A Night on the Town for a Dragon and a Princess
A Night on the Town for a Dragon and a Princess
By: TheTeaTurtle
“Hello, Canterlot!”
Spike stepped out onto the train platform with a flourish, his confidence and excitement running high as he spun and stopped with his arms spread wide to greet the city. Unfortunately, his audience was rather small given the late hour in which he arrived at the shining cliffside city, earning a few odd looks and some giggles from the few ponies boarding and exiting the train.
With a small huff, he adjusted the bag over his shoulder and began to walk the streets. As always, the journey was a quiet one with only the occasional passerby. Spike always liked Canterlot better at night. When all the rich, persnickety ponies weren’t prowling the cobblestone paths for a hat to criticize or a vest to belittle, the city felt like it could breathe and unwind under the gaze of the moon.
He took in the crisp air and sighed, thankful to taste only a lingering hint of somepony’s expensive perfume.
As he rounded the corner past ‘More Quills and Even More Sofas’, he felt a sting in his chest as a certain building came into view. Across the street sat a recently painted unopened store with bare display windows and the bare form of pony mannequins inside. The only thing that afforded it the luxury of being acknowledged amongst the other shops was the sign that hung overhead.
‘Canterlot Carousel - Coming Soon!’
Rarity’s soon to be boutique in Canterlot, funded in part by her “wonderful” and “amazing” new coltfriend, Prince Blueblood. It had been two months since the Gala but it felt it had been much longer given the whirlwind of events that had happened in such a short amount of time.
He opened his bag to check on his cargo. Still safe and sound, like the ten other times he had checked. Now all he had to do was get it to Joe’s before…
“Hello, Spike!”
Shaking him from his thoughts was the melodic voice of none other than Princess Luna, who hovered above at just the right angle to eclipse the moon with her graceful form. She wore a smile, one that her face had gotten used to carrying whenever the little dragon was around.
“L-Luna, what are you doing here?” Spike crossed his arms and gave an anxious look down the moon glazed cobblestone paths.
“We decided to leave right after raising the moon. Our excitement was simply too much to bear!” She landed and gave a small hop afterward, her wings fluttering slightly.
Spike chuckled, his nerves calming after he tightened the strap on his bag “I can tell! How’ve ya been?”
The two began walking together, the chilly night air signifying the Hearth’s Warming season’s fast approach.
“We…I’ve been good!” she nodded resolutely “I’ve recently begun entering the realm of dreams again and I’ve been helping ponies deal with their nightmares.”
“Woah, really? That’s so cool!” The little dragon cheered, his voice echoing throughout the Lapis district “Have you fought any big nightmare monsters? Shadow dragons? Big hydras with thirty heads and mouths for eyes?”
Luna gave Spike an odd look before laughing, shaking her head afterward “No no, nothing of that sort. I’m still confined to Canterlot since I can only access a fraction of my power from before. Within the month I should be able to reach wider Equestria.”
“Oh gosh, I can’t even imagine what rich ponies have nightmares about.” Spike said with a scoff “Heavens, I only made ten thousand bits today instead of twenty thousand! Oh, how horrible!”
He laughed at his own joke but stopped when he noticed the Princess wasn’t laughing along, merely smiling as her eyes turned to a rather decadent looking mansion that rested further down the block, illuminated faintly by magical lamplight.
“Luna?”
“What? Oh, I’m sorry.” she shook her head “It’s nothing, do not worry.”
Spike tilted his head but didn’t pry any further. This was mostly in part due to a sight that made him stop in his tracks and gasp.
Donut Joe’s, which rested down the street, didn’t have its lights on.
“What the hay?” Spike broke into a light jog until he got to the windows. The interior was completely barren and shrouded in darkness, the lamps from the other side of the street illuminating only half of the tiled floor and tables within. “He’s never closed shop before midnight before!”
