Fun fact, Changelings can't get drunk...but humans sure as hell can. So being a human turned changeling I had some extra parts that normal humans didn’t have. ‘What does that mean?’ you may be asking. Well I’ll tell you, it means I can get as wasted as I want and it will fade in less than two hours with no side effects (aka hangover.) So when the party finally calmed down somewhere around three in the morning, it was only the princesses and I that were left standing. Me more so than them because contrary to popular belief, Alicorns are just as susceptible to alcohol as the rest of ponies. They just built up a little tolerance over the centuries. Their fix for that was 197 proof, thirteen hundred year old, black whisky they had dubbed Night Terror.
For those of you not cultured in alcohol, let me learn you a few things. One-hundred and ninety seven proof means that the liquid is 98.5% alcohol by volume. Another fun fact is that it takes way less to get a normal pony drunk due to their smaller size compared to humans and how their body absorbs alcohol. It only takes three ounces of Night Terror to completely waste a pony. It took about seven for me to lose all sense of self and it took thirteen ounces to waste an alicorn. That of course isn't counting Twilight, she passed out after one glass.
After about four glasses of delicious Night Terror, I was curious how it was made and if the name had any significance. Turns out, the griffins were the original whisky crafters. They made many whiskeys and sold them throughout the world. The princesses frequently bought whisky from the griffins and among their favorite kinds was a dark whisky made in Shadow Talon. They liked it so much they traded land, made alliances, and gave materials to the growing nation to obtain obscene amounts of it. A whisky barrel usually holds about forty-seven gallons and Luna recalled something like a hundred thousand barrels being traded over the course of several decades. Parents would pass down the art of the craft and their children would pick up where they left off to make whisky for the princesses. This continued for almost three generations before the order was fulfilled.
Whisky is much better aged so they left most of the whisky stored away but kept a hundred or so barrels out to sip on. They tried to age the barrels quicker or add different and fuller flavoring but nothing really stuck. Once Luna decided to smoke a barrel and left it too long, boiling out most of the whisky leaving only a gallon or so in the bottom. Celestia reprimanded Luna for wasting so much whisky but decided to try it anyhow. It was great. While the unaged normal whisky was smooth this whisky was smoky and had much more of a bite to it. That and they boiled out most of the water leaving the once eighty proof whisky rolling at about one-fifty. Improving on this method the sister eventually managed a strong, flavorful whisky flavor with high alcohol content by burning down fifty barrels into one pitch black whisky. They even squeezed the barrels to get every drop out subsequently adding to the flavor yet again.
By this time the tradition of making whisky had all but died out in the griffin lands, but some great-great-great-great grandchildren of the original whisky makers were still practicing the tradition and knew of the feat their forefathers had pulled off. The sisters took the barrel that they had made to the griffin lands and called the heirs together to share their new whisky and ask for the rights to continue making it. The griffins were all poured a glass of the inky substance and a toast was made to the original whisky crafters. Three of those seven griffins only took one sip of the substance that they refused to even consider whisky. The other four said while it wasn’t whisky like they made, it was beautiful in it's own right. When the sisters asked if they could continue making it an argument broke out. The three that didn't like it said that it was a disgrace to their forefathers. The others argued that they had already bought the whisky and what they did with it was up to them. After hours of negotiations it was decided that the sisters could continue making it but could not sell it. In addition, they dubbed it Night Terror, hoping that the name would keep others from drinking it.
Thus the whisky known as Night Terror was born. Only two-thousand barrels of Night terror were made and they were stored deep in the Canterlot wine cellars once Luna was banished. But now that Luna had returned, Celestia decided that she could once again enjoy her whisky with her sister. And because it is so potent, bring a barrel to a party like this one was hardly a problem. We had hardly drank a fifth of the barrels contents and it was half full when they brought it. While they told their story I could feel my buzz (changeling joke) fading so I kept drinking. There was more to the story but I drank a little too much a little too quick and...well let's just say I don't remember kissing Vinyl. But from what I heard, I don't need to worry about my career chance being shattered. It’s not the first time it’s happened to her. If anything she took it as a complement...or so I heard.