Tony. Toooony.
The white void. Just like when he first woke up from the Ashla's control. Except this time, it didn't feel as empty. And that voice, it was very strange. It was as if it was two voices mangled together, yet they were both loving and feminine.
Hello? Who's there?
No lips, just his thoughts echoing into the vast nothingness. He took a view of what he could, and he stopped… somewhere. It was hard to see at first, but he could swear he was seeing something moving. It was just a figure without the features. It looked Loki'irian, or human, but definitely female. The figure slowly, and a bit seductively, walked towards him. Color began to ripple out from behind her as she got closer, and as she did, gained clothes and features. All around a dimly lit area was beginning to have chairs and tables come into existence.
Her legs were covered by a silk black dress as they formed the skin. Tony could see his nose again, and as he looked down at himself he could see his feet covered by black shoes. His arms appeared along with navy blue sleeves. Off to the side, a room stretched out with dozens of ceiling lights flashing different colors. Underneath a row of them a stage lifted out from the wooden floor. Another figure came into existence behind what looked like a music station. Speakers appeared at the ends of the stage and small vibrations started to shake him.
A hand fell on his shoulder, and when Tony turned around he saw her.
Kate.
No. That was a lie. Her name was…
Nimani. Daughter of Remegeus, the Makti's first General.
"Are you gonna sit here all night Tony?" she giggled. Her laugh echoed between the two voices it was made of.
More and more people started to form from nowhere, and the music began to gain its volume. Even before everything fully formed, Tony knew just where he was.
This… this is my old gym. It was… ugh… graduation day…
Behind the equipment onstage was Dan as the night's DJ. He was wearing his usual get up: T-Shirt, jeans, cap, and of course his oversized headphones hanging around his neck. The people in the gym were dancing around wildly to the rave music he had started. Tony looked at himself to see what he was wearing. Blue jeans, Navy blue sleeved shirt, and shoes. He didn't understand why Nimani was wearing a black dress, or a hint of eyeshadow.
"I… don't really dance," Tony said over the music. What confused him though, was the fact that he hadn't meant to say that. It was like he was going on auto-pilot.
Nimani laughed and stood up. "Come now. The Doshu'um unable to dance, yet he can topple hundreds of soldiers?"
It was lucky none of the other children could hear their conversation. "Fighting is natural for us, Nimani," Tony smiled.
"As is dancing," Nimani quipped with a smirk.
Seeing his friend's hesitation, Dan switched the song to another track..
The summer is stayin and I'm feeling good
The sun is shining the way it should
4 o'clock and a drink feels right
Already found my girl for a night
Nimani didn't wait for him to respond, and instead grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor. She handed him a cup of juice that Dan had spiked a while ago and made him drink it dry.
Alright, I'm looking up to the sky-yyy
So high, I fly
It's a party, no time to drive
Don't be shy, just try and go back
To put your "Tie on your Head"
As the beat dropped, Nimani started dancing around Tony casually as he went into a groove.
Feels like I'm in paradise
Oh ohoh
Nobody is alone tonight
Oh ohoh
They're dancing and I feel alright
It's summer time in paradise
As the chorus repeated, Tony started to get familiar with Nimani's moves and moved with her. The partiers around them paid no mind as their bodies touched and they moved in sync. Her energy was premature, as was his, but he could still feel her giving off short pulses of it. His own power flickered as his body became more and more excited from their ancient arts.
As the beat changed up, Nimani stopped them both, and Tony stared into her beautiful blue eyes. They were a rarity on Loki'ir, maybe one in a million. She placed her arms around his shoulder, and he her waist. The music blasted into their cores as they neared their lips together. They closed their eyes, and Tony felt his heart going a mile a second. His eyes opened just a crack, but shot open when he saw her fading away. Everything around him started to crumble, and his clothes started to change and tear. A gash opened in his back, and his right arm broke for no reason.
As he screamed, he felt his hands grabbing onto two others. Underneath him, his toes stood on rough scales, and wind started to slam into his side. Nyla's body formed, and Tony was standing at the edge with two people hanging over her side.
No. No, not again!
Reku'un… I cannot carry… all three of you.
No! Nyla just fly us to the building!
I won't… make it
"Tony! Help!" Dan shouted. Tony felt his hand slipping, and he forced his hand to squeeze Dan's palm tighter.
"Tony." He looked to Nimani, tears falling from her eyes. "Let go."
"No!" Tony shouted. "I'm not letting go! Either of you!"
Reku'un! They are coming!
Dan's hand slipped even more, making him hang on by his fingers. Nimani clenched her eyes shut and started to dig her nails into Tony's wrist. He grunted in pain, and as she readied to scratch him again, she only said one thing.
"Salemos, Reku'un."
"KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE."
The scene crumbled away again, flashing small moments of his greatest failures. His Heraj, Eishla, and Dan. All of them, dead at the hands of Jerosh. The flickering stopped, and only left one image left in his head.
Luna. Her hooves dangling lifelessly as he held her close.
"Whoever you love will die, Tony. It has and always will be that way. Even with Luna."
More scenes flashed inside his head. A battle, a battle he fought alone. Then he… he lost. And Jerosh, Jerosh was there to drag him away somewhere. The last of his subconscious began to ebb as he left the depths of his mind.
Tony's eyes shot open as he woke up. He quickly looked around the room and let out a breath he had been holding for Minira knows how long. The midnight blue walls and crescent moons told him he was in his beloved's room. He was proven when he felt said mare snuggle up into the crook of his neck. Her warm breaths licked at his ear, and her coat warmed the side of his body.
It was… a memory. I… ugh… still can't remember… what else… happened.
Tony decided to leave that for later, since his mind was still a little drowsy. The only thing that mattered now, was that Luna was safe. Slowly he wrapped his arms around her to embrace her. Feeling the sudden motion, Luna stirred awake and looked up at her coltfriend.
"Good morning Tony," she sleepily said.
Tony smiled and planted a small kiss beside her horn. "Good morning, beautiful." Luna giggled dreamily and kissed his cheek.
"Will you be leaving soon?" she asked. Tony sighed and rested his head on top of hers.
"I have to," Tony said at last. "It's gonna be a long day with the six of them."
Luna giggled as he laughed, remembering the previous night's events. "Did you record everything?" she asked. She was still trying to figure out how the iPod could have recorded the whole night.
"There's a few parts we missed," he smirked. "But I'm pretty sure I got most of it."
"I hope so," Luna giggled. "They were too hilarious. And my sister was such a clutz."
Tony nervously chuckled as he remembered Celestia's performance that night. "She was something alright," he chuckled. "I'd better get ready."
Luna removed her hooves from him as he sat on the side of the bed and started to put on his socks. She took a moment to admire his new figure, which was mostly muscle and mature youth. But her ogling stopped when her gaze fell on the four scars. His screams still echoed in her head as she stared at them. She shuffled closer to him and wrapped her hooves around his toned body from behind.
Tony was surprised from the hug, but he welcomed it like any other. Luna rested her head on his shoulder, and he turned to see her. Tony could sense the distress just by looking at her. Her concern was made clear when she gingerly nuzzled the scar just beside his left shoulder blade.
"Salemos," he whispered.
"Mm?"
Tony smiled as he gave Luna a small kiss on her lips. "Salemos, Luna. It means 'I love you' in Loki'irian," Tony smiled.
Luna returned the gesture and gave Tony another embrace of the lips. "And how would you say 'I love you, too?'"
"Salemos, bikir," Tony said.
Another meaningful kiss, which was followed by Luna pulling back to say,"Salemos, bikir."
Tony chuckled and turned around to hug her properly. He pulled away a little to lock lips once again, this time for a lot longer. The two fell back onto the bed as their mouths mingled and swapped flavors. When they were out of breath, they layed there for another minute. The memories were faint but still bothered him much.
"I love you, Luna. Never forget that," Tony whispered as he held her tighter.
Luna kissed his cheek then nuzzled it caringly. "Only if you never forget that I love you." Tony grinned and planted a soft kiss on her ear, which smacked him gently in response.
"Deal," he chuckled. He got off of her and reached down to where he had left his folded suit and tie. Carrying the coat on his arm, he turned to Luna one last time. "Jram grek jro yut, Limir."
Luna tilted her head with a smile. "And what would that mean?"
"I'll see you soon, Luna," Tony grinned.
He slipped through the massive onyx doors and stepped back out into the stairwell. The way down was much easier than the way up. Still, he'd climb it a thousand times to see her and another thousand times to make sure she was safe.
"KAAAAAAAAATE!"
Tony slipped on the next step and fell onto his rump. He clutched his head in pain as the memories became less clouded. Dan, and Kate came with him to find the Arthanian main base of operations. They were going to escape, but the Alpha… and the tech from their ship.
"Rrr, why can't I remember?" he groaned.
The truth however, was that he didn't want to remember. He knew the only reason he wanted to forget, was because he held feeling towards Ka-Nimani. It wasn't nearly as much as he felt for his marefriend, but he knew Luna much longer, and they were dating for much longer. If memory served him right, he hadn't even dated Nimani until their graduation dance. If he even kissed her that night.
He sighed and got back up. Now wasn't the time to worry about what happened. That could wait until later…
…right?
"Morning sir." Tony snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the gruff voice of Luna's best Lunar Guard.
