//------------------------------// // Intermission: "Look, ma! I'm a princess!" // Story: Land of Friendship and Magic // by Archmage Ansrit //------------------------------// Meanwhile, miles and miles away A giggle bubbled from Princess Celestia's throat, then, she promptly covered her muzzle with a hoof while she blushed in embarrassment. She giggled again, swaying slightly as she simply took a sip from her... whatever drink it was; she sniffed it again, sighing with a smile. Blessed be body doubles. She was out there, making sure that the foals had a good time (and a safe one, at that), while she was with her friends, beyond buzzed! And another was doing the odious, detestable paperwork that so plagued her! She should banish it to Tartarus - oh! Another great idea to deal with the despicable stacks of paper! And thanks to Prosperity's warnings, everypony knew what she was dressed as! News traveled so fast, it was like they flew! Or like magic! Prosperity watched the giggling mare finish off yet another of those things... they were really sweet, but heavy on the alcohol. The party was - as was tradition for Nightmare Night - a garden party (the very spacious garden outside the Castle Ballroom), and technically hosted by Blueblood, even if he was off preparing to brave the elements and demonstrate his mettle; his absence was seen as him taking his task- his quest with the earnest dedication that Celestia had clearly said it should be given. Fortunately, Celestia had not yet had any drinks by the time she heard that, and was able to retain her composure. Laughing like a madmare would have been suspicious, after all. The reason she had been drinking so much, so early, was because her disguise's hair coloration resembled Fleur's; they were so similar that, being both 'unicorns', she had been asked if they were sisters seventeen times in the first ten minutes. Hence, she went straight for the drinks, not knowing they were alcoholic at first, then not caring because they were really good. "And there she goes for another one. I may have made a mistake in teaching her that." Prosperity muttered as the slightly-inebriated Green King waved another waiter. She pinched the bridge of her snout with her armored claw (having scales on her face was convenient like that) - Celestia was, essentially, using the body double to drink all she wanted, get totally and utterly wasted, and dodge the hangover by dispelling the clone before the alcohol got processed fully. And do paperwork while she's off at a party. Clones of that variation were usually rarely worth the risk of using them for most of the ponies, given that the necessary energy for one was a concern, the required affinities not all that common, and the effort of learning to use them effectively was another unattractive point about them; yet, once the caster got past a certain level of power, control, and mental fortitude... it was possible to do that, and more, because magic is supposed to make life more convenient for those that can conquer its challenges. And Celestia had all of that to spare. Besides, she deserved some convenience in her life, what with having had to shoulder the responsibilities over the entire nation alone for a thousand years. Karma had racked a rather hefty debt. Flitter staggered and bumped into Prosperity, then latched a foreleg around her waist for support. "Why so serious?" Flitter's bubbly giggles just made her pinch her face harder. "Our fellow royal is an empathic drunk, just like you." Prosperity sighed, watching Celestia sniffling and hugging a party-goer (dressed as what she thought of as a ponified Carmen Sandiego) that had been pawing at the ground awkwardly. "Just. Like. You." "More Empathy to spread around!" Flitter said while sweeping a hoof through the air, then using said hoof to pat her friend's stomach - because she couldn't reach the shoulders. "I'm big on that, you know? It's like... like the core philosophy of my place, you know?" "I know, Whitey. What I want to know is why nopony is batting an eyelash at this." Prosperity glanced around aaaannnd of course. It just had to be like that. A lot of ponies were sporting blushes, despite the crisp mountain air being a little nippy. "Most everypony has had a touch too much to drink, Prospit." The Red King Fleur de Lis watched in amusement as Silver Lining (dressed as international stallion of mystery Con Mane) was swaying in place, next to an equally tipsy Cloud Bank (dressed as Daring Do). "This... this... is... my wife." Silver Lining said, wrapping a hoof around the mare's shoulders and squeezing her a little bit, knocking her hat off in the process. "I love her." Cloud Bank, for her part, tittered behind her hoof, blushing and giving Silver a peck on the cheek. "Seriously, my friends. I love her so much." He sniffled, giving his glass a hearty swig. "And- and then, I had thought: What if I die? I'm never going to see her again." Silver began to tear up, and even a small sob escaped him. Cloud gently butted the side of his head with hers, draped a wing over his back, then nuzzled him. "And then I started tinking- I mean, thinking. I thought some more, and asked myself: 'Does she know I love her?'." "I know it." Cloud's body shook as if she was laughing with no volume to it; her eyes began to water, and she gave Silver another quick kiss. "I know now." Silver said, snatching a glass from a passing waiter and offering it to Cloud, who, rather than simply take it, pressed her lips against it and tipped it with a hoof. "But I was worried I didn't show it." "Show it?" One of the other ponies asked - he was dressed as a general from a couple of centuries ago, including a Mustache of Command the likes of which were immortalized in song (he was rather proud of it, and petted it and groomed it as he spoke). As another victim of the powerful-yet-smooth sweet drinks, he was unable and unwilling to listen to that voice that told him that the display of affection was 'improper'; he found that the voice was annoying him and distracting him from listening to what Silver Lining had to say. "I mean, we spend so much time of the day looking up at the sky - what's even up there, anyways? Like, are we looking for birds? I kind of understand looking up at night, what with the stars and the moon, but walking like that during the day? What if I trip or something?" He turned skyward and narrowed his eyes, frowning; he couldn't see the birds because the night was in the way. Then he remembered that the birds were probably asleep, and stayed like that looking at the stars. Weren't there supposed to be pictures up there? "Right." "Indeed." "Indubio- indi... in-du-bi-ta-bly." The others nodded. Inebriation put a new perspective on things, and the pair's actions