1052 AD, February 24th

As it turned out, the club was one for dancing and music; though she had never heard this type of music. Heavy with pulse-pounding beats and accompanied by strobes of coloured lights, the music shook the entire building as ponies filled the dance floor, jumping up and down and banging their heads. Their appearances were strikingly bright and unique; manes brightly coloured and clashing with their coats. A good majority of them bore piercings in their ears, tongues, lips, and brow. Some of them had glow sticks; held within their mouths, wings, and magic, creating streaks of coloured light as they waved them about. It was chaotic.

Yet she found she didn’t mind it. In fact, she somewhat enjoyed it. The music screamed power and the beats shook her to the very core, blocking out the empty feeling. She wasn’t very opinionated on the lights. It didn’t appeal to her, but it didn’t put her off either.

The music coupled with the fact that she was being paid to throw ponies that irked her out on the streets put her in a pleasant mood. For the first time in a while she could relax.

“Dude, just leave me alone, okay?”

“Come on, I’m trying to be a gentlecolt here! Seriously, any drink you want.”

“I’ll get it myself.”

“But I’m already standing.”

Nightmare Moon oriented her head in the direction of the argument. A mare with a spiky green mane was being pestered by a stallion with a similar hairstyle except red. Nightmare Moon walked towards the pair. When she arrived, she cleared her throat.

“There’s not a problem here, is there?”

The stallion turned and she silently enjoyed the spark of fear in his eyes. “No! No problem – everything’s cool. I was just, uh… uh…”

“Leaving this mare alone because you’re such a gentlecolt?”

“Yep, that’s exactly what I was going to do!” He laughed and quickly trotted off. “Alright, see you, bye!”

The mare beamed at her. “Thanks so much for that.”

Nightmare Moon nodded. “Enjoy your night.”

She walked away, slightly disappointed. She was silently hoping he would get rowdy so she had an excuse to cause physical pain. There wasn’t anything quite like the feeling of putting ponies in their place.

“Whoo!”

A heavy weight pressed against her back. Nightmare Moon craned her neck and glared at the mare. She was rubbing a hoof up and down her coat, a drunken grin on her face.

“You’re sho warm, ya… ya kn-know that?”

Disgust filled her as she noticed the pegasus’ erect wings. “You’ve had enough. Come with me.”

“Nooo… it’sh fine. It’sh fiiine,” The pegasus giggled as she was suddenly lifted into the air. “I believe I can fly! I believe I can touch… ponies…” She laughed at her own joke.

Throwing the front doors open, Nightmare Moon deposited the mare on the cold street, and stalked back inside. “Good luck with… everything.”

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star… how I wonder why I can’t grab you… Stupid… C’mere…”

Nightmare Moon’s routine carried on.

She played her role out by switching to various spots and standing still as a statue, casting her intense gaze over the crowd. Aside from a little roughhousing amongst friends and displays of public affection, nothing warranted her interference.

She began to relax once more, subconsciously bobbing her head to the beat.

“And that’s a wrap!” Vinyl cheered as the last of the crowd filtered out and the doors closed. “Alright, great work everypony! Especially our newest recruit; I saw you breaking up those fights like they were nothing.”

Nightmare Moon shrugged and her lip curled as she noticed how sweaty the other mare was. “A fight suggests the other party was a challenge. No, what you saw were inebriated ponies flailing at empty air and tiring themselves out. It’s like dealing with a foal throwing a tantrum, really.”

“Alright, killer, we get it,” The sweaty mare lightly punched her shoulder. If looks could kill, Vinyl would be a cloud of split atoms. “You’re the big bad wolf of DJ Pon-3’s club; silent, sleek and dangerous,” She then used her magic to lower her shades, waggling her eyebrows suggestively. “And lemme tell ya something – that always attracts the ladies.”

Recovering from the surprise of seeing Vinyl’s crimson irises, Nightmare Moon frowned. “I have no interest in relationships. Besides that, you do realize I am a mare? Or are those glasses prescription and beginning to expire?”

“Hey, chill,” The glasses were placed back. “Nothing wrong with wanting to get down with mares. We kiss better anyway, know what I mean?”

Nightmare Moon furrowed her brow. “You… Homosexuality is allowed here?”

