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Singing Under the Starry Sky

By Tooney D

                Blues looked up at the stars in the sky, rolled over onto his back.  Another year has come and gone, and another night has gone on alone.  He could hear Pinkie Pie and her friends preparing for the upcoming party 3 nights away, celebrating the New Year and Princess Celestia’s birthday.  He had been invited to come and be the entertainment, yet he decided not to go, seeing as how most ponies weren’t a big fan of his presence, and he wasn’t a fan of theirs.  He was usually a pessimist, being the bringer of bad news and always looking at the negatives of life.  Blues was a very solitary creature, spending most of his days indoors, unless he and his band went out to play a gig.  The only times he would ever come out without them was at night, when he could just be alone with his thoughts and memories.  Mostly, just his memories.  Memories of the girl who used to lay beside him, looking up at the skies with him.  Memories of the girl who caused all his sorrows to dissipate, back when he used to sing more then just the sorrowful songs he’s so used to now.  Memories of the girl who had left him heartbroken after realizing that she was a fillyfooler, in love with the head of the weather patrol, Rainbow Dash….

Memories of Scratch.

                He looked beside him at the empty spot, missing the feel of her warm body snuggled close beside him, as they held hooves and watched the constellations above them twinkle.  How he would nuzzle her cheek, giving her tender kisses now and again.  How he would tell a joke, hoping just to make her giggle.  She always did, even when he knew the joke wasn’t funny.  And, of course…how they would sing together.  That was probably what he missed most of all:  the music they made together. It was…simply glorious.

                Blues sighed.  He and Scratch were still good friends, but not being able to hold her how he used to, kiss her how he used to, say he loved her like he used to…it tore his heart to shreds.  Just seeing her in town made his heart sink.  And seeing her with Rainbow Dash made it even worse.  For normal colts who lost a girl, at least there is a bit of hope that the girl will come back to them.  For Blues, there was no hope.  She was a fillyfooler, and he was a stallion.  They were on opposite sides of the planet, now, destined to never be anything more then friends, and there’s nothing he could do about it…

He had tried to find himself a new girl like her, but none were up to snuff.  Heck, for a small while, he actually became a Coltcuddler, having a very short-term relationship with Big Macintosh…that was a confusing time for both of them, and they both agreed never to discuss it again (especially the events of the 23rd of December at 8 to 10 PM after a long night of drinking Big Mac’s homemade appletinis).

However, the thing that struck Blues the hardest about the whole event was what he was planning to do the very night Scratch left him.  He had saved up his bits for months, not only from his gigs, but various odd-jobs around town.  He also had to curry favor with the town blacksmith, after letting him melt down his saxophone so he could make his wife a pair of brass earrings.  That saxophone was given to him by his dad, the late great Brass Blues Sr. aka “Classic Blues”, the King of Jazz…Blues was upset after having to give up Pappy’s sax, but it was worth it for what he was getting in return...besides, Dad would probably approve of it if he were still alive today.

He remembered the night vividly…the moon was full at the top of the sky, moonbeams shimmering down upon his sweet, as she looked up to the stars.  Blue’s was smiling as he strolled to her, a smile curved on his lips, a saddlebag on his back.  He sat down beside her, and kissed her gently…but she didn’t seem to kiss back with the passion she usually did.  What was the problem?  Was she sick?  Did something bad happen?  He asked her, and she said she was fine…except for the fact that she felt….strange, with Blues.  She said the feeling started a while ago, actually, when Nightmare Moon was defeated, when the Spirits of the Elements of Harmony were discovered…mainly, when she first laid eyes on Rainbow Dash.  It was a feeling she had never felt for a stallion before…not even him.  It was weird….she liked him, but she felt that they shouldn’t be together.  Blues jumped back, alarmed at the sudden bomb she had just dropped.  He tried to reason with her, saying that if he had been a bad boyfriend, he’d change as much as he could to be right…but her mind was made up…she still wanted to be friends, but just not boyfriend and girlfriend…Blues ran off, holding back tears…he ran to the fountain in the town park, and sobbed, his tears mixing with the splashing waters…he sniffled, pulling the small wedding band out from his saddle bag he had spent so long trying to get…he stared at it for a few minutes…before just throwing it into the fountain, letting it sink to the bottom.