and words had wormed their way through the usual filters. Not to mention that a few of them had already had their 'audience' with princess Celestia, and had their usual frames of reference... shaken, to say the least. "It's what we are expected to do." Somepony in a flutterpony costume (with a regal dress added) said. "Like, how are others supposed to know we're Canterlot ponies?" "Don't we already wear all of this stuff because of that?" The general said, gesturing to his period-accurate replica of an officer's parade uniform, then returning his hoof to the task of twirling his mustache. "I rather like my suits and ties, and the thought of face-planting because I wasn't looking..." The group let out an involuntary shudder at the mental image; a mustache like that was to be preserved at all costs. "Back to my wife - I love her, did I already say that?" Silver asked, and had his ear swatted by Cloud's. "You said it." She gripped him with her wing a little bit tighter - and downed the rest of the glass she had been sipping from. "So I was like 'am I showing it enough?' and then I nearly had a heart attack - I wasn't!" He gasped and tried to fan himself with a hoof, Cloud's wing having inadvertently contributed to the uncomfortable warmth. "I spent so much time worrying about what ponies I didn't even know thought that I wasn't paying attention to the ones I do know! If I die, what would the last memory of me be? Turning my nose to the air and treating Cloud like I don't even notice she's there?!" He stood straight - well, almost - and placed the glass on a tray carried by another waiter. He turned to Cloud, gently turned her head towards him, and pressed his lips against hers. She didn't waste any time in returning it, and even deepened it of her own initiative. "Uh..." The general coughed. Silver broke off the kiss, then glared at him. "Do you mind? I'm making sure she knows that I love her!" He released Cloud, and wiggled out of her wing grip. "Come, honey, let's get away from these ponies that apparently can't accept that a stallion might want to shower his beloved mare with affection." The pair snorted, and the other party-goers flinched at the accusation. Prosperity watched as they just trotted besides her, herself standing next to the improvised 'bar', and snuck under the table. She sighed, shook her head, and turned to the 'barmare'. "What are you even doing here?" She asked the unicorn currently mixing another drink, intended for Celestia, no less. "What does it look like? Making sure that these stiffs have a good party." The mare's mirth was evident in her bright blue eyes, levitating a small glass for herself. "Besides, what of your supposed escort?" "I left them guarding the chests my 'hoard' is being kept in, because I didn't want them to get mixed up with the other treasures." Prosperity answered, sighed in defeat, and made her request. "I want a Rainbow, and the mundane one that's just several drinks floating on one another; I don't want any magic liquor today." "Sure." "Don't you know how much my poor psyche suffers whenever I see someone that changed to the gender opposite to that they were born with just 'for the lulz'? The only one not to change even once was Starswirl, and that was only because he didn't want to lose his beard." The mare, code-named 'WQ-2', giggled as she carefully poured the ingredients. Having an inventory that didn't take up much actual physical space and could be accessed freely was, in her words, 'awesome', as she could simply carry everything she needed to open her own bar. And yes, that included the building itself. Wallet inventories were overpowered like that. "Get one pony doing it and most of the rest will soon follow - it's how I got so many of them drunk. That, and ponies are vulnerable to sweet things." "Now there are ponies getting awfully affective towards their partners." Prosperity sighed, but simply took her drink. Being a dragon was convenient - alcohol was 'burned off' quickly, and only certain special brews could affect them like that. "I want... anything, really; as long as it's hard." A unicorn mare with a lavender mane and fuchsia coat sighed. "You look pretty down; word of advice, if you're like that, you shouldn't try to get drunk." The Questant said. "Talk to me instead." The mare looked at her with a frown, but ultimately nodded. "I've been looking for... somepony. I saw her at the Gala - at first I thought she was annoying, but I can't get her out of my head." Prosperity quirked an eyebrow, thinking that the mare - the Carmen Sandiego pony - looked somewhat familiar. (Alright, so it was the Tellurian equivalent 'Charming Supplanter', but she had been exposed to the human version much earlier than the pony version.) "Do you have a name or a face with which to narrow it down?" Prosperity asked, the sense of familiarity starting to burn. "She was one of the mares that defeated Discord; the pink earth pony-" "Pinkamena Diane Pie." Both the dragon and the barmare said simultaneously. "Oh... you know her?" The mare asked with... something that was equal parts nervousness, excitement, and indecision. "I do not think I have to tell you that, after being around her, she becomes pretty hard to forget." WQ-2 said with a smirk, to which the mare nodded uncomfortably. "She lives in Ponyville." Prosperity added. "The only way to miss her is for her to be in a different town, so don't worry too much about finding her." The mare wasn't exactly cheered up, but at least she wasn't dragging her hooves. Meanwhile, Celestia was engaging in conversation of her own. "And you should see my nephew." She said, smiling tenderly. "Back when he was five, he used to get into my closet, put on my finery and clothes, and parade around the halls - once, he even busted into the room where I was talking to his mother, yelling 'look, ma! I'm a princess!'" Celestia's eyes grew misty, and she breathed deeply. "I blinked, and now he's a grown stallion." She spoke wistfully. "He's always given me his support, but I couldn't see how much he wanted to go on to do his own things. He's a happy stallion out there, seeing the sights, exploring the terrain, getting in touch with others; he's an outgoing pony." "He sounds like a great pony; I wish I knew him." Flitter gently embraced Celestia, as the other ponies nodded - one of the mares had to wipe her eyes, even. Prosperity wasn't very keen on the antics of drunken ponies, particularly those where they got affectionate on one another, but still let out a smile at seeing Celestia being simply 'Celestia'. Ponies should have the opportunity to just be themselves, and she had to admit that the princess was long overdue. It wasn't quite the type of party she liked best, but she thought it was alright.