Chapter 59

Dave awoke to the dark bedchambers, his breathing accompanied by Celestia’s that laid on top of him “Hey you awake?” Dave whispered

When Celestia failed to wake, Dave rested his head back onto the pillow. The curtains to the balcony window were not closed and it allowed the light of the moon to flood the room in a light blue glow. Dave struggled to see the clock with Celestia’s mane flowing in the way but from what he saw, it was still a good three hours until morning.

Dave closed his eyes and attempted to sleep again, his body was sharing the warmth of the bed with Celestia and her fur was soft against his skin but for some reason his eyes would eventually open again

Dave sighed as he decided to gently slide Celestia off the top of him and snuck into the bathroom. He closed the door before fumbling around for the light switch, as he flicked it on the waterfall slowly began to flow.

He was still curious to how the waterfall worked but decided he could probably ask somepony in the morning. As Dave wiped his eyes, he walked over to the sink and looked at the mirror above. His teeth were clean (probably due to the lack of eaten food) and his face was clear from any spots

“Looking good Dave” He joked to himself as he splashed his face with warm water

As Dave wiped his face with a towel, he checked his body for any marks or any red streaks he gained during his time as a pony. When he was satisfied everything was ok he turned the light off and crept into the bedroom.

Dave smiled at Celestia, sleeping soundly in her bed as she dreamt of past adventures or far away places. Dave longed to join her in sweet slumber but the hairs standing on-end along his arm said otherwise as he scanned the room

Nothing was different, nothing was out of place. The only things in the room were Dave, Celestia and the moonlight. The moonlight only made the vision of Celestia even more stunning as Dave wandered silently over to the balcony

He gently opened the balcony doors and stepped out onto the grass. The moon greeted Dave as he closed the door behind himself and walked over to the edge. He could easily see all of Canterlot from his altitude and spotted a small changing light in one of the back streets. The vibrant colours and the staggering ponies outside only helped his suspicion that it was a nightclub

Scratching his chin, Dave snuck into the bedroom to retrieve his shirt and trench coat. He had left the money that originally resided in his trousers inside the trench coats pockets so he could sleep in his trousers

Dave kissed the alicorn lightly on her head before sliding out of the bedroom door, his silent nod to the guards said enough as he descended into the quiet castle. The castle had taken a different tone from its usual elegance and class that the sun showed. In the moonlight it was relaxing and calm but in the areas with fewer windows, it felt foreboding

The quiet human wondered if the castle reflected the minds of the princesses. Celestia being happy with her newest love and Luna being torn from having it taken away. Dave decided to ignore these thoughts as he reached the castle courtyard and headed towards the main gates

A night guard the was adorned in dark armour that suited his role glared at Dave as he saw him approaching “What are you doing up?” his yellow feline eyes narrowed

“Going for a walk” Dave responded with (to his surprise) a faint mist attached to his breath

The guard rolled his eyes as Dave put his hands in his pockets “Alright just checking”

Dave nodded as the guard opened the gate enough for Dave to slip through and onto the empty streets of Canterlot. His destination was to the faint beats of music he heard floating from down the back streets far from the castle.

As he approached, Dave began to recognise the beats from a night that he was glad he experienced. He looked above the nightclub’s doorway to look at the neon sign that was written in light blue

Shade

Dave contemplated the thought for a moment before joining the small queue of ponies that waited for a chance to enter the musical hive. The ponies barely glanced at him as the listened to the muffled music and attempted to start bobbing with the beat

Eventually Dave was the last in the queue and was standing in front of a tall black bouncer unicorn. He reminded Dave slightly of Big Mac, mainly due to the silence

“Name?” The bouncer asked looking at the list attached to a clipboard

Dave cleared his throat “Dave Shield” he began to wonder why he started to use Shield as his last name. True he agreed to be a son to Strong Shield but he never agreed to change his name, but at the same time, it felt right

The bouncer flicked through the list “Not on the list”

Dave took his hand from his pocket and placed a finger on the clipboard “I’m right there” he pulled his hand away and left ten gold coins in its place

“So you are” The bouncer quickly hid the money “Go right inside”

