At length, both sweaty, manes in disarray (well, his at least. Luna’s not-quite-natural star field was still perfectly arranged), the two withdrew from the dance floor to take up Berry’s offer of a quiet corner for them to recuperate.

The private booth was tucked away just off the dance floor, a thick velvet curtain helping to muffle the sound of the music. Mac held it open so the still-giggling Luna could slip in and flop down onto one of the the long, low couches, her coat glistening with perspiration, wings still half-flared and twitching in excitement.

“We have not had so much fun in years!” Luna declared. “These wubs are most exhilarating indeed. We must thank Pinkie for her suggestion when we encounter her once more.”

“Pinkie, huh?” Mac smiled wryly as he took his seat on the other side of the table from the panting Princess. “Well that explains a whole lot. Ah did wonder how ya came by this particular idea.”

“We were…not entirely convinced that this would be a good idea, but it seems that your friend is a great judge of character and mood indeed.” Luna glanced around the quiet booth for a moment, taking in the framed pictures that hung on the wall of artists and musicians who had performed at the bar, noting the addition of graffiti in a couple of places that hadn’t been entirely painted over.

‘Gilda takes it in—‘ Luna blinked at the rest of the angry scrawl. Well, she wasn’t sure who this Gilda was, but she highly doubted that would be the case. She was fairly certain the act being crudely described there was anatomically improbable without the use of magic and a minimum of three willing partners.

Her gaze continued to slide along the walls before eventually returning to her erstwhile dance partner where she found him giving her a somewhat curious look. “A copper bit for thy thoughts, Mac?” she enquired.

“Huh? Whassat?” Mac snorted, seemingly startled out of his thoughts by the question, rubbing a hoof through his mane and ducking his head down a little to try and hide the rush of warmth that was spreading over his muzzle.

“That is the correct term, is it not? You appeared to be musing over something of great importance.” Luna planted her forelegs on the tabletop and leaned forward to regard the fidgeting stallion with her face schooled into an expression of polite interest.

“Guess ah’m just…wonderin’ how t’make smalltalk with a Princess,” he finally said. “Don’t talk ta many mares, see. Other than AJ anyway, and that don’t really count.”

Silence followed his admission for one long, torturous heartbeat. Then another. Luna grinned and finally put the increasingly fidgety stallion out of his misery. “Breathe, Mac. If I was interested in a stallion who could fill the air with inane chatter, they are a bit a dozen in Canterlot. There is nothing wrong with just enjoying company in silence.” She paused a moment, her expression growing wry as the thump of the music could still be plainly heard. “Silence being a relative term at the moment, admittedly.”

Mac visibly sagged, letting out a long, relieved sigh and wiping a bead of imaginary swear from his brow. “Ah wasn’t sure what we were gonna do when this bit came round,” he admitted, leaning back against the booth and making himself more comfortable. “When it’s just the two of us. No matter how many times ah tried t’play this out in mah head, it always ended up with us just starin’ mutely across a table at each other.”

Luna couldn’t resist the obvious opening and leaned forward a little more, fluttering her eyelashes before letting her expression slip easily into that look of mild interest she had learned to adopt at the Night Court when listening to petition after petition.

“Dang it, Luna! That just ain’t fair,” Mac protested with a laugh, waving a hoof at her until she relented and stuck her tongue out at him.

She sat back with a pleased little smile. He had called her Luna without even thinking about it! A small step, but it was a beginning. “But it has helped thee relax, has it not?”

“That it has. Shall we get some more drinks in? Ah think we left the others back at the bar…”

“That has been arranged for. I did promise thee fine food and wine, did I not?” Luna held up a hoof to forestall him, instead nudging the curtain open just in time for Berry Punch to swoop in with a platter laden with food that was distinctly a cut above the usual bar fare she served. Mac took a sniff and was certain he could detect the signature fragrances of the rather more up-market cafe just a few doors up from the bar.

He resisted the urge to say anything as Berry gave him another playful wink and set down two perfectly chilled bottles of Sweet Apple Acres Reserve, nodded to the Princess and withdrew to once again leave the two of them alone. He lifted his gaze from the food to find Luna watching him like a child seeking approval, her eyes wide and hopeful as she waited for his opinion of her food.

“ ‘Wine’, huh?” Mac couldn’t quite resist a grin as he nudged one bottle over the table to her and picked his own up, “What should we drink to? Normally we’d, uh, be toastin’ your health. Seems a bit weird what with you being right here and all.”

