Nuit Blanche

by nightwalker

Head in the Clouds

“Wow,” muttered the remaining unicorn beside Octavia. Vinyl popped the last of her crêpe in her mouth, speaking around it. “And I thought pegasi were flighty.”

“Her mother’s a pegasus,” Octavia muttered absently as she slumped down. This wasn’t the first time Jazzie had done something like this to her, taking off after some Canterlot celebrity or hot stallion. At least this time their meal had been paid for beforehoof.

She blinked and looked down at their tray and the pair of crêpes left on it. Shoot. “Hey, uh Vinyl,” she asked, looking over at the DJ, “I don’t suppose you want a free dessert? From what I know of Jazzie, I doubt she’ll be back any time soon, and I can’t eat two on my own, nor do I want to bother carrying hers around.”

“Ooh, you had me at free dessert, girl,” Vinyl replied, floating over Jazzie’s crêpe in a light blue aura of magic. “What is it anyway?”

“Chocolate hazelnut spread, banana, graham cracker crumble, topped with marshmallow fluff and caramel. Really, it’s too sweet for me. I have no idea how that mare can stand so much sugar. She has to be part humming bird.”

“Well, her mother is a pegasus,” Vinyl opined before opening her muzzle wide and biting off a huge chunk.

Octavia snorted and took a bite of her own crêpe. It was peanut butter and fruit medley, a much more palatable combination. She spared a glance over after taking a second bite, unable to help smiling at Vinyl’s constant chewing.

“How’re you liking that?” she asked after swallowing.

“Sch-ticky,” Vinyl eventually managed to reply before swallowing her own mouthful. “But good.”

Octavia smiled and returned to her own crêpe, watching the flow of ponies outside the window. It was so strange to see the night so alive like this. She idly tried to look up for the moon but wasn’t able to spot it from this angle, only finding a lighted pair of pegasi flitting among the crowds instead.

“So you got any plans?”

Octavia paused in wiping her mouth off with a napkin and looked at Vinyl, perking up her ears in question.

“Well, your friend did kinda run off on you,” Vinyl explained, one of her ears flicking back and about. “And I couldn’t help overhearing how you were wanting to go check out some other parts of the fest. Besides, I’m like a cat; you fed me so you're not getting rid of me easily.” She gave Octavia a coy grin, her tail swishing against their raised plastic seat, and shrugged. “What do you say; I got another set in a few hours and nowhere particular to go. Want to go nowhere together, Tavi?”

Octavia began to object but caught herself. Really, what else was there this evening? With Jazzie off chasing princesses, her options were to continue on her own or go home. And while practice couldn’t hurt, it really was a beautiful autumn night out and she found herself not wanting to go home. It also wasn't every night that a pony would hit on her, even as abrasively as Vinyl.

“You know what; why not? And it’s Octavia.”

“Sure thing, Tavi,” Vinyl replied with a cocky grin. She hopped off her seat. “Come on, the night’s a-wasting.”

Octavia glared at the unicorn as she followed, dropping their trash in the bin on the way out.

At least the night outside was once more cool and refreshing after being inside a full restaurant. The plaza was just as busy as when she had first arrived, and she could still hear the clinking of the blacksmith’s hammers. A new DJ was on stage, playing something very different than what Vinyl had, something more up-tempo that blended accordion, fast drums and guitar. There was really no complexity to it, the beat remaining very consistent and the overall tune being almost instantly forgettable.

Octavia re-settled the saddlebags on her back, then quickly caught up to Vinyl. Normally a white pony would stand out in a crowd, but not tonight when so many of her fellow Canterlotians were in some form of white. Still, with a mane like hers, Vinyl was a hard pony to miss.

“Hey there! Where are we going?”

“Donut Joe’s, then off to one of the other plazas, see what’s going on elsewhere in the city.”

“What are you talking about? We just had dessert.”

“Aye, lass,” Vinyl replied in an exaggerated Shetland accent. “That was first-dessert. This’ll be second-dessert.”

“I can’t believe you’re still hungry after that.”

