//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Bebidas // Story: Crepúsculo Sombrí­o // by Pinkie Primus //------------------------------// Berry Punch smirked at the three stallions entering her tavern. Shining Armour, practically Canterlot royalty now, some stallion she'd never seen before, quite a big colt indeed, but of course nothing compared to her prize, the hulking red stallion of the trio, Big Mac. "Well well, Big Mac in my little tavern once more. It's been, what, one week or two? How come you took so long coming back? Didn't scare you off now, did I?" she cooed from behind the bar, fluttering her eyelids seductively. Mac glanced to the floor nervously, letting out a slow "Nnnope." Shining seized his opportunity for a laugh at Mac's expense. "What're you looking at, Maccie? Found a bit on the floor?" The blood red stallion rose his head up high, nearly striking the low ceiling. "Nnnope." Shining merely chuckled, "Relax, big guy. You two go take a seat, I'll get some drinks in." As Crepúsculo and Macintosh walked over to an empty booth Shining took a few paces towards the bar and its barmare. Berry Punch was certainly an attractive mare, nothing compared to his Cadence of course, but Mac was lucky to have her attention. Then again, Mac has pretty much every straight mare's attention, he thought, smiling inwardly. "Hey Berry, three pints of Mac's cider please, and what's that bottle up there? Can't recall seeing that before." "Oh that's new in, Applejack Daniels single barrel. Somethin' about it matures longer, a few more subtle hints of vanilla and some other stuff, Mac'd be able to tell you a bit more. Personally I prefer the original, a lot less fancy but more of an earthy taste." The barmare stretched up to retrieve the two bottles, setting them before Shining Armour for his inspection as she began to pour the pints. Shining glanced over the labels, levitating them closer before setting them back on the bar. "Looks good to me, Berry." "Which one, dahlin'?" She placed the first pint on the bar. "Both." Shining smiled wryly. The plum mare cocked an eyebrow. "Big night planned?" "Of course, it's been far too long since I've done this." "Well, just watch your new friend there. You know how easy pegasi go over the edge. He might be big, but he doesn't look like he could hold his own against my Mac." Berry smiled dreamily at the earth stallion, setting down the second pint of apple cider. "Okay settle down, Punch. You know how he gets." He chuckled. "Now what's all this come to?" "Don't you worry yourself, ain't nothing but some fun." She sighed. "Well, that fancy single barrel bottle is sixty bits, thirty-five for the standard bottle, four bits a pint. Tell you what, the way I see it, since all these are from Mac's family the cider's on the house. Ninety-five bits." She placed the final pint on the bar along with three tumblers for the whiskey. Shining Armour dug into a pouch on his foreleg with his magic, floating out a heavy coin purse. "Here's a hundred, and I'll take a couple of those packets of nuts, extra salty of course." "You got it, Shinin'." Two packs of nuts were set upon the bar. Shining levitated the purchases over to the booth that Crepúsculo and Mac had settled into. Mac whistled at the inordinate amount of alcohol before the trio. "One of those nights, huh?" He smiled, taking a large swig of crisp cider, sighing contentedly upon finishing his first mouthful. "Oh you bet," came the clearly excited unicorn's response. "I haven't had a chance to cut loose since I tied the knot. Well, not in this way," he added with a sly wink. "Is that so?" Mac chuckled, "Honeymoon went well, ah take it?" "Like you wouldn't believe." Shining leant back and looked to the distance as he swallowed the fizzing amber from his glass. "Let's just say she taught me a few spells not even Twily knows." Mac and Shining shared a laugh together at that before wetting their muzzles once more with sweet apple cider. Shining Armour suddenly noticed the group's third member had been quiet for some time. Glancing at Crepúsculo, Shining saw the dark pegasus suspiciously eyeing his beverage before taking a cautious sip and grimacing. "Hey, er, Crepúsculo? You okay?" the white stallion asked, half out of concern, half to break the awkward silence. "Oh, sí sí, only... what is this drink?" Mac's eyes widened. "Ya mean y’all don't have cider in your parts?" "Where I am from, we have only water." Crepúsculo found himself