The Everfree Chronicles: The Alchemist

by Roran Dreamon

Chapter 20: Date Night

Looking at Luna I can see that she is blushing up a storm, clearly not sure on how to proceed with a date, neither do I but those cheesy romance novels that I had acquired from Twilight told me what I exactly need to do next. Offering her my hoof she takes it as I help her up and out the door, the two of us walking down the halls, talking about what we have been doing in our time, she said she has been relearning the entire system and how it operated seeing how it has changed during her thousand year imprisonment, how she has to update her speaking skills since the 'Royal Canterlot Voice' was now obsolete and that her shouting could and probably would make anyone within the blast zone deaf.

When it came to me about what I have been up to for the past month I told her that I was busy growing my pelt back and teaching Scootaloo how to fly, running the Everfree, dealing with Diamond Dog incursions, making a deal with the Gryphons and lastly making a treaty of sorts with the dragons. Said treaty was rather secretive and when my dear Luna tried to pry about it I simply bopped her on the nose gently before telling her that it is a secret. She gave an adorable huff than pouting which made me nearly grab for my heart for how adorable she is making herself out to be for not getting what she wants.

Smiling to myself we continued on our merry way, her insistent prying about the treaty was cute but even then I have limits as to what she can do to get information out of me.

Taking the long way to the park within Canterlot, Luna and I spend the time to get there just chatting about the small things in life and often talking about the years we spent together when she was Nightmare Moon and when I was just her guardian. That particular conversation hit a few snags when we had to leave out a few important bits and pieces seeing how we were in the general public and did not want those things from getting out.

"Nightshade, remember that time I caught you trying to sneak into my bedchambers at the dead of night when I was sleeping." Luna said, wearing a smug grin while I grimaced at that particular memory.

"Yes, I remember....not my best attempt at sneaking a peak at you while you were sleeping but it wasn't entirely my fault!" I said, my voice slightly rising before I quickly quieted myself down, a few of the rich ponies that were nearby looked at us for a while before shrugging to themselves and went about their business.

"Oh yes, the horrors of puberty, I heard that excuse before." Luna says as she teasingly nudges me with her rump, slightly knocking me off balance before I catch myself and glare at her, Luna giggling in the process as my glare dies down to a flat stare.

Smirking to myself I grin a bit before speaking up, "Luna, I also remember that whenever I did peak into your room that you were in a, what was it again, a 'compromising' position and not once did you shift yourself properly when you caught my gaze." still smirking as she starts blushing deeply, her normally dark blue coat now rapidly tinting red as she cuffs me on the back of the head with her wing which only makes me snicker at her.

It soon got quiet between us, her blushing face hardly dying down as we arrived to the park, my wing slowly pulling her close to me as it soon covers her own and in that hug I felt her right wing twitch slightly before snapping itself shut tightly and enjoyed the embrace.

"Another thing Luna" taking her to the bench and letting her sit down first before letting myself get comfortable next to her as I continued on, "Remember that one time I accidentally angered a Hydra down at Froggy Bottom Bog and nearly drowned in sludge?", that one particular memory quickly spinning off in my head as I laughed a bit.

She looked up at the clear night sky for a while, a hoof placed on her chin as she contemplated and thought back to that day, recalling that special event with a gleeful smile.

"Yes, I do remember that one, it was when you were practicing your transformation magic and you had turned it into a newt and when it shifted back to its original form it had started chasing you. I later learned that you tripped in the mud and was slowly sinking in it because you thought it was a good idea to use a rock as a hiding spot." Luna smirking the entire time as I lowered my head in shame, that day was not one of my greatest moments as a student to royalty.

"Also Nightshade don't forget the time you nearly burnt down the castle when you tried to bake me a cake."

"Oh dear spirits above Luna! Please don't remind me!" I nearly shouted at that, the day I nearly burned down the castle was not only both humiliating and painful but it was also just plain sad on my part. I had not only failed my cooking class but I had also failed in my fire fighting techniques and the following day after the fire was put out I had to scrape all the burnt pieces off by hoof. Let me tell you something, scrapping hard oak cabinets with modified hoof guards is no easy task let alone a task that should be done while half asleep. I had ended up doing more damage to the cabinets than the fire ever did and I had to replace the broken panels with new ones that I had to carve by hoof. It came out nicely but the berating I got from my ghost mentor was enough to encourage me to not buck it up again.

