Chapter 10: Wonderful Moonlight
From the moment they’d opened Pâte de Lune, the normally subdued earthy tones of the bistro had been completely subsumed by a veritable painter’s palette of ponies. Within ten minutes, the line started flowing out the door after the last tables had been filled with the lucky ponies early enough to secure a seat. The others would have to make due with to-go orders or wait patiently for a space to open up.
While many were disappointed by the absence of the famous Gustav le Grande, they were equally surprised to have Sir Fancy Pants taking down their orders. The stallion had assumed his best served duties and trotted down the line of ponies to keep the overflow company. When word spread that the Kingmaker of Canterlot was working at a random bakery on Mane Street, the store’s clientele began trending noticeably upperwards towards ponies that would rather be seen talking to Fancy than eating fattening pastries. Unfortunately for them, pedigree was not permission for them to cut the line in front of the lower classes who had gotten there first.
“Just to confirm, Miss Luminary, it is four waxing croissants and a chocolate éclair?” Fancy asked the frosty noblemare.
“Yes, Sir Fancy Pants,” the shining unicorn replied while suppressing her shivers. She pulled at her coat tighter, trying to keep the cold out while looking over de Lune’s storefront with eyes greedy for the warmth inside. “It’s hard for me to believe that you are helping such a… modest establishment. Working as a common servant, no less!”
“There is no better Prench bakery in the whole of Canterlot.”
“While I accept the claim coming from you, it does make one wonder why Gustav is such a prevalent provider of your parties’ dessert buffets if this overlooked gem of yours is as good as you say it is.”
“Oui, I agree, ma Lumière,” an overly-saturated Prench accent agreed from behind Fancy Pants. “It pains me to think Monsieur Fancy Pants does not use ma mère pâtisserie more often.”
“Miss de Lis! You are here as well?” Luminary gasped at the sudden appearance of the up-and-coming lady of Canterlot.
“But of course! I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
“And to think that a little commoner bread shop could attract ponies such as yourselves. And such quaint little uniforms. You can make anything look good, Miss de Lis.”
Fancy stepped back slightly as Fleur excitedly clapped her hooves together at the back-hoofed compliment. “Why, thank you, Lumière! It is so nice to hear you think my home is good enough for your refined tastes.”
“Your home?” Luminary’s teeth suddenly began to clatter from a sudden drop in temperature. “Y-you mean, you live here?”
“Oui! And I help ma mère, or my ‘dear mother’ as you may say, keep it running when I have time.” Fleur smiled sweetly despite the bitter edge to her words.
“A-and what a fine and beautiful bakery this Del-Luneigh is!” Luminary forced a smile at the intimidating Lady Faire.
“Thank you. Ma mère works very hard to make the best for the ponies of Canterlot. I do so enjoy spending time with her on days like this at Pâte de loon,” she sighed happily while stressing the correct pronunciation of the store. “I assure you that the flavor will, how you say, be making you come back for seconds, no?”
“Of course, Miss de Lis!”
“C'est magnifique! Then we will be putting you down for double your order for you to share with all of your friends, yes?” Before Fancy could object, she subtly bucked him in the back leg.
“Make that a dozen of both please, please,” Luminary quickly corrected, looking between Fancy and Fleur for approval.
“Excellent! We will take your order without hésitation! Come, Fancy. I must speak with you.” Fleur tore the order sheet from Fancy’s notepad and strode away with the noblest of gaits. Fancy Pants sighed and joined her as they headed to the alleyway door.
“Was all of that necessary?” Fancy asked.
“Hey, nopony insults my home and gets away with it,” Fleur chuckled quietly as she shed Faire’s flair away and waved her victorious tall order in front of Fancy. Fancy shook his head as she quietly opened the door for him.
Fancy considered objecting, but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. “So, what was it that you needed?”
“Me? Nothing. Maman just told me to relieve you so you could warm up a bit.” Fleur plucked Fancy’s notepad and pencil out of his apron and ushered him inside.
“I am quite fine outside, Fleur. I’m more worried about you going out like that in this weather.” He motioned over the less-than-warming maid dress she wore.
“Don’t worry, Fancy. A lady always has her ways.” With a flash of magic, Fleur’s body gained a reddish aura that flowed from her horn and pulsated slowly from head to tail. With a deep breath, she rolled her head to pop her neck and raised it slightly to resume Lady Faire’s mannerisms. “Ta ta for now, Pantsy.”
The warmth of the kitchen was a welcome change even with the noise of the ponies inside clamoring to claim their orders. Peeking through the serving window to the main floor, the congestion indoors was just as heavy as it was outside. Several tables and stools had been moved to make room for the snaking line of ponies waiting to claim their sweet treats. Just before the counter, the line split into two with Éclair and Vinyl both taking to-go orders while a smattering of ponies sat near the kitchen entrance waiting to claim the next available table.
Knowing the line stretched down the block, Fancy decided it’d be best to forgo any rest and warm himself up with some work instead. After washing his hooves, Fancy entered from the back to the counter next to Éclair and grabbed a pair of serving tongs with his magic.
