//------------------------------// // Chapter - 15 - Having Fun // Story: Let's Rock 'n' Roll // by Hawker Hurricane //------------------------------// Forte and Sunset were both trotting down to breakfast, Forte having practised walking on all fours a little when waking up, both looking forward to their respective activities later on the day. Sunset baking with Celestia, and Forte getting pissed going drinking with Luna. "You're getting better at walking on hooves." "It still feels weird though." "I felt the same when I started walking on two legs." "Does being back on hooves feel weird?" "A little, but still natural. What about you, how does it feel to have proper pony ears and not fake ones?" "I've had them before remember, when we 'pony-up'?" "Oh yeah," Sunset replied, "But now that we're ponies....." Sunset had a devious smirk on her face and walked determinedly up to Forte, "I can do this." "Do wha-EEP!" Forte squealed as Sunset bit his ear before quickly letting go. "That," replied Sunset, watching on as Forte rubbed his ear, "I've always wanted to do that." "Is there any meaning to it?" "It's either an intimate act if it's between lovers, or used to calm down foals by their parents." "Ah. Any other pony things I might need to know?" Sunset put a hoof to her chin and thought it over. She looked over his pegasus form and quickly realised there was something she could tell him about. Should I tell him about that? She looked up to her boyfriend and watched him as he swished his tail about with a hoof. Nah. It'll be funnier if he finds out himself. "No, you should be OK so long as you behave yourself." "I will behave, have I ever given you reason to believe otherwise?" A few minutes later the pair of them were in the dining hall having breakfast with the princesses, this time Forte and Luna were sat together opposite Sunset and Celestia. Forte decided on scrambled eggs on toast. Having gotten a little practice the night before and in the morning, he managed to hoof the cutlery good enough to feed himself. He needed good hoof control for holding pint glasses later. "How's breakfast Forte?" asked Sunset. "Tastes great. How's yours?" "As good as I remember it," she replied, stuffing pancakes draped with maple syrup into her mouth. "Did you sleep well Forte?" asked Celestia. "I slept great, those beds are damn comfy." Celestia looked over to Luna, the latter having a look of concern only Celestia recognised. Looking back to Forte, she carried on the conversation, "That is pleasing to hear. I do like it when my guests enjoy themselves." "What time are we going into town?" "Eager to get wasted already?" Sunset playfully asked. Forte rolled his eyes, "Very funny, no. I was just wondering." "After breakfast," Celestia replied, "Luna will give you a tour of Canterlot first, followed by the drinking while Sunset and I make up for all those Sundays we missed out baking together." Celestia looked down to a smiling Sunset and gave her an affectionate nuzzle, "I miss those days." "So do I. I remember chef getting mad because of the mess we would make of his kitchen." "And at night time, you would eat our creations while I read you bedtime stories." A bright red blush showed on Sunset's cheeks, "Fairytales if I recall rightly." "Fairytales?" Forte repeated, almost snorting with laughter, "Fairytales in a land that is literally a living, breathing fairytale itself?" Sunset and Celestia both frowned at Forte. "It looks like one little pony doesn't want any cake later," Celestia said unamused, "Would you agree, my little Sunshine?" "Absolutely, Princess," Sunset replied, smiling deviously at Forte, "Absolutely." Forte felt unease overcome him, causing him to feel his fur stand on end and his wings twitch. Both his girlfriend and pony version of his school Principal were looking at him in a most unamused way. "I was just joking, mostly," he replied half heartedly, "This place is a bit like a fairytale though." "Keep talking Pony Boy, keep talking," Sunset replied, her scowl returning, now harder than ever. Forte began nervously rubbing a forearm with his other hoof and looking around, trying to find anything else to focus his attention on or attract other ponies attention. After a few tense moments of silence and fruitless looking around, both Sunset and Celestia both spluttered into laughter, attracting the attention of Forte. "You're right," Celestia said, "He does get adorable when he panics." *A FEW HOURS LATER* Princess Luna and Forte were walking down the snow covered streets, along with a contingent of a few Thestral guards, heading towards the nearest pub to the castle. A few ponies were out and about, some playing in the snow with their foals; other, more notably young-ish stallions and mares, huddled together closely on benches. "Is it usually this peaceful?" asked Forte. "Usually, but it tends to be busier when it's not the holidays." "It's