If there were two things Twilight had learned about her fellow MSF members, it was that they could get rather passionate about the things they liked, and that that passion often caused them to become rowdy. It didn’t come up often, but she’d seen them get riled up at times while she was trying to do her work for the different Units. Today she was getting to feel what it was like to share in their excitement as she stood with Amanda, Paz, and Chico on one of the R&D decks with a good number of the Mother Base staff behind and to the sides of them, all of them watching the spectacle unfold before their eyes.
In the middle of the deck, twenty-two of Mother Base’s best men, half of them Nicaraguan, half of them Costa Rican, were playing a game of soccer, ten of the men on each team running and kicking the ball around the deck while the eleventh stood in front of the goals that the R&D team had built. Twilight had helped them map out and set up the playing field earlier, having done a little research on the sport due to its popularity among the soldiers. The deck wasn’t big enough for them to set up a proper sized field, so they’d had to compromise; as a result, it wasn’t much bigger than the field CHS had. Twilight had felt like she was letting everyone down because she couldn’t get them a regulation size field, but once the match started, the excitement of the players and spectators helped make the feeling go away.
The game had started a little while ago. The spectators had been banging empty cans and shouting cheers through handmade megaphones before it even started and they continued to do so as the match went on. Despite not being Costa Rican or Nicaraguan, it hadn’t taken long for Twilight to get swept up in the excitement after Huey, who was serving as the referee, blew the whistle to signal the start of the game. While she did cheer for both teams, she found herself cheering for the Costa Rica team more as she thought it would help Paz feel better after she had had to be persuaded by Chico to come watch.
The men’s training made them quite capable physically, but they weren’t as good when it came to playing the game. Their skills weren’t as honed, causing them to lose control of the ball or kick it too hard on more than one occasion, and they got a lot more physical with each other than Twilight thought was allowed. The book she had read had laid out quite clearly what was allowed during a game; all the shoving and shoulders being thrown would not be allowed in a real game, but nobody seemed to mind how rough they got while they were playing, so she had to remind herself that they were soldiers and not professional soccer players.
Despite this, there were times where Huey had to play his part as the referee and intervene. The most prominent time this happened was about halfway through the match, when two players crashed into each other. Rather than get up and laugh it off, they began shouting at one another, causing the game to come to a stop. Seeing this, Huey grabbed the control stick for his wheelchair with his right hand and slammed it forward, rolling out onto the field as he blew his whistle. The sound wasn’t enough to get them to stop, but his wheelchair bumping and getting between them was. “What’s gotten into you two?” he asked.
The Nicaraguan player, Python, spoke first, “He crashed into me!”
The Costa Rican player, Hedgehog, retorted, “He hit me first!”
Python glared at him, “I did not!”
Hedgehog glared back, “You did too!”
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
Huey blew his whistle again, swiftly ending their endless argument. As he let go of it and let it drop down against his chest, he said, “I thought we had forsaken our countries, become one with the earth. We’re not competing for national pride here, and we are not fighting for the good of any one country. This is not a war. Soccer’s a peaceful sport, am I right?” The two men looked at him for a moment before silently nodding in complete agreement. With a nod, Huey called for the game to resume, one of the players kicking the ball back into play once he was back on the sidelines.
Team Costa Rica had taken the lead early on in the game and they continued to hold it when the game resumed. When there were about ten minutes left in the match, however, Otter, one of the Costa Rican players, took a hit and lost his footing, falling down hard onto the deck. The whole thing didn’t look like it had been worse than anything else that had happened during the game, but it became apparent quickly that he was having trouble getting back up. Once he saw this, Huey blew into his whistle and called for a time-out. Immediately, a pair of staff members from the Sick Bay ran out onto the field and helped him up, supporting him as they led him off the field to the small tent that had been set up in case anyone got hurt.
One of the staff members came back a minute later and informed everyone that Otter would be okay, but also that he would not be able to return to the match. This left Team Costa Rica a man short and Huey felt that they should keep things even between the two teams like they had so far. He turned his wheelchair around to look at the spectators, looking for a fan to fill in for Otter. After a minute, his eyes fell on Paz and he pointed to her as he said, “Paz!”