Dave nodded as he stepped inside to be greeted by the lights and the music. The roof and floor of the entire club had a strange cooperation witch allowed the walls to take on a colour that was not being shown. The bar was reasonably busy but the dance floor was ridiculously busy. The mass of ponies moving with the rhythm and beats almost made the scene look like a tribe celebrating

Dave’s eyes followed the sea of fur and mane along the dance floor until he saw a giant podium supporting a familiar DJ and her professional equipment

A smirk came to Dave’s face as he watched Vinyl Scratch work her moves and magic with a mix of skill and passion as she controlled the beats and the ponies effortlessly. The human wandered over to the bar and sat down in one of the silver stools

The slim, green, Pegasus bartender was admiring the music but somehow knew another customer was waiting for a drink “Blooming hay” he gawped when he saw Dave “You new in town?” he yelled over the music

“Been around for a while” Dave nodded to the dance floor “but I am new here” he replied

The bartender smiled “Well it is always good to see a new face, what are you having?”

“I don’t know” Dave shrugged “whatever you recommend”

The pegasi looked Dave up and down “I know what you need” He winked as he turned to reveal a cocktail mixer for a cutie mark

Dave watched in awe as he flipped multiple bottles using his wings, tail and head. The liquids each went into different cocktail shakers that were shaken together and poured separately into one glass. The colour changed from a light purple to a red before settling on a dark orange

“What’s this?” Dave asked as he lifted the drink

The pegasi lent on the bar “It’s called ‘buck in the throat’ and it lives up to the name” he grinned

“Alright” Dave shrugged as he took a sip of the cold liquid that instantly burned his throat, causing him to cough until he was red in the face

The bartender laughed until Dave managed to turn and look at him “You want another?” He smirked as Dave held the glass out and dropped a handful of bits onto the counter

Dave took his drink and managed to find an empty table near the dance floor. He watched the ponies move with the music in harmony with each other. If it wasn’t for one dunk in the corner than the entire scene could be considered beautiful

“HEY YOU!” Dave heard a mare call from behind. He turned to see the white unicorn with her spiky blue mane

Dave smiled to the DJ “Hey Vinyl or is it DJ-Pon3 at the moment?” out of the corner of his eye he noticed the empty turntables which suggested some automatic device was switched on

“When I am of my decks you call me Vinyl or another word meaning cool” She continued to slightly bob with the music “So what are you doing here? I haven’t seen you since your house party”

Dave held up his drink “Alcohol and music!” he felt the pony’s eyes search him from behind the large shades “Alright I couldn’t sleep” he admitted

Vinyl shook her head “Why are you out here all by yourself?”

“Let’s just say that my special somepony isn’t as restless as me” Dave sighed

“Speak up!” Vinyl held out her hoof as Dave opened his mouth “Actually I have a better idea come on!”

Dave followed the head banging DJ over to a door by a long window, she opened in and Dave shut it as he stepped in. The music instantly silenced and the beats no longer shook Dave’s legs

“Soundproof” Vinyl smirked “I come in here sometimes to give my hearing a rest”

Dave looked around the circular white room. A long sofa curved around the room, leaving only space for a private bar and the door in which he entered. A large glass table sat in the middle and the mirror that separated the private room from the nightclub was now a window

“Very nice” Dave complimented “This all yours?”

“Yeah” Vinyl began making herself a drink “I travel a lot and have rooms paid for as part of my deals, when I had enough cash I built this entire nightclub to practice in”

“Practice?” Dave chuckled “You don’t need that”

Vinyl stuck her tongue out at Dave “It brings in extra cash as well so in case my gigs dry up for a while then I can always rely on this place”

Dave sat down on the spongy sofa with his back to the crowd and facing Vinyl “What about this room? VIP?”

“Personal area” Vinyl floated a small navy drink with an olive onto the table before she jumped onto the sofa opposite Dave and removed her glasses “It was going to be VIP but I ended up loving it too much”

Dave noticed her dark magenta eyes for the first time and decided to avoid them “Well I can see why” He smiled as he bounced on the sofa a bit

Vinyl laughed at the human as he placed his drink down on the table “So what you been up to?”