"Uh, morning, Captain." It was a bit unusual for him to be addressed formally by the guards. Dating a princess came with its perks, sort of. "At ease."
"Sir, Princess Celestia would like to see you," Captain Dark Wing saluted.
"Thank you." Tony was about to leave but stopped abruptly. "And Captain, just Tony, from now on."
The Captain nodded and did a short salute. "The Princess is waiting in the throne room."
Probably about last night
"Thank you again." The Lunar stallions gave a final salute and Tony started for the throne room.
Being in the castle a number of times gave Tony enough time to map out most of it in his head. A few turns and hallways was all it took before he was at the door to the throne room. He snickered as he replayed Celestia's drunken actions as he helped her through the exact same door. Putting that aside, Tony pushed the door open and walked in to see the Princess of the Sun already starting her work. The loud clang of the door as it shut alerted Celestia. She smiled warmly at Tony as he made his way towards her, but something was a little off about her smile. Maybe it was the way her eyes narrowed slightly at him.
"Good morning, Tony," she said.
"Good morning, Celestia." Tony took a brief glance around and saw no guards present. Not even Shining Armor was around. "Something you needed from me?"
Celestia's smile faded as she set the floating stack of paper on the throne and made her way down the steps. "Actually, there is one thing I was hoping you could answer."
Her horn glowed its usual faint gold, then flashed as a small pile of photos appeared. They levitated over to Tony as he arched a brow. The first was enough to make him understand what these were.
Pictures of last night.
"Ah, so you do remember." Tony smiled sheepishly as Celestia half smirked, half glared at him.
Tony tried his best to ignore her, but once he got the third picture he knew it would just make a deeper hole. The third picture had a clear shot of Celestia downing more of the alcoholic punch while Tony recorded in the back with Luna laughing. He chuckled nervously and looked back up to Celestia.
"Start talking."
"Okay okay," Tony laughed. "I can't say everything, but. I do have most of what happened on video."
Celestia raised a brow, which prompted Tony to explain. "My iPod doesn't only play music and take pictures."
"It takes pictures?" Celestia asked, a bit confused.
"Later. Anyways, me and Luna recorded you guys the whole time, maybe a couple of minutes I missed for either you or the girls." Tony took the iPod out of his pocket and tapped the videos app. "Wanna see what happened?"
"Of course," Celestia said obviously.
Approximately 40 minutes later
"Oh… my."
Tony was still snickering as drunk Celestia rubbed her mane with cake from the dessert table. Meanwhile, Lyra was making out with Octavia while they were tangled in the ocean mare's harp. Pinkie Pie was hanging from the chandelier by her hooves out cold. Twilight and Applejack were laughing like idiots as they pointed at the wall that Rainbow was stuck against. Rarity was underneath the buffet table, and Fluttershy was vomitting near the stairs. Other ponies were either having their way with one another or passed out or just drunkenly wandering about.
The feed cut off as Celestia charged a spell at the couple for following her so much. "You were pretty pissed," Tony chuckled. "Lucky for me, Luna knows how to calm you down when you're drunk."
Celestia's usual alabaster face was now fully cherry-red. "Yes, she does," she muttered. "Somepony must have… wait… why didn't you or Lulu drink any?"
Shit
"I heard that." Tony's eyes widened a bit, but he finally laughed and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, it's pretty simple really," Tony smiled. "After everything that's happened I thought all of you needed a good time."
The princess' glare softened a bit as she spoke. "We all needed to relax Tony, I'm sure of that. But how will getting drunk be considered a good time if we can't even remember?"
"Are you kidding me?" Tony chuckled. "Getting drunk like that can guarantee a good time! Well… that's what… Dan and I did."
There was a small bout of silence after Tony said it. He felt a small longing to hear Dan's voice say something stupid, but his idiot friend wasn't here to do that anymore. Even Celestia had forgotten shortly and expected the same thing. When it never came, she draped a wing around Tony and sighed.
"I'm not saying it wasn't fun," Celestia said softly. "But next time make sure we all know, okay Tony?"
"I knew you remembered," Tony chuckled as he looked back up. "Next time I'll let you girls know, but for the record, Dan would have done the same thing."
Celestia rolled her eyes and smiled. "I don't doubt it one bit. Lulu's still sleeping isn't she?"
Tony nodded, the memories resurfacing. "Yeah. She is. I guess I'll see her soon, right?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if she visited you in a few days," Celestia smiled. "This is the happiest I've seen her in a long time. And it's all because of you."
Tony grinned and looked at the second throne once more. "That's all I want her to be. She deserves to be happy," he sighed.
"And so do you," she said. "I want to thank you Tony. The only time I've ever seen her as happy as she is now is when our mother when she turned 8,000."