somewhat similar to my world, except in the run up to Christmas when almost everyone rushes around like the world's going to end." "Christmas? Is that your world's version of Hearth's Warming?" Forte nodded, "More or less. Anyway, what's the booze like at this place we're going to?" "Very good. It's a micro pub that specialises in locally brewed ales." "Sounds good, who's paying?" Forte asked jokingly, "I doubt the currency from my world is valid here." "Fear not Forte, we have sufficient funds for a good day of drinking." *MEANWHILE BACK IN THE CASTLE A beaming Sunset trotted alongside Celestia as they headed towards the castle kitchens, the former bad girl could barely contain herself. Even when she was a bad girl, baking with Princess Celestia again was something she yearned dearly for, though she would never have admitted it. "What would you like to bake today, my little sunshine?" "I don't know........why don't we just keep baking until we run out of ingredients?" "Sounds good to me," Celestia replied with a laugh, "But that may take a while. The castle stocks were replenished just a few days ago. We may end up baking more cakes than even I can eat." "That's OK, I'll just take some with me when I go back." "How are things going in the other world, Twilight has told me some things of course, but I would like to hear from you." "Well, things have definitely improved since....since Twilight first visited," Sunset replied, looking away in shame at memories of her bad self. Sunset came to a stop when she felt a comforting hoof on her cheek. "Sunset look at me, I am not angry with you over what happened. Like I said, I could not be more proud of what you have accomplished. Yes you made mistakes, but you have more than made up for that with the friends you have made and your victory over the sirens." "I guess so, they too have become my friends also." "Really?" Celestia asked in genuine shock. Sunset nodded, "Forte was the one who offered them a second chance, even though they targeted him too." Celestia smiled contently, "It is pleasing to hear that you give others a second chance, and not allowing suspicion and grudges work against you." "Well the sirens sort of helped us when we needed it most." "In what way?" Sunset looked around nervously and squeaked out a response, "Promise you won't be mad?" Celestia didn't like the manner in which Sunset asked the question, nor the nature of the question itself. Why was Sunset afraid if her getting mad? Nevertheless standing around won't get her the answer, so she smiled sweetly and nodded. "I promise I won't be mad." "OK," Sunset replied, taking a deep breath, "But can I tell you when we're alone in the kitchen?" "Of course." A few minutes later, the pair where alone in the kitchen, the staff having been given the rest of the day off (on full pay), and they began getting out the necessary ingredients. "So," Sunset began, "It all began when Forte and I were first invited to a sleepover with my friends at Pinkie Pie's place. We had a great time and we all enjoyed ourselves. During the evening, Applejack's little sister Apple Bloom called, and ended up revealing to us all Applejack's childhood nickname." "The following morning," Sunset continued, "Other students at school started calling Applejack the same name, having gotten the information from a social networking site call MyStable, from a user under the alias 'Anon-A-Miss'. Anon-A-Miss had posted what Applejack's childhood nickname was in an attempt to embarrass her. You know what a social networking site is, right?" "Twilight explained many wonderful things about the other world to me. What happened afterwards?" Celestia asked, taking out some scales. "Forte and I were again invited to another sleepover, this time at Rarity's. Much to the dislike of Sweetie Belle, who was annoyed at not being allowed to be part of the sleepover. During the evening though, after a bit of karaoke, Pinkie accidentally fell into Rarity's wardrobe and discovered some old creations of Rarity's that she planned to get rid of." "For a bit of fun though, we all took turns in trying the outfits on, I took several photos of us all on my phone and we all went to bed for the night. Later in the week though, those same pictures I took....appeared on the Anon-A-Miss account." "And you were suspected of being responsible?" Sunset nodded, "They were the pictures I took and even though I swore I wasn't responsible, I couldn't explain how those pictures appeared. All of my friends, except Forte, ditched me and said I was no longer their friend." "They didn't?" Celestia gasped in shock, "Surely they would have given you a chance to prove your innocence?" "No, they just ditched me and left me. Forte found me soon afterwards and we quickly came to the conclusion that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were involved somehow. A few more days passed and more secrets