“Hmm…” Luna’s gaze turned to the entrance, the glass door decorated with posters about brand new donuts, coffee drinks, and the like. However, one piece of paper stood out more than the others, making her grasp it in her magic, the tape peeling drawing Spike’s attention.
“Is that a note?” He inquired, earning a nod.
“Sorry for not being here tonight, some family business came up last minute. Hope you two have fun tonight! Your best pal, Donut Joe.” Luna finished reading as she lowered the paper to peer inside the shop.
“Well that stinks.” Spike kicked the ground in a huff “Guess we’ll have to go someplace else tonight.”
“Hmm. We could take a walk in the park!” The princess suggested “Or maybe we could visit Canterlot Castle! The gardens there would be lovely to see at night.”
Spike raised a brow as he regarded the grinning Alicorn “Yeah, maybe not tonight.” He scratched his chin as he sunk deep into thought. Suddenly, he snapped his claws “I got it! I know just the place!”
Luna tilted her head, her expression inquisitive yet worried “Oh? Is it someplace quiet?”
“Totally!” He dug into his pack and produced a map “Now, let’s see if I remember the way…” Spike let out a gasp as he felt himself float off the ground, finding himself floating onto the back of the princess as she smiled back at him.
With a yelp from the little purple dragon, Luna took flight.
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“O-Oh Celestia.” Spike gasped as he tried to regain his composure from the unexpected flight. His stomach rolling like a boulder down a hill greased with butter, he put a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from sharing his nausea with the rest of Canterlot.
“Sorry…” Luna apologized, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof “We didn’t realize we flew so quickly.”
“No no, it’s…” Spike paused, feeling his throat tighten before continuing “...it’s okay. We made it, that’s what matters!” he said, suddenly cheering up.
The pair looked upon the building in front of them. Resting on a corner near the edge of the Sapphire district, was a small yet eye-catching establishment. The exterior was black painted brick with gold trimming lining the roof edges on both sides before meeting to highlight the sign displayed proudly above the dark wooden double doors: The Broken Reed Lounge.
Luna beheld the building with a puzzled look “This looks rather…adult.”
Spike blew a raspberry and waved a hand “Nah, I’ve been in here before with Joe once. It’s a little uptight but not too bad. They play really nice music in there too, it’s the whole reason I wanted to come back!”
The princess of the moon looked at the double doors and gulped. While it had been a trial for her to enter Donut Joe’s the first time, the clear, glass doors of the humble establishment made it easier to see how few ponies were inside the first time around. The solid walls of wood, however, provided no such comfort. Any number of ponies could be behind those doors.
Waiting to judge her.
“Luna?”
Snapping out of her anxiety fueled stupor, she looked down at her friend with shrunken pupils.
“Hey, hey. It’s alright.” Spike said, rubbing her foreleg softly “Here, lemme go and check how many ponies are inside. If there’s too many, we’ll go somewhere else. Okay?”
She nodded and exhaled, feeling her body relax.
Spike approached the large doors, and pushed them open slightly to peer inside. After a moment of silence, he looked back and gave a thumbs up to his alicorn friend.
She swallowed her nerves and joined Spike as he entered.
The inside was much smaller than she had anticipated. The most noticeable feature of the room was the bar that sat a short walk to the right of the entrance, with numerous stools sat in front of it. Resting on the far end of the room was a small stage with a lonely microphone, the stage being able to hold at least four pony performers. A few booths with curtain doorways sat opposite of the bar, their seats dark blue leather.
From the doorway, Luna could see five other ponies. Three of them were sitting at the bar, counting the bartender, while the other two sat at a table near the stage. Other than the mustached bartender, nopony paid her or her short companion any heed.
Spike waved her inside and thankfully took the lead.
“Welcome to the Broken Reeds Lounge.” The beige stallion said, bowing slightly at the pair as they took a stool “Our musical talent is currently taking a break but will be back shortly. What can I get you two in the meantime?”
“I’ll have a Curly Joy, please!” Spike tapped the bar and bounced slightly in his chair.
“And you, Princess Luna?”