Tony had forgotten Luna's age completely. She looked at least… well… young. Thousands of years old, yet no wrinkles or even a blemish to show for it.
"You don't have to thank me, Celestia," Tony smiled. "Or Luna. Really, I should be thanking you all. Back on Earth, I really wasn't too popular, and on Loki'ir everyone was my rival. When I came here, I know we weren't the best of friends."
"You mean aside from you choking me and Shining Armor?" she smirked.
"And aside from you nearly crushing me," Tony countered. "But… I acted like such a… flankhole with you guys. Even without the Iikro controlling me, I didn't trust anyone really. But you guys still let me show who I really was. The girls were nice to me, Luna was my first friend besides Dan and-um… well that's it. Twilight and the others tried their best to be friends with me, and you helping me get with Luna was just meant so much."
"I know this sounds pretty weird… but you reminded me… of Heraj," he mumbled. "The way she could get so mad sometimes, and she could get very physical."
Tony chuckled as the memory of one of his father's incompetent general's being thrown through a wall from his mother's anger. He was supposed to he sleeping, but the war meeting's were something he looked forward to. The general was fine, and he had learned a valuable lesson to not anger Heraj.
"But… you helped me at every turn with Luna, you said you would help me with any trouble I had, and you teased me so much about Luna." Celestia smiled warmly as Tony scratched the back of his ear. "It was just, so much like my Heraj. You all made me feel wanted, like someone actually cared how I was doing. It's because of you all that I learned what being a friend really is about. So, thanks, for everything."
The eldest alicorn sister wrapper a hoof around Tony slowly, and he returned it with an arm. "That wasn't weird at all, Tony. You have no idea how much Luna was teased when you weren't around. We all love you because your a very good friend. Even before my mother showed us everything, I could tell you put others ahead of you."
"Being friends with Dan made me put others ahead of me," Tony chuckled.
"I'm very pleased to know you see me just like your mother," Celestia said. "And just like her, I'll always be here if you need anything. Especially with Lulu."
Celestia got back on her hooves and smiled at Tony. "I guess I should go get the others so we can head off," he chuckled.
"You'd better get some coffee first. They're going to be a handful without it," Celestia laughed softly.
Tony nodded and went through to the west wing. He made a pit stop at the kitchen to get several mugs for the mares' hangovers. Since he couldn't carry all of the cups, he put his new rites to the test by levitating four of the six cups in the air. It was pretty easy, but then again they were just cups. Jaqeluu lifted the entire Lithifer tree when he was just 17 cycles.
With the cups trailing behind him, Tony made his way to where he stashed the mares for the night. It was such a hassle to get them all there, especially since Twilight was teleporting all over the place and Rainbow kept trying to fly. Then there was the part where AJ tried bucking him in the fertilizer factory. That was the fastest he had changed in his life.
The morning sun rammed into her eyes like an Ursa's paw. The quiet pegasus cracked her eyes open a little before slamming them shut from the sun's rays. Fluttershy gave her eyes a few seconds to adjust to the light before deciding to sit up. Her decision was the worst she could make, because almost immediately her head was rocked by an intense migraine. Fluttershy glanced off to the side and saw her friends each sleeping messily on their own beds.
Applejack was hanging over the side of hers, Rarity was sleeping with a hoof over the side, Pinkie slept on her head against the head board. Rainbow was snoring away with her flank in the air, and Twilight was on the floor next to Fluttershy with her pillow skewered on her horn. It was a miracle that she herself was still in a better position, but she never really moved in her sleep.
The door slowly opened and Tony quietly stepped inside. "I didn't think any of you would be awake yet," he whispered to her. "Morning, by the way."
Fluttershy smiled softly, but winced slightly as the headache limited her movements. "Oh, go-good morning. Tony."
He levitated the coffee cups to rest on the dresser except for the one he had for Fluttershy. "Here, this'll help the headache," he smiled.
She nodded - and regretted doing so - as she took hold of the cup with her hooves. Fluttershy blew softly on it before taking a large sip. "Thank you," she said with a small smile. "What happened last night?"
Tony snickered as he sat down on Fluttershy's bed, the pegasus making room for him. "Oh yeah, heh. You were hitting the punch pretty hard last night with Rainbow over there. She owes you ten bits by the way," he smirked.
"We were drinking?" Fluttershy gasped. "But the Gala always has plain punch."
Tony took out the empty vial and held it in his fingers for her to see. "Not last night, it didn't," he chuckled. "Don't worry, nothing extreme went down. But next time I'd better watch you guys when you're drunk."
Fluttershy blushed brighter than an apple. "Was I being… silly?"
She really has to see the footage
"A little bit," he grinned. Fluttershy's cheeks only worsened from that. "But then again, all of you were."
