"A ‘drinking competition'?" asked Twilight, dismayed.
"Well, originally, Bomb and I were going to just drink the ale that we brought, once all the Princesses left, of course." replied Sound Wave as the whole group made their way back to the courtyard. "However, this one," he pointed at Matt, " found us, and as soon as he realized what was in the barrel that we've been carrying, he started to joke that he 'didn't think that the unicorns could deal with such strong stuff'..."
"For the last time, I didn't mean it as an insult!" interrupted him Matthias. "I just know from experience that magic users don't usually drink that much."
"Whatever." Sound Wave waved his tail to show that he didn't care about that now, and continued from where he left. "After that, Bomb and I did the only thing that we could: we challenged him to a drinking competition."
Twilight frowned at Matthias.
"What?" he asked her. "The reception is almost over, and most of the guests have already left. It won't hurt anypony if we have a little fun, right?"
"It wasn't in the plans!" Twilight sighed, but she figured that the stallions deserved some fun.
"Fine." she said. "Just don't make a big mess."
"You needed her permission?" smirked Sound Wave. "Wow, I didn't think..."
"We needed her permission, she's the one that coordinated this whole wedding, remember?" Matt explained to him, although Twilight noticed, surprised, that he slightly blushed. "She could have the guards take away the ale if she wanted to."
"Oh." said an astonished Sound Wave, and he glanced at her. "Thanks, then."
"You're welcome." replied Twilight.
They finally arrived at one of the tables that Cherry Bomb was preparing, with an enormous barrel filled with ale near it, as well as three huge mugs.
"Ah, there you are." he said as he noticed them. "All set."
"Hey, mind if I join you?" asked Rainbow out of the blue.
"Me too! This could be fun!" said Applejack, chuckling.
"Mares want to take part in a drinking competition?" asked a surprised Cherry Bomb.
"And what's that supposed to mean?!" said Applejack as she glared at him.
"You know what, Bomb, I think it's a great idea!" exclaimed Sound, and Twilight noticed him winking at his friend.
"Is he thinking that they're gonna throw themselves at them once they're drunk?" thought Twilight, dismayed at the stallions' attitude.
She was about to warn her friends about this, but she felt somepony tap her on the shoulder. She glanced to her right and saw Matt, winking at her reassuringly. Apparently, he also noticed what was Sound's motive. Twilight relaxed, knowing Matthias wouldn't let their friends do anything they would regret.
"Chug, chug, chug, chug, chug!" shouted the surrounding ponies as two earth ponies, two unicorns and one pegasus drank the eighth round.
Matt wiped his mouth and looked at his competition. Besides him, only Applejack and Cherry Bomb seemed unaffected so far by the alcohol. Rainbow and Sound Wave, on the other hoof, looked a bit tipsy.
"I guess that as a pegasus, her body is much lighter, and she can't take as much as the rest of us." he thought, remembering to keep an eye on her.
He figured that the two mares would prove themselves to be worthy opponents. In fact, he was wondering if Applejack might actually win.
"Anypony wants to quit?" asked innocently Cherry.
"Screw...hic... you." replied Sound, shaking his head.
"How'bout ya, Rainbow?" teased Applejack. "Ya look..."
"I'm fine!" snapped the annoyed pegasus. "Hic!"
"Pinkie, how are the odds looking?" Matt asked.
When they prepared to start the competition, a few ponies started making bets who would last the longest. Somehow, Pinkie Pie found herself in the role of a bookmaker.
"Five to three on you, Mattie!" happily replied the pink pony.
"Ah, looks like I'm still the crowd's favorite." he smirked at the others.
"We'll see 'bout that, partner!"
"Chug, chug, chug, chug, chug!"
Fifteenth round.
"You all might as well give up." told them Matt, who only now started feeling something.
"I've... hic... never lost!" replied Cherry Bomb defiantly.
"Ah'm not that... hic... easy, either!" said Applejack, and chuckled as she realized how that had sounded.
"I'm fine... hic... too,,, hic!" told them Rainbow Dash.
