//------------------------------// // 2 ~ Drinking Contest // Story: Party Hard // by Raynbow //------------------------------// Shortly after, all the invited guests had arrived at the designated venue for Pinkie’s party. This being the rest of the elements; Big Mac and Caramel; the ever-ambitious Cutie Mark Crusaders and the pre-existing guests of Twilight, Dash and Spike. Although the party wasn’t planned to start until seven-thirty, all the guests had arrived early. Not caring in the slightest, Pinkie Pie deemed the party to have started as the last guest walked through the door. As one would expect at a party, the ponies had formed small groups amongst themselves where small amounts of chatter or dancing took place. There was Applejack and Rainbow Dash sitting at a small table they had set up to hoof wrestle on, well away from the dance area. It was a tight contest between the two as always, with no clear winner in sight. A few meters away from the two stood the ever-ambitious Cutie Mark Crusaders, whom were also accompanied by Spike. The three Crusaders were plotting new ways to get their cutie marks, as per usual. While Spike was rather interested in helping them achieve this feat, he wasn't paying much attention to the hyperactive fillies’ ramblings. Sitting at the bar was Caramel, Big Mac and an enthusiastic Rarity, who was enjoying chatting with the colts about their life on the farm. The trio was drinking an assortment of alcoholic beverages - cider for the colts and a strawberry daiquiri for Rarity, who enjoyed exquisite drinks. While the dress code was meant to be, well, non-existent, Rarity had typically outdone herself and worn what was the most elegant dress her skilled hooves and horn could create. She was the only pony in the building that was wearing any form of clothing, apart from Applejack’s trademark cowpony hat. The remaining guests were on the dance floor. Here stood Pinkie Pie, Twilight and Fluttershy. Pinkie had neatly arranged a very powerful sound system, which was situated just off the designated dance area prior to the arrival of the guests. While Pinkie was rocking out to the hit single "I Kissed a Mare" by "Katy Pony", Twilight and a very timid Fluttershy were dancing calmly and smoothly, trying to avoid being accidentally belted by Pinkie as she practically threw herself around the floor. General chitchat, gossip, plain partying and the likes were common topics and activities at casual parties, but since when have any of Pinkie's parties ever been normal or even casual in any possible way? All the ponies were here to have a good time, why should they hold back? Which is exactly why they didn’t. --- The party had been cruising along for three quarters of an hour now, and was in the stage that would be referred to as the party’s “baby steps”. However, it was becoming quite noticeable that the guests were becoming famished, and the punch bowl was starting to run on empty. Realizing this, Pinkie Pie happily trotted into the kitchen to address these problems. Remembering about the cake she had placed in the oven earlier, she took a peek to check its progress. Sure enough, it was ready and baked to perfection. She pulled the cake out of the oven and placed it on a trolley, away from the prying eyes of the hungry ponies to let it cool for a few minutes. In the meantime, Pinkie bounced towards the basement to fetch a barrel of cider. Meanwhile, in the main area, the ponies were becoming increasingly tipsy. Rarity had already downed a few glasses of punch and strawberry daiquiri; but had no clear intentions of stopping anytime soon. The others have had a couple of mugs of cider each, but none had enough to really alter their judgement quite yet. While the equines have had a lot to drink, they still had little to nothing to eat and were becoming increasingly starved by the minute. Rainbow Dash was trying to refrain herself from letting out a complaint, but her stomach soon got the best of her as she called out to Pinkie to voice her hunger. “Pinkie, are there any snacks or anything we could eat? We’re really hungry…” Rainbow Dash let out. It took a few seconds, but an echoed response came from the direction of Pinkie’s basement. “I’m super sorry girls, I’m just waiting for this yummy cake to cool down so we can all eat.” At the sound of the word “cake”, Rainbow Dash’s ears perked up. “Cake? What type?” This time, there was no response. Not until Pinkie Pie came galloping out of the basement with a large barrel of cider balanced her nose. She gently set the barrel down on the bar. “None other than the marzipan mascarpone meringue madness of course!” Pinkie squealed. Now Pinkie had everypony’s attention. “MMM? But Pinkie, didn’t that there cake take the Cakes three whole months tah cook?” Applejack asked. But instead of getting an answer, Pinkie rushed back into the kitchen and wheeled the trolley with the marvellous cake to the bench where the ponies had gathered around expectantly. Upon seeing the magnificent confectionary dessert cake, the equines let out “ooohs” and “aaahs” in amazement and understanding. While it indeed was the marzipan mascarpone meringue madness, it was a much smaller version of it. Small enough to prepare and cook in a day, but large enough to feed a group of hungry ponies. For what must’ve felt like the hundredth time that day, Pinkie Pie trotted into the kitchen, this time to grab a dozen plates and some cutlery. Pinkie returned to see ten drooling ponies and one hungry dragon. The only possible response Pinkie could muster was a small giggle, which then turned into a laughing fit. It proved to be contagious, as the other ponies started laughing at the sight of Pinkie laughing. When they all got a hold of themselves, there was an awkward silence. That is, until Rainbow Dash typically spoke up. “So, what was that about?” Rainbow Dash said, stifling a wild giggle. “I have no idea!” Pinkie cried out, on the verge of tears. It took a while, but Pinkie finally got a grip on herself and set the dishes and silverware on the table. She then cut the cake into twenty-four equal slices, as a picky Twilight suggested. She didn’t want anypony feeling as if they didn’t get as much as somepony else did, which is understandable. As soon as the cake was cut, the slices disappeared almost instantly as the ponies swiped up their fair share. The hungry ponies gobbled it down quicker than Pinkie could say “cherrychanga”, only pausing to breathe or to take a swig of their beverages – mostly alcohol. However, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were given prime