Blues felt a lump in his throat, remembering that night…he held back a few tears, still looking at the skies…he found the stars were the only things that could comfort him at times like this…Luna’s great pieces of art helping the pain go away…but only slightly.  They used to help a lot, but now, they were losing their powers to heal his shattered spirits. He knew that he would be here the next night, and the next, and he next…the same thing happening:  He comes, he lays down, he thinks of Scratch, he almost cries, he feels better from the stars, he leaves...

Maybe he just needed some new scenery and meet new people…

Maybe he needed to go out into the world and find himself…

Maybe….

Maybe he needed to just leave Ponyville and start life anew.

Blues made his way home, and started packing his things…he grabbed his new sax, some snacks for the road, his pappy’s old grey-with-blue-pinstripe fedora, wrote a letter to his bandmates and anyone else who happened to realize he was gone, and was off, under the cover of darkness…

At least, he would have been off…if he hadn’t heard the faint sobs of somepony nearby…

Blues stopped in his tracks, his ears swiveling around, trying to locate the cause of the soft cries…being an expert at music and melodies, his hearing was rather heightened, being able to pick up even the softest of squeeks…or in this case, sobs.  He made his way down the hill, back into Ponyville, towards the center of town…

Sitting on the edge of the town fountain was a young pegasis…or was she a unicorn…or both?  Upon her flank was a starry night sky with a crescent moon for her cutie mark…her coat a shade of purplish-blue, and her mane the color of the morning sky.  On her head she wore a small tiara, and around her neck a necklace with a diamond shaped like her cutie mark... She sat alone, looking around at the decorations for tomorrow’s celebration of “Celestia’s Day”…streamers and large flags flowed in the wind …everything was colored with bright colors, pictures of suns painted over houses…large banners praised the Sister of the Mornings…

All of it made the young Princess Luna weep…

Blues sat behind a park bench, watching the young mare…something telling him to go comfort her, while another part scared of what would happen if he showed himself.  For any other pony, he would have just kept going on his way, leaving them to deal with their own problems while he dealt with his.  She WAS a Princess, so it probably would be a good idea to.  But then again, knowing his luck with helping, he would probably make things worse.  He wondered if he should just leave…

That’s when he heard her start to sing.

It was quiet at first…close to a whisper…and yet it was enough for Blues’s body to be filled with chills.  Her voice was soft and sorrowful, sounding angelic among the silence of the night.  The stars above seemed to sparkle to her voice, going perfectly with the beat.  Blues was in awe, staring at the young mare, his eyes glued to her and his hears perked up straight.  It was hypnotic, her elegant voice filling his mind until all he could think about was her.  As she sang to herself, he could see tears rolling down her cheeks.  The tears sparkled like stardust, evaporating in small sparks of light when they hit the ground.  She began to cry a bit more, her lip quivering...soon, it was too much for her to bare, being in this city that praised her sister, and she sprang up and flew out of the city, bawling her eyes out.  Blues jumped up, wanting to run out and call to her, but she was already gone before he had a chance to…flying off into the skies above.

End of Part 1

Singing Under the Starry Skies II

By Tooney D

                Morning came sooner then expected, and Blues was still sitting by the fountain…he had been waiting all night for his beautiful mare to return.  Other ponies started emerging from their houses, surprised to see Blues up so early…obviously, something was up with him.  He looked around, noticing the other ponies beginning to stare…he blinked, coming out of Luna’s trance.

                “…What, a pony can’t watch the sunrise?”  He said to the staring ponies, getting up and trotting back into town…he passed the library, and stopped, checking to see if it was open.  Sure enough, there was Twilight, putting books away.  He quickly opened the door and walked in.

                “Um…excuse me…”

                “O-Oh!” Twilight jumped.  She never usually got business this early.  “How can I help y--…” Twilight paused…

                “…What?”

                “…Is everything alright?”

                “…What are you talking about?”

                “Its rare for ANYPONY to come in this early, and its even rarer to see you even out of your house…obviously, something is up.”

                He scowled a bit, and sighed, “Look, I just need to ask you something, seeing as how you probably know the most about this…”

                “What is it?”

                He paused… “…You know Princess Luna, correct?”

                Twilight froze…she had completely forgotten about the Princess of the Night, not seeing her ever since the Nightmare Moon incident. “…Yeah…why?”

                “Well…I saw her here last night…”

                Twilight shrugged, “And?  Her sister probably sent her over to inspect the place to make sure everything was going good for Celestia’s Da--“

                “She was crying…”

                Twilight was silent for a few moments… “…Why?”