~What do you think you are doing, Fancy?~ Éclair asked as she passed an order of muffins to a customer.
~Helping you fulfill these orders, of course.~ He clacked the tongs and moved to grab some bread from the display.
~No, no, no. You are relieved, as in, you need to take a break. Fifteen minutes at least.~
~I’m fine, Éclair,~ Fancy insisted, but the small earth pony blocked his way as she passed orders to customers. ~I’ve been doing nothing but talk to ponies all morning while you and Fleur have been working the ovens nonstop.~
~Nonsense! You’ve been out there In the bitter cold taking orders and keeping ponies happy! Everypony else has taken a break already, so it is now your turn, Frosty Pants. Now, sit!~ Seeing as how his refusal was distracting her from fulfilling more orders, he capitulated and began trotting back to the kitchen.
~Not back there. Right there, where I can keep an eye on you.~ She pointed to a stool in the corner next to the door to the kitchen. She knew him too well to let him scamper back outside on his break to help Fleur. Fancy grumbled and took a seat in what felt more like a timeout corner than a break spot.
~There. Now we talk in private.~
Fancy scanned the vast swath of ponies lined up on the other side of the display and arched his brow. ~I fail to see how this would constitute as private in any sense of the word.~
~Why do you think I chose Fleur to go outside? Nopony else but us speaks Prench.~ she asked while passing an order to the next customer. She flowed almost effortlessly between talking to Fancy and exchanging pleasantries with the next in line. ~Isn’t that right, sir?~
“Umm, no thank you? I’m fine with just this,” the confused stallion answered. Éclair shot a smirk back to Fancy.
~Fair enough. So what did you want to talk about on my ‘break?’~
~Vinyl,~ she whispered, not wanting to attract the attention of said mare, busying herself behind the register at the far side of the pastry display counter.
Fancy took a patient breath. The news about the DJ Pon-3 had died down considerably since the Vinyl Screech, but he suspected that was mostly due to the damage already being done. The nobles around the castle district held Vinyl in utter contempt after the Festival of Flakes fiasco. Hopefully she’d be able to weather the bad publicity until the sensationalism died down. She could try to win back their favor with an apology, but knowing what little he did about the DJ, she wouldn’t be keen on making amends with them over something so petty.
~Please, Fancy. I am terribly worried for her.~ Éclair kept her voice level in front of the customers as she continued to take orders and serve, but Fancy could see she was barely keeping her emotions locked down.
~I’ve done all I can for her, Éclair.~ Though true, it felt like a hollow platitude with how much good it had done. ~I don’t know if you noticed, but she isn’t exactly comfortable around me.~
~She is uncomfortable around anypony she doesn’t trust. You may not have noticed, but she hasn’t said a word since those noble friends of yours started showing up out of the blue.~
His curiosity piqued, Fancy leaned his head to look over at Vinyl working the opposite side of the display. Sure enough, her lips weren’t moving, but the customers’ were. She would wait for the customer to say something, nod politely, and exchange pastries for bits. The next customer came up and began speaking immediately, to which she cocked her head to the side with an ear flop. The earth pony blinked and then repeated whatever he said, which earned a pleasant smile and a pair of chocolate baguettes.
Éclair glanced back at Fancy Pants after fulfilling another order of sweet breads. ~I think she is pretending to be mute, but I don’t know why.~
Seeing as how she was almost unrecognizable to Fancy even before she was dressed appropriately, he could hazard a guess to her silence, considering her scratchy cadence might be the only thing to give her identity away. While being outed might hurt her public persona, the upper class wouldn’t take well to being served by the notorious DJ Pon-3 at de Lune. If it was the latter reason, Vinyl was far more considerate than he gave her credit for initially.
~I suppose unspoken communication would be useful when you work in a place that blares music constantly,~ he answered with practiced diplomacy.
~I suppose you’re right, but the manner in which she works is not important here, Fancy. The way she refuses any help worries me. Do you know why she is working here today?~
~I had assumed Fleur begged for her help.~
~Oh, my dear Fancy Pants. It is clear you need to get to know our little Vinyl better. She wouldn’t be caught dead in a dress if she could help it.~ Éclair painted a smile on her face and passed a box of assorted muffins to a wall-eyed pegasus before turning to give Fancy her full attention. ~No, she showed up at the store a few days ago asking to work here herself. I even told her about the special uniforms we’d be using today and she shrugged it off.~
~Strange. There are plenty of opportunities for a musician of her status around the Drive.~
~I thought so too. Of course I said yes, since I could always use the help from somepony I trust, but when I asked why, she was so evasive. As much as I love having you and her here today, she would only say that she needed something. What was it? A Proof with Income I think. I wasn’t sure what she meant.~
“A proof of income?” Fancy corrected as he pensively tapped a hoof on his chin. ~Usually you need one to show such a document to investors or bankers to prove how profitable your business is. Why would she need to show…~
Fancy felt something pulling at the back of his mind. He was asking the wrong question. If Fancy was going to make an investment in a random pony off the street, one of his go-to documents would be something to show a business’ viability. Of course Vinyl wouldn’t need proof of income from a bakery if she was a worker. Anything from Éclair would be verifying a salary such as a paystub.