“Meh” Dave shrugged “Love, death and the usual”

Vinyl’s attitude dropped “Somepony died? Who?”

“Me” Dave chuckled “Twice actually”

The unicorn gawped “You died twice?” she rubbed her eyes and then her ears before repeating the question

“Yeah I don’t really want to go into detail” Dave frowned but calmed as Vinyl simply shrugged and stretched across the sofa

The DJ gazed out the window before returning her gaze to Dave “So why are you alone?”

“Let’s just say that I can’t sleep but my girlfriend sure can” Dave chuckled as he took another brave swig of his drink “Come’s with the job she has I guess” he managed to say between coughs

Vinyl laughed as her gaze rose to the ceiling “I heard a rumour that Princess Celestia is apparently dating a tall furless creature”

“That’s me!” Dave cheered and Vinyl merely clapped her hooves

“I knew it was you” Vinyl took a large swig of her small drink and caught the olive with her teeth “Ta-da!”

Dave clapped playfully “So how about you?”

“I am having a bet with an old colleague Octavia” Vinyl waved off Dave’s confused glance “Basically I bet that I can turn any classical nonsense she has into music fit for this place and visa versa”

“Wow a classical rave” Dave chuckled “I would love to see that” he rubbed his eyes from the effects that the swirling colours outside left him with

Vinyl trotted around the table and stood in front of Dave “Hey” She whispered

Dave opened his eyes and found the unicorn uncomfortably close “Oh hey”

“I wanna ask you something” She took another pace closer her head nearing Dave’s lap

“Oh crap” Dave began to sweat “Listen I don’t know what you are thinking but…”

Vinyl smiled “Can you clap again?”

“No I won’t sleep with… huh?” Dave raised an eyebrow so far it threatened to leave his face “You want me to clap?”

“Yeah like you did before” Vinyl closed her eyes and began to bob as Dave clapped in a calm rhythm “That’s it… bit faster”

Dave did as he was commanded whilst moving his crotch away from the pony for his own mental comfort. The look of concentration from the DJ actually inspired him to add a bit of flair every now and then. This only made the unicorn get more into it

“PERFECT!” She screamed as she ran over to the bar and pulled out a small recording machine “just clap into this nice and simple”

Dave shrugged and clapped for about a minute, keeping a consistent beat before Vinyl turned the machine off “What do you need that for?”

“I needed something like clapping hooves but I couldn’t get anything right” Vinyl jumped onto the sofa next to Dave “But thanks to you I have it now”

Dave chuckled “Your welcome I guess” Dave scratched his chin as he glared at his empty glass

The DJ took the moment of confusion to shuffle closer and move her mouth to Dave‘s head “You wanna mate?” Vinyl whispered seductively into Dave’s ear

The human’s eyes bolted apart, he threw himself across the table, and landed near the private bar “No, no, no” Dave held out his hands in panic “I have had enough of girls trying to mate with me! I am happy with Celestia!”

Dave frowned at the floor until he noticed a fit of laughter coming from the white unicorn “HAHAHA Sweet Celestia you actually thought that I was serious!” Vinyl continued to laugh so much that a tear was brought to her eye

Dave groaned but eventually found himself chuckling along as he realized his stupidity “Don’t do that again” Dave pointed at the mare “Seriously I almost had a heart attack”

“You loved it really” Vinyl teased, “Now go on get out… you have a princess to see”

Dave nodded “Yeah thanks for the drinks and hope that bet goes well” he waved as he returned to the violent beats of the new song witch some mares and stallions decided to jump harder than before. He quickly made a beeline for the exit and onto the streets of Canterlot

He made his way back to the castle, quickly slipping through the main gate and corridors alike as he reached Celestia’s quarters once again

He nodded to the guards as he caught his breath and snuck back into the bedroom, making sure his footsteps did not awake his princess. He removed his clothes until he was back in his pants and slid carefully next to the alicorn

His short adventure wore him out enough to fall into a light sleep. As he joined Celestia in slumber, they both shuffled into each other’s embrace before both falling into complete deep sleeps. Unknown to them a particular being was watching outside both loving and hating the scene before them