under the shocked eyes of both stallions. "Oh, but of course we can choose between fresh or salted," he offered in hope the stallions' stares would recede and their open mouths to shut. They didn't. Mac was the first to recover, finishing the last few mouthfuls of his cider, "Well, y’all might prefer this here bottle." He unscrewed the cap of the Applejack Daniels single barrel and poured the deep orange liquid into Crepúsculo's tumbler. "One of mah sister's creations." He pushed the tumbler toward the pegasus and poured one for himself which he subsequently knocked back in one swift motion. Crepúsculo made an attempt to mimic the giant red stallion's drinking prowess, draining the entirety of the tumbler's contents in a fraction of a second. The taste was not an unpleasant one, and he let the liquid linger on his tongue before swallowing all in one great gulp. His throat was set ablaze. Hacking and sputtering, the frantic pegasus motioned for help, clutching his tattered throat as the demon liquid rushed down to his stomach. "Quick! Drink this!" Shining hurriedly pushed his tumbler towards the flailing stallion which was quickly grasped and swallowed with fervour. The burning was sated for but a second or two before returning with a vengeance. Mac looked back to the now hysterical Shining Armour as he waved about the opened bottle of original Applejack Daniels in laughing fits. "Now, Shinin', that weren't helpful. Don't you remember your first night drinkin' the hard stuff?" "Pfft, no..." "Exactly. But ya remember the mornin' after, right?" "... Yes." The white stallion looked down slightly. "Now y’all know ah like a good drink every now an' then, but let's go easy on the fella fer tonight, hmm?" Shining smiled slightly, "Always were the voice of reason, Mac." "Eeyup." The two were interrupted by the slamming of glass on wood, which happened to come from Crepúsculo's empty pint glass striking the table as he gasped for air. "I’s... not so bad after all. I think, quizás, one more..." Mac opened his mouth to advise otherwise when the tipsy pegasus threw his arms up childishly to get the attention of the barmare who promptly paced over, hips swaying and eyes on Big Mac, who subsequently shut his mouth and seemed to find great entertainment in the floor. "What can I do for ya, honey?" "One more of this bebida, por favor." The slightly tipsy stallion waved his glass wildly. "Better make it just a half," Shining whispered to Berry discreetly. "Will do, anything I can do for anypony else here?" she sighed, aggressively invading Mac's personal space and biting her lower lip. "Nnnope." "Can't blame a filly for tryin'. Half a cider, comin' up." She sauntered back to her bar to get the order. Mac let out a sigh of relief, filling his tumbler near to the brim with his family's whiskey before promptly emptying and refilling it. Setting the bottle back upon the bar, the harassed earth stallion looked to his left, straight into the squinting eyes of Crepúsculo. "This ‘Berry’ mare clearly desires your stallionhood. Why do you do nothing?" Mac was clearly surprised at the spontaneity and lack of subtlety in the question, simply sitting wide-eyed and babbling excuses while Shining Armour proceeded to laugh his tail off. After a few attempts, the jittery red stallion managed to string a coherent sentence together. "It ain't that she ain't a good lookin' mare, it's just that ah... well, ah'm kinda set on somepony else is all." "It's that Fluttershy mare isn't it? It totally is!" the white stallion struck the table with his hoof, using his magic to help himself to another tumbler full of Sweet Apple Acres' finest. "Eeennnooyup." Mac grimaced as his cheeks flushed, thankfully unnoticed against his blood red coat. "Being a bad liar runs in your family, Mac," Shining chuckled. "We Apples prefer callin' it honesty." Mac stated. "Besides, ain't no use denyin' it." "Look, Mac. She's nice and all, but she's so quiet. Plus, with you not exactly being mister talkative, especially around mares, how could you two ever even talk?" Mac shifted uneasily in his seat, "Truth is, ah know ah ain't spent a lotta time with her, sometimes she'll be at the farm with AJ, or ah need to get some feed from her cottage fer the farm animals, but every time ah see her smilin' face, every time ah look in them eyes, everytime ah see her glide to the farm with all that grace of hers, ah know ah could spend an eternity in that silence. Ah'm just a simple