Sound Wave was looking blankly in front of him, shrugging left and right.
"Wave?" asked him Matt.
The unicorn was about to reply, when suddenly his body gave in and he fell on his face.
"And Sound Wave is out!" shouted Pinkie, and the few ponies that had bet their bits on him yowled in frustration.
A few guards came over and gently picked him up. Everypony laughed when Sound vomited on one of them as they carried him away.
"Another round?" asked Matt.
His opponents shot him a glare.
"Chug, chug, chug, chug, chug!"
Sixteenth round.
"How in... hic... tarnation are ya still not affected by this?!" Applejack asked him, shaking her head.
Matthias laughed at that.
"Are you kidding me? I've beaten King Magni Bronzebeard at Brewfest a few years ago, this is nothing compared to that time!"
"A king was taking part in... hic... drinking contest?" asked Cherry Bomb.
"Brewfest was originally created by his nation."
"Wait, wasn't a Bronzebeard the pony that thought'ya how to fight?"
"Muradin? Yes, that's King Magni's younger brother."
"A prince was your mentor? How did that happen?"
Matt turned his head back and saw that Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy had come back.
"Long story." he grinned. "You've put Spike and the fillies to sleep already?"
"Yes." Twilight replied, and looked around. "Rainbow, are you alright?"
Matthias glanced at the cyan pegasus. She wasn't looking good.
"I'm... fine..."
"No, you're not, dear." told her Rarity. "You should stop drinking right now."
"I'm not..."
"Rainbow." said Matt, nudging her. "One more round and you're going to end up like Sound Wave. I might be wrong, but I think that vomiting in public is uncool."
That got some attention from her. She turned to him, then to the barrel with with ale, and then to her mug.
"I'm not... hic... a quitter!" she exclaimed finally.
"Dash, there is no shame in admitting defeat." Matthias told her, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "It's better to retreat with honor, than pass out without it."
Rainbow Dash glanced at his hoof, and then into his eyes. After few heartbeats, she blushed out of shame and said:
"Fine, I quit... hic."
Those ponies that knew her gasped in surprise, and those that put bids on her growled in disappointment as Rainbow rose and stumbled towards Twilight and the rest.
"Oh my!" said Fluttershy as she flew over to her to support her. "We should get you right to bed!"
"No..." protested Rainbow. "I wanna see... hic... who will win."
The mares glanced at Matt, who shrugged his arms. They all knew that it would be impossible to make her change her mind twice in a row.
"Letz get on with the drinkin'!" reminded Cherry them.
"Chug, chug, chug, chug, chug!"
Round twenty-seven.
It was now only Matt and Applejack. Cherry Bomb managed to last until twenty-fifth, which was impressive, considering that according to Twilight he should have passed out two rounds earlier. Matthias made a mental note to ask him later how in the Light's name he did that.
"You've been... a worthy opponent, AJ." he told her, gasping. The last few rounds started to have an affect on him, but he was still in better shape than her. "But it's time to end this."
"Ah was... hic... just about to... hic... say it." stammered the farmpony.
Frowning, Matt signaled for another round. Somepony filled his mug, and Twilight poured Applejack's, while whispering to her ear something, probably asking her to quit, but the proud cowpony shook her head.
"Well, I'm not the one to talk about pride making you do stupid things." he thought unhappily. "This all could end if I just gave up, after all."
"Chug, chug, chug, chug, chug!"
He looked into his mug, and lifted it, while at the same time focusing on the prayer in his head:
Light, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
After all this years since his victory over King Magni, he was still surprised how well that chant alone helped with drinking ale. It allowed him to focus, and helped him to keep himself from going drunk by sheer willpower.
And as Lady Deathwhisper said, his will was unbending.
Applejack's, on the other hoof...
Matt and everypony watched, as in slow motion, as AJ, while still drinking from her mug, flung backwards, and fell on the ground.
At once, Twilight and Rarity were at her side, and Matthias jumped over the table and joined them. They looked concerned at their friend, but as Rarity shook her, she opened her eyes.