“Hey, have you tried one of Joe’s gourmet donuts? Because I can’t believe you’d say no to one if you had.”

“Donut Joe’s,” Octavia informed Vinyl, catching the door to Joe’s shop before the unicorn could open it, “is a Canterlot institution. So yes, I have. I just hadn’t figured on stuffing myself this evening.”

“Well, I,” Vinyl replied, pulling open the door the rest of the way with her magic, “have been on my hooves for the last few hours on stage doing my set. I need something a little more to keep going for the rest of the night. Gotta keep up my strength for the crowds, you know.”

Both ponies were rather taken aback when they stepped into Joe’s. All the tables and stools had been cleared away and in their places were stands with pictures on them. The diner was still obviously open, given the line of ponies up to the counter and others milling around the pictures in small groups, all eating donuts or drinking coffee. Vinyl and Octavia took their place, looking over the nearest pictures as they waited.

The pictures were all pointillist, many of a surrealist nature. One particular one that Octavia was drawn to featured a very beautiful earth pony mare in the middle of a dense forest. The mare and her features, along with her body, were lineart, but the forest and the vines and flowers in the rest of the picture, including those that were creeping up the mare’s legs, were all stippled. Her appearance and how the forest seemed to be part of her and yet not suggested a fantasy connection as though she were a druid or possibly dryad. Octavia felt it was a very beautiful work and had to catch back up with Vinyl once she realized how far in line the unicorn had gotten while she was lost in the painting. They only had to wait for an orange earth pony and a rainbow maned cyan pegasus to order before it was their turn.

“Hey, it’s my favorite disc jockey,” said Joe as he leaned over the counter, hoof-bumping Vinyl.

“Hey, it’s my favorite donut jockey,” Vinyl replied. She waved a hoof at the pictures. “So what’s with all the pictures, Joe? Don’t tell me they’re yours.”

“Nah. The artist is Glitter Pop over there,” he explained, pointing to a carnation-pink unicorn with silver-white mane and tail talking to another pony at the opposite end of the diner. “She’s one of my oldest regulars. She heard about this thing with the Princess, we got to talking about it, she asked if she could use the shop as gallery space. Well, I was gonna be staying open for this anyway and Glitter’s really helped me out in the past when I was tight financially, so it was a no-brainer.”

“Cool, pony.” Vinyl looked over the display case. “So what’ve you got for tonight?”

“Nuit Blanche special, in honor of Princess Luna; a vanilla donut, caramel glazed, with sea-salt, and espresso drizzle.”

“Ohh, that sounds decadent. Gimmie... three.”

Joe nodded and after a quick exchange of bits for donuts, Octavia and Vinyl moved back into the diner, the donuts floating in an aura of Vinyl’s magic before them. She split one of them off the trio. “Here you go, Tavi.”

Octavia sighed, taking the donut. “There’s no way I’m getting you to call me Octavia, is there?”

“Not a chance!” Vinyl replied with a hearty laugh.

Octavia was about to take a bite of her donut when Vinyl jammed her second donut onto her horn. “Seriously?!” she exclaimed.

“Whut?” Vinyl asked around a mouth full of donut. She pointed up at the one on her head. “Itz a snack for later. I got a round horn, donut’s got a round hole, I ain’t got no saddle bag to be carrying t’ings in.” She tapped her horn. “Perfect solution.”

Rolling her eyes, Octavia just shook her head and went back to eating her donut while looking at the pictures. The question of “why not?” was suddenly getting a lot of answers.

Still, the donut was good. The cake was rich without being heavy, the caramel was thick without being gooey, there was just enough salt for a tingle, and the espresso didn’t overpower the rest of it. Without a doubt, it was one of Joe’s better creations. If she hadn’t had dessert she’d probably go back for a second one.

They left the diner, heading back out into the refreshing night air once more, choosing to turn up the street towards the edge of the city’s current tier and away from the plaza. Surprisingly, Octavia could still hear the music.

“I don’t think I ever really noticed before, but the acoustics of this place are crazy,” Vinyl commented, her ears perked and swiveling about. “Lots of tall, stone buildings, they just bounce the sound down the streets.” She smirked. “Gonna drive the nobles crazy, all the noise tonight.”