workin' pony, but ah'd like to think ah might have a chance with a mare like her." Mac sat back, drinking deep from his glass. "Wow, I had no idea, Mac. If you want I can always have a word with Cadence, give you two a bit of a head start?" "Nnnope. If ah'm gonna try, ah'll do it the earth pony way, just like ah have all mah life. Thank y'kindly fer the offer, though." Berry trotted back to the trio carrying Crepúsculo's half pint of cider on a tray, this time leaving her beloved stallion with just a gentle wink. The pegasus stallion took a big gulp from his glass, noisily swallowing the liquid. Shining Armour saw his chance to uncover the information he desired from the semi-inebriated pony. "Well, that's Mac's love life. You may have established by now I'm recently married, but what about you? I'm sure the mares are always at your hooves, right?" "Ay no, señor. For a long time I was in solitude in my homeland, it is only in this village that I have happened upon a mare or two that takes my fancy." Mare or two, hmm? "And who are they, then?" Shining probed. "Oh, the señoritas Twilight and Rarity have both caught my attention." He swigged from his glass. Just as I thought, only worse. "Look, I don't mean to get in your business, but if Twily's involved it has to be one or the other, just remember that. Like I said, I don't want to be too protective but at the same time, I'm always going to be looking out for my little sister. Okay? Now finish that up." He motioned towards the cider "We're on the move in a minute." "We're returning home? Already?" Crepúsculo asked, draining the final gulp from his glass. "Nnnope," Mac replied, swigging the last few mouthfuls of Applejack Daniels Single Barrel from the bottle before setting it back on the table, completely emptied. "Just stick with us, we're off towards the village edge," Shining said, as if that would clear everything up. He levitated a couple of extra bits Berry's way for the extra half of cider, carrying the remnants of the original Applejack Daniels out of the door and waving a goodbye to the plum barmare. "Don't be too long in comin' back, you're always welcome under this roof." She smiled at her customers as they left her tavern. Especially you, my handsome gentlecolt, Macintosh. *** The trio trotted briskly across the village. Throughout the journey Crepúsculo noticed more and more ponies, some wearing brightly coloured bracelets, a group of giggling mares here and there, a stallion or two at the side of the road, leaning on a wall until Equestria stopped spinning so violently. He gradually became aware of a dull thumping coming from over a hill, accompanied by lines of light flashing through the night sky, vanishing as soon as they had appeared. The three stallions came to the crest of the hill, stopping next to a group of red delicious trees and looking down at their destination. A huge red barn stood proudly in a vast, empty field. Its windows were visibly shaking, a deep bass rumbling through each pane threatening to shatter the glass outwards from the barn to accompany the vibrant lasers carving through the night sky. There was a long line of ponies outside the barn doors kept in order by two others. Crepúsculo could just recognise one of them to be a mare he had seen at Sugarcube Corner, the grey one chasing another mare with a cello bow. The second of the pair was not as familiar to him, an orange mare wearing a tan hat accompanied the cellist in stemming the flow of entrants into the barn under a large banner pinned above the big red doors. 'Club Appl3. First Friday of every month with DJ Pon-3' "Club... appl-tres? I do not understand," Crepúsculo slurred. "A local mare was lookin' fer someplace to play her music an’ we had a spare barn. Cut a pretty nice business deal, too, if ya ask me," Mac explained, setting off down the hill. The orange mare had just let in a group of three mares and two stallions when she spotted her brother descending towards her. Once he was close enough she called out to him, waving a hoof through the air. "Hey, Mac! What time d'ya call this?" The farm-mare asked with a smile, "Y'all were meant ta take over half an hour ago!" "Ah know, sis, ah'm sorry. Just got a bit caught up is all. Y'all head on in now, I got the rest of this,” he said to his sibling before turning to Shining Armour and Crepúsculo, "Ah'll be inside in about a half hour ah reckon. You two go on ahead with AJ." “AJ...” Crepúsculo thought out loud. “What