“Well… yeah. It’s pretty common. Can’t think of a place where it isn’t allowed to be honest.”

‘Ah, of course, it all makes sense. Lyra and Bon-Bon were together. How could I have been so blind?’

It never fully occurred to her that some taboos regarding relationships that were present a thousand years ago might be moot by now.

Vinyl continued with, “Speaking of places, where’re you from?”

Nightmare Moon thought quickly. “Fetlockson – out in the east.”

“Fetlockson?” The white mare echoed with a quizzical tilt of her head. “Never heard of it. Is it like a rock farm where they’re all old-timey and stuff?”

“No rocks, but I suppose you could say we’re antiquated.” Nightmare Moon shrugged. “I’m afraid I didn’t part on good terms, so I’m hesitant to talk about it.”

“Yeah, I understand; no worries. It’s sort of like how I have some-”

“Yo, Vinyl!”

The DJ turned away from their conversation, which Nightmare Moon was grateful for. “What’s up?”

“One of our fuses blew.” Neon said, nodding to the basement door. “I’m gonna go fix it, so I’ll close up tonight.”

“You sure? I can wait, ya know.”

“Nah, it’s cool. You go and get some rest.”

Vinyl shrugged. “Alright, cheers. Catch ya later then.”

“Yup.”

As the stallion ventured into the basement, Vinyl turned her attention back to Nightmare Moon. “Yeah, so… what were we talking about?”

“Payment.”

“Oh right, right… let’s see, where did I put that…” The DJ’s horn glowed and an envelope – reeking of alcohol – levitated from her work station, sailing through the air to float in front of Nightmare Moon’s muzzle. “There we go – check for 100 bits. The other hundred’s for our next gig on Saturday. Those are always a wild ride so get your horn and hooves ready for a bit of enforcement.”

Nightmare Moon took the envelope with a grimace of disgust. “I’ll be sure to do that.”

Leaving Neon Lights to close, both mares made their way to the entrance and out onto the streets as soon as Vinyl finished gathering up her saddlebags. Nightmare Moon’s internal clock told her the moon would be setting soon.

“Stallion…” Vinyl was looking up at the night sky, the stars reflecting in her glasses. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen the night look so good before. I mean, Celestia did pretty alright before Luna came back, but this is like… tonnes better.”

Nightmare Moon grinned as she looked up as well, able to appreciate an artistic flourish when she saw one. “I’m inclined to agree.”

“Princess of the night – you think she’s a party animal?”

“I wouldn’t think so.”

“Bummer. I’d love to play for her some day. See if I can get some head-bangin’ action!” Vinyl cracked a yawn. “Ah, well… s’pose I better get home before I burn up in the sunlight, eh?” The mare punched her shoulder once more before turning left and trotting down the street. “See ya on Saturday, Wolf!”

As the mare trotted down a sidewalk and out of view, Nightmare Moon reflected on her thoughts about her. The alicorn couldn’t necessarily say she disliked her, but neither could she say she enjoyed her company. Her tendency to make as much physical contact as possible and the nickname grated on her nerves; however, the DJ gave her the job almost immediately, played good music, and didn’t have an attitude like sandpaper, so she was tolerable for the most part. It wouldn’t be too much of a pain working for her, Nightmare Moon decided.

Blinking out of her musings, she prepped her horn to turn invisible and drop her disguise to fly and find a comfortable cloud, but paused when she became aware of faint voices. One of them sounded a lot like the DJ.

Frowning, she followed the path the DJ took, having to completely go around the club to find the source of the voices behind the establishment. Nightmare Moon peered around the corner.

Vinyl was being confronted by four stallions, each of them significantly larger than her. Sensing the tension in the air, Nightmare Moon’s instincts kicked in, and she quickly assessed the situation.

Two of the stallions were pegasi, one was an earth pony, and the last a unicorn. The only thing they had in common were the purple ribbons tied on their right forelegs.

“Hey, I’m just saying there was a big turnout tonight,” The brown-coated earth pony said with a shrug. “You must have gotten a lot of income… right?”

“Well, I’m a very successful businesspony,” The DJ replied, standing tall. “What’s it to you?”