The street ended at an outer promenade. The tier they were on was one of the major ones, its promenade a large, wide park. The view from the edge opened up practically the whole of western Equestria to their view. Like the plaza they had left, the promenade was lit by strings of colored lights and lanterns. Beyond it, pegasi in glowing harnesses flew amongst some low-level clouds.

“You there!” a voice called out to them, drawing them away. “The earth pony and the unicorn. Yes, come here. The Great and Powerful Trixie requires your assistance!”

Vinyl and Octavia walked up to where a blue pony in a starred purple cape and hat was standing before a wagon that had been unfolded into a stage. She was surrounded by a crowd of earth ponies and pegasi.

“Tonight is a night of wonder! A night of dreams, a night — is that a donut on your horn?”

“Yeah.” Vinyl reached up and gave her horn a knock. “Horns are good for magic, holding donuts, and popping bubble wrap. Very versatile.”

Octavia facehoofed.

“Uhh...” muttered Trixie before thinking better of it. “As the Great and Powerful Trixie was saying, tonight is a night of wonder! A night of dreams, a night of magic as ponies celebrate the return of Princess Luna. Yet these ponies,” Trixie pointed an accusatory hoof at those around her, “doubt what they are seeing. They doubt true magic.”

“She’s a unicorn,” muttered a large earth stallion.

“Irrelevant!” cried Trixie as she snatched off her hat, clearly exposing her horn. “Unicorn, earth pony, pegasus, thestral, alicorn, all ponies can tap into—can appreciate—the magic of the night. What I have shown you all tonight can be done by anypony. Any that believe.” She gestured at Vinyl. “To prove my point, my fellow unicorn here will verify that Trixie is not using unicorn magic when performing any of these marvels for you.”

Vinyl looked at the crowd and then back to Trixie. She shrugged. “Yeah, I can do that.”

Trixie grinned. “Excellent.” With a flourish, she pulled out a deck of cards and turned towards Octavia, asking her name. Octavia told her. “Okay, Octavia. Tonight we’ve been working with cards.” She passed over the closed deck, instructing Octavia to open the pack and shuffle them up before turning back to her audience. “Cards are special creatures, and if you know how to talk to them, know how to read them, they can do marvelous things. Anypony can do those things, with just a little knowledge.” She turned back to Octavia who was still shuffling. “Trixie wants you to name a card for me. Any card.”

Octavia shrugged. “Ten of starbursts.”

“Excellent, now pass them back.” Trixie turned back to the rest of her audience. “Now you are all here, under this lovely night sky, provided to us by the newly returned Princess Luna, to revel in art, and music, and magic. True magic.” She turned back to Octavia. “As Trixie said, cards are magical creatures. They listen, and they respond to their names.” She began fanning out the cards, all face down. “And when you call them... they come.” There, sitting in the middle of the deck, was the ten of starbursts, face up amongst its brethren.

The ponies around her started stamping their hooves in applause only for Trixie to cut them off, and pointed her hoof at Vinyl. “Now, before any neighsayers in the audience accuse Trixie of fakery, did you see or feel the use of any unicorn magic in what you just witnessed?”

“Uh, no,” Vinyl replied, blinking. Indeed, Trixie’s horn had not so much as flickered during the trick.

This time Trixie welcomed the applause, waving her hooves in encouragement.

“Now, cards don’t just respond to our commands,” Trixie continued once the applause had died down, “they can also see into us, read us, tell us who we are.” She passed the deck back to Octavia. “You did such a good job last time, please give these another shuffle.” Once satisfied that the grey mare was doing as instructed, she turned to Vinyl. “The Great and Powerful Trixie wants you to name a card, any card.”

“Queen of hearts,” Vinyl replied after a moment.

“Queen of hearts,” Trixie repeated. “Right. Now, you have not told Trixie your name, correct? Correct. Ms. Octavia,” she said, addressing the earth pony beside Vinyl, “if you would spell out your friend’s name, turning over one card for each letter.”