                “Maybe it was because of all the attention her sister was getting before the New Year…”

                …Twilight gulped, “You think…maybe…she’s starting to resent her sister again?”

Blues shook his head…he knew the look on Luna’s face well…it was the look of pure loneliness… “It didn’t look like the face of an enraged deity…”

                Twilight either ignored him or didn’t hear him over her own thoughts, “This could mean that Nightmare Moon might return…!” She began to hyperventilate, “W-We gotta stop her!”

                Blues sighed, “I don’t think Nightmare Moon is gunna return…that wasn’t the look of hatred, it was that of loneliness…trust me, I know that look.”

                Twilight, however, didn’t stop panicking.  She went on an on about what might happen.  Blues tried to get a word in edgewise, but Twilight kept going on and on about Nightmare Moon’s cunning plan…He’d expect the rambling from Pinkie, maybe, but he thought Twilight had more sense…with a sigh, he muttered a “Thank you for your help,” and left the library, grabbing any books he could find on Luna and Celestia’s Day before exiting…

                On his way home, Blues saw a face he really, REALLY didn’t want to see right now…Scratch.  She was sitting on a park bench, eating ice cream, her red goggles lifted up onto her head, revealing her beautiful neon-green eyes.  Blues felt a lump in his throat and in his chest…he tried to hide behind a group of other ponies, hoping to not be seen by her…he just had to get around the corner and he’d be in the cle--

                “Hey Blues!”

                …Well horseapples, “U-Uh, hey, Scratch…”

                She hopped off the chair and trotted over, still holding the ice cream in one of her hooves, “Surprised to see you up so early, man.”

                “W-Well…you know what they say…early bird n’stuff…”

                Scratch smiled, and noticed Blues’s saddlebag, “Whatcha got in there?”

                “Just some books…”

                “On what?”

                “Well its--hm?” He looked behind him, pretending he heard something.

                “What is it?”

                “I thought I heard one of my bandmates call me, I’ll seeya later!” Blues ran off, full-gallop towards his house.

                …Scratch sighed, and sat back down.  Why did all their conversations end this way?  She wished she never agreed to go out with him so they would still be friends now…

                Blues had to think for a bit…he decided it was time he headed home.  His home was a few blocks away from Twilight’s, and was known as “The Crooner’s Club,” the town bar that had a live performance every night by one of Ponyville’s up-and-coming musicians.   Blues and his bandmates owned the place, living on the 2nd floor.  It was right next to the town Banquette Hall, making it convenient for them if they were asked to play there.

                Blues turned the corner, expecting to see his home in its normal blue shade…Instead, it was a bright shade of orange, covered in streamers and ribbons and pictures of suns.  Obviously, Pinkie had decorated it for him without his permission.  He sighed, and made his way upstairs.  He flopped on his bed, and pulled out the books, beginning to read.  He read for hours, until the moon was once again in the sky.  As he read, he discovered more and more about Luna…

                As it turns out, Luna and Celestia’s birthdays are one day apart, and the dates of their birth is how the Equestrian calendar was made.  Celestia’s birthday was January 1st, the first day, while Luna’s was December 31st, ushering in the end of the year.  Originally, these days were known as “The Sister Days,” celebrating them both.  However, after Luna’s thousand year exile, they forgot about Luna’s birthday along with Luna herself.  The New Year’s holiday was then changed to “Celestia’s Day,” people not wanting to give respect to one who’s greed turned her to a monster.

                Blues put the book down, wiping his brow...he had been reading for a lot longer then he expected.  It was almost midnight, and the day after tomorrow would be the 31st.  He  wondered what he should do, or IF he should even do something.  Blues had never been known for his good nature in helping other ponies, seeing how he was usually a bit of a sadsack.  In fact, usually when he TRIED to help, he would end up messing things up worse.  But then again…There was something about Luna that made him WANT to help her…not because she was a princess, or even the fact she was immensely beautiful…just…something.  He didn’t really know.  Maybe it was the fact that helping her might make him a hero?  Making Luna happy might even save the world, stopping the second coming of Nightmare Moon.  He decided it was best to sleep on it for a bit, and rolled over, ready to sleep…

That’s when he heard the song once again.

