Chapter 23

Dave carried Nox into Celestia’s quarters, he stepped aside as a pair of decorators levitated out a burnt bed. Dave poked his head in the room as he spotted Celestia handing over a list to a guard

“And if you could have at least the bed replaced by tonight then I would much appreciate it” Celestia smiled as the guard saluted and hurried out of the warm room. Celestia watched the guard leave and spotted Dave standing in the doorway, Nox resting in his arms

“So how is everything in here?” Dave asked as he looked around the burnt furniture “Anything important lost?” his smile faded as Celestia gasped and ran across the room to a small pile of burnt wood “What’s wrong?”

Celestia sighed happily as she pulled out a small box “This box was enchanted to survive most magical attacks” she looked around the room as her ears drooped “It wasn’t designed to withstand this”

Dave walked over and placed Nox down, he placed a reassuring hand on Celestia’s shoulder as he gently tapped the box “It looks alright to me… whatever it is”

“It contains the bracelet you bought me” Celestia smiled happily as she lifted the lid and removed the silver bracelet, a sapphire rested in the broadest part of the jewellery “It was all I had after you… passed on, so I wanted to keep it safe”

Nox looked at the bracelet before shrugging “Why is this bracelet so special?” he looked up at his parents in time to see them exchange a strong kiss

“Because it proved how much I loved your mom” Dave smiled happily as he rested his head against Celestia’s “She was a bit confused and thought that I was actually in love with Luna and only stayed with her because I felt obligated”

Celestia managed a weak smile “I gave the bracelet to Luna and said Dave had sent it to her” her smile grew as she remembered, “Dave got the bracelet and resisted my guards until he could give it back to me”

“It was meant to show how much I love you” Dave laughed quietly “And when I said that I would never stop loving you, I meant it” he pulled his head back as he stroked Celestia’s cheek

“So this bracelet helped you both love each other?” Nox hummed as he tapped his chin “Can I borrow it and give it to Sweetie Belle?”

Dave smiled as he rubbed Nox’s head “No… oh, you asked her out didn’t you?” Dave sighed as Nox stared at the floor and began to sniff “Hey come here buddy” Dave picked up Nox as he hugged him “There are plenty more girls out there, who knows, maybe one of Sweetie Belle’s friends likes you”

“Pfft like that will happen” Nox rolled his eyes before he began to ponder “Scootaloo and Applebloom are nice but I never really thought about them like I do for Sweetie Belle”

“Well if you never need any help then I will lend you a hand” Dave rubbed Nox’s mane as Cadence stepped into the room “Hey Cadence, did you win the argument with Odio?”

Cadence groaned, “No… he called me a noob, what the hay is that?” she rolled her eyes as Dave began sniggering “Princess Celestia, is this true that Odio is staying?”

“Yes, but if he looks like he thinking about doing anything without asking me then I am going to make sure he doesn’t do anything again” Celestia sighed as Dave stopped laughing and frowned slightly “I know he is your friend but I still don’t trust him”

Dave reluctantly nodded as he let out a yawn “What time is it?” he looked at the wall where the clock had melted “I’m gonna guess late-afternoon”

“Yes” Celestia nodded as she looked out the window and saw the sun nearing the horizon “We should have a new bed before sundown, everything else is being replaced tomorrow”

“What happened in here anyway?” Nox looked around the room as he noticed the damage “And where am I going to sleep?” he looked between his parents as they exchanged looks

Dave shrugged before his eyes popped open “I won’t be here tonight!” he called as he remembered that he was going to help Strong Shield. His sudden idea was hit with a sudden wave of dread, if Celestia knew that he was going to help Strong Shield then she would find out about Flux and Battering Ram or worse, blame it on Odio

“Why won’t you be here?” Celestia tilted her head as Dave began scratching his neck nervously “Is it because of Odio?”

“Well there is this thing at this place” Dave scanned the floor for help as he began to mumble nervously “Alright, I have to… to… go meet some friends” he smiled nervously as Nox bounced up

“Can I come?” He smiled hopefully “Most of your friends are weird and funny looking” he giggled as Dave playfully grabbed him and threw him into the air

“No because these are… some of the guards” Dave smiled as he caught Nox and threw him into the air again “We are going for a drink or two then coming back” he smiled reassuringly to Celestia “Is that alright with you?”

Celestia nodded as she stepped forwards and nuzzled Dave’s cheek “Alright, so long as you come back quietly and aren’t drunk” she teased as she used her magic to lift Nox onto her back “I will see if Luna wouldn’t mind Nox sleeping in her bed again”

Dave smiled as he said his goodbyes and headed for the guard barracks, he nodded to guards he walked past as he entered the main room. Various groups sat around a few of the tables as they were having some rations, a few were removing their armour as they prepared to go into Canterlot

“Um… excuse me” Dave tapped a guard on the shoulder and he spun around in fear, as the guard noticed it was Dave he took a deep breath before saluting

“Yes sir!” the private attempted to stay as still as he could before his hooves began to shake “Is there anything I can assist you with?”