Octavia looked between the two unicorns before shrugging and starting to pull off cards. “V-I-N-Y-L.” The last card turned up was a joker.

“Hah!” Vinyl laughed, poking Trixie in the chest with a hoof.

Oddly, the magician was unfazed, a cocky smirk coming to her lips instead of the expected frown. “Spell out her full name,” she instructed.

“I... don’t know it,” Octavia admitted, her ears tilting down.

“It’s, uh, Scratch. Vinyl Scratch,” said the white unicorn, one of her own ears flicking apprehensively.

“S-C-R-A-T-C,” muttered Octavia, turning over cards, “-H.” The last card was the queen of hearts.

The ponies around them ooh-ed and ahh-ed, Trixie grinning like a Cheshire cat at their center, her forelegs held wide in mock deprecation as she basked in their adoration. Even Vinyl begrudgingly applauded alongside. Trixie returned her focus to her original audience, continuing with other tricks and illusions.

After watching a few, Vinyl nudged Octavia. “Come on, let’s keep going.”

“I must admit, that was pretty good,” Octavia said once they made their way down the promenade far enough away from Trixie. “I never would have guessed you moonlighted as a magician’s assistant.”

“I have never met that mare before in my life,” Vinyl proclaimed. “I honestly have no idea how she did any of that.”

All that Octavia could say was, “Huh.”

A little further down, they passed a booth where pegasi were helping other pegasi into the lighted harnesses they had seen so many others wearing. Just beyond that was a large cloudbank that appeared to have been moored to the promenade, wrapping around from their tier of the city and up to the next level. There were colored lights pulsing throughout it and the sound of music emanating from within. Vinyl’s ears picked up at the sound of the beats.

“Head in the Clouds,” read Octavia from the placard near it. “This installation invites ponies of all tribes to take a walk amongst the clouds and experience the world as many dream pegasi do. Pulsing lights and music guide you through the maze of clouds to create an exhilarating experience.”

“It’s perfectly safe,” chimed in a linen-brown pegasus near the entrance. She had on a bright-green neon safety vest. “The clouds are all heavily reinforced with cloud-walking spells and we’ve got a team of pegasi on standby below in case anything happens.”

Octavia asked, “Why the tunnel effects and lights?”

“Because normal clouds are flat and boring.” She nodded towards the entrance. “Trust me, this is way better.”

“Well, you’ve certainly got the right music for it,” said Vinyl as she trotted forward, her backside and tail swinging to the beat.

Octavia was more reluctant to follow, testing the cloud bank with one forehoof. It was… spongy and cool to the touch. The coolness wasn’t unexpected, but it wasn’t damp like she thought it would be. Given how often she would spy pegasi napping on them in the sky off the edges of Canterlot’s various tiers, she supposed it only made sense but it still wasn’t something she had expected. After a few more experimental pokes, she decided to risk it and trotted into the cloud tunnel after Vinyl.

The music filling it was something else electronic. The sound was heavier than what Vinyl had been playing earlier. It had more layers to it, more harmony amongst all the different sounds. The clouds pulsed to the rhythm, though different groupings seemed to be responding to different aspects of the music. A heavy bassline punctuated the whole composition, seeming to percolate up through Octavia’s hooves. It was a very odd sensation for an earth pony, given how sensitive their hooves normally are.

“Vinyl?” she called out. The cloud installation was indeed a maze, the only illumination coming from glowing, pulsing patches of cloud. There were columns and twisting corridors, and ramps leading forever upwards. It was like what she imagined being trapped in a thunderstorm that had run into a pegasi rave must be like. The pulsing, looping music drove her onwards through the psychedelic cloudscape until rounding a corner suddenly brought her face to face with a field of stars.

“Hey, there you are.” Octavia turned and saw Vinyl reclining on a cloud bench a little further down the walkway that ran along the outside of the installation. “I was wondering where you got to.”