Proof. Why would she need proof with something like a paystub? Gig work on the Drive when available would be more profitable, but much harder to prove as a regular income quickly. Putting the horseshoe on the other hoof, he would want to show proof of an idea or a business venture to score a lucrative contract with investors.
A contract. He closed his eyes and tried to recall the last time he had heard the word.
Fancy levitated the missive he’d received from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns to Vinyl, who took it in her magic and began glancing over it. Her eyes started slowly, but as she continued reading, they darted more frantically as she poured over the lines.
“It’s a little jargony,” Fancy warned. “But simply put, it appears the board of trustees and several donor partners are reviewing financial aid allocation for research students. At the end of the semester, the allocation of grant money will be suspended until they are done. Knowing the reason behind it, I find it unlikely you will maintain your aid at this point.”
“Along with any contracts being fulfilled exclusively via financial aid…” Vinyl finished reading. The mare bit her lip in worry.
Along with any contracts being fulfilled exclusively via financial aid…
Contract being fulfilled exclusively via financial aid…
Financial aid…
Fancy’s blood ran colder than the chill he still had from working outside. Would the nobles really take it that far? He hadn’t even considered that the school might be paying entirely for her room and board. If she was struggling to make enough bits to afford where she lived, or worse, if the school was the name on the lease, then she could easily be evicted on the grounds of having insufficient income to afford her rent as a tuition-paying student. It all added up to one conclusion in his mind.
Homeless. Vinyl Scratch was likely at risk of becoming homeless.
~What? What is it, Fancy? Say something!~
His attention snapped back to reality. He hoped his face hadn’t shown more than he meant as his prolonged silence was already deafening.
~She might be trying to make her freelancing more official. A proof of income is useful for getting a loan, but I’d imagine a few ponies would still resent her after the party.~ He hoped she would buy the line. The baker didn’t need such a monumental distraction on the busiest day of the year for her.
~This is all thanks to your so-called friends, isn’t it?~ Éclair stepped away from the register. She couldn’t keep the facade up and walked over to Fancy’s ear with tears threatening to stream down her face. ~Heaven forbid they let an honest mare like her try to make the most of her talents after they tried kicking her out of Celestia’s school!~ She looked around the room, noting how many nobles were in line or sitting in their comfortable seats without a care in the world. ~And now she is forced to serve those same ponies? How dare they! Don’t they have enough things to do in their petty lives without attacking my precious Vinyl? Foals! The whole lot of them!~
Seeing her edge towards a full breakdown, Fancy reached for his kerchief only to find his magic already contained a well-polished monocle. He chided himself, putting his polishing cloth back in his pocket and offered the proper cloth to Éclair.
~Of course she doesn’t,~ Fancy agreed, trying to console her. ~Miss Scratch is a wonderfully gifted young mare that anypony should be happy to have in their lives. I will do everything I can to help her, but she is not one to take something for free. Especially from somepony like me.~
~Then get her a job somewhere! If she refuses your charity, why not hire her as a maid? You have far too much space in the estate. She can already look the part. Such a beautiful young mare shouldn’t have to worry about such a thing!~
Fancy chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. ~Do you honestly think she would take a job working for me cleaning my home?~
~I don’t care!~ Éclair’s agitation broke through her whispers as she began breaking down in front of the customers. Even Vinyl was looking towards them, hearing the despair in the baker’s voice. ~I will not let a filly I love be ruined by uncaring idiots with too much money in their hooves!~
Tears flowed freely down Éclair’s face as the last shreds of her composure were torn away by worry. ~Do something! Anything! Please, I am begging you! Don’t let them smother her light!~
Fancy wished he could take her into his embrace and tell her everything would be alright, but it wasn’t his place. He looked outside to Fleur who gave him the strength to harden his resolve. He stood up and took Éclair by the hoof.
~I will. I’ll think of something.~ he assured her while leading her into the kitchen. He led her to the bottom of the stairs.
~That’s all I ask.~ She rubbed the tears from her eyes and noticed a black splotch streak across her pastel peach fur. ~Oh, my makeup is probably a mess!~
~You’re still as beautiful as ever,~ he risked saying. Before he could say or do anything else he would later regret, Fancy retreated back to the door. ~Don’t worry. I can manage the front for a while. My fifteen minutes are up anyway.~
A small smile broke through Éclair’s tears. She gently raised her hoof and blew a kiss towards Fancy before heading upstairs to clean herself up. The friendliness burned on Fancy’s cheek. He turned away and slumped behind the counter. It was all he could do to keep his emotions in check. Drawing a deep and patient breath, he plastered a diplomatic smile on his face and readied his tongs to help the next customer. Today, Sir Fancy Pants was helping with a bake sale. His job was to help sell pastries, and nothing else.
“Welcome to Pâte de Lune. How may I help you today?”
