“PONYVILLE!” The white unicorn with the electric blue mane reared up, throwing her forelegs in the air as the lights reflected from her ever-present sunglasses, “You know what to do, say it with me! It—Must—Be—The—FEELING!” She dropped back down, hoof jabbing down onto the intricate array of equipment laid out before her and the effect was instantaneous.

The music paused for the briefest of moments, save for a lone shrill chord building rapidly to a crescendo; just long enough for Luna to take a breath before the massive speaker stacks throbbed with the waves of bass they were throwing across the crowded room, a sound so deep that she not only heard it, she could feel it in every bone.

When they had first arrived she had stood at the doorway, staring in disbelief at what they had found inside this outwardly unassuming bar, the dance floor filled with ponies writhing and gyrating to the beat of this bizarre, otherworldly noise that was orchestrated by a lone unicorn. She had briefly wondered if they had actually stumbled into some strange coven dedicated to the veneration of Discord. Now she was absolutely certain that this ‘dubstep’ had more than a touch of chaos in its origin and was even more certain that this was, without a doubt, the single worst idea that she had ever had.

The first hint of what lay in store for them came as they approached Berry Punch’s bar. Luna had spoken with the proprietor, an earth pony mare with a bunch of grapes for a cutie mark, earlier in the day to arrange for Mac and herself to be allowed to come in through the back door to avoid both the queues and any nosy reporters. She had discovered that this ‘DJ P0N3” was quite a celebrity in Equestria and her performance at Cadence and Shining’s wedding had made her one of the most sought after “Emm-Cees” in the entire kingdom. She wasn’t entirely sure what one of those was, but it all but guaranteed unwanted attention at the front door.

Still, it was rare that she dipped into the royal stipend that she and Celestia were paid every month so she had more than enough bits at her disposal to make sure that discretion was the watchword for the night. Berry had been more than happy to oblige Luna in whatever request she might have when presented with a jingling sack of gold as large as her head.

She and Mac had arranged to meet at the back, which would be left unlocked for them to enter unobserved. On arrival she could already feel the vibrations in the ground beneath her, the muffled thudding like some gigantic heartbeat reverberating from within. Mac had been waiting for her, the stallion shifting a little nervously in place as he looked up and down the quiet alley, waiting for her to join him. She’d taken a moment or two just to watch him, noting the little things he’d done in preparation for this liaison.

His straw-gold mane was clean and brushed, as was his tail. His hooves had been filed and polished and his coat glistened in the flickering light from the streetlamps. The heavy yoke he normally wore was absent but, thankfully, he hadn’t replaced it with a tie or other such nonsense. Good. The last thing she wanted was him to act like something he was not. There were gentle ponies aplenty in Canterlot, stuffed shirts with little to recommend them past their political contacts and ample bank accounts and he would never be one of those, thankfully.

More importantly, and to her delight, the orchid she had given him was braided neatly into his mane, tucked just behind his right ear. As she watched he reached up to touch it, making sure that it hadn’t fallen out, sighing in relief as he reassured himself that it was where it was meant to be.

“McIntosh,” she called as she stepped out of the shadows, stifling a little grin as he startled and straightened up before dropping into a low, polite bow.

“Princess Luna,” he nickered, then stopped as she lifted a hoof to interrupt him.

“Just Luna, McIntosh Apple. Tonight we are merely two ponies enjoying each other’s company. There need be no formality between us.”

Mac lifted his head, a little smile curving his lips. “Well in that case it’s just Mac,” he pointed out, then oh’ed and quickly dropped his head back down, picking up a small, delicately wrapped parcel that he offered out to her with his teeth.

Accepting it with her magic, she gave Mac a somewhat quizzical look but he just nodded for her to unwrap it, waiting patiently as first bow, then wrapping paper were discarded to reveal the plain box beneath. Opening this last barrier she caught her breath as she found a red hibiscus nestled in a protective cocoon of tissue paper.

“Mac…” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion as she caressed it with a reverent hoof. “Dost thou know what this is?”

“Eeeyup,” was the laconic and somewhat pleased reply. “Knew what colour it had t’be. Twilight helped pick the right one. That is it, ain’t it? They called it-“

“Night’s Kiss, yes. They used to leave it in offering to me along with their prayers, before…” she shook her head, tucking that unwelcome thought away where it belonged. No, she would not think of such things tonight. Tonight was where she began to make a life anew. “It does not surprise us that Twilight would know of such things.”