a strange name,” he chuckled. “Well Ah guess ya’ll can call me Applejack if ya prefer,” she smiled back. “An’ what might Ah call you, then?” “Crepúsculo Sombrío,” he stated with a wave of his hoof. And ah’m the one with the strange name... the earth pony thought, raising an eyebrow. "We’ll see you in a bit, Mac," Shining called out, heading inside with Crepúsculo and Applejack way ahead of their place in the queue. Having connections with the Apples came in handy quite a lot around Ponyville. Mac turned back to the line of ponies outside of the barn. It wasn't a huge line, but then again this was only the second time Club Appl3 was being held. More would come as it became more established. He let another small group inside as the other mare that was policing the line walked gracefully toward him. "Good evening, Macintosh. I take it you have had an enjoyable time thus far?" Octavia politely struck up conversation. "Eeeyup." Octavia attempted to politely strike up conversation. "Well, Vinyl certainly seems to be entertaining the masses tonight. There are a fair few more ponies than last month, it would seem." "Eeeyup." The grey mare let out a sigh. "Well, I should probably let you get back to your duties, then. Goodnight, Macintosh, it's been... nice talking with you," she concluded uneasily. Mac simply gave a nod and a smile to the refined mare as she walked slowly back down the line of entrants. He gave a quick sigh of his own, letting another slightly larger group into the establishment. *** "Whadd'ya mean y'all never even had a dance?" Applejack shouted incredulously over the bass. "Plenty ponies here ta show ya the ropes, now git on in there, pardner!" She shoved Crepúsculo into the crowd of ponies where he, being in a drunken state, began to convulse vaguely in time with the beat. Applejack's wide smile gradually began to fade as she uneasily averted her gaze from the monstrosity unfolding before her, turning her attention to Shining Armour. "So where did y'all say ya found this one?" she asked, scratching the back of her neck just underneath her trademark Stetson. "Nowhere near here, clearly." The stallion chuckled, "At least he's not hurting anypony, I guess." Crepúsculo suddenly stumbled back out of the throng towards Applejack and Shining Armour, extending his left wing in a fruitless attempt to gain balance. Quick as ever, the farm pony extended a hoof to try and stop the stumbling pegasus before he hurt himself, but her hoof managed to wrap around his extended wingtip before an intense pain forced her to release the wing and let the drunken oaf collapse face first, eyes rolling back into his skull. "OW! What in tarnation?" Applejack brought her hoof up to her eye level, shocked at the deep gouges cutting into the flesh as rivulets of crimson stained her orange coat. "What in the hay was that?!" she demanded angrily of Crepúsculo, whom had just regained consciousness and was lazily supporting himself on his forelegs. "Ay, pienso que... lo siento... I think I tripped." "Not that! Yer wings! What... forget it." Applejack grunted, limping away to find a bandage or three. Crepúsculo simply stood there, puzzled at the mare's outburst. "What is the problem with her?" he queried Shining. "The problem with her? She doesn't have a problem, except you just sliced her hoof to pieces!" Shining retorted, not so much in anger as in shock, "How did you even do that?" "Oh... ay, plumas de pony, it must have been my feathers again," he confessed, sitting guiltily on his haunches. "Wait, what's the deal with your feathers? And what do you mean ‘again’?" Shining looked closely at his wings. "There's blood on both of your wings! What have you done?" The captain of the royal guard narrowed his eyes, ducking into a lower stance. "No no! It was only an accident! I want to hurt nopony, I have seen enough hurt; I have seen enough pain." The giant pegasus seemed to shrink, eyes wide and quivering; many nearby ponies started to stare at him. "I have seen too much of everything!" The pegasus made a beeline for the door, wings tight against his torso to avoid any further trouble. Shining stood rooted to the floor, shocked at the drunken outburst as wave after wave of heavy sound washed over him. "Aww yeah! Is everypony ready for my new track?! Fresh beats baby!" The voice of the energetic DJ Pon-3 shocked Shining back into sense. He considered going after Crepúsculo, but then thought he might need some time alone. I