The day sped by in a dragging blur for Vinyl. The chaos of insufferable customers demanding their confectioneries kept the DJ preoccupied enough to ignore the time, but there were brief instances where she remembered what she was making herself do, causing the seconds to slow to a crawl. Thankfully, Fleur mentioned today’s special hours and de Lune would be closing early.
“Pardonnez-moi, everypony!” an exhausted and flour covered Fleur politely called out from behind the ransacked display counter. “The sun is almost set, so please pack your pastries away and depart. We close soon at sundown!”
A few amiable ponies were gathering themselves at a snail’s pace at the lady’s last call, but most ignored Fleur’s Lady Faire persona and continued on with their conversations. Fleur sighed and promptly strode out into the kitchen with her nose held high in disgust. Fancy began moving towards the tables for a more hooves-on approach when a loud hoof slam sounded from the kitchen.
“Y’all heard the lady! Get your tails in gear and get’a move on, ya varmints!” Corn Acopia roared from out of sight. “I got a kitchen to clean and if y’all haven’t mosied on outta here before the sun sets, I swear the first pony I get my hooves on is gettin’ tied to a stick so I can use their mane as a mop!”
Vinyl suppressed a snicker as the panicked ponies quickly assembled their pastries into stacks and bolted for the front door. A few customers still in line slammed their bits on the counter and grabbed a pastry of their own before scrambling behind the others. Nopony wanted to tango with whatever cowgirl made that threatening ruckus. Vinyl took advantage of the situation and dashed to the front door and flipped the front door’s sign from open to closed.
“Finally. It’s over,” Vinyl rasped in exhaustion.
“Not exactly. While Fleur may have been a bit excessive with her tone,” Fancy huffed while shaking his head while Fleur popped her head through the kitchen window with a cheesy giggle, “we do need to clean up a bit before we can continue on with the rest of the evening.”
“The rest of the evening?” Vinyl tilted her head.
“Oh, did Éclair not tell you?” Fancy hummed as he bobbed his head back and forth in thought. “Well, I suppose it is more of a private affair.”
At the suggestion said mare rushed out to stop her, “Oh, non-non-non, Fancy! She is as much part of the family as dear Gustav is. Please stay, Vinyle. You are most welcome.”
“I guess, but what am I staying for?” Vinyl asked.
Fancy chewed his lip briefly before forcing it away with a pleasant smile tinged with a pitiful acceptance. “The Moondance.”
An unsettling pit fell into Vinyl’s stomach. This was starting to sound more and more like the start of one of Fleur’s Ogres and Oubliettes encounters. On one hoof, she wasn't sure if she wanted to stay or not. On the other, the conflict scrawled across his face piqued Vinyl’s curiosity enough to wonder what was bothering him about it. More importantly, she hadn’t gotten the income statement to show her landmare, so no reason to duck out now.
“Why don’t you go upstairs and change out of that uniform? I’m sure you are chomping at the bit to be rid of the thing,” he chuckled as he undid his apron. He gave Vinyl another glance and gave a more earnest grin. “I must say, you impressed me today, Vinyl. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I wasn’t expecting somepony who presents herself as a ruffian to know proper decorum. You are just full of surprises.”
Fancy turned towards the kitchen to begin helping with the cleanup efforts. Vinyl was glad he did as she bristled at the compliment. The whole ordeal had taken her back to her fillyhood. She might’ve been rusty, classy Canterlot nonsense never left. It had burrowed into her skull, a prissy parasite that she could never entirely forget. There was no denying that “manner mode” proved useful at times, but it was so exhausting to act so fake.
Vinyl shook the creeping uncomfortability away, but not before catching her reflection in the window. While it was difficult to see in the darkened glass, she could see a ghost looking back. Vinyl knew her all too well and held nothing but contempt for that weak, broken mare. She was too naïve to understand how the world worked, too soft. It took all of her remaining willpower to not rip the maid dress off right then and there, toss it to the ground, and burn the infernal thing to ashes. Maybe she could find a cheap corset somewhere and destroy that instead. She was about to turn away to make a b-line to the stairs to free herself from her Prench bindings in Fleur’s room when there was a gentle knock on the door.
“For the love of Cel—” The disguised DJ’s mumblings were cut short when she saw the royal pony in question standing at the door with her sister close behind.
Vinyl’s mind screamed protocol over and over as it scrambled to dust off royal etiquette. She barely pulled the memory out as she opened the door and bowed to the exact proper length.
“Hello, my little pony. You seemed to be in a hurry to close, but would you mind if my sister and I came in?” the princess asked.
“Princess Celestia? And Luna as well?” Fancy paused for a moment and smiled diplomatically. “What a surprise!”
Celestia kept her smile but looked off to the side. “My presence this evening shouldn’t be a surprise at all. I haven’t been keeping my word as well as I should have.”
“Guilty as charged as well, your highness. Please, come in.”