were exposed, this time revealing information on other students, except Forte. My friends and other students assumed he was my co-conspirator and had no reason to reveal anything against him." "Surely someone other than Forte came to your defence?" "Nope. But Forte was himself targeted by Anon-A-Miss, something I found out after I was assaulted in the cafeteria." "WHAT?" "A student by the name of Gilda hit me after accusing me of spreading the secret that she skived off school. Whilst we were in the nurse's office getting seen to, Forte and I saw pictures of Forte from Rarity's slumber party in a....unflattering outfit. We quickly assumed we were making Anon-A-Miss uncomfortable and put it out as a warning, or they were attempting to drive Forte away from me." "That didn't happen though?" "No. If anything it brought us closer together and more determined to put an end to Anon-A-Miss's reign of lies. A little while later he found me crying in the corridors and he decided to take me out for then night to a place called Nando's, a restaurant that specialises in chicken meals." "Chicken? You still eat meat?" "Indeed. There was no going back after my first bacon sandwich." "I remember. The Griffon Ambassador was ecstatic, talked about it for weeks afterwards. But anyway, please continue." "Thank you. We went to Nando's and that's when we unexpectedly ran into the sirens again. Forte invited them to join us and they did so. After telling them of events at CHS, they sympathised but couldn't really do anything to help. After the meal we went our separate ways. Forte and I headed to the car park to go back to his place for the night, but we never made it to the car." "What do you mean?" asked Celestia, confusion etched on her face. "Someone jumped us both, and when we woke up again we found ourselves.......t-t-tied up, g-gagged and blindfolded in an abandoned sugar mill." "W-what?" Celestia asked in disbelief. "Gilda, the girl I mentioned earlier, jumped us with her friends. When I woke up, courtesy of a hard kick to the gut, I found myself tied up tightly and gagged. When my blindfold was forcibly removed, I saw Gilda and her friends standing over me." Recalling the events had caused Sunset to begin shaking in fear. Ever the motherly figure, Celestia stopped measuring the flour and quickly went over to Sunset and wrapped a wing around her comfortingly. "You do not have to continue if you do not wish to Sunset." "I want to, talking about it helps." "Very well," Celestia replied softly, gently stroking Sunset's back. "So, Gilda and her friends immediately began questioning me, demanding that I admit to being Anon-A-Miss. When I refused, they began to kick and punch me, trying to force a confession from me. They went at it for almost an hour before I lost consciousness and they lost interest. They then turned their attention to Forte." Hearing the recollection of events had Celestia using all her willpower to stop the rising, blood boiling anger inside of her from melting the two foot thick stone walls. "From what he told me," Sunset continued, "Gilda kicked him several times in his gut, demanding to know why we posted what we did, and every time he denied it, he was kicked again. They weren't with Forte for long, but before they left, Gilda took a plastic headband of fake pony ears and glued them onto his head." "Why would they do something like that?" "Because Forte likes wearing them, and because Gilda is sick and twisted. While we were both still tied up and locked in a storage room, Anon-A-Miss made another post, so an enraged Gilda burst in and, after kicking Forte awake again, demanded to know who our accomplices were. When Forte once again denied we were Anon-A-Miss, Gilda kicked him hard on his nose, breaking it." "Surely this ends soon?" and increasingly angrier and more upset Celestia asked. "Soon enough. We were both left in the room overnight, and with no heating and tied up so tightly neither of us could move at all, we had a very uncomfortable night's sleep. I did try escaping but the cold weather had frozen the ropes together, and every tug seemed to make them tighter. Anyway, morning came and after being fed like babies we were left alone again. Forte drifted off to sleep soon afterwards, and what scared me the most was I couldn't see any movements of breathing." Sunset's shaking became more violent, prompting Celestia to cuddle Sunset closely and give a moment to calm down. After a few seconds, Sunset's shaking stopped. "Thank you," she said quietly. "You're welcome, my little sunshine. Would you like to continue?" Sunset nodded, "Yeah. Anyway, I feared the worst and felt absolutely helpless not being able to do anything. That is until, I heard people nearby. When I first heard them, I assumed it was Gilda and her friends skiving off school and deciding to give us both another round of beatings. It was only when they got nearer