"Fine... hic... ya win." she said as they helped her up.
Ponies around them started cheering and stomping the ground. Matt, after he made sure that Applejack was alright, jumped at the table and proclaimed his victory.
"Oh, yeah! I am the Brewmaster Pony!"
Everypony laughed and cheered as he held up his forelegs in the air.
"How are they?" Matt asked as he came over to his friends.
"Wasted." commented Twilight, glaring at him. "How in the name of Celestia are you still standing?!"
"Strong will." he smirked, but his facial expression once again turned to a concerned one as he regarded Rainbow and Applejack. "We better get them to their beds."
"I'm not..." started to say Rainbow, only to shift back to the half asleep state she was previously in.
"Put them on my back." Matt told to the other girls, kneeling.
"Are you sure you can carry both of them all the way?" Twilight asked him as she levitated the two half conscious mares and put them on his back.
"Don't worry, if I start to get tired, I can always ask the Light to refresh me." he assured her, standing up.
"Still, Fluttershy and I would better go with you." said Rarity. "We were planning on going to sleep, anyway, and besides, somepony needs to... undress them."
Matthias blushed, although he wondered if it really mattered, since they weren't normally wearing any clothes, but decided to not say that out loud.
"Okay then. Twilight, Pinkie, are you coming too?"
"Leave the party before it's over?!" asked him a surprised Pinkie. "Never!"
"I need to stay until everypony leaves." said Twilight, yawning.
"You shouldn't push yourself too hard." told her Matt. "Anyway, I'm still feeling pretty fresh, so I will come back in a few moments. See you later."
"Bye, and good night, girls." replied Twilight.
"Good night."
"So Matt," asked him Rarity as they trotted toward the castle, "is this King Magni the same one you mentioned when Twilight went to your head and saw that vision?"
"No, that was Varian, I mean, King Varian. He is the King of Stormwind. Magni was the King of Ironforge." replied Matthias.
"My, you knew two kings and were mentored by a prince?!" exclaimed Rarity, surprised. "How come you've never mentioned anything to us about this?!"
"Well, if you think that's amazing... hic.." Matt stammered, no longer focusing, and his mind started to be clouded by the ale. "... wait until..."
"Ugh..." groaned Applejack on his back, interrupting him. "Where am'Ah?"
"Hush, Applejack." said Fluttershy quietly. "Soon, you're going to be sleeping in a warm bed."
"Ah'm already warm." she muttered, looking around. "Matt... that's you?"
"Yes." Matt replied, glancing at her. "Sorry for pushing you so hard, I should have quit earlier."
"That's stinkin' thinkin'... hic." she told him. "Why are ya carrying me? And Rainbow?"
"Because you're too tired to walk to your bedrooms on your own." Matthias said, turning his head to look in front of him.
"Still looking after us..." chuckled Applejack. "And Ah still haven't thanked ya for that time with the timberwolf."
"That was a long time ago. And you already thanked me." replied a confused Matt.
"No, Ah meant, thank ya properly." she said, shifting her position.
"What are you..." Matt started to say, but trailed off.
Applejack was nuzzling his neck.
Rarity and Fluttershy stared with wide eyes as Applejack started affectionately nuzzling the stallion carrying her and Rainbow.
"H-how can she do this!?" thought Rarity, wondering what she should do, as the farm pony started kissing Matt's neck. "She knows how Twilight feels about him! Although... she is pretty drunk, and Matt is..."
She blushed as she started to think what Matt was. Handsome. Charming. Strong. Fun. Courteous.
Rarity asked herself: if she had found herself in Applejack's position, would she bother to remember about the feelings of a pony that didn't even know she had them?
Matthias glanced uncomfortably at her and Fluttershy. There was panic in his eyes.
"A true gentlecolt."
"Um... Applejack." Matt tried to talk some sense to her. "You don't have to do that..."
"Ugh..." sounded from his back as Rainbow rose. "Who's carrying me?"
"Um, Matt." said Fluttershy, taking her eyes away from Applejack. "He's carrying you and Applejack back to your bedrooms."
