"Heeeeeeeeeeeee..." Caramel trotted happily along, balancing a series of shiny shopping bags on his flank.
Bon Bon smiled while trotting alongside him. "You happy now, girl?"
"Heeeeeeeeeeeee..."
Lyra blew bangs out from before her face. "For real. You glad that you got that shit out of your system?"
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeee..."
"Fillies and gentlecolts, we have a winner," Vinyl droned. The group sauntered past a series of marble pillars, navigating a floor of Commander Hurricane's Last Stand sandwiched directly beneath the upper shopping department and above the lower casinos. The sound of band music and heavy bass speakers formed a commercial cacophony in the central promenade. "What are you going to do, Caramel? Stuff those someplace for safe keeping?"
"Yeah..." Lyra yawned. "A frozen pink cryostorage area."
"I will be hanging these in a good place, thank you very much," Caramel said with a smile and a nod. "I can't express my gratitude enough, girls. This is something I will be looking forward to with great joy."
"You... uh... are going to be shopping for some casual stuff, yes?" Bon Bon blinked. "After all of the time and expense being put into your operation, I can't imagine you'll be able to afford ballroom dancing every night."
"Heehee... no. But it's the thought that counts."
Rainbow Dash flew at the rear of the group. She was starting to regain her wits—if only to be once more lucid to her lack of senses. As the drunken haze dwindled from her system, she realized to what extent her numbness was a problem in and of itself, and not a side effect of excessive cider. She sighed more than once, flapping her wings as she caught up with her friends.
In Rainbow's peripheral vision, she saw a pair of eyes reflecting. For a moment, she could have sworn somepony was looking at her.
"... ... ...?" Rainbow spun her head, squinting.
She could have sworn she saw the flicker of a pony's mane swishing as a head turned away from staring her way. The detail was soon lost in the opulent shopping crowd across The Last Stand.
Rainbow blinked, ears twitching.
"...isn't that right, Rainbow?" Caramel said.
"Guuhhhh..." Rainbow snapped out of it, turning towards the stallion. "Huh?"
"That was realkly clever of you," Caramel said. "If it wasn't for your suggestion, I'd be trotting out of that place empty-hoofed."
"And empty-hearted!" Bon Bon chirped.
"Yeah! Heehee! What she said!"
"Eh... forget about it." Rainbow waved a hoof. "Just didn't want you moping around on your vacay." She cleared her throat. "I mean... honestly... who does that?" She fidgeted in mid-flight, glancing over her shoulder once again.
"Well, Caramel," Bon Bon said. "You've still got some spending money to work with. Wanna treat yourself some more tonight?"
"Oh, I bet the rest of you are really... really wanting to do something wild and enjoyable," Bon Bon said.
"Oh right!" Lyra perked up. "Holy shit! We've got bits to burn!" She pumped a hoof in midair. "Let's go crazy! Yeah!"
"So, what?" Bon Bon smirked. "More gambling? Bungie jumping? Rent our own stretch carriage?"
"I think we should do something unique," Vinyl said.
"Yeah..." Bon Bon nodded.
"Something special..."
"Yeah!"
"Something that's wild and out of this world and totally abnormal!"
"Yeah! Yeah!" Bon Bon grinned. "Sign me up!"
Lyra sat down at on a bar stool. "Vodka. Hard as balls."
"Hard lemonade!" Bon Bon said, giggling.
"Cider," Vinyl droned.
"Something with pineapple, pleeeeeeeease..." Caramel said, batting his eyelashes.
"Coming right up!" The bartender said, trotting across the golden establishment.
The five huddled at the bar, surrounded by pegasopolitan statues, torches, and artistic motifs. In just the other room, ponies congregated in a dance hall, raving away.
"So... uh..." Rainbow Dash sat on her stool, rubbing her forelimbs together. "...a bar."
"Not just any bar!" Bon Bon smirked. "A super bar."
"I coulda sworn you all wanted to... I dunno..." Rainbow shrugged. "Get filthy another way."
"Pffft. You bucking kidding?" Lyra cracked the joints in her neck. "Gotta get friggin' pissed first! Peel those inhibitions off like dragon smegma."
"Actually, dragonflesh burns and bleeds just like any other—" Rainbow bit her own tongue. "Eh... never mind."
"Besides. Just cuz you and Vinyl got tipsy doesn't mean Bon Bon and I have gotta live this night out dry!" Lyra nudged the mare next to her. "Isn't that right, B-Squared!"
"Hmmmmmm..." Bon Bon smiled, her eyes sparkling as they reflected the unicorn beside her. "Whatever you say, Lyraaaaaaaaa..."
"Pffft... Lyra levitated a pretzel from a jar and bit into it. "Friggin' weirdo."