                He jumped out of bed, and ran to the window, peering outside…he saw the Princess of the Night, sitting there once again, singing to herself.  He put a hoof to the window, staring at her.  He looked at his bandmates, all cozy in their own bunks, already sleeping.  They didn’t wake up.  Luna’s voice was so calming, so soothing, so elegant, that it was like a lullaby, keeping them asleep, calming even the harshest of nightmares.  Blues looked back down at Luna…and he began to quietly sing with her, placing a hoof on the window, wanting to go down and hold her close, as they serenaded the night with their melody…yet something kept him frozen.  A sort of fear of being close to her.  He wanted to hold her, but he didn’t want to at the same time.  Afraid of the consequences of if he did.

                This time, the song ended even shorter then the day before, and she flew off, once again…leaving Blues to stare up at the skies.

End of Part 2

Singing Under the Starry Skies III

By Tooney D

                The next morning, Blues galloped out of his house, back to Twilight’s library.  Twilight was deep into her books, frantically looking for something that could help her against Nightmare Moon.  Blues pulled the books out of his saddlebag, and set them on her desk.  Twilight looked up, realizing Blues had walked in.

                “Sorry, Blues, I can’t check those books out for you, I’m busy right now, and I need to find books on Nightmare Moon!”

                “…Actually, I took these when you weren’t looking earlier, and read them last night.”

                Twilight stopped rummaging through the books, and turned to him.

                “Coincidentally, books on Luna.”

                …Twilight looked about ready to pop a blood vessel.  “You STOLE from me?!  I know more about Nightmare Moon then any other pony in Ponyville, and you TAKE my references when I need them!  Nightmare Moon is coming tomorrow night, and we NEED to be prepa--”

                Blues shoved his hoof in her mouth, “Please…just shut up.  It’s annoying.”

                “I’ll say,” chuckled Spike, lying on the windowsill.

                Twilight huffed, “Fine, what do you want, Blues…”

                “I found out why Luna’s upset.”

                …Twilight was quiet for a few seconds.  “What is it.”

                “Tommorow’s her birthday.”

                “…That’s CELESTIA’s birthday.”

                “No, CELESTIA’s birthday is the 1st.  Luna’s is the 31st.  That’s how the calendar was made.  Just as how Celestia and Luna usher in the start of a new day, their birthdays usher in the start of a new year.”

                “…So she’s just mad…because people forgot her birthday?”

                Blues nodded.  “All we have to do is make another party for her.”

                “…But the party is TOMMOROW, we already have everything set up!”

                …Blues thought for a few seconds… “…I’ll come up with something, don’t worry…I just need to think for a few minutes.  We still have the rest of the day to work, right?”

                With that, Blues turned and ran out of the library.

                As he ran home, he passed Scratch, not even giving her a single glance…he had work to do, and he didn’t have time to take a sorrowful walk down memory lane.

                …Atleast, he WOULD have work to do, if he knew what to do.  As soon as he got back to the Crooner’s Club, he stopped, realizing he had no idea what he was doing.  If he was going to make his own party for Luna, it wouldn’t be anywhere CLOSE to the one Celestia would have.  He didn’t have the time, the money, or the resources.  If he was going to make this work, he’d have to move fast.  He didn’t know if he would even make it…

                But then again, he’s Brass Blues Jr., the pony who could make a working saxophone reed out of a stick of bamboo with a whittling knife in 30 seconds.  He’s been good at doing things fast.

                Blues rushed out of his house, looking around for supplies.  He rushed to Rarity’s, grabbing leftover banners and ribbons, throwing them all into a large tub of light-blue dye.  He ran to Sugarcube Corner, grabbing all the extra paint and running back to his house, and beginning his work.

                When the moon had finally risen into the sky, Blues was still painting his house, working well into the hours of the night.  Around his house was a giant tent-like tarp, used to protect the house from danger, to make sure he wouldn’t be disturbed, and to make sure the Princess didn’t ruin her surprise incase she returned tonight.

                And sure enough, she did.

                Blues was finishing the final touches on the outer deck of the Crooner’s Club when he heard her faint sobs.  He turned around, realizing she was sitting there, this time curled up right next to the tarp.  She couldn’t see him, but he could see her, the moonlight illuminating the outside of the tarp so he could see…quietly, he tiptoed over to the young Princess’ side, and sat beside her, still hidden by the tarp.  He was sitting so close to her now, he could practically feel her body heat through the tarp.  He just watched her as she cried…a heavy feeling weighed upon his heart.  He wanted her to sing again, just so he could hear that angelic voice one last time before tomorrow, but it didn’t come…she just sobbed and sobbed until she finally flew away.