Luna nodded in agreement, musing it over for a moment. There were plenty of historical toasts, of course, many of them written about her and her sister, in truth. There were clan-specific ones, back from before the time of Harmony, there were bawdy ones and flirtatious ones and for a moment she was sorely tempted to tease him with one of those but…no. It was still too early in their relationship for that. She tapped the ice-cold bottle thoughtfully with one hoof, then smiled broadly as it came to her. Of course, it was perfect.

“Then let us drink to that which brought you to me, Mac. Let us drink to whispers in the night,” and she lifted her bottle in salute.

“Works for me, Pri--Luna,” he agreed, tapping his bottle to her own with a loud clink before they both drank, glad that the subdued lighting in the booth helped to hide the freshly returned blush that warmed his cheeks.

“And now that the formalities are attended to,” Luna continued, “and posterity is satisfied, let us dine!”

The next few minutes were, to put it mildly, an education for Big Mac. He had no idea how such a trim filly could put away such large quantities of food in such a short space of time without suffering regrettable consequences. Before his eyes the piles of food dwindled as if teleported away one plateful at a time and before he knew it he was spending more time just watching this remarkable display than actually eating.

Luna paused, her mouth full of hay fries, and gave Mac a quizzical look before mumbling something that, he thought, translated roughly to ‘Aren’t you hungry?’. He quickly realised he was sitting there slack jawed and snorted before turning his attention to his food.

“Impressive spread,” he said as he tucked into his own plate of hay fries, munching thoughtfully on the crispy morsels, mmming at the rush of salty, greasy goodness that filled his mouth with every bite. “Ah’m guessin’ it’s not much like what ya get at the castle?”

“Indeed not,” Luna dabbed at the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “For some time after our return we had to tolerate the chefs attempting to serve us all manner of dishes from Equestria’s past. Apparently it did not occur to them that many of these recipes came from a time before the age of plenty we know today...Like the time they attempted to serve me a plate of sautéed sweet briar as if it were some prize delicacy.”

“Haw! It may smell like apple but it sure don’t taste like it. Ah take it you had a lil word with the chef after that?”

“Indeed. I informed him that while it was most kind of him to take the time to serve me such things, modern Equestrian food was quite acceptable and in fact preferred if I was to acclimatise to my new situation. He agreed we may have a valid point once he stopped cowering on the floor and begging us not to banish him to the moon. We did briefly consider it but really his cooking wasn’t THAT bad.”

She paused and Mac gave her a curious look, not entirely sure if she was joking or not…The bland look on her face did not bode well. “Of course,” she went on, “now we are often served the food that the nobles prefer as we rarely dine in our private chambers. I swear that in the years I was away the complexity of the meal has increased in inverse proportion to the size.”

“Harder t’make and less of it, huh?” Mac summarised and nodded. “Sounds about right for those high-falutin’ types. Applejack told me about the hors d'oeuvres they had at the Gallopin’ Gala,” he paused a moment. “I almost feel like ah should apologise for what mah Sister did there. She didn’t tell me she was plannin’ to go and try t’sell food instead a’just havin’ fun. Always on the lookout for a way t’make more bits, that filly, whether it’s appropriate or not.”

“An admirable sentiment, if perhaps not the most appropriate of venues,” Luna agreed as she picked up what appeared to be a spiced vegetable burger in a bun and nibbled delicately on it. “I look forward to the opportunity to try the famed cooking of honest Applejack.

Mac paused with his own burger halfway to his mouth, snorting softly as her words conjured up an image of Luna standing in his kitchen with foals running around her hooves, or maybe in Granny Smith’s rocker, sipping tea and nibbling on an apple fritter. It was such an incongruous image that he couldn’t quite hold back the smile that curved his lips.

“Something amuses thee, Mac?”

“Eeenope. Well…yep. I guess, kinda. You and me, here, doin’ this. Ah mean, where do we go with this if we decide that we want to take this further? Ah’m tryin’ to imagine you sittin’ in mah kitchen and ah just…can’t quite get mah head around it. It just seems so, well, beneath you.”

