Bronze Hoof

by cowboybird

Drinking Games

Drinking Games

Second Arc: Delay of Game

“What now?” Gear asked as we made our way through the crowds flockin’ to the castle for various reasons.

That’s a good question.

I pondered for a second, realizing almost everythin’ we had done had been for New Findings. But the town was safe now, I had no reason to go back.

Mr. Peach would have probably gotten some new farm hands, the militia could hold back any threats short of a dragon, and Minnie never looked at me the same when we came back without Killian.

Poor Minnie. Just another soul wounded by my presence.

I looked over at Gear, wonderin’ if he would want to go back to the town to stay with his mother. Although he was old enough to have moved out by a couple years, I know how wantin’ to stay with your family can make people do weird things.

Quick and Toni seemed too wrapped up in each other’s conversation to have heard Gear. Maybe they would want to go back as well, start a family, live off of Toni’s parent’s horde. Although they haven’t admitted to havin’ any feelin’s for each other, everyone else knew it to be true.

“That’s a good question Gear. I think right now, everyone could use a drink.” I said, gettin’ several affirmative nods.

We made our way down the main street, lookin’ for a tavern or somethin’ to quench our new found thirst.

Apparently noble ponies didn’t care much for drinkin’ in shabby pups, so we had to take a couple turns to find a shoddier part of town.

When the fancy marble began to be replaced by old wooden homes, we knew we were close.

We walked past a couple of ragged ponies, each lookin either down on their luck, or up to no good.

A sign on a building read “Monk’s Spirits.” And by the look of the inebriated ponies gatherin’ around the place, seemed like our destination.

Quick walked inside first, followed by Toni and Gear. Before I ducked inside, I noticed a shadowy figure skulkin’ around in an alley. When I looked over at it, the figure dashed into the alleyway out of sight.

I shrugged it off, and walked inside.

Once I was in the tavern, the music stopped, and all eyes found themselves pinned on me.

Me bein’ a giant, even compared to other minotaurs must have given them a shock. Anger began to build inside of me, red surroundin’ the outsides of my vision.

Only when I heard Gear call my name did I come out of my stupor.

“Hey Bronze, we’re over here.” I looked to find my friends sittin’ at the bar top, bein served by a brown pony with a beer mug cutie mark.

I gave the crowd another glance before makin’ my way over to them.

The music began to start up again, as well as the conversations.

“What’s the strongest thing you got bartender?” I asked, takin’ my seat on one of the wooden stools surroundin’ the bar. The wood creaked, but eventually held strong against my weight.

“That would be Applejack we just got from an orchard in Ponyville. I’ll warn you now though, the stuffs mighty tough.” I gave him a nod, and he poured me a shot glass of the deep mahogany colored liquid. I took it down, only to find I barely registered a burn.

“How bout a mug full of this?” I said, layin’ the shot glass upside down on the bar.

At first the barkeep looked apprehensive, but eventually succumbed to my order. I paid him, quite handsomely considerin’ the small mug in front of me, and gave it a long pull.

“Slow down there mate, I don’t think all of us combined could haul your ass out of here.” Quick said, givin’ me a slap on the back.

I chuckled, and slowed down with the drink.

I noticed Gear had a margarita or somethin frilly in front of him, which he drank conservatively. Gear had a mug of beer, already halfway gone. Toni, surprisingly, didn’t have anythin’.

“Don’t you want a drink darling?” I asked, makin Toni look down.

“I’m not old enough.” She said, givin’ the liquor in my hand longingly.

“How old are you?” I said. I wasn’t very good at discernin’ ages with ponies, and if I had been travelin’ with a youngin I would be mighty ashamed.

“28.” She said, shyin away from my questionin’ glare.

From what Gear had told me, ponies usually drink around 18, and are considered middle aged at 30.

“You’re old enough to drink, by a good ten years.” Gear said, takin’ another sip of his girly drink.

“Maybe by pony years, but by dragon years I have another 100 birthdays to go.”

“Well, just for tonight, how about we try to convince the barkeep that you’re a pony. That way, you can drink, and still be safe because your friends are here.” I said, givin’ the bartender an order for the weakest drink he had.

“I don’t know Bronze, Daddy would be upset if he found out.” A drink similar to Gear’s slid into Toni’s hoof. She gave it a look, then looked at me.

“What does it taste like?” She said.

“Like fruits and honey, just give it a try.” Quick said, gently nudgin’ Toni with his talon.

Hesitantly, she brought the drink up to her lips, tremblin’ at the thought of the fire that her father told her would come.
As a single drop touched her tongue, it seemed like the whole bar had gone quiet in anticipation.

The liquid made contact, and after a minute of debatin whether she like it or not, Toni got a wild look in her eyes.
A second later her entire drink was gone, poured into the thirsty mouth of a crazy pony.

Wait….

Toni had already grabbed Gear’s, and was chuggin it down.