The young girl looked surprised at this and looked to her sides before she looked back at Huey and asked, “Me?”
Huey nodded, “Yeah! There’s not much time left, and you’ll be a great replacement!” All the players soon voiced their agreement with his decision and the spectating soldiers began urging her to go help Team Costa Rica. Twilight could see from the look on her face that she did not agree with the decision, but before she could try to say something, Paz gave a small nod and stepped out onto the field, all the Costa Rican players warmly welcoming her to the team.
Twilight was a bit worried for Paz when the game started up again, but fortunately, Paz’s presence on the field caused all the men to ease up and act a bit more like they were supposed to act. At first, Paz wasn’t really into the game, but soon she was chasing after the ball with the rest of them, causing any worries about her playing with the men to fade away.
Later in the game, Paz ended up with a loose ball on Team Nicaragua’s side not far from the goal. As she kicked it closer, Twilight cheered, “You can do it, Paz!”
Chico also called, “Go for it! Shoot!” Urged on by their cheers, Paz kicked the ball as hard as she could, only to have the shot blocked by the goalkeeper. She looked disappointed and irritated by this, but it seemed to motivate her since she began to seek out the ball more.
By the time Huey blew the whistle to signal the game’s end, Team Costa Rica had lost the lead, but it had been a close game up until the very end. The players on both teams congratulated each other while the spectators cheered for them, the game having been enjoyed by all. Some players and spectators left afterwards, having work to get back to, while others hung around on the deck. Paz fell into the latter group, joining the soldiers that had sprawled out on the deck.
Twilight made her way over to Paz and sat on her haunches next to her, saying when she glanced up at her, “Hey Paz. That was a good game. What did you think?”
The girl smiled, “It was fun. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I’d made a single goal, but it was still exhilarating.”
Twilight smiled sheepishly as she said, “Well, uh, if it makes you feel any better, you did a lot better just now than I did the first time I played.”
Paz looked at her curiously, “You’ve played fútbol before, Twilight?”
Twilight replied, “Only once, and… well, at the time, I was going through some… complications and did not play well at all. I wasn’t even able to kick the ball towards the goal properly.”
She noticed Paz’s expression shift to a concerned look, but when she spoke, it was apparent she was trying not to laugh. “Really? You must’ve been going through something very serious, Twilight.”
Twilight waved a hoof, “Oh no, nothing serious. I just… I’m not very good at sports. I’ll watch and of course cheer for my friends, but I’m terrible at them. Same with arts and crafts, actually.” Paz couldn’t hold back any longer at that and started giggling. Twilight didn’t mind, though.
As Paz calmed down, she looked to her left and found a familiar black cat padding towards her. “Nuke…” she cooed as the cat stopped next to her and laid down. She looked back up at Twilight and the two friends looked up at the sky, watching the clouds drift by.
________________________________________
“So that’s what you guys did sometimes?” Spike asked after Twilight finished.
“Sometimes, Spike. It was a fitting game to play considering where Mother Base was located and where a lot of the staff had come from. We even had a soccer tournament or two,” Twilight said.
“Is that all you did?” Rainbow asked.
Twilight replied, “Well, no. But there’s only so much you can do on a fortress out in the middle of the ocean, Rainbow.”
Pinkie piped up, “What about parties? You must’ve had parties sometimes! That’s the best thing to do for someone’s birthday! You guys celebrated birthdays, didn’t you?”
Twilight looked at her and said, “You’re right, Pinkie, and yes, we did have parties.” Pinkie had an ecstatic look on her face at that; Twilight then added, “But we only had one a month.”
Pinkie’s expression shifted to one of disappointment. “What?! Boo! How can you only have one birthday party a month?! Unless…” She gasped and asked, “Does everyone on Mother Base share the same birthday?!”
Twilight answered, “No, Pinkie. Snake and Miller had decided long before that they would have one birthday party for all the soldiers whose birthdays fell in that month so that everyone could have an excuse to enjoy themselves.”
Despite her friend’s words, Pinkie looked sad at this. “Birthday parties aren’t just an excuse to have fun. No party is like that. The most important thing is they’re meant to celebrate someone’s super special day, for everyone to share the day with them. Why wouldn’t Snakey and Miller want to do that?”