Surprised at the pony’s lack of reaction to her or her status, she froze mentally, her mouth agape.
“She’ll take a cup of espresso, please!” Spike cut in hastily. The stallion nodded and turned, getting to work on their orders.
“Thank you, Spike.” Luna sighed and smiled at him “We are getting better at this but sometimes it’s…”
“No problemo.” Spike smiled back “Oh, you have to try a Curly Joy! They’re super delicious! It has the bite of a ginger soda but it’s also got a sweet kick!”
“Sounds delicious.” Luna nodded along to her enthusiastic friend's description “Anyhow, how have you been, Spike?”
The purple dragon went silent for a moment before he looked down at the table, poking it idly with his claws “I’ve been busy being Twilight’s number one assistant, as usual. Well, that and helping Rarity get everything set up for her move here.”
“She’s moving here?” Luna asked with a tilt of the head. Spike nodded but kept his eyes on the dark wood counter.
“Yeah, that’s why I ran late last time at Joes. I was helping get her shop set up in the Lapis district-”
“Here are your drinks.” The bartender interrupted, placing a tall glass of a golden, bubbly liquid that turned red near the bottom, along with a ceramic cup filled with a familiar black liquid on the counter. “Enjoy.”
“Thanks, Old Fashioned.” Spike said, stirring his icy beverage until the drink had turned completely crimson. Luna took a small sip of her coffee. It was bitter, intense, and delicious. Not as good as Donut Joes of course, but still quite delectable.
“Dang, that’s good!” Spike exclaimed after his first sip, quickly going in for another. Luna smiled at the dragon before catching the glimpses of the other two ponies further down the bar. The stallions were staring at her.
The second their eyes met hers, they turned away almost as fast as she did.
She could feel their fear.
“E-Excuse me,” she waved down the barkeep “Can we take one of those booths?”
“Of course, Princess. Free of charge, for you and your companion.”
“O-Oh, that’s-”
“I insist.” He said, bowing again before going further down the bar without another word.
“Oh hay yeah!” Spike did not waste any time jumping from his chair, drink in hand, and going into the booth that rested in the middle of the row. Luna followed suit, feeling eyes on her all the while.
The booth interior was composed of a U shaped seat that was attached to the wall with a small table close by. Despite being mostly closed off, the curtain, even when closed, still allowed one a view of the stage. The microphone looked even more lonely from this angle.
“This is nice. Good thinking Luna!” Spike leapt onto the seat and reclined, sighing “Now we can relax.”
“Yes,” She replied, expelling her nerves with a sigh of her own “Now, what were you saying?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.” He stretched and rested his hands on his belly “I helped Rarity get most of her stuff moved out here. Her “absolutely splendid” soon to be husband is going to help her get the rest moved out sometime this month.” He gagged.
“Our nephew, Prince Blueblood yes? You don’t like him?”
The question, and familial connection, made Spike sit up in surprise and freeze “Uh. Well I uh. He seems like a nice guy but…” Assistant number one did his best to cover the hole he had dug, but gave up when he realized it was too deep. “Ugh, look he seems cool but…I just hate how fast things are changing.”
He moved the straw in his drink, the clink of the ice cubes as they danced in his glass filling the silence.
“I know I should let my friends do their own thing, I learned that during the Gala. But it just feels like ever since then, I’ve stayed in place while everypony else in my life is moving on to better things. You know?”
“We know all too well.”
Spike blinked and immediately regretted his words when they played back in his mind “Oh…I’m sorry Luna I didn’t mean to…”
She looked away, her eyes glazing over. A smile returned to her muzzle before he could utter another apology.
“It’s okay, Spike. Truly.” She sipped her espresso as she turned toward the curtain “I know what I have done, I shall carry the guilt with me for the rest of my life. If nopony else is around to remind me of my sins, I will do it myself.” Her expression turned sullen.