“I got a little disoriented,” said Octavia as she took a seat beside the unicorn. The cloud beneath her easily conformed to her shape and with a little poking and shuffling about she got it perfect. It was like sitting in the world’s best bean bag chair, only far softer. Perhaps pegasi were actually onto something with their cloudstruction. “The dim and flashing lights made it a bit hard to find the way some times.”

“I think it’s fantastic,” Vinyl told her, a huge grin on her muzzle as she looked over the night sky. “The idea of lighted clouds used to provide all the illumination for a venue is great. Don’t have to worry about lighting rigs and running cables, just need a pegasus or two to set them up, and a unicorn for the proper light spells if I can’t do them myself. Not to mention you can have clouds at all kinds of different heights, build up a whole three-dimensional dance floor. Synch it to the music, boom. Amazing. I am totally stealing this idea for one of my own concerts.”

Nodding absently, Octavia let her gaze drift over the landscape in front of them. The view from the higher tiers of Canterlot was one that had always impressed her, but tonight was particularly breathtaking.

Above them the moon was full and almost supernaturally bright, its purple-white light washing over the whole of the steppes below. The various forests stood out as patches of darkness in the ocean of lighter swaths of fields and meadows. Octavia could even make out the roads below, a single light from a lone carriage coming into the city, and the empty train tracks snaking off to the west.

The stars shone with equal fervor, not wanting their own contribution to be eclipsed. Astronomy had never been Octavia’s thing, but she could appreciate a mostly clear night sky, even if she couldn’t name more than two of the constellations.

From above her head came the sound of rapid giggling. Just as she looked up, a lavender pegasus with a blonde mane and tail shot by overhead, adorned in one of the elaborate light harnesses. She was followed by another pegasus, this one with a white coat, and cerise and green mane, also giggling merrily and festooned with lights of her own. The two chased each other across the night sky, darting over and around the sparse clouds.

There must have been some enchantment at work on the lights on their harnesses, for the patterns changed in colour and intensity as the two pegasi got nearer or further from each other. The further away they were, the more muted the colors and slower the flashes. If one got closer to the other, brighter colors strobed into existence, dancing across both harnesses.

Octavia wondered what a whole swarm of them would look like flying together, how the patterns might change and spread as the ponies flew around each other. It was something she’d never really thought of before. Sparing the moon — this new, nearly featureless moon — a glance, she realized that she’d never given the sky of Equestria much thought at all. Maybe it was because she was an earth pony and not a pegasus.

Maybe that realization was the whole point of the festival tonight.

The white pegasus finally managed to outmaneuver her lavender target, tackling the leading mare into a small cloudbank. Like the installation behind them, it lit up with pulsing, strobing lights, but for a whole other reason. Neither pegasus came out to continue the chase.

“Heh, lucky girl,” Vinyl muttered.

Octavia looked over to her companion, only to snort and shake her head, looking away again. “Vinyl, would you please get rid of that silly donut? It makes you look absolutely ridiculous.” She couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips.

“If it so offends thy sensibilities, m’lady,” Vinyl replied in a mocking, posh accent. Octavia rolled her eyes and grunted, though she could just make out the blue glow of unicorn magic from the corner of her eye.

Her vision was suddenly blocked by a piece of donut floating before her in an aura of magic. She backed up a little and looked questioningly at Vinyl.

“I was saving you half of it,” Vinyl explained, wiggling the suspended pastry.

Octavia raised her eyebrows. “Are you seriously expecting me to eat something that’s been sitting on your face for the last twenty minutes?”

“Come on, Tavi,” Vinyl teased, giving the donut another wiggle. “You know you want it.”

“Pass,” she replied firmly, turning back to the stars and studiously ignoring Vinyl. The donut vanished from her sight and then vanished entirely under the sounds of intentionally obnoxious noshing. With a belch at the end.

“Your loss.”

Octavia rolled her eyes once more, though part of her couldn’t disagree. They were really good donuts.

Author's Note:

Trixie's tricks were inspired by the street magic of Chris Ramsay.

The horn-donut is a nod to NCMares, specifically its frequent appearance in his Never Be Royals tumblr.

The bubble wrap joke is a nod to voice actress Tabitha St. Germain.