Twilight looked at her quietly, the serious and emotional tone in the pink pony’s soft words leaving her unable to reply right away. She had to think about her response for a moment before she said, “Well… there are only two reasons that I can think of at the moment. One is that since MSF was a new type of business, Miller especially didn’t think we would do good work or very much of it if we had to plan to celebrate everyone’s birthday individually. The other is that, with the way they did parties, it would be very difficult.”
Applejack asked, “What do ya mean by that, Twilight? They did a lotta fancy, festive stuff fer their birthday parties?”
Twilight looked at the orange earth pony as she said, “No, Applejack, MSF’s parties definitely can’t hold a candle to Pinkie’s. The soldiers’ idea of a good time is smoking and drinking a lot.”
Rainbow perked up at that. “You guys drank at your birthday parties? Was there cider?!” she excitedly asked.
Twilight hesitated, her right hoof rocking back and forth in front of her as she said, “Uh, they served alcohol, yes. I know they brought beer; maybe they snuck some cider in sometimes. Alcohol’s definitely not easy to get out in the middle of the ocean; it’s not like they made their own.”
Rarity asked, “But even with that, the parties weren’t very exciting?”
Twilight shrugged, “Not really. They weren’t really the types to play party games or dance. Everyone mostly sat around smoking, drinking, and making noise. We’d come together over the cake, but…”
Pinkie suddenly interrupted her, “Cake?! I thought you said you never saw a cake the whole time you were at Mother Base, Twilight!”
Twilight refrained from rolling her eyes, instead letting out a sigh from between her lips as she looked at her friend. “I never saw any cupcakes, Pinkie; that’s what I said. They’d always make a regular cake for the birthday parties and that’s all they would bake.”
Pinkie huffed, “Their parties would be so much better if they did bake cupcakes.”
Cadance spoke, “So, from what you’re saying, it sounds like their birthday parties were kind of all the same, Twilight.”
Twilight nodded, “Pretty much, Cadance. The first one I went to did surprise me because I didn’t know how they did their parties, but all the ones after that weren’t much different.”
________________________________________
Twilight snorted and tried to hold her breath as she and Paz passed by one of the occupied tables in the Mess Hall. When Miller had told her that Mother Base would be celebrating its monthly birthday party for everyone whose birthday fell in December, she hadn’t known what to expect, but like everyone else, the chance to kick back, relax, and do something fun was hard for her to pass up. Both she and Paz had been leaving their quarters for the Mess Hall at roughly the same time, so they decided to walk there together, chatting the whole way.
It had started out innocently enough. The staff in the Mess Hall brought out a large cake that they had been baking all day for the birthday soldiers, they all sang for them, and they picked one of the soldiers to blow out the candles. Any hopes that Twilight had for the party being anything remotely resembling Pinkie’s parties or being something low-key were quickly dashed when they rolled out kegs full of beer and cartons of cigarettes after the applause died down. It nearly turned into a stampede as everyone tried to be the first to get their mug filled and grab a pack of cigarettes, but they settled down after they all got what they wanted, most of them sitting down at the tables as they began to enjoy themselves.
Twilight covered her cough with a wing and brought her mug to her mouth afterwards, both her and Paz drinking water for the time being. The smoke from the cigarettes was starting to add up, some groups already having clouds over them, and it forced the two to steer clear of the tables in order to avoid the secondhand smoke. The two wanted to join in on the festivities, but the soldiers were all sitting close together, too engrossed in their conversations to even look over at the two as they walked by.
They were soon approached by Miller, the man having a mug full of beer as well. “Hey Paz, Twilight. Enjoying the party?” he asked.
Paz nodded while Twilight said, “Yeah, it’s… nice. It’s not like the parties I’ve been to back home, but the noise in here feels familiar.”
Miller nodded and replied, “Hope they’re not being too crude. The men don’t get a chance to cut loose like this often, but they need to know if they’re going too far. If anyone says or does anything to either of you, let me know right away.” The two gave him a nod and he left to go chat with one of the soldiers. Twilight watched him as he walked away, noticing he was swaying a bit. She mentally wondered if he was already starting to get inebriated.