What have I done?

She grabbed Quick’s, and in one mighty swig, cleaned the mug.

I’ve created a monster!

She looked at my mug, and before I had time to hide it from her ravenous alcohol hunger, she snatched it from my hand,
and emptied it.

Everyone stared at her wide eyed. What I had was the strongest thing in the tavern, and she took it like it was nothin’.

“How are you feelin Toni?” I asked, hesitant that she would drop any second from the amount of alcohol she had consumed.

“Just fantastic! It tastes just like Mommy’s tea! I always loved that tea. At first I would get all woozy in the head, but now it just makes me even thirstier!” She had already grabbed the bottle of Applejack from the bartender, and much to his dismay,
started chuggin’ it.

“You’re gonna have to pay for that!” He yelled, only to find Toni’s bag of bits on his counter. She stopped mid drink to tell him to get her a couple more bottles of the liquor.

“Stop! You’re gonna get way too drunk.” Quick said, tryin’ unsuccessfully to pry the bottle from her mouth.

“Don’t worry, I don’t get woozy headed anymore.” She said, then began to drink the bottle like it was water.

Quick stopped his attempts, “Not at all?”

“Nope! Haven’t since I was a baby dragon!” She said happily between gulps.

The bartender came around with five more bottles of Applejack, which the bag Toni had given him paid for. I took a bottle to myself, and poured me another glass.

I looked over at Toni, who had just finished hers. She smiled at me, and tried offerin’ one to Gear, who simply smelled the bottle and ran to the bathroom.

I noticed Quick gettin a mischievous look in his eyes.

“I have an idea.” He said, lookin’ at the mass of ponies around the bar, starin’ as Toni took on her second bottle without hesitation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bar erupted into the sound of dozens of hooves bangin the ground in applause.

We all watched as the drunken stallion swayed back and forth in his chair, given Toni a hateful stare. She had just taken her 20th shot of Applejack, and wasn’t even feelin’ a thing. It was the stallion’s turn to drink, and it was apparent he was comin’ to the end of the race. He turned his glare towards the shot glass in front of him, pride burnin him more than the liquor that had been tracin’ down his throat. In a defiant yell, he grabbed the shot glass, and tilted it back. The dark liquid poured into his mouth, and by the way he immediately turned a sickly shade of green, it was his last for the night.

The inebriated stallion quickly turned to one side, and proceeded to vomit into a bucket at his side.

Again the crowd erupted into applause as Toni bested her fifth opponent. Bits began bein gracefully accepted, or grudgingly given as bets were completed.

I gave Quick a smile as he collected dozens of bags filled with currency.

The stallion’s friends began to scoop him off of the ground where he had passed out. They dragged him out of the bar, bangin his head on the door clumsily.

“Who’s next? Who dares to challenge the dragon of the south!” Quick yelled, gettin another round of applause from the drunk stallions.

“I would like to have a go.” Immediately the bar quieted down. Everyone turned to a shadowed corner of the bar where a figure sat with his feet blockin’ his face. When he brought his feet down, everyone let out a collective gasp.

It took me a second to realize that the figure wasn’t human, but a cat-like humanoid. It was wearin’ a trench coat that covered most of its body, and a hat that hid his face. He didn’t have any shoes, which only showed off his vicious lookin’ claws as he strolled through the crowd of drunk ponies, and to Toni’s table.

I gave Gear a look, and he responded with a shrug.

Toni didn’t seem to notice anythin’ off about the cat, and began to pour shots into their respective glasses.

You could hear a pin drop as Toni flipped a bit in the air, signalin’ Toni would drink first upon its landin’.

I could hear bets bein placed, oddly in favor of the cat. Everyone in this bar had seen how Toni had kicked every stallion’s flank that came against her, and still they put their bet on this new player. I knew somthin’ was off, but just couldn’t place it.

Toni downed her drink, not noticin’ the built up tensions in the room.

The figure picked up his shot glass, and downed it without even flinchin’.

He stopped Toni as she went to pour another shot for each of them.

“How about we try something a little bit stronger.” He said as he retrieved a bottle of green liquid from his coat. Several gasps escaped the crowd as recognition of the bottle broke the silence.

“Ooh, I’ve never had green tea before! Is it tasty?” Toni said, eager to take the shot the cat had poured into her glass.

“It’s an …acquired taste.” Said the feline, motionin’ for Toni to take her shot.

As the green liquid poured down her throat, she let out a cough. Then another. Then had a full on fit from the drink.

“That doesn’t taste yummy at all! What is it?” Toni asked after settlin’ her diaphragm.

“It’s called abstinence. It comes from the Great Southern Rain Forest. My tribe makes some of the best brew in the world.”
He paused as he took the drink down. “It’ll get a minotaur drunk faster than he can say, ‘damn’.”