                Blues’s heart never felt heavier after that.  He had to make tomorrow the best birthday she would ever have.  If he was going to miss preforming for Celestia, so be it.  They’d get a new entertainer, no problem.  They could get Lyra to play her harp, or Pinkie to sing, or Scratch to--

        ...Blues paused when he remembered Scratch.  Not because he was missing her when he thought of her name, but rather because he didn’t.  For some reason, it didn’t seem to effect him anymore, all the memories seemed to be a blur now...His sorrow was now blocked out by a feeling for Luna.  Every moment he and Scratch had together didn’t seem important anymore...except for one.  One that he realized was one final aspect he needed to make Luna’s night perfect.  He suddenly dropped his brush, and ran out of the tarp, galloping to the fountain.

                It was Luna’s birthday, and everypony was preparing for the arrival of Celestia.  The banners were up, the decorations were perfect, and all of Ponyville seemed to just glow with brilliance.  Blues didn’t come out once that day…occasionally, one of his bandmates would come out from under the tarp, getting supplies from various ponies…a pair of large spotlights, more paint and ribbons, a special tux from Rarity.  Blues himself, however, wasn’t seen until nighttime.

                It was one hour until the arrival of Celestia at 7pm.  Ponyville was completely spotless, a large red carpet rolled out in front of the Banquette Hall, the end of it being the landing point for Celestia’s carriage.  Everypony chattered amongst each other, all giddy with excitement.  The only one who wasn’t talking was Twilight, who stood in front of the large grey tarp, hoping Blues got whatever he’s been doing done before Celestia’s arrival…he WAS the entertainment for Celestia’s, after all.

                “What’s taking him so long…?”  She muttered worridly.

                Pinkie was by her side, munching on some leftover sweets “Oh, don’t be suchs a worry-wart!  He’ll be done soon.”

                “But he’s supposed to be the entertainment for the night…I SPECIFICALLY told Celestia the son of Brass Blues would be performing tonight…Classic Blues was her favorite musician back in the day…”

                “Well, if you’re so worried, why not just go in and ask him?”

                “But I don’t want to disturb whatever he’s doing…”

                Pinkie shrugged, “Them be patient, silly-filly!”

                Twilight sat in front of the tarp, waiting.  About a half an hour before Celestia’s arrival, the tarp fell, revealing what Blues had been working on all day…it made Twilight’s jaw gape.

                The Crooner’s Club was decked out in a dark shade of blue and purple, dots of white painted on it, made to look like night sky.  Above the tnerance was a large moon, whittled out of wood with a large sparkling gem in the center of the crescent, obviously barrowed from Rarity.  Two large searchlights sat beside the front doors, shooting its light upwards into the skies.  The windows, the roof, and everything else was covered in ribbons and banners, a large banner hanging from the large double doors, saying, “Welcome, Midnight Princess!”

                Twilight rubbed her eyes…not only was it good…it…ACTUALLY, put the Banquette hall to shame, even after all the hard hours they put into it.  Almost every pony in Ponyville had been working on it, trying to make it as good as it could be in a week…and yet ONE pony basically grabbed all of the leftover EVERYTHINGS in the town and made something that put their work to shame in less than two days.

                Twilight ran to the front door, pounding her hoof against it…what came out of that door, she was not expecting.

                Standing there was Blues, dressed in a dark blue tuxedo, shimmering with small gemstones, made to look like stars.  On his head was his dad’s fedora, adorned with a fluffy new blue feather.  His mane was cut and well brushed, and his tail straightened.  But the most surprising thing about Blues was what was on his face:  A smile.  It was rare for Blues to dress up, even for a gig like this.  It was rare for Blues to care so much for a pony’s feelings like he did with Luna.  But most of all, it was rare to see Blues smile.  That was the equivalent of discovering Atlantis or capturing Bigfoot.

Twilight could barely hide her amazement, “…What…”

                Blues smiled, “Hey Twilight, how are you?”

                Twilight shook her head, snapping out of it, “Blues…what did you do to your house?  And why aren’t you in the banquette hall preparing to sing?”

“Well, seeing as how you and you freaked out this morning because of Nightmare Moon’s return, I decided I needed to help out with the party more then just being the entertainment.”

                Twilight looked confused. “..How?”

                “Simple:  Throwing another party at the same time, of course.”

