//------------------------------// // 34.3 Victory Celebration // Story: Metroid Equis // by Flammenwerfer //------------------------------// Metroid Equis Chapter 34.3 Victory Celebration [Ponyville Park | One Week After Crater Collapse] Another gorgeous Thursday had come and gone, paving the way for the evening, and Samus had once again found herself sitting on one of the various benches in Ponyville’s park. The Hunter had been finding herself venturing out of the comfort of the Library more often than not, starting to spend more time outdoors and exploring her surroundings. Things had been settling down much more, allowing for a much more peaceful aura to fall on the small town and quite frankly, Samus more than welcomed it. For the past couple of hours, the Zero Suit clad Hunter was busy working on her tablet, having received the final build-design for her new ship and being afforded one last chance to make any changes she might want. She had been spending the greater part of her time in the park scrutinizing every little detail of arguably her most important asset. The only time she pried her eyes from the tablet’s screen was to take a bite of her tuna sandwich, which she publicly remarked was ‘fucking delicious.’ Samus swiped her hands over the screen, ‘spinning’ the displayed object about ninety degrees in order to get another good look at its specs before grabbing her sandwich and stuffing her face once more. It was about that time that she realized it was dark outside and she was the only one in the park, her eyes having to adjust a tad from the brightness of her tablet’s screen. Giving one last look to the render of her ship, she submitted the confirmation and powered off the device. Samus then stood up, finished the last bite of her food, and tossed any residuals in the trash can before heading back to Twilight’s Library, holding her tablet against her side. One thing she did admire was the view of the night sky… though she had to get used to the fact that it was the result of Luna’s manipulation. About ten minutes of comfortable walking, Samus reached the front door of the Library, gently turning the knob and letting herself in. Closing the door behind her, she found all six mares talking loudly amongst themselves, setting up drinks on a table on the side of the common room. They all looked up and smiled upon her entrance. “There you are!” Twilight exclaimed. Apparently they were looking for her. “Did I miss something?” Samus asked curiously, observing that Pinkie was hanging up streamers and what not. There were several beyond several bottles of what Samus could only assume were alcoholic beverages and a few plates of sweets rested next to them. Rainbow Dash appeared to be getting a speaker-system set up and there was also a distinct lack of Spike. “Everything has settled down… so tonight is a party for us!” Rainbow Dash added, eager to get things going. “Ah. Alright, I’ll be in my room if you need me,” Samus replied, moving to her door but stopped when a certain cream-colored pegasus cleared her throat. “Ummm… Samus you’re included in ‘us,’” Fluttershy shyly pointed out. The others all looked to Samus encouragingly. The Hunter sported a small but touched smile. “I appreciate the thought girls, really, but I’m actually kinda tired…” “Yeah, Samus. Stay with us… you of all ponies’ve earned this,” Applejack parroted the other mare’s sentiments. “Come on, Samus! When’s the last time you really had fun?” Pinkie asked, knowing full well that the blonde-haired girl had not rewarded herself much in her travels. Samus just looked at all six of them staring back at her, not quite sure what to come back with at that point, because they were absolutely right. “Indeed, Darling, come partake in the festivities with your friends,” Rarity urged. “Yeah, don’t be lame, Samus. I wanna drink you under the table anyways…” Rainbow Dash invited challengingly, eliciting a giggle from Applejack. Samus, on her part, was touched that all wanted her to be included. Again, she noticed the absence of Spike. “Where’s Spike?” “He’s stayin’ the night at the farm with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Mah brother Big Mac is watchin’ them tonight… so it’ll just be us seven,” Applejack answered her question excitedly. Conceding that she did not have anything better to do at the moment, Samus felt she could stay for at least a little bit. She donned a determined half-smirk. “Oh alright. Lemme just put this away,” Samus agreed, gesturing to her tablet before entering her room. The other six all erupted in their own cheers of success at Samus’s acceptance. The latter returned after a few moments and the last of the drinks were set up for consumption. Shot glasses, scotch glasses, and wine glasses were all lined up and organized; not to mention all the beer and cider bottles under the table. “Alright,” Twilight began to fill Samus on the details. “After a hard but rewarding adventure, we like to throw ourselves a little night-long party like this. It was Pinkie’s idea the first time and I actually love it. We always start off with a toast,” Twilight finished, Samus nodding in understanding.   “Way ahead of ya’ Twi!” Applejack called out, having finished filling the last of seven shot glasses with a clear liquid. “Soup’s on, everypony!” All seven moved to the drink table and picked up a shot glass… though Samus was a combination of impressed, weirded out, and confused as to how Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash were able to hold the drinkware with one hoof. Nevertheless, Samus took the last one and examined the liquid inside. “So, what’re we starting off with?” she asked, swirling it a bit. “Vodka imported from the Griffon Kingdom!” Rainbow answered enthusiastically, more than ready to get the ball rolling. Samus shrugged in indifference. Vodka was perfectly fine with her. Glad alcohol seems to be the same here. “Alright everypony, a toast...” Twilight began, leading the toast. “...to friendship, and the heroic actions of our new friend, Samus!” she toasted, holding her drink high in her magical grasp. Samus lightly chortled at the nice gesture yet raised her glass all the same with her new friends. My friends… “To friendship, and Samus!” All seven echoed, though the Hunter did not parrot her own name due to how weird that sounded. They held their drinks high and immediately brought the shot glasses to their lips, downing the liquid in one go. The foreign alcohol slid down Samus’s gullet quite smoothly but she immediately tasted the crisp, telltale aftertaste of genuine vodka, the satisfying burn of her esophagus following quickly. “Not bad!” Samus commented, nodding her head in approval and placing her glass back on the table. “AHHH!! That’s good!” Fluttershy unexpectedly growled gratifyingly, nearly slamming the glass on the floor. Rainbow Dash stifled a guffaw with her hoof. “Oh yeah, Fluttershy is amazing when she drinks, just letting you know, Samus,” Rainbow pointed out, trotting to the speakers to get some music going. “Let’s get this party STARTED!” Pinkie screamed before joining Rainbow Dash in organizing what was to be played that evening. Samus opted to get herself another shot of that surprisingly good vodka. [Twenty-five Minutes Later…] “What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen in your travels?” Twilight asked, she, Samus, and Fluttershy sitting on large pillows while the other four danced to some very poppy, club-esque music. Samus held a gin and tonic in her left hand while Twilight held the same in her hooves. Fluttershy was sipping on flavored vodka. “In what context, though? For me personally, that’s a very open-ended and vague question,” Samus replied, asking for narrower parameters. She swirled her drink, the ice clinking in the glass before she took another sip. She was two shots in, combined with what she had already drunk of her current drink. Twilight took a large gulp of hers before continuing. “Alright… what’s the craziest creature you’ve seen to date?” “Hmmm… that’s a really tough one, honestly; because I’ve seen some shit,” Samus said initially, still trying to find some order on her personal ‘craziness scale.’ “You’ll never believe me when I say this but… I’m gonna have to say ‘Dark Samus.’” “I’m sorry… what?” Fluttershy asked after finishing off her glass. “Yeah, what does that even mean?” Twilight pressed, facing herself more towards the casually-sitting human. Samus was really not in the mood to explain the very concept of her contrived alter-ego. “I really don’t want to get into that discussion because it’ll raise more questions than answers… so later on, just remind me and I’ll let you use my tablet which has my entire archived logbook from my adventures,” Samus offered, and Twilight’s face lit up like a Christmas Tree at the prospect of a new source of information beyond her own world. “Yes! I’d love that! Thank you, Samus!!” Twilight exclaimed rapidly and enthusiastically. Fluttershy was dragged onto the dance floor by Rainbow Dash and Samus patted the unicorn’s back. “No worries. Now…” Samus finished off what was left of her third drink. “How about we get a refill?” she asked, standing up. The unicorn reciprocated. “Definitely! You gotta try this Zebranican tequila. Take a shot with me?” Twilight requested as they both walked to the liquor table with their empty glasses. “I’m down.” [Twenty Minutes Later…] Five total drinks in, Samus was finishing off her sixth in a race with Rainbow Dash. The other five watched intently and encouraged the duo on as the cyan pegasus and interstellar bounty hunter competed for how fast they could chug