quality Sweet Apple Acre Apple Juice - courtesy of Twilight and her concern for underage drinking. Due to the cake’s instant success, Pinkie scooted back into the pantry yet again, this time returning with some savoury food. Crackers, potato chips, dips and some greens were some simple snacks that she hoped would last for the rest of the night, or at least half of it. Pinkie Pie sighed in happiness. Now that the food had been taken care of, she could get back to partying. “Whee, let’s do this!” Shouted Pinkie Pie in a very elate tone. She literally bounced back over to her sophisticated sound system and turned the volume up as loud as it could go. She grabbed a white cord and her iPony, which she continued on to connect into the speakers. Scrolling through her playlist, she found the one thing that was sure to get everypony on their hooves and shaking their thing. Dubstep. --- Rainbow Dash and Applejack sat at the bar, drinking cider while the unavoidable dubstep blared in their ears. The duo were chatting about this year’s upcoming Running of the Leaves while they tried to drone out the music playing behind them. “Oh pony, I am so looking forward to this years runnings, I’m going to be sprinting so fast that those leaves are going to be burning off the trees!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in a very self-centred tone. “Don’t yah mean “we”, sugarcube?” Applejack responded, raising her eyebrow. “Pony, please. You were only keeping up with me last year because you were being such a cheater,” Rainbow Dash retaliated, her ego growing ever so slightly by the minute. “That is so ahronic Rainbow, don’t y’all say to me that you weren’t being a cheatin’ varmint too,” “What? No way! Tell me, how the hay was I cheating?” “Ah, ponyfeathers…” Applejack sighed, dropping the conversation. For several seconds, there was a silence between the two. Rainbow Dash silently cheered, happy that she had won the little debate. She decided to celebrate with a victory drink, which was downed in one shot. “It’s good to finally be able to drink cider without there being none left...” Rainbow Dash sighed, almost in heaven. For no apparent reason, Applejack ignored Rainbow Dash’s comment and skipped to a whole new topic completely. One that Rainbow Dash had recently confronted today, with much embarrassment and hate for the subject. Nonetheless, the question was asked. “So RD, how’re the mares comin’ along? Rainbow Dash let out an exasperated sigh of shock and annoyance. “You’re the second fucking person to mention that today…” Rainbow Dash responded bitterly. “Oh, ahm sorry Rainbow, didn’t realize it was true.” “It’s not true, for Celestia’s sake! Why is everypony so thick?” “Ahm only joshin’ around with ya Rainbow, don’tcha worry.” Applejack laughed. Clearly not amused, Rainbow Dash slammed her mug into the bench in anger. She refused to let this slip past her, so she decided on one thing that would settle everything between the two in the past – some form of competition. “I challenge you to a sculling contest, first to six cups of cider wins the right to total awesomeness.” “Woah nelly…” Applejack said, stunned at the sudden proposal. She considered the pros and cons of this idea, particularly paying more attention to the consequences. While there was little to no pros at all, Applejack accepted. It is a party, after all. “Ya know what? Yer on,” “Damn right pony.” Applejack had a slight catch though. She knew, as always, it would be a tight contest. In these tight contests, Rainbow Dash would always insist that she had won, and once she got that thought in her mind, there is no convincing her otherwise. So to prevent this, Applejack called her brother over to judge, who brought Caramel over to help him. Caramel and Big Mac fetched a dozen mugs and filled each one up to the exact same level, so that there was absolutely no room for cheating. They separated the cups equally – four on Rainbow Dash’s preferred side, four on Applejack’s preferred side and two each in the middle, just to mix things up. The rules were simple and obvious, but Applejack felt the need to go over them. “Okay, the rules are that mah brother’s and cousin’s word is final. We start when they say to start, and absolutely no cheatin’ will be tolerated. Do ya understand, Rainbow?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and nodded. Applejack making the rules up again, what a surprise. “Ah mean it Rain, if ah catch you cheatin’ ah’ll do something y’all will regret,” “Yeah yeah, whatever. Let’s just get this over with.” Rainbow Dash smirked. Big Mac brought his hoof up; signalling the start of the round was imminent. The eager ponies waited for that hoof to smack to on the table, which would declare the start of the match. “Get ready for a whoopin’ Rainbow,” Applejack whispered, still concentrating on her brother’s hoof. “Sure, we’ll see abou-“ Rainbow Dash was interrupted as Big Mac slammed his hoof down on the bar. Applejack was ready, but Rainbow Dash was caught slightly off guard, setting her back a few precious milliseconds. The contest was even throughout the whole time. Rainbow Dash had regained the milliseconds she lost at the start quickly, and used it to get to an equal amount cider drank. Both were on four cups each, and there was no sign of a let up from anypony. Rainbow Dash and Applejack swiped up their second last mug in complete unison as and brought them to their lips. “Down the gullet, Applejack,” She thought as she swallowed the soft alcoholic beverage. She spared a quick glance over to see how Rainbow Dash was going as she tossed the fifth cup onto the bar. She was pleased to find out that she had gained the lead ever so slightly. And that’s the way it stayed until the last second. Rainbow Dash looked out of it, physically and mentally, but she managed to pull through - quickly at that. She slammed her cup down shakily and glanced over at Applejack, who had just done the same thing. It was a close call. Caramel and Big Mac discussed it for a moment, but could not come to a general consensus. In the end, it was all up to a seventh cup of cider – one that Rainbow Dash struggled to hold without spilling. She was getting wasted already, Applejack no better. It took a minute or so, but finally the victorious pony downed the last drop of alcohol and dropped her cup. Caramel and Big Mac glanced at each other and nodded. The answer was obvious; the mare had won rather easily in the end. Caramel walked around to the mare’s side of the bar and brought one of Rainbow Dash’s and Applejack’s hooves into his. “And the winner is…”