Dave pushed the hoof down “You don’t need to be that formal with me” Dave chuckled as the private sighed thankfully “I was just wondering if you had seen my dad anywhere”

“Sergeant Strong Shield… I mean Strong Shield,” The private growled quietly to himself before saluting again, “I haven’t seen him sir!”

Dave pushed the hoof down again “Alright well if you do can you let him know I was looking for him?” Dave rolled his eyes as the private saluted again “See ya later then”

Dave walked through the castle as the sun set and the moon took it’s place, as the corridors changed from a bright white to a dim blue, Dave stepped out onto the castle courtyard, the gate was now being guarded by guards dressed in dark black and their eyes could have been easily mistaken for feline

“Oh hello Dave” the guard opened the door as the human approached, his enhanced vision allowed him to see all of Dave’s features in detail whilst Dave could only make out a few body parts. Dave shrugged of the face that the guard was almost invisible and began to walk towards the nightclub that Strong Shield told him about

As he walked down along the streets Dave could already make out the low beats from the club’s DJ and owner. He smiled as the bright neon light above the door regularly pulsed above the line of ponies that were already bouncing with the beat

Dave joined the queue as he patiently waited, his eyes avoided looking at the ponies that gave him strange looks. He almost smiled as one nearest to him shuffled away, his smile disappeared as the bouncer pony indicated for him to come forward

“Have I done something wrong?” Dave asked as the bouncer pulled out a clipboard

“No, you are listed as one of our few VIPs” The bouncer smiled as he opened the door “I’m sure Miss Scratch would like to see you”

Dave rolled his eyes “Yeah, I’ll get right on that” he waved over his shoulder as he stepped into the club and the beats began to full his ears. He smiled as he saw the purple and blue lights flicker around the room and the horde of ponies that danced on the reflective floor

There were a few booths and tables around the side of the club, an upstairs balcony hung over the long bar that stretched along the longest wall and stopped as it reached a long window. Dave spotted the small side door that led behind the mirror and into the private room for the club’s owner and DJ

Dave walked over to the bar as he fished out a few bits from his pocket and placed them on the glass surface. He turned and looked at a large pedestal at the end of the dance floor, a white unicorn with a blue mane was constantly flipping switches and turning dials to make the beats work as hard as they could

“So what can I get ya?” A bartender stepped over as he took the bits. Dave turned to look at him, his eyes looked strait at the bartender’s cutie mark of a martini with two olives

“Yeah I’ll have a… whatever you recommend” Dave chuckled as the bartender gave him an understanding wink “So what is your name?”

“I’m Swift Mix” He called over the loud music as he began making a cocktail “so what brings a thing like you into this club?”

Dave shrugged as he scanned the room for Strong Shield “I’m just here to meet a friend” he chuckled as the beat cut out for a moment, only to be replaced by something of lesser quality but still had a good vibe to it

“HEY!” Vinyl Scratch cheered as she hurried over to the bar and grabbed Dave’s head playfully “What the hay are you doing down here again?” the enthusiastic DJ lifted her glasses so they clipped onto her horn and revealed her magenta eyes

“Here for the music and drinks” Dave smiled in response, he thanked Swift Mix as he took a sip of his cocktail, the yellow liquid repeatedly switched between sweet and sour as it travelled down his tongue “And holy hell this is good”

“Nice to see you approve!” Vinyl smiled as she bobbed to the music, her eyes lit up as she looked to the entrance “Do you want to crash in my private room again?” she smiled again as Dave shrugged and downed the rest of his drink “I’ll be two seconds”

Dave got another drink as he made his way to the side door and stepped in. The mirror turned into a window that over looked the partying ponies, the volume of the music dropped dramatically as it turned into a few faint beats. The room was a pure white with a small private bar, a glass table and a round white sofa that was softer than it looked

Dave placed his drink on the table as he happily dropped into the spongy sofa, his ears continued to ring as he relaxed. He took a small sip of his drink before resting it on the table again, as he relaxed again Dave felt something in his back pocket. Dave pulled out a small piece of paper as he read the short note

“Change of plan, convince Swift Mix to meet you in the alley behind the club. Take as long as you need but don’t be ridiculous” Dave rolled his eyes as he saw the note was from Strong Shield. The door opened so Dave quickly threw the piece of paper into his mouth and took a large mouthful of his drink

“Alright girls we can have our own private dance floor in here!” Vinyl smiled as she stepped in the room and held the door open for a group of mares to walk in. One Dave remembered as Spitfire, her fiery hair and orange fur made her instantly recognisable

The next mare to step in was grey with a darker mane, her cutie mark of a treble clef rested on her flank as a deep purple. Another two stepped in one had cream fur, she had a pink and blue mane that suited her cutie mark of three sweets, and the mare that accompanied her was a mint colour with a golden lyre as her cutie mark

The girls all took their seats as Dave continued to drink, his eyes focused on the task at hand rather than the room full of mares. He sighed as he ran out of drink, he placed the drink on the table as he was met by a variety of stares

“This is Spitfire, Octavia, Bon-Bon and Lyra” Vinyl introduced each of her female friends as she hopped onto the sofa “And everypony say hello to Dave”