She looked next to her a moment later, only to realize Paz was gone. Looking around, she began to walk around the Mess Hall searching for her. She soon found her clinking glasses with one of the soldiers near the center table and guessed they were already keeping each other company. She’d noticed everyone seemed to have someone while she was walking around. Amanda and Chico were talking amongst their fellow Sandinistas and former FSLN soldiers, Miller was trying to flirt with Cécile, and Snake was talking with Huey and some of the other R&D staff that were working on ZEKE. It was good to see them all enjoying themselves, but without anyone to talk to, Twilight, for the first time in a while, began to feel like she was alone, out of place.
Shaking her head to get the thought out, her expression became determined as she resolved to throw herself into one of the groups and join her fellow soldiers… once she refilled her drink. She noticed her mug was empty when she looked down at it, not remembering when she finished it. She walked back up to the front counter and asked for another glass of water. While she was waiting, she looked around and spotted Dr. Strangelove sitting by herself near the wall to her left. Twilight looked at her for a moment before a small “Squee!” escaped her lips, her eyes shining brightly. Dr. Strangelove didn’t have anyone to talk to either, and the two of them hadn’t spent much time together since Strangelove joined MSF. It was perfect.
Twilight took her mug of water with her magic and trotted over to Dr. Strangelove’s table. She stopped next to it and said, “Hello, Dr. Strangelove!”
The woman looked up from her mug with a start and stared at Twilight from behind her sunglasses for a moment. “Oh. Hello. I didn’t see you there,” she remarked.
“Do you mind if I join you?” Twilight eagerly asked.
Strangelove stared at her for a moment before saying, “I thought the Boss said we were free here.”
Twilight looked confused at this, “Uh…”
Strangelove’s eyebrows furrowed and she sharply said, “Just sit down.” Twilight flinched at her tone and quickly slid onto the bench across from her. “So, what did you want?” Strangelove asked after a moment.
“Well, I just wanted to talk. I mean, if that’s okay with you. I saw you sitting by yourself and thought you might like some company, but if not, I can go,” Twilight said quickly, babbling a bit.
Strangelove looked at her for a moment before sighing and saying, “I apologize. I’m not used to this sort of thing. It is a nice thing for the Boss to do for his soldiers, but I never had the chance to experience anything like this when I was younger.”
Twilight said, “I didn’t either until I moved to Ponyville. I got so caught up in my studies and books and trying to take care of Spike and… I just never really had the time. How come you didn’t get to go to parties, Doctor?”
Strangelove answered simply, “My skin, for one.”
Twilight looked at her for a second before she realized what she was getting at. “Oh, I see. You… Is that the reason why you always keep sunscreen with you?”
Strangelove nodded, “Yes. My skin is very sensitive. I’ve had to take care of it ever since I was a little girl. That kept me from going out much. I only went outside at night, even when it wasn’t advisable. I never really cared for how other kids got along with each other.”
Twilight nodded, “I see.” She watched as Strangelove reached into one of the pockets of her vest and pulled out a small tin. She placed it on the table and opened it, revealing brown powder inside. Strangelove took a small amount between her index finger and thumb and held it up to her nose, where she lightly inhaled the powder. “What’s that?” Twilight asked after she finished putting the tin away.
“It’s called snuff tobacco. It’s good in my field of work because I don’t have to deal with smoke ruining my equipment,” Strangelove answered. She glanced down at the alicorn’s mug and remarked, “Well, aren’t you the healthy one. Or are you horses not supposed to drink alcoholic beverages?”
Twilight replied, “Well, I imagine we’re pretty much the same when it comes to that. It’s just… I’ve never actually ‘drank’ before, but I did sample some alcohol once. See, my friend Applejack… she and her family are in the apple business.” Strangelove gave a short nod to indicate she was listening. “Because of their large orchards, they do a lot of things with their apples, and one of their big times to sell products in Ponyville is cider season.”
Strangelove raised an eyebrow, “They spend an entire season selling fermented cider to the town?”