“Nothing,” The first pegasus – yellow-coated with an azure mane – said. “Just curious. Nothing wrong with asking somepony questions, is there?”

“Guess not,” Vinyl’s tail was swishing back and forth. “But can we cut this short? I’ve had a long day and I want to go to bed.”

“One more question…” The brown-coated stallion leaned against the side of the building. “Exactly how much are you carrying in that little bag of yours?”

Nightmare Moon had to admit she was impressed by the mare’s unwavering confidence. She must have been either very brave, or too stupid to acknowledge how much danger she was in.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Like we said…” The unicorn of the group – blue-coated with a dark brown mane – levitated the cigarette out of his mouth and exhaled, the smoke cloud billowing into the DJ’s face. “We’re curious.”

Vinyl coughed and emitted a small burst of telekinesis, clearing the smoke. “Enough to make a good night. Now would you kindly move your flanks so I can go?”

“Don’t worry – we’ll be out of your mane…” The green-coated pegasus’ wings suddenly snapped open. “Soon.”

“Alright, look…” Vinyl took a step back. “We can talk this out like rational-”

Her horn flashed and a rolling wave of blue light knocked the stallions off their hooves. Nightmare Moon’s left eyebrow rose. It was only a Kinetic Impact spell – elementary – but she didn’t expect the DJ to be adept enough in magic to make it that strong. In hindsight, though, she guessed she should have expected it; Vinyl had been using telekinesis on several objects at once for the entire night, suggesting she possessed considerable finesse and stamina.

Instead of running like she expected, Vinyl picked the unicorn up in a strong magical grip and threw him into the wall. She then leapt on him, hooves raining down.

‘Smart. Always attempt to take out any unicorns when facing an enemy as soon and as quickly as possible.’

Unfortunately, this didn’t seem to be the unicorn’s first brawl as he regained his bearings and blocked the blows as they came. After evading a particularly hard punch, he kicked out and caught her in the stomach. Vinyl exclaimed in pain and reeled back, clutching the sore spot. From behind, the green-coated pegasus grabbed hold of her hind legs and rose into the air, leaving her dangling like a piñata.

‘Yes, pegasi have an annoying habit of doing that during a fight. Pragmatic, simple, and effective on non-pegasi but annoying.’

“Put me down, asshole!” Vinyl’s glasses fell from her face, revealing her intense red irises. Her horn glowed as she attempted to snatch the pegasus up in her telekinesis. He simply shook her back and forth, breaking her concentration. “Quit it! Fight me, ya damn c-”

The earth pony struck her in the stomach once, twice, three times, knocking the air from her lungs.

Nightmare Moon sighed, knowing what she had to do.

After carefully placing her bag of bits on the ground, she stepped forward.

Vinyl had been using her magic all night and even the most powerful unicorn wasn’t a match for anything if they were fatigued and couldn’t concentrate. Simple strength and speed trumped magic more often than not; Vinyl would not walk from this fight victorious if Nightmare Moon didn’t lend a hoof.

Good intentions be damned – she wouldn’t get paid if her employer was in hospital. On the bright side, at least now Nightmare Moon could indulge in her blood-knight traits.

Vinyl was coughing hard from the blows, groaning and muttering insults as the earth pony began feeling her up with an anticipatory leer. Nightmare Moon strolled leisurely towards the group, her approach noticed by the yellow-coated pegasus.

“Hey!” He stepped towards her, flexing his wings. “Keep out of this. You don’t want to piss us off, too.”

Nightmare Moon calmly raised her right hoof and struck him soundly across the face. He collapsed on the cold cobblestone with a bloody nose, two missing teeth, and a severe lack of consciousness.

‘How disappointing…’

“Awww yeah, the big, bad Wolf!” Vinyl laughed. “You guys are fucked now!”

“Surrender and I won’t beat you too severely,” Nightmare Moon smirked cruelly at the three stallions. “Actually no, I think I will beat you just as severely.”

Using the pegasus’ moment of distraction, Vinyl used her telekinesis to grab hold of his wings and twist. Crying out in pain, he relinquished his hold on her and landed hard. Nightmare Moon chose then to magically yank the earth pony in close and used his own momentum to make the punch across his face that much harder. He went down, but not out.

