She Rocks My World

by LightningSword

"Stop worrying and just follow me."

The Waterhorse Hotel may have looked nice on the outside, but inside, it was overrun by some of the worst ponies in Manehattan. To many underworld connections, the Waterhorse was a front for a mob operation, and many gangsters took their business here, whether it be drugs, weapons, or prostitution. Things were run pretty smoothly in the Waterhorse, and today was no different.

At least for a while.

The front door opened, and a lovely young Pegasus mare walked into the lobby. She nervously tossed back her pink mane and looked around, as if hoping nopony would spot her. She continued straight, aiming for the front desk, until she felt her tail grabbed from behind.

She turned, and saw a tough-looking Unicorn stallion with tan fur and a shaggy black mane seizing her by the tail with his magic. He leered at her as he pulled her in close, “How you doin', baby?”

The mare tried to struggle at first, but the stallion's magic was unyielding. He pulled her to one side of the lobby and towards the bar, where a gang of stallions waited for somepony. When the Unicorn showed up with the Pegasus in tow, they parted and allowed them into the group.

The leader, a tall, dark Earth pony stallion in shades, saw the Pegasus coming, and held up both front hooves expectantly, as if waiting for an explanation. The mare saw the look on his face and became even more anxious, “Um . . . what?”

“Oh, so you don't know?” Shades snapped back, “I'm gettin' a little tired of you not wantin' to show up as often as you used to. What, is this you thinkin' you have some kinda choice here?”

“Well . . .” the mare muttered softly, her voice getting softer with each word, “I . . . I just thought . . . . well, I don't . . . really want . . . to be in the . . . . in the group anymore . . .”

Her timid statement was met with a slam of a hoof on the bar, at which she squeaked, terrified.

“So, this is you thinkin' you have a choice!” Shades snarled, “Well, let me tell you somethin' doll. Nopony gets outta the group without the say-so from Big D! And that's 'cause Big D runs Manehattan! Everypony in this building belongs to him! The clerk at the front desk, the waitresses, the bartender over there, the mule who does the sweeping, everypony! That means you! And there ain't no questions about it!”

“But . . . but you . . . . treat me so badly . . . all of you . . . .”

“So what?! You ain't here to talk about your feelings! You're here to give me some good pony tail when I ask! Maybe if you're lucky, you won't come out with bruises this time!” Shades tapped his hoof on the bar, and the bartender brought him and his crew a round of drinks. They each took a mug and began to chug.

The mare sat at the bar, looking downcast. She gave a slight whine, but didn't speak as Shades sat his mug down and looked her over like a naughty foal. It made her want to look around and hope Shades and his crew were the only ones here tonight.

---

The door opened again, and two more guests stepped into the Waterhorse's lobby. Nocturne and Spike walked straight down, casing the place as they walked. Spike had involuntarily glanced back when an Earth pony stallion by the door had come after them, yelling out, “Hey! Hey, private party goin' on here! Hey!” Once he'd quieted down, Spike looked at him uneasily; he'd nodded toward the bar. A glance in that direction, and he saw that he'd nodded to a particularly lethal-looking group of stallions, with that one mare stuck in the middle, looking miserable.

“Jeez,” Spike shivered, “This is starting to look like that one Michael Trackson music video. You know, the one with Chris Bucker and Marlon Bronco?”

“I can see her,” Nocturne mumbled subtly to Spike, ignoring his words, “She's over on your side, by the bar.”

“Man, I got a bad feeling about this,” the dragon answered, “We don't wanna be starting something here.”

“Stop worrying and just follow me,” Nocturne replied calmly, “Put on a catchy tune and be distracting, and I'll take care of everything else.”

“Hold it!” Spike stepped in front of Nocturne and pressed his paws against his chest, “I'm serious, man. I'm feeling just a bit threatened, now.”

“I got this!”

“No way, Nocturne! Listen to me! You're not invincible! Come on!”

Nocturne merely eased him out of the way, repeating coolly, “Spike, I got this.” And he continued down the walk to the front desk.

As Nocturne passed by the bar, he stared at the mysterious beauty he'd followed here. Now, instead of looking nervous, she looked sad, as if the tough-colts around her somehow forced her to stay where she was. One of them could even be her coltfriend, Nocturne suddenly thought. But if that were true, she'd look a lot happier to see him, and happy was one thing she couldn't possibly be right now. If one of them was, he was clearly ignoring her, maybe worse. If not, then the opportunity was only that much more perfect.

Another look saw one of them, and Earth pony in shades, hold her hoof to his lips and kiss it. That one was definitely her coltfriend. And by the look on her face (Nocturne almost felt guilty at having to suppress his excitement), she was completely repulsed by this shades pony.

Nocturne saw the mare look back at him, and could swear he looked in a mirror for a moment. She looked entranced with him, fixated, as if she'd felt the same way about him that he did about her. It could be possible; after all, her present company seemed to make her want to be anywhere else at the moment. But it seemed more than just getting away from these sleazeballs. Much more.

Across from the bar was a small karaoke stage that was being set up, and Nocturne turned and made his way towards it, giving the pink-maned mare a reassuring look beforehand. Slipping between ponies at tables and ducking wreaths of cigar smoke, he went up to the stage and slipped behind the curtain. One quick look at Spike, and he was sure things would go smoothly; the little dragon stood on a chair next to a nearby jukebox, going through his change and pouring through a host of different tunes, ready to begin.

Nocturne quickly pushed past a brawny Unicorn stallion, knocking him down as he worked the curtain ropes with his magic. The rope slipped from his telekinetic grasp, and the curtain spread wide, leaving only a thin, yellow, translucent screen covering the stage. The stage lights shone behind it, and striding up to the middle was the silhouette of a slender, bat-winged Pegasus in a fedora.

This was the signal. Spike jammed in a couple of bits and picked a good jam to play for Nocturne's little serenade.

“My life . . . .”

Nocturne lifted a hoof slowly, his silhouette matching his every move. He bent at the knees and straightened his lifted leg ninety degrees. The music began at a slow pace, almost unheard at first among the bustle. Once Nocturne's voice could be heard, the chatter slowly died down, and more and more eyes fell on him.

“. . . . will never be the same . . . .”

He stood on his hind legs, unfurled his wings, and lifted both front legs straight up over him, right at the cue of a single note from the horn section in the playing song. The crowd followed his shadow's movements, transfixed and impressed with the show.

“. . . . you rid me of my pain . . . .”

Nocturne slowly turned and pulled his wings back in, still on two legs. He threw a front hoof out to the side, popped into a spin, and struck another legs-out pose with wings spread, at another prompt from the horns in the song.

“. . . . it's in your trot . . . . . give what you got . . . .”

Nocturne turned to the side, keeping smooth and steady, and folded his wings again. He held up a front hoof and made a short, slow sweeping gesture to finish the overture.

“. . . . I cannot explain . . . .”

Now that the audience was watching, the show could begin.

Author's Note:

Again, changed lyrics in keeping with the rules. I hope it was enough, I was at a loss.

Comments

[bluebelle]

Awesome!

[LightningSword]

5459694 Thanks again!

[GottaLovePinkiePie]

Double awesome!

He leered at her as he pulled her in close, “How you doin', baby?”

Was that a Joey reference?

[LightningSword]

5480984 Could be, if I knew what "Joey reference" meant . . . .

[LightningSword]

8614442
It's based on a music video. It kinda has to be short.