Twilight replied, “No, during cider season, they sell the regular kind, and it’s really good. The last cider season was the first one I went to. After the season was over, Applejack took us to one of the cellars on the farm where they keep a private stash of the fermented cider and offered us a chance to try some. I only took one sip since the taste was a bit much for me. Not that that bothered my friend Rainbow Dash; she was very happy to get an extra glass of cider. I think she had a bit much to drink that day. A-Anyway, I wasn’t really into it and while I’m curious how this beer tastes, that’s kind of what’s holding me back.” Strangelove nodded in understanding.
Before either of them could say anything else, they both heard Miller, now thoroughly drunk, call out, “Hey, everyone! C’mere and take a look at the REAL Kazuhira Miller!” He then immediately dropped his pants and mooned everyone, all of the soldiers bursting out laughing at the display.
Twilight and Strangelove could see from where they were sitting and while Twilight looked shocked at Miller’s behavior, Strangelove looked disgusted as she lowered her head slightly and held a hand to her forehead. “Disgracefully appalling,” she muttered to herself.
After a few moments, Twilight turned back to Strangelove as the laughter began to die down and remarked, “Well, that just happened.”
Strangelove looked up at her and said, “Yes. Yes, it did. Now let’s never speak of it again or else I’m going to have to force myself to drink until I forget it.”
Twilight gave her an odd look. “That… would probably require a copious amount of alcohol. You really don’t want to remember seeing that?” she asked.
Strangelove had a flat look on her face that was hidden slightly by her sunglasses. “I’m not particularly fond of men, and naked men are not my cup of tea. They don’t… interest me.”
Twilight hid her mouth behind her mug as she murmured to herself, “I wonder if that’s the reason Huey called her a basket case…”
Her attempt did not fool Strangelove as the woman demanded, “What did you say?”
Twilight looked up at her in alarm and stammered, “Uh… I was just… thinking about Huey…”
Rather than demand to know why she was thinking of Huey like Twilight expected, Strangelove instead spoke, “Ugh. Don’t get me started on him. He’s so wishy-washy, so demeaning to himself, and yet so proud of that nickname I gave him. He tells it to everyone like it’s his real name and is so proud of it, but the rest of the time, he’s as submissive as a drone. I can’t stand it. He needs to learn to actually be a man.”
Twilight wasn’t feeling comfortable with the way Strangelove was ranting about Huey. She wasn’t sure if it had anything to do with how much she had drunk so far, but when Strangelove paused, she decided it was time to try to change the subject. “You know, uh, magic really is kind of widespread throughout Equestria. Everypony seems to have some, even if they’re not readily aware of it. I didn’t become really interested in learning everything I could about it until I saw Princess Celestia raise the Sun when the Summer Sun Celebration was in Canterlot when I was a filly. It was at that moment I wanted to learn all I could and, after my shaky entrance exam, I became her personal student. I got my cutie mark, representing my talent for magic, at that point and, years later, she let me move to Ponyville to learn the magic of friendship and I got my wings, becoming Equestria’s newest alicorn princess.”
Strangelove looked at her curiously as she finished talking. “I… see. That’s all rather interesting, but what does it have to do with anything?” she asked.
Twilight tapped her hooves together, “Well, while we were talking, I remembered the work you put into making Peace Walker and what you’re doing now with ZEKE. I’ve been curious, so… I thought if I shared with you how I started out before I became the pony you see now, you might be willing to tell me how you got into researching artificial intelligence.”
Strangelove regarded her for a moment before she began, “I was about ten years old when I began to show potential in the subjects of mathematics and logic. A professor by the name of Alan Turing took me and taught me more than a regular school would have. My interest in artificial intelligence developed during this time and I originally planned to be a computer engineer, but everything changed when NASA recruited me for the Mercury Project. And not long after, I met her…”
Twilight asked, “‘Her’? You mean… The Boss?”
Strangelove gave a curt nod before continuing, “She was brought on as a backup pilot and advisor. In the time that we were together, she was an incredible woman. She fascinated me.” A dark look appeared on her face, “And yet to them, she was someone who wasn’t worth remembering, someone who shouldn’t have lived as long as she did.”
Twilight said, “I remember you mentioned that The Boss really went through a lot for America. What happened with this Mercury Project?”