did I realise they weren't Gilda and her friends. But other people." "What did you do?" "Well, I was still gagged and tied up so I did the only thing I could do. Even though my legs were tied together, they weren't tied down to anything, meaning I could slam my feet up and down and scream through my gag, making as much noise as I could." "I'm assuming it worked?" Sunset nodded, "When I heard them saying help was on its way, the relief I felt is indescribable. I felt free, despite being tied up." "What happened afterwards?" "The police arrived and forced the door open, it having been locked with heavy duty padlocks and deadbolts......it's like Gilda didn't want us to leave. Anyway, the sirens were there too, and I remember having enough strength to tell Adagio who was responsible. Both Forte and I were taken to hospital were we recovered, mostly." "What about those responsible for these despicable crimes?" "All arrested the same day, at CHS in front of the whole school. According to police they all took plea bargains where they'll plead guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence, though from what I've been told, Gilda faces up to fifteen years in prison. Despite being sixteen, she's to be prosecuted an an adult. The court case is due to start early next year." "It is good to hear that you and Forte will recover, and those responsible will pay the price for their crimes." "I'm just glad it's over, and when my friends found out, they were very apologetic, as was the entire school. And guess who Anon-A-Miss was?" "I'm guessing three young fillies, all friends with one another, were responsible?" "Yep. Well girls, but Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo all confessed to being responsible." "Their counterparts here in Equestria did something similar. I'm sure Twilight could fill you in on the details, please continue though." "Your counterpart gave them six months of detention and closely monitored their school activities. Because they came forward and admitted it themselves, your counterpart was more lenient in their punishment." "A reasonable method, one I employ myself. What happened afterwards?" Celestia asked going over to the eggs. "Things more or less went back to how they were, the sirens joined the school as students, Pony Boy quickly went back to his dorky, adorable self." "Pony Boy?" Celestia queried, looking a little amused, "You called him that earlier, if I recall." "Oh yeah, "Sunset replied, blushing profusely, "It's a.....pet name I have for him." "Because he likes wearing these fake pony ears?" "Yeah. They have a blue headband and yellow ears, the colours of CHS. He wore them on his first day at the school, like all new students do, sort of a tradition." "Why does he like wearing them?" Celestia asked, slightly amused, in a good way, at the thought of it. "Because CHS was the first time and place he ever had any real friends, so the ears are like a symbol of that. I don't mind, it's harmless and quite cute." "Indeed. It sounds like you enjoy teasing him about it," Celestia said, levitating some eggs down from a high shelf. "I do, but he doesn't mind. But if you thought he liked wearing fake plastic ones, you should have seen the look on his face when a real furry pair sprouted out of his head." Just then, Sunset heard something break. Looking over to where the noise came from, she saw her mentor with egg and shock all over her face. "What?" Celestia asked in disbelief and shock, egg dripping down her cheek and onto the floor. "CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!" the patrons chanted. Forte and Luna were both being dangled upside down by other ponies, as they drank away at a barrel of ale each. Despite his inexperience on all things alcoholic, Forte was doing well. Though Luna, who began drinking at a young age and having her first hangover the day afterwards, had far more experience in drinking alcohol and the silly things it makes people/ponies do. After a few more seconds, Forte choked a little and ultimately lost the contest. Cheers went all around the pub as Forte and a victorious Luna were placed back on their hooves. As Victor, Luna was handed the prize of a free pint of ale, as runner up, Forte was given an alcohol free shandy. The worst consolation prize in history. Probably. *MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE KITCHEN* "So let me see if I understand this correctly," Celestia said, wiping the last of the egg off of her face, "When you all play your musical instruments, you 'pony-up'?" "Yep." "Which involves your mane growing into a 'ponytail', all of you growing pony ears, and in the case of Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Forte, growing wings?" "Yep," Sunset replied cheerily again. "And your clothes and mane becoming all glittery and sparkly?" "Yep again." "And Forte is affected by this also?" "Yep. Me too. But I don't