The dragon averted his gaze with a frown. He stared into his drink, wordlessly lost in thought. The ice cubes had shrunk considerably in his soda. It made him think of his own struggles in comparison to the mare across from him. How minute his problems really were.
“Ladies and gentlecolts,” the voice of Old Fashioned rung out across the bar with just as stoic a tone as when taking orders “Put your hooves and claws together for the one and only: Brass Tax.”
The clopping of hooves pulled both friends attention to the gap in their curtain. A chestnut coated stallion with a golden mane and a streak of white that went down his brow and touched his muzzle came up on the stage, his eyes hidden by a pair of dark round shades.
“This one goes out to the lonely hearts out there in Canterlot tonight.” His deep, melodic voice rumbled before his horn lit up with a golden aura that coated his saxophone, bringing the reed up to his ready lips.
The low brassy tone of the instrument filled the club instantly, Brass’s eyes closing as he let his soul reverberate through the small bar. Luna and Spike listened; their attention now turned completely to the stallion performer.
Luna felt as if she were floating in the sea of stars she watched every night, each dip in the music taking her deep below the stardust waves before pulling her back up suddenly. She felt weightless, her whole body relaxing as a smile involuntarily crept onto her face as she relaxed completely.
Her ears had beheld all kinds of music from many different cultures and countries before. It was her duty as co-ruler to attend ceremonies of all kinds after all with her wonderful sister. Yet the low, almost sad tones that made her nearly float out of her seat were nothing like she had ever heard before.
Spike, in turn, let himself sink deep into the music, as if he were walking on the sunny clouds of Cloudsdale again after having a bite of a precious emerald the size of his head. His worries, his stresses, all of that seemed silly to worry about right now.
The dragon turned to see Luna completely entranced with the music, her nervous body language from before completely gone as she bobbed her head and smiled. She was in another world, carried there by the slow melody that enraptured them both.
He smiled and closed his eyes, letting himself get swept into that low, relaxing tide. Even then, the music also helped reveal something deep within him that he had since pushed down in order to make the night more enjoyable for the both of them.
The bitter creature of self hatred lashed against its cage, the music rattling its bars and beckoning it to come to the forefront once more, and Spike only barely contained it. Nonetheless, a thought bubbled to the surface as the music ended and the bar filled with gentle applause as ponies clacked their hooves against the floor and tables.
He looked to Luna and saw her applauding with gusto, a wide smile on her face, one the likes he hadn’t seen her wear since that first night they hung out together.
He smiled back, pushing the thought down for the time being. Future Spike would handle it.
He always did.
----------------
Spike kept his eyes on the dirt at the base of the bench he sat on, his stubby legs too short to reach the ground below. Canterlot Park had never been a common destination for the young dragon, but after the performance of Brass Tax, Old Fashioned announced he would be closing early and that left only one place to go.
The moonlight glazed the trees that dotted the park, the grass and leaves taking on a purple hue rather than their bright green they proudly wore in the sunlight. As Spike spent more time with the Princess, he had grown to appreciate the muted tones the night brought with it.
The thought from earlier had refused to go away.
“Hey Luna, can I ask you something?”
“Yes, Spike?” Luna responded without looking at him, her eyes focused on the stars. Even from here she could feel their warmth.
“Do you think I’m…a good friend?”
“Of course you are.” She replied without pause, cocking her head to the side as she studied her smaller companion. It was easy for her to sense his melancholy as he lightly kicked his feet “Are you okay, Spike?”
A heavy sigh left the dragon’s lips as he kept up his staring contest with the ground. A worm came up to greet him. “I just wanna say that I’m…sorry for acting like my problems were worse than yours back there. Made me feel like a real jerk.” he attempted to chuckle but it died before fully forming.
Spike felt her sit beside him before he turned to look at her, her blue eyes sparkling with sympathy. Her mane glistened with countless tiny stars, the nebulae within drawing him in the longer he looked.
“Pain shared is not pain compared, Spike.” she responded with a small smile “You’re not a bad friend for speaking of your worries or your troubles.” Luna put a hoof to her chest “We did not feel as if you were being insensitive, if that helps.”