their respective bottles. It was neck and neck but ultimately Samus won by a fraction of a second when she slammed the empty bottle on the floor in front of her, everypony on large, comfy pillows. The spectators all erupted in laughing cheers. “Damn Rainbow! She actually beat ya!” Pinkie exclaimed with a giggle, Rainbow having lost by *just* that much. Samus belched lightly but quickly covered her mouth before leaning back with a victorious grin. All had drank a decent amount by this time and as such, were beginning to already be well within the ‘tipsy’ zone. Even Samus’s cheeks were slightly colored from the increased heat afforded by the alcohol, but then again, so were everypony else’s. “Bleh, you just got lucky,” Rainbow replied pointing her hoof at the Hunter for emphasis, ever the sore loser that everypony loved. “Ah’m next!” Applejack voiced, wanting a go at drinking with the Hunter competitively. Samus held up her hand. “Just give me a bit to let the alcohol settle… I’m already pretty tipsy,” Samus admitted, punctuated by an almost involuntary giggle at the ridiculousness of the situation. “You’re feeling it Samus?” Pinkie confirmed. “Oh I’m definitely feeling it.” “That’s just the feeling of friendship warming up your soul,” Fluttershy said jokingly, getting a sensible chuckle out of everyone. “Actually I think that’s the feeling of four different types of alcohol hitting my system at once,” Samus sarcastically corrected. “Well, then how about ‘bout we make it five types, partner?” Applejack suggested, offering Samus a nice bottle of cider. Samus stared at the bottle being hoofed to her and she finally shrugged, taking it from the farmer and quickly opening it. “Loser takes an extra shot!” Twilight shouted bubbly, adding the rule at the last second. Both would-be contestants looked to her and agreed immediately, clinking their bottles together and furiously beginning to chug the alcoholic elixir. [Thirty Minutes Later...] About an average of nine drinks in for everypony signaled the level where all had perpetual smiles on their faces accompanied with ‘the giggles.’ Unfortunately for Samus, though, she had lost the round with Applejack which necessitated her downing a shot of vodka for comeuppance. More interestingly, Samus found out that ponies, somehow, were naturally more resistant to the effects of alcohol and thus required more to become inebriated. For her, she was around their level in terms of ‘resistance' due to her modified genetic makeup, as well as the occasionally downing a bottle of whisky in one go during her travels. So for all intents and purposes, everypony was, on average, the same level of ‘drunk.’ The seven found themselves playing a game the mares called ‘Drunk Hoof-Dot,” which was essentially the exact same thing as the human game of ‘Drunk Twister.’ Things were made more interesting when Twilight again amended the rules, requiring sometimes two limb-placements at once. If one ended up ‘falling,’ they had to take a double-shot of gin. Fluttershy, having the least tolerance of them all, offered to be the ‘caller.’ The thing was, was that the ponies, however flexible they might have been, were absolutely no match for Samus even in her inebriated state. “Okay ummm… right front-hoof blue and left front-hoof red,” Fluttershy called out. Rainbow Dash was easily able to get herself onto the proper positions due to her initial placement… but with Samus’s opposite initial position, it appeared that the move would have been nearly impossible with having to keep her feet on their necessary dots. Only she and Samus were the remaining contenders, the others having lost and taken their drinks. “There’s no way you’re gonna get that Samus…” Rainbow stated, drunkenly wobbling yet confident in her victory; but, lo and behold, Samus still expertly bent backwards, creating nearly a perfect circle with her arch. Her right hand snaked between her legs and laid comfortably on the blue dot, and she stretched her left hand out in the opposite direction, laying it on red. “Oh COME ON!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, exasperated. The others looked on in complete awe. “Alright now that’s just unfair...” Applejack remarked while Twilight had a hoof to her mouth in surprise. Fluttershy spun the spinner. “Alright, ummm… left wing green!” she voiced, and Rainbow immediately, though with extreme discomfort, stretched her wing out and pressed a primary feather to the nearest green dot. “Hah! You don’t have wings so unless you magically get them or use something else, I win automatically!” Rainbow commented, never seeming to learn from Samus’s determination and intuition. She was right though, Samus clearly did not have wings nor could obtain them by magical means. She had to improvise… and improvise she would. A cocky smirk graced her