know why Forte and I are affected. I'm not an Element of Harmony and neither is Forte." "There are many things about the Elements we do not understand. But yourself and Forte would not be affected in such a manner by accident." "But Forte only moved to Canterlot a few weeks ago." "What of it? The Elements, if it is them, clearly saw something in him. Maybe his relationship with you and your friendship with the Element's counterparts." "Perhaps. Either way, it's something I'd like to look into more, maybe Twilight could be talked into investigating." "I can't think of a reason why she wouldn't be. Now, let me get down some more eggs and then we can start the actual baking." "OK, but there's one more question Princess." "What is that my little sunshine?" "Don't you remember me telling you this yesterday?" "Did you?" Sunset nodded, "Have you forgotten?" "My apologies Sunset. Last night I had some very strong Griffon whisky. It must have affected my short term memory." "Which Griffon whisky?" "Godric Valley. A fine whiskey I must say." "How much?" "Four one litre bottles." Sunset's eyes nearly boggled out of her head, "FOUR BOTTLES! GODRIC VALLEY WHISKEY HAS 55% ALCOHOL!" "CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!" *SEVERAL HOURS LATER, THE CASTLE KITCHEN A messy Sunset and Celestia stood proud, gazing at their creations. Every available table and surface in the kitchen was covered with cakes of all kinds. A five foot tall chocolate triple layer sponge cake, covered in a thick layer of milk chocolate, then covered in chocolate sauce and sprinkled with chocolate flakes, with the sponges glued together with chocolate icing between the sponge layers, was the centrepiece of their creations. Other smaller creations included vanilla sponge cakes, angel cakes, fondant fancies, iced buns, swiss rolls, cinnamon buns, yum-yums and so on. "Well my little sunshine, I think we both can say we can be proud of our work." "It certainly makes up for all those days we lost together." "It certainly does," Celestia replied, looking down at her former student. As she did so, she spotted some specks of icing on Sunset's cheeks. "Hold still a moment," Celestia said in her motherly way, bending down close to Sunset, "You have a bit of icing on your cheek." Celestia then gently licked the icing off, "There, all gone." "Thank you," Sunset replied blushing and putting a hoof to her cheek. "You're welcome. Now, how about we get cleaned up? Forte and Luna should be returning soon." Elsewhere in Canterlot, an absolutely hammered Forte and a slightly tipsy and bleary eyed Luna staggered back to the castle, making a mess of the undisturbed snow. Forte had drank more booze than he thought possible and ate no small amount of pork scratchings and dry roasted peanuts, resulting in him passing a lot of wind; an action that brought disgusted looks from mares, but nods of approval from stallions. He was surprised however, that ponies too played darts. He had a go himself, but it turns out playing a game were you throw sharp pointy things while drunk isn't the best of ideas. Fortunately the stallion in question was too drunk to realise the dart had even entered his rear leg, fortunately missing any arteries/veins meaning the wound was minor. Thankfully, an off duty nurse cleaned him up and applied bandages, all the time he was completely unaware. Though he may wonder what happened after his hangover and he sees the bandage on his leg. On their way back to the castle though, unable to walk in a straight line, Forte staggered into a lamppost. "ARGH!" he yelped. "Forte! What is thine problem?" "The lamppost hurt me," Forte slurred, pointing a hoof at the offending lamppost and rubbing his forehead with the other. "Fear not, Forte. We shall deal this....lamppost," Luna said, staggering a little and scowling harshly at the lamppost in question. Using her magic, she ripped the lamppost out of the pavement, taking a good few chunks of pavement in the process, and held it aloft in the sky. "TO THE MOON WITH THEE!" A huge magical surge surrounded the lamppost as Luna sent it flying so fast it caused a sonic boom, shattering some windows in the area. "There. Maybe a thousand years on the moon will teach that lamppost a lesson," Luna said, giving a firm, satisfactory nod. She turned back to Forte, who was now laying on his side on the snow covered street. He tried to get up, but was far too pissed to stand. Luna staggered over to him and, enveloping him in magic, lifted him up and placed him on her back so that his legs dangled down each of her sides. Turning back in the direction of the castle, she began staggering back. She hadn't made it more than a few steps when a thud sounded behind her. "Forte, did thou hear that?" she slurred. No response. "Forte?" She turned around only to find Forte on the ground. She looked behind her to check her back and found it vacant. "Oh." She