I was on the street. Worried, confused, and most of all alone. I had no idea where I'd go or what I'd do. Well, I had one, but it was a last resort type thing. I walked around for a while aimlessly. I helped Fluttershy chase down Angel, Carrot Top with her garden, and Ms. Cherilee with clapping erasers in her room. I felt slightly better, doing all these things for these ponies, but I was still depressed.
Buck it. I told myself. I deserve a little 'me' time. This was my last resort.
So with that, I headed to the Ponyville Pub. I trotted in, and it smelled like smoke, alcohol, and pretzels. It was quiet. There were only a few ponies in, and a couple were even passed out. I trotted up to the bar and pulled myself up on the stool.
"Hey, kid. What's ya poison?" the bartender asked me.
"Uh, beer please. Whatever's on tap." I muttered.
"You're in luck. Just got a new shipment of Diamond Dog Ale. It's this month's special. My personal favorite." he smiled at me.
"Thanks." I smiled back.
He poured me a glass and set it down on the bar in front of me. I took it in my hoof and took a few sips out of it. It was good. Slightly sweet, but still had a kick.
"What's got ya down?" he asked me sympathetically.
"Oh, I just got kicked out of the house by the pony I love." I explained dryly.
"Sorry, kid. Girlfriends, ya know?" he tried to joke.
"Oh, she's not my girlfriend. I just never had the guts to tell her I love her." I told him.
"Ah, I see. Happens to the best of us, eh?" he asked.
"Yeah, I guess so." I sighed.
He sighed as well and knocked his hoof on the bar a couple times. "Tell ya what." he said. "Since my boss ain't here, this one's on the house." he said, pointing to my glass. "Hell, I'll even pour myself some." he laughed.
It seemed unethical, but I could care less. I just wanted to get drunk.
We both poured and drank for the next few hours. We both told each other about ourselves. His name was Brawny Spirit. He grew up in Fillydelphia and wanted to be a chef for royalty. Turns out he has a real knack for cooking. He made all the food they served at the pub, which was delicious. He wanted to move to Canterlot and apply for a job as a sous chef. While in Canterlot training for the job, he met a young mare. Being only a couple years younger than him, she took an interest in him and he her. Her name was Lightning Chaser, a young pegasus pony. They dated for a while, and after being denied the position of sous chef, Brawny took Lightning and moved to Ponyville to get a house together. Eventually, he asked her to marry him. She said yes and they got married. A year later, they had a child. He was a pegasus and they named him Cloud Twister. He was raised in a good home with two loving parents. When Cloud Twister was 14, his mother got very sick. She fought hard for three years, but eventually lost the battle. After her death, Brawny and his son grew apart. They fought a lot, and one day, Cloud Twister ran away. He still doesn't know where he is to this day. So he came to work at the pub and has been there ever since. That's his story, you already know mine.
We drank and laughed deep into the night. I thought I was happy then, but when I look back, I was just drowning my sorrow in alcohol. He let me stay in his back room for the night. I woke up hungover. I hadn't been hungover in a while, so I wasn't as used to it as I previously was. Judging by how bad it was, we got DRUNK that night. I got out of the cot in the room and faced the sun. It burned, oh Celestia it burned. I cringed when my eyes were exposed to the brightness. I left the pub and walked down Main Street. The headache was already starting to dull. Twilight had gotten an early start that morning, because I bumped into her in the road.
"Mother of Celestia, River. You look awful." she gasped.
"Gee, thanks Twi." I said sarcastically.
"What's got you all riled up?" she asked.
"It's a long story." I told her. I tried to walk trot past her, but she blocked my way.
"Tell me, River." she glared. "You reek of alcohol by the way."
"Can we go to the library? I don't wanna talk about it here." I asked.
"Fine." she sighed.
She led me to the library angrily, like a disappointed mother. We got in and shut the door. "Spike could you go pick up some groceries from the market, please? Check the pantry and you'll see what we're missing." Twilight asked.
"Yeah, sure Twi. Be back soon!" he called back as he ran out the door.
"Alright, River. What happened?" she asked.
"Vinyl kicked me out." I sighed quietly.
"What?" she asked, unable to hear me.
"She kicked me out." I said louder.
"Why?" she asked.
"Octavia and I got in a little fight, Vinyl freaked out, and now I'm here." I explained.
"That's ridiculous!" she exclaimed. "She had no right! It's not like you actually did anything violent! Right...?" she asked.
I didn't say anything.
"Right, River?" she asked louder.
I continued my silence.
"River, what did you do?!" she yelled.
"I grabbed Octavia and shoved her up against a wall cause I was angry. I regret it, but she deserved it." I explained weakly.
Twilight hit me in the head. "Good Celestia, River! What is wrong with you?!" she interrogated me.
"She's a possessive sociopath and she treats Vinyl terribly! She's an evil and awful pony! She needs to leave!" I tried to defend my case.
"What does she do?" Twilight asked me, now intrigued.
"She always tells me how I'll never be with Vinyl because she knows she has her wrapped around her hoof. She makes Vinyl bend over backwards to do things for her because she knows Vinyl will do them. She takes advantage of her daily." I explained. "Oh, and she's also unbelievably creepy in general." I added. I had a feeling that that didn't help my case.
"Well, I guess we need to talk to Octavia and see what her problem is." she said.
Buck.