The unicorn snarled and his horn glowed blue. “Celestia-damned bitch!”

She felt the very air around her become heavy and quickly cast a dispelling charm over herself. His telekinetic hold disintegrated and he staggered from the resulting magical feedback, face pinched in pain as his horn sputtered and sparked. She then cast a minor illusion spell and bucked him a few metres back as he staggered, his brain lapsing briefly as it struggled to make sense of sudden daylight.

In the corner of her peripheral vision, she spotted Vinyl duck and weave under the pegasus’ wild swings and counter with heavy blows to his sides. For a unicorn that had gotten a thorough beating not a minute ago, she was doing rather well.

Nightmare Moon turned her attention to the earth pony and levitated him into the air. She concentrated hard as he struggled – his shifting mass forcing her to constantly adjust her grip – and slammed him into the side of the building a few times before throwing him into his unicorn companion.

“Son of a…!” He was definitely more robust than his glass-jawed friend. His earth pony physiology had ensured the violent pounding he received left only bruises and maybe one cracked rib. “Get your flank up and do something!”

The unicorn dispelled the illusion and shook his head, horn glowing in preparation for another spell. Nightmare Moon steadied herself, casting a momentary glance towards Vinyl. The DJ was now sporting a bloody lip, but her opponent was far worse; he was covered in bruises, both eyes were starting to turn black and he was swaying on his hooves.

“Eat this!” The unicorn’s horn flashed and Nightmare Moon instinctively deployed a translucent dark blue shield in front of her.

The Kinetic Impact spell struck it harmlessly. She enjoyed the frustration and rage on his face. His horn flashed again and her shield rippled like the surface of water as an illusion spell passed through it. The fact that a common thug like him would be able to weave such a complex spell was surprising, but Nightmare Moon still easily dispelled it just as the images of clouds and the sound of rushing wind begin filling her head. A common scare-tactic; too bad she enjoyed flying at high altitudes every now and then.

With a roar, the earth pony charged. Nightmare Moon merely imbued her shield with electricity. She smiled evilly as he jerked and convulsed as soon as he touched it.

‘Ah, this trick worked wonders on the Royal Guard.’

The spell wasn’t cast with lethal potential, so it ran out of steam quickly, leaving the smoking earth pony to collapse against her shield, mane frazzled and standing on end. With but a thought, the shield dissolved into nothingness, and Nightmare Moon stepped over the stallion, giving the rapidly-retreating unicorn a sadistic smile.

The stallion’s eyes flicked back and forth before he abruptly turned and ran. Immediately, a pristine white hoof smashed into his face, sending him sprawling to the ground.

“Boom, bitch! How do ya like me now?!” Vinyl kicked him in the stomach for good measure. Nightmare Moon saw no reason to stop her. “Yeah, you and your friends try to stick me up; I got my main mare, Wolf, here.” She gave one more kick before limping towards her. “Thanks for the assist. I’m a good brawler and all, but four against one’s a bit out of my league.”

Nightmare Moon noticed some blood on her hoof and wiped it off on the earth pony. “You fight well.”

“There were a lot of bullies at my school. Had to learn to fight or get my lunch money stolen.” She grinned and Nightmare Moon noticed a chipped tooth. “But what about you? I kinda figured you’d be good at fighting since you’re the biggest damn unicorn I’ve met, but that magic stuff was awesome! You were just throwing out spells like nopony’s business! And that shield… absolutely epic.”

Nightmare Moon shrugged, enjoying having her ego stroked. “Let’s just say I’ve had a lot of experience.”

“Stallion, I can’t believe Neon didn’t want you as our bouncer,” Vinyl turned her head to the side and spat, the bloody mucus landing with a sickening splat on the cobblestone. “Yuck. Anyway, with you around I bet these dumbasses will think twice about trying to muscle in on our business.”

Looking down and noticing the purple bands again, Nightmare Moon frowned, and telekinetically undid the knot, levitating it to get a better look. “Who are these ponies?”

“Ah…” Vinyl scowled and swept a hoof through her mane. “Just some two-bit gang called the Dwellers; they don’t do much besides mugging, robbery and spraying their tags everywhere. Had some trouble with them before, but nothing like this. Hey, you seen my shades?”