He was silent for a moment before letting his eyes meet hers, smiling back “Yeah…thanks Luna.”
It was then that Spike felt the presence of something he had long forgotten about after getting caught up in the excitement of the night: the bag that hung from his right shoulder.
“Oh!” he exclaimed as if he had just been smacked in the face with a carriage, his worries vanishing and being replaced by excitement “I almost forgot! I brought you a gift!”
“Oh?” Luna inquired, her excitement barely contained behind her smile. The dragon dug into his pack and produced a long, thin box that, if it were any longer, would be half his size.
“I know Hearth's Warming is coming up soon and I know how cold it gets up here in Canterlot, so I thought I’d…make you something to help ya deal with that. Ya know, if you feel the cold that is.” He said, his excitement slowly melting away to reveal the embarrassment beneath.
Dark blue magic enveloped the alicorn’s horn and the box, the dragon releasing his grip on it instantly, turning away to stare holes into the tree resting beside the bench. Luna opened the box slowly, her eyes widening when she beheld the gift within.
Inside was a sweater of dark green hue, with three heads stitched into the center. At the center of the trio was a dark blue alicorn’s head, flanked by a purple dragon and a light amber unicorn. Her heart soared when she realized it was her with her two best friends.
The stitching work of the sweater was…flawed to say the least, the threads barely clinging to each other as if the whole thing could fall apart at the slightest tug. Loose fuzz stuck out, looking more like a matted cat’s pelt than the work of a seamster’s needle.
Her eyes welled with tears as she stared at the gift.
“Oh no, is it that bad?” Spike recoiled and looked away again, ashamed “Sorry, I just wanted to try and make it myself since Rarity’s been so busy and all, and uh-”
Spike found himself engulfed in a hug, yelping as the princess took flight, spinning in the cold air with glee as she let her tears fall, resembling tiny stars as they fell to the grass below.
“I love it!” she exclaimed through a sob “I truly, truly love it!”
The dragon felt his back crack from the force of the hug as he released a sigh of relief, hugging her back as soon as the feeling returned to his arms. After a minute of hanging in the air, Luna descended, taking her turn to be embarrassed that night.
“Oh…we’re sorry.” she rubbed the back of her head but was unable to contain the bounce in her step “Thank you so much, Spike! We shall treasure it always!”
Spike smiled as she quickly donned the sweater, wincing slightly as if he could hear the thread crying for help at being stretched so suddenly. Thankfully it held together.
“Eh it was nothin’.” The small dragon waved off her thanks, the joy still evident past his cool facade. The princess of the night giggled, using a hoof to scratch her chest. Then she scratched again. And again.
“We shall…get used to this.”
A beat of silence followed before they both erupted into a chorus of laughter, embracing each other once more. The baby dragon let out a yawn after the moment had passed, causing Luna to look to the sky.
“Goodness! I’m sorry for keeping you so late!”
“Nah don’t worry, I can stay awake a little longer.” He replied through another yawn as the night’s activities finally seemed to take its toll on his small body “Okay, that’s a lie. I definitely won’t be able to take the train this late.”
Luna tapped her muzzle for a moment before she nodded “We have a spare bed at the castle you can use for the night! Our sister will surely not object to you using it.”
Spike stretched and scratched his scales and yawned once more “Yeah I’ve…used it before when Twilight stayed at the library during exams. Thanks Luna.”
The purple dragon went to walk beside her before he was suddenly levitated off the ground by a dark blue aura, being placed onto Luna’s back.
“Go ahead and get some sleep. We’ll gladly fly you there.”
He went to protest but the words were overtaken by a sigh as he allowed himself to curl into a ball, the tiredness overtaking him at last as the cold air of the night brushed against his face, luring him into deep sleep.
The last thing he heard before the world faded away were the soft words of his friend as she glided through her beautiful domain.
“Thank you for being my friend…Spike.”
The End