mean, I wouldn't even know which way he went, plus Ponyville isn't exactly a hard place to find your way around. I'm sure he'll end up back at Twily's... In her spare bed... I'll just drop by in the morning to make sure everything went as expected. Even as the words entered his mind, they shook his drunken nerves. The thought of the dangerous stranger sleeping near his sister put him on edge. But Twilight was a capable mare, she could defend herself. Mac disturbed his train of thought as he strode into the barn, stopping in front of Shining. "Hey, Shinin', I just saw the new guy headin' out already. Anythin' wrong? Where's AJ?" "Oh, er, she must have gone to the bar, I guess," the white stallion lied, "Now come on, it's time to cut loose." The two stallions headed to the centre of the pack of party ponies, enjoying the DJ's thick bass to its full extent. *** Thoughts clouded Crepúsculo's mind, making him claustrophobic and panicked. He unfurled his razor wings, breathing heavily as he darted into the sky in a jagged line, desperate for the wide open skies. Most of them cannot reach me up here. He had learned long ago that while the skies weren't completely safe, they were at least a little less dangerous than the ground those things walked on. At least the fliers are fewer in number. He flew straight through a large cloud, emerging the other side dripping wet and slightly more sober. Allowing himself time to catch his breath, he surveyed the village below him. Dark and silent, nopony was to be seen from the thatched roof cottages to the brick houses; not a single hoofstep on the dirt roads nor the cobbled streets. In the centre stood a tall, domed structure surrounded by scaffolding, a gaping hole present on the top of the building. Pivoting around, his eyes met the sight of Twilight's library. Surely he would be safer there. He shot off towards the great tree, slowing down before landing with a tentative thud that made some of Rainbow Dash's crash landings look almost graceful. Narrowing his eyes, he concentrated hard on the door to the library, swinging a hoof at the wood as he stumbled forward. The door flew open, unlocked, and Crepúsculo crashed once more to the floor in a messy heap. Twilight looked up, startled at the sudden intrusion, dropping an old copy of 'The Studies of Foreign Tongues Volume III: La Selva Demonica' and hurriedly tucking it beneath the cushion she had been lying on. The concerned mare rushed to the stallion occupying her floor. "What happened? Are you alright?" Gradually he brought himself to his hooves and gave a relieved smile. "Sí, but I think perhaps, there is something in the water in these parts." "You've been drinking Big Mac's cider, haven't you?" Twilight deadpanned. Crepúsculo looked shocked. "How did you know?" he asked, mouth agape. "Call it a hunch." Twilight giggled slightly, "Maybe it's for the best that you're sleeping outside the library tonight. Come on, I've set the bed out, I'll just get you a bucket, hold on." "Gracias, but what is the bucket for?" "When the time comes, you'll know," Twilight chuckled. Confused, he set about the arduous task of ascending the stairs one by one to the outdoor observatory where his bed was waiting for him. Once he had finally conquered the first flight of nefarious steps he looked up the second with grim determination and a slight queasiness. Meanwhile, Twilight stood a few steps below him holding a large red bucket in her magical aura waiting patiently for the stallion to tackle round two of his ascension to bed. After a few more painfully slow minutes had passed the pair finally reached the observatory. Crepúsculo flung the door open dramatically, nearly separating it from its hinges, while Twilight set his bucket down next to his pillow. "Okay, well, you have a good night's sleep now!" She started to turn back towards her own bed when Crepúsculo turned around and flung his arms over the mare in a crushing embrace. "Gracias, señorita Twilight Sparkle. You are so very kind." He squeezed his mighty forelegs around the lilac mare, slowly turning her a deeper shade of purple. "It's... Ah! No problem... can't breathe..." she struggled. Crepúsculo released his grip with a bashful grin, climbing into his bed. "Buenas noches, señorita." He yawned quietly, falling asleep almost immediately. Twilight was left to descend back to her own bed for the night, clutching her ribs and wearing a large smile which she wasn't quite sure why she had.