Nightmare Moon dropped the piece of fabric with a sneer.

‘Well Celestia, it seems as though your city isn’t the sugar bowl paradise everypony makes it out to be.’

“Oh, that’s nice. That’s friggin’ fantastic.” Vinyl’s lip curled up in a snarl as she glared down at the yellow-coated pegasus. “You morons scratched my shades! Jeez…” She carefully placed them back on her face and sighed. “This sucks.”

“You’re better off than them,” Nightmare Moon pointed out as she casually glanced up. There was a nice patch of clouds floating above. “Well, if you’re not feeling as though you’re about to faint, then I’ll be on my way.”

“Say what?” The DJ turned to face her, quickly trotting forwards. “You can’t go! I gotta repay you… somehow.” She muttered to herself as she looked around, as if she planned to give something she found on the street to her as a reward.

“That’s not necessary.” She really just wanted to go to sleep; the fight had been fun while it lasted, but now that the adrenaline was ebbing away, she could feel the gaping hole in her soul throb uncomfortably.

“It totally is necessary! You saved my flank back there, so I gotta do something…” She tapped her chin. “Oh, I got it! I’ll let you crash with me!”

Nightmare Moon stared at the mare in front of her, perplexed. Did Vinyl somehow know she was without a place to stay? And why that specifically? It seemed more obvious and easier to just give her some bits. But times had changed and so had ponies; perhaps this type of reward was common.

“It’s fine, really.”

“I got an awesome apartment a block down from here; it has a window!” The DJ paused to let that sink in. “With an awesome view!”

‘I find it hard to believe that viewing the wall of an opposing building from your apartment window is able to surpass viewing all of Equestria from the skies.’

“I’d rather just-”

“I got a fridge! And it’s full.”

“Congratulations. But I-”

“Of food.”

“You must be so proud. Now I said that I’d-”

“I got pie.”

“… Pie?”

“Yup.”

“… What kind?”

“Lemon meringue.”

“…”

Curse her weakness for lemon meringue pie.

A thousand plus years ago, Nightmare Moon had watched through Luna’s eyes as the princess daintily munched on some lemon meringue pie; she had been utterly captivated. She had asked Luna to describe it to her and though the princess had tried her hardest, descriptions did nothing to prepare her for the sheer taste. This must have been love. Pure, timeless…

Nightmare Moon then noticed the blank stare the DJ was giving her.

In an attempt to save face at her embarrassing display of indulgence, Nightmare Moon cleared her throat and slowed down in her consumption.

“Oh, nah, don’t mind me!” Vinyl laughed. “I just wasn’t expecting you to have such a normal appetite. Only way to really enjoy food is to shove it in your mouth, right?” As if to prove her point, she levitated a huge chunk of syrup-coated pancakes in her mouth.

Wrinkling her nose at the messy display, Nightmare Moon replied. “I can’t say I agree with you. I’m of the opinion that one should take their time with every bite and savour the taste,” She paused. “My… enthusiasm just now was because it’s been so long since I’ve had lemon meringue.”

“Mmm…” Vinyl swallowed. It was truly a wonder how she didn’t choke. “I know that feeling. I’ve got a friggin’ fetish for pancakes and if I go a week without them, I pretty much start losing it. Shaking, sweating, drooling – like I’ve got an addiction, ya know?”

It really did sound like the DJ had a problem. “Then perhaps you should seek a rehab clinic.”

Spluttering on her latest mouthful, Vinyl quickly gulped down and laughed. “Oh, you’re a hoot, ya know that? You’re like… the most intimidating unicorn I’ve met, but you’re friggin’ funny, too.”

“Most intimidating mare? Really?” Nightmare Moon levitated the fork into her pie and cut a small bit off. “What about the Mare in the Moon?”

“Oh shit, that’s right! That, uh…” Vinyl tapped her chin. “That, uh… um…”

“Nightmare Moon…” She supplied with a small amount of annoyance. She really didn’t like fading into anonymity.

“Yeah, her. I heard about her fight with Celestia; the entire Royal Guard was called to the castle, but Nightmare Moon had already smacked her down before they arrived. Banished to the friggin’ sun!” The DJ let out a low whistle. “Some serious power there.”