Rainbow Dash glanced at her, and then her sight shifted to Matthias and Applejack. Rarity prepared herself to hear some jokes from the pegasus but what the cyan mare did a second later was something she certainly didn't expect.
Rainbow jumped over Applejack, and grabbed Matt's neck.
"Hey... hic... handsome." she said as she hugged him. "Ya know, that was nice of ya to stop me..."
"Eee... you're welcome..." Matt replied, but trailed off as Dash started licking his ear.
Rarity felt her jaw drop in a very unlady-like manner. Now there were two mares, Applejack on his left, Rainbow on his right, that were either kissing, licking, or nuzzling him, and both of them were still being carried by him on his back.
Matthias was desperately thinking of something he could do, but he doubted he could think of anything even if he had been sober.
For some reason, two very beautiful mares were showing him their affection, and both were on his back. He found himself in a situation that most stallions dreamed of. And yet he was he was feeling uncomfortable.
"Maybe I shouldn't?" he thought as Rainbow nuzzled his chin. "After all, here I'm not the Crown Prince, I don't have to behave myself all the time. It would be nice to have some fun..."
He quickly shook this thought off and continued to walk toward their bedrooms, which thankfully weren't far away. They were still his friends. He wouldn't take advantage of their drunk state. And while he thought of them as very attractive, he wasn't interested in them in that way.
Still, though, their continued efforts were starting to make him excited. If it wasn't for his paladin's training, he would probably have had his will broken and kissed them back.
"Wait, am I forgetting something?" he thought suddenly.
Rarity and Fluttershy, both red as the setting sun, were staring at Matt's growing member.
"Oh, my..." thought Rarity.
She had never seen an erected stallion's member. Of course, since most ponies weren't normally wearing clothes, private areas were exposed, but it was considered very rude to stare at them. But to see an erect member, one would have to get the stallion very excited.
Rarity still stared at it, unable to take her eyes off it. Despite not seeing any stallion's before, she was pretty sure that Matt's was a big one. She started to get excited by looking at its size and length, when suddenly she was blinded by a sudden burst of light.
Matthias, with Applejack biting gently and Rainbow kissing his neck, glanced angrily at Rarity and Fluttershy as they stumbled, momentarily blinded by him.
"What a great way to be reminded that you're not wearing any pants!" Matt thought, putting his tail between his legs to cover himself.
"That was very unlady-like of both of you." he told them as they quickly recovered.
They cringed under his gaze, but didn't say anything, too embarrassed.
"And the two of you: stop!" he yelled at Rainbow and Applejack.
The two drunk mares looked at him, confused.
"Why?" asked him Applejack.
"Ah wanna kiss ya..." stammered Dash.
"Me too!"
"Kiss yourselves and leave me out of this." he replied annoyed, not bothering to look at them.
A few heartbeats later he felt Rainbow shift her position. Matthias stopped.
"Don't tell me..." he thought, looking back.
Rainbow Dash, impressively bent, had her forelegs around Applejack's neck, and her tongue in the farmpony's throat. AJ replied with slipping her tongue into Rainbow's mouth, and judging by the soft moans the both of them were uttering, they both liked it.
"Oh my..." he heard Fluttershy whisper.
Matt glanced at them and saw the similar reaction to his on their faces.
"Remind me to never let them drink again." he asked Rarity as he resumed walking, who nodded, cowering her mouth with a hoof and still staring at two of her friends making out with each other on her other friend's back.
Finally, they entered the chambers that were given to them. Matt gestured at Fluttershy and Rarity to take Rainbow off his back.
"What are ya..." she asked them slowly as they pulled her away from Applejack and Matt and carried her to her bedroom.
"Huh? Where did Rainbow go?" asked Applejack as Matt took her to her bedroom.
"To her bedroom."
"Where are we?"
"In your bedroom."
"Really?" she asked him seductively as she started nuzzling him again.
"Light, give me strength." Matt prayed, not sure how long he could resist her.
Thankfully, Rarity came and helped him take her off his back. Once Applejack was laying on her bed, Matthias moved away.
