallion’s… well… happiest moment in bed. The way his brows tilted up and his mane shuddered just so, it was palpable. She smiled bemusedly, widening the tiny thread of magic she’d pressed into his moldable mind. She wanted him, and he would want her before this was over.

You have come here, for one purpose and one alone,

Since the moment we first heard you sing,

We have needed you with us, to serve us, to sing,

For our night time.

Our night time.

She’d slowly crossed the room over a centuries-old plush carpet, muffling her approach as her wings slowly opened themselves in a slightly lewder greeting. Luna could only see Cleff before her, handsome stallion that he was. She panted. Just once. He tilted his head a little so it looked like he was looking up at her. Whispering her song to him, she stood beside him. Lowering one extended wing over his back, she pulled him strongly to her side. He was warm, warm and alive and shivering just a little. She’d put an end to that shivering soon enough. Heh. She smiled grandly when his back slowly extended and he raised his head to her. She lowered her head, nuzzling up and down his long neck. Cleff moaned quietly, a needy and male sound. Luna’s smile lowered into a smirk of confidence. Leading him slowly about the room, she would pause on occasion to let him examine ancient artifacts: Music boxes, instruments nopony had seen in centuries, scrolls telling of ancient secrets, and even the caress of her black velvet bed.

“Thou didst not sing the entire song the first night we met, Cleff.” Luna said softly, nosing his mane a little bit. He gave a light and blushing shudder. “The Music of the Night has more lyrics than we let you sing that night.” she was backing him slowly onto the bed. His back hoofs caught on the end a little until he fell spread-eagle onto his back with a grunt. “We have found the rest, do not worry…” she gave a quiet and seductive coo.

Floating— falling— sweet intoxication—

Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation—

Let our dreams begin,

Let your darker side give in—

To the power of the shadows in our nights…

The power of the darkness in our ni-iiiights ...

Cleff was overwhelmed. The scent of her, the warmth of her quietly lusting— well maybe not quietly lusting, but lusting none the less— body shimmying atop his. The quiver of her hooves slowly rolling small circles on his temples. He felt her remove his glasses and toss them into darkness where they never struck the floor. The heat of his face, the shiver of her muzzle slowly coming over his. Magic he could not sense pressed in around him, molding her hot desires into every fiber of his— Luna stopped suddenly when the poor stallion passed out.

The Princess sat up, blink-blinking in surprise. Had he… had he just fainted? She looked at him, poking at his face a few times. Sure enough. She frowned, sighing as her hair seemed to sag over her face for a moment. Shaking her mane out and rising, she gave a tinkling giggle. “Perhaps we’ve used a bit too much magic on dear Cleff.” She admitted to herself. Males were so easy to inspire desire in, perhaps she’d gone a bit overboard. Just a little. She severed the Want-It-Need-It spell that connected Cleff to herself. Promising not to use such powerful magic again, she brushed his mane to one side with a careful hoof. Leaning down, she kissed his forehead tenderly.

The Princess laid Cleff out on his side so he’d be more comfortable. Pulling a black velvet comforter to his neck, she sidled off of the bed so that he could rest alone. She smiled gently, her eyes lidding before she quietly turned back to the mess that was her sanctuary. She had work to do.

You alone can make all songs take flight…

You’ll help us make the music of— the— night.

Quieting herself, she set about the task of restoring her chambers while he rested. Occasionally she would glance at his handsome face over her shoulder, and smile. With a surgeon’s precision to keep everything completely silent, Princess Luna sat on her haunches to focus as the entire room began to rearrange itself to her new likings.

=-=-=-=

Cleff awoke feeling warm and soft. Like he’d just risen from a hot bath, or had fallen asleep in the afternoon sun. He took a deep breath of waking, shifting just a little and touching his face with a hoof. His black glasses were gone. He sat up, pleasantly achy from his long slumber. He heard the dripping of the cave around him, the echo of quiet movement nearby. He perked his ears slowly, pawing gently at his matted mane and his slowly heating face. He did not know exactly where he was, the mare of the night had made sure of that, no doubt. The next thing he noticed, as he was slowly rising, was that his suit was gone. The bowtie, the jacket, and everything else had been removed and stowed Celestia knew where. Ponies had no concept of nudity, but undressing someone else still held the same connotations. His face colored a little more when he heard more sounds of movement to one side, and he called out in a meeker voice:

I remember there was mist, swirling mist upon a vast endless night,

There were candles all around and on the breeze there was a voice,

And with the voice there was a— mare…

Luna looked up from her work. There were dozens of books and scrolls floating around her, new ones that had quills dancing across them. Song books and tomes on the theory of music and opera lay open all around her. Her work area had been transformed from a large writing desk to a semi-circle of scrolls and paper chaos. But there was a mild order in the chaos, for it all pertained to a new project she was working on, though secret for now. Her face lit up a bit, and she stood with a clip-clop of her back hooves. Cleff’s ears perked at the sound, straining against the echo to pinpoint her. He moved slowly across the room, gingerly bumping into a statue here and a chair there. He could smell her now, her quiet and undeniable feminine scent.

Who was that pony in shadow?

Who was the mare in the da-arrrrk?

Cleff’s hooves came up, higher but close enough to stroke Luna’s face. She closed her eyes in pure, undeniable bliss. His touch was gentle, probing, trying to memorize the beauty of her face. His hooves began to wander higher to stroke her mane, up over her forehead—

Luna JERKED away with a sudden loud pant. He’d almost discovered her horn. He could not know she had both wings and a horn, he would discover her identity. Panting a little, she tried to come up with something quickly, “Uhm… C-Cleff, thou rested well we hope?”

The stallion looked a little at a loss for a moment, his face red and his head cocked to one side. Perhaps he’d been a little too forward? It was hard to tell with the mare of the night. “Y-yes.” He said softly. Luna turned, snatching his black glasses off her workstation and putting them on his face with a flourish. He adjusted them with a nervous smile. “Thank you.” He said embarassedly.

“Er…” The Princess thought for a few awkward moments, then licked her lips and spoke up again. “Come, we must return. Those foals that run the Royal Opera House will be missing their star.” She put a hoof on his shoulder, and Cleff’s stomach clenched as the odd rushing feeling began to wash over him again. Out of the cavernous deep, Luna’s gaseous travelling form worked its way rapidly to the surface.

End of Part 4

Comments

[Twilight_Crow]

OMC, this is beautiful!! Love it. Songfics with deep stories around the songs are awesome. I usually avoid LunaXOC, but yours is really well done and I like Cleff.

You should totally send this to EQD, you have nothing to lose and readers to win.

I really can't wait to see where this is going, so I'm going to resort to this: MOAR!!

[PurpleRibbon]

Oh, yeah, suggestive ponies!
No, but seriously, good work.

[FanNotANerd]

You forgot the shrine thing, complete with a mannequin in a wedding...crap. Tuxedo? I don't know.

I'm kidding. This is just as awesome as ever. And I'm going to keep bugging you to submit this to EqD until you do.

DO IT!

[Aegis Shield]

291330 Well it can't be a complete retelling or you would know everything that was going to happen beforehand, haha! It's BASED from the story Phantom of the Opera. There'd be no point if I went scene for scene, as you'll soon see me branching out a bit more. I try to have a song in each part, yes, but they may carry different contexts than the play.

As far as EqD goes... maybe when its finished? I dunno...

[White Wolf]

Oh, boy. this not going end well for Luna and Cleff.