Sitting up a little straighter, Nightmare Moon chewed on the piece in her mouth, swelling with pride. “You think so?”

“Hay yeah! Although I kinda wish I could’ve seen the fight. Two alicorns facing off and laying down the hurt; stallion, I’d pay to see it.” She sighed wistfully, resting her chin on her hoof. “How do ya think it went?”

Nightmare Moon swallowed. “Well, if I was the Mare in the Moon, I’d use stealth and deceit. First I would come to Celestia when she was all alone – her private chambers for example – and make up some sob story on how I regretted my past actions, and how I just wanted to see my dear sister again. Celestia – in her infinite benevolence – would tearfully accept and when she came in for a hug, I’d hit her with the strongest spells I knew and put her down hard. Then…” She twirled the fork in the air and suddenly speared the pie. “I’d banish her.”

The apartment was silent for a while save for the sharp sounds of utensil on plate and Nightmare Moon’s muted chewing.

“Damn…” Vinyl’s mouth was agape as she stared at Nightmare Moon. “That’s… so awesome! I mean, it’s a pretty scummy thing to do and a straight-up fight would have been cooler, but that’s still awesome! Like something out of a friggin’ soap opera! Not that I watch those; my, uh, my friend told me about them. Neon. Him.” She turned back to her food. “Uh, Neon told me. About the soap operas. Because he’s my friend. And he watches soap operas.”

Nightmare Moon nodded. “I believe you.”

“Yeah…” Vinyl silently ate her food for a while. “But anyway, besides her, you’re definitely the most intimidating unicorn I’ve ever seen. Star Secret – AKA The Timber Wolf of DJ Pon-3. Or just Wolf for short. Hey, you don’t mind me calling you Wolf, right?”

“I-”

“Awesome! Star Secret’s cool, but Wolf makes you so much more mysterious and dangerous.”

It was only because the DJ continued to flatter her did Nightmare Moon decide to let the interruption pass. “Just don’t go spreading it around. Are we clear?”

Word always travelled fast and if news of her occupation and brawling reached the upper wards of Canterlot, it could cause complications for her plans for Fancypants social clique. She had a silver tongue when the situation called for it, but even she couldn’t talk herself out of everything.

“Yeah, sure, no problem. It’s between you and me. Because you’re my deputy, my main mare, me amiga, my friend.”

Nightmare Moon went rigid. “Pardon?”

“Huh?”

“What’d you call me?”

“Deputy? No? Main mare? Amiga?” Vinyl frowned in thought. “Friend?”

“Yes. That.”

“Oh well, I just kinda… assumed…”

“We’ve only known each other for a… not even a day.” Nightmare Moon gestured back and forth between herself and the other mare. “We don’t know a thing about each other. How could we be friends?”

“So?” Vinyl gave a chuckle of slight disbelief. “That doesn’t matter. When you’ve worked with somepony, fought with that same pony, and then eaten with that pony, you’ve already forged a bond that lasts years and years.”

Nightmare Moon blinked, face blank.

“Like it?” The DJ grinned. “Made it up myself. A little sappy but not too sappy. Just the right amount, ya know?” Apparently oblivious to the awkwardness of Nightmare Moon’s silence, the DJ finished up her food and levitated the mess into the overflowing sink. “Aww stallion, that hit the spot. I think I’ll catch some z’s now; I got a lot of sleeping to do tomorrow. Bathroom’s down the hall and to the left, guest room’s on the right, and my room’s at the end. Catch ya later, Wolf!”

Nightmare Moon watched the other mare until she disappeared into her room and closed the door. Looking down at her plate, filled with crumbs, she felt a surge of rage and just barely stopped herself from throwing the plate against the wall.

‘Stupid foal. I don’t need friends; I don’t want friends.’

Her mood soured, Nightmare Moon put the plate in the sink, and ventured to the guest room. Sleep might just cool her anger. If not then Vinyl had better be careful of what she said next day.

Author's Notes:

Note 1: Vinyl's eyes actually appear as a lighter shade than red - a similar shade to Rainbow Dash's - but I like the idea of her having red irises more.

Note 2: DJ Pon-3's club is open from Friday-Sunday at 11:00 pm-3:30 am; no shoes, no shirt, no problem!