Strangelove explained, “America was falling behind Russia in the race to get to space. They had to do something to get there first and The Boss was chosen to pilot the experimental craft that would go into outer space. They wanted to put a window on the craft, which would increase the risk of being irradiated. I did what I could to try to get them to reconsider choosing her; I even tried to report that part of her brain had been damaged, but she wouldn’t let me. I couldn’t help her, but I was there for her when the craft was launched on the 21st of April, 1961.”
Twilight nervously asked, “Is… what I’ve read about that day true?”
Strangelove answered, “I’m afraid so. The Boss did not beat Major Gagarin into space, and as I feared, she suffered severe life-threatening injuries due to the exposure. She survived and was hospitalized, but they said it would’ve been better if she had come back dead. I never saw her again after that, and then she went on to be killed by Snake.” She looked down sadly, “The world would be a much different place if she were still alive today…”
Twilight breathed, “Wow… In some ways, she and Princess Celestia are a lot alike…” Noticing the sharp look Strangelove shot up at her, she quickly clarified, “B-By that I mean they’ve both done a lot for their countries! I mean, obviously, The Boss went through a lot and didn’t get to see what the future held for your world, but she fought for the sake of America and the rest of the world. And Princess Celestia has given a lot for Equestria. It’s not easy to rule a country for a thousand years while waiting and hoping that your efforts to save the one closest to you don’t end up in vain. That’s… all I meant.”
Strangelove sat up again, looking a bit intrigued. “A thousand years? Your princess has been alive that long?” she asked.
Twilight nodded, “Yes, and so have a few other things from back then. Anyway, a thousand years ago, her sister Luna fell to darkness due to despair and jealousy and became Nightmare Moon, whose main goal was to cover Equestria in eternal night. Celestia was forced to banish her to the Moon in order to stop her and spent the next thousand years taking care of Equestria without her while still hoping that the past could be forgiven. And thanks to me and my friends, she got the reunion she was hoping for…” She paused to take a drink, only to realize that her mug was empty and so was Strangelove’s. They must’ve emptied them at some point during all their talking and she didn’t notice before.
Strangelove took notice of this as well and, after a few seconds, stood up and reached across the table to grab Twilight’s mug, the lavender alicorn looking up at her curiously. “Here, let me get you another drink. Better yet, I’ll have them fill yours with beer so you can give it a try. I believe I could go for another; it would seem drinking is more enjoyable when something interesting is being talked about.” Twilight turned her head and followed her with her eyes as she walked over to the counter with both mugs, wondering if she had really meant what she said.
________________________________________
“I believe you are right, Twilight. That sort of party sounds only slightly more interesting than the gatherings that the noble ponies of Canterlot have,” Luna remarked.
Rarity looked at the Lunar Princess in surprise. “Surely you don’t mean that, Princess Luna! The nobles have such extravagant parties. How could such a boorish party possibly compete?” she asked. She realized what she said and looked sheepishly at Twilight, “Er, no offense, Twilight.” Twilight simply waved a hoof in reply.
Rainbow spoke up, “I’ll tell you how it’s better, Rarity: the fact that those soldiers drank at their parties. That goes a long way to making a boring party bearable. I’d still rather go to one of Pinkie Pie’s parties, but I wouldn’t mind going to a party where you can drink a lot sometimes too.”
Applejack grunted, “I know you wouldn’t, Rainbow. You’ve made that vey clear since last cider season.” She pressed a hoof against her face, “Ah should not have showed y’all where we keep our hard cider…”
Shining looked at Twilight and asked, “So… did you drink a lot at that party, Twilight?”
Twilight sighed and said, “Like I said, I did keep drinking whatever was in front of me out of reflex while I was caught up in something else, so yes, I did drink more alcohol than I originally intended to that night.” She let out a sudden yelp when she felt something curling around her hind leg and soon found Discord wrapped around her body, the draconequus looking down at her with a cheeky grin.
“Oh? Do tell, Twilight!” he said.
She regarded him with a flat look, “You really think I’m going to lie to please you, Discord, especially like this?”
Discord’s grin faded, but he still had an amused look on his face. “Oh, come on, Twilight. If you had more to drink than you planned to, you must’ve gone overboard in more ways than one. Surely you remember something,” he prodded.
“I remember waking up with a terrible headache. I know that much at least,” Twilight replied.