Vinyl raised her head and stepped aside while holding the door open for the royal sisters. Two guards followed close behind, but turned and assumed their posts at either side of the door outside. Not wanting to bother with it, Vinyl turned to resume her trek to the upstairs, but was stopped by coming face-to-face with Luna who was eying her curiously. The DJ retreated slightly under the ponderous gaze of the lunar princess. After a moment, her eyes sparkled.
“Ah. It is you, Miss Deejay Pawn-Three,” Luna addressed the young mare with regal authority.
Ignoring the princess’ butchering of her stage name, she shuddered at the royal’s recognition. “H-how did you know? I’ve never even met you before.”
The princess laughed haughtily and shook her head. “No, but I have met you. I hope you are feeling better after your unfortunate brush with the distillery and have partaken in the indulgences of the night more responsibly.”
Vinyl nodded lightly, trying to keep herself from getting on the royal pain’s bad side.
Luna recoiled slightly and rubbed her foreleg while looking away. “We apologize if we offended thee. T’was meant as a harmless jape.”
“W-what?” Vinyl stammered back.
Luna quickly calmed herself with a practiced hoof motion and resumed her more intimidating manner. “Whatever words you’ve kept in your heart, you wear upon your withers, fair Deejay.”
Vinyl looked at the princess’ warily, her eyes wandering between her horn and wings. She wondered if mind-reading was an alicorn thing.
“I assure you, it has nothing to do with my birthright. You simply bear the most expressive eyes,” Luna answered the unspoken question with a smile, bringing absolutely zero comfort to the unicorn in question.
“Okay, you can stop that right now,” Vinyl grumbled. “Uhh, please,” she quickly added with a nervous grin.
The princess breathed deeply through her nose and complied with a nod. The small frown she wore grew more despondent as she turned away to join her sister at Fancy Pant’s side. Vinyl kicked herself. If she wasn’t on Luna’s bad side after the Screech, she probably was now.
The DJ retreated to the stairs, only to realize they now had customers again. She wanted to curse the heavens, but that’d be a huge mistake with the ones who controlled them now in the restaurant. She tightened her apron and went to resume her duties, only to see Fleur had already changed into a sweater and joined Fancy and the princesses at a table.
Éclair giggled. “I see you are still enjoying the formidable dress, Vinyle.”
“Hardly,” Vinyl scoffed.
“Then go get change, silly filly!”
Vinyl looked up and down the still-dolled up prenchmare. “What about you?”
Éclair smiled sadly and shook her head. “No. I want to look good for le mari.” After a moment, Éclair spoke up. “Do you need help, Vinyle?”
“Nah. I am way better at getting this stuff off than on.” Éclair laughed louder than Vinyl would’ve expected.
The baker’s eyes started watering. She sniffed and rubbed the errant tears from her eyes. “I am so glad you are here tonight, Vinyle. You are always welcome, you know?”
“Y-yeah. I know.” Vinyl smiled chipperly, only slightly put off by the mare’s words. “I guess I’ll be right back after I change for this moon dance thing, right?”
Éclair wrapped Vinyl up in a big hug. There was a slight tremor in the earth pony’s embrace and she placed a quick la blise on the young mare. The DJ hoped Éclair hadn’t caught onto her housing predicament. This was her problem, and she didn’t need to drag them into this any more than they already were. Not after all those jerkwads showed up today.
“You are loved, mon précieux Vinyle.”
“Thanks…” Vinyl replied, unsure of what else to say at the L-word.
Vinyl quickly fled upstairs to free herself from the confines of her dress. Against her more violent desires, she took the pieces off one after the other and gently placed each part of the uniform in the laundry basket rather than tearing it to shreds for a dumpster fire’s kindling. As she cleaned all the makeup off her face, her ears perked as they picked up the familiar popping of a needle striking vinyl.
She quickly wet her hair to return it to its normal messy self and threw on her hoodie for warmth. With the princesses there, she put her shades on for extra safety despite the sun having set a while ago. There wasn’t much point hiding her identity since Princess Luna somehow guessed who she was. She hoped the extra obfuscation would protect against that piercing gaze of hers.
“What the hay are those two doing here anyway?” Vinyl mumbled bitterly to herself.
A big swinging beat kicked up with brass and strings downstairs. She checked herself one last time in the mirror before trotting back down the spiral staircase. Coming to the door to the main dining room, Vinyl peered over the rim of her shades to make sure she was seeing things correctly.
The curtains had been drawn, save for one window casting a moonbeam into the store. The lights were turned low, but it wasn’t difficult to see that the floor had been cleared of most every table and chair. The three that remained had been pushed together, forming one long table in front of a large, open space. The song was in full swing with Fleur and Éclair dancing together in front of a captivated audience.
The two mares skillfully balanced on their hind legs while supporting each other by their forehooves. Fleur led as she spun and twirled her mother around and about the makeshift dance floor. They kicked wildly, but in rhythm, as their hooves clacked across the hard marble tiles. Vinyl couldn’t believe that Éclair could dance so liberally while wearing that stuffy maid dress.