“Smart girl, that one,” Mac agreed as he took the box from her while she set the bloom behind her ear, then hesitated a moment as he noticed the change in her expression. That mask she always wore, that of the inscrutable and slightly aloof alicorn princess, slipped just enough for him to see the uncertain filly lurking under the surface.

“Tis beautiful, Mac. We—I am pleased that you are willing to allow this.”

“Eeeyup,” was the familiar, laconic reply. Oh, there was so much more he might say, but there would be time enough for that down the line. Instead he motioned towards the door. “You ready?”

“Indeed,” she replied, with somewhat more confidence than she felt. “Lead on, Mac. Let us see what these “wubs” truly are.”

The assault on Mac’s senses had been almost overwhelming. Oh, he’d been out to see live acts and musicians, he’d sat through massive fireworks displays and even assisted with some demolition works a time or two, but none of those quite compared to this. The bar was shrouded in darkness, broken only by the eye-searing flash of the strobes, the flicker of red, green and blue lights briefly illuminating the heaving mass of ponies that filled the dance floor, moving together in briefly illuminated snapshot.

The noise that Mac supposed was the music was FELT more than heard, the air thick with the scent of those sweating, gyrating ponies, the tang of dry ice and ozone, the potent sweetness of the alcohol that was being consumed in generous portions and for a moment Mac felt more out of place than he ever had in his life.

He turned to look at Luna, opening his mouth to suggest that perhaps they go somewhere else, and stopped at the look on her face. She was staring at the scene before them with an expression of utter desolation, her eyes filled with despair as her plans for the evening went up in smoke..

With that, the decision was made. He wouldn’t let this night be a disappointment to her. Her heart had been in the right place, even if perhaps the choice of venue needed…a little work. He stepped up to stand beside the still-aghast Princess and nudged his shoulder to hers. “C’mon, Luna. You got all those years a’courtly dances an’balls an’such. Show me how ya dance.”

His reward was an initial look of disbelief slowly blossoming into a shy, relieved smile as Luna first nodded, then returned the nudge, pressing her shoulder warmly to his for a moment before the two of them stepped down into the melee of ponies. In the darkness and the flashing lights, it was easier for the two of them to lose themselves, even their respective sizes drawing little attention or comment from the dancers that surrounded them.

Luckily for Mac, at least, this song was fairly slow and easy to dance to, the big stallion moving somewhat self-consciously at first, doing his best not to knock over or tread on any of the smaller ponies that surrounded them. In his eagerness to ensure that Luna was not disappointed he had neglected to take one rather important fact into account – He didn’t dance. Ever. Well… Almost ever. There had been the barn raising at the last reunion; he’d got caught up in the moment, in the music, and every Apple knew how a square dance went but this sort of thing where everypony was doing their own thing? How were you supposed to react to that?

There was a rhythm in the music, but every time he felt like he was starting to move with it he’d have to stop or pause to let somepony past, or avoid bumping into them. In fact, he was so busy concentrating on his own movements that he was taken completely by surprise when Luna swooped in and landed a playful kiss right on the end of his nose.

He snorted and jerked his head up, his eyes wide, coming nose to nose with the broadly grinning Princess of the Moon. “This is not a funeral dirge you must trudge to, Mac,” she called, raising her voice to be heard above the pounding beat. “Nor must you treat those around you like glass! You move as if you walk through a briar patch!” She grinned at him, her voice a little challenging now. “Is that truly the best thou can do?”

It was blatantly obvious she was baiting him, but dangit, he just couldn’t resist taking it. He’d only seen her like this once before, on that fateful and incident-filled Nightmare Night, her cares and worries slipping away as she allowed herself to just be a pony, like anyone else. She wanted moves? He’d show her moves.

The three tribes had developed their own methods of dancing and it was fair to say that earth pony dancing was among the more vigorous and least dignified. Earth pony dances often descended into a state somewhat akin to a riot when the liquor started flowing, crashing together, rearing and bucking, stomping hooves till the floor shook and the rafters creaked fit to collapse.