                Twilight was silent for a few moments, realizing Blues was going by Pinkie Pie logic of ‘PARTYING MAKES IT BETTER’.

                “You see,” Blues continued, “If Luna sees that even one little person cares about her nighttime, HOPEFULLY she’ll feel even a tiny bit better and not go all Nightmare Moon on our flanks.  If not, then I’ll just distract her til your party’s over.”

                “B-But…I promised Princess Celestia you would be at the party and sing for her!”

                Blues shrugged, “Tell her to come over here, I’ll be taking requests all night…mainly the requests of Luna, of course.”

                “B-But…”

                “No buts.  Just ask Scratch to DJ, she’ll be good at it.”

                Twilight froze again…this was the first time Blues had mentioned Scratch with such a positive attitude…

                “…Are you the real Blues?”

                “Hm?”

                “You just mentioned Scratch without getting teary-eyed or sad…are you SURE your okay…”

                …He smiled, “I’ve never been better, Twilight.”

                And with that, he closed the door, making sure everything was ready for his special guest.

                Luna always showed up to her sister’s party late.  While Celestia would always show up directly at sunset, Luna would always have to stay behind so she could raise the moon.  In all honesty, she didn’t even want to come at all, but her sister said that even if they don’t know it, they were honoring both of them.  She knew nopony would even notice her arrival.  Her carriage landed on the end of the red carpet.  Everyone was already inside the banquette hall, partying the night away.  She sighed, and started walking down the red road towards it, her carriage pulling away.  She looked from side to side at the painted houses, showing the sunsets and sunrises…not one of them showing the beauty of the ni--…she stopped when she noticed the one house, sticking out from the rest.  It was painted to look like one of her nights, the banners and flags the color of her mane…there was a big banner above the door, that read “Welcome, Princess of the Stars!”

                And unlike every other house on the street, the lights were still on inside.

                Luna was frozen…then ran towards it in a full gallop.  Before knocking on the door, she put an ear to it, listening to make sure somepony was inside…sure enough, she heard the sound of hooves clopping against the floorboards.  She knocked, and waited for the response.

                Blues jumped when he heard the knock.  His nerves were starting to fail him, afraid something would go wrong this evening.  He took a deep breath, and opened the door to see the young princess of the night, standing there, the moonlight reflecting off of her mane, the stars shimmering off her wings...he smiled, and bowed to her.

                “Welcome, Princess Luna.  It’s an honor to have you here.”  He said, his lips curved into a smile.

                “…What’s this…?”

                “Why, it’s your party, of course!  I thought a girl like you deserves a bit more credit then you get…” he flashes a winning smile, “I mean, it IS your birthday as well, isn’t it?”

                Luna’s eyes grew a bit wide…this was the first time anyone had called it her birthday, instead of her sisters.

                “Oh!  I just realized, I completely forgot to introduce myself,” Blues chucked, “How rude of me…My name is Brass Blues Jr, Son of Classical Brass.”

                “…But…aren’t you supposed to be playing at my sister’s party…?”

                He shrugged, “I guess, but some things just seem a bit more important to me then a gig.”

Luna was silent for a few moments.

“Please, come inside, it’s getting cold out.”

End of Part 3

Under the Starry Skies IV

By Tooney D

The Crooner’s Corner had been completely decked out with stars, moons, ribbons, and many other vibrant decorations.  While not packed, there was a good amount of people at the tables, deciding this nice, calm, relaxing suarre was a good break from the hustle-and-bustle party world of Pinkie Pie.  Luna’s eyes lit up a bit, just seeing these people here for her.

Blues lead Luna to the center table, where a big fluffy chair adorned with a big crescent-moon was waiting for her.  He sat her down, and jumped on stage, where his band was waiting (the reason they didn’t go and perform at Celestia’s party was because Blues was the singer, and without him, they didn’t really have a show).  He smiled down at Luna, taking the mike in his hoof.

“How’s everypony doing tonight?”

The audience cheered.

Blues smiled, “Good, good…now as you all know, we have a very special guest in attendance tonight, one who deserves a lot more credit then she gets.  Fillies and Gentlecolts, Princess Luna, the Keeper of the Night.”

A spotlight shined down upon Luna, startling her a bit.  The other ponies applauded and cheered for her, Blues included.  He hopped off the stage and walked over to her, holding the mike up to her.  “Anything you’d like to say to your subject, Ms. Luna?”