Vinyl quietly made her way around to the tables, but was unsure where she was supposed to sit. Her skulking hadn’t gone unnoticed. Fancy subtly pulled the seat nearest to her, which happened to be next to him, out with his magic and lightly motioned with his hoof to have a seat. She made herself as comfortable as she could with her present company, which wasn’t very comfortable at all with two princesses and the kingmaker all at one table.
“They are quite skillful at this dance of theirs, are they not, sister?” Luna whispered to her elder sister.
“It is called ‘swing dancing,’ Lulu. Quite a popular dance form several decades ago.”
“I can see why you wished for us to come. It is quite the spectacle!”
Celestia’s face fell slightly as she watched the duo. “This isn’t why we are here, dear sister. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying it.”
Celestia didn’t explain further to Vinyl’s annoyance and simply opted to watch the mother and daughter dance like a well-practiced pair. She looked to Fancy for answers who observed the two, solemnly and unblinkingly. The first song ended and Fleur quickly flicked the record player off with her magic. Celestia and Fancy offered a light applause while Luna was more passionate with her praise.
“Whew! I need to be practicing more often,” Éclair remarked between breaths as she went behind the counter and retrieved a platter of éclairs. Vinyl furrowed her brow seeing that the cream was sparkling with silvery light. For a moment, she thought it was glowing on its own, but it was the moonlight catching sugar crystals.
“Here you are, everypony. Éclairs de minuit au clair de lune,” the baker introduced. Fleur passed plates around as her mother served each pony with her trusty tongs. With plenty of pastries still remaining, she set the platter on a nearby counter and went over to turn the music back on.
The DJ carefully looked over the red and fudge black dessert before taking her first bite. It was a wondrous, sugary sweet with rich red strawberry bread the color of velvet cake. The crystals melted in her mouth in a rapture of creamy bliss. She’d never tasted anything quite like it, which was incredibly odd to her with each bite she took. How Vinyl had never eaten these particular pastries in the store after knowing Fleur for years was a complete mystery. Whatever this was would be a smash hit.
The swing burst back on with the big band starting another song. However, this time, the music was accompanied by a singer. A stallion with a velvety smooth voice caressed everypony’s ears. Celestia took a small bite of her treat and smiled wistfully at the familiar voice. She extended a wing around Éclair who had taken a seat next to her and pulled the Prenchmare closer. Vinyl watched out of the corner of her eye as Celestia quietly struck up a conversation in Prench with the baker. She sounded apologetic while Éclair simply replied with “non’s” and a string of words Vinyl didn’t understand. Luna also seemed lost at their conversation and leaned over towards Fancy Pants.
“It appears I will need to add modern Prench to my study material. What is it my sister is apologizing for, if I may ask?” Luna whispered.
“Nothing,” Fancy answered. After a moment, he chuckled mirthlessly at her concern. “But I suppose that would be part of the problem, though. If you will excuse me for a moment.”
Luna nodded as he pushed himself up from his seat. Celestia followed him with her eyes as he trotted as naturally as he could to Éclair’s side. She removed her wing, revealing the lovely peach face marred by tears as her late husband serenaded her from the record player. Even after all these years, his music could still move her to tears. It was why she only listened to it once a year.
~May I have this dance, milady?~ Fancy asked with a bow. She nodded silently with a sad smile and offered her hoof. He gently lifted her from her seat and led her to the record player. ~I haven’t kept up with my dance lessons as much as I should have. Might we dance to a slower song?~
Éclair choked a bit with a sobbing laugh. “Yes, Fancy. I know a good song for us.”
With well-practiced precision, Éclair carefully lifted the record to the B side and found the space in its grooves before the final track. Despite it never being released to the public, Fancy knew the record well enough to guess the selection. The soft strums of a guitar confirmed it: “Wonderful Moonlight”, the last song dedicated to the lovely little Éclair.
~A perfect choice,~ he affirmed with a winning smile. Fancy would never tell Éclair how much he hated this song.
Fancy took Éclair in his forelegs and held closely, guiding her gently around the dancefloor. Their dance was smooth, almost sensual, as he imitated the dance stylings of the stallion of her dreams. Fancy knew them all too well.
“Thank you for staying, Fancy,” Éclair said softly as the two danced in the moonlight.
~Of course. Anything for you, Éclair.~
“Anything you say?”
Offered a laugh of his own, but worrying about Éclair’s unspoken refusal to use Prench. “Of course. I am yours for the evening. It has been a while—”
“A while?” she interrupted. “Fancy, it has been ages since you come to Pâte de Lune! Even longer for coming for the anniversary. You make time for Fleur. You make time for princess. But none for me? I have missed you so dearly!” Tears started streaming down Éclair’s face. “Why has it been so long? D-did I do something?”
“No, no! Of course not, Éclair! I could never…”
“Then why? We are family, no? Why have you not come? Why!” Éclair screamed. Fancy pulled her into a tight embrace as she cried into his chest. He bit his lip and stroked Éclair’s mane as the two continued a steady sway back and forth to the music.
“I’m sorry, Éclair. Some wounds take more time to heal.”
“Suede wished for us to be family, Fancy. Families share the pain.”