Staring up at the night sky we discussed with what we have been doing in our time apart, mainly me dealing with the mantle of leadership and its heavy price that goes with it, and as for Luna it was trying to re-learn how to speak like a normal pony, getting used to the monarchy system and also trying to hush the rumors that she is still Nightmare Moon. Not that being Nightmare Moon is a bad thing, even though she was 'evil' she still had great flanks, a wonderful figure and an evil laugh that would make even my spine tingle but sadly wishing my little Luna to go back to that phase of her life might make her hate me so I will just keep that inkling of a thought to myself.

"You know Luna, Nightmare Night is coming up and I am wondering if you would be attending it this year at Ponyville since I highly doubt any of these...ponies here would even celebrate it without thinking it would earn a favor from you or I." I said while levitating a small telescope and passed it over to Luna whose gaze transfixes itself into a confused stare.

"Nightshade, pray tell what are We supposed to do with this?"

"From here Luna you can see Prince Blueblood's room, please look at it and tell me if he is holding a small box in his hooves?" I said with a small hint of childish innocence in it, trying very hard to hold in my laughter as my plan starts to unfold.

And with that Luna takes the telescope from my magical grasp and holds it in her on. Lifting the brass tube to her eye she adjusts it to where it is looking into Blueblood's room and from my point of view she lets out a small shiver, probably feeling wrong for spying into another ponies room but it could also probably from even looking at the jerk of a royal pony.

"Shady, what are thou plotting? Blueblood is indeed holding your package in his hooves but...but...Bwahahahahaha!" The night princess suddenly bursts out in laughter. The cause of said laughter? The package that I gave Blueblood was a ink bomb and as soon as the lid is fully opened the ink sac inside exploded, sending black quill ink everywhere in the direction the box is open. And let me tell you something, a pissed off and humiliated Blueblood is the second best thing in the world next to Luna wearing long socks and laying on the bed giving me a sultry stare and a wink.

Best dreams any stallion could ever have with the mare of their dreams.

Mostly my dreams if anypony asks.

"So how do you like your first gift for the date my sweet night pony?" I said while acting as smooth as I can possibly be, seeing how this my first real date with anypony and that Luna seems to be having a good time.

"This is simply marvelous! We would never think to do such a...what is that stallion up to now? Did thou...didst thou put screen on his bathroom door? How didst thou even do such a thing without anypony knowing!" and from what Luna is saying the second part of the prank came to effect. After being blasted by the ink bomb Blueblood would or at least should be galloping straight to his bathroom to clean up the ink staining his coat and clothes but blocking that door to the bathroom is a nearly invisible wall of plastic wrap, a special type of plastic wrap that sticks to the first thing that comes into contact with it, and that first thing Blueblood then the outcome is simple. A Prince freaking out and flailing about before falling over himself while the guards at his door hold in their laughter.

A brilliant plan for a calm night with a lovely mare to enjoy it with.

"A trade secret Luna but I can tell you later but for now it is time for us to continue on our date with a special dinner. And by special I mean it is not back at my place cause I can't cook to save my life and you know that. Just, follow me my sweet mare." I said while trying to be smooth but Luna saw right through it and snickered at me while trying to cover it with a hoof but I heard it and played along and laughed also.

As we left the park I can just feel the anger being directed at me from a particular stallion but neither I nor Luna could care about the irritating prince's problems or even heed the warnings that Celestia gave us both about messing with her nephew, said warnings we ignored cause we thought it was fun to mess with the little urchin prince. Leaving the park behind us we went across from it to the ice ring where there was actually a few ponies in it, mostly teenagers with their dates just like us.

Looking at them we both let a small sigh, the ponies before us are having a good time and just as we arrive to the outer part of the ring the pony couples that were already ice skating turned their heads toward us and a few even bowed, and even fewer of those that bowed to us fell over from being off-balanced and moving forward but with a flick of our horns we lifted them back up and told them to just treat us like normal ponies and to resume their skating. And just like that they did and we were pleased to at least be treated normally instead of having nobles grovel at our hooves for something trivial or outlandish.

"So Luna, have you ever ice-skated before?" I said as I levitated and placed on my skates, fitting them snuggly by tying it on tightly. The lunar princess gave a small smile as she placed her own skates on along with a dark purple scarf and cap, making herself look absolutely adorable which caused me to let out a small wolf whistle that earned me a small cuff upside the head and a blush from my mare.

It took Luna a while to get used to skating again, apparently she has indeed ice-skated before but since she was away from it for so long she sorta forgot how to do it so I had to teach her, which was nice because it gave me a reasonable excuse to get fairly close to her and show her what to do.