By way of contrast Unicorns were the most regimented, preferring the more formal sort of dancing, mainly due to many of them lacking much in the way of natural ability. He allowed himself a brief little smile as he remembered Twilight’s somewhat abortive dancing attempts. There was a girl who’d read every book there was about how you were supposed to dance but was cursed with that cruelest of fates – Four left hooves. Your typical pegasus, on the other hoof, on those rare occasions when they did actually choose to dance on the ground, was all about the acrobatics. They would throw themselves across a dancefloor like it was a gymnastics tournament or, if the company and mood called for it, use their wings in an elaborately teasing…

Mac closed down that thought process very firmly, then paused. Actually, why shouldn’t he think about Luna like that? They were here, they were dancing, he was wearing her flower and she was wearing his. Her intentions were clear and he was fairly certain that those intentions also included a relationship of a more physical kind. Oh. Oh my.

While he had certainly been aware that this was the way most relationships ended up, this was the first time when he actually thought about it in context. This wasn’t just some vague notion, some other ponies getting together, this was him… And the Princess. The images that filled his mind were both exhilarating and terrifying as the full import of what he’d agreed to came crashing down on him hard enough to leave him feeling like he’d just taken the first step into an abyss with no bottom in sight.

“Ah think ah… Ah’m gonna get us some drinks first,” he blurted out as he veered away from Luna and plunged into the crowd once more. He exchanged quick nods and hoof-bumps with a few ponies he recognised including, to his surprise, Cloud Kicker. Funny, he’d never taken her for a fan of this sort of thing.

“Hey Mac!” she yelled over the music, leaning in till her lips nearly brushed his ear, “Is that really Princess Luna you’re trying and failing to dance with?”

Mac hesitated before answering. Cloud Kicker did have something of a reputation around Ponyville for talking before thinking so instead of outright denying it, he skirted around the question. “Now what’d Luna be doing in a place like this?” There, that worked. Not an outright denial, not a confirmation either. The lights were low enough that maybe he could bluff his way out of this before she asked any more questions.

“Slumming it, maybe? I dunno, that totally looks like Luna from here…”

“Ya can’t know everyone who comes t’visit Ponyville, Kicker,” he pointed out, quite reasonably he thought.

“No, but there aren’t many who visit that have manes made of stars. Even in these lights it’s pretty obvious that’s not just some extra-tall pegasus filly you’ve got there.”

Mac glanced back to his dance partner and sighed. Yep, really there wasn’t a mare in Equestria (well maybe ONE) who had a mane quite as remarkable as Luna’s and right now it was putting on a show to rival even Rainbow Dash. The gleaming stars in her mane were glittering with the colours of the rainbow as they reflected back the lights from the club, a sparkling starfield illuminating the ponies that were dancing around her. Near as poor a liar as his sister, he conceded defeat and finally nodded.

“Ponyfeathers! I owe Blossomforth ten bits! I was so sure that Berry was winding us up or I was just hearing things. Well I’ll be buggered, you and Luna, huh? You gonna be hitting that later?”

Mac snorted and gave the broadly grinning pegasus a deadpan stare. “It ain’t all about the banging, Kicker.”

“Maybe not, but come on! I saw you checking her out from over here and right now she is TOTALLY checking your plot out. No, don’t look!”

Too late. Mac had already turned his head to find that Luna was, indeed, watching him, her eyes lingering rather lower than he’d expect and he had to fight the urge to fan his tail over his haunches. “We’re tryin’ to keep this quiet, Kicker,” he whickered as he turned back to her.

“Yeah Yeah,” Cloud Kicker replied with a casual wave of her hoof that nearly ended up sloshing her drink all over Mac’s hooves. “Berry hinted there was gonna be some sort of bigwig here and we were to keep ourselves to ourselves. Said if she heard of just one of us mouthing off to anyone in the street, we’d be barred for life.”

Mac’s eyebrow lifted. “Really? Ya don’t say.”

“I guess when you have a Princess coming to dance, you don’t want to scare her off, right? Gotta make sure everypony hoofs the line!”

“Must be. Alright, ya’ll s’cuse me, Kicker. Ah gotta get us some drinks.”

She nodded with another exuberant wave of her forehooves, her drink again coming perilously close to escaping, “Have fun, Mac!”

Mac watched her go with a somewhat relieved sigh, the last thing he needed was to be recognised by too many folks right now. He’d already spotted more than a few other ponies he was more than passingly familiar with. He ducked his head down a little and made a beeline straight for the bar. “Berry!” He yelled over the relentless thump of the music as he nudged his way through the crowd and leaned up against the bar, “Sling me a couple of bottles o’Sweet Apple Reserve, will ya?”

“Sure thing, Mac,” was the cheerful reply and a heartbeat later two icy cold bottles thumped down in front of him and Berry Punch waved away his attempt to pay for them. “No charge. Your fillyfriend there set up a tab earlier today, drinks and food are all taken care of. In fact, we got a lil private booth set up in the back for later when you want a break and something to eat. Just let me know.”