Fancy’s brow furrowed. He took another calming breath through his nose and pushed Éclair back to look into her eyes.
“Then, let’s share.”
“Suede?” Vinyl asked nopony in particular. “From the ESPA endowment? That Suede?”
“Yes, my little pony,” Princess Celestia answered sadly as she watched Fancy guide Éclair around the shimmering moonlit floor. “Suede Shoes, ‘The King of Swing’ and a dear friend.”
That made sense. After reviewing what financial aid she still had left, she stumbled upon the name when reviewing what she was getting from the ESPA. However, Suede she knew was accompanied by another name: Summers.
“He was a founding member of the Equestrian Society for the Performing Arts. He and Sauna Summers helped change it from the Equestrian Society of Music back forty or fifty years ago when the society was more… limited in its definition of art.”
“Sauna Summers? Another performer?” Luna asked.
Celestia closed her eyes and smiled warmly. “Why yes. She was the Disco Queen of the Dancefloor and Suede’s first wife. The two made quite the star couple back in the day. Never knew a moment's peace because of it.”
Luna nodded at the music history lesson, but then stopped as her ear flicked. “First wife?”
“Yeah, Daddy was Maman’s second wife after Aunty Summers died,” Fleur clarified.
Luna nodded sagely, but then stopped as even more confusion struck the younger alicorn. “Doesn’t Fancy Pants live in a mansion on the Suede Shoes Estate?”
“Yup! That’s Daddy’s and Aunty’s old house.”
She tilted her head. “Then I clearly don’t understand something. Unless I am mistaken, shouldn’t you and your mother live there as part of your inheritance?”
“Oh, no way. Pantsy took over that oversized house while we live here in the place Daddy and Maman built together. He has a better handle on money anyway, so he manages that old fortune while we live off the de Lune’s sales and royalties from Daddy’s music.”
Vinyl blinked as she recalled something that bothered her from the night of the festival. If Fancy inherited the Suede Shoes Estate while Éclair and Fleur held Suede Shoe’s royalties…
“Is Fancy Pants your brother?” Vinyl asked.
“Shh! Don’t use the b-word. Pantsy doesn’t like it,” Fleur hushed the other unicorn with a sardonic grin. Her forced smile faltered as she glared back at her step-brother dancing with her mother. “It’s so stupid. It’s not like it’s a big secret or anything. Anypony who remembers Daddy could probably put two and two together.
“I guess only one of us likes being related,” she complained as she crossed her hooves and stared the two dancers down in a deeper frown.
As the two danced to the sound of his father’s voice, Fancy’s thoughts turned back to their first meeting in Prance. The wound from Sauna’s death still burned in the minds of Fancy and his father. He had taken Suede on the pretenses of a diplomatic mission and moved into a hotel near Maris for some peace and quiet.
One morning, the pair had ducked into an inconspicuous pâtisserie in the countryside owned, by all creatures, a griffon to see if they could get a decent cup of coffee. They were greeted by a sweet petite peach working behind the counter. Her name was Éclair de Lune, a more fitting name for a pastry chef than Gustav le Grande in Fancy’s eyes.
It was so nice to not be recognized. In fact, Éclair didn’t know either stallion, which was expected for Fancy. He was simply known as Suede’s son back in those days, but it was much more surprising to not know the world famous crooner. In months away from his home, the unicorn’s glory had faded with the passing of his more famous pegasus wife who had revolutionized the music scene of Canterlot forever. Suede was just the last of his smooth singing breed, but that didn’t matter to Éclair. She treated both guests with kindness like any other, even after finding out they were famous.
Months flew by and the three grew closer. The stallions became regulars and even became friends with the abrasive Gustav who was increasingly worried about Éclair’s future at his store with the ponies getting close to his assistant. His fears would be proven right when Éclair finally admitted her feelings. It was a blissful whirlwind of pure love that nopony or griffon could deny. There was only one small problem.
She fell for the wrong stallion.
As the song drew to a close, Fancy spun Éclair out of his hooves, releasing her to spin away from his grasp. Applause rose from their audience as Éclair beamed a kind smile. Her innocent familial love struck Fancy in the heart like a knife. He took a deep breath and took strength from looking at Fleur for a reminder of the present. Fleur de Lis was his step-sister. He hardened his heart and returned her favor with a patient smile of his own.
“As brilliant as always, Éclair,” Fancy complimented as the record fell silent.
“You sell yourself too low, my dear. You were a wonderful dancer too!”
Fancy forced another chuckle and turned off the record player. “You are too kind. I was simply following your movements.”
“Non, non, Fancy Pants,” she admonished with a motherly wag of her hoof. “You were supposed to be leading me.”
“How could I ever lead a stubborn mare like you, Éclair?” She laughed loudly and wiped a tear from her eye. He hoped it’d be the last one she shed for the evening on either stallion’s behalf.