"Nnnnghhh." The two of them looked towards Twilight who was lifting herself off the floor. "Ughh, not so loud."
"Morning Sunshine," Tony laughed. "How'd you end up on the floor anyways?"
"I don't know," Twilight groaned. "What time is it? Where are we?"
"Well, you girls all passed out so I had to carry most of you to bed. Coffee?" Twilight nodded, and Tony used his rites to lift the mug to her hooves.
"An' what 'n Tartarus happened last night?" Applejack chuckled from her bed.
"You're up early," Tony laughed. "You seem fine, at least. No headache?"
Applejack chuckled and reached for a mug, since her bed was closest to the dresser. "Ah been through rougher night's sugar cube," she laughed. "Earth pony's can handle the heavy stuff better 'an 'em unicorns and pegasi."
"So I see," he smiled. Rainbow was next to wake. She rolled onto her stomach and sat up.
"Morning… guys," she yawned. "Man… I am beat." She stretched out her wings and reached with her front hooves on the bed. "Anypony know where t' get some coffee?"
"Yeah, let's get some coffee!!" Pinkie shouted as she jumped onto Rainbow's bed, scaring said cyan mare.
"Not so loud!" Twilight whined. "Didn't you get headache too?"
"Not really, I have night's like that all the time," Pinkie smiled. "So any coffee for me?"
Tony had taken precautions and only served her about half of what he gave them. And maybe not as much sugar for her.
"Great, now we wait for Madam Rarity t' wake up," Applejack said.
"I'm already up," Rarity said in a dead tone. She tried getting on a hoof but decided to just lay on her side. "Would somepony mind passing the caffeine?"
Tony gave her the last cup of coffee and watched as they all slowly recovered. "Anypony remember what happened last night? And what the heck is in my mane?" Rainbow grunted as she pulled her hoof out of her hair.
"I don't remember," Rarity said. "But I chipped a hoof! And I had them done yesterday!"
"My tummy hurts a little," Fluttershy mumbled as she rubbed a hoof over her stomach.
"Do you remember Pinks?" Applejack asked.
The pink mare brought a hoof to her chin and looked to the ceiling in thought. "Nah, I got nothing," she chirped. "Can you remember Tony?"
Tony couldn't hold back the snickers for much longer. "What's so funny?" Rainbow huffed. "Wait, you do remember!"
"I might. Just get ready, don't wanna miss the train right?" he said as he forced the laughs down his throat.
He got out of the room before any other questions could be asked. And because he couldn't look at them in their current state. It reminded him too much of what happened.
They took a while to clean themselves up, but soon they were joining him outside. As always, Rarity took the longest out of all of them to look her best. Their dresses were neatly folded and packed away in a saddlebag. Just as they were about to go, Twilight stopped dead in her tracks.
"Where's Spike?!"
Nyla watched as her many-great's grandson slept against her. She had never expected the Nera'ak to survive on Earth, but the ponies and their magic resolved that. His name was still uncertain, since Spike was the name given to him by the ponies. His real name was known only by him and his Loki'irian blood. It would have been nice to know his real name, but he had strayed from the old path without the guidance of the Signa.
Nyla.
Yes Reku'un?
Good morning. Is Spike with you?
The elder dragon chuckled through their Ina speaking. Her partner knew her well, and vice versa.
Yes, he is. Tell the purple one he is well and asleep, and that I will see to it he returns to Ponyville.
Alright, but don't get spotted. It's daytime and there are a lot of ponies going around.
I will be fine with him. I just need a moment to speak with him.
Nyla, he's not going to fight. I promised Twilight I wouldn't let anything happen to him.
And nothing will happen to him. I just want to speak with him.
…
Fine. But please, don't overwhelm him. He's just a baby.
Their connected minds seperated, and Nyla sighed deeply. She lowered her head beside her family, and nuzzled him gently. He mumbled something about gems, which made her chuckle softly.
"Well? Where is he?!" Twilight panicked.
"Don't worry. He's with Nyla, and he's sleeping," Tony said. "She'll take him back to Ponyville."
Twilight hesitated, but Tony looked at her resolutely. "If you say so," she sighed. "So, is Spike really Nyla's descendent?"
Tony shrugged as he held the door open for them as they exited the castle. "I never knew she even mated, to tell the truth," he said. "But it would explain why me and Spike bonded."
"Well he did like to hang around you and Dan," Twilight rolled her eyes.
Tony chuckled then waved into Joe's Donut Shop. "No Twi. Bonding between Signa and a dragon means the connection between partners. Like with me and Nyla. We become the same age, we get stronger, and it lets us join our minds through Ina."
"Guess that means you 'n Nyla er mighty strong," Applejack winked.