“Let no-one ever tell you that a simpler life is somehow a less worthy one, Mac,” Luna firmly replied, setting her burger down as the tone of the conversation grew more thoughtful. “The nobles of Canterlot delude themselves with this lie every day of their lives. Remember, I was not always a Princess. Celestia and I both knew far leaner times than this and there are days both of us yearn to escape from the trappings and ceremonies of our current lives,” she paused to pick up her drink, taking a slow, thoughtful sip. “But at the same time, this is where our lives have led us. We chose this path willingly, not knowing quite where it would take us, but neither of us have forgotten our roots.”

Luna picked her burger back up in her magic, taking another bite. “But these are topics for another time. Is this what couples talk about on their ‘first date’, Mac? It seems a terribly heavy topic for so early in a relationship.”

Mac resisted the urge to retort, ‘Well not everyone dates a Princess!’ but instead sat for a moment or two, slowly chewing on his food as he thought it over. “Ah guess they take time t’get to know each other. Whaddya like to do, what do you do when you’re workin’, all the little details that make up a pony beyond just lookin’ good,” he grinned, “which you really do, by the way.”

It was a shot in the dark, expecting little more than a snort and a laugh or maybe for her to throw a napkin at him, but instead Mac was left more than a little surprised as Luna dipped her head down and hid behind her mane once more before mumbling something under her breath as her cheeks flared red. “We do not often get such genuine compliments.”

Mac blinked. “Oh come on. Ah know there’s sonnets and poetry and songs praisin’ you and Cele…. Princess Celestia both. Ah imagine those courtly types ain’t shy of flatterin’ you either if they think it’ll help’em.”

“Ah, but that is the difference between thee and them. You offered the compliment without thinking, without wanting anything but to see our reaction to it. It was offered without restraint or motive beyond perhaps to have a little fun. Such things are rare indeed for a Princess,” she lifted her head at last to offer a soft, shy smile that made her look so much younger than she truly was and Mac couldn’t help but return it. “Thank you, McIntosh.”

“Anytime, Luna,” he reassured her. “So, now that we know what we’re meant t’be talkin’ about, do you wanna start? What is there ya’d like to know about me? If y’all spoke to Pinkie then ah guess you know a bit. That girl knows everythin’ about everyone in town. Blows mah mind how she keeps it all straight.”

Luna hesitated, for a moment unsure what to ask first. “Pinkie was helpful in certain respects but you, McIntosh Apple, you are something of an enigma even to the social heart of Ponyville. She told me you keep much to yourself, that she knows some of what you do. I must admit to being surprised to hear that you go fishing. I thought it was only pegasi that had a taste for that.”

Mac nodded, sipping thoughtfully from his bottle of cider. “Fluttershy knows what needs doin’, but the poor gal’s too soft-hearted t’do it herself. She don’t ask no questions, I don’t tell her no lies. Ah just give her what she needs for her critters--”

“And she gives what is needed to help support your family.”

Mac winced, looking left and right as if afraid that Applejack was going to overhear them. “Ah’d appreciate ya keeping that little bit of knowledge under that crown of yours, Princess. AJ don’t know anythin’ about that. Ah do the books for the farm so it’s easy t’hide the extra bits in there.”

Luna ducked her head down. “You have our apologies, Mac. We did not mean to speak out of turn. Pinkie had intimated that this may be a delicate subject.”

The stallion nodded, “AJ’s many things. She’s loyal, she’s honest, she’s hard-workin’ but she’s also about as stubborn as they come. If she heard that ah’d been workin’ on the side t’help out, she’d probably take it a mite personal.”

“But why? It is not as if you are doing anything dishonest or illegal? You work for the betterment of yourself and your kin. Surely Applejack would support you in such endeavours?”

“Pride,” Mac stated bluntly. “Same thing that made her work herself near t’death tryin’ to do a whole Applebuckin’ season herself. Same thing that has her and Rainbow constantly tryin’ to outdo one another. If mah Sister has one weakness, it’s that pride o’hers.”

“Ah,” was all Luna said. “We know that vice better than most.”

Now it was Mac’s turn to look abashed. “Sorry if ah’m bringing up bad memories.”

“No offence was implied or taken, Mac,” Luna assured him. “Now, it is only fair, I think, that you have the chance to ask a question in turn.”

“Well, yes an’no. Ah didn’t exactly answer that question of yours. Ya knew about the fishin’ already, and ah’m guessing what you really wanted to know was what else ah get up to other than that, right? Well…let’s see here. Ah sing well enough, and ah dabble in the fiddle a bit. Ah ain’t as good as some in the family, but ah can belt out a decent tune when we need someone t’get a dance going. Y’won’t see mah name up in lights wi’the like of Octavia Philarmonica, but ah like t’think ah sound at least better than nails on a blackboard.”