She was silent for a few moments...before she finally squeaked out a faint “T-Thank you…”

                Blues smiled, “And thank you, Luna…” and hopped back onstage.

                For the next couple of hours, Blues serenaded Luna and the other party-goers with his songs.  As he sung, more and more ponies began to come in, filling the joint to its brim.  Heck, even Celestia came in after her own party was almost abandoned.  More and seats were being filled up, yet Luna’s eyes were still trained on the pony onstage.

                At close to midnight, Blues finished a song and took the mike once again.

                “Now, this next song is going to be a real treat…Seeing as how I’ve entertained her all evening, I thought that maybe, if she’d like, Princess Luna would come up here and entertain us, perhaps.”

                The spotlights shined down upon Luna once more, and she nearly jumped out of her chair.

                “…W-What…?”  She said, sounding a bit nervous.

                “Please, Princess?  Just one song with me?”

                “…B-But…”

                “I’ve heard you sing before, Ms. Luna…” He smiled, “It’s the reason I put on this party after I saw you in the town square.”

                She blushed suddenly…not realizing somepony had heard her.

                “Please…?”  Blues said, a smile still on his face.

                The other ponies tried to coax her up, including Celestia.

                “…A…A-Alright…”

                The audience cheered as Luna fluttered onstage.

                “W-What song do you want me to sing?”

                “You decide, it’s your party, after all.”

                Luna gulped, and looked at her audience.  They were all looking up at her, waiting.  She took a deep sigh…and began to sing the song she had sung for those 3 nights.

“…F-Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars…”

                Blues smiled, striking up the band to play along with her…

“Let me see what Spring is like on Jupiter and Mars…”

As she sang, she grew a bit louder, not losing the angelic nature in her voice.

“In other words….hold my hand…

In other words….baby, kiss me…~”

Blues joined her on the second verse.

“Fill my heart with song, and let me sing forevermore…~”

As they sang for the first time together, Blues’s heart began to beat wildly in his chest.

“You are all I long for, all I worship and adore…~”

He hadn’t felt this feeling in a long, long time.

“In other words...”

The feeling of two voices, joining together to create one glorious melody.

“Please be true…~”

The feeling of their music gently sailing among the cold breeze of the night.

“In other words…”

But most of all…

“I love you…~”

The feeling of love.

Just as they finished their song, the clock struck midnight, and everypony let out a cheer, celebrating the New Year.

                About an hour or so later, everypony had already gone home, and Blues was still there, cleaning up.  Luna was outside, talking to Twilight and her friends.  Blues wondered if now would be the right time to bring out his last little surprise.  He crept behind the bar and pulled out a small red box, wrapped in ribbons, an obvious birthday present.  He peeked out the window, watching as Twilight and her friends all went home as well, Luna heading the other direction.  He quickly left the Crooner’s Club, and ran after her.

                “W-Wait!”

                Luna turned to see Blues standing there, holding a big red present out to her in his hooves, a smile on his blushing face.

                “This is for you…One last memento so you won’t forget tonight.”

                Luna was silent for a few seconds…she thought he had done enough, but for him to go out and get her a present?

                “…T-Thank you, Blues…”  She said, as she took the present and unwrapped it.

                Inside was a beautiful pair of earrings, made from Scratch’s wedding ring.  It had been cut in half, turned into a pair of crescent moons by the blacksmith.  Along the side of it were diamonds, shaped like stars, added by Rarity in the afternoon.  The earrings sparkled, the stars and moonlight reflecting off of them.

                Luna was stunned.  This one pony had done more for her in one night then any other did in an eternity.

                “Like them?”

                “…T-They’re beautiful…”

                Blues smiled… “Good…I had to do a lot of gigs to get them…”

                The earrings floated out of Blues’s hooves and onto Luna’s ears.  “T-They’re perfect…”

                “Glad you liked the--“

                Luna suddenly wrapped her hooves around Blues neck, hugging him tight…she gently whispered, “Thank you…”

                Blues was frozen…until he wrapped his own hooves around her.

                A mere second later, a large black carriage pulled up.

                “Well…I have to go…thank you for everything, Blues…”  She let go of him, and jumped into the carriage, waving from the window as it flew away.

                Blues just sat there, staring at where she had flown off.  All of that work…all of that planning…all of his sweat and tears…for a hug.

                Just…a hug.

                And nothing had ever been more worth it in his life.

~end~