Discord smirked, “Trying to be tight-lipped, are we? I’m sure with a little bit of my magic… we could all see what you did. Actually, doing that would be a lot more interesting than hearing you talk about all this, come to think of it.” A flicker of fear crossed Twilight’s face at that, which Discord noticed.
Before he could bring it up, he was suddenly powerfully yanked backwards with a yelp, the rapid uncoiling of his body causing Twilight to spin in place and dazing her afterwards. Discord was turned around as he sailed through the air and found himself hovering in front of Celestia, the Solar Princess having a stern look on her face. “Discord, that’s enough. I did not invite you so you could behave maliciously. I’m willing to overlook what you did just now… but I don’t think Twilight’s family shares my view of things,” she calmly said. She glanced over at Shining Armor and saw that he was still fuming, still seemingly on the verge of exploding after seeing Discord wrap up his sister the way he did.
Rather than follow her gaze, Discord’s expression became one of boredom and he replied, “Oh fine, Celestia. I’ve been getting rather bored being cooped up in here. I’m going for some chaos.” He snapped his fingers to teleport out of her grip, reappearing near one of the windows and flying out through it.
While Fluttershy looked where he had been worriedly, Shining muttered under his breath, “Maybe don’t come back while you’re at it.”
Celestia’s attention was redirected when Raven came into the dining hall, the princess noticing her silent entrance and leaning down to listen as the mare whispered into her ear. She nodded to Raven after she was done and then addressed everyone, “Everypony, I apologize, but I do have some responsibilities to take care of right now. Why don’t you all go and enjoy the day in Canterlot in the meantime? We can meet up again around lunchtime and continue Twilight’s tale then.” Everyone in the room nodded in agreement and Celestia rose to her hooves, walking with Raven out of the dining hall.
As she walked with her friends and family out of the dining hall, Twilight blushed slightly as she thought to herself, “Thank goodness. I really don’t want to mention what else I remember to everyone, especially Discord. I was never told I did anything crazy the night before, but that morning, I definitely woke up to more than just a headache.”
________________________________________
A quiet, prolonged groan escaped Twilight’s mouth as she slowly returned to the waking world. Her head was killing her and her senses felt dull. “Ugh… What did I do last night? Uh, let’s see, mental checklist… Went to the MSF birthday party, sat down with Dr. Strangelove, started talking, started drinking beer, kept talking… That’s all I can remember. I must’ve had quite a bit to drink,” she thought while keeping her eyes closed, feeling like it would hurt to open them now. Not that she minded; she felt quite comfortable and warm. Warmer than she usually was when she crawled under the covers of her bed, actually…
As she became more aware of things, she felt like there was something wrapped around her midsection, going all the way around to her back. Whatever it was, it felt warm; she also felt warmth against her underside. She was starting to feel a little too warm, so she decided to get away from whatever she was pressing against. As she did this, she felt whatever was wrapped around her not only come with her, but try to resist her, pulling her back in. She tried to move away two more times and was met with the same result each time. Agitated now, she opened her eyes a little to see what it was. As soon as her eyes adjusted, they went wide and she suddenly didn’t feel warm anymore.
“Oh no. Nonononononononononono! I’m not awake yet; I have to still be dreaming! This is not really happening!” she exclaimed. With her head turned slightly upwards, she could see the face of Dr. Strangelove, the woman’s silver hair slightly messy where it made contact with her pillow. What she felt wrapped around her was Strangelove’s arms. Twilight felt she like she was going to die as she realized she was being snuggled like a cuddly toy. And even worse, aside from her slightly loose black bra, the woman was topless.
This was too much for Twilight’s mind to deal with, so she fell back on base instinct. With a loud cry, she raised her hooves and pushed herself away from Strangelove, getting out of her grip and tumbling down onto the floor back first. She groaned as she rolled onto her right side, every bit of pain feeling worse than normal in her current state. She glanced up when she heard a moan and realized Strangelove was waking up. She forced herself up onto her unsteady legs a moment later and staggered towards the door, bumping into the wall several times as she went.