picked Forte up again and placed him on her back once more. Turning around again she headed back to the castle, only making it a few steps before another thud caused her ears to twitch. She sighed and turned around. Forte had fallen off again. Once more she picked him up and placed him on her back, and set forth for the castle again. She had made it a few feet down the street before a dull thud sounded again. Turning around she saw Forte once again lying asleep in the snow. Picking him up again and placing him on her back, she conjured up some rope and tied him securely to her barrel, keeping him in place. "There," she said, satisfied at her results, "Now you can't fall-eep!" Luna yelped as she felt something around her neck. She looked down only to see a pair of furry forelegs wrap around at the same time something soft and furry nuzzled the back of her neck, accompanied by the sound of drowsy mumbles. "Mmmmmph.....snuggly." Luna dead-panned. "We are NOT a plushie!" she grumbled. A few minutes later a still grumbling and snow covered Luna walked in through the front doors of the castle where, to her surprise, a grumpy and scowling Celestia awaited her. "Luna," she said firmly, "Would you care to explain yourself?" "Sister?" "Why have I received reports of multiple broken windows, which were preceded by a sonic boom?" "Errrrrrr......" "You got drunk again didn't you?" Luna smiled sheepishly, "Maybe?" Celestia sighed and rubbed her forehead with her hoof, "Are they Forte's hooves I can see wrapped around your neck?" "Yes. He got drunk and couldn't walk, so we put him on our back and he wrapped his hooves around our neck." Walking up to her sister and removing the snow off of her with magic, she spotted the ropes around Forte, "Why is he tied to your back?" "He kept falling off. Where is Sunset Shimmer?" "She is in our lounge eating some of the cakes we made. Come, and bring Forte. I'll use the same spell I use on you to get rid of his drunkenness." Luna followed her sister up the stairs and through the corridors until they entered their lounge. The room had a fifteen foot high walls adorned with paintings of past generals and admirals, as well as a few of Equestria of ages past; and a large window gave a fantastic panoramic view of Canterlot and Western Equestria. If one looked closely enough, on a clear day one could see Cloudsdale and Las Pegasus. Soft purple carpet with gold trimmings made the floor a comfy place to lay down if one did not want to use the large, cream coloured sofas. Laying on one of the sofas, was Sunset Shimmer. Looking up, she saw her mentor, Luna and Forte. The latter still tied to Luna's back. "Sunset," Celestia said, "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." "No, not at all. But.....why is Forte tied to Princess Luna's back?" "Apparently Forte got drunk," Celestia replied. Sunset rolled her eyes, "Imagine my surprise. What was that bang though?" "Apparently, Luna," Celestia said looking at her sister with a frown, "decided to 'teach a lamppost a lesson' after Forte drunkenly stumbled into it." "What do you mean 'teach a lamppost a lesson'?" "She ripped the offending lamppost out of the ground, along with large chunks of the pavement, and hurled the lamppost at the moon so fast it broke the sound barrier." "Wow," Sunset replied, slightly impressed. "We did what we felt was just," Luna replied defiantly. "Your actions destroyed ponies' windows and left a large impact crater on the moon!" Celestia replied harshly. "'Tis our moon. Besides, we doubt ponies will notice another crater on OUR moon." Celestia sighed tiredly, "Whatever, just untie Forte and put him down on one of the sofas." Luna quickly did so, lying him down next to Sunset, who couldn't resist a nuzzle. When she looked back up, she only saw Celestia and Luna looking at her. "What? It was just a nuzzle!" "There's nothing wrong with that Sunset," replied Celestia, "It's great to see how much you care about him." Just then a sniffing sound could be heard. It was Forte. He sniffed again, a sound followed by some mumbling. "Did you say something Forte?" asked Sunset. He mumbled something again. "Sorry?" "Food." "Pardon?" "Food." "Food? You want some cake?" asked Sunset. Forte groggily sat up onto his haunches and nodded, "I feel like shit." Sunset went wide eyed in horror at the use of strong language in front of the Princesses. Looking over to them, she was surprised to see them both piling their plates high with cakes. "Did you hear that?" Sunset asked. "Indeed," replied Luna, "'Tis nothing compared to what we heard in the pub. Who would have thought our adorable, fluffy subjects were capable of such language?" "Perhaps we should introduce a Swear Tax?" Celestia suggested. "That would increase the treasury coffers significantly." "You don't care that he swore?" Sunset asked. "Not really," Celestia replied, "It makes a nice change from the