features when she saw that the nearest green dot was right ‘in front’ of her, relative to the position of her head which was facing the ground. She knew what she could do immediately. Redistributing some of the work to her abs and quads, Samus bent at the knees, forming almost a perfect table top while never straining her back nor removing her limbs from their required positions. She then bent further into her arch and lowered her trunk. To the absolute disbelief of Rainbow Dash, she touched her left breast to a green spot. Hey, she had two of them and had to improvise, so it was all the same. One could hear a pin drop at that moment. “I… I guess that counts…” Fluttershy thought out loud while Pinkie busted out laughing. “UGH! I’M DONE… gimme the damn drink!” Rainbow acquiesced verbally, having no will to be disappointed anymore. She quickly downed her required alcohol and Samus untangled herself. The latter stabilized herself from the slight vertigo of her movements in conjunction with her inebriated state. “Okay… now that was fun,” she admitted completely before devolving into a snickering fit. She then joined Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity with partaking in a glass of wine. [Thirty Minutes Later...] Pinkie was in complete hysterics and Fluttershy had absolutely no words as she, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow were looking on at the scene with keen interest. “W-What exactly am I lookin’ at?” Applejack asked out loud. “...I don’t rightly know, D-Darling,” Rarity echoed similar sentiments, slurring her words yet coherent enough to comprehend the idea of an abomination in front of them. “And how plastered are they?” Rainbow asked, she herself pretty damn plastered. All eyes were on Samus and Twilight attempting to dance to a rather nice, upbeat and ‘grooving’ song. ‘Attempt’ would be meant in the strongest of cases, as it was not dancing in front of them; it was a visual cacophony of flailing limbs, hip movements, and head bobs. Samus had even let her hair down during some indiscernible time, adding to the chaotic visual. “I’d never take Samus as terrible a dancer as Twi… I mean, just look at her; look at THEM,” Rainbow gestured, continuing to place emphasis on the situation in front of them. All six of the equally decimated mares had managed to get Samus pissed-drunk enough to dance with them, and once she and Twilight got going, they all immediately had to step aside and just watch… it was like looking at the sun: you knew it hurt to look at but you just couldn’t look away. Samus and Twilight were having an indescribable amount of fun as evident by the variation of smiles adorning their faces, though, not having realized that their friends had spread out. “Rainbow I’d love to see you pull out yer fancy moves bein’ more shitsloshed than mah uncle the day after his harvest… which you are,” Applejack sarcastically challenged. Rainbow Dash only shrugged. “Indeed, we ourselves are not in the most right minds, I doubt we’re much better,” Rarity also voiced. “Meh.” The bystanders all rejoined their unicorn and human friend on the dance floor and proceeded to show off their drunken moves to the hypnotic beat. [One Hour Later…] Crash. That would be the only appropriate word to describe the events leading up to this moment. The seven all danced their drunken little hearts out and wore themselves out entirely. A noticeable quantity of the total alcohol pool had been consumed and as a result, every single pony plus one person was out like a goddamn light in a drunken slumber. Desynchronous snores all sounded throughout the common room, alcohol was spilled and glasses were strewn about… it was the perfect scene of the aftermath of a textbook-successful night. Twilight was snoring, open-mouthed, on her back with her front hooves folded against her chest. Fluttershy was snuggled up against her side, seeming to be the only individual with any semblance of a normal sleeping position. Samus was face down and on her stomach, peacefully knocked out as a small puddle of drool formed at the edge of her mouth and right arm draped over Twilight’s stomach. Rarity cuddled Samus’s left arm but got a face full of Samus’s long hair. Pinkie was sprawled orthogonally on Samus’s back while Rainbow Dash was laying on her side against the Hunter’s left leg. Applejack cuddled Samus's right leg, her stetson having disappeared somewhere. It appeared to be the perfect end to a wild, fun night. Even in the morning when Samus would emerge from her slumber with one of the largest hangovers she ever had (to the point of puking), she would concede that it was all worth it… even though she most likely made a complete ass of herself and ended up nearly bedridden with the rest of the girls from the sheer magnitude of the headache. Absolutely worth it.