Tony looked towards the warehouse where Nyla was hiding. "Yeah, we are," he sighed.
If I can still become Makti, we can keep everyone safe.
As they got closer to the train station, Tony could see a billow of smoke trailing towards the capital station. The seven of them paid for their tickets and boarded the train to Ponyville. Given how early it was, it was no surprise the cars were mostly empty. Even so, Tony went through each until they came to an empty car. The mare's sat on one side of the car with Tony in the middle of them.
"Alright. Look here." Tony took out his iPod and once again went into the videos app.
"I thought you said it played music?" Twilight said.
Tony scrolled through the recordings to the first he took. "It does. And it takes pictures and records videos and a bunch of other stuff," he said. "I'll show you some other time. Okay, ready?"
The mare's nodded, and Tony hit play.
Grand Galloping Gala, 11:52 p.m.
"Holy crap," Tony laughed.
"Tony!" Twilight stumbled past other drunkies and tripped up just in front of him. "Whoa, everything's all spinny."
"What's up Twi?" Tony snickered. "Where are the girls?"
"Oh, um," Twilight looked around the room, then shrugged at him. "Who cares? There's no more punch!"
She threw herself helplessly around his leg, as if somepony just died. Luna snickered next to him as Twilight drunkenly cried at his feet. "Don't worry Twilight, I'm sure it's for the best," Luna said as she glanced at Tony.
"No! It's not for the best! That was the be-best punch ever!" Twilight hicupped.
"Who you callin'… soft?!" The partiers looked over to the dessert table, where Applejack and Rainbow were drinking away.
Rainbow spilled some of the punch on her coat as she threw it back then slammed the cup on the table. "I'm… callin' you soft you… softie! Oooooooh!"
Applejack grabbed one of the guards by the neck and pulled him closer. "Bring us some hard Apple Family Cider," she slurred.
"I'm sorry ma'am but I'm not allowed-"
"Oh just do it Corporal Swift," Celestia said from beside him. "I've already started the pool on AJ, so that's an order."
Swift saluted, oblivious to how drunk the princess really was. Within another couple of minutes, the corporal carried a barrel of the infamous Apple Family Un-diluted Cider. He placed it on the table beside them and returned to his post. Celestia summoned a pair of 12 oz. mugs and dipped them into the barrel.
"First to throw up wins," she announced. "Go!"
The mares downed their mugs and placed them for refill. Celestia quickly did just that, and they were off on their second round. Then a third, a fourth, a fifth, and so on as the drunken crowd cheered for their competitor. Tony decided to leave them for a minute to find the other mares, since Twilight was sobbing with the punch bowl on her head.
"I think I might know where Rarity might be," Luna said a bit worriedly. Tony raised a brow and looked to where she was, and his blood boiled over.
Arguing with the fashionista was Blueblood. From what it looked like, Rarity was scolding him for something as she took sips of punch in between her turns. "Think we should stop them?"
Luna grinned devilishly and shook her head. "I'm curious as to what she has to say," the night princess said.
Tony nodded and walked closer to the pair as they bickered away. "…dirty, drunken mess!"
Rarity gasped then took a sip of her cup before throwing it off to the side. "And you think you're *hic* any better than me?! Even a color-blind pony knows how to dress better than you! Matching suit and coats are so overdone!"
"How dare you say that you incompetent, talentless, slutty broad!" Blueblood screamed. "I ought to have your shop removed from the face of Equestria!"
Before either could intervene, Rarity growled and spun around to buck him in the head. The prince was knocked off his hooves and into a table, his head spinning madly.
"And that's what I think you 'Prince'," she huffed. Tony ran over and started clapping his hands together loudly and whistling.
"Yeah Rarity! Show him those dressmaking legs!" Tony cheered. Luna went over to her dazed nephew and shook her head.
With a quick spell she lifted him into the air and trotted over to Tony. "I'll be back soon. I think it's my nephew's bed time," Luna smiled.
They shared a quick kiss and Luna left the hall with a pair of guards. Rarity went to go see the commotion about Applejack and Rainbow, which meant four mares were accounted for. Pinkie would be the hardest to locate, and he didn't think Fluttershy would have drank too much punch.
He heard retching over by the stairs where Celestia and Luna were first welcoming the ponies. When he went over to it he saw Fluttershy sticking her head out one of the windows. She groaned as more of the bile left her stomach with other things in a steamy, gross mess.
"Uh, hey Fluttershy, you alright?" Tony asked. The pegasus wiped any remaining vomit from her mouth and slumped against the wall.
"Hey Tony!" she giggled. "Wow, you're so tall! I never *burp* noticed that before!"
Damn, she's long gone.
"I'm so tired!" she groaned. "When are we leaving?!"