usual brown nosing I receive on a daily basis from the nobles." "So Forte swearing doesn't bother you?" Both Princesses shook their heads. "Well.....well OK then," a bewildered Sunset replied, "Let's all swear like sailors then." "That's the fucking spirit Sunset Shimmer," Luna replied raising a glass of ale. "Oh for fuck's fake!" Everyone's head turned to the regal white alicorn. Looking to where she was looking, they spotted a large slice of cream cake that had fallen onto the floor, covering the carpet with cream and icing. "Sister?" "That's ruined the cake, oh well.....I shall eat it nonetheless, no good in wasting all of it." "You are more worried about the cake than the carpet?" asked Forte, "And why do I feel like I was never as pissed as a newt?" "I used a spell to dissipate the effects of alcohol," Celestia replied, cleaning up the carpet with her magic, "I use the spell frequently on Luna." "We do not get drunk!" Luna replied grumpily, "We merely get merry with happiness!" "Your getting 'merry with happiness' destroyed several windows," Celestia retorted, "Damages that you will be paying for." "But we have no money!" "You have sixty-nine billion bits in your bank account," Celestia replied, "You can easily afford to pay for some new windows." "Sixty nine billion bits?!" Forte exclaimed in shock, "How much is that in Equssian dollars?" "About E$7 billion," replied Sunset. "Bloody Hell! How did you get so much?" "Investments when we were young, interest on our savings, precious metals and minerals, real estate, art, donations from ponies for being best princess etc. We were quite happy when we saw our bank account statement upon our return. 'Twas much smaller before our banishment." Forte did not ask about Luna's banishment, mainly because he had already been told about it by Sunset and Luna herself. Personally, he found it hard to believe that the crazy but funny pony princess that was taking him drinking was once a very angry and jealous mare who became a living embodiment of a nightmare. "But," Luna continued, "Our vast wealth allows us to help ponies in need, both directly and....more discreetly." "Discreetly?" a confused Forte asked. "Yes. Unfortunately, some nobles use what little powers they have to block attempts to help the less fortunate ponies of Equestria. By providing funding through discreet channels, we can aid said ponies without the nobles ever knowing where the money came from." "Haven't you ever thought about getting rid of the nobles?" "We would but unfortunately they would still find a means to thwart our attempts at creating a fairer Equestria, whether it being employing yes-ponies to do things on their behalf or intimidating powerless ponies into submission and silence." "Soooo, you're stuck with them?" "Unfortunately. But fortunately, we know who we are dealing with, so we tend to know how to thwart them in return." "So dealing with nobles is like a game of chess?" "In a sense." Forte picked a piece of cake and stuffed it in his mouth, closing his eyes and emitting groans of pleasure. Completely oblivious to the bemused looks he was getting from the others. It was only after he swallowed and opened his eyes did he notice the them looking at him, stifling giggles. "Did you enjoy that?" asked Sunset. "A little." "Good, Princess Celestia and I didn't spend all afternoon baking just for amusement. Anyway, hold still a moment, you have a bit of icing on your nose." "My nose?" Forte repeated, going cross eyed as he attempted to look at the end of his own nose. Instead all he saw and felt was Sunset licking his nose clean. "There, much better," Sunset said happily, picking up her own cake, "Oh by the way, Princess Celestia and I arranged for you to meet your counterpart." "Really?" Forte asked, his ears perking up in excitement. "Really really." "What about my parent's counterparts?" A sour grimace appeared on the faces of Celestia and Sunset. "What?" asked Fore, noting their looks. "I'm afraid that will not be possible," Celestia replied softly. "Why not?" Celestia took a deep breath to ready herself once more. Telling Forte about the deaths of his counterpart's parents deaths, brought unpleasant memories of the day pony Forte came to her for special dispensation to live alone despite still being a minor. Though she didn't personally visit him, except for introducing him to his social worker, she did keep a close watch on him just in case he needed help. "They died many years ago," Celestia said softly. "Oh?" Forte replied, suddenly feeling sick, and not from the cake, "Sorry. I didn't mean to-" "It's quite alright Forte," Celestia replied gently, "I did not expect you to know. But do not worry though, Forte....your counterpart, gave consent for you to be told." "He knows I'm here?" "Indeed. He's just as eager to see you as you are too see him." "When and where will we be meeting?" "In Ponyville, tomorrow. I'll