“I would like to hear you play sometime,” Luna replied honestly. “I have fond memories of my first earth pony dance.”

“Memories? Wait, ya mean y’remember it?” Mac grinned broadly. “Guess ah gotta show you how us earth ponies really party. Well, fair enough though, mah turn now,” he paused as he considered his question. “Ah know it’s considered bad form t’bring up former partners on a first date but you ain’t quite like other fillies. Ah’m guessing y’ain’t done this kinda thing since your, er, return?”

Luna paused before she replied, allowing herself just a hint of a smile as his question brought up memories of other stallions, some not entirely aware of just who it was they were bedding. Still, she doubted he wanted to hear about that right now, or perhaps ever! “Nay, thou’rt quite correct in that,” she said as she popped the remains of her burger into her mouth and dabbed one last time to catch any lingering traces of sauce. “It has been some time indeed since we last...dated,” she paused and gave a soft, wistful little sigh. “We have had suitors in the past, many years ago. The last was not long before my banishment. His name was Swift Spark.”

“Ah’m guessin’ a unicorn or pegasus with a name like that? Don’t really strike me as an Earth pony type name.”

“Quite correct. He was a unicorn, in fact, from one of the villages to the South of the Everfree forest. He had come to the court to petition for assistance from the Sun and Night Guards for assistance in driving off a hydra that had taken up residence in their river. Initially some of the courtiers tried to deny him access, claiming he had not taken the time to make a proper appointment. They also felt that his ragged appearance was hardly befitting someone about to stand before their diarchs.”

Mac snorted and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “So what did he do?”

Luna paused a moment to make sure that he had a nice mouthful of his drink before she replied. “Turned them into potted plants.” She stifled her smile behind one hoof, giggling as he desperately tried not to spit it all out in front of her. “Three begonias and an especially lovely lily as I recall. He was a talented magic user, not quite of the same calibre as my Sister’s student, of course, but then almost no-one is. Following this he burst into the throne room, prostrated himself before us and begged for our aid. Rather than send some of the Guard to look into it, I took it upon myself to return and aid him.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that,” she confirmed. “He pleaded most convincingly. He also had a most delightful rump that was on display most pleasingly as he grovelled before us. I was young enough at the time that a shapely behind was a great motivator.”

Mac was lucky enough not to have a mouthful of drink this time, though he still shot Luna a glare across the table, much to the Princess’ amusement. “Young? How old were you at the time?”

“Mac! Thou should never ask a filly for her age! It is normally a most impertinent question but we are feeling generous tonight and will let this indiscretion pass. I was…” Luna trailed off as she thought about it, her wings twitching a little as she tried to think back. “Do you know I truly cannot remember? ‘Tia might recall such things, her grasp of dates and figures was always better than mine. The truth was we were both old even by then, but this was before the dark times, before Her.”

Mac winced a little, “Sorry fer bringing up, er, that. Ah imagine y’get enough of that from the loons that still think ye’re her.”

“Some still find it difficult to believe in my redemption, yes, even three years later. They seem to believe I am laying in wait for my Sister to lower her guard before I plunge the world into darkness once more. You have not offended me, Mac. It is difficult to not at least acknowledge Her. She is the, how do you say it, ursa minor in the room?”

“Maybe so, but that don’t mean we need to talk about her, ‘specially not now. Ah know you ain’t her no more. Hells, if I thought that I certainly wouldn’t be here! Twilight made sure everyone knew that after your visit on Nightmare Night that first year, and you made sure that everyone in Ponyville got to see you as our Princess and not just as some boogeymare lurkin’ in the shadows to scare the foals.”

“Twilight was the first friend we made on our return, it is true. She was not afraid of us, and did her best to comfort and advise when our initial approach did not go at all as we had planned.”

“Y’did come across a little heavy-hoofed,” Mac agreed as he sat back with his drink and regarded the Princess once more. “But we’re driftin’ off topic a shade. You were tellin’ me about this Swift Spark. Ah guess things started off after the hydra?”