It wasn't long before she got the hang of it and was eventually skating like a pro, doing small tricks while keeping herself up and about and as for me I was just taking it nice and slow, keeping pace with the lovely mare as she giggled like a filly who enjoying their first snow day and seeing how she hasn't gone out in a while it might as well be. As we skated we soon fell into a mirroring dance of sorts, we copied each other as we were so close to one another, our wings brushing together as we moved together as our motions soon caught the attention of the ponies skating at the ring.

After what felt like hours we soon got tired, the few ponies there were applauding us for the skating dance we showed to the teenagers as we gave a short bow and a kiss to the crowd before taking our skates off and put them away, thanking Pinkie Pie for having those skates strategically placed there for us. From the ice ring we walked down the main road in Canterlot slightly towards the castle and before long when we came in sight of the front gate we turned right till we reached a certain front entrance and looking at Luna I can see the slight blush and smile on her face.

Before we could even say anything to each other, the front pony at the podium came over to us and spoke, in an overly fancy accent, "Welcome to the Gilded Carafe Princess Luna, Prince Nightshade, your table is ready. Please follow me." and with that we followed the gentlecolt to our seats which was placed nicely in the corner of the restaurant, a perfect place for Luna and I.

Once we arrived to our table, a pair of ivory candles burning softly in the low light as a vase filled with dull glowing flowers is the center piece, the waiter placed two menu's down before telling us that he will be back in a few minutes for our orders, levitating the chair out for Luna she let out cute giggle before accepting the seat, sitting down on it before I gently pushed it in, giving her enough space to breath in the event she ever stuffs herself and as for myself I just do the same but keeping a fair distance from the table and the back of the building in the event something were to happen.

"So....umm...Luna...how are you liking your date so far?" I asked, slightly sweating from the atmosphere of the place and the fact that I am nervous as Tartarus at the moment.

The moment that it takes Luna to start thinking the waiter comes back to our table and with a short burst of magic from his horn a small notepad and a quill appear by his side, the quill already loaded with ink as he waits for us to place our orders.

"What would you like Princess," he said before turning to me "Prince?"

"We would like the... tomato and blue cheese cobb salad and the celery soup...hmm...what about you Shady?" Luna said in a slight teasing tone, her words causing my wings to ruffle a bit, the mare knowing exactly what she is doing to me and she knows it cause when the waiter looks at me she gives a small wink before giggling silently to herself.

"Well, I would like the Everfree foliage salad along with bitter root and cabbage soup." I said, knowing full well what resides within that salad. It is a common thing in the Everfree because of how easily available the leafy greens are in the area and how healthy it is for us. For those residing in the Everfree it is considered an everyday meal but for those that live here in Canterlot, it is considered a delicacy.

As we waited for our meals I saw that there was a dance floor here within the restaurant, the lights were slightly dim as a small band was playing a slow song as it set the mood for the few older ponies that were dancing with their spouses. Looking at Luna who saw where my gaze was leading smiled happily at me as heat rose from her cheeks, darkening them as they turned a reddish hue before she gladly took my hoof in hers as I led her to the dance floor.

Our arrival to the dance floor was a surprise as the older ponies that were there stopped what they were doing along with the band but upon me nodding at the band they quickly resumed playing and the ponies themselves realized that we are going to dance also so they made space for us but when the band started to play ballroom music they see the glint in my eyes and gave small grins before whispering to their significant others, telling them what is about to unfurl before them.

"Care to waltz with me my fair lady." I asked and with a gentle nod we stood up on our hind legs, Luna being slightly taller than me I had to compensate a bit by slightly stretching myself a bit, I felt a bone pop in my spine as the tension in that spot was immediately gone and before long the other couples started to waltz as well, soon enough everypony present started dancing in-sync with each other.

That dance was magical, we were like a blur to those outside of the dance floor but to those within it felt like time has slowed down from the inside while it sped up from the outside, we were holding each other close, the two of us nuzzling one another while I kept my eye for our meal and before long we were staring into each others eyes, her cerulean blue to my red and amber cat eyes but what really made that moment magical was the fact that Celestia was no where to be found.