The crowd once again began an applause, happy to have found someone capable of keepin’ up with Toni. I gave Quick a look, hopin’ that he would take Toni out of the game before she got into trouble.

He gave me a smirk, and began to make wagers with the ponies surroundin’ him.

The cat was talkin’ again, this time to me.

“How about a wager? Something more than gold.”

I frowned, curious as to why he would talk to me, and not Toni.

“Why would I make a wager with you? You don’t have anything I want. Unless you have an extra arm for me,” I motioned to my stub, “then no thank you.”

“I have information. I can tell you how to get home if your friend wins.” The cat said, a sly smile on his face.

“I know how to get home, just head south.” I chuckled a bit at the ridiculousness of his offer.

“I’m talking about your real home.” I stopped my chucklin’, and stared at this creature.

“How would you know that?” I asked.

“I have my ways, but if I win,” He gave a chuckle that sounded more like a purr, “Then you and your friends do a little favor for me, then I tell you how to get home.”

I took a second to consider this, on one hand, I might find a way to get back to earth. But if we lose, well, I don’t know, but I doubt it’ll be good.

Gear, Toni, and Quick came up to me.

“What’s he talkin’ about mate?” Quick asked.

“My original home, where I came from. I didn’t think I could ever go back, but if this cat knows how…” I let it hang in the air. Understandin’ fallin on my friends faces.

“I’m in, if it’s what you want.” Toni said, givin’ me a hug.

“Me too, even if we lose, which I’m not saying we will, I’m sure we could handle whatever task this guy’s got for us.” Gear said, givin’ me a nod.

I looked at Quick, countin’ the money he had won from the previous games. When he noticed me he just chuckled.

“You know I’m in for a lil adventure.”

With us all in agreement we headed back to the table, and Toni started drinkin.

The game continued for another couple of rounds before Toni started to sway in her chair.

By round thirty, she was plastered.

“Tat’s shum gud schtuff tere kitty!” She slurred, rockin back and forth dangerously.

“As I said, it’s the strongest brew of the strongest drink. The only thing stronger is dragon milk, but that’ll kill anycat who’s not a dragon of course.” He took his shot. The cat-man wasn’t showin’ any signs of drunkenness, and poured them the last of the bottle.

Toni looked at her shot, and turned a bright shade of green. A vale of silence fell on the bar as Toni slowly picked up her glass. Her green expression showin’ resentment for the green liquor sloshin’ in its new home. She slowly reached for it, tension risin’ as the bar watched her. The green tinge to her white fur made me even a lil noxious. I looked at the cat, whose demeanor hadn’t changed the whole game.

Why wouldn’t he just tell me?

Toni picked up the glass.

Why would he make us go on a quest, just to tell me anyway?

Toni touched the brim to her mouth.

This guy’s a dick.

Suddenly Toni turned to her side, and just like the many competitors she had defeated, barfed into her bucket.

The crowds of ponies began applaudin’ their new drinkin hero as bits were once again passed around. Quick had to sadly give up a good portion of his winnin’s to a burly lookin’ stallion.

I collected Toni, and gave the feline a hard glare.

“So what’s this job?”

Author's Note:

Woo! Another chapter up. So I've decided to update the story every Monday and Thursday when I can. Also, new arc!

Decided to spice things up a bit.

Also, also, I have acquired a new editor!

Everyone give a round of applause for lunarstallion! This guy has saved me from several embarrassing spelling and grammar mistakes.

So that's it until Thursday. Did you enjoy the chapter? If you have any questions, or would just like to give me a written lashing for whatever reason, leave a comment in the comments section!

Comments

[222leslie222]

kill the cat man

[Trent Roogna]

One of two things is true:
Either you forgot to add the drunken accent on your character's dialog.
or
Bronze's crew are idiots.

Accepting a job with shady details based on a drinking match? moronic. I can see it if they were all plastered, but they didn't act like it (option number one)

[cowboybird]

3509292
There are several reasons why I had Bronze accept the offer:
1. He wishes to know that there is at least a small chance of returning home.
2. Quick, Gear, and Toni all want to help Bronze in whatever way they can.
3. They needed a direction to go in now that they were done with New Findings.
4. Although they weren't drunk enough to have slurred words, Quick, Gear, and Bronze were at least slightly inebriated, so that they had semi impaired judgment.

Although I see what you mean, accepting a deal from a cat-man in a dive while they were drinking can seem like a bad call. But he does show at least minimal knowledge of Bronze's true beginnings, and possibly has a way for him to go home.

3508990

Although I will not be revealing any future events, I will tell you that the cat-man plays a role later in the story. Why do you want the cat-man dead? Any reason in particular, or just for luls?

[222leslie222]

3509594 he seems arrogant

[cowboybird]

3509779

Fair enough, he is pretty arrogant. Would it make you feel better to know that "Nar-Kuth" translates roughly to "Mittens?"

[222leslie222]

3520278 yep