"I guess when everyone else wants to," Tony chuckled. "You shouldn't stay on the floor."
Fluttershy moaned threw herself on the marble floor. "But it's so comfy here! I just need a… a… oh dear."
The pegasus put a hoof over her mouth as her cheeks inflated with her stomachs contents. She stuck her head out the window again and let it fall down into the bushes below. After burping and having nothing else come out she got back inside and giggled as she stumbled to Tony.
"Okay, I think you're done here," Tony said. "Come on, let's get you to bed."
He guided Fluttershy along by her hoof to one of the guards. "What is it you need sir?" the guard saluted.
"Just keep an eye on her for a minute, if you don't mind," Tony said.
"Not at all sir," he nodded. Fluttershy fell onto her side and started snoring away. "Shouldn't be a problem."
Tony shook his head and turned back to the hall of drunks. With all five mares accounted for, all he had to do was find Pinkie Pie. And that wouldn't be so hard if she wasn't Pinkie Pie. He thought one of the less drunken partiers might have seen where she wandered off to.
"Lyra! Lyra!" The ocean mare was just laying down next to a familiar greyish mare with a pink bowtie. "Uh, Lyra?"
The mare beside her nudged her side until she woke up. "Whozzat?" She sat up a bit and smiled. "Look! Another human! Oh that's… Tony."
"Yeah. Um, who's this?" he asked. Lyra looked to her right, then to her left and facehoofed when she saw Octavia.
"This is Octavia. She plays… wait… guitar?" Octavia shook her head and giggled.
"I play cello, idiot," Octavia gigglef as she pushed Lyra. "You're the human prince aren't you?"
"Loki'irian," Tony corrected. "And forget about all that prince stuff. Anyways, have either of you seen Pinkie Pie?"
"Isn't that her up there?" Lyra pointed to the ceiling, which made Tony look up as well.
Hanging from the chandelier by her hind hooves was the party mare herself. She was snoring pretty loudly with drool hanging the way it would if she was in a bed. Instead of questioning the logic, Tony just decided it would be best if he got her down before anything else happened. He flew up to be level with her and picked her up with one arm. Since she was asleep, he thought it a good idea to leave her with Fluttershy.
He landed next to Lyra and was about to walk off. "Hey Tony." The man stopped and looked back down at her. "There's nothing wrong with liking a mare right?"
Tony blushed a bit and nodded. "For me it's alright I guess. What you mean like… a mare liking a mare?"
"Yeah," Lyra giggled. "That's what I meant."
Tony looked off to the side and shrugged. "I… to each their own right?"
"See? Even he says it's alright," Lyra smiled. Not even a second after, the two started mashing their lips together and rolled around.
They're just drunk, they're just drunk
Tony quickly walked away with his cheeks bright red. They only worsened when he saw the guard he had given Fluttershy to on top of her without his armor.
Shit. Even the guards are drunk?!
He quickly walked away to find somepony that was sober enough to keep an eye on Pinkie, but it was clear everyone was long gone. "Maybe I should have had another couple of glasses."
"Why?" Tony looked up and saw Luna hovering overhead. He pointed behind himself with a thumb to where the guard was making out with Fluttershy. Luna's cheeks got a bit red themselves, but she subdued her embarrasment. "Give me a moment."
Tony sighed with relief and went to go check on the other four before they got into a bigger mess. He was taller than the ponies individually, but the crowd had gotten so big some of them were climbing on top of each other. After nudging and preventing some of them from falling, he finally made his way to the front of the ponies. Rainbow and Applejack were still going at it, although, a bit lethargicly. Celestia had also taken a few more glasses of the cider and chugged it herself. Another three empty barrels with "Apple Family" printed on the side were around the table with dribbles of the alcohol spilling out.
"Ja rea-ee ah gvv ah? (Ya ready t' give up?)" Applejack slurred. Rainbow tossed her mug back, spilling some of it in her mane while the rest went down her throat.
"Neherrr (Never)," she said just as drunkenly.
"Don' you lose Applejack," Celestia slurred between the mares. "Don't dare you… lose."
As the next cup of cider hit the table, Tony saw Rainbow swallow some stuff that belong in her stomach. "Maybe you guys should just call it a tie," Tony nervously said.
"Nah uhil ee duh (Not until she does)," Applejack fumbled with her words. She steeled herself and slowly drank the cider with much less vigor than before.
Rainbow shakily lifted the mug up above and spilled half of it in her mane and face while the rest pooled in her mouth. She forcefully swallowed the cider and shivered as she felt another urge to vomit hit her. Applejack was feeling uneasy herself, but she had an order from the not-so-sober princess of the sun. Said mare wasn't even around anymore to serve them. Her replacement was none other than her personal student.