Slowly we brought our faces together, our eyes gleaming in the low candlelight until our lips meet in the middle, a small moan emitting itself from Luna as I held her tight to me. Our kiss began slowly at first, just brushing against the other until she licked my lips with her tongue, asking for my permission to enter and to which I whole heartedly agree. We had kissed like this before but that was when she was Nightmare Moon and that was more forceful and lust driven than actual love, and soon enough I felt her tongue slowly enter my mouth as my own tongue slowly snaked its way out of its lair, brushing along hers and before long it turned into a battle of dominance. A battle that I let Luna win and just like that I felt her tongue glide over my teeth, feeling the slightly sharp canines that I have, one of the few things I have inherited was the sharp fangs and the mane color and very aggressive hunger for cheese. Our kiss soon enough ended but before our lips could part she nipped my bottom lip before growling softly as we soon got back to the floor, the ponies around us were clapping and cheering, apparently they loved the sight of the rulers of Equestria and Everfree dancing together.

As we left the dance floor our food has just arrived, apparently the chiefs heard about us dancing so they stalled a bit on our meal until we were done and before we even arrive to our table they had quickly set it up and waited in the kitchen for our facial response to our dinner. Our salad and soup were amazing, I kid you not it was amazing, I was not sure if it was because of the décor, the environment or because of Luna's presence but whatever it was I could not think of anything else that is better than this. I had to try really hard to keep my wings from unfurling from the impending sensory overload that was taking place within me, it has been a long time since I had anything that tasted like heaven. For Luna she was enjoying her cobb salad, the cute little noises she was making whenever she took a bite made me feel giddy while at the same time feeling satisfied that I was even able to get my love out on a date without earning the ire of her sister or that pain-in-the-flank nephew.

Once Luna was done eating she waited patiently for me to finish and as soon as I slurped up the last of the soup I then patted down my muzzle with the handy napkin that was given to us before our meals arrived, and once we were ready to leave I paid the bill and left a hefty tip for our waiter for his good service. Walking out of the restaurant with my wing holding her close I led her back to the castle before stopping at the front door, two lunar guards were on duty at the time but I ignored them as I released Luna from the wing hug.

Luna was gushing at this point with love and affection for me but she kept it hidden at the moment due to their being guards standing directly near the two of us so she hid her emotions but the faintest hint of a smile. She thanked me for the date and the time we spent together, saying that it wasn't a problem I gave her a long nuzzle and a 'good night' I barely turned around before I was stopped by Luna calling out for me one last time.

Turning around thinking she had something else to say I was met with a pair of her soft, velvety lips pressed against my cheek as one of the lunar guards gave a wolf whistle as the other strained himself as he tried not to agree with his friend. When I felt her lips leave my cheek the two of us were blushing up a storm but for Luna she let out an adorable giggle at my stunned reaction before slowly turning around trotting happily up the stairs to her section of the castle.

I could only slowly move my hoof to touch my cheek, feeling where she kissed me before breaking out into a wide, dopey grin, my body wobbling left and right as one of the guards started to tease me but was promptly stopped when I pulled out a small, non-descriptive bit-bag and when I opened it out popped out a manticore paw that took a swipe out said guard, both were stunned to see me carrying such a dangerous thing at all times but I can say that Fluffy does enjoy his time out of the forest whenever I go out.

After getting kissed by Luna I flew back home, a pep in my wing motions and a warm flush to my face as I gently rub the spot where Luna kissed my cheek, a dopey smile keeping place as I flew lazily back, my happiness overcoming the slowly rising cold weather. Thinking back on our date I give off a shudder, remembering the pleasant time we had together, the dancing, the wonderful dinner we shared, the time at the park and the ice skating that ensued afterwards and lastly the long kiss we shared that wasn't interrupted by Celestia.

By the time I landed back on my own balcony I still had that pep in my step and the goofy grin on my muzzle, not once paying attention as I entered my room that I knew I had left the candles lit within the lanterns but they were all doused by the time I came home. Ignoring the obvious trap I stepped in and placed my suit and tie back on the hanger and the scarf on the scarf rack and before I even have a chance to even touch my bed all the lanterns were lit as the room was rapidly illuminated by the bright light, blinding me.

"Surprise!" was all I heard before reeling back in startled fear as I accidentally leapt backwards, out a closed window and down the side of the castle.

"Sorry!" was all I heard before I landed in a bush, staring up to see a pink tuft of mane get hauled back into the room.

Curse you Pinkie Pie.

Curse you.

Author's Note:

I am just going to finish this story off properly instead of what most people do and make it out go out with a small bang.

Comments

[Moongaze14]

Love the date chapter.

[Midnight Blues]

wow it lives. Sorta... 4,000+ words isn't anything to sing about but maybe this means you're picking up writing the story again.