The two turned back to the table and joined the other ponies. He took a bit of his cold, neglected éclair and savored the flavor as best he could, but he knew he couldn’t indulge for long. After all, it wouldn’t be right. None of this was right. But, right wasn’t the order of the Moondance. Sir Fancy Pants had a duty to uphold and the former diplomat would do his best to follow it. He’d protect the smile on Éclair’s face all night, no matter the cost.
Even if her precious smile wasn’t meant for him.
If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!
I Just Want One More Moondance With You...
Art Commissioned by me from Doodle-Mark
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Alright, I wasn't necessarily onboard with the speed the plot was moving, but I've changed my mind. We keep learning new pieces of information as we move along, and that keeps things from getting stale. It's also making it very hard to guess how the story will end, and that really is a mark in its favor; if I can't figure out what's going to happen, then I have no choice but to keep reading.
11041044
I'm glad you're still enjoying it. Not gonna lie, the pacing has been weighing on me too. I wanted thus chapter to be old news by now. There are a lot of moving parts that have kept the slow burn of the story moving even slower than I initially intended. Even I wanted to be past the Screech and its immediate aftermath pretty quickly, but there were too many things to establish or needed time to bake in the oven.
You don't know how relieved I am that I was able to finally pull the trigger on some major guns and shoot Sir Seemingly Frikin Perfect in the dammed face. I have been chomping at the bit to reveal this stuff.
Thanks for your continued interest. I'll keep doing my best to maintain the flow.
Sorry for the confusion if you popped in here expecting chapter 12. I hit the publish button while editing on accident. We're still a couple days away. Thank you for your patience!
Oooooh man, I second Phyco's feelings; I never would've guessed you'd play Fancy as the elder half-brother of Fleur.
Jimmineys
giffiles.alphacoders.com/171/17187.gif
Falk getting blown away, 2021, colorized
But the signs were left all around
and
All the way from chapter one, and there was even the conversation Ecclaire had begging Fancy to visit more often. Personally, I thought that Fancy was some ex of Ecclaire that ended up in good terms with her, but I suppose that's to not having a spreadsheet on hand with Ecclaire, Fancy's and Fleur's age constantly up.
A really strong reveal that was nicely set up, but now to read onwards and see how it impacts Vinyl and her little "situation"
Brother?!
Please hold while Alchemik's mind is reassembled after rapid unplanned disassembly.
[===========100%===========]
Ok. First off, your pacing is incredible. It does leave the story feeling a bit more slice-of-life, but with your character focus, that's a strength.
I knew that there was something going on with Fancy, Éclair, and her late husband, and I knew that Suede Shoes Mansion was too obvious a name drop to not be relevant somehow, but I would never have guessed this! It also really helps explain the relationship between Fancy and Fleur, as well, both in nature and origin. The foreshadowing was everywhere, but vague enough that I couldn't guess anything precisely.
Well played. I did not see this coming and have no idea what will happen next, beyond probable creative assistance for Vinyl.
Edit: Nice touch with the mute Vinyl reference. It actually would make sense to master non-verbal communication in her line of work. Never noticed that before.
11121963
Always happy when this chapter gets this reaction.
Thank you so much for thinking so! Again, I'll try to maintain it as we keep going.
I aim to please!
Congratulations for being the first to point out the reference!
I really do like how people change their tone knowing one of the famous people live there and none only that work there sigh
Whoa I was not expecting to hear Fleur like that way lol
So it looks like Fancy Pants fleur de lis Vinyl Scratch begins to work at the pastries and yes some of the richest ponies comes here just because of Fancy Pants and fleur de lis not because this place was great yeah but anyway after hearing about Vinyl Scratch that she's in the verge of being poor Éclair bag fancy pants to help her despite vinyl keep saying no but he needs to find a way to persuade her somehow but after that work they want to do a little celebration of Moon dancing and basically it's a dedication to elcair husband name Suede summer and apparently Princess Celestia and Luna was also there watching as well this was a pretty emotional chapter especially the ending here
I had figured out that Fancy was Fleur's brother (I initially thought father, by some scandalous teenage romance, but it was clear that they didn't have that kind of relationship). My money was on some kind of Love affair. I thought maybe Fancys father had sired Fleur and abandoned them, and Fancy (being righteous and upstanding) was rectifying that.
However, Fancy having fallen *in love* with his father's second wife? Falling for one's stepmother.
**YIKES**
The aristocracy. They really are another breed... There's a certain tragedy to it though as Eclair obviously feels great affection for her stepson. I wonder what Celestias connection to the family is. Is it simply that Fancy Pants is one of her few genuine friends in all of Canterlot and therefore wants to support him on the anniversary of his fathers death?
11300089
To be fair to Fancy, they were both on the market at the same time in the same place. It's still yikes, but not super yikes.
Oh. Is that what Fancy implied by hooves unclean?
Lol, PL be having mind-reading powers now. I do wonder how one can block such a reader without resorting to magic. Does one just mentally screams or make random mental beat-boxing to block the other out? While I won’t say that I’m a fan of every single thing in your story, my experience has been good overall.
Blessings!
-Davidtin, the one who just caught a cough from a relative..
To Eclair:
mes sincères condoléances dame Éclair