arrange for a train ticket for you to be ready tomorrow morning when you wake up." "What about Sunset?" "She'll be staying with me tomorrow, spending sometime with me in open court and attending some appointments." "Cool." "Your counterpart is already in Ponyville, having spent the day with Twilight." "So she is interested in him?" a gleeful Sunset asked. "She is," Celestia replied, stuffing some cake into her mouth, "But she denies it." "What does Princess Cadence have to say about it?" "She's already planning the wedding," replied Celestia. "Isn't that a little premature?" asked Forte. "Cadence is the alicorn of love-" Forte couldn't help but snicker, prompting a frown from Celestia. "The alicorn of love," Celestia stressed, a slightly irritated, "Knows many things when it comes to relationships and love. What she doesn't know about such things isn't worth knowing." "In a book in my world, there's a book with a government department called the 'Ministry of Love'." "Oh?" Celestia replied, intrigued, "Is that like what Cadence does?" "If Cadence arrests people, or ponies in your case, for thought crimes and then tortures them until they betray the person/pony they love and instead proclaim their love for Big Brother.....then yes." Celestia, and Luna, just blinked. "What?" Celestia asked, everything Forte said having gone over her head. Before Forte could reply however, Sunset butted in. "I can tell you about it tomorrow if you like? I've read the book myself." "Certainly. Until then, how about we eat more cake and maybe find a few games to play?" "Can we go drinking again?" asked Forte. "Yes sister, can we?" "No. You both got drunk earlier and you Luna vandalised public and private property. If I allow you both to go drinking again the entire city may be ripped off the mountainside." "But sister," Luna whined, pouting, "Night time is when all the fun ponies come out to play." Celestia could only sigh. How old is my sister again? she thought. *MEANWHILE, IN TWILIGHT'S CASTLE Twilight and pony Forte sat snuggled together, a blanker draped over them both. On the table in front of them was two large hot chocolates topped with whipped cream and marshmallows, and held in Twilight's magical grip was a large book about the origin of Equestrian fairytales. "Who would have thought a living fairytale like Equestria would actually have fairytales?" pony Forte asked. "I know. Going into the human world was like living in a fantasy land like The Ancient Scrolls or Pony Runner." "I wouldn't mind visiting that world myself, would that be possible?" "I don't see why not, we'd have to be careful though. Two Forte's going around could cause a lot of confusion and problems." "Why not just explain things to the natives?" "Things are different in the human world. If you went there and said you were from a magical land of talking ponies you'd just be laughed at." "Really? It's that different there?" Twilight nodded, "It is. But I'm sure Forte would explain more when he gets here tomorrow." "I can't wait to see him." "I'll introduce you-" "HEY TWILIGHT!!" The sudden opening of the door and booming voice startled both Twilight and pony Forte, causing them to fall to the floor with Twilight on top of her house guest. The looked into each other's eyes and both blushed profusely, both of them too embarrassed to day anything. The lingering silence was broken by the sound of hearty laughter. "HA HA HA HA HA HA! You guys should see yourself!" Fumbling around, Twilight and pony Forte both managed to get to their hooves and look at who the intruder was. "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight bellowed. "Yes Twilight?" "Why did you barge in? You scared us both!" "Sorry, but you both did look cute together." "What do you want?" "I just came to see if you guys were interested in coming out with the rest of us. It's quiz night at the pub." Twilight looked to pony Forte, "Well? Wanna go and win a quiz?" "Sure. I haven't been to a quiz night in ages." "Great!" Rainbow bellowed, "I'm gonna team up with you Twi." "Why?" "Because the grand prize is the Ultimate Daring Do collectionl. All of her books in hardback and collector's edition covers and signed by Daring Do herself!" "Who will get the books if we win?" "What do you mean?" "Well, if we are a team and we win, wouldn't it be fair to share the prize?" "S-s-sure, I guess so." "Tell you what, if we win, I'll keep the books safe in my personal library under powerful protection spells, and you can read them whenever you want. Is that OK?" "That's awesome!" Rainbow replied, flying down and hugging Twilight tightly, "Now come on! We have a quiz to win!" MEANWHILE ON THE MOON The lamppost that Luna ripped out earlier laid motionless on the dusty surface of the airless natural satellite, having joined numerous other lampposts and the occasional post box; doomed to spend eternity in the dusty, airless prison.