"Matt, where are'ya goin'?" he heard her call after him. "Hi, Rarity..."
Matthias closed the door as Rarity squeaked:
"Applejack!"
He went to his bedroom, trotted into the bathroom, took off his clothes, went under the shower, and poured cold water on himself. He stayed under the torrent for a few minutes, until he was sure that he has calmed himself, then he turned the water off and dried himself with a towel.
Not bothering to put the attire back on, he left his room. Outside, Rarity and Fluttershy were waiting for him.
"They're asleep." told him Rarity, not looking directly at him. "Matt, we're really sorry about..."
"Forget it." Matt told her gently. "You were drinking today as well, after all. Besides," he added as he moved past them, "it could have been worse."
"What do you mean?" asked surprised Rarity.
Matthias smirked.
"You could have laughed." he said, winking.
Rarity and Fluttershy chuckled nervously, blushing.
Matthias made his way back to the courtyard, wondering if something interesting had happened there in the meantime.
"Oh, yes!" he heard somepony scream as he passed the gardens.
"I think that was Vinyl Scratch's voice." Matt thought, wondering if he should look for a quick fling at the reception.
There were still few pretty mares left, as he noticed when he entered the courtyard, that weren't his friends. It might be a good idea; it could help him take his mind off from all that happened a few moments ago. However, all thoughts like that disappeared as he noticed one particular mare sitting by the table where he and the others had been drinking. At once, he ran up to her.
"Twilight?" Matt asked her, worried.
"Oh... hic... hey." she said, looking at him.
Matthias glanced into the mug next to her. It was empty.
"How much did you drink?" he asked her, only to realize that she was asleep.
Matt cursed. Twilight was much more light-headed than Rainbow, and this was a very strong ale. And she had drunk wine earlier!
Gently, he put her on his back and walked up to the nearest guard.
"The reception is over. Ask the remaining guests to leave and start cleaning this place."
The royal guard nodded and walked away to carry his orders.
"Oh, wait." Matt called after him. When guard stopped, he added. "If you see a very energetic pink earth pony, tell her that the rest of her friends already went back to the castle."
The guard once again nodded and Matt turned away, carrying Twilight to her bedroom.
On their way, Twilight remained asleep, aside from a few times when she woke up and mumbled something, for which Matthias was grateful. He doubted he could resist if she started to kiss him.
When they reached the chambers that they were staying in, he frowned when he realized that Rarity and Fluttershy were sleeping, which meant that he had to undress Twilight.
"If she wakes up, she will murder me." he thought as he entered her bedroom, closed the door, not wanting to get caught, and put her on her bed.
Looking at her, laying on a bed in her dress, Matt could barely suppress a shiver. He forced himself to remain calm and started to undress her, feeling that he was becoming as red as the Horde's banner.
The whole thing took longer than he expected, and the fact that he started to get excited again didn't help him in a slightest. However, he somehow managed to take off all of her clothes without waking her up. He put the dress on the table, and looked back at her, admiring her beauty.
He came over to her, and planted a kiss on her forehead, next to her horn, whispering:
"Good night, my little star." and he moved away.
"Matt...?" he heard her say before he reached the door.
Cursing at himself and hoping it wasn't the kiss that woke her up, he glanced back.
"Yes?"
"Could you sing me that lullaby again?" she pleaded him.
Matthias smiled warmly.
"Of course."
He came over to her bed, laid next to her comfortably, and started to sing:
Dormite liberi,
Dulci pueri dormite, caloria et,
Comodus Vester lecti boni.
Osservo te, semper te,
Latus tui costa te, autem solus, mitite,
Latus tui hic sum.
In Somninum plati
Floridus plena, dormite liberi
Dulci mei dormite
Mitite liberi,
Sine pater autem, mitite, liberi,
Visi te tua mater.
Osservo te, semper te,
Latus tui costa te, liberi sine sentite,
Momentum dormite.
In conclave sine mater.
Conclave dum dies saperis…
They both fell asleep before he noticed it.