“Indeed they did,” Luna leaned forward to rest her forelegs on the table, close enough that he could easily reach out and brush his hoof to hers if he chose. “The villagers were most grateful for my timely assistance in driving off their unwanted guest; they insisted I stay the night with them and they would throw a party in my honour. This was before the dark times, before my little ponies began to fear me and my night. I accepted happily, both in thanks for their kindness, but also for the opportunity to be close to him for a while longer and get to know him. We ended up spending a great deal of time together at the party and when we parted just before dawn, it was with a promise that we would meet again in Canterlot in a few days.”

“What was he like?” Mac leaned in a little closer and this time his hoof did brush against hers across the plate-strewn table. He hesitated, moved to draw his hoof back, only to find hers brushing back in turn to reassure him that the caress was not at all unwelcome.

“I sometimes thought he was born in the wrong tribe,” she replied simply. “He had more of the earth pony about him than unicorn, in truth. Many unicorns rely almost exclusively on their magic, it would never occur to them that there is pleasure to be found in simple manual labour. I think...that you would have liked him. He had a great appreciation for the soil though not to the extent that he could have made a career of it as your family has. He was fascinated by geology and spent a great deal of time exploring all over Equestria, even in places that most ponies would never dare tread,” Luna smiled wistfully at the memories. “It was an endless source of frustration to him that he could not venture into the caverns below Canterlot.”

“The ones where Princess Cadence was held by the Changelings, y’mean?” Mac whickered. “Ah heard about all that from the girls when they got back t’Ponyville.”

“You are well informed Mac, yes, the very ones. Back then, of course, the reasons were very different. The crystals have odd magical properties, being partly resistant to Equestrian magic. There had been attempts to mine the crystals for enchantment purposes but in the end they were abandoned, the caverns judged to be too dangerous for serious mining and the magic suppressant properties of the crystals would hamper any magical reinforcement or rescue attempt if the worst were to occur.” Luna blinked and cleared her throat, “My apologies. I sometimes think I spend too much time with the scholars in Canterlot, you did not need a history lesson.”

“Eeenope, but at the same time it sheds more light on the kinda pony he was. Even though he knew the caverns were dangerous, and his magic might not save him, he still wanted t’explore them and ah can sure respect that. So is that one o’the things that brought ya to me? His love o’the earth, that part of him that weren’t entirely unicorn?”

“In a way,” Luna paused and took a sip of her cider, her expression thoughtful. “I have found many earth ponies to be reassuringly grounded. Your folk tend to be practical, less prone to the affectations of the unicorns who spend much of their time worrying about what might be, not what is. Pegasi can be both caring and arrogant in equal measure, hedonistic and thrill seeking, but sometimes lacking in compassion,” she waved her free hoof as she spoke, the other still resting comfortably against Mac’s. “I have a personal theory,” she confided, looking left and right before leaning in as if to impart some vital piece of knowledge, “I sometimes think that their minds work more quickly than earth ponies or unicorns, their thoughts tumbling one over another till they can scarce stand still for more than a few moments before the urge to move becomes unbearable. Perhaps something to do with their particular magic and a distant kinship to birds. I am sure Twilight would delight in making a study of it though I somehow think loyal Rainbow Dash would be disinclined to acquiesce to her request.” At Mac’s blank stare she added, “That means no.”

Mac gave the princess a somewhat amused look, catching just a hint of unsteadiness in her voice as the potent apple brew took effect. “There’s gotta be more to it than that, though,” he pointed out. “Ain’t no shortage of earth ponies around these parts.”

“Very true,” and this time her hoof slipped over his on the table, holding it lightly as she considered her next words carefully. “But few share your love of the night. Even among your brethren you are something out of the ordinary. Your mind is calm, when I touch your dreams it is like stepping from a room full of ponies and into silence. I find your presence…soothing,” she trailed off as she noticed the look Mac was giving her, clearing her throat quickly. “Not that I have spent so many nights watching your dreams, it is merely one of my duties as the Ruler of the Night, I look into the dreams of many of our little ponies. I...merely meant that when it came time to check in on you, it was not the chore it is with some others.”

“Don’t often remember mah dreams,” he admitted as he considered what she’d said. “That’s gotta be a heavy burden for ya.”

Luna blinked, her head tilting to one side and her ears splaying out sideways, “Burden? An interesting choice of words. Many would think it interesting, or amusing, or perhaps even embarrassing to see the dreaming minds of so many. Why would you think it a burden?”