"Fluttershy's fine, now that my guards are with…" She cut short when she saw the two mares struggling to down their drinks. "How many drinks have they had?"
"Too many I think," Tony laughed. "Should we stop them?"
Rainbow lost her will and turned her head to the side and started vomitting. Applejack hollered in victory and started cheering in her seat. She put her hooves under the table and flipped it over, sending Rainbow right into the wall. With all the dried, sticky cider on her she clung to the wall. After trying once to free herself her head drooped and she nodded off. Applejack and Twilight started laughing and pointing at the stuck mare. The crowd dispersed, many beginning to leave.
"Where's Rarity?" Luna questioned. Tony glanced around but saw that she was unaccounted for.
Figures
"Give me a minute," Tony groaned. He could hear her giggling behind him as he went off to search for her.
All this liquor is making my nose sting. Well, gotta clean up ny own mess.
Just as he passed by the dessert table he tripped and dropped Pinkie. He rubbed the side of his head and looked just past his legs. If he wasn't this close - and didn't see the shadow - he would have never seen two legs sticking out from under the table. Tony pushed the cover up to reveal the missing unicorn under the table with a slice of chocolate cake sticking out of her mouth. Before pulling her out he took a moment to crack up about how she looked. With that fit aside, he carefully pulled her out of under the table and flicked the cake out of her mouth.
With all mares located, he could finally get them out of there. He glanced briefly at the iPod to check the time, and it was already half past one. He cradled both mares in his arms and carried them back over to where Luna was supervising Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow. The cowpony was leaning against Twilight for support as she slipped in and out of consciousness. The cyan mare was still stuck up against the wall and snoring quite obnoxiously.
"Well don't they look comfortable," Luna teased. She did a quick peek over her shoulder then in front. "We should find my sister before she gets out of hand."
"Deal, hold on. Let me just… save this, and, okay. Come on girls, we're leaving," Tony called. Twilight got out of her stare and walked away from Applejack, making her fall on the floor then shoot back up.
"Aw co' ah Ton-y, were jus' ge-in sar-ed," she slurred. "Jus' nee mer ciderr." She went to go for one of the guards but Tony stood in front of her.
"You've had way too much AJ. Might not be so good to have any more." Applejack tried going between his legs, but he pushed her along with his leg.
"Tony, stahp. Ah'm gonna geh… more." Tony kept in front of her as she tried maneuvering around, but he stayed with her.
After much stumbling back and forth, Applejack got annoyed with Tony's persistence. She turned around, nearly falling face-first, then shooting her hooves out. Seeing how low her aim was, Tony quickly forced the metals in his body to surface just over his equipment. The farm pony's hooves hit solid metal genitals, and they rebounded while he stumbled back.
"Applejack!" Twilight shouted. "Hurry up!"
Both Tony and Luna realized how out of hand/hoof this was getting. The night princess held Applejack in a levitation spell and kept her restrained for the time being.
"Are you alright Tony?" she asked.
Tony nodded and got back on his feet. "Other than just seeing my whole life flash before my eyes. Never better," he exhaled.
Luna rolled her eyes and laughed, but she could understand his fright. Applejack was the apple bucker for a reason. "After we put them in bed we should look for my sister. I hope she hasn't gone into the preserved wines."
"Preserved wines?" Tony raised a brow.
"Another time. Let's hope she's drunk enough to forget," Luna smirked. Tony nodded and went over to pull Rainbow off of the wall. Some of her feathers clung to the wall, which made her yelp and rub the sore spots.
"Hey, what's the bih idea?" Rainbow groaned.
"Time to go Dash," Tony snickered. "Let's get you outta here."
"Fine." Rainbow fumbled with her hooves before finally getting her footing. She tried getting airborne but just landed on her side. "Oh buh me."
"You should be careful Rainbow Dash," Luna warned. "Flying intoxicated isn't safe."
"Ey, wuzz I talkin' a you… buddy?" She jabbed her hoof at Luna. "I'll… pound your face in… like a… sock."
She started to nod off before Tony got her back onto her hooves. "You said Fluttershy was with your guards right?"
"They are better suited for her in this state," Luna smiled. "Wouldn't want another repetition of her first supervisor, would you?"
Tony chuckled and looked over to the drunken guard swaying in place. "Don't tell Celestia about him. I'm sure he couldn't resist a drink or two," Tony chuckled.
Luna nodded and walked out of the front with Tony. The Lunar Guards waiting for them had Fluttershy on the back of an officer. They followed the couple into the castle and to the west wing. On the way in Applejack had fallen asleep after tiring herself out from struggling. Rainbow and Twilight's threw themselves onto the first beds they saw while Tony and Luna put the others to rest. The two of them snickered some as they left to go find the princess.