“I… Sure,” was all he could find to say as Berry winked and turned to the next customer. He picked up the bottle, took a swig then paused and peered suspiciously at it. Funny, he didn’t usually go deaf when he drank cider. He looked around quizzically to see ponies still talking around him, the DJ still swaying and gesticulating as she had been a moment before, and yet the only sound he could hear was his own breathing.

“This was a poor idea. You have our apologies, Mac.” Luna’s voice was soft as the alicorn stepped up to join him, her horn glowing faintly to maintain the bubble of silence that now surrounded them. “I do not know why I thought that…” she trailed off helplessly. “Perhaps my Sister was right. We are not normal ponies, as much as we might wish it otherwise. We should not expect that we can be treated as such.”

It took a moment for Mac to find his voice. He had to say SOMETHING, he knew that; the look of misery on her face was twisting his guts like some of Pinkie’s balloon animals. “Y’all… You really are serious about this, aintcha? You wanna do this like—like—regular folks? Just you and me, just ponies.”

Luna nodded solemnly, waiting patiently for him to say what he needed to get out, her expression unreadable.

“But it ain’t that easy, Pri—Luna. Ah mean. What’s gonna happen if ah kiss you? Yer sister’s gonna send me to the sun or the moon or—“

He wasn’t sure what his next words were going to be; they died in his throat as Luna closed that last little gap between them and pressed her lips firmly to his, her wings lifting to gently caress and frame his muzzle as she let her eyes drift closed and leaned into him.

A breath passed. Another. Mac stood as still as a statue against her, his eyes wide and startled as Luna let the kiss linger. She trembled just a little as the moments dragged out, praying that she had not just made an even more terrible mistake by forcing the issue past anything Mac could ever be comfortable with.

For his part, Mac was suddenly and acutely aware of every touch of her feathers on his flesh, of the subtle scent of lavender and orchids that surrounded her, of how soft and moist her lips were against his, the feel of her breath on his muzzle as she finally let the kiss end and her mouth parted from his. She gave another soft, tremulous smile, “And so it is done and I have kissed thee, and it seems thou’rt still here. No banishment to the moon, the sun or to a distant land. The world continues its turning, the stars still shine and thee and we remain, just a filly and a colt taking time together as the pony race has done since the early days.”

“Buh…”

Luna giggled as Mac stared dumbly at her. “Yes. To recap, in case there be some further confusion. I have, indeed, just kissed you. You are, indeed, still here. My Sister is aware of my interest in thee, Mac, and while she has expressed concern, it is only for my wellbeing rather than any concern over our developing relationship. You need fear nothing from Celestia except, perhaps, thy fair share of teasing when we visit her at the castle.”

“Cuh? Ah mean—Dagnabit.” Mac shook his head and snorted loudly, “Damn, Princess. Ya sure do cut right t’the chase, don’t you?”

“Time is a precious thing, Mac. My Sister and I understand that better than most. Perhaps one day I will tell you more of the games ‘Tia and I play to entertain ourselves through the centuries.”

“An’that, right there! Ya just…” Mac trailed off and took another swig of his cider before remembering his manners and passing the other bottle over to Luna. He couldn’t help but lick his lips, his mouth still warm and tingling from the pressure of the alicorn’s kiss. It was funny, but it had been so reassuringly…Normal. He wasn’t sure what he had really expected to happen, perhaps for there to be rainbows and electricity or something out of the ordinary compared to kissing a regular filly but it had been just that. Just a kiss. A very pleasant and surprising kiss, he had to admit, and in a way that reassured him that perhaps this wasn’t as far-fetched an idea as he first thought.

“Just?” Luna prompted as she took a mouthful of the cider and mmmm’ed loudly in appreciation. “Our compliments to thy sister, Mac. This is a fine beverage indeed!”

“It’s just ya talk about centuries, Luna. You and Celes—Princess Celestia, you’re the sun and moon! You’re immortal! Ya might want to play at bein’ a regular filly but—“ He swore inwardly as his brain caught up with his mouth. “Ah didn’t mean it like that, Princess. Ah ain’t tryin’ to suggest this is just a game to you or anythin’ like that.”