“Lotta secrets in dreams, things a pony’d never say or do under the light o’the sun, things they might not even admit t’themselves. Then you got the dreams themselves, ah'm guessin' they're more like Discord’s version of reality than the actual thing. That's gotta be tough enough t'sort out in the good ones, let alone in nightmares where a pony really might not want to admit what's actually scarin' them." He turned his foreleg a little so he could press his hoof more firmly to hers and give it a gentle squeeze. "All that hope and joy an'terror and anger in equal measure, everythin’ all mixed up, unfiltered and uncensored. You see folks in a way no-one else could, all their secrets, both good an’bad and you see it all every night. The weight of it must get t’ya sometimes, the things ya know about the ponies that surround you and Princess Celestia too.”

Luna didn’t say anything for a moment, but the hoof that covered his tightened a little more. “And that is why I am here, Mac. You understand, like he did. You see that the crown is as much a burden as it is a gift.”
Fearing that the conversation might be taking a turn for the maudlin, Mac lifted Luna’s hoof from the table and gave it a playful kiss and nuzzle. “Well, there’s plenty of time for us t’get to know one another. For now, though, the night’s passin’ by and I don’t know about you but I think I’m about ready for another go at the dancin’. Ah figure there’s a few ponies out there that ain’t seen me embarrass mahself flailin’ around like ah got parasprites under mah tail. Shall we make sure they don’t miss out?”

Luna grinned broadly and tugged the curtain aside, waving Mac out and onto the dancefloor once more. The thump of the music promptly flooded the booth, the bright lights briefly dazzling the stallion as he stepped out. Luna followed close behind, swaying a little as she pressed her flank to his and spread a wing over him. My, she thought to herself, that cider really was potent stuff. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d drunk enough to have a pleasant buzz like she had now.

Mac was rather surprised at first but he wasn’t about to go telling a Princess not to touch him and, frankly, he didn’t really want to tell her to stop. It had been a long time since… Well, the truth was that it had been a long time since Cheerilee and that thrice-damned love poison. Looking back on that whole episode he always felt a tiny bit of shame over the things he had done and said but this? This just felt good. He turned his head to nuzzle along the curve of that arched neck, again just breathing in the smell of her, that now familiar scent of lavender mingling with the sweat from earlier.

“Dance with me, Mac,” she implored as she turned away from him and slowly backed onto the dancefloor, one of his hooves clutched in her own, her blue eyes glittering. How could he refuse her?

There were more ponies filling the dancefloor now, alcohol loosening inhibitions as the night went on, urging the wallflowers out to bloom in the light of strobe and laser, the floor a heaving, shifting, roiling mass of ponies packed tightly together, hooves jabbing into the air in salute to the lone white unicorn that effortlessly led the crowd.

Vinyl Scratch was still standing at her decks above them but she was joined now by a familiar curly-maned pink pony. Vinyl’s head was tilted to one side, one half of her headphones pushed away from her ear so she could listen to whatever it was Pinkie was telling her, a broad grin on her muzzle as the party pony gesticulated wildly to illustrate whatever point she was making

For the second time that night, Mac took to the floor as the music sang through him, blocking out everything else but the mare pressed next to him, her flanks and rump sliding against his as this time they truly moved together as one. Muzzles touching, necks pressing together, tails swinging in time, sliding against one another then spinning apart and darting back in, inhibitions slipping away, all the maybes and couldbes lost once again in the pleasure of this moment, drowned beneath the simple pleasures of a filly and colt teasing and playing together.

He didn’t think about it, didn’t plan it, but as the song ended, as the music built to a crescendo that had the ponies rearing to their hind legs, their hooves thrust into the air, his hooves found hers and his lips followed a heartbeat later as the two pressed together. Luna moaned softly into his mouth as their lips parted together, tongues darting shyly out to meet and then flinch away at first, returning moment by moment as the kiss deepened.

As the music faded and the houselights came up, every pony in the room was treated to the sight of Luna and Mac kissing passionately in the center of the dancefloor, the alicorn’s wings standing stiffly in the air, the two of them lost to everything but each other… Until the cheering started.

The floor trembled as hooves thundered in approval, the air filled with cheers, whistles and the occasional lewd suggestion (shouted from the safety and anonymity of the back of the room) of what Mac might want to do with his Princess. The two parted, blushing, looking around with wide, startled eyes as the real world came crashing back down onto them.

Unable to think of anything else he could do, resigned to the fact that there was nowhere they could hide, Mac turned to Luna with a wry smile on his lips and shrugged before playfully tugging one of her wings round to hide them as he kissed her once more.