Before she reached the door, she looked back and saw that Strangelove was raising herself up with her arms, the covers having fallen off a little as a result. Twilight didn’t keep looking; instead, she focused her magic into her horn and vanished a moment later with a small burst, reappearing in the middle of her own quarters. Now that she was alone and in more familiar surroundings, she tried to get her mind to stop working in overdrive and return to normal processing.
A little while later, Twilight stood under one of the showers, the water falling on her as she used a sponge to clean herself off. Amanda and the other female soldiers going through the showers noticed that she was unusually quiet, but she waved their concerns off, saying she had a lot on her mind at the moment. In reality, she hardly registered them any more than the water, her mind unable to let go of what she woke up to. She had so many questions and almost none of them were ones she wanted to bring up with anyone else.
She froze up when she heard Dr. Strangelove’s voice, one of the female soldiers talking to her on her way out of the showers. Twilight’s mind went into warp drive again, trying to figure out what to do. It was to no avail as Strangelove stepped into the shower area before she could figure anything out, the woman naked as she stepped up to the shower next to Twilight and began using it. At this, Twilight decided there was no getting around it any longer and stayed where she was, bracing herself for the hate-filled words Strangelove was no doubt going to say to her since they were alone.
For a whole minute, not a word was exchanged between the two as they continued to wash themselves. Twilight knew Strangelove was not one to mince words, so this silent treatment was both unexpected and not at all reassuring. Finally, just when it seemed like Twilight was going to drown in her own anxiety and dread, Strangelove spoke, “That was an interesting way to start the day, wasn’t it?”
Twilight gave a swift nod, “Y-Yes, Doctor…”
Strangelove glanced over at the pony, “I must’ve given you quite a start.”
She was handling what had happened a lot differently than she had expected, but this didn’t put Twilight at ease. She still felt that Strangelove could explode at her at any moment; still, she turned her head to look up at the woman as she carefully said, “Um… yes.”
Even Strangelove could see that the pony next to her looked incredibly tense, like she thought she could do something to her. She let this thought sink in for a moment before she spoke, “What? Stop giving me that look. If one or both of us had actually agreed to whatever happened last night and been in our right minds, I would be upset. However, considering how much of last night is a blur to me, I imagine it’s the same for you.”
Twilight nodded, “Yes. I can’t remember what happened after the party.”
Strangelove said, “Then I don’t think there’s any reason to dwell on it.”
Twilight asked, “What? Even though…”
Strangelove cut her off, “I still had my pants on. I became so inebriated that I can’t remember what I did; do you really think I would’ve been able to or wanted to put them back on in such a state?”
Twilight replied, “I… I guess not.”
Strangelove nodded and said, “I hope you’re not disappointed.”
Twilight flinched and looked up at her in shock. “Wha… Why would I be disappointed?” she asked.
Strangelove shrugged, “I don’t know. From what I do remember of last night, I suppose there could be someone who would be interested in you and your qualities. Some nice mare or even a colt who would love to be together with you. Possibly even someone from another species could find you attractive… but I can safely say that’s not me. I’m quite comfortable sticking to my own species. And even if I were interested, I already have my eyes set on someone.”
Twilight could only stare up at Strangelove as she talked. She couldn’t believe that she was treating this like a normal conversation, yet deep down it made her feel better. “This is more like the Strangelove I know,” she thought to herself.
Strangelove turned her head to look down at the pony, “At any rate, there doesn’t appear to have been any harm done, so I think we can agree to never speak of this again.” She then turned around all the way and knelt down, looking Twilight straight in the eye with her piercing blue eyes, “And you had better not say a word about this to anyone, because if you do… well, I’m not sure what I would do, but I’m certain neither one of us would like it. Understand?” Her earlier emotions rekindled, Twilight nodded her head rapidly a few times. “Good.” She then stood up and turned back to her shower. She finished after a couple of seconds and turned the water off. “I suppose I will see you around then,” she said as she turned around and left the shower area to go dry off and get dressed.
Twilight remained motionless where she was for a few moments before she began scrubbing herself with the sponge again. She finished up after a minute and reached up to turn her shower off. As she used her magic to bring her towel over and started drying herself off, she thought to herself, “If it’s not too busy today, I think I’ll stop by the Sick Bay later and see if they can give me an examination. I’d like to make sure I didn’t poison myself last night.”