Luna, to his surprise, didn’t seem angered by what he was implying, she just nodded. “There are many things they say about the sun and moon, aren’t there? Things that, if you think about it, give a great insight into the characters of my sister and myself,” she paused to take another sip of her cider. “Celestia is as constant as the sun, a serene light that all others bask in, the giver of warmth and love and the safety of daylight to all our little ponies. She is composed, collected…And distant. My sister has learned to control her passions, for fear of burning those that get too close to her. Now the only ones she allows to see past that serene persona are myself, Discord and, occasionally, Twilight and Cadence. That is the way she wishes to spend her life, in solitude that she can control.” Another gulp of cider followed, echoed by Mac, more than half the bottle gone now.

“But that ain’t for you?” Mac asked, even though it was already obvious that there was no real comparison between Luna and the description she had just given.

“No. Think of the language people use when they speak of the moon, Mac. Waxing, waning, forever changing. Constant and yet inconstant, permanent and yet always in flux. They talk of the moon’s effect on everything from ponies mental states to their fertility. The moon is capricious, unpredictable, but most importantly of all, the moon touches the loves of ponies in a rather more direct way than my sister. She shines her light upon all equally while I am free to share myself rather more… Directly.”

Mac nearly choked on his mouthful of cider as Luna ran her forehoof over his chest as she finished speaking, much to her delight. The alicorn threw her head back and laughed as she watched the poor stallion struggle to swallow the mouthful and not completely embarrass himself in front of the Princess.

“So it’s gonna be like that, huh?” He growled once he’d recovered himself, snorting as Luna gave him her best innocent look, even going so far as to flutter her eyelashes. “It’s on now, Princess. Ya wanna live like the rest of us? Let’s get to it.” He grabbed her forehoof in his and pulled her back onto the dancefloor, the spell evaporating with a pop to let the music flood back in with near deafening intensity.

The crowd parted to make room for them as Mac pulled the giggling Luna along with him till he found a spot with enough room for them both. He turned, pushing his haunch firmly to hers, bobbing his head in time with the beat.

This time, the music flowed through him, his legs shifting easily beneath him, dancing with none of the hesitation or uncertainty of before. He reared to his hindlegs, his forehooves finding Luna’s as the two twirled together in place together and much to Mac’s surprise, he found he was actually starting to enjoy himself.

“Much better!” Luna laughed in delight as her dance partner finally began to loosen up and move with the music. The hooves he placed on her were increasingly bold, drawing her close to him, close enough she could feel his breath on her mane, feel the strong muscles rippling through his chest and shoulders as they pressed together, then spun apart once again.

Soon the two were lost in the melee of ponies moving and swaying together and for one perfect moment that Luna would treasure for a long time to come, they were just a colt and filly spending time together. Other ponies even bumped up against her as she danced and while she was treated to more than a few incredulous looks, they soon melted into broad, surprised smiles as their clumsiness was met with nothing more than a broad smile as the Night Princess danced as energetically as any foal.

The beat throbbing through the club was less alien now and now that Mac wasn't fighting it, but shifting and moving with it, he had found his groove at last. Caught up in the frenetic beat of the music, Macintosh ground against and threw himself away from Luna in turn, diving beneath an inviting wing there, chasing a shimmering tail there, rumps grinding together as they pressed flank to flank, heavy hooves stomping to the beat.

Luna moved on lighter hooves, feathering her wings and sending her mane spilling over her shoulders in a wave of colour, baiting and teasing him, unable to keep the beat of this strange, discordant music from setting her flanks swaying. The strangely cool breeze from her wings fanned and cooled the lather building on his coat, fresh washes of new sensation flowing through him every time another gust of that lunar wind washed over him.

Even while he danced, as more than one mare attempted to catch his eye and draw him into dancing with them, Mac had eyes for only one pony. He’d never seen a Princess act like this, without a care in the world, without any of the trappings or proprieties of royalty, simply enjoying herself regardless of what anyone might think.

There was definitely more to Luna than met the eye and as they danced together Mac found that he was growing more and more interested in discovering the mare behind the crown.

Author's Notes:

Hello folks. Sorry for the delay with this one but MY GOD that dancing scene kicked my ass so hard. So, music that helped inspire this, including two tracks directly referenced in the story -

Nero - "Must Be the Feeling (Flux Pavilion Remix)"
Pendulum - "Propane Nightmares"
Infected Mushroom - "The Shen"
Pendulum - "Mutiny"
Underworld - "Rez/Cowgirl"

EDIT: Song lyrics removed as apparently the mods say that's verboten now.